"Yun Chong, I never imagined your ninth junior brother had been through something like that. Fate really does work in mysterious ways!"
Hidden behind the clouds, the Scarlet Moon Sect Master laughed herself silly. She had decided that, whether she had business here or not, she would come stake out the Southern Spirit Sect from now on. Who knew what other interesting stories she might hear?
Never mind anything else-she had yet to hear about that tangled relationship between Yun Chong and the Holy Son of North Ridge!
How could that be allowed? She simply had to hear that gossip!
What had little Lan Yue called it again? Right, munching melons! She absolutely had to feast on this melon!
Across from her, the elders of the Southern Spirit Sect wore quite an assortment of expressions.
After all, the ninth junior brother they remembered had always been cold as frost. He barely acknowledged even them and was either in secluded cultivation or on the road to growing stronger.
On top of that, their ninth junior brother was exceptionally gifted. His cultivation had shot up in leaps and bounds, making him a pillar of the Southern Spirit Sect.
Who could have known their youngest junior brother had once experienced something like this?
"Ah, once a child grows up, his elder brothers no longer have any say. He wouldn't even tell us about something this interesting." The Sixth Elder made a show of sighing.
Yun Chong: "..."
Not only that, but the youngest junior brother they had imagined to be so cold and aloof had even blackened his face and stuck on a black beard when taking a disciple.
Suddenly, he felt as though all his memories of his youngest junior brother had shattered.
[Lan Yue: Falling into the same person's hands three times-that fellow was probably so terrified he could never get it up again, right? I'm really curious. I have to see what happened to him afterward.]
"Cough, cough, cough, cough!" Li Bai coughed so hard he nearly suffocated. For some reason, he instantly understood everything his youngest junior sister described.
But how old was his youngest junior sister? What kind of wild, scandalous language was this? Most importantly, everyone in the Four Arts Hall could hear her thoughts now.
His toes were already digging into the floor in embarrassment, and his face had turned bright red.
*[Hmm, who knows what kind of dog-shit luck this fellow stumbled into? The shock made him perceive spiritual energy, and from that moment on, he went from a playboy to his Lineage's hottest rising genius. Apparently, he worked hard at cultivation every waking moment, hanging his hair from a beam and stabbing his thigh with an awl to stay awake, driving the competition within his Lineage to insane heights every day.*
While others ate, he cultivated. While others rested, he was already off in the nearby forest fighting demonic beasts. Soon, he became a role model countless members of that Lineage aspired to emulate.
*Now he's gone to the North Ridge Sacred Ground and become one of its guest elders. (⊙o⊙) Wow, the North Ridge Sacred Ground again! This place really is pretty great. Whatever gossip I dig into, it always leads back to the North Ridge Sacred Ground. I have to go have a look someday!]*
Lan Yue secretly clenched her little paw. She swore in the name of the Gossip God that the North Ridge Sacred Ground would have plenty of big, sweet, juicy melons!
It was just a shame she could not go take a look now. But that was fine. The North Ridge Sacred Ground would be hosting the Four Regions Tournament later anyway, so she could simply hitch a ride on a spirit boat and go sightseeing.
[Silver Snow: This Immortal Sword wants to go too. Take me along to see!]
[Lan Yue: Of course, of course. How could we leave our Silver Snow out? I'll definitely take you.]
[Silver Snow: Then when this Immortal Sword gets tired, you'll have to hold me just like you're doing now!]
[Lan Yue: Naturally. You can even ride on my head then!]
The girl and the sword secretly made their agreement. While the two snickered to themselves, the elders above the clouds were developing terrible headaches.
"Isn't it a bad idea to let that Ancient Sword out? What if something happens..." The Second Elder remained worried. He had been among those who laid down layer upon layer of Protective Arrays in the Hidden Sword Pavilion back then.
That was why the Second Elder knew exactly how difficult this Ancient Sword was to handle. If they failed to keep it under control, it could plunge the Southern Region into devastation and leave its living beings mired in misery.
"Are you talking about Silver Snow, the Ancient Sword your sect went to such pains to suppress? How did you let it get out?" The Scarlet Moon Sect Master was startled too. She had eaten half the spirit fruit in her hand when she abruptly stopped.
Naturally, she had heard of this Ancient Sword.
She had witnessed the Southern Spirit Sect's massive undertaking back then. They had even invited several array masters from the Scarlet Moon Sect to help.
An Ancient Sword like that had actually escaped? This was a calamity!
