The Arrogant Immortal
Chapter 130 - 129: Are You Growing Hair in There?

Chapter 130: Chapter 129: Are You Growing Hair in There?

Xie Jiuniang had checked the content of the letter.

Her father’s condition was indeed better off staying at the clan than at the Sect Market. It was good that her mother stayed by his side as well.

Xie Jiuniang lingered a while longer.

Before she left, she said to her second uncle, "Uncle, I will soon enter seclusion for Foundation Establishment, and after emerging, I will formally become Elder Chaoyan’s disciple. According to Elder Chaoyan’s intentions, the ceremony should be a grand affair. I will prepare the necessary gifts for my initiation as a disciple on my own; the clan need not be troubled."

Her second uncle had originally been thrilled for her.

But upon hearing her final words, he felt a blockage in his heart.

During such joyous occasions, the clan would usually arrange for someone to witness the event. When Xie Ying became a disciple, it was the elder ancestor who led the delegation to attend. It was said to be a grand and bustling event. Normally, at least the elder ancestor and the father, being the clan leader, would be notified to send someone.

However, Xie Jiuniang clearly indicated that there was no need for the clan to attend.

He had also been a witness to the agreement between Xie Jiuniang and the clan, and though he wanted to persuade her, he found the words wouldn’t come out, "Xiaojiu, if no relatives are present at your initiation, what will others think of you..."

Initiation into discipleship was a major life event, and deep down, Xie Jiuniang wished for her parents to be present, yet rationally, she hoped they would not show themselves.

The situation was fraught with unpredictability and complexities.

As danger increasingly surrounded her, some of her thoughts had shifted.

Although it was an unwritten rule in the Cultivation World that personal grudges should not involve blood relatives, the human heart was always the most unpredictable.

Xie Jiuniang gazed deeply at her second uncle and slowly said, "Uncle, not attending might not necessarily be a bad thing. Can you understand that?"

Her second uncle’s expression changed.

Just as he wanted to ask something else, Xie Jiuniang had already turned around and strode away.

Was Xiaojiu facing great trouble?

Her second uncle furrowed his brow. That couldn’t be right; he hadn’t heard anything about trouble from the fourth aunt before. Could she have encountered something during her adventures? His first impulse was to investigate, but then he reconsidered and suppressed the thought.

She had only subtly hinted at the matter, indicating it was not something to be publicized.

Walking in the Sect Market, Xie Jiuniang overheard people discussing the Tianji Building incident. The news had spread too quickly, and obviously, the commotion caused by the event was far from settled.

Upon returning to the Sect, Xie Jiuniang did not go back to Shihao Mountain; instead, she went directly to the Deacon Hall to report, smoothing over the delay of her previous mission. She was fined five hundred Spirit Stones; originally it would have been a penalty of fifty Contribution Points, but she did not have any to her name.

Thus, it was changed to a fine in Spirit Stones.

Fifty Spirit Stones per Contribution Point.

Xie Jiuniang then rented another cave dwelling.

After some thought, she sent a Sound Transmission Talisman to her fourth aunt, telling her she had returned from her adventure, and then dove into the cave dwelling to begin her seclusion.

Her injuries had already healed; only the Soul Power sealed within her Sea of Consciousness needed to be refined. When she first inspected the condition of her Sea of Consciousness, the Time Leaf immediately caught her eye.

It had gotten chubby?

Oh, it had grown larger.

If the leaf before was like a slim, bony figure, now it was plump and had grown a full size bigger, with only a very faint hint of green. Judging by this evolution, it would probably turn silver in the future?

Xie Jiuniang focused on refining the Soul Power.

As the refining approached its peak and her mind felt swollen, she began studying the old woman’s Soul Art.

The technique rumored in the outside world to be the life-snatching Soul Needle, in reality, was called the "Exquisite Spirit Needle."

Practicing this was perfect for consuming Divine Sense; when her Divine Sense was almost completely drained, she would resume refining the sealed Soul Power.

The first step was to condense a wisp of Divine Sense into a Soul Needle, followed by repeated tempering, to give the Soul Needle a tangible quality, as if it were an actual needle. The methods of condensation and tempering were part of the early inheritance. The latter half taught how to wield the Soul Needle, such as achieving a fatal hit with a strike.

