The Hall of Sinners, ordinarily desolate and quiet, had recently grown extraordinarily lively. Lan Ting watched on, growing more anxious by the day, yet she was utterly powerless to stop it.
She had no legitimate reason to bar her martial sisters; their visits to a guest were entirely justified.
Even if their motives were far from pure.
Fortunately, when night fell, the sisters knew their limits and refrained from returning to disrupt Lu Yang's rest, allowing Lan Ting a brief sigh of relief.
Even though nightfall brought no rest for Lu Yang anyway.
***
"Master, that is the latest on Lu Yang," the shrunken Jinghong murmured to the jet-black ring in her hand.
Unsure of what her master feared, she only knew he did not dare use his divine sense to investigate, leaving her to recount Lu Yang's conduct in the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace by mouth.
The consciousness within the jet-black ancient ring pondered for a moment before a deep, weathered voice rumbled out. "It seems this boy possesses a rather peculiar constitution, born with an inherent allure to women. Perhaps what he formed during the Golden Core stage was the legendary Harem Golden Core!"
"You must keep your distance from him. Do not let yourself be swayed by his constitution. Those capable of forming a Harem Golden Core are almost always despised by heaven and earth, meeting miserable ends."
"Understood."
Jinghong stroked the jet-black ancient ring, feeling extraordinarily secure.
She had obtained this ring in a secret realm. The entity dwelling inside was ancient and immensely powerful, seemingly omniscient. He guided her cultivation step by step, improving her constitution, teaching her artifact crafting, and helping her advance all the way to the Soul Formation stage to achieve everything she was today.
Because the being within the ring had instructed her to hide her talents and bide her time, not a soul in the Immortal Palace knew the full extent of her capabilities.
***
"Senior Brother's experiences are so thrilling!" Bai Ye constantly replayed the stories Lu Yang had just told her, deeply regretting that she had not been there in person.
"What a pity that I cannot leave the domain of my true form. Otherwise, I could wander the jianghu with you."
Lu Yang thought to himself, *With your cultivation base at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, stepping down the mountain wouldn't be 'wandering the jianghu'—it would be scouring it clean.*
Much like Immortal Suiyue, from the moment Bai Ye gained spiritual intelligence, she possessed the equivalent strength of a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator.
"Right! I can just carry a mountain with me when I leave!" Influenced by Lu Yang's tales, Bai Ye's train of thought was subtly shifting, growing ever more clever.
After all, the Great Snow Mountain range had so many peaks; picking one up and taking it away wouldn't hurt anyone.
"Wouldn't walking around carrying a mountain be a bit too conspicuous?" Lu Yang kindly pointed out the flaw in her idea, though he genuinely felt sympathy for her and wanted to take her out to see the world.
A sky-scraping Moon Laurel Tree Ancestor striding across the lands with a snow mountain hoisted on her back... The mere thought of such a sight was terrifying. Anyone who saw it would turn tail and flee for their lives.
A sudden flash of inspiration struck Bai Ye, and she proposed a compromise: "I could move a mountain over to your Dao Seeking Sect!"
Even if she couldn't roam the jianghu by Senior Brother Lu Yang's side, a change of scenery sounded wonderful.
Lu Yang parted his lips, realizing he had no valid reason to object.
Inside his spiritual space, the Immortal Fairy nodded in deep satisfaction. *I knew Little Yangzi was of one mind with me!*
"Little Yangzi deliberately pointed out that carrying a mountain around would be too conspicuous, thereby subconsciously guiding Bai Ye to suggest moving the snow mountain to the Dao Seeking Sect. Such scheming is scarcely inferior to mine!"
"Fairy, don't talk nonsense! It was Bai Ye who took the initiative to propose coming to the Dao Seeking Sect!" Lu Yang hurried to clear his name. She made it sound as though he had deliberately swindled Bai Ye into moving there. If Eldest Senior Sister and Senior Brother Dai got the wrong idea, he would be doomed.
"Of course you have to say Bai Ye took the initiative." The Immortal Fairy gave him a look that said, *I understand completely.*
***
At daybreak, Master Zhuiyue glared at Lu Yang with a distinctly unfriendly expression. "Lu Yang, you brat, it's one thing to get along with all our palace disciples, but you want to abduct Xiao Ye too?"
