Mount Tailan sat in the central plains of Jingbei Province. Its peak towered majestically among the clouds, like a solitary skiff resting atop a sea of clouds.
A young girl in white stood at the edge of the cliff. A pair of resplendent golden eyes gazed out at the rising sun in the distance, and the cascade of long hair behind her danced in the mountain wind—yet on that exquisite little face, her expression was rather sulky.
After being driven away by that bastard, she had not lingered at all, continuing south all alone in a fit of pique.
Tianyan truly felt that Xu Yuan had gone too far.
That scoundrel had clearly said it himself in the illusion realm:
Men are creatures who cherish what they cannot have all the more, so women must love and respect themselves, and never give their bodies away lightly.
Thinking of this, Tianyan's face flushed crimson, and she stomped her foot with force.
Yet when it came to himself, everything was turned completely upside down.
What a scoundrel—strict with others, lenient with himself!
After cursing that bastard out once more in her mind, Tianyan realized that her vexation had not dissipated at all; if anything, she had only grown angrier.
Forcibly suppressing the grievance in her heart, Tianyan pursed her small lips and quietly retrieved a map of Great Yan from her Sumeru ring, checking her current location.
Traveling at full speed for three days, she had already crossed two provinces to reach the center of Jingbei Province. At this rate, it would probably take only about two more days for her to return to Di'an City.
Two days...
At the speed of the black eagle pavilion, that fellow Xu Yuan would probably still need around seven days.
By the time he returned to the capital, she would probably have cooled down.
Mm... Once she wasn't angry anymore, she would go settle scores with that bastard.
With her mind wandering through such messy thoughts, Tianyan tidied her robes slightly, put the map back into her Sumeru ring, took out a blanket to spread across the ground, and sat cross-legged at the cliff's edge to begin regulating her breathing.
Traveling at top speed for so long was an immense drain on her Source Qi as well.
And her experience wandering the realm had taught her that to avoid running out of Source Qi should an ambush occur, she needed to keep her condition well above a safe baseline.
Compared to other regions, the Source Qi atop this peak was quite plentiful.
Naturally, Mount Tailan had also been claimed because of this. However, what was built upon the summit was not lavish jade pavilions or palaces, but merely simple lodges made of stone and wood—most of which lacked even a decent formation array.
This was not a traditional immortal sect, but a secular sect that had sprung up in recent years.
As Tianyan meditated to adjust her breathing, she used her intent-soul to observe the morning practice of the disciples in this secular sect.
Compared to disciples of immortal sects, the cultivation of these secular sects seemed rather arduous.
The morning sun had only just crested the horizon, yet these people had already gone through several routines.
Holding horse stances, practicing fist techniques, scaling the mountain with heavy loads—at a glance, they were brimming with vigor.
Sensing this touch of mundane life, the resentment in Tianyan's heart gradually smoothed over, and her thoughts began to drift.
If that bastard were here with her watching this, he would probably chuckle and tell her something like: "The rise of secular sects brings unrest, but also opportunity. With sufficient control, the martial apprentices who emerge from these sects will mostly end up as running dogs for our Great Yan court."
At the thought, the corners of Tianyan's lips unconsciously curved up slightly.
Her mood turning somewhat brighter, she chose not to disturb these mortals striving and yearning to step onto the immortal path. Silently retracting her intent-soul, she focused on regulating her breath.
Tianyan's arrival had drawn no one's attention; even the mortals passing by during their morning drills failed to notice that such a fairy was meditating here.
Time trickled by.
Having used medicinal pills to bring her condition to its peak, Tianyan stood up and put away the blanket beneath her. Glancing at the mortal disciples who had finished their morning drills and were beginning their day's cultivation, she suddenly seemed to recall something and broke into a playful smile.
Without hesitation, she used Source Qi to carve a seemingly natural hollow into a century-old tree nearby, then retrieved the lowest-tier cultivation method from her Sumeru ring and held it in her hand.
*With that fellow's personality, he would definitely share this kind of mischievous sense of humor...*
With that in mind, Tianyan relaxed her hand and placed the cultivation manual—priceless and unobtainable in the secular world—inside the hollow.
Having finished, Tianyan was just about to depart when her gaze suddenly turned toward the distant horizon, her pretty willow-leaf brows furrowing slightly.
She sensed a very powerful aura speeding rapidly toward the north, and judging by its trajectory, it seemed it would pass right over her position.
The Great Yan Dynasty was vast. The probability of running into a cultivator no weaker than herself in such a desolate wilderness was roughly equivalent to buying a lottery ticket at a bank and hitting the grand prize.
After a moment of contemplation, Tianyan ultimately chose to wait a little while.
Better to avoid unnecessary trouble; she would leave once the other party had flown far away.
With this thought, Tianyan quietly masked her presence and form, though her golden eyes remained locked firmly on the direction of that surging qi dynamic.
A dozen-odd breaths after sensing that tumultuous qi dynamic, the newcomer entered Tianyan's line of sight.
And the instant she caught sight of the newcomer's face, Tianyan froze.
Because this person bore a resemblance to that scoundrel.
After a brief daze, Tianyan deduced the person's identity. She blinked her beautiful eyes, somewhat baffled.
Yet baffled though she was, Tianyan had no intention of going out to greet him.
