Prologue

A dark and windy night.

On Youyun Peak, the lights were already out; it was time for sleep.

But at this moment, a sneaky figure peeked out of the immortal pavilion window.

After scouting the situation below, the figure flew down from the window, landing silently.

After waiting cautiously for a while, and confirming that she hadn’t alarmed her senior and junior sisters, Luo Qing’er secretly breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the precious pearl in her arms.

An Immortal-grade Concealment Pearl!

Although it couldn’t hide her form, as long as she carried this item, her aura would be very difficult for divine sense and formations to detect. Even Master wouldn’t be able to discover her immediately!

This was a treasure Luo Qing’er had painstakingly acquired from her father!

With this! She could secretly sneak into Master’s room and launch a night attack on Master!

Then… hehehehe…

She would have alone time with Master…

Thinking of what might happen later, a blush spread across her delicate and lovely face, and she secretly swallowed. Luo Qing’er shook her head repeatedly.

Hmph! Who told Master to be such a blockhead? If she didn’t use some small tricks, when would he ever notice her?

First Senior Sister’s offensive against Master was getting fiercer and fiercer, and even the normally slow-witted Third Junior Sister, precisely because she was also a blockhead, unexpectedly managed to connect with Master on a telepathic level, leading her to surprisingly catch up. If she continued to remain passive, she would surely lose!

Without further hesitation, she tiptoed towards the small, low wooden house on the side of the immortal pavilion.

That was Master’s dwelling.

Approaching the small wooden house, she could see a faint, transparent ripple – that was the warning formation set up outside the room. It would alert anyone within the formation’s range if someone stepped inside.

However, with the Immortal-grade Concealment Pearl, Luo Qing’er walked right through, and as expected, the formation wasn’t triggered.

The treasure her Imperial Father gave her was truly too useful!

Her confidence greatly boosted, Luo Qing’er arrived at the door of the small wooden house and reached out for the door.

Just then, a clear, cold female voice, tinged with slight confusion, came from behind her.

“Second Senior Sister?”

Luo Qing’er’s outstretched hand immediately froze, suspended in mid-air. She stiffly turned her head, forcing a smile that was uglier than crying.

“Junior Sister Mu Cheng… it’s so late, why aren’t you asleep yet…”

The person carried a three-foot-long sword on her back, with distinct silver hair, and an eternally cold expression like an iceberg. Who else could it be but Mu Cheng?

“Mu Cheng doesn’t understand. We cultivators have long transcended mortal bodies, do we still need to sleep?”

Mu Cheng tilted her head slightly. Paired with her aloof face, she looked absolutely adorably cute.

Luo Qing’er’s pretty face flushed, and she shook her head repeatedly, “No, no! What I meant was, why are you still coming to find Master so late?!”

Mu Cheng, who could barely keep a secret, honestly replied, “I came to discuss the Way of the Sword with Master.”

“But Master only knows spear techniques, not sword dao, right?”

But Luo Qing’er seemed to have found a blind spot and pressed on.

Coming to Master’s room so late, a man and a woman alone in a room, claiming it’s to discuss the Way of the Sword? Not even a dog would believe that!

She didn’t expect Third Junior Sister, who usually seemed so honest and sincere, to actually harbor such subtle intentions. Today, she had finally caught her in the act!

Luo Qing’er felt proud for a moment, but she seemed to have overlooked something: currently standing in front of the small wooden house was not only Mu Cheng, but also herself.

This was truly the pot calling the kettle black.

At this moment, Mu Cheng pursed her pink lips and slightly turned her face away, a faint, unusual blush appearing on her cheeks: “Mm… Mu Cheng knows that Master’s spear techniques are unparalleled, and I specifically wanted to come late at night to deeply discuss them, to see if I could break through my bottleneck with Master’s help.”

Luo Qing’er’s beautiful eyes widened. She had never seen her junior sister, usually known as the aloof ice mountain fairy, act like this.

So why are you blushing?!

And what you said is very easily misunderstood, hey!

