Chapter 72

He hurriedly supported the person, "A Li, what's wrong?"

"Has the Saint Maiden Peak of the Jadeite Sect always existed?"

"No, calculating the time, it should have appeared shortly after you were born."

"Was Zhao Yue's previous cultivation rather ordinary?" Shen Qingli asked, her hand trembling more the more she asked.

Pei Jianshu didn't answer immediately; after careful recollection, he nodded and said, "Yes, before you were born, she seemed to be only a Profound Master. After giving birth to you, she quickly advanced to Profound King, and within a few years became a Profound Sect."

"That's it." Shen Qingli closed her eyes, a line of clear tears fell silently.

She understood, her birth mother must have had her bones drained and marrow sucked by Zhao Yue!

Therefore, she and Zhao Yue share bloodline;

Therefore, Zhao Yue's talent skyrocketed;

Therefore, the lies Zhao Yue spoke on the divine altar were not baseless fabrications;

Therefore, Zhao Yue wants Su Chacha to replicate her own path to success.

Shen Qingli never expected this! The truth is like this.

So bloody, so inhumane!

"A Li."

Pei Jianshu spoke with a hoarse voice, gently wiping Shen Qingli's tears.

Shen Qingli opened her eyes, but stepped back a pace, avoiding his hand.

Over there, Liu Meng, who increasingly felt something was off, shouted, "Look, isn't A Li being bullied into tears?"

One sentence made Shen Qingli's cousins' eyes turn red with anger, "Let's go over!"

In the blink of an eye, Shen Qingli's eight cousins had arrived beside her, seeing she was indeed crying, they all exploded!

Shen Qingmo was surrounded by black aura, and was the first to want to beat someone up!

Shen Qingli quickly called out, "San Ge, don't, it's not his fault."

"Really?" Shen Qingmo turned his head to ask.

"Really." Shen Qingli nodded firmly.

Shen Qici, however, pointed out, "Could it be that we're afraid of offending Young Master Pei?"

Shen Qingmo's aura flared instantly; Shen Qingli hurriedly grabbed his hand, "No! Tenth Brother, don't guess wildly. Young Master Pei helped me."

"Then why are you still crying?" With a naturally baby-faced look, the harmless-looking Ninth Shen, Shen Qingtong, true to his name, also had a pair of green eyes; he bent down to closely examine Shen Qingli's eyes, "All wet, don't lie to us saying you didn't cry, you're not blind yet."

"I—" Shen Qingli wanted to explain.

Shen Qingtong interrupted, "San Ge, beat him first, then talk."

"Okay." Shen Qingmo didn't hesitate and really threw a punch!

Unfortunately, Pei Jianshu still didn't dodge; a punch landed! Dark Phoenix's Vigorous Might, he spat blood.

Shen Qingli held her forehead, not caring about nearby listeners, hurriedly spoke the truth, "He told me my mother isn't Zhao Yue! He even gave evidence!"

"That also deserves a beating!" Shen Qingtong said, arms crossed, "No matter what, he can't make you cry!"

Shen Qingli: "?"

Unfortunately, Shen Qici also agreed, "Exactly, we shouldn't be vague, we shouldn't just coax you, we should let you have a mental expectation first?"

The other Shen brothers nodded in agreement; even Liu Meng and her two companions who arrived later felt it made sense.

"One punch is enough." Shen Qingli tightly held onto Shen Qingmo, afraid he'd strike again.

Pei Jianshu wiped the blood from his lips, looking at Shen Qingli who helped pull him up, he smiled, "It's fine."

His A Li, after all, still felt sorry for him.

"Thank you." Shen Qingli bowed with clasped hands, "I'll count this as owing you one."

This is exactly what Pei Jianshu wanted; the past can be let go, and he doesn't want her to keep remembering those things that sadden her.

From now on, she only needs to remember his kindness toward her.

Not owing each other anymore? Impossible.

Love severed can be continued;

Missed opportunities can be revisited;

If the handkerchief is gone, it can be sent again.

"We'll take our leave first." Shen Qingli bowed again, "Zhao Yue, I will go see her; please keep her for me."

"Rest assured." Pei Jianshu promised.

Shen Qingli nodded, turned and left.

