Chapter 6: Who Is Sister Lian? Entering the Sect

“This is the scorpion you were looking for?” Lian Mu raised an eyebrow at the tiny, pitch-black creature crawling on a rock, its beady green eyes staring blankly ahead.

No matter how she looked at it, it didn’t seem like a spiritual beast—it was just dumb and dazed.

Ji Mingyue happily tied a red string around the little scorpion and fastened it to her wrist. “You don’t understand. We Wuling people never make mistakes.”

Lian Mu thought, Fine, whatever. She reached up to touch the wound on her face, which had swollen painfully after being stung by a venomous bee.

They were inside a massive underground cave—damp and dark, littered with jagged rocks, and faintly glowing green moss clung to the shadows. Deep within the chaos of stones, a few scattered skeletons could be seen.

This place lay on the outskirts of Xi City. The cave was a naturally formed underground structure, its entrance hidden beneath dense vegetation. It had taken them two hours to find it.

Just as Ji Mingyue had warned, the cave was extremely dangerous—not only crawling with venomous insects but also home to several dens of starving jackals. Fortunately, Lian Mu reacted quickly, and the two of them made it through unscathed.

Even so, she still hadn’t been able to avoid the venomous bee, which had managed to sting her. In contrast, Ji Mingyue had moved through the nest of venomous creatures like a fish in water, emerging completely unharmed.

“Anyway, thanks a lot this time. I wouldn’t have been able to handle it alone.” Ji Mingyue dug into her bag, pulled out a box of ointment, and dabbed some onto Lian Mu’s wound.

The cool sensation spread over her skin, gentle yet refreshing. Lian Mu could feel traces of spiritual energy swirling through it, and the swelling and pain quickly subsided.

“I made this myself—it works wonders,” Ji Mingyue said proudly. “By the way, with your skills, don’t you think it’s a waste to be doing this kind of work?”

Back when they were surrounded by dozens of red-eyed wolves, Lian Mu had simply thrown Ji Mingyue over her shoulder and fought off the pack alone—killing them all without hesitation.

Ji Mingyue had grown up under the protection of her family. Their survival techniques mostly revolved around venomous insects, so she had rarely witnessed true combat. To her, Lian Mu’s martial prowess was terrifying—swift, ruthless, and utterly unlike what someone her age should possess.

“I’m just making a living for now. I’m not good at much, but I can fight.”

In her past life, Lian Mu had been the only heir of her family—their sole hope. Every distant aunt and cousin had passed down their ancestral techniques to her. She also had access to even more powerful abilities, though her current cultivation level prevented her from using them.

“I mean, have you considered other paths? Like cultivating? The way you handle a saber reminds me of certain cultivators I’ve seen before.”

The same kind of brutality—like a puppet born solely for battle.

Lian Mu thought for a moment before replying, “I do plan to take Gui Xian Sect’s entrance trial.”

Ji Mingyue’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? Then we can go together!”

Lian Mu didn’t confirm or deny it, only smiling as she said, “It’s getting late. Are you done here? Shouldn’t we leave?”

“Good point.”

Just as they were about to leave, a faint, ragged breath reached their ears from not far away.

“What was that?” Ji Mingyue’s face darkened.

Lian Mu drew her saber with one hand and followed the sound, finding a man slumped behind a stone pillar. He was covered in wounds, drenched in blood, and his black robes were in tatters. His entire body bore the marks of vicious bites.

Ji Mingyue sucked in a breath. “Damn—he’s been gnawed to the bone.”

He must have arrived before them.

“Good thing I still have a Flesh-Regenerating Pill.” Ji Mingyue took out a medicinal pill. “Consider this young lady being kind—I’ll give it to him for free.”

After feeding him the pill, his breathing gradually stabilized.

“Should we take him with us?” Ji Mingyue asked. Lian Mu was the only one capable of carrying someone out.

Lian Mu shook her head. “The wolves here have been dealt with, so he won’t be in immediate danger if he stays put. Besides, we don’t know who he is—saving him blindly could be risky. But if you insist on bringing him along, that’s fine, except…”

Ji Mingyue casually asked, “Except what?”

Lian Mu held up two fingers. “Escorting two people is beyond my job description. You’ll have to pay extra.”

Ji Mingyue: “…Let him fend for himself.”

Wasting effort on a random stranger wasn’t worth it. Giving him a pill was already more than generous.

With that, the two of them left without a shred of guilt.

—

After completing her tasks for the day, Lian Mu happily collected her payment and took a stroll through the spiritual herb market.

After five years of careful maintenance, her body had reached a new stage. Due to her meridians being blocked for so long, she was severely lacking in spiritual nourishment. Now that they had been cleansed, she had to soak in spiritual herbs daily to maintain her condition.

With her current financial situation, she could only afford low-grade spiritual herbs. She barely managed to break even—if only she could get higher-grade ones.

