Zhu Siyao looked at her mother’s pale, desperate face, then at the strange pill in her hand. Though confused, she still opened her mouth as instructed.
Zhuyong Xin nearly closed her eyes as she quickly stuffed the pill into her daughter’s mouth.
What on earth was going on?
The moment the pill entered her mouth, it transformed into a slippery, warm flow, carrying a strange mix of fishy bitterness and the scent of herbs and plants that instantly filled her entire oral cavity.
The taste was incredibly odd, clinging thickly to the root of her tongue.
A gentle yet overwhelming warmth surged through her limbs and every bone.
A healthy flush quickly appeared on her cheeks, and the stagnant spiritual energy within her body seemed injected with new vitality, beginning to circulate on its own at a speed several times faster than before.
The weakness and coldness that had long plagued her at the source seemed to dissipate by more than half.
“Mother. I feel so comfortable……” Zhu Siyao stared at her hands in surprise, clearly sensing the changes within her body.
Except for the lingering strange taste, like something stuck in her throat.
Zhuyong Xin listened to her daughter’s words, watching her recover color with mixed feelings—some joy, some suffocation.
She hoped Siyao would never know what she had just swallowed.
Tightly pulling her daughter into her embrace, Zhuyong Xin lowered her head, her long hair falling to cover her eyes.
“All right, the conditions are met.”
Qin Qingyue carefully put away the porcelain bottle. Seeing the scene before her, her crimson vertical pupils rippled with emotion.
Suddenly, she remembered herself—how as a young child with scales still soft, she had been thrust out of the East Sea Dragon Palace by cold dragon claws.
At that time, she was even smaller than Zhu Siyao, and her hatred burned even more fiercely.
Qin Qingyue personally picked up the Earth-grade Spirit Sword from the ground, then took out a Jade Wall and handed it to Zhu Siyao with a smile:
“Keep these—Thousand-Year Warm Jade to nurture your soul and spirit, and an Earth-grade Superior Spirit Sword.”
“This Jade Wall has health benefits, aiding cultivation, and the Spirit Sword can be your trump card in the future.”
No matter what, the daughter of Jiang Huai’s concubine should be kept well.
Zhu Siyao refused, turning her head away to avoid Qin Qingyue’s gaze.
Zhuyong Xin forcefully pried her daughter’s hand open and pressed the Spirit Sword and Jade Wall firmly into her palm, her voice low and resolute, tinged with exhaustion:
“Don’t be stubborn. Take them.”
In this brutal cultivation world, there was no room for such pride.
These are valuable treasures; even she would find it difficult to get an Earth-grade Superior Spirit Sword within the sect for her daughter’s appearance.
Might as well not waste it since she was already going to suffer humiliation as a concubine.
“All right, let’s go.”
“There’s no end to mother-daughter feelings.” Qin Qingyue waved her hand, and the massive Xianzhou slowly docked.
Late at night, the moon bright and stars few.
The wind at Wenxuan Sect was cool, night air sharp as a blade, stirring Wu Zhaohua’s pure white robes, causing them to flutter.
She stood alone on the mountaintop, her brows faintly furrowed.
Wu Zhaohua had spared Jiang Huai—she hadn’t forcibly taken action against him.
Not that she didn’t want to, but she wanted to calm herself first.
Jiang Huai had told her about the Yin Yang Body, revealing everything.
The legendary top-tier constitution, destined to surpass even the Celestial Immortal Form.
Innate Primordial Qi only existed in legends, yet here it was before her eyes.
But why did he have this constitution? Why must it be this constitution?!
Wu Zhaohua’s expression twisted in pain, her heart heavy and restless.
How was this any different from a cuckold? Was she supposed to tolerate other women touching Jiang Huai?
Two in Foundation Establishment Period, four in Nascent Soul, six in Great Ascension…
Those strange, greedy faces, their hands, their presence, their thighs would all shamelessly soil her Jiang Huai.
What was this?! How was this any different from tossing her precious treasure into the market for anyone to defile?!
