Her thoughts drifted everywhere. After a long while, Wu Chongyun finally asked, “Where is your home?”
Wei Mingyi paused for a moment, then said, “Gone.” Even in her previous life, she had already been living alone.
Wu Chongyun said, “My apologies.”
The dejected emotion only stayed on Wei Mingyi’s face for a brief moment before she raised a smile. “Chongyuan Sect is my home.”
Wu Chongyun seemed somewhat lost. “Is it home?”
“That’s right,” Wei Mingyi picked up the thread, and with lofty ambition, added, “The entire Nine Provinces is home. But there are some unpleasant guests in the house. We need to clear them out first.”
From Chongyuan Sect suddenly leaping to the entire Nine Provinces, Wu Chongyun nearly failed to keep up with Wei Mingyi’s jump in topic. The accumulated negative emotions dissipated under the impact of Wei Mingyi’s grand dream—a tiny Meridian Opening cultivator actually wanted to become the lord of the Nine Provinces. After hesitating for a moment, Wu Chongyun still didn’t pour cold water on her enthusiasm. She nodded and said, “Alright.”
Wei Mingyi tilted her head up slightly. “I know Shizun doesn’t believe me, but it doesn’t matter. One day, I will make the whole world sit up and take notice!”
Wu Chongyun: “…” After a pause, she said, “You have a heavenly mandate.”
She believed the results Su Xuanjing had divined.
Chongyuan Sect’s Mountain Protection Array, the Meridian Opening Pool, the Revival Furnace, Yangchun Terrace and the Fire Element Dwelling in the Wild Domain… No one had carefully inquired about the origins of these things, leaving only vague words to outsiders, pulling in Grotto-Heaven as much as possible to explain them away.
But Wu Chongyun knew in her heart that this was Wei Mingyi’s secret.
If this secret were to be discovered by the people of the aristocratic families—
The sudden thought made Wu Chongyun’s heart shudder with horror, and her expression grew serious and grim.
Wei Mingyi couldn’t see Wu Chongyun’s face. She continued blabbering on her own, “I have a heavenly mandate, so, Shizun, you must believe me. I will find a way to cure you.”
Wu Chongyun didn’t respond.
A notion suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Wei Mingyi lacked a Dao Protector.
Dusk. Twilight colors merged from all directions; the misty haze of nightfall spread.
Grasses and trees swayed in the wind, bringing a pressing chill.
Wei Mingyi had practically dragged Wu Chongyun around Cangwu City for most of the day. Now, facing the twilight, they left the inner city. She had thought the return journey would be peaceful too, but unexpectedly, not long after leaving Cangwu City’s inner area, an angry shout full of fury rang out! Wei Mingyi’s expression turned solemn. Her cultivation was too low; she shouldn’t go towards the commotion. She immediately turned the wheelchair in the opposite direction.
Yet trouble was just that coincidental. Two streaks of swift light suddenly shot out. In the space of a few breaths, a bruised and battered Daoist fell out from the spiritual light, face-planting onto the ground. The other cluster of spiritual light stopped immediately after. A young Daoist leaped out and fiercely kicked the kneeling person, roaring in fury, “You actually dared to use fake medicine to fool me!”
The seller of fake medicine knew he was no match for the Daoist, but he was unwilling to suffer such punishment. His eyes darted around, and he just happened to see Wei Mingyi and Wu Chongyun. Without hesitation, he flailed wildly and implicated them: “This Poor Daoist has no grudge against you, Fellow Daoist! Why would I sell fake medicine? I was acting on someone’s orders! Fellow Daoist, it was both of them!”
Wei Mingyi: “?” Was he talking about them? She utterly despised such people who, finding no way out, bit at anyone they saw. Anger surged, and she channeled her magical power, slapping towards the seller of fake medicine.
The seller was at Foundation Establishment First Layer. He had spoken that way precisely because he saw Wei Mingyi hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment. He never imagined that the Dao Seal crashing down from a Meridian Opening cultivator would be even more terrifying than a Foundation Establishment attack. His protective astral qi had already been scattered earlier. Now, with no defense for his body, his muscles and bones were directly snapped by the Dao Seal. He violently coughed up a mouthful of blood. But as a Foundation Establishment Daoist, he still had breath left and wouldn’t die so easily.
