Chapter 47

Lin Haoming had been to Xie Ruolan's residence before, but that was when he accompanied her. He had never come alone.

The Blood Refinement Sect's headquarters could be described as a demonic abyss. The second level was said to house three thousand inner disciples.

Of course, this was just an approximate number, and the exact figure was uncertain.

These inner disciples all lived in a place called Spirit Wheel Mountain.

Spirit Wheel Mountain, as its name suggested, was the area with the densest spiritual energy on the second level. The mountain was not very high, with the summit only about a hundred zhang high. It was more like a large hill than a mountain. However, although Spirit Wheel Mountain was not tall, it covered a large area. The closer to the center of the summit, the denser the spiritual energy, while the outer layers were less so.

At the very center, there were only five grottoes. The disciples residing in these five grottoes were known as the five major inner disciples.

Lin Haoming had met Ling Shengjie and Kong Yuanliang, two of the five major inner disciples. However, among them, Kong Yuanliang was the strongest, and his grotto was on the summit. Although he usually practiced with his father on the third level, he still occupied the place, as it represented a status symbol, indicating his position as the top inner disciple. This was also why Ling Shengjie always feared him and why he looked down on Lin Haoming, an outer disciple.

Xie Ruolan's grotto was located outside the core five grottoes. There were about twenty to thirty grottoes surrounding the core, one of which was Xie Ruolan's. Her official ranking among the inner disciples was around seventeenth or eighteenth.

In fact, Lin Haoming had also heard some inner disciples secretly look down on Xie Ruolan, believing that her seventeenth or eighteenth ranking was only because Kong Yuanliang, Ling Shengjie, and others pursued her, making many people hesitant to challenge her. Her true strength was probably not even in the top hundred.

However, from Lin Haoming's perspective, if they really fought, Xie Ruolan's strength should be above Kong Yuanliang's. It seemed that Xie Ruolan did not want to stand out too much, so she did not even try to claim a grotto on the summit or any of the other four. This also showed that Xie Ruolan was deeply hidden, as evidenced by her achieving the Foundation Establishment stage earlier than Kong Yuanliang.

Beyond Xie Ruolan's residence, there were dozens of other grottoes. These, along with the layer where Xie Ruolan's grotto was located and the core five grottoes, were the residences of the top hundred inner disciples. The remaining disciples were scattered in circles further out.

Since all the disciples' grottoes were linked in circles, from a distance, they looked like tree rings, which was the origin of the name Spirit Wheel Mountain.

At this moment, inside Xie Ruolan's grotto in the second core layer.

Xie Ruolan sat in the hall of her grotto, composed and graceful. In front of her was a tall, broad-shouldered man with long hair flowing over his shoulders.

The man looked to be in his early twenties, more like a martial artist from the secular world than a cultivator. The most noticeable feature was a long scar on the right side of his face, running from his eye to his chin, giving him a fierce appearance.

The man looked at Xie Ruolan with a passionate gaze. After a long moment, he sighed and said, "Ruolan, I never expected you to reach the Foundation Establishment stage before me. But this is good, at least Kong Yuanliang and Ling Shengjie won't harass you as much as before!"

Hearing this, Xie Ruolan's face softened with a gentle smile, and she replied, "Senior Brother Wu, Ruolan was just lucky and received the sect's reward. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had the chance to reach the Foundation Establishment stage so quickly!"

"Timing is also part of strength. Don't worry about it, Ruolan. In this spirit stone mine competition, I will definitely secure one of the top three spots. After I successfully reach the Foundation Establishment stage, I will be closer to you, and I won't need to be as wary of those two anymore!" the scar-faced man said solemnly.

Xie Ruolan listened, maintaining her gentle smile and nodding. She then patted her storage bag, and a low-grade top-quality earth escape talisman appeared in her hand.

"Ruolan, what is this?" the scar-faced man frowned upon seeing the earth escape talisman in Xie Ruolan's hand.

Seeing his frown, Xie Ruolan felt a bit helpless but still spoke earnestly, "Senior Brother Wu, I know you are strong. If you are willing to enter the inner sect, you will definitely have a place here. However, you will face more than one enemy. If you are surrounded, I hope you won't fight to the death. This is a token of my gratitude. I hope you will accept it, Senior Brother Wu!"

Hearing Xie Ruolan's words, the scar-faced man hesitated for a moment but then took the talisman, saying softly, "I know you won't be at ease if I don't take it. Since that's the case, I'll accept it. I'll return it to you when I come back. By the way, you said you would arrange two people to assist me. I've already met Wang Chen, who is just average. Who is the other person?"

" Him..."

Xie Ruolan was about to speak when suddenly a sound transmission talisman flew in. She relaxed and said softly, "He's here!"

The scar-faced man followed Xie Ruolan's voice and looked toward the entrance. Soon, a man who looked to be under twenty, with no particularly outstanding features and only at the Ninth Level of the Qi Condensation stage, walked in.

"Ruolan, is he the other person who will go with me?" the scar-faced man asked, somewhat dissatisfied after seeing his cultivation level.

The man was none other than Lin Haoming. He walked into the grotto and was surprised to find someone else there, and even more surprised that this person immediately looked down on him.

Lin Haoming did not get angry but looked at the man and Xie Ruolan, feeling a bit puzzled.

The man clearly only had the cultivation of the Great Perfection stage of the Qi Condensation stage, yet he addressed Xie Ruolan by her given name, which seemed quite unusual.

Could this guy be related to some old ancestor of the sect? Lin Haoming thought subconsciously.

At this moment, Xie Ruolan immediately introduced him, "Senior Brother Wu, this is Lin Haoming, Junior Brother Lin. He is indeed the person I arranged. Don't look at his Ninth Level of the Qi Condensation stage; even Great Perfection cultivators might not be able to defeat him."

"If that's the case, it's fine. I trust you wouldn't send just anyone!" The scar-faced man's expression improved after hearing this explanation.

Xie Ruolan, however, felt a bit bitter and said, "Lin Haoming, I'm sure you've heard of this Senior Brother. He is the famous top outer disciple, Wu Hongfei, Senior Brother Wu!"

"Senior Brother Wu?" Lin Haoming, upon hearing Xie Ruolan's explanation, immediately recalled that there was indeed such a person. It was said that Wu Hongfei was mocked for never becoming an inner disciple, but after ten years of hard training and several years spent in the deep mountains, slaying spirit beasts to hone his strength, he returned at the Great Perfection stage of the Qi Condensation stage, with formidable strength. An inner disciple ranked within the top hundred was defeated in less than ten rounds.

Although he had the strength to enter the inner sect, he refused to do so, earning him some fame within the sect.

However, Lin Haoming knew that despite Wu Hongfei's fame, he had no significant background. Why was he so close to Xie Ruolan? Could there be something going on between them?

Thinking about this, Lin Haoming felt a bit uncomfortable and his gaze toward Wu Hongfei was not very friendly.

PS: Old Jing promised to update more during the new book period. If the collection reaches a thousand, there will be an extra chapter. We're almost there, so everyone, please support and collect!