Chapter 15: Heavenly Secret Pavilion Arrives

The woman in purple, dealt a merciless blow, felt her cultivation resolve nearly shatter. It had never occurred to her that her proud seventh-grade spiritual root would be worlds apart from a ninth-grade one. In her heart, there was no longer a trace of defiance towards this prodigy with a ninth-grade spiritual root; all that remained was immense frustration.

Jiang Fan, covered in sweat, left the secret chamber. Seeing the woman in purple outside, he realized his cultivation had disturbed her. He quickly cupped his hands and said, "Miss, I apologize for disturbing you."

Disturbance?

It was a shock!

The woman in purple looked at Jiang Fan with a complex expression, engraving his appearance deeply into her mind. Biting her lip slightly, she said, "My name is Liu Qingxian! Remember my name!"

"When you reach my cultivation level, I will compete with you!"

With that, she took off the purple token hanging from her waist and tossed it to Jiang Fan.

"Take this. If you face mortal danger, take it out!"

"Don't you dare die!"

"Hmph!"

Having said that, she flicked her sleeve and left, leaving Jiang Fan utterly bewildered.

What did I do to her? For no apparent reason, she wants to compete with me? And she tossed me a token? He scratched his head and left, perplexed.

After Liu Qingxian left Lone Boat City, she rode a white crane and flew away. Not long after flying, a dark cloud suddenly covered the sky above her. She looked up and saw an enormous blue eagle, with a sharp-featured middle-aged man in a white robe standing on its back, his hands clasped behind him. The powerful aura emanating from him dispersed all the incoming strong winds.

Seeing this person, Liu Qingxian was greatly startled and quickly knelt down and bowed, saying, "Disciple Liu Qingxian of Qingyun Sect greets Deputy Pavilion Master Chen of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion!"

The person before her was none other than Chen Zhengdao, one of the four Deputy Pavilion Masters of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion! Without a doubt, he was the one from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion who came to take Lu Zheng.

"Your father has been looking for you everywhere, so you came here." Chen Zhengdao chuckled. He and the Qingyun Sect Master were once fellow disciples and had an excellent relationship. He had received a message on his way, saying his daughter had run off and asking him to look out for any trace of her during his journey.

Glancing at Lone Boat City below, he understood Liu Qingxian's purpose and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Have you met that ninth-grade spiritual root? How was it?"

At this question, Liu Qingxian's eyes reddened slightly, and she said with a wronged expression, "He's too much of a bully!"

"Uh—" Chen Zhengdao was stunned. In his memory, Liu Qingxian was a girl who never yielded to anyone and was extremely strong-willed. How could she be so wronged that she cried? How big of a blow must she have received?

"How did he bully you? Tell me," Chen Zhengdao asked with a smile, in the mood for a story.

Liu Qingxian recounted her experience. After listening, Chen Zhengdao could no longer smile.

"That's impossible!"

"Are you sure you didn't misinterpret what you felt? From the fourth layer of Qi Condensation to the seventh layer, in a regular spiritual energy pool, in one hour?"

"I am an eighth-grade spiritual root, only a step away from a ninth-grade. But my cultivation speed isn't even half of what you described!"

Seeing Chen Zhengdao's utterly astonished expression, Liu Qingxian felt a sense of comfort. So even an eighth-grade spiritual root was shocked, wasn't he? Hmph! She said cheerfully, "Why don't Deputy Pavilion Master Chen go check it out himself? Anyway, I gave him the Qingyun token; it's easy to recognize him."

"Farewell!" After saying that, she cupped her hands, hummed a joyful tune, and rode off on her white crane, leaving Chen Zhengdao with a look of astonishment.

"Is the difference between a ninth-grade and an eighth-grade really that vast?"

"I don't believe it!"

At the Xu Estate, when Jiang Fan returned, he found the estate in a chaotic state. Servants were frantically arranging flower baskets and cleaning tables and chairs. Even Xu Zhengyan, the family head, was personally involved, and Xu Youran was also bustling around helping.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Fan asked in surprise.

