The Heroine Made a Pact With Senior Sister (GL) Chapter 80

“No one escaped?” Mu Yinfeng could not help thinking of the red lotuses blooming around Jian Shu that night. “How does she compare with Jian Shu?”
“Her strength is above Jian Shu’s.” Huixue thought for a moment, then judged, “I could feel that the Ding Fire spiritual root in her body was purer than Jian Shu’s. But she could not control the Ding Fire spiritual energy in her body very well.”
“Was it because… her mental power cultivation was not enough?”
Huixue nodded.
Hearing Huixue’s answer, Mu Yinfeng froze.
She was one of the strongest people in mental power cultivation in the current age, so she had some say in that matter. In personal cultivation, mental power and spiritual energy usually reached a certain balance. This balance kept one’s spiritual energy within the range the mind could control. It was a kind of self-protection in the human body. If mental power could not control the spiritual energy inside the body, that was almost impossible to see in normal cultivation.
Mu Yinfeng pressed her lips together. She guessed that if the spiritual energy stood above the mental power, then the spiritual energy probably did not come fully from the cultivator’s own training, but from outside. Mirror Flower Hall happened to have a secret art for implanting spiritual roots. It implanted a powerful spiritual object into a cultivator’s spiritual core and fused them together, causing the spiritual energy inside the cultivator to leap upward.
However, although this secret art could greatly raise cultivation in a short time, it was really forcing a seedling to grow. This method only cared about spiritual-energy strength and ignored mental-power cultivation. Most cultivators’ mental power could not control such huge spiritual energy. As a result, the cultivators who received the implant either lost control of their spiritual energy or could no longer advance. Because there had been many cases of people losing control, this secret art had been jointly opposed by the major sects of the cultivation world. At present, Guiyuan Tower had listed it as one of the forbidden arts.
“Senior Sister, nothing happened to you at the last Immortal Sects Assembly, right?” Mu Yinfeng suddenly asked.
A forbidden art on the level of Red Lotus Karmic Fire could not be underestimated. She had personally seen Jian Shu activate Red Lotus Karmic Fire and slaughter all of Reed Village. And the effect of Red Lotus Karmic Fire was slightly similar to her Primordial Yin Domain. Both could turn stolen life force into the user’s own spiritual energy.
Huixue shook her head. “I was far from her and was not corroded by Red Lotus Karmic Fire. And even if it had tried to corrode me, Red Lotus Karmic Fire might not have been able to harm me.”
“Because of Liufei?” Mu Yinfeng instinctively looked toward Huixue’s waist.
Huixue smiled and shook her head. “Liufei alone would not be enough.”
Before Mu Yinfeng could say anything, knocking came from the door. Huixue went to open it. The moment the door opened, Mu Yinfeng felt the temperature in the entire room drop below freezing.
“Chang Zui? What are you doing here?” Huixue asked coldly.
Chang Zui had come? He truly lingered like a haunting shadow. Mu Yinfeng moved farther inside. When she lifted her wrist, she saw the blood vine wrapped there.
If the plot did not forbid her from killing Chang Zui, she really wanted to send him to his next life right now.
Chang Zui smiled. “I came to find Junior Sister Yinfeng. Junior Sister Yinfeng is with Senior Sister, right?”
Huixue swept him with a guarded look. “She is not here.”
Chang Zui found that strange. “How is that possible? If she is not here, where else could she be?”
“I do not know.”
As she spoke, Huixue was about to close the door.
Chang Zui hurriedly blocked it with his sword. Huixue had no choice but to open the door again and coldly glance at him. Chang Zui felt as if a basin of ice water had been poured over his head. He stood frozen where he was. Then he felt a light palm strike his shoulder. Like an ice sculpture, he fell to the side and watched helplessly as Huixue closed the door before his eyes.
“It is fine now.” Huixue locked the door and walked back to Mu Yinfeng.
A strange thought had suddenly risen in her heart just now. She wanted to lock Mu Yinfeng away so no one could find this girl.
But that thought soon disappeared. When Huixue thought of the way Mu Yinfeng had brought chaos to the world after calling herself Lord Lanfeng, she suppressed the strange emotion that rose in her heart as she looked at Mu Yinfeng. No feeling could be seen in her pale-blue eyes.
“Chang Zui?” Mu Yinfeng asked softly, watching Huixue’s expression.
“Yes,” Huixue answered. “Do you want to see him?”
“No.” Mu Yinfeng had wanted to say, I only want to stay with Senior Sister, but at that moment, a familiar cold feeling surged up. Mu Yinfeng changed her words. “I do not want to see anyone.”
“Anyone?”
Mu Yinfeng realized she had misspoken. She was silent for a long while. “Forget it. I should go see Senior Sister Abi and the others. Senior Sister Abi helped us, and she will also be taking part in the team round.”
In past Immortal Sects Assemblies, the team round tested survival in deep mountains and forests. In such a harsh environment, moving alone was unwise. Because of that, several people often formed a group and worked together.
