Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Zhou Jin Yue
Yu Zhao was not someone who dragged things out. She used a jade slip to copy the formulas for the first three layers of the Illusory Tide Art. After saying goodbye to Elder Gu, she went back to her cave dwelling and counted her belongings.

Seven mid-grade spirit stones, twenty-six low-grade spirit stones, three qi-replenishing pills, and some bits and pieces.

It looked like a decent pile, but not much of it was truly valuable.

Yu Zhao could not help letting out a bitter laugh.

Among the personal disciples of the Five Elements Dao Sect, it would be hard to find anyone poorer than her.

The four words “Reset Foundation and Rebuild” sounded simple, but the hardship behind them was not something outsiders could understand. Just the spirit power needed to enter Foundation Establishment again was a bottomless pit.

And to lessen as much as possible the damage from her Dispersed Foundation, Yu Zhao also needed to prepare a few types of mild pills.

That would be no small expense either.

The spirit stones she had were far from enough.

She lowered her head in thought, wondering where she could find another sum of spirit stones.

Ask Su Ming to give back the spirit stones she had lent him before?

No.

Leaving aside whether Su Ming was willing to pay her back, there was the question of whether he even had any extra spirit stones to repay her with.

Everyone knew that spirit stones that ended up in Su Ming’s hands never lasted the night. Otherwise, he would not have blocked Yu Zhao’s door early this morning to borrow spirit stones.

Borrow from someone else?

But Yu Zhao did not even know whom to ask.

She had always only dealt with her senior brothers. In the Five Elements Dao Sect, she almost had no especially close friends.

Yu Zhao felt a bit troubled.

Without spirit stones, Reset Foundation and Rebuild would become much harder than it already was.

Just then, Yu Zhao suddenly thought of something and clapped her hands in excitement.

She had almost forgotten that today was the day the sect handed out supplies. She could receive ten mid-grade spirit stones.

One mid-grade spirit stone was worth one hundred low-grade spirit stones. Ten mid-grade spirit stones could buy quite a lot of things. Together with the spirit stones she still had, it would barely be enough for her.

Yu Zhao put away the things laid out in front of her into her storage pouch, then left her cave dwelling and headed toward the Hall of Merits where the supplies were handed out.

The news that she and Ye Cong Xin had made peace, after several days of spreading, had already reached every corner of the Five Elements Dao Sect.

When other disciples saw her, their attitude was much more polite than a few days ago. At the very least, no one dared mock her to her face anymore.

Although Yu Zhao no longer cared about those idle rumors, her ears still felt a lot cleaner.

Before long, she arrived at the Hall of Merits and walked straight to the place where supplies were given out, moving as if she had done this many times.

At this time, the area was already surrounded by disciples who had come to get their supplies, lining up in five long rows.

Yu Zhao casually picked a line, stood at the end, and quietly listened to the other disciples chat.

“Junior Sister Yu.”

A clear, bright voice suddenly came from behind her.

Yu Zhao turned around. A delicate, charming face like a hibiscus blossom came into view.

“Senior Sister Zhou?” she murmured in disbelief.

“Senior Sister Zhou is back!”

“Greetings, Senior Sister Zhou!”

“Hello, Senior Sister Zhou!”

Zhou Jin Yue first smiled and returned everyone’s greetings, then smilingly rubbed Yu Zhao’s head: “We have not seen each other in many days. It seems Junior Sister Yu has grown taller again.”

That very real touch made Yu Zhao’s eyes sting, and she almost burst into tears.

[It is Senior Sister Zhou! Senior Sister Zhou, alive and well!]

Zhou Jin Yue, the Sect Master of the Five Elements Dao Sect’s first disciple and the First Senior Sister of all its disciples, had entered the sect at six, reached Foundation Establishment at ten, and formed her core at twenty. Her cultivation speed defied heaven.

She had a charming and lovely face, but her temperament was brisk and decisive. In how she dealt with people and matters, she was very clear-sighted. She was deeply loved by the disciples.

Many people in the Five Elements Dao Sect were sure that she was the best candidate to be the next Sect Master.

Yet such a true favored child of heaven had died in a brutal way in the mouth of a demonic beast. In the end, the only thing they had been able to recover was one broken magical artifact of hers.

