Chapter 176: Heading to QianYunCheng

Zhu Yao turned and went back into the house. Soon, she felt their presence leave Fluorescent Wind Sect.

"You shouldn't have let them go," Yu Yan frowned. He strongly objected to her methods.

"It doesn't matter now." Zhu Yao plopped onto the bed. "No matter how stupid Mo Xianxian is, after today, she won't ever seek revenge on Fluorescent Wind Sect again."

"That dimensional jade..."

"That jade is nothing but a tool. It's the human heart that's truly dangerous," Zhu Yao explained, "Mo Xianxian offended Fluorescent Wind Sect that day, if she also gets chased out of Advent Cloud Hall... even if my mother lets the matter go, somebody else might go after her. That jade is her life-preserving instrument. If I took it, she might not survive. I might as well buy her gratitude."

"..." Yu Yan said nothing, only frowning deeper. That jade was originally his disciple's body, but now it's fallen into another's hand. He was inexplicably muddled. He should've killed that Goudan right away.

"That's right, master," Zhu Yao suddenly remembered something, "I felt a bit strange, like I can suddenly control fire..."

Before she finished speaking... Poomf.

The entire ceiling suddenly ignited in a blaze and instantly burned away the roof, covering her face in ash.

"Just like that," she pointed to the roof. Her fire arts all of a sudden felt more familiar than her lightning arts.

Yu Yan's expression darkened. Her casting speed was rare indeed. "When did you discover this?" He quietly casted a water art, extinguishing the fire.

"Yesterday when Mo Xianxian ambushed me." At the time she only felt a sense of familiarity with the fire, as if it wouldn't hurt her at all.

Yu Yan reached out and took her wrist. He sensed her pulse, then examined her divine sense. Everything seemed normal. He knew his disciple has an unholy affinity towards lightning energy, but when did it turn into a fire affinity?

"There are too many mysteries surrounding you. Even your master does not understand the reason behind it," Yu Yan released her hand and switched to patting her head. "The hall master knows all kinds of mysteries. Tomorrow I will return to the Lightning Divine Hall. You stay at Fluorescent Wind Sect and don't make any rash moves."

Zhu Yao pushed off his hand that was ruining her hair. She was shocked at his words. "Master is leaving?"

"Nn." Yu Yan casually took her hand, copying her from a previous time and entwined his fingers with hers. "Be extra careful when I'm not around."

"Oh," Zhu Yao replied weakly. "Don't worry, my mother is here! Although my current body hasn't started its formal cultivation, even a Profound Paragon Diety like Mo Xianxian can't defeat me. There won't be any problems. It's settled."

Yu Yan blanked, as if he suddenly thought of something. He eyed his disciple in front of him and felt a strange notion. "Yu Yao, what's your current cultivation level?"

"Ah?" Why was he suddenly asking about this? "Am I not an average Profound Deity?"

Could it be...

"Yu Yao," Yu Yan's voice sank, "I can't read your cultivation."

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There are two situations where one could not sense a person's cultivation. The first being the person has no cultivation; the second being the person's cultivation is too high. She always thought she was the first case, but she had clearly trounced Mo Xianxian. It's clearly at odds with being uncultivated.

If it's the second case...

Master was already a High Deity, the highest tier in the divine realm, the level cap. Yet he couldn't see her cultivation, then...

Is she at an even higher tier?

Unbelievable.

It's not as if she'd never tested her cultivation. Master is a High Deity, his divine perception covers half of the divine realm. Hers can only perceive things within a hundred km. How could she be at a higher tier?

Wait... a hundred Li, that was as far as she could move. Could that be the reason?

The next day, master went to Lightning Divine Hall. Any answers would have to wait until his return.

Zhu Yao spent the majority of her time at Downfall Peak, occasionally stopping by her mother's place. Yin Shi hasn't been nagging her about Xu Nuoyan, probably because she's wary of him. Zhu Yao doesn't mind giving her a few more reasons.

Xu Nuoyan schemes and contemplates too much. Zhu Yao suspects his ultimate goal is to take Fluorescent Wind Sect into his grasp. Although Mo Xianxian had given up on him, it doesn't mean he wouldn't look for other opportunities to turn on them. Although Zhu Yao has little interest in power struggles, she wouldn't side with outsiders when Yin Shi was her mother.

