Having made his decision, Xiao Shou felt much more at ease when facing Xiao Yi and Xiao Ran.
He knew that only upon reaching the Nascent Soul stage would it be possible for others to notice the mismatch between his soul and body, so he was not afraid of the two noticing anything.
His expression remained natural as he followed the original owner's usual behavior.
He then taking out a jade token to open the courtyard's protective formation and inviting the two of them to go inside.
When they're inside, he ask them, "I feel that both of your auras are more harmonious now. Your cultivation must have improved. What stage have you reached?"
"I have just successfully established my foundation, and my brother has already reached the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment." Xiao Ran looked at Xiao Yi with a proud expression, clearly very happy for her elder brother.
Xiao Shou knew that if the heroine had not suppressed her cultivation in order to follow him into the secret realm, she would have already reached Foundation Establishment two years ago, just like Xiao Yi.
The last time Xiao Yi had come to see Xiao Shou, he had only been at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, and now he had reached the mid-stage, which was also an improvement.
Xiao Shou immediately pretended not to know and revealed a hint of envy. "Really? That is wonderful. I will go buy some food right away to celebrate for both of you. One has successfully established a foundation, and the other has advanced to the mid-stage. Both are events worth celebrating."
"There is no need. My brother and I still have a sect mission to complete shortly. There is no time to celebrate today." Xiao Ran pulled back Xiao Yi, who was about to nod, and said, "We will be leaving soon."
So they were worried about the original owner whose opportunity had been taken and had come to check whether he had noticed anything unusual.
Xiao Shou nodded. "Oh, if that is the case, then I will not keep you. Go ahead and attend to your matters."
"Wait, Xiao Shou, how are your injuries? Do you need any pills? I have three mid-grade Life Rejuvenation Pills here. You can use them first." Xiao Yi immediately took out a white jade bottle from his storage pouch and handed it to Xiao Shou.
Honestly, he did not want to owe the siblings any favors.
Although Xiao Yi was a good person, he had a younger sister who would rather betray the entire world than allow anyone to betray her.
Xiao Shou shook her head and quickly waved her hands to refuse. "No need. A few low-grade Life Rejuvenation Pills are enough to heal my injuries. I already went to Nine Treasures Pavilion to buy them."
Nine Treasures Pavilion was a chain shop spread throughout the entire Heaven Origin Realm.
It sold anything related to cultivation, including pills, artifacts, formations, and techniques.
Its backing extended into the Spirit Realm and the Immortal Realm.
There were many plotlines in the book involving Nine Treasures Pavilion.
Although Xiao Ran and Xiao Yi did not know these details, they were still aware that Nine Treasures Pavilion was extremely famous in the cultivation world.
At their current level of cultivation, they could not, like Zhang Bozhi, see through the condition of his injuries at a glance.
Xiao Yi believed his words, while Xiao Ran did not want to waste pills on someone who was of no use to her.
After all, without the Soul Tempering Flower, a person with three spiritual roots who had to start cultivating again at the age of eighteen was nothing more than a waste.
No matter how Xiao Shou cultivated, he would not be able to catch up to the speed of her and her brother.
Moreover, with the Heavenly Orb assisting her, Xiao Shou no longer had any value worth investing in.
"Brother, since Xiao Shou is fine, let us go complete the mission first." Xiao Ran took back the mid-grade Life Rejuvenation Pills and called Xiao Yi to leave together.
However, Xiao Yi still felt that something was not quite right.
Seeing his sister take the pills away, he frowned slightly, yet found it inappropriate to take them back.
He could only say with concern, "Do not worry about the disciple recruitment ceremony. I will go and ask my master. I think that even if you cannot enter the inner sect, entering the outer sect should still be possible. Once you establish your foundation, you can directly advance to the inner sect."
"Ah, there is no need." Xiao Shou was startled upon hearing this.
He did not want to enter the Heavenly Void Sect.
No, it would be more accurate to say that he could not enter any sect at all.
Once he entered a sect and faced high-level cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage, the fact that his soul and body did not match would be discovered.
Only when he formed his Nascent Soul and reconstructed his body would his soul and body be able to fully merge again.
Before that, Xiao Shou could not join any sect.
Even after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, he would not need to join any sect either, so he could only become an independent cultivator.
"After this experience in the secret realm, I feels like I'm not suitable to becoming a sect disciple. I wants to try being an independent cultivator for a few years first."
"How could you think like that?" Xiao Yi asked in surprise.
Xiao Shou pressed his lips together. "I likes living like this, free from any constraints. Brother Yi, Sister Ran, you should go and attend to your matters first. As for entering a sect, it can be discussed after a few years. With me being like an ordinary person now, nothing would work out anyway."
"What Xiao Shou says makes sense. Let us talk about it again after a few years. We should at least wait until your cultivation recovers first."