Clouds crossed the sky like shadows, and the watery moonlight poured over the vast earth.
After a flash of sky-shattering white light, everything returned to silence.
On the broken hill, Zu Yuan held up his horsetail whisk and looked at the two people lying on the ground not far away. His expression was calm and even a little dull.
The golden spiritual light around him gradually dissipated after a moment.
Clang---The Yin-Yang Jade floating in front of him gradually lost its aura, as if it had turned into a simple stone, falling beside his skinny feet and rolling down the hillside.
Zu Yuan subconsciously made a sword finger with his hand, wanting to change it back, but when he waved his hand, he suddenly froze. Then, as if realizing something, a bitter smile appeared on his face.
"Heh..."
Suddenly, a cold wind blew, raising the hair on his skin.
"A-choo--!!!"
Zu Yuan sneezed, and he instinctively shrank his neck, covered his shoulders, and rubbed them. After a moment of daze, a bitter smile appeared on his face again.
This biting cold wind reminded him of a word that had been forgotten in his memory for twenty thousand years.---Catch a cold.
Zu Yuan smiled bitterly, and he subconsciously raised his finger sword again, wanting to take out a piece of clothing from the storage bag and put it on, but when he saw that the high-quality storage bag embroidered with yin-and-yang fish on his waist had no reaction to his finger, he let out a heavy sigh again.
"Sigh..."
At this time, a bell sounded from the sky.
Like a feather, Si Xuanji slowly floated down in front of him and glanced at him like a naughty child. She pursed her cat lips, raised her eyebrows, and sneered. "Pfft~"
Looking at her face, Zu Yuan really understood the saying, "The children in the village bully me because I am old and weak".
When he was still a Void Returning cultivator, this stinky girl even dared to secretly blow up the Dragon Cave and act waywardly. Not to say that she was afraid of him, at least she didn't dare to provoke him.
But now, he had lost all his cultivation, was old and weak, and couldn't even fly a sword. If this stinky girl didn't take him back to the Bright Star Sect soon, he might starve or freeze to death on this mountain.
"I didn't expect that one day I would see you, the great ancestor, with a runny nose from the cold, pfff~~"
"Stinky girl, are you happy?"
Si Xuanji floated in the air and looked down, shaking her head. "I can't say I'm happy. I just didn't expect you to be willing to give up your twenty-thousand-year cultivation and return to an ordinary body. Don't you think it's a pity?"
"Hehe... How can I not think it's a pity?"
Zu Yuan looked up at the starry sky. With his mortal body, he could feel the spiritual energy of the world but felt that the vastness was terrifying.
"If there was a cure for regret in the world, I'd now like to take it, but alas, there isn't..." Zu Yuan raised his eyebrows, then asked, "Anyway, why did you come to the Southern Region?"
To protect Ye Anping...
Of course, she couldn't say that. Si Xuanji pursed her lips, thought for a while, and answered the question with a question. "Was it better if I didn't come?"
"Hehe... No, no. I also didn't expect that you, Red Moon Matriarch, would have such a side."
"What side?"
Zu Yuan acted mysteriously and answered with a hearty laugh. "Hehe hahahaha..."
?
From the beginning, this old man has been laughing non-stop...
Si Xuanji slightly frowned, feeling a little puzzled, and even wondered if Zu Yuan had gone senile.
The next moment, her yin-yang eyes glanced at Mei Yunlu.
Mei Yunlu, who was lying on the ground looking at them, had fished out the Evasion Mystique Treasure from her storage bag and was about to use it when Si Xuanji came to her side in an instant, stepped on her wrist, and then completely blocked her meridians with her spiritual energy.
"Ah-ah-ah!"
Si Xuanji flipped her over with her foot and then stepped on her left 'moon'.
She frowned slightly at the feeling of stepping on shit. What did this person eat to grow up like this...
"Tsk..."
Si Xuanji smacked her tongue, then took out a golden thread from her sleeve and waved it.
The next moment, the golden thread pierced into Mei Yunlu's heart like a needle, wrapping and tightening around her vital meridians.
