Ri Yan silently gazed at him for a long while before suddenly saying, “The little girl told you my name, didn’t she? You must have heard everything just now. You humans, especially women, always like to rely on others. This fool trusts and depends on you, telling you everything, unable to be apart from you even for a moment. That’s your goal, isn’t it?”
Lei Xiuyuan’s brows furrowed slightly as he pondered for a moment. He then calmly replied, “I’ve heard that demons don’t distinguish between genders and don’t understand emotions. When a demon’s eyes look at human feelings, it’s naturally difficult to comprehend fully. I understand.”
Ri Yan immediately flew into a rage, glaring at him fiercely. “Why all this nonsense about love and emotions? I’ve never believed in such things! Especially you! It’s just your instinctive desire to possess! Even a single arm bone makes you act like this, let alone a living person right in front of you!”
“I know where she comes from,” Lei Xiuyuan stared into his pale green eyes, showing no sign of impatience. “So what? What does that have to do with me? There’s too much suspicion in this world. From the very beginning, I’ve only wanted this one person.”
Ri Yan couldn’t help but burst into laughter, while simultaneously shouting angrily, “Risking your life for what you desire? She’s now weak and rootless, unable to even take care of her safety! She could have been invincible in the world! Yet you and those idiots have made her prefer to live as an ordinary person, barely surviving! Entangled by emotions, she’s become countless times more foolish than before! Your desire is nothing more than to make her your captive! You pry into her affairs, but how much does she know about yours? You’re merely using emotions to deceive her, harming her in reality!”
Lei Xiuyuan averted his gaze, his voice indifferent: “She used to be unhappy often. I suppose it must have been because Elder Ri Yan frequently made such alarmist remarks?”
Alarmist remarks?! Ri Yan’s nine tails angrily rose all at once. “It’s only after following you that her mind has turned to mush!”
All innocence and simplicity in this world are born from being cherished. Only because there’s someone to rely on can one be recklessly vulnerable. Those with intricate thoughts and resilient actions have all been tempered by hardships. One Qing Cheng has already spoiled her to the point where she can’t learn anything. After finally leaving Qing Cheng, she grew a little, but now another Lei Xiuyuan is making her only know how to call “Xiuyuan” all day. How can she withstand any storms? If one day the pampering is gone, how will she survive?
“Human hearts have always been unfathomable. Today’s love could turn into tomorrow’s murder. I don’t trust you, and I despise you even more!” Ri Yan stared directly at him, his voice cold and harsh.
Lei Xiuyuan folded his arms and looked towards an unnamed distance. “Is that so? I quite like you, though.”
“Bah!” Ri Yan cursed angrily. “Your sweet talk doesn’t work on me! You…”
“Elder Ri Yan, instead of rambling on endlessly with me here, why don’t you make a trip back to Qing Qiu? Since you’re familiar with Immortal Qing Cheng, you should know about his calligraphy hidden under the bed in the small courtyard of Qing Qiu. Now that Wu Yue Yan Yi has aroused suspicion among the immortals, I think those calligraphy pieces shouldn’t be discovered carelessly. Don’t you agree?”
Ri Yan was so angry he was speechless, a mouthful of stifled air stuck in his chest, unable to go up or down. He had been talking for so long, not only in vain but also forcibly dragged in to help. He couldn’t refuse this favor, truly feeling like his stomach was about to explode with anger.
“You are indeed young, clever, and quick-witted, with a strong character. But don’t think you can control everything in the world, especially not people’s hearts,” Ri Yan glared at him coldly. “That fool may be incredibly stupid now and habitually dependent on others, but she will eventually wake up. I want to see if she’ll still be willing to be your captive then!”
Lei Xiuyuan still didn’t look at him, but his voice became very gentle: “Mr. Ri Yan, I’m very grateful for your care of Li Fei over these years.”
Ri Yan snorted, swished his long tail, and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Li Fei, seeing him suddenly vanish, hurriedly approached and asked, “Where’s Ri Yan? Did you anger him away?”
Lei Xiuyuan chuckled: “In your heart, am I that bad?”
Pretty much… Li Fei laughed dryly.
“He had some business to attend to and left first. He’ll be back after a while,” Lei Xiuyuan once again pulled her onto his small white cloud. His eyes held a somewhat gloomy look. “That was quite a lecture. It resonates deeply.”
Li Fei smiled, her voice gentle: “Ri Yan does love to lecture. Although he says things that make one’s heart uneasy, I know he means well to me. Jade must be cut and polished to become a tool; he hopes I’ll become more independent and stronger.”
In the past, she had her master and relied on him for everything. After her master left, she met Ri Yan and began to depend on him. When Ri Yan fell into a five-year slumber, she relied on Lei Xiuyuan. Now that she and Lei Xiuyuan had come to an understanding and she was determined to live as an ordinary person from now on, she no longer wanted to depend on anyone.
“It’s not good to always be taken care of by others. In the future, I should be the one taking care of you all,” Li Fei grinned at him. “The seal on Ri Yan’s back is about to open, and there’s nothing much I can do to help him. I might as well listen to what he says.”
Lei Xiuyuan looked at her glumly as she smiled brightly, which was rare. He raised his hand and gently pressed it on her head, saying softly, “You can be disobedient occasionally. If you listen to him too much, I’ll be in trouble.”
Li Fei blinked at him: “Let me show you something.”
