Chapter 28

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Chapter 28

At this moment, Danchenzi is not in the Mortal World; to find him, one must return to the Spiritual World.

Yun Chuyou copied relevant information and used the Camera Stone to record the situation in Huaishi Village, as well as testimonies from the Imperial Spirit Bureau. These things will serve as evidence of Danchenzi’s wrongdoing in the Spiritual World.

Chen Qi worked hard to apologize; he cooperated fully with all the requests from Yun Chuyou and her group, fearing for his life.

Before Yun Chuyou left, he swore with his heart, "I truly have no ill intentions; it was not deliberate at all."

He added, "Regarding the nursery and porridge matters, I, Chen, will handle them personally and will not let my friends down."

Yun Chuyou looked at him for a moment, "We will return soon, let’s leave this matter behind."

This means not to mind that Chen Qi handed her the case of Huaishi Village, unintentionally getting her into trouble.

When dealing with a petty cultivator, Chen Qi would inevitably face some difficulties, but Yun Chuyou is a serious cultivator. The evidence is clear, and since the other party is acting very sincerely and even swore on their Dao heart, she would not be too harsh on them. This matter can be considered settled.

After handling these follow-ups, Yun Chuyou asked Yu Jiu, "Junior Martial Brother Yu Jiu, how much longer do you plan to stay in the Mortal World?"

Meng He is not very interested in the Mortal World, and Zhong Wei is eager to return. She can’t wait to learn more about her enemies.

The other party was at the Foundation Establishment Stage a dozen years ago and made some progress through unorthodox means. They should now only be a Golden Core cultivator, so she might have a chance to take revenge herself.

However, the four of them went out together, and Yun Chuyou did not want to leave Yu Jiu alone in the Mortal World. As long as he doesn’t need half a year or more, even if she is anxious to go back, a few more days won’t matter.

Yu Jiu replied, "I have a few small matters to handle; just wait for me for two more days, Senior Martial Sister."

The Yu family, as one of the four great families, has a complex internal power structure, far beyond a small family like the Zhong family.

Knowing that the deceased Yu Jiu has come back to life, the Yu family and several other prominent families are sending people to gather information.

Now, every family knows that the once sickly heir of the Yu family has joined an unknown small sect, but he is quite lucky to have a nascent soul cultivator as his master and a Golden Core Stage female cultivator as his senior martial sister, so he seems to have a bright future.

Yu Jiu disappeared for just ten years, and now he has reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, showing that he has outstanding talent. Those families already connected to the Yu family are even thinking about marriage alliances.

When children from these prominent families arrive in the spiritual world, they still rely on past friendships to gain power, primarily through bloodlines and marriages.

During this time, Yu Jiu has been very busy outside and has already turned down most of the unnecessary social events, but there are still some he cannot avoid.

For example, there is his grandfather, his father, who later gave him a brother, and the engagement his parents arranged for him while he was still alive.

As the former heir of the Yu family, even though countless people look down on him, Yu Jiu is sure to live comfortably like the protagonist in a fairytale.

No matter how many people mock him as a sickly child or plot against him in secret, they will at least pretend to be respectful on the surface and would never dare to hurt Yu Jiu openly.

Unlike the simple Qingxu Sect, the environment of these families is like a murky swamp, filled with greed, ambition, and strong desires.

Yu Jiu, with his clever heart, felt right at home in such an environment. In just a few days, he recovered what he once had — his wealth and connections. He dealt with old enemies and ended broken engagements.

Yu Jiu knew better than anyone that, although his outer shell looked the same, the Ninth Young Master of the past truly died ten years ago. Now, the one who lives is Yu Jiu, the ghost child.

When a person dies, it is like a light going out. In that moment, when the weak body takes its last breath, all ties are cut. Whether by family or marriage, those fragile links cannot be connected.

However, those eyes filled with desire did not care; they only chased after eternal benefits.

Yu Jiu softly asked, "Senior martial sister, there still seem to be too few people serving the Qingxu Sect. Now the sect has a good surplus, so should we take in more disciples?"

