Tian Nan Sect

The Welcoming Inn.

Their usual spot on the second floor.

Chen Jianghe and Yu Daniu brought Yun Xiaoniu to the door and heard Zhou Miaoyun and Gao Peiyao laughing and chatting inside the private room.

"Fairy Miaoyun, Peiyao."

Chen Jianghe walked in and nodded with a smile.

"Little Sister Peiyao, Fellow Daoist Zhou." Yu Daniu walked in holding Yun Xiaoniu's hand.

When Yun Xiaoniu saw Gao Peiyao and Zhou Miaoyun, he greeted them politely. "Greetings, Auntie Yaoyao, Fairy Miaoyun."

The way Yun Xiaoniu addressed them alone revealed the distance Yu Daniu kept from Zhou Miaoyun.

"Xiaoniu, come sit down. Order whatever you want." Gao Peiyao smiled at Yun Xiaoniu, who stood as tall as an adolescent but was actually only five years old.

This year, Gao Peiyao was paying for the drinks. With a child present as well, naturally they would have the food and wine served before discussing anything.

Gao Peiyao showed her fondness for Yun Xiaoniu by ordering a whole tableful of dishes, along with some expensive pastries.

Yun Xiaoniu was very well-behaved, eating quietly by himself without disturbing the four adults' conversation.

"The Yun Household's sphere of influence has now shrunk to a radius of two hundred li. They're probably preparing for Yun Bufan to reach foundation establishment."

Gao Peiyao turned her phoenix eyes toward Yu Daniu and asked with a faint smile, "Brother Daniu, you're highly valued on Heart of the Lake Island. Have you heard anything about Yun Bufan's current cultivation?"

"Huizhen did mention her cousin Bufan. Apparently, he broke through to the ninth level of Qi Refining a year ago, then entered secluded cultivation in the ancestral hall."

Yu Daniu's wife, Yun Huizhen, and Yun Bufan were third cousins. Yun Huizhen also belonged to the Yun Household's direct line, but no elder in her branch had broken through beyond the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Thus, Yun Huizhen had been designated as one of the women who would take a live-in husband.

A live-in son-in-law was supposed to address Yun Bufan as Young Master. Clearly, Yu Daniu was highly valued in the Yun Household.

"If all goes smoothly, Cousin Bufan should reach foundation establishment within the next few years."

"It seems the Yun Household's bold claim back then wasn't empty boasting. Yun Bufan really can reach foundation establishment within ten years."

Gao Peiyao nodded. "Then how is the Yun Household's ancestor doing now?"

Seven or eight years earlier, the Yun Household's ancestor had been ambushed by the Bai Household. Not only had his Foundation Establishment Pill been stolen, but he had also been severely injured and was said to be nearing the end of his lifespan.

Nearly eight years had passed, and the Yun Household's ancestor was still nearing the end of his lifespan.

"He probably doesn't have much time left."

Yu Daniu shook his head, looking dejected. "Lately, the household has been rushing between the surrounding market wards to buy miraculous pills and spirit medicines that extend life, but they've found very little. It seems some people bought them up beforehand."

He was thriving in the Yun Household now, so naturally he hoped it would prosper more and more.

"Yun Bufan has a three-element true spiritual root. Even without a Foundation Establishment Pill, he can use other spirit medicines as substitutes. His chances of successfully reaching foundation establishment are very high, so he can bridge the gap when the Yun Household has no foundation establishment cultivator."

Chen Jianghe offered Yu Daniu a few words of comfort.

At present, the impression the Yun Household's ancestor gave outsiders was that he was consuming vast amounts of resources to cling to his last breath, all to ensure Yun Bufan could reach foundation establishment smoothly.

"Let's not talk about that."

Yu Daniu looked at Gao Peiyao and asked, "Little Sister Peiyao, why have you suddenly decided to leave Mirror Moon Lake?"

Chen Jianghe also looked at Gao Peiyao. He, too, wanted to know what this youngest sister, who had the greatest spiritual root talent among them, was thinking.

The Yun Household treated them well. Although the situation was unstable now, its foundations were strong, making it much safer than the outside world.

Gao Peiyao was meticulous, quick-witted, and intelligent. She could not possibly be unaware of this.

"I heard that the Tian Nan Sect will open its gates wide to recruit disciples in a year. I want to give it a try."

A trace of helplessness flashed through Gao Peiyao's resolute eyes.

She had originally thought the spirit stones Old Gao left her would support her cultivation until the sixth level of Qi Refining. Only after reaching the mid Qi Refining stage had she realized that nothing was as simple as she had imagined.

After reaching the mid Qi Refining stage, Qi-Nourishing Pills no longer did much for her.

