Chapter 276: Reward and Punishment

It was an eighteen-year-old face of exquisite classical beauty, like a maiden drawn in a classical painting. Even though Xie Liushu had seen countless beauties from various sects, he was still stunned by the beauty before him.

However, at this moment, he felt no affection. Instead, he felt panic. Because the young woman before him, who appeared to be a maiden, was none other than the Sect Master of the Joyous Union Sect!

Xie Liushu's heart sank heavily. It seemed Ji Ruyue had been right; the Sect Master had indeed fallen down the cliff along with the broken chain. And the Sect Master had only rushed here after receiving his pigeon message. Would she vent her anger on him?

With this thought, his knees buckled nervously, and he began, "Sect..."

But before he could finish, Yue Mingzhu interrupted him, saying, "The Sect Master is very worried about my safety, right?"

She hadn't realized there were so many people on the cliff. Besides those from her own sect, there were also members from the Supreme Sect, the Ten Thousand Swords Gate, and the Spirit Beast Sect. Oh heavens! How could she let all the sects know that the Sect Master of the Joyous Union Sect had fallen down a cliff and been rescued by a junior disciple? If that truly got out, she would become the laughingstock of the Nine Sects. So, she quickly reminded Xie Liushu and gave him a stern look.

Xie Liushu froze. *You are the Sect Master, aren't you?* But as a chief disciple, his intelligence was certainly keen. With a shift in thought, he immediately understood the intricacies of the situation. With four external sect disciples present, revealing the Sect Master's identity would damage her reputation. So, he quickly caught on, straightened his legs, and stammered: "Yes, the Sect Master was very worried about you. Now that we see you're alright, we're all relieved." As he spoke, he turned and gave a meaningful look to the other Joyous Union Sect disciples. After a moment of stunned silence, whether they understood or not, they all echoed Xie Liushu.

Jiang Fan looked suspicious. Why did Xie Liushu and the others seem so odd? But it was no longer his concern. He put Yue Mingzhu down and instructed, "Xie Liushu, look after your junior sister well. If I hadn't rescued her in time, she would be dead by now."

Xie Liushu's heart thumped. Were the Sect Master's injuries from falling to the bottom of the cliff really that serious?

Yue Mingzhu couldn't save face any longer. These were all her own disciples before her. If he portrayed her as being in such a pathetic state, how could she, as Sect Master, maintain her dignity? She cleared her throat, saying, "It wasn't that serious. Just a few scrapes and bruises, don't exaggerate."

Jiang Fan unhappily poked her forehead and said, "You've healed your wounds and forgotten the pain! You haven't learned your lesson; you'll probably get into trouble again!"

Xie Liushu's eyes widened, and he gasped. Ji Ruyue's beautiful eyes also widened. The Joyous Union Sect disciples' hearts pounded wildly. Jiang Fan was... scolding their Sect Master? Had the world gone mad?

Yue Mingzhu's face flushed crimson. Not only did he expose her embarrassing situation, but he also reprimanded her in front of her own disciples? She was so angry that her teeth ground together audibly. If she didn't have to conceal her identity as Sect Master, she would have loved to pin Jiang Fan to the ground and give him a severe lesson right now!

Seeing her defiant expression, Jiang Fan shook his head, too lazy to say more to her. He looked at Xie Liushu and said, "She's in your care now. Farewell!"

With the exploration of the Nascent Soul cave dwelling concluded, there was no longer any reason for the two parties to interact. He cupped his hands, then slowly departed with Yi Lianxing and the two other women, guiding the convoy.

Xie Liushu and the others stood rooted to the spot, not daring to move, until Jiang Fan's group vanished into the distance at the end of the snowy mountains. Not one of them dared to breathe loudly, because even without looking, they could feel the Sect Master's fury.

"Damn it!" Yue Mingzhu clenched her jaw and stomped her foot angrily. The ground beneath her feet trembled, directly causing large chunks of ice to crack and break away from the mountains. "That fellow!" She glared angrily at Xie Liushu.

The latter could no longer hold back and immediately knelt on the ground with a thud, begging for mercy: "Sect Master... your disciple had no idea the chain would break! Your disciple absolutely did not intend to harm you."

