Chapter 78: Is Master Jian suffering from a cold again? (Requesting first subscription orz)
Ever since the surge of immortal light began in the ruins, Yan Shuyi had remained there, wanting to understand the grand scheme.
Then she saw that demon ascend, and she also saw Ji You and “his fiancée,” followed by him breaking through with a sword, and him fighting Min Cheng alone.
During this time, Zhuo Wanqiu and Ding Yao stood behind her.
Having been mentally prepared, Zhuo Wanqiu noticed many details during this process.
When the demon ascended, Master Jian's aura was exceptionally sharp. Although she stood below, her beautiful features held a condescending sense of scrutiny, and a Battle Intent bloomed in her soft, bright eyes.
She had seen Master Jian like this many times.
At the Lingjian Mountain sect entrance ceremony, and at the Youxian Guild ritual.
At that time, Master Jian always arrived in a red dress, her Look Back glance could amaze all beings, yet she was aloof from the world, never smiled, and showed no emotion.
But as a figure entered the city, she suddenly noticed Master Jian's eyes come alive.
Her crimson lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but then they pressed together.
Because at that moment, there was another woman accompanying Ji You.
Then came the battle in the alley. She saw Master Jian unable to resist subtly thrusting her full, rounded chest several times, her eyes seemingly filled with a sense of pride.
This was most evident when he broke through the realm.
And when Min Cheng was defeated, she noticed that Ding Yao, beside her, wanted to draw her sword, so she immediately reached out and held her hand down.
She had confirmed that Ji You was extraordinary in Master Jian's heart.
But when she whispered to Ding Yao, she didn't elaborate, only saying that he was someone she couldn't afford to provoke.
Ding Yao didn't understand at the time, but seeing the strong warning in Zhuo Wanqiu's eyes, she finally withdrew her hand.
It was true that Min Cheng had always wanted to be her Dual Cultivation Dao Companion, but it was also to curry favor with the direct Disciple of Asked the Dao Sect. Her own thoughts were naturally the same.
Although her Young Master had already taken control of the spirit mirror, Xuanjian Peak was always less deeply rooted than Tianjian Peak.
To firmly secure the position of sect master, assistance from other Immortal Sects was needed.
Her closeness with Min Cheng was actually to get in touch with Asked the Dao Sect, which had the highest possibility, in order to gain an advantage.
But as for the depth of their relationship, it wasn't very profound, so after hearing Zhuo Wanqiu's warning,
she decided to observe first.
“Should I inform Master Jian?”
“No need. It was just someone I happened to meet along the way.”
Yan Shuyi said calmly, then as the three were about to pass the restaurant, she suddenly frowned, her small hand trembling as she threw out the silver ingot she had been holding...
Zhuo Wanqiu was stunned, seeing Master Jian squinting, her face full of “I didn’t mean to.”
Then Ding Yao heard the phrase “Sister Caiwei,” and her heart trembled. She looked at Zhuo Wanqiu with some gratitude.
She thought the “he” that the other party said she couldn’t provoke was “she,” the woman who accompanied Ji You.
Yuan Caiwei was also slightly startled, looking up with some surprise: “It’s little Master Jian. Yuan Caiwei of Dan Sect greets Master Jian.”
“This isn’t on the mountain, Sister Caiwei needn't be so formal.”
Yan Shuyi turned to look at Ji You: “Who is this unremarkable stranger?”
Ji You: “?”
Yuan Caiwei glanced at Ji You: “His name is Ji You, a Disciple of Tianshu Academy. I encountered danger in Qi Ridge this time,
and thanks to him, I was able to escape.”
“He really is a good person.”
Yan Shuyi looked at Ji You for a long time, her pink lips slightly parted.
To her, Ji You was indeed just a man she had met by chance during her cultivation, and seen again after descending the mountain for travels.
Although they chatted happily, there was no other relationship.
When she heard Zhuo Wanqiu say he had a fiancée, the little Master Jian just said lightly that she wanted to see what kind of woman she was.
