Chapter 36 Part 2

“What defines small? What defines large?” Xie Xianqing gazed at Su Xuanjing. Though long imprisoned, she was not ignorant of worldly wisdom, nor had her thinking simplified from living with Gu insects and snakes. She said, “If the Sect Leader does not trust me, I can swear a Heavenly Dao Oath.”

“This…” Su Xuanjing frowned slightly, her gaze shifting to the master-disciple pair of Wu Chongyun, who had not yet departed.

Wu Chongyun’s languid face betrayed neither liking nor disliking. As for Wei Mingyi… ah, her eyes were sparkling, looking somewhat expectant.

“I cultivate a remnant scripture, a technique I was forced to switch to halfway. My current cultivation is more or less my limit.” Xie Xianqing gave a humorless laugh. Staring at Su Xuanjing, she added, “Sect Leader, your future is promising. I believe it won’t be long before you step into the Nascent Soul stage. Moreover, this Mountain Protection Array… is it not the work of someone ordinary?” A master-disciple inheritance sect with only a handful of disciples, whose overall strength was inferior to aristocratic families, yet dared swallow two families’ territories in one breath, unafraid of retaliation—it couldn’t be as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Xie Xianqing continued, “I don’t need the sect to provide for me; I only need a quiet place for quiet cultivation.” She understood the difference between aristocratic families and the master-disciple lineage. Joining a family would only mean being exploited to death, never knowing peace.

Su Xuanjing hesitated, saying nothing.

Wei Mingyi suddenly asked, “Does the Perfected One’s… precious pet… eat spirit herbs?” Xie Xianqing looked like a major pet owner at first glance, but the spirit herbs the Chongyuan Sect grew were a major source of income and the basis for maintaining her master’s functions. If the spirit fields got infested… that scene—Wei Mingyi didn’t dare to even think about it closely.

Xie Xianqing: “…” Caught off guard by such a question, she let out a short laugh. Then her eyes fixed on Wei Mingyi as she said softly, “Fellow Daoist, they eat people.”

Wei Mingyi let out an “Oh,” not at all frightened by Xie Xianqing’s words.

On the other side, Su Xuanjing had also made her decision.

A Nascent Soul stage combatant was exactly what the Chongyuan Sect lacked. She would indeed reach Nascent Soul, but without a heaven-sent opportunity, who knew how many years it would take? Furthermore, she hadn’t even gathered all the external medicines yet. If Xie Xianqing was willing to be bound by a Heavenly Dao Oath, then the matter would truly be much less of an issue. “Then please swear the oath, Fellow Daoist,” Su Xuanjing said. The Chongyuan Sect wouldn’t offer a guest elder’s stipend like other sects; that might be somewhat unfair to Xie Xianqing, but after all, it was her own choice.

Inducting a guest elder didn’t even warrant a ceremony; it was extremely simple.

Wei Mingyi waited, full of joyful anticipation, but even after Xie Xianqing became a member of the Chongyuan Sect, she received no response from her cheat item.

Wei Mingyi: “?”

Wait a minute, why wasn’t a Nascent Soul Perfected Person worth an achievement?

She knew achievements only provided a small amount of Achievement Points, but wasn’t this just too little?

Fine, she admitted recruiting people had nothing to do with selling land, but on the flip side, couldn’t the System upgrade itself a little?

Wei Mingyi furiously left a negative review for her cheat item in her heart.

While she was immersed in her thoughts, a light, airy voice drifted into her ears.

“You’re very happy?”

Who was speaking to her?

Oh, it was her mute master.

But how did she even see happiness? She was clearly angry, angry that this cheat item couldn’t just follow her desires.

This was one of those questions that was hard to answer either way. There were things to be happy about, and things to be angry about.

But before Wei Mingyi could answer, Wu Chongyun flicked her wide sleeve and strode away in large steps.

The newcomer and the guests would naturally be entertained by the Sect Leader. Without thinking, Wei Mingyi immediately chased after her master.

