The Mountain-and-River Sword was peerlessly sharp. Cutting through the whisk restriction Tianji Zi had set down in passing was no challenge at all.
The instant Ye Chenyan broke free, he headed for the door.
“You stay here. If that old man comes after me, hold him off.”
“Huh?” Li Ling’er stared at him in disbelief. “Wait, I’m coming with you!”
“What are you going for?” Ye Chenyan raised a brow. “I—”
“To save him, obviously!” Li Ling’er hoisted the Mountain-and-River Sword onto her shoulder with great loyalty. “What if you can’t win?”
Ye Chenyan had been about to refuse, but then he reconsidered. He looked at her thoughtfully.
“It’s probably best if you come.”
Li Ling’er clutched Lightning close. For no particular reason, she suddenly sensed danger. Taking a step back, she held the Mountain-and-River Sword across her body.
“You aren’t plotting something bad, are you?”
“How could I be?” Ye Chenyan smiled pleasantly. “What kind of person do you take me for?”
“Ugh.”
Li Ling’er rubbed at the goosebumps on her arms.
...
At Qingzhou’s border, Yu Qingtang and Fifth Senior Brother had flown for quite some time before finally stopping to rest.
They were far enough from Qingzhou proper that the nearby inns were much cheaper.
Yu Qingtang had shaken the Treasure-Gathering Basin twice. Although he had gotten unlucky both times, he had still picked up a few spirit stones.
At least it was more than Fifth Senior Brother made helping people transplant rice seedlings.
Still...
Fifth Senior Brother shook his head.
“Cultivators are used to sleeping rough. I don’t think we need to waste spirit stones on a place like this.”
Yu Qingtang nodded quickly, determined to prove he had not been corrupted by Ye Chenyan’s sugar-coated tactics.
“Exactly! We should save our spirit stones. I can cultivate a little along the way and use the Treasure-Gathering Basin a few more times. By the time we get back to Jinzhou, we might even be able to bring everyone a couple of Nascent Soul pork hocks!”
Fifth Senior Brother laughed and patted his head.
“It’s enough that you have the thought. Don’t rush to spend all your spirit stones.”
Then he sighed faintly.
“You’ve changed from before too.”
Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened in alarm.
“N-No, I haven’t!”
Fifth Senior Brother smiled.
“You would never have brought up cultivating on your own before.”
“Oh.”
Yu Qingtang let out a breath of relief.
“You meant that.”
“I thought you meant something else...”
Fifth Senior Brother was about to continue when his ears twitched.
He looked westward.
A strange sound, like a pebble striking the ground, had just reached him.
As a music cultivator, he was especially sensitive to sound. Naturally, he did not miss it.
He listened closely—and quickly realized something was wrong with the vibrations in the air.
The silence itself was wrong.
It was as if some mighty cultivator had pressed down every sound of wind, forcing the air around them into absolute quiet.
Fifth Senior Brother’s expression changed at once.
“Little Junior Brother, hide. Something is wrong nearby.”
“Huh?”
Yu Qingtang looked around in confusion. He had not yet reached Nascent Soul, and his thoughts had been elsewhere. He had not noticed anything out of place.
“What is it?”
“There’s a formidable figure nearby.” Fifth Senior Brother frowned deeply. “I don’t know whether they are here for us, so we should hide first.”
“Okay.”
Yu Qingtang nodded obediently, though he still sounded optimistic.
“It should be fine. The Qingzhou Golden Core Competition brought experts from all over the provinces. Maybe we just happened to run into someone going home.”
Fifth Senior Brother nodded slightly.
“Let’s hope so.”
He had spent many years traveling outside, and he was far more cautious than the average cultivator.
Fifth Senior Brother led Yu Qingtang to a concealed cave. He sketched a pair of restrictions at the entrance to prevent their auras from leaking out, then used an illusion to hide the opening.
Yu Qingtang fished a hairpin out of his storage ring and handed it over.
“This, this! It can conceal our aura!”
“Good!”
Fifth Senior Brother suspended it above the formation, then quietly stepped back and gestured for Yu Qingtang to keep silent.
