14: Don't underestimate a young girl's poverty

Inside the house.

Ninth Elder was still somewhat uncertain, asking in a low voice: "First Smoke, are you really not going to do anything foolish again?"

Gu Chuyan nodded gently, a faint smile rising at the corners of her lips: "Grandfather, rest assured. I have thought it through. I still have you to take care of, and I will not seek death again."

At this moment, Gu Lingshuang walked over, her eyes filled with a trace of concern and doubt: "First Smoke, are you really okay now?"

She had heard Gu Chuyan's reply and couldn't help but feel curious. What exactly had Cao Bu said to her?

A few days ago.

She was afraid Gu Chuyan would not be able to overcome her thoughts, so she had specifically tried to persuade her for an hour, but it turned out to be useless.

Hearing that Gu Chuyan had taken poison to commit suicide earlier had given her a shock.

She was cold by nature and did not have many friends. Gu Chuyan was not just her cousin but also her closest confidante.

But facing this matter, she was truly at a loss.

Gu Yun was her half-brother, and Gu Chuyan was her best friend.

Standing on either side made it difficult for her.

However, if it really came down to it, Gu Yun did not weigh as much in her heart as Gu Chuyan.

Being women, she could empathize.

The most crucial point was that her own younger brother, Gu Feng, did not have a good relationship with Gu Yun.

It is often said that one mountain cannot house two tigers.

Ever since Gu Qingtian, that true tiger, had achieved Ascension, the Family had ended up in this situation.

Furthermore, the two of them were not born of the same mother, separated by a layer of Bloodline, ultimately lacking that natural closeness.

If Luo Qingcheng and Leng Yue had the same cultivation level, it would be unknown who the position of Clan Chief would belong to.

Imperial Dynasties have the struggle for the throne, and why wouldn't families? It just lacks the bloodshed of the Imperial Dynasty.

Gu Chuyan's gaze passed through the doorway, fixing on Cao Bu's retreating back outside the courtyard gate. A hint of determination flashed in her eyes: "Sister Ling Shuang, I really am fine now."

She withdrew her gaze, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing her storage ring, her voice firm.

"I want to live well."

"I want to become stronger."

"I want to..."

Gu Lingshuang keenly sensed that there was more to her words and was about to press for details.

Gu Chuyan had already issued a dismissal.

"Sister Ling Shuang, I am really fine. You still need to Cultivate, so I won't keep you any longer."

She turned to Ninth Elder and said softly: "Grandfather, I would like to drink some Seven-Star Nourishing Soup."

"Good! Good! Grandfather will go and brew it for you right now!" Ninth Elder's voice trembled with excitement.

As long as Gu Chuyan did not commit suicide, he would do anything for her.

"Let the servants brew it, Grandfather, you still have..."

Before she finished speaking, Ninth Elder had already run off and vanished.

Gu Chuyan's eyes reddened, and tears flowed uncontrollably: "...still have poison in my body."

Gu Lingshuang took a deep look at Gu Chuyan and sighed before leaving.

With a woman's intuition, she keenly felt that some kind of change had occurred in Gu Chuyan.

She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

It just felt like there was a kind of restrained sharpness.

As the footsteps gradually faded, the room fell into a long silence.

Gu Chuyan looked at the falling leaves outside the window, saying word by word: "Gu Yun, thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; do not look down on a young girl's poverty!"

After returning to Cangfeng Residence, Cao Bu walked straight toward the cultivation room.

Without looking back, he said to the woman in white following behind him: "There is an empty room on the left; choose any one to live in."

The woman in white froze in place, opening her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she did not speak.

Watching the cultivation room door close, she silently walked toward the empty room next to it.

Opening the door, what met her eyes was dust all over the floor.

She stood at the door, her heart filled with complex emotions.

To think that she, the dignified Saintess of the Jade Maiden Sect, would fall to this point; truly, fate is a cruel trickster.

However, thinking about it again, Cao Bu's status in the Gu Clan was not low. With his protection, at least no one would dare to harass her.

This could be considered a silver lining in a bad situation.

The power hierarchy of families and Sects in the Spirit Realm is divided into: Unranked, Third-Rate, Second-Rate, First-Rate, Super, Holy Land, Immortal Holy Land, Emperor Clan, Immortal Emperor Clan.

A Holy Land power must have at least one Realm Sovereign.

By extension, those with a Great Emperor presiding over them are Immortal Emperor Clans.

The Jade Maiden Sect where she was located was a Holy Land with one Realm Sovereign, and that person was her mother.

Relying on this relationship, she became the weakest Saintess in the history of the Jade Maiden Sect.