He had only been in contact with Bai Ye for a few days, and already she was thinking about hauling a mountain over to the Dao Seeking Sect. What would happen if she spent extended time around him?
"A-Ri, this was my own idea. It has nothing to do with Senior Brother Lu Yang," Bai Ye rushed to explain.
"Besides, if I go to the Dao Seeking Sect, won't you be able to come along too?" Bai Ye could not leave the domain of her true form, and neither could Master Zhuiyue.
Master Zhuiyue hesitated for a moment, finding no grounds to argue.
Though admitting it felt somewhat unfaithful to the Immortal Palace she had founded, she genuinely harbored the desire to travel somewhere new for a change.
*As expected of Little Yangzi! He knows that as long as he reels in Bai Ye, Bai Ri will obediently follow along to our Dao Seeking Sect.*
The Immortal Fairy praised Lu Yang's actions lavishly. If not for the fact that Lu Yang had already attained supreme status and could hardly be promoted further, she would have insisted on bestowing him with higher ranks and titles on the spot.
"Little Yangzi, how about you become the Bean Emperor right now?"
"?"
Lu Yang had no idea where this terrifying notion had suddenly popped into the Immortal Fairy's head.
"Senior Brother Lu Yang, may I also consult you on some matters of the Sword Dao?" shouted Xuanyuan Tianhen from two cells over.
Seeing his junior brother Xue Shilou reap tremendous benefits from Lu Yang yesterday, he could no longer hold back.
"I don't mind, but could you have Fellow Daoist Xue relay the questions?" Lu Yang kindly suggested. With Xue Shilou situated between them, Xuanyuan Tianhen had to shout, which was far too noisy.
"Junior brother, ask Fellow Daoist Lu Yang this: whenever I execute the Stance of Wild Geese Alighting on Flat Sand, I always feel like something is missing. What on earth am I lacking?"
Xue Shilou looked at his senior brother with a bizarre expression. "I can answer that one myself."
Xuanyuan Tianhen leaned sideways to look at Xue Shilou, staring as though seeing him for the first time. "You can answer it? Then why didn't you say anything before?"
"I assumed you were deliberately concealing your skill to hide your clumsy edges."
"Concealing my ass! That's just my actual level!" Xuanyuan Tianhen snapped in fury.
"Senior Brother, keep your voice down. Shouting like that will let the whole Hall of Sinners know your sword skill is terrible."
"Concealing my ass, that's just my actual level," Xuanyuan Tianhen repeated in a hushed whisper. This time, only Xue Shilou could hear him.
"You don't need to say it twice. I heard you clearly," Xue Shilou said helplessly, often feeling as though he were the senior brother between them.
"No way. If I don't say it twice, I won't feel at peace." In all things, Xuanyuan Tianhen prioritized an unburdened mind; he would never allow himself to swallow frustration.
"Fine, fine."
Xue Shilou addressed Xuanyuan Tianhen's questions one by one. Naturally, he did not know the answer to everything, occasionally turning to Lu Yang for help when stumped by a difficult problem.
"I've embarrassed myself before Fellow Daoist Lu Yang," Xue Shilou said sheepishly.
"Not at all. Exchanging insights on the Sword Dao isn't just helpful to you and Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan—it brings great improvements to me as well."
Just as Xue Shilou was about to reply, his expression twisted violently. Beads of sweat broke out across his face, and he dropped to the ground, thrashing and howling in agony.
"So noisy," Master Zhuiyue grumbled from two cells down.
After a brief thought, assuming no one would pay attention to her cell, she secretly mobilized her rudimentary Dao fruit and aimed it at Xue Shilou. Instantly, Xue Shilou stopped screaming. Though he was still writhing on the ground, his face now radiated comfortable delight, basking in sheer bliss.
Master Zhuiyue's subtle move went unnoticed by everyone—except the Immortal Fairy.
*Making Xue Shilou perceive intense pain as extraordinary comfort and granting him boundless joy... Could that be the rudimentary Dao fruit of the seven emotions?*
Chapter 1032