They had only been hiding for a short while when two figures appeared overhead.
Yu Qingtang peered up from their makeshift cave residence, his eyes widening.
Isn’t that the old man from the Esoteric Sect and its holy maiden? Why are they passing through here?
The two hovered in midair, apparently searching the area. As they drew closer and closer to the cave where Yu Qingtang was hiding, his heart rose into his throat.
The Esoteric Sect was an ancient sect that remained powerful throughout the original novel. Their little tricks probably would not escape its scrutiny.
But looking on the bright side, the Esoteric Sect was an upright faction. They probably were not searching for two random background characters like them.
And even if they were discovered, nothing should happen. Probably.
Yu Qingtang braced himself to greet them if necessary.
Then two more sharp sounds tore through the sky.
Ye Chenyan and Li Ling’er landed nearby.
The two sides came face-to-face and froze. Each wore an odd expression.
Ye Chenyan was the first to break the silence.
“Greetings, Senior.”
The old man from the Esoteric Sect narrowed his eyes and gave a noncommittal hum. His expression was faintly awkward.
“So you are the Guiyi Sect disciple who took first place in this Golden Core Competition. A young talent indeed.”
“You should leave first. This place...”
“My apologies.” Ye Chenyan did not move. “But I happen to be looking for someone here, so I’m afraid...”
The old man narrowed his eyes in displeasure and was about to rebuke him.
Then Ji Ruxue, the holy maiden who had been standing quietly behind him, unexpectedly spoke first.
“The person you are looking for—is he the one who traveled with you during the Golden Core Competition?”
Her voice carried a faint chill. It made her seem distant and untouchable.
“That’s right!”
Ye Chenyan’s eyes lit up. He did not care in the slightest about her icy, snow-lotus manner. He immediately pressed her, “Have you seen him?”
Yu Qingtang could not hear what they were saying from inside the cave. He could only watch them speak.
His expression turned strange.
No matter how much the plot changes, they still met in the end.
The male and female leads really are the male and female leads.
Looking at them more closely, the two truly did seem perfectly matched. They stood together as though no one else existed, to the point that Li Ling’er and the old man from the Esoteric Sect seemed like nothing more than background scenery.
Ji Ruxue lifted a slender finger, white as carved jade, and pointed vaguely toward the valley.
“He is there.”
Ye Chenyan spun around.
It was as if he had met Yu Qingtang’s eyes across the distance and layers of restrictions.
Yu Qingtang instinctively stepped back. Even though he knew Ye Chenyan could not see him, he still avoided that gaze.
Ye Chenyan had not even finished saying, “Thank you,” when Ji Ruxue spoke behind him in an indifferent voice.
“Do you know that he is from beyond—”
Ye Chenyan’s expression changed instantly.
“Junior Sister, draw your sword!”
“Huh?”
Li Ling’er stared in shock. Before her mind could catch up, her hands had already moved.
The Mountain-and-River Sword rang as it left its sheath.
Heaven and earth hummed.
The air suddenly turned heavy.
With the Mountain-and-River Sword holding the line, Ye Chenyan charged for the cave where Yu Qingtang was hiding.
But before he could take two steps, the old man from the Esoteric Sect snorted coldly and reached for him.
“Reckless boy!”
The motion looked simple and unadorned, yet it carried an overwhelming despair—as though no amount of struggling could possibly escape it.
If Li Ling’er had not been holding the Mountain-and-River Sword, the old man probably would not have needed all five fingers to deal with them.
He might not have needed more than a fingernail.
Yu Qingtang’s mouth fell open in shock.
No, wait. Why are the male and female leads fighting the moment they meet?
The Esoteric Sect was supposed to break up lovebirds in the original novel, but at least they had to let them become lovebirds first!
Li Ling’er was about to buckle under the pressure when the Mountain-and-River Sword suddenly shuddered.
It glowed faintly, flew free of her hand, and shot straight toward the old man from the Esoteric Sect.
“Hm?”
