“Oh,” Wen Li acknowledged with a nod.
【Host, hurry up and ask him why he's calling you master! What happened? Why do I feel like I'm missing memories?】
Wen Li replied to it in her mind, “Stupid. If I ask, wouldn't that make it obvious I don't know anything? What if he notices something off and kills me? Since he isn't saying, we won't ask either. Keep faking it.”
Hearing that, the system realized she had a point, and its restless craving for gossip was forcefully snuffed out.
“I have a task for you,” Wen Li said, composing herself into a dignified posture and shedding her lazy, shameless demeanor.
Feng Ling bowed his head. “Master, please give your command.”
“I want to... enter the Interprovincial Passage and teleport to the Northern Province.” Wen Li fixed her gaze on his face, watching every split-second change in his expression, ready to run the instant something seemed wrong.
“...”
Feng Ling's lashes twitched. Indeed, it was fortunate he hadn't made a move. Only Soul Formation cultivators knew of the Interprovincial Passage. If the woman before him truly only possessed the consciousness of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, how could she dare come here?
Feng Ling opened his mouth, wanting to find an excuse to decline. “Master, this Interprovincial Passage is...”
The Interprovincial Passage was of monumental importance; it wasn't something he could open on a whim.
“If you cannot do it, then die.”
But Wen Li's interruption caused his pupils to constrict. Instinctively looking up to meet her eyes, for a split second, he seemed to see the figure bearing the Sovereign Halo from that day in her pale-ink gaze—she had looked down on him as if he were an ant in just the same way.
“...Yes!”
Feng Ling immediately lowered his head, agreeing out of sheer instinct for survival.
Afterward, Feng Ling brought Wen Li back to stay at his cave abode. Once he arranged attendants to see to her every need, he immediately set out to prepare for the Interprovincial Passage.
【Host, why did Feng Ling obey you after just one sentence?】 The system felt something was odd.
“Isn't that simple? Even though I don't know why he acknowledged me as master, his respectful attitude doesn't seem fake. Cultivators who reach the Soul Formation realm are practically overlords of their domains, possessed of immense pride and rarely submitting to anyone. Since he dared acknowledge me, I dare order him around. Going toe-to-toe with him in a real fight won't work, but borrowing someone else's authority to act tough is something I excel at.”
Inside Feng Ling's cave abode, Wen Li reclined on a soft chair draped in white fox fur, watching the female cultivators dancing below. Beside her, stunningly handsome male cultivators massaged her shoulders and legs while feeding her grapes.
Truth be told, that fellow Feng Ling not only put on grand airs, but he also truly knew how to indulge himself.
Naturally, the ones who usually massaged Feng Ling were female cultivators; because Wen Li had arrived, he had been shrewd enough to hastily bring in attractive male cultivators instead.
Seeing that Wen Li didn't object as his massage gradually moved up toward her waist, one handsome male cultivator grew bold, his hand straying toward the dimples of her lower back.
Slap!
Without even looking up, Wen Li slapped him through the air. “Get lost.”
Terrified, the male cultivator dropped to his knees at once. Murmuring only a trembling, “May the Venerable One appease her wrath,” he scrambled backward and withdrew immediately.
Seeing this, the other male cultivators massaged her dutifully, daring not harbor any further thoughts.
【Whoa, Host, you're into women!】 The system was asking for a thrashing again.
“Gay, my ass,” Wen Li retorted, wondering if she had trained this AI too much, making it far too insolent.
【Then how could you be completely indifferent to such beauty?】
“Who says women must be ravenous for men? Once cultivators reach a certain level of power, physical desires are no longer a necessity. That applies to male cultivators, and it's the same for female cultivators,” Wen Li mocked.
“The same holds true among mortals. If you rule the world and are nourished by power and wealth, you won't invest your entire heart into romance. That's merely the easiest to obtain among humanity's many desires. Most people can never attain power or wealth, so they can only fill the void in their hearts with this simplest of urges.”
The system asked, puzzled, 【Aren't there male leads who choose the beauty over the realm and retreat into seclusion in the mountains?】
“With power, love is merely icing on the cake. Without power, it's an apple left out for two months—waiting to rot away over time, yet hardly noticed.”
The system posed a soul-searching question. “Then Host, will there ever be someone you love?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Myself.”
Stunned by the reply, the system's programming couldn't compute it for a moment, yet it vaguely understood that this was what the host called “egoism.” She loved herself with complete, absolute autonomy, and would never allow anyone to place themselves above her.
...
Seven days later.
The night sky over the sea was as dense as splashed ink, and the rushing sea breeze swept up a refreshing chill. The coastline was brightly illuminated and bustling with life as both cultivators and common folk mingled on the beach.
“Today is Guiling Kingdom's Blessing Day, where prayers and blessings are offered for the sea realm's protection and peace. The commoners will take to the streets bearing torches, hold bonfire gatherings along the beach, and make sacrifices to the Sea God to pray for favorable weather in the coming year.”
Feng Ling stood on a medium-sized flying boat alongside Wen Li, who was draped in a black cloak.
Seeing her peering down with curiosity, he provided the explanation.
Wen Li nodded. Her gaze suddenly halted as she noticed three figures standing at the front of another flying boat not far across from them.
One was the young man who had explained the Taixuan Sect ancestor's longevity banquet to Yao Dai in Taiwei City.
The other two were Du Mojin and Lin Qing, the pair who had fought alongside them back when she took in Xie Tinglan.
Wen Li had disguised her appearance and wore a golden mask, so she wasn't worried about being recognized.
“Greetings, Senior.”
As the flying boat opposite them drew near, it proactively lowered its altitude. Aboard were disciples of the Lingjian Sect; recognizing the flying boat of Jiuyin Island, they came forward to pay their respects.
Feng Ling remained expressionless, answering with a cold grunt.
“Mm.”
“Has Senior come to visit the Lingjian Sect?” The young man she had seen before stood ahead of Du Mojin and Lin Qing, serving as the lead disciple.
It seemed this young man's status was by no means low, for Feng Ling actually broke precedent and answered, “No.”
Yet he offered no further explanation, and their flying boat swept straight past.
Amidst the crowd, Lin Qing couldn't resist looking up at Wen Li, who was standing slightly ahead of Feng Ling. What sort of prominent figure was this, someone even more formidable than Feng Ling?
“Respectfully seeing Senior off.”
Things passed uneventfully.
Once the flying boat had traveled further away, Wen Li asked, “That disciple just now was...?”
“The Lingjian Sect Master's legacy disciple, Jun Li.”
Wen Li couldn't discern his cultivation, but presumably, he was above Golden Core.
The flying boat entered the Lingjian Sect. The structures that had seemed distant now loomed large before their eyes; before them, a cultivator seemed like an ant, an insignificant speck.
The majestic, imposing architecture instilled a sense of solemnity, daring anyone to act out of line.
Especially that main peak—just glimpsing it from afar, Wen Li could feel a formidable pressure. The moment she entered, it felt as though she had been swept over by that oppressive aura, leaving nowhere to hide.
Fortunately, she hadn't tried to force her way in, or she would have been cornered and hunted down like a rat.
The flying boat circled the main peak—no, more accurately, it passed right through it.
Feng Ling raised his hand and cast a spell. Beneath the main peak, a cave abode opened, and the colossal phantom projections of two white-cloaked cultivators manifested.
“Who is it?”
“Jiuyin Island, Feng Ling.”
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