Chapter 7: The Matter of the Spirit Jade
Luo Jinxiao took a sharp breath and closed her eyes, feeling a sudden rush of nervousness.
The surrounding noise instantly quieted, leaving only the sound of their hearts pounding. Whether it was from shock or their close proximity, neither could tell.
A long moment passed, so long that Luo Jinxiao’s legs began to ache. Finally, Qu Weiyin took a step back, her gaze fixed on Luo Jinxiao with an unreadable expression.
“Junior Shishu, is it really impossible to measure her cultivation? This has never happened before. I suspect there’s something strange about her, otherwise…”
“Foundation Establishment, First Stage,” Qu Weiyin stated calmly.
“What? But…” Chang Siyu started to object, but Qu Weiyin cut him off.
“You don’t believe me?” Qu Weiyin’s voice was soft, but her phoenix eyes glinted dangerously as she turned towards Chang Siyu. He immediately lowered his head, not daring to speak another word.
“Pressing foreheads ensures accuracy,” Qu Weiyin added, her gaze returning to Luo Jinxiao with a meaningful look, as if scrutinizing her.
Luo Jinxiao was completely confused. Judging by the Demon Lord’s expression, she didn’t seem to understand the situation either.
So why did she lie for her?
“Continue the trial. I’ll be watching,” Qu Weiyin said to Chang Siyu, though her gaze remained fixed on Luo Jinxiao. With that, she turned and walked up to the platform.
Standing tall at the center, she looked down at everyone like a deity.
Luo Jinxiao watched her, a sigh escaping her lips.
“You, you passed. Move along now,” Chang Siyu barked, shoving Luo Jinxiao roughly.
She stumbled back, shooting him a disdainful look. Joining the others, she stood on the steps, watching as the line of hopefuls grew longer. Some, unable to pass the trial, could only leave in disappointment.
The second trial was relatively simple for Luo Jinxiao. It involved holding a Soul Condensing Mirror to test one’s willpower. Some people, lacking determination, fainted or cried out in horror, making a spectacle of themselves.
Luo Jinxiao spotted the young woman who had challenged her earlier. Despite looking pained while facing the mirror, she managed to hold her composure and passed the trial.
“Hey, what kind of artifact is this? Why are they reacting so badly?” someone behind Luo Jinxiao asked, tapping her shoulder.
Turning around, she saw a young woman, slightly older than herself, dressed in a bright yellow pearl-embroidered dress. A string of jade beads adorned her arm, clinking softly with every movement.
“It’s a Soul Condensing Mirror. It shows the person their greatest fears,” Luo Jinxiao replied casually.
“Ah, then what should I do?” The girl, now nervous, grabbed Luo Jinxiao’s hand tightly. Luo Jinxiao, not used to physical contact, instinctively pulled her hand away.
“Most of the fears it shows are things you’ve already encountered. Just be prepared for them,” Luo Jinxiao said, taking a discreet step back to distance herself.
“My father is very scary when he scolds me. And there was that bug I saw yesterday, it was awful,” the girl said with a worried frown.
Luo Jinxiao listened to the girl’s fears, unsure of what to say. Seems like a spoiled child, she thought, shaking her head slightly.
She felt a bit envious.
Soon it was her turn. Luo Jinxiao closed her eyes, her hand clenching into a fist.
Simple as it was, it didn’t mean she wasn’t afraid. The mirror would replay her childhood fears of facing those wild souls and hungry ghosts. She had been scared every time, but the strict cultivation training at the Luo family left no room for fear.
She had faced this Soul Condensing Mirror countless times in her youth.
“Pass,” the disciple holding the mirror announced loudly, moving on to the next person.
In the distance, amidst the whistling wind, Qu Weiyin stood motionless, her gaze drawn to a figure below. The girl’s posture was straighter than the others, her black hair pulled back neatly. Clean, and silent.
Luo Jinxiao, she thought, her brow frowning slightly.
Her talent was far greater than she had imagined, more mysterious too. Yet, such a person was known as a waste in the eyes of the world. In her past life, she had been killed before she could bloom.