The old man started in surprise. He did not dare underestimate the sword. He raised both hands to block it, only to be forced several steps back by its sword light.
A familiar sigh drifted down from the sky.
“Honestly, you two...”
Tianji Zi appeared above them, propping his chin on one hand as he looked down at the scene.
“Martial Uncle!”
Li Ling’er was both startled and delighted.
“You’re here too?”
Tianji Zi rubbed at his forehead as though he had a headache.
“You have some nerve. You even stole the Sect Master’s Mountain-and-River Sword. This time, even if your mother protects you, you will probably be confined for quite a while.”
Li Ling’er shrank back at first. Then she lifted her chin, looking ready to face death.
“Yu Qingtang helped Eldest Senior Brother. He helped so many of Guiyi Sect’s disciples too. I can’t know he is in danger and refuse to save him! That would be disgracefully disloyal!”
“As for my father... well, anyway, he wouldn’t actually dare hit me!”
Tianji Zi raised his brows in surprise.
“In danger?”
He looked toward Ye Chenyan and gave a sly grin.
“You were only guessing? And you really guessed right, kid.”
Ye Chenyan’s brows drew together.
“He really is in danger? Why would the Esoteric Sect...”
He did not finish.
He had already guessed the answer.
Tianji Zi could see that Yu Qingtang’s fate was unusual—that he was someone from beyond this world. The Esoteric Sect could surely see it too.
Ji Ruxue had just said the word “beyond.”
Ye Chenyan quietly stepped back and lowered his voice.
“Old man, hold them off. I’ll take him and go!”
“Save it.”
Tianji Zi rolled his eyes. He lifted a hand to meet the palm strike the old man from the Esoteric Sect hurled at him.
“You are only a little Nascent Soul. You are not yet capable of escaping beneath the eyes of the two of us.”
The old man was already struggling to deal with both the Mountain-and-River Sword and Tianji Zi. He gave the girl beside him a look.
Ji Ruxue moved.
Her figure flickered. In an instant, she was standing before the cave where Yu Qingtang was hidden.
She struck with her palm.
Icy spiritual power surged forward, cold enough to seem capable of freezing even a person’s soul.
Ye Chenyan dropped from the air. His silver battle spear smashed into the ground, forcibly blocking the attack.
Still, the mountain sheltering Yu Qingtang’s hiding place caught the aftermath.
The top of the mountain flew off like an innocent pot lid, exposing the two innocent quails simmering inside.
Yu Qingtang stared in shock, his mouth slightly open.
“Y-You...”
Why are you two fighting too?!
Ye Chenyan kicked Ji Ruxue’s palm aside.
Yu Qingtang cried out in disbelief, “Why are you kicking her hand?!”
She’s supposed to be your future official main wife!
Ye Chenyan clicked his tongue and switched to deflecting her with the spear instead.
“What are you standing around for? Run!”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
The old man from the Esoteric Sect suddenly produced a small seal. It shot straight toward Yu Qingtang’s face.
Fifth Senior Brother’s expression changed. He pulled out his piercing ceremonial horn and blew a thunderous note.
The resounding sound wave made everyone shudder.
Probably not because of its actual power, but because of the sheer force of mental intimidation.
That was the unexpected edge of a music cultivator.
Yu Qingtang took the chance to bolt.
But before he could run more than two steps, pain exploded in his head. His vision went black, and he collapsed.
Who was that?! Who ambushed me from behind...
“Tch.”
Tianji Zi suddenly shot into the sky and barked toward the distance, “Since you are already here, stop hiding!”
The Mountain-and-River Sword flashed.
It landed in Sword Sovereign Tianyi’s hand.
His brows furrowed faintly, as though he found the entire situation awkward.
But Tianji Zi had already snatched up Ye Chenyan, Yu Qingtang, and Fifth Senior Brother and made a clean getaway.
“Ling’er, I’m leaving this to you!”
Li Ling’er dropped to her knees with practiced speed, her voice trembling with tears.
“Dad, I was wrong!”
“Dad, save me!”
Sword Sovereign Tianyi: “...”
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