Chapter 45

Since there is a task now…

Lin Yi looked at Han Qi and the other two, nodded and smiled at them, and decided that he would kill them with his own hands.

Beside them, Pei Zhaoji and Pei Yuhan exchanged pleasantries, and her gaze involuntarily turned toward Lin Yi's side. She looked at Lin Yi and the others curiously, "Sword Immortal, who are these people?"

She always felt that Lin Yi possessed a certain aura that attracted her…

Chapter 81: The good show is about to begin.

Pei Yuhan formally introduced both parties one by one.

Although Pei Zhaoji looked like a cold and aloof Fairy, once she began interacting, she revealed a hint of gentleness. This was different from Pei Yuhan and Lu Jiajing; the former was as cold as the Cold Palace, while the latter was as elegant as a plain lotus.

Therefore, Pei Zhaoji took the initiative to nod at Lin Yi and the others, "Truly a young hero! Much better than that good-for-nothing Disciple of mine…"

Afterward, it was like a scene of Chinese New Year holidays and relatives gathering, talking about this family's child being this way, and that family's child being that way.

When she heard that Lin Yi was at the half-step Nascent Soul stage and his sword Dao was approaching the Transcendent realm, ripples in Pei Zhaoji's heart did not subside for a long time. She did not expect an eighteen-year-old youth to be such a Genius!

Lin Yi's expression remained unchanged. Boasting about her own Disciple (husband), Pei Yuhan was quite interested. As for things like the half-step Nascent Soul stage… when showing off one's own child, doesn't everyone raise it up a notch?

For example, a person who is 1.69 meters tall, when introducing themselves, insists on saying they are 1.70 meters.

Of course, the former is exaggeration, while the latter is stubbornness.

Han Qi looked at Lin Yi cautiously. Lin Yi's strength made him unable to even feel hatred; it was like a poor student facing a top student—no hatred existed between the two.

Such hatred often occurs only when the latter can see the former's shadow.

He did glance at Xuanyuan Xier from time to time, but after seeing Xuanyuan Xier holding hands with Lin Yi, he gloomily lowered his head again.

Xuanyuan Xier naturally noticed Han Qi's gaze. She looked at Lin Yi beside her a few times, then smiled and rested her head on Lin Yi's shoulder.

Her beautiful face wore an obvious look of infatuation, which only made Han Qi feel even more uncomfortable.

However, after all, he is an impotent, useless male protagonist, so this behavior is quite normal.

As for Huanyu and Huanchong… their eyes were cast down. Lin Yi held Xuanyuan Xier's hand with his left and Su Lingshu's hand with his right, while Yu Xiaotang and Li Tiaodeng looked at him with adoring eyes from behind.

The two brothers had already shredded Lin Yi into pieces in their hearts, wishing they could replace him!

"Fairy Xueji, you exaggerate. I have merely just stepped onto the Dao." Lin Yi said humbly.

The group exchanged a few more words before finally getting to the point.

"I wonder… for what reason did the Sword Immortal come from Qianming Palace? I remember the Dao Trial Conference is still several months away?" Pei Zhaoji's conversation with Lin Yi and his group was certainly not for the sake of friendship. Now that the Cold Palace Sword Sect was universally condemned, she did not need to offend the Yin Yang Pavilion for the sake of some friendship.

But the Cold Palace Sword Sect was mingling with Qingmu Palace and Fuxue Palace, and they had just come out of Qianming Palace…

Pei Zhaoji's gaze rested for a moment, without showing any sign, on the hands of Lin Yi and Xuanyuan Xier held together.

Has the Cold Palace Sword Sect formed an alliance with the Xuanyuan Dynasty?

Otherwise, why would… a princess be involved with a Cold Palace Sword Sect Disciple?

Thinking of the Void Return Sword Immortal behind Xuanyuan Xier, she couldn't help but slightly elevate the status of the Cold Palace Sword Sect in her heart.

"Nothing of great importance." Pei Yuhan answered lightly, "It is just that my Disciple and the princess have pledged themselves to each other, so we came to ask for a royal marriage decree."

"And what was the result?" Pei Zhaoji asked instinctively.

"Neither surprise nor joy." Pei Yuhan neither shook nor nodded her head. This inexplicable answer made Pei Zhaoji frown slightly.

Neither surprise nor joy?

What kind of "neither surprise nor joy" is that?

Was it a success, and they obtained it from the Emperor, so it was within her expectations, hence neither surprise nor joy?

