This beautiful young man was no saint.
Seeing him plunge from the sky while his original flying magic treasure shattered into a million pieces, Fu Jinyue had thought he would surely be dead as a doornail. To her surprise, the man was completely unscathed, save for some mud smudged on his clothes and face.
As she leaned in to size him up, she released her spiritual energy to probe his cultivation level. Finding that she could not detect his depths at all, she clicked her tongue inwardly. It seemed his cultivation was far higher than Xi Chuan’s—substantially higher, in fact. He was a very powerful senior.
He was good-looking and possessed deep cultivation; it all depended on his personality now. If he was suitable…
Fu Jinyue thought to herself, “If he’s suitable, I’ll trick him into becoming my Dao companion, and once I’ve drained him dry, I’ll dump him.”
Since the Hehuan Sect had a notorious reputation in this realm, she absolutely could not let anyone know she practiced the art of dual cultivation before she could clearly distinguish good from evil. She had to keep it a secret, and when the time was right, she would simply wave goodbye and leave.
Her attitude was cruel yet nonchalant, completely devoid of any consideration for the agony the played party would fall into.
But what could Fu Jinyue do? She was born thin-hearted, and staying true to her own feelings mattered more to her than anything else.
With a soft groan, Fu Jinyue looked down and noticed that the man’s eyelashes were trembling; he seemed about to wake up.
While muttering to herself about whether a great cultivator could really faint from falling from the sky, she backed away. She waited for him to open his eyes so he would see her stepping forward with a face full of concern.
Her Qi Refining cultivation was simply too weak, so Fu Jinyue decided to smoothly go with the flow and play the role of a beautiful, kind-hearted little white flower.
Even if he didn’t buy it, when facing a completely non-threatening member of the opposite sex, he wouldn’t immediately resort to drawing blades and flashing swords.
Fu Jinyue: A perfect plan!
The beautiful young man slowly opened his eyes; he was awake.
Within a mere fifteen minutes of his awakening, the ever-successful Fu Jinyue suddenly encountered the most disastrous Waterloo of her life.
This was precisely because this beautiful young man was no saint.
The moment he woke up, he began to wail loudly in the deep crater while clutching his head. To be more precise, he was wailing while cradling a pile of scrap metal.
“Waaaah, this is the Western Region Ice Essence Iron that I spent so much effort to find!” Grabbing a piece of broken iron, he was just about to start wailing anew when he spotted a cracked black bead. He hurriedly cupped it in his palms with agonizing heartbreak. “Profound Stone! Oh, my Profound Stone! My darling, how did you end up like this?!”
Fu Jinyue: “……?” Is this guy crazy?
She had never imagined that someone, after surviving an accident, would neither care about where he was, nor care about what had happened, let alone care about who was standing in front of him. Instead, he only cared about cradling the iron scraps that had broken into pieces, crying as if his world had ended, crying so hard the sky grew dark, crying until he forgot the difference between heaven and earth.
Listening to his loud wailing, Fu Jinyue felt annoyed and panicked. Her previously fluttering heart instantly turned dead.
This man was crying so miserably; surely he wasn’t going to blame her and demand compensation?
In an instant, various news headlines—like helping an elderly person to the hospital only to have one’s wallet drained, or someone lying down in front of a car to scam a driver—flashed through her mind. Fu Jinyue took a step back.
This beautiful young man’s cultivation was still unfathomable to her. How could she foolishly apply her old values of good and evil to the cultivation world? What if he was a bloodthirsty killer who would snuff her out in one move? Where would she even go to seek justice then?
Fu Jinyue took another step back.
Indeed, indeed, this place was still not a safe environment to linger. In the cultivation world, the weak were meat for the strong. Judging by this man’s behavior, if he truly was an unreasonable rogue, she might very well meet her downfall here today.
She hustled backward, retreating all the way into the bushes.
The bushes rustled. When the young man—who was all thunder and no rain—raised his head, there wasn’t a single trace of tears in his eyes.
