Miss Fairy, Please Hear Me Out

At the foot of Splendorbloom Mountain lay a bustling marketplace.

Fallen Immortal Pavilion. The name carried the image of celestial maidens descending into the mortal world. The courtesans within this establishment were all cultivators, and they only received the most distinguished of guests. Ordinary people could not enter even if they had silver to burn.

Led by the madam, Tian Rui, dressed in black, walked expressionlessly through the crowd of flirting, laughing women.

At last, the two of them stopped outside a private room on the top floor.

The full-figured madam bowed to the black-clad youth before her. “Saint, Mister Shen is waiting for you inside.”

Tian Rui glanced at her. His voice held not the slightest emotion, and his golden eyes shifted faintly, making him look like a god descended to the mortal realm. “I know. Leave.”

“Yes.” The madam lowered herself slightly, took two steps back, then turned and left.

Tian Rui stood outside the door for two seconds before a voice came through from inside.

“What are you standing there for? Since when did you become so polite?”

Hearing this, Tian Rui pushed the door open and walked in. The first thing he saw was an embroidered screen full of springtime charm.

He walked around the screen. The room was furnished in an antique style, elegant and old-fashioned. A man in white robes was leaning by the window with a wine pot in hand, pouring and drinking by himself as he gazed at the autumn scenery of the mountains and forest. The autumn wind stirred his long hair. Everything around him felt still and silent.

Tian Rui looked at Shen Weixiu. His voice was still devoid of emotion. “You called for me. What is it?”

Shen Weixiu still wore that same squinting smile. He glanced sideways at Tian Rui and grinned. “Are all the Saints of your Heavenwatch Pavilion like this? Why do you look just like that woman from my Grand Purity Dao Palace who cultivated the Supreme Forgetting Emotion Art?”

Tian Rui looked at him calmly. “If you want to talk nonsense, skip it.”

Shen Weixiu waved his hand, looking rather bored. “I called you here, naturally, to discuss cooperation.”

“What cooperation?” Tian Rui went straight to the point.

“What do you think? The Beguiling Divine Sakura, of course.” Shen Weixiu walked away from the window and sat down at the wooden table inside the room.

He poured himself a cup of wine and took a slow, leisurely sip. “Among this generation of disciples in the Splendorbloom Sect, aside from Jing He and Tang Jiuqing, the rest are all crooked melons and cracked dates.”

“You’re worried they won’t honor the wager?” Tian Rui said.

Shen Weixiu drained the fine wine in his cup in one gulp. His already narrow eyes narrowed even further. “Tian Rui, stop pretending with me. You’ve already prepared to make a move against Jing He and Tian Yan, haven’t you?”

Tian Rui did not speak. A flash of divine light immediately passed through his pale golden eyes.

“Our last spar was interrupted, and I would very much like to continue experiencing the Heaven Deriving Art of your Heavenwatch Pavilion. But I suggest you don’t do that.” Shen Weixiu grinned, then tapped the table. “If you want to beat me, come back after you’ve learned all four chapters of your Heaven Deriving Art.”

Tian Rui ignored this childish provocation. After a moment of silence, his voice remained perfectly calm. “How did you know?”

“Don’t worry about that. My Grand Purity Dao Palace has its own methods,” Shen Weixiu said.

Tian Rui fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, “How do you plan to cooperate?”

Shen Weixiu grinned. “Tian Yan and Jing He are both third rank. One each.”

“Fine,” Tian Rui agreed. “But be specific.”

Shen Weixiu pondered briefly, then smiled. “I’ll handle Tian Yan. You handle Jing He. Afterward, our two sects split the gains fifty-fifty?”

Tian Rui looked at Shen Weixiu. “Tian Yan only just broke through to third rank. Jing He is stronger. Nice calculation.”

“Then I’ll handle Jing He?” Shen Weixiu shrugged.

Tian Rui shook his head. “No need. I’ll handle Jing He. But the split is sixty-forty. The Beguiling Divine Sakura was exchanged through my Heavenwatch Pavilion.”

Shen Weixiu fell quiet for a moment. In the end, he sighed, his voice lazy and casual. “Fine. As you say. Sixty-forty. I’ll handle Tian Yan. Consider it my lucky bargain.”

ᯓ➤

Although the candidates for battle had already been decided, the shouting match inside Splendorbloom Hall continued. It looked almost exactly like the parliament of a certain country from his previous life.