Although the methods of these powerful families are old-fashioned, they are indeed effective. The disciples brought from the Mortal World have a bond right from the start, making them naturally closer than others. Cultivators are still human; having gained great power does not change their true nature.

Yun Chuyou hesitated, "It seems like Master has no plans to take in new disciples."

"Senior martial sister is now the sect leader, and Master is a grand elder. To develop the sect, it’s naturally up to us disciples to take in new students. I mean to put it under my name and consider talent to fill spots for inner and outer disciples."

Yun Chuyou shook her head, "No, the teleportation array is too expensive. It costs fifty mid-grade spirit stones for one person, and if their talent isn’t high enough, it won’t be worth the cost. It’s better to recruit in the spiritual world’s cities or wait for the hundred sects’ new student recruitment."

Their current way of working together with other cultivators is actually very healthy. If the cooperation goes well and they have good character, they can allow those loose cultivators to join the sect.

However, the situation in the Mortal World city is different. If these people have good talent, they may not want to stay in Qingxu Sect, and she doesn’t want to raise ungrateful people. But if their talent is too poor, they won’t even be able to bring them back.

"Junior brother, the spirit stones in the sect are not many. We cannot waste them just because our situation has improved. We still need to save where we can."

Qingxu Sect is not very wealthy; it is mainly because she has money. However, Yun Chuyou has not considered using her personal funds to heavily support the sect.

After saying this with sincerity, Yun Chuyou added, "But if you really want to bring disciples into the sect and lack spirit stones, I will privately sponsor you as senior martial sister. The amount over one hundred medium-grade spirit stones can only be borrowed, but it will be an interest-free loan. You can pay it back whenever you are financially comfortable."

She calculated her small savings: fifty medium-grade spirit stones per person, and Yu Jiu could bring at most four people. After all, with more people, the poor Qingxu Sect truly cannot afford it.

The main issue is that since Yu Jiu has disciples, Meng He, who is fair-minded, will surely want to compete. Yu Jiu with four, Meng He with four, and younger martial sister with four, that suddenly makes twelve more people.

Thinking about how many mouths would eat up her spirit stones, Yun Chuyou felt a shiver down her spine, "If it’s just to bring disciples to the spiritual world, this part of the loan cannot exceed one hundred medium-grade spirit stones."

She thought for a moment and held up a finger to Yu Jiu, "But if it’s beneficial for your cultivation, and you need to buy protective talismans, pills, and cultivation scrolls, I can loan you one thousand medium-grade spirit stones, but I really don’t have more than that."

Since coming to the Mortal World, Yu Jiu has been quite reliable. They were trapped in Huaishi Village, but it was Yu Jiu who saved them. His Second Junior Brother has a similar level of skills and a broad knowledge, and he is intelligent, making him worth special training. However, a thousand middle-grade spirit stones is her limit; any more would empty her hard-earned savings.

The young man, who looked like a crane, laughed lightly, "Senior martial sister, you are truly generous with me."

He was naturally handsome, like a pine or a bamboo, like a carefree cloud or a wild crane, resembling high mountains and flowing water; his elegant air was cultivated by a noble family.

However, because of his illness, his face always carried a shadow, and even when he smiled, that smile did not reach his eyes, making Yun Chuyou feel it was insincere.

But at this very moment, the smile on Yu Jiu’s face was very genuine, making Yun Chuyou for the first time exclaim: Although the Second Junior Brother has a dark heart, he is truly handsome and shows not a hint of ghostly aura, quite embodying the elegance of an immortal.

Perhaps because Yun Chuyou’s gaze was too focused and intense, Yu Jiu felt his cheeks warm. He curiously touched his cheek with his finger, "Senior martial sister, is there something dirty on my face?"

The beautiful young girl replied boldly, "No, I just thought you looked very good when you smiled just now, so I couldn’t help but look at you a little longer."

Yun Chuyou’s past modern life left a clear mark on her thoughts, so when she spoke such words of praise, she appeared particularly natural and straightforward.

For Yu Jiu, who grew up in a feudal family, these words felt quite reckless. He pressed his lips together, straightened his face, and put on a very serious expression, "Senior martial sister, you flatter me."

