Kang Heng had just returned from visiting his third junior sister at the Cliff of Reflection.
His third junior sister possessed a top-grade wood spirit root and was exceptionally gifted, her heart set entirely on the Dao.
By the age of fifty, she had already cultivated to the peak Foundation Establishment stage, making her one of the fastest-cultivating cultivators in Taiyi Peak and even the entire Star-Moon Sect.
There was a high chance she would form her core before the age of sixty, claiming the title of the youngest person in the Star-Moon Sect to reach the Golden Core stage.
Yet, due to a ridiculous crime, she had been confined to a place with such thin spirit energy as the Cliff of Reflection for two hundred years.
She was forbidden from leaving the sect for training, unable to communicate with others, and forced to endure the razor-sharp winds that swept through the Cliff of Reflection every seven days.
Thinking of the bloody gashes the wind blades left on his third junior sister's body, Kang Heng’s hatred for Gu Lianxue—the cause of it all—intensified.
Now that the culprit had approached his cave dwelling, Kang Heng had to rely on immense willpower, mindful of his master's instructions, to keep himself from swatting her away with a flick of his sleeve.
His face was like a thundercloud. He only hoped she would be sensible enough to see he didn't welcome her and get lost immediately.
Gu Lianxue had never imagined that such a thing as being permanently rejected by a Spirit-Attuning Jade Token could happen. She felt as though she had offended someone she couldn't afford to provoke, and her mind was in a total mess.
In normal times, she might have noticed, but in her current state, she was completely oblivious to Kang Heng’s impatience.
Seeing that Kang Heng didn't respond at first, she asked again.
Kang Heng wanted to get rid of her quickly, so he forced himself to listen for a moment.
He didn't understand.
“What are you saying? What permanent rejection?”
What kind of nonsense was she up to now?
“It’s... could such a situation occur?”
Gu Lianxue swallowed hard. “That a Spirit-Attuning Jade Token permanently rejects a cultivator's aura, making it so that cultivator can never use a Spirit-Attuning Jade Token again.”
What was she talking about? Had she lost her mind again?
“I have never heard of such a thing.
The reputation of the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect is guaranteed throughout the cultivation world.
Their Spirit-Attuning Jade Tokens would never deliberately target a specific cultivator.”
Kang Heng’s tone was very stern. “I don't care what crooked thoughts you have, but I advise you not to try anything with the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect.
Otherwise, even if Master himself stepped in, he wouldn't be able to protect you.”
No matter how foolish Gu Lianxue was, she had heard of the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect's great name for years.
Even if she were given ten times the courage, she wouldn't dare offend them.
“First Senior Brother, you misunderstand. I have no such intention.”
As she spoke, the corners of her eyes turned a faint red.
If he had just met Gu Lianxue, Kang Heng might have softened under such a gaze.
After all, she was just a child; there was no need to use such harsh words to scare her.
But now that so many things had happened at Taiyi Peak, Kang Heng had long since seen through this junior sister's true nature. Naturally, he wouldn't care about her feelings.
“It’s for the best.”
He coldly dropped those words and prepared to return to his cave dwelling.
Gu Lianxue quickly grabbed his sleeve. “First Senior Brother!”
An icy, piercing gaze fixed on her hand. Gu Lianxue shuddered and let go.
Her voice grew much quieter. “First Senior Brother, if... I’m saying if such a situation occurred, what would be the reason?”
“There is no ‘if.’ Do not tarnish Xiaoyao's name and affect the peace between our two sects.”
“I mean just in case. What if?”
Kang Heng was already extremely impatient.
“If there truly were a ‘what if,’ then that cultivator must have violated a taboo or plotted against someone they shouldn't have.”
Gu Lianxue’s face turned deathly pale, and she took a dazed step back.
She had only slandered Gu Ningyun a bit to try and force her out.
How could she have plotted against someone she shouldn't have?
Unless...
Gu Lianxue shook her head in despair. No, impossible. Absolutely impossible.
Kang Heng had intended to return directly to his cave, but seeing her reaction, his footsteps paused.
He observed her reactions and movements suspiciously for a while, his brow furrowing.
Back inside his cave dwelling, Kang Heng toyed with his Spirit-Attuning Jade Token for a long time before finally putting it down.
He pulled out a transmission talisman. “Martial nephew, help me find out if anything happened in the last two days regarding the Spirit-Attuning Jade Tokens.”
