"Martial Nephew, do you know why our Grandmaster is called the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden?"
"I don't. Please enlighten me, Fourth Martial Aunt."
"She's the immortal maiden who comes to your door and slaughters you within the Nine Heavens."
"..."
Ye Ling was left momentarily speechless, unable to tell whether the woman before him was joking or stating the truth.
If it was a joke, her expression was far too rigid to sell it. But if it was true, it felt like it completely shattered his idealized image of the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden.
So the title could be interpreted like this too?
That was… genuinely eye-opening.
Lost in thought, Ye Ling studied the woman in front of him.
Ai Yueli, the fourth-ranked disciple of the Heavenly Gate Sect, his Fourth Martial Aunt.
Compared to the innocent and lively Bai Yiyi, Ai Yueli was like an ancient stone statue, the contrast between them strikingly clear.
Her three thousand strands of dark hair cascaded down like smooth silk. Atop her head, an airy Flying Immortal Bun was secured by a Dragonblood Ancient Hairpin carved from rare ancient wood, faintly suffused with an immortal aura.
Her features were refined and solemn. She always wore a composed expression, yet her beauty was impossible to hide. Instead, it gave her a restrained, ascetic charm that made one instinctively want to see her smile.
Like the final stroke in a painting, a single monocle rested on her face, adding a touch of scholarly elegance.
A black-and-white qipao adorned with plum blossoms wrapped tightly around her slender, graceful figure.
The skin visible beneath her clothing was pale and delicate, glowing softly. A pleasant scent reminiscent of ink lingered around her at all times.
Compared to Bai Yiyi, she carried much more of a teacher's presence.
"Martial Nephew, it seems you don't believe me?"
As Ye Ling looked her over, Ai Yueli's expression remained unchanged. She spoke calmly,
"Then you can ask your Master, the Sect Master."
"No, no. I do believe you. It's just that the truth is so hard to accept that I couldn't help but freeze for a moment."
The pressure Ai Yueli gave off was immense, enough to make Ye Ling keenly aware of the distance between master and disciple. After steadying himself, he added, "This nephew has been discourteous."
Even when Bai Yiyi taught him, the pressure had never been this intense.
If Bai Yiyi was an ordinary teacher, then Ai Yueli was the homeroom teacher.
"You're too polite."
Ai Yueli glanced at the figures pacing back and forth outside the door and said, "I've already told you everything you should know. Let's not make things difficult for the Sect Master."
Hearing that Ai Yueli was letting him go, Ye Ling quietly let out a sigh of relief.
After cleaning up the training ground, he had come back only to be dragged straight into the study by Ai Yueli.
It was called a casual chat, but he knew very well it was an evaluation.
Fortunately, he already had the "Prophetic Dream" setting. Otherwise, dealing with Ai Yueli would have been genuinely difficult.
Unlike the carefree Bai Yiyi, Ai Yueli's words were concise and razor-sharp, always striking at the heart of the matter. Ye Ling had been on high alert the entire time while answering.
The only thing that surprised him was that Ai Yueli never directly asked about his background. If she didn't ask, all the better.
Otherwise, he could only have answered with, "Now that I cultivate immortality, all mortal pasts have been forgotten."
"Are you alright?"
Ye Ling opened the door and saw Bai Yiyi looking anxious. Standing on her toes, she patted his shoulder and asked, "Fourth Martial Sister didn't make things difficult for you, did she?"
"Master, you're joking. Fourth Martial Aunt only asked how I've been doing at Heavenly Gate Sect these past few days."
Ye Ling wore a bright, open smile. What he said wasn't wrong.
But he knew that many of Ai Yueli's questions had been roundabout attempts to probe his origins.
From time to time, she even mixed in folk customs from Ying Prefecture, or used customs from outside the region in an attempt to trip him up.
Luckily, when he transmigrated, all that basic knowledge had been implanted into his mind by the system. Otherwise, he really might have fallen into Ai Yueli's trap.
"Sect Master, please don't lose your dignity in front of your disciple."
From behind Ye Ling, Ai Yueli walked over slowly, her tone full of helplessness.
"Huff!"
Bai Yiyi puffed out her cheeks, made a face at Ai Yueli, and said, "Master said that once I have a disciple, it means I've grown up!"
"Now I can do whatever I want. You can't control me anymore!"
"Bleh!"
She even stuck out her tongue at Ai Yueli, as if venting all the pent-up frustration of the past decade in one go.
"..."
"..."
Ye Ling and Ai Yueli were both speechless.
The difference was that Ye Ling was momentarily distracted by Bai Yiyi's adorable antics, while Ai Yueli had completely given up trying.
Forget it. Just let her be.
For some reason, Ai Yueli suddenly recalled the warning the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden had given the six of them before her ascension.
If Bai Yiyi were to descend the mountain, she had to reach the Soul Formation Stage. And if she wanted to ignore the advice of her six Junior Sisters, then she would have to take in a disciple.
They had believed that, with so many layers of preparation, Bai Yiyi would never be able to take a disciple before she truly matured. Yet Ye Ling's appearance had completely thrown their plans into disarray.
"Sigh…"
Ai Yueli shook her head and let out a quiet sigh, deliberately steering the conversation away. "I hurried back as fast as I could, thinking I'd make it before the other party made a move. In the end, I was still a step too late and ended up giving my nephew quite a scare."
Since there was no point in talking about Bai Yiyi, she turned to more pressing matters.
"Fourth Martial Aunt, you're too kind. But who exactly is this 'other party'?" Ye Ling asked.
He had finally snapped out of it. Bai Yiyi was right here anyway. He would have plenty of time to admire her adorable appearance later. Opportunities to hear about something serious like this, on the other hand, were rare.
"I don't know."
A troubled look appeared on Ai Yueli's refined face as she said, "Master has roamed the cultivation world for thousands of years and made countless enemies. Even with Second Senior Sister's divination skills, it's hard to determine who this enemy is."
"Hm?"
The moment she heard the word "enemy," Bai Yiyi's eyes lit up with excitement. "There's an enemy? Where? Let Senior Sister here go wipe them out!"
If it were anything else, she wouldn't be interested. Even if she were interested, she probably couldn't do much about it. But once fighting was mentioned, she was instantly wide awake.
"I don't know."
Ai Yueli shook her head again and said seriously, "If we knew, we would've already gone and eliminated them."
"Huh? You can't take me along to have some fun?"
Bai Yiyi was clearly unhappy. Maybe because her Junior Sister had returned, she seemed even more… adorable today.
Meanwhile, Ye Ling remained silent.
He carefully observed Ai Yueli and found no hint of deception in her expression, nor even the slightest trace of fear.
Despite the countless enemies the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden had left behind, Ai Yueli looked no more than mildly troubled.
And the reason for that trouble was simply this.
She didn't know where the enemy was.