5 – Chapter
Breaking off the engagement? I didn’t take it to heart.
“Let’s return to the sect.”
After these words were spoken, the four of them remained motionless for a long time.
Ruan Jiujiu, standing behind He Xuan, tilted her head and saw that Mu Lingyan wasn’t reacting.
She whispered beside her ear, “Senior Sister, you’re the one in charge of the Flying Ship.”
Mu Lingyan clicked her tongue in annoyance.
She quickly used her Spiritual Sense to cast the Flying Ship onto the open space ahead, and the ship instantly grew several zhang tall.
He Xuan was the first to fly up, with Mu Lingyan following closely behind.
Ruan Jiujiu grabbed her Third Senior Brother’s sleeve: “Third Senior Brother, what’s wrong with Senior Sister? She’s been absent-minded since returning last night.”
Ye Wanxing glanced over and saw the Senior Sister on the Flying Ship pouring tea for their Master.
No different from before.
He said, “Perhaps it’s because of the Demon Creature ambush yesterday that she’s so distracted.”
Hearing this, Ruan Jiujiu also thought it must be so.
Carefree as ever, she followed them up.
After pouring tea for He Xuan, Mu Lingyan inserted several hundred Spirit Stones into the Flying Ship’s array core.
Then she sat cross-legged on the open deck at the front of the ship and began to close her eyes and regulate her breath.
Though she appeared to be meditating, she was actually examining her soul spirit within her Sea of Consciousness and studying the Immortal Sect’s techniques.
She was just a modern-day shut-in writer, after all; the profound secrets of the Immortal Sect truly couldn’t be grasped in a short time.
It seemed that after returning to the sect, she would need to go into seclusion to cultivate and study the techniques properly.
In this world of fantasy cultivation, strength was everything.
“Ahem…”
A low cough broke the silence that had settled over the Flying Ship.
Seeing He Xuan’s handsome face devoid of color, Mu Lingyan rummaged through her Storage Ring for the most precious spiritual herb.
Holding the herb in her palm, she presented it like a treasure, offering it to He Xuan.
He Xuan slightly lifted his eyelids, saw it was her, and slowly closed them again.
He showed no intention of acknowledging her.
Seeing that her Master ignored her, Mu Lingyan smiled and said, “Master, this is Heart-Connecting Grass. It greatly aids in recovering spiritual energy.”
The Flying Ship soared high in the sky, but due to the engraved Magic Array, there were no strong air currents.
Only a gentle breeze brushed past the strands of hair on Mu Lingyan’s cheeks.
One strand, stirred by the wind, drifted over He Xuan’s plain white sleeve.
He Xuan frowned and shifted back half an inch.
Mu Lingyan noticed but didn’t feel awkward. She simply leaned forward, placed the spiritual herb on the table, then retreated to resume her seated meditation and breath regulation.
Ye Wanxing and Ruan Jiujiu sat nearby, feeling as if they were on pins and needles.
But out of respect for their Master’s authority, they dared not say anything.
After a period of silence, He Xuan called out.
“Xiao Jiu…”
Ruan Jiujiu walked over and asked cheerfully, “Master, what do you need?”
He Xuan slightly raised his eyes, his tone calm.
“Take this Heart-Connecting Grass. Share it with your Third Senior Brother. Both of you were quite injured yesterday.”
“Ah, this?” Ruan Jiujiu instantly turned her head to look at Mu Lingyan.
Mu Lingyan nodded at her, signaling her to take it.
“Well then—”
She placed the herb in her own Storage Ring, but as she sat back down, she felt somewhat at a loss.
This Heart-Connecting Grass was something Senior Sister had risked her life to snatch from a Gu Sect disciple in the Secret Realm.
Sigh…
The Flying Ship was extremely fast, reaching Kunshan Sword Sect in just over half a day.
Below, clouds and mist swirled, spiritual energy permeated the air, and lush flowers, plants, and trees thrived with vitality.
The Flying Ship landed on the square in front of the Four Directions Hall.
Mu Lingyan and the other three disembarked. He Xuan was the first to enter the hall and instructed,
“You all return to Worry-Free Peak first. I will go see the Sect Leader.”
Mu Lingyan replied softly, “Yes.”
Ye Wanxing and Ruan Jiujiu had long since skipped away cheerfully, disappearing without a trace.
Both of them had lively personalities and got along well with most people in the sect.
Mu Lingyan, who usually wore a cold expression and had a rather fierce temper, naturally kept others at a distance.
As she lifted the hem of her skirt and prepared to turn and fly back to Worry-Free Peak, a soft call came from behind.
“Junior Sister Lingyan.”
She stopped and turned around. A figure descended the steps in front of the Four Directions Hall.
The person wore green robes and carried a gentle, refined aura.
After briefly recalling the characters she had written, she remembered that this was the head disciple personally taught by the Kunshan Sword Sect’s sect master.
His name was Shen Qingyu.
“Senior Brother Sect Master.”
Mu Lingyan’s voice was the sultry, mature type, and though she tried her best to soften her tone, her words only came across as calm.
Yet Shen Qingyu, standing before her, was momentarily taken aback, feeling that his junior sister seemed less unapproachable than before.
“The matter of breaking off the engagement was truly unavoidable. I hope Junior Sister won’t take it to heart.”
Breaking off the engagement?
Ah, right. To set up Mu Lingyan’s descent into darkness.
She had written Shen Qingyu, the official love interest, as falling in love at first sight with the junior sister of the Cangwu Sect, abandoning her and calling off their engagement.
And after being abandoned and discovering her improper feelings for her master, her inner demons took root, eventually leading her to demonic cultivation.
During an outing for a sect mission, she was seen by a Demon Realm elder who noticed she bore a seventy percent resemblance to the former Demon Venerable. Her true identity was actually the abandoned daughter of the former Demon Venerable.
Thus, she transformed into the current Demon Venerable of the Demon Realm.
As the scattered plot came back to her, Mu Lingyan remained silent for a moment.
But to Shen Qingyu, it seemed she was lost in sorrow.
He said apologetically, “Junior Sister, our personalities were never compatible. Back then, I was still young and didn’t know how to refuse when the sect master arranged the engagement. It wasn’t until I met Su Yue that I understood what liking someone truly meant, what it meant to have feelings for someone…”
Mu Lingyan snapped back to reality and directly cut off his long-winded explanation.
“It’s fine. If Senior Brother has nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”
She had no interest in listening to the love stories of irrelevant people.
Her master would return to Worry-Free Peak soon, and she needed to go back first to tidy up her master’s palace.
Shen Qingyu hadn’t expected this kind of attitude from her.
Looking again at the woman standing before him in the wind, dressed in red robes, her elegance boundless.
Her eyes were clear, with not a trace of affection for him in them.
Up close, he was always struck by the beauty of her face.
But on the Boundless Continent, what use was a pretty face?
It couldn’t help him secure the position of sect master.
Shen Qingyu performed a sect salute. “Qingyu has disturbed you. Junior Sister, please go about your business.”
Mu Lingyan nodded, turned without a hint of reluctance, boarded the flying ship, and vanished instantly from the Four Directions Hall plaza.
To put it plainly, this Shen Qingyu was just a people-pleaser, blowing warm air at anyone he met.
She had no interest in dealing with someone like that.