Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Mysterious Inner Sect Senior Brother

Rong Shu blinked innocently. [Did this Senior Brother misunderstand?] She hurried to explain: “Senior Brother, I’m planning to enter seclusion for a month or two. If luck is with me and I achieve Qi Induction a few days early, I’ll use the remaining time to study spell arts.”

“So that’s how it is.” Hearing her explanation, the young Senior Brother’s gaze shifted and his expression eased as he said: “As long as Junior Sister has a plan in mind. I was being nosy.”

“No, no.” Rong Shu shook her head and added with gratitude: “A new disciple like me meets a good person such as Senior Brother on her first days in the Sect, and I’m deeply thankful, as if seeing the shadow of an elder brother at home.”

Her easy praise left the young Senior Brother a bit embarrassed.

He lifted a hand and pointed in the direction Rong Shu had been heading: “Junior Sister, were you going to choose a cultivation method? The method a cultivator practices is paramount; it affects every aspect of one’s future. In Heaven’s Evolution Sect, a disciple’s method is initially chosen after Qi Induction. One’s master personally selects three manuals, then the new disciple picks one from among them.”

These were things Rong Shu had not known beforehand. Since Heaven’s Evolution Sect had such rules, she would simply follow them.

She thanked him and said: “Many thanks for the reminder, Senior Brother. I’ll wait until after Qi Induction, then ask Master to help me choose.”

She recalled that yesterday Master had told her to seek him out after achieving Qi Induction, and now it seemed likely to be about selecting her method.

Before leaving, Rong Shu asked the young Senior Brother’s name and cultivation. He answered: “My name is Han Zhou. I entered the Sect six years ago. Qi Refining, ninth layer.”

Rong Shu still had no firm sense of what counted as fast progress, but compared to Fang Ren, Han Zhou clearly left him in the dust. One reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining in six years. The other had only reached the fifth layer in ten. The difference was obvious. Yet even Han Zhou at the ninth layer could not see through Rong Shu’s cultivation.

After leaving the Library Pavilion, Rong Shu went to the dining hall, ate an early meal, and planned to buy some rice to take back to Limitless Peak. Her talk of going into seclusion had not been a lie to Han Zhou. If she holed up for a month or two without seeing anyone, she could reduce the risk of exposing her cultivation. When she came out, she could naturally reveal a first-layer Qi Refining cultivation without needing to keep hiding it.

She stepped into the back kitchen of the dining hall and spotted a counter tucked in a corner, with a man seated behind it. Propping her hands on the counter’s edge, she leaned forward and peered in as she said: “Senior Brother, I’d like to buy some rice.”

The next second, Rong Shu froze. All the fellow disciples she had seen working in the dining hall wore Outer Sect robes, yet the man before her was dressed in an Inner Sect robe. [An Inner Sect disciple doing odd jobs in the dining hall?]

The man yawned, lazy and languid. He opened one eye, glanced at Rong Shu’s double-bun hairstyle, and said: “You’re a new disciple, right?”

Rong Shu nodded: “Yes.”

He found it curious that a brand-new disciple would come to buy rice this early in the morning. Usually it was older Qi Refining Stage disciples whose cultivation had stalled and whose purses were thin; to save on the cost of Fasting Pills, they chose to buy rice instead.

Propping his chin in one hand, he tilted his head slightly and said: “The dining hall can provide a month of free meals for new disciples. You can also convert that to rice and cook it yourself. However, I suggest you just use Fasting Pills, one per day. You won’t want to eat anything. Before Qi Induction, eat less rice.”

That did sound convenient; you simply swallowed one and were done. Rong Shu abandoned the idea of buying rice.

She asked: “Senior Brother, how many Spirit Stones or how many points for Fasting Pills? Can I redeem them at the Pill Treasury Pavilion?”

Closing his eyes, he lounged back comfortably and said: “One bottle of Fasting Pills is ten pills, two points, and you can redeem them at the Pill Treasury Pavilion.”

“Thank you for the guidance, Senior Brother.” Rong Shu was about to leave when she suddenly thought of something and quickly asked: “May I ask, Senior Brother, what is your cultivation?”

“Lass, asking a stranger’s cultivation out of the blue is impolite and can easily be taken as a provocation,” he said without opening his eyes, his recliner beginning to creak back and forth.

“Sorry, Senior Brother.” Rong Shu apologized at once, then made up an excuse: “It’s my first time chatting with an Inner Sect Senior Brother, so I was curious. Since you could enter the Inner Sect, you must have reached Foundation Establishment, right?”

He did not answer directly and said instead: “If that’s what you think, then so it is.”

Seeing that he was deliberately mysterious and unwilling to say more, Rong Shu did not press him: “Goodbye, Senior Brother.”

He did not reply.

After leaving the dining hall, Rong Shu went straight to the Pill Treasury Pavilion and exchanged twelve points for six bottles of Fasting Pills. Once everything was ready, she mounted her Red Crowned Cinnabar Crane and flew toward Limitless Peak.

One stick of incense later, Rong Shu returned to Limitless Peak. She stepped into her courtyard and was about to push open her door when she halted. Lowering her eyes to glance at the door seam, she saw nothing. The strand of hair she had left there before leaving was gone. For a moment, she had no desire to open the door at all and even felt the impulse to turn around and flee.

“Junior Sister.” A sweet, delicate voice came from behind. Rong Shu turned and saw Yu Ruan Ruan standing beyond the courtyard. She cupped her hands in salute and said: “Senior Sister Yu.” Yu Ruan Ruan chided her lightly: “Where did you go so early? Master has summoned you. Come with me to the Hall of Heartlessness at once.”

At that, Rong Shu’s heart stirred. [Could it be that Senior Sister Yu came looking for me and accidentally dislodged the hair in the door seam?] Keeping her face composed, she nodded and said: “All right, Senior Sister Yu.”

Following behind Yu Ruan Ruan, Rong Shu entered the Hall of Heartlessness where Immortal Venerable Ze Yu, Jun Xiu Ran, resided. Yu Ruan Ruan stepped quickly to Jun Xiu Ran’s side and said: “Master, I have brought Junior Sister.” Rong Shu, for her part, stood properly and bowed: “Disciple Rong Shu greets Master.”

Jun Xiu Ran looked at Rong Shu with a cool gaze and said: “Rong Shu, you may have entered Heaven’s Evolution Sect, but you have not yet achieved Qi Induction. Do not neglect your cultivation for the sake of trifling amusements. Do you understand?”

“Disciple understands.” Rong Shu lowered her head without offering any explanation, the picture of a student dutifully admitting fault. Inside, she finally let out a long breath of relief. [It seems even Master, the strongest in the Sect, cannot see through the truth of my cultivation.]