Eleven frames

By the time Qiao Ranran climbed the final Greenstone Step, ten days had passed. That last step alone had taken her three days. Her only thought was that the Immortal Ascension Road was a complete rip-off. At the Qi Refining Stage, she still needed ordinary food. If the Profound Heart Sect had not kindly provided meals, she probably would have starved to death rather than died of exhaustion.

The gains were enormous, too. Her cultivation had finally stabilized at the third layer of Qi Refining—progress she would never have dared imagine in her previous life. Back then, she had spent a year confined on Reflection Cliff before barely managing to draw qi into her body. Before meeting that person, she had only reached the second layer of Qi Refining after an entire year.

She was very satisfied, but Baby Face was thoroughly unimpressed.

"Having climbed the Immortal Ascension Road and entered our Profound Heart Sect, you are now a disciple of the sect. I am Xi Lingge, your master." As he spoke, something seemed to occur to him, and he frowned impatiently. "Come with me first. The apprenticeship ceremony will be in three days."

Qiao Ranran tilted her head. She was genuinely exhausted and wanted nothing more than to collapse and sleep like the dead. Hearing that the ceremony was three days away, she paid no attention to the fact that Xi Lingge had never even asked her name.

Only when Xi Lingge brought Qiao Ranran, who had slept for three days, to the Profound Heart Sect's main hall for the apprenticeship ceremony and to have her Disciple Jade Token engraved did he realize he still did not know his newly acquired disciple's name.

Qiao Ranran could not help laughing. "Your disciple, Qiao Ranran, pays her respects to Master." While she was still debating whether to kneel, Xi Lingge impatiently flicked his sleeve, sweeping her back upright before her knees had finished bending.

"We don't care for all that kneeling in the Profound Heart Sect. A proper greeting when we meet is enough." He then finished engraving the jade token and tossed it to Qiao Ranran. "Every disciple of the Profound Heart Sect lights a Soul Lamp. Focus your mind..."

Xi Lingge was interrupted. "Junior Brother, your precious disciple is only at the Qi Refining Stage." The implication was clear: how could a mere Qi Refining disciple gather a wisp of her own divine soul to light a Soul Lamp? Usually, the master did it for the disciple. But Xi Lingge had never taken a disciple before and had never paid attention to such things. He probably no longer remembered his own apprenticeship ceremony, so it was perfectly normal for him not to know.

But before they had even finished speaking, the Soul Lamp in Qiao Ranran's hands flickered to life with a white glow. Its slender flame cast a soft, wavering light through the main hall.

Everyone: "..." They would just pretend they had said nothing!

For a Medicine Cultivator, whether using spell arts, applying needles, or refining pills, the demands on the strength of the divine soul were exceptionally high. After her rebirth, Qiao Ranran discovered that although her cultivation was as pathetic as ever, her divine soul seemed to have retained the strength it had possessed in her previous life.

The ease with which she could use the Stacking Spell and form separate spell seals with each hand made that clear.

Xi Lingge knew this, so it had never occurred to him that she might be unable to light the Soul Lamp.

Everyone: What a promising prospect! If only her cultivation talent weren't so poor! What a shame!

Qiao Ranran knew nothing of their thoughts. She merely felt that everyone in the Profound Heart Sect seemed remarkably laid-back. Although the apprenticeship ceremony looked formal, it had an air of carefree abandon. At the very least, her newly acquired master did not care about these formalities at all.

After the ceremony ended, Xi Lingge called Qiao Ranran over and was about to leave when something suddenly occurred to him. He turned to look at everyone in the hall and abruptly smiled. "Come to think of it, whenever you've taken disciples over the years, I've never skimped on welcome gifts. Well? Isn't it your turn to show a little generosity today?" Did they think they could get away with it just because he would not remember?

After all, they had never held back when asking him for gifts every time they took a disciple.

Everyone laughed evasively and pleaded poverty while tossing the welcome gifts they had prepared long ago into Qiao Ranran's hands. Some even complained that Xi Lingge had taken far too long to accept a disciple; their gifts had been waiting for years with no one to give them to.

Receiving so many gifts that her hands nearly gave out, Qiao Ranran thought the Profound Heart Sect was quite an interesting place.

"Thank you, Uncle-Masters and Senior Uncle-Masters."

"Don't waste your breath on them." Seeing that she had received most of the gifts, Xi Lingge tugged Qiao Ranran away and began putting ideas in her head. "These people are up to no good. Not a decent one among them. When you refine pills in the future, keep out of their way—and their disciples' too. Don't let them sweet-talk you out of all your pills. If they want some, fine, but remember to make them trade something for them. If they have nothing else, spirit stones will do. Understand? And payment and goods change hands at the same time, or these paupers will wriggle out of paying."

Qiao Ranran replied expressionlessly, "Understood."

So the Profound Heart Sect was very poor?

Chapter 11: Eleven frames

Not only was the Profound Heart Sect poor, it had very few people.

That was Qiao Ranran's latest discovery.

Her newly acquired master took her back to his mountain peak, tossed her a pile of Jade Slips, then hurried into his cave abode to resume his secluded cultivation. Ever since his last batch of Nine Cauldron Pills had exploded, he had been holding himself back. Now that taking his disciple was finally official, what concerned him most was still the pills he had yet to finish refining.

As for his disciple, she would have to forgive him. He truly had no idea how to teach her.

Fortunately, Qiao Ranran was already accustomed to studying on her own. The pile of Jade Slips Xi Lingge had given her was enough to keep her occupied for a long time.

"Junior Sister Qiao." Arriving uninvited, Qi Zhuoyu narrowed his eyes as he studied Qiao Ranran, his smiling mask impeccably practiced. "I'm your Senior Brother Qi, Qi Zhuoyu. My master is the Sect Leader. You must have seen him at your apprenticeship ceremony."

Qiao Ranran tilted her head and tried hard to remember. Despite priding herself on her good memory, she had already forgotten what the Sect Leader looked like! She had clearly looked him over, yet now she could not recall a single thing. It was far too strange.

Qi Zhuoyu smiled. "No need to doubt yourself, Junior Sister. Our cultivation is too low to see Master's true appearance clearly. Even if we do see him, we forget the moment we turn away. You'll get used to it."

Qiao Ranran: "..."

"Master was worried that Uncle-Master Xi's lack of experience would keep him from looking after you properly, so he sent me to help you get acquainted with the sect." Smiling, Qi Zhuoyu looked at the Jade Slips Qiao Ranran had not yet had time to put away. The situation was plain to see.

"Uncle-Master Xi is in such a hurry because Master is injured. He's anxious to treat Master's injuries..."

From Qi Zhuoyu, she learned that his master, Ji Qingming, the current Sect Leader of the Profound Heart Sect, was injured. This was no secret within the sect. Xi Lingge had spent years researching in seclusion without making much progress. Recently, he had decided to try an approach involving the Nine Cauldron Pill, which was why he had become somewhat obsessive.

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