The closer it got to Xie Xuechen's recovery, the more irritated Mu Xuanling grew, feeling a storm brewing on the horizon.
That morning, another urgent report arrived: an unusual surge of demonic energy had suddenly appeared within the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, but it quickly dissipated like morning mist. Upon receiving the news, the various sect leaders immediately gathered in the Righteousness Hall for an emergency meeting.
Mu Xuanling, mindful of Nan Xuyue's formidable intelligence, wanted to speak with him to learn his thoughts on the current battle situation.
"The Ten Thousand Immortals Formation missed its sixty-year deadline for deployment. Now is the time when it's at its weakest," Nan Xuyue said slowly, his expression grave. "The demons will undoubtedly seize this opportunity to invade the human world. If they wait until the human cultivators have fully assembled and Sect Master Xie has completely recovered, their chances of victory will be extremely slim. So they'll definitely take action within the next few days."
"Yongxue City is heavily guarded now, with several Dharmadhatu commanders stationed here. If you were Sang Qi, what plans would you come up with to disrupt the Immortal Alliance's actions?" Mu Xuanling asked.
Nan Xuyue laughed lightly and said, "I can't guess it. After all, the methods of the demons and monsters are unpredictable and they can do things that ordinary people cannot."
Mu Xuanling agreed with him.
"Then we have been investigating everywhere these days. Have you found out which one is the spy?" Mu Xuanling asked again.
"Well..." Nan Xuyue shook her folding fan elegantly and smiled, "I can't find it out."
Mu Xuanling glared at him.
Nan Xuyue's smile deepened as he said, "It's just that I think there may not be only one spy."
Mu Xuanling was stunned.
Mu Xuanling was still thinking about the meaning of Nan Xuyue's words when she was interrupted by a burst of hurried footsteps.
"Nan Xuyue, Miss Ling'er!" Fu Lansheng walked over excitedly, "So you are here, I've been looking for you for a long time!"
Wherever Fu Lansheng passed, even the air seemed fragrant. This richest man in the world changed the world's view of money.
"Young Palace Master Fu is looking for us, it must not be something important," Nan Xuyue said jokingly.
Fu Lansheng glanced at him sideways, leaning back on the stool in an awkward position, half his body resting on Nan Xuyue. "Master Nan, you're talking as if I don't have any serious matters to attend to."
Nan Xuyue smiled and said, "Young Palace Master Fu's serious matters don't seem serious to others."
"Alas, the world is against me..." Fu Lansheng shook his head and sighed dramatically, then added, "Should I say you understand me, or that you don't understand me?"
"I'd rather not understand you that well, so as not to dirty my heart," Nan Xuyue said seriously.
Fu Lansheng bowed to Nan Xuyue and said with admiration, "Of all the people who curse me, you're the best. Teach me how to curse, so that next time I talk back to my father, he won't silence me."
Nan Xuyue sighed, "Brother Fu, why bother with a cripple?"
"I'm not trying to embarrass you, and don't call me Brother Fu. I like people calling me brother."
"Puff!" Mu Xuanling couldn't help but laugh.
Fu Lansheng turned to look at Mu Xuanling, admiringly saying, "Miss Ling'er, you're so beautiful when you smile. I think I can smell the scent of spring in Yongxue City."
Nan Xuyue tapped Fu Lansheng on the head with her folding fan and said, "Cut back on your flirtatious ways."
Mu Xuanling wasn't being suspicious; Fu Lansheng, with his unruly and uninhibited nature, looked like someone who would deceive Xiuxiu...
But Nan Xuyue and Fu Lansheng seemed quite familiar. If Fu Lansheng was Fu Cangli, he surely wouldn't have kept it a secret from Xiuxiu.
"Everyone loves beauty, and I'm just generous with my praise," Fu Lansheng argued sternly. "Don't you think Miss Ling'er is beautiful?"
"Ah..." Nan Xuyue sighed heavily. "So, Young Palace Master Fu has been looking for us for so long. What 'serious matter' is it?"
Nan Xuyue emphasized the words "serious matter," forcing Fu Lansheng to get back to the point; otherwise, he'd talk all day.
Fu Lansheng slapped his head: "Oh, right, I almost forgot, it's all because Miss Ling'er is so beautiful!"
Mu Xuanling: "..."
Nan Xuyue: "..."
"I made a list of all the three thousand disciples inside and outside the Bixiao Palace. Excluding the female cultivators and boys under ten years old, there are still two thousand people left. The names and ages are recorded in the book, and there is indeed no one named Fu Cangli. But you can ask Abao to take it back and have a look. I don't know how old he is or what his father looks like. It will be easier to find him if there is a portrait."
