Chapter 130

Chapter 130: Indifferent and Distant

Yun Xi’s gaze swept over the jade box, and she said politely, “Thank you, Senior Brother Sheng. I appreciate the thought, but there’s no need for the gift.”

Sheng Yu Hong hadn’t expected Yun Xi to refuse. His hand holding the jade box paused, and he said with some disappointment, “Junior Sister Yun Xi, this is a congratulatory gift.”

A flicker of annoyance flashed through Yun Xi’s eyes, but she still spoke politely. “Senior Brother Sheng, your gift looks very valuable. I don’t deserve to accept it.”

Sheng Yu Hong was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, so he naturally noticed the brief annoyance in Yun Xi’s eyes. All of a sudden, he felt wronged. He had come to deliver a gift in person and still got rejected. This was the first time he’d ever had that experience.

The other four from the Wei Family didn’t speak. They were here as guests, and they trusted Yun Xi to handle it.

Only Wei Yun Qing’s heart brimmed with jealousy and resentment. Seeing Sheng Yu Hong looking awkward, she spoke up to smooth things over. “Yun Xi, Eldest Senior Brother is only trying to be kind. What you said makes it sound too distant.”

Yun Xi gave a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “With you, of course I won’t be distant. But a senior brother is still a senior brother.”

Sheng Yu Hong immediately said, “Sect Leader Master and True Lord Yu Ling are fellow disciples. Speaking of it, you and I share the same grandmaster, so our relationship should be even closer…”

Hearing that just made Yun Xi feel irritated. Was he incapable of taking a hint? He kept trying to force closeness. She frowned. “Senior Brother Sheng, that’s not how I judge closeness or distance between people.”

What she meant was: I don’t want to be that close to you.

Sheng Yu Hong had his own pride. He could tell Yun Xi didn’t want to be close to him. After leaving the gift behind, he took his leave and left.

Once Sheng Yu Hong was gone, Wei Yun Qing finally said in a fake, caring tone, “Yun Xi, he’s still Eldest Senior Brother. You shouldn’t embarrass him like that. You should’ve at least humored him.”

Yun Xi said coldly, “Yun Qing, you knew I only invited disciples from the Wei Family. I didn’t invite outsiders. So why did you bring him here on your own?”

Wei Yun Qing put on an expression like she’d been wronged. “When you sent the message talisman, Eldest Senior Brother was right beside me. He said he wanted to come visit you with me. How could I refuse? I don’t have a Nascent Soul master backing me up.”

That excuse sounded convincing, but Yun Xi didn’t buy it at all. She shot back at once, “Since he came uninvited and you knew it, shouldn’t you have warned me in advance?”

“How was I supposed to know your relationship was this bad? You won’t even call him Eldest Senior Brother.”

Truthfully, seeing their relationship this bad made Yun Qing happy inside.

Off to the side, the three siblings from the Wei Family were also curious. They didn’t understand why Yun Xi disliked Senior Brother Sheng so much. He was a rising star in the sect and was highly sought after.

Wei Yun Ying spoke carefully, “Yun Xi, did Senior Brother Sheng do something that upset you?”

Yun Xi frowned. She didn’t say she disliked Sheng Yu Hong because he’d encouraged the sect leader to take her as a disciple. In other people’s eyes, that would’ve been an incredible blessing.

“Our auras don’t match. In the future, I’ll avoid him.”

She could only give a perfunctory excuse and end the topic.

Wei Yun Qing still wanted to comfort Sheng Yu Hong and pull their relationship closer. She sat for a short while, left behind a Second Rank spiritual plant she had grown herself, and then took her leave.

Yun Xi didn’t try to keep her. Inviting her in the first place was only for show, to keep up the appearance of harmony between sisters. She hadn’t expected Yun Qing to drag Sheng Yu Hong along and make her so annoyed.

After Wei Yun Qing left, Wei Yun Ying spoke again. “Yun Xi, it looks like Yun Qing really likes Senior Brother Sheng.”

