Chapter 310 : What Reward
Jiang Mo quickly snapped out of her trance and retreated to a safe distance, though her heart continued to pound relentlessly.
At first, she nervously averted her gaze, then secretly glanced at her Senior Sister's expression—Jiang Mo felt her intentions when leaning closer had been quite obvious, and Senior Sister's avoidance at that moment might not have been coincidental, but rather a conscious response. This left her feeling uncertain, on one hand wanting to throw caution to the wind and reveal her true feelings, while on the other fearing she might displease her Senior Sister and lose any future chances to be close to her.
But who was Yun Qingyue? With her cool temperament, she usually showed little expression, and now wore a disguised face. It was practically impossible for Jiang Mo to discern her true thoughts.
After quietly observing for a while and gleaning nothing, Jiang Mo felt increasingly anxious and frustrated.
"Senior Sister, your makeup is done. Take a look at the effect," she said while reaching for Yun Qingyue's hand, her other hand timely raising the bronze mirror from before, appearing as if discussing something serious.
The two had occasionally held hands these past days, and Yun Qingyue didn't pull away this time either. However, at the moment Jiang Mo took her hand, Jiang Mo felt her fingertips contract slightly... It was a very subtle movement with no further indication afterward, but Jiang Mo keenly sensed the difference and subsequently held Yun Qingyue's hand with slightly more force.
Yun Qingyue's expression remained unchanged, as if that slight movement had been completely ordinary. Her gaze fell on the bronze mirror before her—the mirror conjured by the White Tiger had been meticulously refined, capable of reflecting every detail.
After carefully examining herself multiple times, Yun Qingyue nodded slightly: "Not bad, it's extremely similar."
Knowing this was high praise coming from her, Jiang Mo's eyes curved with delight. Additionally, when she had taken Yun Qingyue's hand earlier, she hadn't been rejected. This momentarily set her imagination running wild, and half-jokingly, half-probingly, she said: "Since I've helped Senior Sister, should Senior Sister reward me a little?"
Yun Qingyue glanced at her: "What reward do you want?"
Jiang Mo's heart beat faster while she maintained an outwardly casual demeanor, though her ears had reddened. She put down the mirror and pointed at her own cheek, even she thought herself quite bold: "Could Senior Sister give me a kiss?"
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue stared at her steadily for a moment, making Jiang Mo's heart race with anticipation. Just then, Yun Qingyue withdrew her hand, the movement so swift that Jiang Mo couldn't hold on, as if she no longer wished to engage with her. Right as Jiang Mo felt disappointed, a cool finger pressed against her cheek, gently pushing her away, accompanied by a moderate comment: "Nonsense!"
The tone wasn't harsh, nor did it convey any disgust. Jiang Mo immediately felt encouraged.
Once again grasping her Senior Sister's hand, Jiang Mo began to cajole: "Senior Sister is a woman, and I am a woman too. It's just a kiss on the cheek, how is that nonsense?" Besides, when she was still a tiger cub, Senior Sister had never been so reserved about cuddling her—could it be that without her fluffy fur, she was now being spurned?!
Though these thoughts crossed her mind, Jiang Mo had no intention of voicing them, as she didn't plan to remain fluffy forever.
Yun Qingyue gave her a deep look without responding. When her attempt to withdraw her hand again proved unsuccessful, she said: "Alright, since the touch-ups are done, let's go back first. We have important matters to attend to later, and the Nine Abyss Sect isn't a place for idle chatter."
Was this idle chatter? No!
But could she continue to bother her Senior Sister? No!
Jiang Mo could only follow her Senior Sister with an anxious heart, feeling somewhat aggrieved the whole way, all the while wondering what her Senior Sister truly thought.
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With Jiang Mo's limited cultivation and experience, the help she could offer was restricted to concealing flaws with makeup. Zhu Baiyi, as a Grand Achievement cultivator, obviously had many more methods at her disposal. When the two had left, Qingyu still hadn't mastered the technique, but by the time they returned, she had already transformed to look identical to the female demonic cultivator she was impersonating—calling it indistinguishable from the real person would be no exaggeration.
The only puzzling aspect was that Peak Master Qingyu, known for her cold and detached demeanor, now had slightly reddened ears.
What had happened while they were away?
Jiang Mo wasn't blind, and given her own feelings for her Senior Sister, it wasn't difficult to guess the close relationship between the two before her. If she had found Zhu Baiyi somewhat disagreeable before learning her identity, now... after all, she was her Senior Sister's birth mother. Although their relationship didn't appear intimate, it was still best not to offend a potential mother-in-law.
Despite her many internal criticisms, Jiang Mo didn't voice any of them. Seeing the situation, she merely said: "Now that everyone is disguised and we have identity tokens, we should visit the Nine Abyss Sect's Mission Hall."
