Chapter 15
Chapter 15: Big Event?
Su Huan Li arrived—basically the only sect friend Song Jiu Lai knew so far, aside from A Wu.
She looked refined and striking, dressed in a fitted martial outfit that made her seem sharp and fearless at a glance.
A Wu cupped his hands and greeted, “Senior Sister Su.” Then he pointed at Wu Da Hu and Ma Little Bird. “These are new disciples in the sect.”
Su Huan Li studied the two of them, her expression turning faintly complicated.
It wasn’t that she looked down on Song Jiu Lai’s little sect. It was just that cultivators were scarce in this world, and Flying Sparrow Sect lived among mortals. Whenever someone with spiritual roots was found and sent up to an immortal sect, Flying Sparrow Sect was almost always the first choice.
Longevity Sect, on the other hand, hadn’t found a disciple in all these years—aside from A Wu.
So where did these two pop out from?
And it wasn’t only them.
Su Huan Li could sense dozens more nearby, all giving off the thin, unstable aura of early Qi Refining Stage disciples.
In a backwater like this, it was almost unbelievable.
And there was something else—she caught a familiar scent on the two of them. Thick, heavy medicinal powder. The kind she used all the time.
Her puppet dolls were made by her own hands. Of course she would recognize the smell.
But no matter how clever Su Huan Li was, she would never imagine that on the Yun Zhou Continent, someone could do something so illegal and heaven-defying as forcing consciousness and spiritual roots into a puppet doll. On top of that, she used common spirit herbs—nothing exotic. So although the familiarity pricked at her, she only felt a mild suspicion, nothing more.
A Wu added, “This is Senior Sister Su of Flying Sparrow Sect.”
Wu Da Hu and Ma Little Bird could tell at once that Su Huan Li was no ordinary Senior Sister. They hurriedly followed A Wu and greeted in unison, “Senior Sister Su.”
Su Huan Li merely dipped her chin, polite but distant. Then she turned and flew straight toward Song Jiu Lai.
The moment she left, Wu Da Hu and Ma Little Bird exploded with questions.
“She’s from Flying Sparrow Sect, right? Senior Brother, what realm is she in?”
They’d felt it earlier—that invisible pressure rolling off her like a tide. Realm suppression. She was definitely higher than them.
A Wu put a finger to his lips. “Shh. You’re new, so I’ll let it go, but asking about someone else’s realm is rude.”
Besides—Su Huan Li wasn’t just “higher.” She was nearly at the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Her relationship with Longevity Sect was good for a reason. Years ago, the former Sect Master of Longevity Sect had once given her a helping hand.
The cultivation world cared about karma. Because of that, Su Huan Li treated the new Sect Master with genuine friendliness.
As long as Song Jiu Lai wasn’t clueless, Su Huan Li wouldn’t mind helping with small, harmless matters.
And Su Huan Li’s temperament was good to begin with. Otherwise, why would a cultivator on the verge of Foundation Establishment bother socializing with a crowd stuck in early Qi Refining Stage?
In the cultivation world, status lines were harsher than any modern aristocracy.
“A Jiu!” Su Huan Li called the moment she sensed Song Jiu Lai’s aura.
She hovered over the sect roofs—and then her gaze dropped to the courtyard below, where the newly accepted disciples milled about.
The longer she looked, the more stunned she became.
Could Song Jiu Lai really be… the Fated Maiden?
Recruiting fifty beginners with spiritual roots in one breath was ridiculously rare.
Even a large sect like Flying Sparrow Sect only had a few hundred cultivators in total. And their Sect Master was already at the Golden Core Stage.
Yet these disciples below… their spiritual qi was thin, faint, almost swallowed by a persistent scent of herbs. If Su Huan Li hadn’t flown this close herself, she might not have noticed there were fifty early Qi Refining Stage disciples here at all.
Were their realms simply too shallow? Too new?
Su Huan Li scratched her head. She wasn’t even at Foundation Establishment yet. She could only admit it—this was a blind spot for her.
More importantly, these disciples were strange.
Most disciples, when facing a high-level cultivator, dropped their eyes immediately. They wouldn’t dare meet her gaze.
These people, though, stared at her with undisguised curiosity, like she was a rare exhibition.
Su Huan Li didn’t know that players, when they saw a cultivator from another sect, practically had a reflex to say something stupid. It was like holding in a sneeze—how could anyone endure it?
Someone even pointed at her, lips parting.
Before a word could come out, the System warning struck first.
