Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Rourou said, “No.”

It was clean and direct, without any hesitation.

Elder Sun instantly widened her eyes. However, before she could scoff, Rourou looked directly at her.

“My partner is going through a breakthrough and was already disturbed just now; how are you going to compensate us for that?”

Elder Sun’s heart skipped a beat. She had always been overbearing, but her expression suddenly changed. This brat in front of her looked young, but for some reason, her gaze made her feel frightened inside.

However, she was sure that her servant was in the courtyard, so she was not willing to let go of this matter.

Looking at Hua Xiangrong, Elder Sun said in a low voice, “Innkeeper Hua, what do you think we should do since this matter happened in Heaven Fragrance Residence? I have to catch that servant no matter what and bring her back to Golden Toad Palace to be punished.”

Even though Hua Xiangrong did not know why the aggressive Elder Sun had toned down a notch after being looked at by Rourou, she was not a fool. Otherwise, she would not have been able to become Heaven Fragrance Residence’s lady boss.

Her eyes brightened slightly as she shook her head, “Elder Sun, this esteemed guest that you see right here is a guest of Heaven Fragrance Residence. I can only be a mediator in this incident. The specifics have to be discussed between the both of you. Of course, I have to remind Elder Sun that you cannot start a fight. Otherwise, do not blame me for being merciless.”

With these words, she issued a warning and removed herself from this matter cleanly.

Whatever it was, she refused to be used by Elder Sun.

Rourou said blandly, “You haven’t answered my question. How are you going to compensate us?”

Elder Sun’s face turned ashen. She wanted to fall out with Rourou right now but her heart was trembling. She could only grit her teeth and leave. Hua Xiangrong did not want to be involved, but she did not dare to force her way in either. If she did not leave, she would only be losing face here.

Anyway, that damned servant was hiding in that courtyard for sure. It wasn’t like she could grow wings and fly away.

Elder Sun had a fierce and violent gaze in her eyes. She would definitely be keeping an eye on this courtyard. She wanted to see how long they could hide in there for. As long as that servant came out, she would no longer try to be reasonable. When that happened, Heaven Fragrance Residence would no longer be able to try and smooth things over!

Rourou closed the door and turned around to look at the black-robed woman who had collapsed in her courtyard. After risking her life to escape to this place, she had fainted.

After thinking for a while, Rourou reached her hands out and grabbed. An invisible force poured out and carried that black-robed woman, following behind Rourou as she entered the room.

Putting her on the bed, Rourou placed a finger between the black-robed woman’s eyebrows. A few breaths later, she retracted her finger and nodded her head. She had a satisfied expression on her face. Not bad, this is better than I expected. I just need to train her well and she will be far more useful than Wei Han.

On the second day, the black-robed woman finally woke up. She sat up suddenly which strained her injuries. With a groan, her face turned pale and fine beads of sweat formed on her forehead. However, her eyes were still alert as they swept across her surroundings. Her tense body did not relax for even a moment.

“You’re awake?”

Rourou opened her eyes and looked at the black-robed woman calmly.

The black-robed woman took a deep breath and said slowly, “We’ve met before entering the Central Desolate.”

Rourou nodded her head, “Your memory is not bad. Then you’d better remember that today, I saved your life.”

The black-robed woman pursed her lips and replied, “Thank you for saving me.”

To this, Rourou said, “I am not like those people from Golden Toad Palace who do things recklessly and sloppily. They are brainless. However, there are some things that I have to ask you, and you’d better tell the truth.

“Firstly, back then, did you reject Golden Toad Palace and Green River’s recruitment offers because you already had another target in mind?”

The black-robed woman nodded her head, “Yes.” After a slight pause, she continued, “I wanted to join Blackpool.”

Rourou snapped her fingers a few times, “They are one of the top four sects. They are powerful and have a lot of insider information. Additionally, their cultivation method is very compatible with yours. You made the right choice.”

She looked at the black-robed woman up and down, “With your aptitude, it should not be a problem to enter Blackpool. However, at most, you would have the status of an inner disciple. You would not receive a lot of care and there would be a limit to your achievements in the future.”

The black-robed woman did not say anything, but there was a trace of sadness in her eyes. Ever since she entered the Central Desolate, she had been gathering news about Blackpool and knew that what Rourou was saying was true.

As one of the four strongest sects in the Central Desolate Divine Area, Blackpool’s disciples were all talented. It was like a place where the stars gathered to shine together.

When she entered the Jade Gate, her aptitude had been checked by the Peeping Sky Worm and five colors burst out. There was even a trace of the sixth. It was a wondrous sight and she managed to attract Golden Toad Palace and Green River, two big sects in the Central Desolate.

Yet, in actual fact, she was very far from being a true talent.

Only the top talents, who had the aptitude to give rise to seven colors, could enter the Founder Hall, and a soul lamp would be lit for them to officiate them as true inheritors of the Great Dao.

Rourou suddenly asked, “You want to take revenge?”

The black-robed woman nodded her head, “It’s a blood feud.”

“Would it be sufficient to be an inner disciple?”

The black-robed woman thought for a while before shaking her head.

Rourou laughed, “Good. Then we can start discussing a mutually beneficial collaboration between us. For example, I can think of a way to improve your aptitude. I don’t know if you can achieve seven colors, but I can guarantee that you can achieve six. Blackpool’s direct disciples have the right to cultivate all of the sect’s methods. There might be one that is very suitable for you.”

The black-robed woman was very shocked that there was someone who could see through her and all her secrets. She raised her head and tried to read Rourou’s expression, but other than her unwavering smile, she could not detect anything.

She felt like Rourou’s eyes were like the imperceptible deep abyss. Inexplicably, respect and admiration poured out of her heart, like a hot iron that branded directly on her soul.

The black-robed lady grit her teeth and struggled to get up. Then, she knelt on the ground with a ‘pu-tong’ sound, “Please help me, Sprout is willing to give everything I have!”

Rourou raised her hand and grabbed in front of her. A ball of light condensed and inside, there was a silhouette of a sprout that had shrunk by many times, “Very good. I will accept what you just said.”

Black-robed Sprout rose her head, her face full of confusion.

Just at this moment, Rourou pointed her finger outwards. ‘Pa’ A soft sound rang out. The space between black-robed Sprout’s eyes cracked, and countless fine cracks appeared from the center, spreading outwards until they covered her whole body.

“Ah!”

Sprout cried out in pain and started to convulse on the ground.

Rourou was expressionless, “Remember the pain you are going through now and do not lose consciousness. Otherwise, this suffering will have been for nothing.”

With a thought, layers of space descended and trapped Sprout within, isolating her aura.

It seemed easy to talk about raising someone’s aptitude, but when it came to doing it, there were only a few people that could.

Rourou was one of them.

However, even if this was the case, it did not mean that it could be done overnight. There was no free lunch in this world. The more one wanted to achieve, the more one had to give to get it.

As the saying went, ‘One must fail to succeed’. Since one must break, then it was better to break thoroughly without harming their source. Only then would it be possible to undergo a transformation.

This was a test of one’s skill!

Some people were lucky and succeeded on their first try. However, some met with many difficulties and were unable to succeed even after tens of tries.

Therefore, they probably needed to have Sprout follow by their side for quite some time.

Thankfully, this little brat’s appearance was quite ordinary. Those two pieces of meat on her chest paled in comparison to Rourou’s.

This made Rourou feel quite relieved.