Chapter 20: The Xuanming Fire Pearl

The atmosphere at the city lord's banquet grew tense once more—not because the aunt had embarrassed someone this time, but because of what the city lord had said. Everyone's curiosity was piqued. Shui Yingrou looked worried and asked, "Cousin, what did Ruan Ying do? This concerns Elder Duan's daughter, doesn't it? She's his most beloved."

Ruan Ying quickly tried to explain. "I didn't do it on purpose! I didn't know that fire pearl was so important to Elder Duan."

Aunt Shui coughed to cut her off. "There are too many people here. Let's discuss this later in private. For now, let's eat."

Tang Wenhua added, "Indeed. I originally planned to bring this up tomorrow. Tonight should be about properly welcoming my cousin." The implication being that he hadn't meant to bring up this embarrassing matter now—it was only because Shui Peishan kept making pointed remarks that he'd been forced to mention it.

So everyone rushed through the meal. With the matter weighing on their minds, no one had any appetite for the city lord's carefully prepared feast.

Later that night, Shui Yingrou invited her cousin to a small garden hall to talk. Tang Yue and Ruan Ying were also present. After hearing the full story, Shui Yingrou was exasperated. It reminded her of the old Tang Yue—reckless and impulsive. Fortunately, Tang Yue was no longer like that.

As for provoking the people of the Purple Cloud Sect and kidnapping noble disciples from Kunwu City, Shui Yingrou now regarded those as forced actions. In her view, those people had brought it on themselves and had no right to blame Tang Yue.

Tang Yue was speechless too. This was really a case of causing trouble out of nothing.

Elder Duan's beloved daughter was born with a severe congenital weakness—even worse than Tang Yue's. From the moment she was born, she had to rely on her father to constantly infuse her with spiritual energy just to stay alive.

Elder Duan had loved his late wife deeply. She had died shortly after childbirth due to an accident during pregnancy, managing only to give birth to a baby girl with her final breath. Thus, Elder Duan had clung to this daughter, the only living memory of his wife, and sustained her for more than twenty years.

Five years ago, Elder Duan finally discovered a formation called the "Restoration Array" (Huichun Zhen), capable of rebuilding his daughter Duan Yitang's physical body—allowing her to become like a normal cultivator: healthy, able to cultivate, and capable of stepping onto the path to immortality.

He had spent years gathering the rare materials for the formation. He now lacked only one item: a mature Xuanming Fire Pearl. He'd found a half-formed one, still unripe, and had been refining it using Essence Fire to help it mature.

Ruan Ying had apparently been manipulated. Someone had told her about the fire pearl and encouraged her to steal it and give it to the man she admired. That senior was a fire-element cultivator. With the Xuanming Fire Pearl, he could refine a Life Flame, significantly improving his cultivation and enabling him to refine pills and artifacts. Many cultivators in Wuji Mountain specialized in alchemy, and forming a Life Flame was a crucial step in advancing their Dao.

Trying to please her senior, Ruan Ying didn't bother to ask what Elder Duan intended to use the pearl for—she simply stole it. In the process, she accidentally destroyed the refining formation, releasing the Essence Fire and ruining the pearl. By the time Elder Duan rushed back, the pearl had been completely consumed, turned into part of the Essence Fire.

Furious, Elder Duan had wanted to throw Ruan Ying into the fire to pay with her life. The Xuanming Fire Pearl was extremely rare—he had searched for three years in Xuanwu Town and had only found that half-formed one. Even after offering a huge bounty through major trading firms, no one could find another one. Xuanwu Town was believed to be the only place it might exist.

Of course, Shui Peishan couldn't just let her daughter be executed. She'd called in favors and begged for mercy, but Elder Duan had only two demands: Ruan Ying either had to pay with her life, or replace the pearl with a fully matured one.

Shui Peishan had tried searching for another pearl, but the entire Liu Continent came up empty. Left with no other choice, she'd fled to Kunwu City to beg her cousin for help. "Cousin, you must help Ruan Ying. She's your niece. Only you can save her."

Shui Yingrou sighed. "Cousin, Elder Duan is immensely powerful. I can't stop him, and Ruan Ying is indeed at fault. Kunwu City has no justification to protect her. I can't help you."

But Shui Peishan continued, "There's only one person who can help me now—your daughter Tang Yue."

Tang Yue blinked in surprise. "Aunt, how can I help? I'm only at the fifth stage of Qi Refining. I'm not even allowed to leave Kunwu City on my own."

Shui Yingrou nodded in agreement. Tang Yue's cultivation level was too low to be of much help.

