Perhaps because he was in a hurry, his voice was raised by two degrees this time.

The gazes of the surrounding ladder climbers turned towards Liu Changning, some subtly, some not.

Some people had already started speaking mockingly.

“This female cultivator is in quite a mood, able to flirt so casually while ascending the cloud ladder. She’s really treating the disciple selection in Wuya City as child’s play.”

“Look at her clothes, she’s probably a rich family’s pampered daughter from the mortal world. With those few copper coins, her cultivation level was probably built up by hiring rogue cultivators. Sigh…”

“Sister Li, be careful with your words. This person wasn’t among us earlier, she clearly climbed up after us. Perhaps she has great fortune.”

“Hah! Sister Su, you’re thinking too simply about this kind of person. We’re ascending the ladder to defy heaven. Every step is under immense pressure, yet this girl chats up handsome men as soon as she steps on a platform, loudly clamoring with men. With such a frivolous nature, the immortal teachers up there are watching, I’m sure she won’t amount to much.”

The female cultivator called Sister Li was already at late Foundation Establishment stage, over forty years old. She had participated in a major sect selection five years ago, and among this group of low-level cultivators, she had the most experience.

As soon as these words were spoken, people immediately began to flatter her, putting others down to lift her up.

“Sister Li has keen insight. Let this little sister say, nowadays not just any cat or dog can catch the eye of the immortal teachers when selecting disciples. Only people with great fortune like Sister Li can ascend smoothly.”

…

After a round of flattery, that middle-aged female cultivator narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.

Liu Changning, holding Elder Pei, was about to quicken her pace when her foot slightly paused.

The small black bird snorted unhappily, imitating that “Sister Li’s” tone.

He transmitted through divine sense, neither lightly nor heavily, “Daoist Liu is in quite a mood! Ascending the ladder to become a disciple, yet still thinking about flirting. I must say, that panting man catching up behind is quite a beauty.”

Liu Changning lowered her eyes, looking down at the small black bird’s pea-sized eyes, and said with a half-smile, “Blackie, are you jealous?”

“Blackie?”

Elder Pei flapped his wings, wishing he could slap the person in front of him twice. He, a Tribulation Passage stage elder, when did he ever change his name to such a “Blackie”?

The name didn’t fit at all! Pei Ziyuan, devastatingly handsome with skin like white jade, how could he be called Blackie?

The small black bird widened its eyes, its long beak gleaming with a silver edge.

Liu Changning fiddled with his angrily raised tuft of feathers, saying with interest, “Then how about Reddie, Firey, Black-Red, Black-Fire, Poopoo…”

Poopoo, a piece of poop!!!!!

The small black bird recalled the scene from yesterday when she asked him why he didn’t poop. At first, he didn’t understand what “poop” meant, but after her serious explanation later.

The bird’s body went into shutdown. Poopoo meant a piece of poop!

Elder Pei rose into the air, slapping her jade-white face with a wing.

He transmitted through divine sense, roaring, “I’ll kill you…”

As he spoke, his long beak aimed straight for her throat, but was quickly caught by the female cultivator in front of him. She held him up to her eyes.

Her cold eyes were tinged with a hint of laughter, bright as stars. Her thin lips curled into a very slight arc as she said softly, “If the Elder doesn’t like it, that’s fine, but we need some kind of name. You don’t want to tell this junior your real name, so for now I can only come up with one myself. If the Elder doesn’t like the previous names, how about A-Shao?”

Her voice was extremely slow, enunciating each word. Her voice was full of deep emotion, especially when she said “A-Shao” at the end, her face even carrying a trace of bone-deep melancholy.

Pei Ziyuan suddenly stopped struggling. He was stunned for a moment, unconsciously nodding. When he came back to his senses, wanting to capture the starry look in her eyes, it seemed to have disappeared like a fleeting epiphemeral flower.

The oddness between the person and the bird lasted only for a moment. Qiu Changhuan, who had caught up, looked suspiciously at the small black bird. He familiarly tried to pet it, but was subtly avoided by Liu Changning.

“Is this black bird the lady’s spirit beast?”

The gentle-looking young man seemed to have a good temperament. He awkwardly withdrew his hand and smiled gently with his moist eyes.

Liu Changning frowned slightly, glancing coldly at the blue-robed cultivator, and asked coolly, “If the gentleman has something to say, please speak directly. If not, I must go ahead.”

The surrounding gazes, whether mocking or contemptuous, were all focused on the two of them. Although Liu Changning didn’t feel anything unusual, her little phoenix disliked the noise.

At this moment, her expression also couldn’t help but cool down a few degrees.

Qiu Changhuan was very good at reading people’s expressions. Seeing Liu Changning’s displeased look, he bowed properly, giving a salute.

He said familiarly, “If sister doesn’t mind, you can call me Junior Brother Qiu. I stopped sister actually to express my gratitude in person. That day at the Fortune Inn, thank you sister for helping Changhuan out of a difficult situation, otherwise this junior brother might have been… disgraced by Senior Sister Mu.”

He stammered out words of gratitude, his face full of sincerity. Though panting, his voice was very loud, and many surrounding cultivators had heard.

“Huh? So it was because this girl heroically saved a handsome man, and he met her again to thank her in person?”

“The ‘Senior Sister Mu’ he mentioned? Could it be the famous Wood Little Tyrant Mu Lanqing from the Li Sect!”

“Quite a romantic figure, daring to provoke even Mu Lanqing… His future cultivation path is probably finished…”

…

Liu Changning half-squinted her eyes. She scrutinized the blue-robed young man beside her who kept creating rumors.

Her face completely cooled down, and she opened her thin lips, saying distantly, “I have no impression. You must have mistaken me for someone else.”

After she finished speaking, her feet generated wind, no longer paying attention to this person, quickly leaving the steps.

The group of female cultivators who had just been making sarcastic comments were left stunned. In the blink of an eye, that person had disappeared from view.

Looking up, the cloud ladder stretched straight into the sky, but there was no trace of that female cultivator from before.

By the water mirror, Pang Lingzi pointed at the mirror surface and exclaimed, “She’s speeding up, as if walking on flat ground… This girl has at least heavenly spiritual roots… or perhaps mutated heavenly spiritual roots…”

The last words were not finished. She covered her mouth and looked at the old fellows around. She could see the determined look in their eyes.

Standing next to Pang Lingzi was Sun Lisong, the old Daoist from the Li Sect who was most likely to reach the Great Perfection stage. At this moment, her face was expressionless, her two black eyebrows almost forming a deep straight line.

Pang Lingzi smiled as if watching a show and said, “Elder Sun seems to have something on her mind. Could it be that the female cultivator from earlier has some grudges with your Li Sect?”

As soon as these words fell, the elders from other sects all looked over, with schadenfreude on their faces.

Now, that female cultivator who appeared out of nowhere, anyone with eyes could see she was definitely a good seedling.

The elders of the major sects all wanted to snatch her back to their own sects, but they still had to consider the female cultivator’s own wishes.

The people from the Li Sect had offended that female cultivator in advance, ruining their first impression. For them, it meant one less competitor.

Such a good thing, only Sun Lisong was worried about it.

All present were Nascent Soul stage elders, most of similar age. Today, they rarely got to see old Daoist Sun at her age being at a loss, and they secretly rejoiced.

Sun Lisong snorted heavily, anger suddenly rising in her heart. That old hag Mu Yun had taught her daughter well. If the female cultivator ascending the ladder was truly the destined girl mentioned by Elder Cloud.

Their Li Sect had lost the chance to win over the destined girl. Even worse, they had made an enemy.

That daughter of Mu Yun would be a sinner to her Li Sect in the future!