Shen Manyi scrambled up from the bed and walked over to open the door.
Outside stood several disciples dressed in uniform attire.
The woman at the lead had a graceful figure and a pretty face, though her brows carried an air of arrogance that refused to fade.
When they saw Shen Manyi at the door, a flicker of amazement quickly passed through their eyes.
But after a sweep of Divine Sense revealed her pitiful cultivation of only the third level of the Qi Refining Stage,
that amazement immediately turned into undisguised scrutiny and contempt.
"So you're the woman the Venerable Master brought back?"
"I'm Liu Qin, an inner sect disciple, sent by the elders to register your identity."
Her tone was far from pleasant, and she carried herself with an air of superiority.
Shen Manyi frowned slightly, taking an instant dislike to this group.
But being new to the place, she suppressed her feelings and answered honestly.
"My name is Shen Manyi. I have a Wood-attribute Heavenly Spiritual Root and I'm at the third level of the Qi Refining Stage. My brother brought me here."
Liu Qin furrowed her brow. "And which senior brother of the sect might your brother be?"
"My brother is… he's your Jianzun." Shen Manyi said it with complete confidence.
She figured that since her brother was undercover, he definitely couldn't reveal his identity casually.
So using the title "Jianzun" should be safe, right?
The moment those words left her mouth, the air seemed to freeze for an instant.
Then Liu Qin let out a "pfft" and laughed without the slightest restraint.
"Little girl, are you still half-asleep? Or is your head not working right?"
She laughed so hard her whole body shook, the mockery in her eyes practically spilling over.
"You're saying the Jianzun is your brother?"
"Do you even know who the Jianzun is?"
The disciples behind her joined in the laughter.
"The Jianzun has cultivated in solitude for a thousand years and has always been alone. Forget a sister—even a female mosquito can't get near him!"
"Exactly! If you're going to claim connections, at least pick someone believable. How dare you try to ride the Jianzun's coattails!"
"I think she's living in a dream, thinking she can just make up an identity and stay on Mount Tai Shang."
Liu Qin stopped laughing, her gaze turning cold and contemptuous.
"The Jianzun is aloof and peerless. Since when did he have a sister?
Aren't you afraid of biting off more than you can chew, fabricating connections out of thin air?"
"I'm not fabricating anything! He really is my brother!" Shen Manyi was angered by their unbridled mockery.
Even though the relationship was indeed a bit shaky,
Xiao Mo had personally acknowledged it, so she refused to accept that she was lying!
"Ha," Liu Qin sneered.
"So what if the Jianzun happened to bring you back?
Mount Tai Shang isn't a place just anyone can come and go freely.
A useless little thing at the Qi Refining Stage like you—what right do you have to live here?"
She looked Shen Manyi up and down, her gaze like that of someone appraising a piece of trash to be discarded at will.
"I think you're just some trinket the Jianzun picked up on a whim. Give it a few days and he'll get bored and toss you out."
"You're talking nonsense!" Shen Manyi's little face flushed red with anger.
"Senior sister, why waste words on her," one of the disciples behind said impatiently.
"Haven't you noticed the Jianzun just dumped her here and left her alone?"
"I've seen plenty of women like this who try to climb up using their looks. Just throw her down the mountain directly, so she doesn't defile the Jianzun's place of cultivation."
"You're right!" A cruel glint flashed through Liu Qin's eyes.
The pressure of her Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation came crashing down on Shen Manyi like a tidal wave.
"Little girl, I'll warn you one last time. Be smart and roll yourself down the mountain.
The Venerable Master's domain is not a place where just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can set foot."
Tangyuan, nestled in Shen Manyi's arms, narrowed its golden pupils and let out a dangerous low growl from its throat.
"Why should I leave? This is my brother's place, and I can stay as long as I want!"
Under that oppressive pressure, Shen Manyi felt her back about to give way, but she still refused to take a single step back.
