Chapter 9

The stagnant atmosphere shattered with Feng Qing’s words: “You’re not a decent person at all.”

Li Ruoshui blinked, maintaining her composure as if Mount Tai itself had collapsed before her without ruffling her feathers. She smiled and said, “No, no,” then quickly changed the subject with her usual skill, pulling the dragon scale from her Universe Pouch and handing it to the puffed-up Feng Qing.

The fragmented dragon scale was smaller than a fingernail; tossed into the underbrush, no one would ever find it. Feng Qing’s attention shifted nonetheless. She stared in astonishment. “This is a dragon scale?” Taking it from Li Ruoshui’s hand, she wrapped it in her mana, and sure enough, it was real! She didn’t ask why it looked so odd—after all, obtaining a scale from a True Dragon was no easy feat, and it might have suffered some wear along the way.

Fearing Li Ruoshui might change her mind, Feng Qing swiftly stowed the dragon scale away, cleared her throat, and said, “I forgive you.” After a pause, she added, “Maybe we should all introduce ourselves properly?”

This time, Yao Changliu didn’t claim to be from Medicine King Mountain, and Li Ruoshui didn’t badmouth the Wind Moon Heartless Sect in front of their cultivator, further tarnishing their already precarious reputation.

Both claimed to be loose cultivators.

“Loose cultivators, huh.” Feng Qing drew out her words, arms crossed as she eyed Yao Changliu with keen interest—wary on the inside, terrified on the outside. “To enter the Return to Ruins Gap, Fellow Daoist must be at the Heart Fixing Realm, right? What are you skilled in, Fellow Daoist? Poison? Medicine? Or bone-setting?”

Yao Changliu stayed silent, her eyes filled with the panic of someone who had boarded a pirate ship.

“Since the deal is done, shouldn’t we part ways?” Li Ruoshui asked. Her mission on the Path of No Return was clear: slay Ruin Spirits to fulfill her Dao vow and obtain Five Elements Cinnabar. In Azure Wood Canyon, the wood-attributed energy was particularly dense—it was clearly calling to her.

“What?” Feng Qing’s expression turned shocked. She whipped around to face Li Ruoshui. “You’re not coming with me for revenge, Fellow Daoist?!”

Li Ruoshui replied coldly, “What does your grudge have to do with me?”

Feng Qing: “Aren’t we close friends? Love at first sight—”

Before Feng Qing could utter more unbearable words, Li Ruoshui cut her off. “My close friend is someone else!” The selfless Chen Buyan, who had guided her path and showered her with generosity, was her one true friend! When she had declared her Vow Dao, only Chen Buyan had refrained from sarcasm and even held high hopes for her!

Feng Qing pressed, “Who?”

Li Ruoshui didn’t bat an eye. “Fellow Daoist Chen Buyan.”

Not only did Feng Qing suck in a cold breath, but even Yao Changliu stared at Li Ruoshui in disbelief.

Li Ruoshui glanced at the two of them and snorted. “What’s the problem?”

Feng Qing hissed, “Fellow Daoist Chen Buyan is upright and noble, as unyielding as pine and cypress—how could she possibly be close friends with someone like you?”

Li Ruoshui: “…” What did that mean? She didn’t argue with Feng Qing but seized the chance to probe for information on Chen Buyan. “You seem to know her, Fellow Daoist?”

Feng Qing chuckled. “Who in the Tianyan Mirror doesn’t know her? She’s practically a living bodhisattva of our time, the most warm-hearted person on Tianyan. A selfless great benefactor. She often appears to guide juniors and is incredibly generous. Perhaps a Nascent Soul Realm expert or higher from Three Saints Academy.”

Li Ruoshui mused, “Really from Three Saints Academy?”

Feng Qing expounded confidently, “The Empire’s cultivators are a chaotic mess, and they aren’t that generous anyway.

“Our Wind Moon Heartless Sect True Persons aren’t as polite as her, and Medicine King Mountain wouldn’t help for free. As for the Joy Sect, if they could speak normally, I’d twist my head off.

“Tianyan Sect has few Daoists, and they’re all busy—none of them lounge around in the Tianyan Mirror. It can’t be some demon from the three devil paths, right?”

Of the Immortal Dao Seven Sects, Feng Qing skipped Taiyi Sect. Li Ruoshui asked puzzledly, “What about Taiyi?”

Yao Changliu said softly, “Taiyi’s True Persons, aside from the Sect Master, have all appeared in the Tianyan Mirror under names other than Chen Buyan. Three Saints Academy’s True Persons are versed in all knowledge, ancient and modern; they often lecture at the Immortal Altar and guide lost Fellow Daoists in Tianyan.”

Li Ruoshui nodded, suddenly taking an interest in the Taiyi Sect Master. She deliberately asked, “Why not the Taiyi Sect Master?”

Feng Qing replied without thinking, “Doesn’t seem like it—not just the Taiyi Sect Master; no Cave Heaven True Person would have that much free time. Those who wish to teach go to the Immortal Altar. It’s most likely a Three Saints Academy true inheritor.” After a pause, she muttered, “The Taiyi Sect Master cultivates the Heartless Dao, right? Why not join our Wind Moon Heartless Sect?”

The plot never specified what Dao Lian Rusu cultivated, but given her typical aloof, silent expert aura, Li Ruoshui guessed it was the Heartless Dao. She nodded, agreeing with Feng Qing. It had to be a Three Saints Academy true inheritor. She was about to steer the conversation back to Chen Buyan when the intrigued Feng Qing spoke up again.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she gushed endlessly, “The Taiyi Sect Master is a role model for our generation. Before her, a Nascent Soul at a hundred years old was a prodigy of the Nine Provinces. But she burst onto the scene: entering the Dao at five, Heart Fixing at ten, Golden Core at twenty, Nascent Soul at fifty, Cave Heaven at a hundred! And that’s supposedly after suppressing her realm. With her heaven-defying talent, she single-handedly raised the bar for ‘prodigy.’ She’s in secluded cultivation now—perhaps the youngest to pluck the Dao Fruit in the Nine Provinces.”

