Chapter 2
Leaving the sword practice arena, Heng Yu chose another Wu Tong tree. This tree was extremely tall, with thick branches that wouldn’t be uncomfortable to lie on. It was located deep within the forest, making it less likely to be disturbed. Compared to these advantages, the drawback of sparse leaves that let in too much sunlight was bearable.
Heng Yu looked around, plucked a leaf larger than her face, and with a flash, sat on the tree. She slowly lay down, covering her face with the leaf, and hummed a tuneless song as she drifted off to sleep.
In reality, the quiet place Heng Yu chose wasn’t so quiet. Just as she was about to fall asleep, a sweet voice came from below: “Lord Luo is in high spirits.”
High spirits! Her good mood for sleeping was being ruined bit by bit by these people.
Heng Yu removed the leaf covering her face and looked down at the woman standing beneath the tree. Searching her memory, Heng Yu raised an eyebrow: “So it’s Lord Mu.”
Among the ten young masters, only three were women. Heng Yu had a cold demeanor, Wu Mei was seductive, and Mu Huan was charmingly cute. She wore a revealing pink gauze dress, her expression innocent, her eyes as clear as an untainted celestial being. But this was just a facade. Mu Huan’s entire cultivation at the peak of Foundation Establishment was built upon dual cultivation.
Mu Huan looked up at Heng Yu, her eyes shimmering with a watery light. “Has Lord Luo met Buddha-son Liaowu?”
“No.”
Mu Huan’s face lit up with longing, not caring whether Heng Yu wanted to listen or not. “Senior Brother Liaowu is elegant and refined, with profound Buddhist teachings and exceptional looks. When I saw him, I felt he was meant for me. And as if the heavens were helping me, he’s actually going to undergo his tribulation of love in the mortal world. Doesn’t Lord Luo think this is a match made in heaven?” As she spoke, Mu Huan licked her lips slightly. Innocence and seduction, these two contradictory qualities coexisted perfectly within her.
Heng Yu: “…”
Where did this delusional patient come from?
The corner of her lips curled up, and she answered honestly, “No.” After speaking, Heng Yu raised her hand to shield her eyes, finding the sunlight too dazzling. So she casually placed the leaf on top of her head.
Mu Huan’s smile froze. The edge of the leaf drooped slightly, perfectly blocking the harsh sunlight for Heng Yu. With her eyes feeling more comfortable, she became interested in chatting.
Heng Yu asked curiously, “If the task falls to you, how do you plan to pursue the Buddha-son?” This person was so confident, looking forward to receiving the task of pursuing the Buddha-son, she must have some special strategy.
Mu Huan smiled confidently. “No matter how elegant and refined the Buddha-son is, he’s still a man. A more direct approach might be very effective.” She stretched, revealing more of her body.
Considering how Mu Huan had advanced so quickly, it wasn’t difficult to guess what this “direct approach” entailed. This answer disappointed Heng Yu.
That’s it?
“You can’t even beat him, how can you use a direct approach?”
At this point, Heng Yu’s previously calm heart suddenly tightened slightly. Wu Mei’s charm arts were astonishing, but those who cultivated Buddhism had strong willpower and were least susceptible to charm arts. This Mu Huan was a brainless type who only knew how to conquer with her body… In the end, this troublesome and boring task of pursuing the Buddha-son… couldn’t possibly fall on her, could it?
Mu Huan twirled a strand of hair around her finger, playing with it casually. “Lord Luo shouldn’t underestimate my methods. I didn’t get to where I am today for nothing.”
Hearing her confident words, Heng Yu immediately felt more at ease.
“I see. Goodbye then.” She covered her face with the leaf again and lay down to continue sleeping. The original body had suffered Qi deviation, and after taking a sixth-grade pill, her damaged meridians were slowly recovering. But the pill had strong side effects, and Heng Yu could only rely on sleep to distract herself from the lingering pain in her limbs.
Mu Huan wanted to say more, but seeing Heng Yu’s uncooperative attitude, she stomped her foot and turned to leave. The forest became quiet again.
Heng Yu rested one hand behind her head and closed her eyes, falling asleep. But before she could fall into a deep sleep, a streak of light flashed across the sky, locking onto Heng Yu’s aura before circling a few times and landing beside her, transforming into a transmission talisman. The talisman vibrated. Heng Yu: “…”
Why was it so hard to get some sleep?
She reached out and grabbed the talisman, channeling her spiritual energy to crush it. The talisman transformed into the voice of her master, Grand Elder You Yun.
“Disciple, return quickly.”
Heng Yu’s eyes snapped open. Her cheap master had finished his closed-door cultivation?