Seeing him return, Xu Zhengyan showed a hint of disdain and said, "What are you standing there for? Aren't you going to help?"

Xu Youran handed him a rag and said respectfully, "Just now, the City Lord sent someone to inform us urgently. The esteemed elder from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion has arrived!"

The person from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion who came to take away the ninth-grade spiritual root has finally arrived?

"Jiang Fan, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and get to work! If you mess up my big day, ten of your heads wouldn't be enough to pay for it!" Just then, a smug-faced Lu Zheng, wearing a brand new silk martial robe, barked imperiously with his hands behind his back.

Jiang Fan casually tossed the rag he had received onto the ground. He raised his brush and wrote, "What does your business have to do with me?"

The people from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion were here for Lu Zheng. Why should Jiang Fan help with the cleaning?

Lu Zheng gave a forced smile and said, "What a fool! Today is the day I ascend to power and rise to the heavens. So many people outside want to cling to my coattails at this last moment, but I don't even have time to bother with them. Yet you have the chance to wipe chairs and mop floors for me, but you don't cherish it!"

Wang Yingfeng, who was beside him, was also beaming with pride. She scoffed, "Zheng'er, why bother with this mute? Some people are destined to be lowly their entire lives; that's fate. No matter how much you try to help them, they won't rise." The aunt and nephew echoed each other's words.

Just then, Qin Changsheng, who had heard the news, arrived. He cupped his hands and laughed, "Young Master Lu, this old man congratulates you! A small gift, a humble token of my respect! I hope Young Master Lu will assist our Qin family in the future."

Behind Qin Changsheng, several strong men carried several crates of low-grade Qi Condensation Fluid, causing everyone from the Xu family to gasp. Such a large amount of Qi Condensation Fluid was worth at least three hundred thousand taels of silver. Xu Zhengyan and Wang Yingfeng were terrified at the sight and for a moment dared not accept it. Gifts required repayment. Their Xu family could not afford to repay such a hefty gift.

Lu Zheng, however, laughed heartily and accepted it without hesitation, saying, "Patriarch Qin, you've come at just the right time! Come, come, come, everyone working here gets one bottle each! Of course, a certain self-important person won't get any."

And so, from the family members to the house servants, everyone joyfully received a bottle of low-grade Qi Condensation Fluid that they would usually be reluctant to buy. Only Jiang Fan's hands were empty.

Lu Zheng said smugly, "Jiang Fan, are you starting to regret it? A bottle of low-grade Qi Condensation Fluid, just like that, you missed out! Tsk, tsk, that's a big loss, isn't it?"

Jiang Fan rubbed his chest to prevent the ten bottles of high-grade Qi Condensation Fluid inside from feeling too uncomfortable, and then calmly raised his brush and wrote, "If I were you, I would never accept this gift before entering the Heavenly Secret Pavilion." What if Lu Zheng couldn't get in? How would he repay it?

Lu Zheng sneered, "Look, he dreams of becoming me, Hahaha!"

Qin Changsheng naturally stood by Lu Zheng and said disdainfully, "Jiang Fan, I'm willing to give it, and Young Master Lu is willing to accept it. Do you need to meddle?"

Jiang Fan looked at Qin Changsheng, smiled playfully, and wrote, "I'm just worried that Patriarch Qin will end up with nothing and be filled with regret."

Qin Changsheng laughed heartily, "I'll regret it? I've latched onto the coattails of a ninth-grade spiritual root. I truly can't think of any reason to regret it."

Just then, a strong gust of wind swept through. The giant blue eagle slowly descended over the Xu Estate. A figure radiating an incredibly powerful aura leapt down!

Lu Zheng's breathing hitched, and he looked at Jiang Fan, saying, "Jiang Fan! My moment of glory has arrived! Just watch carefully as I leap over the dragon's gate and become a true dragon of the Nine Heavens!"