Chapter 286: The Children Soon to See the Light of Day
Outside Sword Rain City,
Xuan Ming's muscles bulged as he wielded his heavy sword with precision.
'Hmm... Could channeling spiritual energy into these sword techniques help me break through the mountain and river energy and draw upon their power?'
'No, no, that's not it. I'm here because my sword intent has advanced. I felt an epiphany and thought it might improve my techniques, not because I want to dig through mountains...'
He reminded himself to stay calm. After all, he was Xuan Ming, Golden-Ranked member of the Six Gate Bureau—not a lowly laborer like Zhang Da Zhuang.
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, he slowly lowered his stance and glanced toward the city in the distance.
"The timing should be just about right..."
According to their arrangement, the Holy Saint of the Demon Sect was to enter the city, settle matters with his junior, and return with her in no more than half an hour.
To be honest, Xuan Ming had wanted to tag along.
After all, during their journey, he'd been too busy breaking through mountains or using teleportation to rush from place to place, leaving no opportunity to probe the mysterious Holy Saint of the Demon Sect.
If this continued, everyone would return to the royal city, and he still wouldn't have reached a decision on whether to join his colleagues in their plans regarding the Holy Saint.
But there wasn't much he could do. For now, he was still stuck in his role, playing the pitiful laborer Zhang Da Zhuang, and had to follow Luo Wusheng's script to maintain the facade.
Sighing to himself, Xuan Ming's gaze shifted.
Under a tree, a breathtakingly beautiful young woman was seated cross-legged, cultivating.
'The Taoist Sect's current Chief Disciple... Her aptitude matches that of the Empress, they're the same age, and her beauty is unparalleled...'
'If she were a man, she'd undoubtedly be a prime candidate for Empress Consort. But as a woman, and given that neither she nor the Empress has a partner yet... The best match for her might just be that Holy Saint of the Demon Sect.'
'Hmm... Those two did seem to grow somewhat closer during the few hours they've known each other, though they've only just met...'
If he really decided to join his fellow Six Gate Bureau colleagues, he would have to warn them to be wary of this Taoist Sect Chief Disciple.
After all, she was the most comparable female cultivator to the Empress in terms of cultivation aptitude. Now that she was linked to the Holy Saint, who could say what complications might arise?
Lost in thought, Xuan Ming suddenly froze.
He sensed Luo Wusheng's presence.
Sure enough, the handsome youth had emerged from Sword Rain City and was approaching at high speed.
At the same time, the girl on the boulder—Ji Yanyao—opened her enchanting eyes. Her gaze shifted lightly, and she too noticed Luo Wusheng approaching, accompanied by a seemingly ordinary girl.
The Taoist Sect Chief Disciple was momentarily stunned.
She had expected the "junior" Luo Wusheng had mentioned to be a child, given that the Holy Saint himself was only an eighteen-year-old youth.
However, the girl now in view seemed to be about the same age as Luo Wusheng.
'Hmm? It's her?'
Ji Yanyao quickly accessed the memories of her other avatars and recognized the Holy Saint's so-called junior.
During the Demon Artifact Pavilion's grand opening, her Mortal Alter Ego had encountered this plain-looking girl. Later, when the topic of the Netherkin Nation hidden soldiers arose, Luo Wusheng had even brought her to the discussion.
'So, she's his junior... In hindsight, when he attributed credit to her that day, it might have carried a deeper meaning.'
Moreover...
The Empress's memories from six days ago confirmed that this beautiful Sword Sect prodigy was none other than Lu Yuli, the same girl before her now.
By comparing fragments of dialogue across memories, Ji Yanyao's various identities easily pieced together the truth.
'Her appearance must be altered through some disguise technique, albeit different from mine.'
As her thoughts churned, Ji Yanyao's gaze toward Luo Wusheng grew subtly strange.
The Holy Saint of the Demon Sect, whose junior was a Sword Sect prodigy? And someone connected to the Sword Sect Peak Master in the Daybreak City?
Since when had the Demon Sect become associated with the Sword Sect?
Throughout sect history, she had only ever heard rumors of the Heavenly Divination Tower being linked to the Demon Sect—and that was during its founding.
And even if there was such a connection, why was it that every person around this Holy Saint seemed to be a stunningly beautiful woman?
'And that day... Although they claimed an anomaly had occurred, the closeness this Sword Sect prodigy displayed...'
Could she truly be just a junior?
Thinking back to the hasty conclusion her Mortal Alter Ego had drawn outside Red Blossom Pavilion—that the Holy Saint of the Demon Sect was indifferent to women—Ji Yanyao couldn't help but fall into deep contemplation.
The speculations seemed just shy of being overturned.
…
The moment the Sword Fairy saw Ji Yanyao's face clearly, she almost couldn't resist the urge to pinch the youth's waist beside her—hard.
They had only been apart for a few days, yet this guy had already gotten involved with another woman of such beauty!
Although it was only a matter of a few hours' acquaintance, every relationship begins with these few hours piling upon each other.
'There are more and more...'
Herself, Bai Xiaoyao, the courtesan of Red Blossom Pavilion, the Immortal Nation Empress—and now this newly emerged Taoist Sect Chief Disciple. The number of women connected to this infuriating guy kept growing.
And their beauty...
'Thinking about it, even Master is extremely beautiful...'
No, no, that's ridiculous. It's impossible for every stunning woman in the world to somehow end up linked to this guy, right?
Besides, when it comes to Master, I'm here as the last line of defense! Nothing unexpected will happen. Definitely not!
As the girl tucked away her thoughts, she quietly landed on the ground beside Luo Wusheng. Then she obediently stood by his side.
Luo Wusheng gave a slight bow.
"Thank you both for waiting."
"No matter. It's still within the agreed time. Shall we now set off for the royal city?"
Ji Yanyao was the first to respond, keeping true to her composed persona and refraining from asking unnecessary questions.
Xuan Ming, standing nearby, also sheathed his heavy sword and waited.
But Luo Wusheng shook his head gently.
"Before that, there's one more matter I need to attend to."
He turned his gaze to the Empress Taoist Alter Ego.
"I wonder if I could ask Daoist Yanyao for a small favor?"
Ji Yanyao blinked, slightly surprised, but nodded.
"Feel free to ask."
As soon as her words fell, Luo Wusheng lightly patted his waist. From his storage pouch flew a bulging sack, which landed heavily on the ground.
"I hope Daoist Yanyao can use the Taoist Sect's Dao Vision technique to observe the Dao flow here. If anything unusual occurs, I'd appreciate it if you could inform me."
Luo Wusheng spoke lightly, though a subtle trace of emotion flitted through his heart.
Finally, it was time to bring the Demon Sect disciples, who had been sealed away for six days, back into the light.
But this wasn't a decision made on a whim.
'The Demon Sect...'
His junior sister's letter had given more weight to a hypothesis he'd recently formed.
According to her, it was highly likely that his enigmatic master had been watching his every move from the beginning...
Disguised as a bald, plain-looking cart driver clad in coarse hemp garments.
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Note: Link to the character Illustration:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD
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