Chapter 19: Congratulations to Junior Sister Lingxi on Her Triumphant Return

A flash of white light revealed a snowball about a person’s height, wobbling like a roly-poly toy.

A face flushed deep red and purple was perched at the top, hair disheveled and tangled, spreading out in all directions. Atop the head crawled a headless dead rat, continuously emitting a stench of sweat mixed with decay.

Nearby elders kept retreating, pinching their noses and furrowing their brows, wary of getting even a trace of the foul odor on themselves.

Whose disciple could be this filthy?

Even not bathing for a year shouldn’t result in such a stench!

The disciple responsible for reporting, enduring the horrid smell, braved closer, repeatedly confirming before cautiously looking toward Gu Jiuyuan.

“Chief Gu, isn’t this your most beloved junior disciple?!”

The moment these words were spoken, all eyes in the hall turned to Gu Jiuyuan, filled with disbelief and speculation.

Could this shabby, disheveled figure really be the quiet peak’s little junior sister?

Surely she was just a lowly inner sect disciple who did menial tasks.

But all participants in this trial were supposed to be at least direct disciples.

Gu Jiuyuan didn’t even glance at the disciple. Rolling up his sleeve, he rose and walked away.

Luo Chen, never one to miss a chance for drama, nudged him, “Chief Gu, as master and disciple, shouldn’t you hurry to get your precious disciple treated?! Such a rare and perfect spiritual root, damaged by the cold, would be a huge loss.”

Gu Jiuyuan snorted coldly, leaving only the words, “Hurry up and treat them,” before rolling up his sleeve and departing.

Several of his disciples lowered their heads and hurriedly attended to the situation.

“She really is that pure little junior sister—oh no, I didn’t see anything—”

“What kind of demon or ghost did they encounter to end up like this?”

...

The disciples below whispered and argued, insisting it was all an illusion.

“Hey! Why haven’t the two direct disciples from Danbo Peak appeared yet? Could they have been caught by beasts?”

Among the crowd, the tone of those eager for a show rose to drown out the murmurs.

Suddenly, the disciples remembered the top-ranking mortal still hadn’t appeared, and the discussion reached a fever pitch.

“I heard that spirit disciple was originally an inner sect disciple of the Quiet Peak, but somehow bypassed the usual channels to be called master by the peak lord.”

“Did she commit some offense and get expelled?”

“If you ask me, her family must have connections. Who could be so lucky? A discarded disciple becoming a direct disciple of Danbo Peak again.”

“I used to think that Lord Luo’s repair of the barrier cost him his foundation, causing his cultivation to plummet. Now it seems he’s no ordinary Golden Core stage cultivator.”

“What about Elder Hong...”

...

“The matter is still unresolved. Don’t spread rumors; just smile and wait.”

The elders on stage busily tended to the injured disciples, while those below glared with bright eyes, their gossiping hearts burning with excitement, itching to grab a small stool and some melon seeds.

“Make way, everyone!”

“Please, please!”

...

Among the crowded throng, a group of body cultivators stood out prominently.

Tall and burly, their chubby faces trembled as they forced smiles onto fierce expressions, but their eyes sparkled with the joy of impending victory.

In their midst stood two handsome young men, following closely behind the opening procession.

“Senior brother, I paid people to clear the way, so it’s not crowded at all. Don’t keep looking down at your toes; look for our little junior sister. What if she’s hurt... no, no, no, she’ll definitely come out on top!”

Sui An forcefully pulled Bing Cang forward through the crowd.

The body cultivators they had hired stood firm at the boundary marked by a red line, arranged in two rows: the front half-squatting, the back standing straight.

Sui An pushed Bing Cang between them and began distributing spiritual stones.

Each hired body cultivator received a bag, while those nearby got a piece of mid-grade spiritual stone each.

“Hey~ everyone, please help us out. We’ll only use this spot for a while, and I’ll leave as soon as my little junior sister comes out. Just a small gift as a token of respect!”

Sui An never used basic spatial bags, taking spiritual stones directly from his storage ring as he handed out the gifts.

Those who had grudges initially moved aside generously.

A single mid-grade spiritual stone sufficed for an ordinary outer sect disciple to cultivate for over a year.

Sui An had spent tens of thousands of mid-grade stones; his ring now contained only high-grade stones and above, so he had no choice but to stop.

“Later, if my little junior sister comes out alive and kicking, you all must cheer loudly. The better you cheer, the more rewards you’ll get.

Oh, and don’t forget to shower her with petals!”

Bing Cang quietly edged into the crowd, but each step he took, the crowd silently stepped back.

There was no crack in the crowd to squeeze through. Resigned, he lowered his head, staring at his toes, pretending to be a mushroom.

As the secret realm was about to close and the two had yet to emerge, Sui An, unwilling to lose face, instinctively reached for Bing Cang's arm but grabbed nothing.

He turned instinctively, their eyes meeting across an empty space.

Bing Cang instinctively stepped back and shook his head, “I don’t know you.”

Sui An caught him by the arm, “We agreed to welcome the little junior sister. As senior brother, you can’t run off.”

Bing Cang glanced at Sui An’s unruly hair at the forehead, holding back the impulse, and slapped away his hand. “You may pull my sleeve, but not my hand.”

Sui An realized belatedly and let go, switching to gently pushing him, firmly standing by his side, afraid he would run off.

If other little junior sisters had senior brothers to welcome them, his little junior sister would have one too.

Ling Xi and the others harvested the last batch, then met up with the little fox. They divided the spiritual plants and demon pills from the spatial bags — the high-grade ones stored in Wen Jue’s custom-made private pouch, the deformed and inferior ones confiscated as offerings to the sect.

To avoid detection, they modified the confiscated spiritual plants by removing half a leaf to simulate old wounds... in short, making the deformed ones look even more pitiful.

The point leaderboard flickered wildly; the golden glow on Ling Xi and the others’ names gradually faded, and the points scrolled more slowly.

Three spheres of white light rolled out, their brilliance surpassing even Lin Rou’s entrance.

Having learned from previous experience, the crowd instinctively stepped back.

The three spheres settled steadily at the center of the high platform. As the light dimmed, a snow-white fox about a person tall appeared, its five tails swaying as it howled toward the sky.

A young man and woman sat astride the fox, pink petals swirling everywhere, fragrant breezes sweeping over the platform.

“Congratulations to Junior Sister Ling Xi on her triumphant return!”

“Congratulations to Junior Sister Ling Xi on her triumphant return!!”

“Congratulations to Junior Sister Ling Xi on her triumphant return!!!”

More than a dozen body cultivators below shouted hoarsely, straining to make their voices heard to win rewards.

They tore off their coarse outer garments to reveal festive red robes beneath, beating drums in front and scattering petals behind, while disciples who received spiritual stones from Sui An waved their hands enthusiastically.

Ling Xi slowly stood, nodding, smiling, and waving like an official inspecting the countryside.

“Greetings, fellow cultivators! Thank you all for your hard work!”

She maintained the pose for only a few seconds before losing her balance and falling off the fox. Her knees skidded as if on ice, and just as she was about to tumble off the elders’ viewing platform, a force bent her trajectory, causing her to kneel before Luo Chen.

“Disciple pays respects to Master! Here are the results from the secret realm. Please examine them.” Ling Xi bowed deeply to Luo Chen.

She lifted the spatial bag from her waist, raising it above her head with eyes full of sincerity and respect.

Wen Jue, seated atop the fox, clenched his teeth and, under the watchful gaze of everyone, also performed a sliding kneel.

“Disciple pays respects to Master. Please examine these!”

Wen Jue likewise presented his offerings to the sect.