As she spoke, she looked toward Zhu Baiyi, who understood and pointed in a direction: "This way."
Jiang Mo nodded, taking her Senior Sister's hand and walking ahead. The two trailing behind didn't display any intimate behavior either, just following at an unhurried pace. Compared to before, however, the distance between them had decreased significantly, with their sleeves occasionally brushing as they walked.
Each harboring their own thoughts, they walked for some distance before Jiang Mo finally realized: "The Nine Abyss Sect is so vast. Earlier we were concerned about our identities, but now that we've taken care of that, why aren't we flying there?"
This question was sensible, making everyone a bit uncomfortable.
Zhu Baiyi cleared her throat lightly, then took out several jade talismans from her storage space and handed them over: "You're all righteous path cultivators, and your cultivation methods differ greatly from demonic cultivators... especially those of the Nine Abyss Sect. Once you use spiritual energy, the difference would be easily noticed. Wear these talismans; they can disguise your spiritual energy as demonic energy. Not all Nine Abyss Sect disciples are raised from childhood; many join later with their own skills."
In other words, the four of them were now disguised as cultivators who had later joined the Nine Abyss Sect, practicing cultivation methods different from the sect's standard. This also explained why, though their appearances were unremarkable, they didn't share the ugliness typical of proper Nine Abyss Sect disciples.
As for discrimination? Large sects naturally had that, but "strength commands respect" remained a principle ingrained in everyone's bones.
Jiang Mo and the others naturally didn't refuse, each accepting and wearing the jade talismans. Afterward, Jiang Mo experimentally channeled spiritual energy to form a small knife. Unlike the usual luminous spiritual energy, this time the "special effect" was entirely composed of pitch-black demonic energy... Whether others could detect any discrepancies was uncertain, but at least Jiang Mo, a Fusion stage cultivator herself, couldn't spot any issues.
Qingyu also glanced at the small knife in Jiang Mo's hand before saying, "Good, now we can go."
As her words fell, she took to the air, about to disappear into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
The other three hurriedly followed, instantly leaving the black mountains and stones beneath their feet.
Once airborne with an extended view, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue looked into the distance and discovered that as far as the eye could see, the scenery remained the same—as if this blackness stretched to the very ends of heaven and earth, inexplicably oppressive to behold.
Yun Qingyue finally couldn't resist asking: "Is all the Outer Domain like this? How vast are these black mountains and stones?"
The younger generation had rarely visited the Outer Domain, and even the spiritual energy-depleted western continent was seldom explored. Yun Qingyue, in particular, was just over a hundred years old—at the prime of her life. The Xuantian Continent was incredibly vast with plenty of places to roam freely, so why would anyone willingly venture into this Outer Domain? If people had regularly visited here, the Nine Abyss Sect's base would have been discovered long ago.
Zhu Baiyi hadn't specifically visited this area either, only accidentally stranding here once several hundred years ago. Hearing the question, she shook her head: "I don't know either. Three hundred years ago, I came here once due to an accident, but I didn't land in the Nine Abyss Sect's territory. It took almost a month of flying to return, with the same scenery the entire way, and I never encountered anyone from the Nine Abyss Sect... Does that help you imagine how large the Outer Domain is?"
While this description was helpful, the concept remained rather abstract based on imagination alone. If one had to summarize it in a single phrase: it was vast, extremely vast—the Outer Domain was larger than most people could comprehend.
Not only was the Outer Domain immense, but the Nine Abyss Sect, which had claimed territory within it, was also enormous—though the Xuanqing Sect occupied a considerable area, its main buildings were actually quite concentrated. Places like the Enforcement Hall, Mission Hall, Archive Library, Spirit Herb Garden, and so on were all within a day's sword flight for Foundation Establishment cultivators.
The Nine Abyss Sect was different, however. After learning the location of its Mission Hall, the group maintained the flight speed of Void Crossing cultivators yet still flew for more than half a day before finally spotting the peak where the Mission Hall was situated.
Jiang Mo couldn't help but quip: "No wonder there are so few people outside—the territory is probably too vast, making travel difficult."
The group smiled, but as they approached the Mission Hall, Nine Abyss Sect cultivators gradually appeared in increasing numbers. The four blended in without drawing attention and weren't recognized, allowing them to relax slightly.
The Nine Abyss Sect's Mission Hall was also established atop a towering black mountain, constructed in the style of a palace—spacious and imposing. The wide entrance could easily accommodate more than ten people simultaneously, and indeed, there were many coming and going.
Just as Jiang Mo and the others stepped through the entrance, they heard someone exclaim in surprise: "Hiss, the sect has really invested in this gathering mission—a full 3,000 contribution points for one trip!"
Immediately followed by a derisive laugh: "Easier said than done. Whether you'll even return alive is questionable."