Xie Lingjun gently patted Jiang Yishu’s shoulder. “Indeed, you are equals. If he tries to pressure you with seniority, you may respond with the etiquette appropriate for peers.”
If her parents were still alive, Xiao Yan wouldn’t even have the qualifications to become sect leader.
Xie Lingjun made a promise to Jiang Yishu. “As your master, I can assure you: no matter how high you wish to climb, Xiaoyao Sect will spare no effort to help you reach the summit.”
That sense of lifelessness, of forcing oneself to keep living, once again emerged from Xie Lingjun.
Though his voice carried a smile, Jiang Yishu still felt oppressed, as if trapped in an airtight, dark box—stifling and heavy.
“Master, if you’re not happy, you don’t have to smile. The people you care about probably only wish for your smiles to come from the heart every time.”
Xie Lingjun froze in place. Only after a long while did a nostalgic smile appear on his face, his entire demeanor softening completely.
“Someone once said those very words to me.”
In a daze, Xie Lingjun seemed to see his smiling, radiant junior sister again, pinching his cheeks as she playfully threatened, “Senior brother, laugh when you want to laugh, cry when you want to cry. Don’t hold yourself back.”
Her tone was fierce, but her fingertips gently wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes.
Following his heart, Xie Lingjun ruffled Jiang Yishu’s head. Just as he had imagined, it felt wonderfully soft. He then untied a Storage Bag from his waist, erased his Divine Sense, and handed it to her.
“Consider this a meeting gift for now. We’ll hold the formal apprenticeship ceremony in three days, by which time your injuries should be mostly healed. It will take some time for your other sect siblings to return, so I’m afraid you’ll have to bear with it for a few days.”
“Thank you, Master!”
Xie Lingjun struggled to restrain the impulse to ruffle her head once more.
Jiang Yishu’s unconscious little mannerisms were truly so similar to his junior sister’s.
“Rest well. As for revenge, take your time. With your current cultivation, it would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. When the day comes that you have the ability to seek vengeance, I will not stand in your way.”
“This disciple understands. I will certainly think twice before acting.”
Only after Xie Lingjun left did Jiang Yishu bind the Storage Bag with a drop of blood, establishing a connection with it through her Divine Sense. A quick scan inside nearly dazzled her eyes.
Packed densely were High-grade Spirit Stones—at a rough glance, at least tens of thousands.
Jiang Yishu instantly clutched the Storage Bag tightly, then glanced into her old one. It took her a moment to regain her composure.
“Back then, for my apprenticeship gift, Xiao Yan only gave me a hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones and a Mid-grade Spirit Sword. The spirit stones were borrowed away by Jiang Yijun under some pretext before I could even warm them for three days, and the spirit sword was merely a formality.
How laughable that in my previous life, I never saw so many High-grade Spirit Stones that truly belonged to me, not even when I died.”
Jiang Yishu murmured self-mockingly, “Jiang Yishu, what kind of people did you used to meet? From now on, keep your eyes wide open. Don’t listen to what others say; watch what they do for you instead.”
Her gaze clear, Jiang Yishu rubbed her fingers over the bracelet.
To reclaim her Supreme Ice Spiritual Root, she must obtain the Hundred Fusion Grass. In her previous life, the Hundred Fusion Grass was acquired in the Hehuan Sect’s secret realm, which only Golden Core Stage cultivators within the sect could enter.
Yet her current cultivation was only at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment. She must seize the time to Form the Golden Core; otherwise, she wouldn’t even qualify to participate.
In her past life, within the Hehuan Sect’s secret realm, she had narrowly escaped death to obtain the Hundred Fusion Grass. What made her even more regretful was that, in that same secret realm, she had accidentally rescued a Pixiu cub with the White Tiger Bloodline.
She had been the disciple from Qingyun Sect who collected the most spiritual herbs, Spirit Beasts, and Monster Cores. Yet in the end, she was left with nothing.
Even the Pixiu cub, nurtured with essence blood and awakened to spiritual intelligence, had been snatched away by Jiang Yijun and forced to recognize her as its master.
This time, she absolutely must participate in the sect competition. As for that ungrateful Pixiu, even if she had to kill it and refine its Monster Core, she would not give Jiang Yijun another chance to take it away.
“Qingyun Sect, Jiang Yijun, this time you won’t be able to snatch away what belongs to me again. It’s time to settle the score between us.”
