Chapter 161 - Xuan Tong Enters

The shortie had been in Invincible Sect for nearly a month now. Apart from being unfortunate and getting injured exceptionally often, she was mostly fine. The only thing that could not be changed was the offerings she made to Shen Ying three times a day each day. Shen Ying could not figure out where she got them from, but she would find a small pastry, or a bag of snacks, or various fruits neatly arranged outside her window each morning.

No matter how hard Shen Ying tried to make clear that she did not want them, the shortie did not seem able to kick the habit.

One fine day, as she carried a bunch of wildflowers into the sect, she bumped into Radish. Radish got so angry that it looked like it was about to explode. Both of them were young, so they began to fight. Radish insisted that only she had the privilege of giving Shen Ying’s flowers – it refused to let Shortie go anywhere near Shen Ying with the wildflowers. Radish tried to force the wildflowers out of Shortie’s hands and exchange them for its own dandelions. It even said that if Shortie ever wanted to give Shen Ying flowers again, she would have to ask for Radish’s.

After that, not a single wildflower appeared outside of Shen Ying’s window.

-_-|||

“Sect Master, Elder Lonemoon is here.” Yu Hong held Shortie’s hand as they walked into the hall. She had not seen Shortie in a few days; it seemed that she had grown a couple of inches. She was now almost at Yu Hong’s upper arm.

“Divine Immortal, please return…” Just as she entered the rear hall, Xuan Tong’s eyes brightened up. She was just about to run to Shen Ying’s side, but stopped herself, as if remembering something. She bowed to Shen Ying, just like Yu Hong did. “Xuan Tong greets Sect Master and two Elders.”

“Xuan Tong, did you throw these things around the house?” Lonemoon asked.

Xuan Tong flushed and nodded. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“They’re offerings to Divine… Sect Master.”

“But… but I promised Divine Immortal!” She exclaimed seriously. “Big Sister Hong says humans must keep their word, and immortals should do so all the more. I have to keep my promises!” Divine Immortal protected her and she promised to make offerings every single day. She could not go back on her word.

Lonemoon: “…”

Yu Hong, who was implicated: “…”

“Did I… do something wrong?” Xuan Tong looked around at everybody, confused.

She sighed and walked toward the child.

“Hey… Shortie!”

“Let me tell you a secret.”

“Huh?” She stared expectantly at Shen Ying.

“Re… really?” She looked stumped. She slouched, looking like a deflated balloon. Her eyes began to well up, as if she would burst into tears at any time. “Well… well, what should I give as offerings then?”

“That’s difficult. You won’t be able to learn it in an hour and a half.”

“I’m not afraid! Please teach me, Sect Master. I will do it!”

“Good! Then…” She turned around and pointed toward the inside of the house. Very seriously, she instructed, “Put all those things back where they came from first!”

“I’ll do it right away!”

She grinned and bent over to pick up all the vegetables she had plucked.

Lonemoon: “…”

“Come, I have a storage bag. It might be more convenient for you to use it.”

“Thank you Sect Master!”

“You’re welcome. After you’re done replanting them, just come back and clean the house. I’ll be very impressed with you if you do well.”

“Yes, Sect Master! No problem, Sect Master!”

——————

The little child looked elated as she grabbed the storage back and ran toward the garden. Yu Hong seriously contemplated whether she should help Shen Ying re-plant the vegetables. Afterall, that was how Xuan Tong got complimented!

Oh, how she envied her…

“What’s the matter?” Lonemoon looked up.

“It’s about her cultivation level,” Yu Hong said with some difficulty. “She is naturally weak and is not fit for body cultivation, so the sect’s way of training would not work with her. She would not be able to follow it. She’s not going to be able to train her sword techniques either. Bitao was the one who taught her how to gather Qi into her body, but he is a Dan cultivator, with fire-elemental character. Junior Sister is the only one who has a water-elemental spirit root. She’s not suited to continue learning from Bitao.”

That was indeed a problem.

“She’s the only one with water-elemental spirit root!” Qi Chengyu exclaimed and looked at the other three in shock. “Could she also be…”

Lonemoon stayed silent for a few seconds before he nodded. “That’s right.”

Qi Chengyu clenched her fists by her side. She knew full well the kind of fate that awaited someone with a pure Yin body-type. Although they were in the immortal realm, and she would not live as miserable a life as Qi Chengyu did. Shortie’s body would still be ideal for training various immortal weapons and immortal pills.

“Let me do it. I’ll teach her.” She also had a pure Yin body-type. Nobody understood the training methods better than she did.

Lonemoon shook her head. He suppressed his urge to talk about the plot. “She already knows how to take Qi into her body. Unless she restarts her entire training… Afterall, you are… Eh? Your skills!”

It was only then that he realised there was immortal Qi surrounding Qi Chengyu, and not demonic or Yin Qi.

“I trained as a demon only to take revenge.” Qi Chengyu smiled wryly, “Once I got to the Azure World, I got rid of all my skills and re-cultivated. Now, I am an immortal cultivator.”

“That’s quick!” Lonemoon could not believe his ears. It was a painful process for an ordinary mortal to get rid of all the skills and training that she learned. Qi Chengyu even had to re-train her Qi from the beginning. She actually managed to do all of this in a few short years!

“It wasn’t quick. I spent a full 500 years doing that.” It was also because she restarted twice that she did not manage to go through the Lightning Tribulation and became a spirit.

“How long after you restarted did you make your way to the upper world?”

Qi Chengyu counted in her head and answered, “200 years.”

“…” Did she really spend 700 years looking for them in the lower realm? By the looks of it, a day in the upper realm was akin to a year in the lower realm.

He turned to look at Qi Chengyu admiringly. “You’ve restarted twice and managed to ascend to immortality in just 200 years. That’s very impressive already.”

“That’s right.” Yi Qing nodded. She was indeed someone saved by Master. “Ordinary cultivators would need about that long to become a Soul Formation.

Qi Chengyu: “…”

Feng Ying: “…”