Yue Mingzhu naturally understood that Xie Liushu was not to blame for this matter. It was due to her own haste. "Alright, get up." Then, she looked at the others and asked, "Who brought Jiang Fan here?"

Ji Ruyue, who was hiding at the very back of the disciples, showed a bitter smile. She knew there was no escape. With a pale face, she stepped forward and voluntarily knelt on the ground, saying: "It was I, your disciple, who brought him here."

Xie Liushu, with a hint of schadenfreude, cupped his hands and said: "Sect Master, Ji Ruyue has no integrity. To save her life and to get a share of the Beast King's spiritual meat, she actively betrayed information about the Nascent Soul cave dwelling and ignored my warnings. I ask the Sect Master to punish her severely according to the rules."

Ji Ruyue's face was full of bitterness. She had no room for defense and could only accept her fate: "Your disciple knows her mistake. But if I were to do it again, your disciple would not regret it. If the Sect Master wishes to punish me, then punish me." Anyway, it would be a severe punishment, and begging for mercy would be useless.

To her surprise, Yue Mingzhu took out a high-grade Profound-tier cultivation method and threw it before her: "This is a cultivation method practiced by our sect. It's your reward."

Xie Liushu was stunned. How could she not be punished but instead rewarded? He looked at the bamboo slip on the ground, and after recognizing the name written on it, he was greatly shocked: "The Boundless Spirit Scripture?" "Sect Master, how could you pass on such an important cultivation method to her?"

The Joyous Union Sect disciples also looked astonished. The Boundless Spirit Scripture was the highest cultivation method of their sect, only to be practiced by the Sect Master and elders. Even Xie Liushu was not yet qualified to cultivate it. But Ji Ruyue, a disciple of mediocre talent, had successfully received it!

Ji Ruyue was also dumbfounded, asking blankly, "The Sect Master isn't punishing me, but giving me a cultivation method instead?"

Yue Mingzhu sighed, with her hands behind her back: "If you hadn't invited Young Master Jiang, I would have been trapped and died at the bottom of the cliff. I barely have time to reward you; how could I punish you? Get up."

Ji Ruyue felt as if she were dreaming. She hesitantly asked, "Then... then the Sect Master isn't blaming your disciple for unauthorized collection of Young Master Jiang's Beast King materials?"

Yue Mingzhu frowned, a little concerned: "Within our sect's territory, how could there be a Beast King?"

Ji Ruyue replied, "It wasn't exactly within our Joyous Union Sect's territory. It was a Scarlet-scaled Fiendish Flood Dragon in the Raging River, at the second level of the Core Formation realm."

Yue Mingzhu was surprised: "When did such a formidable demonic beast appear in the Raging River? Moreover, how did you manage to kill it?" Xie Liushu and the Joyous Union Sect disciples, even with Jiang Fan and the three female disciples, couldn't possibly defeat a second-level Core Formation realm beast.

Ji Ruyue gave a bitter smile: "Sect Master thinks too highly of us. It was Junior Brother Jiang who single-handedly slayed this Beast King."

"What?" Yue Mingzhu's eyes widened. She had witnessed Jiang Fan's prowess: at the eighth level of Foundation Establishment, along with his Earth-tier finger techniques, his strength made him rarely matched by anyone below the Core Formation realm. At such a young age, he was already a figure like a peerless prodigy. But now, she was suddenly shocked to hear that Jiang Fan had single-handedly slayed a second-level Core Formation Beast King! "What did you say? Jiang Fan alone? You didn't see wrong?" she asked in disbelief.

Ji Ruyue nodded, saying, "All the senior brothers and sisters witnessed it personally."

Xie Liushu scratched his head awkwardly, saying, "Although I'm reluctant to admit it, this Jiang Fan is indeed excessively powerful. He truly slayed this Beast King by himself."

Yue Mingzhu was too shocked to describe it with words. After a long moment, she murmured, "As expected of a disciple from an outer divine sect; they truly cannot be measured by common sense."

But these words stunned everyone. Ji Ruyue looked puzzled: "Sect Master, what is an outer divine sect? Does Junior Brother Jiang have some other background?"

Yue Mingzhu raised an eyebrow: "Wait! What did you call him? Junior Brother?"