A Favor to Ask of You

"Elder Lu, what brings you to my Cloud Dream Pavilion?"

"I happened to defeat you on the stage yesterday, Fairy Xia. I hope you'll forgive me."

"In a contest, there is bound to be a winner and a loser. Your skills were superior, Elder Lu, and I accept my defeat wholeheartedly. Why should you apologize?"

More than that, Xia Ningxue was concerned about the person Lu Changsheng had brought with him.

Though Mo Huazhi lacked Xia Ningxue's unworldly, transcendent air, she was gentle and refined, with a scholarly air and a charm of her own.

The question was, why had Lu Changsheng brought her here?

"This woman is a servant of your Ask Immortal Pavilion, responsible for a small bamboo grove."

"With her bearing, it's a pity for her to serve as a servant."

"So I would like to ask you to bring me her contract and restore her freedom, Fairy Xia. Of course, I'm not an unreasonable man. I'm willing to exchange a Fifth-Grade Medicinal Pill for one of Ask Immortal Pavilion's servants."

Lu Changsheng took out a small jade bottle containing a Fifth-Grade Medicinal Pill.

One Fifth-Grade Medicinal Pill was more than enough to exchange for ten servants, let alone one.

"Elder Lu, Fifth-Grade Medicinal Pills may be precious, but our Ask Immortal Pavilion would not casually exchange a servant or disciple for one. If you are only seeking to satisfy your own selfish desires, then please leave."

Xia Ningxue's voice grew colder.

"Please don't misunderstand, Fairy Xia. I merely saw that she had a good Root Bone and intended to take her as my disciple. That is all."

Seeing that Xia Ningxue had misunderstood, Lu Changsheng explained his reasons.

"That's all?"

Xia Ningxue's tone softened.

Immediately afterward, Xia Ningxue felt troubled in secret.

Why am I letting my thoughts run wild?

Lu Changsheng taking a servant away was the servant's good fortune. What did it have to do with her?

"If you don't think a Fifth-Grade Medicinal Pill is enough to exchange for a servant, Fairy Xia, then a Sixth-Grade Medicinal Pill should suffice."

Lu Changsheng thought Xia Ningxue would not readily help, so he raised his offer.

To his surprise, Xia Ningxue pushed both the Fifth-Grade and Sixth-Grade Medicinal Pills back. "It's her fortuitous opportunity to become your disciple, and it will make a fine story. As long as she agrees, I can fetch her contract. Our Ask Immortal Pavilion has no shortage of servants. At the foot of Misty Peak, who knows how many people are willing to come serve our Ask Immortal Pavilion?"

"I was being vulgar."

Lu Changsheng had not expected Xia Ningxue to be so accommodating, unmoved even by a Sixth-Grade Medicinal Pill.

Xia Ningxue's character was indeed rare in this world.

"Are you willing?"

Xia Ningxue looked at Mo Huazhi.

Mo Huazhi nodded earnestly. "I am willing to follow Master and cultivate."

"Since that is your own wish, go with him. I'll have someone fetch your contract."

"Thank you, Holy Maiden."

Mo Huazhi had never expected the day would come when she could escape her fate as a servant, and she was overjoyed.

"Then doesn't that make me the senior sister?"

Lian also seemed unusually excited.

Though she was younger than Mo Huazhi, she had entered the sect five years earlier, making her the senior sister.

"Disciple, don't be rude. As her senior sister, you must look after your junior sister from now on."

Lu Changsheng admonished her.

"I understand..."

Lian stuck out her tongue. How come being a senior sister is even worse than being a little junior sister?

His second and third disciples were the Martial God and the Literary Sage, respectively. Azure Cloud Peak would be even livelier from now on.

"Elder Lu, since the matter you came to ask about has been settled, you may leave. Someone, see our guest out."

"Wait. Besides asking you for someone, Fairy Xia, I came here for another matter. You suffered a backlash from your cultivation method, so your soul must have sustained some damage. I have a Sixth-Grade Medicinal Pill here, a Soul-Replenishing Pill, which can prevent any future trouble for good. Please don't refuse it, Fairy Xia."

