Chapter 150

Ji YunJing and Ji QianYue stayed at the QingLian Sect for seven full days.

Yet, they didn’t see Liu RuYan make any move to distribute the cultivation techniques or pills.

Was she planning to hoard them for herself?

At first, that’s what they thought. But there was no trace of the familiar aura of the techniques on Liu RuYan’s person.

Once, relying on her superior cultivation, Ji QianYue confidently sneaked in—only to find the techniques and the ring containing the pills casually placed on a high shelf in the inner chamber. The pills inside hadn’t even been touched.

Now, the two women were utterly baffled.

To them, the Hundred Dynasties War was just a spectacle, but for the high-level cultivators of the Southern Domain, it was a calamity. As the sect leader, shouldn’t Liu RuYan prioritize strengthening her sect and minimizing casualties during the war?

Unless… she had a grudge against the sect? Or maybe there were factions among the elders, and she wanted to get as many killed as possible?

It made no sense.

Ji YunJing wanted to ask directly, but Ji QianYue stopped her.

After all, the items were all there, untouched. What if Liu RuYan had other plans?

If they rushed in too eagerly, it would be undignified—beneath the status of a top-tier aristocratic family.

“Hmm… could it be that Sect Leader Liu has seen something even better, so she doesn’t care for what we gave her?”

In the spacious cave abode, Ji YunJing sat at the table, propping her cheeks with her hands. After some thought, she voiced her speculation.

But the moment she spoke, she was met with fierce opposition from Ji QianYue.

“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”

The Southern Domain—what kind of place was this?

To put it nicely, it was called the Forsaken Land. To put it bluntly, it was a backwater.

The resources here were several tiers inferior to those outside. Even some common spiritual herbs found elsewhere were extinct in the Southern Domain, priceless and impossible to find. With such a disparity in resources, how could there possibly be anything good here?

Compared to Ji QianYue, Ji YunJing wasn’t as blindly arrogant. She hadn’t traveled much and lacked extensive knowledge, so she didn’t have a clear comparison of regional resources in her mind.

She stuck to her original point. “But what if?”

“After eliminating all other possibilities, this is the only answer left, isn’t it?”

Countless ages ago, the Southern Domain was no different from the outside world—their strengths were nearly identical.

Even if this land had degraded over time, things like cultivation techniques and pill formulas might not have been completely lost. Some could have been preserved, even if their upper limits were now unreachable.

What if the QingLian Sect was once a sacred land of the Southern Domain from ancient times?

Hadn’t the imperial court also mentioned how rapidly this sect had awakened? Maybe there really was some secret hidden here?

Ji YunJing’s reasoning was sharp.

Her pure heart prevented her from viewing things with prejudice. Innocent as she was, that had nothing to do with her intelligence.

So, one day later, in the same spot in the cave abode…

When Ji QianYue returned in a hurry, Ji YunJing straightened her face, her expression serious.

“Well? Did you get them?”

“Mission accomplished.” Ji QianYue waved her hand, and several jade slips and porcelain bottles appeared before them.

“I’ve copied all the general cultivation techniques used by the QingLian Sect’s disciples onto these jade slips.”

“And here are the QingLian ChongYang Pills that the entire sect takes for cultivation, as well as a new product for short-term recovery—the QingLian XuanYang Pills.”

“Apparently, these were developed by their Alchemy Pavilion elder. The quality varies depending on the cultivator’s level, with different versions for each stage.”

Ji QianYue spoke, her tone indifferent.

To her, the Third Young Miss’s speculation was pure fantasy.

So when gathering these items, she hadn’t even bothered to look at them or try them.

“Now that we have them, why not test them out?”

Ji YunJing rested her chin on one hand, picked up a disposable jade slip, and crushed it.

A flood of cultivation knowledge poured directly into her mind.

At first, her face was filled with curiosity, but it soon shifted to surprise—then seriousness—then shock—and finally, delight!

Watching from the side, Ji QianYue was puzzled but didn’t dare interrupt.

She waited until Ji YunJing finally exited her meditative state before immediately pressing, “Third Young Miss, what happened just now?”