"Ah-ah-ah!" Mei Yunlu realized something was wrong and quickly raised her hand to beg for mercy. "Immortal Red Moon!!! Sister!!"
However, there was no mercy in Si Xuanji's eyes, which were as cold as glaciers.
Then, a golden light descended from the sky and grabbed the golden thread in Si Xuanji's hand.
"Red Moon Matriarch, please show mercy."
A shiny head appeared in front of her. Grandmaster Zhiming was nearly seven feet tall, so Si Xuanji had to look up to see his face.
"Although cultivator Mei has committed serious sins, if she repents, she will surely be able to do good in the world in the future. Please let me take her back to the sect and teach her. I wonder if cultivator Mei is willing?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Seeing Grandmaster Zhiming coming to her help, Mei Yunlu begged for mercy. "I..."
Si Xuanji frowned slightly and 'accidentally' raised her right hand.
"Ahhhh---!"
After a miserable wail, Mei Yunlu instantly decayed into a withered corpse, and the two big moons she was so proud of were visibly deflated.
Mei Yunlu used up her last breath to ask for help from Grandmaster Zhiming. "Grandmaster... help..."
But before she could finish her words, she died and turned into ashes that were blown away by the wind.
Seeing this, Grandmaster Zhiming sighed slightly and cupped his hands, bowing.
"Okay, good..."
Si Xuanji pointed at Six Eyes lying beside him. "You can take that bug back and teach it."
Grandmaster Zhiming glanced at Six Eyes' six snake pupils and shook his head. "I won't save the bug... Please, Red Moon Matriarch, cast some spiritual spells..."
Before he finished his words, Si Xuanji flashed away, grabbed Zu Yuan by the back of his collar, and took off with him to the starry sky, fleeing toward the Bright Star Sect.
Watching the meteor-like brilliance gradually fade away, Grandmaster Zhiming was stunned for a long time before turning his head to look at the six-eyed lizard beside him.
The body of a Toxic parasite cultivator was full of poison. If he died here, then no one would be able to live in the Southern Region anymore.
Thinking for a moment, he let out a long breath, and with a slightly depressed look, took out a bottle and put Six Eyes into it. Then, he turned into a golden light, rushing back to his Awareness Sect.
...
Dong-dong...
The morning bell of the Bright Star Sect chimed on the twelve mountain peaks surrounded by clouds and mist.
Ye Anping, wearing the robe of the Black Star Sect, walked out of the main hall of the Main Peak with a tired look on his face. He looked at the rising sun that peeked out from the horizon, exhaled heavily, and stretched.
"Whew..."
After about six days of fighting, the demonic cultivators on the twelve peaks had been mostly cleared out, and the remaining poisonous insects were sought out one by one by the disciples of the Bright Star Sect.
He was finally able to get away from this business and rest for a while.
After watching the sunrise, Ye Anping prepared to borrow a Spirit Gathering Array to condense his energy and prepare for his second lightning tribulation.
Although the power of the Nascent Soul's lightning tribulation was great, its number was only half that of the Core Formation's tribulation.
Moreover, every time he passed a lightning tribulation, his cultivation level increased.
He was only 60% sure of passing the first tribulation but 99% sure of the second. Thirty-five lightning tribulations were left, so as long as he could find an appropriate place, he could pass them all in about three months.
Ye Anping moved his shoulders and prepared to go see Feng Yu Die. Five days had passed since she fainted that day, but she was still unconscious.
He had asked Xiao Tian to drill into Feng Yu Die's head to take a look, and she said that Yu Die was just disturbed by the inner demon, and the sword fight with Gu Mingxin had exhausted her both physically and mentally, so there was no big problem.
However, just when he summoned the flying sword and stepped on it...
A beam of white light came from the north, passing over the twelve peaks before landing in front of the Heavenly Pavilion on the Main Peak.
Although the arc of light was obvious, it did not emit much spiritual power and naturally did not attract the attention of the disciples and Elders in the sect.
Zu Yuan should have flown over the twelve peaks of the Bright Star Sect with great fanfare and comforted the injured disciples with his triumphant return.
