Chapter 33 | How Could the Master of All Villains Be Righteous?

Yao Dai and Xie Tinglan sat down together.

“Even though his words were logical, grounded in fact, and accompanied by vivid expressions, Master once said that we should never take a single side's word as absolute truth—especially when it sounds like a windfall dropping from the sky,” Yao Dai was the first to speak.

“Since the Soul-Severing White Mi Fruit can nourish a spiritual root, it must be something heavily sought after by cultivators. No matter what stage of cultivation someone is at, they'd be tempted. Yet he said that after turning into a monster inside the secret realm, elders from the four sects barged in to save their disciples and rescued him as well. That proves the place isn't completely suicidal—at least some cultivators can leave alive.”

“For such an important natural treasure, I don't believe the high-ranking members of those four sects wouldn't be tempted. Asking them for help would have been far more useful than seeking out outsiders like us. So either he's hiding something from us, or his words are only half-truths.”

Xie Tinglan nodded in agreement with her words. “I think so too.”

“What do you mean 'you think so too'? State your own perspective,” Wen Li tsked. “And don't just repeat what she said.”

Xie Tinglan curled his lip. He really wasn't used to dissecting human intrigue—it was far too convoluted. But he knew Wen Li went to all this trouble to guide him and Yao Dai for their own good.

He remained silent, pondering carefully.

Neither Wen Li nor Yao Dai spoke, waiting patiently for him.

Finally, Xie Tinglan cleared his throat lightly. “I think regardless of whether the second half of his story is true or false, this is currently the only clue we have regarding the Soul-Severing White Mi Fruit. Even if it's a trap, we have no choice but to jump in.”

After all, Yao Dai needed it.

At his words, Yao Dai looked up at Wen Li, clearly agreeing with that sentiment.

Wen Li nodded with a satisfied expression. The brat is making progress.

“Then we set off immediately for Cangling Kingdom, a Third-Grade Cultivation Kingdom.”

“Alright.”

“Fine by me.”

...

The Far Cold Lands contained three cultivation kingdoms and several scattered sects that didn't belong to any nation.

The three cultivation kingdoms were Xuanbing Kingdom, a Fourth-Grade Cultivation Kingdom, and two Third-Grade Cultivation Kingdoms: Cangling Kingdom and Yanlin Kingdom.

On the map, they were positioned in a triangular formation, touching at their borders.

However, Xuanbing Kingdom was clearly twice the combined size of Cangling Kingdom and Yanlin Kingdom.

Because the freezing temperatures of the Far Cold Lands made long-distance flying difficult, the three of them opted to use a teleportation array again.

Unexpectedly, they ran into an acquaintance.

A teleportation array in a different location, but the exact same sect robes.

“Oh, what a coincidence.”

Just as Wen Li finished counting the spirit stones, paid the teleportation fee, and led Yao Dai and Xie Tinglan into the passage toward the teleportation array, she heard a charming, alluring laugh.

Looking up, she saw the woman who had bought durian from Yao Dai last time.

Apart from the lead man beside her, who was the same as before, the rest of the Xuandu Sect disciples were a new batch.

Before any of the three could speak, the woman stepped forward on her own initiative and draped an arm around Yao Dai's shoulders.

“Little girl, do you still have any more of that durian?”

She wore a dark purple robe embroidered with peony blossoms unlike those of her sect members, her hair swept high into an elegant updo. The corners of her eyes were drawn with exquisite makeup. She clearly loved beauty and was indeed stunning—a voluptuous, unabashedly breathtaking beauty.

It was a charming, bold kind of beauty that she displayed without any hesitation.

As she wrapped her arm around Yao Dai's shoulders, her right breast pressed against Yao Dai's arm. Looking up, Yao Dai was greeted by a towering, voluptuous sight. Her eyes widened, and she hastily scrambled away.

“Y-You!” Startled, she hurriedly pushed her off, her expression looking strange. “Stay away from me!”

“Hahaha! What are you so embarrassed about?” Seeing her reaction, the woman instantly guessed what she was thinking and laughed boisterously. “What, are you envious?”

Yao Dai's face flushed crimson. “Who's envious of you?! Stop talking nonsense! I don't like anyone touching me except Master!”

“Tsk.”

The woman in purple scoffed softly, but didn't touch her again. Instead, she asked, “Do you still have any of that durian? I'll buy all of it. I'll trade one High-Grade spirit stone for it.”

By right, durian was merely mortal food; a single Low-Grade spirit stone in Heavenly Yuan Kingdom would buy a whole carriage full of it. When Wen Li's group had teleported from Heavenly Yuan Kingdom to Xuanbing Kingdom, it had cost a little over eight thousand Mid-Grade spirit stones—which, at an exchange rate of one to one thousand, was equal to roughly eight High-Grade spirit stones.

“No way, I want to eat some too,” Yao Dai shook her head. “However, I can give you half, but I still want one High-Grade spirit stone in exchange.”

Worst case, she could just buy more after leaving the Far Cold Lands. It wasn't as if she was a local anyway.

Just when Yao Dai thought the woman would refuse, the purple-robed woman agreed without a second thought.

“Works for me.”

She briskly produced a High-Grade spirit stone and handed it to Yao Dai.

Yao Dai was astonished that someone was actually willing to spend a High-Grade spirit stone just for a bit of fruit. She glanced at Wen Li, who merely shrugged, signaling it was up to her.

Making friends abroad was better than making enemies.

Yao Dai took out half of her durian and gave it to the purple-robed woman. As Master had said, anyone who didn't make free money was an idiot.

“Thanks. My name is Mu Qingyu. You're heading to Cangling Kingdom too, right? If we bump into each other again, for the sake of this durian, you can come to me if you ever run into trouble. My price... is one High-Grade spirit stone.”

Delighted, the woman's eyes glittered with even greater charm. She reached out to pat Yao Dai's shoulder, but remembering what Yao Dai had said earlier, she refrained, returning to her group with a soft laugh.

The lead man from last time held back, but in the end couldn't help warning her.

“Eat that yourself when we get back. You're not allowed to eat it here.”

Clearly, he couldn't stand the smell of durian.

Mu Qingyu leaned lazily to one side, lightly brushing back a strand of hair by her ear.

“Tsk.”

Though unamused, she acceded to his request.

Once again, fifteen people gathered to activate the teleportation array.

This time, Mu Qingyu still offered Yao Dai a farewell greeting: “See ya.”

Yao Dai blurted out inexplicably, “Goodbye.”

Others might not know, but Wen Li certainly knew Yao Dai's future plotline. Looking at the alluring, magnanimous Mu Qingyu, she felt as if she were catching a glimpse of Yao Dai ten years into the future.

“Master, is there something on my face?”

Yao Dai met Wen Li's gaze with a bewildered expression.

“It's nothing.” Wen Li smiled gently as the three of them walked out of the Teleportation Pavilion. “That Mu Qingyu is at the Late-Stage Golden Core realm. Although the reliability of her offer is unknown, if something really happens, you could give it a try.”

Yao Dai nodded. “Oh.”

That woman is actually so powerful.

Wen Li bought three detailed maps of Cangling Kingdom.

“The three largest sects in Cangling Kingdom are the Zhaixing Sect, Ziyang Sect, and Wulei Sect. Right now, we're closest to the Zhaixing Sect.”

Yao Dai asked, “So do we all need to join the Zhaixing Sect and become core disciples?”

Wen Li shook her head. “Although according to Wan Yinxun, the trial secret realm of Cangling Kingdom opens once every thirty years, and there are still two weeks left, we don't know if anything unexpected has changed. Let's find someone to ask first.”