The little grey nut had come out of the leaf pattern imprinted on Shin Sumi's wrist in the briefest of moments and had proceeded to bite her as hard as possible.

A red pearl of fresh blood dripped from the circular bite mark onto her right foot, stopped dead in its tracks.

Shin Sumi was used to the biting by now. Annoyment at the nut flashed in her eyes for a split second before her rational mind took over.

"What is it?" she thought, "this bite was strong and unexpected. Something dangerous is close by." Shin Sumi didn't spend more time thinking, her pretty blue eyes looking around.

The trees above her head, the grass next to the stone path, everything in her field of vision looked completely normal.

Only then did the nut let her arm go. Rolling across her skin, Shin Sumi felt it reach her leg, stopping only at her left ankle.

The nut was smart and had stayed out of view from the outside. Apart from the blood stain on Shin Sumi's shoe, nothing indicated why she had stopped so suddenly.

"The ground?" she asked herself in a low voice. Bites were the only way of communicating the nut had ever shown since the beginning and Shin Sumi was more or less familiar with the pattern. A bite on the leg was probably an indication that whatever was dangerous was on the ground.

Lowering herself on her toes, Shin Sumi looked at the path right in front of her. The urgency of the bite meant that it was close.

Focusing her eyes on the gravel and dust that formed most of the sect's paths, Shin Sumi remembered the smell that had agitated her nose seconds before the painful warning.

"There, these lines!" she exclaimed interiorly.

Only by looking at it up close could she discern it. Eight tentacle like lines were carved on the dry ground, all emanating from one spot. "My next step would have been directly in the center" she thought.

Shin Sumi observed the floor a bit more before standing up again. Nothing around her seemed out of the ordinary except from the ground.

But Shin Sumi's instinct was simply not fully developed. A figure on a branch some thirty odd meters away was observing silently.

Taking a few steps back, Shin Sumi picked up a dead branch. Throwing it in front of her, the branch touched the floor exactly where the eight wiggly lines concentrated.

What happened next was so fast that for a long time Shin Sumi was convinced that it had happened before the branch landed. From the eight lines on the ground, black roots rose. A blink of the eyes would have made an observer completely miss it but the roots joined at the top.

They touched each other right above the center, above the branch. In a simple motion, they crushed the branch that was thicker than a finger as if it had been a match stick.

Shin Sumi had not even registered what had happened as the roots fell back on the ground, vibrating slightly so that dust and pebbles would cover them again.

In a split second everything was over. The branch had been crushed to dust and nothing was left of it.

If Shin Sumi had been in its place, at least her legs would have been reduced to nothing. Then her upper body would have fallen on the same spot.

A shiver down her spine cut her respiration short. She didn't dare imagine the scene.

"Someone tried to kill me!"

Shin Sumi forced herself to remain calm and to not panic.

She was new to the world of cultivation but knew as much as to not be too afraid. After all she was still on the sect's grounds. Her courtyard was in a remote location but even though somebody had tried to kill her, it will probably not escalate into a fight.

The trap had failed and she was alive, but unless there were other traps, she thought she wouldn't be assaulted.

Keeping calm appearances Shin Sumi walked around the trap, with a safe distance from the killer plant.

In her head, she started thinking about what the implications of someone trying to kill her would be, as the nut went back to her chest region. The nut refused to return in her wrist, prepared to give another signal if it sensed a new danger.

Further away in the trees, the girl called Liu discretely left her hiding place, half running and half jumping with impressive speed to report the failure of the trap.

Because she had forced herself to remain calm, Shin Sumi's mind cleared rapidly, the adrenalin still pervading her limbs but wearing off.

She recounted what happened with a voice that only she could hear.

"Somebody tried to kill me in the sect grounds. Who would dare do that?"

She didn't have to think much further. Her mind pictured Chu Erlong for a split second but the thought discarded itself quickly. In the end the only person she could think of was a scary figure hidden beneath a gentle smile.

"It can only be Elder Zhu!" she thought. "He is the only one who knows where I live apart from Yue and Brother Lan. He probably has a way of stealing my talent after I'm dead."

The explanation was simple but convincing enough. Shin Sumi could still smell the scent of medicinal plants. It was no doubt that the one used as a trap was some kind of precious material that only an Elder could get his hands on.

Besides, Elder Zhu was known for his medicinal talent and affinity with plants was part of his expertise.

Shin Sumi resumed her walk towards the more lively part of the Dark Sky Starry Sect's lower valley. Her mind continued to think and make plans as she found the stone paths more often used by disciples.

She was more on guard than ever towards whatever plan Elder Zhu had prepared for her.

***

The slender silhouette of Liu Qing was crossing the northern forest of the lower valley.

The girl's red robes were bristling with the wind. She was really fast and could jump as far as three meters with only one step.

Liu Qing was on the verge of breaking through to the Liquid Realm. She had been for quite a while now, having opened a handful of Shinsoo passageways. For some reason though something kept her from reaching the first true realm of Immortal cultivation.

