Chapter Three: The Power of the Sacred Pearl

Just as Qu Yiqiu was about to say something more, the boy lying on the bed cried out in pain, “Ah!” Qu Yiqiu turned her head and met the boy’s dark eyes directly.

“What is your name?” Mo Qingli asked calmly.

The boy’s thick lashes quivered slightly. “Mu Yunjin.” This elder sister is really beautiful.

Qu Yiqiu curiously pinched his cheek. “You look no different from a human child.”

At her words, the boy stiffened, the tips of his ears tinged with a faint pink.

Mo Qingli swept his gaze over the boy, speaking in an even tone, “I am your master, Mo Qingli. She is your elder sister, Qu Yiqiu. From now on, you will live on Little Plain Peak.”

“Where on Little Plain Peak is there space for him to live?” Qu Yiqiu pouted.

Mo Qingli, hands behind his back, replied coolly, “Isn’t there some empty land beside your cave dwelling? Carve out a new cave for him, and he’ll have a place to stay.”

Qu Yiqiu looked into Mu Yunjin’s deer-like eyes and relented, “Fine, fine, let him live next to me.”

Mu Yunjin blinked in confusion.

“You’ve reached the fifth layer of Qi Refining?” Mo Qingli seemed to notice at last.

Qu Yiqiu lifted her chin proudly. “Who would have thought I could advance to the fifth layer at fifteen, especially on this spirit-poor Little Plain Peak!”

Mo Qingli’s expression remained unmoved. “When I was fifteen, I had already formed my Foundation.”

Qu Yiqiu shot him an annoyed glare, “I’m not talking to you anymore. I’m off to carve a cave for our junior brother!”

“Try to finish within three days,” Mo Qingli said.

“Alright, alright,” Qu Yiqiu replied coldly, turning to leave.

Shortly after she departed, Mo Qingli’s gaze fell upon the jade porcelain bottle on the stone table. It was left by Qu Yiqiu before she left.

He casually summoned the bottle, opened the lid, and a rich medicinal fragrance filled the entire cave.

...

Two days later.

Qu Yiqiu finished carving the cave and led Mu Yunjin inside.

“Master will be in seclusion for a month. During that time, I’ll take care of you,” Qu Yiqiu helped Mu Yunjin onto the bed.

Mu Yunjin nodded childishly, “Thank you, elder sister.”

Qu Yiqiu patted his head, displaying what she believed to be a benevolent smile, tempting him, “So well-behaved. I’ve never seen a dragon before. I wonder what your true form looks like?”

She’d heard that every part of a dragon was precious: dragon tendons and scales were excellent materials for forging magical tools. Perhaps she could ask for a scale when this little dragon shifted forms?

Mu Yunjin, feeling Qu Yiqiu’s heated gaze, blushed at the neck and replied softly, “When I become a dragon, clothes fall off naturally. Elder sister is a girl; you shouldn’t see…”

Qu Yiqiu waved it away, “It’s fine, it’s fine, there’ll still be a layer of scales, right? When you turn back into a human, I won’t look!”

Mu Yunjin’s eyes showed embarrassment. “No, elder sister, Yunjin’s wounds aren’t healed yet. You shouldn’t see…” He didn’t want her to witness his battered state.

Qu Yiqiu regretfully dropped the idea, “Alright, I’ll wait until you’ve recovered.” It should be easier to ask for a scale then.

Mu Yunjin tucked his head in and nodded.

“Then I’ll leave you to rest. If you need anything, use a message talisman to call me,” Qu Yiqiu smiled, returning to her own cave.

Mu Yunjin quietly watched her departing figure, a trace of warmth passing through his clear, watery eyes.

Qu Yiqiu shut herself in her stone chamber.

In her hands was a blue treasure orb left by Qu Anyi.

“If this orb really has some power, I’ll believe my father isn’t just vain!”

Qu Yiqiu closed her eyes, steeling herself as she pricked her finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the blue orb.

