Chapter 422 : Destined for Solitude
Days and nights passed, and several days went by imperceptibly.
Perhaps due to their recent losses, the Nine Abyss Sect, which had been aggressively pressuring Crimson Blood Sect, suddenly became more restrained these past few days. This was partly because the previous ambush had resulted in significant casualties, leaving the Nine Abyss Sect Elders and disciples somewhat traumatized. Another factor was the sudden appearance of an unfamiliar Great Achievement cultivator on the battlefield, which demanded caution—though scouts reported the person had left that same day, the Nine Abyss Sect Leader didn't believe it for a moment.
No joke, were Great Achievement cultivators in the cultivation world as common as cabbages? Everywhere you turned, with some randomly appearing to meddle in others' affairs! To suggest the person had no connection with Crimson Blood Sect—he didn't believe it for a second. Therefore, until he could ascertain the other party's identity, he had no intention of making any rash moves.
The battle situation thus reached a stalemate, and Mount Xuanyin, which had been in constant conflict, fell into a peculiar calm.
This development was certainly beneficial for Zhu Baiyi, as it allowed her to remove the Soul-Devouring Insects' influence on her divine soul. Meanwhile, the Nine Abyss Sect's investigation, having ruled out the correct answer, was clearly futile.
For several consecutive days, Zhu Baiyi remained in seclusion. It wasn't until approximately the seventh day that she completely resolved the Soul-Devouring Insects attached to her divine soul. After that, she carefully examined herself again, confirming that her divine soul had no further issues, and only then did she end her seclusion.
Having emerged from seclusion, Zhu Baiyi still felt some lingering trepidation about the Grand Elder's incessant chatter from several days before. However, given that they were effectively in wartime, she couldn't possibly avoid him. So, rubbing her once again aching head, she removed the restrictions. To her surprise, the first to visit after the restrictions were lifted were not the Grand Elder but Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue.
The two had originally come to Nine Abyss Sect for a visit, and now that Zhu Baiyi was clearly fine, they naturally planned to depart.
In fact, they had intended to leave before Zhu Baiyi entered seclusion, but they had moved too slowly and missed the opportunity to bid farewell to Sect Leader Zhu. Afterward, the Grand Elder used the excuse that they hadn't yet said goodbye to the Sect Leader, making it inappropriate for them to leave, and thus kept them behind.
Now that Sect Leader Zhu had emerged from seclusion, the two rushed over at the first opportunity.
Upon hearing their intentions, Zhu Baiyi couldn't help but sigh, asking: "Must you leave? Qingyue, you are my daughter; there's nothing wrong with staying in Crimson Blood Sect. Moreover, given your current condition, you need abundant resources to restore your cultivation. If you stay, Crimson Blood Sect won't lack for any of these things, so why must you wander about?"
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue solemnly shook her head, and after some thought, still explained: "It's not that I'm unwilling to stay, nor that I mind my identity, but rather that I find it difficult to accept Crimson Blood Sect's principles of conduct."
The reason the demonic path is considered demonic is naturally because it has aspects criticized by the righteous path. Harmony Sect's uninhibited behavior, occasionally practicing the extraction of yang to supplement yin or vice versa, was already considered among the most common. Nine Abyss Sect cultivated with the power of the Nine Abyss; within the sect were those who used evil techniques to refine living corpses, captured souls to create ghost puppets, and desecrated graves to destroy the afterlife—a multitude of evil deeds too numerous to list. Celestial Demon Sect was no better, frequently using human sacrifices to cultivate demonic techniques, their countless atrocities beyond description.
And how could Crimson Blood Sect, which shared their reputation, be any better? They were belligerent and murderous. Though they didn't desecrate graves or perform human sacrifices, the number of people who died at the hands of Crimson Blood Sect disciples was no fewer. Massacres of entire families and cities—nine out of ten such incidents were the work of Crimson Blood Sect. At their most frenzied, a Crimson Blood Sect high-ranking member even slaughtered an entire mortal dynasty!
Although Sect Leader Zhu wasn't such a bloodthirsty person, and rumors of Crimson Blood Sect massacring families and cities had diminished over the past few centuries—with Crimson Blood Sect members appearing even more restrained in front of the "Young Sect Leader"—the bloodthirsty aura they emanated couldn't be concealed no matter what.
Yun Qingyue had grown up in the righteous path, raised from childhood with the teachings of eliminating demons and upholding righteousness. How could she accept such things? Especially when she found herself among them and discovered that her sect's descriptions hadn't been exaggerated in the slightest. With a lifetime of righteous principles ingrained in her, how could she accept being lumped together with these demonic practitioners? To be frank, she truly didn't want to accept the resources Sect Leader Zhu offered—heaven knows how much blood those things were soaked in!
Zhu Baiyi met her gaze and immediately understood her resolute intention to leave, so she could only wave her hand: "Very well, if you want to leave, then go."