Lu Changsheng had gained a disciple and owed her a favor, at least to some extent.

Lu Changsheng had not yet given up on the idea of taking Xia Ningxue as his disciple.

Xia Ningxue's talent was terrifying. Even without a system, her cultivation could advance a thousand miles in a day. She was unmistakably this plane's child of fortune.

"Since it's a kind gift from you, Elder Lu, and I happen to need this pill, I'll accept it. I'll surely repay you in the future."

Seeing how sincere Lu Changsheng was, Xia Ningxue found it hard to refuse. Besides, her injuries had not fully healed, and the Soul-Replenishing Pill was a Sixth-Grade Medicinal Pill, a rarity.

However, if Xia Ningxue knew that Lu Changsheng was grinding her favorability only because he wanted to take her as his disciple, she would surely be full of question marks.

Lu Changsheng chatted with Xia Ningxue for a while longer, and they exchanged insights from their contest.

Lu Changsheng discovered that, though Xia Ningxue's cultivation was extraordinary, she was ultimately a young woman who had devoted herself to cultivation and experienced little of the world. He spoke more freely, slipping in a few jokes whenever he found an opening. Xia Ningxue could not help but smile, occasionally pressing her lips together as she chuckled.

"It's getting late. I won't delay your cultivation any longer, Fairy Xia."

Lu Changsheng realized that it had already reached noon without his noticing, so he rose to take his leave.

"Mm."

Xia Ningxue nodded. Their conversation came to an abrupt halt just as it was at its liveliest, and Xia Ningxue actually felt a trace of reluctance to part.

No one in Ask Immortal Pavilion would chat with her in a teasing tone.

Lu Changsheng summoned his flying sword and swept his right sleeve. Two gentle breezes enveloped his disciples Lian and Mo Huazhi, and he flew toward the place where the Shushan party was staying.

What's wrong with me? Master said that since ancient times, the trial of love has been hard to pass. When cultivating the Supreme Forgetting Emotions Art, one should sever emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, and hate...

Xia Ningxue circulated the Supreme Forgetting Emotions Art, suppressing her turbulent State of Mind.

Suddenly, a vast presence descended, and the entire Cloud Dream Pavilion trembled.

"Master."

Xia Ningxue opened her eyes. The visitor was none other than the Pavilion Master of Ask Immortal Pavilion.

"That boy Lu Changsheng was here?"

"Yes..."

"What did he say?"

"He only took one of our Ask Immortal Pavilion's servants and gave me a Soul-Replenishing Pill."

"A Sixth-Grade Medicinal Pill? I didn't expect that boy to be so generous."

The Pavilion Master of Ask Immortal Pavilion was quite surprised.

An ordinary Dao Palace Realm elder might not possess even one Sixth-Grade Medicinal Pill, yet Lu Changsheng had given one away just like that. Even the Pavilion Master of Ask Immortal Pavilion could not help but take notice.

"Still, you must not grow fond of that boy Lu Changsheng. Although Lu Changsheng has reached the Dao Palace Realm Fifth Layer in a little over two hundred years of cultivation, his talent is still worlds apart from yours. To you, he is no more than a passerby."

"If you fall into a tribulation of love because of him, you may be tormented as I was, and find it difficult to ascend to the Immortal Stage."

"Alas, I offered my heart to the bright moon, but the bright moon cast its light upon the gutter..."

The Pavilion Master of Ask Immortal Pavilion let out a long, mournful sigh.

"Master, what exactly happened back then?"

Xia Ningxue knew that the Pavilion Master of Ask Immortal Pavilion and the Shushan Sect Master had a past together, but none of Ask Immortal Pavilion's younger elders knew what had happened back then.

"You need not know about that. I came here for another matter as well. One of our Ask Immortal Pavilion's Grand Supreme Elders knows she has no hope of passing her tribulation and that her lifespan is nearly exhausted, so she has ended her secluded cultivation early. She heard that your aptitude is no less than that of the immortal who founded our Ask Immortal Pavilion two hundred thousand years ago, and intends to sacrifice her own cultivation to give you a Transmission Empowerment."