The passage of time in the mountains was fragmented and lazy.
Recently, Jiang Huai had been exchanging letters with Luo Qingyu and Xu Qing. Since their last outing from the Jade Kui Secret Realm, both of their cultivation levels had advanced to the Void Refining first layer, requiring a significant period to consolidate their strength.
Jiang Huai had also begun practicing swordplay in the courtyard. This wasn’t about mastering techniques, but rather about slowly familiarizing himself with the power of his Overlord Art. His Overlord Art had now reached the latter half of the Seventh Realm. If he were to engage in Dual Cultivation with a Mahayana cultivator another dozen times, his Overlord Art would reach the perfection of the Seventh Realm. The materials required for breaking through to the Eighth Realm were the inner cores of five Eighth Realm Demonic Beasts. As for the Dragon Heart needed to break through to the Ninth Realm, he had already stored it in the system’s storage space.
Besides the Overlord Art, the vast spiritual energy of the Seventh Realm and the power boost from his Dragon Clan bloodline had taken him quite some time to adapt to. He hadn’t learned any Daoist magic; after all, strictly speaking, he was a sword cultivator, and his spiritual energy was difficult to replenish quickly after consumption, making Daoist magic of little use.
The ultimate pursuit of a sword cultivator should be to shatter all techniques with a single sword.
As autumn deepened, the weather grew gradually colder. It hadn’t rained for some time, and snow had already begun to fall on the mountaintop. Jiang Huai practiced swordplay in the courtyard daily, tended to the flowers and plants, sat quietly playing chess with Chu Xianning, and occasionally visited Wanwan.
The only minor regret was that Chu Xianning, citing the expiration of the one-month period, no longer allowed Jiang Huai to climb into her bed. It was likely because that night’s “intimate event” had made her too ashamed, and her skin had become thinner. Jiang Huai didn’t even dare to mention it, always feeling that bringing it up would trigger Chu Xianning’s super cold and aloof mode to combat her inner shame.
At this moment, Jiang Huai sat in the pavilion drinking tea, watching the sky darken with heavy clouds, waiting for the autumn rain to arrive. He was lazily preparing for a nap when a knocking sound echoed from outside the door.
Now that he was at the Seventh Realm cultivation level, he narrowed his eyes slightly, but immediately his face fell. He got up and opened the door. The girl outside looked up at him.
…
Mu Yao was wearing a black camisole dress today, with a shawl draped over it to conceal the smooth skin of her shoulders. Her jet-black, soft hair cascaded down. A ribbon was wrapped around her slender waist, and beneath her skirt hem, she wore white socks with lace trim and small high heels. A neck ring adorned her snow-white and tender neck; it had a small bell, like a collar attached to a pet.
“Why are you here?” Jiang Huai asked, his hand gripping the doorknob, as if ready to close the door. A moment later, he felt it was a bit too cold, so he loosened his grip on the doorknob and greeted her with a smile.
Mu Yao had been observing his expression from the beginning, from his initially reluctant face to his current feigned smile. With her arms crossed and her dark eyes, she suddenly looked resentful.
“I need your help with something,” Mu Yao replied honestly.
“A small trouble or a big one?” Jiang Huai immediately became vigilant.
Mu Yao turned and walked away.
Unfortunately, before she could take a few steps, Jiang Huai grabbed her wrist. She looked back, biting her red lips slightly. Her eyes looked incredibly wronged at that moment. Jiang Huai found himself unable to decide whether to laugh or cry as he looked at her. “Tell me, I’ll help you if I can.”
Perhaps it was because he was used to her acting shamelessly before, he always felt inclined to tease her.
Mu Yao gazed at him for a few more seconds before finally turning back. Jiang Huai released her hand and listened to the girl in front of him mumble, “It’s a long story.”
“Then come in for a cup of tea.”
…
Chu Xianning was still napping. Jiang Huai brewed tea for Mu Yao and cautioned her to speak softly and not to shout. Mu Yao obediently agreed and recounted her request.
“My father is the head of the Mu family. But many, many years ago, my father wasn’t from the Eastern Region; he came from the Southern Region. At that time, the brothers of the Southern Region’s Mu family were vying for the position of patriarch, and it was quite unpleasant. My father only liked playing chess, so he took a group of Mu family members who thought like him and split off, coming to the Eastern Region where he met my mother.”
“Now, in the territory of the Southern Region’s Mu family, the Ancestral Secret Realm, which has been guarded for nearly a thousand years, has finally opened. This secret realm restricts entry to cultivators below the Eighth Realm. The heir of my father’s lineage is also supposed to have the right to explore this secret realm. Therefore, the Southern Region’s Mu family sent word to my father, allowing me to bring one guard with me.”
“So you thought of me?” Jiang Huai asked, finishing Mu Yao’s sentence.
“The Mu family doesn’t have many people. There are only two cultivators whose cultivation levels are above the Seventh Realm but below the Eighth Realm. Both of those seniors are currently in seclusion and are unavailable, so…”
Mu Yao looked up, then mumbled after a moment, “It’s okay if you don’t agree; you don’t have to feel like you’re repaying a favor. That碧落藤 (Jade-Dwelling Vine) was something you found for me to heal my injuries, and my father owes you a favor. But it’s rumored that there are many good treasures in the Ancestral Secret Realm. The decision is yours; even if you don’t want to go, you don’t owe me anything.”
Mu Yao handed Jiang Huai a small book. This book recorded spirit plants and secret treasures that had appeared in the Ancestral Secret Realm a thousand years ago. Many of these spirit plants were things that had long since disappeared from this world because the worldly spiritual energy, Daoist magic, and rules of this era did not allow them to grow. Jiang Huai patiently flipped through the entire small book, finally staying on one page, rereading it repeatedly.
