On the training ground behind Su Meilin's residence, Bai Shuying sat in meditation with a wooden sword horizontally placed on her lap. She was running her Blooming Lotus cultivation art, and the ambient qi gathered around her.
Bai Shuying's focus was on her dantian, a dark space like the void, where a small blue lotus levitated, which was partially open, had three petals spread out. The blue lotus looked somewhat transparent, showing a small red bead that was almost filled with liquid Yin qi.
Bai Shuying felt her cultivation reach the peak of the Qi Condensation realm, but she could not break through as if a barrier blocked her.
"Could it be, as the master said," Bai Shuying murmured as she looked at her demon core, which remained at Tier 1 Spirit Beast.
Bai Shuying exhaled a breath of turbulent air and opened her eyes. Holding her sword in her right hand, she stood up. She started to perform the Thousand Lotus Blooms sword art, blue petals started to appear, one turned into two, two into four, and four into eight, and so on. She stepped forward with her bare right foot and performed an upward diagonal slash.
Bai Shuying's eyes widened as she watched the blue petals flutter in the air. She had the urge to perform a sword dance, which she was once captivated by when she watched historical documentaries.
Bai Shuying performed graceful movements, fluidly shifting from different postures and navigating beautifully on the training ground. Her pinkish white robes fluttered in the air.
Her sword was sometimes swift, other times it was slow; it seemed odd, but it felt very attractive. As Bai Shuying performed, her excitement increased, and her blood boiled.
Under her bare feet, blue lotuses started to form. Bai Shuying performed her movement art, Lotus Steps.
Lost in her sword dance, Bai Shuying did not notice someone was watching her performance.
…
"Phew, finally finished absorbing all the Yin energy. Hahaha, I've reached the eighth stage of the foundation establishment realm!" Su Meilin said with excitement.
Su Meilin stood up from her cross-legged position and stretched. Her chest bounced, and her slim waist twisted with her graceful movements. She stepped outside the room with her bare feet and sensed Bai Shuying in the training ground.
Su Meilin came outside, she inhaled a deep breath and exhaled a deep breath. She observed Bai Shuying in the training ground open her eyes and hold her sword.
She seems to be training, let's not disturb her.
Su Meilin thought.
She quietly observed Bai Shuying perform her sword art.
"Wow! Could that be the Thousand Lotus Blooms?" Su Meilin said in amazement.
Su Meilin watched as blue petals appeared and multiplied. She watched Bai Shuying take a step forward and swing her sword; the petals fluttered everywhere. Su Meilin's mouth opened in awe. Bai Shuying started to perform a sword dance while Su Meilin watched dazed. Bai Shuying's graceful movements, the fluidity of her body, and her delicate bare feet left lotuses with her every step.
Su Meilin felt her heart start to race. She raised her right hand to cover her heart, pressing her left breast down.
What is this feeling?
Su Meilin thought in confusion while her face flushed.
Su Meilin did not understand what was happening to her, but she knew one thing: she wanted to get closer to Bai Shuying. Su Meilin's violet eyes turned a shade darker.
…
Bai Shuying performed her sword dance; she felt it.
I think I can do it, I can move the petals!
Bai Shuying thought.
As if the petals around her had a mind of their own, they started to move. Bai Shuying smiled while the petals acted as if they were swords themselves. The noise of slicing the air echoed through the surroundings while sword marks appeared on the ground.
Could this be intent? But when did I form a seed and have it sprout? Could it be… that time I was traveling in the void? Yes, the glowing thing must have been a seed, so when it burst with light, it must have sprouted.
Bai Shuying thought.
Bai Shuying stopped and watched the blue lotus petals float in the air, fading away.
Bai Shuying suddenly felt pressure on her back, and someone wrapped their arms around her neck.
"Guess who?" Su Meilin softly said in Bai Shuying's ear.
Bai Shuying's face turned slightly red at the intimate contact and quickly responded, "Meilin, are you done being in seclusion?"
Su Meilin continued hugging Bai Shuying and rested her chin on her head. "Hmm, I just got out, I reached the eighth stage of the foundation establishment realm." Su Meilin said.
"Congratulations, Meilin!" Bai Shuying cheerfully said with a smile on her face.
Seeing her like this, Su Meilin felt a flutter in her heart and quickly shook her head.
