Chapter 14 : Reaching Consensus
Divine Lord Zhiming certainly had no intention of harming Jiang Mo, and the bottle of Azure Essence Spirit Marrow he left was indeed meant for her use. But normal divine beasts are born with Nascent Soul cultivation, equivalent to level 40 or above—how could the current Jiang Mo compare?
As the system explained, even though the host occupied a white tiger divine beast's body, her soul was merely that of an ordinary person from another world, completely incomparable to a properly heaven-nurtured divine beast. Therefore, even if her physical body could withstand the Azure Essence Spirit Marrow's nourishment, her soul could not—and if she exploded, it would be her soul that shattered.
Jiang Mo had no choice. Despite her unwillingness, she dared not risk such danger. Thus, the little white tiger painfully handed the bottle of Azure Essence Spirit Marrow back to Yun Qingyue for safekeeping.
Yun Qingyue, watching the suddenly deflated little white tiger, was somewhat confused. When she received the returned Azure Essence Spirit Marrow, she frowned even more—the little white tiger had clearly wanted it moments ago, so why had she lost interest after opening and sniffing it? Could it be that, like the spirit herbs she had found before, this little one refused to eat them and was fixated only on nurturing essence pills?!
Concerned by this thought, Yun Qingyue couldn't help but lift the little white tiger and ask: "You don't like it?"
Hearing this, Jiang Mo wanted to cry but had no tears. She liked it very much, but what could she do when she could see but not eat it? She could only put on a bitter face, softly "aowu-ing" twice, then raising her tiger paw to pat the Azure Essence Spirit Marrow and then Yun Qingyue's storage ring, indicating she should keep it safe.
Somehow, Yun Qingyue seemed to discern something from that fluffy tiger face. With a vague guess in mind, she tentatively asked: "Do you mean you don't dislike it, but just can't eat it?"
The little milk tiger looked at her in surprise, then nodded, feeling utterly miserable.
Seeing this, Yun Qingyue appeared thoughtful, but didn't pursue the matter further. After putting away the Azure Essence Spirit Marrow, she once again flew on her sword toward Mount Tianyang.
Xuanqing Sect was among the top three righteous immortal sects, divided into five peaks: Mount Tianyang, Mount Mingxia, Mount Luoxing, Mount Qingyun, and Mount Qionghua. Among the five, Mount Tianyang was foremost, where successive sect leaders had resided, with the other four peaks each having their own peak masters. Besides the five peaks, elders who had reached Nascent Soul cultivation were also entitled to their own territories—the small spirit peaks surrounding the five main peaks.
In short, Xuanqing Sect occupied a considerable mountain range. Viewed from the sky while flying on a sword, one could see the undulating mountain range below, with peaks layered upon peaks, extending for thousands of miles. The five peaks stood out most prominently among them, soaring into the clouds.
Yun Qingyue, carrying the little white tiger, flew directly toward Mount Tianyang, the most towering and precipitous of the five peaks. Passing over a square halfway up the mountain, she didn't stop but continued straight to Lingyun Hall at the summit.
At the mountain peak, surrounded by swirling clouds, a magnificent ancient palace came into view.
Just as Yun Qingyue, carrying the little white tiger, jumped off her flying sword, a young disciple wearing the sect's white robes with blue borders came to greet her. He first bowed to Yun Qingyue and was about to routinely inquire about her purpose when his gaze fell upon the little white tiger and became transfixed—this young disciple clearly lacked Divine Lord Zhiming's composure. Pointing at the little white tiger, he stammered: "This, this..."
Yun Qingyue didn't mind his rudeness and took the initiative to say: "Qingyue requests an audience with Sect Leader Uncle. Please, Disciple Liao, go and announce me."
Disciple Liao, upon hearing this, still seemed somewhat dazed, nodding only after a half-beat delay. But before he could turn to seek out the sect leader, a deep voice came from within Lingyun Hall: "No need. Qingyue, come in."
