A tall, straight-backed man stood behind her. His face was fair as powder and his lips red as vermilion. Handsome beyond compare, dressed in brocade robes and a jade crown, he had a bearing so extraordinary that he seemed almost a celestial descended to earth.
His looks had surpassed the point of mere beauty. Anyone who saw him could only think him exceptionally pleasing to the eye and feel reluctant to look away.
Across the decades of his two lives, Xu Ziqing had seen many mortals and cultivators, yet not one of them could compare with this man’s appearance.
Looking at him, Xu Ziqing grew suspicious. The birthday feast had already begun, yet this man had only just arrived with the woman before him. Why? If he had come to offer birthday congratulations, his lateness showed a distinct lack of sincerity. If he had not come for that, was he here to make trouble?
The woman had mentioned an “old acquaintance” just now. He wondered whom she meant.
Unable to puzzle it out, Xu Ziqing turned his attention to the woman standing in front.
He had not deliberately ignored her. Her voice had immediately made him wary, and he had been considering the implication of her words. That was why he had first looked at the person behind her.
Now that he saw her clearly, he was surprised.
It was not because she was exceptionally beautiful. On the contrary, she was quite ordinary.
Her looks were only somewhat above average, and her bearing unremarkable. Surrounded by the many beautiful female cultivators in the hall, she appeared especially plain.
Yet that extraordinarily alluring voice had come from her mouth. How could that not be surprising?
More astonishing still, it was one thing not to notice her, but once someone did, they found themselves completely unable to look away.
It was as though something had drawn them in, leaving them powerless to resist.
Xu Ziqing reacted quickly. Almost the instant he looked at her, his thoughts turned.
A sudden chill descended upon the crown of his head, as though someone had poured a bucket of cold water over him, instantly extinguishing that moment of wavering.
Cold sweat broke out all over him. He hurriedly looked aside.
Su Furong had once attacked him with a bewitching power, so he knew that sensation only too well. But this woman’s skill was a hundred times greater than Su Furong’s, making her influence almost impossible to guard against.
…What about Senior Brother?
Trembling with alarm, Xu Ziqing turned his head. Only when he saw Yun Lie’s face did he finally breathe easier.
Many people on either side had fallen into a daze, but his senior brother looked entirely normal, as calm and expressionless as ever.
Yun Lie saw his panic and understood. He gave him a slight nod.
Xu Ziqing smiled, his heart settling somewhat.
Just then, Mu Wuxin gave a soft snort from the dais. It struck the entranced guests like a sharp rebuke, waking everyone in the palace. Shame appeared on their faces.
Those with shallower cultivation no longer dared look at the woman. The stronger cultivators, meanwhile, showed displeasure and became distinctly wary.
Mu Wuxin’s voice was cool, revealing little emotion. “So Junior Sister has emerged from seclusion. Why didn’t you send word? As your senior sister, I could at least have dispatched disciples to welcome you.”
The woman giggled, her laughter clear and sweet as silver bells. “Many thanks for your concern, Senior Sister.” She sighed softly. “I haven’t exactly emerged from seclusion. I merely calculated that an old acquaintance of yours would come to offer birthday congratulations, only to discover he was running late. So I specially brought him here to please you. I hope you won’t disappoint the good intentions of your junior sister.”
Their exchange sounded like an affectionate conversation between sisters, yet to anyone listening there was something indescribably strange about it.
At least the cultivators now understood the woman’s identity. Since she was the Jade Maiden Venerable’s junior sister and could converse with her as an equal, she must be the other Mahayana Venerable of this generation, the Pure Maiden Venerable Yu Nongqing.
No sooner had Yu Nongqing finished speaking than the man behind her stepped forward and cupped his hands. “Lang Tianqi, an unaffiliated cultivator from overseas, offers birthday congratulations to the Estate Mistress.”
He said nothing about being an old acquaintance. But observant guests could see that he had reached only the Nascent Soul stage. How could someone like him have an old connection with these two Venerables? Unless he were a junior of theirs, perhaps. But if that was all, why conceal it rather than say so openly?
For a moment, countless thoughts passed through the minds of the assembled cultivators.
Mu Wuxin’s tone was as indifferent as before. “Though you are late, your thoughtfulness is appreciated. Please show our guest to a seat. The same goes for Junior Sister. Since you have come out, why not enjoy a cup of wine before leaving?”
Yu Nongqing did not argue further. Laughing lightly, she stepped forward. It was as though invisible steps rose beneath her feet, carrying her gradually toward the high platform.
A similar seat silently appeared a little below Mu Wuxin’s throne. Before the crowd could react, Yu Nongqing turned into a faint, shadowy streak and settled upon it.
With both women seated, the scene seemed alternately bright and dark, one half open and the other distorted. Light and shadow accompanied one another, discordant yet strangely harmonious.
While everyone watched Yu Nongqing, the man calling himself an overseas cultivator had already taken his seat. It was immediately above and to the left of Yun Lie’s low table, very close to him.
Xu Ziqing secretly glanced at Lang Tianqi again. The man’s gaze seemed to pierce countless layers of space, falling on Mu Wuxin’s true body behind the mist of the high dais. Everything else around him might as well not have existed.
Curious. Truly curious.
Who was this man? What connection did he have with Mu Wuxin? Their cultivation realms were worlds apart, so they should never have crossed paths. The Jade Maiden and Pure Maiden factions did not appear especially harmonious. What part did Lang Tianqi play in their affairs?