“Sister QianYue, this technique is far more profound than what I’ve been learning!” Ji YunJing’s voice trembled with excitement.

“Hah?” Ji QianYue froze. “N-no way?”

Their Ji Family’s techniques… couldn’t compare to the generic stuff used by disciples of a remote sect?

Ji QianYue refused to believe it.

Ji QianYue decided to test it herself.

Ji QianYue was convinced.

“It’s… it’s true!”

After absorbing all the knowledge and watching the jade slip crumble to dust in her hand, Ji QianYue muttered to herself, her eyes filled with shock.

Though this general technique only went up to the Golden Core stage, even just the first three realms made the difference painfully clear.

Confucian cultivators had a saying: “Reviewing the old leads to understanding the new.”

But the “new” she had just gained was overwhelming!

All her previous doubts and shortcomings were now resolved.

Compared to this generic technique, the one she had been so proud of seemed like something that belonged in a backwater.

The blow left Ji QianYue silent.

But Ji YunJing’s thoughts ran deeper. She blinked her bright eyes.

If ordinary disciples only learned up to the Golden Core stage, then higher-level disciples, elders, or even Sect Leader Liu must know even more.

Clearly, the higher the realm, the more pronounced the gap in techniques would be.

By the Nascent Soul stage, the difference would likely be staggering.

Her gaze fell on the bottles before them. Since there were no pills for the Divine Transformation stage, Ji YunJing chose the QingLian ChongYang Pill meant for Nascent Soul cultivators.

She parted her cherry-pink lips and placed the unremarkable pill in her mouth.

The moment it touched her tongue, her eyes lit up.

“So sweet!”

Was this really a pill?

It was the first time Ji YunJing had tasted a pill that resembled candy.

But soon, her focus shifted.

The moment she circulated her spiritual energy, the pill began dissolving in her mouth, its pure medicinal power flooding through her limbs.

So fast!

Wasn’t this a Nascent Soul-level pill? Why did it triple her cultivation speed?

A while later, as her aura stabilized, Ji YunJing looked at the pills on the table as if they were treasures.

This time, Ji QianYue didn’t ask.

She went straight to testing. Her eyes scanned the bottles before settling on the QingLian HuiYang Pill for the Nascent Soul stage.

Her cultivation had already surpassed the limits of this world, so cultivation-boosting pills were useless to her.

Ji QianYue opened her lips and placed the entire pill in her mouth.

But in an instant, her face flushed red.

“Hiss—!”

Ji QianYue sucked in a sharp breath.

Seeing this, Ji YunJing instinctively asked, “What? Is yours spicy?”

“Hiss—no!” Ji QianYue quickly denied.

What kind of spice lover would admit to being affected by heat?

She activated her technique.

Boom!

An invisible shockwave erupted from her body, and her spiritual energy surged like a volcanic eruption.

Ji QianYue’s pupils contracted.

The recovery speed was insane!

At her current Divine Transformation stage, even if she cast multiple high-level spells in succession, her consumption wouldn’t outpace the pill’s restoration.

Not only that, but the three centuries’ worth of hidden injuries in her body were also healing!

The pill’s effects lasted for the time it took to drink a cup of tea before gradually fading.

The QingLian HuiYang Pill truly delivered recovery that outpaced consumption—and this was only the Nascent Soul version!

It was hard to imagine what a Divine Transformation-level version could do.

Same-tier domination, cross-tier superiority.

That was Ji QianYue’s assessment of the pill she had just taken.

Most importantly, this temporary enhancement pill had zero side effects!

Ji QianYue, who had already been shaken by the technique’s superiority, was now struck dumb once more.

Just… who was the bumpkin here?

The two women exchanged glances.

So… what was the point of them coming here?

Did the QingLian Sect need their help?

What a joke!

“Third Young Miss, why don’t we just forcibly take their techniques and pill formulas?” Ji QianYue suggested, unable to contain herself.

Maybe it really was like this—the world’s degradation didn’t mean its legacies had degraded. This was surely a destined opportunity for their Ji Family!

“No!” Ji YunJing shook her head.

“Why not?”

Ji QianYue was surprised her suggestion was rejected.