The past few days had been wonderfully peaceful for Xie Zhengxing.
Every day, she started her livestream on schedule.
The content had seamlessly shifted from “A Survival Diary of Madmen in the Cultivation World” to “An Immersive Slice-of-Life Experience as an Inner Sect Disciple.”
She had even made a few friends.
They were all former Servant Disciples who, like her, had recently been promoted from the Outer Sect—Liu Wan, Wang Sui, and Wu Lishan. Along with the ever-cheerful Du Xinbao, who always came over to lend a hand, the group of four gathered in her little courtyard every day, happily renovating it from top to bottom.
Liu Wan came from a family of embroidery artisans. She had excellent taste and took charge of the overall design and flower garden layout.
Wang Sui had maxed out his carpentry skills, effortlessly building shelves and hanging chairs.
Wu Lishan possessed tremendous natural strength. Point him toward a task, and he would finish it with astonishing efficiency.
As for the lively, muscular-barbie Du Xinbao, she served as the team’s morale booster and all-purpose helper.
In less than ten days, Xie Zhengxing’s once barren little courtyard had undergone a complete transformation.
The small garden bloomed with rare flowers and spiritual herbs as colorful butterflies fluttered among them.
Neatly arranged farming tools hung from wooden racks nearby.
The crowning masterpiece, however, was the enormous hanging chair tucked away in one corner, woven from spirit bamboo and flexible grass rope. Lying on it while gently swaying beneath the warm sun made one feel as though they could sleep there until the end of time.
Xie Zhengxing had not owned any vegetable seeds and had originally planned to leave the small vegetable patch empty.
Unexpectedly, the well-off Liu Wan produced a little cloth pouch filled with low-grade spirit vegetable seeds that were easy to grow.
Smiling warmly, Liu Wan said,
“From now on, when I come eat at your place, I won’t be bringing vegetables.”
Xie Zhengxing’s eyes lit up.
“Deal. Eat as much as you like~”
Du Xinbao, Wu Lishan, and Wang Sui worked hard turning over the soil while Liu Wan carefully buried the faintly glowing seeds alongside Xie Zhengxing.
“Xingxing, go fetch a bucket of water from the river. We need to soak the soil thoroughly.”
“Okay.”
Xie Zhengxing was dressed in the standard moon-white gauze robe worn by Inner Sect Disciples.
It fit loosely around her body.
Too lazy to tie up her long black hair, she simply let it fall naturally over her shoulders, partially concealing the uniquely designed Quantum Sonar Surveillance Earring, which shimmered softly beneath her earlobe.
Carrying a wooden bucket, she walked to the clear riverbank.
As she bent down to fill it, she caught sight of her reflection upon the rippling water.
The sparkling surface reflected a clean and graceful face.
Even dressed in nothing more than simple robes, she somehow carried an ethereal elegance.
Xie Zhengxing sighed softly.
“As expected… clothes really do make the person.”
Once she cleaned herself up, the original host truly possessed the appearance of an innocent, pure-hearted beauty with an incredibly captivating atmosphere.
That damned original author.
Even when writing a disposable damsel whose only purpose was to save the male lead’s life once before dying…
They still had to make her this gorgeous.
Could they possibly love the male lead any more?
The livestream had been unusually peaceful these past several days.
The longtime viewers, who had grown accustomed to absurd comedy and nonstop melodrama, found themselves feeling strangely uncomfortable.
【Who Do You Think You Are: Shocking! The absurd-comedy Streamer has completely transformed into a peaceful countryside lifestyle channel.】
【Even Dogs Get Kicked While Passing By: The Streamer has been so quiet these past few days that it’s making me nervous… But honestly, dressed like this in this courtyard, she really does look rather immortal.】
【Xiaoxiao: My electronic comfort food has gone from spicy hotpot to plain rice porridge… but somehow… it’s still delicious?】
Glancing at the chat, Xie Zhengxing spoke with perfect seriousness as she began emotionally manipulating her Audience Bosses.
“My beloved Consorts, life can’t always be filled with high-concentration melodrama. Every now and then, you need a little slow-paced daily life to balance things out. Otherwise your tolerance will become so high that sooner or later you’ll descend into the abnormal abyss of ‘If I don’t watch a world-shaking tragic romance, I physically can’t function.’”
【Riding Grandma Across the Galaxy: Like I’m a Sucker for Tragic Romance, for example? (doge emoji)】
【Who Do You Think You Are: Hahaha! Even after retiring to the countryside, the Streamer’s ability to throw shade with pinpoint accuracy hasn’t weakened one bit.】
【I’m a Sucker for Tragic Romance: ??? Don’t drag me into this! It’s called appreciation! Sophisticated appreciation!】
The chat immediately erupted into joyful laughter.
