Ficus microcarpa

"Thank you, Ah..." The female cultivator paused and looked at Xu Shulou cautiously, "Can we still call you Ah Yi?"

Xu Shulou nodded: "Of course."

The female cultivator laughed and said, "Thank you, Ah Yi! You saved our lives."

Another female cultivator also nodded and said, "Don't worry, we won't reveal your true identity to anyone. As long as you are in Xuan Cang, we will keep it a secret."

The two of them looked at her with complicated feelings in their hearts. Who could have thought that the gentle and amiable classmate they saw on weekdays was actually Xu Shulou, the famous figure in the cultivation world who made people grit their teeth when he was mentioned?

Thinking back to the day when someone discussed in front of her whether Lu Beichen was worthy of being the top of the Tianjiao list, she did not get angry. As a talented cultivator, her temper was indeed a little too good.

Is the Qingyun Tianjiao List powerful? It is very powerful, but as for Xu Shulou, the cultivation world generally believes that her strength has surpassed the level of ordinary cultivators under 300 years old. She did not participate. Except for a few people who maliciously speculated that she was not worthy of her reputation and was afraid of losing and being embarrassed, the cultivation world generally believed that she was aloof and arrogant and disdained this.

This is really unfair to Xu Shulou. She is neither aloof nor arrogant, and rarely looks down on anything. At most, she is just not interested.

The two female cultivators thought about the conversation that day, feeling a little embarrassed, but they couldn't help but feel sorry for her. How could Ah Yi be said to be like that by some people? Besides, Xu Shulou was not without the qualifications to be arrogant. After spending the past few months with her, those guys in the academy who came from famous families and looked down on others were not as capable as her, but they seemed to be much more arrogant than her.

The two were rescued once by Xu Shulou, and her heroic figure standing with her hands behind her back and breaking the air with a sword just now echoed in their minds. They were a little confused and selectively forgot the legendary killing record of Xu Shulou, and forgot that she had taken away three elders of her ex-fiancé's sect, and concentrated on speaking up for her.

Xu Shulou smiled and was about to say something when he suddenly noticed several people flying towards him. He quickly sent the two of them away with his spiritual power: "Hide, quickly!"

The two knew the danger and did not hesitate to turn around and hide in a cave. However, when a cultivator with higher cultivation than them passed by, they could naturally detect someone nearby. Xu Shulou simply did not dodge and stood there calmly, attracting all attention.

This team was slightly larger, with nearly 20 people, and they seemed to be sweeping the area around the mountain, trying to catch some students who were alone. Seeing the five people lying on the ground, they were all shocked, and then looked at Xu Shulou, who didn't even have any signs of fighting on his body, with fear in his eyes: "Hurry up and inform the sect master!"

Some people in the team hurriedly flew away. There were more than twenty people in front of him. It was unlikely that Xu Shulou would stop them one by one and not ask them to report the news. He calmly waited for the arrival of the "master" mentioned by these people.

A moment later, a masked man hurried over. When he saw her face clearly, he was slightly surprised: "Miss Xu? Is it you?"

Another person recognized her, but from the tone of his voice, it didn't sound like he had any grudge against her. Xu Shulou asked, "Who are you?"

The man seemed to hesitate for a moment, then gritted his teeth and pulled off the mask on his face, revealing a slightly honest middle-aged face: "I am Chu Fu from Xuanji Sect, nice to meet Miss Xu."

The two female cultivators who were hiding listened to the noise outside and were amazed for a moment. Xu Shulou really had such a great reputation in the world of cultivation. When these villains saw her, some were scared to death, while others bowed down to her.

"It's you?" Xu Shulou was a little surprised. She had had contact with the person in front of her before and had a good impression of him. The other party did not seem like the kind of person who would carry out a sneak attack or siege.

"Miss Xu saved my life twenty years ago, Chu Fu will never forget it." The middle-aged man bowed again and looked at the Xuan Cang Academy uniform on Xu Shulou. "I didn't know you were here today."

"I remember that twenty years ago, the Xuanji Sect Master was still your elder brother."

When the man mentioned this, a trace of hatred flashed across his face: "My brother... has already died."

Xu Shulou was stunned for a moment, and his mind changed slightly: "But is it related to Feng Jiuyou and Qi Wutong?"

The man looked a little hesitant, as if he was wondering whether to answer truthfully. But when he mentioned the two names, his eyes suddenly became sharp and revealed his thoughts.

Xu Shulou lied to him half-truthfully: "Your plan today has failed. There is a secret passage in Xuancang Academy. Those students have already gone down the mountain to seek help."

"..." The man paused after hearing this, and a look of dejection and unwillingness appeared on his face.

"Right now, I am the only one in Xuancang Academy. Do you want to take me as a hostage to negotiate terms with Qingcheng Sect?"

"...I dare not," the man finally shook his head, "Miss Xu saved my life after all, I...can't repay kindness with hatred."

Xuanji Sect is a small sect, not very large, and has always been aloof from the world. Most of the disciples in the sect have mediocre cultivation. They have lived in harmony with the surrounding people for hundreds of years, and even helped nearby people during disasters. Xu Shulou also met them because of an accident 20 years ago, and had a good impression of them. At this time, he couldn't help but sigh: "What is the grudge between you and Feng Jiuyou? Tell me about it?"

Chu Fu struggled for a moment, but finally gave in to his savior. "She is my niece. She has suffered from heart disease since she was born and cannot practice cultivation. She needs the Xili spiritual herb to prolong her life. My brother and I have been searching for a long time before we found out the whereabouts of a spiritual herb..."

Xu Shulou guessed the direction of the story: "Feng Jiuyou and the other two stole the spiritual herbs?"

