Yu Yang’s tone was intimate, but Mu Qiuhan felt her scalp tingle. If not for already knowing that this person acted viciously and didn’t care about the lives of her disciples, she really would have been fooled by this scene of deep master-disciple affection.
Mu Qiuhan glanced at the person sitting cross-legged on the prayer mat, instinctively not wanting to get too close. She bowed towards Yu Yang. “Thank you, Master. It’s fine for disciple to stand and speak.”
Yu Yang paused for a moment, but she seemed very satisfied with Mu Qiuhan’s respectful attitude. She only heard Yu Yang hum lightly, but she didn’t ask Mu Qiuhan to sit closer again.
“Han’er, you’ve done well. This master truly didn’t misjudge you.”
“Tomorrow is the selection assembly. Before you depart, I have some matters to instruct you on. Once you enter the inner sect, you likely won’t have much time to return to my Dongtian Peak.”
Mu Qiuhan dutifully responded, “Yes, Master.”
“Han’er, your spiritual energy has a wood attribute. According to convention, you will likely become a medical cultivator and be assigned to Jade Dragon Peak.”
“Remember this: after entering the Ridge, you must contact your senior sister Qin Ziyan immediately.”
“Fifteen years ago, your senior sister Qin became a disciple on Jade Dragon Peak. She is very familiar with the situation there and will introduce you to the other disciples from my Dongtian Peak.”
“When your senior sister Qin left, you were not yet my disciple. Here is a portrait of her; take a look, so you don’t mistake someone else when the time comes.”
Mu Qiuhan stood there obediently, looking at the painting for a while, and remained silent.
Seeing Mu Qiuhan’s appearance of seriously listening to an elder’s instruction, Yu Yang continued speaking.
“Han’er, you took a Marrow Cleansing Pill this time to forcefully raise your spiritual energy by several levels. Afterwards, you need to stabilize your realm and must not be too hasty.”
“Although your aptitude is passable, your spirit root is only mid-grade after all. If you want to stand out among the inner sect disciples in the future, I’m afraid it won’t be easy.”
Mu Qiuhan had long noticed this body’s cultivation aptitude. If it truly had extraordinary natural talent, presumably it wouldn’t need to rely on that Marrow Cleansing Pill to forcefully raise cultivation. Seeing Mu Qiuhan look thoughtful, Yu Yang thought she was discouraged by her words, so she comforted her, “You don’t need to be too disheartened either. Within the inner sect, there are some advanced cultivation methods for cultivating spirit roots. If you’re fortunate enough to learn one, breaking through to a top-grade spirit root isn’t impossible…”
Upon hearing this, Mu Qiuhan found it somewhat amusing. Although medicinal pills could assist in raising cultivation to a certain extent, spirit roots were naturally formed. They determined the highest limit a cultivator’s spiritual energy could reach. If they were truly that easy to change, wouldn’t everyone be able to cultivate to the Great Ascension stage or even transcend the tribulation and ascend?
Although she had indeed seen the cultivation method Yu Yang mentioned, a method of that grade couldn’t be found anywhere else in the entire Demonic Realm. Even if the Supreme Pure Immortal Sect had it, they presumably wouldn’t easily pass it on to an ordinary disciple. These words were fine for deceiving ignorant children, so Mu Qiuhan very cooperatively said, “Master, please rest assured, disciple will definitely not give up. After I enter Jade Dragon Peak, I will focus on cultivation and strive to break through to a top-grade spirit root as soon as possible, to bring honor to Master.”
Yu Yang nodded.
“Being proactive is good. However, Han’er, this master has another important task to entrust to you.” Seeing Mu Qiuhan’s nervous expression, Yu Yang smiled. “Han’er, you don’t need to worry too much. What this master wants you to do is very simple.”
“After entering Jade Dragon Peak, you must treat your senior sister Qin as if she were me and obey her commands in all matters.”
“Your senior sister will arrange for you to work together with the other disciples from my Dongtian Peak to unitedly complete our plan.”
“This matter concerns the survival of the Dongtian Peak lineage. Remember this well.”
Mu Qiuhan was utterly bewildered. A plan? What plan? And one concerning survival? She didn’t remember Rou’er ever mentioning any of this to her.
She hesitated for a moment, but didn’t dare to ask rashly, fearing she would arouse the suspicion of that old woman. Just as she was planning to muddle through by just nodding and humming, her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Oh no, I almost messed things up!
This woman made a special trip today, setting up a barrier to explain this matter face-to-face. Presumably, the original owner of this body didn’t know any of this before either? Perhaps, the content of this plan is something only disciples who can enter the Five Ridges are qualified to know? Is that why Rou’er didn’t mention it at all?
After thinking it over, Mu Qiuhan finally gritted her teeth and decided to take a gamble. She bowed towards Yu Yang again. “Disciple is slow-witted. Please clarify, Master.”
Yu Yang shot her a sidelong glance, seeming somewhat dissatisfied. “Didn’t I already say? Just listen to your senior sister Qin’s commands for everything.”
It seems it really is a secret. Presumably, I gambled correctly. Mu Qiuhan let out a breath of relief.
“Master, disciple is afraid of being muddled in doing things. What if I accidentally disrupt senior sister’s arrangements one day and ruin Master’s important plan?”
Yu Yang was startled. She thought for a moment, then suddenly waved a hand. “Very well, there’s no harm in telling you.”
“The cultivation method of my Dongtian Peak lineage has some flaws. Disciples who cultivate my peak’s method will suffer varying degrees of damage to their heart meridian.”
“This damage isn’t very obvious at first, but as spiritual energy increases, the feeling will become stronger and stronger.”
