Senior Martial Brother Fang pinched the spiritual core and scrutinized it for a moment before speaking flatly, “Not bad, it’s genuine.”
Of course it was genuine. Jiang Xing had risked falling into the wind cave to desperately dig it out.
Senior Martial Brother Fang gave him a condescending, sideways glance from above and tossed the Queen Insect’s spiritual core back to him. “Go back and prepare to take part in the inner sect assessment three days from now.”
He still had to take an assessment?
Jiang Xing’s body stiffened slightly. Was the Queen Insect’s spiritual core not even enough for him to enter the inner sect directly? That was the very Queen Insect that had killed him nine whole times!
Seeming to guess what he was thinking, Senior Martial Brother Fang unhurriedly added another line: “A reminder for you: for new disciples who wish to enter the inner sect, the absolute minimum requirement is the Foundation Establishment Stage. As for you… you seem to only be at the Qi Refining Stage.”
In three days’ time, how could he possibly advance by an entire realm? Furthermore, he didn’t even know any spells.
Jiang Xing’s face turned pale and then flushed with frustration. The magic treasures and resources in the inner sect were far greater than those for outer sect disciples, making it a once-in-a-lifetime chance for an extra like him to turn his fate around.
Entering the inner sect would make it much easier if he wanted to seek revenge on Qin Shangyan, and Zishu Bai would have to respectfully address him as “Senior Brother” upon seeing him…
There must be a way. He had even survived the Sand Town; what else was impossible?
Holding the spiritual core, Jiang Xing was just about to pull it back into his robes when he suddenly heard a burst of footsteps behind him.
“Truly impressive, actually being able to obtain the Queen Insect’s spiritual core all by yourself.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. Turning around, he indeed saw Yan Zhun and Zishu Bai walking toward him.
Zishu Bai coughed lightly, tugged at the corner of Yan Zhun’s robe, and lowered his voice, “Didn’t we agree not to mention this?”
“Why are you pulling me?” Yan Zhun cast a glance at him and continued in a sarcastic tone, “I’m just trying to curry favor with Jiang Xing. After all, the man is about to advance into the inner sect—we won’t be worthy enough to associate with him in the future.”
The disciples who had survived the hands of the Sky Insects were returning one after another. Hearing these words, everyone cast gazes toward Jiang Xing—some curious, others malicious.
Glancing at his surroundings, Jiang Xing’s brows knitted even tighter. Out of deference to Senior Martial Brother Fang, who was still present, he could only swallow this burst of anger for the moment. If Yan Zhun were to expose where the spiritual core came from, it would be difficult for him to explain.
After getting rid of Qin Shangyan, the second ones would be Yan Zhun and Zishu Bai—not a single one of them would get away.
“Thanks a lot.” Jiang Xing passed by them as if unaffected, his gaze sweeping over Zishu Bai, giving him a fiercely glaring look as if in warning.
Zishu Bai’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and he instinctively turned sideways to yield a path for him.
Only after Jiang Xing had walked far away did he hear Yan Zhun say with a face full of stifled rage: “What are you afraid of him for? His ability to enter the inner sect relies entirely on you. Do you think you’re helping him? You’re harming him! Just wait and see—Jiang Xing has no real ability. Even if he enters the inner sect, he’ll only be exposed. Deceiving the elders and senior brothers… when that time comes, his end will be being completely expelled from the sect.”
Expelled from the sect.
These four words exploded in Zishu Bai’s ears like a clap of thunder.
He had simply felt that he didn’t need the spiritual core, so it didn’t matter who took it, but he had never thought that doing so would harm Jiang Xing.
If Jiang Xing were expelled from the Wuwang Sect because of this matter, no other sect would ever take him either. Perhaps he could have originally remained an outer sect disciple of the Wuwang Sect, cultivating slowly, and sooner or later enter the inner sect as a matter of course when the time was right… yet all of this had been ruined because he hadn’t stopped Jiang Xing from taking that spiritual core.
Zishu Bai’s breath hitched slightly, an image already surfacing in his mind of Jiang Xing being swept out the door, carrying a tattered small bundle, with a dirt-smeared face and a miserable appearance.
So pitiful.
“It was my mistake,” Zishu Bai said regretfully, his fingers hidden inside his sleeves curling tightly. “The responsibility lies entirely on me. I must go make things clear to him.”
