Qingluan raised her head. Her long years of cultivation had tempered her character to surpa.s.s that of an ordinary woman"s, but there was still the slightest shift in her expression at this moment. For a long time, she didn"t speak.
Xiao Chen smiled upon seeing her reluctance. "It"s alright if you don"t wish to answer. You may leave now."
"Yes, Master," Qingluan whispered and then left.
The curtain of night was about to fall, bringing with it a gentle evening breeze. The wind carried the fragrance of the flowers down the mountain, refreshing one"s mind and spirit. Before going down the mountain, Xiao Chen had sent Murong Xian"er to Fengxi"s place. Thus, he and Ziyun"er were the only ones in the courtyard.
Both of them said nothing. Even the sunset fell in silence. Ziyun"er wounded her hands into tight fists. She lowered her head, afraid to meet his eyes. Her delicate face was as red as the sun setting over the horizon.
She was the youngest among the twelve ladies. Her mind was currently preoccupied with all sorts of thoughts. "It"s getting dark soon. Why did Master keep me here all by myself? Could it be… No, even though the ladies of the Hidden Fragrance must obey our Master at all times, we have always remained chaste. No, no way. I can"t. But what if Master insists? No, no way…"
Noticing that she was distracted, Xiao Chen asked, "What"s wrong?"
"Ah!" Ziyun"er abruptly raised her head, revealing a pair of eyes that was welled up with tears. She shook her head. "Master, please don"t…"
"Huh? What"s wrong? I just want to understand what"s going on with you girls. Can"t I even do that?"
"Ah. Is that so…?" She immediately told him everything about the origin of the Hidden Fragrance Wafting Under the Moon as well as their current circ.u.mstances.
Xiao Chen nodded quietly. He learned that these twelve ladies once belonged to the Crown Prince of the Xiyue State. The Crown Prince ended up offending None-flower Dust, who forced the former to release the ladies before killing him. Thus, they followed None-flower Dust all the way to Canglan City.
He had a general idea of their history now. None-flower Dust was pretty eccentric and had never acted according to norms. Nor had he ever paid attention to the rules set by the Immortals" League. He also never thought of accepting these ladies as his subordinates; he had simply made a spur-of-the-mind decision to free these ladies. Xiao Chen asked, "Then can you tell me what caused the scar on Qingluan"s face?"
"Um… When we returned from our mission thirteen years ago, the Crown Prince got drunk and wanted Elder Sister to… She wasn"t willing, so he whipped her face. The whip was coated in the Thousand Spiders Poison, so the scar will never fade…"
Xiao Chen"s gaze turned cold. "Was that how the Crown Prince of Xiyue usually treated you all?"
Ziyun"er lowered her head, not answering. Xiao Chen sighed. "That"s all I need to hear. It"s fine now. Things like that won"t happen anymore. You may take your leave."
Ziyun"er instantly looked up at him as if she was astonished. "Is… that all?"
Seeing her red face, Xiao Chen recalled what she told him about the Crown Prince of Xiyue and how she had looked so out of it since the beginning. Realization finally dawned on him. He clapped a hand over his forehead and shook his head with a wry smile. "Did you think…?"
"I… I"ll excuse myself!"
Ziyun"er was panicking now and her face turned even redder. She hastily retreated out of the courtyard.
Xiao Chen shook his head with a smile. He looked deep in thought as he stared at the sun setting over the horizon.
Of the twelve, Qingluan"s cultivation was the highest. She appeared to have reached the peak of the Core Forming Realm. He couldn"t understand their cultivation methods, but he was sure that their cultivation would improve by leaps and bounds after he taught them some cultivation methods from the Mystic Cyan Sect.
But now wasn"t the time. It was None-flower Dust who brought them here. He could trust Yi Tong with his life, but None-flower Dust was a mystery. Did None-flower Dust repeatedly lend him a hand just for Yi Tong"s sake?
After Xiao Chen contemplated over this question for a moment, he saw two sword lights appearing at the horizon and flying toward the main hall of the Xianyong Sect. After some fifteen minutes, Qingluan entered the courtyard.
"Perfected Immortal Fengxi, Miss Murong, and two guests are here to visit you, Master."
Xiao Chen nodded. "Let them come in." The two guests must be the sword lights he saw earlier. Who could they be?
Before long, Fengxi and Murong Xian"er walked in. Next to them were Yu Yifeng and Perfected Immortal Qing Chen.
"Perfected Immortal Qing Chen, Brother Yifeng!"
Xiao Chen never thought it would be them. He happily walked over to welcome them. Yu Yifeng was frowning. "Xiao Chen, what happened? Have they already sent their people to watch over you?"
Xiao Chen smiled wryly and said nothing. Murong Xian"er giggled. "The girls are here to protect Brother Xiao Chen."
"Protect?"
With a wry smile, Xiao Chen said, "It"s a long story. I"ll tell you later." He looked at Perfected Immortal Qing Chen with an apologetic expression. "I apologize for making you come here."
