Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Take Her Heart’s Blood, Cultivation Lost!

Shen Sang Ruo noticed Lu Shi Qing watching her now and then with a strange look, but she acted like she did not see it. [If this were before, she might have been secretly happy for a long time, but not now.]

Lu Shi Qing frowned, thinking her calm expression was oddly out of place. [Why is she so steady?] He thought this because he had once planted a similar Gu insect on her. Back then she had felt something for him beyond the respect due to a Senior Brother, so he had used a Gu insect to correct her feelings.

He left that Gu insect in her body for seven days, and when he saw her again, her face was still twisted by pain. At the time he felt she was stubborn and hopeless, that the root of foolish love had sunk deep, and even a love Gu could not fix it, so he grew disgusted with her. Luckily, she avoided him for a long while after that and did not cross the line again, which made him think a little better of her. That was why she had been so afraid when she saw him in the Confinement Chamber.

[So how did the Seven Emotions Gu stop working after just one day this time?] If he had not personally reclaimed the Seven Emotions Gu insect, he would have thought she forced it out by some method. [Did she figure things out?] He denied the thought at once: [She pestered us for so long; how could she really think it through? I would rather believe the Gu insect I refined failed.]

Wen Xuan walked ahead, not knowing his fellow disciple behind him was wearing such a storm of expressions.

They reached Master Ling Xiao’s cave residence, and Wen Xuan bowed with respect and said: “Master, we have brought Fifth Junior Sister back. Fifth Junior Sister has admitted her fault.”

Inside, besides Master Ling Xiao, were Shen Dao Chen and a very weak Bai Mu Mu sitting on a soft couch.

Shen Sang Ruo stood straight and spoke without changing her face: “Master, Senior Uncle, this disciple knows her mistake and is willing to accept any punishment.”

Inside the sect, Shen Dao Chen never let her call him Father. He made her call him Senior Uncle, saying that once you join the sect, you are only an ordinary disciple and may not enjoy special treatment. If Bai Mu Mu had not called him “Father” day after day behind his back, Shen Sang Ruo might really have believed him.

Right now, Shen Dao Chen’s face was iron blue as he stared at her.

On the seat, Master Ling Xiao did not even bother to lift his eyelids. He only hummed, as if he did not want to see her at all, then said: “Very well, then begin. Take ten drops of heart’s blood.”

Shen Sang Ruo had a Single Fire Spiritual Root. Bai Mu Mu was born with an Extreme Cold Constitution. For Bai Mu Mu, Shen Sang Ruo’s heart’s blood was the best medicine to nourish that body.

Bai Mu Mu spoke softly for her: “No, there is no need, Master. I am already much better. Ten drops of heart’s blood might harm Senior Sister’s foundation.”

Her cheeks were slightly red and her almond eyes were wet, the kind of look that made anyone want to protect her.

Shen Dao Chen kept a stiff face and said: “Mu Mu, do not be willful. You fell into a cold valley. If the chill returns later, what then?”

For him, Shen Sang Ruo admitting fault was a small matter; getting Bai Mu Mu the heart’s blood was a big matter. When Bai Mu Mu fell into the ravine there were no other witnesses, and before today Shen Sang Ruo refused to admit it. They had no proper reason to take heart’s blood. Now that Shen Sang Ruo had admitted wrongdoing, they finally had one.

Shen Sang Ruo cut through their warm picture of fatherly love and a dutiful daughter as she said: “I said I would accept any punishment. Junior Sister, do not refuse again.”

Everyone looked at her and saw only a cool face, as if she were speaking about something that had nothing to do with herself.

Before they could think more, she had already sat cross-legged on the prepared stone stool.

Wen Xuan, a medical cultivator, stepped forward to draw the heart’s blood. The silver needle flashed cold light as it pierced Shen Sang Ruo’s chest over her heart. She clenched her teeth, frowned, and could not help a soft groan.

Wen Xuan felt a stab of regret; drawing heart’s blood was extremely painful, and he had forgotten to prepare a numbing agent. He sped up his hands at once as drops of heart’s blood, each wrapped in spiritual power, fell into a white porcelain vial.

As the heart’s blood flowed, her face turned ghostly pale, almost without any color. Confinement Chamber, Seven Emotions Gu, and now heart’s blood; in two days she had endured so much torment that her body was close to its limit.

Seeing the heart’s blood collected, the stiff mask on Shen Dao Chen’s face loosened into a faint smile. A flash of wild joy flickered in Bai Mu Mu’s eyes.

Wen Xuan raised the white porcelain vial with spiritual power and sent it to Master Ling Xiao as he said: “Master, Senior Uncle, the heart’s blood is ready. Please forgive Fifth Junior Sister. In the days to come, this disciple will guide her better.”

Master Ling Xiao took the vial and said coldly: “This ends here. If there is a next time, she will be expelled.”

Shen Sang Ruo took a deep breath and pressed down the dizziness: “This disciple thanks Master. From today on, this disciple no longer owes the sect for its teaching and raising.”

Everyone frowned at her words and was about to scold her for being stubborn, when a mouthful of fresh blood burst from her lips.

Right after that, her dantian went limp like a punctured bladder, and her spiritual power poured out wildly.

All of them stared in shock at the sudden change.

Lu Shi Qing, who had been coldly watching, reacted first. He stepped forward and caught the fainting Shen Sang Ruo: “Shen Sang Ruo! What trick are you playing now? Do you want to die?!”

Master Ling Xiao sprang from his seat and landed before her, sealing her dantian with spiritual power. On his immortal-like face, a brief trace of panic flashed by.

“Fifth Junior Sister!” Wen Xuan’s heart lurched hard, as if it would jump out of his throat.

Shen Dao Chen rushed over: “Ruo Ruo, what is wrong? Why did you suddenly vomit blood?”

The bleeding was secondary; what truly frightened them was her leaking spiritual power.

Master Ling Xiao probed Shen Sang Ruo’s condition with spiritual power, and his expression grew heavy. He looked at the worried Wen Xuan and said with a dark face: “She just stepped into Foundation Establishment (Mid-stage). Her cultivation was unstable. Taking heart’s blood now was to turn her into a cripple.”

His meaning was clear: he was blaming Wen Xuan for drawing blood at this time.

Master Ling Xiao had been focused on teaching Bai Mu Mu lately and had not cared for Shen Sang Ruo. The Senior Brothers were supposed to know her progress better than he did.

Wen Xuan froze where he stood and stammered: “W-what? Fifth Junior Sister just broke through?” If he had known she broke through, he would never have taken heart’s blood now. But he did not know.

“Shen Sang Ruo broke through?” Lu Shi Qing also looked shocked; clearly, he did not know either.

Annoyance surged in Master Ling Xiao’s chest. [None of these Senior Brothers even know their own Junior Sister’s cultivation?] Not to mention the Eldest Senior Brother who was off somewhere drinking and the Fourth Senior Brother who was running wild with who knew whom.

He was about to erupt when Shen Dao Chen blurted: “When did Sang Ruo break through? To what level did she reach?”

Master Ling Xiao held back the urge to fling two disciples out of the cave and rubbed his brow. [And an even less reliable father.]

Bai Mu Mu walked over with a worried look and asked gently: “How is Fifth Senior Sister now?”

Master Ling Xiao spoke in a heavy voice: “She has lost her cultivation.”

“What?!” Lu Shi Qing cried out, staring hard at the fainted Shen Sang Ruo in his arms.

Every face turned ugly to the extreme. Only then did they understand what Shen Sang Ruo’s earlier sentence truly meant.