Xiu Qi's chess skills were as terrible as ever, with no improvement even after all these years.
After the twenty-first game, he left with a gloomy face, even swiping a bottle of wine as he went, seemingly quite unconvinced.
"Wait till I do some research; I'll challenge you again another day!" Xiu Qi's hasty departure was met with the cheerful laughter of Jiang Rong.
She had taken it upon herself to climb over the wall, only to be trapped by the formation and left hungry for a day. Fortunately, Jiang Wen's seclusion was short; otherwise, this girl would have been stuck inside much longer.
When she was released, she looked so pitiful that Jiang Wen used some of the natural treasures he had saved up to refine a few pills for her.
"Take these; they might be useful when you break through to higher realms in the future," Jiang Wen said, handing over a jade bottle containing several pills. Jiang Rong accepted it and carefully put it away.
Then, a happy smile appeared on her face as she offered Jiang Wen something of her own.
"Look what this is!"
Jiang Rong opened her palm, revealing a jade token hanging down. The words 'May your life be as long as Heaven' were written on it, surrounded by carved seal script. It looked like an expensive item, but Jiang Wen didn't recognize what it was for.
"What is this?" he asked.
"This is a personal disciple jade token from the Purple Cloud Palace. I'll be going to the Purple Cloud Palace to cultivate in a few days," Jiang Rong said happily.
"Why go to the Purple Cloud Palace?" Jiang Wen asked curiously. When it came to the world's collection of scriptures, the Boundless Pavilion of Sky Abyss City was second to none. Moreover, the Grand Cyan Royal Family had treasure troves of techniques, so there was no shortage of peerless skills.
"Because I've realized that I'm not suited to learning the Grand Cyan Royal Family's cultivation methods," Jiang Rong said softly, her smile fading. "After losing in the Martial Arts Assembly last time, I realized that I had never really figured out how to proceed. I thought I was resisting my mother's words, but later I realized I was resisting myself. My talent isn't good; I can't compare to my younger brother and the Heavenly King. So, cultivating the royal family's techniques is useless for me. Later, a Sage from the Purple Cloud Palace came and took me as her disciple. She said that I had a destiny with the Purple Cloud Palace and was born to cultivate the Purple Cloud Divine Power."
"So, I joined the Purple Cloud Palace and became a personal disciple of Sage Qingyu of the Purple Cloud Palace."
Jiang Rong recounted her experiences after the Martial Arts Assembly, saying that her performance in the secret realm had caught the eye of Sage Qingyu, who made a special trip to her home to visit.
No matter how unwilling her mother was, she had to give the Sage face.
"So, I won't be staying in Sky Abyss City for much longer, and my mother has allowed me to go out freely."
Jiang Rong liked these days very much; she could always find inspiration for writing from the streets and alleys. As good as Sky Abyss City was, perhaps it was just a cage for her. Going to the Purple Cloud Palace might not be a bad thing.
Jiang Wen encouraged her a few times and then personally cooked a meal to treat her.
Even Luo Ji was attracted by the aroma and praised Jiang Wen's skills after eating. Jiang Rong liked it even more, and she was still reluctant to leave when the time came.
"Brother Taixu, I have to go," Jiang Rong said reluctantly. "Perhaps we won't see each other again for a long time. I hope Brother Taixu won't forget me by then."
As she said this, she handed over something. Jiang Wen took it in his hand; it was a tassel woven with red string.
"This is a sword tassel I made. I hope Brother Taixu will like it."
Jiang Wen accepted it and watched the girl leave.
She was looking forward to reunion, but Jiang Wen knew that this parting was forever.
"May you be safe."
… …
Two days later, Ming Ji also came to visit. She wanted to test swords with Jiang Wen and was eventually defeated by Jiang Wen's Four Symbols Sword Formation in the martial arts secret realm.
Jiang Wen passed on both the offensive and defensive styles of the Four Symbols Sword Formation to her, hoping that she could inherit it well. Ming Ji left with a grateful heart, also taking her younger sister with her.
According to Ming Ji, the Heavenly King had healed her younger sister's injuries. As long as she took good care of herself, her younger sister would slowly grow up. This was a great thing for her. The regret she had not been able to resolve for many years had finally been fulfilled.
"I will not forget you," Ming Ji said seriously.
"What's wrong? Haven't seen elder sister for a few days, do you miss elder sister?" The Holy Maiden Wu Ji of the Sacred Fire Sect媚妖touched her face and walked to Jiang Wen, reaching out to put her hand on his shoulder. "If you miss elder sister, just say so, and elder sister will definitely make you unable to stop being happy."
"… …" Jiang Wen looked at the charming Wu Ji and couldn't help but feel a toothache. Why was she Jiang Wenji's goodwill? Could this goodwill be so dissolute? This really didn't seem like something that a cold and arrogant person like her would do.
"What are you thinking about?" Wu Ji leaned closer, carefully looking at Jiang Wen.
The two looked at each other, and Jiang Wen saw a hint of gold in her eyes. That was a symbol unique to the Grand Cyan Royal Family, a continuation of pure blood. In this way, she was indeed considered a clone cut off by Jiang Wenji, but whether it was goodwill remained to be pondered.
The two looked at each other, but Wu Ji suddenly turned her head away. She didn't look into Jiang Wen's eyes, and her tone was quite aggressive: "Looking at elder sister like this, you've made elder sister shy. Why don't we go into the house, and elder sister will let you see properly."
For some reason, Jiang Wen felt that he seemed to see a trace of shyness in Wu Ji. When he wanted to confirm, the other party looked charming and enchanting.
Probably mistaken, how could this kind of person be shy?
Jiang Wen sighed in his heart, amused by his own thoughts. Wu Ji had been so dissolute since they first met, so how could he still think that the other party would be shy?
Calming down, he looked at Wu Ji and asked, "What's the matter? If there's nothing, please leave."
"Hey, little darling, why are you so cruel? We've known each other for a while, so we have some feelings. Today, you don't even invite me in for a cup of tea and a chat, but coldly drive me away. This heart of mine is also broken," Wu Ji smiled charmingly, stroking his cheek.
But when her hand reached his chin, Jiang Wen grabbed it and looked at Wu Ji coldly.
"If you have nothing else, you can go. You're not very welcome here."
"Boring, boring." Wu Ji withdrew her hand, gave Jiang Wen a resentful look, and then took out a jade bottle from her arms, handing it to Jiang Wen.
"I naturally have something to look for you. This contains a wisp of my remnant soul. You must hold it well. When you meet Jiang Wenji, open this jade bottle. As long as that jade is placed around her, she will not be able to detect my existence. At that time, using the Summoning God Technique will be enough to suppress her evil corpse."
"I know." Jiang Wen took the jade bottle and looked at it carefully, nodding to Wu Ji.
His voice was cold as he saw her off, and Wu Ji could only娇声complainingly leave.
After closing the door, it was much quieter, and Jiang Wen's heart was also calmed down.
He didn't like Wu Ji very much, always feeling that she was very hypocritical and pretentious. She was completely different from Jiang Wenji, and he didn't know why Xue trusted her so much.