Or was it not successful, so there was no sense of joy?

The difference between these is quite large.

Seeing that Pei Yuhan did not want to say more, Pei Zhaoji had to skip this topic; she couldn't possibly keep pressing.

The group exchanged a few more words and then parted ways.

Pei Zhaoji came to the capital this time for her Disciple, Han Qi. Although he was a Disciple, everyone could feel that she had already treated him as an adopted son.

Because his Aptitude was poor, he had achieved nothing over these years and had not yet touched the threshold of Foundation Establishment, so she prepared to go find the Dao Leader of the Heaven Sect, Fairy Ningbo, Han Ningyan, to seek help.

On the other hand, the two Disciples Pei Zhaoji had picked up casually had long since become Foundation Establishment Cultivators!

Pei Zhaoji had made preparations for both scenarios this time: if Han Qi had a Breakthrough, she would let him go to the Dao Trial Conference for a trial; if he remained at the Qi Refining stage, she would let the two brothers, Huanyu and Huanchong, take the stage.

Lin Yi watched Pei Zhaoji's beautiful figure disappear into the bleak, cold colors of winter.

"Hey, Xiao Yi'er, why are you still looking? She's already walked far away!!" Su Lingshu tugged at Lin Yi's hand, her delicate little face bearing a hint of annoyance, looking exactly like someone who was jealous.

Lin Yi ruffled Su Lingshu's purple hair, causing her to dodge away in dissatisfaction, "My hair is messed up again!!"

"Alright, let's head back too." Lin Yi pulled Xuanyuan Xier and Su Lingshu and walked in the direction of Fuxue Palace.

"Jinger." After walking for a while, Lin Yi looked at Lu Jiajing.

Lu Jiajing nodded, "There is the scent of the Yin Yang Pavilion."

Lu Jiajing's elegant face wore a slight frown, "I don't know where this Pei Zhaoji picked up those two Disciples; didn't she even check their cultivation and Daoist Magic?"

"No wonder she is so fixated on Han Qi; although her cultivation is quite high, her brain… is really not working." Lin Yi nodded.

As soon as the task flashed earlier, Lin Yi had informed Lu Jiajing to use a secret technique to investigate whether the two brothers, Huanyu and Huanchong, had the aura of the Yin Yang Pavilion on them.

In the Qiongming Domain, when it comes to the plot of the Inner World, one can basically suspect that it's the work of people from the Yin Yang Pavilion first, so one must first rule out the factor of the Yin Yang Pavilion.

Sure enough, Lu Jiajing didn't need much effort to discover the aura of Yin Yang Pavilion Daoist Magic from Huanyu and Huanchong, which they hadn't even thought of hiding!

Su Lingshu and Yu Xiaotang beside them blinked.

"In other words…" Li Tiaodeng looked at Lin Yi.

Lin Yi smiled, "Tonight, we need to go and save this Dao Leader of the Human Sect."

"Looking at them, they don't seem like the type who can hold back. Aren't they staying at the Yuelai Inn tonight? Anyway, if we don't wait for them, there's no rush, so we'll just wait slowly."

The so-called Yuelai Inn, as everyone knows, is a chain inn across all Wuxia and Xianxia worlds!

As for those two filthy wretches, if they don't make a move by the time Lin Yi is ready to set off… Lin Yi can completely kill them directly.

There is no need for that now, as it would pointlessly offend Fairy Pei Zhaoji, and anyway, everything is under control.

At worst, there is still the System to back Lin Yi up.

"I have already left my Divine Sense by their side." Lu Jiajing nodded.

"My husband is truly kind-hearted." Xuanyuan Xier's voice was gentle.

Lin Yi accepted Xuanyuan Xier's comment about his kindness without a shred of shame.

While humoring Xuanyuan Xier and the others, he conversed with the System in his mind.

[System, you must keep an eye on it for me; my fifth realm of the Dao of Immortality rests in your hands.]

[…]

[I am the pure love modulation system; I will not let the host be NTR'd.]

A milky, loli-like voice came to Lin Yi's ears, carrying a trace of anger at being questioned.

[System, are you becoming more and more like a human?]

Lin Yi asked curiously.

[I am not a human.]

[Then what kind of thing are you?]

[I am the System.]

Alright, there's no point in talking further. Lin Yi asked a few more random questions, and the System stalled.

What a useless System!

