Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Father's Compensation Rare flowers never withered, and emerald cypresses remained evergreen. The spiritual energy on Yuyang Peak was astonishingly abundant. Wherever one looked, rare flowers and exotic herbs grew everywhere, while spirit medicines that were thousands or even tens of thousands of years old sprouted by the roadside like weeds. As soon as Xie Lianxin landed, she heard Xie Yi's voice in her mind: “Come to Lianyue Pool.” Xie Lianxin turned and flew toward Lianyue Pool. ———— The surface of the lotus pool was as smooth as a mirror, so still that it seemed unlike anything in the mortal world. Inside the waterside pavilion beside the pool, a man dressed in robes whiter than snow sat beside a jade table. He held a cup of immortal tea in his hand, his blue eyes gazing at the water. White lotuses emerged one after another from the green lotus leaves in the pool, spiritual dew clinging to their petals. In the distance, two immortal cranes ambled out from the depths of the mist. Their long beaks occasionally dipped into the water, sending out faint ripples. Suddenly, a streak of red light descended here and transformed into a girl dressed in white. Xie Lianxin spotted her father at once. Two beautiful maidservants stood beside him. The two maidservants wore white gauze robes and veils over their faces, revealing only dull, lifeless eyes. There were only three living people on Yuyang Peak. All the other humanoid beings were alchemical puppets. “Master,” Xie Lianxin called. “Sit,” Xie Yi said. Xie Lianxin sat down on the meditation cushion opposite him. Xie Yi's handsome face revealed no emotion. He merely set down the tea in his hand. With a sweep of his sleeve, a large egg appeared on the jade table. The egg was covered in red markings and radiated astonishingly powerful fire-attributed spiritual energy. Xie Lianxin could even sense a trace of divinity contained within it. “This is…” Xie Lianxin looked at her father in surprise. “This is a Fire Spirit Sparrow Egg. It contains phoenix bloodline and is a hundred times more valuable than your previous Azure Mysterious Eagle Egg. I know that you went to great lengths to find that spirit beast egg, but your Junior Sister did not break it intentionally. This Fire Spirit Sparrow Egg is compensation for you,” Xie Yi said. Xie Lianxin picked up the large egg and stroked the patterns on its shell. They were exactly the same as those on Xiaohong's egg. Her face was filled with shock. In her previous life, she had picked up a rare Azure Mysterious Eagle Egg and adored it. She had taken the egg outside to bask in the sunlight, only for Liu Ruyan to “accidentally” smash it. She had been furious. The next day, she seriously injured Liu Ruyan. Then, because she had openly talked back to Xie Yi, he had punished her by confining her to face the wall and reflect on her mistakes for ten years. Feeling deeply aggrieved, she had believed that her Master was biased and thought of Liu Ruyan in everything. She had not obediently stayed in confinement at the back of the mountain, but had run away. Afterward, she had found another egg. It, too, had suddenly fallen from the sky and landed right by her feet. It was a Fire Spirit Sparrow Egg, even rarer than an Azure Mysterious Eagle Egg, and it possessed phoenix bloodline as well. In the end, she had hatched the egg and named the Fire Spirit Sparrow Xiaohong. Only now did she understand. What were the odds that a spirit beast egg with phoenix bloodline would fall from the sky and happen to land at her feet? Clearly, someone had deliberately thrown it to her. Xie Lianxin held the large egg in her arms and looked at her father, her eyes shimmering faintly with tears. She could even imagine him hiding in the shadows in her previous life, secretly watching her rejoice over the spirit beast egg that had fallen from the sky. Seeing her so moved that she looked as though she were about to cry, Xie Yi was puzzled. Still, as long as she liked it, that was enough. He said: “Take good care of it and hatch it properly. It should be able to provide you with considerable assistance in the future. Your Junior Sister… lost her mother at a young age, and now she has lost her father as well. She has no other relatives and is all alone. You are her Senior Sister, so you should yield to her more.” Xie Lianxin had been extremely moved, but she did not like hearing this. She nearly retorted on instinct, then forcefully swallowed the words back down. In a soft voice, she merely said, “At least she has seen her parents.” Xie Yi's heart