"For Qingxu's sake?" Zhuo Yunqing's voice was like ice. "So I should thank you for lying to him?"
Lan Yutong's beautiful face remained calm. "Yes."
"You..." Yunqing pointed a shaking finger at the other woman. "You say it would hurt Qingxu to cultivate at Hunyuan Heaven Sect, but it won't hurt you?"
"That's correct," Lan Yutong said with a gentle nod.
The girl beside Lan Yutong couldn't stay quiet any longer. "You people from this backwater place don't understand Senior Sister Yutong's talent! In the talent test, Senior Sister measured as superior grade—"
Lan Yutong raised her hand, cutting off her companion. "You shouldn't say more about that."
"Lies and excuses!" Yunqing's face was red with fury. "Lan Yutong, I've never seen a woman as shameless as you in all my life!"
Lan Yutong glanced at the furious Yunqing. Her jade-white face showed a flicker of disappointment.
"Sister Yunqing, why are you being like this? Why can't you understand my good intentions?"
"Bah! Good intentions? What you're saying makes me sick!"
Lan Yutong's voice grew soft and patient, like a teacher explaining to a slow child.
"The vision of the Zhuo family can only reach as far as this one city in the Eastern Wasteland. At best, you might expand to see all of Lorraine Kingdom—but that's the limit of what you and your family can imagine. I'm different from you."
Her eyes began to shine with inner light as she spoke.
"I started practicing at age ten. Built my foundation at eleven. Hardened my bones at twelve. Changed my tendons at thirteen. Washed my marrow at fourteen. Refined my impurities at sixteen. I just need to take one more step forward to reach the final stage before awakening true qi—the Blood Exchange realm. Then I'll become what you call a martial arts master."
She lifted her chin proudly. "My vision reaches toward the nine heavens. I'm destined for glory and long life. You know this is true. So why didn't you give me the token for Hunyuan Heaven Sect disciples from the beginning? Why did I have to use these careful methods that made everyone unhappy?"
Lan Yutong's voice grew gentle again, like honey mixed with poison.
"Even now, I'm still thinking of old affections. I want to make peace with you. With my protection as an inner disciple of Hunyuan Heaven Sect, why can't the Zhuo family prosper in the future?"
She sighed, a sound like wind through silk.
"If you had let Qingxu go to Hunyuan Heaven Sect, he would only have died miserably. But I went there for him, and I can achieve success and fame. Why not do this? Why can't you see such a simple truth?"
"You..." Yunqing's voice cracked with emotion. "Ungrateful white-eyed wolf! You think it's reasonable to steal from the Zhuo family? Our family won't accept protection from such a traitor! Get out! I don't want to see you for even one moment longer!"
She pointed toward the door with a trembling finger. If she didn't know that Lan Yutong could easily defeat her in a fight, she would have already attacked.
"You... really disappoint me." Lan Yutong shook her head sadly. "Since you're determined to cut ties with me, I can't force you. But while you can be unkind, I won't be unjust."
She reached into her robes and pulled out a small jade bottle. The container seemed to glow with inner light.
"This is a Marrow Cleansing Pill I requested from the sect for Qingxu. After his Tendon Changing is complete, he can take it directly to advance to Marrow Cleansing! This pill is nearly impossible to find in all of Lorraine Kingdom. Consider it my compensation for taking the Hunyuan Heaven Sect token."
"Get out!" Yunqing's voice was raw with fury.
Lan Yutong said nothing more to the angry girl. Instead, she turned her gaze to Qingxu. Her eyes searched his face, looking for some sign of the desperate love she remembered.
"Leave the pill," Qingxu said quietly.
His voice was calm as still water.
"Qingxu, you..." Yunqing gasped in shock.
"I need this," he said simply.
"Yes." Lan Yutong's lips curved in a satisfied smile. "Compared to the token for Hunyuan Heaven Sect disciples, a Marrow Cleansing Pill is obviously more suitable for you. I'm glad you can see that."
She had come prepared to deal with Qingxu's usual pleading and emotional outbursts. But this calm acceptance? She hadn't expected this.
Had Zhuo Qingxu finally grown up?
"You can go now," Qingxu said. His tone was completely indifferent.
Lan Yutong nodded. She could understand his coldness. Anyone who had been through such experiences would be discouraged.
"Qingxu," she said, her voice growing soft and sincere. "I understand your feelings for me over all these years. I'm grateful for your efforts. But my future lies in the entire Eastern Wasteland. Now that I've joined Hunyuan Heaven Sect, I'm bound to shine like a phoenix dancing through the nine heavens."
She took a step closer, her eyes filled with what looked like genuine warmth.
"If you really love me, you should understand me. Support me. Watch me silently from behind and encourage me. That's what real love is..."
Qingxu frowned slightly.
"Qingxu, don't hate me." Her tone became even more sincere. "Finally... I hope you can be happy."
With that, she set down the jade bottle and turned to leave. Her companion followed close behind.
"Qingxu, you make me so angry!" Yunqing exploded the moment the two women were gone. "You actually want what that woman gave you! You have no spine! If I'd known you were like this, I would have let Zhuo Fengyun and Zhuo Fenglei kill you!"
