Chapter 2272 - Unparalleled in Music and Painting, Zhong Xinlan

Three days later.

The Rahu Yao Ancestor returned from the Extreme Lightning Demon Cave, cleansed the Feng Family’s traitors in blood, and quelled the Feng Family’s internal strife!

Over the past several months, no one had known for certain whether the Rahu Yao Ancestor was alive or dead. The Feng Family was thus a pack of dragons without a leader, and they descended into upheaval. Moreover, countless other factions were eyeing them hungrily, eager to swoop in and devour their territories.

But when word spread of the Rahu Yao Ancestor’s return, those factions all set down their flags and war drums and took no further action.

Qingwu Divine Court.

“Xiao Jian left on a mission to save the Rahu Yao Ancestor, and he actually succeeded?” Liang Lingxu had a dark look on his face.

He didn’t even need to think to know that there was more to this story than met the eye!

“And where is Xiao Jian? Has he returned to the sect?” Liang Lingxu asked gravely.

“He hasn’t,” said one of the elders. “According to the Feng Family, although Vice Palace Master Xiao participated in this expedition into the Extreme Lightning Demon Cave, he didn’t contribute anything significant. He was, at most, lucky.

“The ones who really saved the Rahu Yao Ancestor were the young leader of the Feng Family, Feng Wuji, and Feng Yunxiu, one of their high elders.

“It’s just a pity that Feng Yunxiu lost his life in the process. It was a noble sacrifice.”

Liang Lingxu laughed coldly. “I most certainly don’t believe that Xiao Jian wasn’t involved!”

The Feng Family had made numerous attempts to save the Rahu Yao Ancestor, but every such attempt ended in abject failure and heavy casualties.

Yet now, the moment Xiao Jian joined in, they succeeded in saving the Rahu Yao Ancestor. How could such a coincidence possibly exist in this world?

Liang Lingxu took a deep breath, then issued orders. “When Xiao Jian returns, have him come see me immediately!”

He could no longer tolerate Xiao Jian jumping about right under his nose. When Xiao Jian returned, he planned to force him to lay his cards out in the open. He’d end this once and for all!

......

Seven days later.

The skies were clear and bright, without a single cloud for tens of thousands of miles.

A little flat boat soared through the sky, neither fast nor slow.

Su Yi lay on deck, using his arms as a pillow. Every bone in his body thoroughly relaxed.

He’d already heard about the Rahu Yao Ancestor cleansing the Feng Family of traitors.

When he heard that the Rahu Yao Ancestor had publicly declared Feng Yunxiu’s death “a heroic sacrifice”, he couldn’t help but be amused.

Weng!

Strange energy fluctuations surged forth.

Su Yi slipped a golden talisman carved with a Qilin totem from his sleeve and read the message inside.

“Half a month from now, Cloudy Heights Temple is going to host a Buddhist Assembly of Warding Evil. All of its higher-ups will be in attendance.

“The Skywalking Monk, Mo Ye, will be there, too.

“Although few people know it, Mo Ye is actually from the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains. By seniority, he’s the Dipankara Buddha’s martial nephew. He’s spent a long time deep in seclusion within Cloudy Heights Temple.

“You must be careful. Mo Ye owns a supremely terrifying treasure called the Blade of Heaven’s Loathing. It has unbelievable destructive power.”

When Su Yi saw that, he silently sat upright.

The Blade of Heaven’s Loathing!

Wasn’t that the second of the Nine Mysteries of Chaos, Second Brother Blade?

How did the Skywalking Monk, Mo Ye, get his hands on it?

Su Yi fell briefly silent before continuing to read.

Qi Wei had given him this talisman.

Not long ago, after leaving the Extreme Lightning Demon Cave, Su Yi took a trip to Spring and Autumn City.

He did this, first to sell a portion of his Chaos Soul Stones and acquire rare and precious divine medicines, and second to borrow the Qilin Trading Company’s forces to investigate Cloudy Heights Temple.

By now, he had a rough understanding of the temple.

The Southern Flame Divine Continent was the territory of demons and yao. Most orthodoxies were home to yao and demon cultivators.

Its top factions, from Qingwu Divine Court, Severed Heavens Demon Mountain, the Red Dust Demon Land, and the Feng Family, were all either yao or Demonist.

But there were always exceptions. The Southern Flame Divine Continent had a smattering of other orthodoxies too, including Buddhists, Confucianists, and Daoists.

And the Buddhist Cloudy Heights Temple was the strongest of these exceptions!

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

They were backed by the supreme rulers of the Ancient Nirvana Divine Continent, the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains, so their foundations ran deep.

Cloudy Heights Temple had multiple Master Gods in residence.

The strongest wasn’t the Skywalking Monk, Mo Ye, but rather their high elder, Hui Jin. He was a Six-Tribulation Master God!

Mo Ye, meanwhile, was a Five-Tribulation Master God.

Going by comprehensive strength, Cloudy Heights Temple wasn’t comparable to the divine continent’s true top factions, it was still a rare, first-rate orthodoxy.

Combined with their powerful backer, the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains, and not even the Southern Flame Divine Continent’s true top factions dared to underestimate Cloudy Heights Temple.

Su Yi was on his way there.

Every debt had its debtor. The best person to solve a problem was the person who created it.

Since the Dipankara Buddha had chosen to use Cloudy Heights Temple in his schemes, Su Yi would naturally start his counterattack there!

According to Qi Wei’s message, half a month from now, Cloudy Heights Temple would host a Buddhist Assembly of Warding Evil. They’d invited representatives of all of the Southern Flame Divine Continent’s top factions to witness the ceremony.