“Bullshit!” Wei Mingyi cursed at the man.
The Daoist chasing the medicine seller also reacted at this moment. She viciously stomped down once more, crushing him so he couldn’t even speak. The Daoist cupped her hands towards Wei Mingyi in a formal salute, first expressing thanks, then apologizing. Her expression was anxious. After dealing with the Daoist, she had no intention of staying long.
Wei Mingyi’s eyes flickered. She asked, “Is Fellow Daoist looking to buy pills?”
The Daoist, who had originally planned to leave, immediately perked up upon hearing Wei Mingyi’s question. However, she didn’t rashly answer. She scrutinized Wei Mingyi carefully first, and only when she saw no family crest on her did she say, “Exactly. Does Fellow Daoist know if there’s a reliable alchemist in Cangwu City?” With the Heavenly Dao Alliance’s forces withdrawn from this dead zone and no Alchemical Cauldron Pavilion, Daoists conducting private business had become active. The problem was, being unfamiliar with the area, it was easy to be deceived.
Wei Mingyi blinked. The Alchemical Cauldron Pavilion might have withdrawn, but their Chongyuan Sect’s own medicine hall had moved in. Curious, she asked, “Why doesn’t Fellow Daoist go buy from the Chongyuan Medicine Hall?”
The Daoist’s face flushed slightly. She hesitated for a moment before saying, “Are there any private deals? Those shops are too expensive.” In her understanding, any shop, no matter which clan it belonged to, would hang up the Heavenly Dao Alliance’s emblem. And items from the Heavenly Dao Alliance… were, to her, exorbitantly priced. She knew there was a Chongyuan Sect medicine hall in the city, but she had never considered going there. Besides, she and her teacher had previously come to pay respects at their mountain, but Chongyuan Sect had been silent and completely unresponsive.
“Fellow Daoist, you’re mistaken. In Cangwu City, private transactions are actually more expensive, and they come with no guarantee,” Wei Mingyi said without reservation. She didn’t actually know if the black market was more expensive, but the lack of guarantee was certainly true. Their Chongyuan Sect did legitimate business; the pills were all top-quality goods. Wei Mingyi could boast about them without feeling any embarrassment.
The Daoist glanced at Wei Mingyi, half-believing and half-doubting. “Really?”
“If Fellow Daoist doesn’t believe it, you can go and ask for the price,” Wei Mingyi said calmly. “Asking the price won’t cost you any money.”
The Daoist looked at Wei Mingyi and muttered, “That’s not necessarily true.” Take the Heavenly Dao Alliance—even information came with a price. Regardless, the other party had good intentions. The Daoist thought to herself and cupped her hands in thanks. As she was leaving, she turned back and glanced a bit more at Wei Mingyi and the other woman. Both Fellow Daoists had an outstanding bearing. They probably wouldn’t deceive her, right? The person in the wheelchair had the scent of medicine on her. She didn’t know their relationship, but she figured they were very familiar with pills and medicine.
The Daoist didn’t introduce her origins, and Wei Mingyi didn’t mind either, considering it just a minor interlude. Whatever their background wasn’t important; as long as they didn’t cause trouble for them, they weren’t enemies for the time being.
But three days later, Wei Mingyi saw this Daoist again.
This time, the Daoist hadn’t come alone. Accompanying her was a middle-aged Daoist with a pale face.
These two had come both to seek medicine and to pay respects at the mountain.
The middle-aged Daoist had a gentle expression. She introduced herself as Qi Wugua of the Spirit Heart Sect from Spirit Mountain, and the younger one was her apprentice, named Ying Shen’gao.
Not from an aristocratic family, but from the master-disciple lineage. As for Spirit Mountain… that meant the two originally lived within the Wu Clan’s sphere of influence. They had now traveled from Spirit Mountain to the Cloud Realm, crossing mountains and rivers, for reasons unknown.
