Chapter 173: Undermining

Nie Yunzhu was so exasperated he nearly laughed. He had specifically inquired about Jiang Fan. Although Jiang Fan was accepted as the Sect Master's disciple, he was clearly not highly regarded. During the last dangerous monster hunt, even Liu Wenchen hadn't provided him with any resources! What good things could such a person possibly possess?

With his hands tucked into his sleeves, he adopted a condescending posture and declared, "Let me be frank: you are not worthy of my two junior sisters. Because you can't give them anything! Please stop bothering them from now on."

Jiang Fan shrugged. "I have no problem with that, as long as my two wives don't."

Upon hearing this, Xu Youran, enraged, pinched him. "You dare to abandon us, just try it!"

Chen Siling looked at Nie Yunzhu with annoyance, rubbing her temples. "Second Senior Brother, you're the one bothering us. Please stop doing this in the future. Youran and I have been troubled by it."

Such stinging words made Nie Yunzhu's expression change. He said, "Junior Sister Siling, but everything I said was the truth! Ask yourself, what has he ever given you?"

Chen Siling had a headache. Did she really need to search her conscience to recall what Jiang Fan had given her? Everything she had now, wasn't it all from Jiang Fan? To make him give up, she simply stated directly, "What my husband has given me, you could never give in your entire life."

Such a hurtful statement was intolerable to Nie Yunzhu! He glared furiously at Jiang Fan.

Seeing the atmosphere turn sour, the female disciple who had just been sparring with Nie Yunzhu sighed and put away her sword. She was Nie Yunzhu's older sister, Nie Yunxi. Years ago, the two siblings were recruited together by Li Qingfeng into Heavenly Sword Peak, a story that became a topic of admiring gossip. They were both very talented and diligent. Especially the elder sister, who had already reached Foundation Establishment Layer 8, making her truly the Senior Disciple Sister. Her younger brother, Nie Yunzhu, was at Foundation Establishment Layer 7, making him the Second Senior Brother. Only the First Senior Brother surpassed them both.

What gave Nie Yunxi a headache was this: Nie Yunzhu, who had previously been entirely focused on cultivation, seemed to lose his mind ever since Xu Youran and Chen Siling arrived. He constantly bothered them, offering solicitous greetings and persistently pestering them. Even though the two girls repeatedly rejected him, he continued undeterred, wanting to have both women and enjoy the privilege of having two wives. Now, seeing the two women laughing and chatting with a man, he immediately abandoned his cultivation and ran over to cause a scene. Though she hadn't wanted to interfere, she had no choice but to step in.

"Everyone, calm down," Nie Yunxi said, walking gracefully towards them, a friendly expression on her face. Her voice was as gentle as water, calming to the mind. Xu Youran and Chen Siling both showed respect towards her, bowing in unison. "Senior Disciple Sister."

Nie Yunxi looked at Jiang Fan. Remembering all the rumors her brother had spread about Jiang Fan, she already harbored a preconceived prejudice against him. Now, seeing him, she also felt in her heart that Jiang Fan was not worthy of Xu Youran and Chen Siling. In comparison, her younger brother was more suitable to possess two beautiful junior sisters. Since her brother had such a strong obsession, she might as well help him fulfill his wish, so he could then cultivate with peace of mind.

"Junior Brother Jiang, welcome to Heavenly Sword Peak!" Nie Yunxi said with a friendly smile on her face, "My brother is young and impulsive; please don't take his words to heart. How about this? I'll set up a table in the dining hall and apologize to you on my brother's behalf."

Hearing that the woman was relatively polite, Jiang Fan no longer dwelled on it and cupped his hands. "No need to be polite, Senior Sister Nie. Youran, Siling, and I are going somewhere else." The prime meat in his hand was very expensive. It was better to eat it privately to avoid revealing his wealth and attracting unwanted attention.

Nie Yunxi enthusiastically said, "How can that be? You are the husband of my two junior sisters, and it's rare for you to visit. If I let you leave just like that, people will gossip about Heavenly Sword Peak."

Jiang Fan was speechless. Wasn't the biggest gossip originating from their Heavenly Sword Peak anyway? Who was it who concluded he had advanced by overdrawing his potential? Wasn't it none other than Li Qingfeng, the Peak Master of Heavenly Sword Peak?

