At the same time, a steady voice rang out in the Law Enforcement Hall. Everyone turned their heads and hurriedly cleared a path!
The newcomer was none-other than Immortal Venerable Louyun! Looking as though she had just beheld a deity, Su Xianzhi quickly put some distance between herself and Xiao Shi, gazing infatuatedly at Immortal Venerable Louyun.
Jin Bao'er remained silent. Knowing full well how fiercely protective Immortal Venerable Louyun was of his own, she naturally had no intention of pushing back stubbornly.
"The Immortal Venerable naturally has the right..."
The girl lowered her eyes, seeming to resign herself to her fate! Just as the crowd fell silent, that small figure suddenly raised her head. Her crystal-clear eyes were filled with fierce, unyielding determination! She stared straight at the immensely powerful man before her, her crisp voice echoing through the surroundings!
"But I refuse to accept this!"
Meeting those eyes, even Immortal Venerable Louyun could not help but be shaken!
With that, as she watched the color drain from Su Xianzhi's face, Jin Bao'er turned and cut off Xiao Shi just as he was about to retort, her tone dripping with utter disgust!
"If you have the guts, beat me fair and square. Sneaking around behind my back is utterly sickening! Today, whoever pleads for her, those one hundred lashes are happening!"
With that, she turned and strode away, her seven senior brothers following closely behind her!
The surrounding disciples thought to themselves: Junior Sister Jin is so fiercely badass!
Jin Bao'er walked very quickly. That speech just now wasn't just meant for Su Xianzhi—it was meant for herself as well. In her past life, she possessed natural talent yet foolishly allowed herself to be used, ultimately being framed and driven out of the Sect. She had cultivated while constantly hunted down, and after struggling until she was nearly thirty, she finally reached the Golden Core Stage, only to be captured and forced to detonate her Dantian on the spot...
The physical and psychological terror she felt toward Su Xianzhi was branded into her very soul, leaving her not a moment of peace. Yet just now, when she faced Su Xianzhi—her greatest nightmare—head-on, she vaguely sensed her cultivation loosening. She was probably about to advance to Qi Condensation Level 5!
Upon returning to the Sect, Jin Bao'er went straight into seclusion to consolidate her cultivation, and she remained there for five full years!
Five years later, Su Xianzhi's name grew increasingly renowned throughout the Miaomiao Sect. At just thirteen years old, she was already a Foundation Establishment cultivator—a rare prodigy indeed in the Cultivation World! Over these past few years, Immortal Venerable Louyun had also showered her with pampering and favor, making her the envy of everyone.
At that moment, on Huaming Peak, the spiritual energy inside a training room suddenly surged turbulently. The entire peak was affected, with all the spiritual energy rushing madly into the room...
Frightened, the old man rushed over to investigate, and several others hurried over as well.
Inside the Xiaoyun Hall, that cold and haughty man abruptly opened his eyes, his gaze locked intently on the direction of Huaming Peak.
Soon, strange phenomena simultaneously appeared in the skies above the peaks surrounding Huaming Peak, causing all the monster beasts to scatter in all directions, as if some terrifying disaster had struck!
The various elders within the Miaomiao Sect also noticed the anomaly in the sky, but before they could investigate, the phenomenon vanished in an instant, as though nothing had ever happened!
Jin Bao'er felt every bone in her body twisting, the pain making her want to scream at the top of her lungs. The spiritual energy inside her condensed into a vortex, seemingly trying to tear her body apart, while simultaneously, a portion of her spiritual power repaired her body and nourished her parched Dantian.
Though it lasted only a brief five minutes, it felt as long as a lifetime to her. The vortex vanished, and spiritual energy completely filled her entire body. The torn wounds on her body rapidly healed, quickly returning to normal!
When she opened her eyes once again, the pressure radiating from her as a Foundation Establishment cultivator was unmistakable!
She had succeeded!
Having ruthlessly suppressed her cultivation back then to consolidate her spiritual power, she had proceeded step-by-step with the utmost caution. Today, she had finally successfully advanced to the Foundation Establishment Stage!