That page depicted a clump of Ice Crystal Snow Soul Flowers.
Jiang Huai had already read many old scrolls due to his own injuries and remembered the description of this flower. Legend had it that this flower only grew in extremely cold and yin places. After refining it, one could cultivate the Ice Soul Profound Body, which was originally a congenital spirit body.
“I’ll accompany you,” Jiang Huai said softly. “I want that Ice Crystal Snow Soul Flower.”
“Then shall we depart immediately?” Mu Yao’s eyes brightened. Jiang Huai hesitated for a moment before asking softly, “Is it urgent?”
“Not exactly, but naturally, the sooner the better. From the Southern Region Mu family’s side, there are also many cultivators from the Northern Region and the Central Province who, due to past connections with the Southern Region Mu family, have paid a considerable entrance fee to explore the secret realm. If we go earlier, we can understand these people better, and it will provide more security within the secret realm.”
“Then let’s depart tonight. I’ll go and inform Wanwan and Fufu first.”
“I’m going too,” Mu Yao said, following him and looking up. “I’m already quite familiar with Sister Wanwan.”
Jiang Huai didn’t stop her, and they set off for Wen Wanwan’s courtyard.
…
Wen Wanwan and Wen Fufu were practicing their daytime sword exercises in the courtyard. When Jiang Huai arrived, Mu Yao jumped around with great joy. After explaining that they would be traveling for half a month, Wen Wanwan leaned in and kissed him for a long while before letting go. Fufu poked his chest with her finger for a while, muttering that he should return soon. Su Qingyi had already moved in front of him, grabbing his arm and shouting for him to turn into a fox again, urging him to let her “suck more.”
Jiang Huai prepared another lunch in the courtyard and ate with them before returning to the mountain with a happily bouncing Mu Yao. As he pushed open the courtyard door, Chu Xianning was sitting quietly in the courtyard.
Mu Yao instinctively flinched, likely due to a natural fear of elders like Chu Xianning with cold and aloof eyes. Jiang Huai came to her side and gently told Chu Xianning about their upcoming trip to the Southern Region.
“How long will you be gone?” Chu Xianning asked softly.
“I’ve calculated. From here to the Southern Region, if we burn a lot of spirit stones and travel at full speed, it should take about two days to reach the Southern Region Mu family. The secret realm is open for seven days. At the earliest, I can return in twelve days.”
Jiang Huai had entered secret realms three or four times a year before, usually with Bai Li. Looking at Mu Yao behind Jiang Huai, Chu Xianning hesitated, then simply nodded, “I understand.”
Jiang Huai sat in the pavilion, spread out the letter paper, and wrote two letters separately to Luo Qingyu and Xu Qing, telling them about the trip to the Southern Region. Then he asked Mu Yao to deliver the letters to the Ziyun Pavilion of the Tian Xuan Sect to have them mailed. Mu Yao obediently ran off, and Jiang Huai looked at Chu Xianning, who was sitting opposite him, and said softly, “She was the one who found the Jade-Dwelling Vine for me earlier; the entanglement of favors is one part of it. Also, in the Southern Region’s secret realm, there might still be Ice Crystal Snow Soul Flowers. If I can find and refine it, I can possess the Ice Soul Profound Body and no longer need to engage in Dual Cultivation with Luo Yueguan.”
Chu Xianning looked up. A moment later, she understood the reason behind Jiang Huai’s swift agreement.
Jiang Huai was inherently lazy. If it weren’t necessary, he wouldn’t easily leave the leisurely life of the Tian Xuan Sect to travel. Jiang Huai had always been resistant to Dual Cultivation with Luo Yueguan for healing. Once he no longer needed to rely on Luo Yueguan’s body for healing, there would be no further obstacles or grudges between them, and any connected interests would cease.
“I know you are now at the Seventh Realm cultivation level, possess the Dragon Clan bloodline, and have the seventh level of the Overlord Art. However, when you’re out in the world, there are always people beyond people and heavens beyond heavens. The outside world inevitably has many people with despicable and dirty intentions. You must not become arrogant and overconfident, conceited, or careless,” Chu Xianning’s eyes became serious, and Jiang Huai, abandoning his usual playful demeanor, nodded earnestly, “I understand.”
Chu Xianning hesitated for a moment, then ultimately said nothing more.
She knew very well that Jiang Huai didn’t need her to remind him of anything. For so many years, he had always been exceptionally reassuring. Even though she was Jiang Huai’s master, she hadn’t actually fulfilled many of her responsibilities as a master. Jiang Huai’s sword techniques didn’t require her teaching, and as for worldly matters? The young Jiang Huai was already a shrewd individual, even more so than her.
She too was a pure sword cultivator. Now that her disciple was venturing out, she couldn’t even provide him with any protective magical treasures. Gazing into Jiang Huai’s eyes, her eyelashes drooped slightly, and a sense of indescribable loss welled up in her heart as she thought of him embarking on his journey.
Clearly, it was not like this before.
Chu Xianning bit her lip lightly, looking at Jiang Huai’s face. Jiang Huai was also looking at her. They gazed at each other quietly for a long while before Chu Xianning softly said, “Close your eyes.”
Jiang Huai obediently closed his eyes.
Chu Xianning leaned closer, carrying a pleasant, faint floral fragrance. Her lips gently touched Jiang Huai’s lips, a light peck.
A moment later, she hastily pulled away and turned her face, “Be extremely careful.”
“Mm, I understand.”
Jiang Huai nodded obediently.
