Chapter 3

"Go." Yuan Yao smiled with her eyes and brows.

Qian Jue Shan hesitated a bit, but finally relented: "Alright, then Ah Yan will accompany you."

Ah Yan's cultivation had already reached early Golden Core; protecting Yao Yao should be no problem.

He still felt uneasy.

He waved at Yuan Yao like an old father.

Seeing this, Yuan Yao lifted her skirt and trotted over to Qian Jue Shan.

"Your cultivation is only at the eighth layer of Qi Refining; going out you'll surely be bullied. As your master, I have nothing to give you, so take these. If anyone bullies you, send a message to me immediately, and I'll rush to back you up." Qian Jue Shan said while stuffing his high-grade artifacts into Yuan Yao's storage bag as if they were free.

"Enough, enough, Master, I'm just going out for a trip, not never coming back." Yuan Yao hurriedly stopped him.

Seeing this, Lu Xiangxiang felt a great sense of imbalance, recalling how in her previous life she never received such treatment when she went out for training.

Qian Jue Shan would never coax himself so gently.

Lu Xiangxiang silently clenched her palms.

And in the next moment, she actually saw Qian Jue Shan place eight life-saving talismans on Yuan Yao.

Each of these life-saving talismans consumes Qian Jue Shan's cultivation, and he actually used them on Yao Yao as if they were free—

Eight!

In her previous life, Qian Jue Shan had only placed one life-saving talisman on himself!

Lu Xiangxiang's face grew ever uglier, her fingertips almost piercing her palm.

Meanwhile, Song Yan noticed Lu Xiangxiang's oddness and glanced over at her.

After seeing Lu Xiangxiang's expression change, Song Yan couldn't help but frown.

Lu Xiangxiang took a deep breath, stepped forward, and said, "Master, I also want to go to Wuduan Senlin."

Qian Jue Shan heard this and shifted his gaze onto Lu Xiangxiang.

"Why do you want to go to Wuduan Senlin?" he said in a light tone.

Lu Xiangxiang replied neither humbly nor arrogantly: "I've heard that a secret realm will appear in Wuduan Senlin; I want to take this opportunity to train."

Qian Jue Shan fell silent for a moment.

Inside the Unfixed Pavilion, silence fell instantly, invisibly exerting pressure.

Lu Xiangxiang pressed her lips together, unable to stop herself from recalling her previous life: whenever she wanted to go somewhere, Song Yan would always intercede with the master for her.

But now there is none.

Qian Jue Shan relented: "Alright, then the three of you will travel together. Look out for each other along the way."

Immediately afterward, Qian Jue Shan took out a high-grade defensive artifact from his storage space, using spiritual power to send it to Lu Xiangxiang's front.

"Take it, just in case."

Seeing this, Lu Xiangxiang almost couldn't control her expression.

Just one?

In her previous life she could receive several high-grade artifacts, but now only one?

Song Yan said with a steady expression: "Junior Sister Lu, the item bestowed by the master is already top-notch among all artifacts in the cultivation world; you should accept it quickly."

Lu Xiangxiang came to her senses, lowered her head slightly, and raised her hand to receive the artifact.

"Thank you, Master."

Her tone carried a hint of reluctance.

Yuan Yao's gaze swept over Lu Xiangxiang's unnatural expression, then she withdrew her look and smiled at Qian Jue Shan: "Master, wait for me; this time I've made up my mind—I will cultivate diligently and not disappoint your expectations."

"You'd better manage that." Qian Jue Shan couldn't help but chuckle; looking at the girl before him, he vaguely overlapped her with the memory of that little brat who was too lazy to lie down and sleep, and his heart softened completely.

Yuan Yao raised her eyebrows and replied in one breath: "I can!"

…

Before heading to Wuduan Senlin, Yuan Yao and Song Yan personally brought Lu Xiangxiang to stay at Heavenly Martial Peak.

Heavenly Martial Peak had many vacant rooms, so Lu Xiangxiang could choose any one of them.

Finally, Lu Xiangxiang picked a relatively central bamboo hut, which happened to be between Third Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Brother.

Yuan Yao looked at Lu Xiangxiang and said, "Junior Sister, if you've finished packing, let's set out for Wuduan Senlin."

"Okay." Lu Xiangxiang responded indifferently upon hearing this; her purpose for going to Wuduan Senlin this time was not to compete with Yuan Yao, but because an ancient divine beast will appear in the secret realm there.

In her previous life, that ancient divine beast had been contracted by Third Senior Brother Cang Li.

This time, she intends to seize his opportunity.

She wants the Carefree Sect, so hypocritical and insincere, to decline as it did in her previous life and ultimately be exterminated!

After Lu Xiangxiang finished packing, the three descended together from Heavenly Martial Peak.

The Carefree Sect has four peaks in total: Heavenly Martial Peak, Heavenly Astronomy Peak, Heavenly Inquiry Peak, and Heavenly Learning Peak.

Heavenly Martial Peak is overseen by Third Elder Qian Jue Shan, Heavenly Astronomy Peak by Grand Elder Lin Yongping, Heavenly Inquiry Peak by Sect Leader Bai Li Mo, and Heavenly Learning Peak by Second Elder Zong Jiao.

Along the way, they encountered many fellow disciples.

Seeing Yuan Yao actually come down the mountain, these fellow disciples couldn't help but feel surprised.

It's truly rare.

"Junior Sister, how come you came down the mountain today?"

"Junior Sister, I have some tasty snacks; do you want any?"

"Junior Sister, do you like spirit rabbits? I'll give you one."

……

Almost all the fellow disciples came over to greet Yuan Yao.

Of course, they also greeted Song Yan, but their attitude differed: toward Yuan Yao they were warm and fond, while toward Song Yan they were respectful and fearful.

After all, Song Yan was too stern; just looking at him made people afraid.

Moreover, Song Yan wasn't that old either—he was only 19.

Yuan Yao looked at these familiar fellow disciples and then responded with a smile, one by one.

"Thank you, senior brothers and sisters, I don't want the rabbit anymore; I'll just take some food." Yuan Yao smiled, her fair cheeks showing a small dimple, her brows and eyes like crescent moons.

Lu Xiangxiang saw this scene, pressed her lips tight, feeling uneasy inside.

At this moment, she was pulled to Yuan Yao's side; before she could react, she heard Yuan Yao's voice: "This is my Master's newly accepted personal disciple, named Lu Xiangxiang; from now on she will be our junior sister."

"So it's Junior Sister Lu!" the fellow disciples also realized, they spoke up one after another, and then also asked if she wanted something to eat.

Lu Xiangxiang silently shook her head.

She simply didn't want to flatter them.

The Carefree Sect's fellow disciples weren't stupid either; seeing Lu Xiangxiang's attitude so cold, their genuine smiles faded a bit.

And just then, Yuan Yao's sea of consciousness sounded again with the voice of the 250 System.

【Target person Lin Jia's Awakening Value is 3, target person Li Ji's Awakening Value is 4, target person……】

The 250 System reported a string of Awakening Values.

Among them, only Eldest Senior Brother Song Yan's Awakening Value had broken through to 10.

Yuan Yao couldn't help but glance at Song Yan.

Song Yan's face showed no change in expression; he reached out and rubbed Yuan Yao's head, "Let's go."

Yuan Yao nodded.

Lu Xiangxiang tilted her head, just catching sight of Song Yan's action; she subconsciously furrowed her brows, feeling uncomfortable, as if someone had taken away what originally belonged to her.