Yun Ranyi nodded. "Since Ye Jingshan seems to have been hastening the spirit butterfly's emergence, that means he must have known about it long ago. He was playing dumb all along."
"Yes, so I pulled you away immediately. If we'd waited until the attack reached us, it would have been too late."
Yun Ranyi tilted her head slightly and said nothing more.
Whether it would have been too late was another matter. In any case, the man had taken her hand again.
Xiao Yuan leaned forward. "Then what did you mean when you said it was perfectly normal for him to deliberately request someone of that strength?"
"That was hindsight too. I only understood after working backward." Qi Yan nudged the unconscious Ye Jingshan on the ground with his foot. "The spirit butterfly cocoon's concealment is just protective coloration, an instinctive biological response. It can only fool people who don't know about it. For someone who knows and deliberately goes looking, finding it is far too easy. Why would you need some sophisticated formation? Tap every egg, and whichever one feels like a cocoon is the one. Even a child could find it."
"So Ye Jingshan didn't know to begin with?"
"The Ye Clan specializes in this trade. They shouldn't be completely ignorant like ordinary cultivators. Working backward now, it's more likely they'd read in some ancient text that spirit butterflies steal energy, but didn't know exactly how they concealed themselves and had no idea where to start. Otherwise, they'd have finished long ago."
Xiao Yuan understood. "So he needed someone who really understood to help. Within the Heavenly Evolution Sect's territory, his first thought would naturally be to ask the sect. But he was afraid its people would take it instead, so he could only deliberately seek out weaker outer disciples."
Qi Yan gave her a thumbs-up. "You're really clever, Xiao Yuan."
Xiao Yuan's mouth spread into a grin, but then she remembered he had called her an idiot just a few breaths ago. She couldn't smile. She pressed her lips together again.
Qi Yan continued, "A major sect has access to vast amounts of information and knowledge. Even its outer disciples have broader experience than these small clans, so they might genuinely understand. And if they really found the spirit butterfly, an outer disciple like that would be easy to silence. That's why I said requesting someone of this strength was normal. Asking for someone too weak would be puzzling; someone a little stronger than him made perfect sense."
Keeping a straight face, Xiao Yuan argued, "What if the outer disciple really didn't understand?"
"Even if they didn't, they'd very likely contact a sect elder for advice to complete the mission. That's why the quiet room he gave me had no soundproofing whatsoever... If you could eavesdrop through the door, couldn't he have his own means of listening in?"
Xiao Yuan said, "..."
"But he didn't expect me to invite you two along... He couldn't gauge your strength, but he could tell with his toes that you must be very powerful. What could he do then? There was only one way. A divine creature like a spirit butterfly was bound to have a means of protecting itself when it broke out of its cocoon. Since you were rushing toward it, he could hasten its emergence and let you have a taste."
Xiao Yuan blinked, finding for the first time that solving mysteries was rather fun.
Although Qi Yan wasn't the scheming, planning type, he really reacted quickly when something happened.
At this point, Qi Yan finally sighed. "So, Miss Yun... Even the owner of this place couldn't figure this out. How did you know about it from thousands of li away? Can you still not tell me?"
Xiao Yuan said, "..."
Wrong. Solving mysteries was only fun when you weren't the mystery being solved.
After weighing her words for a long time, Yun Ranyi finally said softly, "There are indeed reasons behind this that I cannot explain openly. But what I can tell you, young master, is that the birth of the Illusory Dream Spirit Butterfly confirms our suspicions. Your honored master is very likely secretly pursuing the path to communion with the divine, something all sides consider taboo. And if we could guess it, other knowledgeable people might guess it too. The Heavenly Evolution Sect may now be facing hidden undercurrents. You must be careful."
Qi Yan froze, his expression turning utterly grave.
Saying that the Illusory Dream Spirit Butterfly's birth had been brought about by "a deity descending into the world" sounded fantastical, like listening to a story. But once a Nine Tribulations Earth Immortal became involved, that story seemed extremely likely to become reality.
The Illusory Dream Spirit Butterfly was merely an outward manifestation of the laws of heaven and earth, much like the animal phenomena people could always observe before earthquakes and floods. The principle was similar, which was why the Yun Clan suspected one might appear where spirit pets gathered around the Heavenly Evolution Sect. In that case, aside from the Illusory Dream Spirit Butterfly, there should also be other signs from which a similar conclusion could be drawn.
How had Witchcraft declined? There had definitely been some early trigger that sparked a war between Daoists and witches, leading to Witchcraft's decline. And that fuse was very likely the exclusivity of attaining the Dao through Witchcraft-the so-called path to communion with the divine.
If something like that really happened again, there would be a World War II...
Compared with something this important, whatever little schemes Yun Ranyi had of her own didn't matter at all. Qi Yan cupped his hands and bowed. "Thank you for telling me, Miss Yun. This information is very important."
Watching his shifting expression, Yun Ranyi suddenly asked, "You respect your master very much? You only just joined her. You probably haven't even exchanged more than a few words."
"A teacher for a day is a... teacher for life."
"Could it be for your senior sister instead? Yue Jinjiang, Jiang Jinyue."
Qi Yan's mouth hung half-open. For a long while, he had no idea how to answer.
For once, Yun Ranyi put on a stern face.
They stared at each other, eyes wide, for a while before Yun Ranyi finally turned her head away. "If there's nothing else, young master, I shall take my leave."
"Wait." Qi Yan held out his large hand. "The payment we agreed on."
Yun Ranyi was dumbfounded. "You're asking me for payment?"
"Who else?" Qi Yan was utterly unapologetic. "I wanted to say this last time. I don't care whether you needed my help back then or not. The point is, you caught the demonic dragon, and I worked for free?"
