Chapter 42

Yan Zhichuan was dragged out by Zhan Yujie.

With her mouth covered, Yan Zhichuan fiercely defended her right to speak, glaring furiously at Zhan Yujie while flailing her arms and legs wildly.

The Daoists in the temple heard the commotion and smiled amiably at them. “Come back anytime, fellow Daoists.”

Matters of taking a master were not to be rushed. Plenty of people came to scout things out first. After a turn around Yingzhou Island, they would surely be convinced and bring their clan’s younger generation to join the Dao.

“Why wouldn’t you let me speak?” Once Zhan Yujie released her, Yan Zhichuan gazed at her resentfully, her lips already twitching as she started chattering away.

Zhan Yujie had no answer. She had simply instinctively recoiled from hearing Yan Zhichuan’s “brilliant ideas.” She withdrew her hand into her sleeve and shifted the topic nonchalantly. “So, what does Junior Sister suggest?”

“How about I disguise myself as a child wanting to join the Dao?” Yan Zhichuan looked at Zhan Yujie with eager expectation, itching to give it a try.

Zhan Yujie eyed her sideways. “Pretending to be a seven- or eight-year-old child… you’d still come off too mature-looking.”

“Mm.” Yan Zhichuan thought for a moment, then said, “I know a formula for the Bone-Shrinking Youth Pill. As long as I refine a Dao Pill with it, no ordinary person would spot the flaw. It’s just—”

“Just what?” Zhan Yujie asked noncommittally.

“It’s just that I’d have to start learning from scratch.” Seeing Zhan Yujie frown, Yan Zhichuan raised her hand to gesture a timeframe and promised, “Three days. Three days will be enough!”

Zhan Yujie pondered for a moment. To find out what was really happening, infiltrating the Heavenly Venerable Temple was the easiest way. Dao arts could alter one’s appearance, but a higher-cultivation Daoist might see through it. If Yan Zhichuan could truly refine the Bone-Shrinking Pill, it just might work.

Dusk settled in, and the sky grew dark.

The evening breeze rustled the leaves and branches across the wilds.

In the Heavenly Venerable Temple, red lanterns flickered to life one by one, like stars fallen from the heavens.

By the time darkness fully cloaked the sky, the entire temple resembled a shadowy ghost city, sending chills through the heart.

“Are we roughing it outdoors?” Yan Zhichuan tugged at Zhan Yujie and asked. The town had inns, but tales from storybooks about getting trapped after dealing with shady places made her uneasy. She dreaded some hideous ghost leaping out in the night. But to sleep under the stars… Yan Zhichuan would rather live a bit more comfortably.

“No need.” Zhan Yujie summoned her Cloud Boat with a wave of her hand.

Yan Zhichuan let out an “Oh,” delightedly boarding the Cloud Boat. It had only been a day apart, but she had missed it terribly.

She wandered around inside the boat for a bit, then urged Zhan Yujie to hover it over the sea—she wanted to go fishing.

Zhan Yujie gazed at her in confusion. “Aren’t you supposed to learn the Bone-Shrinking Pill formula?” Was she being tricked?

Yan Zhichuan’s face stiffened, her smile turning awkward.

Truth be told, three days weren’t necessary. Even if she wanted to study nonstop for three days and nights, she couldn’t—the Silent Land had time limits. Thanks to her tireless efforts, she could barely squeeze in half a day there.

Study for half a day, refine pills for half a day, then lounge for two days. Perfectly reasonable, right?

Yan Zhichuan huffed a little and sat down to meditate, entering the Silent Land to study.

Zhan Yujie ignored her and took out the Heaven-Penetrating Treasure Mirror to report the day’s events to the sect.

There was also a message from Zhao Pingchuan in the mirror.

Zhan Yujie glanced down at it. It read: “There’s a flower on Yingzhou Island that’s good for Yulu. If you have time, come to Yingzhou.”

Zhan Yujie’s eyes darkened. She recalled the nightmare that had haunted her for years, thinking back to Zhao Pingchuan and her daughter Zhao Yulu whom she’d seen that day… A thorn seemed to prick her heart. Her lips curved in a fleeting sneer before she reverted to her usual cold austerity. With a thought, she sent a simple “Okay.”

