With a single word from Shaoyang Zhenren, Zanxing became Xuan Lingzi’s personal disciple.
The sect had many formalities. The ceremony was to be presided over by Zhao Mayi, who used divination to choose an auspicious date and time to hold it in front of all the disciples of the Taiyan Sect. According to the previous rules, since Zanxing had won first place in the inner sect assessment, she should also receive the first place reward.
After Shaoyang Zhenren left, Xuan Lingzi smiled and took a box from behind the hall. He handed the box to Zanxing and said, “Zanxing, you have worked hard in this inner sect assessment, but you have also suffered a lot. Fortunately, the prize is not bad, and you are not at a loss.” He patted Zanxing on the shoulder with a relieved look on his face, “Your cultivation is still shallow, not as good as those who are gifted, but Master has confidence in you. In the future, our Miaokong Hall will have a successor.”
Zanxing thanked Xuan Lingzi and said goodbye to the martial uncles before leaving Miaokong Hall. Ziluo accompanied her to collect the personal disciple’s allowance, and looked at the box in Zanxing’s hand curiously, asking, “I wonder what the first place reward is?”
Zanxing lowered her head to look at the box in her hand. It was an ordinary black wooden box with a greasy fingerprint on it. She wondered if Xuan Lingzi had not washed his hands after eating fried chicken before picking up the box, thereby smudging it. Zanxing thought for a while, opened the box, and saw a spiritual mushroom emitting a blue light lying on a layer of yellow velvet inside.
“It’s Xianyu Lingzhi!” Ziluo exclaimed, “Treasurer Jin is really generous this time.”
Zanxing asked, “Xianyu Lingzhi?”
“It is a naturally born spiritual herb. For ordinary people, taking it can refine their muscles and bones and enter the path of cultivation. For cultivators, it can naturally increase their cultivation level. Junior Sister Zanxing,” Ziluo instructed her, “you should store this item well. When you are close to breaking through later, take this Lingzhi, and it will be twice the result with half the effort.”
Zanxing was stunned. She remembered that in the original book, Mu Cengxiao had performed brilliantly in the inner sect assessment and slapped Hua Yue in the face. On the one hand, it was because Hua Yue had brought it upon himself, and on the other hand, Mu Cengxiao had cultivated desperately, all for the first prize, the Xianyu Lingzhi.
For ordinary people, Xianyu Lingzhi could refine their muscles and bones, and not only that, it could also strengthen their bodies. Mu Cengxiao’s childhood sweetheart, Liu Yunxin, had been in poor health since childhood and was congenitally deficient. The reason Mu Cengxiao participated in the Taiyan Sect selection competition was to enter the sect and obtain the sect’s medicinal herbs to treat Liu Yunxin’s illness.
Now, the Xianyu Lingzhi was in Zanxing’s hands.
Seeing that Zanxing was silent, Ziluo asked with doubt, “What’s wrong, Junior Sister Zanxing? Don’t you like this reward?”
Zanxing looked at her and asked, “Senior Sister, I wonder what the rewards for second and third place are?”
“You mean the rewards for Junior Brother Mu and Junior Brother Tian? I gave them their rewards when you weren’t around. I saw that Junior Brother Mu’s reward is a Tianji Dharma Robe, which can resist some magic attacks. Junior Brother Tian’s reward is a Fire Wolf Fang, which can be used to assist in cultivating fire spells,” Ziluo replied. “These are not bad either, but they are still not as precious as the Xianyu Lingzhi flower in your hand, Junior Sister Zanxing.”
Zanxing nodded and said, “Thank you, Senior Sister. I understand.”
Ziluo continued to walk with Zanxing, saying, “Junior Sister, your performance in the inner sect assessment was really amazing. Although the Sect Master didn’t say anything, I can see that he is very satisfied with you. In the future, you should cultivate well in the sect. There will definitely be a place for you in the cultivation world.”
Zanxing was not as blindly optimistic as Ziluo, and changed the topic to ask, “Senior Sister, the Sect Master looks quite young. Is he really not very old, or is he skilled in keeping his appearance youthful?”
