Chapter 36

Chapter 36: A Secret Plan

Wei Ling Kai escorted the eight of them all the way to the Lecture Hall, then went alone to the Disciples Hall to see Elder Zheng.

The news spread through the Outer Sect like a gust of wind. Wei Ling Kai’s Inner Sect robe was simply too eye-catching, and when he left, he flew off on a sword. With a little asking around, the gossipers quickly learned that he was the little uncle of the eight new Wei Family disciples who had just entered the Outer Sect.

A disciple who cultivated in the same courtyard as Chen Feng curled his lips. “See? He finally ran into a wall.”

“It’s Chen Feng’s own crooked heart,” another said. “Just because new disciples have no backing, does that mean he can bully them however he wants? We were all new disciples once too. We hate people like that the most, so why become that kind of villain?”

“Exactly,” the third agreed. “Instead of coveting what’s in someone else’s storage bag, you might as well take a few more missions. The spirit stones and points will come, and you’ll feel more at ease.”

“That’s right. Come on, let’s go to the Mission Hall and see if there are any new missions.”

After that, the three left together. All of them were at Qi Refining Level Four, and once their one-year newcomer protection period ended, they started taking missions to earn spirit stones and points.

This news also made its way to Chen Feng. He knew he had misjudged things and picked the wrong targets. So for the next year, he never appeared in front of the Wei Family disciples again. He planned to wait until the heat died down and no one mentioned it anymore before he went looking for trouble with them.

His plan was sound. The other six from the Wei Family could not possibly all reach Qi Refining Level Three within one year. Once some of them became menial disciples, and the rest started taking sect missions, they would inevitably split up. As long as they split up, he could go after the weakest little ones. He did not believe an Inner Sect martial uncle could watch them every moment.

Chen Feng’s dream was beautiful and made perfect sense, but reality was cruel. The first person he targeted made him meet his downfall and lose his life. But that was for later.

Because Wei Ling Kai had shown up, the Wei Family disciples’ cultivation environment became relatively stable. Even though they still kept the habit of traveling together, they each chose different training routines.

Every morning, all the Wei Family members went to the Dining Hall to eat together, and only then did they split up.

Wei Yun Ting and Wei Zong Han were both already at Qi Refining Level Three. They went together to the Outer Sect’s Cultivation Hall, each chose a meditation room, and began cultivating. Both planned to use the thicker spiritual qi in the Cultivation Hall to push for Qi Refining Level Four. Only after breaking through to Level Four could they learn the basic spells in the jade slip.

Wei Yun Ying, Wei Zong Jin, Wei Zong Yu, and Wei Zong Hao chose to go to the Lecture Hall first to listen to lessons. They wanted to see whether the sect’s teaching differed from their clan’s lectures, so they could learn from each and make up for weaknesses.

Wei Yun Xi chose to go to the library to read. She needed to fill in her common knowledge about the Cultivation World. She had learned some things in the Wei Family and the Feng Family, and some of what she thought she knew came from reading novels, but that was fiction and very different from reality. Expanding her knowledge was necessary.

Most importantly, she was already at Qi Refining Level Four. Since she had just advanced, she planned to solidify her foundation in the early Qi Refining stage, so she split off from the others.

As for Wei Yun Qing, for reasons unknown, she chose to act together with Wei Yun Xi. She even gave a very righteous-sounding excuse: “Big Sister said before that we should travel together. I’m not at ease leaving you alone either. It’s better if we act together.”

Wei Yun Xi smiled sweetly and said, “You’re right, Sister. It’s just that I only just advanced to Qi Refining Level One, and I don’t plan to advance again anytime soon. I want to be steadier, so I plan to go to the library to read. Do you want to come too, Sister?”

Wei Yun Qing thought for a moment, then said, “I’m still not at ease. I’ll accompany you for a few days first. If there’s no problem, then you can act alone.”

In other words: I’m accompanying you because I’m being responsible, but I can’t sacrifice too much of my cultivation time. Once I confirm there’s no danger, you can act alone. And if something happens, don’t blame me for not taking care of you.

“Okay,” Wei Yun Xi agreed readily. She did not know what Wei Yun Qing was up to, but she felt that reading in the library would not really cause trouble, so she decided to go with the flow and see.

On their first day at the library, they registered at the entrance, then went into the first floor. The books here were free for Outer Sect disciples to read. The books on the second, third, and fourth floors required contribution points or spirit stones. One low-grade spirit stone only allowed you to read for one day in the library. If you wanted to copy a jade slip you liked, you had to pay extra spirit stones. In short, the sect could not lose money.

As soon as Wei Yun Xi entered, she began browsing the shelves: “A Brief History of the Vast Cosmos Realm,” “Encyclopedia of Spirit Plants,” “Strange Flame Rankings,” “Extinct Heavenly Treasures of the Vast Cosmos Realm,” “Analysis of Mountain Terrain and Ley Lines in the Vast Cosmos Realm,” “Analysis of Basic Five-Element Spells,” “The Two or Three Things I Have to Tell About Myself and the Founding Patriarch of Hao Ran Sect,” “The Rise of Hao Ran Sect”…

The farther she looked, the less reliable the jade slip titles became. They felt like made-up stories using famous names from her old world. They were fine for killing time, but it was hard to get anything truly valuable from them.

Wei Yun Xi casually pulled out the first two books, found a corner, sat cross-legged, and started reading ten lines at a glance.

Wei Yun Qing, who followed behind, saw this and the corner of her eye twitched. She always felt that her little sister was not simply here to read. Since it was only the first day, she endured it and randomly pulled a book from the shelf. She also sat down on the floor to read.

But her mind was not on the book. From time to time, she glanced toward Wei Yun Xi in the corner.

Wei Yun Xi was not afraid of Wei Yun Qing trying something. This was the library, and a Foundation Establishment cultivator guarded the entrance. With Wei Yun Qing’s current Qi Refining Level One cultivation, she could not stir up any real trouble. So Wei Yun Xi truly read seriously.

The two of them read all the way into the afternoon. Only when her stomach growled did Wei Yun Xi pull her attention back from the book.

She looked up and immediately knew she had missed dinner. She popped a fasting pill into her mouth, then stood up, returned the books to their place, and prepared to go back to her residence.

Wei Yun Qing also returned her book and hurried two steps to ask, “Yun Xi, were the books interesting?”

Wei Yun Xi glanced at her and said, “Pretty interesting. I already finished them. You can take them tomorrow.”

With that, she stepped out of the library first. She bowed to the Foundation Establishment cultivator at the entrance, then walked toward the Outer Sect residences.

Since Wei Yun Qing could not get anything out of her, she followed her back to the small courtyard. After entering, the two separated.

After Wei Yun Xi activated her isolation formation, she sat cross-legged and began cultivating. She first ran the Qi Refining Technique through one full circulation, purifying and compressing her spiritual power again. After settling the spiritual qi into her dantian, she continued cultivating “Soul-Refining Art,” which suited nighttime practice.

She did not sleep all night. After absorbing the first wisp of purple qi at dawn, she left her residence full of energy and repeated the first day’s routine.

This time, she chose different books to read. The two books she had read yesterday ended up in Wei Yun Qing’s hands, and this time Wei Yun Qing read them very carefully.

Wei Yun Xi touched her chubby chin. She seemed to understand Wei Yun Qing’s goal now. Wei Yun Qing seemed to be searching for something, and it had to pass through Wei Yun Xi’s hands to be found. It made Wei Yun Xi think of the nickname “money-bringing child” from the novel.