As the preeminent family of the Luoxia Immortal Sect, the spiritual energy density anywhere in the Nalan family territory rivaled that of a peak’s leader.
As the young clan head, the spiritual energy in Nalan Yunyan’s Cave Residence was so active it even surpassed the Sect Master’s grounds by a few degrees.
Just stepping inside made Tang Qiurou feel the spiritual power in her body become several times more active.
If she could cultivate here every day, she would even be willing to marry Nalan Yunyan in a same-sex union.
Unfortunately, it was impossible for Senior Sister Nalan to let anyone stay in her Cave Residence. Even she could not remain for long.
“Senior Sister Nalan, the letter you asked me to send has been written and dispatched.”
Putting aside her extravagant hopes, Tang Qiurou shook her twin tails and stepped forward.
After bowing to Nalan Yunyan, who sat languidly upon the high seat of the Cave Residence, she respectfully reported the completion of her task.
“Just as Senior Sister said, Elder Yun respectfully lent out the seal.”
The Nalan family’s influence was truly growing.
Even Elder Yun, who was specifically responsible for examining disciples, had now submitted.
A mere minor disciple like herself, using only Nalan Yunyan’s name, could directly take the other party’s seal.
She couldn’t imagine what it would be like if Nalan Yunyan appeared in person.
That was a direct subordinate personally cultivated for the current Sect Master by the previous Sect Master before his passing!
“Mm.”
High and lofty, shrouded in immortal light.
Nalan Yunyan gave a flat response.
This kind of power, which made Tang Qiurou’s heart race and her eyes shine, was nothing more than an ordinary trifle to her.
After all, out of the dozen or so Venerables in the world, nearly half of those at the peak came from the Nalan family.
Even in the entire Cultivation World, they were an absolute top-tier family, let alone within this single Sect.
At this moment, she reclined in a velvet chair, her expression languid and noble.
Her gilded high heels peeked out from under her skirt, swaying slightly and carelessly.
What she was thinking about was what Qian Yu had said to her that night—”I want everything to be yours…”
That soft, waxy voice, like cotton clouds, could still easily echo in her heart.
Her talent was too high, and the Nalan family’s power was too great, so almost everyone who expressed their feelings to her inevitably hoped to gain something from her or her family.
What they sought was to receive.
Only that little Half-Yao… what she spoke of was “being received by her” and “being controlled by her.”
This was very fresh and very interesting.
“Truly a cunning Fox. Clearly she’s asking for things from my hand, but what she said in the end makes it seem like she wants to be kept as a pet. Heh.”
The afternoon light filtered through the lattice window, accentuating the red polish on Nalan Yunyan’s toes and casting dappled shadows by her ankles, as if time itself were slowed by this languor.
Her vivid red lips curled into a playful smile.
The clarity in her heart allowed her to see through Qian Yu’s little schemes.
However, she didn’t care.
She was Nalan Yunyan, the eldest miss of the Nalan family.
A tiny bit of the resources that flowed casually from her hands could create a True Disciple like Tang Qiurou, who was seen as a prodigy by the outside world.
As long as Qian Yu remained fresh and stayed within her favor, she didn’t mind the girl taking things from her hands.
***
Gazing quietly at the blonde Senior Sister on the upper seat, who was as noble as a queen, Tang Qiurou’s heartbeat quickened slightly.
Then, after thinking of something unknown, a flash of jealousy and hatred quickly crossed her eyes.
She was an absolute power-worshipper, and Nalan Yunyan, whom she had treated as her leader since childhood, was the most powerful being she had ever met.
The majesty the other woman possessed and the resources in her hands made Tang Qiurou fall for her.
Countless times, she had wanted to express her feelings and become Dao companions with her.
She was only afraid of being thrown out like those other “brave souls” she had seen, so she didn’t dare act.
Originally, she didn’t feel much.
Even if Nalan Yunyan didn’t care about anyone, she was still her only subordinate.
This status was enough for her to be proud.
Until Qian Yu appeared…
Thinking of this, Tang Qiurou regretted it so much she wanted to kick herself.
The reason the girl appeared in Nalan Yunyan’s sight was because of her!
Back then, Nalan Yunyan had dismissed her with the task of ruining Gu Qinghan, but she didn’t dare offend that black-haired girl who was also a Peerless Prodigy.
After much thought, she brought out Qian Yu.
Using the reason that she was Gu Qinghan’s friend, she convinced Nalan Yunyan to recruit her as a subordinate as well.
She was just a scapegoat, a black glove.
Tang Qiurou’s original plan was to find an opportunity to dispose of her after Qian Yu took the fall for this task.
She never expected…
That girl actually took the opportunity to confess to her most respected Eldest Miss Nalan!
And that would have been fine, but the key was that Nalan Yunyan actually said nothing and even looked at her with a bit of favor.
What a joke!
Before this, she was just a lowly Half-Yao who let Tang Qiurou humiliate and beat her, not even daring to speak after being slapped.
Without Tang Qiurou’s recommendation, she would never have met Nalan Yunyan in her life.
Now, not only did she receive the same amount of Spirit Stones every month, but just now, Tang Qiurou even had to personally deliver a letter for her.
