Chapter 18: Not Without a Price

The drawing on the map was blurry and faded. With missing edges and corners, it could only be roughly identified as a region of continuous mountains. A valley nestled between them was specially marked with a circle.

As for where these mountains and valley were located, there were no obvious reference points or indicators.

“Xiuran accidentally discovered this in a secret realm two months ago!” Huangfu Hanrui explained enthusiastically to Yu Xiu. “I had my father appraise it, and it’s a genuine treasure map!”

Beside her, He Xiuran appeared much calmer. He added, “Master judged that there should be heavenly treasures here that are extremely beneficial for forming the Golden Core. My two senior brothers helped determine the general location, and we were just waiting to go scout it out.”

Just earlier, He Xiuran had mentioned that his two senior brothers had now entered the late stage of Foundation Establishment—it was time for them to prepare for Core Formation.

The Five Elements Sect had always encouraged its disciples to temper themselves. Even the Sect Master made no exception when it came to his only daughter and beloved disciple.

Yu Xiu had also gleaned some other details—such as how, in the Sect Master’s eyes, this secret realm didn’t seem to contain anything overly fatal to the juniors. So, it had a certain degree of safety.

“Originally, Hanrui and I planned to go there in a few days to narrow down the scope. It’d be even better if we could find the entrance. Then we’d call Head Senior Sister to come with us.” He Xiuran shook his head. “But this blabbermouth Hanrui, tsk…”

“Who are you calling a blabbermouth?!” Huangfu Hanrui huffed indignantly.

Seeing that the two were about to start bickering again, Yu Xiu took a sip of tea and smoothly changed the subject.

“When will the two Senior Brother Zuo return?”

He Xiuran’s senior brothers were twin brothers, Zuo Chi and Zuo Cheng. They were twenty-one this year—right between Yu Xiu and Jiang Hanxing in age.

Jiang Hanxing was a loner by nature and rarely spent time with the other four personal disciples. But when He Xiuran and Huangfu Hanrui found something good, they always remembered to bring Yu Xiu along, as well as the Zuo brothers.

This time, even if the two didn’t say anything, Yu Xiu knew they would definitely wait for Zuo Chi and Zuo Cheng before setting off.

Hanrui frowned slightly as she thought, then answered uncertainly, “Probably in a month or two?”

She nudged He Xiuran with her elbow. “Right?”

“Hey—!” He Xiuran nearly spilled his tea. “What are you doing?!”

After fumbling to steady the cup, he added uncertainly, “They went to Xiaoyou Sect. They’re representing our Five Elements Sect at a smaller exchange event between the three great immortal sects. According to the schedule, they should be back in about a month.”

“But they sent a communication talisman a few days ago, saying there was a small accident at the event, so it’s delayed. The exact timing isn’t clear, but probably no more than half a month?”

Among the three great immortal sects of the righteous path, the Five Elements Sect was the leader, followed by the Xiaoyou Sect.

Both were comprehensive sects, embracing a wide range of teachings and flourishing with diversity. The third, the Mingwu Ancient Tower, was more niche in its practices.

No disciple of the Mingwu Ancient Tower followed the conventional paths of sword, saber, pill, formation, or talisman. Instead, they cultivated rarer paths—zither, flute, Buddhist techniques, beast taming, or body refinement.

Medical cultivation was the most common and most famous path in Mingwu Ancient Tower. Among its successive Tower Masters, seven or eight out of ten had been known as contemporary “Medical Immortals.”

There were no major conflicts among the three sects. Their relationship was defined by a mixture of cooperation and competition. Since the Sect Masters rarely left their sects, these diplomatic responsibilities often fell to the personal disciples.

He Xiuran, being the youngest, was usually spared such duties. His senior brothers, who doted on him, always took care of them.

Yu Xiu nodded and set down her teacup. “Then I will wait for good news from Junior Brother He and Junior Sister Hanrui.”

“Eh?!” Huangfu Hanrui’s eyes widened. “Head Senior Sister, aren’t you going with us to find the entrance to the secret realm?”

She had hurried to share the “surprise” with Yu Xiu not just to share good news, but to pull her along for the early stages of the treasure hunt.

As long as Head Senior Sister was there, everything would go smoothly. Hanrui and Xiuran could follow her lead without worry.

In many past trips, Yu Xiu had proven to be incredibly reliable. Whenever she was present, Huangfu Hanrui felt like she didn’t even need to bring her own brain—it was perfectly fine to act foolishly.

Head Senior Sister will always make the most correct decisions!

He Xiuran also showed a regretful expression.

But they both knew Yu Xiu’s temperament. As a personal disciple of the Path of Emotionlessness, she was often a little cold. It wasn’t like she accepted their invitations every time.

Anyway, this time they were just identifying the entrance based on the treasure map. It wasn’t dangerous. The two of them would be enough. That had been the plan from the start.

Eventually, He Xiuran furrowed his brows tightly as he finished his tea. Yu Xiu asked Xing Zan to quickly pour him some plain water.

Huangfu Hanrui gave Yu Xiu one last hug, blinked her eyes, and said goodbye. “See you next time, Head Senior Sister!”

After the two left and Xing Zan had withdrawn from the bamboo house, Bu Xiwei suddenly flew out from a corner and landed on Yu Xiu’s silver hairpin.

When Hanrui had hugged her earlier, Bu Xiwei hadn’t reacted at all—which made Yu Xiu feel a bit more at ease.

The little bird dumpling hopped twice on the hairpin, her tone casual. “If you want to go out with those two kids, then go. I’m just a new natal spiritual pet you’ve taken in—it doesn’t affect anything.”

She didn’t ask why Yu Xiu had declined to go with them. She already knew the reason.

Yu Xiu was worried. With an unpredictable cannon like her around, something unexpected might happen. It was safer for the others if she stayed behind on Daijiao Peak.

Yu Xiu, seeing through her, remained calm. “Having me along is not a good thing for the children’s growth.”

Rather than dodge Bu Xiwei’s jab, she stated her other consideration outright.

The little bird dumpling hummed and hawed, then tacitly dropped the topic. “I’m going to sleep tonight. Do you have a softer pillow? I want to sleep on it!”

After reaching Foundation Establishment, both food and sleep became external matters—optional for cultivators.

Most gave them up completely to devote themselves to cultivation. A few still clung to the habit.

Food was just a luxury for taste unless it contained spiritual energy, in which case it provided some cultivation benefits.

Sleep, though, had more practical use. It could help recover spiritual energy and heal injuries. The effects were small, but over time, they added up. In critical moments, they could even make the difference between life and death.

Bu Xiwei knew someone like Yu Xiu—an involution king—had long stopped sleeping. The bed in her bamboo house was purely decorative. She used all her time for cultivation.

But Bu Xiwei needed sleep now.

Previously, aboard Yu Xiu’s spirit boat, Bu Xiwei had monopolized the jade bed from start to finish. Not just out of willfulness in front of Yu Xiu, but because she needed the gentle, balanced spiritual energy from the jade bed to calm her disordered meridians.

Forcibly crossing into the immortal realm alone from the demon world… was not without a price.