Chapter 149: Returning Safely [Thanks to Alliance Leader Qianmi Duyou]

"Junshan, you are wrong. Grandmaster Xia is absolutely not an arrogant person who looks down on others. If he were truly that kind of person, he would never have concealed his cultivation level from me and Elder Sanxia along the way."

"Furthermore, regardless of anything else, Grandmaster Xia came to assist our Lu Clan for the sake of camaraderie among fellow disciples. For you to speak of him this way behind his back is certainly not the behavior of a gentleman!" Lu Renwei frowned, his gaze toward Lu Junshan showing some displeasure.

"Haha, Junshan is young after all, so it is inevitable that he might be a bit careless with his words. Elder Renwei, please don't take it to heart. However, what Junshan said likely has some truth to it. With Lu Ziying joining forces with Grandmaster Xia, their strength is already not weak; even if they encountered a sixth-layer Qi Refining cultivator, they would still have a hope of escaping."

"If they acted with caution, they shouldn't have fallen in the mine. Most likely, it was because they relied on their own strength that they invited disaster upon themselves." Seeing Lu Renwei dissatisfied with Lu Junshan, Lu Weijin smiled to smooth things over.

Lu Junshan was his own nephew and also the key focus of cultivation for his branch of the family.

This time, Lu Junshan had entered and exited the mine three times with many gains, which truly boosted the prestige of his branch. Moreover, Lu Ziying and Xia Daoming had indeed slighted him, an elder, last time, so Lu Weijin was quite displeased. Now, seeing Lu Renwei reprimand Lu Junshan for this, he naturally had to step in.

Lu Renwei glanced at Lu Weijin, a flash of displeasure deep in his eyes, but he said nothing more.

Lu Weijin was only forty years old this year and was already at the ninth layer of Qi Refining. He could be said to be the most promising candidate in the Lu Clan's middle generation to reach Foundation Establishment.

Since he had spoken up to defend his nephew, even Lu Renwei had to give him face.

Seeing his uncle speak up for him, a trace of smugness couldn't help but appear on Lu Junshan's face. He said, "Uncle is right. The sixth-layer Qi Refining cultivators from the Yan Clan who enter the mine are generally equipped with magic treasures. Even if I encountered one by accident, I would have to avoid them. If they relied on their own strength and didn't avoid them in advance, then there would basically be no hope of escape."

Lu Renwei and Lu Sanxia frowned slightly upon hearing this, but neither spoke again.

The fact that Lu Ziying and her group hadn't come out was a fact; saying anything more was meaningless.

"Three elders, Lu Ziying reporting for duty!" Just as Lu Renwei and Lu Sanxia were frowning and feeling unhappy, a rough, loud voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Lu Ziying is back!" Lu Renwei and Lu Sanxia stood up in pleasant surprise and looked toward the outside.

Sure enough, outside the courtyard, Lu Ziying's iron-tower-like, powerful figure stood outside the door like a wall.

Behind her stood Grandmaster Xia and the three Great Martial Masters.

They hadn't lost a single person!

"How is this possible!" Lu Junshan's face was full of shock and surprise, and he even inadvertently revealed a look of disappointment.

"Haha, Grandmaster Xia, Ziying, and you three, hurry and come in!" Lu Renwei laughed heartily, waving at Xia Daoming and the others from across the courtyard, unable to wait.

Surviving for twenty-five days without losing a single person—this was no simple feat!

"Yes, Elder!" Lu Ziying replied, then stepped into the courtyard.

Xia Daoming and the other four followed her into the courtyard.

Just now, when Lu Renwei and the others were in the main hall, they were separated from Lu Ziying and the others by a courtyard and a threshold, so they didn't feel much. Now that Lu Ziying's tall figure stepped into the courtyard, Lu Renwei and the others immediately felt a powerful, murderous aura rushing toward them.

Not only that, but the four people behind Lu Ziying, except for Xia Daoming, were all filled with murderous aura, as if they had just charged out from a battlefield of thousands.

There was no help for it; the tree wants to be still, but the wind will not cease!

During these days, Lu Ziying and the others had to experience life-and-death struggles from time to time. Lu Ziying had even personally killed a seventh-layer Qi Refining cultivator; it would be strange if they hadn't cultivated such a murderous aura and momentum.

"Hiss!" Lu Renwei and the others couldn't help but secretly gasp.

These guys hadn't come out for such a long time—could it be that they weren't mining, but were on a killing spree down there?

That shouldn't be! With their strength, they shouldn't have that capability!

But how could the murderous aura and momentum on them be so astonishing!

"Fifth layer of Qi Refining—you, you actually broke through again!" However, soon Lu Sanxia's eyes were fixed on Lu Ziying, her face full of disbelief.

"You actually broke through! Sanxia, I remember you mentioned to me that before Ziying came to Cold Star Valley, she had just broken through to the fourth layer. How many days have passed, and she's already at the fifth layer!" Lu Renwei soon also had a face full of shock and disbelief.

"Estimating the total time, it's only been about a month! This child is incredible, incredible! This matter must be reported to the Clan Leader immediately. This child must be cultivated as a priority and cannot enter the mine to take risks again!" The more Lu Sanxia spoke, the more excited she became.

Hearing Lu Sanxia say this, Lu Junshan's face turned black on the spot.

He was young and already at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, and he was the nephew of an elder; he still had to enter and exit the mine three times, and he would have to continue.

As a result, a disciple from a small branch of the Brocade Valley was actually going to get special treatment, especially since this woman was the object he, Lu Junshan, had always despised and slandered. How could he bear this?

Lu Junshan even felt his face burning with pain, as if he had been slapped back and forth.

