Linghu Ci glanced toward the guest peak nestled among the mountains, his tone indifferent. “Old grudges shouldn’t involve the next generation. That child is frail and pitiable anyway. Since he offered twenty spirit cores as a medical fee, the Tingyin Pavilion naturally won’t engage in any underhanded business.”
Hearing this, someone gasped.
“How many?! Did you say twenty spirit cores?!”
“He’s actually willing to part with that much?!”
Soul Formation cultivators were mostly indifferent and detached, yet at this moment, Huo Yuntian was roaring with wide-eyed jealousy, his spit nearly flying into Linghu Ci’s face. Fortunately, the latter had anticipated this and waved a hand, creating a barrier that reflected the spit right back onto Huo Yuntian’s face.
Good heavens. A Soul Formation cultivator would usually only use a single spirit core for cultivation when they were truly desperate. One core contained enough spiritual energy to sustain a Soul Formation cultivator’s absorption for a hundred years. Twenty cores—that was equivalent to two thousand years’ worth of spiritual energy!
No wonder. No wonder the Tingyin Pavilion could set aside past grievances to treat his daughter.
“What ‘old grudges shouldn’t involve the next generation’ bullcrap? You’re clearly just doing this for the sake of the money,” Huo Yuntian said, exposing him bluntly.
Linghu Ci smiled calmly. “What’s wrong with money? Are you not short on it? It’s a pity that the old fellow was willing to send twenty spirit cores to the Tingyin Pavilion but wouldn’t send them to your Fire Lotus Sect.”
“You—humph! We’ll see if you even have the ability to keep them.” Huo Yuntian was so flushed with jealousy that his face turned crimson.
Damn it, why was that annoying Jiang He so rich? It was bad enough that he raised a bunch of demon beasts, but he also ran businesses for pill cultivators, artifact cultivators, and talisman cultivators. He practically sold the demon beasts piece by piece. What a goddamn butcher!
Linghu Ci ignored him. The bickering had softened the solemn atmosphere somewhat, but the confusion and trace of unease in everyone’s hearts remained.
They couldn't think of anyone else who would prompt the Supreme Elder to dispatch them to receive guests except for people from the Central Province.
Soon, the five felt four auras appearing at the foot of the Tingyin Pavilion’s mountain.
One of them was Xin Jiuxian!
Xin Feiliu moved, wanting to head down immediately to get her, but the Grand Elder, Shengji, pressed a hand on her shoulder.
“If she was able to come here, she’s fine. Don’t panic.”
Xin Feiliu could only knit her brows and subside, her eyes fixed on a spot in the night sky where a figure was about to appear.
Finally, ten breaths later, three streaks of light pierced the night.
They appeared before the Tingyin Pavilion’s barrier like shooting stars.
Right in front of Xin Feiliu and the others.
“Second Elder.” Xin Jiuxian’s icy expression wavered slightly as she immediately flew toward her.
Wen Li let her go.
The five people opposite them locked their gazes precisely onto her.
Shengji and Linghu Ci, the two white-haired old men, squinted, seemingly failing to recognize her, whether by her aura or her disguised appearance.
Huo Yuntian and Yang Yankuan frowned slightly, seemingly trying to judge if this Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivator was truly the person they were waiting for.
Only Xin Feiliu immediately caught the flying Xin Jiuxian.
“How are you? Is anything hurting?” She checked her over. There were no physical injuries, but her soul was somewhat weak.
Xin Jiuxian shook her head slightly. “No. She didn’t touch me.”
This “she” naturally referred to Wen Li.
Only then did Xin Feiliu turn her gaze toward the three: a little runt, a young girl, and the tallest one, Wen Li, whose cultivation was only at Foundation Establishment Great Perfection.
She met Wen Li’s indifferent and cool eyes.
In an instant, her pupils trembled. She was suspicious and uncertain, yet also dazed and shocked.
