Fairy Qingxue's Invitation

At that moment, a woman approached. She wore a white palace gown with a purple round collar edged in gold thread. Golden-thread embroidered pearl tassel ribbons hung from her waist, silver bells dangling from their ends. She wore red embroidered shoes and a white gauze hat, with crabapple blossoms embroidered on either side.

A red gemstone adorned the center of her hat. An exquisite hairpin swayed in her coiffure, with tiny golden bells hanging from its phoenix tail. One ear showed beneath her cloudlike hair, its earlobe adorned with a jade earring.

She was in the prime of her twenties, with bright eyes and gleaming teeth, delicate features, and a flawless oval face. Pride and aloofness flickered in her clear eyes.

Her figure was graceful, slender and tall, her frame willowy. Her full breasts were taut and firm, her skin whiter than frost and snow, smooth as congealed fat, so delicate it seemed it could break at a touch. Below were two long, rounded jade legs, and her entire body exuded a captivating, intoxicating aura.

After losing himself for an instant, Lu Xuanji subconsciously looked away.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist. The Lu Clan has produced two more heavenly prodigies."

The cool and aloof woman spoke, smiling sweetly with an indescribable allure.

"Fairy, your elegance remains undiminished."

The Great Elder smiled.

"But you have grown old."

The cool woman said.

"Yes, I have grown old." As the Great Elder spoke, a faint trace of sorrow flashed across his face.

They were of the same generation. In their youth, they had ventured out together and slain demon beasts together, sharing a good friendship. But one had joined a sect while the other remained with the family, and their relationship had gradually grown distant.

"Xuanji, Xiao Xue, hurry and call her Aunt... This is Fairy Qingxue."

The Great Elder said.

"Aunt."

Lu Xuanji immediately called out obediently.

"Aunt."

Ye Feixue was slightly stunned, but she still called her Aunt.

"Good children, such good children."

Fairy Qingxue smiled as though she were looking at her own children.

Devoted to cultivation, she had never married. Yet precisely because of that, she was especially fond of children.

"Xiao Xue has a Dual Spirit Root. Staying in the Lu Clan would only hold her back; she should join the Danyang Sect." Fairy Qingxue spoke in a soft, gentle voice. "Environment and resources are very important. Without a favorable environment and abundant resources, even a genius may be buried."

As she spoke, she looked at the Great Elder, a trace of regret flashing through her expression.

"Tian Yi, you have a Triple Spirit Root and are also an Array Master. Had you joined the Danyang Sect, you would have reached the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer long ago and had two chances to break through to the Purple Mansion Stage. But now, the Lu Clan lacks resources. The Lu Clan delayed you, and you only entered the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer at one hundred seventy, with just one chance to break through to the Purple Mansion."

"Xiao Xue has a Dual Spirit Root. In the future, she has hope of reaching the Purple Mansion Stage, perhaps even the Golden Core stage. But the Lu Clan's pond is too small to raise such a great dragon. The best choice is to join the Danyang Sect. The Danyang Sect has a mid-grade Rank 4 spirit vein and abundant resources."

"Not long ago, I spoke with my master. If Xiao Xue joins the Danyang Sect, I can guarantee that she will attain the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer before one hundred thirty, giving her at least two chances to break through to the Purple Mansion Stage. She will also be able to unlock the Rank 2 Alchemist inheritance at half price. When purchasing Purple Sun Jade, she can receive a ten percent discount; when purchasing Purple Mansion Pills, she can receive a twenty percent discount. If she lacks contribution points, she may buy on credit."

Fairy Qingxue extended an olive branch, making an offer of recruitment.

Such terms were extremely generous, and the Great Elder's eyes could not help but light up as he listened.

Lu Xuanji was also slightly tempted.

Building a Cave Mansion atop a mid-grade Rank 4 spirit vein would provide cultivation benefits far beyond Changyuan Mountain's Rank 2 spirit vein. Cultivation speed would be at least thirty percent faster.

Unlocking the Rank 2 Alchemist inheritance at half price meant having a stable source of income in the future.

With stable income and a Cave Mansion rich in spiritual energy, cultivation would proceed quickly. One could reach the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer sooner, which was immensely beneficial for attaining the Purple Mansion Stage.

It was like Qi Refining stage cultivators: before the age of sixty, their blood and vitality were flourishing, their essence, qi, and spirit complete, and they stood at the peak of life, making their chances of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm quite high. But once they passed sixty, their blood and vitality declined, and their chances of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm correspondingly fell.

If they passed one hundred, attempting to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm would mean certain death.

Likewise, Foundation Establishment Cultivators were best off attempting to break through to the Purple Mansion Stage before the age of two hundred, while their blood and vitality were still rising. Their success rate would be relatively high then. After two hundred, their blood and vitality would wither, they would grow old, and the success rate of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm would continue to decline.

Few Foundation Establishment Cultivators succeeded in breaking through to the Purple Mansion Stage on a single attempt.

Usually, they could only succeed after two or three consecutive attempts.

It could be said that the earlier one reached the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer, the greater one's chance of becoming a Purple Mansion cultivator.

Likewise, there were tiers when redeeming Purple Sun Jade and Purple Mansion Pills. The first tier was free redemption, requiring neither spirit stones nor merit points. The second tier allowed credit, redeeming them in advance and repaying afterward. The third tier required immediate payment in spirit stones and merit points, but offered discounts. The fourth tier also required immediate payment in spirit stones and merit points, offered no discount, and even required waiting in line.

Granting Ye Feixue treatment at the second tier showed that Fairy Qingxue was quite sincere.

Ye Feixue frowned slightly as she listened. "Brother, what do you think?"

"It is not about what I think, but what you think." Lu Xuanji said. "Xiao Xue, you have grown up. You can already make decisions about your own future!"

Perhaps feeling that this was not enough, Fairy Qingxue continued, "For a little girl to join the Danyang Sect is not a betrayal of her family. It is for the family to become better. After joining the Danyang Sect, she can better repay the family. So long as it does not harm the sect's interests and complies with sect rules, the sect tacitly permits her to provide some benefits to the Lu Clan."

"If you develop well within the sect, it will also benefit the Lu Clan."

As the Great Elder listened, his eyes seemed to brighten.

Perhaps Xiao Xue joining the sect would indeed be better for the Lu Clan.

The fate of the weak was decided by the strong.

Just as any casual order or policy from the Danyang Sect could bring enormous benefits to the Lu Clan, it could also plunge the Lu Clan into utter destruction. The strong needed no blade to kill; a word was enough. Having members of the Lu Clan among the Danyang Sect's middle and upper ranks would benefit the Lu Clan.

Yet Lu Xuanji merely sneered.

Once Ye Feixue was sent to the sect and grew up consuming the Danyang Sect's resources, she would no longer truly be a member of the Lu Clan.

After all, the Danyang Sect painstakingly raised her not to cultivate a cultivator for the Lu Clan. In the end, she would likely sever her karmic ties with the Lu Clan, and her relationship with it would gradually fade.

Feelings, feelings—when people spend much time together, feelings naturally arise;

Likewise, when people go long without seeing one another, those feelings naturally grow thin.

Many words contained traps and rhetorical tricks. One could occasionally listen to them as chicken soup for the soul or spiritual victories, but anyone who truly took them seriously was a fool.