The great sun hung in the sky. The flying boat broke through the clouds and crossed the boundary between the central and western regions, returning to the territory of the western regions. The scenery outside the window gradually changed from yellow earth and Gobi Desert to green mountains and clear waters.
A gentle autumn breeze drifted into the room, stirring ripples on the silver-white long hair.
Feng Yu Die leaned on the windowsill, watching the overlapping mountains drift backward like a scroll, occasionally blowing her bangs and thinking about something contemplatively.
—Senior Sister Xiao and Young Master Ye were together.
She had personally heard their conversation in the long corridor that night and saw Young Master Ye kissing Senior Sister Xiao.
Feng Yu Die was genuinely happy for Senior Sister Xiao and Young Master Ye, as she had always felt they were well-matched.
Moreover, Young Master Ye would definitely spend more time with Senior Sister Xiao in the future, which meant she could spend more time alone with Junior Sister Pei.
This should have been a good thing.
But Feng Yu Die didn’t know why, whenever she recalled the scene that night, she felt a strange mood.
To the extent that—
—These past few days, she felt that roasted chicken didn’t taste as good.
“Ugh…”
Xiao Tian was leaning against the pillow on the bed in the room, studying the Heavenly Scroll of the Dao. Hearing Feng Yu Die’s sound, she looked up and glanced at her.
“Feather Butterfly, what’s wrong?”
“Waaah!!” Feng Yu Die acted as if she had gone mad, running from the window and jumping onto the bed with a little hop, burying her face in the pillow and patting the bed with her hands and feet. “I’m just not happy!! I don’t know why, I’m just so unhappy! Waaah—!”
Xiao Tian stared at her for a while, then sighed softly. She didn’t pay much attention and licked her fingers, turning the page to continue reading.
“Feather Butterfly, if you’re bored, why don’t you go find Anping?”
Hearing this, Feng Yu Die’s hair tufts stood up. She turned her head to look at Xiao Tian, but after hesitating for a moment, she shook her head and buried her face back into the pillow.
“Forget it…”
“Hmm?”
Feng Yu Die pouted and said with a hint of complaint in her tone:
“He’s with Senior Sister Xiao, why should I disturb them?”
However, hearing this sentence, Xiao Tian suddenly seemed to sense something. How did she detect a trace of jealousy in it?
She quickly floated up, landed beside Feng Yu Die, raised an eyebrow, and asked:
“Feather Butterfly, you’re not jealous, are you? You’re uncomfortable seeing Ye Anping and Xiao Girl together, aren’t you? Heh heh—”
“What jealousy? I don’t have any feelings for Senior Sister Xiao.”
Feng Yu Die twisted her eyebrows and raised her head, proudly patting her chest and replying:
“I’m devoted to Junior Sister Pei!! But… speaking of which, what has Junior Sister Pei been doing these past few days? She hasn’t left her room, and she won’t let me in to play with her…”
Xiao Tian averted her gaze and replied:
“Ah… um… she’s cultivating Qi Cultivation, right?”
“Is that so…”
Feng Yu Die pouted with some disappointment, then lay back on the bed and rolled around.
“So bored, so bored~~”
Xiao Tian looked at her innocent appearance and felt inexplicably tired, shaking her head and sighing.
Speaking of which, Ye Anping was also the same, he had forgotten his old flame with his new love.
These past few days, besides accompanying Pei Girl, he had been accompanying Xiao Girl. He had even forgotten about her, Feather Butterfly. When they were in Tianan City before, he would still call Feather Butterfly to get up every day and urge her to cultivate.
“Hmph! Anping is so bad!”
Although Feng Yu Die didn’t know why Xiao Tian suddenly started scolding Ye Anping, she immediately nodded and put her hands on her hips, saying, “Yes! So bad!”
?
Xiao Tian was stunned for a moment and said, “Why are you scolding him?”
“I just suddenly want to scold him!”
Bang bang—
Two knocks on the door came from outside. Feng Yu Die paused for a moment, then sniffed with her nose. She immediately smelled roasted chicken, and her previously listless eyes instantly lit up.
“It’s roasted chicken!!”
She hurriedly jumped off the bed, rushed to open the door.
Ye Anping stood at the door, looking speechlessly at Feng Yu Die who opened the door. He handed her the roasted chicken in his hand and asked:
“It’s me, not the roasted chicken.”
“Heh heh, aren’t you bringing me roasted chicken? It’s the same, it’s the same.”
Feng Yu Die narrowed her eyes and smiled, reaching out to snatch the roasted chicken from Ye Anping’s hand, carrying it to the round table in the room, and starting to tear off the skin and devour it.
Ye Anping looked helpless, shook his head, and walked into the room, taking a seat opposite her.
Seeing that he didn’t intend to leave, Feng Yu Die paused. Her previously unrestrained eating of chicken became a little more refined, and she asked:
“What? Do you want to eat too?”
“…If I want to eat, I’ll know to go and roast another one myself.”
Ye Anping sighed, took a new Storage Bag from his waist, and placed it on the table:
“This is the remuneration for the Imperial Sect matters. Brother Liang and Miss Ye finished the account book yesterday, so I brought it to you.”
