Chapter 529: The Hidden Card 1

After seeing off Chi Jiuyu, Bie Xuening turned her gaze to Yue Ling, who stood to her left holding a fruit tray.

At this moment, the surprise in her eyes had not yet faded.

But upon noticing Bie Xuening's gaze sweeping over her, she instinctively stiffened her face and pushed the fruit tray forward slightly.

"You may go back too."

"Huh?"

Yue Ling froze for a moment, then quickly recovered and spoke swiftly.

"Yes, my lord, then I'll take my leave first—won't disturb you and the Xiang Jianzong!"

As she spoke, she had already run down the training ground.

Just as she was about to dash out, she suddenly remembered something and halted abruptly.

"Goodbye, Xiang Jianzong!"

"Mm, goodbye."

Only after receiving this reply did she finally depart from the Xiang Jianzong's Hall, at ease.

Whew!

Time to play games!

In the blink of an eye, her figure vanished from view.

Bie Xuening calmly withdrew her gaze, saying nothing further, while Xu Xing smiled.

"Compared to before, she's become less mischievous now."

His life blade, Yueying, disliked seeing outsiders and rarely took human form.

But Yue Ling was different—being the sword that inherited the Path of Killing, her personality was wildly erratic, even bordering on malicious.

Not to mention, nearly all the Profound Void and True Insight cultivators in the Xiang Jianzong had been disciplined by her.

But precisely because she caused so much trouble, her senior sister had locked her in solitary confinement.

After years of reflection, now looking back…

She truly has improved a great deal.

After all, she's been out for so long, and no one's heard of her causing trouble again.

The most extreme thing she did was, because she lost a game and couldn't accept it, she tried to scare someone online.

But she ended up bumping into Xu Xing—and got scared herself.

"Fine," Bie Xuening said simply.

Whether blade or rebellious disciple, both are the type who'll overturn the roof if not beaten for three days.

So praise is out of the question.

Fortunately, my second disciple has behaved relatively normally.

…At least for now.

Then the two turned their gaze once more beyond the boundary, toward the ten Ascension Envoys carrying out their missions.

…

…

On the other side.

Chi Jiuyu felt her vision blur again, and suddenly found herself standing in a refined, tranquil courtyard.

In the courtyard grew a spiritual tree, its tender green leaves hanging countless lantern-like purple fruits, their skins marked with golden patterns.

Streams of auspicious rosy light flowed down from them, carrying rich medicinal fragrance that soothed the spirit.

Rare flowers and auspicious herbs scattered across the courtyard swayed gently in the mist-like auspicious light, while a spiritual spring bubbled continuously.

The faint glow emitted by the spiritual jade floor tiles made the entire courtyard resemble a fairyland.

Merely taking a deep breath, she felt a tingling itch spreading across all her external wounds.

Even the lingering power from the injuries inflicted by the two traitors' frenzied transformation faded at an accelerated rate.

As her external wounds gradually healed and recovered, her physical strength also strengthened slightly…

Xiang Jianzong secret technique—"Sword Bone."

Of course, she wasn't a masochist!

She kept the wounds precisely because she cultivated a corresponding technique, allowing her to comprehend the process of flesh and bone reorganization during healing, thereby gradually enhancing her physique.

Back then, she believed the online rumors of "body as sword," and fell right into the trap…

Whether "Sword Bone" was powerful or not didn't matter—its creator must have been insane.

If her master hadn't assured her the technique was genuinely effective, she'd have quit long ago!

"Greetings, Junior Xiao Shu Zu."

A woman in a green uniform stood in the courtyard; upon seeing Chi Jiuyu appear, she immediately stepped forward with a smile.

Someone had already instructed her to wait here in advance.

This woman was Soul Transformation realm, seemed to know Chi Jiuyu, and after a brief glance at her injuries…

"Same as usual, then?"

Xiao Shu Zu suffered injuries roughly every so often.

To the Dan Ding Pavilion, she was practically a regular—almost everyone recognized her.

Or rather, there were probably few in the entire Xiang Jianzong who didn't know Xiao Shu Zu.

"Mm."

Chi Jiuyu nodded instinctively, then immediately realized something was off.

"Swap the Bone-Forge Pills for Xuan Jade Bone-Forge Pills—twelve of them. I want the refined version of Clear Spirit Marrow Fluid—ten vials, three parts sugar, with ice."

The Mysterious Jade Bone-Forging Pill is nearly twice as expensive as the regular Bone-Forging Pill, yet its effect is only about thirty percent better.

However, the burning pain when taking the pill is much milder.

The premium version of the Clear Spirit Marrow Liquid costs three times as much as the regular version, and its effect is only a little over one times better, but it tastes really good…

And most importantly, none of these count toward mission expense reimbursements.

"Yes, Little Martial Uncle-Grandpa, please wait a moment, I'll be right there."

Though somewhat surprised by Chi Jiuyu's choice this time, her excellent professionalism kept her from showing any odd reaction, and she respectfully withdrew.

After she had exited the small courtyard.

Chi Jiuyu looked around, then leaned back on a lounge chair beneath a tree.

"This is the life…"

It is a bit pricey, but the environment really is quite nice.

emm…

Speaking of which, why exactly did Master and Martial Uncle specifically arrange for her to be here?

She rested her hands behind her head, watching the purple fruits swaying in the wind among the branches and leaves.

Huh?