This was where Xiao Mo had brought her, and before he left, he'd even told her to take whatever she needed from the storeroom.
Wasn't that basically telling her to settle in here?
Seeing her so stubbornly obstinate, Liu Qin's face sank completely.
"Fine, if you won't take the easy way, don't blame me for being rude!
Since you refuse to leave on your own, I'll do the Venerable Master a favor and clean house—throwing out this shameless liar who doesn't know her place!"
The moment she finished speaking, she raised her hand, and a whip formed of Spiritual Power lashed out toward Shen Manyi's face!
If that whip landed, Shen Manyi's face would be ruined beyond recognition!
Some of the surrounding disciples looked on with gleeful schadenfreude, while others turned their heads away in pity.
Shen Manyi's pupils contracted sharply.
She had no time to react at all—she could only watch helplessly as the whip's shadow grew larger before her eyes!
At that critical moment, a snow-white blur shot out from her arms like lightning!
"Meow—!"
A fierce yet adorable kitten cry rang out.
Then, with a crisp "crack," Liu Qin's spiritual power whip was scattered into nothing by a single swipe of Tangyuan's paw!
The cruel expression on Liu Qin's face froze solid.
Shen Manyi, too, was so shocked she forgot to breathe.
The disciples who had gathered around to watch were all left with their jaws hanging wide open.
Everyone's gaze turned to the small white cat perched steadily on Shen Manyi's shoulder, elegantly licking its paw.
A cat the size of a palm had just scattered a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator's full-power strike with a single swipe of its claw?
How was that possible?
"You… what kind of monster is that thing of yours?"
Liu Qin pointed at Tangyuan in shock, her voice completely distorted.
Tangyuan lazily lifted its eyelids and glanced at her, not bothering to acknowledge her at all.
Instead, it roared through Divine Sense directly into Shen Manyi's mind: "Little girl, what are you standing there gaping for? Hurry up and give this Divine Beast a medicinal pill to replenish my Spiritual Power. They've come right to your door threatening to ruin your face! Didn't your brother say it? Don't let yourself be bullied! We need to fight back!"
Startled by its roar, Shen Manyi snapped back to her senses.
That's right! She had backing now!
Her brother was the Jianzun himself! What did she have to fear?
With that thought, Shen Manyi's spine straightened instantly.
Imitating Xiao Mo's expressionless demeanor, she cast a cool glance at Liu Qin.
"You said just now that this place isn't for just any stray cats and dogs to enter?"
She paused, feeling that her momentum wasn't quite imposing enough—she still needed to rely on Tangyuan.
So, under everyone's suspicious and uncertain gazes,
her small hand flipped over, producing a jade bottle from her storage space.
Then, like pouring out beans, she tipped out a handful of crystal-clear medicinal pills radiating rich fragrance, and casually stuffed them into Tangyuan's mouth.
In that instant, the onlookers' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"That's… that's a Spirit Burst Pill? And a top-grade one at that?"
"She… she just fed it to her Lingchong like that?"
"Heavens! What a waste! An absolute waste!
A single top-grade Spirit Burst Pill would cost a fortune in contribution points at the Alchemy Hall.
And she just gave it to that little cat like that, not even afraid it'll burst from the energy."
Liu Qin was dumbfounded too. She had queued for three whole months at the Alchemy Hall just to obtain one top-grade Spirit Burst Pill.
Yet this girl of unknown origins had just casually squandered one?
Shen Manyi ignored everyone's shock.
She put away the bottle, clapped her hands, and a harmless, innocent smile spread across her face.
"My brother said, whoever makes me unhappy, I make them unhappy."
She tilted her head, looking at Liu Qin whose face had turned a mix of pale and green. Her smile grew even sweeter, though the warmth never reached her eyes.
"You… have just made me very unhappy!"
The moment those words left her lips, Tangyuan on her shoulder seemed to receive some kind of command.
Its body swelled dramatically, transforming into a streak of white light, and lunged fiercely at Liu Qin!