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

Chu Xianlan was unaware that after he said these words, the benevolence of the noble families doubled.

Having seen too many arrogant geniuses, this kind of down-to-earth young person has become a rare and legendary find.

With her mind entirely focused on cultivation, she truly is pure and virtuous!

The way they looked at her gave her the distinct feeling of being looked at by a distant relative, making Chu Xianlan's skin crawl. She took a step back.

My shoulder bumped into someone who was passing by.

"I'm sorry." Chu Xianlan quickly turned her head.

He saw a man dressed as a scholar, with narrow, fox-like eyes that slanted upwards. He covered the lower half of his face with his sleeve, revealing only his curved eyebrows and eyes.

"It's alright." He chuckled and nodded slightly to Chu Xianlan before leaving.

After that, everyone looked at each other, exchanged pleasantries, and then took their seats.

The seating is located on a spacious, semi-open terrace, backed by a natural cliff. A babbling brook meanders down from the highest point, and warm yellow lotus-shaped lamps sway in the water. On both sides of the brook, many giant suspended platforms, suspended by spiritual energy, are scattered at different heights, surrounded by an ethereal atmosphere.

Powerful sects from all over the Southern Cang Continent gathered here, and the seating arrangement was quite particular.

The top platform was naturally reserved for important figures, with the seats below arranged in order of seniority, including direct disciples, direct descendants of prominent families, and so on.

Chu Xianlan saw Xiao Huandu waving at him from a platform not far away, so she turned to Yi Chen and said, "Master, then this disciple will go ahead first."

"it is good."

Watching his disciple's hurried departure, Yi Chen felt a sense of heaviness in his heart.

He never imagined that Chu Xianlan would fall so deeply in love.

I thought that even if a young man had someone he liked, he should still leave himself some room for maneuver.

As a result, Chu Xianlan declared directly in front of all these people that she did not consider matters of the heart at all... leaving no way out.

Is it because she's determined to have him that she's even bothering to hide it anymore?

Also.

After all, in Chu Xianlan's eyes, accepting the jade pendant was tantamount to tacitly approving his pursuit. The young man must be overjoyed at this moment, feeling quite pleased with himself.

Thinking of this, Yi Chen felt a sense of confusion. Was this indulgence, letting him sink deeper and deeper, ultimately good for Chu Xianlan, or... harming him instead?

Unfortunately, the rebellious disciple was completely unaware of his master's inner turmoil.

Chu Xianlan crouched down and slipped into the seating area reserved for her protégés.

"Where did you run off to?" Xiao Huandu asked.

Chu Xianlan said dejectedly, "I was walking along just fine when suddenly a bunch of enthusiastic seniors appeared out of nowhere, and I had to chat with them for ages before I could finally get away."

"You ran into one too?" Xiao Huandu asked, still shaken. "I thought I was the only one who had stumbled into a massive matchmaking event."

As they were talking, a figure dressed in purple and gold armor floated past them—He Jingxuan looked completely dazed, about to step into the stream beside him.

"Brother He! The seat for the personally selected disciple is over here."

Chu Xianlan reacted quickly and called out to the person.

He Jingxuan plopped down, wearily wiping his face with his hand. "Thanks... brother, you almost got skinned alive."

Chu Xianlan poured him a cup of tea. "What's wrong?"

He Jingxuan shook his head with a bitter smile.

The Heavenly Sword Sect is entirely composed of male cultivators, and his father, Sect Master He, is a rather traditional man who worries every year about his son's marriage, fearing that He Jingxuan's straightforward nature will lead him to be single forever and unable to find a wife.

Therefore, Master He gladly accepted the olive branches extended by the powerful families, wishing his son would get married on the spot the very next day and have two children within three years.

"Arranged marriages are unacceptable." Xiao Huandu patted his shoulder with a sympathetic look.

"My father doesn't understand," He Jingxuan said solemnly. "The lowest level of sword cultivation is to tie one's hair in a single ponytail, and the highest level is to have no living person in one's heart, so that drawing the sword is a natural act of divine will. If he hadn't married my mother back then, he might have already attained enlightenment and ascended to immortality."

