Spectating the Angsty Romance of the Master and Disciple from the Sect Next Door Chapter 78

Xie Huaixue knew Li Jin’an intimately, understanding exactly what kind of person she was. At this moment, seeing Li Jin’an’s “I’ll reluctantly let you off this time” expression, she couldn’t help but fall silent.
For a particularly dignified person to lose their dignity, it must be because a particularly undignified person is doing undignified things.
Xie Huaixue didn’t humor Li Jin’an; she chose to directly ignore her. “The gaze you gave the life lamp before you left that day was very strange. It was that single glance that prompted me to thoroughly investigate Ning Zhufeng.”
Li Jin’an let out a soft “hiss” and slightly raised her chin, a hint of guilt in her demeanor. “Well, what can I say? I’m your supreme and enlightened cultivation partner. This little matter is nothing worth mentioning.”
It wasn’t that she was noble; mainly, she remembered that her strange gaze hadn’t been directed at the life lamp, but at Xie Huaixue.
She was inwardly grumbling then if Xie Huaixue was too alluring. The future Demon Lord had meticulously schemed to get close to her, and Jiang Fengmian was utterly beyond saving, just waiting to die…
Being arrogant then deferential wasn’t quite the right phrase here, but Li Jin’an’s attitude before and after had truly changed too drastically.
Xie Huaixue looked at her.
Li Jin’an said, feigning seriousness, “This Dao Lord is a practical person who knows how to manage a household. I would never demand exorbitant prices from my cultivation partner. This Dao Lord isn’t a black-hearted merchant like Shang Dangge.”
Xie Huaixue reluctantly believed her and got back to business. “Ning Zhufeng’s origin is traceable. She hails from the Immortal Sealing Domain, her parents being the Domain Lord’s sister and a subordinate. Her family doted on her. I coincidentally met Ning Zhufeng at a banquet hosted by the Domain Lord. Since both the Domain Lord and her sister possessed ice spiritual roots, they joked with me that if Ning Zhufeng tested her spiritual root and was fortunate enough to also have an ice spiritual root, she could join my sect.”
“At that time, Ning Zhufeng’s personality was somewhat spoiled but not weak or gloomy, a stark contrast to her current self. One could even say she’s completely changed.”
“The only catalyst that could have changed her was the rebellion three years ago, when Ning Zhufeng’s father colluded with outside forces and rogue cultivators, killing the Domain Lord and imprisoning his wife and daughter. Her mother desperately sent Ning Zhufeng away, then detonated herself along with her husband. Since then, Ning Zhufeng has been missing.”
With the hypothetical outcome, it naturally felt wrong no matter how one looked at it.
Li Jin’an scoffed and interjected, “Thus, Ning Zhufeng no longer has any familiar relatives. However, these demon clan members overlooked the most important thing.”
The Immortal Sealing Domain was an affiliated power of the Dao Sect. The Ning family, for generations, would have a pair of sisters: one would assume the Domain Lord position, and the other would assist and marry, giving birth to a daughter. To safeguard the family’s foundation and the secret of consistently cultivating ice spiritual root cultivators from falling into wrong hands, each generation would plant a spiritual sense seed in their husband’s sea of consciousness. It wouldn’t manifest normally, but if the husband ever harbored thoughts of betraying the Ning family, the spiritual sense seed would instantly sprout in their sea of consciousness, causing the Ning family’s husband to self-detonate.
This was a secret of the Ning family, but for cultivators of Li Jin’an and Xie Huaixue’s level, it was no secret.
However, it was clear that the current Ning Zhufeng and the Demon Lord behind her were unaware of this.
Li Jin’an asked, confused, “Then how is Ning Zhufeng connected to that demon clan?”
Up to this point, the story had not shown a single trace of connection to the Three Realms Mountain demon clan.
“There’s a connection, but not a very obvious one on the surface.” Before Li Jin’an could press further, Xie Huaixue answered her doubt. “After the incident at Three Realms Mountain, besides worrying about my cold poison, Master also diligently pursued that demon clan. Through subtle clues, she finally learned the name of that demon clan—the Heavenly Demon Clan.”
After the upheaval back then, several Demon Commanders in the demon realm eagerly scrambled to claim responsibility, adamantly stating that they had sent troops to ambush and kill the three powerful cultivators of the Dao Sect. Unfortunately, after being purged by the Dao Sect, they weren’t so tough-mouthed anymore. The investigation fell into a deadlock, but only the Yinyue Monarch continued to search openly and secretly, never giving up.
