Chapter 181
Chapter 181: Yu Ruan Ruan’s Background
Rong Shu had expected news about Pureclear Six-Spirit Flower to take time.
Instead, the black market already had a lead.
She paid spirit stones on the spot and received the information: in one month, Xiao Yao City would hold an Alchemy Tournament, and the prize for the rank-four refining competition included Pureclear Six-Spirit Flower.
Rong Shu’s breath caught. She turned to Wu Hua, eyes shining. “Senior Brother—there’s a lead.”
“In one month, Xiao Yao City’s Alchemy Tournament. The prize includes Pureclear Six-Spirit Flower.” Her words quickened as excitement rose. “I’m a rank-four alchemist. I can compete and win it back.”
Wu Hua nodded. “Then we’ll go to Xiao Yao City.”
His voice softened. “Don’t pressure yourself. If you can’t get it, it’s fine. I’ll find another way.”
Rong Shu grinned. “If I really can’t, then I’ll have to trouble you, Senior Brother.”
At that moment, the broker handed over the other intel Rong Shu had ordered—recorded into a jade slip.
Rong Shu barely skimmed it. There was a lot.
“Senior Brother, we shouldn’t delay. Let’s head to Xiao Yao City first.”
“Alright.”
…
Wu Hua carried her by sword flight. On the way, Rong Shu read the jade slip.
First: Yu Ruan Ruan’s background.
Before entering Tian Yan Sect, Yu Ruan Ruan had been a farmer’s daughter from a remote village.
She was born into a family that valued sons over daughters. She was the eldest, with three younger sisters and one younger brother.
Her parents and elders doted on the boy, cradling him like a treasure.
As for Yu Ruan Ruan and her sisters, they were ignored—driven to chores, farm work, and childcare. If anything wasn’t done right, they were denied meals and beaten with sticks.
If nothing changed, Yu Ruan Ruan would have lived her whole life in that backwater place. When she grew up, she would have married out—perhaps into another village.
But when Yu Ruan Ruan was ten, she ran away once.
Later, she suddenly returned.
The return earned her a vicious beating. And before she could even rest, her elders forced her into the mountains to pick wild fruit her brother liked.
While she was in the mountains, a passing evil cultivator took a fancy to the village. He sacrificed the entire village to raise his cultivation.
Everyone died.
When Jun Xiu Ran—wandering the world—passed by and discovered the massacre, it was already too late.
Yu Ruan Ruan was the only survivor.
Jun Xiu Ran tested her and found a rare ice-attribute Heavenly Spirit Root. He brought her back to Tian Yan Sect and accepted her as a personal disciple.
…
Rong Shu read the “ran away at ten” line again and again.
No one knew where Yu Ruan Ruan went during that time. No one knew what she did.
And Yu Ruan Ruan was three years older than Rong Shu.
If Yu Ruan Ruan was ten back then… Rong Shu would have been seven.
Seven was the year Rong Shu fell off a cliff.
Was it really that coincidental?
“…Senior Brother,” Rong Shu said softly, “doesn’t that feel strange to you?”
Wu Hua had investigated these matters long ago. But he had watched Rong Shu chase the truth with stubborn determination, and he hadn’t interfered.
Now he nodded. “It does.”
“In the mortal world, a mortal having spirit roots is one in ten thousand.” His tone stayed calm, but the implication was heavy. “And whether people like it or not, bloodline matters. Cultivation families that produce cultivators generation after generation have higher chances.”
“That’s why those families arrange marriages—to keep their cultivation bloodline ‘pure.’”
Rong Shu couldn’t help thinking of her own family.
The Rong family wasn’t famous, but their ancestors had produced cultivators. Over the past century, they’d fallen into decline. On the surface, they looked like an ordinary mortal household.
That was why several people in Rong Shu’s generation tested with spirit roots.
