Bai Shengyi’s lips, which had been curled upwards, immediately pressed downwards.
Who was it? So oblivious!
Didn’t they know that disturbing a couple’s reunion would earn them a strike from heaven!
The demon king Lin Qingyu, however, truly didn’t know these things.
He swayed a bewitching, flamboyant jade-gold peacock fan and walked up to Bai Shengyi and Qin Si with a smile, looking as if he were observing his own juniors. “Two young friends, I see a connection between you. How about we go into the city for a chat?”
Bai Shengyi didn’t recognize this person and looked at Qin Si.
This person was clearly also here for Qin Si.
Qin Si politely declined. “It is my fortune to receive the appreciation of His Majesty the Demon King. However, today is not a good day, as I have important matters to attend to. Perhaps I shall pay a formal visit another day.”
Qin Si was not some clueless fool, nor was he so arrogant that he wouldn’t bend.
He recognized the identity of the person before him at a glance, so his words and tone were extremely polite, neither appearing overly eager nor overly distant.
Only then did Lin Qingyu notice the hands the two youngsters were holding. He raised an eyebrow, touched his nose, and realized he had been too hasty. He had forgotten that not everyone was a lonely bachelor like himself.
With a closer look, Lin Qingyu also began to truly observe the young girl beside Qin Si. If he remembered correctly, hadn’t this little girl just sparred with a Nascent Soul cultivator a moment ago?
Seeing Qin Si silently step in front of the girl, Lin Qingyu couldn’t help but chuckle. “Very well, it was my oversight. We shall meet again in a few days. I hope you two young friends will not find an old man like me bothersome then.”
“Your Majesty the Demon King speaks too highly. How could that be?” Qin Si replied with a smile.
Lin Qingyu nodded in satisfaction and departed.
He truly wished he could see the expressions on Rong Bugui and Li Tingyun’s faces right now. He wondered if Li Tingyun regretted their actions.
Whether Li Tingyun regretted anything was unknown, but Rong Bugui was genuinely infuriated by his daughter.
“What did you say? You provoked a Nascent Soul cultivator? And you dragged Elder Yu into it?” Rong Bugui’s face flushed red and his neck bulged. If he hadn’t been absent, he would have likely slapped Rong Xuelan on the spot.
Rong Xuelan, however, shouted even louder than Rong Bugui.
“It’s just a Nascent Soul cultivator, why are you so angry? Can’t you, someone who is about to reach Mahayana, kill him?”
Through the communication artifact, Rong Xuelan grumbled indignantly, “Also, are you even my father? I encounter such disgraceful events, and instead of caring about me, you care about an elder. I’m going to tell Mother!”
Rong Bugui became even angrier.
“Shut up! Go find your mother if you have the guts!”
In his generation of cultivators at the Xile Sect, Rong Bugui was not particularly outstanding. A large part of the reason he managed to become the Sect Master was that he had married the daughter of the previous Sect Master, who was Rong Xuelan’s mother.
Over the years, Rong Bugui had always felt somewhat intimidated in front of Rong Xuelan’s mother. Even his own daughter would yell at him for no reason. Therefore, Rong Bugui had always longed to achieve something great and prove to everyone that even without Rong Xuelan’s mother, he could still become a sect master.
“Fine, I will!” Rong Xuelan snapped and cut off the communication.
Rong Bugui’s head throbbed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and ordered his subordinate, “Go investigate who this Nascent Soul cultivator that the eldest young lady provoked is.”
Phoenix City was not far from Yueqingshan, a distance within the range of communication talismans. Thus, Rong Bugui quickly discovered the other party’s identity, which only made him angrier.
Along with his anger, there was an uncontrollable sense of unease.
“Scoundrel! She’s been completely spoiled by her mother! Is Qin Si someone she can provoke?”
Rong Bugui had heard that Sect Master Li had suffered a great loss at Qin Si’s hands this time. If Qin Si held a grudge against the Xile Sect because of Rong Xuelan…
Rong Bugui’s vision darkened.
He then thought of Xia Xilou, who was still imprisoned in Shenqi Academy with no news, and Song Sheng, who had reportedly fled to the Supreme Sect. He felt an even greater headache!
“Sect Master, there is a female cultivator outside claiming to be Yun Youyue requesting an audience.”
Just as Rong Bugui was contemplating whether to secretly try to mend relations with Qin Si behind the Supreme Sect’s back, his subordinate rushed in with another report.
“Yun Youyue?” Rong Bugui frowned slightly and waved his hand. “Tell her I’m not seeing her. I’m not seeing her.”
He hadn’t yet decided whether to befriend Qin Si, and he certainly didn’t want to get involved with this group of people.
The subordinate relayed his words and soon returned.
“Sect Master, she says she can refine mid-grade Heavenly tier spirit artifacts…”
Rong Bugui’s order to dismiss her paused. After a moment of hesitation, he changed his mind. “Then let her in.”
…
Sanghai Secret Realm.
Qing Lan arrived in a hurry and scanned the entire secret realm with his divine sense. Finding no trace of Bai Shengyi, he rushed back to the academy to find Qian Ying.
“Master, you’re looking for Junior Sister? Junior Sister has already returned from the secret realm. By now, she should have met up with Qin Si.”
“Returned?” Qing Lan was startled. But why did he still feel an immense sense of unease?
He had a feeling that something very important had happened not long ago.
“Yes.” Qian Ying didn’t notice Qing Lan’s expression; she was busy handling the academy’s internal affairs.
After Qin Si left, most of the academy’s internal affairs fell to her and Wen Jiuyin. Wen Jiuyin had a gentle nature and was sufficient for handling internal academy matters. However, external affairs, such as the management of the three great formations and the constant infiltration of cultivators from outer continents, were her responsibility.
“Oh, right, this is a gift Junior Sister brought for you. Everyone in our sect got one.” Qian Ying handed a box to Qing Lan and then added with a smile, “Master, when are we going to hold Junior Sister’s discipleship banquet?”
In her opinion, Bai Shengyi was her junior sister.
Even though Qing Lan kept saying the timing wasn’t right, she assumed he was testing Bai Shengyi, so she tried to improve Bai Shengyi’s standing whenever she had the chance.
Qing Lan opened the box, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
A box full of ninth-grade Snow Lotus flowers, perfectly preserved and blooming brilliantly.
…
“In that divine realm, there’s nothing else, but there’s plenty of this. I only picked some when I left.” Bai Shengyi placed two large boxes into Qin Si’s hands, her lips curving into a smile. “Here, these are for you.”
Qin Si opened them and saw that both boxes were filled with ninth-grade Snow Lotus flowers.
Bai Shengyi explained, “Perhaps because Princess Ruyi liked Snow Lotus flowers, the divine sword’s spirit planted quite a few. This is also the only flower that survived in the divine realm.”
After the Heavenly Mystery Sword’s spirit perished, everything in the divine realm disappeared. However, vast stretches of Snow Lotus flowers bloomed overnight.
The flowers would bloom for only an hour before withering, only to be reborn, much like the inextricable entanglement between the spirit and Shengyi.
Bai Shengyi didn’t know why she thought of it that way, but she didn’t tell Princess Ruyi that her real name was “Shengyi.” Instead, she referred to her as Princess Ruyi.
“Do you like them? These flowers absorb the essence of the sun and moon to transform. They contain pure lunar essence. Just carrying one with you can calm the spirit and quiet the mind.”