Fusang Sword Heart Diagram

Chapter 36 Qingbo Cave Lake
Wu Gui's words of comfort did not make Yang Ruo feel any better; he felt like the loneliest person on this flying carpet.

Hua Qian saw the root of Yang Ruo's depression and said gently, "At least our Southern Star Sword Sect does not keep non-human beings as slaves."

In this world, there are still people who try their best not to oppress those already pitiful people with special abilities.

Yang Ruo's eyes regained their brilliance.

Hua Yue echoed her sister's words: "Although our Qingbo Cave Lake of the Southern Star Sword Sect is inhabited by merfolk, we have always maintained a cooperative relationship. Unlike other sects, we have never planted life-and-death talismans on them to control their lives."

She blinked, her eyes sparkling with life: "Senior brother, wouldn't you like to meet the merfolk described in 'The Record of Mermaid Silk'?"

"Legend has it that mermaid women are beautiful and good at singing, and their tears turn into pearls, so the heroine in the storybook is named Wenzhu (meaning 'hearing pearls')."

As Yang Ruo imagined the image of Wen Zhu, the female protagonist in "The Tale of the Mermaid," her heart skipped a beat, and her ears burned.

Hua Yue laughed heartily, but when she turned to meet her sister's disapproving gaze, she composed herself and became serious.

After this commotion, the atmosphere became much more relaxed.

Following the map, the team successfully arrived at Qingbodong Lake.

The Qingbodong Lake stretches for eight hundred li, seemingly endless. The lake's surface is calm, like an unpolished mirror, with wisps of mist rising gently, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.

In the mist and white smoke, tiny shadows leaped about—the disciples who were scooping up the silk.

Upon first seeing Donghu Lake, everyone was stunned by the breathtakingly beautiful scenery that resembled a fairyland.

"Who dares to trespass on the territory of our Southern Star Sword Sect?"

A group of men emerged from inside, brandishing longswords, and surrounded the group.

Yang Ni angrily rebuked, "Have you all grown audacious enough to point swords at your own disciples?"

After she finished speaking, she whispered to Yang Ruo, "Senior brother, the jade token, your identity jade token."

Upon hearing the words "personal disciple," everyone exchanged glances, looking at the female cultivator in front of them with suspicion. Was she a personal disciple?

A male disciple in yellow robes whispered in the ear of the only young man who hadn't drawn his sword, "Senior Brother Jiang, the sect will be sending a group of disciples to help retrieve the mermaid silk soon. Judging by their journey, they should be here by now. They should be one of our own."

Jiang Renyi scoffed, "A personal disciple would come here to salvage mermaid silk? It's only worth a few contribution points?"

At this moment, Yang Ruo finally found her identity jade token in her storage bag, and Jiang Renyi's smile froze.

He quickly bowed and said, "I was blind and offended you, senior brother. Please forgive me!"

The group of people hurriedly sheathed their swords and bent down.

Yang Ruo waved his hand, then, realizing that everyone was looking down and hadn't seen him, he cleared his throat and said, "We're all from the same sect, no need for such formalities. We're here to do a sect mission, so please take us to see Elder Lu first."

Jiang Renyi breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Yang Ruo didn't blame him, and led the others to the camp.

On the way, Jiang Renyi asked, "May I ask how to address you, senior brother?"

In reality, Jiang Renyi was trying to find out which elder in the sect Yang Ruo was a disciple of. After all, there were many elders in the Nanxing Sword Sect, and not every elder held a high position of power.

He thought, "If they've come to Qingbodong Lake to do such hard work as catching sharks, they must not be important people."

Jiang Renyi guessed that he was probably a personal disciple of an outer sect elder, or at the very least, a disciple of a sect steward. Yang Ruo was simple-minded and didn't understand these intricacies. He politely said, "My name is Yang Ruo."

Jiang Renyi wasn't unaware of the name on Yang Ruo's identity jade tablet; he asked the question simply to elicit Yang Ruo's lineage.

Not getting the desired result, a dark glint flashed deep in Jiang Renyi's eyes as he thought to himself, "Yang Ruo is so low-key, it's probably just as I guessed, his master's status in the sect isn't that high."

"It's precisely because his master's status is not high that he can't speak of it openly!"

Thinking of this, Jiang Renyi felt a bit contemptuous. Although he wasn't exactly negligent in his attitude towards Yang Ruo and the others, he no longer had the initial respect he had shown.

Apart from Yang Ruo, the others were all shrewd and perceptive, and naturally noticed the change in Jiang Renyi's attitude.

Hua Yue silently uttered a few words from behind: "Looking down on people like that."

Hua Qian shook her head at her, indicating that this matter should not be done again.

Dong Fangfei and Ning Fusang didn't care much, and Wu Gui and Xie Feng, being two grown men, didn't want to fuss over such a small matter.

Yang Ni gave a cold laugh.

Yang Ruo turned to look at her, completely baffled. Looking at the others, she felt that everyone was acting strangely.

At this moment, Jiang Renyi's voice rang out: "Everyone, please rest in the tent for a while. Elder Lu is busy with trivial matters and has to personally supervise the work of catching shark silk every day. He may be on Qingbo Cave Lake right now and not in the camp. I will go and check for you. If Elder Lu returns, I will inform him on your behalf."

"Thank you for your trouble, Junior Brother Jiang." Yang Ruo, who had just sat down, stood up and bowed with exceptional sincerity.

The more approachable Yang Ruo was, the more Jiang Renyi felt he was just an ordinary personal disciple. After all, inner disciples could do whatever they wanted; if someone were a personal disciple of an inner elder, they would never be here.

Jiang Renyi lowered the tent flap and walked out, the smile on his face vanishing instantly.

A disciple in yellow robes was waiting for him outside. When he saw Jiang Renyi come out, he quickly went up to him and asked, "Senior Brother Jiang, how did it go? What kind of background does that personal disciple have?"

Jiang Renyi glanced back at the camp, walked towards the lake, and after a distance, said, "Does someone with connections come here to salvage the mermaid silk?"

“That’s true,” Qi Jiang agreed, then remembered something, “But they want to see Elder Lu, should we report that?”

"Elder Lu is very busy and has been troubled lately. Why bother him with such a trivial matter? Don't you have any sense?"

"Aren't they here to harvest the shark's veil? Just find someone to teach them how to harvest it. Training today, going to the lake tomorrow, harvesting this year's shark's veil as soon as possible, and we can have extra time to cultivate."

Jiang Renyi also wants to return to the sect as soon as possible to participate in the next outer sect competition.

Qi Jiang carefully considered the meaning behind his words and said, "Senior Brother Jiang, I understand. I will give the order right away."

"Wait a minute." Jiang Renyi called out to Qi Jiang, "I've been thinking about it. Since someone from the sect is coming, it would be best to inform the elders about this matter."

"Elder Lu is very busy, so please report this matter to Elder Dou."

There are two elders in charge of Qingbo Cave Lake. Elder Dou, whom Jiang Renyi mentioned, is Elder Lu's deputy. He handles many affairs on a daily basis.

Whether Elder Dou would meet with Yang Ruo and his group was not something Jiang Renyi cared about.

(End of this chapter)