Her mother hasn't finished her investigation into Xu Nuoyan, and Zhu Yao didn't know whether she knew Mo Xianxian was telling the truth. These days, even when she brings up Xu Nuoyan, there was a slight tinge of anger in her voice. Although he was the previous sect master's personal succeeding disciple, and many of the sect's matters passed through his hands, now Yin Shi slowly took back those matters. If it wasn't for that irresponsible master who entered the Lightning Divine Tower, Yin Shi probably would have driven him out of Fluorescent Wind Sect.

Zhu Yao realized her mission this time was particularly easy. It looks like Fluorescent Wind Sect has nothing to worry about now.

Then she suddenly remembered something. Who was the BUG this time?

Neither Mo Xianxian nor Xu Nuoyan had the word "BUG" on their forehead. She once thought it was that jade, but she had examined it closely, and although it had two characters, "BU", written on it, but that definitely can't be called the BUG.

Could the problem this time not be particular to any one person?

While Zhu Yao pondered this, Xu Nuoyan came. She hadn't seen him in a while, but he was still the pompous scumbag, acting completely different from someone who had been politically crushed. The way he looked at her gave her goosebumps.

"Junior martial sister, long time no see."

"Hoho, martial friend Xu." Zhu Yao really didn't want to deal with him.

"How come junior martial sister started calling me 'martial friend' again?" Xu Nuoyan said with an unoffended look, "didn't you already start calling me senior martial brother? Why the sudden change?"

"My mother reminded me, I'm already a disciple of the Lightning Divine Hall rather than the Fluorescent Wind Sect. Naturally, we can't call each other martial brother or sister." Rather, back then I was trying to get you to talk.

"So that's why." Xu Nuoyan was surprisingly conversational. "Then I won't be such a stranger. I'll call you by your Daoist name: Yu Yao."

Urg... It's hard to argue against that. "Why did the friendly deity Xu seek me?"

Xu Nuoyan didn't mind her aloofness at all. He smiled like a fox. "Nothing much, it's just that seeing you at Downfall Peak all the time, I'm sure you're feeling repressed. As luck would have it, martial mother is sending me to Leading Cloud City on an errand, so I'm here to ask if you would like to go together."

"No need." What damned soul would go with you scumbag? "Rather, I should stay here and cultivate."

"Yu Yao is such a hard worker," Xu Nuoyan continued. "It just that you only awakened recently, everything in this world should be new and strange to you, yet you're not curious about it. It's such a rare thing."

Zhu Yao's heart tightened. Maybe she acted far too calm. She never worried about her real identity being exposed and has even told her mother about it, but Yin Shi's acceptance doesn't mean others won't be suspicious.

What a shrewd scumbag.

"It's the closest bustling city to Fluorescent Wind Sect, it won't take long. Besides, today there are benevolent clouds gathered there, there should be someone ascending from the lower realm. It's a rare occurance. Are you really not going?"

Alright. If she really denied him, given his shrewd nature, he might really start suspecting something. Besides... She's actually a bit curious. Having came to the heavens like a stowaway, she's interested in ascension.

Zhu Yao finally went with him. Leading Cloud City was only 20 or 30 km away, she wouldn't faint because of the distance like last time.

Xu Nuoyan's mission there was to bring the newly ascended deities into Fluorescent Wind Sect. A Gold Deity doing this kind of work, one can see how Yin Shi really weary of him.

Before leaving, Zhu Yao went by Yin Shi's place, hoping the cheap mother would deny them going. Yin Shi was initially dissatisfied, but upon hearing a few words from Xu Nuoyan, she actually agreed, and even presented a holy sword as a transportation tool. Did you really give birth to me, mother?

Her plot having went awry, Zhu Yao resigned to her fate.

On the way, Xu Nuoyan was not like his usual self, endlessly talking with her, displaying affection. Besides the way he looked at her, which still gave her goosebumps, he didn't mention Mo Xianxian at all. Even when she brought it up to tease him, he only lightly chuckled.

Did Xu Nuoyan change his nature? Or was it because Yin Shi had utterly destroyed his spirit?

This unusual Xu Nuoyan made Zhu Yao even more cautious. The devil knows what he's thinking. Better be extra careful.

They flew very slowly because Zhu Yao was intentionally trying to display a lack of cultivation. Xu Nuoyan matched her speed, flying just a step behind her, looking a bit gentlemanly. Maybe Mo Xianxian's infatuation with him wasn't entirely unreasonable. At least on he's putting in the effort on the surface.

Their flight dragged on for half an hour, but just as they were about arrive at their destination, they suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Give me back my rock spirit, or else!"

Zhu Yao braked hard, stopping in midair to look.