Because she would lose much of her current freedom once she joined Ancestor Luo, Xie Ruolan spent considerable time giving Lin Haoming a series of instructions, all of which he carefully committed to memory.
The tasks weren't grand; they mainly concerned her two shops. Lin only now learned that in addition to the shop on the first floor, Xie Ruolan owned a small booth in the second-floor inner disciple market, currently managed by Wang Chen.
Interestingly, the second-floor shop actually earned less than the one on the first floor. Many inner disciples simply headed to the third floor for better stock, leaving the second-floor market as a place for cheap and convenient goods. Even with high volume, the profit margins were slim.
Additionally, she gave him a list of specific materials to acquire. To an outsider, the list meant nothing, but Lin—having studied the Divine Bone Art and the notes from the Divine Bone Old Man—realized these were items used exclusively by Body Refiners.
Is Xie Ruolan also a body refiner? Lin wondered. The thought was terrifying. How could one person have the energy to master such powerful spells while simultaneously practicing body-tempering techniques? Despite his curiosity, he didn't ask. He knew this touched upon her deepest secrets. Their relationship was closer than most, but it was built on a foundation of shared survival and mutual utility.
---
Ascension to the Depths
After Lin left to find Wang Chen, Xie Ruolan returned to her meditation room one last time. She surveyed the space she had occupied for nearly two years—the first place in the Blood Refining Sect she could truly call her own—and let out a soft sigh before walking out and closing the door forever.
She surrendered her cave dwelling at the Hall of Deacon Affairs. She knew inner disciples would soon be fighting over the prime real estate, but it no longer concerned her. Even the Foundation Establishment deacons, despite having higher cultivation than her, treated her with immense courtesy because of her new status as Ancestor Luo's disciple.
Once the paperwork was finished, she flew toward the passage to the third floor. Having reached Foundation Establishment, she could now fly without the aid of a magic tool, moving even faster than before. This was the fundamental divide between the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment realms.
She bypassed the third floor and sped toward the fourth-floor entrance. From the fourth floor downward, the geography became staggeringly vast. Even for a Golden Core master, flying from the entrance to Ancestor Luo's dwelling in the Sixth Layer would take weeks.
To solve this, the sect maintained a Teleportation Hall at the fourth-floor entrance. Xie Ruolan showed her token to the guards and was led into an array. With a flash of light and a familiar spatial pull, she vanished.
---
The Silent Guardian
When the world stopped spinning, Xie Ruolan found herself in a forest. The trees were massive, but every trunk and leaf was pitch-black, looking as though they had been soaked in ink.
"Are you Junior Sister Xie?" a raspy voice asked.
Xie Ruolan turned to see an old woman who looked to be in her eighties or nineties, sitting cross-legged on the ground. The woman opened her clouded eyes to observe her.
"I am. And you are...?" Xie Ruolan asked respectfully, sensing the woman possessed a Peak Foundation Establishment cultivation.
"My name is Fang Jing. You may call me Senior Sister Fang. I am the only disciple remaining by Master's side," the old woman said tonelessly.
"Greetings, Senior Sister Fang," Xie Ruolan bowed.
Fang Jing appraised her. "Not bad. Foundation Establishment at seventeen. I was over twenty when I broke through, and I was quite proud of myself back then."
Xie Ruolan remained humble. "I wouldn't dare compare myself to you, Senior Sister."
Fang Jing attempted a smile, but the deep wrinkles made the expression somewhat ghoulish. Her voice, however, softened. "Don't be nervous. Follow me."
Fang Jing produced a formation plate and cast a spell. The ink-black forest automatically shifted aside, revealing a narrow path. Xie Ruolan realized the entire forest was a lethal array; had she tried to walk in alone, she would have met a swift end.
They walked at a pace faster than a normal person could run. Xie Ruolan looked up and saw that the ceiling of this layer was at least ten thousand feet high—significantly higher than the fifth layer. Even the fifth layer took several days for a Golden Core master to cross; the scale of the sixth was unimaginable.
Soon, they emerged from the forest. When Xie Ruolan looked back, the path had already vanished. Before her lay a small, serene lake. A long, silver bridge shaped like a snake stretched from the shore to a small island at the center, where pavilions and towers rose like a beautiful painting.