Chapter 78

Chapter 78: Is This Master Ling Xiao’s Attitude When Asking for Help?

Shen Sang Ruo lingered in Azure Jade Palace, wanting to gossip with Immortal Maiden Azure Luan about her past with Immortal Lord Chang Li. The result was simple: Immortal Maiden Azure Luan kicked her straight out of the Wind-Moon Spirit Ruins.

She scrunched her face and rubbed her aching backside, yet a smile still played at the corner of her lips. After glancing toward Azure Jade Palace, she turned to leave.

Flying Cloud Sect.

Shen Dao Chen said in a low voice to the man beside him, eyes burning with impatience: “Ling Xiao, the one who holds the Fire-Scale Vine has come out of the Wind-Moon Spirit Ruins. We can make our move.”

According to what others in the Cultivation World knew, the Wind-Moon Spirit Ruins were the domain of a reclusive Grand Adept, so they did not dare act rashly and make an enemy there. They had to wait until that person left the Sealed Speech Expanse, then they would forcibly summon them to the Flying Cloud Sect.

Master Ling Xiao answered with a quiet hum, then began to cast his spell.

The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion used the Fire-Scale Vine aura left on Wen Xuan and the others last time to track its owner. As long as the same aura appeared anywhere in the Cultivation World, the array would lock onto it.

Following this, Master Ling Xiao pinpointed the person moving farther from the Wind-Moon Spirit Ruins. He stared at his outstretched palm, fingers slowly closing. The strength of a peak Late Divine Transformation cultivator surged, and space itself twisted. The next moment, a figure appeared out of thin air before them.

Shen Dao Chen stared, shocked, and blurted: “Sang Ruo? How is it you?”

He almost wondered if there had been a mistake, but the caster was Master Ling Xiao. With his strength, he would not err. Then he remembered Shen Sang Ruo had also gone into the Secret Realm at Red Peak Fire Sea where the Fire-Scale Vine was found, and his doubts vanished.

Master Ling Xiao narrowed his eyes at her, anger kindling as he asked: “So the one with the Fire-Scale Vine is you?”

Everyone in the Flying Cloud Sect knew Bai Mu Mu needed the Fire-Scale Vine, and Shen Sang Ruo could not pretend she did not. She had the vine in her hand as soon as she came out of the Secret Realm. She had many chances to hand it over, but she hid it and refused. Now Bai Mu Mu’s life hung by a thread, which made it look like Shen Sang Ruo wanted her dead.

They had spent manpower and resources, paying hundreds of thousands of High-grade Spirit Stones to track down the Fire-Scale Vine, only to learn its owner was Shen Sang Ruo standing right before them. A sharp sense of being toyed with rose in their hearts.

There was also what happened before: she had on purpose let Luo Chu and Bai Mu Mu leave the team. When the avalanche hit, she only cared about saving herself, which caused Bai Mu Mu’s old injury to flare up again.

Master Ling Xiao looked at Shen Sang Ruo with open disgust and said: “Do you hate your Junior Sister that much?”

He could not accept having such a narrow and vicious heart among his Disciples.

At that moment, Shen Sang Ruo understood what was going on and frowned in secret, thinking: [These people are like ghosts that will not leave.] The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion’s net of information really was strong if they could still find her like this. She calmly straightened her robes, met Master Ling Xiao’s eyes, and answered in a steady voice: “Yes.”

Shen Sang Ruo had never stated her feelings toward Bai Mu Mu so openly and cleanly. Master Ling Xiao and Shen Dao Chen both froze. The hesitation on Shen Dao Chen’s face then turned into disappointment and anger.

Shen Dao Chen said, voice tight: “I thought I treated you well enough. After bringing Mu Mu back, I have always treated you like my own daughter. What more do you want? How can you not tolerate Mu Mu and even want her dead?”

Shen Sang Ruo gave a cold laugh and said: “She tried to kill me and already acted on it. Should I not hate her?”

In the past, she feared nothing more than Shen Dao Chen’s disappointment. She worked hard to meet his strict demands, just to hear a single word of praise. Now, she heard his voice and thought: [Your words are nothing but wind. I will not be dragged by you again.]

Seeing her indifferent look, Shen Dao Chen decided her mind was weak and had strayed onto a wrong path. The years of effort he had spent on her had all been wasted. He wondered when the once obedient Shen Sang Ruo had grown so many thorns.

Master Ling Xiao snapped, voice like a whip: “Nonsense! The one who wants Mu Mu dead is you. Twisting black and white like this shows you cannot be saved.”

In his eyes, Bai Mu Mu had always been kind and soft. Now Shen Sang Ruo dared to declare her dislike in broad daylight. If not for his and Shen Dao Chen’s protection, she would have swallowed Mu Mu whole already.

Shen Dao Chen flung his sleeve and said, anger cold and heavy: “With a heart like yours, how can you shoulder great duties? I truly misjudged you when I favored you as the next sect Master.”

He also thought to himself that keeping Shen Sang Ruo back then might have been the wrong choice. Maybe when he brought Bai Mu Mu back, he should have sent Shen Sang Ruo down the mountain.

Shen Sang Ruo’s gaze was icy as she said with a mocking edge: “You and Master Ling Xiao are right. What kind of person I am has never been up to me. It has always depended on your guesses and your imagination.”

Master Ling Xiao barked: “Impudent,” then flicked his sleeve as a beam of Spiritual Power shot out. Even though Shen Sang Ruo used all her strength to block, she was slammed hard into the wall.

Shen Dao Chen’s eyes flashed with surprise as he thought: [Late Golden Core? Already on par with Feng He Yun and Wen Xuan.] The flash of joy faded at once. Her talent had always been good, but her heart was too cruel. If the Flying Cloud Sect fell into her hands, who knew what it would become.

Master Ling Xiao felt the same and hated her even more. His resolve to cast her out grew stronger. His seat could not hold such a stained person.

A cold light flashed in Master Ling Xiao’s eyes as he said: “Hand over the Fire-Scale Vine. I will spare your life and only punish you with ten years in the Forbidden Rear Mountain.”

Shen Sang Ruo had refused to learn her lesson, which made him wonder if he had been too soft before. The Forbidden Rear Mountain was a domain of chaos. Once inside, you lost your way. There were no sounds and no living things. You could only feel your own presence, and the loneliness could drive you mad.

Shen Sang Ruo wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and raised her chin, saying with a thin smile: “Is this Master Ling Xiao’s attitude when asking for help?”

“Ask for help?” Master Ling Xiao laughed in fury and said: “I am your Master. When I want something, do I need to ask you, you wicked disciple?”

“The Fire-Scale Vine is what you owe Mu Mu. You still have the face to make me beg you? How rebellious.”

His patience ended. He drove his Spiritual Power straight at her Cosmos Pouch. A small storage pouch meant nothing to a Peak Divine Transformation Cultivator. But when he tried to wipe away the Divine Sense mark and open it by force, the pouch would not budge.

Shen Sang Ruo’s smile deepened, her blood-tinted lips bright as a flower as she thought: [This treasure has followed me for two lives. Not just anyone can open it. So what if you are number one in the Cultivation World?]