Why did flying artifacts generally require Foundation Establishment to operate?
Because they required a continuous infusion of magical power to propel them, and if your cultivation was too low, you could not even withstand the oncoming air currents high in the sky. You could easily crash.
Naturally, ordinary Qi Refinement cultivators could not handle them. Their endurance simply could not support it, and even flying a short distance required extreme care.
But this magical treasure was extraordinarily wondrous. It consumed very, very little magical power, flew extremely steadily, and even came with a protective barrier. Qi Yan flew all the way back to the Heavenly Evolution Sect and discovered that the expenditure was about the same as chatting with Little Crybaby...
The energy consumed by flying a plane for an hour was about the same as making a phone call for an hour... no wonder it could be used at every level. Someone like Yun Ranyi probably only needed to cultivate the tiniest thread of qi to sustain it long enough to fly away and escape with her life.
No wonder she wore a magical treasure like this close to her body. It must have been extremely important to Yun Ranyi.
And she had just given it away?
Meanwhile, Xiao Yuan, pitifully carrying Yun Ranyi on her back as she flew slowly along, was asking the same thing: "You really gave away your phoenix carriage..."
"Huh? Did I?" Yun Ranyi played dumb. "He can only activate its riding form at most right now. What carriage?"
"Is that what I was asking?" Xiao Yuan demanded angrily.
"Of course it was because you're ten thousand times more important than the phoenix carriage, so naturally, I could only give him the carriage." Yun Ranyi said leisurely, "Or did I spoil Miss Xiao Yuan's fun?"
Xiao Yuan genuinely did not know whether to feel happy about the first sentence or duck her head at the second. After a long while, she muttered, "I thought you were going to give me away..."
"You looked pretty willing to me. If you weren't, you would've scratched me already."
"I would not! I'm the most obedient! If only you understood how to keep a cat better. Generally speaking, humans scoop poop for cats. We've actually had heaven and earth turned upside down for ages."
Yun Ranyi said, "...You've practiced grain avoidance for ages. You don't even have... uh."
Too vulgar. She could not say it. It would compromise her elegance.
Xiao Yuan grumbled, "Forget being elegant. You've already given him your earring, and all that 'the male phoenix in your hand, the female phoenix upon me' business. Pretty yellow indeed."
Yun Ranyi gritted her teeth. Unfortunately, Xiao Yuan was carrying her right now, so she could not throw her away.
She had better not get thrown away herself... that would truly be turning heaven and earth upside down.
Xiao Yuan felt a stare from behind that made her feline skin prickle and immediately changed the subject. "You've got the Illusory Dream Spirit Butterfly. Can your cultivation recover quickly now?"
Yun Ranyi opened her palm and watched the spirit butterfly dance upon it. "The spirit butterfly needs to grow too... but with her here, it'll save a lot of trouble. A great, great deal."
Xiao Yuan asked, "Are we still doing the demonic abyss formation, then?"
"What, from that tone, you don't want to?"
Xiao Yuan thought with her head down for a while, then said quietly, "It feels like this will put us at odds with Qi Yan... Qi Yan said to tell him beforehand and discuss it beforehand. I think that makes sen-"
"Thump!" A delicate fist struck her head. Yun Ranyi's face flushed with anger. "You'd discuss something this important with an outsider! I'd be better off raising a cat than raising you... uh."
Xiao Yuan held her head and went silent.
"We must do it, no matter what." Yun Ranyi took several deep breaths, her voice calming. "Xiao Yuan, in this world, you can only rely on yourself. No matter how reliable you think someone is, that means placing your life at the mercy of another person's passing thought. Nothing could be more foolish."
Unconvinced, Xiao Yuan said, "Then why do you keep pretending to be weak and letting Qi Yan protect you?"
"First, I wasn't pretending. I really have no cultivation. I merely told Meng Ming not to act."
"Keep telling yourself that..."
Yun Ranyi ignored her, her voice as low as a murmur to herself. "Second, it's precisely because I dare not depend on anyone that I crave it all the more... that fleeting, illusory moment."
