Chapter 1 — Shattered Roots, Revealed Truths

The biological daughter of the Master, the young apprentice Thien Thien, has finally been found. We had originally intended to exchange formal greetings in a spirit of harmony. However, the moment Thien Thien caught sight of me within the crowd, her eyes locked onto mine, and her voice pierced the air, sharp and jagged as a rusted blade. "Father! Why is she still here?!" Before I could even react, she continued, each word a dagger plunged into the silence: "I am your true daughter! Now that I have returned, you must cast this adopted creature out of the sect at once! Why should she be allowed to enjoy the prosperity meant for me?"

"Everything she possesses, including her cultivation base, was built using the resources you poured into her! It was rightfully mine to begin with! You must rip out her golden core and extract her spiritual roots to return them to me!" As these words echoed across the courtyard, the expressions of those standing nearby turned complex and dark. I curled my lips, my gaze as frigid as winter frost, a cold smile forming within my heart: I am the disciple the Master fought tooth and nail to secure from countless competing sects, the one-in-a-million genius of our age—who here dares to cast me out?

The surrounding crowd fell into a suffocating silence. Everyone who heard her words stood stunned, paralyzed by the sheer audacity of her demands. The Master was the first to regain his composure, stepping forward with a swift, purposeful stride before barking in a low, resonant voice: "Thien Thien! What madness are you spouting?!"

Yet, Thien Thien remained entirely indifferent to the stares of others. Her eyes welled with tears, and she sobbed with a choked, artificial grief: "Father! I know that because I was not by your side all these years, you sought a replacement for me. But now that I have returned, she cannot remain!"

"Why must I have endured years of wandering and suffering while she enjoyed every resource and privilege that belonged to me? Not only must she leave, but everything that is rightfully mine... must be returned!" She gestured wildly, her finger trembling as she pointed toward me. "Without my absence, how could she have achieved such a cultivation base today? Therefore, both her golden core and her spiritual roots must be mine!"

Hearing this, the Master’s eyes flickered, a trace of hesitation crossing his features as his hand clenched and then slowly released. Thien Thien glared at me, jealousy igniting in her eyes. She reached out as if to shove me aside, but I tilted my body ever so slightly, sidestepping her motion, standing as immovable as a mountain. I had intentionally yielded my position, giving her the chance to draw near, only to reveal her true nature. She shot me a venomous look before twisting her body and clinging tightly to the arm of one of the senior brothers standing nearby, her voice dropping into a saccharine, wheedling tone: "This spot has always been mine! Even you, my senior brothers, belong to me! Everything she has... was always meant for me!"

The tone was layered with a sickening mix of forced fragility and manipulative charm, enough to make the skin of every disciple in the square crawl. A collective shiver ran through the crowd. The senior brothers recoiled as if struck, hurriedly pulling away to distance themselves from her. The fourth senior brother did not hide his disdain, letting out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Enough of your charade! What are you playing at?"

"The Master expended immense effort to ensure Phi Phi was chosen for our sect. She is a genius born once in a millennium; most of the rare treasures within our sect were retrieved by Phi Phi through her own dangerous missions. On what grounds do you demand she leave?" He stepped forward, his expression hardening. "You not only want to claim Phi Phi’s golden core, but you also dare to suggest we belong to you? Where does such arrogance come from?"

Thien Thien, clearly not expecting such a blunt rejection, flushed crimson. She bit her lip in a display of wounded pride, stamping her foot. "Senior brother! You have been deceived by her! I am the Master’s true daughter! I am the favored child of a great cultivation clan! You should cherish me and believe me, not stand up for an imposter!"

At this point, the Master finally spoke, his voice calm yet firm. "Thien Thien, Phi Phi is my disciple, not an adopted daughter. My daughter… from beginning to end, has only ever been you."

I stepped forward, my smile serene. "I am merely a mortal. What I have is enough for me; I have no desire to compete with you."

Thien Thien’s eyes lit up with arrogant triumph as she sneered, "So you admit you are just a commoner? Then you should be even more grateful to me! If I hadn't gone missing that year, do you think someone like you, with a father as lowly as yours, would have any standing to pursue immortality?"

"I am your benefactor! You must do as I say! You are forbidden from vying for the attention of my brothers or my father! And when you leave, you are not to take a single thing that does not belong to you!"

The entire square plunged into a deathly stillness. Everyone was aghast at her absurd logic. The eldest senior brother spoke up coldly: "Before Phi Phi joined our sect, we were nothing more than a minor, insignificant school. It was the Master who had to prove his sincerity just for her to consider us. You should inquire about the truth. With Phi Phi’s talent, she could have chosen any major sect in the world!"

Thien Thien, realizing the others stood firmly by my side, felt a surge of suffocating rage and envy. Yet, she persisted, her voice trembling. "That golden core was meant for me! If I hadn't been lost all those years, I might have formed my own core by now!" She extended her hand, revealing faint scars on her skin, deliberately ignoring the Master’s furious glare to feign vulnerability. "Father, you love me the most, don't you? These scars are so ugly and they never fade—they were left by demonic beasts! If I had that golden core, I wouldn't have been bullied, would I?"

"Look at her, Father! She has no conscience! She stole all my benefits and all the love that was supposed to be mine, and now she has incited the senior brothers to turn against me! Why not force her to surrender her core and roots as an act of penance... is that not fair?"

The Master stared at her, the indulgence in his eyes replaced by cold disappointment and rising anger. He roared, "Enough!"

"Thien Thien, how have you become like this? You were once a kind and gentle child; why have you turned so wicked? Ripping out a golden core or extracting someone's roots is an act of heaven-defying cruelty that even the most depraved evil cultivators would hesitate to perform! Furthermore, we have explained it clearly: your senior sister has stolen nothing from you!"

"You speak constantly of penance, but in truth... she owes you nothing!"

Thien Thien was left trembling by the Master’s shout, her expression spiraling into panic. But seeing the profound disappointment in his eyes, she threw herself into his arms, weeping and pleading, "Father, I am sorry... I have been bullied until I am terrified. I only wanted to become strong quickly to protect myself and to protect all of you..."

"I know I was wrong... please, Father, do not cast me aside! I only felt that after all those years suffering alone, while someone else enjoyed the love that was meant for me, my heart could not bear it... I am only so afraid that I will be discarded once more..."

She wept, her appearance frail and pathetic. The Master sighed, his heart caught between pain and helplessness. "Knowing you are wrong is a start! Rest assured, as long as I am here, no one will dare drive you away. But from now on, never speak such lawless, wicked words again."

To ease the suffocating tension, the Master picked up the gift I had prepared: "This is the Heart Snow Mountain, which Phi Phi brought back for you. It is incredibly precious and capable of cleansing one’s spirit of filth and malice. She went to great lengths to obtain this for you."