Li Miaolin had worn the smile of someone chatting with a friend when facing Zhi Gong. Only when Zhi Gong proposed taking Wen Hai away did he reveal an exaggerated look of surprise. "You just mentioned a friendship spanning a thousand years. Daoist priest Wen Hai and the many disciples of your Earth Cave Sect also shared a thousand years of friendship, did they not? Yet the moment they met, they were ready to fight to the death."
He exchanged a glance with Que Cai opposite him, then fixed Zhi Gong with a half-smiling look. "When that happened, did you ever think of those thousand years of friendship?"
The instant Li Miaolin finished speaking, Que Cai took over. "Our Taiyan Sect has only one True Lord, True Monarch Changqing. To be frank with you, Fellow Daoist, we too received a decree from the True Lord: henceforth, any Taiyan Sect disciple who has dealings with Earth Cave Sect Cultivators will be treated as guilty of betraying the sect!"
She pointed to the teacup at her side. "Drinking tea with you now already counts as violating the True Lord's decree. Please do not make things difficult for us."
The smile Zhi Gong maintained had become somewhat awkward. Yet though she knew something could not be done, she still had to force herself onward. If she had not cultivated to the Fourth Realm, she would have wanted to join the Taiyan Sect like Wen Hai at this moment. That would have spared her a great deal of trouble.
"Since that is the case, I will not press the matter." Zhi Gong rose and said to Li Miaolin and Que Cai, "The disciples of our two sects often exchanged pointers in the past. Now that the thousand-year friendship between our sects has reached its