If she wanted to keep taking a shortcut, she could only buy Qi-Nurturing Pills to aid her cultivation, but a single Qi-Nurturing Pill cost five spirit stones.

With her four-element false spiritual root talent, she would need at least ten Qi-Nurturing Pills to advance from the fourth level of Qi Refining to the sixth level of Qi Refining in a short time.

Fifty spirit stones.

An ordinary Junior Fisher-Farmer would have to go without food or drink for a hundred years to save that many spirit stones. And that was without even mentioning the cultivation resources needed for the late Qi Refining stage, let alone the foundation establishment resources she dreamed of.

Working as a Fisher-Farmer for the Yun Household was stable, but she could see her entire future at a glance. It was truly not what she wanted.

"What? You're going to the Tian Nan Sect!" Yu Daniu exclaimed.

Chen Jianghe was also somewhat surprised. He had heard of the Tian Nan Sect.

Both the Mirror Moon Lake area where he lived and the Bai Household's Qiyun Mountain area belonged to the Tian Nan Region.

The Tian Nan Region was boundlessly vast, stretching ninety thousand li from north to south, with a great many cultivation lineages.

The Tian Nan Sect, however, was the only sect in the Tian Nan Region.

It was also the Tian Nan Region's sole overlord, ruling over everything within it.

Rumor had it that a Nascent Soul True Lord presided over the Tian Nan Sect-a living fossil who could live for a thousand years, an immortal walking the world.

Generally, the Tian Nan Sect rarely recruited disciples from outside. Even when it opened its gates wide to recruit disciples, its requirements were extremely stringent.

First, applicants had to possess at least a four-element false spiritual root.

They had to be under twenty-five years old, with cultivation at or above the Qi Refining third layer.

When the Tian Nan Sect opened its gates in a year, Gao Peiyao would be twenty-five, right at the age limit.

Those who met these requirements still had to pass the entrance examination.

Those who passed would enter the immortal sect.

Those who failed would be shut outside its gates.

"The Tian Nan Sect is eight thousand li from Mirror Moon Lake. It's too dangerous for you to go alone."

Yu Daniu shook his head and urged Gao Peiyao to consider it carefully.

"That far? You'd better think twice before acting." Chen Jianghe also felt somewhat uneasy about it. The journey was long, and anything could happen.

"Thank you both for your concern."

Gao Peiyao had made up her mind and would not waver again.

"Sister Miaoyun is also leaving Mirror Moon Lake for Qinghe Market. I can travel two thousand li with her."

Only then did Zhou Miaoyun speak for the first time.

"Qinghe Market is the largest market ward within three thousand li. It should have flying boats bound for the market wards around the Tian Nan Sect. Yaoyao can take a flying boat there when the time comes."

Hearing this, Chen Jianghe nodded. "Since Fairy Miaoyun is also leaving Mirror Moon Lake for Qinghe Market, Peiyao can go along."

Originally, Chen Jianghe had still been puzzled about why Gao Peiyao and Zhou Miaoyun were leaving. When he saw the helplessness and disappointment on their faces as they looked at Yu Daniu, he understood everything.

If Gao Peiyao stayed at Mirror Moon Lake, she could only remain a Junior Fisher-Farmer for the rest of her life.

If she was lucky, she might become a late Qi Refining stage retainer.

But foundation establishment would certainly be beyond her reach.

Zhou Miaoyun might become a first-tier middle grade talisman maker and use that craft to raise her cultivation to the late Qi Refining stage.

But she would likewise have no hope of foundation establishment.

One could say that their prospects were not even as good as Yu Daniu's.

Gao Peiyao was ambitious. How could she accept that in her heart?

If Chen Jianghe did not have such a long lifespan, he would probably also choose to leave Mirror Moon Lake and gamble on his future.

"Since you're going on a long journey, I ought to repay the spirit stones I owe you first. But I only became a Senior Fisher-Farmer recently and don't have any spare spirit stones to help with your travel expenses. I hope you'll forgive me."

Chen Jianghe took out four spirit stones and pushed them toward Gao Peiyao and Zhou Miaoyun respectively.

"Brother Jianghe, I wasn't asking you to repay the spirit stones."

A faint, concealed gleam of delight flashed through Gao Peiyao's eyes, but she did not accept them outright.

"Live frugally at home, but travel with a full purse. The Tian Nan Sect is a long way away, so it's important to carry some extra spirit stones. I wish you every success in becoming a disciple of the immortal sect."

"Brother Jianghe is right. Little Sister Peiyao, these two spirit stones are what I owe you, and these five are my gift toward your travel expenses. I hope you pass the Tian Nan Sect's entrance examination. Then I'll have a connection in the immortal sect too, hehe!"

(End of chapter)