They didn’t bring up the initial incident, and Chongyuan Sect didn’t feel it appropriate to probe. As for their reason for coming to Chongyuan Sect today, they explained everything in detail. A few days ago, Ying Shen’gao, following Wei Mingyi’s advice, went to the medicine hall in Cangwu City. Upon asking, she found out Wei Mingyi truly hadn’t deceived her. She bought some pills and went back. But she still needed a Greater Restoration Pill, which the medicine hall didn’t have. After making some inquiries, she learned she would have to come to Chongyuan Sect. Ying Shen’gao discussed it with her Esteemed Teacher, Qi Wugua. Once Qi Wugua was able to walk, they came to pay respects at the mountain and seek medicine.
At the end, Ying Shen’gao spoke rapidly, “Last year, my teacher and I came, but Chongyuan Sect didn’t respond.”
Su Xuanjing inquired carefully about the timing and found that when they had come, the entire Chongyuan Sect and Hidden Moon Sect group was at Yangchun Terrace. Their sect had very few people, and with nothing major going on, they tended to move together. Pondering Ying Shen’gao’s tone, she detected a hint of sullenness, probably thinking Chongyuan Sect had snubbed them. Su Xuanjing immediately smiled warmly and said, “Our sect has few members. At that time, we were all outside training. No one was in the sect.”
Qi Wugua suddenly understood. “So that’s how it was.” She glanced at Ying Shen’gao, who was pursing her lips, and added, “My apologies for our discourtesy.”
“No matter,” Su Xuanjing replied with a gentle smile. “The Greater Restoration Pill is something my junior sister can refine, but we need to prepare some medicinal ingredients first.” She looked at Qi Wugua. “Fellow Daoist’s injuries—”
Qi Wugua said calmly, “Caused by the aristocratic families.”
Ying Shen’gao, seeing that the medicine her teacher needed had prospects, quietly sighed in relief. Immediately after, a surge of anger rose to her face. Gritting her teeth, she said, “Those people from the Langya Wang Clan were utterly unreasonable.”
Su Xuanjing narrowed her eyes. In the past, the Wang and Lu clans had mutually wounded each other. Later, under the Feng clan’s direction, a new Wang Clan had been forcibly pieced together. Their members no longer cultivated the old Wang family’s Dao of calligraphy and painting. Coupled with the fact that the Azure Dye Sand had long since been destroyed, they had no dealings with Cangwu City. At least for now, things seemed peaceful between them and Chongyuan Sect. But in the future, both the Wang Clan and the Zheng Clan were targets Chongyuan Sect would have to deal with.
Su Xuanjing asked, without showing any emotion, “Do you Fellow Daoists have a grudge with the Wang Clan?”
Qi Wugua had come after also inquiring about matters related to Chongyuan Sect, knowing those of the master-disciple lineage wouldn’t truly mix with the aristocratic families. She sighed, “My apprentice was spotted by someone from the Wang Clan. The other party insisted on taking her as an adopted daughter. We refused, and the Wang Clan members directly attacked.” She had promised her Senior Sister, the Sect Leader, that she would ensure Spirit Heart Sect’s continuation, and Ying Shen’gao was her only hope. Her own talent had reached its limit at Golden Core, unable to advance further. But her apprentice had opened thirty-three Qi meridians and had the potential to reach Nascent Soul and carry forward the Spirit Heart Sect.
“Isn’t this just outright kidnapping?” Wei Mingyi, who had been listening quietly, suddenly frowned. As expected, the aristocratic families were all the same.
Ying Shen’gao nodded forcefully, hating the group that had injured her teacher to the bone.
Qi Wugua wasn’t as outwardly emotional as Ying Shen’gao. She covered her mouth and coughed lightly. “We’ve already thrown off the Wang Clan’s people. They don’t know our whereabouts.”
Wu Chongyun nodded and asked again, “What plans do you Fellow Daoists have next?”
Qi Wugua thought for a moment and said frankly, “We came here because we heard Cangwu City had been abandoned by the Heavenly Dao Alliance. We wanted to open a mountain gate and rebuild our sect. But when we selected a location, we discovered that Cangwu City already has a master. Fellow Daoists, do you know who controls this piece of land?”
Su Xuanjing’s smile deepened upon hearing this.
Wei Mingyi’s eyes lit up.
A customer for buying land!
Could they become affiliated with Chongyuan Sect like Hidden Moon Sect? If they were willing, she would have new Talent Points coming in!
