As the setting sun faded, ink crept across the vast expanse of the sky, and the pure, radiant glow of the full moon poured like a waterfall upon the mortal realm.
Several figures hovered in the void beneath the night sky.
The followers were all clad in uniform white robes with wide sleeves and narrow collars, embroidered either with the exotic beast Baize or the divine beast Pixiu, their mystical patterns shimmering with a faint golden light.
The leader among them was a woman.
Unlike the rest, she wore no white, but rather a black gown. The smooth silk hem fluttered in the night wind, faintly outlining her shapely, voluptuous figure. Her dark hair was coiled high in a topknot adorned with a hairpin bearing red beads. The corners of her brows curved slightly upward, and her limpid eyes held a sly, soul-stirring allure.
Beneath these figures lay a valley floor enshrouded in thick fog.
The white mist that had looked pale under the sunlight now flickered with a seductive, sinister red glow beneath the moonbeams. Indistinct shadowy vapors merged across the massive valley basin, resembling an eerie, boundless ocean.
Listening to the strange, savage screeches faintly echoing from the mist below, a man in a wide-sleeved, narrow-collared robe holding a compass suddenly asked in a low voice:
"Saintess, the two have indeed entered Zhujian Valley just as the Pavilion Master foresaw. Should we report this to him first?"
Tianye surveyed everything below with keen interest. Her red lips parted slightly, and her murmur carried a subtle hint of seductiveness:
"Those two are quite intriguing~ Those deduced by Master through the Divine Heaven-Deducing Art have never gone awry, yet it is as if these two possess some predictive method of their own, slipping away from our encirclement time after time..."
Saying so, Tianye turned her head slightly, arms crossed over her chest, and looked at the man beside her with a beaming smile:
"Xiao Jianqing, I recall that back when you were in the Qionghua Sect, you seemed to know both of them?"
The white-robed man holding the compass was indeed Xiao Jianqing.
Back then, he had fled even earlier than Xu Yuan and Tianyan. After defecting from the Qionghua Sect, he experienced numerous ups and downs before finally being accepted into the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion.
Hearing this, Xiao Jianqing's calm eyes flickered slightly. After a moment of thought, he replied softly:
"Answering the Saintess, this Xiao naturally recognizes Senior Brother Jinghe and Senior Sister Tianyan. However, I come from humble beginnings and never had deep interactions with them—merely nodding acquaintances whenever we crossed paths."
Tianye seemed somewhat surprised to hear this:
"All of you were core disciples with comparable cultivation levels, yet you had no friendship at all?"
Xiao Jianqing looked straight into the alluring golden eyes of the Saintess before him:
"Every word of mine is true. Jinghe and Tianyan were direct descendants of the Sect Master's lineage; naturally, they would not grow too close to a commoner like me. Moreover, back then, I belonged to the faction of the Qionghua Sect's Second Elder."
At this, a sliver of amusement surfaced in Tianye's pale golden eyes:
"Internal strife, was it?"
"Yes." Xiao Jianqing bowed with hands lowered respectfully, a faint sigh flitting through his downcast gaze.
Seven years had passed.
Today, the Qionghua Sect was still considered a first-rate sect locally, but across the entire world, it could only be counted as second-rate.
What was more, it continued to decay with each passing day.
There were external factors, but the primary cause was internal rot within the Qionghua Sect itself.
And signs of these issues had already been visible even before Xiao Jianqing had defected.
The incident seven years ago had merely acted as the spark that set it all off.
Tianye shook her head lightly, tapping her fingertip toward the southern sky. Her tone carried a charming smile, yet tinged with mockery:
"The infighting among Qionghua's upper echelon is only intensifying. If this goes on, within a century, the Qionghua Esoteric Sect might be reduced to an unranked sect. As a former disciple, don't you have anything to say?"
With head lowered, Xiao Jianqing's tone was somewhat complicated:
"That I was able to step onto the path of cultivation... was indeed a gift from Qionghua. But during my decades there, I repaid that debt of gratitude."
Amusement danced in Tianye's sparkling eyes.
