The eldest miss Nalan Yunyan was easy to coax and wealthy.
With just one ambiguous sentence from Qian Yu—”I want everything to come from and belong to you”—her cheeks turned slightly red, and she truly handed over the technique when asked.
But she wasn’t a total fool who just threw money away.
Before Qian Yu achieved any real results, it was impossible to give her the full core inheritance, such as the Nine Tribulations Returning to Origin Holy Canon.
In fact, that night, Nalan Yunyan had only given Qian Yu a general outline that was just enough to get her started.
The specific content used for actual cultivation remained in her hands.
Qian Yu had been struggling with what to do about her cultivation later on.
If she didn’t have the specific manual, she would have to choose between dispersing her cultivation or actually producing some results.
She hadn’t expected that Gu Qinghan, this suspicious woman, would directly help her solve this urgent matter.
The first three layers of the technique were enough for her to cultivate to the Third Realm and complete the first full awakening of her Ancient Sky Fox Bloodline.
By then, her talent would no longer be a shortcoming.
While she might not compare to a Peerless Prodigy like Gu Qinghan, surpassing a Little Green Tea like Tang Qiurou would be no problem.
As for the layers beyond that, wouldn’t she have a chance to get them later?
Gu Qinghan had directly cleared the path ahead for her! (๑¯◡¯๑)
The blackhearted girl before her suddenly became much more pleasing to the eye, while Gu Qinghan looked away.
She had really had enough.
When the little Half-Yao in front of her smiled, her own mood would lighten along with it.
The person before her was her enemy from her past life.
The only reason her eyes were sparkling now as she looked at her with such admiration was because she had just given her something.
How could she have the thought of feeding her more things just to see if she would smile even more beautifully and cutely?
This single cultivation manual was already enough compensation for the fact that she had never treated the other as a true friend.
The other party hadn’t harmed her in this life, and she had given compensation.
They were even now.
“A letter was delivered to my Cave Residence. I’ll go check it first.”
Leaving behind a cold sentence, Gu Qinghan turned and left.
She somewhat disliked the fact that she was developing emotions for Qian Yu other than guilt, disgust, or hatred.
It made her seem like someone who judged based on looks, a shallow person who had a favorable impression of fluffy things.
If she hadn’t promised to protect Qian Yu before, she would have wanted to chase her down the mountain just to maintain her mental state.
That was what Gu Qinghan thought, but when she picked up the letter sent from the bottom of the mountain, she realized she truly couldn’t keep Qian Yu here.
“So, Qian Yu… you have never passed the Year-end Examination?”
Holding the slip of paper engraved with the Assessment Elder’s seal, Gu Qinghan’s gaze toward Qian Yu became quite complex, carrying the incomprehension a Peerless Prodigy felt toward the general public.
Wasn’t the Year-end Examination just a formality?
She didn’t even have to attend, yet she had never heard of someone who couldn’t pass.
Moreover, to not pass for over ten years to the point that the Assessment Elder personally sent a warning letter…
She had previously wondered why Qian Yu had gone down the mountain later, but now it seemed… she had been kicked out.
“What’s that look for!!!”
Qian Yu was originally feeling a bit embarrassed and worried, but when she saw Gu Qinghan’s shocked gaze mixed with pity, she instantly bristled.
Did this woman know how insulting it was to show such a shocked expression on that cold face?
“If I didn’t pass, I didn’t pass! I’ll definitely pass this time!”
Her little Fox teeth instinctively peeked out.
Short as she was, Qian Yu jumped up and snatched the letter back from Gu Qinghan’s hand.
Tsk, tsk, tsk!!!
Wasn’t it because she had no resources and no talent that she had been stuck at the Initial Stage of the First Realm?
Now that she had an awakened bloodline, as long as she had enough resources, she would definitely pass.
Perhaps after letting go of her killing intent toward Qian Yu, Gu Qinghan’s mindset had changed, returning to an Ice Crystal Dao Heart focused solely on cultivation.
Seeing Qian Yu’s “vicious” but cute look, she was momentarily stunned and instinctively tilted her head.
Immediately after, her pursuit of the Dao took over, and she advised seriously:
“Qian Yu, you shouldn’t be angry. When water is still, it is clear; when the heart is still, there is wisdom. You said it yourself just now—the principle that one must cultivate the heart before the Dao. Even if you are a piece of trash who can’t even pass the simplest, most basic examination, you should learn to cautiously accept your own worthlessness and mediocrity, and work hard and bitterly at your cultivation. Why would you show your teeth like an incompetently furious small animal over such a small matter? You must know that on the path of cultivation, internal evils and anger are the most taboo. If you continue like this, you won’t be able to properly cultivate the Nine Tribulations Returning to Origin Holy Canon I just gave you. Moreover…”
“I…”
Looking at the rambling Gu Qinghan, who had just spoken more in one breath than she usually did in half a day, Qian Yu took half a step back.
