“She doesn’t need our trust.” Lu Shiqing sneered. “She can feed her senior brother the True Word Pill; her methods are quite remarkable.”

"With such cunning, why would she need our trust?"

Upon hearing Lu Shiqing's words, Wen Xuan also frowned.

The Truth Pill, such a hard-won elixir, was actually used by Shen Sangruo on Luo Chu.

“Yeah, who knows, maybe one day I’ll make her angry and even I, her senior brother, won’t be spared.” Feng Heyun hugged himself tightly, pretending to be scared. “Chen Sangri has really gotten more capable.”

Although Wen Xuan was somewhat hesitant, he still chose to defend Shen Sangruo: "Xiao Ruo was only trying to protect herself this time."

“We are all her fellow disciples, and we have such a good relationship with her, Xiao Ruo... she wouldn’t do that.” Wen Xuan lowered his eyes.

Even his tone lacked some confidence.

Shen Sanruo's recent behavior doesn't seem to match what he told her; he doesn't appear to have a good relationship with them.

He even had a vague feeling that she was intentionally distancing herself from them.

Xiao Ru is probably still angry with them.

Never mind, let's wait until Xiaoruo comes out of seclusion before we can talk to her about it.

——

One year later.

A red figure walked out of Qingxin Pavilion.

After a year of seclusion, Shen Sangruo's aura became even more formidable.

With the boost from the Heart of Blazing Flame, coupled with her own innate talent of having a single fire spiritual root, she was able to further enhance her abilities.

In just one year, she mastered all nine levels of the "Fanning the Flames" technique.

She successfully established her foundation, and her cultivation level was higher than she had expected. She was only one step away from breaking through to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

This event has both joy and sorrow.

Sadly, the "fanning the flames" technique was no longer useful to her, and she urgently needed to find a new and suitable cultivation method, otherwise her cultivation would stagnate.

Moreover, as one's cultivation level increases, changing cultivation methods becomes increasingly difficult.

The best thing to do is to find a superior cultivation technique and then not change it.

When Shen Sanruo returned to her cave, she packed all her important belongings into a storage bag and took them with her.

She had no attachment to this place anymore, so she might as well prepare to leave sooner rather than later.

After a whirlwind of activity, her cave was mostly empty.

However, a pile of items in the corner was particularly eye-catching.

Upon closer inspection, it contained various items such as hairpins, luminous stones, wine jars, sachets of medicine, colorful butterflies, and snacks.

These items, which she once cherished like her own life, were ruthlessly dumped out of her storage bag.

She thought it was a waste to use her storage bag; it was just a pile of junk that could be left in a corner and didn't deserve to be properly stored in a storage bag.

Having prepared all of this, she left the sect directly.

Not to mention her four senior brothers, she didn't even go to say goodbye to Shen Daochen and Lingxiao Zhenren.

She touched the blazing heart on her chest.

As for the magical artifact she was looking for to help Immortal Lord Changli, she had no clue at the moment.

Since the Taoist Master Wuwei said that the Heart of Blazing Flame would guide her, she didn't need to go looking for it.

Shen Sangruo planned to follow the map to search for secret realms and opportunities.

With her current strength, she would only be a source of experience points in many of the secret realms marked on the map.

So her main purpose was to first investigate which secret realms had been explored over the centuries.

If you're lucky enough to stumble upon a great opportunity, that would be even better.

With the four storage bags given to her by Su Xiyu and the others, she didn't need to worry about the cost of spirit stones along the way.

Any magical artifact can fetch hundreds of high-grade spirit stones when placed in an auction house.

This time, she left with remarkable decisiveness.

From now on, she will have no more attachment to the people and things of this place.

——

Several more months have passed.

Apart from Shen Sangruo, all of Lingxiao Zhenren's disciples gathered together.

Feng Heyun said he had brewed a unique new wine and invited the others to taste it.

He glanced at the others and said, "Everyone's here? Let's begin. This is a new recipe I created, it's one of a kind~ Everyone, come and try it."

Feng Heyun held his head high, looking arrogant, and was about to pour the wine.

Wen Xuan suddenly spoke up: "Fifth Junior Sister hasn't arrived yet, Senior Brother, don't forget to leave a cup for Xiao Ruo."

With his good mood interrupted, Feng Heyun just pouted and said, "I know, I know. Isn't she still in seclusion? We'll save some for her."

The reason is simple: Wen Xuan is extremely sensitive about Shen Sangruo's affairs and keeps emphasizing that Shen Sangruo is one of them.

No matter the time, Wen Xuan would always have a stern face if anyone ignored Shen Sangruo.

Even the junior sister had been scolded by Wen Xuan, but they stopped him in time, and Wen Xuan apologized to the junior sister.

But they still kept saying things like "Xiao Ruo has changed" and "Xiao Ruo is not the same as before."

Feng Heyun felt that he was being far too anxious about gains and losses.

What has changed about Shen Sangruo? Her nose is still her nose, her eyes are still her eyes, she's still the same.

"Is this the wine that Senior Brother brewed? It smells so good!" Bai Mumu's eyes sparkled as she downed the wine in her cup in one gulp.

"As expected of the senior brother, the wine he brews is as delicious as ever."

Feng Heyun was overjoyed by the praise and put on an act, saying, "Of course, don't you know who I am?"

Seeing that Bai Mumu wanted to drink more, Wen Xuan quickly stepped forward to stop her, "Junior Sister, don't forget Master's instructions. This wine is strong, and your body has not fully recovered yet, so you should not drink too much."

Although Shen Sangruo's ten drops of heart blood alleviated her extremely cold constitution, it still couldn't fully restore her health.

We need to find a magical herb called Fire Scale Vine to make medicine so that she can have a normal human body.

However, the Fire Scale Vine only exists in legends. Even though Shen Daochen and Lingxiao Zhenren have devoted a lot of resources to finding it, their hopes are slim.

Bai Mumu protected her wine glass and stuck out her tongue. "I know, I'll have one more glass, just one more, please, Second Senior Brother."

Wen Xuan had never been able to handle Bai Mumu's coquettishness, so he could only sigh and say helplessly, "As you wish."

With his attention drawn to Bai Mumu and worried that she might secretly drink too much, Wen Xuan didn't mention Chen Sangruo again.

Bai Mumu subtly curled her lips.

Shen Sangruo was no threat to her whatsoever, and she didn't take her seriously at all.

With Bai Mumu enlivening the atmosphere, the scene was harmonious and pleasant.

She thought this was a good opportunity to improve her chances of winning him over, but in the end, she inevitably brought up Shen Sangruo.

"Speaking of which, it seems Chen Sangruo has been in seclusion for quite a while now, hiccup~" Feng Heyun's cheeks flushed red. "Didn't she say she'd only be in seclusion for a year? Hiccup~"

"She hasn't come out for so long, hiccup~ That's so unfair, hiccup~ When she comes out, I'm going to give her a good beating, hiccup~"

Only Feng Heyun drank the most; everyone else was sober.

Upon hearing Feng Heyun's drunken ramblings, Wen Xuan seemed to realize something, and his gaze froze.

Even the slightest bit of intoxication dissipated.

He asked blankly, "How long has Xiao Ru been in seclusion?"

Lu Shiqing rarely took the initiative to recall things related to Shen Sangruo. After thinking for a while, he also said in surprise, "It seems to have been more than a year and many months."

"She is in seclusion at Qingxin Pavilion, where there are strict time limits. She cannot stay even a moment longer. Logically speaking, she should have already come out of seclusion."