Pei Jianshu still had to endure the death‑glaring gazes of her brothers, as well as the senior sister and senior brother.

"A Li, he has ulterior motives." The usually quiet Shen Qingmo, fearing Shen Qingli might fall into a trap, felt he must warn.

Shen Qingtong snorted, "Certainly! Otherwise, what's that Zhao Yue, why not send her to my Shen clan? And making A Li go to the Azure Cloud Realm definitely schemes ill intent."

"We won't go; my brother will go for you."

"Since he's scheming against me, he would never let you take the person away."

Shen Qingli pointed out, "She certainly knows Pei Jianshu has ulterior motives, but she can't help but jump into the pit."

She wants to know whether the truth is exactly as she guessed!

Moreover, if her guess is correct, perhaps she can resurrect Zhong Minglan!

Inside the space.

On that lush Support Mulberry Tree.

Inside that Support Mulberry Fruit turned pure gold, a phoenix chick has already taken shape!

Shen Qingli has already sensed the pure golden phoenix aura even more!

Perhaps not long from now, the Golden Phoenix will be revived from within.

"A Li? A Li!"

"Huh?"

Shen Qingli's divine sense withdrew from the space, seeing everyone around her looking at her with worried faces.

"No matter what happens, it's over." Shen Qingshi said solemnly, "Just tell us what we need to do. From the moment you returned to our Changshui Shen Clan, your world will no longer have gloom; we will help you."

"You must believe that no matter what difficulty, as long as we are united as a family, we can solve it. You must trust us, not keep things bottled up."

"Hmm!" Shen Qingmo and the others each nodded solemnly.

Zhan Yuefeng and the others, unwilling to be left behind, said, "We're here too—we'll help you, little junior sister!"

Such care from so many people was something Shen Qingli had never received before.

Since joining the Heavenly Star Sect and returning to the Changshui Shen Clan, she has been gaining more and more.

Perhaps Heaven also felt her previous life was too tragic, so it made up for it by giving her such good fellow sect members and family.

Shen Qingli smiled, her brows and eyes relaxing considerably. "Good! I won't keep anything from you, but for now let's first pass the trial of the Ten Directions Forest before we talk."

"Good." Nobody pressed further.

It's better not to keep bringing up sad things.

After going out, once it's done, we can explain in detail later—it's not too late.

The Shen family's brothers had long learned of Shen Qingli's ordeal from their elders, and their feelings of pity and protectiveness for her had already filled their chests.

Each brother only thought of making his sister happy; for that, they would even be willing to die.

No matter what, she must never again be bullied or wronged—not even a little.

She is the Shen clan's precious jewel—she ought to have grown up in the family, enjoying endless honor and care, a heavenly pride daughter.

Yet from birth she has endured hardship and humiliation, even nearly failing to return alive to the Changshui Shen Clan.

"A Li, this is the monster core of a fifth‑grade spirit beast; it can be used for refining medicine. I'll give it to you—I just extracted it."

"A Li, this is Five Elements Immortal Herb, though its age is a bit off, it's still usable; I'll give it to you for playing with alchemy."

"A Li, don't move—just watch! Brother's coming."

"..."

As days passed, Shen Qingli's supplies grew more and more, while she herself did practically nothing.

Her name on the giant screen never dropped; it stayed firmly in first place.

This is also unavoidable—aside from Liu Meng and the others, her eight paternal cousins keep forcing things on her, refusing to let her refuse.

All along the way.

Pei Jianshu could see everything clearly in the dark.

"No, Young Master—are we just going to keep following like this without doing any training?"

The attendant beside Pei Jianshu was still the Xuan Envoy who had greeted Shen Qingli the most before, and he was still under the hundred‑year age limit of the Ten Directions Forest.

In fact, it's very difficult for an ordinary cultivator to reach the rank of Mysterious King within a hundred years.

That's why Shen Qingli's achievement of becoming a Mysterious King in her early teens makes her such a heaven‑chosen prodigy, drawing so much attention.

Even among the three sects, six realms, and nine great clans, she would be as rare as a phoenix feather or unicorn horn.

"She has rather a lot of brothers."

Pei Jianshu spoke slowly, his long, dense lashes shading eyes that were obsessive and dark.