These years, she’d roamed far and wide, taking on the sect’s demon-slaying missions and hunting medicine for Zhao Yulu.

Zhao Pingchuan called her a heartless immortal perched high above the clouds. Zhao Yulu envied how she could soar through the skies and overturn mountains with a gesture.

But sometimes, Zhan Yujie envied the mortal world’s warmth and ordinary joys.

Zhao Pingchuan was a good mother—but not to her.

After nightfall, Yan Zhichuan, who had meditated for less than half an hour, fell fast asleep.

The Heavenly Dao System hopped around on its wings, its beady black eyes full of exasperated disappointment.

When Zhan Yujie entered the cabin, she gave a speechless look to Yan Zhichuan, who had dozed off while sitting up, then carried her to the bed.

As she withdrew, Zhan Yujie glanced at Little Fat Chirp.

This wasn’t a true spirit pet, but some peculiar spirit entity? It had been following Yan Zhichuan all along? What was their connection?

Little Fat Chirp nearly bristled under her gaze.

It obediently wrapped itself up with its wings and lay down peacefully beside Yan Zhichuan.

Zhan Yujie: “…”

She let out a soft scoff.

Like owner, like pet.

The next day.

Yan Zhichuan slept until late morning.

She couldn’t find Zhan Yujie in the boat and only spotted her note after opening the Heaven-Penetrating Treasure Mirror.

“She’s gone off fooling around behind my back!” Yan Zhichuan grumbled indignantly, running a hand through her long hair as if to rise.

“She’s scouting Yingzhou Island,” the Heavenly Dao System couldn’t help correcting.

Yan Zhichuan yelped, “Oh dear, I’m just worried about her.” Her memory was sharp—Zhao Pingchuan and her daughter were on Yingzhou Island too. What if Zhan Yujie got tricked into digging up Sword Bones? Those were her Sword Bones!

The Heavenly Dao System thought darkly, If even Zhan Yujie can’t be trusted, who can? This Demon Seed? It nearly laughed, then shot Yan Zhichuan a gloomy look and prodded, “Refine pills.”

Yan Zhichuan: “Oh.”

Her own words, her own idea—she’d see it through even if it killed her.

Yan Zhichuan dove back into the Silent Land to study pill refining. The place had everything; botching a batch didn’t matter. She practiced over and over until her success rate hit 100%, then suddenly remembered something.

The Silent Land had the herbs for Bone-Shrinking Pills, but she couldn’t take the finished pills out.

Where would she get the spirit plants?

“Senior Sister’s out there—ask her to bring some back?” Yan Zhichuan’s eyes lit up.

The Heavenly Dao System offered a wicked suggestion coolly: “What if Zhan Yujie trades with islanders and ends up trapped?”

Yan Zhichuan paled. “With Senior Sister’s skills, she could cut those ties, right?” Even as she said it, worry gnawed at her. After agonizing, she decided to labor on, refining extra pills to trade the system for herbs.

The Heavenly Dao System watched her with an indescribable expression.

Scared witless by some made-up ghost story? And she’s supposed to be the daughter of Heaven’s Dao?

But for the Dao Pills, it swallowed its words.

Once Yan Zhichuan refined a batch of Dragon Blood Pills, the Heavenly Dao System waited for her to swap herbs—only for her to pop one in her mouth, turning frustration into appetite.

Heavenly Dao System: “?”

Yan Zhichuan refined pills but ate most of them herself, saving scraps. When her mana ran dry, she still hadn’t traded enough spirit plants.

When Zhan Yujie returned, she found Yan Zhichuan slumped miserably on the bed, looking utterly drained.

“Did Senior Sister discover anything?” Yan Zhichuan turned to ask.

Zhan Yujie said, “Ran into some acquaintances.”

Yan Zhichuan was surprised. “Who?”

Zhan Yujie didn’t hide it. “From Heavenly Balance Mansion and Cihang Studio. They must have gotten word from the sect too and come to investigate.”

Yan Zhichuan nodded.

