Wen Zhuo was dumbfounded, because she was witnessing something she might never see in her lifetime…
Her disciple?
That “petrified being” Shen Jinge?
Actually bowing her head to someone and saying she had learned from it?
All along, she had been extremely satisfied with her disciple Shen Jinge. Apart from her usual stubbornness, everything else was fine.
As for how stubborn she was…
Let’s give a simple example. Sometimes an elder from the Chilian Pavilion wanted to offer her some guidance, but she would say, “Thank you for your kindness, Elder, but you are not my master, so I cannot accept your instruction.”
Every time, she would leave the elders and seniors both furious and amused.
If you said she was rude, she did apologize. If you said she was polite, she would refuse the goodwill of her elders, only acknowledging Wen Zhuo as her master.
And now, she was bowing her head to thank someone of the same generation…
Even a cultivator with lower cultivation than her, saying she had learned from it.
Wen Zhuo almost thought her lifespan was running out and she was at the end of her life…
“Fellow Immortal Shen, no need to be so polite.” Seeing Shen Jinge finally change her tune, the stone that had been hanging in Luo Xing’s heart also finally fell. “It’s not a lecture, at best it’s just discussing the Dao.”
Although accepting Shen Jinge’s “repayment” wasn’t a loss for him, his conscience and character couldn’t get past this hurdle.
Shen Jinge gave a slight nod, then took out a transmission jade talisman from her storage ring. “Fellow Immortal Luo, please keep this transmission jade talisman. If you ever encounter danger, crush it, and I will rush to help you as quickly as possible.”
“Thank you.” Luo Xing wasn’t one to be coy and accepted the talisman.
“Mm…” Shen Jinge nodded faintly. “Since this matter is concluded, I won’t impose further…”
“Fellow Immortal Shen, please wait a moment.” Luo Xing stopped Shen Jinge. “There are still some things I’d like to discuss in detail with Fairy Wen.”
Beside them, Wen Zhuo, still in shock, snapped back to reality at his words and asked Luo Xing, “Discuss with me in detail?”
What did he have to talk about with her in detail?
“Fairy Wen…” Luo Xing gave a slight nod. “May I have a word?”
He led Wen Zhuo to the side and then set up a barrier to block spiritual senses.
“Fairy Wen, regarding today’s matter…” Luo Xing wore an awkward smile. “I truly apologize. I didn’t mean to disdain Fellow Immortal Shen, it’s just that…”
“Alright, alright. If you’re not interested, you’re not interested. Why drag it out?” Wen Zhuo waved her hand dismissively. “I never said I had to set you up with Jinge anyway. It was just that she insisted on… never mind. What did you want to talk to me about? Surely it’s not just to apologize?”
If Shen Jinge hadn’t insisted on giving her virginity to Luo Xing to repay the debt, she wouldn’t have gotten the idea of having them become Dao companions…
Of course, the main reason was still to spite Ye Li…
Seeing this, Luo Xing secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Good, Wen Zhuo’s straightforward persona hadn’t collapsed yet, so his plan could continue.
“Thank you for your understanding, Fairy.” Luo Xing gave a slight bow. “However… what Fellow Immortal Shen said isn’t without reason.”
After all, cultivation required a clear mind and unobstructed thoughts.
Simply put, if you said you’d kill someone’s entire family, you had to kill their entire family. Missing even one would leave your thoughts obstructed.
Hearing this, Wen Zhuo couldn’t help but slightly furrow her delicate brows.
Indeed, as a Harmony Realm cultivator, she understood well how important mental state was for a cultivator.
Especially since Shen Jinge was currently at the Nascent Soul Realm and her next step was to break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm.
If a cultivator’s heart was constantly occupied by other concerns, it would indeed hinder their cultivation.
Although the Spirit Transformation Realm was only one realm away from the Nascent Soul Realm, the gap between them couldn’t be bridged by numbers alone.
As the saying goes, “All are ants beneath Spirit Transformation,” which meant exactly that.
Just like when Luo Xing and the others encountered that Frost Giant with strength comparable to a Spirit Transformation cultivator in the Xuanbing Jueling. Back then, even Hong An, who had the highest cultivation, said that even all of them combined couldn’t defeat the Frost Giant.
And this was only a secondary reason.
The main reason was that the Spirit Transformation Realm was a watershed for all Nascent Soul cultivators.
Tribulation transcendence was just a minor issue. The most important thing was the mental state.
If the mental state was insufficient, even if they broke through to the Spirit Transformation Realm, it would still affect their future cultivation—unless they were cultivators with a Fairy Spirit Root, Celestial Spirit Root, or Earth Spirit Root.
And Shen Jinge just happened to fall short.
She had an Extreme-Grade Spirit Root, so her mental state during the breakthrough to Spirit Transformation was extremely important.
“Yes, I was considering exactly that, which is why I wanted to discuss it with you, Fairy.” Luo Xing nodded, feigning concern. “Fellow Immortal Shen wants to repay her debt as quickly as possible to achieve a clear mind, but I cannot grant her wish, causing her to remain fixated on this matter. If Fellow Immortal Shen’s cultivation is affected by this in the future…”
“And then?” Wen Zhuo crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “What are you trying to say?”
Luo Xing said, “What I mean is, if Fellow Immortal Shen’s cultivation is truly affected by this matter in the future, then I will compensate her in another way.”
Wen Zhuo was momentarily stunned, then looked at him with a strange expression. “You… what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”
What do you mean you won’t let her repay the favor, but then you’ll compensate her?
This…
How was that even human words?
“Fairy Wen, I know it sounds strange, but that’s indeed the case.” Luo Xing continued. “I saved Fellow Immortal Shen by a stroke of luck—that is the ‘cause.’ She wants to repay the favor—that is the ‘effect.’”
“But if I don’t let her repay the favor and instead bind her with an ‘agreement,’ it will likely obstruct her mental state, and in severe cases, affect her cultivation. So that creates another karmic debt.”
After listening to Luo Xing’s explanation, Wen Zhuo roughly understood his meaning, though she still didn’t quite get it…
What did he mean by not letting her repay the favor created another karmic debt?
Had she been in seclusion for so long that she could no longer keep up with the thoughts of the younger generation of cultivators?
“So…” Wen Zhuo ultimately gave up on overthinking this. “How do you plan to compensate?”
Forget it.
You young people can do whatever you want.
I don’t want to bother with it anymore…
“Mm, if Fairy Wen thinks it’s appropriate…” Luo Xing pretended to think for a moment, then said, “I was thinking of using the Shu Han Sword as compensation.”
“The Shu Han Sword, then… wait?”
Wen Zhuo’s beautiful eyes widened in delayed realization, and even her voice trembled.
“You… what did you just say? The Shu Han Sword?”
One of the Ten Great Divine Swords, the Shu Han Sword?
“Exactly.” Luo Xing nodded slightly. “I plan to, if Fellow Immortal Shen’s cultivation is truly affected by this matter in the future, gift her the Shu Han Sword as compensation.”
“You… do you know what you’re saying?”
Wen Zhuo was so shocked her heart raced and her breath quickened, her ample chest swelling noticeably.
“That’s the Shu Han Sword, one of the Ten Great Divine Swords! The seventh-ranked Shu Han Sword!”
And you’re just giving it away?
Didn’t you save Shen Jinge’s life?
Which one of you owes whom a life-saving grace?
How did you end up giving away a divine sword instead?
Wen Zhuo couldn’t understand the logic behind this, nor could she grasp Luo Xing’s thoughts.
It didn’t matter that she didn’t understand. As long as Luo Xing was clear, that was fine.