In the courtyard, Wu Chongyun sat for a while beneath the pear tree again.

Her eyelids were lowered, her white hair swaying slightly in the breeze.

Wei Mingyi knew her master was always languid, always faint in expression, but she wasn’t entirely without emotion. Moving upwards was hard, but there was still plenty of room for a downward slide. Spending so much time with her, Wei Mingyi could somewhat tell. For instance, right now, her master’s mood was even lower than usual. “Shizun, what’s wrong?” Wei Mingyi clasped her hands behind her back and leaned close to Wu Chongyun.

When she brushed away a falling pear blossom, Wu Chongyun didn’t move.

When she gently tugged a strand of white hair, Wu Chongyun did open her eyes and cast her a light glance, yet still wore that languid expression of refusing to say anything.

This “Wither and Flourish Poison” truly was detestable.

Wei Mingyi complained inwardly. A radiant smile on her face, she asked again, “Shizun, want to hold me for a bit?”

Wu Chongyun didn’t look at her, pursing her lips as she said, “No.”

Wei Mingyi blinked and switched her phrasing: “Then I want to hold Shizun for a bit. Is that alright?” Without waiting for Wu Chongyun’s answer, she added, “If Shizun doesn’t say anything, I’ll take it as a yes.” Though she knew Wu Chongyun would most likely remain silent, the instant the words fell, Wei Mingyi had already thrown herself into a full embrace, giving Wu Chongyun no chance at all to refuse.

“Shizun feels very warm. When I’m with Shizun, the empty places in my heart are filled.” Wei Mingyi immediately started coaxing Wu Chongyun.

“Shizun makes me whole; I should also share Shizun’s worries. If Shizun has any unhappiness, she can tell me.”

…

Wu Chongyun extended her arms, circling Wei Mingyi’s waist. She very much liked Wei Mingyi’s scent. Perhaps from spending so much time together, Wei Mingyi had also been imbued with a medicinal fragrance similar to her own.

Hers.

Wu Chongyun’s thoughts wandered. When she came back to herself, Wei Mingyi was still chattering away. She hadn’t really been listening to what Wei Mingyi was saying. She raised her head to look at Wei Mingyi, placed a finger against her lips, and said, “Quiet.”

Wei Mingyi: “.”

Understood, Master.

Wu Chongyun let her hand drop. She closed her eyes, leaning wearily against Wei Mingyi’s embrace.

Her head shifted slightly, the tip of her nose brushing Wei Mingyi’s neck. Wu Chongyun nuzzled gently, then raised her head a little, sliding upward along Wei Mingyi’s skin until her lips lightly touched Wei Mingyi’s earlobe. Only then did Wu Chongyun abruptly open her eyes and withdraw from Wei Mingyi’s embrace.

With so many embraces, Wei Mingyi had grown accustomed.

It was warm, it was intimate, but rarely had there been this kind of dizzying, trembling thrill.

The warm breath brushed like a feather, slowly crawling across her skin, inch by inch. Her heart suddenly lurched, as if it would leap out of her chest. The surging, boiling blood sent a flush straight to her cheeks, as if every meridian was filled with rich, intoxicating wine, making her feel lightheaded, oblivious to everything.

Luckily, the torture ended when Wu Chongyun pulled back.

Wei Mingyi blinked. The heat on her face faded slightly, leaving only a faint, hard-to-explain sense of loss lingering deep in her heart.

Wu Chongyun’s earlobes were red. She awkwardly smoothed her hair, turning aside so as not to look at Wei Mingyi’s expression. Composing herself, she said, “Weren’t you going to establish your foundation? Why haven’t you gone to cultivate yet?”

Wei Mingyi: “…” She glanced sidelong at Wu Chongyun, drawling, “The big battle just ended.”

Wu Chongyun gave a soft “Mn,” and said no more.

–

July.