"Quite true. The higher-ups of Qionghua only know how to funnel precious resources to their own bloodline descendants while shutting genuine talents out... Such a sect is indeed unworthy of someone pledging their life to it."
"That is also why I am willing to serve the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion," Xiao Jianqing added unhurriedly.
Hearing this, Tianye gave him a deep look, then waved a hand dismissively.
"There is strife within the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion as well. Those venerables and prominent clans are just as base, constantly scheming for power and profit..."
"At least the Pavilion Master is here."
Xiao Jianqing interrupted her words, casting his gaze toward the surrounding mountain forests. "Beneath an age of prosperity lie nothing but foul blossoms; only the Pavilion Master remains untainted."
"..."
Tianye froze for an instant before breaking into a melodious giggle.
Her bell-like laughter drifted on the wind beneath the immaculate moonlight.
The Overseeing Heaven Pavilion had endured through the ages not merely because of the Heaven-Deducing Art's predictive prowess, but largely because every generation's Pavilion Master was an existence rational to the point of heartlessness.
Without desire, they held no selfish wants, let alone abused the colossal authority in their hands.
Her laughter faded. Tianye half-lowered her eyelids, and an inexplicable sigh flickered in her starry, brilliant eyes.
To become the Pavilion Master was the lifelong aspiration of every Holy Son and Saintess.
Yet when that day truly came...
Would she... still be herself?
Reining in her thoughts, Tianye hooked the corner of her lips slightly.
"Very well. Go report this matter to Master."
Xiao Jianqing hesitated briefly and said in a low voice:
"Saintess, this place borders Guyuan and is ten thousand li from the Tianjue Mountain Range. Arranging for a Holy Venerable to arrive might cause a considerable delay."
"So what are you suggesting?"
"The nearby area seems to be the territory of the Yaoyue Sect. They reportedly signed a blood pact with us. Using the Heaven Pavilion Token should allow—"
"Fool."
Tianye parted her red lips to spit out that single word. Turning her profile, all seductiveness vanished from her peach-blossom eyes, leaving her pale golden irises utterly aloof. "How precious is the Charm God tree seed? Over the past seven years, no one under heaven has dared mention sharing a piece of this pie solely out of fear of the renown of our Overseeing Heaven Pavilion and Taiqing Dao Palace. But once we actively ask for assistance and give them an excuse, things will be different."
Although they had done their utmost to conceal the truth by framing the hunt under the guise of avenging the murder of a Holy Son, word of the Charm God tree seed's appearance had still spread like wildfire over the past seven years. Now, across the vast world, countless factions were eyeing this succulent prize.
"Understood. This Xiao shall take his leave."
Xiao Jianqing cupped his hands in a salute.
With that, he was about to turn into a streak of light and depart, but paused on the verge of leaving, tentatively asking:
"Saintess, may I be so bold as to ask: why is it that Senior Brother Jinghe and the other can predict the venerated Pavilion Master's deductions?"
"If you know it is bold, why speak of it at all?"
"..."
Seeing this, Xiao Jianqing hurriedly bowed with hands lowered. "It was presumptuous of me."
"Go and return swiftly."
Tianye raised her hand slightly, her sleeve slipping down to reveal a slender stretch of fair, smooth forearm, and waved him off. "You need not inform Master directly either. There is a Holy Venerable stationed at Jing'an City. Ten days should be plenty of time for you to notify him."
*Hum—*
With a hum accompanied by the sound of tearing through the air, Xiao Jianqing instantly turned into a purple beam of light, rapidly shrinking into a speck as it surged toward the sky and vanished from sight.
Everything returned to calm.
Tianye hovered in midair, her gown fluttering, pale golden pupils fixed on the mist below. Her gaze was fathomless as she murmured to herself:
"Not only can they sense the deductions, they even know that ghost mist can block the Heaven-Deducing Art. Master said they might have learned the Heaven-Deducing Art from Tianrui through some means, but observing the traces of their techniques, it looks nothing like it at all..."
Saying so, Tianye raised her hand to gently press her brow, doubt surfacing in her eyes.