When they first met, the girl had reacted like everyone else who hated her—panicked, afraid, hostile, just another face in the crowd.
But now, it seemed these were just facades.
She found herself… curious about her.
“My name is Lu Fanzhi! What’s yours? You’re amazing! You didn’t even flinch just now!” The girl from before suddenly appeared, looping her arm through Luo Jinxiao’s with an easy familiarity.
Luo Jinxiao smiled politely, gently extracting her arm.
“Luo Jinxiao,” she replied.
“Luo Jinxiao, what a beautiful name! Are you from the Luo family…?” Lu Fanzhi’s voice trailed off, and she coughed awkwardly.
“Yes,” Luo Jinxiao smiled, not minding at all.
Lu Fanzhi scratched her head, then suddenly threw an arm around Luo Jinxiao’s shoulders. “My mother always says that meeting someone is fate. We must be fated to be friends!”
“I heard that the third trial is about finding a master. If you have no fate, or no one is willing to take you in, you can’t enter the Wuhui Sect,” she whispered conspiratorially. “My dream is to become her disciple.”
Luo Jinxiao followed her gaze until it landed on a figure clad in red in the distance.
“Qu Weiyin is the highest-ranked person in Wuhui Sect besides the elders. She’s said to be at the early stage of the Nascent Soul, and she wields the divine Crescent Star Sword. Her strength is not to be underestimated.”
Lu Fanzhi’s hopeful expression quickly turned to disappointment. “But, she’s never accepted a disciple before. I doubt she’ll make an exception this time.”
So, the Demon Lord had already reached the Nascent Soul stage. No wonder she was unstoppable after succumbing to demonic cultivation, Luo Jinxiao thought, her gaze fixed on Qu Weiyin from afar.
Judging by Lu Fanzhi’s reaction, she seemed completely unaware of their past. Someone must have suppressed the information, perhaps Qu Chengzhou, or even Qu Weiyin herself. News of their near marriage hadn’t spread.
That was a good thing. Even better if Qu Weiyin had also forgotten.
Lost in thought, her eyes met Qu Weiyin’s unexpectedly. Luo Jinxiao’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly averted her gaze.
“She’s here, she’s here!” Lu Fanzhi exclaimed, grabbing Luo Jinxiao’s shoulder and pulling her towards the growing crowd. Helpless, Luo Jinxiao let herself be dragged along.
The second trial had concluded, leaving less than half the original number of disciples. The remaining candidates stood in a line on the stone steps, each holding a milky white jade pendant.
The jade pendants emitted a faint glow, making them look even more precious.
These spirit jades were used for discipleship. Each qualified master would leave their mark on the pendant, and disciples would infuse it with their spiritual energy. If they were compatible, the master-disciple bond would be formed.
The disciples began to infuse their pendants with spiritual energy. In an instant, the milky white jades transformed, shimmering with a dazzling array of colors.
Luo Jinxiao felt a twinge of nervousness. Choosing a master was no small matter. A bad teacher could severely hinder one’s cultivation progress.
Taking a deep breath, she whispered a silent prayer before channeling her spiritual energy into the jade. Slowly, it began to change, bathed in a soft, golden light.
Luo Jinxiao’s eyes widened in disbelief. No way, how could I be this unlucky?!
The commotion drew the attention of those nearby. “Gold? Isn’t that Junior Shishu Qu?” someone whispered.
“But she never takes on disciples, and no one has ever been fated to be her student. Who is this person?”
“What do you mean, who? Can’t you see it’s that waste from the Luo family?” A sharp voice cut through the air. Luo Jinxiao didn’t need to look to know who it was. Still reeling from the shock of being linked to the Demon Lord once again, she couldn’t be bothered to react.
She was starting to believe that there truly was such a thing as ill-fated encounters.
“Junior, Junior Shishu Qu.” Suddenly, the surrounding disciples bowed respectfully. Luo Jinxiao looked up to see Qu Weiyin standing before her, her gaze fixed on the glowing jade pendant in Luo Jinxiao’s hand, a thoughtful expression on her face.
” Junior Shishu Qu, she…” The sharp-tongued girl from before tried to speak, but a single glance from Qu Weiyin silenced her.