"It is because unlike me you red robes are simply trash" had said Chu Erlong one day with harsh words.

"Maybe she is right. Us with less talent will never amount to much" she thought as she ran towards the dilapidated courtyard, "I should be happy to be able to follow someone like Big Sister Chu."

Liu Qing would maybe never reach the Liquid Realm. What she didn't know though was that her talent had nothing to do with it. Crossing over from opening the Shinsoo passageways to condensing a vortex was more of a formality than a true obstacle.

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Liu Qing had a weak mind. She had always been shy, and even when her family had celebrated for three days and three nights the news of her recruitment in the Dark Sky Starry Sect, she had stayed quiet.

Even for her family of aristocrats in the capital city of the Silver Sea region, being officially accepted in an Immortal sect was an honor that surpassed anything else.

She had worked as hard as she could with her low talent in the sect before meeting Chu Erlong.

"Sister Liu!" sounded a voice from the gates of the old courtyard. "Big Sister Chu, Sister Liu is back!" said the voice but in another direction, louder.

As Liu Qing slowed down and walked past the open gates, Chu Erlong emerged from the house in the courtyard.

Liu Qing stopped.

Chu Erlong was wearing a bright orange dress. Although it was a normal piece of cloth made exactly like every other disciple robes, it looked like it fitted her perfectly.

Chu Erlong's figure was slim and tall. Her shoulders were thin and the orange fabric seemed to fall from them like sunshine piercing through the never ending clouds.

Her long dark hair was tied at the end in a bundle that swayed with her steps. Her cheeks were tinted with a slight red and she wore a radiant smile.

Liu Qing couldn't help but smile too. The image of her Big Sister now superimposed in her mind with the girl that had accepted her that day.

For the first time since in the Dark Sky Starry Sect, Liu Qing had found her anchor. Chu Erlong had offered her company, friendship, and many other things.

While Liu Qing was a raven, Chu Erlong was the moon that shone brightly and made her stand out from the night sky.

"Big Sister Chu, about the trap, it..." she started. Chu Erlong interrupted her with impatience and malevolence in her eyes that Liu Qing didn't seem to see.

"Did it work?! Is she dead?"

Liu Qing bit her top lip and bowed deeply before answering. She didn't need to as Chu Erlong turned her back to her.

Liu Qing was surprised for a second, waiting for a scolding, which would usually happen. Instead, Chu Erlong didn't say a word but started to tremble.

At first, she trembled just a bit but after a few seconds, her shaking was visible to the three girls present.

A short girl with a round face reacted before Liu Qing did. Her name was Fan Cai and her voice was disturbingly high pitched as she asked "Are you okay Big Sister Chu?"

Her voice clearly held tones of surprise mixed with fear. Her question was cut short and she produced a loud 'gulp' when Chu Erlong turned again to look at her followers.

"That... little... RASCAL!" she screamed, not caring about being heard from outside of the abandoned courtyard.

Liu Qing and the other followers were all stunned. Extreme agitation was visible on Chu Erlong's face.

"Liu Qing, tell me everything you saw. Don't leave any detail out" she asked her, finally seeming to recover a bit.

Liu Qing swallowed uncomfortably and recounted all of the recent events from when she was spying on Shin Sumi. Even after she stopped talking Chu Erlong stayed silent, judging the situation in her head.

"She... she is really good. Acting like a red robed disciple with no talent. Even a green talented disciple shouldn't have been able to discover the Clover Prison Seed that my grandfather specially grafted himself" she said. "What am I going to say to grandfather after this? I wasted a lot of resources on this plan, but that unassuming twit ruined it just like that?!"

The girls in front of the orange robed youth didn't dare say a word. Although they were usually not spared a second glance from Chu Erlong, she still trusted them and confided in them. They understood immediately what she meant.

Chu Erlong had told them weeks ago what she thought. Ever since she had seen Shin Sumi trying to spy on them in this exact courtyard, she had been suspicious of her. She had asked Liu Qing to follow her.

Liu Qing had kind of a natural talent in being stealthy. Maybe because she had been invisible during most of her life. She had easily spotted Shin Sumi going to her courtyard. She had seen her using her own identification medallion to open the gates. There were no doubts to be had, Shin Sumi was not a red robed disciple.

Liu Qing had first proposed Chu Erlong to befriend Shin Sumi, but the orange robed girl had laughed at her face "And then what? Do you think she will help us? Considering her talent she would just use us as stepping stones until she reaches the next level. If she really has such a monstrous talent, she'll become a star before we even have a chance at touching the clouds."

Liu Qing clearly remembered the words of Chu Erlong that day, when for the first time her friend had given her shivers.

"We must destroy her. She should be OUR stepping stone. A big enough one for all of us. We absolutely can't let her reach a level where she can easily defeat us and make us look like dog shit next to her."

That was how it began. After that Liu Qing had spent most of her days following Shin Sumi everywhere, trying not to be shaken off by the green talented girl's seemingly random actions.

