Originally, the two female cultivators were surrounded, and the atmosphere on the scene was wound tight with tension, but the Immortal Fairy's greeting broke the stillness.
Hearing the two deeply affectionate forms of address, Emperor Xia's body stiffened abruptly. He stared in disbelief at the elated Lu Yang, then turned his head to look at the two female cultivators being held up.
As renowned ancient half-immortals, portraits of Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi had long circulated among the major factions, yet the two female cultivators before them clearly looked different from those two ancient figures.
Had Lu Yang mistaken them for someone else?
Or was he not calling out to Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi after all?
Hearing Lu Yang call out to them with such unusual warmth, the two women found it strange. Ordinarily, Senior Brother Lu Yang would never address them like that.
Originally, the two had wanted to relive ancient times. They had disguised themselves as rogue cultivators to attend an auction, won the finale lot, and caught the eye of marauder cultivators, planning to reveal their true identities and frighten everyone out of their wits right as the bandits made their move.
Now that Lu Yang had shouted out their identities, there was no point in keeping up the disguise.
The two women shed their concealments, revealing two peerlessly exquisite and breathtakingly gorgeous faces.
It was indeed Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi.
"You..." The marauder cultivators who had been consumed by greed turned pale with fright and wheeled around to flee.
Yet how could they possibly have a chance to escape before two half-immortals? A colossal phantom dragon claw descended—seemingly slow, yet impossible to dodge. With a casual press of her hand, Ao Ling pinned the marauders to the ground, leaving them unable to budge as boundless dread filled their hearts.
Having dealt with the small fry, Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi walked over to Lu Yang's side and scrutinized him closely.
They had not expected to run into Lu Yang in the Imperial City, and something felt different about him today.
"What's the matter? Don't recognize me anymore?" the Immortal Fairy greeted them with a laugh. Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi's pupils contracted in shock, but they quickly realized the truth and broke into delighted smiles.
It was Elder Sister Immortal!
"It really is you!"
One on the left, one on the right, the two women affectionately clung to the Immortal Fairy's arms. The Immortal Fairy relished the bliss of having beauties on either side, an enviable sight to any onlooker.
"Why are you two here?!" Jin Caiwei glared vigilantly at Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi.
These were the two people she least wanted to see right now, and she had run into both of them at once.
Jin Caiwei focused entirely on guarding against them, so much so that she could barely maintain her human form. Her eyes turned into golden vertical slits, a pair of white tiger ears sprouted from her head, and she bared her teeth, revealing two little tiger fangs.
"Jin Caiwei! You're still alive?"
Previously, Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi had been entirely focused on the Immortal Fairy; only now did they notice Jin Caiwei was here too.
Assuming that no one in this era would recognize her, Jin Caiwei had not disguised herself since setting out from the Demon Domain. She had retained her original appearance the entire time, making her recognizable at a glance.
"Of course I'm alive! Don't think you two are the only ones with a rudimentary Dao fruit!" Behind Jin Caiwei, the phantom of a white tiger bearing bone wings materialized. This was her true form—a mutant among the Qiongqi, a white Qiongqi.
Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi were both half-immortals who had fought their way through the ancient era; how could they fear a greenhouse flower like Jin Caiwei?
Ao Ling sneered, and a black dragon radiating a primeval aura materialized behind her, looking down on Jin Caiwei with disdain. "Oh? Then I'd like to see just how good your rudimentary Dao fruit really is!"
Jiang Lianyi took a step forward. The phantom of a phoenix soared out from a sea of flames, its cry echoing across the nine heavens.
A white Qiongqi, a black dragon, and a golden phoenix—three ancient celestial beasts gathered here, none yielding an inch. Yet the pressure from the black dragon and golden phoenix distinctly overpowered the white Qiongqi.
A battle was on the verge of erupting.
The Tribulation Transcendence cultivator secretly tasked with protecting Emperor Xia cried out inwardly in anguish. What on earth was this? He had assumed that guarding Emperor Xia in the Imperial City would be a cushy assignment—what danger could Emperor Xia possibly encounter here? But nobody had warned him that he would witness three ancient celestial beasts clashing right in the capital!
Three half-immortals, and every one of them backed by an immortal! Even if he burned every drop of his blood dry, he probably couldn't keep Emperor Xia safe!
"Alright, alright! We're all on the same side here! Put them away, put them all away!" Seeing that a fight was about to break out, the Immortal Fairy knew she couldn't allow this and hurriedly stepped between them to call a truce.
Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi obediently withdrew their true form phantoms. Jin Caiwei immediately felt the overwhelming pressure recede and recalled her own phantom, though the atmosphere remained fraught with tension.
"Xiao Ling, Lianyi, what are you two doing here?" The Immortal Fairy clasped their hands, smiling joyfully.
Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi blushed slightly, somewhat embarrassed by the question, and casually pointed to the marauders lying on the ground.
"Well, we wanted to relive ancient times, so we found an auction in the Imperial City and bought a few valuable treasures at random, which lured them into following us."
The marauders, pinned down hard under the dragon's aura, were wracked with regret. They really should have checked the almanac before heading out today! How could an ordinary highway robbery run straight into two supreme powerhouses?
Just what kind of life did you two lead in the ancient era? Going to auctions? Are auctions really that entertaining?!
"So that's how it is." The Immortal Fairy nodded. The fine habit of baiting people at auctions was something she had taught Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi in the first place.
"Who's on the same side as you?! Just who are you?!" Jin Caiwei glared at the Immortal Fairy. To make the proud Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi lower their guard with a single sentence—just who was this person?
Emperor Xia was also taken aback. He had known all along that the widely talked-about Ancient Heavenly Court had been fabricated by the Dao Seeking Sect, with Lu Yang as its founder.
However, he was unaware of the Immortal Fairy's existence and assumed Dou Tianzun was simply another identity of Yun Zhi's.
He wasn't surprised that Lu Yang knew Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi, since both had publicly declared themselves members of the Ancient Heavenly Court.
What surprised him was that Lu Yang's relationship with Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi was this close. The moment they met, they clung right to him with extreme affection.
Had Jin Caiwei not interrupted them halfway through, they probably would have clung even closer.
Jin Caiwei was an ancient Qiongqi, which meant she was Immortal Kirin's third wife?
Emperor Xia recalled how Jin Caiwei had refused his recruitment; now it made sense.
"None of your business!" Jiang Lianyi shielded the Immortal Fairy behind her, fiercely protective, as if terrified Jin Caiwei might swallow the Immortal Fairy whole in one bite.
Jin Caiwei studied Lu Yang's somewhat handsome face intently, recalling everything that had happened before.
Lu Yang referred to himself as "this immortal," so he had to be an immortal.
He knew ancient history even better than she did, having personally lived through it, which meant he was an ancient immortal.
That showed Lu Yang had to be one of the Four Ancient Celestials.
He was thoroughly familiar with ancient history, and he had confirmed that she was Immortal Kirin's third wife.
He had held her.
She didn't find Lu Yang repulsive in the least; in fact, she felt a natural sense of affinity toward him.
He loved playing mysterious.
Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi treated Lu Yang with such intimacy, and were practically obedient to his every word.
Then the answer was obvious.
Jin Caiwei pointed at Lu Yang. She was somewhat angry, yet recalling how he had acknowledged her as the third wife, she felt far more delight than vexation. Her voice rose several pitches:
"A'he, it's you!"
Immortal Kirin, original name: Shihe.
Chapter 934