And in the Immortal Sects Assembly, winning a rank was secondary. The key was probing and suppressing the strength of other sects. Because of that, every year in the team round, at least nearly one-third of the young disciples died. Since points were counted by sect as a whole, some sects that were confident but feared losing disciples sent only one team into the team round to avoid unnecessary losses.
This year, Hanyou Valley planned to do exactly that.
Because the Spirit-Trapping Locks had restricted any disciple with a little cultivation, anyone with eyes could tell that most of the people Hanyou Valley had sent this year were only there to fill numbers. Even if there were capable fighters, there could not be many.
“It is too early for that now. After the individual round ends, we will decide based on the movements of the other sects.” Huixue spoke slowly. “Also, Yinfeng, although Master handed these plans to you to arrange, it would be best not to let Abi and Sanqi take part.”
Mu Yinfeng looked at Huixue in surprise.
“Medical cultivators are fragile, and medicine cultivators use poison. One has no time to move around freely on the field, while the other harms the enemy by a thousand but injures herself by eight hundred. Although taking part in the team round gives a good chance of receiving a Guiyuan Tower invitation, dead people cannot receive Guiyuan Tower invitations.” Huixue’s voice was so calm it was almost cold.
“Senior Sister, do you want only the two of us to go in?” Mu Yinfeng thought over Huixue’s words. That one sentence had ruled out almost everyone she could use.
Right now, the only Hanyou Valley people who could be useful were the Valley Master’s three disciples, Lin Qiudi, Si Yan, Abi, and Sanqi. Lin Qiudi’s sword heart had not formed. Si Yan was easily ruled by emotion and might ignore everything else. Mu Yinfeng was afraid Si Yan would run into that evil being and sacrifice herself directly, which would go against Mu Yinfeng’s purpose. As for Chang Zui… Mu Yinfeng would rather go in alone than bring him.
She seemed to see a trace of a smile pass through Huixue’s eyes. Huixue turned her head away. “Since that is the case, you should not go either.”
“Senior Sister, saying that is a little…”
Huixue turned back and looked at Mu Yinfeng again. She thought of the evil being that had appeared at the Qinglan Mountain Immortal Sects Assembly in her previous life, and suddenly abandoned her original idea.
“Forget it. We will talk about it when the time comes.”
Huixue’s hand secretly covered Liufei’s hilt. Her fingers tightened slightly, as if she meant to draw it.
Early the next morning, Mirror Flower Hall’s lottery results for the groups came out. The list filled an entire wall along Mirror Flower Hall’s wisteria walkway. Mu Yinfeng wanted to go look, but Huixue stopped her. She could only stay in the room, tugging at the long fur on Chuying’s back to pass the time in boredom.
Chuying’s recovery ability was astonishing. In less than a day, the wound on Chuying’s neck had healed. Mu Yinfeng untied the handkerchief and studied it carefully, but she could not make anything of it.
When Huixue returned, her expression was very poor. Before Mu Yinfeng could ask, a green-robed girl immediately rushed in. The girl angrily accused Mirror Flower Hall’s grouping system of being unfair.
“Forget it, Abi. Complaining will not help.” Huixue sighed.
“But Senior Sister, this is clearly aimed at Hanyou Valley!” Abi said furiously. “There are a thousand people taking part in this Immortal Sects Assembly, divided into one hundred groups. No matter how you look at it, no sect should have two people in the same group. But this time? Senior Sister, you and Junior Sister Yinfeng are in one group, and Junior Sister Sanqi and Junior Sister Si Yan are also in one group. Is Mirror Flower Hall not openly suppressing Hanyou Valley?”
“Enough.” Huixue’s voice turned stern. She handed Mu Yinfeng a sheet of paper. “This is the group list.”
Mu Yinfeng took it and looked. Her expression became very subtle.
What was terrifying this time was not only that she and Huixue were in the same group. Among the remaining eight names, she had heard of half of them. They were all geniuses from the various great sects. Meeting them in the first round was simply a death group.
“In the first round, the top five scorers in each group advance,” Huixue said briefly. “Yinfeng, there is a chance we may have to fight. I will not hold back.”
“Senior Sister, do not be so merciless. If you two meet, just call it a draw,” Abi said with a light laugh from the side.
Abi was very lucky with this grouping. She had been placed in a group made entirely of disciples from small and mid-sized sects. Those cultivators’ cultivation levels were not high, so even a medical cultivator like Abi could fight them. For Abi, who had come in expecting to be eliminated in the first round, this was indeed good news.
“A draw means both sides lose half their points.” Mu Yinfeng pondered for a moment, then smiled brightly at Huixue. “I actually have never crossed hands with Senior Sister before.”
If she fought Huixue, she would not relax either, Mu Yinfeng thought.
The three girls talked for a while. Abi did not see the dramatic reaction she wanted and was a little disappointed. So she suggested going to see Si Yan and Sanqi’s reactions. Mu Yinfeng also wanted to look, mainly because she wanted to meet Sanqi, the rumored second Jia Wood of Chengchen Peak. At first, Huixue was not very willing, but when she saw Mu Yinfeng had already followed Abi out, she had no choice but to follow behind them.