Qingxu looked at his sister with steady eyes. "If you can't stand being here, you can leave."
"You..."
Before Yunqing could finish her outburst, footsteps echoed from the courtyard entrance. A middle-aged man in servant's robes hurried toward them.
"Miss? Young Master?"
"Second Housekeeper?" Yunqing was surprised to see the man. "Why are you here?"
Even though a month had passed, their father was still angry about the stolen token. Why would he send the second housekeeper to Qingxu's courtyard?
"Miss, did Lan Yutong just visit here?"
"She came to 'repay kindness.'" Yunqing's voice dripped with disgust. "Her tone was revolting. I scolded her away!"
The housekeeper's face grew grave. "What happened? Tell me everything."
Yunqing quickly repeated the entire conversation.
"You took her Marrow Cleansing Pill?" The middle-aged man looked at Qingxu and sighed deeply. "I'm too late!"
"What's wrong?" Yunqing asked.
The housekeeper's expression grew darker.
"A month ago, the master sent word to Miss Fei, telling her that someone had stolen the disciple token through deception. He asked Miss Fei to try to stop it. But Lan Yutong's talent impressed an elder, and Miss Fei was powerless to act directly. She could only challenge Lan Yutong's character, saying that since she was adopted by our master and owed him a great debt, stealing from him showed poor moral character."
The man's voice grew bitter. "But that Lan Yutong was clever. She volunteered to come back to our Zhuo family and promised to protect us, claiming she wanted to repay her debt of gratitude. Unfortunately, by the time we got this news, it was too late. She offered to protect our family, but you refused her. And the Marrow Cleansing Pill she gave was accepted by the young master."
He shook his head grimly. "It's all clear now. That woman is too clever! After this, Miss Fei will be very disappointed with our Zhuo family. I'm afraid we'll never get another token from Hunyuan Heaven Sect."
"This..." Yunqing was shocked. "It's that serious? Our Zhuo family can't send disciples to Hunyuan Heaven Sect anymore?"
The housekeeper glanced at the silent Qingxu.
"The young master actually has good talent. His test results were middle-superior grade. Miss Fei would have given us a token for inner disciples eventually. But in recent years, the young master secretly gave many resources to Lan Yutong, causing his cultivation to slow down. The old master was already embarrassed in front of Miss Fei. Combined with opposition from some family elders, he never mentioned sending the young master to Hunyuan Heaven Sect."
His voice grew cold as he looked at Qingxu.
"And now this great opportunity has been given to someone else."
"How could this happen?" Yunqing's voice was small. "What about our sister-in-law? Doesn't she care?"
"After something like this, the master has no face to ask Miss Fei for anything again." The housekeeper sighed. "I have to return quickly and report this to the master."
He looked at Qingxu with disappointment and growing coldness.
"Young master... this may be the last time I call you young master. Do what you think is best."
Yunqing glared at Qingxu with pure fury.
"This is the woman you liked! Hypocritical, disgusting, scheming, ungrateful! Fortunately, father knew people well and didn't agree to let you two marry. But now..."
She followed the housekeeper toward the courtyard entrance.
"I'm going too!"
The two quickly left, their footsteps echoing in the empty space.
The courtyard fell silent again.
Qingxu sat alone, thinking about what he had just learned. He didn't fully understand how serious this situation was yet. He needed to learn more about this world's cultivation system.
Was Hunyuan Heaven Sect one of the major cultivation sects in this realm?
He closed his eyes and searched through the scattered memories in his mind, combining them with information from the books in his study. Soon, he understood the basic cultivation methods of this world.
Foundation Building, Bone Hardening, Tendon Changing, Marrow Cleansing, Impurity Refining, and Blood Exchange.
These were the six mortal realms. Mastering them allowed one to transcend ordinary human limitations.
Beyond that, the books only mentioned something called the Six Realms of Eternal Life, starting with Awakening, also known as the Innate Awakening Realm.
Once someone awakened, their divine power was boundless. Even the Lord of Lorraine Kingdom had to treat such people with respect.
The Awakening realm... Dong Qian had mentioned awakening at age twenty. This must be what he meant.
In addition, Dong Qian had mentioned five more realms: Blade Resonance, Essence Convergence, Origin Manifestation, Domain, and Void Transcendence. The books didn't explain what these meant.
After thinking for a moment, Qingxu's attention turned to the translated "Chaos" method.
The Heavenly Book stone wall of Dongyang Sword Sect wasn't just engraved with the legend of Dong Qian's life. It also contained a method for opening something called the Chaos Temple.
Dong Qian had soared through the heavens and wandered between worlds because of the Chaos Temple's power. If Qingxu wanted to return to Earth like Dong Qian had, he would need to master this temple's secrets.
"Chaos..." he whispered to the empty air.
According to the texts, opening the Chaos Temple's dharma gate wasn't impossible. It just required the right method and enough power.
He picked up the jade bottle Lan Yutong had left behind. The Marrow Cleansing Pill inside would help him advance his cultivation quickly. Every bit of strength would be necessary for the journey ahead.
Qingxu closed his eyes and began to concentrate, following the method for opening the Chaos Temple that Dong Qian had left behind.