As for why Li Jin’an knew, that was of course because her master, Chixin Sword Lord, often left her behind to accompany the Yinyue Monarch.
“The Heavenly Demon Clan is particularly skilled in time and divination arts. Ning Zhufeng might just be a pawn of the Heavenly Demon Clan. She herself might not even know there’s such a force behind her. The ambush my parents and master encountered at Three Realms Mountain back then was a meticulously planned…”
Li Jin’an interrupted her, saying enthusiastically, “In that case, the current Ning Zhufeng isn’t her true body. Her real self might still be in the demon realm. For now, we can only maintain a relaxed exterior while tightening our internal vigilance, continuing to monitor her to see what the Heavenly Demon Clan intends to use Ning Zhufeng for.”
This, then, could explain why the Heavenly Tome didn’t contain information about the Heavenly Demon Clan. As one of the protagonists among the three beasts, if it were stated that Ning Zhufeng was merely a puppet, her fate manipulated, that would be too undignified. No one would read a storybook like that.
She wondered if it was her imagination, but she always felt that this Heavenly Demon Clan harbored an exceptionally strong malice towards Xie Huaixue, and their targeting was too obvious. Whether it was the Three Realms Mountain ambush or Ning Zhufeng, the ultimate goal was always Xie Huaixue…
Also, she really wanted to say that Xie Huaixue truly had no talent for storytelling, but fortunately, she didn’t want to know the intricate details, nor did she want Xie Huaixue to narrate the matter in detail.
She knew that with Xie Huaixue’s temperament, she wouldn’t dwell in pain, but she still felt heartache for her cultivation partner.
Xie Huaixue’s eyes trembled. She lowered her gaze and leaned in to kiss the corner of Li Jin’an’s eye.
Li Jin’an hadn’t even asked why she didn’t kiss her lips, but in the next instant, she already understood the answer—Xie Huaixue had seen the heartache in her eyes.
She was greatly invigorated, enthusiastically inviting Xie Huaixue to patrol Three Realms Mountain, searching for traces of the Heavenly Demon Clan. She wished the Heavenly Demon Clan would appear before her that very second, allowing her to slaughter them and vent her anger for Xie Huaixue.
Half a day later, her enthusiasm was dampened. Intimidated by their combined aura, any living creature in the nearby mountain ranges hid far away, fearing being targeted by the two of them. Not even a single strand of demon fur was found.
Li Jin’an could only return to the Dao Sect crestfallen, following Xie Huaixue.
Their return happened to be quite timely; they arrived just as the disciples from both sects were returning from the Solitary Mountain Secret Realm.
The reason for their swift return was that the flow of time within the Solitary Mountain Secret Realm differed from the outside world: one day outside meant a month inside. Even without hunting demon beasts or gathering natural treasures, simply cultivating in meditation could yield significant progress.
Given such heaven-defying efficacy, the resources required to open it once were naturally immense, affordable only to powers on the level of the Nine Great Immortal Sects.
Li Jin’an hadn’t thought much of it initially. They’re back, so what? Do I need to welcome them? But upon receiving a communication paper crane from Jiang Fengmian, her eyes immediately widened. She instantly changed her mind and pulled Xie Huaixue to the main sect hall, which they had only recently left.
Upon entering, they were met with rows of numb, vacant eyes.
The previous issue of the half-yao infiltrating the Dao Sect as Immortal Venerable Qingxiao’s second disciple hadn’t been fully resolved, and now something had happened in the Solitary Mountain Secret Realm. Who could be happy about that?
Even Jingting Dao Lord, who was always at the forefront of any fun, couldn’t handle it anymore. She became a hands-off master, cleverly choosing to let disciples handle matters and having the Young Sect Master resolve the troublesome situation in her stead.
Li Jin’an hadn’t even sat down yet when she couldn’t suppress her laughter, her shoulders shaking.
Across from her, Flowing Phoenix Sword sovereign and Balanced Blade Sword sovereign simply watched her skillfully take a seat among the Dao Sect elders. Both pretended not to see her, their faces etched with weariness, heads bowed, silently trying to reduce their presence.
By the Ancestors! This time, when they return, they’ll commit a serious mistake, make the Sect Master confine them. If that doesn’t work, even exiling them to some nameless minor domain would be fine. They really couldn’t take it anymore!
Being colleagues with Jijin Sword Sovereign truly tested a sword cultivator’s limits. The fact that they hadn’t already drawn their swords and committed suicide proved their immense willpower.
Jiang Fengmian was the same, looking everywhere but at Li Jin’an.
