The senior sectmaster personally attended to Jiang Chen, and the latter stayed at Moon G.o.d Palace for another an hour. After refres.h.i.+ng himself with tea and snacks, Jiang Chen wrote down the appropriate cultivation method. His knowledge from his previous life was useful in this situation. He’d seen at least three with the Yin Yang Reverse Bloodline in his millions of years. In essence, the key to cultivating the Yin Yang Reverse Bloodline was timing. The cultivator would cultivate the arts of absolute yin at certain times and absolute yang at others.
When the arts of absolute yin and absolute yang was cultivated to the point where they began to fuse with each other, the bloodline would then start displaying its terrifying potential. It was to the extent where even someone with a top rate bloodline like Xu Qingxuan might not necessarily be able to surpa.s.s her.
After Jiang Chen pa.s.sed what he wrote onto Xu Shan, he reminded her, “Big Sister Xu Shan, the Yin Yang Reverse bloodline is somewhat difficult to identify, but it is not as complicated to cultivate as you may think. You won’t encounter any problems now that you possess the proper cultivation method and awareness of your bloodline. As long as you follow these instructions and cultivate hard for the next five years, your bloodline will fuse together and generate enough potential to makes the entire world envious. Remember, you don’t need to feel self conscious. On the contrary, you should feel proud of yourself because you possess one of the greatest bloodlines there is in the entire world.”
For a genius suppressed for a long time like Xu Shan, the rebuilding of one’s confidence was of paramount important. If she lacked conviction, she might not be able to soar to the top as he told her she would. Cultivation was not an easy thing. And now, Xu Shan’s mind was a complete blank because excitement had taken over both her heart and body. She could only nod repeatedly in acknowledgement of Jiang Chen’s words.
Jiang Chen knew that Xu Shan might not be able to remember anything he said because she was overly emotional right now. So, he turned around to face the senior sectmaster. “Senior sectmaster, her martial dao talent is perfectly fine. However, your aid is necessary to rebuild her confidence.”
The senior sectmaster looked thoughtful. She was growing more and more impressed by this young man. His outstanding ability and self-conduct were clear for all to see. There were very few in the martial dao world who would do so much for a person they just met. Xu Shan wasn’t an ugly woman, but her features were at best above average out of all of the female disciples. There was no reason Jiang Chen would set aside the prettier holy maidens of Moon G.o.d Sect and flatter Xu Shan alone if that was his intention.
This meant that Sir Shao was purely working from an angle of morality. He had absolutely no intentions of flattering Xu Shan and winning her favor, not to mention that she was neither exceedingly beautiful nor important enough to warrant some attention.
After finis.h.i.+ng his cup of tea, Jiang Chen rose to bid his goodbye. The senior sectmaster personally saw him out, and Xu Shan insisted on walking with him a bit longer after they reached the entrance. The senior sectmaster was a little worried about Xu Shan, but she wasn’t completely ignorant of the ways of the world. Sighing softly, she gave permission to Xu Shan to do as she pleased and left with her attendants first, leaving Xu Shan alone to send off Sir Shao.
Jiang Chen smiled when he saw the determination on Xu Shan’s face. “Sister Xu Shan, you don’t have to see me out. Just remember what I said and be confident in yourself. Your bloodline is one of the best bloodlines there are in the entire world.”
Xu Shan nodded with reddened cheeks. Jiang Chen casually waved her goodbye and just about to step outside. Suddenly, Xu Shan broke into a small run and planted her soft, red lips against Jiang Chen’s cheeks. Then, she drew back like a frightened rabbit and ran away embarra.s.sedly before Jiang Chen could do anything.
Jiang Chen was a bit taken aback. He never imagined that Xu Shan would show him her grat.i.tude in such a bold manner.
“Sir Shao, Xu Shan will never forget about the kindness you showed me today. In the future, you only need to say the word and I’ll do my best to repay the favor I owe you today even at the cost of my life.”
Jiang Chen relaxed when he heard Xu Shan’s determined voice. It at least proved that she wasn’t lacking in confidence, and that a long period of oppression had only served to ignite her ambition and her will to turn the tables. Her fighting will wasn’t lost, and Jiang Chen was sure that she could become a new holy maiden in three to five years if she maintained this outlook.
…...
Meanwhile, Xu Qingxuan was feeling a little down. That shouldn’t have been the case, in fact she should’ve been happy since the Moon G.o.d Precious Tree was finally free from its ailments. But still, she couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed when she thought about that guy.
He’s probably the only man who’s never tried to curry favor with me from the moment he set foot in the sect. Normally Xu Qingxuan disliked having people fawning over her, but Pill King Shao Yuan was an exceeding outstanding person, so the complete lack of special attention had disappointed her a little. It wasn’t that she was attracted to him, it was just in her nature as a girl to enjoy the attention of others.
I’m an outstanding person, right? He should’ve at least treated me with a bit of courtesy, right? But Jiang Chen had ordered her around like a servant girl from the start. After all was said and done, he’d left without even bidding goodbye. Hmph, that self-important guy. Who knows, maybe he was planning to enter the Moon G.o.d Sect from the beginning. Xu Qingxuan recalled the storage ring Jiang Chen asked her to pa.s.s on to her mother.