Finally Chu Erlong had prepared a plan. She had contacted her grandfather through gritted teeth, asking for a big favor.

Chu Xuanba was the Great Elder of the sect, standing above all the other Elders, responding only to the Sect Patriarch and the mysterious experts of the Dark Sky Starry Sect.

He was a gentle looking old man but with deep eyes capable of rendering a Liquid Realm cultivator unconscious with a single glance. As a mid Core Development cultivator, nobody in the sect would dare look at him sideways. Even as the first daughter of his first son, Chu Erlong was careful when talking to him.

She had used his favors to get a dangerous plant that could kill a Liquid Realm disciple in the blink of an eye. But even that wasn't enough.

"We have to destroy her!" said Chu Erlong once more, bringing Liu Qing back to reality.

"Actually I have an idea, Big Sister Chu..." said Liu Qing in a whisper.

***

Shin Sumi walked faster than usual. Even though she wanted to appear unaffected by her near death experience, she found it really hard to act normal.

For once, she seemed to remark all of the disciples from the Affairs Pavilion, visible with a pin on the front of their robes.

There were many disciples like Lan Hui, acting like some sort of law enforcer in the lower valley, but usually they would go almost unnoticed. Shin Sumi wondered how many of them knew who they were working for.

"A monster. Elder Zhu is a monster" she said to herself.

She then wondered how many of them had been tasked to follow her.

Shaking her head, Shin Sumi laughed unconvincingly.

"Come on Sumi, don't be too paranoid. Focus on what you're doing. The nut will protect you."

Shin Sumi had initially decided to go back to her secret farm in the dark chasm but decided against it.

"I'm probably safer in the middle of the sect and traps could await me in the jungle" she said to herself.

Still carefully looking around her, she tried her best to keep a low profile as she headed to the Cultivation Plaza. Lan Hui had many friends, some of whom he trusted with his life, as he had told her once, so when she stumbled upon one on her way, she asked him to send Lan Hui a message.

Shin Sumi arrived at the Cultivation Plaza not so long after and she settled on top of the middle platform.

She was surrounded by disciples meditating, with only a few groups of people chatting instead of focussing on cultivation.

She finally felt safe once again. Nobody would dare to do anything to her in the middle of the Plaza, which was one of the most frequented places in the lower valley.

She tried cultivating for a while, to calm her heart as much as to do actual progress in cultivation. To her dismay, she found that the Shinsoo in this place, although in higher concentration than somewhere else, was simply not dense enough to make the spark inside her dantian flare up to life.

Lan Hui arrived not too long after, his friend having told him about the urgency he had sensed in Shin Sumi's voice.

He had been rushing to get to the Cultivation Plaza as soon as possible, only to find a calm and smiling Shin Sumi.

Lan Hui sat down in front of her after bowing rapidly.

"Brother Lan, I'm happy to see you" Shin Sumi started after bowing herself.

"Sister Shin, what is going on? Du Le told me to meet you quickly, is everything alright?" Lan Hui answered with a concerned expression.

Shin Sumi's cristalline laugh resounded quietly, trying to be as natural as possible.

She dispelled most of his concern in a few words before changing the subject. Shin Sumi told him about her first real success in cultivation and about how she had felt the Shinsoo in her dantian.

Lan Hui congratulated her and offered a few pointers, although Shin Sumi appeared to be listening with only one ear.

"With the little bit of Shinsoo I have accumulated inside me, can I use the jade medallion to communicate?" she interrupted him.

Lan Hui was silent for a moment before answering "Well, it depends if you have enough Shinsoo inside you. You are still not fully into Shinsoo Gathering, you need to forcibly absorb Shinsoo first and then at some point your body will become naturally able to gather the energy you spent."

"So if someone uses Shinsoo, their body will return back to peak condition by itself?"

"Exactly, although it takes time, especially since we Honorary Disciples don't have much Shinsoo to begin with. Shinsoo Gathering is a long process and I advise you to spend as little of your energy as possible."

Shin Sumi bobbed her head up and down as she understood more and more. Nevertheless, she didn't give up on learning the way of communicating via jade slips.

Lan Hui explained it to her, agreeing that it was something important to know in case of urgency for example, even if a few messages could leave a disciple completely without Shinsoo.

By using the identification jade she had been given, Shin Sumi learned how to register other people's personal jade, as well as how to condense Shinsoo to form a mental connection with the jade.

A new world of possibilities opened up before her as she now understood how to read and imprint information on jade slips.

She seemed very happy with that and thanked Lan Hui profusely, even standing up in order to bow deeply. Lan Hui departed with a smile on his face, although it hid the fact that something didn't feel right to him.

He hadn't walked more than thirty meters, having just gone down the stairs of the cultivation platform, when he felt a familiar vibration in his bag of holding. Taking out his identification jade, he pressed his forehead against it because it was the simplest way of accessing the information.

"Brother Lan, please act normal and forgive me for being so strange earlier. I think that I am in great danger."