Chapter 50: Going Out Without a Purpose

“What way to become stronger are you talking about?”

Jiang Huai tilted his head, eyes searching.

After spending a day together, although this face was still unfamiliar, the expressions between her brows, every smile and frown, increasingly overlapped with the Wu Zhaohua who had cared for him in his memory.

“This… there’s no need for you to ask further.” Wu Zhaohua somewhat awkwardly waved her sleeve, avoiding Jiang Huai’s gaze.

It wasn’t that she didn’t understand other paths; rather, it was that path she didn’t want Jiang Huai to know, and she even hoped he would remain forever in the dark.

In truth, for true direct disciples of immortal clans, the Qi Refining step was often quietly completed during ignorant childhood.

Though they hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment, they began cultivation already at the seventh, eighth, or even ninth layer of Qi Refining, or even Half-Step Foundation Establishment.

They might not possess extraordinary talent, nor necessarily consume vast amounts of immortal resources.

The secret to their rapid progress often lay in having a “mother” at least at the Divine Transformation Stage.

From the moment of birth, what nurtured them was the milk of a high-level cultivator.

For infants, it was an unparalleled tonic, enough to easily pile up late-stage Qi Refining cultivation.

If they could find a woman with a special constitution, the effect would be even better.

Yet few knew that one’s Qi Refining Stage cultivation could also be boosted using condensed Life Essence.

Wu Zhaohua unconsciously twisted a flower petal between her slender fingers, her elegant brows lightly furrowed.

Though she was at the Great Ascension Stage and could to some extent alter her own body, she was not omnipotent.

She had never borne children, so her body naturally could not produce the source of that Life Essence.

More crucially, once this substance left the body and was exposed to air, its efficacy would be greatly reduced. It was far from as simple as serving it in a bowl and handing it over.

It was best, just as with a child, to use the mouth.

But with whom? This circled endlessly in her mind.

Bai Lei, Qi Yuyong? Like her, both were childless.

If she were to have a child with Jiang Huai now, it would be a bit too late.

Back and forth, Wu Zhaohua was caught in indecision, unable to settle on a candidate.

“Who should I choose? Should I pick someone with a special constitution?”

“In Central State’s Blazing Sun Sect, isn’t there someone surnamed Zhu with a Pure Yang Body?”

“I’ve heard she has a daughter.”

Unable to decide on a candidate, Wu Zhaohua fell into a dilemma.

Behind her, Jiang Huai was still swinging his sword, his mind equally cluttered with distractions.

A strange sense of embarrassment wound itself around him, making him reluctant to speak to Wu Zhaohua.

Some odd notion had invaded his mind, lingering stubbornly.

If the person before him was Qin Qingyue, he could ask for resources without shame, and enjoy all the immortal materials she gave him with a clear conscience.

He and Qin Qingyue had long shared skin and warmth, tails intertwined, tasted the utmost pleasures of the world, and engaged in many challenging postures.

In his heart, he and Qin Qingyue were already married.

Whether he called her wife, wife-lord, or any other name, it didn’t matter—the status was already set.

He could thick-skinnedly bury himself in her warm bosom and draw from her everything she had.

Of course, if Qin Qingyue faced trouble, no matter his own strength, he would follow her even at the cost of his life.

Husband and wife were as one, as it should be.

That was Jiang Huai’s own thinking.

But when facing Wu Zhaohua, all that sense of natural entitlement vanished.

At first, he stayed by her side to repay kindness, then bore calamities in her stead, saving her life in a way.

Between them, their closeness was mingled with the warmth of bygone days, yet the suddenly changed circumstances created a wordless awkwardness.

“Senior Sister.”

A clear, bright female voice from not far away happened to break the two from their respective reveries.

Qi Yuyong and Bai Lei arrived together, standing at the courtyard gate.

Wu Zhaohua swiftly put away her earlier conflict, rose with a radiant smile to greet them:

“I was just looking for you two.”

She turned, her jade finger elegantly pointing toward Jiang Huai, who had finished sheathing his sword in the courtyard:

“Come, greet our future Successor, Jiang Huai.”

Central State, Blazing Sun Sect.

The towering Main Hall was built from a peculiar red crystal, and stepping inside felt as though entering the very core of a giant furnace.

The air was scorching, laced with the breath of earth-fire.

There were no excessive decorations within the hall, only a towering Fire Throne in the center, emanating an awe-inspiring pressure.

Zhu Siyao walked step by step across the smooth, mirror-like floor of chijingshi, approaching the throne.

Seated upon it was a woman clad in a flowing robe of scarlet gold and streaming flames.

Her beauty was at its peak; her expression carried a natural authority, and under the red light of the hall, her skin glowed like warm jade.

The Sect Master of the Blazing Sun Sect, Zhuxin.

Zhu Siyao stopped at the foot of the throne, raising her gaze to the face that resembled her own by seven or eight parts, but was even more mature and coldly beautiful.

Every time she saw her mother, Zhu Siyao’s heart surged with unspeakably complex emotions—reverence, distance, and confusion.

The fundamental technique of the Blazing Sun Sect, the True Yang Formula, was a top-tier cultivation method famous throughout the Five States.

But one of its core precepts required practitioners to maintain a body of pure Yin, their Yuan Yin unbroken.

All Saintesses and Core Disciples of the sect through the ages had to abide by this rule and remain chaste.

But the imposing Sect Master before her—her own mother.

Zhu Siyao’s gaze swept over her mother’s lush, mature figure, the effortless sophistication at the corners of her brows and eyes—something no young girl could possess.

Wasn’t she cultivating the very same technique?

Why, then, was her cultivation so unfathomably deep, her pressure as vast as an abyss?

She had never seen her father—not even heard his name.

Her mother avoided the topic completely.

Could it be she wasn’t her own mother’s child?

What puzzled Zhu Siyao even more was that she and her mother resembled each other far too much.

As if two flowers carved from the same mold—one about to bloom, one already blossomed to its fullest.

This resemblance was well known throughout the Blazing Sun Sect, stirring much gossip.

If she was not her mother’s own daughter, why did they look so alike?

If she was her real daughter, how could her mother have reached the Merging Stage while practicing the True Yang Formula?

Everyone knew that her mother had purposely suppressed her cultivation at the Merging Stage for years, in hopes of someday reaching Supreme Sage Great Ascension.

Her combat strength was in no way inferior to ordinary Great Ascension Stage experts.

Whenever anyone exclaimed, “The Successor and Sect Master truly are cast from the same mold,” Zhu Siyao felt a surge of inexplicable irritation.

Then who is my father? Why have I never seen him since I was young?!

She looked up at her high, cold, and beautiful mother on the Fire Throne, her tone respectful but utterly devoid of warmth:

“Mother.”

Zhuxin slowly opened her eyes. In those eyes, almost identical to Zhu Siyao’s, there was no warmth—only a tranquil, unfathomable depth.

“You still know to return? Where did you run off to?”

“Why did you go out without telling me?”

Zhu Siyao mumbled in a low voice, “I’m already grown up, besides, within the sect, you always…”

It was strange—inside the sect, her mother always seemed cold and indifferent.

Outside the sect, she watched over her strictly, as though afraid she would run away.

Zhuxin’s gaze grew complicated as she looked at the girl whose features mirrored her own, letting out a faint sigh.

She closed her eyes, as if unwilling to face it at all:

“Next time, you’re not allowed to go out without permission.”