Bai Muyao also caught a glimpse of the contents of the letter. The large characters reading [Return to the Sect immediately] were so prominent that she didn’t even have time to look away. She noticed that the moment Xu Qing saw the note, her expression darkened to the extreme.
Has something major happened in the sect? Something serious enough to make Senior Sister this anxious?
Bai Muyao’s heart tightened. Not wanting to delay Xu Qing any further, she hurriedly said, “Senior Sister, please do not worry about me. Refining demonic aura is a slow and painstaking process. Even if you stay…”
After all, if Xu Qing stayed here, she couldn’t even use her spiritual energy; how could she help refine the aura? Bai Muyao was convinced that her Senior Sister only wanted to stay out of a sense of responsibility toward a sect disciple and concern over the forbidden technique.
Senior Sister Xu Qing is so kind—a truly responsible and good Senior Sister.
Bai Muyao felt immense gratitude and didn’t want to bring any trouble to her. Clearly, she had completely misread Xu Qing’s thoughts.
The reason Xu Qing’s face looked so grim wasn’t because of a sect crisis—she was furious that the sect had summoned her back at this exact moment! She had finally managed to spend time with Bai Muyao in her true form without having to pretend to be that little fox. Heaven knows how stifling it had been acting like a fox all those days! Just when they were about to be together openly, the sect had to come and spoil things? Couldn’t they have sent the message a few days later!
What was more irritating was that the letter had been seen by Bai Muyao, leaving no room for excuses. At this thought, Xu Qing’s expression grew so somber it looked like ink could drip from it.
[Bai Muyao’s Inner Thought]: Looking at Senior Sister’s face, something huge must have happened at the sect! [Xu Qing’s Inner Thought]: I really don’t want to leave this early!
Unfortunately, neither of them could read minds, leaving them oblivious to each other’s true feelings.
Xu Qing understood that her Master sending a direct message meant the matter was significant. She had no choice but to leave. She sighed and said, “I must return to the sect for a trip.”
Bai Muyao understood immediately. “Have a safe journey, Senior Sister. I will focus on my cultivation here and refine this demonic aura completely. I won’t let your hard work go to waste.”
Bai Muyao wanted Xu Qing to know she would be a good girl and stay put, never leaving the barrier. She tried her best to look reliable so Xu Qing wouldn’t worry. Xu Qing had already done too much; she didn’t want to be a burden.
Xu Qing pursed her lips. “I… I will come back later.”
Bai Muyao blinked. “Senior Sister, there’s no need to worry. With the barrier protection, I’ll be safe.”
“No…” Xu Qing hesitated. “I’m coming back because…”
She turned her head away, her heart in a knot. The excuse she gave herself was that she had failed to protect Bai Muyao, so she had to return to take care of her. But she couldn’t reveal that she had been following her all along. Under Bai Muyao’s curious little gaze, Xu Qing could only say, “I am quite interested in this demonic aura and want to come back to study it slowly.”
Bai Muyao understood at once. “I see! I will record every detail of the refinement process and report it to you in detail when you return.”
Xu Qing nodded. “Good. Then I’ll head back first.”
“Safe travels, Senior Sister.”
As Xu Qing departed, she looked back every few steps. Seeing Bai Muyao bowing respectfully in farewell, her heart was filled with a mix of emotions. But with the sect waiting urgently, she had to steel her heart and turn away.
Once Xu Qing’s figure had completely vanished, Bai Muyao let out a light sigh. How did I end up in this state, even involving Senior Sister Xu Qing? Sigh… She resolved to speed up her cultivation and refine the aura as fast as possible so as not to worry her Senior Sister.
Xu Qing arrived back at the sect.
Elder 1: “Fellow Daoist Xu, why were you so slow in returning?”
Typically, as long as she was within the cultivation world, Xu Qing could reach any destination in an instant. This time she had been delayed for so long, suggesting she was occupied with something important.
Faced with this question, Xu Qing chose silence. She couldn’t very well tell these elders that after receiving the message, she had to walk out of the barrier with her physical body and get far away from Bai Muyao before she dared to use her spiritual energy. Near Bai Muyao, she had to be extremely careful to prevent any spiritual leakage.
This return was to discuss the matter of the Demon General. A Demon General at the Soul Transformation stage appearing in the Monster Beast Mountains had naturally drawn high-level attention from all sects.
“You’re saying a person of a higher realm sealed the Demon General there?” an elder asked with a grave expression.
