Chapter 40: The Gambler Lost His Mind

At the Heavenly Star Sect camp, Shen Qingli was taking Liu Meng's pulse.

Liu Meng looked at her with sparkling eyes, "Junior Sister, you—"

"It's nothing serious." Shen Qingli lowered her hand and let out a breath.

"I told you I'm fine." Liu Meng looked at the crowd, "Doing great!"

"Your medical skill is truly unfathomable." Grand Elder Feng sighed, "Without you, your senior sister would surely have died young."

"It's not that amazing." Shen Qingli explained, "It's mostly that my senior sister has a strong constitution; I just gave a little help."

"Hey, no need to be so modest." Ji Wanxing saw clearly, "But don't be so impulsive in the future; if that Jade Sect brat doesn't admit defeat, you might already have lost to him."

"That's impossible." Li Yidao said firmly, "Junior Sister has obtained the Taiyi Divine Sword."

Ji Wanxing, however, knew that Pei Jianshu was no slouch either, and at the time he was in his prime, while Shen Qingli was already spent.

But Shen Qingli had no regrets, "If I had to do it again, I'd still save my senior sister. I believe the sect master, elders, and senior brothers feel the same."

That's true; even if we lose the ranking, it's no big deal.

As long as the person is alive, everything can be discussed.

"Forget it, pack up and head back."

Ji Wanxing laughed heartily, in high spirits.

"Junior Shen." The Medicine Valley Master came in person to pay a visit.

Outside the modest Heavenly Star Sect camp, the place was already packed with people.

The Medicine Valley Master looked at this rundown camp and felt quite wistful.

I don't know how they ended up taking a liking to this place—what does the Medicine God Valley lack compared to it?

"Medicine Valley Master." Shen Qingli went out to meet her, "What advice do you have for me?"

"Don't mention it." The Medicine Valley Master waved a hand and took out an ancient text, "I have here an ancient book left by our ancestor, but its contents are overly obscure and hard to understand; I thought it might benefit you, Junior Shen, so I'm giving it to you."

Shen Qingli was startled, "This is out of the question."

"Don't be polite." The Medicine Valley Master smiled, "Of course, I'm also here to ask for the Divine Palm Secret; please don't hesitate to instruct me."

"That's only natural, Medicine Valley Master, please come in." Shen Qingli first ushered her into the camp.

After all, it's a transmission of a secret, so we still need to find a separate tent for a private chat.

But the Medicine Valley Master had thought Shen Qingli would still ask for something else; unexpectedly, as soon as she sat down, she transmitted the secret directly into his sea of consciousness.

"This—" the Medicine Valley Master chuckled, "Junior Shen, you're straightforward."

"It's nothing but your own heritage." Shen Qingli also took out several medicinal recipes, "These are what I obtained in the inheritance grounds; they should be useful to your sect."

The Medicine Valley Master took a look and saw that they were all precious medicinal recipes recorded in their ancient texts but now lost; she immediately rose and bowed, "Thank you, fellow cultivator!"

Shen Qingli hurriedly steadied her, "Don't overdo it, junior."

"Rest assured, fellow cultivator, as long as your sect needs these pills from the recipes, just bring the ingredients and I will personally refine them for you, free of charge." The Medicine Valley Master promised.

Such a promise would make any power on the Xuanti Continent green with envy.

The Medicine Valley Master is, after all, the sole seventh-rank alchemist on the Xuanti Continent.

"Then thank you, Valley Master." Shen Qingli sincerely thanked her.

The Medicine Valley Master didn't intend to linger, but as soon as the two stepped out of the tent, the noisy clamor outside the camp made them both frown.

"We won't waste words with you—where is Shen Qingli?" Gu Cihe said irritably, "She wouldn't have run off, would she?"

"What's it to you?" Liu Meng snapped, hands on hips, "You still have the nerve to come looking for my junior sister!"

"They never had any face to begin with—what more face do they want?" Zhan Yuefeng retorted.

"They're just here to beg for food." Li Yidao added scornfully, "After all, they can't even lift a pot."

"Where are your elders?" Zhao Yue refused to talk to these kids, "Shen Kuo—come out here!"

"Our Elder Shen, such a handsome male cultivator, is he someone a vile toad like you can just demand to see?" Liu Meng challenged!

Zhao Yue flushed with rage, "A toad? Me?"

"Yeah, ugly and poisonous!" Liu Meng insisted firmly.

"Well, it's true, though saying it does a bit of an insult to the toad, which is actually quite smart." Zhou Chuanfeng laughed, "And this one is cluelessly stupid."

Zhao Yue's eyebrows shot up; had she not been concerned about her image, she would have lunged at the youngsters.

"Prince Zhou, are you not giving up?" Bai Renshan asked gently.

"No, it's not that; seeing you come, I brought the juniors along to broaden their horizons."

Bai Renshan hadn't even reacted yet…

Sect Master Wan then spoke up, "We came to gain insight—just how low can such a shameless sect sink? It's worth observing."

Put bluntly, they're just here to watch the joke!

Even if Bai Renshan had the best rest, his face darkened, "Are you all trying to kick someone when they're down?"

"No, no, no, they're here to watch a drowning dog get beaten!" Liu Meng explained.

Bai Renshan glared at her, eyes vicious, "Little girl, if you keep spouting off without restraint, don't blame me for disciplining you on behalf of your elders!"

"What makes you think you're qualified?" Shen Qingli snorted.

The crowd followed the sound and saw Shen Qingli and the Medicine Valley Master stepping out together.

"Well, you old medicine man, you came early!" Sect Master Wan said, slightly surprised, "Do you still want to lure our junior cultivator into becoming your ancestor?"

"Our Medicine God Valley isn't worthy of that." The Medicine Valley Master smiled, "On the Xuanti Continent, you can't keep Junior Shen; I'm just here to forge a bit of good karma, to curry favor a little."

Such frankness actually made everyone like her.

"You old brat."

Zhou Qichang looked at Shen Qingli, still feeling a bit regretful, but now calmer.

Their conversation carried deep meaning.

Gu Cihe, however, completely didn't hear any of this, and shouted urgently, "Senior Sister, we agreed that I would help you expose Su Chacha's true nature, and you would give me the Fire Phoenix Inheritance, can we settle this now?"

"Did I say that?" Shen Qingli shrugged and retorted.

"I knew you'd go back on your word!" Gu Cihe had long been prepared, taking out the recording talisman.

However, after he activated the recording talisman, all he heard was a "zzz" sound, and nothing else.

Gu Cihe's face changed drastically, "How could this be? I clearly recorded it! It's you!"

He glared fiercely at Shen Qingli, his face turning ashen, "You tampered with my recording talisman!"

"Are you crazy?" Liu Meng shouted angrily, "You scum, just grabbing a recording talisman and you want to slander our little junior sister?"

"I—" Gu Cihe was about to explode!

But Bai Ren Shan restrained him, "A Li."

"Sect Leader Bai, just call me Shen Qingli—we're not close."

"Shen Qingli, you're trying to abandon after crossing the river, aren't you!" Zhao Yue couldn't hold back, her tone as cold and stern as ever.

Sect Leader Xu and the others also stared at Shen Qingli, "A Li, you said those words publicly—are you trying to go back on your promise?"

The onlookers couldn't bear to watch any longer, about to say a few fair words.

However, Shen Qingli already responded leisurely, "Yeah, I'm just abandoning after crossing the river, going back on my promise—so what?"

"You—you—" Zhao Yue only felt a pain in her chest.

Shen Qingli also said, "Isn't that surprising? I just deceived you all."