"By the way, Senior Brother, is there something you haven't told us?" Yu Xiaotang leaned in with a grin.

Lin Yi glanced at her, "No."

Lu Jiajing and Pei Yuhan also shifted their gazes, looking at Lin Yi in unison, with a hint of strange colors in their eyes.

"Xiao Yi, tell me honestly, has your Physique reacted to Pei Zhaoji?" Finally, Pei Yuhan was the first to ask.

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow. Seeing the women around him looking at him with knowing expressions, he nodded calmly, "Master, you still understand me best."

"Go to hell!! You little thief!!! You definitely have a crush on her!!!" Su Lingshu jumped up, directly grabbed Lin Yi's shoulders, and then… she bit towards Lin Yi's face!

Lin Yi naturally couldn't let her just…

It's over.

Lin Yi watched Su Lingshu biting straight towards him; at this moment, right beside him, Yu Xiaotang and Xuanyuan Xier were holding his hands.

Lin Yi bore this bite alive; although it didn't hurt, it felt like a little cat licking his face.

Pei Yuhan and Lu Jiajing watched this scene calmly, but… when they saw Lin Yi admit it so readily, they still felt a bit of sourness in their hearts.

Li Tiaodeng's eyes flickered, but in the end, she didn't step forward. She whispered to herself, "No, you must be gentler; you cannot treat Master like that."

"Hmph, you're the one who's making a fuss. I think Master really wants us to do this!"

A gentle and charming voice intertwined as it was uttered from her glossy lips.

Li Tiaodeng fell silent for a moment.

Then she stepped forward and bit the other side of Lin Yi's face that hadn't been bitten by Su Lingshu.

The horseplay ended.

Lin Yi looked at Su Lingshu and Li Tiaodeng. Su Lingshu was still glaring at Lin Yi, while Li Tiaodeng didn't dare to look at Lin Yi, bowing her head slightly, looking like she had made a huge mistake.

This made Lin Yi find it somewhat amusing. He reached out and lifted Li Tiaodeng's glossy, smooth chin, and amidst her shy gaze, pinched her cheek.

"Alright, since your Physique has reacted to her, Xiao Yi, then let's prepare to bring her here." Pei Yuhan's words settled the matter.

But… Master, isn't that sentence of yours a bit strange? What do you mean by "bring her here"? We are going to save a Fairy!

"At the very least, when Pei Zhaoji, this Dao Leader of the Human Sect, is in crisis, it is acceptable for us to extend a helping hand." Lu Jiajing brought the derailed topic back on track.

"Regardless of anything else, gaining the friendship of a Soul Transformation Stage Cultivator will also help our grand cause."

However… what puzzled Su Lingshu was, could Pei Zhaoji, who could be toppled by two minor Yin Yang Pavilion Cultivators, really not be a hindrance?

As for why she would be toppled… the countless stories of female Cultivators sinking provided examples for Su Lingshu and the others, so no one felt surprised or incredulous at what Lin Yi said.

A Soul Transformation Stage Cultivator being toppled by a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, tsk tsk tsk tsk, that is truly a plot that would only exist in the Inner World.

Lin Yi shook his head.

…

Yuelai Inn.

Next door was the room of Pei Zhaoji and her group. Lin Yi sat by the window, watching the brilliant lights of the Imperial City outside. From time to time, fireworks bloomed in the distance, tearing a small opening in the night.

A dark and windy night, a night for killing.

"The ancients truly do not deceive me." Lin Yi picked up his teacup and took a sip.

Lu Jiajing looked at Lin Yi but didn't speak. Pei Yuhan was sitting nearby; Yu Xiaotang and the others were all left at Fuxue Palace, as this kind of matter was naturally not suitable for too many people to come.

As a Cultivator who primarily practiced the Dao of Immortality, compared to Pei Yuhan and Lin Yi who primarily practiced the Sword Dao, Lu Jiajing had more room to maneuver in some minor Daos.

For example, in techniques for concealing one's figure, Pei Zhaoji next door was only an early-stage Soul Transformation Cultivator. With premeditation against an unprepared target, it was naturally impossible for her to discover Lin Yi and the others.

The Dao of Immortality was indeed exceptionally useful in these aspects.

As expected, the three thousand Daos cannot be underestimated.

Currently, the main Daoist Magic practiced in the entire Qiongming Domain was only the Yin-Yang Path, the Dao of Immortality, and besides that, the Buddhist Dao.