Knock, knock, knock!
Xu Yuxiu woke up again to a sound of knocking on her door. Opening her sleepy, hazy eyes, she wondered who could possibly be knocking on her door.
Out of politeness, she still got up to open the door for whoever was outside.
As soon as the door opened, she saw Shen Fengjiao raising her hand as if about to knock again. Fortunately, Shen stopped herself just in time, otherwise she would have tumbled right into the room.
"What is this? I knocked for so long with no response, and then you suddenly flung the door open and almost made me trip!"
Shen Fengjiao cast a disgruntled glance at Xu Yuxiu and muttered under her breath.
Xu Yuxiu ignored her complaining words and instead asked with curiosity, "Is there something you need?"
As far as she was concerned, whether back on the immortal boat or after entering the sect, she and Shen Fengjiao had never crossed paths.
Moreover, Shen Fengjiao clearly looked down on people of her background, so she was very curious about what Shen Fengjiao wanted by coming to find her at this hour.
"It's nothing major. A few of us who entered the sect together are planning a small gathering. They knew the two of us live in the same small courtyard, so they asked me to come and see if you want to go. Are you coming?"
Shen Fengjiao stated the purpose of her visit.
After hearing this, Xu Yuxiu felt somewhat surprised, sensing that Shen Fengjiao seemed to have changed a bit—the arrogant aura about her had diminished significantly.
If it had been the old Shen Fengjiao, she would never have invited someone of such humble origins like herself.
"Are you sure you want to invite me?" As if wanting to make sure, Xu Yuxiu asked Shen Fengjiao.
"Of course I am, otherwise why would I bother coming to ask you!"
Xu Yuxiu nodded. "When?"
"We're going right now."
"Let's go then."
With that, Xu Yuxiu prepared to step outside, but Shen Fengjiao stopped her.
Puzzled, she looked at Shen Fengjiao. "Why are you stopping me?"
"You're not going to go out looking like *that*, are you?"
Shen Fengjiao looked her up and down with a somewhat disgusted expression. "Look at the state you're in! Your hair is a total mess like it's never been brushed once, and your clothes are all slouchy and slovenly. What kind of look is that!"
Pausing slightly, she waved her hand and said, "Hurry up and tidy yourself up, get washed and brushed, and put your clothes on properly before we set off!"
Hearing this, Xu Yuxiu froze in place, a hesitant expression on her face. "I think this is fine. I don't care what other people think of me."
"You might not care, but *I* do! I refuse to walk alongside someone looking so sloppy. Get back inside and clean up!"
Shen Fengjiao's attitude was extremely firm.
"I—" Xu Yuxiu wanted to say something more, but she saw that Shen Fengjiao had already pushed her back into the room.
Fortunately, she finally managed to get the words out: "I don't know how to do my hair. My mother always did it for me back home, and I've never worn clothes this nice before, so I don't know how to wear them properly..."
"You!"
Hearing this, Shen Fengjiao's expression froze as well, and she quickly said with a hint of exasperation, "I'll help you! Go fetch a basin of water!"
With that, she walked straight back to her own room to fetch a wooden comb.
Seeing this, Xu Yuxiu obediently went to fetch a basin of water.
Inside Xu Yuxiu's room, Shen Fengjiao used the wooden comb dipped in water to meticulously smooth out Xu Yuxiu's messy hair, twisting it into a bun secured with a hairpin while letting the excess dark strands fall gracefully down her back.
After that, she began teaching Xu Yuxiu how to properly put on and wear the outer disciple's attire.
Under Shen Fengjiao's instruction, Xu Yuxiu finally learned how to wear the outer disciple's garments.
Once everything was properly arranged, Shen Fengjiao finally let out a sigh of relief. "Look at you now—you actually look like a disciple of an immortal sect. I never realized you were so pretty."
At this moment, the properly dressed Xu Yuxiu looked like a completely different person.
Her dark hair cascaded down like a waterfall. Perhaps nourished by her spiritual power, her skin had become much softer and more lustrous than before, losing its sickly pallor. Set against such skin, her features appeared ethereal, and paired with the immortal sect attire, it added an extra touch of celestial grace to her.
She looked precisely like a little fairy who had stepped right out of a painting.
Hearing Shen Fengjiao praise her looks, a faint blush crept onto Xu Yuxiu's face. "Can we set off now?"
"Mhm, let's go!"
With that, the two of them stepped out of the courtyard together.
Following Shen Fengjiao out of Qingzhu Peak, the two arrived at a place lined with pavilions. It looked just like a street in the mortal world, except that, unlike the mortal world, there were no hawking cries or various peddlers.
All that could be seen were the outer disciples of the Taixuan Sect walking and bustling between the various pavilions.
Following Shen Fengjiao into one of the pavilions and up to the corner of the second floor, they spotted a few familiar figures.
