Qin Yangling was terrified, his soul nearly leaving his body. He immediately knelt, his mind blank and unable to utter a word. How did Master suddenly arrive? From the corner of his eye, he saw Jiang Lifei descend from the clouds, and suddenly realized – it was her!
When Zheng Xu Zhenren saw the disheveled young woman lying at his feet with her arms bent backward, unsure if they were broken or dislocated, his anger flared. He had thought this disciple was simply promiscuous, fond of dallying with women, but who would have imagined he would attempt to violate a female disciple in the former residence of the Qingcheng Immortal?!
Just as he was about to speak sternly, the wind whistled overhead again. Qing Le Zhenren quickly descended into the courtyard. Seeing Le Cailing’s pitiful state, she gasped and hurried forward to embrace her. After a careful examination, she found that Le Cailing had only fainted from fright and had not been truly violated. Qing Le Zhenren immediately released a healing net to envelop her broken arms. She turned back to glare at Qin Yangling, looked for a moment, and then turned to Zheng Xu Zhenren without saying a word.
Seeing her icy gaze, Zheng Xu Zhenren knew that Elder Qing Le, usually known for her gentle and kind demeanor, must be furious beyond words. Although she didn’t speak, her gaze sent chills down one’s spine. He understood that this matter could no longer be overlooked or covered up; Qin Yangling’s actions had greatly violated the disciples’ code of conduct.
Feeling both disappointed and extremely angry, Zheng Xu Zhenren spoke calmly, “Taimeng Peak disciple Qin Yangling has violated the disciples’ code of conduct. He is to be banished from the Cloudy Sea. Report to the Disciplinary Hall before dawn tomorrow to face thirty Disciplinary Elders who will discuss his punishment.”
Qing Le Zhenren let out a cold laugh, still not saying a word and flew away swiftly with Le Cailing in her arms.
Being banished from the Cloudy Sea was considered a very severe punishment, especially for Qin Yangling, who had been a personal disciple for over a decade. Summoning thirty elders from the Disciplinary Hall meant that this matter would spread throughout Wuyue Court by tomorrow, completely ruining his reputation.
Seeing Qin Yangling’s pale face and Zheng Xu Zhenren’s suppressed anger, Li Fei guessed he must have more words of reprimand for his disciple. She immediately bowed and flew swiftly back to Zhui Yu Peak.
Ri Yan was very displeased and angrily said, “To have such a shameless person sully my thoughts! Wuyue Court is truly deteriorating with each generation! What kind of disgraceful disciple have they produced!”
Li Fei, recalling the recent events, also felt shocked by Qin Yangling’s audacity. His actions must be partly due to Zheng Xu Zhenren’s indulgence. These cultivating disciples, entering academies or immortal sects at a young age to practice immortal techniques, judged everything by the strength of their cultivation. Disciples with high aptitude were pampered in every way, with masters reluctant to punish them for any wrongdoing, inevitably producing people like Qin Yangling.
Seeing Ri Yan still grumbling angrily, she asked, “Ri Yan, do you know the Qingcheng Immortal? Is he still alive or has he passed away?”
His unexpectedly thorough understanding of human cultivation steps and knowledge of Hu Shefeng, along with a nostalgic tone when speaking of the Qingcheng Immortal, suggested a close relationship between them.
Ri Yan remained silent for a while, then suddenly let out a long sigh. His massive body gradually faded into nothingness, and his hoarse, aged voice became indiscernible: “Even if alive, it would be a fate worse than death, wouldn’t it? Don’t disturb me, let me have a moment of peace.”
Worse than death? Was it because of the severe injury from the Yaksha that hasn’t healed after all these years?
Ri Yan said no more. This fox had become particularly prone to melancholy since the trip to the East Sea. Li Fei stood dazed in the corridor for a while, thoughts drifting to the events of the Outer Sea and Haiyun. She couldn’t help but feel sad, her mind wandering, sometimes lamenting her fate, unable to regain her composure for a long time.