"There is always a sense of discord... Has their consciousness been modified by someone?"
As she pondered, a sudden upheaval occurred between heaven and earth.
A dazzling burst of red light abruptly surged from the distant mist below, almost illuminating half the sky.
At this sight, the pupils of everyone present constricted.
After a long moment, a white-robed man behind Tianye spoke hesitantly:
"Saintess, this aura... seems to be a Saint-level yin ghost?"
***
Walking through the withered, eerie woods, Xu Yuan and Tianyan moved at no slow pace, covering a hundred meters in the blink of an eye.
Ghost mist death zones were only relatively perilous. To two Origin Realm cultivators like them, as long as they did not encounter some truly terrifying entity, danger was practically nonexistent.
Over the past half-month, they had basically grown accustomed to the environment within Zhujian Valley. During this time, they had also slaughtered plenty of creatures living in the ghost mist.
Without exception, every one of these "little darlings" had undergone ghost transformation mutations to varying degrees.
They had turned monstrously deformed, somewhat reminiscent of nuclear radiation from Xu Yuan's past life.
Besides that, they had even encountered humans on the valley floor.
Or rather, calling them ghost humans was more fitting.
It was not the complete yin ghost transformation like Gui Qi's in the past, but rather something like ghost path cultivators who used ghost qi for their practice.
Their bodies were withered and ghastly pale, eyes sunken, and irises emerald-green, resembling zombies.
Still, they had yet to encounter a single entity capable of posing a threat to the two of them.
Once night fell, Zhujian Valley became extraordinarily tranquil. The two silently walked through the withered woods.
They were looking for a suitable hiding spot. Over the past half-month, they had found several decent locations, but Xu Yuan had vetoed them all.
As a dignified Origin Realm cultivator, even if trapped in ghost mist, life still required a sense of ceremony.
Setting aside having mountains and rivers as neighbors, at the very least, he refused to live in some godforsaken cave.
Advancing along the way, Xu Yuan kept his cultivation technique running to stay alert to their surroundings.
Zhujian Valley still retained the terrain of a forested valley basin; the trees inside were merely somewhat uglier.
After traversing several dozen more li and offhandedly slaughtering some blind yin ghosts and deformed little darlings that stumbled into their path, the dense woods suddenly opened up.
Encircled by ghostly trees, a waterfall rushed down from on high, crashing into an ancient pool below and sending up sprays of water. The mist drifting around it made the place resemble an earthly paradise.
Serene.
It was hard to imagine that such an elegant sanctuary could exist amidst the ghost mist.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan instinctively glanced sideways at the young girl beside him, only to find that she was looking at him too.
Evidently, this girl Tianyan was quite pleased with the place as well.
"Here?" Xu Yuan asked.
Tianyan did not answer immediately. A brilliant divine light as radiant as the rising sun flared in her eyes as she swept her gaze over the surroundings before replying in a low voice:
"Mm. This spot is still some distance from the center of the ghost mist, and it is relatively secluded."
Hearing that, Xu Yuan joked half-playfully:
"So this will be our home from now on?"
"..."
Tianyan ignored him. Her petite figure walked over to the riverside on her own. Seeing Xu Yuan still standing dazed in place, she looked back and glared at him playfully, her voice crisp:
"What are you still standing there for? Do you want to sleep out in the open with heaven as your blanket and the earth as your bed?"
Xu Yuan grinned and walked up briskly:
"If it's with you, Tianyan, sleeping with heaven as our blanket and the earth as our bed isn't completely unacceptable."
Ripples stirred in Tianyan's heart, and the corners of her lips curled up instinctively, but she immediately caught the deeper implication of his words and glared at the lecher:
"Do you even know how to build a house?"
Xu Yuan recalled the wilderness survival skills he had unlocked in his past life and said softly:
"I can at least build a matchbox."
"That's enough then. Go chop down some timber. We'll build a small cottage here."
"Heh, inside a cottage sounds good to me too. Out in the open is a bit too wild after all."
"Build two rooms."
"Then you can look forward to sleeping under the open sky."
Chapter 384