Chapter 16

Yan Zhichuan slept deeply.

She seemed to be having a sweet dream, murmuring in her sleep, “No one understands sword practice better than I do.”

Zhan Yujie carried Yan Zhichuan back expressionlessly and placed her on the couch.

This mountain excursion had been full of unnecessary hardships.

As she prepared to leave, she glanced at Yan Zhichuan’s messy desk. Besides some idle storybooks, there were tomes on unorthodox paths. Things like Sword Dao in a Hundred Days: From Novice to Master, Grand Dream Wanderer of Immortality: Sword Immortal Edition, and A Sword Through the Mortal World.

If it were any other junior sister, Zhan Yujie wouldn’t have cared about these books—after all, they had the basic discernment.

But Yan Zhichuan—

Zhan Yujie felt uncertain.

She hadn’t wanted to meddle. In the past, she hadn’t paid much attention to this junior sister, and future expeditions might not overlap. Yet the thought of one of her own sect members falling to such depths made her feet refuse to move.

After enduring for a moment, she realized she couldn’t hold back. With a twirl, she sat at the desk and sorted the chaotic pile of books.

Then, at the very bottom, she found a sword practice notebook.

Even Yan Zhichuan had to attend the altar lectures from Fu Shi.

The handwriting on the notes was a crooked mess, and the little stick-figure swordsmen were all lopsided.

With annotations like: “Some senior sister thinks I drew this wrong. How is that possible?”

A vein throbbed on Zhan Yujie’s forehead. She itched to slap a big “X” right on the page.

In a way, Yan Zhichuan was remarkably talented. Blindly practicing on her own stubborn path without succumbing to qi deviation was a gift in itself.

Exhaling a turbid breath, Zhan Yujie patiently corrected the notebook for her. At the end, she left behind a jade slip, hoping Yan Zhichuan would quickly master the dao script.

Yan Zhichuan slept until late at night before waking.

The luminous pearl in the room cast a soft glow. She first rubbed her belly, sighing that she’d missed another meal. Then, she marveled at the tidy room, rubbing her eyes. “Did the clam fairy from the stories descend to help?”

The Heavenly Dao System stepped on her hair irritably. “It was Zhan Yujie.”

Yan Zhichuan was shocked. “What did she come for? To repay a favor?”

The Heavenly Dao System refused to speak to her.

Yan Zhichuan scurried to the desk and spotted a line of bold, flourishing script: “Junior Sister Yan, do not neglect proper cultivation. Daydreaming is unacceptable.” She brushed away the glaring words and examined the jade slip for a moment. Soon, her face paled, and she sighed weakly, “She came for revenge.”

The Heavenly Dao System: “……”

Sword practice? Impossible.

Yan Zhichuan stowed the notebook and headed to the Silent Land to study pill refining.

Compared to other paths, popping pills seemed the true path to effortless gains.

“I told you before—pill refining is the dao best suited to you,” the Heavenly Dao System flapped its wings. “Back in the day, the dao of pills was glorious. Martial pills were the true way—toxic pills, wondrous pills that shattered defenses, divine pills with perfect accuracy… Ancient pill masters could form an army single-handedly.”

“That sounds exhausting. Handling everything alone? How many shares of provisions would that take?” Yan Zhichuan sighed.

The Heavenly Dao System twitched. After hearing her, it felt all its strength drain away, collapsing limply onto the platform.

Fine. Willing to enter the Silent Land to study was progress already. At least her willpower had improved—she could persist for several incense sticks’ worth of time now.

Fifteen minutes of effort required a grand nap to recover. When Yan Zhichuan woke again, the sun was already high in the sky.

Chongxu Sect’s daoists had arrived at Nine Abyss Sect and were holding discussions in the main hall.

As Yan Zhichuan sneaked closer, the first thing she heard was Liu Kongsang’s “Could there be a misunderstanding?”

Misunderstanding my ass.

Yan Zhichuan spat.

Liu Kongsang’s brows furrowed, her expression sour.

She had many direct disciples, and Liu Yanqing wasn’t the most talented, so she hadn’t received much personal guidance.

Unlike Nine Abyss Sect’s sparse ranks, Chongxu Sect wasn’t short on disciples. Even Soul Transformation Realm cultivators had countless direct and named disciples.

