Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 295 Aftermath of Inner Demons

Ye Tinglan's mind didn't quite process what was happening, and Xiaobai Mao's CPU was completely overheated.

What's this?
Am I supposed to call him Grandmaster Uncle?
I was so dizzy from healing that I fainted. How come the Tianyao Holy Land is still alive?
Wait a minute, maybe this is a good thing. My shameless master is trying to seduce a younger woman, let her try seducing an elder? Maybe she'll put on a tight face and not dare to do it.

Amidst the varied expressions of the crowd, Dugu Qingli headed straight for the Wanjianzhong Pass, where she was confined. Ye Tinglan flicked her sleeve, and a gentle breeze swept Lu Xingzhou away, causing him to disappear completely.

Only her words remained in the air: "Disciples are sparring. You may preside over the competition. The winner should report to me."

The remaining people in the arena looked at each other, feeling that the sect leader was a bit anxious. He had been away for so long and had finally returned. Shouldn't he preside over a disciple sparring session?
However, to be fair, the competition among the third-ranked disciples might indeed be too childish in the eyes of the number one person in the world. What could possibly pique her interest were those freaks who could unleash five or six tribulations while undergoing the Cloud Transformation Tribulation. Having already witnessed the battles between geniuses, it's understandable that she would lose interest in watching ordinary disciples. To be honest, even the elders themselves found it somewhat dull.

After a long while, Elder Xu took over the presiding: "Since the sect leader has said so, then there's no better time than today. Let's begin the selection process."

A little girl poked her head out: "Grandpa, can I join?"

"You?" Elder Xu looked Anuo up and down, then revealed a kind uncle-like smile. Few people could not smile when they first met this little one: "Little sister, whose disciple are you? Would you like to become my disciple?"

"I am the disciple of that anonymous disciple from earlier."

"..." Elder Xu looked at A'nuo again, and finally his eyes flashed with shock: "Fourth Rank Upper Level... How is this possible... How old are you?"

Ah Nuo put her hands on her hips.

Elder Xu hesitated and said, "The fourth rank, upper level, is still a bit too much... You are still young, how about you watch your senior brothers and sisters compete first?"

"But grandpa, isn't being young just proof that the Tianyao Holy Land is strong...?"

"Hmm..." Upon hearing this, the elders who had been smiling and watching the chubby girl exchanged glances, all somewhat tempted.

Even if this small fourth-rank upper-level creature just stands there as a mascot, it's enough for the Tianyao Holy Land to show off...

A group of high-ranking members of the Tianyao Holy Land exchanged knowing glances. Before the disciples' competition even began, the fastest consensus had already been reached.

A sudden gust of wind swept Ye Tinglan away from his bedchamber, landing him on the ground. Many disciples were guarding outside, and the two of them walked past them one after the other with serious expressions.

In front of the hall was a large, clear pond, in which something seemed to be lying, but it was all dark and indistinct. A stone bridge spanned the pond, leading to Ye Tinglan's sleeping quarters.

Ye Tinglan led Lu Xingzhou onto the stone bridge, and casually took a piece of Xuan Snake flesh from her ring and handed it to Lu Xingzhou: "Throw it into the pool."

Lu Xingzhou took it with a puzzled look. "Why don't you just throw it down? Why do you want me to do it?"
With so many guards around, he didn't ask any more questions and simply threw him down.

As soon as the snake meat entered the water, the dark shadows in the pool stirred, as if they were about to devour it.

"This is our guardian dragon turtle. The Xuan Snake bloodline shares some similarities with it, and feeding it is beneficial," Ye Tinglan explained calmly, crossing the bridge without looking to the side.

Lu Xingzhou understood.

Feeding her myself is a way of showing goodwill to the guardian beast. At least then, I won't be stopped when I cross this bridge to find her in the future...

Otherwise, you could have just chosen the other side of the bridge as your landing point; why bother crossing an extra bridge?

Beyond the bridge, the view ahead is shrouded in mist and clouds, with mountains, rocks, and flowing water, like stepping into a fairyland. Beyond the rocks lies a cluster of eaves, without any carved beams, painted rafters, or gilded glazed tiles, just ordinary wooden houses with stone pillars, green tiles, and moss, though they occupy a large area.

Some young girls were cleaning and pruning the flowers and plants. When they saw the sect leader bringing people, they all curiously peeked at them.

