A useless person with five spiritual roots? I sacrificed the proud daughter of heaven.

Sheng He peeked inside from behind the door. The two children were very well-behaved; the older one was sitting on the steps reading a book, while the younger one was playing with a ball and the big yellow dog.

My mother and aunt sat in the shade of the courtyard wall, embroidering. My aunt would occasionally tell me amusing stories about the neighbors, and my mother would respond with a cheerful laugh.

Suddenly, her mother looked up and glanced at the door, and Shenghe quickly dodged away.

"Sister, what's wrong?"

Mrs. Sheng rubbed her eyes and laughed, "It's nothing, I must have seen wrong."

"Do you think Xiao He is back again?"

Aunt patted Sheng's mother on the shoulder and comforted her, "Xiao He is an immortal now. Haven't you heard people say that immortals are busy, cultivating and catching demons? Maybe she can even become a god in the future. You are a lucky one!"

"Yes."

"Yes."

Mother Sheng murmured softly, wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

Aunt sighed and put down her needlework: "Xiaohe hasn't forgotten you. Look at all these things in the yard, they were all bought with money Xiaohe sent back. It's just that Xiaohe is busy at Qingyun Sect and doesn't have time to come back. We can't hold the child back, can we?"

"Yes, we can't hold our children back."

"We can't hold the child back. Xiao He has had a tough time. I don't know if she'll be bullied by others while she's all alone in the Qingyun Sect..."

Mother Sheng picked up the needle and thread again, muttering something under her breath, but for some reason, she couldn't thread the needle.

Mother Sheng raised her head, her cloudy eyes filled with tears, and stared blankly in the direction of the door.

"But tell me, why can't she just come back and see me, even just once!"

"Wang!"

"Wang Wang!"

The big yellow dog seemed to have caught a whiff of something, and carrying the ball in its mouth, it wagged its tail and ran towards the front gate.

"Big Yellow! Big Yellow, don't run away! Ouch, my little darling, are you hurt?"

The aunt quickly helped the fallen child up and gently comforted him.

As if she had just remembered something, Sheng's mother hurriedly got up and chased after Da Huang to the door.

The entrance was empty; there was nothing there.

Big Yellow looked around with the ball in its mouth, seemingly puzzled as to why the scent it had just smelled had disappeared.

As she watched the hem of her clothes disappear into the alley ahead, Mother Sheng wiped away her tears and chased after it.

"Xiao He! Is that Xiao He?"

"Wang!"

Big Yellow barked a few times and followed after them.

"Xiao He, wait for your mother, your mother is here, wait for your mother!"

The figure in front stopped and turned around; it was an unfamiliar face.

"Auntie, you've mistaken me for someone else."

Mother Sheng squatted down, sobbing uncontrollably.

After a long while, she led Big Yellow step by step back.

"Big Yellow, you silly dog, do you even know that Xiao He isn't coming back? She's gone to cultivate immortality..."

"But does cultivating immortality mean I can live without my mother?"

Mother Sheng returned to the courtyard and picked up her needle and thread again.

A gentle breeze blew by, and a magpie flew in from afar and landed on Sheng's mother's shoulder.

Mother Sheng picked up the embroidery thread, and this time the thread quickly passed through the tiny needle eye.

"Big sister, why is there a magpie on you?"

"That's really strange. It's not afraid of people at all. It doesn't fly away even when I talk to it. Wait a minute, I'll go get some food to feed it."

Sheng's mother froze, not daring to move an inch.

A little while later, the aunt came over carrying a child and a small bowl of rice. She handed the rice to the magpie, who tilted its head and pecked at it twice.

My aunt laughed heartily: "Eldest sister, this magpie is truly intelligent!"

Mother Sheng carefully turned her head, afraid of startling the magpie on her shoulder. Looking at the small, palm-sized magpie, tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.

The magpie stretched out its wings and gently wiped away her tears. It moved closer to Sheng's mother's neck, then tilted its head and rested its head on Sheng's mother's head.

"This...this...this could be..."

My aunt quickly covered her mouth.

Tears streamed down Sheng's mother's face. She did not move, nor did the magpie fly away.

As the sun began to set, the magpie shook its wings and flew away into the distance.

As the magpie flew further and further away, Sheng's mother slowly lowered her head and picked up the bowl of unfinished rice.

She grabbed a handful of rice and scattered it on the ground, softly murmuring: "Magpie, magpie, fly slowly, come back and rest when you're tired. Magpie, magpie, don't be afraid, your mother is with you, don't be afraid of anything, ah."

Sheng He flew for a long time before finally stopping in front of the city gate of Qingshan City.

She watched from afar as candles were lit and smoke rose from the chimney of the large house.

Then he watched as the candle went out and the door closed tightly.

This small town, this gray and desolate town.

This is Qingshan City, and this is the road she came from.

She wanted to stay here, but she also had her own dreams.

She wants to cultivate Taoism, she wants to become an immortal!

She said she would not stop moving forward because of anyone!

Aoshuang appeared beneath their feet, and Shenghe transformed into human form, flying on their swords to the far north.

……

"Senior brother, I... Waaaaah, I don't know what I did wrong, why is Senior Sister Sheng framing me like this, waaaaah."

Zhao Yanran lay on the bed, sobbing uncontrollably. Her back was covered in blood and gore, a truly horrific sight.

Wu Yan glanced at it and turned her head away with heartache, quickly taking out her treasured pills from her storage bag.

"Junior Sister Yanran, I just heard about your punishment in the Discipline Department. What happened? How did you get so badly injured? This is some medicine I got with spirit stones. It's very effective for treating external injuries. Junior Sister, please take it quickly."

Zhao Yanran glanced at the pill in Wu Yan's hand, and seeing that it was just a common low-grade healing pill, she quickly looked away and said sadly:

"It's...it's Senior Sister Sheng. Senior Sister Qingqing had an accident in the secret realm, but Senior Sister Sheng insisted that Senior Brother Chu and I killed her. Senior Brother Chu has now had his cultivation crippled and been sent to the Cliff of Repentance. Even I was severely punished."

"Waaaaah, Senior Brother, I really don't know where I offended Senior Sister Sheng. I gave her the bracelet, spirit stones, and the Fire Pearl she wanted, but she still... Waaaaah, Senior Brother, I really don't know what to do!"

"What! It's that Sheng He again! How could she do something like slandering her fellow disciples! She's utterly heartless!"

Zhao Yanran's expression froze for a moment, then quickly returned to normal.

Wu Yan slammed his fist on the table indignantly: "Junior Sister Yanran, you're just too kind. You've always been tolerant of her, which is why she's bullying you even more! You're just a five-elemental-root person. Do you think you can become a phoenix just because the elders have taken a liking to you?"

"Junior Sister Yanran, don't be afraid. I've been cultivating diligently these past few years, and I'm now at the late stage of Qi Refining. When I see Sheng He, I'll definitely give her a good beating to avenge you!"

Zhao Yanran's lips twitched. She looked at Wu Yan and whispered, "But Senior Brother, Senior Sister Sheng is already in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage."

Wu Yan's anger dissipated instantly, and he looked embarrassed: "Wh...what? Isn't she a five-elemental-root person? How could she have reached the Foundation Establishment stage so quickly?"