Li Jin’an startled, almost throwing Xie Huaixue out of her arms. She had to exert extreme self-control not to fling Immortal Venerable Qingxiao away immediately, instead, for once, kindly using her spiritual energy to levitate her.
Grand Ancestor above, her protective spiritual energy almost automatically counterattacked! It was only by forcibly restraining herself that she didn’t instinctively blast Xie Huaixue away.
Although Xie Huaixue was colder than ice, Li Jin’an felt as if she had received a hot potato, startling herself greatly.
Li Jin’an uncomfortably touched her nose. She couldn’t very well leave the unconscious Xie Huaixue there, so she could only hold her breath and use spiritual energy to lift her out of the cold pond, gently placing her on the shore.
Jijin Sword Sovereign had always been straightforward and unrestrained. When had she ever been so cautious and endured such grievances!
When Xie Huaixue woke up, she would definitely have to fight her three rounds.
Wrong.
With Xie Huaixue’s current sickly, paper-white and paper-thin appearance, let alone fighting, Li Jin’an was even afraid she wouldn’t wake up.
Currently, Li Jin’an was at a loss with the wet Immortal Venerable. She deeply suspected the Heavenly Dao’s intention in showing her the Heavenly Tome: it was definitely to make her Xie Huaixue’s subordinate, to serve Xie Huaixue with all her might until death!
Also, regarding Yinyue Monarch having her record her spiritual essence in the formation, Li Jin’an vaguely came to a realization: the Sovereign probably had the idea of having her come to the back mountain cavern to look after Xie Huaixue, didn’t she?
Chixin Sword Lord, Jingting Dao Lord, Yinyue Monarch – not one of these three ‘Monarch’ ranked individuals was easy to get along with. Only Chixin Sword Lord was a bit better, without as many hidden schemes as the other two.
It still had to be their straightforward sword cultivators. Dao Sect people truly had black hearts where their consciences should be; their schemes were so subtle and continuous, catching people unawares.
Li Jin’an cursed under her breath, yet she couldn’t actually abandon Xie Huaixue. The book had stated that during the disciple-acceptance ceremony, when Ning Zhufeng offered tea, Xie Huaixue had directly left her seat without speaking as much as she had today. This had made Ning Zhufeng believe Xie Huaixue disliked her, fostering resentment in her heart, and causing the already dark beast to become even more corrupted.
Meanwhile, Lan Ci and Zhong Fei considered themselves somewhat familiar with their master, knowing she wasn’t someone who would abandon a newly accepted disciple without reason. As the awkward disciple-acceptance ceremony concluded, they immediately rushed back to Qingxiao Peak, directly arriving at the back mountain. They variously probed Xie Huaixue, attempting to force their way into the formation, but failed.
In the end, Xie Huaixue forced herself to return to her residence and sent these beasts away, only then did her physical condition not get exposed. However, the seeds of doubt had already taken root and sprouted in Lan Ci and Zhong Fei’s hearts. They lay in wait, biding their time for a future day.
Too close to the cold pond, Li Jin’an directly faced the chill emanating from its depths. While using spiritual energy to warm herself, she resignedly pulled Xie Huaixue over to dry her soaked robes.
The unconscious Immortal Venerable Qingxiao’s cheeks were bloodless and her lips pale. Gone was the lonely, stark majesty of her usual stance atop the peak. As if she again sensed the familiar, comforting warmth, she instinctively nestled towards the source of heat.
Li Jin’an, who once again had an Immortal Venerable in her arms, helplessly lowered her head. She fiercely poked Xie Huaixue’s face. “Can’t shake you off, huh? You clingy spirit.”
Before, only others called her Xie Huaixue’s nuisance; she never expected that one day she would be able to say this condescendingly to Xie Huaixue.
Although she wasn’t saying this to a conscious Xie Huaixue, she was satisfied.
When the wet Immortal Venerable clung to her, Li Jin’an profoundly looked up at the sky, because she remembered again: Xie Huaixue could defeat her even with the cold poison. Didn’t that mean if Xie Huaixue didn’t have the poison, she could easily crush her? What kind of human suffering was this?
This kind of thing, she’d break down every time she thought about it!
The sleeping Immortal Venerable was not very well-behaved, always pushing boundaries, inching slowly towards the source of heat. Then her brows relaxed, and she quietly leaned on Li Jin’an’s shoulder, unconsciously rubbing her face against her.
Li Jin’an irritably pushed away Xie Huaixue’s annoying dark hair. Just as she was about to poke her again to vent her frustration, her gaze suddenly fell upon Xie Huaixue’s face.
In this instant, she realized that the world’s fervent pursuit of Xie Huaixue wasn’t entirely without reason. It seemed a large part of why those three beasts tried to forcibly possess Xie Huaixue was due to coveting the Immortal Venerable’s beauty.
These people were of deplorable virtue and low character, like toads wanting to eat swan meat, coveting those they shouldn’t even dream of. Yet, they surprisingly had good taste, instantly choosing the most perfect and flawless treasure in the cultivation world.
The Immortal Venerable indeed possessed an ethereal beauty, unmatched in the world, with skin like ice and bones like jade, imbued with spiritual elegance.
The water surface shimmered, layer upon layer like scales, clear to the bottom, glistening like a newly polished mirror with a cool light just emerging from its case.
Li Jin’an seemed to have never observed Xie Huaixue from this angle before; it was quite rare.
She truly didn’t look like an ice doll. Xie Huaixue’s eyes and brows were calm and serene, still carrying a hint of moisture, quietly leaning on Li Jin’an’s shoulder. The illuminating stones on the cavern ceiling cast a dim, hazy light, shining on the two intertwined figures, casting harmonious, leaning shadows on the ground.
