Madam Gu was struck with terror. After nine years, the old Daoist’s cultivation remained as unfathomable as ever.
This secret chamber was deep beneath the Gu Manor and was protected by an array left behind by the Gu family ancestors. Yet, she hadn't noticed at all how this old Daoist had appeared inside it.
She pulled Gu Lianxue down and hastily bowed. “Greetings, Senior.”
Their knees hit the ground with a muffled thud.
Gu Lianxue’s forehead touched the floor, her fingers gripping the ground tightly as she trembled with excitement.
The old Daoist had come in person. Could it be that he approved of the message they sent and was going to step in to solve her spirit root issue?
Thinking that she would be able to cultivate once her spirit root was compatible with her body, Gu Lianxue’s breathing quickened. The disciples at Taiyi Peak who were dissatisfied with her wouldn't just stop talking; they would be consumed by envy over her talent and status.
There were also her First and Second Senior Brothers.
That dullard of a Third Senior Sister only knew how to cultivate. What right did she have to talk and laugh with their senior brothers?
Back when she couldn't cultivate, Gu Lianxue had managed to get that woman sent to the Cliff of Reflection. Once she could cultivate herself, she didn't believe for a second that her two senior brothers would still remember that Third Senior Sister.
Why did everyone at Taiyi Peak place such high hopes on that dullard, believing she could become the youngest Golden Core stage cultivator in the Star-Moon Sect?
The Third Senior Sister had a high-grade wood spirit root, while she had a high-grade water spirit root. How was she any worse than that dullard?
Gu Lianxue gritted her teeth. If that wench Gu Ningyun hadn't run away, she would have a top-grade wind spirit root and be the most talented disciple in Taiyi Peak—even the entire Star-Moon Sect.
What a waste!
The pressure from a high-level cultivator weighed down on her spine. Gu Lianxue couldn't help but hunch her back and lie prostrate on the ground.
Her master, the Peak Master of Taiyi Peak, was at the late Soul Emergence stage. Yet, the pressure this old Daoist exerted was far greater than what her master ever had.
If someone like this was willing to act, perhaps he really could catch Gu Ningyun...
The air was terrifyingly still. Gu Lianxue’s eyes were bloodshot, and she couldn't help but speak with a trembling voice. “Senior, have you come to personally...”
“Presumptuous!”
Madam Gu quickly covered Gu Lianxue’s mouth. “My daughter is young and spoke without thinking, offending you, Senior. Please, Senior, be the bigger person and forgive her this once.”
A low, raspy voice carrying overwhelming fury pressed down. Gu Lianxue’s blood surged from the shock, and her pupils shrank to the size of grains of sand from extreme fear.
She didn't dare say another word. The excited thoughts that had been swirling in her mind vanished instantly, leaving her head as empty as if it had been washed clean.
She was quiet, but the black-robed Daoist was not.
It was as if his rage had reached its limit, a suppressed fury of ten thousand years finally finding an outlet to vent.
“Useless! Truly useless! You couldn't even keep watch over a six-year-old child!”
If they had kept watch over her back then, Gu Ningyun wouldn't even exist in the cultivation world today.
Now they wanted him to act? It was too late. Everything was too late.
He had a critically important matter at hand and could barely hide himself as it was; how could he possibly move against a progeny disciple of Xiaoyao?
The more the black-robed Daoist thought about it, the angrier he became. His spirit energy formed a claw, and he lifted Madam Gu by the neck.
“What did you promise when I handed her over to you? You raised her for six years and didn't even notice her disguise, letting her walk right out of the front gate of your Gu Manor!”
His fury was overwhelming, sweeping through the entire secret chamber.
The spirit energy in Madam Gu’s body was restricted. Her neck was squeezed until it slightly deformed, and her face turned a deep red, unable to utter a single word.
Gu Lianxue had been paralyzed on the ground, shrinking back and not knowing what to do.
She had been pampered by her mother since childhood, and at Taiyi Peak, she was the little disciple who received her master's unconditional favoritism.