“Oh…” Feng Yu Die nodded slightly. “Put it there, I’ll look at it after I finish eating.”
“Then there’s your Core Formation. In this Storage Bag, I’ve prepared all the Heavenly Treasures you need for your Core Formation. You have a Heavenly Spiritual Root and are of Saint Emperor bloodline. With Xiao Tian by your side, Core Formation won’t be a problem, but there are some things you need to pay attention to.”
Ye Anping made a Sword Finger gesture and took out several Jade Slips from his own Storage Bag. These contained the methods for Core Formation that he had compiled for Feng Yu Die over the past half-month, such as the key points of acupoints for Qi Cultivation, the arrangement method of the Spirit Gathering Array, and the choice of timing for the Heavenly Tribulation…
Placing the Jade Slips on the table, Ye Anping felt inexplicably tired. Looking at Feng Yu Die, who was now holding roasted chicken, he suddenly felt like a father who had just gained a daughter, and Feng Yu Die was his troublesome daughter.
“You should read these Jade Slips carefully. Core Formation is not a small matter.”
Feng Yu Die’s gaze swept over the Jade Slips. Seeming to find him annoying, she waved her hand:
“Aiya! I know!”
“Don’t be perfunctory, be serious.” Ye Anping frowned slightly, a hint of sternness in his eyes. “The Core Formation process takes from half a year to two years. If you encounter any difficulties later, you won’t find me.”
Seeing his look, Feng Yu Die pursed her lips, smiled, imitated Pei Lianxue, took a deep breath, and responded loudly: “Okay!!”
Xiao Tian also floated over at this time and said:
“It’s okay, Anping, I’ll accompany her. Feather Butterfly has good aptitude, so Core Formation is a small problem. As for you, your Core Formation tribulation with Dual Spiritual Roots will be much more difficult. How about I accompany you? If there are any problems, I can help you resist one or two Heavenly Tribulation.”
“No need, you just follow her.”
Ye Anping replied, sighed slightly, and continued:
“In two more days, this flying boat will reach the Hundred Lotus Sect. After landing, you, Senior Sister Xiao, and her sister will return to the Xuan Xing Sect first. After I sever my worldly ties with my Junior Sister, I will send her to the Xuan Xing Sect. Regarding the Core Formation Spirit Array, I have already spoken with Senior Sister Xiao and Miss Xuan Ji. She will help you prepare it. There is nothing else.”
“Got it~ So long-winded.”
“It’s the same as before. If I stop being long-winded with you, it means you are beyond redemption.”
“… …”
“I’m leaving, eat slowly.”
Ye Anping tidied his clothes, stood up, and turned towards the door.
Seeing that he had really left, Feng Yu Die was stunned for a moment. She looked at the roasted chicken on the table, thought for a moment, tore off a chicken leg, and chased after him.
“Wait! This, here!”
“Hmm?”
“As thanks, hehe—”
Feng Yu Die grinned and stuffed the chicken leg into Ye Anping’s hand, then pushed him out of her room and closed the door with a “bang.”
Ye Anping stood at the door of her room, silent for a while. He looked down at the greasy chicken leg in his hand, sighed with a hint of weariness, and took a bite.
“Hmm… I should add more sugar next time.”
Tasting the chicken leg, Ye Anping slowly walked away down the corridor.
Feng Yu Die, who had closed the door and returned to the room, sat back down at the round table, looking at the Storage Bag and Jade Slips Ye Anping had placed on the table. She felt inexplicably happy.
She didn’t know why, but she was just very happy.
“Hehe… Roar~”
Then, she raised the roasted chicken, took a bite, and tore off a large piece of meat.
—These past few days, the roasted chicken that didn’t taste good seemed to have become delicious again.
… …
————
Swish swish—
The autumn wind swept across thousands of mountains, driving red leaves to flutter down in the mountain forest.
Beside the Hundred Lotus Sect, at Thousand Finger Lake, a bamboo raft with a canopy floated alone in the center of the lake, bobbing with the waves.
Ye Ao, wearing his pink robe, held a spiritual jade fishing rod and had been sitting on a bamboo chair for two hours. However, the fish basket at his feet was as empty as when he arrived.
“Hey! It bit!”
Suddenly, a rough voice stirred ripples on the lake.
On another bamboo chair beside Ye Ao, a cultivator stood up, lifted his rod, and pulled a three-jin grass carp from the lake, placing it in his fish basket.
This person was the Sect Master of the Tiger Roar Sect, Huang Shanhu, a cultivator at the Late Foundation Establishment stage.
Huang Shanhu glanced at his fish basket, which contained more than ten fish, then at Ye Ao’s empty fish basket, and burst into laughter:
“Haha—Old Ye, I told you long ago. Fishing is about skill, not the fishing rod. Your fishing rod worth a hundred thousand spirit stones isn’t as good as my bamboo strip.”
“… …”
Ye Ao’s face turned ashen, feeling wronged and unable to retort.
