Chapter 54: The Price of Arrogance

Having initially believed that her cultivation reaching the Nascent Soul stage would allow her to easily suppress these individuals, especially the Saintess’s dog-walker, Elder Wu found herself in a predicament.

Her overeagerness had led to a breakthrough that only granted her a third-grade Mortal Nascent Soul, failing to reach the fourth-grade Spiritual Nascent Soul.

While seemingly a mere difference in grade, a fourth-grade Spiritual Nascent Soul offered the potential for genuine Soul Transformation, whereas a third-grade Mortal Nascent Soul, even if it fortuitously ascended to Soul Transformation, would only become a Pseudo-God.

Not only would a Pseudo-God’s lifespan be curtailed by two or three centuries compared to a true Soul Transformation cultivator, but their strength would also lag by nearly a minor realm.

This minor realm, however, was a minor realm within the Soul Transformation stage itself.

It was widely known that as cultivators advanced to higher realms, the disparity between each stage became increasingly terrifying, making it exponentially harder to challenge those of a higher cultivation.

Even within the same grade, a significant gulf existed, let alone across a minor realm.

Consequently, while Pseudo-Gods retained considerable suppressive power over most Nascent Soul cultivators, they were not invincible against certain prodigies.

Indeed, some prodigies, at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, could even contend with Pseudo-Gods.

However, against a True God, their fate was almost always to be suppressed with a single palm strike. Such was the harsh reality.

Even if Elder Wu were to achieve Soul Transformation in this lifetime, it would only ever be as a Pseudo-God.

As someone whose path forward had effectively been severed, she naturally faced greater disdain.

“You… are you courting death?!” Elder Wu glared ferociously at Wang Qiu’er. Her once delicate features were now twisted into a monstrous visage, resembling a malevolent ghost.

Upon witnessing this, Wang Qiu’er immediately crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh, dear! Someone’s triggered, someone’s triggered. With such poor mental fortitude, it’s no wonder you couldn’t reach the fourth grade. Trash… you pathetic worm… Come on, hit me! If you don’t beat me to death, I’ll make sure you regret it. I’ll make your life a living hell! Don’t forget, I’m the Saintess’s number one little sister, and countless people want to curry favor with me!”

“You…” Elder Wu silently clenched her fists. As Wang Qiu’er had stated, their statuses were as disparate as heaven and earth. Beyond being the Saintess’s favored confidante, Wang Qiu’er possessed the backing of the Hundred Flowers Palace as one of its重点培育 (key nurtured) disciples.

Even though Elder Wu was an outer elder at the Nascent Soul stage and Wang Qiu’er merely an outer disciple, any actual conflict would see the sect siding with the ‘boundlessly promising’ Wang Qiu’er, even without the Saintess’s involvement, rather than with Elder Wu.

Therefore, it was truly impossible for Elder Wu to strike Wang Qiu’er, unless she was resolved to kill her. Otherwise, if she laid a hand on her, she would face severe repercussions.

“Hmph!” Ultimately, Elder Wu had no recourse but to let out a cold snort and depart.

Watching Elder Wu gradually leave, the two elders and two stewards all breathed a sigh of relief. Even Ye Xiaozi released the tension she had been holding.

However, there was an old saying: ‘No mischief, no death.’

As Elder Wu walked away, and everyone else relaxed, Wang Qiu’er, seemingly oblivious to the atmosphere, continued her relentless taunting. “Tch, that’s it… She doesn’t even dare to make a move. How can someone like that cultivate immortality?” She then looked at the District Head with a look of exasperation and disdain. “You called me over for someone like her? Do you know I was in the middle of researching something important at home? I thought it was a big deal, but it’s just… this… just this…”

“My apologies! Senior Sister Mu… Senior Sister Wang, we truly had no other choice!”

“Forget it, I’ll forgive you this time. I need to hurry back and design bullying strategies. The Saintess has been pressing me lately; I expect she’s about to deal with that Ye Xiaozi. If Senior Sister Bai hadn’t been pestering the Saintess these past few days, she probably would have come to play the hero and save the beauty already.” Wang Qiu’er spoke softly, and while Ye Xiaozi heard some of it, she didn’t catch everything. She only heard something about the Saintess and Senior Sister Bai ‘entangling,’ and ‘saving the beauty,’ which led her mind to wander.

However, Elder Wu, who was on the verge of leaving, paused slightly, then inquired with considerable confusion, “The Saintess is unaware of what’s happening here?”

Upon hearing this, the faces of the two elders and two stewards instantly paled. Yet, before they could speak, Wang Qiu’er cast a sidelong glance.

“Aware of what? What here is worth the Saintess deigning to visit? Hmph, even if the Saintess doesn’t come, as long as I, Wang Qiu’er, am here, would you dare to cause trouble?”

Listening to Wang Qiu’er’s words, the confusion on Elder Wu’s face finally gave way to understanding. It turned out the Saintess had been completely ignorant of the situation here from the very beginning.

Logically, since the mine was located within the Hundred Flowers Palace’s sect territory, anything that occurred should have been known to the sect. However, the problem lay in the fact that while the mine was within sect territory, it was still a considerable distance from the living quarters of the Hundred Flowers Palace disciples.

After all, if it were truly close to the residential areas, disciples wouldn’t be permitted to mine there.

Thus, no one would idly sweep the mine area with their divine sense; it was simply too far.

Initially, Elder Wu had believed that these people were either lying or that the Saintess truly kept a constant watch over this place.

However, with Wang Qiu’er’s recent explanation, she now understood that the Saintess had never paid attention to this area. Therefore, as long as these few individuals couldn’t transmit any messages, and she eliminated them swiftly, she could seize the treasure and escape in a short amount of time.

Although a soul lamp would be left in the sect upon becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and the lamp would shatter upon a disciple’s death, the sheer number of disciples meant that tracking the owner of a broken soul lamp would take several hours at the very least. With those few hours, she could easily make her getaway.

*Thump* *Thump*

The two elders and two stewards all collapsed onto the ground. A single thought echoed in their minds: ‘It’s over, utterly over.’

And indeed, events unfolded precisely as the two elders had feared.

Elder Wu immediately activated the several formations she had set up, one of which was capable of blocking transmission talismans.

“Elder Wu… Elder Wu, don’t be rash! Senior Sister Wang was just speaking in anger… just speaking in anger.”

“Yes, Elder Wu! Please, withdraw your divine abilities! We can discuss everything calmly.”

Having activated the formations, Elder Wu had clearly decided to go all the way. She burst into laughter. “Hahahaha… If you must blame someone, blame that Wang Qiu’er for being so arrogant and overbearing! Now that I have an opportunity to get rich and exact my revenge for this humiliation, how could I possibly let you go? Just accept your fate and die!”

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