If she couldn’t defeat the older generation, that didn’t mean she couldn’t take on the younger one!
At the foot of Qingyun Sect’s Thousand-Step Spike Stairs, Yan Weixu, utterly distraught, grabbed the collar of the gatekeeping disciple and demanded.
“Where is Jiang Yishu? Where on earth has she gone? I must see her if she’s alive, or find her body if she’s dead!”
The gatekeeping disciple didn’t dare mention that he had found it too troublesome to expel her from the sect and had simply thrown Jiang Yishu off the cliff.
“I don’t know either. At the time, when she came down from the Thousand-Step Spike Stairs, she wasn’t even breathing. Before I could even collect her body, she vanished in the time it took me to turn around.”
Yan Weixu saw the dark red bloodstains at the edge of the Nail Ladder and collapsed to the ground, heartbroken.
“It’s all my fault for coming too late. If anything happens to Jiang Yishu, I will never forgive myself for the rest of my life.”
The gatekeeping disciple nearly rolled his eyes to the heavens, muttering under his breath.
“If you really cared so much, why wait over ten days before coming to check? Such hypocrisy, you can’t even manage to collect a body properly.”
Yan Weixu took out ten Mid-grade Spirit Stones from his robe and handed them over.
“Junior Brother, if you see Jiang Yishu again, please notify me as soon as possible. Consider these Spirit Stones your reward.”
The gatekeeping disciple accepted the stones, grinning from ear to ear.
“Of course, of course. I promise that if I see Miss Jiang, I will inform you immediately, Senior Brother.”
Yan Weixu rubbed the peace knot on his wrist, which Jiang Yishu had once obtained for him.
He comforted himself: “Jiang Yishu has always been tough. She must still be alive, she must be living somewhere I don’t know about. Wait for me, Junior Sister.”
“I will find you, I swear. Next time we meet, I will never let you get hurt again. Even if you become an ordinary person, I am willing to support you for a lifetime.”
The Next Day
After soaking in medicinal baths for several days, once her body could barely move, Jiang Yishu immediately went to find Xie Lingjun.
For the first time, Jiang Yishu made a request to Xie Lingjun, unconsciously treading carefully.
“Master, I wish to undergo Medicinal Bath Body Tempering to recover more quickly.”
Xie Lingjun saw the determination in Jiang Yishu and knew that even if he refused, she would find a way to temper her body, perhaps through even more extreme methods.
“Your body hasn’t fully recovered. While tempering now might yield slightly better results, the pain you’ll endure will be several times greater than usual. Why not wait? When the time comes, Cold Pool Body Tempering will have the same effect.”
“Master, I can’t wait. I’ve already climbed down the Thousand-Step Spike Stairs—what pain could possibly compare to that? I will definitely go to the Cold Abyss in the future, but since I’m already using medicinal baths for treatment, why not add something stronger to finish the job once and for all?”
Xie Lingjun shook his head. “For others, the Thousand-Step Spike Stairs might bring only misfortune, but for you, fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Since you insist, I will grant your wish. If the pain becomes too much, call for a stop. I will protect you.”
Jiang Yishu didn’t know what Xie Lingjun had discerned, but she could indeed feel subtle changes in her body.
Not only could her body absorb the Water Element, but even other faint elements in the air were quietly seeping into her.
It was precisely because of this that she wanted to verify her suspicions through Body Tempering.
Xie Lingjun moved with great speed, and in no time, the medicinal bath concoction was prepared under his and Gu Jin’s efforts.
While assisting, Gu Jin glanced at Jiang Yishu, hesitating to speak. He already knew that their master had taken Jiang as a disciple, but before leaving, he couldn’t help but offer a reminder.
“Little Junior Sister, the medicinal bath is very painful. Your injuries haven’t fully healed—are you sure you want to undergo Body Tempering? Don’t push yourself too hard. Why not wait a few more days?”
Jiang Yishu nodded. “Thank you, Second Senior Brother. My mind is made up.”
Cultivating immortality was, by nature, defying the heavens. Waiting around would only mean missing opportunities.
Jiang Yishu resolutely stepped into the medicinal barrel. Outside the door, Gu Jin crouched beside Xie Lingjun, his face filled with worry.
“Master, even when one is in good health, enduring Medicinal Bath Body Tempering is extremely difficult. Little Junior Sister hasn’t fully recovered from her severe injuries—will she be able to withstand it?”