"Yes, we had already taken the spiritual herb, but it was intercepted by Feng Jiuyou. Qi Wutong said anxiously that she wanted to take the spiritual herb back to save Xiao Lan'er's life, and asked us to give it to her," Chu Fu said, "Of course we refused, but they brought a lot of people with them, and we were not as skilled as them. When Feng Jiuyou took the spiritual herb and left, he threw spiritual stones worth twice our value at our feet, saying that it was to compensate us."

“…”

"We searched everywhere for something that could replace the Xili spiritual herb, but unfortunately we were too late. My niece died when she was only a teenager... At this point, although we are angry, we can only blame ourselves for not being as skilled as others," Chu Fu closed his eyes, "Besides, Qi Wutong was also in a hurry to get the spiritual herb to save Xiao Lan'er's life. Even if we are angry, we can only swallow it..."

Xu Shulou sighed.

"But, what do you think that little Lan'er is?" Chu Fu's tone became fierce.

Xu Shulou was slightly startled: "What is it?"

“We later learned that it was an orchid raised by Qi Wutong. It wasn’t even a flower demon, but just an ordinary orchid without intelligence,” Chu Fu said with a bleak expression. “In order to save an orchid, she and Feng Jiuyou forcibly snatched the Xili Spirit Grass and killed my niece!”

The Xuanji Sect disciples around them were filled with resentment when they thought of the girl they had watched grow up, who was unable to practice but was still positive and optimistic.

"My brother and I were so angry that we went to confront her," Chu Fu continued, "but Qi Wutong was so naive that he winked and said that a pot of orchid is also a life. If it is well taken care of, it may live longer than my niece!"

Xu Shulou frowned. He wondered if Qi Wutong was really protected too well by Feng Jiuyu and was so naive that he didn't know the ways of the world. What he said was too harsh.

"My brother naturally couldn't stand it and wanted to fight her on the spot." This was obviously a very painful memory for Chu Fu. He had a very ugly face when he spoke. "At that time, Qi Wutong lived in Qingcheng Sect with Feng Jiuyou. When she started fighting, the Qingcheng disciples who didn't know the truth immediately came to help her and kicked my brother and me out."

“…”

"Before being kicked out, I saw Feng Jiuyou rushing over and hugging Qi Wutong to comfort her, saying that she was frightened. Qi Wutong then cried and asked him why these people were still so greedy and came to the door when he had clearly given them double the spiritual stones as compensation? My brother was so angry that he vomited blood. Could any amount of spiritual stones buy his daughter's life? People in the world respect Qi Wutong as a goddess, does she really think of herself as a goddess? Does she think her pot of flowers is more important than other people's lives?"

“…”

"My brother was at a critical juncture in his realm, but he was provoked by this incident and became possessed and died," Chu Fu covered his face and wiped away his tears. "As a brother, how can I not hate him? How can I not avenge him?"

“…”

"But I really don't have the ability to do so. I can only take advantage of their wedding to cause trouble for them, hoping to make things worse and force the Qingcheng Sect to give an explanation," Chu Fu smiled bitterly. "I know this is not a good idea, but I really have no other ideas..."

"As the largest sect in the world of cultivation, Qingcheng Sect has always been impartial and has done things in a way that other sects are convinced of. You want an explanation, which is probably feasible," Xu Shulou pondered. Chu Fu wanted to make a big deal out of this matter so that the Qingcheng Sect would not deal with it in a small way. This idea is understandable. "But in any case, you shouldn't try to involve innocent students. Do you know that because of your sneak attack on Master Li, the small secret realm was left unattended and the students who were training there were seriously injured?"

Chu Fu's face turned pale: "I really don't know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt the students."

Xu Shulou sighed: "If what you said is true..."

"I swear that every word I said is true!" Chu Fu interrupted her, "If I tell even a single lie, my immortal path will be cut short and I will fall under the thunderbolt!"

"..." Xu Shulou stroked the hilt of the sword, "If you are willing to lead your men out of Mount Taihua, I will help you think of a solution."

Chu Fu was delighted and asked hastily, "Miss Xu, do you have any ideas?"

"Not yet. At most I will go with you to ask for an explanation."

Chu Fu bowed and said, "Miss, you are willing to fight against Qingcheng Sect for us. Chu Fu is deeply grateful."

"Let's put things in perspective. When this matter is settled, I will settle the matter with you about the injuries suffered by Master Li and his students," Xu Shulou said. "You should lead your people out of Mount Taihua first."

"Okay." After such a long struggle and fighting with the puppet man, the plan to capture hostages failed. Chu Fu was quite at a loss at this time and had to retreat.

Xu Shulou agreed with him on a place to meet again. He watched them retreat with the fainted person. He stopped for a long time to make sure that they did not turn back. Then he found the two female cultivators hiding in a nearby cave.

One of the girls burst into tears and for a moment she didn't care about the five people attacking her: "Nine Nether Immortal Venerable and Wutong Goddess are too abominable, let's help the Xuanji Sect!"

Another female cultivator also looked very sad. "I cried for their love. This is too disgusting! Even if the Wutong Goddess was transformed from a tree and is closer to flowers and plants than humans, she shouldn't have killed a little girl without any regrets, right? If this is true, I, I... I will never like these two people again!"

Xu Shulou paused, handed them a handkerchief to wipe their tears, and said, "Let's go meet up with the others first."

Both girls nodded.

Xu Shulou led the two to where the students were hiding. Seeing her, Bai Roushuang and others breathed a sigh of relief. They all gathered around and asked about the situation outside.

The few younger brothers she recruited were now eyeing the two female cultivators she brought back. They circled around them and looked them up and down: "Were you rescued by the boss? Did you pay the boss protection money?"

Xu Shulou keenly caught this sentence in the chatter of the students and immediately became furious: "Shut up, stop ruining my reputation!"