However, Wang Shouren, to Ye Ao’s left, said:
“Sect Master Huang, fishing is about the process. It’s normal to cast nine times and catch nothing ten times. We cultivators fish for self-cultivation. If we were after fish, wouldn’t it be better to spend spirit stones to buy them, right?”
Hearing this, Ye Ao quickly added:
“Yes, Old Huang. We don’t fish for fish, we fish for tranquility.”
Huang Shanhu looked at the ten fish filling Wang Shouren’s fish basket and smiled:
“Elder Wang is truly remarkable. He meditated and fished, and yet he was so fruitful. I am impressed!”
“… …”
Ye Ao paused slightly at this, speechless. After thinking for a moment, he turned to Wang Shouren and asked:
“Elder Wang, are there any updates from the Imperial Sect in the Central Domain? I heard before that the Demon Race suddenly acted abnormally and came out of their territory. Is that true?”
Hearing this, Wang Shouren paused slightly, looked at the two of them, and replied:
“It is true, but we don’t know the specific situation in the Central Domain yet. The Xuan Xing Sect has sent disciples to investigate, but it seems the situation in the Central Domain is a bit chaotic now, and the dispatched disciples have not returned.”
“Is that so…” Ye Ao nodded with a hint of worry. “I wonder how that boy Anping is. He’s truly destined for trouble, wherever he goes, something major happens.”
Hearing him say this, Huang Shanhu asked:
“What is your son doing in the Central Domain?”
“How would I know? He didn’t tell me. He just said he was going. Then, right after he left, I heard about the Demon Race breaking through the realm.”
Ye Ao, who had just been outdone by Huang Shanhu while fishing, now wanted to show off his excellent son to regain face, and deliberately changed the subject:
“Old Huang, how is your son? What’s his cultivation level now?”
“Hey, he reached Mid Foundation Establishment last month. After all, he has Single Spiritual Root aptitude, so I’m satisfied. Mid Foundation Establishment at twenty years old is pretty good.”
“Mid Foundation Establishment at twenty, isn’t that a bit slow? My boy was already at Mid Foundation Establishment last year. He might even be at Late Foundation Establishment this time.”
“Go, go, go—” Huang Shanhu waved his hand, obviously not believing him. “With your son’s Dual Spiritual Root aptitude, how could he be so fast? Are you sure you didn’t use some kind of ‘醍醐灌顶’ (a method to instantly boost cultivation) technique to push him?”
“How could that be? If you don’t believe me, ask Elder Wang. My son cultivates at the Xuan Xing Sect.”
“Ah? How did a Dual Spiritual Root get in?”
“As a companion reader.”
“Companion reader?” Hearing that he was a companion reader, Huang Shanhu also laughed and shook his head, jokingly saying, “I remember that companion readers have to wash clothes and feet for the disciples, right? Your son is a companion reader for which family’s boy?”
Wang Shouren, listening to the comparison between these middle-aged men, shook his head repeatedly.
However, Mr. Qi and the Sect Master seemed to think highly of Ye Anping, so he also helped Ye Ao by saying:
“Sect Master Huang, Young Master Ye of the Hundred Lotus Sect is a companion reader for Young Master Xiao of our Xuan Xing Sect.”
“Young Master Xiao…” Huang Shanhu paused slightly, his eyes widened, and he asked in disbelief, “What?! Your son is a companion reader for the daughter of Dan Yue Shang Xian?!”
“Heh heh… that’s right.”
“… …”
Huang Shanhu was instantly stunned.
Then, Wang Shouren stroked his beard, looked up at the sky, and sighed:
“Speaking of which, Dan Yue Shang Xian has been in seclusion for half a year now. She used to often ask me to play chess with her to relieve her boredom. I wonder how long this seclusion will last.”
“In seclusion? Could it be that she’s about to break through to Mahayana?”
“It shouldn’t be that fast. I don’t know what she’s thinking. Who can fathom the thoughts of a Void Realm cultivator?”
“Indeed.”
As the two chatted, the clear blue lake was suddenly covered by a huge shadow, as if there was a solar eclipse, and the entire lake darkened in an instant.
The three on the bamboo raft paused slightly. After reacting, they immediately looked up at the sky and saw a rather large Divine Speed Boat slowly flying towards the Main Peak of the Hundred Lotus Sect at a low altitude.
All three were clearly stunned for a moment. Wang Shouren was the first to recover. He looked at the totem painted on the tail of the Divine Speed Boat and murmured:
“Is this the Imperial Sect’s Xing Tian Division’s Divine Speed Boat? Sect Master Ye, did you invite someone from the Xing Tian Division?”
“Ah?” Ye Ao looked bewildered and shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Huang Shanhu paused and then patted Ye Ao’s shoulder, saying:
“Looking at the direction, it’s heading towards your Hundred Lotus Sect. The Imperial Sect’s Xing Tian Division… Could it be that Old Ye, you’re harboring some fugitive criminal in your sect?”
Ye Ao blinked and remained silent for a moment. He didn’t have the authority to speak with the Imperial Sect’s Xing Tian Division, so he cupped his hands and said:
“Old Huang, Elder Wang, would you two mind accompanying me to take a look? Can you give me some support?”
… …
