Chapter 56
“Single Water Spiritual Root? Not bad, not bad! After squatting here for half a month, I finally meet a genius!”
“Senior, you flatter me,” Li Qingran quickly cupped her hands in respect.
“No need to be so formal, come closer. I have a few questions for you.”
Li Qingran stepped closer to the curtain as the young master suggested. A rich floral fragrance wafted towards her, and she stole a glance inside, quickly averting her gaze, thinking to herself that some things were better left unseen.
The girl behind the curtain sniffed, pulling her feet back inside, and smiled as she asked, “You’re quite the beauty, even I, the young master, envy you a bit. But do you have a partner?”
Li Qingran bit her lip.
She wished she did.
Unfortunately, her master probably wouldn’t look her way.
So she shook her head and replied, “No.”
“Have you ever had one?”
“Never.”
“Good.” The girl seemed quite pleased with Li Qingran’s answers. She lifted a corner of the curtain, revealing a fair chin and a captivating peach blossom eye. “Let me see your hand.”
Li Qingran obediently extended her hand.
Then she felt two delicate fingers resting on her wrist, cold as ice.
After a moment, the young master of Lingxi Valley withdrew her fingers and said nonchalantly, “Hmm, you’ve already cultivated a high-grade internal cultivation method, which is very compatible with your Water Spiritual Root. Not bad, not bad… Do you have a master?”
“Yes.” Li Qingran knew she couldn’t hide it; she wasn’t good at lying.
“Is it a man or a woman?” The young master’s voice suddenly rose a pitch.
“A man.”
The air in the room turned icy.
Li Qingran froze, cautiously lifting her head. Even through the curtain, she could feel two indifferent gazes fixed on her.
“Get out.” The young master of Lingxi Valley waved her hand.
The door to the private room swung open with a loud bang.
Li Qingran was roughly pushed out by a gust of energy.
...
Li Qingran fell outside the door, and the two female cultivators guarding either side hurried to help her up.
At that moment, she was still bewildered. She couldn’t understand why the conversation had been going so well, only for the young master to suddenly push her out—was it just because her master was a man?
“Sorry, sister, you didn’t pass our young master’s assessment.”
One of the female cultivators smoothed out the wrinkles in Li Qingran’s clothes, her face showing regret, but she still firmly guided Li Qingran outside.
Li Qingran didn’t want to lose the chance to enter Lingxi Valley.
In her mind, Lingxi Valley was the most likely place to hide ancient alchemical formulas, and it could also teach her medical skills. With those skills, she could help her master.
So she stopped and bowed to the female cultivator, saying, “I would like to know the reason.”
The female cultivator pursed her lips, quickly glancing at the now distant private room. She led Li Qingran to a corner, ensuring no one was around, and then lowered her voice to say:
“If you were an ordinary talent, I wouldn’t tell you this, but you have a Single Spiritual Root, and you will surely achieve great things in the future. I don’t want you to hold a grudge against the young master for this; she wasn’t always like this…
I can’t go into details, but you should know that Lingxi Valley is very averse to disciples forming partnerships, and our young master harbors a deep-seated hatred for men, especially male masters.”
A deep-seated hatred for men?
Li Qingran exclaimed, “But my master is a really good person! He’s not a bad man, I can vouch for that, and he won’t come to Lingxi Valley…”
The female cultivator shook her head. “It’s pointless. Our young master has struggled with this before; she has tested a thousand men, and all failed. She already has psychological scars from certain events, and after those failures, she developed a deep hatred for men. Previously, Lingxi Valley only didn’t accept male cultivators, but now, no man is allowed within fifty miles. Talented male cultivators can join Lingxi Valley, but they must castrate themselves.”
Li Qingran was stunned, feeling both speechless and anxious.
“Can’t there be any exceptions? Or I could explain things to your young master?”
“No, you should leave quickly.” The female cultivator waved her hand. “The Dao Conference is about to end, and all the major sects will be taking flying boats back to their mountain gates. You might still have a chance to join a decent sect. As for Lingxi Valley… sigh, we’re just not fated.”
After saying that, the female cultivator left, giving Li Qingran no chance to argue.
