Xie Jiujiu finished a hearty meal and, after giving He Xiang a few instructions, returned home to continue her secluded cultivation.
Meanwhile, the news of Xie Ying becoming a Heavenly Spiritual Root finally spread, causing a sensation throughout Yunmu City.
The City Lord Residence celebrated joyously every day, hosting grand banquets.
The main branch of the family, still worried that Xie Jiujiu might cause trouble, specifically had people keep watch over her, but to their surprise, days passed with nothing but calm seas and gentle breezes.
The three members of the family gathered privately together.
Chen Guan, the great aunt from the eldest branch, couldn't help but grumble, "That girl, always in secluded cultivation, didn't even show up for Yingying's great celebration."
"Shut up," Xie's great-uncle, who dearly hoped Xie Jiujiu would not appear, said, "Why bring her up when everything's fine as it is?"
"Lately, that girl from the second branch has been parading around in front of me in Yingying's clothes, infuriating me. I sent someone to inquire and found out that last time she only sold most of her things, she must still have some left, and I want to take back some of those..."
"Enough!" Xie's great-uncle interrupted Chen Guan, "Haven't you been tricked by her enough last time? I'm warning you, don't think about targeting Jiujiu again. The couple from the third branch is coming back in a few days. If this blows up, none of us will save face. Yingying doesn't lack those things now."
Xie's great-uncle, basking in the glory of his daughter's achievements, did not want to court any more trouble. Mainly because his father was very dissatisfied with him over the third branch's affairs and had already stripped him of his duties.
With nothing else to do, he could focus on cultivation, but that also meant no more perks.
Chen Guan, accustomed to suppressing the third branch, had gradually become biased. But, after her husband's reminder, she quickly adjusted her mindset.
"Mother, there's no need to take it to heart. Once I join the Sect, I will definitely be given importance. My status will be incomparable to Jiujiu's, and it's not worth losing my dignity over some trivial things,"
Xie Ying had heard about the incident at the Youth Martial Hall square but thinking of the bright future provided by her Heavenly Spiritual Root, a sense of superiority quickly filled her heart again.
The gap between her and Xie Jiujiu would only grow larger as time passed.
Xie Jiujiu, the very person being discussed, was at that moment deeply engrossed in her cultivation. Her room was arranged with a Spirit Gathering Array Plate, and the spiritual energy within it had become slightly denser.
Xie Jiujiu was already at the midstage of Qi Cultivation, and the effect of using Qi Nourishing Pills for cultivation was not as good as before. Continued use would have little effect, but the accumulation of poison from the pills was not insignificant, and just purging the poison would take no small amount of time.
Reluctantly, she had to switch to the more potent Spirit-Gathering Pills, which were generally used by those in the later stages of Qi Cultivation.
Once a Spirit-Gathering Pill was consumed, her body was immediately filled with a vast amount of spiritual energy, five times that of a Qi Nourishing Pill.
Xie Jiujiu hurried to calm her breathing and concentrate, activating her cultivation technique, striving to condense and refine the spiritual energy into spiritual power, purify it, and incorporate it into her dantian.
Cultivation was a very monotonous process.
Continuously inhaling spiritual energy, condensing spiritual power, purifying it, and then storing it in the dantian, the cycle repeated over and over.
Thus, cultivation also required a stable disposition, the ability to withstand loneliness, to remain focused, and only those with great perseverance had the chance to reach great heights and stand above others.
Xie Jiujiu had no choice.
To survive, she must cultivate desperately and continuously grow stronger.
Fortunately, she didn't need to worry about her state of mind not being sufficient until the Golden Core Stage, which saved her a great deal of time otherwise spent on breakthroughs. As long as there was enough spiritual energy, she was confident that she could reach Core Formation within ten years and also fortify her foundation.
Two hours passed.
Halted her cultivation for a brief time, Xie Jiujiu then took out a Talisman Brush, blank Talisman Papers, and beast blood mixed with cinnabar, and began to draw talismans at her desk.
She was creating several common rank-one Spirit Talismans.
For example:
Offensive types like Fire Talismans and Explosive Talismans; defensive types like Diamond Talismans and Amulets; supportive types like Invisibility Talismans, Insect-Repelling Talismans, and Featherweight Talismans.
There were many types, enriching the inventory.
She would continue only until the spiritual power in her dantian was depleted and she felt mentally exhausted, at which point she would consume another Spirit-Gathering Pill to recover her spiritual power.
