When I woke up, the entire cultivation world was talking about my master.

The next day, the Myriad Swords Immortal Realm was about to open, and the atmosphere in Cloud Sky City reached its peak.

Countless aircraft sped off in the same direction, the cultivators were in high spirits, as if they had already glimpsed the endless mysteries of the secret realm.

Only Chu Xianlan had mixed feelings.

Last night, he discussed with his master and two spirits of heaven and earth for nearly half an hour. After much thought, they found that only Hua Ling's bad idea had a slight chance of being feasible.

Yi Chen nodded calmly.

Even after the matter was settled, Chu Xianlan still felt depressed. In the end, she found a quiet place to sit alone and stared blankly at the artificial hill and pond under the moonlight, throwing stones at it.

Hua Ling flew over silently: "Hey, Xianlan, I still can't figure this out."

"What's wrong?"

"Why are you always afraid to trouble Yichen? He's your master, the only master in the world. If you don't trouble him, who else can you trouble?"

Chu Xianlan paused, put down the pebble, and said, "You don't understand, Master's status is noble..."

"Tsk!"

Hua Ling got annoyed by his words and her face scrunched up. "I get it. You have psychological problems. You don't trust Yi Chen."

Chu Xianlan froze, her lips pursed and her brows furrowed.

"You just don't trust him~" Hua Ling flew up, her light body landing on the water's surface, stretching out a big yawn.

"You imagine Yi Chen as a flawless, still lake. You think that every request you make is like throwing a stone into the lake, breaking the calm of the water. In reality, even if you don't throw stones into the lake, the water will still be stirred by the wind and hit by raindrops."

"Perhaps your very existence is a ripple that already existed beneath the calm surface of Yi Chen's lake~"

After Hua Ling finished speaking, she landed at Chu Xianlan's feet. "Don't worship him. Don't treat him like a statue in a temple. That would be too lonely."

Naïve and innocent words can be easily dismissed with a simple "nonsense".

Chu Xianlan opened her mouth, but was speechless.

"Don't overthink it," Hua Ling patted his leg. "Right now you need him, but maybe he'll need you someday, so it'll even things out!"

A gentle breeze brushed against her face, bringing Chu Xianlan back to reality. They had already arrived above the trial plaza.

Below, waves of people surged in, as if a storm was brewing and the wind was howling.

In the very center of the Trial Square stands a pitch-black stone tablet, the legendary "Ten Thousand Swords Tablet" that has existed since ancient times.

"Touch the Myriad Swords Stele and trigger the resonance of its inscriptions. Only those who pass will be able to enter the first trial." Yi Chen's voice rang out without warning, directly deep within Chu Xianlan's mind.

Chu Xianlan shuddered, still not quite used to this kind of telepathic communication.

He looked down at his wrist.

After discussing it for a long time last night and rejecting several outlandish methods, we finally decided to adopt a relatively inconspicuous approach—

Yi Chen was disguised by Hua Ling as a magical artifact similar to the Untethered Boat.

What appears to be a snake-shaped jade bracelet is actually a spirit snake that follows him closely, and he was thus led into the secret realm in a reasonable manner.

In the cultivation world, this is not uncommon.

Many cultivators who keep spirit pets use similar methods, such as hiding the spirit pet in a spirit beast bag, or making it appear as a tattoo on the skin, or as a hairpin or earring.

Chu Xianlan couldn't help but steal another glance at her wrist.

Why... even when disguised as a spirit pet, Master is... so handsome?

The white snake coiled around his wrist, its lines elegant and fluid, possessing a divine beauty. Its scales were flawless, each one fine and orderly, shimmering with a soft, pearly luster. The snake's head rested gently on the back of his hand, occasionally rubbing against him with its body, intimately close.

The feel of the scales against the skin is quite unique; it doesn't feel icy or cold, nor does it have any damp or slippery sensation. Instead, it gives a sense of comforting warmth.

Chu Xianlan had encountered spirit snakes at the wanderer's market before, but none of them could compare to even a fraction of her master's quality.

He would even involuntarily think that if his master were a demon... he would probably look like this.

There's one more thing, which Chu Xianlan doesn't know how to describe.

I have this feeling that I've forcibly confined my master here, taming him into my possession... Uh, what the heck!

Stop overthinking.

His mind was in a mess, so he used telepathy to communicate with Yi Chen, "Master, let's go."

"it is good."

The plaza in front of the Ten Thousand Swords Monument has been clearly divided into two main areas.

On one side was a gathering place for human cultivators. Sects, aristocratic families, and independent cultivators were all gathered together, and the atmosphere was quite serious.

On the other side was the territory of the demon race, where the atmosphere was completely different from that of the human race. The totem flags of the five major clans were colorful, and the young demons were working enthusiastically.

In addition, there is a high platform suspended in mid-air overlooking the entire area, with several huge water mirrors suspended above it for observing the situation within the secret realm.

The conditions for opening the Myriad Swords Immortal Realm this time are special. To ensure safety, all Golden Core cultivators participating in the Myriad Swords Immortal Realm must carry a miniature water mirror with them to project images of their surroundings.

Chu Xianlan returned to the Taiyi Sect's group and immediately noticed a conspicuous handprint on Xiao Huandu's face. She asked in confusion, "What happened to your face?"

Xiao Huandu touched his cheek and gave a wry smile. "I was beaten by my master."

Oops, you shouldn't hit someone in the face.

"Why did you make your junior uncle so angry?"

Xiao Huandu: "Oh, it's nothing really. I confessed my feelings to my master last night."

Chu Xianlan: "...Huh?"

Confess your feelings to your junior uncle?

Was it the confession he understood?

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the Taiyi Sect's seating area on the high platform was even more subtle and strange.

Pei Fang'an seemed to have aged ten years overnight.

My Dao heart is about to crack.

First, he caught his second junior brother and his disciple hugging and cuddling.

Then he witnessed the whole shocking drama of his junior apprentice forcibly kissing his junior brother, confessing his love on the spot, and his junior brother slapping him in anger.

He glanced to the side and saw that Wei Jin was expressionless and did not mention the events of last night. It was impossible to tell whether he was still angry or something else. In any case, he did not expel Xiao Huandu from the sect, so it was unclear what his attitude was.

Thankfully, Yi Chen seems to be doing alright. Junior brother is so cute.

Just then, Sect Master He of the Heavenly Sword Sect casually passed by, nodding and giving a nod to the Taiyi Sect as a greeting.

Wei Jin ignored him, so Pei Fang'an could only force a smile.

Yi Chen, sitting on the other side, had an inscrutable attitude and simply hummed in agreement.

Master He's rugged face lit up with joy. He glanced at his son's adoptive father one more time before walking over. Indeed, his attitude changed after acknowledging his adopted son. Good! Very good!

Not long after, the sect leader of Xuan Yang Sect and several elders arrived. The female cultivators had an elegant and graceful demeanor and smiled slightly at the Taiyi Sect members.

Yi Chen replied again, "Mm."

Later, some minor sects that knew the Taiyi Sect or simply wanted to curry favor with it also mustered up their courage to come and pay their respects to Immortal Lord Jixue.

As a result, no matter who came or what polite words were spoken, Yi Chen always responded with a calm "hmm".

Pei Fang'an, completely bewildered: ? ? ? Why is my junior brother being so eager to greet me today?

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(0v0 Junior Uncle and Junior Uncle are a younger man/older woman pairing, Xiao 1 Wei 0)