Chapter 236: 236. Chapter 233: Panic

236. Chapter 233: Panic

Qing Yu sat beside Yanyue Sect elders Gu Youchang and Pang Xiangxiang, and felt an inexplicable unease.

She was nothing but a maidservant, yet this time she had actually been invited to the Ascension Realm. Under the escort of the sect's two great elders, Pang Xiangxiang and Gu Youchang, she was to attend the Young Sect Master's engagement ceremony.

Although this was something that could make one tremble with excitement, she felt nothing but dread and unease.

Could it be that because the Young Lady had left, the Young Sect Master wanted her to take the Young Lady's place?

Young Sect Master Yi Yi Jiang was about to become engaged to someone else; she knew that even as a substitute, she would only be a concubine.

She found it very hard to understand why the Young Lady had to leave. Even being the Young Sect Master's concubine would be soaring to the heights, becoming someone above others—at the very least, she would never have to worry about cultivation resources.

The Huangshen Sect—this was the number one sect of the Ascension Realm, the number one sect of the Triple Heaven Star Continent.

Moreover, when the Young Lady left she was already at Qi Refinement Perfection; had she not left, the Young Lady would surely have succeeded in Foundation Establishment upon coming here.

Unfortunately, her own looks were far too poor, nowhere near comparable to the Young Lady's; otherwise, even as a concubine, she might not have been without a place.

Now she too was at Qi Refinement Perfection. After the Young Sect Master's engagement ceremony ended, should she find an opportunity to ask the Young Sect Master for a Foundation Establishment Pill?

Just as Qing Yu was thinking this, she suddenly felt as though there was something she had not considered.

When the Young Lady left, she was at the ninth layer of Qi Refinement, and she left precisely after receiving the Young Sect Master's invitation to the Ascension Realm.

Now she too was at the ninth layer of Qi Refinement…

Why did they have to wait until the ninth layer of Qi Refinement before bringing them to the Ascension Realm?

"Elder Pang, you've cultivated the Great Phoenix Red Cloud Art, haven't you?" Qing Yu suddenly asked.

Pang Xiangxiang had been staring somewhat absently at Yi Yi Jiang, her mind elsewhere; caught off guard by Qing Yu's question, she instinctively replied, "Yes."

"Elder Pang, cultivating the Great Phoenix Red Cloud Art to step into the True Pill realm shouldn't be that hard, should it? Why have you remained at the Foundation Establishment stage? Will I also be stuck at Foundation Establishment in the future?"

After learning she was about to become the Young Sect Master's concubine, although Qing Yu felt some dread, she still spoke to Pang Xiangxiang with a certain confidence.

When the old Sect Master was still around, Pang Xiangxiang's status had been very high.

Now that the old Sect Master was gone, even errands required Elder Pang to run personally—one could see how drastically Pang Xiangxiang's status had fallen.

Pang Xiangxiang came back to herself, glanced at Qing Yu, sensed the look in Qing Yu's eyes as someone about to become the Young Sect Master's Lady, and sneered inwardly.

Still dreaming.

Cultivating the Great Phoenix Red Cloud Art and still wanting Foundation Establishment? Did she think everyone who cultivated the Great Phoenix Red Cloud Art could be like her, Pang Xiangxiang?

"You'll soon know why I've only remained at Foundation Establishment," Pang Xiangxiang said, a trace of mockery in her tone.

The fact that Qing Yu had been able to become Guan Ying's personal maidservant naturally meant she had some ability.

Her ability lay in reading faces and observing expressions; she had already caught that fleeting contemptuous glance from Pang Xiangxiang.

"Auntie Pang, is it that cultivating the Great Phoenix Red Cloud Art makes it impossible to step into higher levels?"

As she asked this, the trace of superiority at the bottom of Qing Yu's heart vanished, replaced by a sense of unease.

When she spoke again, even her form of address had changed.

The Young Lady had also cultivated the Great Phoenix Red Cloud Art, had also been invited here at the ninth layer, and then the Young Lady had secretly fled.