Yu Zhao still remembered that the day the news came back, the sky was thick with dark clouds, and the whole Five Elements Dao Sect was shrouded in grief.

The Sect Master was heartbroken and vomited blood on the spot.

Yu Zhao had also cried hard for a long time.

Zhou Jin Yue was one of the few in the Five Elements Dao Sect who had not been influenced by Ye Cong Xin and had always treated her as kindly as before.

Their acquaintance could be traced back to when she had just entered the sect.

That year she was only six years old. After Master Qing Yan brought her back to Lone Moon Peak, he threw her to Fang Cheng Lang to take care of.

Fang Cheng Lang was steady and careful, but he had never taken care of a junior sister before. On top of that, there was the difference between man and woman, so he found it rather difficult.

In the end, it was Zhou Jin Yue who took Yu Zhao to her side and looked after her for a while. After Yu Zhao had some ability to take care of herself, she sent her back to Lone Moon Peak.

When Yu Zhao first returned to Lone Moon Peak, she could not get used to it. She cried and made a fuss every day, wanting to see Zhou Jin Yue. But Zhou Jin Yue, as the sect’s First Senior Sister, had very little free time. Together with the daily joking company of her five senior brothers, Yu Zhao gradually stopped bringing it up.

But in Yu Zhao’s heart, there had always been a place that belonged to Senior Sister Zhou.

Now, seeing Senior Sister Zhou standing in front of her safe and sound, Yu Zhao once again felt lucky that she had the chance to live again.

[This time, she would definitely stop the tragedy from happening!]

“Junior Sister Yu, why are your eyes red? Do not tell me it is because you missed your senior sister too much.” Zhou Jin Yue joked with a smile, her tone close and warm.

“Mm.” Yu Zhao nodded hard: “I missed Senior Sister very much.”

Very much.

Zhou Jin Yue was a bit surprised, then a look of pity flashed in her eyes.

Yu Zhao’s personality was more reserved. She had never said such direct words to her before. Zhou Jin Yue guessed that it was because of Master Qing Yan taking a new disciple that Yu Zhao had suffered a lot of grievances.

Three months ago, Zhou Jin Yue had taken a sect mission. When she came back yesterday, she heard Yu Zhao’s news.

She had never been to the Black Prison, but she knew that it was not a place where cultivators could stay for long. Master Qing Yan had been too heartless to actually send his disciple to that kind of place.

Fang Cheng Lang and the others were useless too. They had just watched and had not even tried to stop it.

Feeling that she had come back too late, and also blaming the people of Lone Moon Peak for being so cruel, Zhou Jin Yue thought for a moment, then said seriously: “Junior Sister Yu, if you ever feel unhappy, come to Main Peak to find me. While I am here, they will not dare do anything to you.”

Her desire to protect Yu Zhao was clear.

A thin layer of mist covered Yu Zhao’s eyes.

She could not help thinking: [If in her past life Senior Sister Zhou had not met with that accident, when she was betrayed by everyone, would there also have been someone who stood up to say a word for her?]

Yu Zhao held back her tears, nodded, and smiled: “All right, I believe Senior Sister Zhou.”

Zhou Jin Yue did not answer. She only smiled and rubbed Yu Zhao’s head again, then turned to talk about her experiences while away on her mission this time.

Yu Zhao listened very carefully.

As they talked, time flew by.

The disciples lined up in front of Yu Zhao grew fewer and fewer.

Until there was no one left in front of her, Yu Zhao handed over her identity token: “Senior Brother Zhang, I am here to collect my supplies.”

Senior Brother Zhang was a young man with a round face and round eyes. His looks were pleasing, and when he smiled, he seemed very kind.

He was Elder Sun’s disciple in the Hall of Merits and often appeared there. Almost every disciple in the Five Elements Dao Sect knew him, and Yu Zhao was no exception.

Seeing Yu Zhao, Senior Brother Zhang showed a look of surprise on his face: “Junior Sister Yu, why are you here?”

Yu Zhao did not understand: “Today is the day supplies are handed out. I came to get my share.”

“But someone already collected your supplies.”