After bathing, she counted the spirit stones in her Spatial Pouch and felt a bit disheartened. High-grade herbs were exorbitantly priced, always in short supply. Even a decent one could cost over a thousand spirit stones.

Her highest-paying jobs only brought in one to two hundred spirit stones per task. Today’s two hundred had already been spent on a herb with richer spiritual energy, depleting two-thirds of her earnings. After buying a few supplementary materials, she had nearly nothing left.

In the future, she would need funds to reforge her spiritual roots, commission a swordsmith, and purchase materials.

Once she entered Gui Xian Sect, she would need to find a better-paying job—otherwise, her progress would stall.

There was no rush, though. The path of cultivation was long, stretching hundreds or even thousands of years. There was plenty of time.

Just as she was about to sleep, she reached for her bedside cabinet—only to feel something cold and hard.

Lian Mu: “?”

She looked down.

It was that pitch-black little scorpion Ji Mingyue had taken earlier—somehow, it had crawled onto her luminescent stone ornament.

Lian Mu: “???”

Wasn’t Ji Mingyue treasuring this thing? How had it escaped?

The scorpion was venomous. Lian Mu immediately withdrew her hand, took out the Fish and Goose Stone to contact Ji Mingyue, and then realized that she had never exchanged contact information with her.

Right, she never added customers as contacts. Although Ji Mingyue got along with her fairly well, they were ultimately just in a client-provider relationship, each going their separate ways after the task was completed.

Seeing Lian Mu step back, the scorpion waved its large pincers, staring at her with its beady green eyes, looking somewhat innocent.

Before long, the scorpion started blowing bubbles, making a mess. Lian Mu didn’t want it to dirty her newly made bamboo cabinet, so she flicked it away.

Its glossy black shell crashed into the wall with a loud “thud.” The scorpion lay on its back, clumsily struggling for a moment before flipping over and crawling back toward Lian Mu.

“Click, click—”

Its two large pincers clamped together in silent protest.

A few minutes later, it reappeared on the bamboo cabinet, staring at her blankly with its green bean-like eyes.

For some reason, the word “water” suddenly popped into Lian Mu’s mind, so she tentatively asked, “Do you want to drink water?”

The scorpion clamped its pincers again and stopped blowing bubbles.

Lian Mu felt incredibly conflicted, but she still poured some water into a teacup for it. The sound of the water made her heart ache—this was a medicinal tea she had specially brewed with spirit plants to nourish her body. Even giving away half a sip was painful.

She had to get Ji Mingyue to reimburse her!

After drinking its fill, the scorpion lazily climbed onto a luminous stone, hugged it, and fell asleep.

Lian Mu: “…”

Expressionless, she blew out the lamp and lay down to sleep as well.

…

Early the next morning, Lian Mu brought the little scorpion to the inn where Ji Mingyue was staying, only to be informed by the innkeeper that she had hurriedly packed up and left before dawn. When she tried to contact the organization, they also said they couldn’t reach her.

With no other choice, Lian Mu kept the little scorpion by her side, planning to return it to Ji Mingyue if she ran into her after the Gui Xian Sect’s entrance trial. She had no experience raising pets and no time to take care of one, so she simply tossed it into the grass to fend for itself, calling it back when necessary.

The little scorpion was quite intelligent and never wandered off. It liked to nap on her pagoda-shaped luminous stone. Seeing it stare at people every day with its green bean-like eyes, Lian Mu temporarily named it “Green Bean.”

In the blink of an eye, the registration day for the Gui Xian Sect’s entrance trial arrived, and the Three Thousand Immortal Steps were bustling with activity.

Shen Si and his two companions got up early to see Lian Mu off, their eyes brimming with tears. “Sister Lian, go without worry. We’ll take care of things here.”

Lian Mu: “…” This was their responsibility in the first place.

Shen Si was oblivious to the fact that his admiration held no credibility in her eyes. He was moved by his own sentiments. “We will definitely turn over a new leaf, work hard, and not disappoint your expectations.”

One of the bootlickers sobbed, “Our Sister Lian is definitely the strongest among this batch of applicants!”

“Of course! Sister Lian is no ordinary person!”

Lian Mu was speechless. She immediately slung her bag over her shoulder and left. Her home was at the foot of the Gui Xian Sect, and she only needed to follow the Three Thousand Immortal Steps upward to reach it.

Her solitary figure gradually faded into the distance. Over the past five years, she had grown from a frail child into a tall and strong young woman. The once-childish features of her face now carried hints of heroic spirit, and her high ponytail fluttered in the wind.

Shen Si suddenly snapped out of his daze, a feeling of deep emotion welling up in him.

He looked up at the towering sect gates that reached into the clouds and had a strange premonition:

Perhaps, in the future, the Gui Xian Sect would not remain the same as before.

—