Brilliant colors surged forth; above Little Plain Peak, the shadows of four auspicious divine beasts and seven colored clouds appeared, attracting the attention of disciples across Tianyan Sect.

Three, two women and a man, were passing by the foot of Little Plain Peak.

“Hey, what’s Little Plain Peak up to today?” The girl in yellow squinted upward.

The leading woman sneered, “Probably Qu Yiqiu’s useless master trying to break through to false Core again. What a waste of the sect’s resources!”

“He really won’t give up, huh? But it’s all for show—no matter how great the phenomenon, he can’t change his fate!” The male cultivator laughed, covering his mouth with a gesture as delicate as a woman’s.

“That’s right. They may be good-looking over there, but they’re useless. They’re nothing compared to Master Su and Sister Yuyou!” The yellow-clad girl withdrew her gaze, flattering the leader.

Qu Yuyou’s smile flickered briefly, hardening almost imperceptibly. She said coldly, “Enough, don’t waste time on them. Let’s hurry back to Nine Sword Peak!”

“Yes,” the girl in yellow answered meekly, glancing at the male cultivator, unsure what she’d said to anger the young mistress.

Nine Sword Peak.

“Master, is that an omen from Little Plain Peak?” Chi Yushu stood atop the mountain, gazing at the sunken peak to the south.

Su Xichen stood with hands clasped behind his back, his cold face utterly unmoved. “Perhaps. But it’s just a façade; pay it no mind.”

With that, he swept his sleeves and left.

Chi Yushu remained, thoughtful.

This was not the first time Little Plain Peak had displayed auspicious signs. When Mo Qingli formed his false Core and consumed a grade-nine Meridian Pill, such phenomena had appeared.

But they seemed to have no real effect, serving only as a show of face.

Before he became Su Xichen’s disciple, he’d already heard tales of the uncle on Little Plain Peak—someone whose talent and temperament once surpassed even his own master, yet who fell into the abyss at Half-Step City…

Qu Yiqiu had no idea that merely recognizing a treasure orb with her blood had stirred such phenomena, and Mo Qingli had taken the blame for her.

She opened her eyes, finding herself in a void.

“Is this a space?” Qu Yiqiu wondered, exploring within.

Yet it seemed she was merely pacing in place, discovering nothing different.

“Why is there nothing here? No spiritual fields, no springs—there should at least be the legendary artifact spirit, right?” She called out repeatedly with her mind, but not a single voice replied.

After trying all methods, Qu Yiqiu gave up searching for other life or items.

There truly was nothing here.

Clinging to a last hope, she sat cross-legged and focused on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Soon she ‘saw’ multicolored points of light weaving together, streaming into her body.

Half a day later.

Qu Yiqiu opened her eyes suddenly.

“The spiritual energy here is incredibly dense—even Nine Sword Peak can’t compare! This orb must be extraordinary, likely a relic from ancient times!”

She sensed that if she stayed in the orb for half a month, she could break through from the fifth to the sixth layer of Qi Refining.

With a thought, Qu Yiqiu flashed back to her stone chamber.

She scrutinized the orb in her hand, remembering her parents had left the Qu family to search for the secret of their lineage, and was suddenly drenched in cold sweat.

“Before leaving, Father said this orb is a family treasure. Now it seems that’s true. A family that possesses such a gem, yet abandons its child to be raised by others, must have faced an unstoppable calamity!”

Qu Yiqiu, unable to indulge in the orb’s benefits, quickly produced a blank message talisman, concisely explained her suspicions, and infused it with spiritual power. She tossed it into the air, and the talisman turned into a streak of light and flew away.

“I hope this message can find my parents,” Qu Yiqiu whispered.

Message talismans weren’t very secure; any cultivator with a bit of skill could intercept them.

Whether it would reach its intended recipient depended on the integrity of those along the way.

If no one impulsively intercepted her message, her parents would receive it, understand the gravity of the situation, and return to the Qu family as soon as possible.