Villainous Fox’s Sickly Beauty Master - Chapter 5

Over the past thousand years, the Canglan Immortal Sect had produced very few disciples with a single spiritual root. Out of the three thousand inner-sect disciples, there were fewer than a hundred with single roots. Spiritual root purity was further categorized into fifteen grades; the higher the grade, the faster and more efficient the individual was at absorbing the purest spiritual energy from the heavens and earth. A grade twelve purity was a rarity across the entire continent.

As for mutated spiritual roots, they were special evolutions of single roots, often far more powerful than their standard counterparts.

The Law Enforcement Hall Elder standing atop the Spirit Testing Platform, who had just shouted the result, instinctively glanced at Jiang Jinheng. She had been observing the proceedings from her seat.

In terms of natural talent, she was the only one left in the sect who could compare.

Years ago, the Grandmaster had found her in the Arctic Ice Plains. Upon returning to the sect, her roots were tested: a grade fourteen mutated Ice Spiritual Root. Upon hearing the news, the Grandmaster couldn’t stop smiling, fully intending to groom her as the successor. However, due to Immortal Lord Luanqiu’s frail health and her detached, indifferent personality regarding management, the idea was eventually dropped.

Fu Yi’s testing results caused a massive uproar. Even the usually calm Peak Masters on the high seats now bore various expressions. After a brief moment of silence, they began to argue.

The first to speak was Cang Yu, the Master of Xiujin Peak, which specialized in artifact forging. He was twice as broad as anyone else present, a mountain of muscle whose armor clanked with every movement. Every item on his person—from his belt and sleeves to the hairpin in his hair—was a rare magical treasure to a discerning eye. He pointed toward the center of the platform, his tone dripping with determination.

“A mutated Fire-Lightning root! As expected of Martial Aunt Queyun’s daughter! Hahaha, this girl is the perfect fit for my Xiujin Peak!”

“Not so, not so.”

As soon as he finished, a sage-like old man standing on the other side countered him in a slow, calm tone while stroking his long, straight white beard.

“Don’t you forgers always insist on a destiny aligned with Metal? This girl has a pure Fire root mutated with Lightning. My Alchemy Peak is the one in need of such talent.”

“Martial Uncle Danyi has a point,” a third voice interjected, “but by that same token, I’ve heard it’s quite difficult for a cultivator without a Wood root to become an alchemist. Besides, a cultivator with such talent should focus more on their own strength. Xiujin Peak has plenty of artifacts and Alchemy Peak has no shortage of pills; we are all one sect, so why divide things so strictly? Today, you can simply send your finest artifacts and pills to my Tianhuo Peak. In my view, this young lady is best suited to come to Tianhuo Peak to learn the sword.”

The speaker was Yuan Yi, the Master of Tianhuo Peak. Dressed in black robes and holding a fan, she looked delicate with her long hair tied up—at first glance, resembling a handsome young man. However, she was a woman, and even when speaking with a smile, she could not hide the murderous aura surrounding her. Many had seen her on the immortal-demon battlefield, holding a divine weapon and taking on a thousand foes alone. To put it simply, she was a god of slaughter incarnate.

Despite this, no one present was a “soft persimmon.” They traded barbs, one-upping each other and dredging up old grievances between the peaks until the argument was completely out of hand.

Below, several groups of applicants had already finished their tests, yet the group above showed no sign of stopping. Jiang Jinheng felt a headache coming on. Finally, she couldn’t resist snapping, “Enough, stop it.”

Though she was young in years, her seniority was high and her talent immense; she was the most beloved personal disciple of the previous Sect Leader. With Xuanmingzi absent from this ceremony, she held the most authority among those remaining.

The moment Jiang Jinheng spoke, the others indeed fell silent. But the peace lasted only a second before Yuan Yi scurried to her side, grabbing the sleeves of her pale green robes. Her fan had been tucked into her waist at some point, and she spoke in a tone that was nearly pouting.

“Little Martial Aunt, you be the judge! Tell me, with such a beautiful young girl, do you have the heart to let her follow Martial Uncle Danyi and get her eyebrows singed hanging around a medicine furnace?”

As soon as Yuan Yi said this, the formerly amiable old man began huffing and puffing with rage. If Jiang Jinheng hadn’t been standing there, the two would have likely started a physical altercation.

Seeing that her tactic worked, Yuan Yi immediately turned her focus toward Cang Yu.

“And if she goes to Xiujin Peak with Senior Brother Cang Yu, she’ll be dealing with stones, black iron, and nameless materials all day long. Not only will she be covered in soot from dawn to dusk, but it’s terribly dull, isn’t it?”

Cang Yu clenched his fists in fury. If Danyi hadn’t been holding him back, he likely would have challenged Yuan Yi to a duel right then and there.

“Sword-swinger! Our Xiujin Peak is for artifact forging, not coal mining! Who are you calling ‘sooty’?”

Yuan Yi muttered under her breath, “It’s all the same thing.”

At this, Danyi could barely restrain Cang Yu. Yuan Yi, quick on her feet, hid behind Jiang Jinheng, leaving the man unable to reach her.

“Little Martial Aunt, are you going to protect her even when she speaks like that?”

Cang Yu, standing a head and a half taller than Jiang Jinheng, was so angry that the veins on his arms were bulging. Jiang Jinheng glanced back at Yuan Yi; one moment the girl was making faces to provoke Cang Yu, and the next, when Jiang Jinheng turned her head, she was acting like a pitiable puppy with drooping ears.