She'd never seen this kind of fruit before—can you eat it?

Just as she was hesitating internally about whether to put the thought into action…

"We're here?"

A clear voice reached her ears.

Then, once again, her vision blurred!

Huh?!!

(#`Д)

Is there no end to this?!

Chi Jiuyu was a bit speechless—it had been less than half an hour since she'd gotten off the starship, and she'd already gone through this three times!

She sat up abruptly and looked to the side, only to see an old man with wrinkled skin and white hair, but very bright eyes, standing in a courtyard identical to her own.

"Junior Sister, let me introduce myself." He smiled at Chi Jiuyu, "I'm Cheng Ding, your eleventh senior brother."

Ah?

Chi Jiuyu was taken aback.

Cheng Ding?

Eleventh senior brother?

The Sovereign of the Shengqi Sword!

Oh!

So Master and Martial Uncle had arranged for her to stay at the Alchemy Cauldron Pavilion's recuperation ward because they wanted her to meet this senior brother.

Once she reacted, she promptly performed a proper greeting:

"Hello, Senior Brother! I'm Chi Jiuyu!"

"Junior Sister needn't be so polite. Your brother should have informed you in advance—summoning you here so abruptly was my fault."

"Aiya! Senior Brother, why so formal? We're all family here! Martial Uncle's disciple is our senior brother, right?"

"…"

There's nothing wrong with that statement, but it sounds a bit odd.

Cheng Ding took out a purple jade talisman:

"When Junior Sister joined the sect earlier, I wasn't in the Central Continent."

Having said that, the jade talisman in his hand automatically floated up and drifted in front of Chi Jiuyu.

"Little Junior Sister over there has already accepted hers, so please don't decline, Junior Sister."

Little Junior Sister?

Oh, it's Little Yunlu!

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

Chi Jiuyu didn't stand on ceremony either, reaching out to grab the jade talisman.

Trump card +1

Sigh~

In the blink of an eye, she was no longer the youngest Little Junior Sister either…

Just thinking about it made Yu sigh with emotion.

"By the way, Senior Brother, when did you get back? Last time we went to the Southern Star Region on a mission, we even applied to you for transit clearance!"

"I only just arrived back at the Central Continent not long ago myself."

"Oh." Chi Jiuyu nodded, pocketing the jade talisman. "Senior Brother, you're injured, right? The front lines… never mind, never mind, pretend I didn't ask."

If she kept asking, the answer would just be "that's not something you should know."

She promptly summoned her Natal Sword and took out a bag of fruit from her storage ring, hanging it on the sword's hilt.

After a silent exchange between the person and the sword, the cyan-gold longsword, with a bag of fruit hanging from it, drifted toward the room.

"Junior Sister, this is…?"

"Oh! My Natal Sword said she wants to help me cut some fruit."

Chi Jiuyu wore a wistful expression: "She's so diligent—she can even help me write mission reports!"

Cheng Ding: "…"

Although thinking so is somewhat wrong.

But Sister Chi is…

Showing off?

I've heard Brother Lin mention before that Master's new eldest disciple has a wild temperament; now that I see it…

It's not an exaggeration.

Still, Sister Chi, so young and already possessing such cultivation, is truly remarkable.

Even compared to Third Brother in his prime, she likely isn't inferior.

Thinking of this, perhaps because the past two days were too peaceful, he couldn't help recalling how Third Brother had once looked after him, and his heart grew dim.

"Brother?"

Cheng Ding snapped back: "What is it, Sister?"

"Do you think this fruit is edible?"

"It's bitter. Not tasty."

"Oh."

Judging by her eager expression, she clearly still intended to try it.

Cheng Ding smiled wryly, flicked his finger, and knocked down a fruit, landing it precisely in her palm.

What a pity.

Sister Chi, despite her youth, has achieved such cultivation, yet because she was unusually assigned to the Soul Transformation group, she failed to be selected as one of the first or second batches of Ascension Envoys.

Fortunately, she is now in the very stage where accumulation is most needed; missing one opportunity isn't too significant.

…

…

Mission World 1.

The Qixing Civilization built underground spaces.

Two figures stood beside a flat, open street.

One had a calm expression; the other looked pitifully fragile.

Are they human?

Actually, Heng asking this question didn't surprise Zhou Kongming.

"What do you think?"

"Lacking relevant information, I cannot determine your identity," Heng's hesitation gradually faded, as if hardened, "but I am willing to believe you are human."

Willing, believe—these were the fastest words in His database to gain trust.

"If you say so, then it's so."

Zhou Kongming turned and walked toward a shelter.

Though they were all clones with genetic defects, who else was left in this world?

Heng immediately ran after him.

"Foreigner, halt your approach immediately, or I will take coercive measures!"

Drones whizzed toward them, their tops emitting intense thermal fluctuations.

Ensuring the personal safety of every human was one of the highest prohibitions established when He was created.

Yet Zhou Kongming did not stop at His warning; before Heng's eyes, he simply vanished without warning.

Hum~!

A dense barrage of scorching red beams shot from the drones' tops, striking the exact spot where Zhou Kongming had just disappeared—but to no effect.

Seeing this, Heng froze in place, the light in His eyes rapidly fading.

Waa~!

The piercing alarm sounded again.

【WARNING! To prevent genetic leakage, the End Program is about to initiate!】

【5, 4, 3…!】(End of Chapter)