Bai Li’s voice transmission left Fu Yan standing in the plaza mulling it over for a long time. It was a little baffling, but she was sure of one thing: there was no way it was something simple.
Fu Yan did not believe Bai Li would call her over in the middle of the night just to make friends.
On the way back to the inner sect, Fu Yan felt Bai Li must have guessed something. Otherwise, she wouldn’t suddenly start paying attention to her.
So whether to go tonight or not became a question. But if Bai Li truly had guessed something and still chose not to expose her in front of everyone just now, then she probably wasn’t planning to do anything to Fu Yan for the time being.
After turning it over in her mind, Fu Yan still decided to go. No matter what, the other party had saved her life once.
Once she’d made up her mind, Fu Yan stopped tangling herself up over it. As for what exactly this was about, she’d know when she went over tonight. For some reason, she trusted this Senior Sister Bai Li quite a lot in her heart.
After returning to the inner sect peak, Fu Yan first made a trip to the inner sect’s weapons shop. Her Linglong Broken Sword was quite handy, but up to now it still didn’t have a proper scabbard. It wasn’t very convenient to carry, so Fu Yan planned to get one made for it.
“What? You want to forge a scabbard for a broken sword?”
The shopkeeper stared at the Linglong Broken Sword in her hand, utterly incredulous.
Fu Yan nodded.
“Mm.”
The shopkeeper didn’t understand. He tried to persuade her instead.
“Hey, little junior sister, what’s the point of carrying a broken sword? How about I forge you a brand new refined iron sword? It’ll be way better than that thing.”
“Thanks, but I’ll use my own sword.”
Fu Yan was completely unmoved.
The shopkeeper was helpless and couldn’t be bothered to argue.
He held up one finger.
“If I use my best materials, it’ll be one thousand spirit stones.”
After saying that, something seemed to occur to him and he asked what her ranking was. Fu Yan was a bit puzzled, but still answered truthfully.
“For the top ten in the rankings, forging is free. Top one hundred get fifty percent off. Top two hundred get twenty percent off. Since you’re within the top two hundred, I’ll just charge you eight hundred low-grade spirit stones.”
He explained carefully.
“…”
Only then did Fu Yan realize the inner sect ranking could be used like this.
Eight hundred low-grade spirit stones was a massive expense for her. She’d plundered the spirit stones from those two disciples of Zilan Sect and only scraped together a bit over three thousand in total. She’d already spent more than a thousand on cultivation over the last few days. After paying another eight hundred, she’d be left with almost nothing.
Once again, Fu Yan deeply felt what it meant to be so poor it echoed. Cultivating immortality didn’t just need talent and hard work, it burned money too.
There was still nearly a month before the inner sect ranking competition, so she couldn’t go down the mountain to take missions and earn some extra money right now. After paying the spirit stones, Fu Yan instantly felt tight on funds.
“Come back the day after tomorrow to pick it up.”
The shopkeeper cheerfully swept her spirit stones away, then waved her off.
Leaving the Linglong Broken Sword behind, Fu Yan finally turned and left.
Although today’s incident on Main Peak had ended safely by sheer luck, Zhou Wunan had given Fu Yan enormous pressure. In the eyes of someone at the Hedao stage, her current cultivation probably wasn’t even as good as an ant.
To stay alive, Fu Yan was desperate to grow stronger.
So the moment she returned to her own courtyard, she didn’t waste any time and immediately sank into cultivation. Only when she looked up and saw the moon hanging high in the night sky did she remember Bai Li’s words.
She paused, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and headed straight for Bai Li’s courtyard.
Bai Li was the number one inner sect disciple and also the dual-cultivation cauldron specially nurtured by Water Plume Sect. Naturally, her residence was anything but ordinary.
It was quiet all around. Now and then, a few sounds came from the trees. Fu Yan didn’t pay them any mind and walked straight to Bai Li’s place. What came into view was a wooden house several times more luxurious than an ordinary disciple’s, enough to make her click her tongue inwardly.
The moment she stepped into the courtyard, Fu Yan felt as if she’d passed through something. She froze for a second and realized there was a protective barrier here.
Realizing this, Fu Yan didn’t call out. She knew Bai Li inside had already sensed her arrival.
With a soft creak, the wooden door in front of her opened. A figure slowly walked out. Bathed in the faint moonlight, Fu Yan recognized her at once—it was Bai Li.
She wore a white inner robe with a light gauze skirt over it. Her long black hair was loosely pinned up, a plain wooden hairpin resting behind it. It was such an ordinary scene, yet Fu Yan’s heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
All because this person was too beautiful, she thought.
“Senior Sister Bai.”
Seeing Bai Li come over, Fu Yan quickly gathered her wandering thoughts and greeted her steadily.
Bai Li gave a slight nod. She looked at Fu Yan in front of her for a long moment before finally speaking.
“You already know?”
Her voice was as cool as ever, giving off a feeling of pushing people a thousand miles away. Fu Yan thought that made sense—it perfectly matched Bai Li’s character in the book. Always cold and aloof, she would probably only ever show tenderness in front of her lover.