Xu Qing had been sitting in her seat dazing out, wondering when she could go back. When questioned, she stood up slightly and bowed to the elders. Although her cultivation had long surpassed everyone present, as a junior, she still maintained proper etiquette.
“Yes,” Xu Qing stated. “The strength of that barrier is definitely not something that can be constructed by those in the Great Awakening realm.”
Because the creator of the barrier was so powerful, investigators hadn’t even detected it. This architect was certainly no ordinary practitioner. Currently, the powerhouses of the great sects were aware of this, yet no one had come forward to admit it was their doing. Unless someone was lying… the barrier was likely established by the Demon Race.
A demonic barrier set within the cultivation world—it was almost a laughable thought!
The elder asked again, “Then what realm do you think the creator is at?”
Xu Qing went silent for a moment before answering, “I fear it is higher than any elder present.”
At these words, everyone’s expression shifted. This meant that within the entire sect, unless Xu Qing acted personally, no one could break that barrier. Xu Qing had the highest cultivation present, despite having the shortest cultivation time.
“Then how many within the Demon Race could achieve this?”
Xu Qing: “To my knowledge, likely only those few.”
The ancient gods of the Demon Realm, and the current Demon Sovereign Diao Er. But why would Diao Er appear in the cultivation world? It seemed impossible no matter how one looked at it.
After some deliberation, the elders felt this was too far-fetched and shifted the topic. The discussion changed from who did it to why they did it.
“Why would a being of such high realm if it were a demon seal a fellow Soul Transformation stage general in our mountain range?” “There must be an unspeakable secret behind this!” “This matter must be taken seriously!”
Xu Qing remained silent and sat back down. These words were nothing but boring chatter. Talking it over wouldn’t produce a result, yet it was the elders’ favorite pasttime. If it weren’t for the tedious sect rules, she really wanted to leave immediately and return to that… desolate place?
No, a place with Bai Muyao couldn’t be called desolate. But she didn’t have a better name for it. Bai Muyao’s little cabin. Would that sound better?
In her distracted state, Xu Qing actually started thinking about such trivial things. She only hoped to return soon. She felt she might miss Bai Muyao a little.
Wait, why would I miss her! This isn’t right!
She told herself she was only taking care of Bai Muyao and providing a place for her to cultivate to make up for her own negligence—it was definitely not just to see her! Absolutely not! Yet despite these self-assurances, whenever she had a free moment, her mind filled with thoughts of what Bai Muyao would say to her when she returned.
Would she welcome her back? Would she say, “Welcome back, I’ve been waiting for you!”?
Thinking of this, Xu Qing actually let out a small, unconscious smile while the elders were discussing serious topics. This scene was caught by her Master. Her Master had never seen her prized disciple show such an expression and was curious. Her disciple actually had a second facial expression; she had thought Xu Qing was paralyzed in the face!
Her Master couldn’t help but whisper, “What are you smiling at?”
Upon hearing her Master’s voice, Xu Qing immediately retracted her smile and said with a stiff face, “I wasn’t smiling!”
Xu Qing denied it directly, as if her Master were framing her. Her Master found this look rather amusing. She felt that her “thousand-year frost-faced” disciple had become a bit more human in this moment—perhaps even a bit… tsundere?
“What’s the situation with you?” Her Master laughed behind her hand. “You’ve only been out for a few days; how has your personality changed so much?”
Xu Qing denied it with a straight face: “How… how could I possibly have changed!”
Before her Master could probe further, another question was thrown by an elder.
“Xu Qing, you said you saved a sect disciple. Who exactly is this person? And why did the Demon General want to drag them inside the barrier?”
This was indeed curious. A powerhouse of that level wouldn’t do something useless. Dragging a disciple into a barrier without killing them—there must be something fishy. The identity of the disciple hadn’t been made public in Xu Qing’s report, so the elders were in the dark. They wanted to use this chance to find out.
“There is no need for concern, Elders. It was just an ordinary disciple!” Xu Qing answered.
“Why would an ordinary disciple not be killed immediately, but instead be dragged into the barrier with such effort?”
“That, I do not know. The Demon General has already perished.”
“Then tell us the name of this disciple. we will check their history and find out if there are any irregularities.”
Hearing this, the other elders chimed in.
“Bring that disciple here! Let everyone have a look; maybe we can discover something!” “That’s a good suggestion!”
The elders agreed, thinking it was a fine idea. They even started discussing how to handle the disciple once they arrived.
However, after hearing this, Xu Qing answered in a deep voice:
“I do not allow it!”