It wasn’t subtle. It meant one thing: she could hear them. Don’t say anything you shouldn’t.
Cause trouble, and you’d get deleted on the spot. The Sect Master wouldn’t even have time to save you.
The players clamped their mouths shut instantly.
No problem. If they couldn’t talk in-game, they’d log off later and gossip like mad in the group chat.
Su Huan Li spotted Song Jiu Lai on the roof. Song Jiu Lai’s posture was airy, almost elegant, her robes fluttering as if the wind itself liked her.
But today she wasn’t bouncing around like usual. She smiled at Su Huan Li, voice softened on purpose. “Senior Sister Su, you’re here.”
Su Huan Li blinked. Something felt off.
She scratched her head, hesitant. “You…”
She didn’t know how to put it. Even the way Song Jiu Lai turned around seemed deliberately slow—carefully measured, a little too careful. Almost… performative.
Song Jiu Lai said gently, “Senior Sister, come with me.” Then she floated down from the roof and slipped into her room.
Su Huan Li followed.
The instant the door shut, Song Jiu Lai let out a long breath and collapsed back into herself, loose-limbed and familiar again. “Hey, Senior Sister. You looking for me?”
Su Huan Li stared. “What was that outside?”
Song Jiu Lai had always been carefree, shameless in the best way—exactly the sort of person Su Huan Li could get along with.
Su Huan Li still remembered the first time she’d come to see A Wu and found Song Jiu Lai squatting at the sect gate, gnawing a steamed bun and scratching her butt like she owned the mountain.
Back then, she didn’t look anything like a prophesied Fated Maiden.
And yet, Su Huan Li had thought immediately: Yeah. This one suits me.
Song Jiu Lai laughed. “Newcomers. I’ve got to look steady in front of the new disciples. Otherwise people will take one look and think Longevity Sect is doomed.”
Su Huan Li understood at once. “Fair. Next time, Senior Sister will make you a lantern. The moment you fly up, it’ll light you like a beacon.”
Song Jiu Lai laughed so hard she almost choked. “Deal!”
Truthfully, Su Huan Li didn’t think Song Jiu Lai’s personality suited being Sect Master. But if the prophecy picked her, then she had something extraordinary. It wasn’t Su Huan Li’s place to argue with fate.
“I came to tell you something,” Su Huan Li said, growing serious. “My realm’s loosening. I’m probably about to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage. Master is sending me down the mountain to train elsewhere. Not too far—but I won’t be back for a month or so. If anything happens, find my little Junior Sister, Shui Ping.”
Song Jiu Lai’s eyes went wide. “You’re about to hit Foundation Establishment Stage?”
The envy on her face was so vivid it was almost adorable. “Senior Sister, you’re fast. Congrats in advance. When you come back, I’ll prepare a Foundation Establishment gift for you.”
Su Huan Li snorted. “What kind of ‘Foundation Establishment gift’ can you possibly prepare?”
Foundation Establishment was common enough among cultivators—it wasn’t some heavenly celebration. But hearing someone promise a big gift still made Su Huan Li secretly pleased.
Song Jiu Lai leaned back, shameless. “You’ll see.”
Su Huan Li smiled despite herself. “Fine. Then when I come back, I’ll bring you something too—maybe a Demon Beast inner core or a good hide.”
Song Jiu Lai didn’t bother pretending to refuse. “Then thank you, Senior Sister Su.”
Only then did Su Huan Li bring up what she’d really come to warn her about.
“You recruited so many disciples,” Su Huan Li said. “Myriad Immortals Sect’s Immortal Sacrifice Grand Ceremony is coming up. They collect taxes in advance. With fifty new disciples, you’ll have to pay ten more mid-grade spirit stones. Do you know that?”
Song Jiu Lai’s face tightened briefly, but she kept her tone light. “I’m thinking of a way. We’ve still got about a month. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
Su Huan Li sighed. She didn’t press. Song Jiu Lai’s stubbornness was legendary, and arguing wouldn’t conjure spirit stones out of air.
Instead, Su Huan Li added, “Myriad Immortals Sect is holding the Immortal Sacrifice Grand Ceremony this time, so the Yun Zhou Continent’s major sects will send people. Every city will set up a cultivator gathering and market. The closest one to us is in Liu Xian City.”
Song Jiu Lai’s eyes lit up.
“There’ll be things you never see normally,” Su Huan Li continued, warming up. “Specialties from other sect-cities too. When I get back, I’ll take you with me.”
Song Jiu Lai’s excitement flared like fire.
A big event.
A real, world-class event.