The black-robed old Daoist produced a white jade pendant. “Bind it with your blood and hang it around your neck. Never take it off.
This jade pendant can hide the traces in your dantian. Unless you encounter an immortal, no cultivator will be able to see through it.”
Gu Lianxue hurriedly took it, performed the blood-binding on the spot, and hung the jade pendant around her neck.
Looking at her clear, bright eyes, the black-robed man smiled with satisfaction.
Just as Madam Gu and Gu Lianxue were about to kowtow once more in gratitude, a sharp pain suddenly pierced their seas of consciousness.
“I have placed a restriction on your seas of consciousness. You are not to reveal my existence in any way.”
The black-robed man waved his sleeve, and the array in the secret chamber, along with every trace related to him, vanished completely.
“If you have even the slightest thought of leaking this, or if you are subjected to soul-searching, your soul will be scattered and destroyed, leaving you with no chance of reincarnation.
Do you understand?”
A thick malice crept up their spines. Drenched in cold sweat, Madam Gu and Gu Lianxue hurriedly agreed.
The black-robed old Daoist snorted coldly and performed a hand seal to depart.
Gu Lianxue, drawing courage from somewhere unknown, asked, “Senior, what about Gu Ningyun?”
“The time has not yet come.”
Leaving behind those four words, the black-robed old Daoist vanished as abruptly as he had arrived.
Looking at the Gu family’s secret chamber, which now looked as if no outsider had ever entered, Madam Gu felt a sense of daze.
She faintly realized that the old Daoist had come this time specifically to erase the traces he had left in the Gu family and to place restrictions on their souls.
Judging by the old Daoist’s calm demeanor, her husband, who was away handling family business, must have also been placed under a restriction.
She just didn't know why he had suddenly changed his mind and agreed to solve Xue'er's spirit root problem.
He had even personally gone out to find and extract a matching high-grade water spirit root and dantian to serve as the array eye.
The more Madam Gu thought about it, the more confused she became.
Another question, one she had subconsciously ignored for years, surfaced in her mind.
Why had the black-robed old Daoist sought out their Gu family in Yanlin Town in the first place?
Nine years ago, when Xue'er was only a few months old, the old Daoist had come to their home carrying the infant Gu Ningyun in swaddling clothes.
“I have divined that your daughter possesses extraordinary comprehension, but unfortunately, she was born with low-grade five-element spirit roots. Such comprehension is being utterly wasted.”
The old Daoist had cursed her Xue'er the moment he spoke, so naturally, she and her husband were angry.
However, due to the old Daoist's cultivation level, they could only politely ask him to leave.
The old Daoist was not flustered at all. He immediately stated their ancestor’s honorific name and related experiences.
If the old Daoist had said anything else, they would have remained skeptical.
But the matters concerning their ancestor were recorded in the clan register and known only to the head of the Gu family.
After her husband nodded, confirming that everything the old Daoist said was correct, she had no choice but to believe him—and she even became anxious.
How could her brilliant daughter have low-grade five-element spirit roots?
That was the most useless talent; even the hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage was slim.
“There is still a sliver of hope.”
With the worst possible low-grade five-element spirit roots, what hope could there be?
“I have divined that this girl in my arms has a top-grade wind spirit root.
Raise her. Once your daughter turns six, you can swap their spirit roots.”
A spirit root transplant—what a cruel and evil method.
She had been horrified.
But looking at Xue'er's innocent sleeping face, she hardened her heart and eventually agreed.
The old Daoist then drew the array for the spirit root transplant in the secret chamber. He instructed them to place their daughter in the array eye every year, activate the array, and inject spirit energy to better adapt her for the transplant when she turned six.
She had been worried and asked the old Daoist why he was helping them.
“I simply wish to witness the birth of a genius.
After all, cultivators with excellent spirit roots can be found, but cultivators with exceptional comprehension are rare, are they not?”
With the old Daoist's cultivation being so high, what could he possibly want from the Gu family?
The thoughts of high-level cultivators were not something small figures like them could understand.
The reality of the low-grade five-element spirit roots made them desperate, and the temptation of the top-grade wind spirit root blinded them. She and her husband believed him.
But now that she had more contact with the old Daoist, doubt flooded her mind once again.
What was the old Daoist's true purpose in doing all this?
Once the old Daoist left, Gu Lianxue finally collapsed, her strength failing her.
As the excitement of being able to cultivate faded, fear belatedly emerged from her heart.
When the old Daoist had held her by the collar and she met his gaze, she had clearly seen a boundless hatred in his eyes.
What was he hating?
Who was he hating?
“Xue'er, Xue'er?”
Gu Lianxue slowly came to her senses. “Mother.”
Madam Gu gripped her shoulders and pulled her into her arms.
“Xue'er, the spirit root problem is solved. After you return to the sect, remember to cultivate hard and maintain good relationships with your master and fellow disciples.
Stay away from those with poor spirit roots or weak talent. It's best not to associate with them at all, lest they hold you back.”
Madam Gu nagged with earnest concern. “You must be cautious in everything.
Competition in a great sect is fierce. Do not be soft-hearted toward your rivals. As long as you aren't caught and clean up your tracks, you can use any means necessary.
Just don't let yourself get hurt. Put yourself first and protect yourself, do you understand?”
Gu Lianxue buried her face in Madam Gu's neck, nuzzling her affectionately. “I’ll remember, Mother.”
She thought of how surprised her master would be to see she could cultivate;
She thought of how her two senior brothers would become gentle again and cherish her;
She thought of those disciples at Taiyi Peak who were dissatisfied with her, how their attitudes would shift to ones of pure admiration.
Gu Lianxue was filled with excitement. The fear and questions brought by the old Daoist were pushed far to the back of her mind.
...
Gu Ningyun gripped her disciple identity jade token. Seeing that the malicious Missing Person Notice about her had suddenly been deleted, she was stunned for a moment.
Spirit-Attuning Jade Tokens were crafted and managed by Spirit-Attuning Peak.
Had the sect stepped in?
She withdrew her divine sense and opened her eyes, only to be met by four pairs of worried eyes.
She recalled the protection from Martial Aunt Kong and her fellow disciples, and the sect’s swift and decisive handling of the situation.
She also looked at the meticulous care from the four friends before her.
Gu Ningyun felt a bittersweet ache in her heart, as if someone had gently squeezed it.
“I...” Her voice was raspy.
She cleared her throat, suppressing the stinging sensation in her nose.
“Before I joined Xiaoyao...”
It felt like she was setting down a burden she had carried for many years.
With every word she spoke, the burden grew lighter.
She left out the matter of her transmigrating into a book, only citing years of observation as the reason.
She told them about the old Daoist’s divination, how the Gu family in Yanlin Town had adopted her, their plan to swap her spirit root, and their intent to take her life.
She also forwarded that Wind-Seeker report about Gu Lianxue to their small group chat of five.
Jiang Yao bit her trembling lip, sobbing uncontrollably.
Wen Xuan’s eyes were terrifyingly clear.
She held Gu Ningyun’s head tightly against her chest, her jaw clenched. “Ningyun, do you want to kill them?”
Jun Luo stood up abruptly, the sharp sword qi on his body impossible to suppress. “If they did it, they will have left traces.
What are we waiting for? Report this to Punishment Peak immediately and have the elders go and destroy them!”
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