When she had entered the capital back then, she had paid a visit to the Prime Minister's Manor. Xu Yuan's uncle, Feng Jiuxuan, had given her a token, but the scoundrel's elder brother seemed to have a poor opinion of her, not even showing his face to meet her.
And so Tianyan pondered the reason for his northward journey while keeping her aura concealed amidst the woods, waiting for him to pass.
The piercing sonic boom of a high-tier cultivator speeding through the air howled as it drew near—yet just as Xu Changge was about to sweep over the summit of Mount Tailan, the sound of tearing air abruptly ceased.
Seeing this sudden turn, Tianyan immediately realized she had been discovered, a flicker of astonishment flashing through her azure-gold pupils.
*He could detect me even through the concealment arts of the Heaven-Deducing Art... That scoundrel's elder brother is truly formidable.*
Even as the thought crossed her mind, a gentle male voice carrying a faint chill entered her ears directly.
Two words, curt and plain:
"Come out."
"..."
Hearing those words and that tone, Tianyan's willow brows knitted slightly, and she pressed her red lips together.
Wondering how she could have possibly offended him, Tianyan slowly rose from the ground and ascended into the open air.
A man in azure robes hovered in midair, noble and imposing like a banished immortal.
Looking at his appearance, Tianyan was inexplicably reminded of that scoundrel.
*They are biological brothers, so why is the difference in their demeanor so vast?*
After muttering internally, Tianyan noticed the frigid gaze he directed at her, and instantly sensed something was amiss.
After a moment of silent mutual staring, Tianyan curtsied slightly in greeting:
"Eldest Young Master..."
"Shut up."
"..."
The corner of Tianyan's eye twitched.
She realized that the scoundrel was comparatively much more endearing. How on earth had this elder brother lived to adulthood with such a wretched personality?
Yet reason helped Tianyan hold back. She stared at him in silence, though the look in her eyes steadily turned cold as well.
Xu Changge stared at Tianyan for several breaths, glanced down at the mortals atop the summit of Mount Tailan, and said in a cold voice, "You certainly possess plenty of leisurely refinement."
Furrowing her willow brows, Tianyan replied, "I am merely meditating to adjust my breathing here. I wonder how I have offended—"
"Did I permit you to speak?"
"..."
Beneath her sleeves, Tianyan's jade-like hands clenched tight at once as she forced herself to maintain a calm expression.
She had no idea how she had provoked him.
Had the person before her not been that bastard Xu Yuan's elder brother, those three sentences alone would likely have had them exchanging blows by now.
Inhaling deeply to suppress the inexplicable rage in her chest, Tianyan gritted her silver teeth and ground out word by word:
"Eldest Young Master, if you have something to say, speak plainly. If you are picking a fight and seeking a duel, I, Tianyan, will gladly oblige."
"..."
Xu Changge's slender eyes narrowed slightly, his fingertips tapping gently against the hilt of the sword at his waist.
All at once, a stifling, suffocating silence spread between the two.
After staring at each other for several breaths, Xu Changge's qi dynamic suddenly relaxed. Lifting his finger from the hilt, he snorted coldly:
"I hope you truly are ignorant of it."
A hint of confusion arose in Tianyan's eyes, and she immediately realized there seemed to be a misunderstanding:
"Ignorant of what?"
Xu Changge fixed his eyes on her expression and spoke curtly:
"Changtian was assassinated."
Tianyan's pupils constricted, her mind momentarily short-circuiting as she murmured unconsciously:
"Assassinated?"
Xu Changge's voice was cold enough to kill:
"Yes. And it was your Overseeing Heaven Pavilion that struck."
"..."
The cold wind atop the mountain rustled their robes, and the low martial shouts of the disciples practicing below felt jarringly sharp at this moment.
Tianyan stared blankly at the man across from her as the numerous details before her departure suddenly flooded into her mind.
Assassination...
He knew her personality, yet forced her to leave...
He had recovered part of his illusion realm memories...
The Heavenly Yan divine soul...
The Ling... Lingtian Instrument!
In an instant, Tianyan connected every single detail of what had transpired before, and her fingertips beneath her sleeves began to tremble faintly.
There was no doubt, nor any false hope.
As the Saintess of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion, she understood better than anyone how the pavilion treated the Calamity.
And she knew even better what attitude the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion held toward Xu Yuan.
*So... everything he did was to send her away...*
Tianyan parted her lips, finding it difficult to breathe.
Across her mind flashed the indifferent countenance of her Master after having completely entered the state of Divine Absence.
*If... if it was Master, she truly could have done something like this.*
"Haa... haa..."
Her breathing labored and ragged, Tianyan reached up and clutched the lapels at her chest. Looking at the man before her, her voice shook:
"So... so are you... were you looking for me specifically?"
"Looking for you?"
A glimmer of killing intent flashed in Xu Changge's eyes, his gentle voice extraordinarily soft:
"A mere coincidence. Had I come specifically for you, my sword would have already cut you down."
By now, Tianyan had no mind to care about his tone. She asked in a low voice:
"Eldest Young Master, could... could you tell me where it happened?"
"And what if I told you?"
Xu Changge's voice carried a trace of disdain. "Are you prepared to betray your sect?"
"..."
Hearing those words, Tianyan froze for a moment. A sliver of helplessness surfaced in her beautiful eyes, and she bit her lower lip, casting her gaze downward.
Chapter 438