After considering this possibility, Ruan Xinrou found it increasingly amusing.

No matter how powerful Bai Ying is, she's only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. How can she compare to me now?

He wasn't one of those foolish demon beasts who, even after cultivating to the Golden Core stage, would still stand there dumbly, waiting to be killed by Bai Ying. He was there to help her achieve fame and renown.

I am now much stronger than Bai Ying; I could crush Bai Ying with just one finger!

Ruan Xinrou exerted even more effort to release her aura. She was extremely pleased with herself.

Her actions did attract a lot of attention, and several male cultivators walked towards her, wanting to team up with her.

That's how it is in the cultivation world. They don't care about a person's character. As long as you have strength, you will be sought after by everyone.

Ruan Xinrou hadn't experienced this feeling of being the center of attention in a long time, and she was incredibly proud of herself. Beside her, Su Yu had remained extremely low-key and silent the entire way. Just then, he suddenly saw Bai Ying and became instantly excited. He was about to go up and greet her when he suddenly noticed the famous Murong Jin also walking towards Bai Ying.

"You must be the new junior sister Bai Ying. I am Murong Jin. You can call me senior brother."

Upon hearing Murong Jin's words, Bai Ying quickly called out to him, "Senior Brother, I've long admired your name."

Murong Jin smiled at Bai Ying: "I've heard so much about you. I'll escort you inside in a bit."

"Senior brother, aren't you going to Shadow Valley for the trial together?"

Murong Jin shook his head. "I can't go for now. Something has suddenly happened in the sect, and I have to go back to deal with it. Fellow junior brothers and sisters, let's all cheer each other on!" With that, he led the Lingxiao Sect members away.

Su Yu stood there dumbfounded, not even having a chance to say a word to Bai Ying before she was gone.

His heart ached terribly. That was clearly his fifth junior sister, but now she was calling other people "senior brother".

In the past, he always took his fifth junior sister into the sect trials, but now he's here, and she hasn't said a word to him. Instead, she's left with someone else...

He suddenly felt incredibly sad.

Qin Zijing stood beside Su Yu, her face filled with indignation.

"What does this mean? They saw us but acted like they didn't see us, without even saying hello. Pretending we weren't there! Bai Ying is really going too far!"

Su Yu suddenly froze. Recalling the time back at Huayang Sect, the most egregious instance was when Bai Ying needed him, and he had the door locked, pretending not to be there and refusing to see her. At that time, he hadn't felt his actions were at all excessive. Yet now, however, he felt a heart-wrenching pain. Was Bai Ying in the same agony then? He was instantly plunged into a self-inflicted torment; it was all his own doing…

Ruan Xinrou, however, was completely oblivious to the changes in their emotions, because when she heard that Murong Jin was not going to participate in the trial, her eyes lit up instantly.

Several people from other sects beside him quickly added, "If Murong Jin doesn't go, then the secret inheritance will definitely be yours, Junior Sister Ruan! If you obtain that secret inheritance, you will surely shock the entire Central Continent!"

Ruan Xinrou covered her mouth and laughed, "Not necessarily. As you've all seen, my former senior sister Bai Ying was also very capable. She was quite the star in Huayang Sect before."

"Her? She's just a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the early stage. So what if she's powerful? Among cultivators, the difference in cultivation level is the most significant. She's only in the early stage of Foundation Establishment; let alone you, who's already at the Pseudo-Core Formation stage, even someone like me at the late stage of Foundation Establishment could easily crush her." The cultivator who spoke clearly held Bai Ying in utter contempt. Not many people went to the Huayang Sect to watch Bai Ying's match, and many were unaware of her strength. Besides, Ruan Xinrou was already at the Pseudo-Core Formation stage; they were even less inclined to believe that Bai Ying could defeat her.

"That's right, how could a cultivator in the early stage of Foundation Establishment possibly obtain a secret inheritance? In my opinion, the people from the Lingxiao Sect are blind. They picked up a piece of trash and treated it like a treasure."

"I heard that the Grand Elder of the Lingxiao Sect is very fond of Bai Ying. Tell me, why would he take a fancy to a cultivator in the early stage of Foundation Establishment? He's even risking offending the entire Huayang Sect to bring her back to the Lingxiao Sect. Could it be that he's taken a liking to Bai Ying and wants to take her back as a cultivation vessel..." The group exchanged glances, then suddenly revealed a lewd smile.

Ruan Xinrou immediately covered her mouth with her hand and said urgently, "Don't talk nonsense. My senior sister is not that kind of person!" However, when she said this, there was clearly a smile on her lips.

Su Yu and Qin Zijing hadn't noticed what they were talking about; when they returned, they only saw a group of people laughing. Qin Zijing asked them, "What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing," Ruan Xinrou quickly replied. "The trial is about to begin, let's go in together."

—

Ruan Xinrou had clearly entered the trial grounds with several of her fellow disciples from the Huayang Sect, but after the dizziness subsided, she found herself all alone. Ruan Xinrou frowned, cursing her bad luck for not being teleported with her sect members. Just then, she suddenly saw a large pile of spiritual herbs in front of her.

Although Ruan Xinrou didn't know what kind of spiritual herbs these were, her eyes lit up instantly. These herbs were incredibly fragrant, with an extremely rich medicinal aroma, clearly not ordinary. She quickly squatted down and began picking the herbs, finally finishing after a great deal of effort. Just then, she suddenly spotted a group of cultivators ahead, so Ruan Xinrou hurried towards them. After all, in the early stages of the trial, it was best not to fight alone; if any demonic beasts appeared, she could let others deal with them first. Although Ruan Xinrou was already at the Pseudo-Core Formation stage, she still held onto the mindset of a weakling and had absolutely no intention of fighting the demonic beasts herself.

However, just as she approached the group of cultivators, she saw Bai Ying there as well. "Senior Sister." Ruan Xinrou walked towards Bai Ying excitedly, wanting to show everyone present the difference between herself and Bai Ying, just like before.

But just as she approached Bai Ying, she suddenly heard Bai Ying call out to her:

"Don't come any closer! Throw away the herbs you're holding!"

Ruan Xinrou was taken aback. "Senior sister, what do you mean? I just picked these with great effort."

As she spoke, her eyes welled up with tears again. "Senior sister, I know you hate me. If you want this elixir, just say so. Don't try to trick me into throwing it away so you can pick it up yourself."