Cultivators from major Xuanmen sects would indeed show up. After all, in Zhan Yujie’s fate, they were witnesses to her “matricide.”

They’d only seen the moment she accidentally killed someone. As for the truth—who cared about the hardships of a notorious figure? Even if Nine Abyss Sect backed her, she’d be a great demon everyone wanted dead.

“Junior Sister, what’s wrong with you?” Zhan Yujie asked.

Yan Zhichuan flipped over with difficulty, looking pitiful. “Pill refining.”

Zhan Yujie raised a brow. “Success?” Faster than promised.

“No.” Yan Zhichuan shook her head, her resentful gaze landing on Zhan Yujie as she sighed dramatically. “You only ask about the pills, not the person. Am I that unworthy of Senior Sister’s care?”

Zhan Yujie: “…”

She ignored her.

But after one step, she turned back, sat on the bed’s edge, and asked, “So how are you?”

Yan Zhichuan curved her lips in a smile, demurely saying, “Offering my humble efforts for Xuanmen is my honor.” Then she stared intently at Zhan Yujie, waiting expectantly for praise.

Zhan Yujie was speechless.

Yan Zhichuan didn’t mind and kept chattering to the silent Zhan Yujie. Soon, she was full of vigor again.

“What pills did you refine?” Zhan Yujie hadn’t planned to pry, but seeing Yan Zhichuan stuff the results into her mouth made her eyelids twitch violently.

“Forget-Sorrow Pills, Spirit-Concentrating Pills, Dragon Blood Pills, and… Clear Heart Subdue Demon Pills.” With that, Yan Zhichuan tossed a Clear Heart Subdue Demon Pill to Zhan Yujie. Her days toiling on Medicine Peak had paid off—the herb farmers’ research on Subdue Demon Spirit Grass had borne fruit.

Forget those Clear Heart Pills; she had no use for them now.

“You just eat them like that?” Zhan Yujie asked, stunned.

Yan Zhichuan blinked at her in confusion.

What was the problem? She’d always eaten them this way.

After puzzling it out, Yan Zhichuan decided Zhan Yujie was disgusted by her. She pouted unhappily. “Fine, I won’t eat them then.”

Zhan Yujie: “…” Could those pills be treated like candy?

With Zhan Yujie there as a “supervisor,” Yan Zhichuan slightly improved her refining efficiency.

The pills she didn’t eat all went to the Heavenly Dao System.

Nine pills total, but since the task wasn’t complete, they only counted as “one.” Yan Zhichuan counted on her fingers, her heart bleeding from the loss.

She cursed the Heavenly Dao System roundly—and shot Zhan Yujie a few cold glares too.

Zhan Yujie was baffled.

Who had offended her?

“Will Senior Sister remember my kindness?” After exhausting her mana yet again, Yan Zhichuan didn’t flop down. Instead, she pulled out Dan Sand she’d prepared to trade for storybooks and cultivation.

Zhan Yujie: “…”

Yan Zhichuan’s gaze turned profound. “Don’t forget to repay me.”

Zhan Yujie played along. “And how should I repay you?”

Yan Zhichuan tilted her head at her and smiled. “Senior Sister staying on the righteous path would be the best reward for me.”

Hurry up and finish the task!

Zhan Yujie: “……Okay.”

While Yan Zhichuan cultivated, Zhan Yujie set aside her own practice for once.

She found Wu Jiang’s imprint and asked gravely, “Is there any saving Junior Sister Yan’s mental affliction?”

“She seems oddly convinced I’ll meet disaster—or even fall to the demonic path,” Zhan Yujie added.

She’d deduced this from Yan Zhichuan’s pitying looks and bizarre remarks.

She wasn’t some benevolent bodhisattva, but compared to Yan Zhichuan’s flashes of dirty tricks, she already seemed like a good person.

Wu Jiang: “No cure. Just wait for her to die. Why do you care so much?”

Zhan Yujie lowered her head. “We’re fellow sect members.”

Wu Jiang: “Never seen you care about me like that.”

Zhan Yujie rubbed her brow and exhaled wearily, replying coldly: “You don’t need it.”