As she thought of this, tears welled up in her eyes. She threw herself into Wang Xiu's arms, hugging him tightly, her voice already trembling with sobs. "Why didn't you reply to my message? I thought you were dead!"
Feeling the delicate fragrance and pressure from her body, Wang Xiu respectfully said, "I... I'm filthy, Senior Sister."
"Don't call me Senior Sister!" The girl buried her head in Wang Xiu's shoulder, her purple eyes as gentle as water. "Call me Junior Sister!"
"Call you Junior Sister?" Listening to the girl's soft plea, Wang Xiu was momentarily stunned before a smile crossed his face. "How did you know I broke through to the seventh level of Foundation Establishment?"
Heh, my judgment is spot on!
In the Sanqing Immortal Sect, disciples of different branches were ranked by seniority. Among True Disciples, unless they shared the same master, status was determined by power. Those with higher cultivation levels were senior brothers and sisters, while those with lower levels were junior brothers and sisters.
Ji Zidian was baffled. "Huh?"
As if I could magically tell you broke through to the seventh level of Foundation Establishment! The sect rules are why I called you Senior Brother.
Wang Xiu's words completely confused Ji Zidian, throwing her emotions into disarray. "What seventh level of Foundation Establishment? Senior Brother... you've been hiding your cultivation level?"
Hiss…
Feeling the aura of the seventh level of Foundation Establishment gradually emanate from Wang Xiu, Ji Zidian froze in shock. "Senior Brother is actually at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment?"
It was a known fact that Spirit Turtle Peak's Divination Sect received the fewest subsidies and was the poorest of all branches. The only person capable of guiding cultivation, Luo Binglan, had entered her tomb nine years ago. This meant that Senior Brother Wang Xiu had been fumbling through his training on his own since he was six, without any guidance whatsoever. His resources were so scarce that he was left with only Spirit Stones, and he had no renowned master to guide his cultivation. Yet, even so, he had still reached the seventh level of Foundation Establishment by the age of fifteen, surpassing even Ji Zidian, the beloved "little princess" of the Thunder Sect.
Senior Brother's aptitude is simply breathtaking!
"Right," Ji Zidian suddenly snapped back to reality. "That Tiger Demon could come after us at any moment. We can't stay here. Senior Brother, let's hurry back to the Immortal Sect for reinforcements!"
"Reinforcements?" Wang Xiu smiled. "There's no need. I've already slain that foul beast and all those Malicious Ghosts."
With that, he took the Tiger Demon's head from his Storage Bag.
The sight of the fierce, massive tiger head left Ji Zidian dumbfounded. "Senior Brother, you… you killed it?"
HISS!
Ji Zidian gasped, her face a mask of utter astonishment. Even for a disciple of the Thunder Sect like herself, who specialized in combat against demons and fiends, wielding the Purple Cloud Saber, a lightning-ascribed spiritual artifact that was most effective against such evils, she had no confidence at all that she could slay a mid-stage Core Formation Tiger Demon and dozens of Malicious Ghosts with her sixth-level Foundation Establishment cultivation.
Senior Brother said he only recently broke through to the seventh level. That means he was also at the sixth level of the Foundation Establishment Stage before this. Moreover, he doesn't practice Thunder Techniques, which are designed to suppress demons. In a situation like this, how could he possibly have slain that Tiger Demon?
Looking at Ji Zidian, who looked like she was questioning her entire existence, Wang Xiu knew he had to comfort her before she completely shut down.
He smiled and said, "I didn't do it entirely on my own."
"Before my master entered the tomb for his eternal slumber, he left me some protective treasures. That, combined with the Tiger Demon's carelessness, allowed me to win by a stroke of luck."
That's right. The Black Tortoise Mirror was indeed left by my master. If I hadn't used it to send the two girls away, I couldn't have gone all out. Killing the Tiger Demon wouldn't have been so simple. So, what I said wasn't really a lie.
Oh!
Ji Zidian pondered this, a look of dawning realization on her face.