Even Yun Ranyi's stern face broke into an amused smile. "Didn't I give you a lifeboat...?"
"That counts?" Qi Yan said. "This time is the same. Maybe I would've been in greater danger without you, so we helped each other. But in the end, you got the spirit butterfly, and I get two spirit stones as a mission reward? Whether this even counts as completing the mission is still up for debate. Even if it does, that reward comes from the sect."
Covering her mouth, Yun Ranyi laughed. "You're now a direct disciple of the Heavenly Evolution Sect, not the sidelined branch-family member you used to be. Look at you, setting aside your pride to fight for every scrap of resources..."
So you knew all along that I was a sidelined branch-family member... Yet you kept calling me Young Master Yue. Qi Yan was full of complaints, feeling every inch the clown on the stage.
Speaking of which, fighting for resources really was a habit formed by his experiences in this life. Besides, Qi Yan didn't think his master would hand out resources casually. She seemed rather strict; even receiving a magical artifact required him to reach the required level of cultivation first.
Naturally, he needed to fight for what he could outside too. "As I should!"
"All right, all right." Yun Ranyi found his manner genuinely amusing. "Then what would you like? Wasn't the payment we agreed on a slap across the face?"
Xiao Yuan stared at her young lady in horror. Somehow, her tone sounded so doting, exactly like when she was in a wonderful mood and petting a cat. At those times, she was very willing to hand out dried fish-as much as the cat wanted.
Qi Yan said, "I need a flying magical artifact. Running back on two legs will exhaust me to death. Miss Yun, you have no cultivation, yet you traveled thousands of li. I doubt you walked, so you probably have a flying magical artifact suitable for someone with low cultivation."
Xiao Yuan wanted to speak.
She does. Me.
Yun Ranyi shot her a fierce glare, then smiled again. "I do indeed have such a thing. I simply don't know whether you dare accept it, young master."
Qi Yan held out his large hand. "If you dare give it, I dare take it."
"..." With a pinched expression, Xiao Yuan lowered her head and walked forward.
Yun Ranyi pressed one hand onto her head and used the other to remove an earring.
Its design was a fairly common little phoenix pendant, somewhat platinum in color. It looked quite pretty.
But no man would wear such a thing...
"Infuse it with magical power, and it will transform into a flying magical artifact in the form of a phoenix spreading its wings. You need only ride it." Yun Ranyi placed the earring in Qi Yan's palm, her gaze meaningful. "These earrings are a pair. The male phoenix rests in your hand, the female stays with me. Since you dare accept it, young master, I dare give it."
Qi Yan stared conflictedly at the little pendant in his palm, even his shameless face flushing faintly.
Last time, when she'd said she would "sweep the couch to welcome him," he could still take it as an ordinary idiom, so long as he didn't let his thoughts stray. But this time? This time, he was truly certain she was flirting with him.
The hateful thing was that it had really worked. His heart was still pounding and had yet to settle. He wanted to say something, but his mind was completely blank.
What a useless fool... Qi Yan wanted to slap himself.
Seeing his utterly inexperienced look, Yun Ranyi's eyes shimmered, and she smiled radiantly. "First, we shared a boat through wind and rain; now, our phoenixes fly together. I wonder what our third meeting will bring."
With that, she took Xiao Yuan, who kept looking as though she wanted to speak, and left gracefully.
Her scolding drifted faintly in from outside. "You little minx, what were you trying to do, walking over just now?"
Then came Xiao Yuan's mewls as her bottom was smacked, though she seemed too guilty to talk back.
The sounds faded into the distance, and they were gone.
Long after they had left, Qi Yan was still staring blankly at the earring in his hand. First, Little Crybaby's bristling voice surfaced in his mind. Then, somehow, Mu Xunzhen's cold eyes came to him next, before Jiang Jinyue jumping about in a fury.
Would he die if he brought something like this before those two?
Whatever. It's still a good treasure, right...? In theory, properly controlling a magical artifact in flight required at least Foundation Establishment. Qi Refinement cultivators generally lacked that ability. Something usable at the Qi Refining Stage was a treasure one could encounter only by chance, not seek out.
Qi Yan put the earring away, bent down, and picked up the unconscious Ye Jingshan, intending to return to the sect and report.
As he bent and turned his head, however, he saw the cocoon silk that had nearly wrapped Xiao Yuan earlier strewn across the ground. A thought stirred in his mind. He stepped forward, lifted a strand slightly, and tried tugging it. It didn't break.
"This should be good stuff... I'm guessing this was what Yun Ranyi originally intended to leave me..." Qi Yan murmured to himself, truly unable to understand why she had clearly planned out the division of spoils, yet never mentioned it and gave him the earring instead.
His mind numb, Qi Yan gathered all the cocoon silk into his ring, then finally picked up Ye Jingshan and strode out.
Once outside, he lifted the phoenix pendant, infused it with magical power, and tossed it into the air.
A phoenix's cry seemed to ring beside his ears, and a phoenix cast from metal appeared before him, light flowing across its body. Its eyes shifted, as though a divine hand had dotted in their pupils, so lifelike that it seemed on the verge of spreading its wings and soaring.
Qi Yan tried climbing onto it and infused it with magical power to control it.
The phoenix's long cry rang through the nine heavens. Riding the wind and cleaving the clouds, it vanished into the distance in an instant.
Qi Yan clung desperately to the handles, his hair blown loose and whipping wildly in the fierce headwind, his heart filled with shock.
This wasn't a magical artifact... It was a magic treasure, and an exceedingly rare one at that-a magic treasure usable regardless of cultivation level!