Such small tricks couldn’t fool Jiang Jinheng, but she only chuckled. She brushed Cang Yu aside with one hand—seemingly with little effort, yet enough to make the giant of a man stumble back two steps.

“Don’t block my view.” She then added, “Besides, I think she has a point.”

The faces of the two “injured” parties darkened several shades, while Yuan Yi, standing behind her, gave a triumphant smile and hugged Jiang Jinheng’s arm tightly.

“I knew Little Martial Aunt loved me most.”

The other two were fuming, but in the next second, Jiang Jinheng settled the score for them.

“However, I also think having her stay by your side, killing and fighting every day, wouldn’t be good either.”

Yuan Yi’s eyes went wide as the other two snorted in agreement; Jiang Jinheng had spoken exactly what was in their hearts.

“Then… who else could possibly be more suitable…”

Before Yuan Yi could finish, Jiang Jinheng used a Silence Talisman to seal her mouth.

“Naturally, it is me.”

Yuan Yi’s eyes widened even further, but the silence spell prevented her from speaking. she could only make muffled noises and wave her hands frantically, her eyes nearly filling with tears of frustration. Yet, Jiang Jinheng understood her perfectly.

“What? Your Little Martial Aunt can’t take a disciple? Besides, alchemy, forging, swordplay, talismans—which of these am I not proficient in?”

Jiang Jinheng was not exaggerating. Although she had an Ice root, in her early years she had encountered an inheritance in the Kamikaze Secret Realm in the Far North, obtaining the Cold Star Flame—a “Ghost Fire” that had been missing for a thousand years. This flame was strange; it felt freezing when near, but was hotter than ordinary fire upon contact. If used against a person, it would silently burrow into their meridians, causing a bone-eroding, heart-burning pain that wouldn’t stop until both body and soul were destroyed.

To master the Cold Star Flame, one had to endure that very pain first. When Jiang Jinheng subdued it, she had no one to protect her, and she was scolded by the Grandmaster for a long time upon her return. Fortunately, this flame was perfectly suited for Ice-root cultivators and served to constantly temper the body, which was a great benefit to the physically weak Jiang Jinheng. For alchemists and forgers, the stability and temperature of the flame are the keys to avoiding explosions and reducing impurities. Compared to ordinary medicinal fires, a spiritual flame provides much better control—and compared to other spiritual flames, the Cold Star Flame is superior for refining. Because of this, Jiang Jinheng had mastered both forging and alchemy to an expert level. At one point, she stayed in the alchemy room every day, neglecting even her primary study of music.

Because the opponent was her, the other two no longer intended to argue. However, Yuan Yi’s eyes grew even brighter, and her excitement increased. Jiang Jinheng hadn’t expected her martial niece to be as noisy as 007; even with her mouth sealed, her body language was incredibly expressive. Helplessly, Jiang Jinheng removed the spell. As soon as she could speak, the girl’s eyes sparkled, looking between the platform and Jiang Jinheng as if she had unearthed some earth-shattering news.

“Little Martial Aunt, you’re actually going to take a disciple? I thought no one else would ever set foot on your Xuanyun Hall until you ascended to the upper realm.”

Unlike Yuan Yi, Danyi’s expression turned somewhat strange. “But I heard from the Sect Leader that you told him you would only take one disciple this time—and that regardless of foundation, you would only take that surviving boy from the Mo family.”

Danyi’s words made Jiang Jinheng hesitate for a moment. But since she had already spoken and had no intention of taking Mo Tong, it was better to clear things up now.

“Martial Brother Danyi, on that point, I believe you misheard.” Jiang Jinheng felt her brain working overtime. She didn’t know how to follow up, since she didn’t remember her original words. Just then, 007’s familiar voice rang in her sea of consciousness.

Because of their bond, the entity knew her thoughts and recited her original words verbatim. Jiang Jinheng didn’t have time to thank it, focusing instead on replying to Danyi.

“I did indeed mention taking a disciple to the Sect Leader. However, it was because I divined that there was a disciple in this class with whom I share a deep karmic bond. I never specified that the person was Mo Tong.”

Seeing that Danyi was about to ask more, Jiang Jinheng interjected quickly: “It is likely because I mentioned the massacre of the Mo family and asked the Sect Leader to ensure Mo Tong becomes an inner-sect disciple regardless of the outcome. That must be why he misunderstood my meaning. I will explain it to him clearly when we meet later.”

Since Jiang Jinheng had put it that way, it was inappropriate for others to press further. However, Cang Yu, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up: “Little Martial Aunt, since you are already prepared to take a disciple, one or two makes little difference. Why not take him under your wing as well? It would serve as a bit of comfort to Martial Uncle Mo in the afterlife.”

The “Martial Uncle Mo” he referred to was the previous Master of Xiujin Peak and the former head of the Mo family, who had fallen fifteen years ago during the Great Immortal-Demon War. Jiang Jinheng was surprised to hear this; after all, what did a grandmaster of the main house have to do with an unimportant child from a branch family? To bring it up now was clearly a play for a personal favor.

It’s likely the effect of the ‘Halo.’ I said the halo wouldn’t work on you, but I didn’t say it wouldn’t influence these unawakened people.

Jiang Jinheng understood. She was about to refuse, but Yuan Yi, who had been clinging to her side, stepped in front of her.

“Hey, Big Guy! What do you mean ‘one or two makes no difference’? If Little Martial Aunt says she only wants one disciple, she only wants one! If you love taking disciples so much, take him yourself. Don’t go wearing out my Little Martial Aunt!”