"So," Wang Xiu said after a long while, looking at Jiang Ling'er's utterly innocent face with a look of regret. "You snuck into our Sanqing Immortal Sect just to find a safe place to lay low and build up your strength? And you chose the Divination Sect... simply because this place is despised by gods and demons alike, and the Great Ability cultivators from other branches almost never visit? Are you sure you're not lying to me?"
"Absolutely not!" Jiang Ling'er hurriedly denied, shaking her little head like a rattle.
Truth be told, she hadn't wanted to expose her identity either. But as soon as Senior Brother Wang Xiu saw her aunt, his eyes were practically glowing green as he insisted she was a top-tier Soul Pet. If she hadn't explained quickly enough, her Senior Brother might have already refined her aunt by now. At that point, who would I even be supposed to help? What a headache!
Seeing that Jiang Ling'er's innocent face didn't look like she was lying, Wang Xiu stroked his chin. "Jiuli Cave Heaven... the last Saintess, Jiang Yourong."
Suddenly, Wang Xiu snatched the Jade Bell from Jiang Ling'er's hand and zipped toward the small grove behind the mountain. "Stay in the yard and don't wander off! Wait for me to come back!"
"Oh!" Watching Wang Xiu stride away and feeling the Jade Bell struggling frantically in her grasp, Jiang Ling'er scratched her head. "Why is Senior Brother taking Auntie into the grove? Is it some kind of secret?"
However, since her Senior Brother had told her to wait in the yard, she decided she would just wait. Anyway, Senior Brother probably wouldn't do anything bad to Auntie... right?
「Half an hour later.」
A green light landed on Spirit Turtle Peak. Wang Xiu tossed the Jade Bell back to Jiang Ling'er and smiled. "I've already reported to our Master. From now on, you two can live on Spirit Turtle Peak."
He added, "Junior Sister Ling'er, if you need any help with your daily life, just let me know anytime. Don't hesitate."
With that, Wang Xiu walked toward his own small courtyard with a radiant smile.
Jiang Ling'er was left standing there, completely baffled. "Auntie, what's going on?"
"Soul damn it!"
"Soul damn it!"
"Soul damn it!"
The Jade Bell's light flickered, and Jiang Yourong's sensual, alluring figure emerged once again, her face flushed with shame and fury. "This is too much! That little bastard... to think he'd humiliate me like this!"
At this moment, Jiang Yourong looked as though she had suffered an immense disgrace; even her soul form couldn't help but fluctuate wildly.
Recalling the mocking voice that had come from the burial mound, Jiang Yourong trembled with fury, her gaze turning icy. "You can't even defeat my disciple? The Saintess of Jiuli is this pathetic?" Those simple words had caused so much pain! The Divination Sect! Luo Binglan! Damn it! To think that little brat I chased through the streets for plucking peacock feathers back in Jiuli Cave Heaven would dare to humiliate me like this today! This is outrageous! Outrageous! The Divination Sect is simply too outrageous!
「On Spirit Turtle Peak, new members had arrived, and it seemed they would be staying for a long time.」
That night, Wang Xiu slept soundly. He woke up feeling refreshed, and even his Spiritual Platform felt much clearer and purer. After all, humans are social creatures; having a companion around is always a good thing.
"Good morning, Senior Brother!" As he pushed open his courtyard gate, a beaming Jiang Ling'er came to greet him. "Senior Brother, can you take me for a walk around Spirit Turtle Peak?"
A walk? Go on a stroll with my Junior Sister when I could be showing off?
Wang Xiu smiled and shook his head. "No can do. You have to come with me to Seeking Dao Peak."
"Seeking Dao Peak?" The smile on Jiang Ling'er's face froze instantly. The mere thought of those disciples from the other branches, endlessly bragging and showing off, made her skin crawl.
"Senior Brother, can I not go?"
Looking at Jiang Ling'er's bitter-looking face, Wang Xiu smiled. "You wouldn't want to see your aunt get refined into a Soul Pet, would you?"
Jiang Ling'er: (‧_‧?)
"Haha!" Wang Xiu laughed and patted Jiang Ling'er on the head. "I'm just kidding. But since I promised the other branches I'd let them try to persuade you again, I can't go back on my word. Besides," he added, "the recruitment assembly only ends today. What if there really are other disciples who want to join the Divination Sect? We can't miss out on that!"