If it weren’t for the favorability rating +5 that popped up above Yu Jiu’s head, she would really think her praise made the junior unhappy. Yun Chuyou noticed the young man’s once pale cheeks, now turned rosy under his dark hair. Is Yu Jiu shy because of her compliment?

Well, at eighteen, it is the time to care about appearances. Her Second Junior Brother is still a straightforward child.

She didn’t point it out and kindly changed the subject, "Let’s wait for the junior for three days."

Three days later, Yu Jiu chose four people to travel with them. These four had demon seeds hidden in their bodies and were completely under his control as ghost servants.

There are many such beings, but four are enough. Sending them to the spiritual world through the teleportation array is also to ensure a smooth journey.

It’s worth mentioning that Yu Jiu not only didn’t make Yun Chuyou pay for the teleportation array but also covered the cost of using Cloud Boat, charging each person ten medium-quality spirit stones, "They are all from wealthy families and have family support, so they can pay the teleportation fees. Since they may not join Qingxu Sect, they should naturally pay for this ride. Ten medium-quality spirit stones is quite a small fee."

Ordinary people and casual cultivators are poor, but wealthy families are especially rich. Young masters from powerful families received two hundred medium-quality spirit stones before leaving home.

Yun Chuyou did not understand the complicated relationships of the Yu family, but she believed this statement. In front of those two, she accepted the fare and later returned it to Yu Jiu privately, "Those introduced by you, consider this fare as your subsidy. After all, Cloud Boat is spacious, and we would need to return anyway."

Bringing two more people won’t use extra spirit stones, so the guests Yu Jiu brought should be rewarded.

The latter shook his head and did not take it. He had brought back a lot of treasure this time, and for him, the spirit stone did not mean much.

Yun Chuyou thought for a moment, took half of the forty spirit stones, and firmly placed them into Yu Jiu’s hands, "For the person you introduced, take half of the intermediary fee, and the rest goes into Qingxu Sect’s public account."

She emphasized, "This is the new rule of the sect, and it will be the same for Meng He and Zhong Wei when they bring in people."

The sect is not very rich right now and does not need many disciples. Once there is more money in the account, to encourage the recruitment of disciples, Yun Chuyou plans to set up fixed rewards at that time, after all, modern HR also gets commissions for bringing in people.

This time, Yu Jiu did not refuse, "Thank you, senior martial sister."

After a dizzying spin, they appeared in Songshi City. Since they only spent six days in the Mortal World, Yun Chuyou had not used up many of the things she brought along.

She originally planned to continue practicing in the spiritual world, but after what happened with Zhong Wei, Yun Chuyou decided to return to the sect first.

She steered the Cloud Boat towards Qingxu Sect, but when she arrived at the sect, Yun Chuyou only saw hardworking spirit farmers diligently using their light rain technique to care for the spirit fields, and did not find her master fishing at the Cold Pool.

She opened the map, and there was no sign of Xie Fuzhi in the entire Congyun Mountains; he really was not in the sect.

She pushed open the ice house door. Inside, it was very clean, and there was nothing at all. Her own room was the same; she did not see any extra traces.

Although going out was Xie Fuzhi’s freedom, after only a few days of being away, he ran off to play, which made Yun Chuyou feel a little annoyed: at least leave a message when you go out. It’s not too hard to leave a note in the house; even saying just one sentence in the Camera Stone would be enough.

With her master gone, she didn’t have much interest in the few mortals Yu Jiu brought with him, "Junior Martial Brother Yu Jiu, please take the Spirit Measuring Stone and measure the Spiritual Roots of those four people. If they have good talent and you find them suitable, and they are willing to become your students, then they can be accepted as disciples of Qingxu Sect."

"Junior Martial Brother Meng He, please take care of the demon beasts in the rare beast garden and go catch a few fresh Grunt Beasts."

Younger martial sister Zhong Wei had nothing much to do. When she saw Yun Chuyou planning to go down the mountain, she quickly followed, "Senior martial sister, I want to go with you."

Yun Chuyou shook her head, "It’s better if I go to find our master alone. You can gather some news about Danchenzi. Remember, no matter what news you find, come back and discuss it with me first. Don’t act rashly."