“Sister, there’s a green leaf stuck in your hair.” A barely audible sigh came from behind.
Qi Yuyong silently approached, her footsteps like treading on clear waves, stopping beside Wu Zhaohua.
She shifted her lotus steps to stand just behind her senior sister.
Her eyes filled with confusion—earlier, her senior sister had resorted to thunderous means to reclaim Jiang Huai.
Now that he was back, why was she even more shrouded in gloom, worse than when she was lost?
Wu Zhaohua’s shoulder trembled slightly. She didn’t turn around nor brush off the leaf.
“Senior sister, are you troubled about Jiang Gongzi?” Qi Yuyong asked gently.
Seeing no reply, she spoke again.
Wu Zhaohua opened her mouth, her throat moving, but only exhaled a breath of hot air.
The Yin Yang Body was a weighty matter; Jiang Huai’s willingness to tell her represented trust, the entrusting of life and soul—it was an affirmation of her as a person.
Therefore, she could not casually squander this trust.
Not even to her most trusted, closest junior sister.
“It is and it isn’t.” Wu Zhaohua lowered her head, gazing down from Spirit Mountain.
Between the overlapping ridges, countless cave dwellings flickered faint light.
That was the foundation of Wenxuan Sect, a responsibility she could not sever.
These were all Wenxuan Sect’s people.
“Yuyong, what if we go to war with the Blazing Sun Sect and capture their Sect Master? Could that work?” Wu Zhaohua muttered.
Qi Yuyong’s face paled, shaking her head quickly:
“Sister, the Blazing Sun Sect Master Zhuyong Xin is at the Merging Stage, but her strength rivals many at Great Ascension.”
“Though she may not match your Celestial Immortal Form, but…”
But Wu Zhaohua represented more than just herself.
The righteous sects’ fury could burn to ashes Wenxuan’s fragile seedlings, those pillars sustaining the sect’s operation.
Wu Zhaohua embodied Wenxuan Sect, the masses of Wenxuan disciples at the mountain’s base, and the elders and guest elders who grew up with the sect.
If the enemy couldn’t hurt Wu Zhaohua, they might sneakily harm her disciples.
Currently, Wenxuan Sect couldn’t launch major external campaigns—the core strength was too weak, not even a single Merging Stage cultivator.
If Qi Yuyong, Bai Lei, and others were harmed, she might never even find out who did it.
But with Jiang Huai’s constitution, she had to find talents—at least enough to survive Foundation Establishment.
Wu Zhaohua suddenly crouched, hugging her knees, burying her face deep into her arms:
“Why must it be like this? This isn’t what I expected!”
In her expectations, she would hold Jiang Huai’s hand and stand shoulder to shoulder, facing no storms, making up for past losses with warm years, spending their lives together.
How had it become this absurd, insoluble predicament?
As the leader of the righteous path, was she really going to lead people to forcibly kidnap the Blazing Sun Sect Master Zhuyong Xin?
Would she also have to snatch a few dragon daughters from the Red Dragon Clan and White Dragon Clan to fill the numbers?!
At this thought, Wu Zhaohua’s chest tightened with unease, a sour bitterness rushing to her nose.
Don’t touch my Jiang Huai!
Jiang Huai was also wide awake.
He tossed and turned on his bed, the cold empty space beside him a reminder that she had yet to return.
The moonlight outside was bleak, casting unfamiliar mountain outlines, adding to the chill.
Eventually, he got up, pushed open the door, and a bone-piercing night wind immediately swept in, causing him to shiver.
He draped a coat over himself.
This mountain was too high, and his body wasn’t yet comparable to Great Ascension Stage.
Stepping out of the courtyard, Jiang Huai’s gaze swept over the silent Sect Master’s Pavilion.
She must have gone back there—unable to accept this kind of thing was understandable.
His eyes then unconsciously shifted to the cliff farther away, where a familiar figure curled up like an injured little beast suddenly came into view.