IVYSCP - Chapter 121

Chapter 121

The skyship did not alert the watchtowers near the barrier. It passed through soundlessly and flew silently toward the Central Lands of the Immortal Realm.

As previously agreed, when Ling Qingyue and Pei Yin passed Great Sorrow Valley, they picked up Yue Teng and the two spiritual plants she had carefully nurtured. Yue Teng had lost her roots and had been attached to those two spiritual plants for a hundred years.

Yue Teng's final destination was still the Yue Family. When the skyship reached Lingxu Immortal Palace territory, Yu Ting took Yue Teng and separated from them, heading to the Yue Family.

"Liuli, do you want to go back and take a look?" Ling Qingyue stood at the front of the skyship and asked Yu Liuli beside her.

Yu Liuli lowered her gaze to Lingxu Immortal Palace below. It was strange yet familiar, the place where she had grown up. Although her mother had passed away early, leaving her alone, her Sect Leader aunt and Cousin Ying Ying had never treated her poorly.

Yu Liuli gave a light laugh and shook her head. "No, it's better not to cause extra complications. If we alert them, the losses will outweigh the gains."

If she saw her aunt and Ying Ying again, she ought to say sorry and thank you. Back then, the matter with Qiu Feng had erupted suddenly, coinciding with the Three Thousand Gathering. Every major immortal sect had witnessed Lingxu Immortal Palace harboring a half-demon, but the palace had not severed ties. Even after seeing her fight desperately to protect Qiu Feng, they had done their utmost to fight for a way for Qiu Feng to survive.

Ling Qingyue did not press further. The two stood quietly, watching as the distant orange-red sunset was swallowed bit by bit.

During their three-day Desire Phase, Pei Yin's jade token had flickered many times, but both of them had been too lost in passion to notice. Only when their clothes were pushed off the bed and the jade token hit the floor with a sound did Pei Yin lift her eyes to glance at it. That was when she saw Chu Qianshan's message:

Grandmaster is temporarily staying at Piaomiao Sect. Liu Qingtang has awakened. Return quickly.

Only then did Ling Qingyue suppress her Desire Phase and leave the Great Wilderness in haste.

Regarding that message, Ling Qingyue felt a moment of confusion. She asked Pei Yin, "Isn't your grandmaster wandering the world? How did she end up at Piaomiao Sect?"

Pei Yin shook her head. "I don't know either. Given Grandmaster's temperament, with Master there, she shouldn't have come to Piaomiao Sect. And Master wouldn't have taken the initiative to contact Grandmaster."

Ling Qingyue was unclear about the master-disciple relationships within Cangshan, but she found it quite interesting. Chu Qianshan and that grandmaster were clearly master and disciple, yet it was as if they were playing hide-and-seek, both avoiding the other.

Thanks to the spirit stones Ying Ying had given them, the skyship traveled extremely fast. Within a single day, they arrived at Piaomiao Sect.

The moment the skyship passed through the barrier, a figure shot out, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Starving, starving! Sweet dreams, sweet dreams, I need sweet dreams!"

Ling Qingyue: "..."

Their time in the Great Wilderness really had been hard on Pei Xi. Before, at Piaomiao Sect, she'd been like a mouse that fell into a jar of rice, and her palate had grown picky. She would rather go hungry than touch Xue Zizai's dreams. Even when Xue Zizai, seeing her so ravenous her eyes glowed green, offered her own dreams willingly, Pei Xi still refused to eat them.

The skyship reached Water Cloud Dwelling. From far away, Ling Qingyue saw the several figures standing in front of the door.

Nie Wenxiao, dignified and courteous. Liu Qingtang, dark in expression and pale in complexion. Chu Qianshan, arms crossed over her chest, looking thoroughly impatient. And...

Ling Qingyue's gaze settled on the woman standing some distance away from Chu Qianshan. She was not wearing dharma robes but brocade clothing from the Mortal Realm. Her demeanor was gentle and mild, her brows and eyes curved in a smile.

So this was the Cangshan grandmaster. She was not what Ling Qingyue had imagined. She had thought the grandmaster would be a senior with a powerful presence, someone who inspired fear at a single glance. She hadn't expected her to be so approachable, somewhat like Pei Si.

