The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 419 Avoiding the brunt of the attack, merely testing the waters

Lang Jiuchuan was exhausted after teasing Yi Ce for a while. Yi Ce could tell that she was putting on a brave face, so he tactfully said, "You meditate, I'll keep watch for you outside."

After he finished speaking, he walked out of the cave, sat cross-legged on the ground, picked a blade of grass and put it in his mouth. Recalling the young master Rong from earlier, his expression was not very good.

That young master Rong is a bit strange; his aura is sometimes righteous and sometimes sinister.

Yi Ce seemed to be thinking of something, a trace of resentment and disgust flashing in his eyes. The Xuan Clan were all birds of a feather.

He glanced back, then crossed his legs and began meditating as well.

Inside the cave, Lang Jiuchuan released Jiang Che to guard him. Yi Ce had some secrets about him. Even if she knew them, she wasn't completely familiar with him, and she wouldn't fully trust him.

Even those who cultivate themselves as Taoist priests must leave themselves a way out, a chance to survive.

Lang Jiuchuan relaxed and placed the bone bell in front of her. She formed a Dao seal with her hands and struck the bone bell. The bone bell began to spin wildly, and spiritual energy flowed around her, with a wisp even flowing out of the cave.

Yi Ce was startled by the wisp of spiritual energy and turned around in surprise to look into the cave. He quietly shifted his position and sat right in the middle of the cave entrance, which was just right.

Rong Huanxuan, who had been forcibly taken away, had already returned to the clan and was brought before the Rong family head.

When the Rong family head saw her violent, bloodshot eyes, he told Liu Xiao to wait outside for the time being. Suppressing his anger, he formed hand seals and cast several complicated incantations on her spiritual platform, then stuffed a pill into her mouth.

Rong Huanxuan regained some of her senses, but her expression remained cold and fierce. She looked around, then looked up and saw her grandfather staring at her with a cold expression, which made her feel a chill.

"Are you awake now? Kneel down!" The Rong family head, with one hand behind his back, looked at her coldly and scolded, "I sent you a telepathic message telling you to come back immediately, why didn't you listen? Why did you have to come back in such a disheveled state? If Liu Xiao hadn't forcibly brought you back, would you have died there? Do you think you're a nine-tailed fox or something, with several lives to squander?"

Rong Huanxuan knelt on the ground, her hands hanging at her sides, without saying a word.

"I know you've been arrogant since childhood, always looking down on others and comparing yourself to them, which ultimately led to disaster. I thought that after that terrible lesson last year, you would have learned your lesson and become more humble, realizing that there are always people more capable than you, but I never expected you to remain so arrogant and foolish!" The Rong family head reprimanded sternly, "The Rong family has poured resources into you, not so that you would be arrogant and put yourself in constant danger. If you squander your life, how can you face the family's years of nurturing?"

Rong Huanxuan blushed deeply after being scolded, looking somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Grandfather, I just..."

The head of the Rong family looked down at her and interrupted her: "You are just unwilling and resentful. The successive blows have made you feel that your dignity has been trampled on and crushed. You even have to avoid the sharp edge of an unknown wandering soul. So, Young Master Rong, you are angry, you are unwilling, and you feel humiliated!"

Rong Huanxuan pressed her lips tightly together and clenched her fists.

The Rong family head sneered: "You're not convinced, that's right, but what you should do is turn that discontent into willpower and motivation to make yourself stronger. Only then can you stand on the clouds and lead the Rong family to the pinnacle, instead of being in this incompetent rage! You have no idea what that wandering soul is all about. What gives you the confidence to think you can escape unscathed from her? Is it because of your current inner demons or your already unstable foundation?"

Rong Huanxuan's face turned deathly pale, her eyes filled with humiliation and resentment, and she couldn't help but bite her lip.

"Someone who could defeat a Foundation Establishment expert—do you think that's just an ordinary person? Not to mention you're not even a half-step Foundation Establishment cultivator, it's only been half a year since your cultivation went awry, and your vital energy hasn't fully recovered. If it weren't for the rampant rumors and the damage they would cause to the Rong family's reputation and status, I wouldn't have let you go out and risk it." The Rong family head was somewhat disappointed. "But I didn't expect you to be so foolish. Knowing your foundation was weak, you still knowingly did something impossible, trying to fight a losing battle. It's utterly idiotic." "Grandfather, I was thinking that she had just fought Elder Lingxu, and might not be able to withdraw unscathed. And with Elder Liuxiao there, that's why..."

"Don't take chances. What if the other party really does have that ability? You might as well touch the bloodstain on your face!"

Rong Huanxuan subconsciously touched the mark on her face. The stinging pain made her neck feel cold. What if the stone had cut her neck tendons, or what if the tree branch had pierced her forehead?

A sense of lingering fear welled up in her heart.

"Xuan'er, you are the young master of the Rong family, the heir. Don't take your life lightly. You are still growing. What you need is time, not to fight to the death." The Rong family head said earnestly, "You are not the only genius in the world. There are many people younger than you but with greater talent. But remember, you can regard them as your role models, but don't easily compare yourself to them. You have already experienced the consequences of being impatient for success!"

Although Rong Huanxuan was dissatisfied, she still lowered her head and said, "Yes!"

"Go to the Discipline Hall to receive twenty lashes, then go to the Dao Wall to meditate until you comprehend a Daoist principle from your ancestors, and then you can go down the mountain."

Rong Huanxuan was startled. She looked up and met his unyielding eyes, then lowered her head and replied, "Yes."

She turned to leave, and behind her came his cold, heartless words: "Your mother is under house arrest. You don't need to see her unless necessary. If she continues to disturb your Dao heart and delay your cultivation, I will have someone send her to the Western Sea. Since she can't teach you well, she doesn't need to be your mother anymore!"

Upon hearing this, Rong Huanxuan froze, but dared not utter a word, and hurriedly left.

The Rong family head looked at her back, a hint of annoyance flashing in his eyes. If he had known it would turn out like this, he would have been better off bringing the child back. Now it's too late to say anything.

He quickly twirled the string of beads in his hand and transmitted his voice outwards. In an instant, Liu Xiao entered.

"The one you fought was Lang Jiuchuan. Can you tell what kind of monster she is?"

Liu Xiao looked somewhat solemn and shook his head: "Patriarch, I didn't see anyone. Because of the order from the patriarch, and because Fellow Daoist Lingxu... I was afraid something might happen, and I didn't dare to confront him head-on with the young master, so I used a teleportation and concealment talisman to leave."

"Didn't see anyone?"

"Yes. The opponent must have used a concealment talisman as well, and we only exchanged two moves, no, or rather, we should say we were testing each other?" Liu Xiao thought back and felt that the opponent didn't seem to be using their full strength, or perhaps they were powerless to do so?
If they had fought to the bitter end back then, they might have actually taken him down!
Failed!
His expression changed several times, but thinking of Ling Xu's death, he said nothing, only saying, "That person's behavior was strange, and I'm not sure if it was someone from the Lang family. I also saw that the young master's face was injured, and I was anxious, so... Oh right, the other party seemed to know Buddhist incantations, and the young master was bewitched by these incantations..."

"Shut up!" The Rong family head coldly interrupted him, waving his hand: "Go down!"

Liu Xiao bowed and withdrew. The Rong family head held the string of beads, a Buddhist incantation. Could he be a Buddhist?

(End of this chapter)