“What selling? Your master hasn't fallen so low as to sell off her disciple. I still have a little private vault of my own.”
Wen Li scoffed lightly, transferring all sixty thousand high-grade spirit stones she had just received directly to him.
“Then you...”
Xie Tinglan froze in disbelief. She loved money as dearly as her own life—not long ago, she had relentlessly nagged him to pay back the five thousand high-grade spirit stones for the teleportation fee. Yet here she was, handing over sixty thousand high-grade spirit stones without so much as blinking an eye?
“If I'm not mistaken about his identity, he should be one of the few prominent figures in the Western Province who wields real clout. As for exactly who he is, I don't know. But if he wanted to kill you, he wouldn't wait until now. Since he wants to take you as his disciple, it works out for the best; he can provide you with far better resources and guidance.”
Wen Li stepped in front of him and patted his shoulder.
“Originally, I intended to wait until I found a magic treasure that could permanently and completely mask your aura before letting you leave to cultivate on your own, just like Yao Dai. Staying by my side will only hold you two back. While that old man knows your true form, he doesn't necessarily know your past with the Beast Taming Sect. That bracelet he gave you is a Supreme Grade Rank 1 artifact, capable of concealing all traces of your aura so that you seem like an ordinary mortal.”
“Following him is your best choice right now. Even if the Beast Taming Sect comes knocking, they will have to show him some respect.”
Xie Tinglan's crimson pupils shifted. His throat felt parched, and after a long silence, a single sentence slipped out:
“...You don't want me anymore.”
The voice of a four-year-old, round-faced toddler brimmed with childish vulnerability, and the sight of his reddened eyes was heart-wrenching.
“...That's not it.”
Taken aback, Wen Li sighed, reaching out to gently pinch his little cheek. By human standards, this child was barely four years old; no matter how ruthlessly he killed, he still had the haughty, awkward stubbornness of a child.
“I am merely at Foundation Establishment Great Perfection, whereas you are at Late-Stage Golden Core. Over this past year, it was always you putting in the work and getting injured. You've surely realized by now that I am truly not the same Wen Li at the top of the Aptitude Ranking; we merely share a name. My talent and strength are far from enough to provide you with a better future. If the Beast Taming Sect came for you, I wouldn't be able to protect you.”
“I told you before that once you had a way to evade the Beast Taming Sect's pursuit, I would let you go. Now that you have a better option, it's time for me to honor my word.”
Xie Tinglan understood what she meant, and he knew that only by willingly leaving with the dwarf old man could Wen Li depart safely. Pulling his tense little face away, he avoided the soft, warm palm of her hand, his expression settling into an indifferent, disdainful sneer.
“Fine then. You're always running into danger anyway, so following you isn't safe. Following him means I'll actually live the good life.”
He turned his back to her, looking as though he couldn't be bothered with her presence.
“Just go. Don't think I'll cling to some master-disciple bond. I only stuck around you to hide from the Beast Taming Sect. I don't want the spirit stones either—take them back. Consider it my repayment for your care over the past year.”
Tossing the card with the sixty thousand spirit stones onto the table, he turned and walked away.
Though his movements were swift, Wen Li still caught the glimmer of tears at the corners of his eyes. Slowly reaching out to pick up the card, she lowered her gaze, furrowed her brows, and let out a soft sigh. She knew the boy was throwing a silent tantrum, terrified of letting anyone see his pain.
While the old man could shelter him from the Beast Taming Sect's pursuit, who was to say this wasn't merely another cage? There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world; though the old man had no intention of harming Xie Tinglan for now, there was no telling what sinister motives might lurk behind his benevolence.
Above all else, Xie Tinglan despised being treated like a commodity to be traded and penned up. Back then, he would have rather fought her to the death than be captured by the Beast Taming Sect, yet here he was, taking the initiative to call that old man his master just so she could walk away unharmed.
He was haughty, but his pride ran far deeper.
Wen Li closed her eyes, masking the emotions swirling within, and remained alone in the room.
Xie Tinglan returned to the dwarf old man's side.
“Let's go.”
“Mm. We're done talking.”
“Mm.”
Glancing down at his calm expression, the old man noted that he seemed remarkably relaxed about leaving Wen Li behind. “Why did you take her as your master in the first place?”
Xie Tinglan answered truthfully, “Because I am a demon beast and could not conceal my aura. She could help hide it from Nascent Soul cultivators and keep me safe.”
Demon beasts were either captured to be tamed into spirit pets or slaughtered—their tendons stripped and bones crushed—to serve as ingredients for celestial medicine. The explanation sounded entirely reasonable.
The old man nodded. “Now that you've said your piece, let's go.”
“Yes.”