The Dao Sect’s Young Sect Master, named Yun Liuguang, was a graceful and dignified woman. Even now, she could smile and nod at Li Jin’an and Xie Huaixue.
“Elder Fang, please explain what happened in the Solitary Mountain Secret Realm.”
“Yes.”
Elder Fang was one of the Dao Sect elders who had accompanied the disciples to the Solitary Mountain Secret Realm. His gaze, incredibly complex, swept across Li Jin’an’s face as he concisely stated, “On that day, the disciples from both sects traveled to the Solitary Mountain Secret Realm on spirit boats. We accompanying elders cautioned the disciples and distributed tokens. Two hours later, we arrived at the secret realm. Everything was peaceful until then. A day later, before we could even open it, the secret realm began to ‘leak’ everywhere, spitting out over twenty unconscious disciples.”
As for who the remaining few conscious disciples were, everyone present already knew without needing to be told.
“Fortunately, the tokens the disciples brought in were embedded with recording stones, which fully documented… the incident where the disciples of both sects were almost wiped out.”
Yun Liuguang continued, “These thirty disciples have been sent to Ancient Life Peak for Elder Yin to provide aid.”
Li Jin’an was a bit displeased with the elder’s choice of words. “Incident where they were almost wiped out”? This was outright discrimination against Jijin Peak!
Xie Huaixue gently patted her hand, signaling her to calm down and see what exactly had happened.
Li Jin’an instinctively held her hand back.
Jiang Fengmian’s communication paper crane had only told them the result. They truly didn’t know the specifics, only that the three extraordinary individuals from Jijin Peak had blown up the Solitary Mountain Secret Realm!
Elder Fang stopped speaking. He took out several recording stones and played them one by one.
In mid-air, two sneaky little faces from Jijin Peak instantly appeared. They seemed to be discussing something in a forest, pointing and muttering over a map. A moment later, they exchanged glances and giggled.
This was the first recording stone, taken from Qi Lingzi’s token, so it was primarily from her perspective.
Since the recording stone couldn’t capture sound, there was only video, but it wasn’t difficult for the elders present to read their lips. It was precisely because they understood what the three from Jijin Peak were saying that they couldn’t help but look at their master.
Noticing the gazes from all directions, Li Jin’an remained still as a mountain, looking straight ahead. She was also somewhat surprised. Her three little fools at home had truly ‘earned’ her a big one this time!
Tan Yanyi grinned, “Setting traps and bagging people are too old-fashioned. Master and her generation already did all those tricks. There aren’t many left for us. Besides, those two (referring to the other sect’s disciples) are probably on guard and planning to trick us because of Master and Mistress’s affair. We absolutely must use a new method.”
Ling Qiu asked sincerely, “Then what new method do you have?”
Tan Yanyi gestured at the map. “Look here, and here. These are the two places in the secret realm with the densest spiritual energy, and the most treasures and demon beasts. What if we set up thunder arrays in both places and spread the scent of illusionary flowers? With their ambition, those two will definitely go to both places. This time, they won’t be able to escape!”
Upon hearing this, Li Jin’an turned her head and asked, “Are my disciples alright? I hope they weren’t beaten to death?”
escape this common fate. “Common fate” or “being conventional.”
Initial thought: Karma was an inexplicable thing. If one had created bad karma previously, one had to pay it back now;A spiritual sense swept over Li Jin’an and Xie Huaixue, instantly changing what she was about to say next.
Just as she expected, this disrespectful elder merely disliked troublesome matters, not fun.
Yun Liuguang kept a constant smile on her lips, as if she hadn’t seen Li Jin’an’s gritting teeth after she paused. “It’s just that the other disciples haven’t woken up yet. If they wake up, whether the Sword Sovereign’s disciples will still be unscathed remains to be seen.”
At these words, a ripple of muffled laughter rose in the main hall.
Clearly, everyone was happy to see the commotion at Jijin Peak, and the atmosphere relaxed a bit because of it.
Li Jin’an noticed the hand in her palm squeeze her, so she had to keep a glum face and remain silent.
Meanwhile, in the footage released by the memory stone, Tan Yanyi and Ling Qiu were still grinning playfully, quickly settling on an extremely crude plan—all heart, no head.
Although Qi Lingzi felt it was inappropriate, her junior sisters were all doing it to get revenge for her. She swallowed all her objections, not wanting to be a hypocrite who disregarded her junior sisters’ wishes, and obediently followed their arrangements, doing whatever they told her to do.