When Golden Finger Meets Salted Fish

Both Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue in the Innate Space were startled by the butterfly's eyes, which seemed to be staring directly at them across the dimensional barrier. In the next moment, it fluttered away from the palace-garbed woman's hand and flew straight toward Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue's direction.

For an instant, they both feared it might penetrate the space and actually appear before them.

Fortunately, this didn't happen. The deep blue butterfly flew closer and closer, but ultimately couldn't breach the space barrier. It located the spot where Jiang Mo and her companion had entered the space, and then hovered there, fluttering up and down, refusing to leave. It was as if it had discovered their traces but had no way to follow them inside—it even appeared somewhat anxious.

Seeing this, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue unconsciously sighed in relief, but the butterfly's obvious behavior had clearly drawn the palace-garbed woman's attention. Her gaze fell on this area of space, and through the space and water mirror, she seemed to lock eyes with the two observers.

"How did she track us so quickly?!" Jiang Mo's expression grew serious, then she shook her head. "No, the real question is why she's pursuing us so relentlessly. Earlier when she brought us into Harmony Sect, she completely ignored us. Now she's discovered our absence so quickly and chased us all this way... Could she have some sinister plot?"

The palace-garbed woman's pursuit was likely coincidental, but the two in the Innate Space didn't know this. After hearing Jiang Mo's conspiracy theory, Yun Qingyue also became more vigilant and said, "Let's not go out yet. We'll stay in the space for a few days."

Indeed, a divine beast's Innate Space was the ultimate life-saving artifact. Whether anyone in ancient times could tear through space and break in was unknown, but in the current cultivation world, no one could accomplish this. Even someone as profoundly powerful as Divine Lord Zhiming, who could casually tear through space to teleport, faced a completely different challenge when trying to break into another space versus teleporting within the same space—even he couldn't do anything to the Little White Tiger hiding within.

Hearing this, Jiang Mo naturally had no objection. Thinking of her still-substantial purse, she didn't need to worry about Senior Sister's food for the time being. So she waved her hand, conjuring two chairs in front of the water mirror, and said to Yun Qingyue, "Good idea. Let's see what she intends to do."

The human and bird settled comfortably into their seats, watching through the space barrier to see when the palace-garbed woman would leave.

Meanwhile, outside the space, the palace-garbed woman had already located the spot where Jiang Mo and her companion had disappeared, guided by the luminous butterfly's sensing. Given her status, she was naturally well-informed and experienced. Though she still couldn't guess how Jiang Mo had managed to completely conceal her aura and suddenly appear thousands of miles away, she had great confidence in her magical technique, and she had long heard of divine beasts' Innate Spaces.

Stepping through the air, the palace-garbed woman arrived at the spot where the butterfly lingered. The butterfly circled up and down a couple more times before returning to the palace-garbed woman's side. It alighted on her shoulder and, though composed of spiritual light, behaved like a living creature.

Through the space barrier, Jiang Mo and her companion couldn't tell the butterfly wasn't alive; they even felt as if it was reporting back to the palace-garbed woman after landing on her shoulder.

Whether the butterfly was actually reporting or not, no one except the palace-garbed woman would ever know. She stared at the spot where Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue had disappeared for quite some time before finally withdrawing her scrutinizing gaze, then suddenly spoke: "Jianbing, I have a matter to discuss with you. Would you come out to meet me?"

Jiang Mo paused upon hearing this and blurted out: "How does she know I can hear her?"

The White Tiger had possessed an Innate Space since birth, but previously, entering the space meant complete separation between the two realms—she could neither see outside nor hear voices from outside. This "water mirror technique" was her first attempt at using it, so how did the other party know she could definitely hear?

Her confusion was quickly answered when Yun Qingyue said: "She probably sensed our observation." Her tone grew increasingly grave: "The higher one's cultivation, the more sensitive one's perception. For her to detect observation from beyond space suggests she's no ordinary person." Even though the palace-garbed woman's cultivation already exceeded Jiang Mo's, her perception seemed excessively acute.

Jiang Mo nodded in realization, then hesitated: "She doesn't seem to be tricking us. Should we go out?"

Yun Qingyue didn't know either. The more powerful the opponent, the more cautious they became—while the Innate Space was a divine beast's life-saving measure, there were methods in this world to break through such barriers, otherwise how would divine beasts have been killed in the past?

As the two hesitated inside the space, they heard the palace-garbed woman speak again: "The cultivation world faces imminent calamity. My sect wishes to ally with righteous path cultivators to quell this disaster. Would Jianbing be willing to represent Xuanqing Sect in discussing this matter with me?" After a pause, she continued: "And Immortal Maiden Qingyue, would you also come out for a talk? I swear by the Heavenly Dao that during this meeting, I will not harm either of you in the slightest."

These words instantly shocked the two within the space.

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The Swan Goose was indeed a divine beast, but a white phoenix was not as conspicuous as other phoenixes. Furthermore, with the dragon and phoenix clans having long departed this realm, the current cultivation world had only heard legends of dragons and phoenixes.

Of course, images of dragons and phoenixes still circulated in the cultivation world, but even if people saw spirit beasts that resembled them, they wouldn't believe they were the real thing—the dragon and phoenix clans had lived in the cultivation world for many years, and while the pureblooded dragons and phoenixes had migrated as entire clans, many mixed-bloods remained. There were plenty of beautiful bird species that resembled phoenixes, but no one would mistake them for actual phoenixes.