Bai Shuying and Su Meilin sat in the training grounds, having a conversation about what Bai Shuying was currently doing and Su Meilin's experience in entering seclusion.
Hua Xiran appeared smiling at the two who got along so well. Bai Shuying and Su Meilin, seeing Hua Xiran quickly stood up and bowed slightly, saying in unison, "Greetings, Master!"
Hua Xiran nodded her head and looked at Su Meilin. "Seems you have reached the eighth stage of the foundation establishment realm."
"Yup, master, see I told you sixth stage as a goal was too low." Su Meilin said with a smile.
"It's always good to exceed expectations," Hua Xiran said with a smile.
Hua Xiran turned her attention to Bai Shuying, and she paused. Bai Shuying became nervous at being stared at so intently, and her face turned slightly red from remembering how they woke up in the morning.
Su Meilin also innocently looked at Bai Shuying.
"When did you reach the peak of the qi condensation realm?" Hua Xiran asked curiously.
Phew, is that all she wanted to ask?
Bai Shuying thought in relief.
Bai Shuying innocently said, "Just recently, I reached the peak of the qi condensation realm."
Hua Xiran nodded her head.
As expected, abnormal!
Hua Xiran thought.
Hua Xiran did not bother to be surprised at Bai Shuying anymore.
"I spoke about this with Meilin before, but Shuying, are you interested in going to a secret realm?" Hua Xiran asked, looking at Bai Shuying.
Bai Shuying tilted her head, registering Hua Xiran's words. Soon her eyes sparkled and she said excitedly, "A secret realm?!"
Hua Xiran and Su Meilin giggled at her reaction.
Hua Xiran explained, "The secret realm is called the inheritance realm. When it was first found by the Human Alliance, they set up an entry formation and allocated one hundred tokens to the eight great sects. The eight great sects take turns every four years to send in their disciples; now it is the turn of the four demonic sects."
Bai Shuying nodded her head.
Hua Xiran continued to explain, "Most of the tokens have already been distributed, and my token was given to Meilin."
When Bai Shuying heard this, she became disappointed.
Hua Xiran smiled and said, "But you can still get a token, or to be more precise, someone already gave you one."
"Who would give me a token?" Bai Shuying asked curiously while Su Meilin perked her ears.
"It was the Grand Elder Hua who bestowed a token on you." Hua Xiran stated.
Bai Shuying felt a warmth in her chest, but also complicated emotions since Elder Hua found out she was a hybrid.
Hua Xiran saw Bai Shuying's complicated face and thought.
This is the issue with my mother being in the garden for so long; she forgets how to interact with people.
"Well, there were some issues during the sect meeting, a group of elders tried to take Elder Hua's token from her." Hua Xiran said.
Su Meilin was surprised that someone would challenge the Grand Elder, but she had a certain guess in her mind about this group.
Unlike Hua Xiran and Su Meilin, Bai Shuying clenched her fist and gritted her teeth in anger.
How dare they try to bully Elder Hua!
Bai Shuying thought with anger.
Remembering the smiling Elder Hua and imagining her being aggrieved, Bai Shuying almost exploded.
If Hua Qingyan knew Bai Shuying would act like this, she would have held both her cheeks and thought.
Oh my, my, Shuying cares for me so much.
Hua Xiran giggled at Bai Shuying's reaction, but could not help but be jealous of her mother. Hua Xiran rubbed Bai Shuying's head and said, "Don't worry, my mother is fine."
Bai Shuying was surprised at the sudden contact, but soon calmed down. Hua Xiran kept rubbing her head, and Bai Shuying quietly received it until Su Meilin said, "Huh, Master the Grand Elder is your mother?!"
Hua Xiran and Bai Shuying turned their attention to Su Meilin, dumbfounded then both looked at each other.
"When did you find out?" Hua Xiran asked.
"Elder Hua told me herself," Bai Shuying responded.
"Hey, don't leave me out!" Su Meilin pouted.
"Cough, well, let me say it. My mother is the Grand Elder, Hua Qingyan." Hua Xiran stated.
Bai Shuying nodded while Su Meilin said, "Master, why didn't you tell me before? And when did Shuying get so close to your mother?"
Before Bai Shuying could answer, Hua Xiran said, "My mother never leaves her garden, and should I go around telling everyone she's my mom?"