Gu Lianxue returned to her cave dwelling in a daze, tossing and turning.
After lying down for a while, she quickly packed her things, putting useful items into a storage sachet that could be opened without spirit energy.
Her master had specifically found this for her.
Although the storage sachet's space was only a tenth the size of a storage bag, it was better than having no storage space at all.
After packing her bags, she followed the tail end of the sunset and rushed back to the Gu Manor overnight.
Upon seeing Madam Gu, Gu Lianxue finally found her support and began to cry as she told her mother everything.
By the time she finished her sobbing explanation, Madam Gu’s expression had shifted from relaxed to grave, and finally to a darkness so deep it looked like it could drip.
Sensing her mother's mood, Gu Lianxue didn't dare cry anymore.
The air was terrifyingly quiet.
Unable to bear the silence, Gu Lianxue tremulously broke it. “Mother, could Gu Ningyun... be a disciple of Xiaoyao?”
Madam Gu shook her head.
Gu Lianxue’s expression brightened slightly, like a drowning person catching a piece of driftwood.
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”
The driftwood vanished; it turned out she had only caught a flimsy weed.
Her mother's words were exceptionally clear in the dark night. “The Spirit-Attuning Jade Tokens have existed for tens of thousands of years, and I have never heard of such a thing happening before.
Even when people were dissatisfied with Xiaoyao and openly posted negative comments on the World Forum or insulted Xiaoyao’s progeny disciples, Xiaoyao never did anything to the Spirit-Attuning Jade Tokens.
Most of the time, the disciples under Xiaoyao’s banner handled it in a cultivator’s way.
For example, by arguing with the person who sent the message, or by challenging them to a duel.
For such a situation to occur this time, there is only one possibility.”
Gu Lianxue felt her heart leap into her throat. “What possibility?”
“The Xiaoyao Chamber of Commerce has said that all Spirit-Attuning Jade Tokens are refined and issued by Xiaoyao’s Spirit-Attuning Peak.
I suspect Gu Ningyun is a progeny disciple of Spirit-Attuning Peak.
Only this can explain why you were permanently banned from the Spirit-Attuning Jade Token as soon as you posted the slanderous message about her on the World Forum.”
Slandering a progeny disciple of Spirit-Attuning Peak while using a Spirit-Attuning Jade Token refined by that very peak.
Spirit-Attuning Peak was no pushover; naturally, they wouldn't let it slide.
All logic pointed toward this guess—the one she was most unwilling to accept, the one she didn't dare think of. Gu Lianxue felt her vision go dark; it was as if her world were collapsing.
If Gu Ningyun had such a status, how could she ever catch her?
Did this mean her spirit root would never have the chance to be compatible with her body?
She was clearly a disciple of a cultivation family and a progeny disciple of Taiyi Peak in the Star-Moon Sect.
Yet she had to live like a mortal, in a daze, until her lifespan ran out a hundred years later and she returned to the dust?
Why?
She wasn't willing.
She could have been the little junior sister most favored by her master and most cared for by her two senior brothers at Taiyi Peak—a genius with a single spirit root!
It was all Gu Ningyun’s fault.
Why did she run away?
She actually dared to run away!
In a place Gu Lianxue didn't realize, a sliver of grey qi flashed deep within her pupils.
Madam Gu’s expression was also very poor.
Seeing her daughter’s heartbroken state, the pain in her heart grew. She pulled her into a hug and stroked her back to comfort her.
“Gu Ningyun is no longer someone our Gu family of Yanlin Town can afford to offend.
Right now, the best course of action is to send a message to that senior and tell him everything.”
Madam Gu had already made up her mind.
Based on the faint pressure he exuded, Madam Gu was certain that the old Daoist's cultivation was definitely not simple.
As long as that old Daoist was willing to step in and solve the issue of Xue'er’s spirit root mismatch.
No matter how high the price, she was willing to pay it.
That senior? A glimmer of hope rose in Gu Lianxue’s heart, accompanied by an unavoidable worry.
“Didn't he say he would only help if we caught Gu Ningyun and brought her to him?
Now we haven't even touched the hem of Gu Ningyun’s clothes. Will he pay us any attention?”
“Though we haven't caught her, we have crucial news.
Regardless, we must try.”
...
On the second night after the ten-thousand-mile transmission talisman was sent from the Gu family of Yanlin Town.
A cultivator wearing a mask and wrapped in a black robe from head to toe suddenly appeared in the Gu family's secret chamber.
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