Ah Zhen died.
Before she died,
Elder Song made a small move.
Sweet air flooded Ah Zhen's nose and mouth, and a smile immediately appeared on her ashen face.
A few seconds later.
Elder Wu frowned as he examined the two freshly refined Spirit Essences in his hand. One was a superior Spirit Essence, refined by that useless Outer Sect disciple, while the other was an inferior Spirit Essence, refined by the Registered Disciple who had failed the challenge.
"Inferior spirit essence?"
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This was where the problem lay.
That provisional disciple's cultivation had already reached the third layer of Qi Refining. By rights, the result should have been a superior spirit essence. How had it turned out inferior?
However,
now was not the time to investigate.
He turned to glance at Chen Yu and said indifferently, "Under this sect's rules, any provisional disciple who passes the assessment and advances to the outer sect is rewarded with one spirit essence."
With that, Elder Wu tossed the inferior spirit essence in his hand to Chen Yu.
Chen Yu caught "Ah Zhen."
"Thank you, Elder."
Elder Wu paid Chen Yu no further attention, instead instructing Elders Sun and Song beside him, "Arrange the new disciple's admission as you see fit. I have other matters to attend to."
"Yes," Elders Sun and Song answered in unison.
"Mm."
Elder Wu gave a slight nod.
Only two Outer Sect elders, two Outer Sect disciples, and the newly promoted Chen Yu remained atop Jadewood Peak.
Only two outer sect elders, two outer disciples, and the newly promoted Chen Yu remained atop Jadewood Peak.
"Throw these remains into the Mass Burial Grounds before daybreak," Elder Sun instructed the two outer disciples. Then he turned to Chen Yu. "It's late. Return to Little Bamboo Peak and rest. Come find me at Emerald Cloud Peak tomorrow between seven and nine in the morning. I'll take you to complete your admission procedures."
After speaking, he noticed a trace of confusion in Chen Yu's eyes.
"Oh, right." Elder Sun raised a hand and pointed into the distance. "That's Emerald Cloud Peak."
Chen Yu looked in the direction Elder Sun indicated and saw a majestic mountain towering into the clouds. Committing Emerald Cloud Peak's shape and location to memory, he nodded. "I'll remember."
"Mm."
With everything explained, Elders Sun and Song exchanged a glance and nodded to each other.
Before leaving, Elder Song glanced at the disciple surnamed Xu, but said nothing.
The elders left.
The two outer disciples walked toward Chen Yu.
"May I ask your name, brother?" the disciple surnamed Xu asked first.
"Chen Yu."
"Ah, Brother Chen." The disciple surnamed Xu nodded. "I'm Xu Yunnian, also an outer disciple. I cultivate on Purple Bamboo Peak."
After his introduction, the other outer disciple beside him added, "Wang He, an outer disciple of Emerald Cloud Peak."
Hearing them mention different peaks, Chen Yu asked curiously, "Don't Dao Sect outer disciples cultivate together?"
"Of course not." Xu Yunnian pointed to the purple bamboo pattern embroidered on the chest of his white robe and explained, "Outer disciples are assigned to different peaks according to their spiritual root attributes. Purple Bamboo Peak, where I cultivate, is where disciples with wood spirit embryos gather, for example."
Having finished, Xu Yunnian casually asked Chen Yu, "What kind of spirit embryo do you have, Brother Chen?" "False Spirit Embryo," Chen Yu answered honestly.
Chen Yu answered honestly, "A false spirit embryo."
"So it's a false... uh..."
Xu Yunnian suddenly choked halfway through his sentence.
"False Spirit Embryo?!"
Xu Yunnian and Wang He exclaimed in unison.
Xu Yunnian and Wang He spoke in unison.
"Yes." Chen Yu was puzzled. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Xu Yunnian and Wang He exchanged a glance.
"Reaching the peak of the third layer of Qi Refining in three years with a false spirit embryo-that's impressive," Xu Yunnian said.
It was plain that once Xu Yunnian and Wang He learned Chen Yu had a false spirit embryo, their earlier enthusiasm instantly vanished. After a couple of perfunctory pleasantries, they began clearing away the remains atop Jadewood Peak.
Naturally, Chen Yu would not go out of his way to curry favor with them, so he returned to Little Bamboo Peak alone.
Of nearly a hundred provisional disciples, he was the only one to return alive. Perhaps it was his imagination, but Chen Yu felt that Little Bamboo Peak had suddenly become much quieter, as though it had turned into a deserted mountain in an instant. The evening breeze swept past. The mountain wind that had once felt cool and refreshing now sent a chill through his heart.
He returned to the stone house and lit a candle.
Lying on the bed with nothing to do, Chen Yu actually found himself thinking a little about Ah Zhen.
So he took out "Ah Zhen."
He held her before his eyes and examined her carefully by the dim candlelight.
The spirit essence was translucent, with red light flickering within. Holding it in his hand, he could clearly sense the exceedingly pure spiritual power contained inside.
"You harvested spiritual power from me before. Now you've returned it all, principal and interest." Chen Yu sighed.
In truth, Ah Zhen's death stirred no ripples within him.
He felt no joy,
nor sorrow.
Although they had previously been cultivation partners and had been physically intimate many times, at the end of the day, Ah Zhen had harvested him to improve her cultivation. Without the system, he would probably already have been a pile of bones dumped in the Mass Burial Grounds.
After studying her for a while, Chen Yu put "Ah Zhen" away, pulled up his quilt, and went to sleep.
The next day.
Chen Yu got out of bed between five and seven in the morning.
Looking for someone in Banqiao today.
Willing to lie about how we met.
Single flirt.
He tidied up the stone house a little before leaving for Emerald Cloud Peak.
There was not really much to tidy up. The house contained only a stone table, two wooden stools, and a stone bed. But since he was leaving for good, Chen Yu did not want anyone else sleeping on the mattress and bedding he and Ah Zhen had used, so he simply stripped them off and destroyed them.
It was then that Chen Yu discovered a hidden compartment beneath the spot where Ah Zhen usually slept.
He opened it.
"Is this... a key?"
It was an unusually shaped object that looked like a key.
Ah Zhen's identity had been mysterious, and perhaps this key had some other purpose. After a moment's thought, Chen Yu took possession of it.
He put the key away.
Chen Yu set off for Emerald Cloud Peak.
After about an hour, he finally reached the foot of Emerald Cloud Peak.
Just then, however, someone wearing ragged clothes
and sporting filthy, disheveled hair ran past him. Judging by the fabric of the robes, this person should have been a Dao Sect outer disciple. As they brushed past each other, Chen Yu heard him incessantly muttering something in a crazed manner. His voice sounded somewhat familiar, too.
Chen Yu quickened his steps to follow.
He did not get too close,
nor did he fall too far behind.
Keeping a suitable distance, he listened carefully to the man's indistinct muttering:
"Dead... dead... no, no, alive... alive, yes, alive... right? Is it alive? No, no, dead... it should be dead, yes, it should be dead! No, no..."
His rambling words circled endlessly through the same phrases.
He seemed like a madman.
Why was there a mad Outer Sect disciple in the Dao Sect?
Moreover, the longer Chen Yu listened, the more familiar the madman's voice seemed.
He had definitely spoken to him somewhere before.
He hurried forward a few steps,
caught up alongside the man,
and turned to look.
It was Wang He.