Having only just realized what happened, the Red Blood Lake disciple with messy bangs approached aggressively: “Now it finally hits me! Well played! You and that boss teamed up to scam me, didn’t you?!”
Furious, he raised his sword, preparing to slash at Su Li without a second thought!
Su Li narrowed his eyes and pinched a hand seal, wrapping his entire body in a shield of spell-light!
Just as the situation was on the verge of exploding, a majestic voice roared over: “Who dares disturb my bazaar?!” In the next instant, a bronze giant dragon sped over from afar. Atop its massive head, two crimson eyes stared wide as carriage wheels.
Everyone was stunned by this scene!
Even the sword in the Red Blood Lake disciple’s hand trembled slightly: “…An ancient fierce beast?”
Su Li: “No, it’s a man-made mechanical puppet.”
Yet such a grand-scale mechanical creation was truly astonishing!
When one gave it careful thought, only Feixing Workshop could pull off such a feat!
The bronze giant dragon lowered its head and actually made a “sniffing” motion, its giant eyes wide: “Why… do you carry the aura of my Master upon your body…?”
Opening its massive maw, it swallowed Su Li whole in a single gulp!
Just as the Red Blood Lake disciple was about to sneer, the giant dragon twitched its whiskers and shot two blinding blasts of thunderous lightning from its eyes, frying the man crisp on the spot!
The Red Blood Lake disciple collapsed with a loud thud. Before Su Li was swept away, he only had time to see their rising star, Wu Kai, rushing over to help his fellow disciple up with a complex expression:
Twice now.
Every single time, it was lightning.
Shaking its head and wagging its tail, the giant dragon flew directly toward the top of the tower, carrying Su Li along.
Inside the grand hall at the top of the tower, Su Li recounted the sequence of events and directly looked up to ask the Workshop Master: “I am also quite puzzled—why did the giant dragon say I carried your aura?”
A single sentence successfully made Lu Yin’s ears perk up with tension.
What “his aura”? That was clearly Lu Yin’s own aura.
However, the notion of “the disciple being tainted with the Master’s aura” was truly far too ambiguous.
He coughed dryly a few times, trying to steer the topic away: “Since the person has been brought here, send the Bronze Corrosion Dragon back out to patrol and guard.”
The Workshop Master puppet snapped its fingers at random. The bronze giant dragon widened its eyes as a red light flashed on its forehead. It withdrew once more, letting out a dragon roar as it soared into the sky and departed.
Just a snap of his fingers.
Su Li stared at him, feeling a wave of shock in his heart: Could this impossibly young baby-faced youth truly be the legendary Workshop Master of Feixing Workshop, whom even ‘Great Golden Immortals find hard to resist’?!
The one who sent gifts to Master to court him last time was also him…
Does Master actually favor someone of this age as well?
No, it must be because he is exceptionally powerful.
Young, yet powerful—is that how one earns Master’s affection?
Then… if I narrow the gap between us, could I also…?
Lu Yin had no idea what kind of petty thoughts were racing through his disciple’s mind. He simply had the puppet pick up a small box from the ground, which had rolled out from Su Li’s inner robes: “What is this?” A slender, dexterous finger flicked it open, revealing its true contents. “A Treasure-Hunting Compass? Bought at the Feixing bazaar?”
Su Li: “Ah, yes…”
Lu Yin naturally had the puppet say: “This compass is of poor quality. I happen to have a far superior one here—I’ll give it to you!” As he spoke, he flicked a black beam of light with a wave of his hand.
This was a golden opportunity. If the compass were given directly from his real self, Su Li might become suspicious, but giving it through the puppet posed little problem.
Su Li caught the heavy, dark box and widened his eyes slightly as he opened it:
It was a complex and exquisite compass, clearly far superior to the one Su Li had bought. Not only were various cardinal directions engraved upon it, but the outermost ring could also rotate according to the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams.
“Can this compass locate the Five Elements attributes of treasures?” Su Li was extremely sharp.