“What’s going on?!” As Chen Huai’an left, Li Qingran held back tears. She was on the verge of joining Lingxi Valley but was inexplicably kicked out. Where else could she find a sect that specialized in medical and alchemical cultivation, one that would have so many ancient formulas?
How could she solve her master’s poison?
Li Qingran stood dazed at the entrance of the tavern, glancing back at the direction of the private room, feeling utterly useless.
Her master had given her so many opportunities, and when it was her turn to help him, she couldn’t even take the simplest first step.
“Hey! Aren’t you that girl with the Single Water Spiritual Root?”
A voice, neither too bright nor too dark, suddenly rang out, laced with surprise and greed.
“Sister, you didn’t join Lingxi Valley?”
Li Qingran turned to see a group approaching.
At the forefront was a pale-faced scholar.
He looked more delicate than a woman, his face as white as paper, with rouge on his cheeks. He wore a short sword at his waist and carried four porcelain vials, the scent of perfume wafting from him even from half a street away, giving off an air of affected elegance.
The pale-faced scholar sized her up and chuckled, “Sister, you must have been kicked out by that crazy woman, haha! I, Wei, never expected that even a genius with a Single Spiritual Root would be treated like this!”
He laughed so hard his face turned gray, gasping for breath before continuing with a smile, “Ah~ Just right, just right! Come join our Yin-Yang Sect! Our Yin-Yang Sect is no less powerful than Lingxi Valley; it’s just that our reputation isn’t as good… But as cultivators, isn’t what we seek the Dao? As long as it’s not demonic cultivation, what’s wrong with a little indulgence?”
Li Qingran’s expression turned cold.
She had heard of the Yin-Yang Sect.
This sect was known alongside the He Huan Sect and the Ji Le Chan as the three major lewd sects.
However, they were indeed considered righteous sects.
Compared to the dual cultivation methods of demonic cultivators, the dual cultivation practices of these three sects emphasized mutual benefit, with no exploitation involved. They were simply known for their debauchery and chaotic private lives, looked down upon by other righteous sects.
She already had a master and would never join such a dissolute sect.
Even without her master, the path they pursued was not aligned with her own.
“Thank you for your kind offer, senior,” Li Qingran said politely, cupping her hands in refusal. “The Yin-Yang Sect is great, but I’m looking for a sect that’s more suitable for my Water Spiritual Root.”
“Our Yin-Yang Sect also has water-based cultivation methods, yellow-grade and mysterious-grade, take your pick.”
“I already have a master, and I cannot go against my master’s wishes. I hope senior won’t make it difficult for me.” Li Qingran cupped her hands again.
“Hmph! Make it difficult?” The pale-faced scholar’s expression turned cold, sneering, “I see you’re just refusing to give us Yin-Yang Sect face! And your master? Should we bring your master out to see? You must come with us today!”
Li Qingran bit her lip. She certainly couldn’t summon her master.
She didn’t want to disturb her master while he was dealing with a great demon.
That great demon was incredibly dangerous; he would need to be fully focused, how could he be distracted?
However, even without her master, she had the talismans left by him.
She had originally planned to keep them as a collection…
Li Qingran reached into her storage bag and grasped a handful of Thunderfire Talismans.
She hesitated, not activating them immediately.
This pale-faced scholar was probably at the Golden Core stage, and these Thunderfire Talismans would be enough to turn him to dust.
But afterward, she would definitely be hunted by the Yin-Yang Sect.
What would she do then?
Would she have to trouble her master to clean up her mess?
Li Qingran, you really are a fool, ruining a perfectly good hand of cards!
She scolded herself for being stupid, her gaze locking onto the approaching pale-faced scholar, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.
“Wait.”
A soft voice rang out from the air.
Then, a heavy sword, half a meter wide and as tall as a house eave, came crashing down between Li Qingran and the group from the Yin-Yang Sect with a loud bang.
A gust of wind swept through.
The heavy sword wobbled, and a leg dangled down, the gourd bumping against the sword hilt, spilling out two puffs of wine.
It was a woman dressed in black, with black pants and a veil covering her face.
She sat with one leg crossed over the other, her shoe having a hole that exposed half a toe.
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