A Millennium’s Embrace and a Curious Gaze

“The secret realm is utterly chaotic now!” Mu Qingli grumbled, her gaze languid.

“What can be done about it?” Qing You said, though her words belied her true state.

Even as she spoke, a restless unease gnawed at her, evident in the way she sat on the high platform, legs crossed, her jade-like fingers tapping incessantly on the armrest of her seat.

The Hall of Clarity, in truth, possessed another hidden scoring standard beyond the superficial points: the proficiency with which cultivation techniques were employed and the practical performance in actual combat.

The points were merely a means to exert pressure upon the disciples.

Thus, points gained from eliminating others were merely a bonus; the real bulk of the score came from the points secretly observed and tallied by the elders.

The primary criteria for judgment were the disciples’ reactions to various scenarios, their conduct when facing vast disparities in strength, and their discernment and application of their own cultivation techniques.

It was precisely for these reasons that the Hall of Clarity’s mixed competition imposed no restrictions.

Yet, with Qiu Yue’s intervention, directly forcing everyone to submit to her and unite in besieging Lin Mo, Qing You could do little more than voice her complaints.

There was nothing else she could truly say.

After all, beyond mere threats, Qiu Yue’s primary tactic was a lavish display of wealth.

Her financial resources were so immense that even the worldly Qing You couldn’t help but click her tongue in astonishment.

Indeed, the rewards Qiu Yue promised and distributed on the spot far surpassed those prepared by the Xuan Nv Sect itself.

Furthermore, apart from being unable to resist Qiu Yue’s overwhelming power, the main reason most disciples acquiesced was their lack of familiarity with Lin Mo.

Since Lin Mo had already demoted the feud between himself and Qiu Yue to a personal grievance, detaching it from the sect and transforming the sect’s crisis into a personal one, these disciples naturally saw no imperative to assist Lin Mo.

Joining a sect for cultivation, beyond seeking protection and a place to belong, was surely about acquiring resources and fostering better growth, wasn’t it?

Now, with a mere wave of her hand, Qiu Yue was generously showering them with abundant resources.

Who could possibly remain unmoved by such a tempting offer?

These disciples could hardly be blamed.

Moreover, no one could stop Qiu Yue from acting as she did.

Her ability to unite so many individuals was, in itself, a testament to her power.

In stark contrast to the anxiety of others, Xian Chengyue appeared remarkably composed.

She calmly walked to the edge of the high platform, beckoning to the translucent figure.

“Lin girl, what are you still doing floating in the sky?” Xian Chengyue transmitted her voice. “That old fossil from the Qiu family isn’t going back, so won’t you come down and see us?”

“Teacher, ‘Lin girl,’ ‘Lin girl’! I have a name!”

“You haven’t forgotten my name too, have you?”

“How could I? Lin Ruoli.”

Even though it was merely a residual soul, Xian Chengyue always felt as if Lin Ruoli stood vividly before her.

She had witnessed other residual souls before, but unlike them, a sense of resigned sorrow and despair, no matter how much they feigned serenity, invariably lingered in their hearts.

Only Lin Ruoli, however, remained as carefree as ever.

Upon this wisp of a soul, no trace of her sorrow, despair, or resignation could be seen.

It was as if this was not a residual soul, but her very self.

Yet, it was, in the end, only ‘as if’.

The girl who had changed the Xuan Nv Sect and changed her own fate… was truly dead.

Lin Ruoli’s residual soul, translucent and ethereal, floated gracefully.

Though she possessed no physical form, her brows were free of any shadow, instead radiating a carefree spirit that transcended life and death.

Her bright eyes remained as clear as ever, sparkling with vibrant luster, as if she harbored curiosity and passion for all things.

“Oh, my! After being dead for so long, suddenly popping up feels terribly awkward, you know?” Lin Ruoli said, propping her cheek with a hand. “It’s like a child who’s been wronged deliberately vanishes and hides so you can’t find them.”

She twisted bashfully in the air as she slowly descended.

“You carefree girl,” Xian Chengyue chided with a smile.

“How much time do you have left?”

“Hehe~ I don’t know~” Lin Ruoli blinked playfully, sticking out the tip of her pink tongue. “I’m not an encyclopedia, after all~”

“You always say the strangest things,” Xian Chengyue chuckled.

Lin Ruoli’s form still exuded an almost utterly carefree cheerfulness.

That deep-seated optimism and vivacity made this wisp of a soul seem, for a fleeting moment, as if she stood alive before Xian Chengyue’s very eyes.

“Are they doing well?” Lin Ruoli’s gaze drifted towards Mu Qingli.

The high platform featured a dedicated projection for observing the competition.

Unaware that her master was directly behind her, Mu Qingli was currently fixated on the secret realm’s display, her expression tense, as she watched someone familiar yet unfamiliar to Lin Ruoli, sitting cross-legged within the image.

“How does that saying go?”