This is the residence of the number one person in the world, the sleeping quarters of the lord of the holy land.

Ye Tinglan surveyed the group with a stern expression under the girls' gaze. The girls, intimidated by their sect leader's imposing presence, lowered their heads,不敢直视 (daring not to look directly at him). Ye Tinglan opened the door and said expressionlessly, "Follow me."

Lu Xingzhou, looking both delighted and overjoyed at receiving guidance from the sect leader, lowered his head and followed him inside.

As soon as the door closed, Lu Xingzhou turned the dignified sect leader around and pressed him against the door, kissing him passionately: "Sir, you're too tempting..."

"Don't give me that." Ye Tinglan covered his mouth, biting her lower lip as if quite moved, and said stubbornly, "I'm not your husband, you've mistaken me for someone else."

Just fifteen minutes ago, we were discussing whether sending someone too old for the competition would be a laughing stock, and here's a twenty-year-old male who's already broken through. He even considerately gave us a challenge match to review by the entire sect, making the selection by our own people seem perfectly logical.

And he is truly outstanding.

Having seen countless geniuses and being a top genius himself, Ye Tinglan never imagined that someone could break through to the Cloud Soaring Realm and even undergo five tribulations just by looking at a combat technique, and then directly apply another combat technique learned in battle to collect the Crimson Lotus Tribulation Flame.

Then he defeated Zhang Qingxiang with just one palm strike.

Who doesn't love an outstanding man... Seeing this, the Holy Lord's heart fluttered, and he really wanted to hold him in his arms. The corners of his mouth still couldn't be suppressed, just like Lu Xingzhou's boat.

Lu Xingzhou immediately offered a way out: "So, sir, you're also here to impersonate the Holy Lord of Tianyao..."

"Mmm." Ye Tinglan almost burst out laughing: "Do you know why I called you here alone?"

Isn't this a surprising affair? This is much more exciting than what happened with Pei Xiaolu on campus.

As a result, Ye Tinglan pulled him to sit down at the table and put her hand on his pulse to examine him carefully: "Sure enough, you have some aftereffects from forcibly overcoming your inner demon tribulation. I was right."

Lu Xingzhou's heart skipped a beat, and the initial shock of the contrast vanished instantly: "What do you mean?"

“You are usually cautious in your actions, especially in a place you have just arrived in, you would be even more low-key. But to challenge an opponent whose background you don’t know right away right after you have just passed the tribulation is a bit out of character for you. You only act so impulsively when you are dealing with the Huo family.” Ye Tinglan said, “I thought at the time that it must be that your inner demons have not been eliminated, which made you release a wild and unrestrained behavior that is far beyond your usual self.”

Lu Xingzhou paused for a moment, then reflected on it and realized it was indeed true.

He always claimed he didn't like fighting battles he didn't know, but this time he didn't even consider it.

Ye Tinglan asked, "Other heavenly tribulations can be seen by outsiders, but the mental tribulations are invisible to outsiders. What kind of mental tribulation did you encounter?"

Lu Xingzhou coughed lightly, lowering his head and not daring to look at her. The inner demon tribulation born in the Tianyao Holy Land was naturally related to the Tianyao Holy Land.

He saw Ye Tinglan and Dugu Qingli together, the two of them competing to sell roasted meat, stacking it high.

This reflects one's deepest expectations, amplified countless times by inner demons. If one couldn't suppress these inner demons at the time, they would truly become a lustful demon, or more bluntly, they would immediately become mentally disordered, fall into delusions, and go mad.

This tribulation is the most difficult to overcome. Even if you know it is just a kind of inner demon, it originates from within and cannot be suppressed.

Therefore, Lu Xingzhou forced himself to read books, both to seek a purification method and to divert his attention by reading.

The clear water seemed to have successfully "purified" the evil thoughts, but some seemed to remain.

What do you mean by unrestrained and wild? Of course it's unrestrained and wild when you stack the master and disciple on top of each other.

But faced with the aftereffects of his condition, he dared not hide it from his "attending physician" and could only selectively admit: "I saw my own desire for my wife... I hoped that my wife would do that with me."

Ye Tinglan blushed and glared at him resentfully.

It's obvious without even thinking that he's not a decent person in his "demonic thoughts".