In the original story, Zhong Wei was supposed to succeed in getting revenge, but now she was just a small Foundation Establishment beginner cultivator and surely could not defeat the skilled Danchenzi in formations.

Moreover, the Spiritual Root that Zhong Wei’s older sister stole was outstanding, and according to the speed of cultivating a Single Spiritual Root, the other party should have also reached Foundation Establishment by now. With the enemy being strong and herself weak, she would not allow Zhong Wei to act impulsively for revenge.

The latter nodded seriously, "Elder Martial Sister, I understand."

Although those two people were cruel, they did do some good things. If it weren’t for them, I would not have met Elder Martial Sister and joined Qingxu Sect.

Of course, this does not mean that Zhong Wei forgives her enemies; she simply thinks that her current life is good enough. Compared to revenge, Elder Martial Sister and Qingxu Sect are more important. Zhong Wei is not blinded by hate. If she cannot fight them now, she will just work harder and find a way eventually.

"As long as you know your limits," Yun Chuyou said, then she flew down the mountain on her sword. She went around the Li family’s small restaurant but did not see any familiar faces.

Hearing the cultivators sitting in the restaurant gossiping about the latest news, Yun Chuyou finally remembered that she still had the Spirit Connecting Jade to use.

Before, she could not reach anyone in the Mortal World, but now that she is back in the spiritual world, even though they are far apart, she should be able to contact Xie Fuzhi.

Unless they entered a special secret realm or went to the Mortal World. But the latter is unlikely; it has only been a few days, and Xie Fuzhi would not go to the Mortal World to find them.

"Waiter, please bring me a pot of osmanthus tea and a plate of Fire Sparrow eggs."

Yun Chuyou sent a message to Xie Fuzhi, "Master, we have returned to Qingxu Sect. I don’t know where you are or when you will come back."

The design of the Spirit Connecting Jade is really bad; it does not have a notification feature or a read status. The message shows as sent, but if the other person does not respond, you cannot tell if it was sent successfully or not.

If she could meet a cultivator who produces Spirit Connecting Jade, she would surely make many suggestions for improvements.

Yun Chuyou set the Spirit Connecting Jade aside and slowly peeled a bird egg, eating two eggs and sipping a bit of osmanthus tea. She planned to wait for a day at the sect, and if Xie Fuzhi still had not replied, she would follow her original plan and continue leading the team to train outside.

A year later, the heroine would go down the mountain to train and then meet her younger martial brothers and sisters in the secret realm. Yun Chuyou’s original plan was to avoid the story’s events by training.

She could not accept Meng He becoming the heroine’s devoted follower, nor could she tolerate Zhong Wei’s entanglement with the hero, which deliberately targeted the heroine.

If this were a world created by a book, the heroine would definitely have the halo of a main character. She is favored by fate, so the cruel villainess and the beloved heroine are destined to face a terrible ending.

Even if it were not for the goal of making the sect thrive, she had become the Elder Martial Sister of these people, so how could she bear to see them fall to the tragic end in the original story?

Thousands of miles away, Xie Fuzhi was catching a merman in the western sea. He threw his torn clothes in front of the merman, demanding that the other return to his original form.

The merman he caught was a handsome male, but his proud spiritual attacks had no effect on this fierce figure in front of him.

The merman cried pitifully, his clear, glistening tears falling to the ground and turning into smooth pearls. Unfortunately, this beautiful sight did not touch the heart of the cold-hearted phoenix at all.

"Why are you crying? Hurry up and fix the clothes!"

Hearing Xie Fuzhi’s demand, the male merperson cried even harder, "This Immortal Lord, I am male and not good at weaving."

"Why are you crying? You’re such a useless thing." Xie Fuzhi said harshly, "Then call a female merperson who can weave!"

The male merperson’s sobs suddenly stopped. What did he mean by a female merperson? This Immortal Master had such a beautiful face, but spoke so unpleasantly.

He was just a weak and helpless merperson, how could he withstand the other’s cruel and tyrannical methods?

However, the male must protect the female. Who knows if this Immortal Master is just deceiving him to catch more merpeople? Merpeople not only weave well but can also shed tears that turn into pearls; many poor cultivators have their eyes on them.