The more difficult a mystery was to understand, the more it made a person itch to get to the bottom of it.
Xu Ziqing endured the temptation to speculate, then finally gave a bitter smile.
He always wanted to get to the bottom of things. Otherwise he could not feel at ease. A little curiosity was harmless enough, but too much of it could easily turn into disaster.
Among these people, even the weakest, Lang Tianqi, was a Nascent Soul cultivator. How could an insignificant Foundation Establishment cultivator like Xu Ziqing hope to pry into their entanglements?
Calm your mind. Calm your mind. Don’t meddle in other people’s affairs…
After repeatedly restraining himself, Xu Ziqing fixed his gaze straight ahead, afraid that one careless moment might bring about his death.
If he had been here alone, it would have been one thing. Any consequences would have fallen on him alone. But his senior brother was at his side. If Xu Ziqing attracted unwanted attention, Yun Lie’s nature was such that he would certainly come to his aid. To bring harm upon his senior brother would leave him with regrets too late to remedy.
Ever since Yu Nongqing had entered the hall, the six Pure Maiden Envoys had grown more radiant, and their bearing had changed as well. Previously the banquet had combined warmth with solemnity, and pleasure with dignity. Now the atmosphere was much more relaxed, and the female cultivators’ conversations and laughter held an additional softness and seductive charm.
It was as though a little more of the mortal world’s pleasures had entered the hall. Fragrant breezes drifted through the air, intoxicating the senses.
Xu Ziqing felt that this had originally been a place of purity for immortal cultivators, where even casual conversations centered on the Dao. Somehow, however, it had taken on the air of people seeking amusement and pleasure.
The thought made him frown.
What a strange birthday banquet this had become…
Meanwhile, Lang Tianqi poured and drank his own wine, making no attempt to approach the female cultivators. He seemed detached from the world.
Nor had he presented a birthday gift. It was as though he had come solely to offer congratulations, with no other purpose at all.
As Xu Ziqing spooned some spiritual grain into his mouth, he sent a spiritual-sense message to Yun Lie. “Senior Brother, do you know this Senior Lang?”
Yun Lie paused slightly before replying in the same way. “Do not associate with him.”
The sudden warning startled Xu Ziqing.
If Yun Lie merely thought Lang Tianqi difficult to deal with because he was a Nascent Soul cultivator, he would not normally have offered such a specific warning. There must be something else about the man that had made even his senior brother wary.
And Xu Ziqing could hear particular gravity in Yun Lie’s warning.
His heart sank a little. He had never concealed things from his senior brother, so he transmitted another question. “Senior Brother, can you tell me why?”
Yun Lie lowered his eyes. “This man has no reputation to speak of, yet he carries demonic qi.”
Xu Ziqing’s eyes widened abruptly. “…Demonic qi?”
Yun Lie nodded slightly. “He does not follow the immortal path. He follows the demonic path.”
This time Xu Ziqing was genuinely shocked.
Naturally he did not doubt Yun Lie. His master had once told him that Yun Lie had slain countless demons in his earlier years and was thoroughly familiar with the demonic path. Moreover, with his comprehension of sword intent and his clear sword heart, Yun Lie was particularly sensitive to unfamiliar energies.
Since his senior brother said the man cultivated the demonic path, then however well he disguised himself, there could be no mistake.
Yet that was precisely what made it so unbelievable.
A Nascent Soul demonic cultivator had actually appeared at the birthday banquet of a Mahayana Venerable of the immortal path! If he had come to cause trouble, he could only be called reckless. But he had come to offer birthday congratulations. If he truly meant them sincerely, wasn’t that stranger still?
All at once, Xu Ziqing felt that the banquet had become an unfathomable mystery.
If the Jade Maiden and Pure Maiden factions merely had some disagreement, that would have been perfectly ordinary. In his view, their cultivation methods and personal conduct differed so greatly that it was understandable they would struggle to get along.
But whatever internal conflict existed between them, the sudden involvement of someone from the demonic path changed everything.
Xu Ziqing silently asked, “…Does he belong to the evil demonic path or the orthodox demonic path?”
Yun Lie replied, “Both orthodox and unorthodox.”
While the two martial brothers were exchanging messages through spiritual sense, someone spoke again from the elevated seats.
Yu Nongqing laughed lightly and said in a leisurely voice, “Senior Sister, didn’t you have something to announce? If you don’t speak soon, the birthday banquet will be over, and then it will be too late.”
Mu Wuxin replied slowly, “Junior Sister is remarkably well informed.”
Yu Nongqing laughed even more freely. “How could I compare with Senior Sister’s extraordinary abilities?”
Mu Wuxin’s tone remained indifferent. “We were both taught well by Master.”
Yu Nongqing clapped her hands softly, then suddenly raised her voice. “Since Senior Sister finds it difficult to say, allow her junior sister to do it for her.” Her exceptionally gentle voice quickly filled the hall. “At this Immortal Fruit Gathering, in addition to the usual eighteen Posuo Fruits, the benevolent Estate Mistress also intends to find suitable husbands for the twelve Ruyi Envoys of our estate, so that they may become Dao companions, and to bestow an additional Posuo Fruit upon each couple. I wonder whether the outstanding young gentlemen here might be interested?”