Xu Youran and Chen Siling exchanged a look, both showing a hint of awkwardness. Repeatedly refusing such a warm invitation from the Senior Disciple Sister would genuinely cause offense. They would still be staying at Heavenly Sword Peak in the future, constantly seeing each other. Jiang Fan realized this and could only reluctantly say, "Alright, then I'll trouble Senior Sister Nie."

"Nonsense! We're all one family, come on!"

She led the way. As she passed Nie Yunzhu, she gave him a knowing look. Nie Yunzhu understood instantly; his sister was helping him create an opportunity. What kind of opportunity? The opportunity to perform at the dinner table, naturally! If he could just display how much more outstanding he was than Jiang Fan, how could the two women not be swayed?

Heavenly Sword Peak's dining hall was packed with people. Nie Yunxi chose the brightest table and sat down. The surrounding disciples, being considerate, moved aside to make room for them. Nie Yunzhu went to the back kitchen to arrange for the specially prepared dishes he had painstakingly gathered to be brought out. These were all rare mountain delicacies and wild game he had diligently acquired from various places in Qingyun City. They were treasures he himself was reluctant to eat and had cost him several hundred spirit stones.

The table was long, and Nie Yunxi subtly directed her words towards the two girls. "Siling, have you collected your Foundation Establishment Pills for this month?"

Chen Siling's eyes flickered, feeling a bit guilty. "Uh, yes, of course I have." The Foundation Establishment Pills distributed by the sect were of the lowest grade. However, what Jiang Fan had given her and Xu Youran were top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills. So, they would sell the pills distributed by the sect immediately upon receiving them, unwilling to consume them at all.

Nie Yunxi, unaware of this, said meaningfully, "Don't forget in the future either. Once you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, resources become extremely important. But the sect can only provide a portion. If you want to progress faster and further, you need to acquire more resources from other channels. Otherwise, no matter how talented you two are, it will be difficult to achieve great success."

Chen Siling and Xu Youran hadn't yet caught her underlying meaning and nodded, indicating they understood. Jiang Fan, however, sensed a hint of something. How did it sound like Nie Yunxi was implying that he, Jiang Fan, couldn't provide sufficient resources? Nie Yunxi had a systematic way of speaking, moving from the general to the specific.

She looked at Chen Siling and said, "Why don't you have a magic artifact yet?" After speaking, she glanced at Jiang Fan again. The meaning was undeniably clear: Jiang Fan can't give you anything!

Hearing this, Chen Siling cast a resentful glance at Jiang Fan and muttered, "Aren't we still waiting for a certain someone to fulfill his promise?"

Jiang Fan was momentarily stunned. It wasn't until he saw the green sword on Xu Youran's back that he suddenly remembered. When he first entered Qingyun Sect, he had taken the two girls to browse the disciples' stalls. He had bought Xu Youran a mid-grade magic artifact. But since there wasn't one suitable for Chen Siling, he promised to buy one at the next gathering. Later, with too many things happening, he had forgotten about it. He couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Seeing this, Nie Yunxi's lips curved slightly. Inciting discord couldn't be simpler.

However, the next moment, what made Nie Yunxi's smile freeze was this: Jiang Fan directly pulled out a pouch and handed it to Chen Siling. "My apologies, I forgot. Take this pouch of spirit stones and buy whatever you want."

In reality, Chen Siling wasn't angry. Had Jiang Fan given her too few things? Why would she complain over a mere magic artifact? Receiving an extra pouch of spirit stones, she looked delighted. Opening it, she saw a full hundred mid-grade spirit stones inside. That translated to a thousand low-grade spirit stones. She immediately beamed with joy. "Wow! A thousand spirit stones, thank you, husband!"

Xu Youran became unhappy and held out her small hand. "Where's mine?" Jiang Fan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and handed her another pouch. These were all plundered from Xu Ganglie, a disciple of the Giant Sect. He didn't need them at all. Xu Youran took it and looked, her pretty face also full of joy. "Thank you, husband, for a thousand spirit stones!"

Nie Yunxi was dumbfounded! He had just given away two thousand spirit stones in one go? She and her brother combined might not even have that many! No wonder the two girls were so devoted to Jiang Fan. So Jiang Fan wasn't lacking resources after all! It seemed that to outshine Jiang Fan, they could only rely on the spiritual dishes her brother had painstakingly acquired. Those weren't something you could buy just with money; connections were required. Surely Jiang Fan couldn't produce food better than spiritual dishes, could he?