Chapter 113 : The Dark Room
No one knew about the little white cat's irritation. More annoying was that the system no longer liked to wander about aimlessly, especially when she had other people around her. As a result, she couldn't even find a target to vent her frustration with a couple of paw swipes, and could only suppress it herself.
Fortunately, Yun Qingyue wasn't lying when she said she had prepared gifts for her. Although apart from a seventh-grade Golden Lotus obtained from a small secret realm, the rest were all local specialty snacks she had bought while traveling through various places—for the little gluttonous tiger, these were absolutely delightful gifts. There was no help for it; although spirit fruits and lotus seeds were delicious, eating these things as snacks year-round had become somewhat bland.
The little white cat held an armful of gifts, her cat eyes narrowing with happiness, all mockery and embarrassment completely forgotten.
Seeing the little white cat inexplicably getting angry and then inexplicably being comforted, Yun Qingyue couldn't help but smile as she shifted her attention away from her. When facing her master, her attitude suddenly became respectful and serious: "May I ask what Master wishes to inquire about?"
Peak Master Qingyu hadn't spoken until now, only watching the human and tiger make a fuss from the side, her gaze even softening somewhat as she thought of something. Hearing Yun Qingyue's question, she finally collected her thoughts and returned to the matter at hand: "You've stayed in Xihe Town for several days. Have you discovered the source of the Mingzong Mountain news leak? Also, how many of those small sects that heard the news have come?"
On this topic, Yun Qingyue's attitude became three times more serious. She replied: "Reporting to Master, this disciple has already investigated in Xihe Town, but the source of the information seems to come from more than one place. Those rogue cultivators were originally scattered across the world and came after accidentally hearing the news. After arriving at Xihe Town and finding numerous fellow cultivators all here for Mingzong Mountain's treasures, they believed the information without doubt."
After speaking about the rogue cultivators, she continued about the small sects: "As for those small sects, it seems someone deliberately leaked the information to disciples who were traveling outside, and those disciples then transmitted the news back to their sects. In the end, nearly half of the forty-eight sects have come, taking an exploratory attitude."
After listening, Peak Master Qingyu was silent for a moment, then said coldly: "For news of Mingzong Mountain to spread throughout the world in such a short time, such an operation couldn't be accomplished by just anyone. And not many people know about the Mingzong Mountain Secret Realm. Unless Tiandao Sect accidentally leaked the information, it's likely connected to last year's Three Sect Martial Arts Competition..."
She didn't finish her words, but Yun Qingyue already understood her meaning, and a person suddenly appeared in her mind.
Yun Qingyue swallowed the words "Nine Abyss Sect," as whether it was them or not needed to be verified by the sect—her speculation wasn't important. However, if it truly was the Nine Abyss Sect taking action, the waters would likely be stirred even more turbulent.
Yun Qingyue's heart sank slightly, and then she changed the subject: "Master, these people in Xihe Town were originally half-believing the news about Mingzong Mountain. Now, seeing our Xuanqing Sect's spirit boat appear here, I'm afraid it will cause many to have fluctuating thoughts." This wasn't good for the increasingly complex situation. If it was specifically to pick her up, that was really unnecessary—she could have reached Mingzong Mountain to meet them without much time spent.
Hearing this, Peak Master Qingyu said: "It doesn't matter, let them be." After a pause, she added: "The Sect Leader has discussed with the Sect Leaders of Tiandao Sect and Buddha Sect. Since the news has leaked, there's no need to hide it from the small sects anymore."
The small sects lacked strength, and the three major sects originally didn't want them to take risks. But cultivators rarely choose to give up when facing opportunities. Though they had good intentions, if they insisted on blocking others, they would likely face resentment. Rather than that, it was better to let things take their course—after all, everything still depended on one's strength. The disciples of small sects couldn't compare to the elites of the three major sects, and those rogue cultivators were even less worth mentioning.
Hearing that the sect had its own arrangements, Yun Qingyue no longer worried, visibly relaxing.
Peak Master Qingyu asked a few more questions, then temporarily set the matter aside. She then swept her gaze over her disciple, raising her eyebrows with some surprise: "Qingyue, you've advanced again recently?"
Yun Qingyue nodded in confirmation, her bright eyes radiant, full of vigor and vitality.
The little white cat, originally just watching the excitement, couldn't help but turn her gaze toward Yun Qingyue upon hearing this. With her level now higher than Yun Qingyue's, she could see at a glance that she had broken through to the middle stage of Nascent Soul, though her aura was slightly unstable, likely having just broken through recently. However, breaking through a minor realm wasn't as troublesome as a major realm; stabilizing one's cultivation was also simple—just find a formidable person and have a fight.
Of course, if one found fighting troublesome, there was another method... Just as the little white cat had this thought, she suddenly felt the atmosphere in the room change. Immediately after, an immense pressure descended upon her head, nearly flattening her unprepared self to the ground.
Fortunately, with her divine beast bloodline inheritance activated, the little white cat quickly utilized her bloodline power to resist this pressure. Then, looking up, she discovered that the source of this pressure was none other than Peak Master Qingyu. She just stood there, not speaking or moving, but the terrifying pressure of a powerful Fusion realm cultivator was released at this moment. The target wasn't her, but Yun Qingyue, who was struggling to support herself with her sword.