Of course! As the sole remaining member of the Divination Sect, it's perfectly reasonable that his master would have left him some powerful trump cards, like single-use talismans.
However, even with single-use Talismans, fighting a Devil General whose cultivation far surpassed one's own would be an incredibly perilous affair. After all, activating a talisman took time. The opponent wouldn't just stand there and let you activate it. They would do everything in their power to interrupt you, possibly even intensifying their attacks.
At the very least, I wouldn't be confident enough to activate a talisman under the menacing watch of dozens of Malicious Ghosts and a Core Formation Stage Devil General. Her senior brother must have fought a long and bloody battle to find a narrow opportunity to activate the talisman and slay the Tiger Demon. The sheer peril and savagery of that fight were almost unimaginable!
"Oh, right," Wang Xiu suddenly remembered something. "Where's my little junior sister?"
Jiang Ling'er.
Ji Zidian took a green turtle shell from her robes. "She inhaled the ghost mist. She's sleeping soundly inside the Black Tortoise Mirror!"
Good grief. Torn between laughter and tears, Wang Xiu returned the Purple Cloud Saber to Ji Zidian. He took the Black Tortoise Mirror, performed a hand seal, and released Jiang Ling'er. The girl was sleeping soundly, muttering "Senior Brother, Senior Brother" in her dreams.
With a grim expression, Ji Zidian cast a purification incantation on Jiang Ling'er, dispelling the ghost mist from her body.
With a soft whimper, the girl awoke from her deep slumber. She looked around in a daze at Wang Xiu and Ji Zidian. "Senior Brother? Senior Sister Ji? Has the mission started yet?"
The corner of Ji Zidian's mouth twitched as she replied grimly, "It's already over."
"Ah!" Jiang Ling'er froze, her pale little face flushing bright red. To have fallen asleep during a mission was mortifying. Had she dragged her senior brother and sister down? Seeing her senior brother's battered, mud-caked state, Jiang Ling'er couldn't help the reddening of her own eyes as her heart ached for him.
Meanwhile, Wang Xiu and Ji Zidian exchanged glances over Jiang Ling'er's bewildered face, unable to suppress bitter smiles.
What a situation. In such a treacherous mission, two powerful Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators had been left battered and bruised. And yet, the youngest of them, a mere Qi Refinement Realm weakling, had emerged completely unscathed after having a pleasant dream while the mission completed itself. It simply defied all reason!
…
BOOM!
Just then, a storm suddenly brewed in the skies above Mingyue Mountain. Rich, dazzling purple lightning formed a giant vortex in midair, warping and tearing the very fabric of the void. From within the void rift, a majestic figure slowly emerged. Thunderbolts as thick as buckets slithered at his feet like giant serpents, their light casting him in an aura of awe-inspiring dignity. It was as if the Thunder God himself had descended, causing all demons and ghosts for hundreds of miles to cower and tremble.
"Daddy!" Ji Zidian's eyes lit up as she called out to the sky. "Daddy, I'm here!"
The man standing in midair seemed to hear her call. He slowly lowered his head to look towards Mingyue Mountain, then merged with the thunder and crashed down.
KRAKOOM!
The massive bolt of lightning struck the ground, causing the entire Mingyue Mountain to shake violently. Deep cracks spread out like a spiderweb in all directions, and his divine might was as vast as an abyss. From within the column of purple light, a middle-aged man slowly stepped out. He wore purple Daoist robes, had a square face, and his features were bold and commanding. With his hands clasped behind his back, he naturally exuded an imposing aura.
This was Ji Yan.
He was the sect master of the Sanqing Immortal Sect's Thunder Sect, a true Great Ability of the Emergence Stage. Moreover, the Thunder Sect's greatest strength was combat and exorcism, subduing demons and vanquishing evil. When it came to deterrent power against demons and heretics, Ji Yan ranked at least in the top five among the many Great Abilities of the Sanqing Immortal Sect. He might even vie for the top three.
However, the title for which this Thunder Sect Master was most renowned was neither 'Master of the Thunder Sect' nor 'Bane of Demons,' but rather...
The 'Child-Bearing Model.'