Flying Sword Sect's main hall.
The Supreme Elder took the seat of honor.
Everyone else stood inside the hall, not daring to sit down without permission.
"Everyone, sit."
The Supreme Elder waved his hand.
"Thank you, Supreme Elder."
Everyone clasped their hands in thanks, then took their seats one by one.
"Supreme Elder, although the Flying Sword Sect repelled the Feng Family this time, they came at us with great force and certainly won't let the matter rest.
If they come again with more Purple Mansion Cultivators, or even Nascent Soul Cultivators, what should the Flying Sword Sect do?"
The Flying Sword Sect's sect master asked the Supreme Elder, his face full of worry.
Although he was delighted that they had repelled the enemy this time, he hadn't let himself get carried away by his happiness.
He knew a thing or two about the Feng Family.
"Don't worry. The Feng Family has an agreement with the various sects. Nascent Soul Cultivators won't take action.
"In a while, the sect will send some Purple Mansion elders to take charge here. I'll also remain here for a time."
The Supreme Elder spoke slowly.
The Feng Family was powerful, but the major sects in the Azure Cloud Realm were no pushovers either.
They weren't afraid in the slightest.
It would be very difficult for the Feng Family to seize a foothold.
They had chosen to attack the Flying Sword Sect first mainly because it was home to a Heavenly Dao Secret Realm.
But the Flying Sword Sect hadn't actually been their first target.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have brought so few people.
The Feng Family's main force was attacking a sect in Cang Province, not far from Jing Province.
"That's good, that's good."
The two sect masters of the Flying Sword Sect finally relaxed.
"You young ones should have a patrol assignment, right? There's nothing else to do here. Hurry and go patrol the Flying Sword Secret Realm."
The Supreme Elder turned to Wu Xun and the others.
"Yes."
Wu Xun and the others stood and clasped their hands.
They hadn't even warmed their seats before they had to get back to work.
Chen Xuan and the others soon entered the Flying Sword Secret Realm and began their patrol.
Chen Xuan continued searching for Heavenly Dao Qi, while Lu Yu continued condensing Secret Realm Seals.
Chen Xuan grew more and more curious about what Lu Yu wanted the Secret Realm Seals for.
Take the Feng Family's attack on the Flying Sword Sect this time, for instance. He'd watched Lu Yu closely, and she had indeed done everything she could to help the sect.
Judging by that, she didn't seem like a spy or anything of the sort.
As long as she wasn't a spy or up to anything harmful, it didn't matter what her reasons were.
He just hoped that was all there was to it.
While the two were on patrol,
Chen Xuan also found out where and when the next wisp of Heavenly Dao Qi would appear in the Flying Sword Secret Realm.
The next wisp wouldn't appear for another seven years.
By that measure, the Starry Sky Secret Realm, where it would appear in three years, was still the best option.
When the time came, Chen Xuan would give Li Junmo the information about the Heavenly Dao Qi in the Starry Sky Secret Realm.
Speaking of which, Li Junmo had given him an idea.
Could he also sell the information about the Heavenly Dao Qi in the Green Spirit Secret Realm and the Flying Sword Secret Realm?
Information about Heavenly Dao Qi would surely fetch a good price.
But selling it would expose his Heaven-Observing Divine Eye.
If he wanted to keep it under wraps a little longer, he could only sell to someone he trusted, or wait until he reached the Purple Mansion Realm.
Once he reached the Purple Mansion Realm, he'd have a different standing within the sect.
No matter how powerful a Dao Foundation was, its owner was still a disciple.
That day,
Chen Xuan and Lu Yu were nearing the end of their patrol.
Lu Yu suddenly looked at Chen Xuan and asked, "Junior Brother Chen, with your strength, you have no need to take on this assignment. Why did you choose to volunteer for patrol?"
Chen Xuan was surprised. He hadn't even asked Lu Yu yet, and she had already questioned him first.
"Senior Sister, does being strong mean you can't patrol?
"You're strong yourself, and you came along too."
Chen Xuan replied with a smile. Naturally, he wasn't about to admit outright that he did have another reason.
Lu Yu glanced at Chen Xuan and smiled. "That's true."
She said nothing more.
But she still had some suspicions about Chen Xuan.
Since she herself had joined the patrol for another purpose, she couldn't help wondering whether Chen Xuan had one too.
After all, in the fight against the Feng Family cultivators, Chen Xuan had displayed astonishing strength. He could be called invincible among those of the same rank.
With strength like that, he could have taken on any number of other assignments. Why volunteer for this patrol?
So, just as Chen Xuan worried that Lu Yu's condensing of Secret Realm Seals might harm the sect, Lu Yu too was somewhat concerned that Chen Xuan might have ulterior motives that could endanger it.
Chen Xuan couldn't tell whether Lu Yu had asked on purpose or was only pretending to.
If it was the former, then there was a good chance Lu Yu posed no threat to the sect.
If it was the latter... who could say?
What was the point of guessing back and forth?
The Supreme Elder was here now, so Chen Xuan wasn't worried about anything going wrong.
Chen Xuan fixed his gaze on Lu Yu and asked, "Senior Sister, why don't we be a little more honest with each other?
"You must have some special reason for coming to the secret realm, right?"
"Junior Brother, you're overthinking it. I'm just doing an assignment. What special reason could I have?
"If you think I have a special reason, what about you?"
Lu Yu answered without a change in expression.
But inside, she had grown extremely wary.
"Senior Sister, you've been careful, but I still noticed. Why have you been secretly condensing Secret Realm Seals?"
The moment Chen Xuan said this,
Lu Yu was genuinely shocked.
She hadn't expected him to catch on, even though she'd been so discreet.
She found Chen Xuan more and more suspicious. In a flash, she retreated several meters, putting some distance between them, her face full of wariness.
Seeing Lu Yu's reaction, Chen Xuan felt reassured instead.
"Senior Sister, could you explain it to me?"
Chen Xuan pressed on.
Lu Yu's expression darkened. "Junior Brother, enough with the nonsense. I don't believe you took this patrol assignment just because you had nothing better to do!"
"Senior Sister, answer my question first. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to report this to the Supreme Elder and let him decide."
Chen Xuan said.
Lu Yu didn't answer. She didn't trust Chen Xuan either and was worried he might be a spy or something.
She feared that his threat to report her was just a bluff, meant to win her trust and coax the truth out of her.
Seeing her reaction, Chen Xuan knew there was no point in letting the standoff continue.
It wouldn't be long before he reached the Purple Mansion Realm anyway. Even if his Heaven-Observing Divine Eye was exposed, it wouldn't matter.
Besides, he really was curious what use Lu Yu had for condensing Secret Realm Seals.
"If you don't trust me, then I'll go first. I did have a reason for taking this patrol assignment, but it was only to look for Heavenly Dao Qi."
"Junior Brother, do you really think I can believe that? You've already achieved Foundation Establishment. Why would you still be looking for Heavenly Dao Qi?"
"Of course I don't need it myself. Someone paid me handsomely to look for it. To be honest with you, Senior Sister, I cultivated the Cloud Sea Heaven-Observing Technique and was fortunate enough to awaken the Heaven-Observing Divine Eye.
"That's how I discovered you secretly condensing Secret Realm Seals."
As he spoke, Chen Xuan revealed his Dao Foundation. "Take a look, Senior Sister. I found a wisp of Heavenly Dao Qi with my Heaven-Observing Divine Eye and used it to achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment."
Lu Yu took a closer look. It really was Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.
Could Chen Xuan... be telling the truth?
If so, then it made sense that he'd noticed her condensing Secret Realm Seals.
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