She gritted her teeth and squeezed out another sentence: "Anything else? It's related to solving the problem, so don't hide it from me."

Lu Xingzhou said, "That... Madam is using the identity of the Holy Lord of Tianyao."

That's explosive enough, isn't it? Hopefully they won't keep interrogating the white-haired guy...

Lu Xingzhou secretly glanced at Ye Tinglan. Ye Tinglan's expression seemed both angry and reproachful, but her face was flushed and her eyes were like spring water.

"So how do we solve this?" Lu Xingzhou asked cautiously.

Ye Tinglan took a deep breath, forcing a blank expression: "Of course, my wish has been fulfilled, and my inner demons have naturally disappeared."

Lu Xingzhou's eyes lit up. Was this really happening?

Wait a minute... if it's only considered resolved if it's actually completed, then how is the game of Jenga ever going to be completed?
Just as I was feeling uneasy, Ye Tinglan continued, "Of course, it doesn't need to be a perfect match. Otherwise, how can you imagine things that normal people simply can't cooperate with? So, in reality, you just need to feel in your heart that it's done."

Lu Xingzhou tried to reach out and grasp her slender hand, tentatively asking, "Then..."

Ye Tinglan's lips curled into a sly smile: "Of course, there's a way to make you feel like you've accomplished it."

She gracefully sat in his lap and said softly, "Kiss me."

Holding the sect leader's robe, Lu Xingzhou could hardly contain himself. He didn't stand on ceremony and directly lifted her veil to kiss her. Ye Tinglan reached out and embraced him, holding the back of his head.

This was a routine action, and Lu Xingzhou didn't suspect anything. He quickly picked her up and rolled her onto the sect leader's bed.

The moment they rolled onto the bed, Ye Tinglan's slender fingers quietly brushed against the jade pillow acupoint on the back of his head, and Lu Xingzhou unknowingly entered a hallucination.

In the illusion, she and her husband did everything without any shame.

When he woke up, he was naked, lazily leaning against his shoulder drawing circles, seamlessly blending into the illusion. Lu Xingzhou hadn't even realized he'd just been in a dream, his expression complex: "You... I didn't expect you to actually agree to be here..."

Ye Tinglan smiled slightly: "Have you gotten rid of your inner demons?"

Lu Xingzhou carefully sensed it. Although he felt that not achieving the Stacking Game meant it wasn't completely solved, his internal perception seemed to confirm that it really was.

It seems that fulfilling the most intuitive wish is enough... so he said, "Thank you, sir, there are indeed no future troubles."

Ye Tinglan chuckled, "But what you were seeing was just an illusion."

Lu Xingzhou: “?”

"If you cultivate with me, you'll increase your cultivation level, but will you actually increase it?" Ye Tinglan laughed. "These kinds of things are always resolved once the person involved thinks it's done. So, once you think it's done, I can just tell you it's all a lie..."

Lu Xingzhou said with a stern face, "Are you feeling quite smug?"

Ye Tinglan chuckled, "Of course, I am omnipotent..."

Before she could finish speaking, Lu Xingzhou flipped her over and pressed her down fiercely: "Since you're omnipotent, shouldn't you, as her wife, be responsible for putting out the fire your husband has started?"

"Who's my husband now..." Ye Tinglan's eyes sparkled, and she smiled sweetly: "Do you know what generation Elder Feng is? From now on, you're my senior uncle. Let's see if you still dare to date younger women."

Ye Tinglan thought the little man would be dumbfounded upon hearing this, and his oars would almost give way.

Unexpectedly, Lu Xingzhou was overjoyed: "There's such a good thing?"

Ye Tinglan was dumbfounded: "You, how could you... umm..."

This time, the Holy Lord was truly pinned down on his noble bed, his robes were roughly torn apart once more, and he was kissed passionately as he climbed up Tianyao Peak.

"If you move around again, the master will hit you..."

“What ‘sir’? My dear niece, call me ‘uncle’ and let me hear it.”

Ye Tinglan's eyes sparkled as she whispered, "Uncle-Master~"

Lu Xingzhou shuddered. He confirmed once again that when Ting Lanyao woke up that night, Yuan Muyu really had nothing to do with it…

Even demons can't outdo her. What exactly gave Yuan Muyu the confidence to compete with this older sister for the sect leader back then? Did she hire outside help?
(End of this chapter)