The thirty elders of the Disciplinary Hall quickly decided on the specific punishment for Qin Yangling: banishment to the lower Cloudy Sea for one year, meaning that even if he won and earned a spot to return in the upcoming Dharma Duel, he would have to stay below for a full year before returning to Taimeng Peak.
This punishment was neither too severe nor too lenient. It seemed that Zheng Xu Zhenren must have intervened. Qing Le Zhenren was naturally very dissatisfied. After waking up, Le Cailing cried for three consecutive days and became frightened upon seeing anyone, especially men. A few days ago, when a male disciple carelessly went near the disciples’ quarters on Zi Xi Peak, Le Cailing fainted at the sight of him. Qin Yangling’s actions must have deeply traumatized her, not just from the shock, but also from the sudden change in demeanor of the once gentle and refined young man she had admired, now causing her to feel fear.
Qing Le Zhenren specially brought Le Cailing to Zhui Yu Peak. If Li Fei hadn’t secretly sent out the wooden bird to notify the elders, Le Cailing’s ordeal would have been even worse. Although Elder Chong Yi was not at Zhui Yu Peak, Le Cailing still trembled fearfully after coming out, looking quite pitiful. Upon seeing Li Fei, she could only tearfully express her gratitude.
Li Fei’s dislike for her had diminished considerably. She said in a low voice, “Be more careful in the future. Fortunately, nothing serious happened this time.”
Le Cailing, pale-faced, said tearfully, “There won’t be a next time. I’ve decided to continue cultivating the Heavenly Qin Technique and will never have any entanglements with men in this lifetime.”
After speaking, she bowed deeply to Li Fei and said softly, “Last time in Li Lie Valley, I was very rude. I was once arrogant and selfish. Junior Sister, you didn’t hold a grudge and saved my life. I will never forget this kindness in this lifetime. If there’s an opportunity in the future, I’m willing to go through fire and water for you, no matter the cost.”
Li Fei quickly helped her up, unable to contain her laughter: “What’s all this talk about going through fire and water? It’s not necessary.”
Le Cailing murmured, “But that’s what they always say in plays…”
Plays? Li Fei laughed even harder. Le Cailing herself felt a bit embarrassed and started laughing while wiping her tears: “There were a few senior brothers and sisters at Li Lie Valley that time. I should go and apologize to them properly.”
Li Fei saw that even though she was trembling with fear at the mention of meeting male disciples, she was still determined to go. She couldn’t help but admire her a little.
Qing Le Zhenren watched the two girls with a smile, then suddenly said, “Li Fei, I heard from Elder Guang Wei last time that Lei Xiuyuan plans to participate in this Dharma Duel. Is that true?”
Li Fei nodded: “Yes, he has a duel agreement with Senior Brother Qin.”
Qing Le Zhenren’s face showed anger at the mention of Qin Yangling: “This Qin Yangling is truly unreasonable! To challenge a disciple who has only been here for five years! Li Fei, although I don’t want to say this, you should still try to persuade Lei Xiuyuan after he leaves the Dan Cave. Qin Yangling is about to break through the fourth bottleneck, which is beyond what you can handle. Disciples who have been here for less than ten years don’t need to participate in the Dharma Duel. Don’t act impulsively because of a moment of anger. I’ve seen that Lei Xiuyuan has quite a proud temperament and won’t accept falling behind at all. If he’s defeated by Qin Yangling, it might be a blow to the child. It’s better to avoid the conflict for now.”
Persuade him? If Lei Xiuyuan could be persuaded, he wouldn’t be Lei Xiuyuan. He’s always been the most stubborn, and once he agrees to something, he’ll do it even if it costs him his life.
Li Fei realized she hadn’t seen him for many days and felt a twinge in her heart. She smiled and said, “I won’t try to persuade him. He has his judgment. Since he accepted the challenge, he will win.”
Qing Le Zhenren was a bit surprised. Such words coming from a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl were enough to make one reconsider their relationship. This was not the impulsive infatuation of an ignorant youth.