It is a pity that the Jade Maiden Sect and the Hehuan Sect have been enemies for generations. In that battle a few months ago, the Hehuan Sect came aggressively, and the Jade Maiden Sect was miserably defeated.

Her mother, risking serious injury, forcibly sent her away from the battlefield, but she was still captured by a group of petty villains.

Fortunately, those people saw that she was peerlessly beautiful, and added to the fact that she revealed her identity, no one dared to humiliate her. They only took her to the nearest Azure Dragon City to auction her off, otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

When she learned that Ninth Elder was going to give her away to someone, her heart had turned to ash.

When she heard that the other party was Cao Bu, she instead breathed a sigh of relief.

In the entire Spirit Realm, as long as it was a power above the Holy Land level, who hadn't heard of Cao Bu's name?

As the Adopted Son of Gu Qingtian, even those high-and-mighty Emperor Clans would not dare to offend him easily.

The current Gu Clan, although it had fallen from an Immortal Emperor Clan to an ordinary Emperor Clan, still had no one who dared to provoke it.

No other reason; everyone knew that Gu Qingtian must have left behind means to annihilate Emperors.

Because of this connection, she did not hesitate to beg Cao Bu to keep her.

Even if... it meant losing her purity, it didn't matter.

Rumor had it that Cao Bu's lifespan was already less than five hundred years.

If she could become his Dao Companion, after he passed away, as his widow, she could also have a place in the Gu Clan.

By then, even those enemies from the Hehuan Sect, upon hearing that she was Cao Bu's woman, would likely be wary and not dare to act rashly.

However, these were ultimately just her own wishful thinking.

Thinking of Cao Bu's cold attitude just now, she couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Am I not beautiful enough? He wouldn't even spare me a glance. It seems I thought of it too simply."

She sighed softly and began to tidy up the room.

For now, she could only settle down first and then think of a way.

Inside the cultivation room.

Cao Bu called out softly: "Linglong!"

"Hmph!"

Ye Linglong's figure appeared, her small mouth pouting slightly, her face full of displeasure.

Cao Bu certainly knew what she was throwing a tantrum about. He reached out to rub her head and coaxed her gently: "Silly girl, in this world, besides you, other women are nothing but passing clouds to me."

"Really?"

Ye Linglong's eyes lit up. She immediately threw herself into Cao Bu's arms, her soft body pressed tightly against him, and she tilted her small face to ask: "You are not allowed to lie to me!"

Cao Bu smiled and pinched her nose: "When have I ever lied to you?"

"I knew it." Ye Linglong's lips curled up quietly, feeling wonderful inside.

Cao Bu looked at her appearance and couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

This silly girl, clearly possessing heaven-defying strength, always trusted him so purely.

"Linglong, I have a task for you." Cao Bu's tone became a bit more serious.

Ye Linglong raised her small face, her eyes shining: "Let me investigate that woman's background."

Cao Bu smiled and flicked her nose: "Smart. But there is one more thing: go and verify whether what Ninth Elder said is true or false."

Ye Linglong put her hands on her hips and jumped out of his arms: "Sure enough, everything has to rely on me."

"Stay safe and come back early." Cao Bu instructed softly.

Ye Linglong suddenly leaned close and pointed at her cheek: "Payment!"

Cao Bu pecked her pink, tender cheek lightly: "Are you satisfied now?"

"This side wants it too!" Ye Linglong immediately turned her right cheek over and pointed at it righteously.

Cao Bu shook his head and laughed, then kissed her face again: "Can you start working now?"

"That's more like it."

Ye Linglong's brows curved, and she walked toward the door with her hands behind her back, her figure gradually fading.

"Wait for my good news!"

Looking at the direction she disappeared, Cao Bu shook his head and chuckled: "This girl, really..."

He withdrew his gaze and walked to the meditation cushion to sit down.

"I wonder if I can achieve a Breakthrough."

The Yin and Yang Nourishing Grass appeared in his palm, black and white Qi intertwining and flowing, emitting a mysterious aura.

He took a deep breath, circulated the spiritual energy in his body, and began to refine it slowly.

Under the guidance of his spiritual energy, the Yin and Yang Nourishing Grass gradually decomposed, turning into two streams of pure energy—one black, one white—that surged into his body along his Meridians.

Cao Bu frowned slightly, feeling the two distinct forces colliding within him.

The Yin Qi was icy and bone-chilling, while the Yang Qi was scorching hot. The two energies entangled within his Meridians.

He accelerated the operation of the Primal Yin-Yang Art, taming and fusing these two energies bit by bit.

Before long.

Cao Bu slowly opened his eyes and shook his head helplessly. It was still just a little bit short.

However, he had made a lot of progress.

Suddenly, his expression shifted, and he looked up toward the door.

"Back so soon?"