Li Ruoshui thought, Not a chance.

If the plot unfolded as is, Lian Rusu would be dragged into an abyss of no return by two treacherous juniors before reaching the Dao Fruit Realm.

Feng Qing asked, “By the way, Fellow Daoist, how old are you?”

Li Ruoshui didn’t blink. “Seventy-four.”

Feng Qing: “…Your bone age is only fifty-two.”

Li Ruoshui shot her a sidelong glance and flashed a fake smile. “Then why ask?”

Adding her twenty-two years from her previous life, how wasn’t that seventy-four?

Li Ruoshui didn’t give Feng Qing time to dwell and pressed her for more info. “What do Three Saints Academy’s Fellow Daoists like?”

Feng Qing spat out one word: “Books.” She thought for a moment, then earnestly advised, “Fellow Daoist Shangshan, are you planning to bribe Fellow Daoist Chen Buyan with that? No need. She’s extremely kind yet extremely aloof; she rarely exchanges name seals with others.”

Li Ruoshui feigned surprise. “Really? But I’ve already added her successfully.”

Silence hung for several breaths. Feng Qing stared with dead-fish eyes. “Why?!”

Li Ruoshui smiled humbly. “Because I’m a great benefactor.”

Feng Qing: “…”

In the gap as Feng Qing fell silent, Yao Changliu’s weak voice sounded. “What did you bring me here for, exactly?”

Feng Qing remembered her main goal and whipped her head around, eyes blazing. “I have an enemy here. Please assist me when the time comes, Fellow Daoist Yao.”

Having gleaned plenty from Feng Qing, Li Ruoshui casually asked, “What enemy? From which sect?”

Feng Qing gnashed her teeth. “The Empire.”

Li Ruoshui: “What did they do to you?”

A flicker of deep pain flashed in Feng Qing’s eyes, but she quickly suppressed it. She chuckled dryly. “Empire cultivators put on such a huge show—some petals from their procession stuck to me!”

Li Ruoshui: “…” What a childish grudge! Even if Empire Daoists were pretentious, it didn’t harm Feng Qing. Unless… a major creditor? Clearing that debt would wipe the slate clean. “I have urgent business,” Li Ruoshui quickly excused herself.

Feng Qing pretended not to hear. “Their group is massive, hogging the Cinnabar Ore Vein in Azure Wood Canyon and barring others—utterly domineering.”

“What? They’re hogging my cinnabar?!” Li Ruoshui’s expression changed. She immediately switched tones, declaring righteously, “To stab someone in the back for a Fellow Daoist is our duty!”

Feng Qing fell silent.

After a moment, she asked, “Since when is Azure Wood Canyon’s cinnabar yours?”

Li Ruoshui raised a brow with a grin. “Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘I see it, I conquer it’?”

…

Path of No Return, Azure Wood Canyon.

A young Daoist in a purple-gold robe adorned with jade stood with hands behind his back.

Opposite him, the black-robed Daoist cupped his hands respectfully. “Reporting to Your Highness, all Ruin Spirits and creatures within ten li have been driven out.”

The young Daoist acknowledged it, eyes full of anticipation. “Once I refine all the Wood Element Cinnabar from Azure Wood Canyon, I can break through to the Fixed Heart Third Layer in one go.”

The youth was Rong Ji, one of the Empire’s three princes. He hadn’t needed to risk this personally, but his two sisters had cut off East Prince’s Mansion’s supply of Wood Element Cinnabar. With no time to tangle with them, he targeted the ore vein in the Return to Ruins Gap. His unilateral decision would draw ire from fellow Daoists, but he had no choice.

After a moment’s thought, Rong Ji instructed the black-robed Daoist, “If any Fellow Daoists come seeking Wood Element Cinnabar, compensate them with something else.”

The black-robed Daoist assented, though inwardly skeptical. In the Return to Ruins Gap, resources belonged to whoever claimed them. Taiyi Sect guarded the Path of No Return but only handled Ruin Spirits, not interfering in other sects’ competitions. Why yield what they’d seized?

Rong Ji saw through his thoughts and frowned. “This is the outer layer of the Path of No Return, a Heart Fixing Realm training ground. Old Hei, you’re at Golden Core Realm now—starting a fight wouldn’t look good.”

Several li away.

Li Ruoshui and Feng Qing dragged the reluctant Yao Changliu quietly toward the cinnabar site in Azure Wood Canyon.

As they advanced inward, Li Ruoshui listened to Feng Qing explain the Empire Daoist’s background.

The Empire’s imperial family prized Human Emperor Dao above all; only its practitioners could inherit the throne. Human Emperor Dao cultivated supremacy over all—without supreme authority and renown, one couldn’t pluck the Dao Fruit. Among the Immortal Dao Seven Sects, only the Emperor had ascended via this Dao, fueling fierce competition throughout the Empire.

“Something’s off,” Li Ruoshui frowned.

“I think the whole Empire is off—beat them to death on sight,” Feng Qing said, a chill flashing in her eyes.

Li Ruoshui clarified, “I mean—the energy here feels wrong! Isn’t this a Heart Fixing Realm area? Why is there a Golden Core Realm Daoist?”

She had just entered Heart Fixing First Layer, Feng Qing was at Heart Fixing second layer, and Yao Changliu was negligible.

Against peers, they might have a shot. Against a Golden Core cultivator? They were walking meat.

Feng Qing ground her teeth.

“The Empire is getting more shameless by the day!”