The male merperson turned his clear blue eyes, like the ocean, thinking of ways to escape, when he saw the white jade pendant on Xie Fuzhi glow.

"Immortal Master, the Spirit Connecting Jade at your waist is glowing."

The male merperson from the West Sea often walked along the shore; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been caught so easily. He recognized at a glance what kind of magical artifact that familiar white jade pendant was.

Xie Fuzhi was not in a hurry to check the messages. He didn’t have many friends who were cultivators, and the only one currently staying in the spiritual world was the old helper from the Tianyuan Sect.

He first trapped the merperson with fire before checking the Spirit Connecting Jade. When he saw the bright message box, he was surprised to find that it wasn’t the old man Hua Xuan who was messaging him, but his precious disciple who had gone out to train.

To his surprise, it had only been six or seven days, and his precious disciple had already returned from training!

Seeing Xie Fuzhi’s smiling face, the merperson, who usually prides herself on her beauty, felt a little dazed: this human cultivator had a bad temper, but his looks were truly handsome. He might be a charming cultivator from the Hehuan Sect.

Yun Chuyou sent another message, "If the master is out meeting friends and cannot return soon, I will take the younger martial sisters out to train first."

Gathering information takes time. Even though Danchenzi had returned to the spiritual world, he might not necessarily be in the sect. Xie Fuzhi only had the cultivation at the Golden Core Stage right now, and if his master couldn’t intervene, he would have to be patient and focus on improving his cultivation before thinking about fighting.

Seeing this message, Xie Fuzhi’s smile vanished completely: No, he needed to hurry back!

After glancing at his still-damaged clothes, Xie Fuzhi had no time to catch another merperson. To travel quickly, he transformed into a phoenix and caught the fish in his claws, "A man must not say no; if you don’t know how, then learn!"

The merperson, captured by Xie Fuzhi, wanted to cry without tears, "If you’re a phoenix, you should have said so earlier! I would definitely be willing to help find a female member of my kind."

Knowing that the other person was a phoenix, he guessed that the earlier words spoken were all true. Xie Fuzhi brought him here just to find a merperson skilled in weaving.

A grand phoenix True Lord would surely look down on the value of a merperson. Just one feather from its tail could become a Divine Artifact that countless cultivators would go crazy for.

But it was too late; the phoenix spread its wings, and the merperson soon lost sight of the vast ocean.

When he got close to Congyun Mountains, Xie Fuzhi transformed back into human form and flew down on his sword, landing near the Cold Pool.

He happily messaged Yun Chuyou, "Chuyou, I have returned to the sect and am waiting for you at the Cold Pool."

The captured merperson was thrown into the Cold Pool by Xie Fuzhi. Shaking his feathers, he dumped all his findings on the ground.

The deep-sea merperson, shivering from the cold of the Cold Pool, couldn’t help but excitedly splash the water with his tail, "This… this… these are all priceless treasures, and they are just thrown on the ground like trash by this phoenix!"

He was not mistaken; in Xie Fuzhi’s eyes, merpeople were really not worth much. After all, even a hundred of them wouldn’t be as precious as a single item from this place. The male merperson regretted wanting to break his tail: had he known this, why didn’t he cooperate more actively at the beginning?

After waiting for half an hour, Yun Chuyou received the message. She immediately flew up the mountain on her sword, and there she saw several small hills piled high.

Her knowledge was limited, and she couldn’t see what the other mountains were, but she recognized one small mound. It was colorful and sparkling, looking very much like a valuable spirit stone mountain.

This shining spirit stone was not a lower-grade spirit stone or a medium-grade spirit stone; they were all rare Premium Spirit Stones from the spiritual world. One medium-grade stone was worth a hundred lower-grade stones, one high-grade stone was worth ten medium-grade stones, and one Premium Spirit Stone was worth ten high-grade stones. However, Premium Spirit Stones are rare, so the actual exchange value would be even higher.

Yun Chuyou rubbed her eyes hard to make sure she wasn’t imagining things and wasn’t dreaming.

She stared in shock at Xie Fuzhi, "Master, which sect did you rob?!"