Yan Zhun folded his arms and looked at him, letting out a deep sigh after a long moment: “His results were outstanding, so he’s likely already returned riding on Senior Martial Brother Fang’s immortal crane. No rush—once we get back, I’ll go with you to talk things over with him…”
No matter what, they were brothers who had gone through adversity together. Yan Zhun didn’t hate Jiang Xing; he just didn’t understand why he had turned into his present state.
The disciples who left the Sand Town indeed only had half their numbers survive, exactly as written in the original book. Because everyone had signed a life-and-death pledge before coming, the sect merely sent people to properly bury their corpses and gave some compensation to those disciples’ families, letting the matter rest there.
Eliminating demons was no child’s play. From the moment one entered the sect, one had to constantly face life-or-death crises like the Sand Town. If one couldn’t even survive facing those mindless demonic creatures in the Sand Town, they would only die a more miserable death when encountering truly cunning and insidious demonic cultivators in the future.
However, Jiang Xing had already cast all these matters completely to the back of his mind. Right now, he only cared about how to pass the inner sect assessment three days later.
The Qi Refining Stage and the Foundation Establishment Stage sounded like they differed by only a single realm, but in reality, many people could barely cultivate to the Foundation Establishment Stage in their entire lives.
Sitting by the window, he picked up a cultivation technique book from the writing desk, flipping it open to examine it carefully.
It was currently mid-March, with the chill of early spring lingering and the south lacking warmth. A branch of the Wuwang Sect’s mountain plum blossoms drooped down over the window sill, brushing pale floral shadows across the pages of the book.
Jiang Xing was very good at studying. From childhood to adulthood, he had always ranked among the top few in school, and his university was among the top, elite institutions in the country. To him, the difficulty level of learning was almost no different from drinking water, but after staring at the contents written in these cultivation books for half a day, he was still completely bewildered.
Guide the lunar essence down from the Niwan Palace, nourish the Sanjiao, and cycle through six minor circumvolutions… What kind of gibberish was all this?
He pulled out several more books to flip through, but the results were largely the same.
Having not inherited the original body’s memories, Jiang Xing had no way of even knowing how to cultivate specifically.
He couldn’t help pinching his forehead tightly, forcing himself to try and read on.
“Jiang Xing, someone outside is looking for you.”
A fellow disciple living with him called out toward the hall. Jiang Xing’s body paused slightly, and he put down the book in his palm.
Who?
All the new disciples who had joined the Wuwang Sect lived in the Yanxin Hall; perhaps it was a friend the original body knew, so he could take the opportunity to ask about the contents in the books.
However, as soon as he stepped out of the hall, Jiang Xing’s face turned instantly dark, and he turned around, wanting to head back inside.
“Wait a moment.”
Clad in snow-white Taoist robes, Zishu Bai stood beneath a red plum blossom tree, looking up at him somewhat timidly, “Jiang Xing, I have something I want to say to you.”
What was he here for? Did he want to ask for the Queen Insect’s spiritual core back? That didn’t sound like Zishu Bai’s style; Yan Zhun must have urged him to come.
“Get lost.” Jiang Xing cleanly tossed a single word at him, turned back into the hall, and moved to shut the hall door in passing.
Before the door could close fully, a hand pressed against it. No matter how much strength Jiang Xing applied, he couldn’t shut it any further.
Lowering his gaze to look at him, Zishu Bai opened the hall door with effortless ease, saying earnestly in a low voice, “I have something to say to you. If you don’t listen, I won’t leave.”
Is he sick in the head? Why is he clinging to him like superglue?
Seeing more and more disciples nearby looking toward them, Jiang Xing took a deep breath, after all raising his hand to drag Zishu Bai into the hall.
Leading Zishu Bai all the way to his own room, Jiang Xing pushed the man inside without the slightest courtesy and slammed the door shut tightly.
The room was neat, clean, and spotless, its furnishings so simple that there wasn’t a single redundant object. Zishu Bai took a brief look: an elm writing desk held a book regarding cultivation technique methods, and the sandalwood incense in the white porcelain censer had burned down by less than half, indicating that Jiang Xing was reading before he arrived.
Was he trying to figure out a way to cultivate?
Zishu Bai was stunned for a moment. Just as he was about to withdraw his gaze, his shoulder was shoved forcefully, pushing his entire body against the wall.
