Duan Xianxing was the one who eventually told Li Nanzhu the final outcome.
Li Nanyi was confined to Sigu Cliff for half a year, forbidden from leaving.
The reason given was that his strength was too poor, which led to him being beaten into such a state; therefore, he was sent directly to Sigu Cliff to properly hone himself.
There was no spiritual energy at Sigu Cliff, only a continuous stream of sword qi. Li Nanyi was in for quite a struggle.
However, none of this was something Li Nanzhu wanted to dwell on.
She took some time to study the profound dark stone she had obtained from the black market. While such a thing might be a treasure for a sword cultivator, it didn't seem to have much practical use for her.
Moreover, the piece she had was only about the size of a fist, just enough for one person.
Both of her senior brothers were sword cultivators, and giving it to one over the other didn't feel right. Li Nanzhu thought it over and decided to keep it for now. Initially, she had only taken it to snatch away Cang Dongqing's opportunity; as long as Cang Dongqing didn't have it, her goal was met.
If she could find another piece of profound dark stone later, then the First Senior Brother and the Seventh Senior Brother could each have one.
As for that mirror, Li Nanzhu examined it and finally determined it was just an ordinary mirror.
After all, what kind of magic tool would shatter just from falling on the ground?
However, recalling how such items in novels often sealed something away and only became fragile once their spiritual energy dissipated, she specifically took the shards to show Feng Yi.
In return, she received a look from Feng Yi that suggested he thought she was a poor, pathetic thing.
"Little Eight, if you're short on money, you can tell your master. This mirror is already shattered like this; why don't we just get a new one? Even if you want to buy a magic tool to use as a mirror, that's fine too."
Then, Li Nanzhu received yet another bag of high-grade spirit stones.
Fine, this could be considered an unexpected gain.
As for the soul-confusing grass, Li Nanzhu found a spot in the courtyard where the spiritual energy was relatively dense and carefully planted them. She infused them with some vitality using Wood Vitality and watered them. Whether they lived or died would now depend on their own luck.
With her current tasks handled, Li Nanzhu planned to begin her closed-door cultivation.
Over a month had passed, and it was time for her to attempt a breakthrough to level seven of Qi Condensation.
After informing the First Senior Brother and the Seventh Senior Brother, Li Nanzhu returned to her room. She indulged in a bit of luxury, taking out high-grade spirit stones to begin absorption.
If others knew she was using high-grade spirit stones for cultivation, they would probably be heartbroken at the waste. However, it had to be said that the spiritual energy provided by high-grade spirit stones was indeed much thicker, though most people wouldn't cultivate this way.
Li Nanzhu was simply acting on the principle of having money and being willful.
After all, the spirit stones Feng Yi and Mu Wenyan had stuffed her with were more than enough for her to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, let alone a mere breakthrough to level seven of Qi Condensation.
Another two months passed.
Only then did Li Nanzhu barely manage to break through to level seven of Qi Condensation.
She hadn't expected that breaking through a single level would take so much time. To think, it had only taken her a little over a month to go from drawing qi into the body to level six of Qi Condensation, yet this time it took a full two months.
Li Nanzhu couldn't quite understand how she had broken through so rapidly at the start. Even if she'd had an epiphany back then, given her triple spiritual roots aptitude, she shouldn't have reached level six of Qi Condensation that quickly.
Now, with the aid of all these high-grade spirit stones, this pace was actually what a normal cultivator with triple spiritual roots should expect.
If she hadn't had these resources, it might have taken another two months before she could even see the chance of reaching level seven of Qi Condensation.
Then what was the reason at the very beginning?
Li Nanzhu thought back to that strange sensation she'd felt when she first entered the sect.
Although she had never experienced that feeling again, her intuition told her that her rapid breakthroughs and epiphany at the start were inextricably linked to it.
However, for now, she could only treat it as a personal stroke of fortune. She had previously probed the Seventh Senior Brother about it, only to receive the same answer as the one from the First Senior Brother.
