CHAPTER 338: SPIRITUAL RHINOCEROS CONNECTION

"I never imagined that in just over thirty years, these Spiritual Rhinoceros Scissors would find their suitable owner. New owner of the Spiritual Scissors, can you tell me if he is dead?" The woman in the illusion stood tall and graceful, with shoulder-length hair, her voice hollow and ethereal as if coming from the high heavens.

The silhouette was very blurry, its facial features indistinct. Xiao Xian could only rely on intuition to determine that the person within the light was Mei Xiang, the creator of the Spiritual Rhinoceros Scissors.

"Mr. Bai has already passed away," Xiao Xian said sorrowfully. Mortality is inevitable for everyone, an experience Mei Xiang, as a Cultivator, should find hard to comprehend.

The silhouette flickered slightly, and after a few seconds, she continued with another question.

"Owner of the Spiritual Scissors, tell me your name and how you came to possess these scissors." Mei Xiang’s voice remained devoid of emotion, and Xiao Xian felt the weight of her gaze upon her.

Thus, Xiao Xian recounted the events of the past half-year, including the past four years with Bai Juyi, in general terms.

"So, it means Bai Juyi gave you the Spiritual Scissors before he died? His judgment wasn’t bad, finding a person of pure heart, unwavering in spirit. The drop of Blood Spirit Rhinoceros within you is quite beneficial," the phantom of Mei Xiang slowly walked up to Xiao Xian, eye to eye, nose to nose, scrutinizing her closely.

The Little White Jiao in the artificial lake almost choked on a snail upon hearing this; so their young master still had a pure spirit? That couple truly had an exceptionally poor judgment.

Being scrutinized by Mei Xiang, Xiao Xian did not feel uncomfortable. In those eyes of Mei Xiang, which were half-filled with sorrow and half with emptiness, Xiao Xian saw contemplation, saw grief; Mei Xiang cared about Bai Juyi’s death.

"Do you want to know why I left him back then?" Mei Xiang merely asked the question and didn’t wait for Xiao Xian’s response before continuing on her own.

Mei Xiang came from the Mei Family, an ancient Cultivation Family that could be traced back to ancient times.

The Mei Family pursued a method of cultivation called Natural Law, using the Spiritual Power of nature’s plants to strengthen their own Spiritual Power.

In terms of Cultivation Levels, they could generally be likened to Xiao Xian’s concepts of gold, silver, copper, and iron as the four major grades.

Within these four grades, they were further divided into first-level, middle-level, and high-level stages. When Mei Xiang met Bai Ju, her cultivation was roughly at the Gold Level Beginner stage.

Mei Xiang was the 319th descendant of the Mei family, where most Cultivators defy fate and heavens. Over a thousand years, apart from the few members who peeked past the limits of Natural Law and achieved an extended life through cultivation, most of them died young, often in their middle-age or even childhood due to blind cultivation practices.

During the time of Mei Xiang’s generation, which was over a hundred years ago in the last years of the Qing Dynasty, Mei Xiang’s mother gave birth to twin siblings, naming them Mei Xiang and Mei Nian.

Because the Mei Family’s numbers were dwindling, the two sisters were brought up under their father’s protection and strict discipline, learning the fundamentals of cultivation since childhood. Among them, Mei Nian’s talent and diligence made her the new leading figure of the Mei Family upon reaching adulthood.

"In 1945, while passing through Yunnan due to family affairs, I impulsively wished to learn horticultural skills, so I apprenticed myself with a well-known local gardener, becoming fellow apprentices with Bai Ju and Mao Dazhu, learning the craft together. Bai Ju was a man of gentle disposition. Despite my deliberate distance from the apprentices, he constantly took care of me. For decades, no one had been as attentive to me as he was. Later on, I left Yunnan with Bai Ju, traveling across the country. At that time, the country was in the midst of a civil war, the situation very unstable, but fortunately, we went to desolate, harsh places, where I used the experiences from the journey to refine the Spiritual Rhinoceros Scissors. Because of Bai Ju’s elder sister, we eventually settled down in Beijing," Mei Xiang’s recollection took Xiao Xian back to the tumultuous times of war more than fifty years ago.

In that era of chaos and war, this couple, with their passion for traditional Eastern horticulture and evading the pursuit of the Mei Family, found their footing in the ancient city of Beijing.

Their blissful married life lasted only five or six years. Mei Xiang had already peeked through the Natural Law; her aging of both appearance and body was slowed by dozens of times compared to ordinary people, making it very difficult for her to conceive. Although Bai Ju never spoke of it, Mei Xiang knew he was withstanding pressure from his family elders.