Arrival at Xuantian Sect

Inside the spirit boat, Zhang Zitao went to his private room alone, leaving only two junior brothers at the eighth level of Qi Refining outside.

The two exchanged a glance, both showing signs of impatience. Once these newly accepted disciples arrived on the spirit boat, they essentially had nothing more to do.

I only asked them to stay outside so as to leave a good impression.

Seeing this, the taller Xuantian Sect disciple said, "This spirit boat is fast and will arrive at Dingzhou in two days. However, it's just that you mortals from Immortal City are lucky. Dingzhou is the closest of all the other continents to Yuzhou."

This is why they volunteered to participate in recruiting disciples; the faster they complete the task, the faster they will receive the rewards.

However, the two of them had also come from humble beginnings as disciples, and seeing this group of people looking at them expectantly, they felt a little compassion: "You can meditate inside and outside the spirit boat. There is an array set up outside the spirit boat hall to ensure that you can safely reach the sect without food."

The Xuantian Sect did not prepare pills like the Bigu Pill, since all the alchemists in the sect were supplied to the upper-level cultivators. Bigu Pills were something that only lower-level cultivators could use, and they would not specially refine them unless absolutely necessary.

The Xuan Tian Sect used to be much more generous, but after the sect leader fell into a long slumber, a successor took over the reins. Almost all resources were poured into the peak where the sect leader was located, and over time, the sect became filled with self-serving individuals.

Although there were elders with clear vision in charge, they still couldn't completely change this trend.

Ruan Qingyu watched the two disciples enter the room on the spirit boat before casually finding a place to sit down. The spiritual energy within this spirit boat was now almost three times that of the Ruan family's.

It was just right for her current cultivation speed, but before she could even close her eyes, she was interrupted by someone. Somewhat annoyed, she opened her eyes and saw Lü Liangke looking at her cautiously.

"You're just sitting here meditating like this? Aren't you afraid of going into qi deviation?" Lü Liangke said in a low voice, but Ruan Nanhe, who had been paying attention to this side for some reason, heard it.

He immediately scoffed, "What a hypocrite! What's with all this pretense of hard work? Once you get to the sect, you'll see that talent and effort are nothing compared to what some people can achieve with just a few words."

Upon hearing this, Lü Liangke's face flushed red with anger. However, Ruan Nanhe had a great-grandfather within the Xuantian Sect who had already become a junior elder.

If he offended her at this moment, he was afraid that she would be made difficult for him when he entered the family. So Lü Liangke had no choice but to pretend that he did not hear.

Ruan Qingyu glanced at Ruan Nanhe and said casually, "We can't just open our mouths, after all, none of us have the same good fortune as Young Master Nanhe. We can only try our best here and perform well, maybe we can get a good place."

Having grown up, Ruan Nanhe had always been the one lecturing others, rarely being the one to talk back. For a moment, Ruan Nanhe couldn't find a good excuse. He was so angry that he could only glare helplessly, then flung his sleeve and walked straight to a less crowded spot.

Upon hearing this, although the others dared not do anything to Ruan Nanhe, they secretly agreed with Ruan Qingyu's words. After nodding to themselves, they all sat down on the spot and began to carefully absorb spiritual energy.

On the other side, a few Xuantian Sect disciples who occasionally inquired about the situation of the Ruan family disciples glanced at him and said, "I remember this disciple, Ruan Qingyu. She's the only disciple at the second level of Qi Refining. She's quite ambitious."

“There are plenty of ambitious people out there, but not many like the Ruan family who waste their disciples’ time. What good is it if they try harder? Once they get to the sect, they’ll find that there are plenty of people with higher cultivation levels and younger than them.”

After being ridiculed by his companion, the disciple gave an awkward smile. In his heart, however, he disagreed. Ruan Qingyu's temperament and character were quite different from those arrogant young masters and ladies who were young at a young age.

He felt that Ruan Qingyu was destined for great things in the future, but she was not someone a disciple like him, who was always eager to make a living, could associate with.

Seeing that he didn't speak, the disciple seemed to realize that something was wrong and said again, "Lan Ci, you've been stuck at the eighth level of Qi Refining for three years now. Instead of thinking about getting more things, you're concerned about these new disciples."

Upon hearing this, Lan Ci felt that this person was no better than himself, except that he lost because he lacked popularity. This person, on the other hand, lost because he couldn't speak properly; otherwise, Zhang Zitao wouldn't have sent him here.

On the deck of the spirit boat, the Ruan family disciples, led by Ruan Qingyu, quietly sat in meditation and cultivated. Only Ruan Nanhe stood to one side, constantly gazing at the scenery outside the spirit boat.

At first, Ruan Qingyu was able to concentrate on her cultivation, but later she found it difficult to calm down. She couldn't help but try to communicate with the contract, telling the black panther on her chest to behave.

Recalling the contents of that contract, Ruan Qingyu merged her divine sense and spiritual energy, drilling into the totem in her sea of ​​consciousness.

"Little Black? Little Black Panther?" This was the first time Ruan Qingyu had formally communicated with this black panther, and she didn't know what to call it.

After a long while, another consciousness emerged from his sea of ​​consciousness: "I am not called Xiao Hei." The voice was deep as an abyss, yet it carried a hint of irritability.

This instantly reminded Ruan Qingyu of her previous encounter with the black panther, and she was puzzled. Even though the black panther had shrunk, its voice was still like that of an adult panther.

