Chapter 23 - A Flower Garden for Broken Blades

Elder Yao picked up her teacup, swirling the amber liquid inside as though it held the answers to unspoken questions.

"If what you said is true, then i wonder how will those old foxes react..." she murmured, her gaze distant for a moment.

Lao Xie tilted his head slightly, sensing a shift in her demeanor. "Huh, Bunch of arrogant old fools."

She chuckled softly, a sound that carried both warmth and weariness.

He stayed silent, his eyes narrowing as he studied her. Something was off. Her usual sharpness seemed blunted, her presence less overwhelming than he had remembered. The system's description of her cultivation level replayed in his mind, 9th Stage Qi Refinement (Weakened State).

"Did something happen to you, old hag?" he asked, his voice low but deliberate.

Her fingers paused on the rim of her cup, "What are you talking about?".

"Nothing. You're just… giving off a strange presence, that's all." Lao Xie replied calmly.

For a fleeting moment, something vulnerable flashed across her face. She sighed, setting the cup down.

"You're even capable of noticing that? Ha… I really can't hide anything from you," she said.

"Follow me," she added, her tone suddenly more serious.

Without another word, Elder Yao led him away from the counter.

....

Ten minutes later, they arrived at a secluded part of the sect. A flower garden stretched before them, quiet and untouched. At its center stood a massive tree, its branches wide and ancient. Beneath it, a round stone table waited, surrounded by flat stools carved from matching stone.

Elder Yao lead him to that round table. "What do you think of this garden?."

"It's nice," Lao Xie said with a nonchalant tone.

"I knew you were going to say that… This is my garden. You can't enter here without my permission. There's an array set up around the perimeter, I'll instantly know if someone trespasses."

"Is it that serious?" Lao Xie asked.

"Mhm."

She exhaled lightly, then sat down across from him.

"Well, I suppose you'd find out eventually… but I didn't expect it to be this soon. Just yesterday I found out you were able to cultivate."

She leaned back, folding her arms as her gaze turned inward.

"A few days ago, I encountered someone from an evil sect... We fought. His techniques were bizarre and really unnatural. I got hit by a few of his strikes, and that led to this predicament."

Lao Xie's expression didn't change, but his interest deepened. "Weird?"

Her lips twitched faintly, though there was no humor in it. "I can't explain it clearly… but those attacks left demonic qi inside me. It's slowly corrupting my inner qi. I can't fight at full strength anymore."

His eyes flickered with realization. "That's what the system meant by weakened state…"

Elder Yao continued, her voice softer now. "I managed to stabilize my cultivation, but I'll never be able to fully remove the evil qi. My meridians are gradually being corrupted. Demonic qi and normal qi can't coexist… I'm stuck at the peak of Qi Refinement, unable to step into Qi Condensation Realm."

The words hung in the air, heavy and cold.

"What about Alchemy?" Lao Xie asked.

"Alchemy? You mean pills?" Elder Yao let out a dry breath. "It doesn't work. This kind of qi can't be removed by normal means."

Lao Xie leaned back slightly, digesting her words. He'd heard of such injuries before, crippling blows that could shatter a cultivator's future.

"You're at the peak of Qi Refinement Realm now? Didn't expect you to be that strong," he said casually, acting as if he hadn't already seen her status.

"Hmph. You brat… I'm very strong," Elder Yao replied, her expression slightly irritated.

"Mhm... What about the sect? Didn't they help you?" he asked, his tone turning more neutral.

She scoffed lightly. "Help? The sect has no use for broken tools. Oh, they let me keep my title and my position, but only because of appearances. In truth, I'm just a shadow of what I once was."

Lao Xie's mind raced. "So that's why she's stationed here, handling mundane tasks like trading and inventory instead of leading or teaching. They've pushed her to the sidelines."

"What about that old man? Didn't he help you?" Lao Xie asked again, this time more serious. Perhaps the first time he had shown such expression today.

"That old man? You mean the sect leader?" Elder Yao asked.

Lao Xie gave a light hum. "Mhm."

"You really need to change the way you address people," she muttered with a helpless look. "I know what he did to you was unfair, but still… he is the sect leader, you know."

She paused briefly, looking around.

"As for your question…"

She leaned closer and lowered her voice.

"The sect leader… has gone missing."

Lao Xie narrowed his eyes slightly. "Missing?"

"Over a month ago," Elder Yao said, her voice quieter now. "At first, we thought he went into closed-door cultivation, but he left behind no notice, no sign, nothing. He simply vanished."

He leaned forward a little. "And nobody in the sect knows?"

"Only the elders," she said softly. "Even then, only a few of us were told directly. The rest were... kept in the dark. They say he went into closed-door cultivation, but we all know that's just a convenient lie."

Lao Xie remained silent, gaze fixed.

"No one's looking for him?"

Elder Yao gave a faint, tired smile. "Some are pretending to. Others are fighting over who gets to sit higher in his absence. And the rest… they just watch."

He narrowed his gaze slightly. "What about you?"

"I don't have the strength anymore," she said softly. "You saw what state I'm in. If I so much as circulate my qi the wrong way, I risk backlash. I'm lucky I can still walk without coughing blood."

She sighed, then turned the conversation with a glance.

"But enough about me. What about you?"

"Hm?"

"Your cultivation," she said. "Last time I saw you, you couldn't even draw in qi."

"And yesterday you're walking around with a storage ring, dropping third-stage corpses like cabbages. What stage are you at ?"

Lao Xie didn't answer immediately.

"…Bone Tempering. Sixth stage," he said flatly.

Elder Yao's brows lifted in clear disbelief. "W-What? That's too fast. How long has it been?"

"About a week."

She leaned back, staring at him with a completely dumbfounded look. "Bone Tempering, sixth stage… in just a week?"

"I told you. I figured it out on my own."

"Figured it out, huh…" she murmured. "And where did you even get that storage ring? You planning to pretend you picked it off the ground?"

Lao Xie gave a short shrug. "Maybe I did."

Her lips twitched. "You're still full of secrets."

He didn't deny it. After all, even the truth... Qi Refinement, fourth stage in less than a week would be outrageous enough to raise alarm bells. Better to let her believe a different kind of unbelievable.

A moment of silence passed, filled only by the wind brushing through the petals and the gentle rustle of leaves.