Xiao Yuan opened her mouth, but this time, she finally did not argue.
A slightly low female voice came from the air beside them. "Someone is secretly watching our residence."
"Who are they with?" Yun Ranyi asked mildly.
"They're very strong. I didn't dare probe too much. But one of the auras is very similar to the aura of someone who secretly watched us at sea."
"Jiang Jinyue...? Mu Xunzhen really does suspect us."
"Should I drive them away?"
"Send her back to make lovey-dovey with her junior brother? In her dreams." Yun Ranyi made her decision in just one second. "Meng Ming will handle the second demonic pearl in secret. We're going home for a good long sleep. Let her investigate here. Ideally, she can investigate for ten thousand years."
"..." Meng Ming truly wanted to imitate Xiao Yuan and say, "Keep telling yourself that."
Hidden among the clouds, Jiang Jinyue watched Xiao Yuan land at the residence's entrance with Yun Ranyi on her back and snorted. "Enslaving her maid like that... she has a face that promises peace and prosperity, yet behaves so inhumanly. She really is no good."
Before her words had faded, she saw Yun Ranyi lead her maid through the door by the hand, covering her mouth with a light laugh. "Xiao Yuan, did you see Qi Yan's dazed expression? What an innocent young man."
Xiao Yuan awkwardly played along. "Yes, yes."
Jiang Jinyue: "¿"
She wanted to hear more, but mistress and servant had already entered the residence. The formation closed, and she could hear nothing else.
Jiang Jinyue paced in circles among the clouds, then suddenly grabbed the old man beside her. "What did she mean by that?!"
The old man looked at her sympathetically, then averted his gaze.
"I'm going back!" Jiang Jinyue said furiously.
The old man sighed. "We haven't found even the slightest lead on our assignment. If you go back like this, do you want the sect master to put you in confinement? Besides, you and Qi Yan... didn't you say there was nothing between you?"
Jiang Jinyue froze, then insisted, "My junior brother has only just left his thatched cottage. How can I let someone steal his soul already? Especially when this woman's origins are unknown! This is my responsibility as his senior sister, and my responsibility to the sect!"
The old man tucked his hands into his sleeves without a word, his gaze saying, "Go on. I'm listening."
Inside, Yun Ranyi stroked the cat lying across her knees with one hand while elegantly lifting a small teacup with the other. She took a light sip. "Couldn't withstand a single blow."
Meanwhile, Qi Yan reached the foot of the mountain. He did not dare casually ride his magical treasure up into the mountains; triggering the mountain-protecting formation was no joke.
He obediently put it away outside the mountain and headed straight for the External Affairs Hall.
The square remained bustling, but the instant Qi Yan appeared, it fell utterly silent.
Everyone shut their mouths and stared fixedly at the person dangling from Qi Yan's hand as he strode into the hall.
For that instant, Qi Yan felt like Guan Yu returning to the allied army's tent with Hua Xiong's head in hand... though this enemy was rather peculiar.
"Thud!" The unconscious Ye Jingshan was tossed in front of the External Affairs Hall's "counter." Several staff members rose in astonishment. "Grand... granduncle-master Qi, what is this?"
Qi Yan said, "The head of the Ye Clan, Ye Jingshan."
Everyone: "?"
So your way of completing an assignment was to capture the person who issued it, and then the assignment was over, right?
Put that way, it wasn't entirely unreasonable...
But the next moment, everyone immediately realized something, and their gazes changed-Ye Jingshan was at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, and his clan had many other Qi Refining cultivators. This young granduncle-master Qi had still been at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement when he accepted the assignment, and then he had charged over single-handedly and captured the clan head?
What did that mean?
Some people in the square outside the hall realized it too, instinctively holding their breath and not daring to make a sound.
Qi Yan had accepted an assignment above his level to prove himself and clear away the rumors. Everyone understood that perfectly well. But most had thought little of it, believing he surely carried a magical treasure, and that completing an assignment above his level was nothing impressive.