As Fu Lansheng spoke, he took out a thick list from the mustard seed bag, which scared Mu Xuanling and Nan Xuyue.
Mu Xuanling paused for a moment before coming to her senses and saying, "This is truly a huge hassle for you..."
"It's not a hassle," Fu Lansheng grinned, revealing his neat, white teeth. "I just gave an order, and someone else did the work."
He was surprisingly honest...
Mu Xuanling began to understand why Fu Lansheng was so accommodating. With his background, looks, and demeanor, it was hard not only for women to be attracted to him, but even men would find it hard not to treat him as a brother.
Take Nan Xuyue, for example. Getting Nan Xuyue to scold someone was as difficult as getting Xie Xuechen to praise someone. The fact that Nan Xuyue would actually scold Fu Lansheng to his face showed just how successful he was.
Mu Xuanling put the roster into her mustard seed bag, bowed to Fu Lansheng, and smiled, "I thank the Young Palace Master on behalf of Abao."
"You're welcome. I told you, Nan Xuyue's cousin is my cousin," Fu Lansheng said with a smile. "You haven't even called me brother yet."
He was being incredibly shameless...
Mu Xuanling pretended not to hear and hid behind Nan Xuyue, begging for help.
Nan Xuyue naturally stepped forward.
"Brother Fu, it's almost noon. If you have nothing else to do, why don't you go to the dining hall for lunch?" Nan Xuyue smiled.
"Yes, I heard they hunted a musk deer today. Although Yongxue City is poor, it's rich in spiritual energy, and the meat is excellent." Fu Lansheng spoke eloquently, from the delicacies of Yongxue City to the treasures of Lingju Island, from the jade of Bixiao Palace to the spiritual herbs of Jinghua Valley. His knowledge was profound; he was probably the cultivator who understood the joys of life the most.
Mu Xuanling asked curiously, "Young Palace Master Fu has traveled extensively, enjoying all the blessings of the world, yet his cultivation hasn't fallen behind at all. It's truly astonishing."
Fu Lansheng paused, touched the tip of his nose awkwardly, and said, "It's a long story... well, actually, it's not that long. The Bixiao Palace has a unique martial art, the Autumn Water Art. When the Autumn Water flows, all rivers flow into it. The Autumn Water Art is a martial art that helps others. Practicing this art will almost never condense a golden elixir, but it can infuse one's own spiritual power into the spiritual orifices of others, allowing them to quickly achieve a golden elixir."
"How can there be such a strange martial art..." Mu Xuanling said very subtly. This martial art wasn't just strange, it was downright vicious, completely self-defeating and beneficial to others. No normal person would even think of practicing such an unorthodox martial art.
Fu Lansheng said, "You must be thinking that only someone with a broken brain would practice such a self-defeating and beneficial martial art."
Mu Xuanling smiled awkwardly.
"You're right. This technique was originally created by an evil cultivator. He captured low-level cultivators and forced them to practice it, then forcibly absorbed their spiritual energy to enhance his own cultivation. Those whose spiritual energy was absorbed would have their spiritual orifices destroyed. This evil cultivator was later eliminated by the Bixiao Palace, and the technique was confiscated. However, an elder later improved the technique, allowing practitioners to transfer their cultivation at will. If their cultivation was lost, their spiritual orifices would not collapse, and they could even practice other techniques again."
Mu Xuanling listened carefully, but was still confused. "Even though it won't kill you, it doesn't have any benefits. Why would anyone practice Qiu Shui Gong?"
Fu Lansheng spread his hands and said, "For money."
"What?" Mu Xuanling was stunned.
Nan Xuyue smiled and explained, "That's why I say it's hard for ordinary people to understand the mindset of the world's richest man. The Bixiao Palace has a group of cultivators practicing the Autumn Water Art. Once they achieve mastery, they transfer their cultivation to the Young Palace Master, thereby receiving a lifetime of wealth."
Mu Xuanling stared at Nan Xuyue, dumbfounded, as if she were telling a joke. "Not only do I not understand the mindset of the world's richest man, I also don't understand the mindset of those cultivators."
Nan Xuyue continued, "You're in Yongxue City now. Everywhere you look, it seems like Dharma images are everywhere. The lowest level is a Golden Core. Even I, a cripple, was once a powerful cultivator born with ten orifices. Yet, among the vast majority of people, less than one in a million can cultivate the Dao, and among cultivators, many never achieve a Golden Core in their entire lives. Practicing the Autumn Water Art may only make it harder to achieve a Core, but it can bring a fortune that can provide a family with food and clothing for three generations. For ordinary people, that's more than enough."