Thinking of that, then looking at the person in front of her, Fu Yan couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for Bai Li. Such a cold, beautiful woman ought to be cherished properly. How did she end up stuck with a stallion male lead like that?
“Yes, because of Senior Sister’s sword.”
Shaking off those ill-timed thoughts, Fu Yan answered.
Although Bai Li’s question sounded a bit vague, Fu Yan knew what she meant and simply explained how she’d recognized her.
At the end, Fu Yan added,
“Thank you for saving my life, Senior Sister Bai, and also for the opportunity at the Purifying Pool.”
Even though Fu Yan had nothing substantial to offer as thanks right now, it was still necessary to express her gratitude sincerely face to face.
“It’s nothing.”
Bai Li wasn’t surprised. When she’d saved Fu Yan, she had indeed casually been holding her Moon-Swaying Sword. It was normal to be recognized.
“I just happened to be passing by. Since we’re from the same sect, it was nothing much.”
Hearing that, Fu Yan didn’t say anything more. If she kept pressing her thanks, it would just seem affected.
Bai Li truly didn’t care about that. Saving Fu Yan back then had been an accident, something she’d done in passing. She hadn’t expected that seeing Fu Yan again would give her an even bigger surprise.
Back on the Main Peak plaza today, when she caught that fleeting expression on Fu Yan’s face, something surfaced in her mind. She herself thought her guess was far too ridiculous, and yet… maybe not that ridiculous after all.
Normally, Bai Li didn’t pay much attention to inner sect affairs. As for the inner sect rankings, she almost never bothered to keep track. That was why she’d been a bit surprised to learn Fu Yan’s ranking.
Judging by the timeline, Fu Yan had only entered the Kaiguang stage after returning from the Scarlet-Black Mountain Range. Counting from when she joined the inner sect until now, it had only been, at most, half a month.
In half a month, she’d surpassed others’ half-year or even year-long efforts.
Bai Li suddenly found herself a little curious about this junior sister she’d saved in passing. Very quickly, Fu Yan’s various feats after entering the sect all reached her ears.
A Kaiguang early-stage cultivator had issued a life-and-death challenge to Zhou Zhenlie, who was at mid-stage Kaiguang, and had even shattered his qi sea with one strike.
So, the thought in her mind no longer seemed so absurd.
“You… comprehended an Epiphany Sword?”
Bai Li stared steadily at Fu Yan, asking each word distinctly.
Fu Yan froze for a moment. She’d known Bai Li had probably guessed something, but she hadn’t expected her to come out and ask so directly.
“No.”
Fu Yan smiled, then answered honestly.
“But those two from Zilan Sect were indeed killed by me.”
There was no need to hide things from a smart person.
“However, they tried to frame me first, and then came to kill me…”
Very quickly, Fu Yan summed up what had happened that day in just a few sentences and laid it all out.
Of course, she didn’t mention anything about the Linglong Broken Sword. Not because she was afraid Bai Li would covet her opportunity, but because there was no need. In such a vast world, every cultivator had their own fortunes and secrets. No one would lay everything bare for someone else.
“So I can’t really say I comprehended an Epiphany Sword. It was just the maximum potential forced out of me in the face of death.”
Hearing Fu Yan recount everything without the slightest fear, Bai Li visibly paused. She had already prepared herself for Fu Yan to refuse to talk, planning to then probe indirectly. She hadn’t expected the other girl to be even more straightforward than she was.
“Is there anything else Senior Sister wants to ask?”
Seeing Bai Li remain silent for so long, Fu Yan could only smile and speak up.
At that, Bai Li finally lifted her gaze to Fu Yan. She took a jade slip from her bosom and, under Fu Yan’s puzzled look, tossed it to her.
“This is an introduction and some insights about the Epiphany Sword,” Bai Li explained lightly. “It should be of some help to you.”
Holding the jade slip in her hand, Fu Yan was genuinely a little shocked. Insights on the Epiphany Sword—she hadn’t expected Bai Li to give her something this precious.
“Senior Sister, this is…”
Fu Yan looked up, baffled.
“Also, before the ranking competition, try not to go down the mountain. Elder Zhou will likely keep a close eye on you.”
Bai Li didn’t answer her question. Instead, she suddenly switched topics.
Fu Yan halted for a second, understanding that Bai Li was warning her. She paused, then replied,
“Alright.”
“Why is Senior Sister helping me?”
Fu Yan still asked the question that was on her mind. In this world, anyone could become a potential opponent. Naturally, she didn’t quite understand Bai Li’s intentions.
At that, Bai Li’s gaze drifted outward. She murmured almost to herself,
“The Northern Region is just the tip of the iceberg of the Tongxuan Continent. Someone has to walk out of here eventually.”
Fu Yan seemed to understand, and yet didn’t.
As she left, she suddenly raised the jade slip in her hand, turned her head to look back at Bai Li, and gave a bright smile.
“Whatever the reason, thank you, Senior Sister Bai!”
Under the cold moonlight, watching the departing figure, Bai Li’s lips inexplicably curved ever so slightly.
