Tender as a Chick

Huayang Sect has no night.

Huayang Sect cultivates the Huayang Heavenly Dao Scripture. Most of the orthodox immortal sect methods that complement it are fire techniques, so the cultivators of Huayang Sect are often surrounded by firelight when they practice, appearing like little suns in the darkness.

In addition, there are five Golden Crow Trees within the Huayang Sect's mountain gate.

These five Golden Crow Trees are hundreds of feet tall, drawing Fire Crow Essence Gold from the earth's veins to grow. They are engulfed in flames day and night.

Today, Old Ancestor Tong Hui achieved Nascent Soul, and Huayang Sect's status throughout Lesser Jade Continent instantly became incomparable. From now on, when Huayang Sect disciples travel outside, they will naturally carry an extra swagger, an extra layer of the most solid protection.

Lesser Jade Continent has plenty of cultivators who dare to provoke sects with many Golden Core cultivators, but not many dare to provoke sects with Nascent Soul cultivators.

In the Cultivation World, Golden Core cultivators are addressed with the honorific "True Person," but for Nascent Soul, the honorific becomes "True Lord"!

The single word "Lord" gives a completely different impression.

The entire Huayang Sect was enveloped in a joyous atmosphere.

Fierce flames roared, and light illuminated the heavens.

This signaled the arrival of Huayang Sect's golden age.

However, there are always exceptions, and some people were not in good spirits.

He Lingxiu walked along a mountain path illuminated a deep red by the firelight.

The red light on the mountain path even stained the tops of her shoes.

She seemed to be in a decent mood, but Qi Jianzhu, who appeared in her line of sight at the end of the mountain path, was clearly not in a good mood.

Even the festive atmosphere enveloping Huayang Sect and the bright firelight couldn't dispel the gloom on his face.

"Heh heh!"

The moment He Lingxiu saw Qi Jianzhu, she guessed what he was up to, so she gave her signature smile.

"Junior Sister He!"

Qi Jianzhu was serious. When He Lingxiu got closer, he solemnly bowed and said, "Please spare me a moment, Junior Sister."

"What, did someone say something to you and you just walked away with the Yin Thunder Umbrella? Aren't you convinced, Senior Brother?" He Lingxiu chuckled again.

Qi Jianzhu felt that He Lingxiu's smile seemed a bit forced, but he also hadn't felt much joy in his previous conversations with her, so he didn't pay it much mind. He nodded and said, "The Yin Thunder Umbrella is the only Spirit Treasure of our Huayang Sect. By rights, if it weren't for those two disciples from Profound Heaven Sect causing trouble, this Yin Thunder Umbrella should have belonged to you, Junior Sister."

"That's not necessarily true." He Lingxiu changed her demeanor, looking a bit childlike, blinking her eyes. "Perhaps the Old Ancestor will keep it for himself."

Qi Jianzhu faltered visibly, but then said seriously, "Even if the Old Ancestor keeps it, it will remain within Huayang Sect. You, Junior Sister He, will naturally be the inheritor of this Spirit Treasure in the future."

"So, are you implying I should curse the Old Ancestor to die soon so the artifact drops to me, or do you think I'm so incapable that I'll spend my entire cultivation life without obtaining a better Spirit Treasure than the Yin Thunder Umbrella, and can only wait anxiously for the Old Ancestor's lifespan to expire before inheriting it?" He Lingxiu laughed heartily.

Qi Jianzhu felt a tightness in his chest. He hadn't expected He Lingxiu to respond like this at all and was momentarily stunned.

After a moment, he came back to his senses and said with a wry smile, "Junior Sister, please don't tease. You know I didn't mean that. I just feel that with the highest-cultivation disciples of our generation in Huayang Sect present, we watched a cultivator from Profound Heaven Sect walk away with the Yin Thunder Umbrella with our own eyes. It's really hard to justify."

"I understand."

He Lingxiu smiled faintly. "Senior Brother Qi, you mean you want to teach that Wang Li a lesson?"

Qi Jianzhu's face brightened with a smile. "Precisely. That Wang Li's cultivation is at most between the Fifth and Sixth Level of Qi Refining. If we don't put him in his place, cultivators from other sects, even if their cultivation is much lower than ours, will think our Huayang Sect is still as easy to bully as before."

"In that case, I agree with you, Senior Brother. I wish you victory, Senior Brother Qi." He Lingxiu put on a look of solemn respect and cupped her fists towards Qi Jianzhu. "After all, Senior Brother already has Eighth Level of Qi Refining cultivation, and Foundation Establishment is just around the corner. Dealing with a Profound Heaven Sect disciple at the Fifth or Sixth Level of Qi Refining should be as easy as flipping your hand."

Qi Jianzhu's smile froze instantly.

"I await your good news, Senior Brother, to bring glory to our Huayang Sect." He Lingxiu no longer paid him any mind and walked past him.

Her clear, slightly immature voice, like silver bells, still echoed on the mountain path, "Anyway, that Wang Li is a disciple from Profound Heaven Sect's Lone Peak. Senior Brother, you know very well that no matter how you teach him a lesson, Profound Heaven Sect won't intervene. Moreover, perhaps those people from Profound Heaven Sect will even be delighted."