Mixed among the comments were vigorous defenses from one famous melodrama enthusiast and philosophical discussions about humanity’s eternal fascination with bizarre stories.
Amid the peaceful—and increasingly off-topic—conversation…
The hand holding Xie Zhengxing’s bucket suddenly froze.
She abruptly looked toward the mountain path in the distance.
The Quantum Sonar Surveillance Earring transmitted a faint but distinct vibration into her ear.
After filtering and analysis by its built-in AI, it reported that approximately four or five people were steadily approaching her courtyard from roughly one kilometer away.
Xie Zhengxing had deliberately chosen this courtyard.
It was quiet and far removed from the bustling Main Peak.
Strategically speaking, it was the perfect location.
Advance, and she could secretly watch the male lead and Female Lead’s melodramatic romance unfold.
Retreat, and she could quietly enjoy her own peaceful little life.
Aside from Du Xinbao and the others…
Almost no one ever came here.
Her friends were already in front of her.
So who was coming?
Concentrating carefully, she listened.
The Quantum Earring detected several overlapping footsteps.
Definitely more than one person.
Their footsteps were uniform.
Purposeful.
Without changing her expression, Xie Zhengxing carried the bucket back into the courtyard.
“Wanwan, the water’s here. Oh, right. I just heard something. About four or five people are heading this way. They should arrive in roughly two quarters of an hour.”
Everyone in the courtyard immediately paused.
Du Xinbao looked at her with amazement and admiration.
“Xingxing, you’re incredible! You could even detect that?”
Liu Wan also looked up in surprise before hesitantly asking,
“…Really?”
Although they had all passed the promotion examination together, she knew very little about Xie Zhengxing’s true abilities or hidden techniques.
Furthermore, Xie Zhengxing’s cultivation was only at the early Qi Refinement stage.
To project one’s divine sense over such a distance required at least the Fusion Realm.
So when Xie Zhengxing confidently stated both the number of people and their distance, Liu Wan instinctively found it difficult to believe.
That level of perception completely exceeded her understanding of what an early Qi Refinement Cultivator should be capable of.
Meanwhile, Wang Sui quietly edged closer, clutching his hoe.
Lowering his voice nervously, he asked,
“They’re not coming to collect some kind of ‘courtyard maintenance fee’ or ‘Main Peak protection fee,’ are they? I’ve heard some steward disciples love finding excuses to extort newly promoted disciples…”
Having grown up in poverty, Wang Sui had no idea whether Xie Zhengxing’s warning was true.
But the first thing that crossed his mind was the possibility of losing money.
Lowering her own voice, Xie Zhengxing replied,
“I don’t know.”
About two quarters of an hour later…
Footsteps gradually approached from the path outside the courtyard.
Everyone looked up.
Exactly as Xie Zhengxing had predicted—
A group of five people appeared outside the bamboo fence.
They wore identical robes bearing the insignia of the sect’s Mission Hall.
Their formation was orderly.
Their destination unmistakable.
It was true.
Liu Wan could not help looking at Xie Zhengxing once more.
The last trace of doubt vanished from her eyes.
“I knew Xingxing was amazing. The moment I first saw you in the crowd, I felt you were different from everyone else. Your early Qi Refinement cultivation must just be a disguise. Your real cultivation is definitely stronger than all of ours.”
Du Xinbao wore an expression that practically shouted, See? I told you I have excellent judgment!
Meanwhile, the livestream chat was already overflowing with jokes.
【Big Sis, Step on Me: Cultivation? No, no, no. This has nothing to do with cultivation!】
【Even Dogs Get Kicked While Passing By: It’s technology! Technology, Fellow Daoists! The Quantum Sonar Surveillance Earring supports both active scanning and passive early warning, has an effective radius of three kilometers, filters environmental noise, and even provides preliminary biological signature analysis!】
【Awake at 3 A.M.: Our Xingxing stopped relying solely on primitive divine sense ages ago!】
【Exotic Beast Enthusiast: “How I Built an Information-Based Early Warning System in the Cultivation World.”】
The leading male disciple stepped forward with a stern expression.
His gaze swept across everyone in the courtyard.
“Which one of you is Xie Zhengxing?”
Still carrying her bucket with her sleeves rolled up, the young woman casually raised one hand.
“Over here.”
The disciple looked her up and down.
Thin as a bean sprout.
Only early Qi Refinement cultivation.
So this was the Servant Disciple who had supposedly used underhanded tricks to worm her way into the Inner Sect?
The corners of his mouth curled downward ever so slightly.
Then, in a formal tone, he announced,
“Demonic creatures have recently appeared in increasing numbers throughout the Gulolin Realm. The Mission Hall has specially selected a group of elite disciples to eliminate them. Your name is on the list. Three days from now, at the Hour of the Dragon, report to the mountain gate.”