You’re flirting, right! You must be flirting, right!

However, Mu Cheng quickly returned to her usual demeanor, as if remembering something: “Oh right, why has Senior Sister come to find Master tonight?”

This question stumped Luo Qing’er.

“I… I…”

Right, what did she come to find Master for?

She couldn’t possibly say that she was a bit lonely at night and wanted to come spend time alone with Master…

If she said something like that, she’d die of embarrassment!

Luo Qing’er’s gaze darted around, drifting aimlessly: “Ah ha… ah ha ha… A-actually, I also came to consult Master. My recent cultivation of heart techniques hasn’t been going smoothly… ah ha ha ha…”

This time, it was Mu Cheng who was puzzled.

“But, Mu Cheng remembers that Second Senior Sister cultivates water-elemental heart techniques, and Master primarily cultivates lightning magic… If you’re trying to break through a bottleneck, shouldn’t you consult First Senior Sister, who also cultivates water-elemental heart techniques?”

“Ah this… this…”

Sweat was already beading on Luo Qing’er’s forehead.

What to do, what to do? She needed to find an excuse quickly, or she wouldn’t be able to explain herself!

Just then, the door of the small wooden house creaked open on its own.

Luo Qing’er and Mu Cheng were both startled, and their previous conversation was involuntarily forgotten.

Because they saw First Senior Sister emerge from Master’s room, her clothes disheveled and her face flushed.

Oh my god! First Senior Sister got a head start!

This thought, which she absolutely refused to believe, popped into Luo Qing’er’s mind.

Wuwuwu! She lost!

At this moment, Luo Qing’er only wanted to embrace a wall and beat her chest, crying out in unwillingness.

Compared to the disheartened Luo Qing’er, Mu Cheng politely bowed to Xia Jin: “First Senior Sister.”

Xia Jin also hadn’t expected that on this night, all her junior sisters would gather at Master’s door: “What… what’s wrong with you all?”

After asking, Xia Jin suddenly realized her clothes had slipped off her shoulder, and she blushed, pulling them back up.

This action once again dealt a critical blow to Luo Qing’er.

Wuwuwu! It’s already over!

And Mu Cheng stepped forward and said, “First Senior Sister, I’m here to ask Master to help me with a cultivation bottleneck.”

“Second Senior Sister is the same as me.”

Luo Qing’er: Ah-ba ah-ba…

Xia Jin looked at Mu Cheng, then at Luo Qing’er, shook her head and sighed, “I’m sorry, Master isn’t in the room.”

Luo Qing’er’s eyes instantly brightened: “How is that possible?”

“Senior Sister, you’re in such a state!… You just came out of Master’s room… wuwu…”

As she spoke, Luo Qing’er’s voice weakened again.

It clearly looked like she had just finished, right…

Xia Jin, however, shook her head: “To be honest, I made some late-night snacks and wanted to bring them to Master, but after knocking for a long time, no one opened the door. In the end, Yunlai Xia opened the door for me. I’m only in this state because I ate the late-night snacks with Yunlai Xia and didn’t have time to clean up.”

“She said that Master went to Zhenfu Peak this afternoon and hasn’t returned.”

“Apparently, Master performed a divination and calculated that there might be a bloody calamity on Youyun Peak today, so he specifically went to Zhenfu Peak to avoid it.”

After Xia Jin finished explaining, the three girls fell silent.

Master truly foresaw everything!

The three girls’ respective plans to launch a night raid on Xu Jinghuai were foiled.

Far away on Zhenfu Peak, Xu Jinghuai revealed a triumphant expression, as if everything was within his grasp.

‘You pathetic disciples, still thinking of a night attack on your master?’

‘Weak!’

However, after his moment of triumph, Xu Jinghuai began to feel a little melancholic.

He clearly remembered that all the disciples he took were very proper at first, so how did they end up like this?

When exactly did this ill-fated connection begin?

Xu Jinghuai closed his eyes, his thoughts slowly sinking back a hundred years.