The Workshop Master puppet nodded: “Not only can it hunt for treasures, but it also searches for the most suitable treasures based on the bearer’s spiritual root.”
Based on my own spiritual root? Su Li looked down at the compass. Under the influence of the spiritual energy from his palm, the outer ring’s Five Elements gradually came to a halt right at the boundary between Gold and Water.
The Workshop Master puppet glanced at it too: “…Huh, interesting. Clearly a single Gold spiritual root, yet why did the needle point toward a Water-leaning direction?”
A light flickered in Su Li’s eyes as he suddenly realized it might be because his spiritual root underwent subtle changes after absorbing the Mirage Monster’s demon core. He closed his fingers, attempting to return the compass to the Workshop Master: “I appreciate the Workshop Master’s kindness, but now that I have found my Master, I shall take my leave with him…”
The Workshop Master puppet insisted that he keep it: “How can a gift once given be taken back? Just consider it compensation for that bronze giant dragon bringing you over without asking.”
“Your Master mentioned you need to enter the Qingpeng Secret Realm to find the most suitable sword blank for yourself. Such things can only be encountered by chance, not sought. Surely you wouldn’t want to disappoint him?”
It had to be said that the Workshop Master’s words struck right at Su Li’s vulnerable spot.
If it were solely for himself, he wouldn’t care if he didn’t have the compass. But if it was for his Master, he could never let him down.
Lu Yin spoke up at this moment as well: “You may accept it. Consider it an opportunity granted to you by the Workshop Master. If you discover any rare treasures inside, you may also give a word to the people of Feixing Workshop.” This could be considered a gesture of friendship between the two sects.
Su Li lowered his head: “Yes.”
The Workshop Master puppet said: “Very well then. Once you step through the grand doors, a puppet will lead you away.”
Out of habit, Su Li turned to look at Lu Yin. Lu Yin stiffened slightly; he couldn’t leave just yet, so he could only manipulate the Workshop Master puppet to say: “Your Master still has important matters to discuss with me.” He then followed up with a nod of his own: “Your fellow disciples at the Feixing Workshop bazaar are still waiting. Take them back to the airship safely first.”
Thus, despite Su Li turning his head three times with every step he took, the grand doors slammed shut tightly behind him.
Staring intently at the doors carved with the sun and moon, black mist surged up once more within Su Li’s heart.
He had seen the love letters sent by the Master of Feixing Workshop and knew of his affection for his Master. But did Master care?
If he didn’t care, why would he actively choose to spend time alone with the Workshop Master like this…?
Clutching his wildly thumping heart, Su Li tried his best to soothe himself:
Perhaps Master really does have important matters to discuss with the Master of Feixing Workshop. He is, after all, Immortal Venerable Lingyue of Linghua Sect.
Yet Su Li was also painfully aware that Daoist Venerable Xuanming protected Master impeccably well. To preserve his noble and pure nature, Xuanming had never let him get entangled in mundane sect affairs over the years. Furthermore, with the three major sects gathering at the Endless Sea today, any matters regarding Linghua Sect would naturally be decided by Daoist Venerable Xuanming. It made no sense for Master to be the one negotiating…
Then it must be Master’s private affairs…
What could it be? Master hides almost nothing else from me, except for the matter of his ‘Dao companions,’ over and over again…
The more he thought about it, the more chaotic his mind became. Su Li’s thoughts churned wildly; even after returning to the ship to sit in meditation, he was unable to settle his mind.
Moonlight spilled through the window onto the floor. Su Li expanded his spiritual sense, yet he still heard no sign of his Master returning.
As the moon reached its zenith, wisps of black mist drifted out from the old wound on the handsome youth’s chest, stretching out beneath the moonlight as if nourished by it.
Yet the youth, sitting upright like jade and gold, kept his eyes tightly shut, his brows knit tight, as if trapped in some unknown nightmare:
In a daze, he found himself back in front of the grand hall. The moment those closed, carved doors shut, the Workshop Master with the high ponytail practically threw himself onto Lu Yin, biting his ear clingily: “Is your disciple always so needy?”