He really was feigning madness and playing dumb!
Fu Jinyue grew wary.
“Little friend, please wait.” The beautiful young man said with a smile. His gaze quickly scanned Fu Jinyue, and his eyes momentarily froze.
Fu Jinyue didn’t notice anything strange. Seeing that her escape plan had failed, she had no choice but to stand on the spot and let him size her up.
“Since Senior is safe and sound, Junior shall take her leave first,” she said after careful deliberation. At the same time, she kept her smile faint, her gaze calm, and her attitude perfectly composed, pretending to be a low-level cultivator who possessed a hidden trump card or a powerful backer.
The beautiful young man seemed to see through her guise and exposed it in one breath: “Little friend seems to be a rogue cultivator as well. Could it be that you also want to join the celebration for some fun?”
A celebration?
Catching this extra piece of information, Fu Jinyue blinked.
According to the system, this vicinity was all the territory of the Sword Sect. Since people were coming here to attend a celebration, it meant… the Sword Sect had some joyful event?
So that was it. No wonder there were more people flying across the sky today.
“Senior has a keen eye.” Seeing that his attitude was reasonably amicable, Fu Jinyue tested the waters, saying, “With such a grand feast at the Sword Sect, Junior naturally wishes to go and join the fun.”
The man smiled slightly. “What a coincidence indeed. I am Cui Zai. May I ask how to address you, little friend?”
Fu Jinyue also smiled gently, looking very shy. “Fu Qian.”
Since he didn’t express surprise or contradiction, it meant she guessed right. With a grand feast and celebration at the Sword Sect, the chosen talents of the world would surely gather there, right? Fu Jinyue immediately shifted her plans.
She couldn’t climb the immortal mountain on her own, nor could she reach the Sword Sect, but wasn’t there a ready-made helper right in front of her?
Who would have thought that before she could even speak, the young man claiming to be Cui Zai stood up. With a wave of his sleeve, the broken pieces covering the ground vanished completely, cleaned up spotless. He walked toward Fu Jinyue.
Cui Zai: “Oh my, having the same destination as Fellow Daoist Fu is truly a wonderful coincidence. I happen to be going to the Sword Sect too. Why don’t I give you a ride, little friend?”
He explained his previous behavior, saying, “Since Fellow Daoist is a rogue cultivator, you must know the hardships we face. Just now, I thought that falling like that boded ill. I feared it might scare someone and lead to me being chased for compensation, which is why I acted that way. Since it’s Fellow Daoist Fu, then between us rogue cultivators, we won’t mind such things. We are all one family, right?”
It was a highly unreliable explanation.
Cui Zai leaned in shamelessly, his smile a bit forced.
To tell the truth, his physical appearance was exceptionally fine, the kind that was unforgettable upon first sight. But once he moved, his words and actions became genuinely sycophantic and vulgar. Right now, he was smiling so deliberately that his eyes were squeezed shut, making one truly want to close their eyes to avoid looking.
Fu Jinyue was somewhat suspicious. She didn’t understand why a cultivator with such high cultivation would humble himself before her. When things were out of the ordinary, there was bound to be something fishy.
“This… I am afraid it is not appropriate?” she hesitated.
The suspicion on Fu Jinyue’s face was impossible to hide. Cui Zai spoke up again, “Aiya, we are all rogue cultivators. To put it bluntly, little Daoist, you don’t even have a cosmos bag, and you don’t have a single valuable thing on your entire body. What could I possibly plot against you?
“It’s just that I pity how exhausting it must be for you to climb the mountain. Because the celebration is about to begin these few days, all sorts of people are rushing to the Sword Sect. Wouldn’t it be a shame if you missed it? However, if you are worried, I won’t force you, little Daoist.”
After saying that, he waved his sleeve and summoned an extremely wide spiritual sword out of thin air. His lips moved silently as he chanted the sword-riding spell, and he leapt onto it. With the wind howling and his sleeves fluttering, he made a posture as if he was about to soar upward.