But what she couldn't quite understand was why he, despite having a fiancée, always looked at her feet and even pinched her face.
She had thrown out the silver ingot, and as expected, it attracted Ji You, but now looking at the two, she didn't know what to say.
Zhuo Wanqiu leaned in at this moment: “Should we invite them to the courtyard for tea?”
Yan Shuyi shook her head, then spoke to Yuan Caiwei: “Saving a life shows deep affection. This Young Master must be exhausted. Sister, when do you plan to marry him? I’ll send a congratulatory gift.”
Yuan Caiwei was startled by Yan Shuyi’s question and immediately waved her hands, blushing: “Master Jian has misunderstood. This is my first time meeting him. He is a friend of My younger brother and came to save me at my brother’s request.”
Ji You also frowned: “Why do people always spread rumors? Are they tired of living?”
“Sister, there’s no need to be embarrassed. Matters of the heart are only human nature.”
“That’s true, so if he truly were, why would I need to hide it from others?”
“Then why don’t you all come to my courtyard for tea!”
Yan Shuyi suddenly turned and trotted down the stairs.
For the past few days in Qiling Town, the Young Master Jian of Lingjian Mountain had been staying in the secluded courtyard behind the restaurant. Now, she extended a sincere invitation to them.
Zhuo Wanqiu held her breath, as if she had eaten something delicious, and immediately followed.
Only Ding Yao, listening to Master Jian's hot and cold tone, was momentarily unable to determine the identity of this woman.
Then, the group arrived at the small courtyard behind the restaurant and sat at a stone table under a osmanthus tree.
As soon as Ji You sat down, he felt his right foot being gently stepped on.
He looked up, and Yan Shuyi was nonchalant, instructing Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu to serve tea to the three of them.
Yuan Caiwei took the tea and thanked her, then spoke: “Master Jian, do you know what exactly happened in the mountain?”
Yan Shuyi waved her hand, releasing a flash of immortal light to block out the outside world: “There was a demon who used the Spirit Origin of cultivators as pills, refining the immortal Qi in the mountain, attempting to Heaven-Defyingly ascend to immortality. In the end, he died under the nine heavens Lightning Tribulation.”
“Who was that demon?”
“His identity has not yet been confirmed, but when Wanqiu was tracking missing Disciples, she once caught a person named Chen Qinghe. His ancestral surname is Zheng. I followed up and investigated the Zheng Family, suspecting it to be the Zheng Family Old Ancestor.”
Yan Shuyi finished speaking and added: “Hongshan Mine was once owned by the Zheng Family, and many Evil Seeds are imprisoned beneath their ancestral home.”
Zhuo Wanqiu couldn’t help but interject at this point: “The Zheng Family must have accidentally entered the ruins through Hongshan Mine and obtained the so-called immortal fate, but they accidentally released a large number of Evil Seeds, which attracted the investigation of the Immortal Sect. The Zheng Family Old Ancestor happened to be at the end of his lifespan,
so he decided to go with the plan and chose to refine people for Ascension.”
Ji You frowned upon hearing this and looked at Yan Shuyi: “Is the Zheng Family also a Worldly Family?”
Yuan Caiwei looked at Ji You upon hearing this, somewhat surprised.
Because according to habit, when a group of people sit together, even when asking questions, they would choose the closest one.
She didn't know why Ji You chose to ask Yan Shuyi instead of her, and also said that the Young Master Jian of Lingjian Mountain was usually the most aloof and probably wouldn't speak to strange men.
And Ding Yao's thoughts were almost identical.
As the Young Master Jian's former personal maid, she understood her Young Master deeply, and a hint of mockery couldn't help but appear at the corner of her mouth.
She knew that Ji You was merely an Outer Courtyard Disciple of Tianshu Academy. Someone of this status, if not for the woman accompanying him, probably wouldn't even get to drink Master Jian's tea.
But unexpectedly, Yan Shuyi suddenly placed her hands on the table: “The Zheng Family is one of the largest Worldly Sect in Zhongzhou. During the chaotic period, they were once the old imperial family. You don’t even know this.”