The three adjacent cities’ 4th-Rate families were completely annihilated, leaving only the insignificant petty families, lost and bewildered. The Lu, Wang, and Zheng clans had all belonged to the lower echelons of 4th-Rate families; the insignificant families that relied on them weren’t much stronger. Being weak, they lacked the domineering force to rampage, but could sway like fence-sitters. Of course, their greatest hope still lay in someone coming down from above.

The Feng clan.

Such major events had occurred at Langya City and Xingyang City; the Huaxu Feng clan, naturally, received the news instantly. But at this moment, the Feng clan was tottering, forced to handle attacks from its rivals, with absolutely no spare attention for the few subordinate families. If the Feng clan could hold on, finding new 4th-Rate clans to attach themselves wouldn’t be difficult.

After Xingyang City and Langya City fell into the Chongyuan Sect’s hands, the Feng clan also faced its greatest crisis. The Heavenly Dao Alliance would no longer permit any delays. The 2nd Layer Daoist within the clan had to achieve a breakthrough within these few days. The Feng clan was forced to push the person upward using resources. But as for resources, due to the covert meddling of their opponents, they had received far less than they had anticipated.

Yet the arrow was already on the string; it had to be released.

Feng Clan Territory.

A golden fire and floating light expanded, dyeing a large expanse of the heavens red. That Nascent Soul 2nd Layer elder was already at the final stage of the breakthrough process. Originally, due to an insufficient foundation, he was hovering right at the brink of collapse, propelled only by sheer force of obsession. Who could have known that at this critical juncture, a ball of falling flame would suddenly streak from the edge of the sky, speeding toward the Feng clan territory. The Feng clan Daoists’ expressions changed drastically. They rushed forward, holding their artifacts, to protect the elder during his breakthrough.

The array formed by their combined power should have been able to hold. Yet precisely at the crucial moment, a Golden Core Daoist within the array suddenly stood up. A great laugh burst from his lips. Amidst the stunned gazes of the Feng clan elders, he flicked his sleeve and proudly strode away. He didn’t need to do anything else; just by moving from his position, the forbidding array would fail. The descending ball of flame would then crash into the clan territory and shatter the Feng Nascent Soul cultivator’s balance.

Sure enough, not long after that Feng clansman left, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering boom spread across the world. A figure shot out from the clan territory, but within a few breaths, the vast Nascent Soul phantom form shattered inch by inch, finally dispersing into dust. Forget breaking through; he couldn’t even preserve his own existence.

That Feng clan Daoist who had left first was now in a tall pavilion. Across from him sat several people with mocking smiles on their faces. The Feng clan Daoist didn’t look back at the catastrophe in his clan territory. He merely said, expressionlessly, “I hope, Fellow Daoists, that you will honor our agreement.”

One of the Daoists raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Naturally. Now that you’ve joined my clan, you are one of my own. When there are benefits, you won’t be left out.”

The Daoist nodded.

Matters of abandoning a collapsing family to switch allegiances—though people might gossip, it happened all too often across the Nine Provinces. After its demotion, the Feng clan was constrained at every turn; it was unlikely they could even preserve their clan’s assets. As a Golden Core stage cultivator, the treatment and prospects in a 3rd-Rate clan versus a 4th-Rate clan were entirely different. Besides, the new family he had joined was inherently a few degrees stronger than the Feng clan.

“Those three subordinates under the Feng clan? Already dealt with by a master-disciple lineage.”

“Oh? How curious. The Feng clan’s subordinates were truly weak.” The Daoist smiled, not paying much heed to these matters. The 4th-Rate clans under the Feng clan couldn’t compare to their own forces; they were utterly unremarkable. Seizing a portion of the Feng clan’s assets would be sufficient. Next, they needed to seriously prepare for the “Heavenly Dao’s Paragon Debate”; they truly had no mind to bother with some small sect or family out in the countryside.

At the Heavenly Dao Alliance.

The rival families that had been competing against the Feng clan had already made their moves. Besides, the Feng clan’s collapse was already a foregone conclusion. The Deacon Daoist coldly struck the Feng clan from the records. Any associated information of no further value was also tossed into a corner.

The defeated were not worth caring about.