Thinking of Pei Si made a wave of awkwardness surge up from the bottom of Ling Qingyue's heart.

Back then, she had thought Pei Si was the grandmaster.

Ling Qingyue was so embarrassed her eyes darted around and she didn't know what to do with her hands and feet. She followed behind Pei Yin as they descended from the skyship and came before the group.

Pei Yin raised her hand in salute. "Grandmaster. Master."

Ling Qingyue also cupped her hands and bowed. "Grandmaster. Master."

Pei Yin silently turned her head to look at her. Ling Qingyue still hadn't realized anything was wrong and looked back at her, confused.

What's the matter?

The next instant, a woman's light laugh and Chu Qianshan's angry shout sounded by her ear.

"Who are you calling blindly? Who's your master?!" After yelling at Ling Qingyue, Chu Qianshan glared at Pei Yin. "Have you two pledged yourselves to each other in private? If so, you need not call me master any longer either."

Ling Qingyue was stunned. Then she realized she had unthinkingly echoed Pei Yin's form of address. No wonder Chu Qianshan had suddenly lost her temper so badly.

In Chu Qianshan's eyes, her precious disciple had gone out with her once and gotten her heart ensnared again. And by calling her that right in front of her, how could Ling Qingyue's words not count as provocation?

Ling Qingyue stepped forward to explain. "Not at all, Senior misunderstood. I misspoke. Even if Pei Yin and I pledge ourselves to each other, we will certainly inform you first."

She had thought that after her explanation Chu Qianshan would calm down a little. Who would have guessed the other's expression would turn even fouler, and that fury shifted from Pei Yin onto her.

Chu Qianshan: "Hmph!"

Ling Qingyue: "..."

What had she said wrong now?

"Ling... Qingyue?" A weak voice tinged with confusion came through.

Ling Qingyue turned to look and saluted the other. "Liu Qingtang, long time no see."

Liu Qingtang took two steps forward, her body still somewhat unsteady. Nie Wenxiao, at her side, reached out to support her. Her eyes were much clearer than before, but deep inside still lay hidden weariness and exhaustion. A faint layer of red surfaced at the bottom of her eyes.

"Long time no see."

After speaking, Liu Qingtang lowered her head, her shoulders cringing. She seemed unable to face the opponent who had once matched her on the arena stage.

Nie Wenxiao's eyes were full of heartache. Her junior sister had regained clarity, but returning to the youthful spirit she once had was probably going to be difficult.

Her eyes slowly stung. Nie Wenxiao shifted her gaze and saw the two people behind Ling Qingyue and Pei Yin. "And these two are?"

They seemed somewhat familiar.

Ling Qingyue reached out to introduce them. "Yu Liuli. Qiu Feng."

Nie Wenxiao's pupils contracted. She whipped her head toward Ling Qingyue.

Decades ago at the Three Thousand Gathering, Yu Liuli and a half-demon had been driven into the Great Wilderness. That half-demon seemed to be called Qiu Feng!

Ling Qingyue understood her shock and nodded. "Sect Leader Nie is correct. It is them."

Nie Wenxiao drew in a sharp breath and hurriedly steadied Liu Qingtang.

Chu Qianshan let out a cold snort from the side, her eyes stabbing toward Pei Yin with clear displeasure. She spoke with heavy sarcasm. "Immortal Venerable truly does as she pleases. One by her side isn't enough, she brought back another."

With two demons around her, before long the Hundred Immortal Sects would raze their Cangshan to the ground.

"Qianshan, Xiao Yin has her own judgment. Don't speak of her like that." The woman's gentle voice carried the instructive tone of a teacher toward her student.

Chu Qianshan's expression shifted again and again. Then she flung her sleeves and walked back into Water Cloud Dwelling.

Although Nie Wenxiao was full of unanswered questions, these were people Ling Qingyue and Pei Yin had brought back. What could she say?

"Let's go inside and talk."

With that, Nie Wenxiao extended a hand toward the Cangshan grandmaster, letting her go first.

Once the grandmaster walked ahead and Nie Wenxiao and Liu Qingtang had also entered Water Cloud Dwelling, Ling Qingyue tugged Pei Yin back a few steps and asked her quietly, "What's Grandmaster's name?"

