A faint smile entered his eyes. "When we meet next, I will give you another gift, Demon Venerable."
Yin Fan, however, replied instinctively, "Another string of Buddhist beads?"
At that, a dangerous glint flashed through Wu Fei's eyes, vanishing in an instant. He wore a faint, ambiguous smile. "If you think so, Demon Venerable, then so be it."
Hearing that familiar turn of phrase, Yin Fan froze briefly. A trace of guilt suddenly rose in his heart, and he lifted his chin. "Until we meet again."
Then Demonic Qi surged around him, and he vanished. The direction he left in was due north.
Withdrawing his gaze, Wu Fei raised his right hand, his expression turning slightly grave. A strange pattern had appeared on the inside of his wrist.
The mysterious token that had vanished when he emerged from the exit had not truly disappeared. For some unknown reason, it had attached itself to his wrist instead.
With a slight shift of Wu Fei's thoughts, the pattern slowly sank beneath his skin and disappeared.
It seemed he would have to enter the mysterious space beneath Clear Heart Village once more...
But that would have to wait until after the Heavenly Dao Assembly.
Upon his return to the Buddha Spirit Sect, his master and fellow disciples asked where Wu Fei had been for the past two months, but harbored no other suspicions.
Wu Fei, on the other hand, found the bustle within the sect somewhat strange.
Kuzheng explained, "Senior Brother, you've only just returned, so you haven't heard. The Heavenly Dao Assembly has been moved forward this time."
The Heavenly Dao Assembly had been moved forward?
Wu Fei sat cross-legged, his brow furrowing slightly.
The Heavenly Dao Assembly was held once every two hundred years. In the preceding several thousand years, it had never been moved forward.
In the central region of the cultivation world stood a mountain named Flame Spirit Mountain. On it was a spacetime rift leading to a small world. That small world, known as the Flame Spirit Realm, was where the Heavenly Dao Assembly was held.
According to Kuzheng, some unknown cause had suddenly produced strange phenomena within the Flame Spirit Realm, which was precisely why this Heavenly Dao Assembly would be held ten days early.
But in this part of the book's plot, there had been no unusual activity in the Flame Spirit Realm, and the Heavenly Dao Assembly had been held as scheduled.
As for what differed from the book...
Wu Fei glanced at the pattern on his wrist, his voice lowering slightly. "Could it be connected to the mysterious space beneath Clear Heart Village..."
Several days later, Wu Fei set out for Flame Spirit Mountain with his fellow disciples from the Buddha Spirit Sect. To reach it as quickly as possible, the sect leader, Jingguan, directly deployed the Spirit Artifact, the Empty Cicada Flying Boat.
The flying boat was extremely fast, but costly to build, and each use consumed an enormous quantity of Spirit Stones. Thus, unless it was for something as important as the Heavenly Dao Assembly, the sect rarely used this Empty Cicada Flying Boat.
Looking down from the flying boat, they saw forests of various red spirit trees stretching below like fiery crimson clouds, a magnificent sight.
After they entered the territory of Flame Spirit Mountain, the air gradually grew hotter. Fortunately, cultivators had spiritual energy protecting their bodies and feared neither heat nor cold.
The flying boat stopped above the square atop Flame Spirit Mountain, and the Buddhist cultivators flew down. The stern-faced man leading them was Jingguan, the leader of the Buddha Spirit Sect.
Half a step behind him, Wu Fei, the Buddhist disciple clad in white Buddhist robes with subtle pale-gold patterns, also came into view. After the inheritance tomb expedition had ended last time, the Buddha Spirit Sect had come and gone in a hurry, and many people had not seen this Buddhist disciple of the Buddha Spirit Sect, who was rumored to possess an Innate Exquisite Heart.
Now that they saw him, his looks and bearing were indeed exceptional. In particular, there was a distinctive air about him that involuntarily put those who saw him at ease.
"Fellow Daoists of the Buddha Spirit Sect, please take your seats."
There were still two days until the Heavenly Dao Assembly. This square had been specially prepared as a place for everyone to converse and rest.
Not long after they sat down, disciples from other sects began arriving in succession. Wu Fei was meditating with his eyes closed when he suddenly sensed someone approaching, and lifted his eyelids to look.
A handsome young man, radiant as the moon, was walking toward him. When Wu Fei raised his head, a gentle smile appeared on his face. "Senior Brother Wu Fei, it's been a long time."
"Junior Brother Jing." Wu Fei nodded, his gaze softening slightly as well.
A number of days that could be counted on one hand-truly, it had been "a long time"...
Jing Fanyu asked, "When did you arrive, Senior Brother Wu Fei?"
"Only a few quarters of an hour before you, Junior Brother Jing." As Wu Fei spoke, he took a string of Buddhist beads from his storage ring. "The string of Buddhist beads I gave you before was rather crudely made, and the bodhi seeds used were not of particularly good quality. This one was made from the Purple-Leaf Bodhi Tree. Let me give you this as a replacement."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Wu Fei." Jing Fanyu's gaze shifted slightly as he accepted the Buddhist beads from his hand.
Wu Fei said, "There's no need for thanks between friends."
As they spoke, Wu Fei suddenly sensed a malicious gaze fall upon him. Without changing his expression, he discreetly looked over.
Was that... Liu Yuexuan?
The owner of that gaze was indeed Liu Yuexuan, dressed in the robes of a Heavenly Sword Sect disciple, with Qi Gu beside her. For some reason, Liu Yuexuan was staring at him and Jing Fanyu with an exceedingly dark look...
Wu Fei's eyes deepened. This was strange. He and the protagonist had taken the Seven Emotions Flower, removing the scene in the book where Liu Yuexuan deliberately seduced Jing Fanyu only to be mercilessly pushed away. Why would Liu Yuexuan harbor such intense malice toward him and the protagonist?
After a brief moment of contemplation, Wu Fei asked Jing Fanyu, "Junior Brother Jing, Fellow Daoist Liu, she..."
He left the question unfinished, but Jing Fanyu understood exactly what Wu Fei wanted to ask and replied, "Junior Sister Liu has already become dao companions with Senior Brother Qi."
Even without that part of the plot, Liu Yuexuan had still become dao companions with Qi Gu after returning from the inheritance tomb. Moreover, judging by her condition, her love for the protagonist had still turned to hatred, and she even harbored malice toward Wu Fei.
Wu Fei was almost certain that something must have happened on the night they split up to search for Jing Fanyu...
The following day, all the sects attending the Heavenly Dao Assembly had arrived.
The three Tribulation Transcendence Stage seniors guarding the Flame Spirit Realm belonged to no sect. They were three highly renowned rogue cultivators in the cultivation world; only this way could impartiality be maintained.
Before they entered the Flame Spirit Realm, attendants served Dao Comprehension Tea to the disciples of each sect. They had to listen to the seniors expound on the Dao for six hours before they could enter the Flame Spirit Realm.
The Dao Comprehension Tea had been obtained from the Flame Spirit Realm during the previous Heavenly Dao Assembly and matured once every two hundred years. This was also why the Heavenly Dao Assembly was held once every two hundred years.
The smooth Buddhist beads slowly brushed past his fingertips, one after another. Suddenly, Wu Fei's hand stopped. He raised his eyes toward Liu Yuexuan as she quietly left, a dark glimmer flashing through his eyes, then rose and left as well.