2266 Compare and Despair
Little Gold, Little White, and Little Black continued to follow Su Li from a distance.
Meanwhile, Duan Ling Tian had returned to the inn that was owned by the Crimson Blaze Palace of the Three Palaces and Six Halls in the Human-Devil Saint City. As soon as he arrived at the entrance to the courtyard, he saw a beautiful woman standing there.
The beautiful woman was alone, and she was looking around with an expression filled with antic.i.p.ation as though she was waiting for someone. When she saw Duan Ling Tian, her excitement became obvious. She hurriedly cried out, “Brother Tian!”
As soon as Duan Ling Tian entered the courtyard, she had already rushed into his arms and hugged him tightly as though she was afraid she would lose him.
“Ke’er, I’m back.” Duan Ling Tian reached out and gently hugged Ke’er in return, patting her back lightly and comforting her. He could clearly feel the love and longing she felt for him at this moment.
“Brother Tian, I don’t ever want to be apart from you…” Ke’er said after their tender moment. She looked at him with love in her eyes. At some point, she had cried. This was obvious from the tear marks on her face.
“Ke’er, why are you crying…” Duan Ling Tian felt his heart ached when he saw the tears on Ke’er’s face. Then, he held her in his arms again. He held her for a long time before saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll never leave you alone.”
Cough…
Both of them were still in their own world when they heard a soft cough behind them. It came from Gan Ru Yan who had exited her room earlier. When she saw the tender moment between her sister and Duan Ling Tian, she did not know whether she should pretend she did not see anything, stand there or return to her room. Eventually, she decided to subtly alert them to her presence.
Ke’er instantly jumped out of Duan Ling Tian’s arms like a startled bird with a blush on her face. After that, she turned to greet her sister, “Sister…”
Duan Ling Tian turned to look at Gan Ru Yan and was shocked by what he saw. She seemed like a different person now. There was only one possibility for this change. He asked in astonishment, “You’ve broken through?”
“Yes.” Gan Ru Yan seemed satisfied that she managed to surprise Duan Ling Tian. She nodded before she said, “The cultivation speed of a violet Innate Spiritual Root is indeed extraordinary. Even if the cultivation environment here is very much inferior to the Upper Province, my cultivation speed is still faster than when I was in the Upper Province!”
In fact, Gan Ru Yan was quite upset when she had been suddenly transported to the Lower Province previously. She wondered many times when she would be able to return to the Upper Province. After all, the cultivation environment in the Lower Province was really bad. It was a waste of time to cultivate here. Who knew she would encounter something so fortuitous in the Lower Province?
Your Innate Spiritual Root is no ordinary violet Innate Spiritual Root, it’s a dark violet Innate Spiritual Root… With a dark violet Innate Spiritual Root, it would be strange if you still cultivate slower in the Lower Province when you merely had an indigo Innate Spiritual Root in the Upper Province.” Duan Ling Tian was not surprised by Gan Ru Yan’s words.
He continued to say, “This is your cultivation speed in the Lower Province… Imagine if you’re in the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect in the Upper Province now, your cultivation speed would be even faster.”
Gan Ru Yan’s eyes lit up immediately with antic.i.p.ation when she heard Duan Ling Tian’s words.
Naturally, Duan Ling Tian knew what Gan Ru Yan was excited about. He did not hesitate to dampen her excitement. “If the Devil Clans don’t have anyone who’s skilled at Formations to fix the Inter-province Transportation Formation, it would be very hard for us to return to the Upper Province.”
As expected, the expression of antic.i.p.ation and excitement on Gan Ru Yan’ disappeared immediately and was replaced with disappointment when she heard Duan Ling Tian’s words.
“There’s no need to worry. Now that the Devil Clans have settled down in the Lower Province, it won’t take long before they would fix the Inter-province Transportation Formation. At that time, we would be able to return,” Duan Ling Tian said after a while, restoring Gan Ru Yan’s hope.
Gan Ru Yan looked at Duan Ling Tian exasperatedly. She knew this man was toying with her.
Naturally, Duan Ling Tian had intentionally dashed her hope before restoring it again because he felt indignant that Gan Ru Yan had interrupted his intimate moment with Ke’er.
“Sister, you finally came out from closed-door cultivation… Once Si Ling is awake, we can go to the Wandering Saint Palace with Brother Tian.” Ke’er could see the tension between her man and her sister so she hurriedly changed the topic to ease the tension.
Just as Ke’er expected, Gan Ru Yan was distracted by what she had heard. “Wandering Saint Palace?”