The person in her arms had shed her cold, hard shell, completely different from usual.
Pure and translucent.
Wet, and lingering with wistfulness.
Hmph, attracting bees and butterflies. She wondered what sin she committed in her past life to have accepted three such odd and strange disciples in this life. What kind of taste was that? This might be the retribution for cultivating the Emotionless Dao and always being superior to her!
Now that she had fallen into her hands, like a prisoner, karma had come full circle, hadn’t it!
Speaking of which, was Immortal Venerable Qingxiao truly this soft? She looked cold and refreshing, perfect for summer, but in reality, she was softly leaning in someone’s arms. She was just too thin; her cheeks and body didn’t have much flesh, so poking her wasn’t satisfying.
Just lying so peacefully in her sworn enemy’s arms, without any sense of vigilance?
Xie Huaixue was so trusting that Li Jin’an was actually a bit tempted to seize the opportunity to do something, such as placing a mental suggestion in Xie Huaixue’s spiritual consciousness, making her throw the fight and lose to her tomorrow…
That was all she amounted to.
Li Jin’an gazed deeply at the Immortal Venerable, two little people fighting in her heart. In the end, she didn’t take advantage of the situation. After all, the matters between her and Xie Huaixue were not for those three beasts to interfere with. Truly, each generation was worse than the last. The grievances of the previous generation hadn’t even been settled, so how could it be their turn to come out and make a fool of themselves?
Limited by Xie Huaixue’s physical condition, she ultimately gave up this idea. With Xie Huaixue in her current state, they couldn’t even fight.
There would be plenty of time in the future; she would definitely defeat Xie Huaixue. For now, she had to ensure Xie Huaixue lived well, because only by living could there be endless entertainment. But how should she arrange for Xie Huaixue now?
Just leaving her here definitely wouldn’t do. Those two great beasts, Lan Ci and Zhong Fei, would come to the back mountain if they couldn’t find Xie Huaixue in her cave abode. Forcing their way into the formation was absolutely impossible; they’d even suffer backlash. But they would suspect something was wrong with Xie Huaixue, then notice her physical condition, and from then on, they would jump around, probing and searching for Xie Huaixue’s weaknesses.
A statue of a deity that was too perfect, if even a slight crack appeared, would be swarmed by frantic mosquitoes and insects, making it unbearable.
Li Jin’an blinked, sensing something amiss. She looked down and saw that at some point, Xie Huaixue had tightly grasped her wrist.
“…” She laughed in exasperation. “Xie Huaixue, you really don’t treat yourself as an outsider.”
This was too impolite.
Li Jin’an was momentarily confused. Were she and Xie Huaixue not sworn enemies, but some ridiculous kind of close friends? Otherwise, she couldn’t understand why a great Immortal Venerable like Xie Huaixue had no sense of caution.
Perhaps this was why Xie Huaixue, in the book, was wildly fantasized about by those beasts in places she couldn’t see? Was it because her mind was pure, and she focused solely on cultivation, so she couldn’t think of such things?
Li Jin’an reconsidered. This was the back mountain of Qingxiao Peak. The embedded formation laid here couldn’t even be broken by an Integration stage cultivator. Besides the deceased Yinyue Monarch, only Li Jin’an, who hadn’t visited for hundreds of years, had access permission. So it was normal for Xie Huaixue not to set up defenses in her own home.
She tried to ponder what if Xie Huaixue had set up numerous traps here… Then Li Jin’an might even scold Xie Huaixue for being too cunning, not feeling safe even in her own home, and wondering if she was guarding against her, her sworn enemy who had access permission.
Li Jin’an’s gaze flickered. She really might have thought that way.
The Sword Sovereign’s principle and logic was that a thousand wrongs, ten thousand wrongs, were all the Immortal Venerable’s fault.
Li Jin’an tried to remove Xie Huaixue’s hand, but the person grasped her so tightly she couldn’t pry it open.
Could this person be faking sleep?!
Li Jin’an pursed her lips and leaned close to Xie Huaixue’s face. She stared carefully, only concluding that Qingxiao was beautiful, and truly didn’t find Xie Huaixue faking sleep. She could only act kindly and carry her out of the back mountain, concealing her figure, and flying towards the summit of Qingxiao Peak.
Reaching the Immortal Venerable’s cave abode, she only then placed Xie Huaixue on the bed. Before she could observe if the cave abode had changed from before, she heard noisy sounds from outside.
Li Jin’an raised an eyebrow. She didn’t immediately release her spiritual sense to check what was happening outside; instead, she lowered her head to look at Xie Huaixue.
This person had returned to a familiar place, yet she still clutched Li Jin’an’s wrist, refusing to let go, extremely persistent.
Li Jin’an sat on the edge of the bed, let out a cold laugh, and decided to collect some “interest” from Xie Huaixue.
“…The texture feels quite good.”
Her way of collecting interest was to pinch the Immortal Venerable’s cheeks in various ways: pinching, poking, then rubbing. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she was kneading dough.
After satisfying her urge to touch, she felt incredibly refreshed and her mind became clear.
Xie Huaixue’s face was rubbed until a blush appeared, like white jade gaining a faint glow.
Well, well, look at you now!
The noise outside grew louder and louder, sounding like a full-blown brawl was about to break out, while Li Jin’an was still engrossed in “getting revenge” on Xie Huaixue.
Just as she was considering whether to draw a big turtle on Xie Huaixue’s face, Li Jin’an seemed to realize something. Her gaze shifted upwards, meeting Xie Huaixue’s clear eyes.
Good chapter
Pfft 😂
LMAO