Ye Qiu held the jade pendant Yun Xi had given him. He only felt an incomparable warmth and smoothness in his palm. He looked down and discovered that this jade pendant was made of top-grade purple jade. It was carved with a small sword, and beside it was engraved the character “Yun”.
Then Ye Qiu brought it to his nose and sniffed. He caught a faint fragrance of virginity. And it had to be said…
It was quite pleasant!
Ye Qiu put the jade pendant away. He turned his head and saw Master Changmei sitting on the ground, dejected and listless, like an eggplant beaten by frost.
“Old thing, what is wrong with you?” Ye Qiu asked.
Master Changmei said irritably: “You have the nerve to ask what is wrong with me? Such a good opportunity was right in front of you, yet you refused it. I really want to beat you to death.”
“Do you know that the Qingyun Sword Sect is the number one sect in the Eastern Wastelands? How many cultivators dream of entering its gates?”
“You, on the other hand, had them invite you repeatedly to join, even offering to make you a divine son. The Qin Sword Immortal wanted to take you as his disciple, yet you were so ungrateful. It infuriates me.”
Ye Qiu said: “The Qingyun Sword Sect is good indeed, but once you join, you must follow the sect’s rules. I cannot stand that kind of restriction.”
“Besides, others may not know my purpose in coming to the cultivation world, but do you not know?”
“Do you really want to stay in the cultivation world forever?”
Master Changmei said: “Then let me ask you this. Since you are unwilling to join the Qingyun Sword Sect, why did you let Fairy Baihua go there?”
Ye Qiu replied: “I have enemies everywhere now. I do not want Yue’er to follow me in a life of hiding and fleeing.”
“Yes, you are tender-hearted towards the fairer sex and cannot bear for Fairy Baihua to be in danger with you. But you are willing to let this poor Daoist be hunted down with you?” Master Changmei said discontentedly: “You value romance over friendship.”
Ye Qiu laughed: “Old thing, do not be angry. You have a tough life. Even if we are hunted, you will not die. To take it a step further, even if you did die, I would not be saddened.”
“I will be damned.” Master Changmei said huffily: “I think you have water on the brain.”
“If you joined the Qingyun Sword Sect, you would not lack cultivation resources. You could also use the sect’s intelligence network to search for Wushuang. It would kill two birds with one stone.”
“Moreover, the Qingyun Sword Sect could protect you. From then on, you would not need to worry about being pursued by other sects.”
“It is good to seek shade under a great tree. Do you not understand that?”
“I told you all this earlier, yet you let it go in one ear and out the other. If I could beat you, this poor Daoist would give you a thorough thrashing.”
Ye Qiu shook his head and said: “It is indeed good to seek shade under a great tree, but my goal is not to shelter under the tree.”
“Then what do you want to do?” Master Changmei asked.
“I want to become the great tree.” Ye Qiu said with heroic spirit: “Only by becoming a towering tree oneself can one fear no storms. Relying on others will never lead to true growth.”
Master Changmei very much wanted to say that becoming a great tree was not that easy, but he worried it would dampen Ye Qiu’s confidence. So he simply stopped speaking and sulked alone.
“Come on, old thing, do not be angry. I will treat you to a cola.” Ye Qiu took out a can of cola and tossed it to Master Changmei.
“Do you have anything to eat?” Master Changmei asked.
“Yes.” Ye Qiu took out a packet of spicy strips and handed it to Master Changmei.
Master Changmei ate the spicy strips while drinking the cola. The displeasure on his face lessened somewhat.
Boom!
At this moment, the icy plain shook violently.
Soon, the great Saint array collapsed completely. The entire Saint’s tomb was buried under ice and snow.
Ye Qiu looked up at the firmament and said gravely: “Old thing, I have a premonition that the cultivation world is about to change.”
Master Changmei asked puzzledly: “What do you mean?”
Ye Qiu said: “This time, the three holy lands dared to strike a deadly blow at the Wine Sword Immortal. It shows that the three holy lands have already formed an alliance.”
“I think the purpose of the three holy lands is not merely to counter the Qingyun Sword Sect.”
“If I am not mistaken, they want to sweep through the entire Eastern Wastelands.”
Master Changmei was startled: “Do the three holy lands have such great ambitions?”
“If they had no ambitions, how could they become top sects in the Eastern Wastelands and stand unyielding for so many years?” Ye Qiu said: “The experts of the three holy lands tried to kill the Wine Sword Immortal. It means they are prepared to go to war with the Qingyun Sword Sect.”
“Moreover, the Yin-Yang Sect has long harboured resentment towards the Qingyun Sword Sect. With the sixth elder dead, if the three holy lands besiege the Qingyun Sword Sect, the Yin-Yang Sect will likely join in.”
“I do not know the stance of the Mending Heaven Sect for now, but judging from An Ruochen’s alliance with Tuoba Ye and the others, the Mending Heaven Sect’s ties with the three holy lands are no ordinary matter.”
“If the five major sects target the Qingyun Sword Sect, the position of the Qingyun Sword Sect as the number one sect in the Eastern Wastelands is likely at risk. It may even face great calamity.”
“I fear it will not be long before the Eastern Wastelands falls into war. When that happens, there will probably be another storm of blood and gore.”
Master Changmei said: “If that is the case, why did you still send Fairy Baihua to the Qingyun Sword Sect? Is that not placing her in danger?”
Ye Qiu sighed and said: “This is a helpless choice. No matter what, going to the Qingyun Sword Sect is safer for her than staying by my side.”
“Besides, the Wine Sword Immortal has promised me that he will find a Saint-level powerhouse to be Yue’er’s master.”
“With a Saint’s protection, even if the Qingyun Sword Sect is besieged by several major sects, Yue’er should be safe.”
Master Changmei finished his cola and said: “Whether the major sects live in harmony or wage endless war, it has nothing to do with us. Little brat, I only want to ask you, where do we go next?”
“I do not know.” Ye Qiu said.
“What, you do not know?” Master Changmei grew angry again: “We cannot stay in this godforsaken place forever, can we?”
Ye Qiu said: “I want to find my father, but I do not know where he is. Old thing, why do you not help divine it?”
Master Changmei said: “Did you not say you do not believe in this poor Daoist’s divinations?”
Ye Qiu said: “I have no other choice. Old thing, stop dawdling. Quickly divine for me.”
Master Changmei grinned slyly: “Beg me first.”
“Are you itching for a beating?” Ye Qiu took out the God-Beating Whip.
Master Changmei jumped in fright and said hastily: “This poor Daoist was only joking. Little brat, do not get angry. Anger harms the kidneys.”
With that, Master Changmei took three copper coins from the sleeve of his Daoist robe. He tossed them into the air and muttered incantations under his breath.
The three copper coins spun above his head. After a moment, they fell to the ground, arranged in a straight line.
“How is it?” Ye Qiu asked.
Master Changmei’s face grew solemn as he said: “The divination shows a sign of great misfortune.”
Perfect!
Ye Qiu looked relaxed. Because when the old thing divined, one basically had to take it the opposite way. So he asked: “Which way?”
Master Changmei uttered four words:
“Head due west!”