Suddenly, a strong surge of curiosity made her itch to check the storage ring and uncover its mysteries. Still, she wasn’t a girl who lacked principles. Her curiosity gripped her, but she didn’t check the storage ring without permission.
Xu Qingxuan returned to her home gloomily and discovered the door of her mother’s wooden house was closed.
“Mother, Xuan’er has returned.” Xu Qingxuan greeted her mother dispiritedly before pus.h.i.+ng through the door.
Holy Maiden Xu Meng was leaning against the window and staring at the beautiful scenery outside. Suddenly, she sighed. “Xuan’er, the magpies have been playing in the trees for a whole day. Has something happened?”
Xu Qingxuan was startled. Her mother’s words was obviously not directed at anyone in particular, but… she did have some news with her. She lightly clenched the storage ring in her hand and hesitated. She didn’t know if she should pa.s.s it to her mother.
“Xuan’er, I see that you’re not looking so good. Is the Moon G.o.d Precious Tree still sick? You don’t have to worry about it. You’re just a young girl, and there are always things to worry about. Leave it to the sectmasters to worry about the tree.”
Xu Qingxuan was a little angry when the tree was mentioned. “Mother, let’s not talk about the tree, okay? We’ve found the root cause of its sickness.”
“Oh? Then why are you still looking so depressed?” Holy Maiden Xu Meng didn’t ask about the tree. She had zero interest in the Moon G.o.d Sect right now. The only thing she cared for was her daughter’s feelings.
“Ai, it’s all because of…” Xu Qingxuan was about to speak Shao Yuan’s name, but in the end she stopped herself from doing so.
“What is it? Did someone make you unhappy?”
“Yeah, that guy was pretty terrible.” Xu Qingxuan muttered. She didn’t really have a problem with Jiang Chen. It was just a nagging discomfort. For some reason, she couldn’t get over the fact that he had treated Xu Shan with great courtesy, but not her, the foremost holy maiden of the Moon G.o.d Sect.
Truthfully, Xu Qingxuan wasn’t unaware of Jiang Chen’s attention. However, the attention she felt from him wasn’t the admiration between a man and a woman, but a casualness that only existed between two people who were very familiar with each other. Generally speaking, this familiarity only existed between family members. No pretenses, no courtesies, and no affectations.
“What guy?” Holy Maiden Xu Meng smiled. “Strange. I thought your Moon G.o.d Sect normally forbade men from entering the core area, don’t they?”
“Ai, I didn’t know you’re so gossipy, mother. We were inviting people to take a look at the Moon G.o.d Precious Tree, remember? That guy, well, it turns out he actually has some skill.”
“Who on earth are you talking about…” Xu Meng said with a half smile on her face. She had no qualms with her daughter exploring the depths of love at all. After all, her daughter was over twenty years old already. In fact, she didn’t even want her daughter to become a holy maiden in the first place. In Xu Meng’s opinion, there were almost no normal people in the entire Moon G.o.d Sect. Nearly all of them were stone-hearted cultivators who had traded away their humanity for cultivation.
“Come on, tell me. Is he that Pill King… someone from Pillfire City? I think I heard his name being mentioned this morning.”
“No, not him.” Xu Qingxuan didn’t feel an ounce of goodwill towards Pill King Ji Lang. “That guy’s just a self-centered braggart with no real knowledge.”
“Oh? Then who is it that you’re talking about?” Holy Maiden Xu Meng didn’t look like she would stop until she got the truth out of Xu Qingxuan.
“Mother… just don’t ask. He’s more interested in you than he is in me, you know.”
Holy Maiden Xu Meng’s face changed abruptly. “Xuan’er, how can you make such a distasteful joke to your own mother?”
“I’m not joking. I think that guy has a screw loose in his head. At first he told me to stay behind, and I thought he was going to confess to me or something like those other terrible men, but… he asked me if I’m Xu Meng’s daughter before giving me a storage ring. He told me to give it to you.”
“What did you say?” Xu Meng immediately grew agitated. “Where is the ring? Quickly, show it to me. What else did he tell you?”
“He didn’t say anything else. He simply told me to give you the ring if I truly care. Hmph, as if I need him to tell me that.” Xu Qingxuan pouted. Complaints aside, she didn’t dilly dally. She pa.s.sed the storage ring to her mother.
When her mother accepted the ring and checked its contents, a shudder coursed through her entire body. A look of wild joy abruptly colored her features. She took out the item from the ring, which turned out to be a single earring. Holy Maiden Xu Meng’s hands and lips shook uncontrollably as she clutched the earring. It was obvious that her emotions were completely out of control.
“Mother, what… what’s wrong?” Xu Qingxuan was frightened by her change.
“It’s him… it’s him… Xuan’er, this is your father bringing me a message! This… this earring is what I used to wear back at Jiang Han Province. When Moon G.o.d Sect took me away, the earring was lost in the scuffle. This is it, there’s not mistake. Xuan’er, your father… your father has finally come to find me!” Xu Meng sounded incoherent. She was on the verge of a complete emotional breakdown.