Now she too was at the ninth layer of the Great Phoenix Red Cloud Art, and had likewise been invited here.

She had not fled; she had only recently felt that cultivating the Great Phoenix Red Cloud Art was somewhat strange.

"Remember one thing I tell you: serve the Young Sect Master well tonight, and don't get any wild ideas at the last moment.

If you make the Young Sect Master feel you're useful, and he wants you to serve him again, you'll have a chance at Foundation Establishment."

These words finally made Qing Yu understand that the Great Phoenix Red Cloud Art was truly problematic. She hurriedly stood up, about to kneel to Pang Xiangxiang.

Pang Xiangxiang quickly held her back: "Do you want to die? This is the great hall of the Huangshen Palace."

Qing Yu looked up, her face streaked with tears:

"Auntie Pang, please tell me what's going on? Why did the Young Lady run away?"

Pang Xiangxiang sighed:

"Qing Yu, you and your Young Lady weren't on very good terms, were you?"

Qing Yu hurriedly said:

"Before the Young Lady ran away, we were still on very good terms…"

Pang Xiangxiang sneered:

"On very good terms? If you were, she wouldn't have handed the Great Phoenix Red Cloud Art over to you to cultivate."

After Yi Wandao was killed, Pang Xiangxiang knew her good days in the Yanyue Sect were over. From then on, for her, it was either leaving the Yanyue Sect or enduring humiliation under the new Sect Master.

Now the Yanyue Sect was rife with power struggles. If Yi Yi Jiang had not been a disciple of the new Huangshen Sect Master Qiao Sha, Yi Yi Jiang would not have had the qualifications to have her and Elder Gu escort Qing Yu here.

As for continuing to serve as Sect Master of the Yanyue Sect—even Yi Yi Jiang's master being the Huangshen Sect Master wouldn't make that possible.

So for Pang Xiangxiang, there was nothing wrong with telling Qing Yu the truth.

Qing Yu, her eyes brimming with tears, looked at Pang Xiangxiang and said:

"Auntie Pang, I once spoke up for Steward Qiong before; the Young Lady must have had some misunderstanding about me…"

Pang Xiangxiang said flatly:

"The Great Phoenix Red Cloud Art is a cultivation method meant to be cultivated for another's benefit—a furnace-pill technique for transference. You were brought here because your cultivation had reached Great Perfection of Qi Refinement, and it was time for the transference.

So what do you think it means that your Young Lady handed this cultivation method over to you?"

Qing Yu felt as though a basin of cold water had been poured over her head. She finally understood why the Young Lady had fled the Yanyue Sect, and why she had come to hand the cultivation method to her before leaving.

This was her escaping herself, and still wanting to teach her a lesson one last time.

She instinctively looked around, her first thought being to flee.

Pang Xiangxiang understood what Qing Yu meant and said calmly:

"Fleeing is also a dead end. If this cultivation method is not transferred out through dual cultivation with its master, one's essence and blood will burn away until death.

Even if you侥幸 survive, you'll be like a female dog, wandering everywhere seeking a chance to mate."

Qing Yu gave a shudder:

"Aunt Pang, please, save me."

Pang Xiangxiang actually felt some sympathy for Qing Yu, because she had once cultivated this very technique and knew how terrifying it was.

Facing Qing Yu's plea, she could only shake her head:

"I can't save you. There's only one person who can."

"Who is it?" Qing Yu could no longer hold back the fear in her heart and blurted out the question.

After she arrived at the Dao Cultivation World, she no longer regarded herself as a maidservant. Her goal was to stand above others, to become an immortal looked up to by countless mortals.

Just as she was about to achieve her goal, a basin of cold water thrown in her face jolted her awake.

"It's the Shao Sect Master. As long as you can please the Shao Sect Master during dual cultivation with him, he might remember you. Then he'll even take the initiative to leave you some essence, qi, and spirit, so you can keep your life."

"But Aunt Pang, then you…" Qing Yu's face went pale.