Tang Qiurou couldn’t accept this.
The more she thought about it, the more humiliated and unfair she felt.
But there was nothing she could do.
She had spoken ill of Qian Yu many times, both openly and secretly.
Even the fact that Qian Yu was late for that meeting was framed by her as a deep-seated scheme, claiming the girl wanted them to come to her door to demand punishment so she could seize the opportunity to get close.
It was all useless.
Not only did Nalan Yunyan not blame her, she even felt that it was good that Qian Yu was willing to put effort in for her.
She immediately wrote the letter from just now and told Tang Qiurou to deliver it to Gu Qinghan’s place.
Truly detestable to the extreme, she was even calculating against her when she wasn’t around!
Tang Qiurou stamped her feet in hatred.
She didn’t dare erupt in front of Nalan Yunyan, so her internal displeasure only doubled.
But fortunately, the girl’s good days were over.
If she failed the Year-end Examination, Qian Yu would be kicked down the mountain in an instant.
No matter how much Senior Sister Nalan favored her, she probably wouldn’t keep a subordinate who couldn’t even pass such a basic exam.
And… the other party would definitely not pass the exam.
Even if she didn’t dare use Nalan Yunyan’s name to lord it over others outside, Tang Qiurou herself was already a True Disciple.
Using some methods to reasonably and legally eliminate a disciple at the Initial Stage of the First Realm was simply too easy.
Tang Qiurou also had schemes and calculations.
Loathsome, wretched Half-Yao, this time I’ll let you see what kind of inescapable scenery results when calculations are paired with power!
Heh heh.
***
While Tang Qiurou was secretly plotting and feeling that everything was settled, Qian Yu on the other side was indeed encountering trouble.
First, she discovered that she was truly poor now.
After her Bloodline Awakening, it seemed she could cultivate, but her consumption of resources was more than ten times that of a normal person.
Even with the subordinate fees Nalan Yunyan had given her and some Spirit Fruits and spirit food Gu Qinghan had casually gifted, it was completely insufficient for her to raise her cultivation by even a small sub-realm.
With empty hands, wanting to reach a sufficient cultivation level before the Year-end Examination was an absolute pipe dream.
Not to mention, she couldn’t even afford a decent Spirit Sword right now.
She might have to take a broken iron sword to the exam when the time came.
However, even being this poor wasn’t the most urgent issue. The real trouble was the second thing…
Just as she came down from Gu Qinghan’s peak and before she had time to learn the specifics of this Year-end Examination, two female disciples dressed in Inner Disciple robes blocked her path, saying she still owed several Sect missions that needed to be completed and she had to go immediately.
Qian Yu frowned at this.
She already had to seize every moment to improve before the lockdown because of her lack of resources.
If she was caught doing some Sect missions, the Year-end Examination would truly be over.
She restrained her patience and softly asked the two female disciples blocking her path, “Could the Senior Sisters have made a mistake? I should have finished all of this year’s Sect missions long ago.”
“If we say you didn’t finish them, you didn’t finish them.”
“Why does a Half-Yao have so much nonsense to say? Just come with us.”
Qian Yu’s attitude was good, but the tone of the two female disciples was extremely aggressive.
They crossed their arms, looking down at Qian Yu from a height as if they were looking at something dirty.
Their faces were full of disgust and disdain.
“Then, two elder sisters, can you first tell Xiaoyu which mission is missing?”
Sensing the attitude of the people in front of her, Qian Yu not only didn’t get angry, but instead put her hands behind her back and lowered her head slightly, appearing even more timid, well-behaved, and harmless.
She felt something was wrong.
Because she knew her status as a Half-Yao was not well-received in the sect, Qian Yu almost never left any room for criticism, except for the Year-end Examination which she could never pass.
For things like mandatory Sect missions, she always completed them in advance, meeting both quality and quantity requirements.
This mission that suddenly appeared at the time of her Year-end Examination was most likely someone tripping her up, not to mention the exceptionally arrogant attitude of the two people in front of her.
“Please, tell me, two elder sisters… so I can have some mental preparation. You know, I’m a Half-Yao. If I miss an important mission, I’ll be kicked out.”
Qian Yu suspected as much in her heart.
Her harmless appearance, looking like anyone could bully her, finally made the two female disciples lower their guard slightly under her soft pestering.
“It’s not some particularly major mission. It’s not impossible to tell you, it’s just…”
According to normal logic, such a missing mission should be taken to the Mission Hall to be specified under the witness of the elders.
That way, they could take advantage of Qian Yu’s lack of reaction and use the elder’s authority to directly stamp and confirm that the mission was indeed not completed.
By then, even if there were indeed fishy dealings, once the formal procedures were finished, Qian Yu would have nowhere to cry for justice.
However…
“Hehehe, I didn’t expect a Half-Yao like you to have such a thing in your hands. Fine, since you’ve asked sincerely, I’m not a bad person. I’ll tell you first.”
Tapping the lunch box that was carefully packed in her hand, the two female disciples’ smiles instantly became much warmer.
They immediately told her which missions Qian Yu was missing.
Anyway, it was just a few words; could the other party do something because of it?
Besides, there was spirit food inside.
It looked good and would surely taste great.