Xie Jiuniang was greatly interested in this.

It was perfect for taking someone by surprise!

It was extremely suitable for her.

Within the inheritance were the old woman’s lifetime insights into the "Exquisite Spirit Needle." With this guidance, Xie Jiuniang could avoid many detours as she practiced.

Within that, Xie Jiuniang had also come to know of some past events of the old woman. Perhaps the old woman had intentionally left her a cautionary tale.

It turned out that the old woman once had a son. Although he only possessed a five-element Spirit Root, she still raised him with great care. At the age of fifteen, her son made the acquaintance of several prodigies and was very happy. Even without encountering any fortunes, through his hard work in cultivation, he had reached Foundation Establishment.

In the Cultivation World, it is common not to encounter fortunes. Most people get by this way, and the old woman consoled her son with this thought. However, what saddened her son was that those he once thought to be his friends gradually drifted away, breaking off contact with him.

At first, the old woman didn’t see a problem.

People naturally seek higher positions, and water flows to lower ground.

It wasn’t too outrageous that her son, with his lesser cultivation base, was gradually left behind by those proud prodigies.

Until her son’s life span had come to an end.

The old woman bid him farewell. During her time outside, she encountered some people being hunted by Tianji Building, which led her to connect certain past events of her son. Those prodigies that had interactions with her son were all in the limelight, presumably having encountered great fortunes.

Latterly, as she investigated further, she grew increasingly horrified.

She hadn’t expected that her son was actually the Child of Destiny predicted by Tianji Building.

So, those prodigies approached her son with a conspiracy in mind!

With the forces behind those prodigies being so formidable, the old woman, unable to resist, fervently practiced the "Exquisite Spirit Needle," achieving an incredibly high level of mastery. Over the span of a thousand years, she silently killed off those prodigies one by one, disguising their deaths as various accidents.

To this day, they have not aroused any suspicion.

Even if someone were to suspect something, no evidence could be found.

The only one she hadn’t managed to kill was the master of Tianji Building, this leaker...

Xie Jiuniang, knowing the cause and effect, still felt a heavy weight in her heart.

The Child of Destiny of the previous generation?

The old woman had told her to live well before she died, perhaps guessing something about her.

Thus, Xie Jiuniang was even more determined to practice cultivation desperately, racing against time.

Her cultivation speed was incredibly fast. She condensed the first Soul Needle, then refined it into shape... Time flew by, and those immersed in focused cultivation scarcely noticed how swiftly it passed.

It wasn’t until Xie Jiuniang had refined all of her Soul Power that her Sea of Consciousness unexpectedly broke through to the Golden Core Stage.

And her cultivation base had reached the second layer of Foundation Establishment.

Just relying on Qi Cultivation techniques, to level up in such a short time was extraordinary for an Impurity-Free Body.

Suddenly, someone outside was attempting to open the Formation.

Xie Jiuniang was stunned.

In the dead of night, who would dare cause trouble in the Sect?

"You little brat, after half a year of seclusion, anyone would expect to reach Foundation Establishment, yet you’re still growing hair inside?" Elder Chaoyan was looking very displeased.

It was clearly agreed upon to pretend to achieve Foundation Establishment and to come out after two or three months.

So, what happened?

Pushing back the date for accepting disciples again and again, yet the disciple hasn’t shown up.

Luckily he hadn’t sent out the invitation yet, or he would have lost a lot of face.

As soon as Xie Jiuniang heard that half a year had passed, her heart skipped a beat. She hastily opened the Formation to let Chaoyan into the cave abode, hurriedly set out a table and chairs, and eagerly asked him to sit down. She then poured tea and offered apologies, "Master, I forgot about it during my retreat..."

"Forgot what? Forgot even about the ceremony to accept you as a disciple?" Chaoyan raised a finely arched eyebrow.

Xie Jiuniang felt a chill down her spine and quickly explained, "It’s not that I didn’t, I just accidentally entered a state of self-forgetfulness. Look, even without cultivation techniques my cultivation base has jumped to the second layer."

Elder Chaoyan noticed.

Truly at the second layer of Foundation Establishment?

Is cultivation so easy for young people nowadays?