She had never seen such a scene, nor had she ever faced such terror and evil directly.
Suddenly, a black wind swept past, and the only place that provided her warmth beside her was abruptly emptied.
From the corner of her tear-filled eyes, she saw her mother being lifted by the throat, her eyes bulging as blood leaked from her eyes and ears.
It felt as though a piece of her heart had been carved out. A sharp pain filled her chest.
Her scattered wits suddenly returned. Gu Lianxue, drawing on a sudden burst of courage, lunged forward and grabbed the hem of the black-robed man's robe.
“Senior, Senior! We can make up for our mistakes! Please spare my mother! I beg of you!”
Tears and snot flowed freely. Boundless pain and jealousy spread from her heart to her eyes, turning them a vivid red.
It was all Gu Ningyun’s fault.
Everything was Gu Ningyun’s fault!
Why did she have to run away? She caused her to lose her spirit root and caused her mother to suffer this torture!
As if sensing something, the old Daoist spared a glance at the person by his feet.
He paused.
He threw aside the bleeding waste in his hand and grabbed Gu Lianxue by the collar.
The black-mist-like mask suddenly leaned in, coming within an inch of her tear-stained face.
Two gazes pierced into her eyes like nails, as if trying to see through her entire being.
Gu Lianxue’s soul trembled. She struggled to suppress her fear and met the black-robed man's gaze.
Madam Gu slumped to the floor, clutching her throat and making wheezing sounds as she crawled toward the black-robed man. “Senior... please... spare my daughter...”
“Of course I can spare her.”
The black-robed man suddenly let go, and the pressure filling the secret chamber vanished completely.
Gu Lianxue fell to the floor. Ignoring her aching knees, she scrambled to Madam Gu’s side and fed her several Return-to-Spring Pills.
“Not only can I spare her, but I can also solve her spirit root problem.”
Madam Gu and Gu Lianxue both froze.
Madam Gu was confused.
The old Daoist had been in a towering rage just a moment ago, looking as if he were about to tear them apart. Why the sudden change in attitude?
Gu Lianxue, however, was ecstatic. The old Daoist must have seen her extraordinary talent and decided to train her.
The hope of realizing her years of obsession suddenly appeared. The fear and resentment she had felt toward the old Daoist vanished, replaced by a pounding heart.
The remnant array left over from the spirit root transplant was wiped away, and a new array began to glow brightly.
At the center of the array lay a newly excavated dantian, and at the bottom of that dantian was a crystal-clear high-grade water spirit root.
Faced with such a cruel sight, the three people in the secret chamber—the black-robed Daoist, Madam Gu, and Gu Lianxue—all remained unmoved and calm.
If one looked closely, they could even see excitement and anticipation in the eyes of Madam Gu and Gu Lianxue.
Gu Lianxue slowly closed her eyes and sat cross-legged in the array. The energy from the center flowed through the array and into her body in a continuous stream.
The high-grade water spirit root, which had previously been suspended and separated by a layer, slowly took root at the bottom of her dantian.
After an unknown amount of time, the dantian at the center of the array had withered, and the spirit root had vanished.
Gu Lianxue opened her eyes. A flash of grey qi, several times denser than before, flickered through them.
Madam Gu frowned in confusion and blinked.
When she looked again, she only saw her daughter's excited eyes.
“Mother, I can feel it! I can cultivate!”
Ignoring the slight unease in her heart, Madam Gu felt happy for her daughter as she finally saw her smile.
She pulled her daughter out of the array and knelt before the black-robed Daoist. “Thank you, Senior, for solving my daughter's spirit root problem.”
“There is still one lingering issue.”
Madam Gu and Gu Lianxue’s hearts skipped a beat. “What issue?”
“You were originally a low-grade five-element spirit roots cultivator.”
“Five messy spirit roots grew in your dantian. After they were excavated, they left behind five sets of marks.”
“Although three of those marks were filled by the pure high-grade water spirit root, the remaining two marks left by the spirit roots in your dantian will never disappear.”
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