Wu Hua continued, “Yu Ruan Ruan’s ancestors for more than ten generations were all mortals. No cultivators. Unless her fortune is heaven-defying, favored by the Heavenly Dao, she shouldn’t have spirit roots.”
Rong Shu’s fingers tightened around the jade slip.
She read further: Jun Xiu Ran’s movements ten years ago.
Ten years ago, Jun Xiu Ran—who normally cultivated in seclusion—left the sect abruptly. He claimed he sensed, in the unseen currents of fate, a destined master-disciple bond in the mortal world.
So he traveled, seeking that bond.
In the end, he found Yu Ruan Ruan and brought her back.
Because of her rare ice-attribute Heavenly Spirit Root, Tian Yan Sect’s higher-ups raised no objections. Jun Xiu Ran accepted her as a personal disciple.
Rong Shu couldn’t help blurting, “Immortal Venerable Ze Yu… can he really divine fortunes? He knew his future disciple was out there and went to find her?”
“It isn’t impossible,” Wu Hua said.
“Cultivators walk against heaven. Some can listen to the voice of the Heavenly Dao and gain foresight.”
Rong Shu stared. “That’s… real? Then is it always accurate?”
Wu Hua glanced at the sky, eyes unreadable. “True and false. Who can say? Most people would rather believe it exists than believe it doesn’t—especially when it comes to those vague whispers from the Heavenly Dao.”
Rong Shu nodded, half understanding.
Wu Hua shifted subjects. “Where’s your little pet?”
“Oh, he’s sleeping.” Rong Shu released the Little Hamster from the Han Chuan Cosmos Bead.
He lay like a soft lump in her palm, warm and heavy, breathing evenly.
Rong Shu poked him. “Yan Yan.”
The Little Hamster flipped over, about to squeak—then his peripheral vision caught Wu Hua.
He jolted like he’d been struck.
Wu Hua’s eyes narrowed. “This little thing… feels different.”
Rong Shu weighed him in her hand, matter-of-fact. “He got fatter.”
He truly was heavier than when she first found him.
“Senior Brother,” Rong Shu asked earnestly, “should we put Yan Yan on a diet?”
Wu Hua’s expression turned complicated.
A creature this small, and she wanted him to diet?
He let out a short laugh. “Do whatever you want.”
Then the amusement faded from his eyes.
“Rong Shu.” His voice lowered. “If this trip confirms Yu Ruan Ruan dug out your spirit roots—what will you do?”
Rong Shu fell silent. She looked down at the Little Hamster, who was rolling in her palm and shamelessly acting cute.
“Nothing is certain yet,” she said softly.
Then her gaze steadied. “But if the final result truly is what you suspect… then the justice owed to me must be taken back. And what belongs to me must be reclaimed.”
Wu Hua’s thoughts flickered to the fate chart’s guidance—those strange hints that never quite aligned.
A bold guess rose, sharp enough to make his pulse throb.
“Have you ever thought…” Wu Hua said slowly, “that if your spirit roots hadn’t been taken, the disciple Jun Xiu Ran accepted when he went into the world… might have been you?”
Rong Shu froze.
Jun Xiu Ran accepting her as a disciple?
It wasn’t a baseless idea. Jun Xiu Ran was Tian Yan Sect’s strongest. He wouldn’t take in a personal disciple just because someone was pitiful.
The key was talent.
Yu Ruan Ruan’s ice-attribute Heavenly Spirit Root.
If Yu Ruan Ruan stole more than spirit roots—if she stole fate itself…
Rong Shu was so deep in thought she didn’t notice Wu Hua’s gaze turning complicated.
If little Junior Sister was the one Jun Xiu Ran truly sought, and her fate had been stolen…
Stealing fate was far harder than digging out spirit roots—thousands of times harder. Yu Ruan Ruan had only been ten.
How could she have done it?
Unless there was someone behind her. A hidden hand.
Rong Shu’s voice broke into his thoughts. “Senior Brother… even if my roots were dug out, there’s something I can’t understand.”