Even the temple’s old-timers long in seclusion and those out exploring the outside world would make an appearance.

The way Su Yi saw it, this was an unquestionably perfect opportunity to make his move!

Su Yi thought for a moment, then used his divine sense to carve a message in response. “Do me another favor...”

Moments later, he used his cultivation base to activate the golden talisman. A strange ripple arose as it sent the message to Qi Wei.

Su Yi put the golden talisman away, had a sip of wine, and sat cross-legged on deck.

He hadn’t slacked off since his breakthrough into the Limit Realm. As always, whenever he had spare time, he seized every spare moment to cultivate.

It might have seemed dull, but to Su Yi, it was sweeter than candy.

Furthermore, he’d benefited enormously from his expedition into the Extreme Lightning Demon Cave. He’d exchanged a portion of his Chaos Soul Stones for divine medicine, but he’d held onto a portion for his own use.

After all, Chaos Soul Stones were extremely beneficial for tempering the Divine Dais.

With the support of the other medicines he’d acquired, Su Yi’s cultivation advanced extremely quickly.

Just ten short days had passed since he’d left the Extreme Lightning Demon Cave, but he was already nearing the mid-stage Limit Realm!

However, his expenditure of divine medicine and Chaos Soul Stones was shocking. In just ten short days, he’d already burned through almost half his supply!

Combined with the need to give the Divine Replenishment Furnace a new supply of Undying Divine Crystals daily to keep the Lord of Sleepless Nights alive... His daily expenditures were astronomical.

Never mind others of the same cultivation, even Greater Gods would be astonished by Su Yi’s lavish spending. It was beyond imagining.

But there was nothing Su Yi could do about it. Everything had its advantages and disadvantages.

He had heaven-defying combat strength, but that came with problems others could never have imagined.

Specifically, his need for cultivation resources was far, far too enormous!

Even Greater Gods would be reluctant to use up a rare and precious treasure like a Chaos Soul Stone, but Su Yi consumed them the way a mortal consumed rice...

And that’s disregarding all of the rare divine medicines he’d acquired.

Fortunately, at least for now, Su Yi had no shortage of resources, and there was no need to stress about it.

Three days later.

While on his way to Cloudy Heights Temple, a massive, ornate towership came to an abrupt halt on the road ahead.

A woman in a fiery dress suddenly shot off the tail end of the boat. Her gaze was icy, and she shouted in a huff, “Don’t you think your behavior is over the line?”

Su Yi was drinking wine when he heard that, and he couldn’t help but be stunned. “What do you mean, Miss?”

“What do I mean?” The young woman frowned. “Must you force me to expose you? Very well. You’ve appeared behind us repeatedly. You’re obviously tailing us, and you obviously have bad intentions!”

Su Yi pondered briefly, then quickly realized what she was getting at. He had indeed crossed paths with this tower ship several times already.

But he’d simply been rushing along. He wasn’t “tailing them”; the very idea was ridiculous.

“I’m warning you, no matter what you’re approaching us for, you’d best leave immediately!” said the woman in red, her eyes flashing with murderous light. “We’ve tolerated you long enough. Keep pushing, and don’t blame us for our poor manners!”

Su Yi rubbed his nose.

Great. She’s gone and labeled me a crook.

He couldn’t be bothered to explain. It was just a trivial misunderstanding; there was no need to pay it any heed.

The woman in red took this as a victory. She just snorted coldly, then turned and left.

Before long, the tower ship vanished into the distance.

Meanwhile, in one of the pagodas on board, a tranquil, elegant beauty in plain white was strumming the zither.

The sound was like a stream flowing through a secluded valley, calming and ethereal.

The woman’s fingers were long, slender, and smooth, and her features were beautiful and delicate. Her long hair hung loose, and it reached her slender waist. Even just seated there casually, her enticing curves and natural grace were readily apparent.

Like a lotus blooming in a secluded valley, elegant and transcendent.

“Xinlan, I sent that creep packing!” The woman in red walked into the pavilion and smiled.

The zither music came to a halt. The tranquil, elegant beauty looked exasperated. “Big Sister Yun, you’re jumping to conclusions. We just happened to cross paths. Why go to such lengths?”

Her voice was soft and tender, a feast for the ears.

“Tch! A passerby? As if! He’s shown up behind our ship several times now. He’s obviously just another of your ill-intentioned admirers!” The woman in red blinked, then sighed. “There’s nothing for it. Who told you to be so beautiful? Who among the divine children of the Southern Flame Divine Continent doesn’t know that you’re a first-rate, unparalleled beauty?”

She spoke with a hint of envy.

Zhong Xinlan.

She was unparalleled in both music and painting, and her looks were unparalleled, too!

In the Southern Flame Divine Continent, whether you went by looks, bearing, or disposition, she was one of the most dazzling, unparalleled divine daughters around.

“Buddhists often say that beauty fades, and even a beauty will ultimately wind up no more than white bones. It’s all in vain; this skin of mine is merely superficial,” said Zhong Xinlan, shaking her head. “Big Sister Yun, don’t do that again, alright? It would be terrible if something happened.”

The woman in red laughed, walked up, and pressed her hand on Zhong Xinlan’s shoulder. “Relax. I know my limits, and I’ve always had good judgment.

“That guy wasn’t the least bit majestic or imposing. No, he was just a skulking, debased creep. A coward, too. You didn’t see it, but when I confronted him, he was too scared to even look at me.”

With that, she burst into smug, derisive laughter.