Mirror Flower Hall’s lodging arrangements were rather chaotic. Many sects were squeezed together in disorder. One might have Mingxin Sect on the left and Shuiyue Gate on the right. Finding one’s own fellow disciples was not easy. Luckily, Abi knew the way. She led Huixue and Mu Yinfeng around several turns until they reached a silver waterfall, where a few small houses stood.
But those little houses looked as if they had just gone through a battle. All of them had more or less been burned, and the open ground in front of them was a mess. The nearby tree trunks were covered in scorch marks and crisscrossing sword cuts.
“Did they… start fighting?” Mu Yinfeng asked in a small voice.
Abi nodded. “It is possible. Hanyou Valley is in the middle, Mingxin Sect is on the left, and Mirror Flower Hall is on the right. Because Qinglan Mountain is a full fifty li away from Mirror Flower Hall, the Mirror Flower Hall disciples taking part are staying with the other sects.”
This…
Hanyou Valley and Mingxin Sect had an old grudge, but Mirror Flower Hall and Mingxin Sect had a blood feud. Their hatred was the kind where disciples from both sects could meet while eliminating the same evil being, ignore the evil being, and fight each other first.
At that moment, a girl came out of the house on the right. Carrying a sword, she charged to the door of the house on the left with fierce momentum. A streak of sword energy flashed and shattered Mingxin Sect’s door.
“If you have the skill, come out and fight again! I refuse to believe I cannot beat you people!”
“So fierce,” Mu Yinfeng could not help saying.
“Why is this big sister’s temper so bad?” Abi also sighed.
“This girl is Xirui, the daughter of Mirror Flower Hall’s master.” Huixue thought for a moment. “Her cultivation is not bad. With her strength, she should not have many opponents. Even if Mingxin Sect members are evil cultivators with unpredictable methods, she should not have lost this badly…”
Her voice suddenly stopped. Mu Yinfeng and Abi followed Huixue’s gaze and looked over, just in time to see a black-robed person walk out of the house. His eyes were red as blood.
It was Ming Ziyou, Mu Yinfeng thought.
Then it was no wonder Xirui had lost. Ming Ziyou was the Bing Fire divine envoy. The blessing of a divine envoy could not be useless.
“The more you fight, the more you lose. Why keep coming?” Ming Ziyou asked coldly.
“I refuse to believe Mirror Flower Hall cannot beat Mingxin Sect. If you are a man, come out! What skill is there in hiding in your room all day?” Xirui said angrily.
At that moment, the middle door opened as well. Si Yan walked out with a helpless face. “Can you people stop fighting? If you have this much energy, why not fight at the Immortal Sects Assembly?”
Si Yan was falling apart. Mingxin Sect and Mirror Flower Hall had been fighting day and night. She and Sanqi had wanted to take advantage of everyone going to look at the group list so they could sleep quietly for a while, but even that had been impossible.
“Who asked you?” Xirui glared at Si Yan. “You Hanyou Valley people wave the banner of being above worldly fights. In my eyes, you are all timid cowards who hide in your shells.”
Si Yan was not easy to bully to begin with, and after several days of poor sleep, her temper shot up. “What nonsense. Are you saying you are not a coward?”
“I knew Hanyou Valley only knew how to talk. Then say a few more words. Once the individual matches begin, you may never get to speak again,” Xirui mocked.
“I remember Hanyou Valley and Mirror Flower Hall are not on such bad terms, right?” Hearing this, Mu Yinfeng frowned and rubbed her forehead.
“The sects are not,” Abi said, glancing at Huixue before continuing. “At the last Immortal Sects Assembly, this Miss Xirui first lost to Senior Sister, then lost to another Hanyou Valley disciple. She was eliminated in the first round.”
“First-round elimination? That badly?”
“Because she lost her final match.” Abi spread her hands. “Her luck was rather poor.”
So that was why. But if her own skill was lacking, what use was there in taking it out on Hanyou Valley?
“You!”
Si Yan was too angry to speak. At that moment, a green-robed girl came from behind her and tried to drag her back, but the movement made Si Yan draw her sword with a clang and point it straight at Xirui. “Do you believe this old lady will beat you so hard today that even your mother will not recognize you?”
“Si Yan, come back. Stop talking.” Sanqi’s voice was thin. It was clear she was anxious and did not want to be dragged into more trouble.
Xirui smiled mockingly. “Oh, so this is a mighty Hanyou Valley disciple. Every other word is ‘this old lady.’ It seems your family teaching is not much. And the other one is timid as a mouse, nothing impressive either…”
Si Yan was so angry she flipped her hand and almost called down fire rain, but Sanqi held her hand down tightly, nearly pressing her whole body against Si Yan’s back.
“A-Yan!”
Xirui continued, “…But that makes sense. Having a Primordial Yin demoness is one thing, but even Huixue, who is called Hanyou Valley’s Senior Sister, is a northern demon. It seems Hanyou Valley might as well be called…”
Before Xirui could finish, her mouth suddenly closed, and she knelt straight down on the ground.