The ultimate level of involution is when the son turns around and intrigues the father.

On the high platform, Sect Master He of the Heavenly Sword Sect stroked his thick, stiff beard and glanced in Yi Chen's direction.

He had previously learned that his foolish son was doing stupid things outside, such as randomly recognizing a "godfather," and he was so angry that he almost broke He Jingxuan's legs on the spot.

Sword cultivators are proud and unyielding! How could they possibly seek out powerful figures outside?

But...

If this "godfather" is Immortal Lord Jixue... cough cough, that wouldn't be impossible either.

He Jingxuan finally recovered and looked across at the other side, "The demon race hasn't arrived yet?"

Their seats were on the platform on the left side of the stream, which was almost full, but the seats on the right side were still empty, obviously reserved for another group of distinguished guests.

Chu Xianlan was still shaken by his "meow meow meow" feat and said earnestly, "Brother He, there are too many people around here, don't confront them head-on."

He Jingxuan rubbed his fists together, his previous listlessness gone, and winked at him, "Don't worry, I won't make a sound. Later, after the banquet, I'll call a few brothers from the Heavenly Sword Sect to put that lynx young master in a sack, drag him to an alley, have a fight from behind, and break his third leg."

What a precise strike.

Chu Xianlan stroked her chin and looked down to rummage through her storage pouch.

"What's this?" Two small, black beads suddenly appeared in He Jingxuan's palm.

"The smoke bomb can temporarily block divine sense; it's more effective than a sack."

He Jingxuan gave a thumbs up and said sincerely, "Awesome."

That's why they say repairing equipment changes lives.

Suddenly, a burst of laughter interrupted from the left front:

"Haha, you guys are really funny."

Chu Xianlan propped her head up and looked over.

The person sitting in front turned around, put down the calligraphy brush in his hand, and looked at them with a smile.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I was sitting so close that I just couldn't resist... Please forgive me."

He Jingxuan said enthusiastically, "What's the big deal, brother? Which sect are you a disciple of? You look unfamiliar."

The other person covered his mouth with his sleeve, revealing a pair of smiling eyes, and said, "I am here to enjoy music."

"The Pleasure Sect?" He Jingxuan had never heard of this sect before.

Chu Xianlan felt he looked somewhat familiar... wasn't he the fox-eyed guy she had just bumped into? She exclaimed in surprise, "It's you!"

The fox-eyed man nodded at him, his smile deepening. "So Fellow Daoist Chu still remembers me."

Chu Xianlan asked in surprise, "You know who I am?"

"I not only know you, but I also know that this Fellow Daoist He is the senior disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, and that Fellow Daoist Xiao is the personal disciple of Immortal Lord Zhaoyan."

Several people felt a chill run down their spines.

It feels like my privacy is being exposed.

Only after asking did I learn that Xing Le Zong is a rather low-profile literary cultivation sect.

Wenxiu uses what he sees and hears as ink, imbuing words with magical power for cultivation. His disciples are all people with keen hearing and eyesight. From the secrets of various sects to rumors in the streets, anything that has circulated in the cultivation world can be found in their library.

He Jingxuan held intellectuals in high esteem, asking, "May I ask how I should address you, my friend?"

Fox-eyed waved his hand shyly, "Disciples of the Xing Le Sect do not show their real names when they are out in the world; they all use pen names to travel the world—I am 'Ni Die'."

He Jingxuan: "?"

The pen name sounds quite artistic, but for some reason, the more I hear it, the more something feels off.

Xiao Huandu, however, was in high spirits. He pointed to the high platform at the top and asked, "Since Fellow Daoist Ni has such keen hearing, can you hear what the seniors on that platform are talking about right now?"

The butterfly closes its eyes and listens.

"Hmm, the seniors... seem to be... praising Immortal Lord Jixue for having such a remarkable large jade pendant?"

Chu Xianlan: "..."