Lu Yin’s face flushed red from the sticky humidity and warmth. He slapped him away: “Talk about others all you want, but I see you’re the neediest one here. Ah!”
That last exclamation was triggered by the Workshop Master’s passionate kiss occupying his entire earlobe. The wrist Lu Yin used to strike him was seized firmly and brought back to touch his own cheek. From Su Li’s perspective, it looked remarkably as though Lu Yin was passionately cradling Luo Feixing’s head, letting him kiss him deeply.
Lu Yin: “Let go of me, Mmph!”
The Workshop Master spoke in a thick, sticky tone: “I won’t… I gave your disciple such a good treasure, so I have to collect some payment, don’t I? But this price… needs to be paid by his Master!”
“!” Lu Yin’s pupils dilated. “You dare scheme against me?”
The Workshop Master leaned in even closer, as if about to devour Lu Yin whole: “Yinyin, you’re so fierce, I’m so scared! Nom!”
He took Lu Yin’s ear into his mouth.
Candlelight flickered, casting overlapping shadows onto the wall that seemed to sway right along with them.
The grand doors of the hall remained tightly shut. Outside, there were only mechanical puppets—not a single living soul. Thus, the occasional moan that leaked out from within was known to none but those bronze puppets.
Su Li’s mind shattered in horror! By the time he opened his eyes, the sky was already draped in a pale blue hue!
Master!
He condensed his spiritual sense once more, only to discover that Lu Yin had indeed failed to return to the cloud ship the entire night.
Master…
What kind of important business could cause you to speak with him by candlelight all the way until dawn?
Su Li’s eyes darkened. A string of clues made it impossible for him to tell whether what he had seen was reality—or if the ridiculous scenes in his dreams were the truth…
The Qingpeng Secret Realm was preparing to open!
While waiting for the correct hour of opening, the three sects and Feixing Workshop each used their techniques to construct their own floating viewing platforms, connecting them to the entrance of the secret realm—their purpose being to absorb energy from inside the realm and observe the performance of their disciples.
Though varying in shape and form, several water mirrors hovered before everyone. Once the disciples entered, the water mirrors would faithfully broadcast every situation occurring inside the secret realm.
The water mirrors were massive, while the viewing platforms were hidden behind multi-colored sheer drapes, creating a private and secluded space.
At this moment, the Medical Immortal crinkled his eyes and said in a gentle voice: “Zizhuo, I still have extra space over here. Would you like to come and sit?”
Standing in the queue, Su Li raised his eyes to look toward the Medical Immortal’s direction: Master isn’t on Linghua Sect’s viewing platform—where is he then?
Far away, the Master of Red Blood Lake patted the seat beside him loudly: “Come to my side! I have Blood Algae Tea over here.”
Daoist Venerable Xuanming gave a stern command: “Does our Linghua Sect not have a viewing platform of our own? Lingyue, come inside.”
Just then, the voice of Immortal Venerable Lingyue sounded from the east—which was surprisingly the direction of Feixing Workshop!
Su Li’s pupils quivered in shock!
Had Master been staying together with the Workshop Master this entire time?!
Inside Feixing Workshop’s viewing platform, Lu Yin looked at the thick stack of various official documents that needed handling beside him, pressing his fingertips against his temples: He had been reviewing them for a long time, yet it seemed it would still take quite a while longer.
Thus, he could only send out a transmitting frost-flower: “No matter. The Workshop Master’s viewing platform here was modified from a small flying shuttle. I can watch from this location just as well.”
Outside the field, Su Li finally heard his Master’s voice. How sensitive was he to his Master’s timbre? With his sharp hearing, he easily picked up that his Master’s voice carried a faint raspiness and fatigue, as though he had not slept a wink all night.
He pressed his lips tight, as if finally confirming something, quietly clenching his hands tightly beneath his sleeves.