Hearing this, Ziluo burst out laughing and said, “Eight out of ten new female disciples who enter the sect will ask this question when they see the Sect Master. The Sect Master is over a hundred years old now, but he just looks a little younger.”
“It’s not just ‘a little’ younger,” Zanxing muttered, “if it weren’t for his white hair, I would have thought he was some young senior brother.”
Ziluo smiled and said, “The Sect Master and the Qinghua Fairy were fellow disciples. Back then, when the human race and demon race fought, the Qinghua Fairy killed the Demon Lord but was also injured herself. It seems that in order to heal the Qinghua Fairy… the Sect Master expended a great deal of his essence and as a result, his hair turned white overnight. To this day, he still goes into seclusion to recuperate from time to time.”
Zanxing thought to herself, That’s not necessarily true. A handsome and otherworldly senior brother, a peerless and stunning junior sister, both equally talented, but in the end, the junior sister fell in love with someone else. It was hard not to think too much about it. Was Shaoyang Zhenren’s white hair caused by emotional wounds, or was it because his essence was damaged?
It was a bit heartbreaking to think about.
Ziluo stopped in front of the small wooden building and looked at Zanxing, “Junior Sister, I’ll see you off here. You go and pack your things first. Starting tomorrow, you, Junior Brother Mu, and Junior Brother Tian will move into Miaokong Hall. You don’t need to bring anything you don’t need, but remember to put away the Xianyu Lingzhi.”
Zanxing nodded and said, “Thank you, Senior Sister.”
Ziluo gave a few more instructions before leaving. Zanxing returned to the small wooden building. Mimi was sleeping on the bed. Seeing her come in, she lazily raised her eyelids, glanced at her, and went back to sleep.
Zanxing walked over to the floor mat and sat down. The tea on the table had already cooled down. She took a sip and shivered from the cold. The cold also stimulated her chaotic thoughts to become a little clearer.
She had lied to Shaoyang Zhenren in Jinhua Hall.
In the Mount Meru Mustard Seed Diagram, after Zanxing killed the Grave of the Dead, she turned around and met the black-clothed Mo Sha. Since the Departure Talisman was destroyed, Zanxing could not actively exit the exam arena, so she had no choice but to draw out her iron staff and meet the enemy head-on. Xuan Lingzi had specifically instructed her before that if she encountered a Mo Sha, she should not fight and should directly leave the exam. It could be seen that the Mo Sha was very ferocious, and the disciples who entered the exam were no match for the Mo Sha. Therefore, Zanxing originally thought that she would just exchange a few blows and be defeated by the Mo Sha.
However, when she held the iron staff and met the Mo Sha head-on, and the Mo Sha also raised its knife to meet her, the Xiao Yuan Pearl in her chest suddenly trembled violently. Then, the black-clad Mo Sha remained motionless, as if its acupoints had been pressed.
Zanxing’s iron staff struck him, but it left no mark. The Mo Sha hesitated for a moment and slowly knelt down.
He knelt down to Zanxing.
Zanxing was dumbfounded. In an instant, a sharp pain erupted from her palm, causing her to scream in pain. Then, her eyes went dark and she fainted. When she woke up, she was already in Miaokong Hall, in front of Tian Fangfang.
The Mo Sha was not defeated by Zanxing, or rather, it didn’t even attack Zanxing before kneeling down. It was as if it was awed by something.
Zanxing touched her heart. Was it because of the Xiao Yuan Pearl?
However, in the original book, even with the Xiao Yuan Pearl, Mu Cengxiao was still quite flashy when killing his opponents. It was not so simple. Although the plot had now run off the rails and even nine bulls couldn’t pull it back, Zanxing still felt extremely uneasy about this kind of random development.
She lowered her head to look at her palm. The mark on her palm had turned a deeper red, and the flower shape was becoming more complete. It seemed that every time she changed the main storyline, the red mark on her palm would deepen, as if it were some kind of warning.
The last time it was just a sharp pain, so what about next time?
Zanxing stared at her palm for a while. Her eyes caught the black box containing the Xianyu Lingzhi on the table in front of her. She paused for a moment, then thought of something. Her eyes hesitated for a moment, but she finally stood up, picked up the black box, and turned to leave the small wooden building.