If not for the two outside big shots currently sitting in their sect, Xu Yuan even suspected that this refined debate among Splendorbloom Sect’s ruling cabinet ministers would have turned into a brawl on the spot.

Wherever there were people, infighting could never be avoided. This held true whether in Xu Yuan’s previous life or this one.

Back then, the old man had airdropped Xu Yuan into some tiny department. Counting the director, deputy director, and all the team leaders together, there were fewer than twenty people, yet even there, people still played office politics. How much worse would it be in an organization like the Splendorbloom Sect, which functioned almost like a nation?

It was one whole entity, yes, but beneath that whole were countless little mountains, each with its own faction.

The center of the argument had always been very clear. It revolved around the tree sapling of the Beguiling Divine Sakura.

Senior Brother Li had brought back the sapling, so the Sect Master’s faction did not want to share the spoils with the Second Elder’s faction.

The Second Elder’s side was even simpler. Someone came knocking at our door, and only then did you tell us about this? What exactly are you trying to pull? Either handle it yourselves, or hand over the lion’s share.

The Sect Master’s faction refused to shed tears until they saw the coffin. They were only willing to give up a small portion.

And so both sides got stuck there, cursing each other nonstop, with not the slightest trace of immortal grace or expert bearing.

Listening to the elders in Splendorbloom Hall trade verbal blades and spears, Xu Yuan felt wave after wave of absurdity rising in his heart.

Looking at these unreliable higher-ups, Xu Yuan faintly felt the urge to just give up and let everything rot. He had thought they had been asked to stay behind to discuss the details of tomorrow’s battle. In the end, they just kept yapping without end.

A great enemy was right in front of them, and they were still fighting among themselves? So this was to resist enemies outside, one must first pacify those within, was it? Could they even beat the Dao Palace’s chief disciples?

The only two people in the hall who said nothing were probably Xu Yuan and another inner-core disciple, Xiao Jianqing.

Xu Yuan knew this person. He could be considered part of the Second Elder’s faction.

Among the inner-core disciples, he was fairly famous because he had no clan background whatsoever.

A grassroots cultivator among grassroots cultivators. A ruthless man who had climbed all the way from a menial disciple to the inner-core.

With his talent and ability, by the rules, he should have become a true disciple ten years ago. Unfortunately, the true disciple slots had always been monopolized by the great clans.

He had it even worse than Jing He.

As if noticing Xu Yuan’s gaze, Xiao Jianqing glanced over. His firm, resolute face was cold and stern.

Xu Yuan gave him a slight nod.

Xiao Jianqing gave a soft snort, then lowered his eyes again and said nothing.

Xu Yuan was speechless. Clearly, this guy’s mentality had also been wrecked by this bunch of higher-ups.

The Splendorbloom Sect’s higher-ups argued from the ten in the morning all the way until noon, yet in the end, they still failed to settle any concrete details. They were even preparing to take a break and continue in the afternoon.

“Sect Master. Second Elder. Jing He has a request.”

“Second Elder. Jianqing has a request.”

Xu Yuan and Xiao Jianqing, who had both been silent all this time, spoke almost at the same moment.

Hearing this, the Splendorbloom Sect higher-ups all wore different expressions.

Some were surprised, but most were impatient. Still, since they would soon need these two young men to risk their lives, they suppressed their displeasure in the end.

The Second Elder spoke first, asking with a cheerful smile, “Jianqing, what do you want? As long as you defeat Shen Weixiu, I can make the decision to promote you to true disciple as an exception.”

Xiao Jianqing’s stern face did not stir in the slightest. He only said softly, “Second Elder, becoming a true disciple is one matter. To face that Dao Palace chief disciple, I need a sword forged from Violet Crystal Black Iron, three Barrier-Breaking Thousand Heart Pills, one Glazed Heart-Guarding Soft Armor, and one Sumeru Ring.”

Listening to this list, Xu Yuan’s eyelids twitched slightly.

This Xiao Jianqing really had something to him.

A trace of displeasure appeared in the Second Elder’s eyes. “As long as you defeat Shen Weixiu, whatever you want, this elder can give it to you.”

Xiao Jianqing sat quietly on his prayer mat and calmly met the Second Elder’s gaze. “If these items cannot be prepared in full, I fear I will be unable to shoulder the task. Please choose someone else, Second Elder.”