Mu Xuanling remained silent, pondering for a moment before acknowledging Nan Xuyue's truth. Contributing to the well-being of the world is a lofty ambition worthy of only a few powerful individuals. For ordinary people, simply being able to care for themselves and provide for their families is enough to satisfy them.
"How many people would it take to cultivate the Autumn Water Technique?" Mu Xuanling asked Fu Lansheng.
Fu Lansheng paused for a moment and said, "Probably over a thousand, and only a hundred or two hundred are truly accomplished."
Mu Xuanling fell silent again.
"How much would that cost..."
Nan Xuyue chuckled and teased, "Do you know how wealthy the Bixiao Palace is?"
For cultivators, poverty is the norm. As soon as they have money, they will inevitably exchange it for higher-level techniques, rare treasures, and divine weapons. Cultivators above the Golden Core stage rarely use silver to calculate the value of an item, preferring to barter, each taking what they need.
"For every stone of wealth in the world, the Bixiao Palace possesses eight dou," Nan Xuyue sighed. "People say the Bixiao Palace has eight dou of wealth."
This means that no matter how much he spends, it will never outstrip the speed at which he earns it.
Mu Xuanling looked at Fu Lansheng carefully and sighed, "Young Palace Master Fu has become even more handsome."
As expected of someone who would offer a trove of heavenly-grade magical treasures upon their first meeting, she hadn't anticipated the unique cultivation methods of the wealthy. They say Yongxue City is poor, and they're quite confident...
Fu Lansheng laughed heartily and said casually, "Being rich is only the most insignificant of all my virtues."
Mu Xuanling said, "Everything you say is true!"
Mu Xuanling thought Fu Lansheng should introduce himself like this: "My last name is Fu, and I'm the richest man in the world."
As the three of them were chatting and laughing, Mu Xuanling suddenly sensed an unusual fluctuation of spiritual energy. She abruptly stopped, her expression grave, and she looked southeast. Fu Lansheng and Mu Xuanling noticed the anomaly almost simultaneously. He smiled, then sprinted towards the source of the anomaly, followed closely by Mu Xuanling.
Their true strength was comparable, and their speed was also comparable, reaching the source of the spiritual energy fluctuation almost simultaneously.
"It's the vibrations of a magic circle," Fu Lansheng frowned, a rare look of seriousness on his cynical face. "How could anyone in Yongxue City dare to secretly activate a magic circle?"
"From here is the residence of the Five Elders of the Immortal Alliance," Mu Xuanling said.
The vibrations had vanished in a flash, and now no trace of them could be found.
Mu Xuanling's eyes suddenly lit up, and she slapped the mustard seed bag, releasing Abao. Little Abao leaped onto Mu Xuanling's shoulder, its round ears perked.
"Abao, can you sense the aura of treasure that just appeared here?"
Abao sniffed hard, his round black eyes focused intently. He nodded solemnly and said, "The aura dissipated quickly after leaving its origin. It's heading that way!"
"Okay, Abao!" Mu Xuanling patted his little head, and together with Fu Lansheng, they ran in the direction Abao pointed.
The two figures immediately disappeared, darting through the courtyard like shadows, quickly catching up with the two sneaky figures.
"You two, stop!" Fu Lansheng shouted.
The two figures paused, but instead of stopping, they ran even faster.
Fu Lansheng casually pulled out a magical weapon and hurled it. Mu Xuanling watched intently. Wow! The first strike was a gleaming golden, heavenly-grade magical instrument, the God-Binding Chain. It was said to be so powerful that even a Nascent Soul cultivator couldn't break free, and could even trap a Dharmakaya for three breaths. Ordinary people used it in life-or-death situations, but he tossed it around like a rock.
But money could buy anything. The God-Binding Chain instantly bound one of the figures, but the other, clearly faster, took advantage of his companion's restraint to evade the two's sight. Mu Xuanling, figuring that Abao would track them, continued to follow, leaving Fu Lansheng to deal with the one behind.
With Abao's guidance, Mu Xuanling quickly re-caught up with the figure ahead. As the distance closed, she unleashed the Judgment Vine without a word. It stretched out two meters in length, like a long purple snake, and pounced on the figure. The man seemed deeply wary of the purple vines, deftly dodging their attacks, but this allowed Mu Xuanling to close in.
Mu Xuanling's fingers transformed into bone blades, her movements swift as lightning, her movements ghostly and ethereal. The man was entangled by her, unable to escape easily. But she managed to hold on. It was midday, and her hood had fallen from the pursuit. The struggle with the man only accelerated the release of her demonic energy. Every wisp of it tugged at her flesh and blood, causing her excruciating pain.