“In the peak, in recent years, not a single person has been able to enter the Soul Transformation stage. It’s because of this reason.”
“But didn’t Senior Sister Hualan successfully break through to the Soul Transformation stage?” Mu Qiuhan asked, confused. She remembered Rou’er had mentioned this before, so she said it without thinking.
Shu Hualan was the disciple with the highest achievements in Dongtian Peak over the past fifty years. She not only broke through to the Soul Transformation stage but also successfully became the favored disciple of an elder in the Violet Sun Hall. However, she died inexplicably when she was just one step away from becoming an elder. Mu Qiuhan remembered Rou’er telling her before that Senior Sister Hualan was very impressive, breaking through to the Soul Transformation stage at a young age. She was favored by an elder on the main peak, taken under their wing, and was just a step away from becoming an elder herself. Her words revealed boundless admiration for Shu Hualan.
Mu Qiuhan remembered Rou’er also saying that Shu Hualan was Yu Yang’s first disciple. After learning of her beloved disciple’s death, Yu Yang grieved for a long time.
Thinking of this, her heart sank. Oh no, it seems I said the wrong thing! She quickly looked up at Yu Yang. Yu Yang’s expression was subtle, showing no sign of joy or anger. However, relying on instinct, Mu Qiuhan keenly perceived that she was somewhat displeased.
So she quickly corrected herself. “Master, disciple was wrong. I shouldn’t have mentioned Senior Sister Hualan and made Master sad.”
“Never mind,” Yu Yang waved a hand. “In the blink of an eye, it’s been over twenty years since your senior sister left…” She sighed, staring at the void in front of her, lost in thought for a while.
“The world widely rumored that your senior sister died because she made enemies while vying for the position of elder and was forcefully interrupted at a critical juncture in her cultivation, causing her heart meridian to completely break.”
“I carefully examined her corpse. She did indeed lose her life because her heart meridian broke. But only I know this wasn’t some retaliation for vying for position, but an old illness of our Dongtian Peak.”
“You don’t believe it?” Seeing Mu Qiuhan’s suspicious expression, Yu Yang pointed at her arm and said, “Why don’t you try it yourself? Inject spiritual energy into the Quze point and see what happens.”
Mu Qiuhan stiffened. She had only just learned to circulate spiritual energy moments ago, and her technique was still unfamiliar. If she did it in front of Yu Yang, would she notice something amiss? However, being stared at by that woman, she had no choice but to act.
Mu Qiuhan held her breath, recalling the incantations she had just memorized. She gathered spiritual energy at the tip of her right finger and pointed towards the transverse crease of her left elbow, near the ulnar edge of the biceps.
A feeling of pain immediately traveled upwards along the Quze point, spreading to her chest. Mu Qiuhan’s expression turned serious.
She withdrew her hand and looked up at Yu Yang. “Master, is there truly no way to treat this ailment of ours?”
Yu Yang lightly brushed her pristine robe. “This is precisely what this master wanted to tell you.”
“Within the Violet Sun Hall on the main peak, there is a nominal elder, ranked outside the Nine Great Elders, named Shang Ningye.”
“Because this Shang Ningye doesn’t usually concern herself with peak matters and her whereabouts are often unpredictable, many young disciples aren’t aware of her existence.”
Shang Ningye? Mu Qiuhan’s time as sovereign in the Demonic Realm wasn’t short, yet she had never heard of such a person existing in the Immortal Sect. Just a nominal elder? She’s probably not a very formidable figure.
Yu Yang seemed to see her confusion. “Although this person’s cultivation isn’t high, her physique is very special. Her blood has healing and heart-nourishing effects. If we can use her blood as a catalyst to refine medicinal pills, it can help my Dongtian Peak disciples overcome this calamity.”
Pondering Yu Yang’s words, Mu Qiuhan asked somewhat cautiously, “So, Master wants us to gain this elder’s trust and ask her for some spiritual blood?” She was somewhat puzzled. One should know that blood isn’t something rare for the demonic race. Nor did it seem she had ever heard that these cultivators would lose cultivation if they lost blood.
Seeing her bewildered expression, Yu Yang voluntarily cleared up her confusion. “Yes, and no.”
“Although Shang Ningye’s blood is precious, only her heart blood can treat heart ailments.”
So that’s how it is. In this way, Mu Qiuhan completely understood. Taking blood is easy enough, but taking heart blood isn’t. In this world, probably not many people would be willing to take blood from their heart for unrelated outsiders. So, Yu Yang plans to take it by force?
Pondering, Mu Qiuhan asked somewhat cautiously, “So, what is Master’s plan?”
Upon hearing this, a sharp glint appeared in Yu Yang’s eyes.
“If my Dongtian Peak disciples can get close to Shang Ningye, gain her trust, and then catch her off guard, they can mix a specially made medicinal powder into her tea to control her.”
“In this way, won’t we have as much of her heart blood as we want?”
Mu Qiuhan listened, dumbfounded. Yu Yang’s so-called plan was actually to have the Dongtian Peak disciples get close to Shang Ningye, then find an opportunity to poison her, imprison her, and afterwards take her heart blood to refine medicinal pills?
It’s ironic that these people of the Immortal Sect claim to be of the righteous path, yet their actions are far more malicious than the demonic race! The demonic race advocates for strength. If they truly desire something, they will only take it by force and absolutely won’t engage in such schemes and tricks.
Mu Qiuhan looked at Yu Yang, an added trace of coldness in her eyes. If such a person were in her Demonic Realm, they would have been utterly dead long ago
Nice chapter