However, the white light was obviously deliberately hiding its aura, and it did not even make a sound. If he had not seen it by chance, he would probably not have noticed that this spiritual light passed over the sky of the Bright Star Sect.
In any case, Feng Yu Die had Zu Lingzhi and Xiao Tian watching beside her, so it was unlikely that anything would go wrong.
So, Ye Anping pondered for a while and then flew toward the Heavenly Pavilion.
The Heavenly Pavilion was a forbidden area of the sect; normally no disciples came here. At this moment, there was no one there, but the door of the pavilion was wide open.
Arriving in front of the pavilion, Ye Anping stood outside the gate out of courtesy and respectfully cupped his hands, sending a voice transmission into the pavilion. "Disciple Ye Anping has come to see the Patriarch."
"..."
After a long time, there was no reply from the pavilion.
Ye Anping lowered his eyes and waited for a while, then walked directly through the clouds in the pavilion, arriving at the inner room.
The floating clouds were vast, and everything sprang to life.
The place was just like the first time he came, a mesmerizing scenery with lush vegetation.
But when he arrived at the hall where he had negotiated with Zu Yuan before, he saw a black-and-white long-haired girl, sitting at the table opposite Zu Yuan and playing chess with him.
Si Xuanji had actually seen Ye Anping coming from the corner of her eye, but she pretended to concentrate on the chessboard that she had just spent two breaths setting up. She held her chin and seriously thought about where to play next.
On the way back, she threatened Zu Yuan to put on a show with her later to make her appear more dignified and shock Ye Anping with her identity.
Hearing his footsteps, Zu Yuan stroked his beard, saying ostentatiously, "Red Moon Matriarch, this move is amazing!!!"
He spoke loudly as if he was afraid that Ye Anping might not hear clearly.
Ye Anping immediately understood what was going on.
---Mrs. Si wanted to put on a show!
In other words, he now had to play his part.
Ye Anping closed his eyes and prepared himself, then pretended to be shocked and frozen on the spot. "Ah?!"
This "Ah?!" made Si Xuanji very satisfied. She raised her head, pretending to have just noticed Ye Anping. Narrowing her eyes, she tilted her head and asked, "Hmm? Young Master Ye, when did you come?"
"Pa... Patriarch Zu, did you just call Young Miss Xuanji... Red, Red, Red Moon Matriarch?"
"Xuanji is my name, and Red Moon is my cultivator name." Si Xuanji looked at Ye Anping with a deep gaze, then stood up and walked in front of him. "Scared?"
"Ah? But..." Ye Anping's eyes widened, and he pretended to stutter because of excessive shock. "Ah... scared... are you Red Moon Matriarch, but how..."
"I am a woman, you are a man... we are in love, why so many questions?"
"...Are you kidding, you are the Immortal Matriarch, how could it be..."
Ye Anping acted with Si Xuanji.
Seeing the two of them perform to this point, Zu Yuan couldn't hold back his laughter. "Haha... cough cough... cough cough cough!! Ye kid, your acting is so bad, stop it!!"
?
Hearing Zu Yuan's hearty laughter, a question mark popped on Si Xuanji's head. She raised her eyebrows and looked with some confusion in her yin-yang eyes.
"What?"
Zu Yuan smiled and waved his hand. "This kid, Ye has known your identity for a long time, and has been cooperating with your acting for several years."
"..."
Si Xuanji suddenly felt like being struck by lightning, and her long hair floated up slowly behind her as if it had been blown up.
She froze for a split second, then frowned at Ye Anping.
Ye Anping's fake shocked expression disappeared in an instant. He licked his lips awkwardly and looked at Zu Yuan, asking with his eyes, ---Patriarch, I didn't offend you, did I?
Zu Yuan smiled and laughed out loud. "Hahahahahaha..."
As if to say: I've given you all my spiritual roots, so why don't you let me watch a good show? Then I won't lose out.
The hearty laughter spread throughout the place, stirring some birds to chirp.
At the same time, a drake-like voice came from the sky. "Hahaha!! Hahaha!"