Yet he had brought back their clan head... everyone's mind went blank. Was this something a simple magical treasure that let him fight above his level could accomplish?
Forget proving himself; this could count as a battle to establish his might. They could not even imagine how he had done it.
Amid the silence, Qi Yan spoke. "Which of you is the hall master, or a steward authorized to make decisions? We need a ruling on this."
The staff exchanged glances. Only after a long while did someone say quietly, "Actually, actually, young granduncle-master, your seniority is higher than even our hall master's. You can make the ruling yourself."
Qi Yan said, "The sect has its own rules. The hall master's duties must be respected."
"Well said!" A burly middle-aged man emerged from the rear of the hall and cupped his hands in greeting. "Zhou Chong, master of the External Affairs Hall, greets Uncle-master Qi. Please come into the side hall, Uncle-master."
Qi Yan said, "Ye Jingshan plotted against my life and was captured instead... as for how the Ye Clan should be dealt with now, I will report to my master and ask her to decide. What I need the External Affairs Hall to rule on is how my assignment should be counted. There's no need to discuss this privately. It's better to make it clear before everyone."
He had already brought the man here; a single interrogation would establish the truth. Qi Yan was probably not making this up. Besides, with his seniority, this was not something others could easily question. If he said so, then that was how it was.
Everyone gasped in shock. Had the Ye Clan gone mad? Plotting to murder a direct disciple of the Heavenly Evolution Sect's main peak?
Hall Master Zhou Chong truly could not help himself. "Young uncle-master, this is such a serious matter, and you... what you care about is whether the assignment counts? For two spirit stones?"
Qi Yan said, "The matter of the Ye Clan is indeed serious, but if I take it straight to the sect's higher-ups in private, all sorts of rumors will spring up. So whether this assignment counts as completed or not, you can decide. I'll accept either outcome... all I want is to hand him over publicly and make things clear, rather than wait for people to spread nonsense."
Zhou Chong narrowed his eyes, thinking, This young uncle-master may be young, but he certainly has his priorities straight...
After considering it for a moment, he said very seriously, "We have never encountered a similar incident before. However, this hall believes that if we strictly follow the External Affairs Hall's regulations, we must suspend the assignment's assessment until we verify whether the Ye Clan truly plotted against a direct disciple of the sect. If verified, the assignment will be settled as completed, with an additional reward. If not, the assignment will count as failed, and there will also be punishment for lying. In other words, young uncle-master, you cannot collect your reward right now."
Qi Yan nodded. "That makes sense."
Zhou Chong let out a long breath and cupped his hands in salute. "Young uncle-master, your breadth of mind and bearing truly surpass those of ordinary people."
Qi Yan shook his head. "The sect's regulations come first."
With that, he picked Ye Jingshan up again, turned, and left the hall.
He had just stepped through the doorway when something suddenly stirred in his heart.
Looking up, he saw Mu Xunzhen hovering in the sky outside the hall, quietly watching everything that had just happened.
When Qi Yan looked up, Mu Xunzhen gave a rare, faint smile. "You did very well."
Qi Yan did not dare make a sound. He did not know whether she had seen him riding back on a woman's earring...
Mu Xunzhen asked, "Did you take the Ye Clan's resources?"
Qi Yan shook his head. "I was afraid someone would turn around and accuse me of framing him to rob him, so I didn't touch a single coin. Though by now, the other members of the Ye Clan may have packed everything up and run. A bit of a pity."
Mu Xunzhen chuckled. "Those few things are hardly worth regretting. Besides, they won't get far. Zhou Chong."
Zhou Chong hurriedly bowed. "Present."
"Whatever the causes and consequences of this matter, since the Ye Clan dared lay hands on my disciple, there is no need for it to exist. First, send people to take over the Ye Clan's properties. As for the other members of the Ye Clan... if Ye Jingshan harbored treasonous intentions, the rest of his clan will not be innocent. Arrest every last one of them. Kill anyone who resists."