Chapter 39

Daily life on Blazing Flame Peak.

Hong Ling, a beauty dressed in red, chased a seven- or eight-year-old girl with a whip in hand, shouting angrily, "Su Mianmian! Put some effort into your cultivation!"

The little girl showed no sign of panic. Dodging as she went, she said, "I only reached the fourth Qi Refining layer two days ago. Even a donkey needs to rest! Besides, look-I advanced before Jin Chen this time, didn't I?"

Hong Ling was so angry she almost laughed. "That little friend of yours has already reached the sixth Qi Refining layer all on her own in the Outer Gate. And here you are, smug about reaching the fourth layer. What an accomplishment! As your master, I can't afford to lose face like this."

"Oh, my dear master, can you really blame me? Her aptitude is a perfect ten out of ten. She's the sort whose meridians draw in spiritual energy even while she's asleep. My fire spiritual root is only an eight."

"She doesn't even have a master to guide her, yet she can already hunt Ya Beasts on her own."

"So, are you suggesting I should go to the Outer Gate and become independent?" A faint gleam of delight and anticipation appeared in Su Mianmian's eyes. If she could go to the Outer Gate, that would be wonderful.

Having spent a year with her, how could Hong Ling fail to read that little expression?

"You want to go to the Outer Gate? Dream on!" This girl was wild by nature. If she went to the Outer Gate, she would probably run even more rampant than Bai Su. She clearly had excellent aptitude, yet all she ever thought about was playing. At first, Hong Ling had assumed she was simply too young to settle down.

After meeting Su Jiu and Jin Chen, however, she discarded that notion.

Initially, she had thought Su Jiu's Cultivation Level had been forcibly raised with pills, just like those troublemakers in the Outer Gate who stirred up heaven and earth. But Xia Jue had said her Cultivation Level was exceptionally solid, and his words carried considerable weight.

Then Hong Ling looked at her own little disciple and began to feel a tightness in her chest.

"Look at Su Jiu. She can kill demon beasts and demonic cultivators. Now look at yourself-and you still dare dodge me!"

Su Mianmian was not angry in the slightest. She even grinned and said, "Of course! Our Su Jiu has always been the best. Even my father said that ever since A Jiu could hold a sword, she's improved so quickly you could see it with your own eyes."

Hong Ling laughed in exasperation. "You sound awfully proud."

Su Mianmian did not mind Hong Ling's anger. "She's one of our Su Family. Of course I can be proud."

Hong Ling was somewhat surprised. In the cultivation world, siblings falling out over Cultivation Level or resources was a common sight. What comforted her was that Su Mianmian truly possessed a pure, childlike heart. What troubled her was that this little brat genuinely had no idea how to work hard.

She decided to try another way of teaching Su Mianmian. "Mian Mian, you like Su Jiu very much?"

Su Mianmian nodded. "Apart from Father and Mother, you and A Jiu are my favorite people."

Hong Ling felt a little pleased. Being counted among her beloved little disciple's favorite people certainly made her happy. Still, she had to say what needed saying.

"Then, Mian Mian, have you ever thought that if your Cultivation Level falls too far behind Su Jiu's one day, you won't be able to travel and train together, or even see each other often?"

Su Mianmian froze. Clearly, she had never considered that.

"You must understand that she's still in Qi Refining now, so Outer Gate missions are carried out in the mountain ranges near the Azure Tide Sect. But once Su Jiu reaches foundation establishment, she'll have to travel thousands of miles away to train. Don't you want to go with her?"

"I can wait for her to come back." Su Mianmian's voice grew quieter, losing its earlier joy and betraying a barely perceptible trace of panic.

Hong Ling shook her head. "A cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage has only a hundred years of life, just like a mortal. A cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Stage has two hundred years, and someone in the Golden Core Stage has even more—five hundred years."

"And when a foundation establishment cultivator goes away on a mission, it can take a year or two at the shortest. If it takes longer, even ten years isn't impossible."

"So between Qi Refining and foundation establishment, and between foundation establishment and golden core, there is a chasm as vast as the heavens."

"If you fall too far behind your beloved A Jiu, all you'll be able to do in the end is watch her back grow farther and farther away."

Whatever the little girl imagined, Su Mianmian's eyes had already filled with tears.

She bowed to Hong Ling with her hands clasped. "I understand. From today onward, I'll work hard at cultivating."

Hong Ling secretly let out a sigh of relief. So this was the approach she needed to win Su Mianmian over. Then the corners of her lips curved slightly.

Su Mianmian sent Su Jiu a message talisman and truly began cultivating in earnest.

Su Jiu was briefly taken aback when she received Su Mianmian's message talisman.

"A Jiu, I'm going to start cultivating seriously. Once we reach foundation establishment, let's travel all across the Azure Realm together."

The corners of Su Jiu's lips lifted. Someone must have said something to her. Otherwise, with that girl's temperament...

Still, this was good. After reaching foundation establishment, keeping her close and protecting her would offer some peace of mind. After all, Gong Hao was a madman.

Mian Mian, you'd better keep your word and cultivate diligently.

The General Store was as deserted as ever, though when Su Jiu visited this time, there was one more person inside.

It was a woman who looked somewhat older, around forty judging by her appearance, yet her Cultivation Level was still only at the third level of Qi Refining.

The woman was a little surprised to see Su Jiu. She had not expected to encounter someone from the Azure Tide Sect here; she had thought that only rogue cultivators patronized this shop.

But on second thought, the Azure Tide Sect had poor people too.

The woman nodded to Su Jiu, picked out a few things, counted out some spirit stones, and left them on the counter. Before long, she departed.

Yet the young man who had shaved off his beard seemed to be absent?

Su Jiu glanced at the pile of straw. Sure enough, he was not there.

Just as Su Jiu was about to leave, someone appeared in the General Store's doorway. It was none other than the bearded young man she had come to find-though, of course, he had now shaved his beard clean.

Su Jiu clasped her hands and bowed to the young man. "Uncle Xiang."

An odd expression appeared on Xiang Li's face as he muttered under his breath, "The more I look at her, the more she seems like someone Ning Hai taught."

"Well? Have you finally made up your mind to learn talisman drawing from me?"

Su Jiu nodded. "Please guide me, Uncle Xiang."

Xiang Li stroked his chin, putting on an air of profound wisdom. "Little girl, do you know that drawing talismans requires talent too?"

Su Jiu felt helpless. You were the one coaxing me into drawing talismans before, and now you're telling me it takes talent.

Su Jiu did know that Xiang Li was right about talisman drawing requiring talent, but the expression he wore right now simply made him look like he deserved a beating.

Seeing the veiled disdain in Su Jiu's eyes, Xiang Li coughed.

"Of course, I'm sure there's nothing wrong with your talent."

With a perfectly serious expression, Xiang Li took out talisman paper, cinnabar, and a writing brush, feeling a headache coming on. Are all little girls this hard to fool nowadays?

He first spread the talisman paper flat on the table, then lightly dipped the brush tip into the cinnabar.

Su Jiu twitched her nose and caught a faint scent of blood.

"When drawing a talisman, your mind must be free of distractions, and you must complete it in a single stroke." As Xiang Li spoke, he had become much more serious.

The moment his words fell, Xiang Li poured spiritual power into the brush tip. Suffused with spiritual energy, the cinnabar shone red.

Xiang Li drew with remarkable speed. In the space of a single breath, red light flashed across the talisman paper, and the talisman was complete. Afterward, the cinnabar's glow gradually faded, leaving it looking utterly ordinary. But Su Jiu knew that this was already a finished talisman.