Chapter 58 – Hold It~

Li Qingran stumbled and fell outside the door. The female cultivators standing guard on either side quickly helped her up.

She was completely bewildered.

Why had the Lingxi Valley Young Mistress suddenly thrown her out after they had been conversing so well? Was it just because her master was a man?

"Apologies, little sister. You did not pass our Young Mistress’s test."

One of the female cultivators gently straightened the folds in Li Qingran’s robes, her face carrying an apologetic yet firm expression as she led her toward the exit.

Li Qingran didn’t want to lose this chance to enter Lingxi Valley.

In her mind, Lingxi Valley was the sect most likely to have ancient pill recipes. It was also the best place for her to learn medical skills—skills that could help her master in the future.

So she stopped walking, bowed, and asked, "May I know the reason?"

"If you were of ordinary talent, I wouldn’t tell you this. But with a single spiritual root, you are bound for great achievements, and I don’t want you to resent our Young Mistress for this. She wasn’t always like this…

"I can’t tell you the full details, but you only need to know that Lingxi Valley now strictly forbids its disciples from taking Dao companions. And our Young Mistress… she utterly despises men, especially male masters."

Despises men?

Li Qingran grew anxious. "But my master is a good person! He’s not like those bad men—I can vouch for that! And he wouldn’t even come to Lingxi Valley..."

The female cultivator shook her head. "It doesn’t matter.

"Our Young Mistress struggled with this once. She tested ten thousand men, and they all failed.

"She already had psychological scars from past experiences, and after those failures, her hatred for men became absolute. Lingxi Valley used to simply refuse male disciples. Now, men aren’t allowed within fifty miles of our sect. Even if a male cultivator is exceptionally talented, he can only join if he agrees to be castrated."

Li Qingran stood there, dumbfounded, feeling a mix of frustration and helplessness.

"Can’t we make an exception? Or at least let me explain to her?"

"No exceptions. You should leave."

The female cultivator waved her off. "The Dao Inquiry Conference is ending soon. The sects will be taking their flying boats back. If you leave now, you might still join another good sect.

"But Lingxi Valley… we are not fated to be."

She turned and left, not giving Li Qingran any room to negotiate.

"This isn’t fair!"

When Chen Huai’an left, Li Qingran had managed to hold back her tears. But now, when she was supposed to be joining Lingxi Valley, only to be inexplicably rejected, she nearly broke down.

Apart from Lingxi Valley, what other sect specialized in medical and alchemy cultivation? What other sect would have a collection of ancient pill recipes?

Her master’s poison—how could she cure it now?

Li Qingran stood at the entrance of the restaurant, staring blankly toward the private room upstairs.

She felt utterly useless.

Her master had given her so many opportunities, but when it was her turn to help him, she couldn’t even take the first step.

"Well, well! If it isn’t the single water spiritual root girl from earlier!"

A voice rang out, neither fully masculine nor feminine, filled with surprise and greed.

"Little sister, you didn’t join Lingxi Valley?"

Li Qingran turned toward the voice and saw a group of people approaching.

Leading them was a pale-faced scholar.

His features were even more delicate than a woman’s, his skin white as paper, his cheeks painted with rouge. A thin short sword and four porcelain bottles hung at his waist, and his perfume was so strong it could be smelled from half a street away. Every movement he made was exaggerated and artificial. ȑ₳?оВЁŝ

The scholar gave her a once-over and smirked.

"Hah! So that crazy woman really kicked you out! I never thought even a single spiritual root genius would be turned away!"

He laughed so hard his face turned gray, and he had to bend over, taking a deep breath before grinning again.

"Perfect, perfect! Little sister, why not join our Yin-Yang Sect? We are just as powerful as Lingxi Valley—only our reputation is slightly worse… But as cultivators, aren’t we all pursuing the Dao? As long as we don’t practice demonic cultivation, what’s wrong with being a little indulgent?"

Li Qingran’s expression grew cold.

She had heard of the Yin-Yang Sect.

It, along with the Hehuan Sect and the Extreme Bliss Zen Sect, was known as one of the Three Great Debauched Sects.

That said, they were still considered righteous sects. Unlike demonic cultivators, who drained their partners’ essence, these sects focused on mutual cultivation. However, their practices were decadent, their lifestyles indulgent, and they were widely despised by the rest of the righteous path.

She already had a master.

There was no way she would ever join such a depraved sect.

Even if she didn’t have a master, their way of cultivation was completely different from her own path.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Senior." Li Qingran bowed politely. "The Yin-Yang Sect is a fine sect, but I wish to find one more suited to my water spiritual root."

"We have water-attribute techniques too! Yellow-rank, Profound-rank—you can pick whatever you like."

"I already have a master. I must follow his orders. Please don’t make things difficult for me."

Li Qingran bowed again.

"Hmph! Difficult?" The pale scholar’s face darkened. "You’re just refusing to give our Yin-Yang Sect any respect!

"Master, you say? Fine, let’s see this master of yours! Today, you’re coming with us!"

Li Qingran bit her lip.

She couldn’t summon her master here.

She also didn’t want to distract him from fighting that great demon.

That demon was incredibly powerful—her master needed absolute focus. How could she let him worry about her now?

But even without him, she wasn’t helpless.

She still had the talismans her master left her.

She reached into her storage pouch and grasped a handful of Thunderfire Talismans.

She hesitated.

The pale scholar was at least at the Golden Core Stage.

If she activated these talismans, she could blast him to dust.

But then the Yin-Yang Sect would hunt her down.

What would she do then?

Would she just end up troubling her master again?

Li Qingran, you idiot. You had such a good hand, and you played it like a fool!

She cursed herself inwardly, her gaze locking onto the scholar approaching step by step. A cold glint flashed deep in her eyes.

"Hold it."

A light voice echoed from the sky.

Boom!

A massive sword—half a meter wide and as tall as a rooftop—slammed down between Li Qingran and the Yin-Yang Sect group.

A gust of wind swept through the street.

Perched on the massive sword was a leg, casually dangling over the hilt. A gourd tapped against the pommel, spilling two drops of wine.

A woman in black robes and black pants sat lazily on the blade, her face covered with a black veil.

She had one leg crossed over the other. The toe of her shoe had a hole in it, exposing half a toe.

The wind lifted her veil slightly, carrying the strong scent of alcohol and garlic.

Then, a languid voice spoke.

"This little girl? We’ve taken a liking to her. Hic—!"

"You lot, hic, now…

Scram—!"

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