She still wanted to know the grandmaster's name. Otherwise, the moment she saw her, she couldn't help but think of the name Pei Si.

Pei Yin gave her a meaningful look and replied coolly, "Pei Congyi."

Ling Qingyue nodded, feeling much more comfortable. Pei Si. Pei Congyi. Completely unrelated.

Her wrist was caught in a cool palm, and then the woman's cold fragrance lingered at the tip of her nose. Ling Qingyue heard the woman's dangerous whisper. "Do you think Grandmaster bears some resemblance to Pei Si?"

Ling Qingyue's lashes trembled. She shook her head without hesitation to deny it. "No! Don't talk nonsense! That's Grandmaster. Those words are deeply disrespectful."

"Is that so." Pei Yin was unconcerned. Her fingertips scraped idly against the tender skin at the side of Ling Qingyue's wrist, as if in reminder. "Back then, a certain someone mistook me for Grandmaster and didn't find it disrespectful at all."

Ling Qingyue's eyes went wide.

She... how did she know?! Had she really been that obvious back then?!

As they spoke, they arrived at the East Courtyard. Before Ling Qingyue could ask further, she already felt a burning gaze land on her and Pei Yin's hands. She didn't need to think to know who it was.

"Let go, quick. Your master is looking over."

The woman's palm slid down to clasp Ling Qingyue's hand. Her fingers slipped into the gaps between Ling Qingyue's fingers and laced tightly. "Don't be afraid. With Grandmaster here, she won't be too fierce."

Ling Qingyue couldn't pull free and had to let Pei Yin hold her hand like that.

Ling Qingyue secretly watched Chu Qianshan and found that the other was indeed holding back a fury she dared not voice.

So even someone with a temper as huge as Senior Chu's had to obediently listen in front of her own master.

After sitting down, Pei Yin personally poured tea for her grandmaster and master. As she did, she asked, "Wasn't Grandmaster wandering the world? How did you suddenly come to Piaomiao Sect?"

Pei Congyi took a sip of tea. "To sever a karmic debt I once left behind."

"Several hundred years ago, while I was wandering the Mortal Realm, I passed through Yuelou Country. I gave a child a Spirit-Testing Stone. Indirectly, this led to that child being plotted against."

"Bang!"

The tea cup hit the floor. The instant it shattered, spiritual energy gathered and restored it to its original state, leaving not a single crack visible.

"Qingtang!" Nie Wenxiao set the tea cup back on the table and looked at Liu Qingtang nervously.

Liu Qingtang's face was ashen. Her fingers were clenched tightly. Her entire being was like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow, her eyes brimming with fear.

"I'm sorry. It was... it was discourteous of me."

Liu Qingtang kept her head lowered, but when she apologized, she lifted her eyes twice to look at Ling Qingyue. Her gaze was tangled, complicated, and held something she seemed to want to say but couldn't.

Seeing her like this made Ling Qingyue's heart ache. Liu Qingtang shouldn't be like this.

She drew a light breath. "It was Lou Wudu who harmed you."

Liu Qingtang suddenly raised her eyes to look at her. "You know. She's your senior sister. Do you believe it?"

Back then, everyone in the world knew how deep the bond was between the Sword Venerable's two disciples of Shangtianqiong Sect. Ling Qingyue had revered and depended on Lou Wudu, tolerating not a single bad word about her senior sister from anyone. Now, to tell Ling Qingyue that her righteous, open, honorable senior sister was the one behind the scenes who had harmed her... would Ling Qingyue believe it?

"People's hearts are hidden from view. She harmed so many people. The evidence is conclusive. I am not blind or heart-blind. After doing all this, she no longer deserves to be my senior sister. Master will not acknowledge her either."

When Ling Qingyue spoke these words, there was no longer even a trace of sadness. She simply considered that the senior sister in her memories had already died, died together with her in the Immortal-Demon War.

"Sect Leader Nie."

A flash of dark red passed through Ling Qingyue's pupils. "I will lead the team to Shangtianqiong for the Ranking Tournament a month from now."

Previous Table of Contents Next