The entire hall fell silent.

The higher-ups of the Sect Master’s faction all looked as if they were watching an amusing show.

After a long while, the Second Elder continued with that same cheerful smile. “These resources are precious and require time to prepare. Tomorrow at noon...”

Xiao Jianqing’s thoughts were perfectly clear. “If they cannot be prepared before the battle, I fear I will not have the strength to face the Dao Palace chief disciple.”

After another moment of silence, the Second Elder let out a low laugh and took a deep breath. “Heh heh heh heh... Fine. I agree.”

“Thank you, Second Elder.”

With that, Xiao Jianqing turned and left.

Xu Yuan was still watching Xiao Jianqing’s back when he heard the voice of the Splendorbloom Sect Master come from the main seat.

“Jing He, you may speak plainly. What do you want?”

Xu Yuan brewed his emotions for a moment. His nostrils moved faintly, and his expression became complicated, filled with hatred and killing intent as he looked straight into the Sect Master’s eyes.

“Sect Master, in the nearly twenty years since Master passed away, Senior Brother Li and Bai Fan have both treated me like their own brother. Now they have both died because of Shen Weixiu. Naturally, I want to avenge them. This request is not for any external object. I only ask to go and take a look at the Beguiling Dvine Sakura tree sapling.”

Hearing this, the Splendorbloom Sect Master’s gaze toward Xu Yuan visibly softened a little. But immediately after, he still asked, “Jing He, may I ask why you wish to see the Beguiling Divine Sakura?”

Xu Yuan had already prepared his excuse. He answered smoothly, “After Senior Brother Li returned to the palace, he once privately gave me a secret technique. That technique is connected to the Beguiling Divine Sakura.”

A trace of surprise appeared in the Splendorbloom Sect Master’s eyes. He glanced around at the gathered elders, then nodded. “After the meeting is dismissed, stay behind.”

Xu Yuan’s eyes narrowed faintly. He cupped his hands in thanks. “Thank you, Sect Master.”

ᯓ➤

Half an hour later.

An old man and a young man stood on the peak behind the Dome Palace.

Xu Yuan looked at the sapling before him, not even five feet tall, and his pupils trembled.

It was not the source.

The Beguiling Divine Sakura tree sapling that he and Tian Yan had gone to such great lengths to see was not the source of this illusion.

The source was the heart of the entire illusion. It would release a special fluctuation of soul intent that spread outward. The simulated people inside the illusion could not sense it, but outside visitors who had already self-awakened could perceive it clearly.

Now, Xu Yuan was already standing right in front of this Beguiling Divine Sakura tree sapling, yet his soul intent detected nothing unusual at all.

Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment, then glanced sideways at the Splendorbloom Sect Master and asked in a low voice, “Sect Master, this tree is the Beguiling Divine Sakura?”

The Splendorbloom Sect Master nodded. “Naturally. You may comprehend it here for now.”

After receiving that confirmation, Xu Yuan took a deep breath, sat down cross-legged, and extended his soul intent to sense it carefully.

About half an hour later, Xu Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

The Splendorbloom Sect Master, who had been standing to the side all along, glanced at him. “Jing He, what is it?”

Xu Yuan slowly rose to his feet and shook his head. “This sapling has yet to mature. Even if I try to comprehend it, I won’t gain much.”

Hearing this, the Splendorbloom Sect Master sighed softly and asked in a low voice, “Then, Jing He, do you have any other request?”

“I have no other request.” Xu Yuan shook his head. As he spoke, his eyes turned serious. He stared at the old man before him. “Uncle Bai, the day after tomorrow, I will cut down Shen Weixiu and avenge Bai Fan.”

The autumn wind was bone-piercing.

A flash of sorrow crossed the old man’s eyes, but soon he smiled and patted Xu Yuan on the shoulder.

In the end, the Splendorbloom Sect Master still gave Xu Yuan two Sumeru Rings as a reward, and promised that after this matter was over, he and Tian Yan would be promoted to true disciples of the Splendorbloom Sect.

After his own son’s death, this old man was preparing to win over him and Tian Yan.

After leaving the Sect Master’s main hall, Xu Yuan let out a long sigh. Without the slightest hesitation, he rushed straight toward his own residence.

The Beguiling Divine Sakura had been switched.

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