After absorbing all the spiritual energy from the Spirit Pill and restoring the previously depleted spiritual power, she would continue crafting talismans until she was nearly depleted again, and then meditate to recuperate.
Xie Jiujiu did this intentionally; in her previous life, some disciples in the Sect had found that practicing in this way for just a year or so could reap many benefits.
Firstly, the speed of cultivation would increase, Divine Sense would slightly expand, spiritual power would purify, the foundation would become more solid, and the meridians would unwittingly widen.
Of course, the precondition for daring to cultivate in this manner was to be in a safe environment because when one's spiritual power was exhausted, encountering any danger could spell the end.
Several days passed.
Having reached the later phase of the fifth level of Qi Cultivation and on the verge of a breakthrough, Xie Jiujiu finally ceased her cultivation.
She began to organize the contents of the storage bag.
Items to be sold, kept for personal use, frequently used, and infrequently used were all sorted and arranged, clear at a glance.
Earlier, Xie Jiujiu had already etched protective arrays onto the blank array plates, which were foundational formations modified by the Sect. Activated, they were more effective than the array plates currently used in her room, saving a third of the spirit stones.
Xie Jiujiu took one out and replaced it.
Once the formation was shut down, she immediately sensed something unusual outside.
All was quiet for a long while.
Suddenly, a gentle female voice called from outside, "Jiujiu, have you finished your seclusion?"
Hearing this voice from the depths of her memories that she dared not recall, tears unconsciously streamed down Xie Jiujiu's face.
Mo Lan stepped inside lightly and immediately felt a pain in her heart upon seeing this scene, and in her panic, she rushed forward to embrace her daughter.
"Jiujiu, Mother was wrong. I shouldn't have left you alone in the clan."
"Wah…"
Xie Jiujiu couldn't help but throw herself into her mother's arms and sobbed loudly.
Her crying was heart-wrenching, as if her very soul was being torn apart.
It was as if all the fear and pain repressed in her heart were being released at once.
Since her rebirth, she hadn't cried even when faced with oppression from the main house or even threats of death.
The living presence of her mother, Mo Lan, shattered her facade of strength, striking directly at her vulnerability.
Intertwined with her cries were sadness, grief, and a great deal of venting, along with a slight, indiscernible joy of reunion.
Now, Mo Lan regretted it to death; she should have taken her daughter with her to the Mortal Realm three years ago.
Three years ago, her daughter was only eight years old.
But going to the Mortal Realm was not conducive to cultivation so she and her husband, thinking they were doing what was best for their daughter, left her in the clan.
Standing beside the mother and daughter now was a tall and honest-looking man, his eyes red as he embraced them both in his arms.
Through tears, Mo Lan pounded on him a few times, sobbing, "It's all your fault! It's all your fault… We should never have left our daughter behind. She was so young."
"Yes, it's my fault."
Xie Shen returned home filled with regret after hearing about the injustices his daughter had faced. He had not anticipated that the main house could be so shameless as to harshly treat a child and even steal her opportunities.
The day before, he had gone to reason with his father and ended up being severely beaten. His father said the weak have no right to talk about justice…
Mo Lan spoke angrily, "None of your brothers are any good!"
"Second Brother is actually quite good…"
"Good at what? I don't believe he didn't know about the injustice Jiujiu suffered!"
"…" Xie Shen had no rebuttal.
After crying her heart out, Xie Jiujiu felt much lighter, as if a heavy burden had suddenly been lifted from her shoulders.
Hearing her mother even blame her second uncle, Xie Jiujiu hurriedly spoke up with a hoarse voice, "Mother, don't blame Second Uncle, he's actually quite good. Fourth Sister has been protecting me, and several times when there was a conflict with the main house, it was Second Uncle who appeared in time to protect us."
Mo Lan used a handkerchief to dry her daughter's tears, "Don't naively think that everyone is good. Perhaps they are good, but only to an extent."
Xie Jiujiu smiled without answering.
She simply let her mother wipe her face.
Xie Shen handed his daughter a storage ring.
"Daughter, this is for you."
"What?" Xie Jiujiu was surprised, "Dad, where did this storage ring come from? These things are so expensive, and even with spirit stones, you can't always buy them."
"Your grandfather gave it. Inside, there are some things he said should be enough for our entire family to break through to Foundation Establishment." Xie Shen had been beaten up, but afterward, he shamelessly demanded this compensation.
Since the loss of the Soul Cleansing Pill had become a fact, he could only demand additional compensation for his daughter.