Chapter 82

It was three days before the competition, and when the results came out, Lin Haoming found that Ling Shengjie had indeed helped, but the help was quite limited. For the competition to claim Xie Ruolan's cave, there were a total of seven participants. Due to Ling Shengjie's help, Lin Haoming was directly exempted from the first round, but that was all.

To obtain Xie Ruolan's cave, Lin Haoming had to defeat two opponents to get what he wanted. The other six participants were all cultivators at the peak of the Qi Condensation stage, and they had previously lived in Xuan or Huang caves, meaning they were all top-notch experts within the inner sect.

Actually, Lin Haoming had already anticipated such a result. Being exempted from the first round was a good thing, at least he could observe the tricks these people had up their sleeves.

Since he had become an inner sect disciple, Lin Haoming directly handed over the outer sect business to Li Shun Tian.

Xie Ruolan was currently unreachable, so Lin Haoming took the initiative to handle some matters.

As for Lin Haoming himself, he had been staying in Xie Ruolan's shop on the second floor of the market.

This place was originally where Wang Chen lived, but because Wang Chen was seriously injured, he returned to his cave to recover and attempt to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

Wang Chen had lost an arm, but regrowing a limb was not a difficult task in the cultivation world. Cultivators above the Golden Core stage could regrow limbs using their mana, while those below the Golden Core stage needed the Heavenly Fragrance Continuation Pill. Although this pill cost over a thousand spirit stones, it was still affordable for Wang Chen.

Thus, Wang Chen had a good chance of becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator, which meant Lin Haoming would be the owner of the shop on the second floor of the market.

The second floor of the market was slightly better than the outer market, at least there were some stone houses and shops built here, and each shop had a magical array. However, compared to the first floor, it was more deserted, and the buyers were mostly inner sect disciples who were not very wealthy, haggling over every item.

Lin Haoming was too lazy to deal with such trivial matters and directly handed them over to Bao Wenliang.

Bringing Bao Wenliang to the second floor was also thanks to Ling Shengjie's help. Since he had given him some benefits, he had to make the most of it; otherwise, it would be a waste of the spirit stones he had given up.

Thus, Lin Haoming handled some trivial matters and waited for the official competition day to arrive.

In the Blood Refinement Sect, on the sixth floor, in the cave of Elder Luo.

At this moment, in a pavilion near a tall tower, Xie Ruolan was quietly sitting on a mat in a meditation room.

Xie Ruolan appeared to be performing a very ordinary breathing exercise, but her originally peerless beauty was now completely black, as if ink had been smeared on her flawless face.

With each rhythmic breath, a cold aura was expelled from her mouth, and the entire meditation room, from the floor to the ceiling and walls, was covered in a layer of frost.

After a long time of continuous breathing, Xie Ruolan suddenly began to make hand seals, and a stronger cold aura began to emanate from her body, covering her entirely in a layer of frost. This was not the end; as time passed, the frost continued to thicken, eventually completely enveloping Xie Ruolan.

At a certain moment, a crack appeared in the frost covering Xie Ruolan, and it suddenly shattered, with the frost fragments falling to the ground, revealing the ethereal and beautiful woman inside.

Xie Ruolan looked at the frost on the ground and took a deep breath, a satisfied smile appearing on her lips.

But just as the smile appeared, her master's voice rang in her ear: "Ruolan, you've done well. In a short time, you've already mastered the basics of the Cold Yin Devil Fire."

Following the voice, Xie Ruolan saw that the old woman had entered the meditation room at some point. She was startled at first, then immediately bowed: "Disciple greets Master!"

Although the person before her was her master, Xie Ruolan knew that if her master wanted to take her life, she wouldn't even be able to detect her attack, which made her feel a sense of helplessness.

"There's no need for formalities. You've done well. In these few days, you've almost used up the cold water, right? I've brought you some more today!" Luo Wanying flicked her wrist, and a jade bottle appeared in her hand.

Xie Ruolan took it and found it to be a large bottle, about three feet in size, filled with Yin Cold Water.

"Thank you, Master. If Master needs to see me, you can just call me. There's no need to come in person!" Xie Ruolan immediately expressed her gratitude.

Luo Wanying smiled kindly and said, "I was just about to welcome an important guest. When I came out of the tower, I noticed you were finishing your practice, so I came to check on you."

As she finished speaking, a clear and pleasant voice drifted from a distance: "Sister Luo, I have arrived. Please open the restrictions, Sister Luo!"

With the sound, Luo Wanying's figure blurred and disappeared in front of Xie Ruolan.

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

This woman stood on a white jade lotus, wearing a flawless white palace dress. Her beauty was not only extraordinary but also gave a sense of purity, like a celestial being who did not partake in the affairs of the mortal world, or like the white lotus beneath her feet, which remained unstained by the mud.

To have her master personally welcome her and address her as a sister, this woman, who appeared to be a year or two younger than Xie Ruolan, was definitely no ordinary person. She was likely a top-notch expert among the Golden Core elders.

However, Xie Ruolan had recently heard a lot about the sect's elders from Fang Jing, but she had no memory of anyone matching the appearance of this woman.

"Could she be a Golden Core elder from another sect?" Xie Ruolan felt a bit puzzled.

Just as Xie Ruolan was puzzled, she suddenly felt a divine consciousness scan her. Looking up, she saw that the ethereal woman on the jade lotus was looking at her, seemingly with a hint of curiosity.

However, the woman only glanced at her once and then turned her attention to Luo Wanying, engaging in conversation.

Although it was just a glance, Xie Ruolan vaguely felt that the woman's strength, even if not as strong as her master, was not much weaker. Such a person was not someone she could afford to offend lightly.

As Xie Ruolan was thinking, Luo Wanying and the woman had already entered the tower. After they disappeared, Xie Ruolan let out a sigh of relief.

Looking at the Yin Cold Water her master had given her, Xie Ruolan tidied up her things and calculated the time, thinking that the competition for the spirit stone mine had already passed. She wondered how the three people she had sent were doing.

She hoped that Wu Hongfei would die in the competition, but Wu Hongfei was very strong and might not be killed even if surrounded. As for Lin Haoming, who was only at the ninth level of the Qi Condensation stage, she wondered if he could survive. If he died, it would be a pity.

Thinking about these things, Xie Ruolan wanted to go back and check. She took out a sound transmission talisman and threw it out.

PS: I had some matters to attend to today, so the update was delayed. There will be another chapter tonight!

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