They were none other than the people who had traveled together from Lin'an County on the immortal boat, though a few figures were missing from their group.
The moment Xu Yuxiu and Shen Fengjiao stepped onto the second floor, they caught everyone's attention.
"Over here!"
Wang Fugui, the chubby boy, stood up first and waved at them.
Shen Fengjiao nodded in response and walked over first, with Xu Yuxiu following closely behind her.
"Oh, who is this?"
After Shen Fengjiao took her seat, the rest of the group looked at Xu Yuxiu, who was sitting down next to her, with puzzled expressions, wondering who she was.
"Her?" Seeing the puzzled looks on everyone's faces, a mischievous glint flashed across Shen Fengjiao's eyes. "Take a guess!"
Hearing this, the others all put on deep, pensive expressions, unable to guess the answer for a long time.
Just then, however, a somewhat uncertain voice sounded out: "Are you... Yuxiu?"
"Yuxiu?"
Hearing this, the others couldn't help but look astonished.
"Congratulations, you guessed right!" Shen Fengjiao clapped her hands in affirmation.
"Erya, it's me." Xu Yuxiu also nodded in confirmation.
"Whoa!" Receiving a confirmed answer, the others were once again astonished.
"Yuxiu, you've changed so much! We almost didn't recognize you!"
"Yeah, yeah! You look so pretty now, just like a real little fairy!"
Faced with the exclamations and praises from the group, Xu Yuxiu appeared somewhat reserved, not knowing how to respond.
"Yuxiu, I don't go by Erya anymore. I have a name now—Li Xiaolian. An outer disciple deacon gave it to me," said the former Erya, leaning closer to Xu Yuxiu.
"Congratulations to you, Er—Xiaolian." Xu Yuxiu almost blurted out Erya again, but fortunately caught herself in time to change her words.
"Mhm, thank you." Li Xiaolian accepted Xu Yuxiu's congratulations and then turned to ask her, "Oh right, Yuxiu, didn't you go with Senior Sister Luo to see Elder Zhao back then? How is it that you're still in the outer sect?
I've heard senior brothers and sisters in the outer sect say that anyone who gets to see a Golden Core elder upon entering the sect becomes an inner disciple!"
The past pain was brought up just like that, and Shen Fengjiao opened her mouth as if to say something.
However, she saw Xu Yuxiu reply with a calm expression, "Senior Sister Luo and the others were mistaken back then. I didn't have such great aptitude; Elder Zhao saw through it at a glance, so I returned to the outer sect."
"So that's how it was." The others suddenly understood.
"Actually, the outer sect is pretty good too. I heard the benchmarks for inner disciples are extremely strict. For us, we have a year to reach the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer, but inner disciples only have half a year. If they fail to reach the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer in half a year, they get demoted to outer disciples. That kind of drastic rise and fall is just too painful to endure!"
The one speaking was Wang Fugui. Listening to him rattle off the details, Xu Yuxiu wondered where he had gotten his information.
Out of curiosity, she asked, "What about labor disciples?"
"Labor disciples? Well, just like us, they have a year to cultivate. If they can reach the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer within a year, they get directly promoted to outer disciples."
"That's pretty good too, at least they get an easier chance to become outer disciples compared to those who have long been labor disciples." Xu Yuxiu nodded.
"Good? What's so good about it? You have no idea—even though labor disciples don't have to work as hard during that year, they still have to do chores every day! Coupled with the fact that labor disciples already have poor aptitude, it's extremely difficult for them to reach the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer within a year!"
"Sigh, don't mention it. Tiezhu is a labor disciple. I went to invite him to this gathering, but he flat out refused me. When I was leaving, I saw him still carrying water."
Tiezhu was the only one in their group with a Five-element Spiritual Root. He was the one assigned as a labor disciple when they first entered the sect, and Xu Yuxiu still remembered him.
"We need to work hard too! The sect isn't going to support us for free. If we fail to reach the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer within a year, we're going to get demoted to labor disciples!"
"Yeah, I've been cultivating for over half a month. I only sensed spiritual Qi not long ago, and I haven't even managed to Inducing Qi into the Body yet. Who knows if I'll be able to reach the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer within a year!"
Someone voicing pessimism immediately struck a chord with several others.
"Heehee, I'm doing alright. I've already successfully completed Inducing Qi into the Body!" Li Xiaolian piped up at this moment, looking rather pleased with herself.
"Well, congratulations!"
Hearing this, the others who had yet to induce Qi into their bodies felt a bit gloomy, but still offered words of congratulations.
Xu Yuxiu looked at the somewhat smug Li Xiaolian, her delicate brows furrowing slightly, though she said nothing more.
For a moment, the atmosphere at the table grew rather heavy.
"Hey, are you guys all worrying about Inducing Qi into the Body?"