Jiang Yourong rolled her eyes. Heh. With the Divination Sect's reputation and Luo Binglan's foul mouth? It'd be a miracle if they recruited anyone at all.
Although she was complaining internally, Jiang Yourong didn't dare say anything out loud. After all, this disciple Luo Binglan had taken was just too strange. His Cultivation Level wasn't high, yet the technique he practiced was incredibly suppressive toward soul forms—even more terrifying than their Jiuli Immortal Sect's *Soul Refining Scripture*. In front of him, she, a dignified Great Power Remnant Soul, was like a toy to be kneaded, rubbed, rounded, or flattened as he pleased. There was no dignity to speak of! She was now seriously starting to doubt whether bringing Jiang Ling'er to the Divination Sect had been a mistake from the very beginning.
"Don't worry," Wang Xiu said with a smile just as Jiang Yourong was having an existential crisis. "I won't make you work for free. I'll give you a Foundation Establishment Stage Soul Pet."
HISS!
The moment Wang Xiu finished speaking, both Jiang Ling'er's and Jiang Yourong's eyes lit up.
The combat strength of a cultivator from the Jiuli Immortal Sect was intimately tied to their bonded Soul Pet. Jiang Ling'er's Cultivation Level was only at the Eighth Heaven of Qi Refinement. If she could really refine a Foundation Establishment Stage Soul Pet, it would be a tremendous help to both her future cultivation and her combat power. Getting a top-quality, Foundation Establishment Stage Soul Pet just for listening to a day of nagging? What a bargain!
「When Wang Xiu arrived at Seeking Dao Peak with Jiang Ling'er」
The Divination Sect's stall was already surrounded by disciples from the nearby branches, all rubbing their hands together, eager to begin.
"Senior Brother~" Jiang Ling'er's expression immediately fell. Her pitiful, teary-eyed look was enough to make anyone's heart ache. Unfortunately for her, in his quest to show off and level up, Wang Xiu had already decided to cast aside all decency.
"Soul Egg, Soul Egg... for the sake of the Soul Egg, just endure it, and it'll all be over soon."
After saying this to her, Wang Xiu contentedly sat down at the Divination Sect's stall, took a handful of sunflower seeds from his pocket, and started cracking them. "Alright, Senior Brothers, you can begin... persuading my Junior Sister now."
Jiang Ling'er: (‧_‧?)
Jiang Yourong: (‧_‧?)
The disciples from the other branches: (‧_‧?)
「As the Golden Crow set in the west, the Jade Rabbit rose in the east.」
A day passed in the blink of an eye. When the last rays of the setting sun vanished from the horizon, the triennial recruitment assembly finally drew to a close.
After a day of "arduous cultivation," Wang Xiu's Cultivation Level had once again climbed to a new height: Fifth Heaven of Foundation Establishment!
Of course, every gift from fate comes with a hidden price tag. The cost for Wang Xiu to advance three minor realms in two days was Jiang Ling'er being nagged into a stupor by the disciples from the surrounding branches. By the end of the day, she was completely deflated, as if she had lost all hope in the path of cultivation.
"Pack it up!"
"Time to go home!"
Seeing that most of the other branches had already closed their stalls and the few remaining headstrong Senior Brothers couldn't come up with any new pitches, Wang Xiu finally decided to take his Junior Sister home. Their patterns had become repetitive, their tactics dull, and they couldn't even trigger any more System rewards.
Instantly, Jiang Ling'er was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes. Earning this Soul Egg... It was so hard!
After packing up the stall and returning to Spirit Turtle Peak with Jiang Ling'er, Wang Xiu was about to tidy up and rest when his gaze suddenly sharpened, and a smile spread across his face.
He formed a series of hand signs. In an instant, five rays of different-colored light shot out from his body, transforming into five palm-sized, brilliantly glowing Soul Eggs. Cracks began to appear on the surface of each Soul Egg, from which dazzling light burst forth.
Then, the eggshells shattered completely, and tiny critters wriggled out from within.
Heh heh. Spirit Turtle Peak is getting more and more lively.