“If someone dug out my roots, why would they kindly leave me two spirit roots—wind and fire?”
Wu Hua nodded. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“Only when you recover your memories can we answer it.”
Rong Shu exhaled slowly. “Mm.”
…
Two days later.
Tian Yan Sect territory.
On a small mountain within five hundred li of Tian Yan Sect, a middle-aged man poured spiritual energy into an object like a compass.
Beside him, a young man yawned, bored.
This time, the pointer slowly shifted away from Tian Yan Sect.
The middle-aged man’s expression changed. “She left?”
“Young Master,” the middle-aged man said carefully, “the fate chart indicates the Daughter of Destiny is not currently inside Tian Yan Sect. Should we wait there, or go find her?”
The young man stood and glanced at the fate chart. “Wait in Tian Yan Sect.”
“What Daughter of Destiny? The clan and teacher take her so seriously they sent this Young Master to personally welcome her back.”
The middle-aged man sighed. “It’s crucial. If the clan can seize the initiative and win her over, it benefits us immensely.”
“And Venerable is thinking of you as well—if you can form ties with the Daughter of Destiny…”
“Enough.” The young man’s impatience snapped. “Uncle Feng, you’ve said this a hundred times. Are you not tired?”
“Let’s go. To Tian Yan Sect.”
He launched into the air on his sword.
Uncle Feng quickly put away the fate chart and followed.
In a blink, the two arrived before Tian Yan Sect’s mountain gate.
At the same moment, on Sect Master Peak, Ming Xuan seemed to sense something. He flashed into the air above the gate.
He stared at the visitors, uncertain.
The middle-aged man’s cultivation was unfathomable.
The young man’s cultivation was late Nascent Soul Stage—so close to Divine Transformation Stage it felt like a thin veil. And his face was far too young, nowhere near a hundred.
“May I ask what brings you two to Tian Yan Sect?” Ming Xuan asked.
Disciples nearby whispered and stared.
“Why is the Sect Master here?”
“Who are those two?”
“Which sect are they from?”
The middle-aged man tossed a round jade talisman. Ming Xuan caught it, frowning. His fingers brushed the surface.
Six rune-like characters appeared:
Central Continent Heart-Inquiry Academy.
Ming Xuan’s heart jumped. “People from the Central Continent?”
He returned the talisman with a respectful bow. “You’ve come from far away. May I ask what you need?”
The middle-aged man said, “We come by the Academy’s command to the Southern Wilderness to seek outstanding talents and invite them to the Academy for study.”
“We ask your sect to lend us lodging for a period of time.”
Ming Xuan’s delight was immediate.
If a Tian Yan Sect disciple was selected by the Academy, the entire sect would benefit.
“Of course,” Ming Xuan said warmly. “Please, come in.”
…
Rong Shu and Wu Hua traveled for days. Then, using teleportation arrays between main cities, they arrived at Xiao Yao City.
With about a month left before the Alchemy Tournament, they rented rooms at an inn and waited.
During that time, they learned the rules.
The Alchemy Tournament was divided into rank-one through rank-five zones based on an alchemist’s rank. Alchemists of the same rank competed against each other.
The Pureclear Six-Spirit Flower Rong Shu needed was a prize in the rank-four zone.
Only the top ten in each zone received prizes.
And the higher the ranking, the earlier you picked—meaning the top ranks could take Pureclear Six-Spirit Flower first.
If Rong Shu didn’t want it to be chosen away, she needed to place as high as possible.
As for entering: first, register at Xiao Yao City’s Alchemist Guild branch.
Second, to compete in a specific zone, pass the branch’s assessment.
The assessment was simple: refine a batch of pills. If you wanted the rank-one zone, refine a rank-one pill batch.
Rong Shu registered, passed the assessment, and earned qualification for the rank-four zone.
Now all that remained was waiting for the tournament to begin.