“Hehe, I want to marry you!”
Ling Xiao added.
“What!”
Yue Nü stared at Ling Xiao, dumbfounded, never having been so shocked before, “Do you know what you’re saying? I’m the Moon Lady of Moonflower Sect, a Yin-Yang Realm expert, an old monster who’s lived for a hundred thousand years.”
“So what? Are you unwilling?”
Ling Xiao asked, staring at Yue Nü.
“I! I!”
“As long as you’re willing, nothing else matters. You say you’re the Moon Lady of Moonflower Sect, a Yin-Yang Realm expert? Then I’ll become the Sect Master of Moonflower Sect! A Yin-Yang Realm expert just like you!”
Ling Xiao’s eyes radiated powerful confidence.
“Madman!”
Yue Nü gave a helpless, bitter smile.
Then, she walked towards the cave entrance, “See you at Moonflower Sect.”
Her heart was in turmoil, unsure how to respond to Ling Xiao’s question.
Agreeing felt wrong.
Refusing felt painful.
Watching Yue Nü leave, Ling Xiao shouted, “No answer means you agree! But shouldn’t we change the reward you gave me before? I’m not going to take you as my master anyway.”
“That’s your own doing.”
Yue Nü’s voice faded into the distance, but Ling Xiao smiled.
She hadn’t refused, so there was still hope.
He was still young, with plenty of time to catch up to Yue Nü’s footsteps.
But he needed to speed up.
As for the Moon Advent Festival’s tower-climbing ceremony, he was definitely aiming for first place. He wouldn’t take Yue Nü as his master, but there were other benefits to gain.
If he couldn’t be her apprentice or marry her yet, living with her should be fine, right?
Ahem, no misunderstanding, just living in the same place. That way, without the title of master, he’d still get her guidance in practice.
He could receive her pointers without giving up his pursuit of her due to a master-disciple relationship.
To achieve this, he’d at least need to take first in the tower-climbing ceremony, or he’d have no leverage to negotiate with Yue Nü.
Smiling, he sat back down, assessed his condition, confirmed his body was fine, and that his cultivation had broken through and stabilised at the sixth level of the Mortal Realm, then stood up confidently.
It was time for revenge!
With less than ten days until the Moon Advent Festival, he really needed to hurry.
Whoosh~~
His Golden Light Dragon Wings unfurled, and he shot out of the cave, flying swiftly towards Sand Family Fort.
…
A few minutes later, Ling Xiao landed. Although he could now fly with his Golden Light Dragon Wings for a bit longer, it still wasn’t sustainable.
But he was close to Sand Family Fort now. He planned to ask around about the current situation there first, or if he went blindly and Wang She wasn’t there, wouldn’t it be a wasted trip?
It was still early, and in the Fulong Mountain Range, there were quite a few martial artists active.
After all, he’d been in Thousand Ghost Forest for a long time. Even if martial artists had once avoided the mountains out of fear of him, they weren’t scared anymore.
There were people over there!
Ling Xiao looked about a mile away, where four people were walking through the mountains, heading towards Sand Family Fort. They were likely herb gatherers or hunters, having finished their day’s work and returning.
He used Cloud Dragon Divine Steps to catch up.
Even without flying, his movement technique was exceptional, and his speed was still fast.
Only when Ling Xiao appeared beside the four did they suddenly realise someone had joined their group.
All four were startled.
They drew their weapons, aiming at Ling Xiao.
“Who are you? Why are you following us?”
The one asking was the strongest of the four, at the early sixth level of the Mortal Realm, the same as Ling Xiao’s current cultivation.
The other three were around the third level of the Mortal Realm, probably brought along for training.
“Hey, hey, no need to be so tense. I was just chased by a ferocious beast and ran out of the forest, bumping into you lot. I wasn’t following you,” Ling Xiao said, quickly waving his hands.
“Talk is cheap! Who knows what you’re up to? Were you planning to ambush us but got caught by my big brother?”
The speaker was a young girl, probably fifteen or sixteen, a year or two older than Ling Xiao. Her cultivation was naturally lower than his, but she was definitely a genius in her own right.
Her weapon was a crossbow, aimed firmly at Ling Xiao, as if she’d attack at the slightest disagreement.
Being so misunderstood, Ling Xiao felt a bit annoyed.
He thought to himself, if I really wanted to ambush you, none of you four would be alive, and you’d still be standing here talking?
Another self-important girl, huh? Geniuses tend to be a bit arrogant, a bit full of themselves.
“Xiao Jiao, shut up!”
The lead martial artist was sharper, having roamed the martial world for a while. He sensed Ling Xiao’s strength was impressive, though he didn’t know his exact cultivation. Since Ling Xiao hadn’t attacked, he didn’t want to offend him.
“Brother!”
“Didn’t you hear me tell you to shut up?”
“Hmph!”
The girl snorted coldly, retracted her crossbow, and stood to the side, pouting silently, but her expression towards Ling Xiao remained wary and suspicious.
The leader gave a wry smile, “Don’t mind her, brother. Xiao Jiao’s just a bit cautious, that’s all. Your sudden appearance really gave us a fright.”
“No big deal,” Ling Xiao said, shrugging, “I wouldn’t care about something so minor. I’m just heading to Sand Family Fort. Could you tell me about the current situation there? It’s my first time, so I’m not too clear.”
Though he was a bit displeased with the girl’s overreaction, thinking about it, it was only human nature, so Ling Xiao didn’t bother holding a grudge and steered the conversation to the point.
“What’s your business in Sand Family Fort?” the leader asked warily.
“I’m an alchemist. I gathered a lot of herbs deep in the Fulong Mountain Range and want to sell them there. I heard the Exquisite Fairy there buys these things,” Ling Xiao replied.
As he spoke, he deliberately took out some rare century-old herbs from his storage ring to ease their suspicions.
“I see. We’re heading back to Sand Family Fort too. Why don’t we travel together? With your impressive skills, it’ll be safer,” the leader said, glancing at the herbs in Ling Xiao’s hand, then suggesting.
“Thanks for that. But I don’t take favours for free. Since I’ll be under your protection, here are four top-grade True Essence Pills as a gift,” Ling Xiao said, still trying to build rapport with the group, hoping to get more accurate information from them.
Top-grade True Essence Pills were trivial to him but highly valuable to these martial artists.
“These are perfect top-grade True Essence Pills! Their effects are almost as good as supreme-grade ones. They’re too valuable; we can’t accept them,” the leader said, shaking his head quickly.
“Are you worried I poisoned them? You can test them when you get back,” Ling Xiao said calmly.
“No, no, how could that be? Since you’re so generous, I’ll accept them. I’m Zhan Lei. How may I address you, brother?” Zhan Lei said, waving his hands hurriedly.