Zongzheng Huangyue and Hua Cishu had seen Linghu Ci and Shengji at the Xianle Grand Ceremony, so they were well aware of their identities. Both were inwardly startled. Their Master had said they were coming to the Tingyin Pavilion to find someone, but she hadn’t mentioned that such high-level powerhouses would personally come to receive her.
Zongzheng Huangyue, in particular, was once again curious about Wen Li’s identity and cultivation.
The two remained quiet, not daring to interrupt.
Wen Li stepped forward slowly, looking at Shengji. Even facing five Soul Formation cultivators who held immense weight in the Southern Province, her attitude remained composed, and her tone was commanding.
“Let’s go. Take me to see the Supreme Elder of the Tingyin Pavilion.”
With those words, the five finally confirmed that she was indeed the person the Supreme Elder wanted them to welcome.
Shengji nodded slightly and raised a hand toward the interior of the sect. “This way, Your Excellency.”
Unsure of her identity, the Grand Elder of the Tingyin Pavilion couldn't lower his status by calling her a fellow Daoist or Senior.
Wen Li led her two disciples forward.
Unexpectedly, just as she followed Shengji safely into the barrier and passed Xin Feiliu’s side, the latter, staring straight ahead, suddenly spoke.
“Wen Bai.”
Upon closer listening, there was a tremor, a trial, a shock, and a complex web of emotions in that soft call.
Wen Li’s body paused.
The two were side-by-side, one to the left and one to the right. Wen Li glanced slightly at Xin Feiliu, her tone cool as she spoke each word deliberately.
“It has been a long time. I trust you have been well?”
This indirect admission instantly sent waves of shock through the group.
Xin Feiliu’s eyes reddened as a mist of tears welled up uncontrollably. She looked at Wen Li with a gaze full of complexity, and a single tear traced a path down her cheek.
“It really is you...” The bitterness and hoarseness in her throat made the words nearly inaudible.
But Wen Li heard them.
She waved her hand, and the disguise on her face vanished, revealing her cool and breathtakingly beautiful countenance.
The pupils of the four surrounding elders, including Shengji, constricted. Countless images flashed through their minds the moment they saw her face. Shengji, who had just addressed her as “Your Excellency,” instinctively blurted out two words.
“...Senior?”
Even Linghu Ci, Huo Yuntian, and Yang Yankuan underwent massive changes in expression—it was a shock and excitement akin to seeing an old friend after a lifetime away.
To see such a look on the faces of five Soul Formation cultivators simultaneously was a sight seen only once in a thousand years.
Xin Jiuxian didn't understand, and neither did Hua Cishu.
Only Zongzheng Huangyue, with her keen observation, saw the deep familiarity in Xin Feiliu’s eyes toward Wen Li. Though the others weren't as emotional, their expressions clearly indicated they had once shared a deep connection with her.
And the Grand Elder’s address of “Senior” felt somewhat abrupt and strange in the presence of four white-haired old men facing a young female cultivator who looked to be in her early twenties.
Wen Li turned toward the tear on Xin Feiliu’s cheek and slowly raised her hand, her fingertip gently wiping it away.
“You weren't such a crybaby back then.”
With those words, the tears in Xin Feiliu’s eyes welled up even more. She immediately turned her head, swallowing the bitterness as she reached up to wipe away the tear stains herself, avoiding Wen Li’s hand.
Wen Li didn't mind. She turned her gaze to Shengji.
“Let’s go.”
“Right...”
Shengji’s eyes were dazed, his expression beyond description. He hadn't expected to ever see her again. Even more so, he hadn't expected that while he had called her “Senior” when they met a thousand years ago, he was now old and withered after a thousand years while she remained as young as ever.
The group streaked through the night sky.
They flew over the numerous mountains of the Tingyin Pavilion, entering the three highest peaks at its heart. Shengji performed a hand seal and personally opened layers of barriers, allowing only Wen Li to enter.
“Senior, the Supreme Elder has been waiting inside for a long time.”
Wen Li landed on the ground, her hands behind her back, as she leisurely stepped into the barrier.
Rate on N.U.