"I shrunk only because of the Nirvana power overflowing from your body. In order to get out of that damned cage, I have no choice but to return to my childhood." Seemingly very dissatisfied with his shrunken self, his tone became increasingly irritable.

Seeing that the other party's tone was very fierce, but there was no unusual movement in her soul core, Ruan Qingyu finally felt much more at ease and said, "Now that we have signed a contract, if there is anything I can do to help, you can say so."

Upon hearing this, the other party was silent for a moment. Then, reluctantly, they said, "What do you mean you're helping me? You clearly took advantage of my vulnerability and forced me to sign... that kind of contract!"

She realized that the black panther's cultivation level was beyond her ability to perceive with her divine sense, far exceeding that of the Foundation Establishment stage. His aura was even more imposing than that of the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages she had ever encountered.

At least for the time being, she would still need to rely on the other party. Ruan Qingyu softened her tone and said, "This contract is also for our safety. Otherwise, you would still have to stay in that broken cage for a long time. You and I both came from the previous life, so we naturally know our fate. Now that the fate has been changed, we are destined to be together, so we should help each other even more."

Hearing Ruan Qingyu's gentle voice, Yun Yin, who was initially somewhat impatient, inexplicably calmed down a lot.

After a moment, he replied, "My name is Yunyin, not some little black or little black panther. In terms of age, I am your ancestor's ancestor."

Hearing this, Ruan Qingyu choked for a long time before regaining her composure: "You can be my ancestor's ancestor now, but once I have completely refined the bloodline in my body and achieved the Phoenix bloodline of the Innate Phoenix Body, I will no longer have the blood of the Ruan family in my body."

Yun Yin was taken aback by the woman's bluntness. However, considering that they had signed a marriage contract, he figured he had to listen to his wife.

He learned this principle from someone many years ago.

"Yes, at your speed, you will be able to fully transform into the Phoenix bloodline after you reach the Foundation Establishment stage. At that time, the bloodline inheritance will teach you how to cultivate further."

Yun Yin spoke very sincerely, which surprised Ruan Qingyu, but considering their current contractual relationship, she felt it was quite normal.

"I had previously cultivated to the Foundation Establishment stage on my own, so doing it again is a piece of cake." Ruan Qingyu was still quite confident when she mentioned that she had cultivated to the Foundation Establishment stage by herself before.

All their conversations took place within their minds, facilitated by the contract. Therefore, even if someone outside wondered why Ruan Qingyu remained so quiet, they couldn't know that she was actually communicating with her beast pet within her mind.

Time passed little by little as the two communicated in their minds. It was during this exchange that Ruan Qingyu learned that Yun Yin was actually an ancient thunder leopard, a primordial demon beast born from a lightning tribulation.

Although he doesn't possess a powerful bloodline like a phoenix or an ancient dragon, he is the only Thunder Leopard in the world. If he hadn't entered a weakened state during his tribulation, he wouldn't have ended up in this state.

The cage in his previous life was made from remnants of the Heaven-Mending Stone, which was a perfect counter to him. In his last moments, unwilling to accept his fate, he used the Soul Core within his body as a catalyst to destroy the Heaven-Mending Stone.

Just then, Ruan Qingyu was reborn from the ashes, and the two souls were drawn together, which brought them back to the present.

"This shows that we are destined to meet." Ruan Qingyu has always felt that Yunyin is a kindred spirit.

Now that I've heard the whole story, it's hard to say for a moment which is more painful: being trapped for thousands of years or being skinned and dismembered for a short time.

Yunyin twirled around on her chest, found a comfortable spot to lie down, and lazily said, "My current physical form is only at the Foundation Establishment stage, but with proper spiritual energy manipulation, I can reach the peak of the Golden Core stage. I can help you solve some minor troubles in the short term, but you'll have to rely on yourself for the rest."

Although she is his wife, he still needs to work hard to improve his cultivation. Yun Yin felt a tightness in his temples as he thought about their marital contract.

I felt like this was no different from raising a child. Fortunately, this little phoenix had a good bloodline, so it wasn't difficult to raise.

After hearing Yun Yin's words, Ruan Qingyu seemed to be thinking: "You and I are both of the same bloodline, how much do you know about the innate phoenix body?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Yin was about to explain when he suddenly sensed a fluctuation of divine sense. He immediately concealed his aura and said, "We've arrived at the Xuan Tian Sect. Once you're settled, I'll teach you the best way to establish your foundation."

Ruan Qingyu was somewhat puzzled when she suddenly noticed the spiritual energy surging outside becoming increasingly intense. Knowing that the spirit boat was descending, she immediately opened her eyes.

He met Lü Liangke's gaze just as she was about to speak. Seeing her breathe a sigh of relief, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, I only cultivated for a short while. I can still sense what's happening outside."

Seeing her confidence, Lü Liangke remained silent and approached her, saying, "Now that we've both entered the Xuantian Sect, we're practically family. Although we have different surnames, if anything comes up in the future, may I come to you for advice?"

During this time, Lü Liangke secretly observed Ruan Qingyu. She felt that nothing seemed to surprise her much; she always remained expressionless.

Now that they've arrived in this unfamiliar territory, if asked who to befriend, Lü Liangke currently only trusts Ruan Qingyu, who is remarkably composed in both cultivation and other matters.