Chapter 75: Secretly Joining the Hua Rong Sect (1)
A few days later, Qi Huang received the auction money, a total of twenty million taels of silver. This was after deducting the auction house’s share and fees, exceeding her expectations entirely. Qi Huang was overjoyed and immediately gave a ten-million-silver bill to her main body, acting extremely generously.
“Are you sure you want to give this to me? This is too much!”
Although Cheng Hong Ling was usually aloof, her breathing quickened when she saw the stack of silver bills, as she had never seen so much money in her life.
“Are we still separating our possessions? What’s mine is yours, take it!”
Qi Huang smiled helplessly. Having to explain when giving money away, she wondered why such good things didn’t happen to her.
Cheng Hong Ling, being a cultivator and not a nun, ultimately couldn’t resist the temptation of money. She accepted it hesitantly, babbling, “I’m just keeping it for you. Tell me if you need money!”
“Alright, alright!”
Qi Huang was torn between laughter and tears.
The next day, the main body and the clone set off for the Hua Rong Sect in the southern continent.
“Do you think the Hua Rong Sect will really fight to the death?”
Qi Huang couldn’t help but ask on the way.
“There’s a high probability. It’s obvious why the Hua Rong Sect won’t let her go. First, they don’t want to do all the hard work for someone else, like cultivating a prize cabbage only for it to be eaten by a pig. Anyone would be upset; second, they don’t want to give up this talent, as Hua Yu possesses the bloodline of an immortal. Without her, the Hua Rong Sect would have no future.”
Cheng Hong Ling analyzed.
“That makes sense! But the Hua Rong Sect is a purely female sect. Doesn’t that mean they don’t pass down their lineage through bloodlines? How did Hua Yu get the immortal’s bloodline?”
Qi Huang couldn’t help but ask.
“You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?”
Cheng Hong Ling gave the clone a flirtatious glare and then said, “Now is not the time to discuss bloodlines. If it really comes to a fight to the death, what do we do? The Immortal Tablet of the Hua Rong Sect is our only reliance!”
Qi Huang pondered for a moment, a slight smile curving her lips, “Then we’ll send them another Saintess.”
“What? Send them a Saintess?”
Cheng Hong Ling was stunned.
“Yes, as long as the Hua Rong Sect finds a Saintess with better talent than Hua Yu, they’ll naturally let her go.”
Qi Huang explained.
“I understand the logic, but where are we going to find such an outstanding Saintess to give to them?”
Cheng Hong Ling frowned.
“You!”
Qi Huang smiled sweetly.
“Me?”
Cheng Hong Ling pointed at herself with her jade finger and then gave a self-deprecating laugh, “You think too highly of me. Although my talent is stronger than ordinary cultivators, it’s like comparing a glow-worm to the bright moon when compared to descendants of immortals. Hua Yu, only twenty-six years old, has already reached the first layer of the Shentong Realm. I might not even achieve that at two hundred and sixty.”
“Have you forgotten the Body-Substitution Technique? With my help, you won’t need two hundred and sixty years. In two years and six months at most, you’ll surpass her.”
Qi Huang confidently reminded her.
“But… but the problem is we haven’t mastered the Body-Substitution Technique yet.”
Cheng Hong Ling stammered.
Qi Feng’s pretty face flushed slightly.
“Then you’ll have to work hard. For our future, you must protect the Hua Rong Sect’s Immortal Tablet.”
Qi Feng cheered her on mischievously.
Cheng Hong Ling fell silent, and after a moment, her brows furrowed, “That’s not right. Why should I be the Saintess? Your strength is much more suitable than mine.”
“Can’t you tell? Hua Yu’s value isn’t her Shentong Realm strength, but the potential brought by her immortal bloodline. And I happen to be a crippled cultivator. Unless I reveal my Heavenly Punishment Realm spiritual sense, in the eyes of the Hua Rong Sect’s high-level figures, I’m not as good as her. But if I do that, we’ll have no trump cards. It’s different for you. As long as your cultivation speed exceeds hers, it means you have more potential.”
Qi Feng revealed the key point.
“I understand!” Cheng Hong Ling suddenly realized, but after a moment, she frowned again, “There’s another problem. Even if my cultivation speed is faster, my bloodline is still only eight parts. Will the Hua Rong Sect’s high-level figures really give up Hua Yu for me?”
“They definitely will. As high-level figures of the Hua Rong Sect, they need to consider not just temporary revenge, but more importantly, the future of the sect and the safety of their disciples. If there’s even a glimmer of hope, they won’t risk a fight to the death with the Cao family.”
Qi Feng made a very confident judgment.
Cheng Hong Ling thought about it and felt it made sense, so they temporarily settled on this plan.
“When we get there, you’ll join the Hua Rong Sect as an ordinary disciple first to assess the situation. If they willingly give up Hua Yu, then we’ll save ourselves a lot of trouble. We just need to deal with those little monsters at the continental Evergreen Convention according to the original plan.”