“Yea, I plan to go to the Wandering Saint Palace and become a Vice Palace Master… If the opportunity arises, I’m going to take over the Wandering Saint Palace and become the Palace Master!” Duan Ling Tian’s eyes brightened when he spoke about his grand plan.
Gan Ru Yan did not doubt Duan Ling Tian’s strength. After all, Duan Ling Tian managed to defeat Hua Shuang, someone who was widely acknowledged as the strongest powerhouse under the Ninth Form of the Saint Celestial Stage, when he was in the Upper Province. With his strength, it would not be too difficult for him to become a Vice Palace Master of the Wandering Saint Palace.
She gasped before she said, “You plan to seize control of the Wandering Saint Palace? In the future, when the Devil Clans invade the Upper Province, you’ll lead the Wandering Saint Palace and betray the Devil Clans to deal them a heavy blow?” Gan Ru Yan could vaguely guess Duan Ling Tian’s intention when he said he planned to seize control of the Wandering Saint Palace.
The Wandering Saint Palace was one of the strongest factions in the Human-Devil Clan. If Duan Ling Tian really managed to seize control of the Human-Devil Clan, he would be able to deal an extremely heavy blow to the Devil Clans since they would not see it coming.
“Yes.” Duan Ling Tian nodded.
“It won’t be difficult for you to become a Vice Palace Master in the Wandering Saint Palace with your current strength… However, I heard that the Palace Master of Wandering Saint Palace is a powerhouse at the Ninth Form of the Saint Celestial Stage. I’m afraid you’re still no match for him,” Gan Ru Yan said, “I think you should improve your Innate Spiritual Root until it turns black before entering the Wandering Saint Palace. Your cultivation speed will definitely improve. At that time, you’ll be able to grow strong quickly and defeat or kill the Palace Master of Wandering Saint Palace.”
“My Innate Spiritual Root has already turned black,” Duan Ling Tian said nonchalantly.
“What?!” Gan Ru Yan was shocked when she heard this.
Ke’er, on the other hand, did not seem surprised since she knew the reason Duan Ling Tian had left earlier. Since he had returned, he must have accomplished his goal.
“Y-your Innate Spiritual Root has already turned black?” Gan Ru Yan looked at Duan Ling Tian in shock.
“Yes.” Duan Ling Tian nodded. “It was already very close to turning black. When I went out earlier, I managed to cross the last step and improved it to a black Innate Spiritual Root!”
Gan Ru Yan remained shocked for quite some time after listening to Duan Ling Tian’s words. It took a while before she finally returned to her senses.
At this moment, Duan Ling Tian seemed to recall something and turned to Ke’er and said, “Ke’er… There’s something I forgot to tell you. I’m afraid I won’t be able to improve your Innate Spiritual Root to a black one for now.”
When Ke’er heard Duan Ling Tian’s words, she only nodded. She did not question him at all. In her opinion, everything her man did was for her good. She trusted him unconditionally.
Gan Ru Yan, on the other hand, was different. She obviously did not have Ke’er’s unconditional trust toward Duan Ling Tian. She asked with a frown, “Why not?!”
Ke’er’s reaction had pleased Duan Ling Tian. However, his mood plummetted when he heard Gan Ru Yan’s question.
“It’s nothing.” Naturally, Duan Ling Tian did not answer Gan Ru Yan now that his mood was ruined.
“You… What’s with your att.i.tude?!” It annoyed Gan Ru Yan to see Duan Ling Tian deliberately ignoring her. She looked at Ke’er and asked, “Ke’er, look at your man… What kind of att.i.tude is this?!”
Ke’er looked at Gan Ru Yan and said with a smile, “Sister, I believe Brother Tian has a valid reason… There’s no need to question him.”
“You… You’re under his love spell!” Although Gan Ru Yan was mad at Ke’er, there was nothing she could do. Although she was Ke’er twin sister, she knew her importance was lesser than that man. Regardless, it did not mean that Ke’er did not care about her.
Usually, it was unnoticeable. However, now that there was a comparison, the difference was obvious. Comparing only caused despair! Nonetheless, she also knew her sister would not hesitate to put herself in danger to protect her. Gan Ru Yan cared a lot about her sister. Her younger sister is too kind. However, there was no doubt the person her sister cared about the most was the man standing before them.
Suddenly, Duan Si Ling opened the door and walked out of her room. She rushed excitedly into Duan Ling Tian’s arms like a gust of wind. “Daddy, you’re back?” After Duan Ling Tian picked her up, she turned to Gan Ru Yan and asked, “Auntie… You came out from your closed-door cultivation too?”
Gan Ru Yan could help but feel a slight hint of sadness when she saw her niece also seemed to care more for the man standing before her. It felt as though she had suddenly lost something important.