After all matters related to entering the sect were settled, Senior Sister Luo led Xu Yuxiu away from the Hall of Miscellaneous Affairs.
Dropping Xu Yuxiu off at Qingzhu Peak in front of a small courtyard shared by five people, Senior Sister Luo offered a few brief instructions before leaving on her own, abandoning Xu Yuxiu standing alone before the courtyard gate.
At this moment, Xu Yuxiu's hands were empty; the bundle her father had placed in her hands at parting had already been put away into her storage bag.
The courtyard gate stood open. Looking inward, one could see five houses standing side by side.
Xu Yuxiu stepped into the courtyard, her gaze hesitant as she wondered which house she should enter.
Just as she was hesitating, a door swung open, and a young girl dressed in outer disciple attire emerged. The girl was young, appearing to be only around twelve or thirteen years old.
"It's you!"
As soon as she stepped out, the girl noticed someone in the courtyard. Recognizing Xu Yuxiu, a look of astonishment crossed her face, and she blurted out, "Why are you here?!"
This girl was none other than Shen Fengjiao, who had traveled here on the same immortal boat.
Hearing Shen Fengjiao's astonished and accusing words, Xu Yuxiu felt a tightness in her chest.
That's right, why am I here?
My aptitude is no worse than anyone else's dual Spiritual Roots—why could I not become an inner disciple?!
In an instant, her previous silence and disappointment transformed into bitterness, anger, and jealousy, creeping over her heart and occupying her mind.
Could it be that simply because I possess Water and Fire dual Spiritual Roots, I am doomed never to achieve Foundation Establishment?
"Hey! What's wrong with you?"
Seeing Xu Yuxiu standing frozen in place without responding for a long time, Shen Fengjiao reached out and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Ah?"
Startled back to her senses by the tap, Xu Yuxiu let out a gasp, her eyes filled with panic.
What is wrong with me? How could I have such thoughts?
Before parting, her mother had instructed her to be obedient and stay out of trouble. I...
Recalling her recent thoughts, Xu Yuxiu felt a wave of unease. She was terrified that others might discover what she had been thinking.
"Judging by that look on your face, you must have only managed to become an outer disciple as well. You've been assigned to this courtyard, haven't you?"
Finished speaking, Shen Fengjiao saw that Xu Yuxiu offered no rebuttal, and for no particular reason, she felt a surge of smugness, her mind instantly much more at ease.
Naturally—how could a village girl from a humble background possibly attain a higher status and position than the legitimate second young miss of the Shen family the moment she stepped into an immortal sect?
As expected, the eyes of the sect elders are discerning.
With this thought, Shen Fengjiao unconsciously straightened her chest, raised her chin, and told Xu Yuxiu, "There is only one room left vacant in this courtyard. The one right in the corner is it!"
"Yes, thank you."
Learning which room was vacant, Xu Yuxiu lowered her head, thanked Shen Fengjiao, and walked straight toward the room in the corner.
Watching Xu Yuxiu enter the corner room, Shen Fengjiao muttered to herself, "Oh well, why bother talking to her? I should have just watched her make a fool of herself. Never mind, never mind—consider it this young lady doing a good deed today!"
With that, she lost interest, walked out of the courtyard, and went off to attend to her own affairs.
Stepping into the room, Xu Yuxiu glanced at the interior layout: a bed, a table, and a few simple furnishings.
This place was far better than her former home, yet it lacked the warmth of home.
Facing this unfamiliar environment, a sudden wave of longing welled up from the bottom of her heart.
She missed home.
Imperceptibly, a wave of drowsiness washed over her.
Days of continuous travel, coupled with the dramatic ups and downs after entering the sect, had long since exhausted her young heart and mind.
The moment she touched the soft quilt on the bed, she unconsciously drifted into a deep sleep.
She slept all the way until noon the next day.
Xu Yuxiu finally woke from her slumber, tears still lingering at the corners of her eyes.
Looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, Xu Yuxiu wiped the tears from her eyes, her gaze gradually turning firm.
"I have already entered the immortal sect and become an outer disciple of the Taixuan Sect!"
"I must cultivate diligently and strive to return early to visit my mother and father!"
With conviction in her heart, her whole spirit revived.
She took out the palm-sized storage bag from her bosom, pressed it against her forehead, and retrieved everything inside, placing it all onto the table in the room.