trembled. The girl before him looked at him and said, “I have never seen my parents. I don't even know what they look like.” The girl's violet eyes were clear and untainted, yet they stabbed painfully into Xie Yi's heart. She clearly had parents, but her parents refused to acknowledge her. Her mother had abandoned her, and her father refused to recognize her. He had made her call him Master. In her heart, she was an orphan with neither father nor mother. And he had still asked her to yield to Liu Ruyan, who was four years older than she was. Xie Yi suddenly realized how utterly unreasonable he had been. It felt as though invisible hands had torn at his heart, and the pain was unbearable. He had only thought Liu Ruyan pitiful—her parents were both dead, and she had no one to rely on. Yet he had never considered that, in his own daughter's heart, she had never even seen her parents. What right did he have to make her yield to Liu Ruyan? “Your father and mother…” Xie Yi wanted to offer a few words in his defense, but when he opened his mouth, he could not say a single thing. Father and daughter remained silent for a long time. Xie Lianxin could see Xie Yi's guilt and unease, and she felt aggrieved as well. Although she no longer hated him as deeply as she had in her previous life, resentment still lingered in her heart. She did not want to call him Master. “I'll go hatch this egg.” Xie Lianxin stood up with the Fire Spirit Sparrow Egg in her arms. Xie Yi watched her walk away step by step, then let out a long sigh. If one day she learned that he was her father, how would she react? She would certainly hate him to the bitter end. That was what he thought. ———— Xie Lianxin walked along a path fragrant with exotic herbs, the large egg in her arms. Before long, she encountered Liu Ruyan. Liu Ruyan had just returned. The moment she ran into Xie Lianxin, she noticed the large egg in her arms. “Senior Sister, what is this…?” Liu Ruyan's gaze fell on the egg. Despite her low cultivation, she could still sense that it was extraordinary. “This? It's a Fire Spirit Sparrow Egg. Master gave it to me. Fire Spirit Sparrow Eggs are incredibly sturdy. Even if Junior Sister accidentally drops it again, you won't be able to break it this time. Hehe~” Xie Lianxin said with a smile. Liu Ruyan's expression turned ugly. Xie Lianxin had always worn a cold expression in the past. She was not used to Xie Lianxin speaking in such a sarcastic, mocking manner. “Senior Sister, I—I really didn't do it on purpose. I…” As Liu Ruyan spoke, her eyes began to redden again. Xie Lianxin smiled. “It's fine. I've magnanimously forgiven you already. If you hadn't accidentally smashed my egg, Master wouldn't have gone out of his way to find me a Fire Spirit Sparrow Egg to hatch. This egg even has phoenix bloodline. Maybe it really will have a chance to evolve into a phoenix in the future. Having a phoenix as a spirit beast would be so impressive!” With every sentence Xie Lianxin spoke, Liu Ruyan's complexion grew worse. By the time Xie Lianxin had skipped away humming a tune, Liu Ruyan was practically gnashing her teeth. Master had actually given her such a precious spirit beast egg as compensation. Master was biased! How could he be so biased?! Liu Ruyan was consumed by jealousy—jealous to the point of madness. When Xie Lianxin returned to her residence, she immediately took out a large basket and placed the Fire Spirit Sparrow Egg inside. She put numerous fire spirit crystals in the basket, then stored it in her storage pouch and carried it with her, leaving Liu Ruyan no opportunity to touch her egg. A veiled maidservant came forward and served Xie Lianxin some spiritual tea. Xie Lianxin stared distractedly at the puppet maidservant in the room. The entire Immortal Alliance made extensive use of alchemical puppets for menial labor. However, ordinary alchemical puppets only possessed Foundation Establishment or Core Formation cultivation. Anything above Core Formation was considered an advanced puppet. At present, alchemical puppets could reach, at most, the Void Refinement stage. In her previous life, Xie Lianxin had successfully refined a Mahayana puppet. She wondered: if she designed a set of spiritual power circuits, tampered with them a little, and then promoted them throughout the Immortal Alliance, wouldn't she be able to plant her own informants across the entire alliance through the puppets she created? She could monitor anyone she wished. The thought made her a little excited. Xie Lianxin eagerly took out her Spirit-Drawing Brush and began drafting on a sheet of white paper.