Su Meilin nodded her head and said, "Makes sense."
She then turned her attention to Bai Shuying and asked, "How do you know the Grand Elder?"
Bai Shuying explained her connection to the Grand Elder to Su Meilin while Hua Xiran thought with a meaningful smile.
She's going to be your mother sooner or later, Shuying.
Hua Xiran would realize in the future how half wrong she was.
"Well, enough tangents back to the token." Hua Xiran said.
Bai Shuying and Su Meilin looked at Hua Xiran seriously.
"Shuying, if you want the token, you have to defeat Elder Mo's disciple Xiao Wuji." Hua Xiran seriously said to Bai Shuying.
Another duel! Wait, Elder Mo…
Bai Shuying thought.
"Master, I just had a duel with Ye Mingyue, who is also Elder Mo's disciple. Is it fine for me to duel another one of her disciples?" Bai Shuying asked.
Hua Xiran and Su Meilin were both stunned and asked in unison, "When was this? Who won?"
Su Meilin had a small impression of Ye Mingyue, a woman who always looked at her with jealousy. While Hua Xiran just disliked anything to do with Mo Xingyu.
Bai Shuying took her time to explain everything that led to the alchemy duel and her victory.
Hua Xiran and Su Meilin were impressed by Bai Shuying. She has only been in the sect for a month and reached the Apprentice Alchemist level.
The sun started to set, and darkness started to spread.
"Yawn," Bai Shuying covered her mouth, tired.
"Master and Meilin, I'm going to go to bed," Bai Shuying said.
Hua Xiran and Su Meilin nodded their head and watched Bai Shuying leave.
"Here, there's information on the secret realm. Make sure you memorize it," Hua Xiran gave Su Meilin a jade slip.
"Wow! Thank you, Master," Su Meilin cheerfully said.
Hua Xiran thought for a moment and said with a meaningful smile, "Meilin, I have a good idea."
"What is it?" Su Meilin curiously asked.
Hua Xiran whispered her idea into Su Meilin's ear. Su Meilin's eyes widened, and she said, "Master, that's not a good idea, but a great idea!"
Unaware, Bai Shuying happily went to bed with a smile on her face.
…
Hua Qingyan sat in her pavilion, blankly looking at her garden, while in front of her was a porcelain cup filled with fresh green tea exuding smoke, with a small plate of cookies that Bai Shuying had baked for her.
The garden that once appeared beautiful and vibrant in her eyes was now dull and colorless.
She unconsciously picked up her teacup and took a sip of green tea, but the green tea that had once tasted sweet now left a bitter taste in her mouth, making her frown.
Wanting to remove the bitterness, Hua Qingyan picked up a cookie and placed it in her mouth, but it only added to the already bitter flavor on her tongue.
Hua Qingyan sighed, crossed her arms on the table, and rested her chin on her arms.
"Su Meilin would know Shuying's secret since she brought her into the sect while Xiran is her master, but what am I to Shuying to expect Shuying to tell me her secret?" Hua Qingyan softly said in a low voice.
Hua Qingyan felt very confused and complicated on the inside.
"In the beginning, we were just Elder and Disciple, but we shared our hobbies and realized we had more in common, so were we… friends?" Hua Qingyan softly murmured.
Hua Qingyan did not just want to be friends with Bai Shuying; she wanted a much deeper connection.
"A daughter-in-law?" Hua Qingyan said, but shook her head.
Hua Qingyan already had a daughter, and one was enough, but she wanted something more from Bai Shuying.
"What is it do I want with Shuying?" Hua Qingyan said with frustration in her voice.
If people who knew Hua Qingyan in the past saw her like this, they would be shocked. In the past, Hua Qingyan was a strong and confident woman. How else do you think she reached the nascent soul realm? Luck? No! Determination! But after being betrayed by her dao companion, she became insecure and unsure about herself.
This kind of mindset is detrimental to a cultivator. What are cultivators? People who defy their mortal destinies to obtain eternity, to control their destiny with their own hands rather than be at the mercy of heaven.
The cultivation path is not a clean cement road with flowers on the side. It is a road paved in bones with rivers of blood on the side.
Only the resolute thrive on this path—those forged in conviction, steeled in spirit, and unshaken in mind.
Right now, Hua Qingyan did not have the qualifications to walk on this path.