Yun Qingyue recognized the voice as that of the Sect Leader Uncle and wasn't particularly surprised—though the Sect Leader Uncle's perception of divine beasts wasn't as keen as Divine Lord Zhiming's, since she had entered the sect carrying a white tiger and had already alerted Divine Lord Zhiming, the Sect Leader Uncle would naturally not be unaware. He might have been waiting for her for quite some time.
Acknowledging with a response, Yun Qingyue didn't hesitate and walked over with the curiously-eyed little white tiger.
Inside the hall, Sect Leader Qingxiao, dressed in white, looked very young and was handsome with an extraordinary bearing. At a glance, his noble air made one mistake him for some aristocratic young master, but upon closer inspection, one could see something different from a young person's demeanor—the steadiness and unique dignified air of one in a position of authority.
Yun Qingyue was evidently familiar with this uncle and didn't stare at his face for long. Carrying the little white tiger, she bowed slightly and said: "Qingyue greets Sect Leader Uncle."
The little white tiger, however, was quite curious, staring at Qingxiao's face for a while, silently guessing his age.
Qingxiao nodded, telling her not to stand on ceremony, then shifted his gaze from Yun Qingyue to the little white tiger. He indeed didn't seem particularly surprised and knew Yun Qingyue's purpose. After a brief contemplation, he extended his hand toward the little white tiger.
That hand was clean and slender, with distinct knuckles, looking three degrees more beautiful than a pianist's hand... Jiang Mo was a beauty enthusiast who typically judged by appearance, but besides faces, she also had a slight appreciation for hands. Therefore, seeing such a beautiful hand reaching out to her, she hesitated only briefly before raising her tiger paw to meet it.
Qingxiao's expression softened, and knowing that divine beasts are born with spiritual awareness, he asked her: "Would Jianbing be willing to stay at our Xuanqing Sect?"
In ancient times, there were Four Divine Beasts, also known as the Four Symbols: the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. Each of the Four Symbols had a name: first, Mengzhang; second, Jianbing; third, Lingguang; and fourth, Zhiming. The White Tiger was Jianbing, and although the name wasn't particularly pleasant, after meeting Zhiming, the system had already educated Jiang Mo, so she knew Qingxiao was addressing her.
Jiang Mo naturally had no objections. Setting aside Yun Qingyue's care for her these past days, she was currently weak and in need of protection, with Xuanqing Sect as a backing being ideal.
In the future, when she grew stronger, if Xuanqing Sect needed her protection in return, it would only be right for her to reciprocate.
Jiang Mo was inherently lazy, not willing to exhaust herself for the sake of leveling up, but she had always been clear about debts of gratitude and grudges, never taking advantage of others without reason. Now, nodding in response to Qingxiao, she indicated that she had already considered the pros and cons.
Qingxiao looked into the little white tiger's golden eyes, which lacked a cub's confusion and instead held a calm steadiness that was startling. He wasn't put off by this; rather, he smiled broadly: "Then the future of Xuanqing Sect will rely on Jianbing' protection."
With this, both parties reached a consensus, forming an invisible contract.
Qingxiao didn't mind the little white tiger's current weakness—after all, the sect had accumulated no small amount of precious materials, and supporting another divine beast wasn't beyond their means. In fact, the only one who needed support was the little white tiger. Zhiming was now eight thousand years old, not only fully mature but with strength steadily grown to the pinnacle of this world—what the system would call max level.
The max-level Zhiming no longer needed Xuanqing Sect's support; in fact, he had to suppress his realm, or else with one more step forward, he would ascend... Xuanqing Sect naturally wouldn't stop him, but eight thousand years of emotional ties made Zhiming reluctant. The little white tiger's appearance came at just the right time.
Of course, neither Yun Qingyue nor Jiang Mo would know these things now, nor would Qingxiao tell them.
After reaching consensus, Qingxiao asked the little white tiger: "What are Jianbing' future plans? To stay at Mount Tianyang? Or go to Divine Lord Zhiming's place? Or perhaps continue to stay with Niece Qingyue?"
The little white tiger looked at Qingxiao, then at Yun Qingyue, unhesitatingly choosing the beautiful Senior Sister's embrace once more.