Her head ached slightly, and she finally understood why she and this woman could never be true friends.
Her dream was very similar to that of her late, drunkard Shizun—safely eating and sleeping, and sleeping and eating.
If there was no threat to her survival, she basically had no motivation to taste those dull, Great Dao scriptures.
As for Gu Qinghan, even after turning dark, her head was still full of these boring things related to cultivation.
Furthermore…
Because the other party had discovered that she understood these mysterious matters and wasn’t a literal idiot, she started lecturing with even more enthusiasm.
“Furthermore, Qian Yu, the words you spoke earlier about cultivating the heart were actually quite incomplete. Some say that when the spiritual platform is empty, it is called clarity, silent and without a single thought. But others say that the six thieves and three vehicles begin in the red dust. I have some insights regarding this, you can…”
This woman… couldn’t she be a chatterbox who just usually had no one to talk to?
Qian Yu swallowed hard, her backward movements becoming more obvious:
“Senior Sister, this letter just told me to go down the mountain immediately after receiving it to prepare at the designated location, to prevent me from cheating with Elixirs or secret methods before the exam. I’ll… I’ll be going now, okay…”
“Alright.”
Watching the little Fox who seemed to be fleeing, Gu Qinghan quickly stopped talking.
She stood alone in this empty Cave Residence that contained absolutely nothing, looking as if she had never opened her mouth.
In truth… she really hadn’t spoken properly to anyone for a long time.
When she was a child, she would talk to the plants, trees, stones, wind, and snow spirits in the mountains, but she no longer did that.
“Forget it.”
Gu Qinghan turned back to the Cultivation Room, her expression as cold as the snow filling the sky outside the peak.
The letter had stated that since Qian Yu had failed the exam repeatedly, there would be a specialized assessment set up for her this time, along with a sealed Cultivation Room to prevent her from preparing Elixirs in advance.
She didn’t need to worry about retaliation from Nalan Yunyan.
However, the letter was for Qian Yu, so why was the recipient’s name filled in as hers?
“And…”
Gu Qinghan vaguely remembered that besides the first half explaining the examination, there seemed to be an audio clip attached to the end?
Whatever, it was probably some stern warning for Qian Yu.
She and the other were just ordinary friends; there was no need to care about such things.
***
“What the?! Nalan Yunyan!!! How could you do such a thing!!!”
Who says the Heavens aren’t hospitable?
The drifting snow tried to bury a single Fox.
Qian Yu, who had just escaped Gu Qinghan’s Cave Residence, had originally breathed a sigh of relief. But after she took out the letter she hadn’t finished and listened to the attached audio, she almost jumped up on the spot.
Because the attached audio was…
“Hey… Nalan Senior Sister, do you have a technique called the Nine Tribulations Returning to Origin Holy Canon over there?”
“Mm, I know Gu Qinghan might give this technique to me tomorrow.”
“But… Xiaoyu wants everything to be yours… even if it’s the same technique, Xiaoyu wants to get it from you, not her.”
It was entirely composed of the words she had said that night when she begged Nalan Yunyan for the technique.
Hearing her own voice, which was soft and sweet to the point of death, Qian Yu wanted nothing more than to find a snowbank to crawl into.
How could she sound so “cloying”?!
And when did Nalan Yunyan record this?
The recipient of the letter was Gu Qinghan.
This was intentional, wasn’t it?
This was a blatant provocation!
“Fortunately, that cultivation-bot Gu Qinghan was busy lecturing me on Great Dao principles at the time, otherwise…”
Qian Yu didn’t dare imagine the consequences of Gu Qinghan hearing that audio.
She might have ended up leaving on a stretcher.
Before she could even praise how great the Dao was and that she should listen more, the letter immediately followed up her voice with Nalan Yunyan’s arrogant and somewhat triumphant voice:
“Hmph, Gu Qinghan, did you hear that? Qian Yu is my person now, she doesn’t even want the technique you’re giving her. So, you understand? Even if you found out something through Soul Inquiry, you should remember that Qian Yu is mine. She isn’t someone a lowly existence from a small family like you can just kill whenever you want.”
The boss… had actually sent this letter just to protect her.
Qian Yu: I’m touched, but please don’t take action.