The waves sift the sand—only the strongest emerged from fierce competition.

In Nine Abyss Sect, some Cave Heaven cultivators had only one disciple under them, or even none. Pouring all resources into one person often bred entitlement, a failure to grasp how hard-won it all was. And what if they fell midway?

Liu Kongsang didn’t care about Liu Yanqing’s success or failure, but the scandal spreading would tarnish Chongxu Sect’s reputation. She wanted to handle it privately to save face.

“Yanqing is a good child. I don’t believe she’d do such a thing—perhaps she was misled by someone with ulterior motives,” Liu Kongsang added. There was a way to distance Chongxu Sect: pin it all on Zhu Feng. Zhu Feng’s master was merely a Nascent Soul from Miracle Hand Sect; they’d surely give Chongxu Sect face.

But Zhong Zhanxi wasn’t one to entertain Liu Kongsang’s sophistry.

Zhu Feng’s slap was one thing—Liu Yanqing deserved two.

She eyed Liu Yanqing, kneeling dejectedly on the ground, and frowned. “I don’t know where Yujie failed you.”

Last-ditch struggles were pointless; with Cave Heaven prowess, the truth was effortless to uncover. She had no interest in denying Yan Zhichuan’s nonsense. Lifting her head, a mocking smile curled her lips. Amid her resentment, a thousand grievances boiled down to one sentence: “I stood right before Zhan Yujie, and she didn’t even recognize me.”

Zhong Zhanxi: “……” She glanced at Zhan Yujie, who stood silently at her side.

“You could’ve just annulled the engagement. You’re both free now—perfect, right? You don’t like Senior Sister Zhan, but you like the gifts she gave you?” Yan Zhichuan couldn’t stand it anymore. She tsked twice and emerged from the shadows.

“Little Zhichuan.” Sect Leader Yan Jizhi looked up at her.

“This disciple knows her mistake,” Yan Zhichuan quickly bowed her head, spouting nonsense. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I was just looking for Master and couldn’t hold back when I heard the dog barking.”

Liu Kongsang’s gaze shifted, landing on Yan Zhichuan.

She’d never known Yan Jizhi had a direct disciple.

And merely… Foundation Establishment Second Layer.

Utterly ordinary.

Liu Yanqing looked up at Yan Zhichuan, grinding her teeth with a savage glare.

She hated Zhan Yujie, but loathed Yan Zhichuan even more for the humiliation with Zhu Feng. She wanted to tear her apart.

Yan Zhichuan scurried to Yan Jizhi’s side, playing the obedient good child.

Zhong Zhanxi had no patience for bantering with Liu Kongsang. “Annul the engagement, return everything swallowed over these years, and post a public announcement in the Heaven-Penetrating Treasure Mirror.”

Liu Kongsang’s face changed, her words squeezing through gritted teeth. “It’s just a lovers’ spat between juniors. Posting it publicly harms Chongxu Sect’s and Nine Abyss Sect’s reputations, doesn’t it?”

Liu Yanqing might be hunted down, but wouldn’t Zhan Yujie face gossip too?

“Chongxu Sect will compensate Nine Abyss Sect’s losses. We can settle private matters privately. What does Sect Leader Yan think?”

Yan Zhichuan interjected righteously. “My senior sister is pure and upright—she walks straight and sits proper. Nothing shameful here. How could it damage Nine Abyss Sect’s reputation? If anyone points fingers, that’s their problem, not ours.”

Zhong Zhanxi nodded. “Exactly.”

Interrupted by a junior, Liu Kongsang lost face, convinced Nine Abyss Sect was out to humiliate them. But the fault lay with them, so she couldn’t throw her weight around here. After a silence, she said, “Yanqing is unworthy, but my sect has others—”

“Stop.” Zhong Zhanxi cut her off. She could hardly stomach Chongxu Sect folk now; her tone reeked of gunpowder. “Keep your sect’s people for yourselves.”

Zhan Yujie stepped in to smooth things over, neither humble nor arrogant. “Yujie devotes her heart to the Great Dao and has no interest in romance.”

Liu Yanqing, still kneeling, tsked.

Yan Zhichuan’s eyes lit up with delight and excitement. She asked, “Is the mission complete?”

Her senior sister said herself she has no interest in romance—doesn’t that mean the emotional wound is gone?