Qi Feng added.
“Alright, but there are only twenty days left until the end of the month, and we haven’t mastered the Body-Substitution Technique yet. Also, it will take time for me to gain recognition from the Hua Rong Sect’s high-level figures. Put me into your Storage Ring and travel at full speed, otherwise, it will be too late.”
Cheng Hong Ling suggested.
Qi Feng agreed wholeheartedly and put the clone into the Storage Ring, traveling at full speed.
Qi Feng’s spiritual sense was now at the first layer of the Heavenly Punishment Realm, so she could travel about ten li in a single breath. However, due to her frail body, she had to take it easy. Even so, it took her less than fifteen minutes to reach the Mingyue Empire, where the Hua Rong Sect was located in the southern continent.
Because the Hua Rong Sect was based there, the Mingyue Empire was ranked among the top ten great nations in the entire Cultivation World. Its territory was vast, but in Qi Feng’s eyes, it was like her own backyard; she could fly from south to north in dozens of breaths.
Qi Feng inquired about the specific location of the Hua Rong Sect midway and then flew there without delay.
Upon reaching the foot of the Hua Rong Sect’s mountain, Qi Feng released Cheng Hong Ling and entered her main body’s Sea of Consciousness. As a first-time visitor, it was too conspicuous for a clone to stay outside.
After entering the Sea of Consciousness, Qi Feng peered through the Window of the Mind and maintained constant contact with her main body.
Cheng Hong Ling tidied her appearance and then headed towards the great gates of the Hua Rong Sect. Along the way, there were path markers engraved with ten large characters: “Hua Rong Sect ahead, males please stop.”
What had happened in the Hua Rong Sect in the past to make them so wary of males?
Qi Huang couldn’t help but wonder.
Although the Hua Rong Sect was a purely female sect, due to its immortal heritage, it had developed into the most powerful sect in the entire Mingyue Empire, with tens of thousands of disciples and over a million ordinary residents. Its scale was extremely vast, with pavilions and towers distributed across several mountain peaks, countless in number.
Looking through the Window of the Mind, Qi Huang felt very excited. After all, the Hua Rong Sect was full of women. The air seemed to be filled with a pink aura, as if it were a legendary Kingdom of Women. This held irresistible attraction for men, even for “pseudo-men” like her who only had male thoughts left.
Cheng Hong Ling walked towards the silvery-white stalactite gate carved with exquisite patterns. Although there were crowds of girls entering and exiting around her, she was stopped by the gatekeeper female disciples as soon as she approached, which showed how heavily guarded the Hua Rong Sect currently was.
“Where is your identity waist token? This is an important immortal sect, no unauthorized personnel allowed.”
The female disciple with a high ponytail held the hilt of her sword as a warning. If it were a male, she probably would have already made a move, considering that the “no males allowed” road markers extended for several miles around.
Qi Huang quietly probed with her spiritual sense and found that this female disciple’s physique… no, her cultivation was quite good. She was actually in the late stage of the Guiyi Realm. It was indeed worthy of being a super immortal sect ranked among the top ten in the entire Cultivation World; even the gatekeepers were so strong.
“Senior Sister, please inform them, I wish to join the Hua Rong Sect.”
Cheng Hong Ling cupped her fists and said with heroic spirit.
“Sorry, now is not the time for the Hua Rong Sect to accept disciples. You’ll have to wait until spring next year if you want to join.”
The ponytail girl disciple explained politely.
“Senior Sister, perhaps I didn’t make myself clear. I don’t want to join the Hua Rong Sect, but to seek refuge with them, as I am a cultivator myself.”
Cheng Hong Ling patiently explained.
“Seek refuge?”
The ponytail girl disciple showed surprise. After a moment of thought, she inquired, “May I know your name, junior sister? Your age? And your cultivation level?”
“Cheng… Jiang Ling, eighteen years old, Huashen Realm Layer 2.”
Cheng Hong Ling truthfully answered.
“What? Eighteen years old? Huashen Realm Layer 2?”
The ponytail girl disciple and the several senior sisters behind her exclaimed in unison.
“How can you prove it?”
The ponytail girl disciple asked after steadying herself.
With a thought from Cheng Hong Ling, Qi Huang, the clone, appeared before everyone. In the next moment, she was recalled to the Sea of Consciousness.
“I’ve become a tool.”
Qi Huang shook her head, torn between laughter and tears.
“Junior Sister, please wait here. I’ll go inform the sect elders immediately. Please don’t leave!”
The ponytail girl disciple’s expression changed, and then she excitedly ran towards the gate. For an eighteen-year-old who had reached the second layer of the Huashen Realm, she was definitely a top-ten Immortal Seed even within the Hua Rong Sect.