Fu Jinyue suddenly shouted for him to wait. Her eyes locked with the young man’s. This time, she saw his eyes clearly. The smile in his eyes was candid now; without the deliberate sycophancy, he finally looked a bit handsome and refined.
Thinking about it carefully, his cultivation was so much higher than hers; he had opportunities to strike at any given second. Since he hadn’t moved against her, even if there was a trick, it probably wasn’t targeted at her life.
She might as well give it a try.
Thus, Fu Jinyue coughed, put on a grateful expression, and boarded this uninvited hitchhiked ride.
As long as she hid her purpose and identity, roaming around the Sword Sect under the guise of a rogue cultivator might allow her to find several dual cultivation partners in one go. As for this senior who had plenty of looks but a concerning personality… it was better to just treat him as a hitchhiking driver.
Fu Jinyue thought to herself, “After all, I’m not that desperate yet.”
The spiritual sword leaped into the clouds, and the mountains lay prostrate beneath their feet.
Fu Jinyue wasn’t afraid of heights, but the wind at high altitudes was too fierce. The roaring wind scraped against her cheeks, making her feel as though she might be dragged down and fall at any moment.
It was so high…
If she fell from here, she would turn into a puddle of bloody mush.
Fu Jinyue had a great deal of self-awareness. She didn’t like showing weakness, but she was never stubbornly unyielding when the situation called for it.
Thus, her trembling hand reached out to grasp the sleeve of the man in front of her, clutching just a tiny corner of it, looking thoroughly pitiable.
The young man glanced back. A few complex emotions flitted across his lowered eyes, followed by a warm smile as he pinched a hand seal and cast a wind-shielding charm for the girl.
To his surprise, the moment the wind stopped, the hand clutching his sleeve retracted instantly.
Utterly heartless.
Sensing that the tiny resistance on his sleeve had vanished, Cui Zai’s fingertips twitched beneath his robe. A fleeting look of melancholy crossed his silent face.
Fu Jinyue didn’t catch his fleeting emotion; her heart was entirely filled with the novelty of flying.
Riding a sword was indeed convenient.
The immortal mountain that had seemed so distant earlier quickly loomed before their eyes. External cultivators were not allowed to fly swords within the sect. Far before the sect gate, Cui Zai stopped and let them both down. Fu Jinyue looked up at the cascading layers of stone steps. It wasn’t until the very top that she could vaguely make out the shadow of the sect gate, causing her legs to feel weak.
Cui Zai patted her shoulder and said nothing.
Then let’s walk.
Climbing stairs was, after all, a specialty of the cultivation world. Ever since she arrived, she had immediately drawn Qi into her body, with her cultivation techniques and sect fully established. She hadn’t tried climbing the immortal stairs yet.
As Fu Jinyue expected, they weren’t the only external cultivators climbing the stone steps. At first, she still had the energy to look around, but as time dragged on, she was left with nothing but the numb raising and dropping of her feet.
Cui Zai’s cultivation was stronger than hers, so his pace should logically have been faster. Yet, not only did he not pull ahead, but he kept lingering right by her side, as if he was waiting for her. It was strangely bizarre.
The key point was that while he lingered, he didn’t follow behind, nor did he walk side by side. No matter how fast or slow Fu Jinyue went, he was always exactly two steps ahead of her.
Cui Zai: (__)
Fu Jinyue was furious: Infuriating! (#Д)#
With half her life hanging by a thread, she finally reached the sect gate, but the scene before it was miserable.
When Cui Zai mentioned a celebration earlier, Fu Jinyue had assumed the Sword Sect would be decorated with lanterns and colored banners, making it exceptionally lively. But looking at it now, the majestic sect gate plaque of the Sword Sect was broken in half. The beautiful bluestones paving the main road inside the sect were shattered piece by piece. Even the trees planted alongside were blasted crooked, their fractures pitch-black like charcoal.
To sum it up, it was a total mess.