Xie Tinglan kept his head lowered as he followed behind him, never looking back. He only gripped a storage bag tightly in his grasp, his short, chubby knuckles blanching white.
In truth, that woman had raised him very well indeed.
Very well.
【Ding! +6. Progress on rescuing villain Xie Tinglan: 34%】
...
【Host, are you truly fine with selling Xie Tinglan off to that old man?】
On the way toward the Lingjian Sect, the system couldn't wrap its head around her decision.
“Selling? Watch your mouth. I'm clearly using that old man's money to raise Xie Tinglan. He is an ancient great demon; the spiritual energy and resources he requires aren't something he can casually scavenge on ordinary training journeys. Since that old man covets his talent, we covet his resources. Everyone simply has their own agenda.”
“Besides, I secretly slipped Xie Tinglan a storage bag packed with pills, cultivation techniques, celestial herbs, talismans, and ancient tomes that I meticulously prepared. I gave Yao Dai one when she left, but I didn't expect to hand over Xie Tinglan's so soon. When you calculate it that way, I'm practically dipping into my own pocket to send him off! No way—if I have to give a storage bag to every incoming disciple when they leave, I'll be eaten out of house and home.”
【Aren't you afraid Xie Tinglan might be tormented to death by him, or dragged off to be researched?】
“He might be tormented, but he won't die. He is a destined villain, a stepping stone for the Chosen of the Heavenly Dao. My appearance will alter his fate, but before he reaches a crucial plot node, there is no way he will die.” Without another scheming master who couldn't care less about him, how else could her benevolence shine in stark relief?
Only the anxiety of having and losing would force out true devotion.
Soaring on her flying sword, Wen Li was exceptionally calm, not a single trace of the guilt she had shown toward Xie Tinglan in the tavern lingering in her eyes.
This left the system, which believed it held an omniscient perspective, completely bewildered: 【Host, are your feelings for Yao Dai and Xie Tinglan genuine?】
Wen Li paused slightly at the question, then replied with utter certainty:
“Of course they are.”
If you don't even believe it yourself, how could you ever convince anyone else?
The system was merely a string of data; it could not comprehend whether Wen Li truly cared about these two disciples, nor could it grasp the nuances of such shifting emotions. It only cared about the plot.
【Host, Xie Tinglan's progress bar just hit 37%.】 It deduced that parting with the host must have deepened his feelings for his master.
This came as no surprise to Wen Li. She knew full well that advancing the progress bar relied on two things: altering the direction of the plot, and increasing a character's happiness.
“Still too slow.”
Soon, a colossal complex of buildings appeared before Wen Li's eyes.
Guiling Kingdom bordered the Heavenly Chasm Sea. Unlike the structures in the Far Cold Lands designed to shield against the wind and preserve warmth, the architecture here prioritized airflow and ventilation. Most buildings featured towering arched gateways and fan-shaped windows to capture natural light, carrying the refreshing chill of the sea breeze.
The structures were predominantly pale yellow, and upon closer inspection, the walls bore subtle indentations eroded by the sea breeze.
Looking across the landscape, three primary cave abodes came into view.
Atop them stood forty-nine sharp, towering needles, with the highest cave abode in the center forming an arc alongside the other two.
Wen Li narrowed her eyes, recognizing that those long needles served as the spiritual energy focal points for the Lingjian Sect's protective grand array.
Although the various cultivation provinces were separated by the Heavenly Chasm Sea as well as protective barriers—keeping the cultivators of each province sequestered to prevent war—they were by no means completely cut off from one another.
Yet the vast distance between provinces meant that even a Nascent Soul cultivator flying without pause for three months would exhaust their spiritual energy and perish in the sea. Few truly knew how immense the expanse of waters between the provinces was, and the teleportation arrays in the Teleportation Pavilions across the Western Province were utterly incapable of spanning it.
Nor could just anyone establish a passage between two provinces.
Only major sects bordering the sea with the strength of a Fourth-Grade Cultivation Kingdom could build such a link, and fewer than a hundred individuals were privy to its existence.
In the Western Province, this Interprovincial Passage was located right within the Lingjian Sect of Guiling Kingdom.
However, the Interprovincial Passage bore enormous ramifications, tied directly to the security of the entire Western Province cultivation realm. At its inception, every Soul Formation cultivator across the four Fourth-Grade Cultivation Kingdoms had participated in its construction.
Even though it was situated within the Lingjian Sect, the Interprovincial Passage functioned as an independent domain. It was jointly guarded by eight Soul Formation cultivators from the major sects of the four kingdoms—Lingjian Sect, Xuandu Sect, Jiuyin Island, and Fuxian Sect—and none could enter without the sect master tokens of all four sects.
Should any issue arise, they had full authority to slay any outsider on the spot, with no explanation owed.
Rate on N.U.
