Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Found Nine Azure Peak

She did not know how long she fell through the dark. A sharp pain hit her back, as if she had slammed into something, and then she finally landed.

Her sight brightened.

She was about to look around to see where she had fallen when she lifted her head and met a pair of slightly angry eyes.

The man wore a black robe. His brows were sharp, his obsidian eyes deep. He said nothing as he stared at her.

He held a broken sword and seemed to be wiping it clean.

Only then did she realize she had fallen into a house.

The pain in her back came from smashing through the roof.

Shen Sang Ruo felt terribly embarrassed. She had only cut away her feelings for those in the Flying Cloud Sect. She still had normal feelings when facing others.

She bowed in apology and said: “I am sorry, Fellow Daoist. I was Teleported here by a strange Formation. I did not mean to damage your roof. I will pay for the loss.”

She set two High-grade Spirit Stones on the table.

The man said nothing. He lowered his eyes and continued to wipe the broken sword.

Shen Sang Ruo was not bothered by his coldness. In the Cultivation World, many able people were proud and odd.

She could not see his cultivation at all.

To be exact, at her current first level of Qi Refining, she could not see anyone’s cultivation. Anyone could cut her down like a wild mob monster.

She had just arrived and did not even know where she was, so it was best not to offend him.

She was about to take her leave when a bright female voice sounded outside the door: “Big Senior Brother! We saw that Fellow Daoist fall into your yard! Where is he?”

At once, the door swung open with a snap.

A young woman in a flowing dress stepped in. Her chestnut hair was casually pinned up with a coronet. The smile in her eyes was as warm as spring wind and very likable.

When she saw Shen Sang Ruo, her expression grew even happier as she leaned close and said: “So the fated person Sect Master mentioned is a little Little Sister!”

She looked Shen Sang Ruo up and down several times, her fondness almost spilling over.

She introduced herself with a cheerful grin: “I am Su Xi Yu, fourth in our sect. You look younger than me, so just call me Senior Sister Su.”

She pointed to the man and added: “This is my Big Senior Brother, Ye Huai. He treats everyone like this. Don’t take it to heart.”

From Su Xi Yu’s words, Shen Sang Ruo heard a few key points.

Realizing they meant no harm, she returned the salute and introduced herself: “Senior Sister Su, I am a Disciple of the Flying Cloud Sect. My name is Shen Sang Ruo.”

She asked politely: “May I ask where this place is? I stepped into a Formation and was Teleported here. Also, what do you mean by ‘fated person’?”

Su Xi Yu took her hand and said: “Come with me. I will explain on the way.”

Led outside, Shen Sang Ruo saw she was in a sect, but besides the three of them, she did not see any other Disciples.

Su Xi Yu explained as they walked: “This is the Ninghua Sect on Nine Azure Peak.”

“Nine Azure Peak?” Shen Sang Ruo blurted. It was exactly the place she had been seeking.

She had not expected to find it by mistake like this.

Su Xi Yu nodded and added: “Yes, the same Nine Azure Peak that our Sect Master sent that trace of Divine Sense to guide you to find.”

Hearing how clearly Senior Sister Su knew these matters, Shen Sang Ruo let go of her doubts. She figured Su Xi Yu was taking her to meet the Sect Master of the Ninghua Sect, the Senior who had severed her emotions and saved her life when she carried the Seven Emotions Gu.

Su Xi Yu soon brought her to the Sect Master’s Hall.

On the dais sat a white browed, white haired Elder with his eyes closed. When they stepped in, he lifted his brows slightly but did not open his eyes.

Su Xi Yu said in a whisper: “That is our Sect Master, titled Daoist Wu Wei. Just call him Sect Master like we do.”

Two others sat to the right below him.

Su Xi Yu pointed and introduced in turn: “That is my Second Senior Brother, Song Wei Yan.”

The man in flowing white, elegant as an orchid, tipped his head in greeting.

“And that is my Third Senior Brother, Bai Ruo An.”

That refined, gentle man kept his eyes lightly closed for some reason, yet even with closed eyes he faced her unerringly, lips curving with a warm smile.

Shen Sang Ruo returned each greeting without asking more.

Su Xi Yu marched up to the dais and said bluntly: “Sect Master, stop pretending! It is only us here. Don’t keep your eyes closed to act deep.”

Seeing he still refused to open his eyes, Su Xi Yu shook his shoulder without ceremony.

He flapped a hand and finally opened them: “Stop, stop! Don’t shake me! Girl, you will shake my brains to pulp!”

His eyes were bright and full of spirit, without any frailty of age. He cleared his throat to cover the awkwardness of being exposed, then said: “You are the little lass who picked up the Darkwood with my Divine Sense on it?”

Shen Sang Ruo cupped her hands with deep respect and said: “Junior Shen Sang Ruo thanks Sect Master Wu Wei for saving my life. Without you, I would have died in the Confinement Chamber. If there is anything you need help with, I will do my best.”

The Divine Sense attached to the Darkwood, the Nine Azure Peak hidden within a Formation, the strangely empty Ninghua Sect, all hinted at a great conspiracy behind the scenes. [This is far beyond what I can solve right now.]

But being able to do it and being willing to do it are two different things. Shen Sang Ruo had never been the ungrateful kind.

Daoist Wu Wei nodded with satisfaction, but when he scanned her cultivation with Divine Sense, he frowned and asked: “You are only at the first level of Qi Refining?”

He had not expected her to be high, but this was far too low.

She answered without change of face: “Yes.”

He clicked his tongue and said: “No, that is odd. The day my Divine Sense touched you, you were clearly at Foundation Establishment mid stage.”

She replied calmly and told him what had happened after severing emotions and the extraction of her heart’s blood: “My cultivation scattered, and I started over.”

After hearing it, Su Xi Yu and the others were stunned. [Have we been shut away so long that the outside world has become like this? What kind of Masters and Seniors are those?]

Daoist Wu Wei spat in disgust and said: “Shameless. No wonder you cut off your feelings for them.”

Shen Sang Ruo bowed again and said with steady eyes: “Please rest assured, Sect Master Wu Wei. I will train hard and will not stop here.”

The meaning was clear. In time, she would still be of use and could help him.

Seeing the determination in her gaze, Daoist Wu Wei swallowed the discouraging words he had been about to say. He told her frankly: “You opening the Formation is already the greatest help to me and to the Ninghua Sect. It also settles the favor of me severing your emotions.”

This was true. With the Formation open, they could connect to the outside world again. Other kinds of help were not things ordinary people could offer.

He paused, coughed twice, then added: “But if you really want to help more, it is not impossible.”

Shen Sang Ruo caught a glint of slyness in his eyes.

He rubbed his hands and asked while eyeing her clothes: “You look like a sect Disciple. Tell me, does your sect have money? Do you have money?”

Su Xi Yu pressed a palm to her forehead with helplessness. The Sect Master’s old greedy habit was acting up again.