A moment later, He Lingxiu appeared before a Dao Hall completely enveloped in black Earth Fiend True Fire.

The heat from the Earth Fiend True Fire distorted the surrounding air, but He Lingxiu's eyes seemed to not even register its presence as she walked straight towards it.

The moment the Earth Fiend True Fire touched her, it automatically parted, and she passed directly through it, entering the Dao Hall.

The walls of this Dao Hall had viscous black flames constantly flowing, faintly forming winding black snakes. In the center of the hall was a teleportation array embedded with crystals.

This type of teleportation array was not common in Lesser Jade Continent; Huayang Sect only had this one.

In the entire Cultivation World, the most powerful teleportation arrays could transmit over twenty thousand miles. The transmission distance of Huayang Sect's teleportation array was at most twenty-seven hundred miles.

In front of this teleportation array was a stone platform. Seated on the platform was a middle-aged cultivator in a black robe. This cultivator had scorched hair and a sallow complexion. His eyes were half-closed, appearing listless. The garment he wore was somewhat frightening; three black snakes formed from flames crawled on his dark gold robe.

These three black snakes were more lifelike than the flames forming snakes on the surrounding walls; they not only flicked their tongues but their scales were also vividly rendered.

However, He Lingxiu seemed accustomed to this cultivator.

"Qi Jianzhu tried to persuade you to deal with that Profound Heaven Sect disciple named Wang Li, why didn't you go?" This cultivator, clearly familiar with He Lingxiu, suddenly said with a smile as she approached him.

The Dao Hall he was in was half a mountain away from the mountain path where He Lingxiu had spoken with Qi Jianzhu, yet he seemed to have heard their conversation clearly.

"Third Uncle-Master, if you're curious about that Profound Heaven Sect disciple, just say so." He Lingxiu also smiled playfully. "Do you have any more spirit walnuts?"

"Where would I get so many spirit walnuts?" The cultivator she called Third Uncle-Master did not deny it and said with a smile, "What level of Qi Refining cultivator is he to be able to suppress a Golden Core self-detonation?"

"He is indeed at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining." He Lingxiu became serious. "However, he is no ordinary Fifth Level of Qi Refining cultivator. I doubt even cultivators at the Ninth Level of Qi Refining have True Essence as condensed as his."

The cultivator she called Third Uncle-Master instantly dropped his smile, his expression filled with surprise. "That unique?"

"But even that would be fine, yet he didn't react at all to the mental pressure from my Master and Uncle-Master Qingyang," He Lingxiu thought of Qi Jianzhu, and a playful smirk involuntarily appeared on her lips. "And his casting speed is so fast, in the time it takes me to throw ten talismans, he can throw at least thirty."

"I've also heard of these two cultivators from Profound Heaven Sect's Lone Peak," the cultivator's expression grew even more solemn. "Those two cultivators were dissatisfied with the rebellion of the Profound Heaven Sect's disciples, leading the sect to abandon them on Lone Peak, almost completely cutting off contact. Could it be that some elder within Profound Heaven Sect is secretly providing assistance, leading to this?"

"Third Uncle-Master, your thinking is too rigid," He Lingxiu said with a faint smile. "Before I returned to Huayang Sect, I already managed to inquire about him. The information I got made me almost disbelieve it. Over the past decade or so, his senior sister, Lü Shenliang, has taken him, and a significant portion of that time was spent entering the chaotic continent. I can't be completely certain yet, but when I go out this time, I will have someone investigate thoroughly. I suspect all the cultivation needs for him and his senior sister come from their own experiences. They have absolutely no connection to this Profound Heaven Sect. My intuition tells me this pair of senior sister and junior brother is even more extraordinary than I imagined."

This cultivator was her Third Uncle-Master, True Person Lingyang. Hearing her words, True Person Lingyang's brows furrowed as if someone had carved several knives into his forehead. "If that's the case, and you deliberately provoked Qi Jianzhu to deal with Wang Li, then isn't he just seeking his own death?"

"Heh heh."

He Lingxiu gave her signature smile and said, "If he dies, he dies. He wasn't exactly well-intentioned anyway. He thought I was truly naive and would cause trouble just because he incited me a little. What if I had been killed by someone self-detonating their Golden Core? Wouldn't he then become a prodigy of Huayang Sect, reaping endless benefits? Others in Huayang Sect might not know me, but Third Uncle-Master, don't you know me? If someone like that provokes me again outside, I might even have them killed directly. Of Uncle-Master Qingyang's five disciples, besides their speed in absorbing spiritual energy, the rest are all arrogant one after another. They think they're smarter than others, but they're as tender as chicks. If they get casually killed outside, they'll disgrace Huayang Sect. If someone like that can die at the hands of those two from Profound Heaven Sect, it would be a case of dying sooner and being reborn sooner, not wasting the sect's spirit sand."

True Person Lingyang's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he didn't seem to find anything too inappropriate. He didn't say anything further, only stating, "Be careful yourself."

After saying this, he patted a spirit stone behind him, and the teleportation array he was guarding instantly lit up.