Jiang Xing stared at him coldly, demanding in a deep voice, “What did you come here for?”
Standing so close, Zishu Bai could even feel his breath spraying against his neck. He hurriedly backed away a little, until his back was pressed entirely against the icy wall.
Jiang Xing carried a very faint fragrance, not like flowers, but more like a freshly brewed cup of expensive tea, slightly tinged with the scent of sandalwood, with a touch of elegant bitterness.
It smelled very pleasant; he wondered what kind of tea it was.
“Are you deaf?”
Zishu Bai snapped back to his senses, answering him with a bit of hesitation: “I came to talk with you about that Queen Insect spiritual core.” Originally, Yan Zhun was also going to come and persuade Jiang Xing, but on the way back, he ate an un-fresh lotus leaf cake from his bundle and suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, leaving Zishu Bai to come alone.
Hearing his words, Jiang Xing gave a cold sneer as expected, let go of Zishu Bai, and slowly sat back down in front of the writing desk. “Talk?”
Zishu Bai nodded, looking at him anxiously: “You shouldn’t have taken that spiritual core. If you enter the inner sect but have no way to prove your strength to them, you will be expelled from the sect by the elders on charges of deceit.”
So that was it; Yan Zhun had used this trick to get Zishu Bai to come ask him for the item.
Jiang Xing sneered disdainfully in his heart, looking at him askance: “So, you want that spiritual core back, but you’ve never thought about why I absolutely had to get it?”
Zishu Bai indeed hadn’t thought about it. He had only been thinking about the Jiang Xing who would be expelled from the sect—the Jiang Xing whose bright and wonderful life was accidentally ruined by himself. Just thinking about that scene made his heart feel inexplicably sour and heavy.
Pausing for a moment, he asked softly, “Are you willing to tell me the reason?”
“Of course.”
Jiang Xing suddenly stood up and slowly walked in front of Zishu Bai, looking at him quietly for a long moment before suddenly grabbing his wrist.
Zishu Bai opened his eyes wide, letting him move while his entire body went rigid.
“To tell you the truth, my life background is quite miserable.” Jiang Xing closed his eyes, his voice very deep. “My family’s rules are strict and harsh. Since childhood, my parents taught me that I must fight to be number one. If I cannot enter the inner sect, my parents will definitely beat me to death with sticks. They have already beaten my older brother to death. If you take that spiritual core away, the next one beaten to death will be me.”
“Filial piety comes first among a hundred virtues; how could I disobey? Do you have the heart to watch me be beaten to death alive by my parents?”
Listening to his words, Zishu Bai opened his mouth in astonishment: “But it’s impossible for anyone to be number one forever! Besides, even if they are your birth parents, they shouldn’t treat you and your brother like this. Perhaps I can go help persuade them on your behalf…”
Jiang Xing let out a sigh and interrupted him, “It’s useless. They are far too stubborn.”
Silence abruptly fell upon the room. Zishu Bai looked at him speechless, wanting to say something, but not knowing where to begin.
“Forget it.”
Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Jiang Xing pressed his lips tightly together, took out that Queen Insect spiritual core from his robes, and stuffed it into Zishu Bai’s palm. He turned around, his tone reverting to a cold indifference. “This is my family matter after all; just act as if you’ve heard nothing. I will go explain to Senior Martial Brother Fang that I was too vain and stole the thing that originally belonged to you.”
The Queen Insect spiritual core in his palm had already been wiped clean, emitting bursts of icy demonic energy.
Zishu Bai lowered his gaze, his fingertips lightly rubbing over the spiritual core, seemingly still able to feel a slight bit of Jiang Xing’s body warmth.
He was born into a happy family and had never known that there were parents in this world who were so unreasonable and incapable of distinguishing right from wrong. Were it himself, he would perhaps be a hundred times more troubled than Jiang Xing.
After a long while, Zishu Bai raised his head and said in a gentle voice with absolute firmness: “The spiritual core is yours. If there is anything you need help with, just tell me.”
The corner of Jiang Xing’s lips curved slightly, and he slowly turned his head back, taking away that spiritual core.
“Alright, I just happen to be troubled by one thing.”
He knew that Zishu Bai was the most kind-hearted, the gentlest, and also the easiest to fool.
“In the whole world, only you can help me.”
He wanted Zishu Bai’s spiritual energy.