“What is your name?” Qu Weiyin asked, her brow furrowed.
“Y-Yan Ying,” the girl stammered, taking an involuntary step back under Qu Weiyin’s intense gaze.
“The name suits you. Noisy,” Qu Weiyin remarked.
The girl’s face turned bright red with a mix of shame and anger. She wanted to retort but didn’t dare, her frustration evident. Luo Jinxiao felt a bit of satisfaction watching this.
Ignoring the girl, Qu Weiyin turned her attention back to Luo Jinxiao, studying her from head to toe without a word.
“Junior Shishu Qu, are you going to accept her as your disciple?” Chang Siyu asked cautiously, stepping closer to Qu Weiyin.
“Her spiritual root is unstable, her spiritual energy is weak, and she has no talent. Even if Wuhui Sect is willing to accept such a person, I am not,” Qu Weiyin stated flatly. Her expression remained impassive, but her words dripped with disdain.
Even someone as even-tempered as Luo Jinxiao couldn’t help but clench her fists in anger.
“Only the strong survive here. I, Qu Weiyin, do not take on useless wastes.”
With that, Qu Weiyin reached out, took Luo Jinxiao’s spirit jade, and with a light squeeze of her pale fingers, crushed it into dust, letting it scatter in the wind.
A surge of anger coursed through Luo Jinxiao.
For cultivators, spirit jade was extremely important. During the discipleship ceremony, it became a contract with the sect, unbreakable by life or death.
To crush a cultivator’s spirit jade was akin to breaking their spine, an unforgivable insult.
The dust stung Luo Jinxiao’s eyes, but she refused to rub them, her gaze fixed on Qu Weiyin, burning with resentment. Rarely had she felt such animosity towards another person, not even towards the one who had inadvertently caused her death.
But this was different. Public humiliation, a blatant display of contempt. She still had her pride. She would not be subjected to such treatment without a fight.
The onlookers watched in stunned silence, too shocked to speak. No one dared to say a word.
Luo Jinxiao gritted her teeth and suddenly raised her hand. Qu Weiyin’s eyes widened, caught off guard. The spirit jade pendant hanging at her waist shattered, just like Luo Jinxiao’s. But instead of turning to dust, it split cleanly in two.
Gasps of shock echoed through the crowd. Junior Shishu Qu’s temper had become infamous in recent years. How dare this Luo girl crush her spirit jade? Was she tired of living?
The rush of anger subsided, and a chilling realization washed over Luo Jinxiao. This wasn’t just anyone she was facing. This was the Demon Lord, who had slaughtered countless in her past life. What had she done?
Qu Weiyin stared at the broken jade at her feet, then slowly raised her head. Their eyes met, and Luo Jinxiao felt an invisible weight pressing down on her, her knees threatening to buckle.
Qu Weiyin’s aura washed over her, a suffocating pressure that made her head spin. Only sheer willpower kept her standing.
Unwilling to back down, she clenched her jaw, refusing to make a sound.
But the pressure suddenly vanished. Luo Jinxiao looked up to find Qu Weiyin mere inches away, gripping her collar. They were so close she could see every detail of Qu Weiyin’s delicate, yet icy, features. The faint floral scent made her head spin.
Qu Weiyin opened her mouth to speak, but then seemed to think better of it. With a flick of her wrist, she released Luo Jinxiao and turned away, the crowd parting like the sea before her.
Luo Jinxiao finally released a deep breath, her gaze lingering on Qu Weiyin’s departing figure. Clad in red, she walked alone, an unexpected aura of loneliness surrounding her.
As Luo Jinxiao came back to her senses, she noticed a jade pendant in her hand, glowing with a soft, green light. Inscribed on it in elegant seal script were: Master Liuzhi.
“Master Liuzhi! He’s an elder who hasn’t taken on a disciple in years! Junior Shishu Qu left this for you! She wants you to become his disciple!” Lu Fanzhi reappeared, grabbing Luo Jinxiao’s arm excitedly.
“Master Liuzhi?” Luo Jinxiao stared at the jade pendant in her hand, her heart pounding in her chest.
