Chapter 281 282: Grandma Qian Ruo
After Xiaoye left, Li Huiran slumped powerlessly into her chair.
Rejecting someone who had saved her life required a certain amount of courage and resolve.
A raspy, elderly woman's voice echoed in Li Huiran's mind, "What's wrong? Are you regretting it?"
Li Huiran sighed and said, "No, I just feel guilty. He did save my life once, after all."
"Then why did you reject him? You don't have much time left. You should seize the day and enjoy yourself. Love is one of life's greatest pleasures!"
Li Huiran slumped onto the desk in frustration. "Grandma Qian Ruo, is it really impossible to reach the Profound Pill realm in three years?"
The voice in her head replied, "It's not impossible, just extremely difficult. Incredibly so. In the era I remember, not one in ten thousand could achieve the Profound Pill realm in three years. And that was ten thousand prodigies—not a single one out of ten thousand prodigies could reach the Profound Pill realm in that time."
Li Huiran sighed deeply.
"Don't sigh just yet. Let me finish. There have been a very, very small number of individuals who managed to reach the Profound Pill realm in three years. Without exception, they all possessed immense luck and fortuitous encounters."
Li Huiran asked casually, "So, do I have it?"
"Your soul was severely damaged. It's so weak that cultivation is incredibly difficult. After three months, you haven't even finished tempering your muscles and bones or mastered external force. It doesn't matter if you have luck and fortuitous encounters—they're useless for you now!"
Li Huiran sat up straight, a flicker of defiance in her eyes, and used the company's internal phone. Ever since the red light had disappeared, communications in Jiangzhou had been restored, so phone calls were possible again.
Soon, Xiaoyu walked in.
Li Huiran frowned. "Do you have any news about the Black Feather I asked you to look into?"
Xiaoyu nodded. "According to a source in the Illusory Sect, a Black Feather is being auctioned in Yunyazhou tomorrow! I just got the news myself and was about to tell you."
Xiaoyu looked a little ashamed. She felt bad that President Li had to ask her for an update on the task she'd been assigned, even though she had only hung up with her Illusory Sect contact seconds before.
Li Huiran paid it no mind and said, "Book a flight to Yunyazhou immediately!"
Xiaoyu's face fell. "President Li, you're not taking me with you?"
Li Huiran chuckled. "Two tickets!" Then she corrected herself, "No, three!"
Hearing this, Xiaoyu immediately brightened up. "Yes, President Li! I'll get right on it!"
As soon as Xiaoyu left, the voice in Li Huiran's head spoke again. "Taking this unconventional path is now your only hope of reaching the Profound Pill realm in three years. But aren't you going to tell your family and friends about your condition? That young girl had one of those Black Feathers you mentioned. If you had just told her the truth, I'm sure she would have lent it to you."
Li Huiran shook her head. "Why tell them? It would only make them worry."
"Sigh... It's my fault, really. But I had no choice but to act. That person had the cultivation of a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator—what you now call the Inner Realm. If I hadn't borrowed your body to intervene, both you and that young girl would have been harmed by him. But the moment I acted, I drained your soul's power. Sigh... It's also the Celestial Measuring Ruler's fault. It had just seen the light of day again and had no power. Otherwise, you wouldn't be in this predicament! If you don't reach the Profound Pill realm within three years, your soul will wither away and you will die, with no chance of reincarnation!"
Li Huiran's gaze was firm. "Grandma Qian Ruo, please don't say that. If it weren't for you, I can't imagine what would have happened to me and Murong Qing!"
This voice, named Qian Ruo, was the Artifact Spirit of the Celestial Measuring Ruler. The real reason Li Huiran didn't tell her family was to keep them from worrying. And the reason she wouldn't borrow the Black Feather from Murong Qing was that she didn't want Chen Dong to find out about her condition. She knew that if Murong Qing found out, she would definitely tell Chen Dong.
With the plane tickets booked, Li Huiran picked up her phone and made a call.
The call connected after two rings. A gentle, cunning look in her eyes, Li Huiran said softly, "Little Sister Murong, how about you come with me to Yunyazhou?"
Yunyazhou was famous for its strange peaks, the most notable of which was the Heaven-Reaching Cloud Cliff, a mountain so tall and sheer its peak pierced the clouds.
However, Li Huiran, Murong Qing, and her secretary, Xiaoyu, weren't there as tourists. The three of them had come for tomorrow's auction.
The sky was already dimming by the time the three of them deplaned. Just as they exited the gate, a middle-aged man wearing glasses, flanked by two Martial Artist bodyguards, approached to greet them. He performed a strange salute to Li Huiran and said respectfully, "All in this world is illusory; only my Lord is real! Greetings, Mother of My Lord! The hotel and auction tickets have been prepared. Please, follow me!"
This man was a member of the Illusory Sect. The sect had undergone unprecedented growth during the recent upheaval in Jiangzhou. Its official membership had now surpassed fifty thousand—and that was after a strict screening process; otherwise, the number would be double. Its influence was no longer limited to Jiangzhou but now covered the entire Tianjiang River Basin.
This transformation had also made the Illusory Sect incredibly organized. There were rigorous assessments for promotion through its various ranks, such as congregation, apostles, and elite cadres. This middle-aged man was one such Apostle.
The three women followed him to the parking garage, where two Rolls-Royce Cullinans were parked side-by-side. Judging by the man's attire and his ability to secure auction tickets, the cars weren't rented. For a mere Apostle, just one rank above a regular congregation member, to have this kind of power, the Illusory Sect today could only be described as massive.