It looked as if it had been ransacked.
A group of cultivators wearing identical clothing kept their heads down as they swept and repaired the broken structures. Clearly, everyone was busy, yet the place was eerily silent.
Fu Jinyue had thought the Sword Sect would be an ocean of high-spirited youth.
“Fellow Daoists.” A female cultivator walked up to greet them. The identity token at her waist was of a different color than those of the sweeping cultivators. Fu Jinyue suspected she was a disciple of higher status.
Sure enough, the female cultivator first introduced her own name, stating she was an inner sect disciple of the Sword Sect, ranking seventeenth, surnamed Lu, named Liuru.
Lu Liuru said apologetically, “The two Fellow Daoists must also be here to attend the banquet at the Sword Sect? We are truly sorry, but the Dao Discussion Banquet will temporarily not be held due to unforeseen circumstances. Both Fellow Daoists have traveled from afar and must be exhausted. The Sword Sect has provided poor hospitality, so we have only prepared a small token of apology. If Fellow Daoists do not mind, you may also stay at the Sword Sect for a short while.”
“The Dao Discussion Banquet is canceled?” Cui Zai’s expression looked a bit panicked.
“Not exactly, it is just still pending discussion.” Lu Liuru gave a bitter smile. “Would Fellow Daoists like to follow me now to receive the token of apology, or…”
“How did it turn into pending discussion again!” Cui Zai shouted. “I traveled all this way to your Sword Sect just to get a share of the banquet…”
He paused, glossing over his motive. “You’re a grand and reputable sect, yet after luring people over, you say it’s canceled just like that?” This was far too untrustworthy.
Clearly, Cui Zai was not the first angry cultivator. A few years ago, the Sword Sect had advertised to the world that they would host a banquet to discuss the Dao, cordially inviting all fellow Daoists to attend. This news had spread rapidly. There was no reason for cultivators from all over the world to miss such a grand feast. Those who lived far away had set out last year and only recently arrived at the Central Plains’ Sword Sect.
In the end, traveling all this way only to be turned away at the door would make anyone unhappy.
Lu Liuru had received quite a few guests over these past days. Though her heart was weary, having practiced so much allowed her to sum up a method to deal with it. She offered a stream of consolations to him. Cui Zai listened half-heartedly but wasn’t as angry anymore, mainly because the compensation gift was generous enough.
He glanced at Fu Jinyue beside him. Seeing the girl listening with great interest, he felt reassured and pulled Lu Liuru slightly to the side, asking in a low voice:
“Fellow Daoist Lu, tell me honestly, does this matter have something to do with Elder Pinxin? Could it be that she has fallen?”
Lu Liuru’s eyebrows twitched slightly, but she quickly resumed her usual demeanor. “Where did… this rumor come from?”
Cui Zai smiled sheepishly. “Just hearsay. But regardless of whether it’s true or not, seeing our sect in this state, it seems highly risky. I fear some evil cultivators might have caught wind of this and quietly sneaked over here.”
Lu Liuru grew serious. “Who?”
Seeing that his words had worked, the young man abruptly turned around to point her out. Lu Liuru followed his gaze to look, only to find the space beside them completely empty. The girl who had been standing there obediently just a moment ago had vanished without a trace.
On the bluestone pavement where she had originally stood, there was only a patch of wild grass growing far too vigorously.
Cui Zai’s expression darkened.
How did a minor cultivator at the second layer of Qi Refining manage to escape the perception of a Golden Core stage cultivator?
Lu Liuru: “Where is the evil cultivator Fellow Daoist spoke of?”
Cui Zai turned his head back, returning to his sycophantic self. “To tell you the truth, the female cultivator who was just with me was someone I met on the road. It took me quite some effort to make her trust me.
“The spiritual energy circulation inside her body is anomalous, her origins are unknown, and her tracks are bizarre…
“The evil cultivator spy I spoke of,” the young man smiled slowly, “is precisely that female cultivator from just now.”