She suddenly felt a bit sentimental. Such a young couple, childhood sweethearts, were rare in the entire cultivation world. It made one can’t help but feel happy for them.
Lei Xiuyuan stayed in the Dan Cave for more than two months this time. Just as the Dharma Duel was about to begin in a few days, he leisurely left the cave, deliberately choosing to come out at three in the morning. Li Fei was sleeping soundly when she was awakened by the sound of snowballs hitting her window.
She drowsily went to open the window, and to her surprise, someone jumped in, startling her. Then a burst of bone-chilling cold air hit her face, and she was tightly embraced in arms that still carried the scent of wind and snow.
“Not opening the window for so long, trying to freeze me to death?”
The long-missed clear, cold voice sounded above her head. Li Fei was startled and quickly looked up to see Lei Xiuyuan gazing at her with a smile. Li Fei was momentarily stunned, staring at him blankly. Was she dreaming?
“Xiuyuan?!” She cried out, but the next moment, her mouth was covered by his hand.
“Want to wake up your senior and junior sisters?” Lei Xiuyuan sat on the edge of the bed, holding her. The accumulated snow on his body fell in puddles, wetting the bedding. Li Fei felt the intense cold emanating from his body and grabbed his hands. Both his hands were cold, and she exclaimed in shock: “Why are you so cold? Didn’t you use immortal techniques to protect yourself?”
It was then that she noticed his face was full of fatigue. She briefly probed his eight extraordinary meridians and found that his spiritual energy was almost depleted! How did he fly here? Did he fly straight here as soon as he left the Dan Cave? The remaining spiritual energy couldn’t even sustain a protective spell?
Li Fei gripped his wrist and immediately began infusing wood element spiritual energy. Lei Xiuyuan fell back onto her bed, exhausted, and said in a low voice: “Let me sleep for a while.”
Before he finished speaking, he had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Li Fei quickly pulled her blanket over to cover him, while sitting at the bedside to examine him closely. After not seeing him for a few months, he seemed to have grown taller, his features more defined, with much of his boyish air fading away. He looked quite interesting when asleep, his brows relaxed without a care, his face innocent and pure.
To come in the middle of the night and deplete all his spiritual energy, was indeed the kind of bold and reckless thing only Lei Xiuyuan would do.
Li Fei infused all her wood element spiritual energy into his meridians, then got up quietly to close the window. Returning to the bedside, Lei Xiuyuan was still in deep sleep, but his complexion was no longer as pale as before. She brushed away the stray hair on his forehead, and Lei Xiuyuan’s brows furrowed slightly, apparently awakened.
Li Fei said softly, “Go back to sleep, it’s alright.”
He reached out to pull her onto the bed, resting his head in her embrace, and mumbled sleepily, “Stay like this, don’t go.”
Stay like this, don’t go?! Li Fei lay stiffly on the bed, not daring to move an inch. Was she supposed to lie there like a wooden doll waiting for him to wake up? Lei Xiuyuan fell into a deep sleep again, and Li Fei remained motionless, staring blankly at the closed wooden window past his head, listening to his long, deep breathing. She also began to feel drowsy but didn’t dare to sleep. How could she sleep in the same bed with him?!
Li Fei remained rigid for a long time, her head nodding with drowsiness as she tried hard not to fall asleep. Just as she was in a daze, she suddenly felt a hand insert into her hair, holding the back of her head, and then a warm blanket was draped over her body. Lei Xiuyuan moved up slightly, resting his head on the pillow, and they lay face to face.
He looked at her for a long time, then leaned down to kiss her forehead, saying softly, “Go to sleep. From tomorrow, you should call me Senior Brother.”
Li Fei was suddenly wide awake. It was only then that she noticed the fluctuation of spiritual energy in his body was different from before. She was both excited and shocked: “You’ve broken through the third bottleneck?”
Lei Xiuyuan smiled, pressing her head against his chest: “Starting tomorrow, I’ll be a personal disciple. Little Junior Sister, call me Senior Brother.”