Mu Xuanling bit her lower lip, spitting a mouthful of blood into the man's face. She used the man's essence and blood as a guide to cast a spell, but the man seemed prepared, turning his head to avoid most of the blood spraying towards him. He then kicked Mu Xuanling in the waist, causing her to feel a sharp pain, and her vision went black before he escaped.
Mu Xuanling retracted the wisteria, her face pale. She hastily pulled on her hood, seeking shade to avoid the sun, only to encounter another uninvited visitor.
"You again!" Gao Qiumin said coldly, standing behind her. "As expected, you have a demonic aura. Who are you?"
While Mu Xuanling was fighting the mysterious figure, Abao had already taken cover, so Gao Qiumin hadn't seen him. She'd only sensed a familiar demonic presence and followed it there, only to find Mu Xuanling, the very figure she hated the most.
If the first time was a coincidence, an illusion, the second was definitely not.
Gao Qiumin was convinced that Mu Xuanling must be hiding a secret. Even if she wasn't a demon, she must be hiding something related to the demon race.
Gao Qiumin swung his Spring Sword at Mu Xuanling, the tip of the sword pointed at her nose. "Hand over the mustard seed bag so I can investigate!"
Mu Xuanling, barely able to control the backlash of her demonic energy, glared at Gao Qiumin with a stern expression and shouted, "Get out of here!"
Her hands trembled slightly as she clutched her cloak tightly. The warm sunlight felt like a burning fire.
Gao Qiumin saw Mu Xuanling's pale face and blood on the corners of her lips. She sneered, "Master Xie isn't here, so who are you pretending to be weak for?"
A buzzing sounded in Mu Xuanling's ears, and she could barely hear what Gao Qiumin said. The rage within her was barely contained. She took a deep breath, pushed Gao Qiumin's Spring Sword aside with one hand, and walked forward.
Gao Qiumin was startled, then enraged. She reached out to grab Mu Xuanling's shoulder. Mu Xuanling's shoulders sank, and she dodged her grasp. But Gao Qiumin pursued her relentlessly, pressing her every step. Mu Xuanling's demonic energy gathered in her palm, and she struck Gao Qiumin in the face. Seeing her opponent's brazenness, she abruptly stopped. However, Gao Qiumin didn't stop. Taking advantage of Mu Xuanling's moment of distraction, she struck her in the chest, sending her flying to the ground and causing her hood to fall.
Gao Qiumin was somewhat surprised by Mu Xuanling's extraordinary skills, but she didn't sense any spiritual energy in her, so she simply assumed she was just a mortal with some kung fu skills. She disdained to use her spiritual power against mortals. Seeing Mu Xuanling fall to the ground after being struck back, she sneered, "I didn't use much force in that blow just now, so why are you pretending?"
Mu Xuanling felt dizzy and could no longer hear Gao Qiumin's words. She vaguely saw a tall figure appear before her, a chill chilling to the touch. She raised her eyes blearily, but couldn't make out the person's features.
"Thank you, Sect Master," Gao Qiumin said nervously, looking at the suddenly appearing Xie Xuechen. "I didn't hit her hard, she fell on her own."
Xie Xuechen said calmly, "I understand."
Gao Qiumin was slightly startled—he knew?
Su Ningzhen suddenly landed in front of Gao Qiumin and said, "Qiumin wouldn't attack without cause. She said she sensed a demonic aura from this girl. Sect Leader Xie, what do you say?"
Xie Xuechen replied, "You two are guests of Yongxue City, as is Ling'er. I won't embarrass one person because of one person's words. If she says no, then it's no."
Su Ningzhen's expression darkened, and she sneered, "Okay, since Sect Leader Xie has said so, we have nothing to say. Qiumin, let's go."
Su Ningzhen angrily left with Gao Qiumin.
"Xie...Xuechen..."
A weak voice came from behind. Xie Xuechen, hands clasped behind his back, forced himself not to look back at her. The same prank, once or twice, would be fine, but the third time...why would she hurt herself to tease someone else?
He had said there wouldn't be a next time, but she still didn't listen.
Xie Xuechen frowned slightly, but ultimately left without a backward glance.
Mu Xuanling crouched in the snow, her pupils gradually dilating. Through her blurred vision, she saw Xie Xuechen's receding figure. Her head ached, making it almost impossible to think—why had he left? Why hadn't he looked at her? Why hadn't he hugged her?
A strong sense of grievance surged in her heart, almost drowning out the ache in her heart.
She opened her mouth weakly.
—Xie Xuechen, it hurts...
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