Pang Xiangxiang gave a self-mocking little laugh:

"Me? That's exactly what I did. I tried my hardest in bed to please Yi Wandao. Not only did he spare my life, he even helped me reach Foundation Establishment."

Yi Wandao wasn't dead, so she didn't dare say it like that.

Yi Wandao was dead, so naturally she had nothing to fear.

No matter how wholeheartedly Yi Wandao had once treated her, she would never forget this deep, bitter hatred.

If not for Yi Wandao, would she have fallen to such a state? No amount of cultivation resources could ever have let her step into the True Pill realm.

The reason was that when Yi Wandao stripped the true essence from her Great Phoenix Red Cloud Art, he stripped away her entire foundation.

She had reached Foundation Establishment, yes—but only a false foundation. As for stepping into the True Pill realm, she could forget about it for the rest of her life.

Such a great hatred, yet not only could she not avenge it, she still had to curry favor with Yi Wandao at every turn, just to get a chance to survive.

The reason she had lived until today was that she had worked hard to make herself worth less than a dog in front of Yi Wandao.

She had received some care within the Yanyue Sect—so what?

That kind of care was something she had traded for in bed, exchanged for her life's foundation and a dignity lower than a dog's.

If she could, she would absolutely not want that kind of care.

Deep in her heart, she was actually very grateful to Ding Huan.

If not for Ding Huan, her great vengeance could never have been avenged.

If not for Ding Huan, she couldn't even have left the Yanyue Sect, because Yi Wandao would have killed her.

After completing this escort mission, she decided to leave the Yanyue Sect.

"But Aunt Pang, didn't Guan Pei turn out fine?" Qing Yu said, somewhat unwilling to accept it.

Pang Xiangxiang looked at Qing Yu with a touch of sympathy and said:

"Logically speaking, as a maidservant you should know how to read people's faces. How could you not see that Ding Huan is a capable man?

Guan Pei is fine because Ding Huan helped her. Now she's at the Blue Star Sect, living better than anyone."

In her heart she despised Qing Yu. You already knew Ding Huan first, had such a wonderful backer like that, but instead of using him, you went and slandered your own backer.

Look how well that turned out. The Ding Huan you looked down on not only killed the Yanyue Sect Master, he even established a new sect.

And he's the very one who could have saved you, yet you've offended him to the bone.

Qing Yu's lips turned purple, fine sweat beaded on her forehead, and she muttered to herself:

"I didn't know he was that capable. If I had known…"

Qing Yu didn't continue. Did she really not know? Ding Huan had led so many people through the Great Ravine Canyon and the Lost Marshlands—how could he not be capable?

It was simply that deep down she had looked down on Ding Huan as an ordinary mortal cook, and on top of that, this cook had stolen the rice bowl from her cook relative.

Pang Xiangxiang suddenly thought of something.

The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, and her eyes even grew more and more excited.

If Ding Huan could save Guan Pei, could he save her too?

If Ding Huan could repair her great Dao foundation, she too could step into the True Pill realm, or even reach an even higher level.

No, after returning to the Dao Cultivation World this time, she had to go find Ding Huan. No matter what, if she didn't seek out Ding Huan and ask, she wouldn't be able to rest easy.

Didn't Ding Huan establish the Blue Star Sect? Then she would join the Blue Star Sect. She could earn spirit stones for the Blue Star Sect—that was what she was best at.

The elder of the Ceremonies Office of the Huangshen Sect had already begun to announce in a loud voice:

"Today is a joyous day for our Huangshen Sect and the Luoshen Palace. The disciple of our Huangshen Sect Master, Yi Yi Jiang, and the disciple of the Luoshen Palace Master, Han Xiaonv, shall be joined in a lifelong bond of marriage, forever of one heart, seeking the great Dao together.

Now, please welcome the disciple of the Huangshen Sect, Yi Yi Jiang, and the disciple of the Luoshen Palace, Han Xiaonv…"

As the voice of the Ceremonies Elder fell, Yi Yi Jiang and Han Xiaonv, dressed in their wedding garments, slowly walked into the great hall from the left and right sides respectively.