Cold sweat dripped down her delicate face one by one, her originally rosy complexion instantly turning pale. Whether it was an illusion or real, Jiang Mo seemed to faintly hear the subtle sound of bones being crushed, making one worry she would be pulverized by this pressure.
Yet even so, Yun Qingyue didn't give up, but continued to grit her teeth and endure.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths... The little white cat couldn't help taking a step forward, then felt the pressure on her body suddenly increase. She instinctively looked up at Peak Master Qingyu, but saw her eyes fixed on Yun Qingyue, without even a glance to spare for her.
Well, this was the master helping her disciple temper her realm. Though the method was somewhat crude and brutal, Peak Master Qingyu naturally had control over her actions. The little white cat sheepishly retracted her paw, not daring to interfere at this moment, only her cat eyes fixated on her Senior Sister, not missing any of her subtle expressions. Then, as Yun Qingyue frowned in endurance, as she gritted her teeth and persisted, the little white cat's heart ached for her.
Fortunately, this tempering didn't last long. Perhaps only a few breaths, or maybe a moment, and the slight unsteadiness in Yun Qingyue's aura was thoroughly refined. But this refining process wasn't comfortable—as soon as Peak Master Qingyu withdrew her pressure, Yun Qingyue could no longer support herself and fell to her knees.
Cold sweat had almost soaked her robes, but Yun Qingyue's eyes were exceptionally bright: "Thank you, Master."
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The news of the Mingzong Mountain Secret Realm indeed spread quickly to the small sects affiliated with the three major sects, just as Peak Master Qingyu had said. The subsequent developments were not unexpected—after receiving the news, these small sects, despite knowing the dangers of a new secret realm, immediately dispatched disciples. However, these small sects were at varying distances from Mingzong Mountain, so whether they could make it in time depended on their own abilities.
Xuanqing Sect's spirit boat remained above Xihe Town without leaving. Later, when Tiandao Sect and Buddha Sect's forces arrived, they would also come here to rendezvous. The disciples on the spirit boat soon learned of these changes, but most didn't care.
As the saying goes, in the cultivation world, strength is everything, and their competitors would always be those stronger than themselves.
Of course, arrogance and underestimating one's opponents were also inadvisable. After understanding the subsequent complex situation, although no one said anything, everyone unanimously intensified their cultivation while waiting for the other two sects to arrive.
Although improvement in a short time was limited, when it came to strength, every bit of improvement counted!
The atmosphere on the spirit boat was therefore not particularly relaxed, except for a certain little white cat, who spent her days eating and drinking, and then eating and drinking some more.
Zhong Heng found an opportunity and finally privately informed his Senior Sister about the little white cat's identity. Unfortunately, Yun Qingyue already knew and was quite indulgent toward Jianbing, who had disguised herself and stowed away—conveniently, she had just advanced in cultivation and didn't need to rush her practice. So while everyone else was immersed in cultivation, she often couldn't resist the little white cat's coquettish charm, not only accompanying her in eating and drinking but occasionally taking her down to wander and shop in Xihe Town.
Soon, everyone in Xihe Town knew that a female cultivator carrying a spirit cat had arrived. Moreover, this female cultivator was quite generous, buying whatever the spirit cat pointed at, though she seemed too leisurely to be here for Mingzong Mountain's treasures.
Within a couple of days, the little white cat's storage space was filled with even more food.
At the same time, many people became curious about Yun Qingyue's identity. Especially after discovering her profound cultivation, some rogue cultivators had thoughts of making her acquaintance and forming teams, but they were naturally rejected by Yun Qingyue. She was very careful when entering and exiting the spirit boat with the little white cat, and always remembered to disguise herself when going out. As a result, even though the human and the tiger wandered around Xihe Town for several days, no one discovered their identities.
Time flew by, and after two more days, Peak Master Qingyu received news that Tiandao Sect would soon arrive.
The Mingzong Mountain Secret Realm was discovered by Tiandao Sect, and of the three sects, they were closest to this location. However, precisely because they were the closest, they had departed later, and naturally arrived in the far western region a step behind Xuanqing Sect.
Upon hearing this news, everyone on the spirit boat was on alert, even the little white cat, who stood straight with her chest out, cat eyes sparkling—once everyone arrived, it would be about time for the secret realm to open. Then she would sneak in with her Senior Sister. Don't be fooled by her days of eating, drinking, and playing around without mentioning the secret realm—that was just to make her Senior Sister lower her guard!
She had calculated that her Senior Sister had just advanced to the middle stage of Nascent Soul, which according to the game system's algorithm was equivalent to level 44. Purely by level calculation, her current level already exceeded that of her Senior Sister.
However, sword cultivators generally had stronger combat power than cultivators of the same realm, many being able to challenge higher levels, and her Senior Sister was no exception.
The basic combat power of level 44 was 9,900. Crossing a small realm to level 47 would be about 11,280, and at most 13,000 or 15,000 combat power. Her current combat power had reached 16,900+, so she should be stronger than her Senior Sister if nothing went wrong... Although this was just strength in terms of data, she wasn't going to fight her Senior Sister to the death—she just wanted to sneak into the secret realm without her knowing, which shouldn't be a problem, right?
The little white cat flexed her paws eagerly, raring to go, but unfortunately, before she could see Tiandao Sect's arrival, she was confined to a dark room by her master.