Yun Xi shook her head. “It has nothing to do with me. I never covet what doesn’t belong to me. I only want to cultivate and ascend, to see a broader world. Romance only slows down my cultivation.”

Wei Yun Ying froze after hearing that and didn’t continue the topic. Zong Yu strongly agreed with Yun Xi. In his heart, there was only the sword.

Zong Hao thought the same as Yun Xi. If his aptitude hadn’t improved, the family might have arranged other things for him. But with his current cultivation speed, Minor Ascension clearly wouldn’t be a problem. He had even less reason to waste time on love.

After they finished that topic, Yun Xi brought up that she needed to return to her clan for a while. Yun Ying and Zong Yu hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment, so they weren’t qualified to go back.

Zong Hao could return, but he had recently made a breakthrough in alchemy. This wasn’t a good time to leave.

So he suggested, “Yun Xi, how about you wait a few days for me? Once my alchemy breaks through, I’ll go back to the clan with you.”

Yun Xi thought for a moment, then said, “In less than a year, it’ll be the sect tournament. It affects your apprenticeship and your future cultivation resources, so you’d better hurry and prepare. If we can’t go together this time, we’ll go next time. There will be plenty of chances.”

Zong Hao said with a bit of regret, “Alright. Be careful on the road.”

“Okay. If anything comes up, we’ll contact each other with communication jade slips.”

After that, Yun Xi took out the demon beast meat and spirit wine she had prepared and had a small meal with the four of them. In the afternoon, Yun Xi personally saw them out of Soaring Snow Peak.

Afterward, Yun Xi spent three days preparing to travel. She made a special trip to Artifact-Refining Peak and asked a Golden Core Elder to use the skin of a five-colored python to refine a robe for her.

Because the python’s skin was brilliantly colored, the robe that was refined from it shimmered beautifully. This Master Nan had superb artifact-refining skill and even refined a matching hair ribbon, handing it to Yun Xi along with the robe.

Yun Xi paid the refining fee without hesitation and brought the new robe back to Soaring Snow Peak. She even tried it on, adjusted the robe’s color to sky-blue, and made the ribbon the same shade. It looked very low-key.

Once she had everything ready, Yun Xi went to the Mission Hall and accepted two missions that required going out. Then she left the Hao Ran Sect.

Yun Xi’s first stop was still Hao Ran City. There, she dealt with some things she didn’t need. She sent the storage bracelet into her space. The items inside were a bit too valuable for her right now, and if someone targeted her, it would be a huge headache. She needed to avoid that risk early.

However, she kept the storage ring on her finger, still using its concealment function. She stored some emergency items inside it. As for the things she carried openly, she still kept those in the storage pouch at her waist.

Dian Dian was used to staying by Yun Xi’s side and refused to enter the spirit beast pouch. So it stayed curled up in its master’s arms, claiming it was so it could spot treasures at any moment.

As for Yun Xi leaving the sect, Sheng Yu Hong only found out two days later. At that time, he had planned to seek Yun Xi out alone to talk. He believed there was a misunderstanding between them, but he was still one step too late.

By then, Yun Xi had already left Hao Ran City and boarded an ordinary flying boat toward Xia Fei Valley.

Xia Fei Valley lay along her route back to Kun Yu City, so she accepted a mission to capture Fei Xia butterflies in Xia Fei Valley.

This kind of Fei Xia butterfly only existed in Xia Fei Valley, and the valley was named for them. Fei Xia butterflies had no real attack power, topping out at Third Rank at most, but the powder on their wings could be used in medicine. It was a very good neutralizing agent in alchemy.

Fei Xia butterflies were also very beautiful. Their most distinctive feature was their pair of wings, thin as cicada wings and seemingly coated in the colors of morning clouds. Under sunlight, they were so beautiful it was hard to look away, which was why they were called Fei Xia butterflies.