With a flash of light, the small table was covered with various items.
The largest among them was the bundle she had brought from the mortal world.
Xu Yuxiu unfolded the bundle, revealing its contents. Many were clothes she had worn before; though old and covered in patches, they carried an unspeakable warmth of familial affection.
Right in the middle of the bundle, wrapped within the clothes, Xu Yuxiu found a lump of silver. It wasn't much—only two taels.
Seeing those two taels of silver, Xu Yuxiu felt a sourness in her nose. She knew what those two taels represented; they were likely her family's entire life savings.
She had never expected her parents to stuff their entire savings into her hands before parting.
Though these items were equivalent to trash in the eyes of cultivators, Xu Yuxiu did not throw them away. Instead, she carefully and solemnly repacked everything and placed it back into the storage bag for safekeeping.
Next came the items issued to new disciples.
Among them were two bottles of pills, three jade slips, two sets of standard outer disciple robes, an outer disciple identity token, and ten crystal-clear, smooth spirit stones.
Xu Yuxiu recognized the pills: one bottle contained Bigu Pills, and the other contained Qi Condensation Pills—an exclusive benefit for outer disciples that aided in cultivation. She had been informed of this when collecting them.
She had also been instructed on how to use the three jade slips, but Xu Yuxiu was in no rush to use them.
Instead, she first washed up, changed into the outer disciple robes, fastened her identity token, put the spare set of robes into the storage bag, and only then picked up the jade slips.
All three jade slips had corresponding inscriptions carved upon them, but to Xu Yuxiu, who had never learned to read, these characters were completely alien.
"Do I need to learn to read first?"
Xu Yuxiu knitted her delicate brows. She had no idea where one could learn to read within the outer sect of the Taixuan Sect.
After a moment of thought, she simply followed the instructions for using the jade slips and pressed one against her forehead.
The moment the jade slip touched her forehead, a vast torrent of information surged directly into her mind.
*A Hundred Strange Tales of the Cultivation World*
Xu Yuxiu murmured the words, and realization dawned on her almost instantly: "I can read!"
To verify her hypothesis, she eagerly picked up another jade slip and examined the characters carved upon it.
*Taixuan Sect Rules*
She picked up the final jade slip: *Qi Condensation Formula*.
At this point, a look of joy finally appeared on Xu Yuxiu's face. "I really can read! Is this the means of the immortals? Even an illiterate person who knows nothing can read and write with just a single touch—it's truly miraculous!"
Without lingering too long in the joy of literacy, Xu Yuxiu picked up the jade slip inscribed with the *Qi Condensation Formula* and pressed it directly against her forehead.
The next moment, the contents of the jade slip flooded into her mind.
The *Qi Condensation Formula* was the most widely circulated cultivation technique for Qi Condensation stage cultivators in the Cultivation World. It consisted of twelve levels in total, corresponding to the twelve levels of the Qi Condensation Great Circle.
*A Hundred Strange Tales of the Cultivation World* contained records concerning the *Qi Condensation Formula*.
Legend had it that in ancient times, the concept of cultivators did not yet exist; that era belonged to Qi practitioners. Qi practitioners focused solely on refining Qi, without cultivating Golden Cores or Nascent Souls, yet they could still ascend to immortality all the same.
The *Qi Condensation Formula* was the introductory cultivation method of those Qi practitioners. Even in the present Cultivation World, no Qi Condensation technique could compare to it, making it the undisputed top choice for Qi Condensation practitioners.
"Ancient times..."
Hearing these two words once again, Xu Yuxiu thought of what Elder Zhao had said.
"If the hidden hazard of my Spiritual Root could be resolved in ancient times, does that mean as long as I find an ancient method, I can achieve Foundation Establishment?!"
With this thought, Xu Yuxiu felt a spark of hope, and her mood brightened considerably.
If other cultivators were to learn of her thoughts, they would surely laugh their heads off.
How many things from ancient times could possibly survive to the present day? Moreover, every single one of them originated from perilous ancient ruins; without immense cultivation and mighty capabilities, who would dare to venture into such dangerous ancient ruins?
However, Xu Yuxiu was new to the Cultivation World and lacked such broad experience, so naturally, she had no idea how naive her thoughts truly were.
At this moment, her face beaming with joy, she could hardly wait to begin attempting her cultivation.