Lu Weijin also felt he couldn't keep face. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Since such a seedling has appeared, reporting it to the Clan Leader is necessary. But jade must be carved to be useful. Now is the critical moment for the two families to compete. After resting, she still needs to go down to the mine to be tempered and perform meritorious service for the clan. Only then can the clan spare no resources to cultivate her vigorously."

"Ziying is different; she is only seventeen this year. Before she was seventeen, she spent most of her time cultivating in the secular world and had no chance to come to Jin Guifeng. Under such conditions, she was able to cultivate to the third layer of Qi Refining. At that time, I felt she was not simple."

"Now that she has broken through again in just one month, it shows she is truly a person of extraordinary talent. Such a good seedling must not be allowed to die young." Lu Sanxia said.

"Ziying is only seventeen? And she almost never cultivated at Jin Guifeng before?" Lu Renwei was truly shocked when he heard this.

Lu Weijin was also shocked when he heard this, and his gaze toward Lu Ziying changed abruptly.

Lu Ziying was tall and rough, not looking like a seventeen-year-old girl in her prime.

This time in the underground mine, having experienced life-and-death tempering and having walked back and forth on the edge of death, she was filled with murderous aura and was exceptionally powerful, making her look even less like a seventeen-year-old girl.

They hadn't thought at all that she was only seventeen, thinking she was already in her early twenties.

"That's right." Lu Sanxia nodded.

"If that's the case, then she really needs to be treated specially!" Lu Renwei said with a serious expression.

"Elder, isn't this unfair!" Lu Junshan couldn't help but blurt out.

Yes, even he had to enter the mine for life-and-death struggles!

"Humph, what is called fair? Didn't your uncle allocate so many Martial Masters to assist you before? Was that fair?" Lu Renwei had long found Lu Junshan unpleasant. Now, seeing him full of jealousy and disregarding the big picture, his face finally sank, and he reprimanded him.

"That, that's different. I am a disciple of the main clan, and I am a sixth-layer Qi Refining cultivator!" Lu Junshan was unconvinced.

"Humph, if the Lu Clan is gone, do you think you, as a disciple of the main clan, could still survive?" Lu Renwei sneered.

Having said that, Lu Renwei looked at Lu Ziying, his gaze kind and full of an elder's doting love for a junior.

At this moment, Lu Ziying's relatively humble background and her rough appearance were no longer important.

Lu Weijin's lips moved, but in the end, he closed them.

As an elder, selfishness is selfishness, and narrow-mindedness is narrow-mindedness, but he still had some sense of the big picture.

"Three elders, after this rest, Ziying wants to continue entering the mine to dig for ore." Just when even Lu Weijin had acquiesced to Lu Sanxia's decision, Lu Ziying became anxious. Her eyes widened, and she cupped her hands with a murderous aura.

Just kidding, digging for ore in the mine is great!

There are people to accompany you in actual combat, spiritual rice and spiritual elixirs to eat, spirit stones to use, and you can even make a fortune.

If it weren't for the Master saying that time was about up and they needed to come out to rest, and incidentally go to the market, she herself needed to return to the clan to observe the secret maps and learn cultivation techniques of higher realms. Lu Huiyun and Lu Zhen also needed to return to Jin Guifeng to observe the Grandmaster's secret maps.

She could have stayed down there the whole time.

"This..." The three of Lu Renwei were dumbfounded, and then soon all three were greatly moved, their gazes toward Lu Ziying showing even more appreciation, not even excepting Lu Weijin.

This is a disciple who is truly dedicated to the clan!

"No, you have extraordinary talent, and you cannot take big risks in the future!" Soon, Lu Renwei said in a deep voice.

"Didn't Elder Weijin say it? Jade must be carved to be useful! If I want to grow up as soon as possible, I must experience more tempering." Lu Ziying retorted.

Lu Renwei and Lu Sanxia looked at Lu Weijin with some annoyance upon hearing this.

"Ahem, that's true, but you are already a piece of good jade. Now you don't need to be carved, but to be well-nourished." Lu Weijin said with an embarrassed look.

"No, I don't think I'm good enough yet! I'm only at the fifth layer of Qi Refining. The more I polish myself in the front, the further I can go in the back." Lu Ziying said, unwavering.

"Look at you, you don't even think about your own status, talking nonsense! Now she has taken your words to heart and is stubborn. What do you say we do?" Lu Renwei and Lu Sanxia were very angry at Lu Weijin when they saw Lu Ziying's firm attitude.

Facing the reprimand, Lu Weijin's face turned from green to red.

How could he have known that Lu Ziying would actually want to enter the mine!

And Lu Junshan on the side, while surprised, curled his lips into a sneer of schadenfreude and disdainful mockery.

What a stupid woman!

Does she really think that just because she's a genius, she can kill everyone?

She doesn't even think about her fifth-layer Qi Refining cultivation. If she were really targeted by the powerful disciples of the Yan Clan, how could she be so lucky every time?

"Grandmaster Xia, why don't you persuade Ziying." Just as Lu Weijin was in a dilemma, he caught a glimpse of Xia Daoming out of the corner of his eye. His heart moved, and he cupped his hands toward him.

"Ziying is seventeen this year, and she is a fifth-layer Qi Refining cultivator. I think she should understand her own path very well. I respect her choice." Xia Daoming said indifferently.

PS: I write books slowly. This month, I have basically been typing from morning to night. I originally wanted to take a break today and save some drafts, but I thought, forget it, I'll continue to work hard. This update is to make up for the addition of Alliance Leader Qianmi Duyou before the book went on the shelves. I ask all book friends to continue to support genuine subscriptions and monthly tickets, so that Old Duan has the motivation to be vigorous and youthful, haha!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 150 =====