“Then who is the Zheng Family Old Ancestor?”
“He is the previous generation’s family head of the Zheng Family, a Disciple of the Chen Clan, and also the Senior Brother of the current sect master Chen Ruhai. Decades ago, they were known as the Twin Prodigies of the Chen Clan, both reaching the Perfection of the Upper Five Realms, but Chen Ruhai was from the main lineage, and ultimately inherited the Dao Legacy of the Chen Clan.”
Ji You pondered for a long time: “But the one who searched Miss Yuan’s Divine Soul was in the Linxian Realm.”
Yan Shuyi nodded obediently: “That’s what I found too. It shows that there must be an existence in Qi Ridge that can ignore Dao Legacy and directly lead people to immortality. What do you think?”
Ding Yao, beside them, pursed her lips, thinking, I think Master Jian’s voice is a bit forced, as if she has a cold.
Ji You clenched his fist on the table, feeling something was wrong, so he looked at Yuan Caiwei: “Miss Yuan has been in the mountain for many days and personally interacted with them. Have you ever seen any infants?”
“Infants? No—”
“Not a single one?”
“Although a part of my memory is blurry, I can confirm that I have not seen any infants.”
Ji You was silent for a long time after hearing this, thinking that this was even more wrong.
If it was truly as Zhuo Wanqiu said, a coincidental opening of the ruins, obtaining immortal fate, releasing Evil Seeds, to alert the Immortal Sect, and thus seizing the opportunity to ascend.
Then what about the infants?
It couldn’t be that after one matter was concluded, everything seemed to make sense, but there just happened to be an extra, useless clue.
He was baffled, feeling that the things he could understand now were both deep and shallow, seemingly orderly but fundamentally chaotic.
Yan Shuyi then turned to Yuan Caiwei: “There’s one more thing. Why was that demon able to refine cultivators’ Spirit Origin into pills? Does Dan Sect have such a pill art?”
“It is indeed recorded in the Primordial Scroll, but no alchemist has been able to do it for so many years.”
“Why?”
“Because it lacks Karma Fire. This is an Innate fire that needs to be ignited by resentment Qi, and it can refine all beings, but no one knows what resentment Qi truly is.”
Yan Shuyi looked thoughtfully at Ji You: “I heard that Lingjian Mountain and Tianshu Academy had a conflict in the ruins.
Young Master, you showed mercy to my sect’s Disciples. Why?”
Upon hearing this, Yuan Caiwei suddenly realized.
No wonder Yan Shuyi was willing to talk to him; there was this connection.
Ding Yao, on the other hand, her face darkened, somewhat worried that he would reveal the previous robbery in the forest.
Ji You, meanwhile, looked at her fair, flawless face, feeling an urge to pinch it.
This girl is addicted to acting out this unfamiliar scene...
“At the critical moment of life and death for my fellow Disciples of Tianshu Academy, I actually had a strong killing intent, but unfortunately, in my haste, I chose the wrong weapon.” Ji You summoned a black thorn from his gourd and said with eyes as affectionate as if looking at a dog: “This was given to me by a Fairy for self-preservation before she left, so I hesitated for a moment when I attacked, not wanting to use it to kill the Fairy’s people.”
Yan Shuyi was slightly stunned upon hearing this, then her cold face flushed red. She picked up her teacup and gulped down water, her feet gently swaying.
Ding Yao, Yuan Caiwei, and Yuan Chen, who couldn’t interject, were all a bit confused.
Only Zhuo Wanqiu took a deep breath, somewhat overwhelmed.
After finishing her tea, Yan Shuyi said to the three: “You just came out of the mountain, and I imagine you are exhausted. Why not rest in this courtyard for a day?”
Yuan Chen looked at his brother-in-law upon hearing this, thinking that his brother-in-law was in a hurry to find his fellow Disciples and probably couldn’t rest here. “Alright.”
Ji You readily agreed, then thought to himself, I seem to have forgotten something.
Never mind, it doesn't matter.