“Once you have a wife, you forget your mother; once you have a new disciple, you forget your master, sniffle~”

Lin Ruoli’s translucent fingertips delicately pinched an invisible handkerchief, then she theatrically dabbed at non-existent tears at the corner of her eye, feigning a heartbroken expression on the verge of weeping.

But the very next second, this ‘sorrow’ vanished like smoke.

She immediately brightened, her eyes sparkling as she eagerly pressed, “So, are you still bickering with that Qing You fellow often?”

‘Xian Chengyue isn’t an encyclopedia; how would she know? She’s not a novel’s protagonist; how could she possibly know so much?’

“Less often, but the bickering is far more intense.”

‘Oh? How many years have they been bickering? Aren’t you both elders now?’

‘Oh, my~ You flatter me, you flatter me, you flatter me~’

‘I wasn’t complimenting you.’

Xian Chengyue paused.

‘Should I go over?’

‘I’m afraid little Qingli might cry.’

‘Let her cry. Who knows who’ll cry harder?’

With the conversation having reached this point, Lin Ruoli had no reason to refuse.

She floated over, following Xian Chengyue.

All who witnessed this scene wore expressions of astonishment.

However, upon seeing Lin Ruoli raise a slender finger to her lips in a gesture for silence, no one dared to speak.

They merely held their breath, gazing at the legendary figure as she silently drifted down behind Qing You and Mu Qingli.

Just then, Mu Qingli was heard whispering, “Qing You, is this pill of yours truly ineffective? It’s been so long, yet my disciple’s injuries still haven’t greatly improved?”

“Are you foolish? That was a severed meridian! Without—”

Qing You’s words abruptly ceased.

Mu Qingli, puzzled by the sudden silence, turned her head.

In that instant, the face that had haunted her dreams for a millennium finally appeared before her.

Yet, those familiar brows, that vibrant spirit, and the lively smile from the depths of her memory were utterly unchanged!

Grief, like a breached dam, erupted violently in her heart!

The impulses she had suppressed moments before could no longer be contained by Mu Qingli’s body.

In that moment, she was no longer the Sect Master of the Xuan Nv Sect, no longer the cold, peerless, stunning immortal.

She was merely a child.

A millennium had passed.

Lin Ruoli watched Mu Qingli approach her.

It wasn’t until that familiar figure abruptly halted mere inches away that she suddenly realized—

Her little disciple, whom she once had to look up at, now stood a full head taller than her!

Mu Qingli abruptly stopped her steps, a breathless urgency in her posture.

It wasn’t a lack of longing, but rather that the yearning accumulated over a millennium was too overwhelming, preventing her from drawing even a fraction closer.

Her trembling fingertips remained curled within her sleeves; she ultimately did not open her arms.

Her master’s translucent, ethereal blue soul-form appeared so fragile and delicate at this moment, as if it would dissipate with a single touch.

She dared not risk it, dared not place the yearning of a thousand years upon such a delicate existence.

Mu Qingli bit down hard on her lower lip, ruthlessly suppressing every urge to embrace, every tumultuous wave of tears.

After a long silence, she finally squeezed out that call, separated by a millennium, from her trembling lips:

“Master, I—”

‘Was she to tell her how much she had missed her?’

‘Or inform her of the achievements she had made?’

‘No… she knew her master too well. No, that wasn’t right…’

‘Her master had never cared about such things.’

‘What she had always cared about was…’

Mu Qingli took a deep breath, forcing a bright arc onto her lips, and responded with the clear, crisp tone of her youth:

“Master, these past thousand years, I’ve lived so well! So happily, you see—” she suppressed a choke, her voice light and cheerful.

“I’ve even taken on a very formidable disciple!”

“He shares the same surname as Master, you know?”

“He’s very optimistic and tenacious! And just like Master, he’s also perfectly suited for cultivating the Bright Jade Profound Yin!”

Whether it was an illusion or not, Mu Qingli felt as though her master’s residual soul had subtly trembled.

Especially when she mentioned Lin Mo’s surname, her master seemed to take a step forward.

“Little Qingli is truly amazing! Then, then quickly show him to Master? He’s in the secret realm right now, isn’t he?”

“Uh! Ah! Yes! He’s right here! Master, come! Let’s watch together and see how amazing my disciple, your grand-disciple, is! I dare say, Qiu Yue definitely won’t be able to defeat him in the end!”

Mu Qingli excitedly prepared to elaborate further, but when she turned her head, she discovered her master gazing at Lin Mo with an utterly captivated, even utterly engrossed, expression.

Her hand, in fact, even seemed to yearn to touch the face with closed eyes on the projection screen.

Mu Qingli had never witnessed such an infatuation before.

She had never seen Lin Ruoli display such a look in her eyes.

Mu Qingli, unsure why, glanced at Lin Mo’s face.

She knew Lin Mo was handsome, but could he really be so handsome as to captivate her master?

In the past, there had been many, both male and female, whose appearances were no less striking than Lin Mo’s, yet her master had never shown such an expression.

‘Could it be… that her master… had a preference for… Lin Mo’s type?’

‘My master and I… are rivals in love?!’