Scum Of The Demonic Sect

Chapter 82 Pure Beauty

Three days before the competition, when the results were announced, Lin Haoming discovered that Ling Shengjie had indeed helped, but his help was indeed limited.

There were seven people vying for Xie Ruolan's cave dwelling. Thanks to Ling Shengjie's help, he received a bye in the first round, but that was all.

To obtain Xie Ruolan's cave dwelling, he had to defeat two opponents. The other six were all cultivators at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, and they had all previously resided in Xuan or Huang-level cave dwellings, meaning they were all top-tier experts within the inner sect.

Actually, Lin Haoming had already anticipated this result. Receiving a bye was a good thing; at least he could see what these guys were capable of.

Having become an inner disciple, Lin Haoming immediately handed over the outer sect business to Li Shuntian.

Since Xie Ruolan was currently unreachable, Lin Haoming made decisions for himself.

As for Lin Haoming himself, he stayed at Xie Ruolan's shop on the second floor of the market.

This shop originally belonged to Wang Chen, but due to his serious injuries, he returned to his cave to recuperate and attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Wang Chen had lost an arm. Limb regeneration is not difficult in the cultivation world. Cultivators above the Golden Core stage can regenerate limbs using their magic power, while those below the Golden Core stage require the Heavenly Fragrance Regeneration Pill. Although each pill costs over a thousand spirit stones, it's affordable for Wang Chen.

Therefore, the possibility of Wang Chen becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the future is quite high. In this way, Lin Haoming effectively became the owner of the shop on the second floor of the market.

The second-floor market was slightly better than the outer market; at least some stone shops had been built there, and each shop had a magic array. However, compared to the first floor, it was much quieter. Those who came to buy things were mostly disciples from the inner sect who weren't wealthy, haggling over every single item.

Lin Haoming couldn't be bothered with such trivial matters and simply left it to Bao Wenliang.

Bringing Bao Wenliang to the second floor was also thanks to Ling Shengjie. He had given him benefits, so he wanted to make the most of it; otherwise, he would feel guilty for having swallowed his pride and given him spirit stones.

Thus, Lin Haoming dealt with the minor matters and awaited the day of the official competition.

Blood Refining Sect, Sixth Floor, Luo Laozu's Cave.

At this moment, in a pavilion near the tower, Xie Ruolan sat quietly on a futon in the meditation room.

Xie Ruolan appeared to be performing extremely ordinary breathing exercises, yet her once peerless, jade-like face was now completely blackened, as if ink had been smeared onto her flawless complexion.

With each rhythmic breath, a chill emanated from her mouth, covering the entire meditation room from floor to ceiling to walls with a layer of frost.

After continuing this breathing exercise for a long time, Xie Ruolan suddenly began to form hand seals, and an even stronger chill began to emanate from her body, covering her entirely with frost. This was far from over; as time passed, the frost thickened, until Xie Ruolan was completely encased in ice.

At a certain point, a crack appeared in the frost covering Xie Ruolan, and then it shattered completely, the fragments falling to the ground, revealing a stunningly beautiful woman with an ethereal, otherworldly beauty.

Xie Ruolan looked at the frost on the ground, let out a long sigh of relief, and a satisfied smile appeared on her lips.

But the moment that smile appeared, she heard her master's voice in her ear: "Ruolan, you've done well. In such a short time, you've already mastered the basics of the 'Frosty Yin Demonic Fire'."

Following the voice, she saw the old woman enter the meditation room at some point. Xie Ruolan was startled at first, then immediately bowed and said, "Disciple greets Master!"

Although the person before her was her master, Xie Ruolan felt a sense of constraint. If her master wanted to take her life, she wouldn't even be able to detect her attack.

"No need to be polite. You've done very well. These past few days, you must have used up almost all the Frosty Water you had, right? I brought you some today!" Luo Wanying flipped her wrist, and a jade bottle appeared in her hand.

Xie Ruolan took it and found it was a large, three-zhang square bottle filled with Frosty Yin Water.

“Thank you, Master. If you wished to see me, you could have simply summoned me. There was no need for you to come in person!” Xie Ruolan immediately expressed her gratitude.

Luo Wanying smiled seemingly kindly and said, “I was just about to welcome a distinguished guest. When I came out of the tower, I happened to see you finishing your practice, so I came to check on you!”

Before she could finish her explanation, a clear and melodious voice drifted from afar: “Sister Luo, I have arrived. Please open the restrictions!”

As the voice faded, Luo Wanying’s figure blurred and vanished from Xie Ruolan’s sight.

Xie Ruolan stepped out of the meditation room and onto the balcony of the pavilion. There, she saw a stunningly beautiful woman floating in mid-air outside the small lake.

This woman stood on a white jade lotus seat, dressed in a flawless white palace gown. Her appearance was not only extremely beautiful but also gave off a pure and innocent feeling, like a fairy untouched by worldly affairs, or like the white lotus beneath her jade feet, rising from the mud unsullied.

For her master to greet her so warmly and address her as a sister, this woman, judging by her appearance alone and by ordinary standards a year or two younger than herself, was definitely no ordinary person. She was likely a top-tier expert even among Golden Core Ancestors.

However, Xie Ruolan had recently heard Fang Jing talk a lot about sect ancestors, but she didn't seem to recognize anyone who matched the appearance of the woman before her.

"Could the person who has come be a Golden Core Ancestor from another sect?" Xie Ruolan wondered.

Just as Xie Ruolan was pondering this, she suddenly felt a divine sense sweep over her. Looking up, she saw the ethereal woman standing on the jade lotus looking at her with a hint of curiosity.

The woman only glanced at her once, then ignored her and began exchanging pleasantries with Luo Wanying.

Although it was just a glance, Xie Ruolan vaguely sensed that even if the woman's strength was inferior to her master's, the difference wouldn't be too great. She couldn't afford to offend such a person.

As Xie Ruolan pondered these thoughts, Luo Wanying and the woman had already headed into the tower together. Once they disappeared, Xie Ruolan breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking at the Black Yin Cold Water her master had given her, Xie Ruolan tidied up her things. Then, calculating the time, she realized the day of the spirit stone mine competition was over. She wondered how the three she had sent were doing.

She hoped Wu Hongfei would die inside, but Wu Hongfei was very strong; even if surrounded, he might not be killed. Lin Haoming, however, was only at the ninth level of Qi Refining. She wondered if he could survive; it would be a pity if he died inside.

Thinking about these things, Xie Ruolan felt a desire to go back and check on him, so she took out a communication talisman and tossed it out.

PS: Something came up today, delaying the update. There will be another chapter tonight!