Li Nanzhu didn't think it was a bad thing; after all, it had helped her boost her strength quickly. She just didn't know if she would ever have the chance to encounter that sensation again.
Though she had reached level seven of Qi Condensation and could take a jade marrow pill to breakthrough further, Li Nanzhu wasn't in a hurry.
Her newly reached realm wasn't yet stable, and having been in seclusion for two months, she intended to go out for a stroll first.
She thought the first person she would see would be the Seventh Senior Brother, Duan Xianxing, but after looking around, she couldn't find him.
"Did he go out for training?"
Li Nanzhu had no choice but to go to Mu Wenyan's courtyard, but he wasn't there either.
"Strange. Did the First Senior Brother and the Seventh Senior Brother go out together?"
She had originally wanted to find them to go down the mountain for some sightseeing, but it seemed that plan had fallen through.
Should she just go back and aim for Qi Condensation Great Perfection? As Li Nanzhu scratched her head, a voice came from behind her.
"Little Junior Sister, you've finished your seclusion?"
Li Nanzhu turned and focused her gaze, seeing a man dressed in sea-blue, wide-sleeved magic robes with a calm and cool expression.
Three months after being blown away, Li Nanzhu finally saw this senior brother of hers again.
"Second Senior Brother, you're back?"
"Yes, Little Junior Sister. It has been a long time."
Zhu Yinxi gave a faint smile. Only then did Li Nanzhu carefully observe this senior brother. Because their first meeting hadn't been very pleasant, her impression of him was more about his terrible music than his face.
It wasn't until now, seeing such a cool and refined man again, that Li Nanzhu suddenly remembered this was supposed to be Zhu Yinxi's true personality. She also recalled the description of him in the original novel.
"Eyes containing the galaxy of three thousand realms, brows stained by the eternal snow of Kunlun."
No wonder Cang Dongqing had been so obsessed with him because she couldn't have him, to the point of eventually dealing a lethal blow.
He truly possessed a face that was unforgettable after a single glance.
So, why did such a cool Second Senior Brother give her the impression of a ditz when they first met?
"I heard from the First Senior Brother that you are walking the path of a dharma cultivator. This is for you; it should help you with your future enlightenment."
As he spoke, Zhu Yinxi handed Li Nanzhu a jade box. Opening it, she recognized at a glance that it contained three sticks of Cleansing Heart Enlightenment Incense.
Li Nanzhu didn't decline. She happened to need such things, so she accepted them quite graciously.
"Thank you for the gift, Second Senior Brother. However, I don't have anything presentable to give in return right now. Once I go out for training, I'll find something to give back to you."
Zhu Yinxi hadn't expected Li Nanzhu to think about a return gift. For some reason, his hand felt a bit itchy, wanting to pat her head, but he ultimately just gave a light cough.
"I was a bit rude during our first meeting. Little Junior Sister, please do not... hold it against me."
"Of course not."
Li Nanzhu smiled. Having just accepted someone's gift, she couldn't exactly slight them so soon.
Alright, she had been holding a grudge before, but for the sake of this generous gift, well, she would get along well with the Second Senior Brother.
"Second Senior Brother, where are the First Senior Brother and the Seventh Senior Brother?"
"...Uh..."
Seeing his expression, Li Nanzhu suddenly had a bad feeling.
"I practiced a new piece and wanted them to help me listen to how it sounded, but they were unwilling, so..."
As he spoke, he wore a somewhat lonely and hurt expression.
Li Nanzhu felt her heart take a sudden hit.
Is it appropriate for you to make that kind of expression with that cold, handsome face of yours?
She weirdly felt her heart soften as well, and ultimately spoke up to comfort him.
"Second Senior Brother, actually, your music could use a bit more practice. The First Senior Brother and the Seventh Senior Brother probably just had some urgent business and left the mountain temporarily."
Li Nanzhu thought for a long time but could only squeeze out those two sentences. It was truly because the shock Zhu Yinxi had given her initially was too great; it was really hard to say anything against her conscience to praise him!
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