"I'll go invite our Former Sect Master over to help you right away." Red Moon no longer had time to feast on gossip. She stood up, ready to use Thousand-Mile Instant Travel.
She could only hear Lan Yue's thoughts, not Silver Snow's exchanges with her, so she simply assumed the situation was dire.
"Does Silver Snow look like it needs suppressing?" Yun Chong did not so much as twitch an eyelid.
He gently parted the clouds and placed an azure water mirror upon them, allowing everyone nearby to see the scene below clearly.
The Silver Snow Sword spirit they considered incomparably vicious, cruel, and bloodthirsty was currently lying blissfully in Lan Yue's arms, occasionally curling its little tail.
"Meow, meow, meow!" At least you know what's good for you! Follow this Immortal Sword from now on, and this Immortal Sword definitely won't treat you poorly!
Lan Yue smiled as she stroked its fur. Silver Snow was utterly comfortable, stretching its four tender pink paws before soon rolling over to find another position.
"This is the Ancient Sword you said was supposedly unspeakably savage and might even bring devastation to all living beings?" Yun Chong asked as he watched the water mirror.
Everyone: "..."
It was one thing for Silver Snow to come out willingly and obediently follow someone home, but how was it even better at acting cute than an actual spirit cat?!
Who could resist that?
No wonder the Fifth Elder had stayed up in the middle of the night, crouching outside a disciple's door. Even with several scratches on his face, he had not gotten angry, instead offering apologetic smiles and dried fish.
If their spirit pets were this adorable, they could go to those lengths too!
The Scarlet Moon Sect Master, who had already formed a hand seal, silently shook out her hands, brought her stool back over, and sat down to continue feasting on gossip.
Wasn't it just a spirit cat? She would raise a whole bunch when she got back!
*[Lan Yue: All right, I need to finish this melon. Where was I just now? Oh, right, that playboy turned his life around and set off down the path of the king of relentless cultivation! But how did Master's reputation as Fairy Guangji spread? I need to dig through this properly.*
Oh, oh, so it was that cultivation maniac. Someone leaked his history of blood and tears, but by the time it spread, the story had become distorted. Master became the beautiful fairy he had secretly loved for a hundred years, whose unattainable affection drove him to strive with all his might.
As luck would have it, some people in the Northern Region had actually seen Master dressed as a woman. They even ranked her as the Northern Region's number-one fairy, Fairy Guangji.
Once she was named the Northern Region's number-one fairy, all those wild bees and wanton butterflies came swarming in one after another. Wherever she went, people would surround her and block her path. Someone even packed themselves into a Spirit Artifact and had it delivered to her, scaring Master into hoisting her spirit boat and fleeing back to the Southern Region overnight.
Oh-ho, so that's how Master's reputation spread. It's just that this reputation is widely known in the Northern Region, while people here in the Southern Region don't really know about it.
I'm dying of laughter. Who could have imagined that my Master, who looked like a second Li Kui back then, could also be an entire region's number-one fairy?
*She nearly scared me to death back then. I thought some burly brute had appeared out of nowhere. Seriously, did Master dress like that because she was afraid I'd fall for her? That's not impossible, so she had to take precautions. Hahahaha, cackle, cackle! I never imagined my mysterious Master was this hilarious. Where did they send this clown from?]*
"Senior Brother, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?" Lan Yue was laughing herself silly inside, but when she turned her head, she found her eldest senior brother staring at her with an indescribable expression.
Even the female lead beside them looked as though she wanted to speak but could not quite bring herself to.
Nearby, Er Dan had already withdrawn his head. He had even pulled all four paws into his shell, as though he had encountered some natural predator.
If his body had not been so cumbersome, he probably would have rolled himself away.
Lan Yue was puzzled by the sight. She thought that could not be right. There was no reason for things to go wrong so suddenly when everything had been fine a moment ago.
"Are we blocking the way?" Lan Yue looked again and saw several people standing motionless behind them, so she assumed she was obstructing the path.
"I'll just..." Her voice cut off abruptly as she suddenly felt a chilly sensation coming from her left.
Turning her head again, she found a familiar, handsome figure in white staring at her expressionlessly.
Why did this person look so much like Fairy Guangji from the system's video?
Lan Yue jumped in fright. She hurriedly shut off the system, feeling terribly guilty.
"Master, you're out of seclusion!" Although she knew her master could not possibly hear her, she still gave a feeble little wave of her paw.
Before you continue