A month ago, when Heng Yu had transmigrated, You Yun was in seclusion, refining pills. Now that he was out, the pills must have been refined. This master of hers was quite a formidable character — a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, whose charm arts were nearly perfected. Fortunately, You Yun often remained in seclusion, so although they were master and disciple, they hadn’t spent much time together. Now that the soul in this body had changed, You Yun shouldn’t be able to tell. After all, due to the Time and Space Administration’s intervention, her compatibility with this body was one hundred percent.
Heng Yu sat up, casually drew the long sword from her waist, and flew back to Ning Yu Peak on her sword. Pushing open the creaking wooden door, she stepped on the fallen yellow Wu Tong leaves, walked to the stone table, and greeted You Yun with the same respectful manner as the original body.
“No need for formalities.” You Yun pointed to another empty stone stool. “Sit down. I called you here to talk about the inner sect mission.”
Heng Yu sat down, took a sip of tea, and took the opportunity to observe You Yun’s appearance. Sitting on the stone stool, his red robes were perfectly proper, covering all of his skin, yet he still exuded a captivating allure. Even his simple gestures revealed a particularly charming and unrestrained air.
You Yun was about to speak when he suddenly let out a soft exclamation. “You’ve abandoned cultivating charm arts?” After just over a month, the seductive air between his disciple’s brows had completely disappeared. Now, dressed in a green Daoist robe, she had a cold and aloof demeanor. If not for her long, loose hair, she would truly resemble a disciple from a righteous sect.
Heng Yu didn’t answer immediately. She asked, “Master, do you mind?” This master of hers specialized in charm arts. Right now, You Yun was her greatest backer. If he minded, she would definitely answer that she hadn’t abandoned charm arts : ) To live a carefree life, being adaptable was very important.
“It doesn’t matter,” You Yun said. “However…”
Heng Yu said frankly, “Master, I have abandoned cultivating charm arts.”
You Yun was momentarily speechless. “If you don’t cultivate charm arts in the Hehuan Sect, how will you gain admiration value?” He hadn’t spent much time with this direct disciple, but the cultivation technique she practiced was bestowed by him, so You Yun naturally knew that the technique required admiration value to aid in breaking through to the Core Formation and Nascent Soul realms.
Speaking of which, You Yun said with some disdain, “Your admiration value is only one thousand, right? Back when I was at your level, my admiration value had already exceeded one hundred thousand.”
Heng Yu didn’t want to discuss this issue. She was about to refill You Yun’s teacup when You Yun sensed something amiss and grasped her wrist first. A cool spiritual energy flowed from You Yun’s palm into Heng Yu’s body. The next moment, You Yun released her hand, his brow furrowing slightly.
“Damaged meridians? You experienced Qi deviation?”
“Nothing can be hidden from Master,” Heng Yu said helplessly. “But I’ve already taken the life-saving pill Master left me. Now, apart from some lingering effects, I’m fine. Master needn’t worry.”
“How did you suddenly experience Qi deviation?”
Heng Yu didn’t know what had happened. She had inherited all of the original body’s memories, except for the period surrounding the incident, which seemed to have been deliberately erased. This kept her vigilant. The Hehuan Sect was a demonic sect; if she truly considered this place a haven of good, she’d be naive. However, she kept these thoughts to herself, maintaining an innocent smile on her face.
“I was probably too eager to achieve a breakthrough and acted rashly during cultivation.”
You Yun didn’t press the matter further. “I’ll refine a few bottles of healing pills for you later. You’ll be going out for the inner sect mission soon, and you can’t go out injured.”
The topic conveniently returned to the inner sect mission.
You Yun continued, “The inner sect mission is mandatory. With your talent and strength, the mission you receive will be at least A-rank. By the way, you should already know about the Sect Protecting Stone’s unusual phenomenon, indicating that the Undying Sect’s Buddha-son Liaowu is about to undergo his tribulation of love.”
A plate of bright red spiritual fruits sat on the stone table, emitting a sweet fragrance. Heng Yu reached out, picked one up, and took a crisp bite.
“The penalty for failing an inner sect mission is severe. I just hope this task doesn’t fall on you.”
Heng Yu swallowed the fruit. “I just encountered Lord Mei and Lord Mu. They both seemed quite confident.”
You Yun hadn’t paid much attention to his own disciple, let alone the other two young inner disciples. Hearing this, he nodded. “That’s very good. In ten days, just accept any A-rank mission. Completing it will earn you at least ten thousand admiration points, enough for you to break through to the Core Formation stage.”
It could be said that You Yun had planned everything perfectly for her.
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