Zu Yuan was stunned and looked up, only to see a golden-feathered parrot circling above the hall.
Si Xuanji stood there in a daze for a long time, then looked up at Ye Anping and asked softly, "You knew this already?"
Ye Anping was a little embarrassed and had no place to quibble, so he could only nod weakly. "Uh... yeah."
"Then, why did you pretend not to know?"
"Well... wasn't this to cooperate with you? You came to me first, pretending to be a disciple of the Black Star Sect, I couldn't just expose you like that, right?"
"When did you know it?"
"Well... when I was in the Black Star Sect's market, I was helping you raise the parrot, and you came over to chat with me, and I knew it..."
Si Xuanji's lips opened slightly, and for a moment, she felt there was something stuck in her throat.
She still felt that she acted well, and Ye Anping should not have seen through it at all.
Instead, Ye Anping knew her identity from the beginning, and he didn't point it out, but cooperated with her, teasing her like a child.
And the key was that she was really fooled by Ye Anping!!
The jade toes that stepped on the ground curled up and dug some small pits into the ground.
Si Xuanji felt that she had lost all face at this moment!!!
"Ye... Ha---... Ye Anping!!!"
"Well, I'm here."
"You..."
Si Xuanji's long white-and-black hair floated up due to spiritual power. She took a few deep breaths and frowned at Ye Anping's slightly embarrassed face.
"..."
After two breaths, she grabbed Ye Anping's collar, turned into a spiritual light, and flew out of the pavilion with him.
Zu Yuan, who had no spiritual power, was stunned for a moment before realizing that Si Xuanji had taken Ye Anping away. A bright smile bloomed on his wrinkled old face again.
"Ahahahaha... hahaha..."
The circling parrot saw Si Xuanji leave, so it dared to come down and land on the table in front of Zu Yuan, laughing with him in its duck-like voice. "Hahaha!! Hahaha!!"
"What are you laughing at, little one?"
"Anping poked Xuanji!! Anping poked Xuanji!!"
Zu Yuan thought that the parrot was not very intelligent, but after hearing this, he froze for a moment and laughed even harder.
"Hehe hahaha... Even you, the parrot, saw it, but that stinky girl didn't. She has lived in vain for thousands of years, hahaha... This is so much better, I am satisfied, hahaha..."
Amidst the laughter, the sound of footsteps suddenly came into Zu Yuan's ears from the side.
Because he was now an ordinary man, he couldn't see that someone had come in. Turning his head, he saw that it was Zu Lingzhi.
Zu Lingzhi tiptoed around the mountain path with a puzzled look on her face, probably because she heard Zu Yuan's loud laughter from the foot of the mountain.
However, when she arrived in front of Zu Yuan, she could tell that he had no spiritual energy in his body, as if he was a simple man.
The puzzled expression instantly turned into astonishment, and she hurriedly walked to Zu Yuan's side, asking in disbelief, "Grandfather... you..."
"Ah..." Zu Yuan came back to his senses and smiled. "Girl, as you can see, I am now just an old man without a trace of spiritual energy, hehe..."
"..."
Zu Lingzhi was speechless. She didn't know what happened specifically, but she didn't understand why her great-grandfather was laughing at this moment.
"..."
"Never mind."
Zu Yuan waved his hand. "I can't transmit sound, fly the sword, or even feel the spiritual energy. It just so happens that you came, so go on an errand for me and call Cao Yan'er, Liu Daohu, and Zhong Wuji here."
As he spoke, Zu Yuan subconsciously waved his hand to retrieve something from his storage bag, but he froze for a moment after waving his hand.
He sighed, took out the storage bag decisively, and slapped it into Zu Lingzhi's hand. "Go now. And tell them to wear some magic tools to suppress the spiritual energy before coming in. I'm afraid that my old bones won't withstand the spiritual power of the three of them."
"..."
Looking at her great-grandfather's smiling face, Zu Lingzhi bit her lips tightly. She nodded silently, then took the storage bag and flew out of the Heavenly Pavilion.