Perfected Immortal Qing Chen shook his head. "Perfected Immortal Fengxi has explained everything on our way here. We have no way of reversing something that has already happened. The envoys from the Immortals" League will be here tomorrow. Don"t go against them. You have us with you."
Xiao Chen nodded. "I will do as you say, Perfected Immortal."
He was well aware that only the elders could deal with this problem. He was no longer a sixteen or seventeen youngster full of vigor. If he insisted on being a stubborn troublemaker, he might implicate the Jade Qing Sect and the Xianyong Sect.
Moreover, he noticed that Perfected Immortal Qing Chen"s cultivation had become unreadable to him. Could Fengxi be right? Could the seals on the older generation be broken now that the Annihilation Times were about to arrive? Furthermore, Brother Yifeng seemed to have reached the peak of the Core Forming Realm as well.
Their discussion lasted into the night. Perfected Immortal Qing Chen and Fengxi left, while Yu Yifeng stayed behind. After taking a look around the courtyard, he asked, "Xiao Chen, how is your cultivation progressing lately?"
"Not bad. I"m still at the mid-stage of the Core Forming Realm, but yesterday I seemed to have experienced the Unity of Nature and Human."
While he couldn"t replicate yesterday"s sensation—where he could use his Divine Sense to roam the rivers and mountains—the scope of his Divine Sense would become rather awe-inspiring if he used the mental cultivation method of the Unity of Nature and Human.
Yu Yifeng was overjoyed to hear his reply. "You mean you managed to comprehend the Unity of Nature and Human?"
Xiao Chen grinned as he nodded. To be frank, he wasn"t entirely sure if what he experienced was the Unity of Nature and Human. But he was too embarra.s.sed to tell Yu Yifeng that he had been making such slow progress in his cultivation. He had no choice but to "brag" a little.
"That"s great!" Yu Yifeng looked delighted. "Not even Grand Completion Realm cultivators can comprehend the Unity of Nature and Human without a fortuitous chance. Xiao Chen, congratulations."
Xiao Chen continued to smile bashfully. Changing the topic, he asked, "That"s right. How"s Muxue and Senior Sister Luo doing lately?"
Before he knew it, a month had pa.s.sed. The Violet Manor was about to enter winter. The weather was turning colder each day. Xiao Chen was curious about how they were doing in the Jade Qing Sect.
Yu Yifeng chuckled. "Junior Sister Luo and Junior Sister Li have been accepted as official disciples of the Jade Qing Sect. Junior Sister Luo will learn from my Master personally, while Junior Sister Li is accepted as Martial Uncle Yan Luo as his private disciple. They have been advancing rapidly these days. In fact, they"re about to enter the Core Forming Realm."
"What?!" Xiao Chen couldn"t help feeling shocked at Yu Yifeng"s final sentence. He had been smug about entering the Core Forming Realm ahead of them. Little did he expect them to improve so rapidly. Could it be true that all the youngsters in the world were rising due to the advent of the Annihilation Times?
Yu Yifeng chuckled. "Why the surprise? They have always had extraordinary talent that surpa.s.ses us both. Within three years, they would surely enter the Nascent Soul Realm. Xiao Chen, you"ll have to work harder."
Xiao Chen smiled wryly, knowing that Brother Yifeng was simply being modest. What about him? His difficult and perilous Zhangyin Mountain Range journey nearly cost him his life, but at the end of it, he only entered the Core Forming Realm. How could they so easily attain the same results? If they become Nascent Soul Realm cultivators ahead of him and even end up protecting him in return, wouldn"t that make him look like a complete loser?
Yu Yifeng chuckled. "Alright, I"ll let you have your rest. Remember what Master said. You must not argue with the envoys from the Immortals" League."
Xiao Chen nodded. "Got it. I"ll see you off."
"It"s alright. I know this place very well. Oh, and Junior Sister Li and Junior Sister Luo will also be partic.i.p.ating in the upcoming Immortal Sword a.s.sembly. You should be careful not to let them defeat you." Yu Yifeng smiled breezily. With a twirl of his finger, he stepped on his flying sword and flew away.
Xiao Chen stared dazedly in the direction where he disappeared in. Since when did he say he would be joining the Immortal Sword a.s.sembly or whatever?
The next day at noon, two disciples from the Xianyong Sect appeared at the door and told him to get ready. Xiao Chen understood that the envoys from the Immortals" League were here. He was also pretty curious just how strong and terrifying the Immortals" League was. He followed the two disciples, allowing only Qingluan and Ziyun"er to join him. He had the rest stay outside the courtyard.
After walking for nearly half an hour, Xiao Chen faintly heard a discussion between disciples in a faraway square.
"The Elder of the Pavilion of Swords looked livid when he left, didn"t he?"
"Of course he"d be livid! Yu Yifeng was a late-stage Foundation Building Realm cultivator during the last Sword Immortal a.s.sembly, but he"s now in the peak of the Core Forming Realm. Meanwhile, our Senior Brother Qin has only returned as a late-stage Core Forming Realm cultivator…"
Xiao Chen smiled and said nothing as he listened to the conversation.