When Yun Qingyue underwent her atavistic lightning tribulation at Buddha Sect, quite a few people witnessed it. However, those were all Buddhist cultivators, and Buddha Sect likely helped conceal the news. So after two years, few in the cultivation world knew about the addition of a Swan Goose.

Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue were aware of this, and since the Little Swan Goose hadn't fully matured and lacked the beauty and flamboyance of adulthood, they traveled openly without concern. They had considered the possibility of being recognized, but at most expected the Swan Goose's identity to be exposed—they never imagined someone would directly reveal Yun Qingyue's true identity.

And now, such a person had appeared and was waiting for them outside the space!

The two exchanged glances, uncertain how much truth lay in the palace-garbed woman's words, but the binding power of a Heavenly Dao oath was convincing enough. After hesitating for a moment, they unanimously decided to emerge and see.

With a ripple in space, the human and bird appeared opposite the palace-garbed woman, who indeed made no move to attack.

Jiang Mo held the Swan Goose in her arms, swept her divine sense around the surroundings, and finding no trace of others, relaxed slightly. Nevertheless, she remained prepared to escape into the space at any moment, maintaining her vigilance while speaking: "We've come out. Say what you need to say directly—don't use the cultivation world as a pretext. We're not easily fooled."

The palace-garbed woman's gaze swept over the two, but her first words weren't about business; rather, she introduced herself: "My name is Fei Yuan, an elder of Harmony Sect."

Jiang Mo nodded solemnly, not catching any special significance in the name, nor politely offering her own in return. Her nod merely acknowledged the other's identity before asking: "What do you wish to say?"

Before Fei Yuan could speak, Jiang Mo received a mental message from Yun Qingyue: "According to rumors, Fei Yuan is the daughter of Harmony Sect's previous leader and was originally the sect's young mistress. However, the former sect leader died early, before Fei Yuan had fully matured, resulting in the position passing to another. Nevertheless, she remained in Harmony Sect and later became an elder, holding an extremely special status within."

Yun Qingyue had traveled extensively and heard many rumors. Especially regarding the high-level figures of the Seven Major Sects—ordinary independent cultivators could never encounter them, so any information that circulated became all the more intriguing to discuss.

Of course, as rumors spread widely and passed through many mouths, determining their veracity became difficult.

For instance, some claimed Harmony Sect's previous leader's demise was orchestrated by the current leader, offering no evidence beyond hearsay. Others rumored that Fei Yuan and the sect leader were at odds, and the leader's recent absence from public view was due to Fei Yuan's machinations to seize power. Some even suggested that Fei Yuan's ability to remain comfortably in Harmony Sect after losing her position as young mistress was due to a romantic relationship with the current sect leader...

In short, the cultivation world had no shortage of tales about Fei Yuan's loves and hatreds, but in the spirit of seeking truth, Yun Qingyue didn't share these with Jiang Mo. However, Jiang Mo's mind worked quickly, and what she imagined was no less dramatic than the rumors.

Yun Qingyue's mental transmission didn't escape Fei Yuan's notice. Though their realms weren't vastly different, preventing her from eavesdropping on the specific content, she could still detect the act of transmission. Fei Yuan didn't mind, seeing from Jianbing's innocent expression that she knew nothing about her. Letting Yun Qingyue offer a few pointers was harmless.

Indeed, after Yun Qingyue's reminder, Jiang Mo recognized the special status of the person before her.

Seeing Jiang Mo's attitude grow noticeably more serious, Fei Yuan finally continued: "Forcibly detaining you both in Linglong City was disrespectful of my sect, though it was truly a desperate measure. You probably don't know that Crimson Blood Sect and Nine Abyss Sect went to war a month ago. Within days, emissaries from both sects, as well as Celestial Demon Sect, all arrived at Harmony Sect seeking alliance..."

Jiang Mo already knew this, as Yun Qingyue had told her on the way, but she had no intention of revealing her Senior Sister's actions. Her expression remained unchanged as she nodded, then shook her head: "This is an internal conflict within the demonic path and has nothing to do with me."

Due to their cultivation methods, demonic path practitioners were cruel, bloodthirsty, and combative—traits that had become their defining characteristics. Sects going to war wasn't unusual; even with the Four Major Demonic Sects' transcendent status, smaller subordinate sects still occasionally challenged them, hoping to replace them. Conflicts between sects of equal standing were even more common—their laws of survival were far more brutal and pragmatic than those of the righteous path.

The righteous path never intervened in such matters, or rather, they hoped these demonic sects would fight among themselves. However, they wouldn't take advantage of the situation, because once the righteous path interfered, the demonic sects would immediately cease fighting and unite against the outside threat.

Jiang Mo's current attitude was appropriate, but Fei Yuan countered: "As I said, this matter concerns the entire cultivation world, not merely an internal demonic path conflict."

Yun Qingyue and Jiang Mo suddenly guessed something, exchanged a glance, and asked: "What do you mean?"

Fei Yuan's expression grew solemn: "The Nine Abyss Sect Leader has fallen into demonic deviation. Nine Abyss Sect intends to destroy the entire cultivation world!"