"Junior Sister." Leng Xingzhi knew she had arrived the moment Chu Lingwei entered the range of his room. He opened the door, a gentle smile on his face, "Please come in."
Chu Lingwei followed Leng Xingzhi into the room, and a faint scent of sandalwood entered her nose, calming her mind and body.
This scent was a spiritual incense, meant to pacify the soul and ward off illusions.
Chu Lingwei inwardly sighed, her senior brother was truly extravagant, using only the finest materials.
"Junior Sister, are you here today because of the Xuanxin Sect's affairs?" Leng Xingzhi poured a cup of spirit tea for Chu Lingwei, brought some spirit fruits, and sat down beside her.
Chu Lingwei's intention was self-evident.
"Yes." Chu Lingwei stood up and bowed to her senior brother, "Lingwei thanks Senior Brother for your protection."
Chu Lingwei knew clearly that Chu Chang's guilt was confirmed because of the Spiritual Cultivation Academy and also because of her senior brother's renowned reputation.
Otherwise, with just her as a mere disciple, she wouldn't have had such significant influence.
Leng Xingzhi looked at his junior sister, who stood obediently before him. Her true appearance was now revealed, her beauty captivating, and every movement impossible to look away from.
"Junior Sister, Master asked me to tell you that you used to have spiritual veins."
The smile in Leng Xingzhi's eyes deepened, and his curiosity about this obedient junior sister grew.
Legend had it that Chu Lingwei, the pampered eldest daughter of the Xuanxin Sect, was arrogant and willful since childhood, disregarding etiquette and laws. Relying on the prestige of her Sect Leader father, she held no one in her eyes.
Yet, the junior sister before him stood respectfully, with no trace of arrogance in her eyes, not even fear or apprehension.
Was the legend true, or was this junior sister skilled at disguise?
Chu Lingwei suddenly looked up, her eyes wide with shock at Leng Xingzhi, her mind reeling from his words, rendering her almost speechless.
In her memory, on the day of the spiritual aptitude test at the age of five, in front of the entire sect, it was revealed that she had no spiritual veins.
After being considered a waste for eighteen years, she was now told that she used to have spiritual veins.
"But, when I tested my spiritual aptitude, it was in front of the whole sect..." Chu Lingwei couldn't continue. Thinking of Su Xianrou and their ambitions, even if she had spiritual veins, they would surely find a way to remove them.
Immense hatred surged into her heart.
It must have been Su Xianrou, it must have been Chu Chang.
Chu Lingwei tightly clenched her fists, secretly vowing that she would dig out their spiritual veins and make them cripple for thirty-six years.
"Some things can be faked," Leng Xingzhi's smile did not diminish, as if he were discussing a mundane matter.
"Thank you, Senior Brother, for telling me." Chu Lingwei's eyes, filled with murderous intent, were quickly hidden as she thanked Leng Xingzhi and took her leave.
The Hengtian Secret Realm, she would ensure the Xuanxin Sect reaped nothing and made Chu Xiyin regret her actions.
"So it was all an act."
After Chu Lingwei left, Leng Xingzhi picked up his spirit tea, a hint of interest in his eyes. A sigh escaped his thin lips.
If Chu Lingwei were here, she would be greatly surprised, for this seemed somewhat different from her usually caring Senior Brother.
Leaving Leng Xingzhi's room, Chu Lingwei returned to her own and began to cultivate diligently.
In less than half a month, the Hengtian Secret Realm would open, and she needed to seize the time to improve her abilities further.
Xuanxin Sect.
"Bang!" Chu Chang looked at the message that had arrived. The pressure of a powerful cultivator instantly erupted, causing the entire Xuanxin Sect to tremble violently. Some disciples who had just entered the induction stage fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Husband." Su Xianrou's face was extremely grim. Seeing Chu Chang's outburst of anger, she could only step forward to comfort him, "Husband, the position of Sect Leader is for the capable. Moreover, all the elders of the Xuanxin Sect have no objections, so no one else has the right to question it."
Chu Chang looked at Su Xianrou with displeasure, "Look at the daughter you raised, she has brought shame upon our Xuanxin Sect."
"Husband, this cannot be blamed on Yin'er. It's all because of the Spiritual Cultivation Academy..."
"Hmph, do you think offending the Spiritual Cultivation Academy will lead to a good outcome for our Xuanxin Sect?" Chu Chang interrupted Su Xianrou directly, his sharp gaze fixed on her.
Everyone in the Xuan Tian Continent knew that the Spiritual Cultivation Academy was filled with numerous powerful cultivators, and if they truly wished to usurp a sect, it would be effortless.
No sect was willing to offend the Spiritual Cultivation Academy.
Su Xianrou's brow furrowed slightly, worried about her daughter's predicament. However, thinking of her daughter's imminent entry into the Hengtian Secret Realm, as long as she found a treasure within the realm, their Xuanxin Sect's image would be restored.
"I'll go and see him."
Chu Chang stood up, a flash of movement, and he arrived at a dungeon within the Xuanxin Sect's forbidden area, protected by high-level formations.
"Brother, your spiritual power is growing weaker."
Chu Chang looked at the person trapped within a spirit-sealing platform, who bore some resemblance to him.
"Chu Chang, how is my daughter?" Chu Ze attempted to activate his spiritual power but was immediately met with backlash. Surrounding lightning struck him heavily.
This was Chu Ze, the former Sect Leader of the Xuanxin Sect.
Chu Ze, who had disappeared for ten years, was actually within the Xuanxin Sect.
"Brother, didn't I tell you? She is living very well now. The status of the eldest daughter of the Xuanxin Sect is a position others can only dream of." Chu Chang stepped forward, a cruel glint in his eyes.
He wished he could kill the man before him, but all descendants of the Chu family, upon birth, were subjected to a curse: Chu family descendants were forbidden from killing each other, lest they suffer backlash and their cultivation be halted.
"Chu Chang, I can give you whatever you want, but you must not harm Lingwei." Chu Ze, imprisoned here for ten years, had long seen through this man's true nature.
He could die, but his daughter must not be harmed.
"Don't worry, I said I wouldn't touch your daughter, and I won't. After all, she is my niece," Chu Chang's eyes flickered with malice.
If not for Chu Lingwei's special constitution and sacred blood, he would never have let her live past fifteen.
"However, your brother wishes to ask you for a favor."
"What is it?"
Chu Ze slowly raised his head, a sneer in his eyes. The entire Xuanxin Sect was already his; what else could he want?
"I want your handwritten abdication decree."
Only with Chu Ze's dying wish, transferring the position of Sect Leader of the Xuanxin Sect to him, could he silence the gossip of the world.
Confusion flickered in Chu Ze's eyes. As far as he knew, Chu Chang had become the Sect Leader of the Xuanxin Sect legitimately a month ago.
His making such a request now must mean something had happened.
"Alright, but I want to see Lingwei," Chu Ze proposed his condition. He knew his time was drawing near and wanted to see his pitiable daughter before he died.
"Brother, if you don't write it, I can't guarantee what I might do to my obedient niece?" Chu Chang laughed heartily.
A prisoner, and he dared to negotiate with him.