She raised her wrist, and a beautiful orange Earth Lord’s Protection enveloped her body without a single flaw. Immediately after, she raised her wrist again, and a second layer of Earth Lord’s Protection appeared. This was repeated, and she consecutively cast five layers of Earth Lord’s Protection. The orange light suddenly brightened, and the elders nearby began to praise her: “This child is indeed persevering! She has truly mastered the Earth Lord’s Protection in these days!”
Li Fei smiled at Lei Xiuyuan’s surprised eyes, feeling somewhat proud: “This must be the cultivation mindset that Master spoke of, right? I finally know what I want. Indeed, a cultivator needs the right mindset to progress.”
Lei Xiuyuan asked in a low voice, “What do you want?”
“Now I just want to be an ordinary person, cultivate well, and repay the kindness I’ve received,” Li Fei paused, her thin face reddening again, but she still boldly said, “And, I want to be with you forever.”
Lei Xiuyuan looked at her quietly. Suddenly, he reached out and lifted her, tilting his head and smiling up at her. Li Fei was startled; she wasn’t thick-skinned enough to be intimate with him in broad daylight in front of so many elders. She lightly pinched him, saying, “Put me down quickly!”
Before she could finish speaking, her lips felt a warmth as he gently kissed her. Li Fei’s entire body froze. She didn’t dare look to the sides, then heard him lower his voice and say, “Then I also have a secret to tell you later, after Deng’s beast hunting and artifact refining trip.”
A secret? Li Fei looked down into his eyes. The mist that once filled his eyes seemed to have disappeared completely, now direct and bold. She looked for a long time, seeing a fresh smile slowly appearing in the depths of his eyes, and she couldn’t help but smile too.
“Alright,” she gently bumped her forehead against his. “No earth-shattering secret can scare me. Bring it on.”
“Ahem, ahem.” Elder Guang Wei suddenly coughed twice beside them. Li Fei quickly jumped out of Lei Xiuyuan’s arms, trying hard to compose herself so as not to appear too embarrassed. Immortal Yi was already smiling and saying, “We’ve arrived at White Edge Cliff. It’s too dangerous to leave just the two of you outside. Come in with us.”
So they had already arrived at White Edge Cliff. Li Fei looked into the distance and saw that this place was unexpectedly a vast, lush grassland. The prairie was filled with colorful flowers, very brilliant. In the center of the grassland stood two towering peaks, with a line of rock meeting at the top, the widest part estimated to be no more than five or six inches. The mountain peaks were barren, the entire body of black rock, with only that line of meeting rock as white as snow. No wonder it was called White Edge Cliff.
“This is a trial ground prepared for disciples about to break through the sixth bottleneck,” said Immortal Yi. “It’s very different from where you went before. After entering, we two masters will only wait at the entrance of the barrier. Don’t wander around.”
Li Fei and Lei Xiuyuan immediately respectfully answered yes. The group opened the stone tablet at the entrance of the barrier. Li Fei felt a gentle yet irresistible force instantly pull her into the barrier. Her vision blurred, and she found herself standing on the edge of a cliff. Before the cliff, rolling clouds surged, and countless magnificent palaces and huge islands floated in the air, far more splendid than the floating islands of the academy. The scene was grand and elegant, a first sight in her life.
Immortal Yi continued, “This used to be a celestial sect. Five hundred years ago, during the Sea Calamity, this sect was exterminated, and since then it has become a lair for demons and fierce beasts.”
A celestial sect exterminated! What a tragic situation! The grandeur of this sect looked no less than Wu Yue Yan Yi, yet it was annihilated.
Immortal Cui Xuan glanced at Immortal Yi: “Can you speak so freely in front of junior disciples?”
Immortal Yi smiled and said, “This junior just feels there’s no need for deliberate concealment. What they should know, they will eventually know one day.”
“Then leave it until the day they should know. You’ve been indiscreet,” said Immortal Cui Xuan. He brought his palms together, and when he opened them again, the crack of the small world had already split between his palms. “Shou Zhong, come with me for a moment to see if everything is in order.”
Li Fei couldn’t help but look back at Lei Xiuyuan. Immortal Qing Cheng had already passed away, and although they didn’t do it themselves, only the two of them had entered the small world. The black book was still in her bosom. If Elder Cui Xuan, this meticulous and suspicious old man, insisted on getting to the bottom of it, it could be troublesome.
Lei Xiuyuan held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. The next moment, Immortal Cui Xuan quickly came out of the small world. His usually drowsy eyes were wide open, gleaming with a sharp light, silently staring back and forth between Li Fei and Lei Xiuyuan. The two immediately put on a frightened and confused appearance and bowed respectfully.
“Yi, come in with me,” Immortal Cui Xuan said in a grim voice.
Immortal Yi was also completely puzzled and hurriedly followed Immortal Cui Xuan into the small world. It was his first time experiencing the small world and seeing the two mountains, one upright and one inverted inside, he immediately realized this was a mirror technique, with the inverted mountain being the true small world.
Entering the strange tomb, they saw Immortal Shou Zhong crouching in front of a mummy deep in the great hall, releasing searching immortal techniques inch by inch as if trying to find something from the corpse. Immortal Yi’s heart was filled with even more shock and doubt, but he didn’t dare to inquire.
“Use your Spirit Clarity Net to see if there are any suspicious auras in the great hall,” Immortal Cui Xuan added, “Don’t miss even the slightest detail.”