Shui Peishan quickly explained, "Only Tang Yue can enter the Xuanwu Town Secret Realm, the only known place where Xuanming Fire Pearls might still be found."

She went on to explain that Xuanwu Town, in order to protect the remnant soul of their ancestral Xuanwu Beast and its rare descendants living in the secret realm, did not allow many cultivators to enter. Still, they couldn't completely shut outsiders out, or other sects might accuse them of being selfish and attack the town under the pretense of "sharing the continent's resources."

So they established rules: only disciples of prestigious families were allowed to train there, and each could bring one high-level elder to ensure their safety. The secret realm was still quite dangerous, after all.

This arrangement benefited the major sects and clans, preventing them from organizing attacks on Xuanwu Town.

Ruan Ying, not being a direct descendant of the Ruan Clan head, didn't qualify to enter. But Tang Yue, as the city lord's legitimate daughter, did.

And that was why Shui Peishan had come to Kunwu—to beg Shui Yingrou to let Tang Yue make the trip.

"Cousin, I've arranged for a Ruan Clan Nascent Soul elder to protect Tang Yue. She'll enter the secret realm safely. Please, let her go—for Ruan Ying's sake." Shui Peishan's expression was full of pleading, a far cry from the sharp-tongued woman who'd arrived the day before.

Shui Yingrou thought about it. It wasn't right to stand by and let her niece die. The secret realm was dangerous, but with a Nascent Soul cultivator protecting Tang Yue, there should be no problem. She looked toward Tang Yue, unsure if the girl had the courage to accept the task. If she didn't want to go, they wouldn't force her.

Tang Yue understood the look. After thinking for a moment, she decided it wasn't a big deal. She'd treat this trip as a learning opportunity. What kind of cultivator was afraid of danger?

"Aunt, I can go to Xuanwu Town. But let's be clear: many cultivators have searched for the fire pearl and found nothing. There's a high chance I won't find it either. I hope you won't blame me afterward."

Knowing her aunt's temperament, she made sure to add that. She didn't want to put in the effort only to be accused later.

Shui Peishan quickly replied, "How could I blame you? A Ruan Clan elder will be doing most of the searching—you only need to help him enter. If we find nothing… then it's just Ying'er's fate." As she spoke, she pulled Ruan Ying closer, both of them looking pitiful.

Ruan Ying said softly, "Cousin Yue, thank you for agreeing to go. You're saving my life."

Both Shui Yingrou and Tang Yue found it surreal. They couldn't remember Shui Peishan or Ruan Ying ever speaking so humbly.

The next day, Shui Yingrou informed Tang Wenhua of Tang Yue's upcoming trip to Xuanwu Town. He agreed—this would score him favor with Elder Duan, smooth over tensions with the Ruan clan, and potentially benefit Kunwu City no matter the outcome.

He hadn't expected the usually spoiled Tang Yue to risk herself for a cousin, especially when she wasn't even close to her own sister. Tang Wenhua could think of a thousand flaws in Tang Yue, and even her rare acts of kindness, he found ways to diminish.

The Ruan clan sent Elder Ruan Sang, a Nascent Soul cultivator of respectable status, to accompany them. The Ruan clan patriarch couldn't bear to let Ruan Ying die, and they also needed to give Elder Duan an explanation, so Ruan Sang was dispatched to aid Shui Peishan.

Tang Yue went to greet Elder Ruan Sang. He hadn't arrived with Shui Peishan the day before—probably waiting for Shui Yingrou's consent before coming. He explained what they needed to prepare. Once ready, they set out.

Shui Yingrou gave Tang Yue a storage bracelet with the space of dozens of storage bags. It was packed with magical items and supplies. She also dressed her in concealed magic treasures—they looked like ordinary clothes and jewelry, but were actually powerful gear. Otherwise, the greatest threat to Tang Yue wouldn't be Xuanwu Town's spirit beasts, but thieves.

Tang Yue and Elder Ruan traveled by flying boat. He treated her with great kindness—not just because of her status, but because she was risking herself for one of his younger relatives. It was a debt he acknowledged.

He shared what had been learned about the secret realm: "Xuanming Fire Pearls usually appear in the Xuanwu Beast Burial Grounds. They disguise themselves as ordinary Nether Flame, just slightly redder. But be careful—if touched, they can incinerate you instantly."

He added, "Aside from the one Elder Duan found, no one has seen a Xuanming Fire Pearl in over a hundred years. I don't know if we'll find one, but at least we can say we did our best for Peishan's sake as a mother."

Elder Ruan didn't seem confident in the mission—which only confirmed how rare the fire pearl was.

But Tang Yue remembered: hadn't she already stumbled upon "once-in-a-century" rare spirit treasures before?