Sun Rongxun ultimately refused Nie Chifeng's request. She only left her with one sentence: "Since you hate men, don't ask men to do things for you."
Because of that one sentence, the two nearly came to blows again.
But Sun Rongxun did not think she was wrong. She had already seen through the arrangements made by the sect leaders and supreme elders. Sending a Merit Honoree each year to protect Feng Jun meant that the opportunities here were for that Merit Honoree to strive for and seize herself.
She had indeed saved Feng Jun's life—though it might not truly have counted as saving his life—but what Feng Jun had done for her had more than repaid that favor. He had improved her cultivation method, divined the poison, and even introduced her to cultivators suffering from wind poison.
If they truly settled the account, Sun Rongxun felt that she owed Feng Jun more. How could she trouble him to perform a divination for someone else?
Nie Chifeng was also quite dissatisfied with this outcome, but she knew full well that having Guan Hongxiu negotiate on her behalf was disrespectful to Feng Jun. Still, she told herself that Guan Hongxiu was close to him.
Since that route was blocked, she could only steel herself and seek out Qu Jianlei. Though he was also a male cultivator, he was ultimately from the Red Phoenix Sect and already had a partner, so she felt far less resistant.
She wanted to know what price she would have to pay to ask Feng Jun to divine how she could achieve Core Embrace.
Qu Jianlei solemnly told her three things. First, Feng Jun might not accept this kind of work. Second, even if he did calculate it, her chances of successfully achieving Core Embrace might not improve