Her dharma robe had long since been torn to shreds by the spiritual energy. She reached out, produced a cleansing talisman to clean herself up, changed into a new dharma robe, and finally walked out.Having not seen them for five years, Jin Bao'er smiled as the door opened to reveal the same familiar faces! Her exquisite and breathtaking face was full of an unaccustomed ease.
"Third Senior Brother, Fourth Senior Brother, Fifth Senior Brother, Sixth Senior Brother! Master! I am back!"
The bright green dharma robe set off the young girl's ethereal grace, making her look as dreamy and unreal as an Elf fairy. Her fair and tender skin, bare of cosmetics, was breathtakingly and intoxicatingly beautiful, and her flowing hair was secured at the back with a single wooden hairpin, adding a touch of casual etherealness...
Compared to her cute and childish self of five years ago, Jin Bao'er had changed drastically!
"Th-th-this... are you Junior Sister?"
The stuttering speaker was the shy Fifth Senior Brother Chen Xuanyuan. The moment he finished speaking, his entire face flushed a deep red, and his eyes kept darting away.
While the others said nothing, the look in their eyes expressed the exact same sentiment. Jin Bao'er quickly noticed the strangeness and reached out to gently touch her own face. It was only natural that they could not immediately accept the changes of the past five years!
She naturally knew how pretty this face was; otherwise, in her past life, Su Xianzhi would not have been so consumed by jealousy that she went to any lengths to disfigure her. She still clearly remembered the pain of that dagger slicing from her temple all the way down to her chin!
Pulling back her thoughts, she looked at the familiar porcelain pot in Third Senior Brother Luo Nanshan's hand and walked up to him on her own initiative.
"Is this food Senior Brother prepared for me? Braised spirit pig? It smells so good! I haven't had any in five years!"
Luo Nanshan was stunned, foolishly handing the pot over. When he snapped out of it, the smile on his lips grew wider and wider!
"Hehe, as long as you like it!"
The old man stood by, smiling with gratification. He quickly noticed the changes in Jin Bao'er. Having been in seclusion for five years, it seemed the little disciple's disposition had also changed. If the eldest saw this, he would surely be immensely surprised!
"Junior Sister has even reached the Foundation Establishment Stage? I told you so, you're definitely stronger than that Su Xianzhi! With ordinary talent, if she managed to advance to the Foundation Establishment Stage, she must have used some crooked method—unlike our Junior Sister, who steadily forged her own path step by step!"
As Jin Bao'er was eating the meat, she heard the name Su Xianzhi. Before she could react, she heard the news of Su Xianzhi's advancement to the Foundation Establishment Stage, and her very first reaction was that it was impossible!
In her past life, Su Xianzhi had only advanced to the Foundation Establishment Stage around the time Jin Bao'er was driven out of the Sect. Now, merely five years had passed, and she had already reached the Foundation Establishment Stage??
Realizing that this discrepancy conflicted with her memories, Jin Bao'er could not help but take it seriously! At her current speed, Su Xianzhi would undoubtedly reach the Golden Core Stage very soon as well. In that case, Immortal Venerable Louyun's plot to kill her to extract her Golden Core would likely be brought forward too!
Yet at her current rate of cultivation, she would probably only be at the Golden Core Stage by the time Su Xianzhi was, leaving her utterly unable to escape from Immortal Venerable Louyun's grasp. The tragic scenes of her past life would play out all over again...
At the mere thought of this possibility, she instinctively clenched her fingers. No! Absolutely not! She still had Time. Since cultivating within the Sect was not fast enough, she would take a different path!
"Master... I want to go out on a cultivation journey!"
The old man, who had only laid eyes on his disciple for less than ten minutes, saw his smile freeze instantly at these words, followed by a bitter remark.
"Very well, go as you please. Just let me, this old man, wait here on the peak alone and die in loneliness, sigh..."
Guan Ziyun, standing nearby, directly cut off his melodramatic act.
"Old man, are you suffering from memory loss? Aren't there still the rest of us? I am, at any rate, a Half-step Golden Core! I can definitely live until you die!"