༻༺❀༻✧⋆｡°✩☽༓☾✩°｡⋆✧༺❀༻༺
While mother and daughter were saying their goodbyes, Jiang Mo found herself somewhat idle—her relationship with Sect Leader Zhu wasn't particularly close, and she couldn't interject in the mother-daughter farewell, so her mind began to wander.
The little tiger's gaze roamed aimlessly around the room, initially examining the precious treasures emanating spiritual energy in the cabin. Eventually finding this boring, her gaze settled on an exquisite book placed on a small table.
Books were rare in the cultivation world because books and text could record so little.
Cultivators had long grown accustomed to jade slips. A jade slip no larger than a palm could store the contents of an entire room of books. Moreover, some things couldn't be recorded through text alone—certain insights, certain legacies, things that could be understood but not explained—all could be recorded through jade slips. Reading a jade slip required only divine sense; in an instant, one could receive vast amounts of information.
With such a comparison, jade slips naturally replaced books, and ordinary books were especially rare in major sects. Yet here in Sect Leader Zhu's cabin, a book had suddenly appeared on the table, naturally drawing attention.
Jiang Mo curiously looked at the book cover, only to be dazzled by the four large characters that read "Wife-Pursuing Classic"...
Whoa, what is this? Sect Leader Zhu actually reads such things?!
Jiang Mo widened her eyes in surprise, turning back to cast a peculiar glance at Sect Leader Zhu. The latter was still talking with Yun Qingyue and, though aware of her gaze, didn't pay much attention to it, nor did she look back.
Seeing this, Jiang Mo grew not only more curious but also bolder—she was very curious about what a sect leader, a Great Achievement cultivator, would find in a wife-pursuing manual. As soon as this thought arose, it was as if a kitten had entered her heart, clawing at it incessantly. Sect Leader Zhu's inattention undoubtedly emboldened her, making her increasingly restless.
Aware of a Great Achievement cultivator's sensitivity to spiritual energy fluctuations, Jiang Mo didn't dare use spiritual energy to flip through the book from a distance. She pretended to casually move a step to the side. The mother and daughter, engrossed in conversation, didn't notice her.
Good—the little tiger grew bolder, stealthily taking another step to the side, then another. Finally, she casually walked to the table, then carefully glanced back. Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she carefully opened the elegantly bound wife-pursuing manual and looked at the pages.
On the first page of the exquisite book, several lines of large text were written concisely: "First principle of wife-pursuing: be handsome, have high cultivation, and possess a full purse. If you can't meet these three conditions, there's no need to read further."
Jiang Mo's eye twitched upon reading this, finding it somewhat peculiar, though on second thought, she felt the summary wasn't entirely wrong. So she pursed her lips and turned to the next page, then page after page... A Fusion realm cultivator's divine sense was quite powerful; they could instantly absorb and integrate the vast information in jade slips, let alone reading a book.
She flipped through the pages quickly, and in no time, she had gone through the entire wife-pursuing manual. Her conclusion, however, was difficult to articulate.
It was unclear who had written this book—probably a male cultivator—so from a male cultivator's perspective, there was nothing wrong with it, and it might even be revered as a standard. However, from a normal female cultivator's perspective, even with Jiang Mo's lifelong single status, she could tell that following the strategies in this book would likely lead to a life of permanent solitude...
Jiang Mo looked back at Sect Leader Zhu, suddenly gaining some insight—the Sect Leader and Peak Master already had a child together, yet their relationship remained ambiguous. She had never understood why before, but now it seemed she had the answer.
This time, Sect Leader Zhu had just finished speaking with Yun Qingyue and, noticing Jiang Mo's unusual gaze, finally turned to look at her.
Inexplicably the recipient of sympathy, Sect Leader Zhu: "???"
Zhu Baiyi was momentarily confused by Jiang Mo's look, but soon her gaze fell on the now-closed book in front of Jiang Mo, and her confusion turned to understanding. She inwardly laughed, but maintained a serious expression, even solemnly asking Jiang Mo: "Why is Jianbing looking at me that way? Is there something inappropriate about what I've been discussing with Qingyue?"
Jiang Mo hadn't been listening to what the mother and daughter had been saying at all, and hastily waved her hands: "No, no, I don't have any opinion at all. Please, continue your conversation. I was just, just looking around..."
Zhu Baiyi raised her eyebrows slightly, and Yun Qingyue also sensed something amiss, turning to look.
Caught peeking, Jiang Mo immediately felt guilty and hurried forward two steps to block their line of sight, then asked: "Have Senior Sister and Sect Leader finished talking? If so, shouldn't we be going? It seems to be getting late now."
Hearing her speak like this, Yun Qingyue's gaze grew increasingly suspicious—Jiang Mo's little thoughts were almost completely transparent. Since she had changed to calling her by name, she rarely called her "Senior Sister" anymore. Unless there was some special circumstance, such as when she felt guilty, she would happily call "Ah Yue, Ah Yue" with delight. Why would she suddenly call her "Senior Sister" again?
So, was the little tiger feeling guilty again? Or had she done something else?
Her beautiful glass-like phoenix eyes swept over Jiang Mo's uncomfortable expression, looking left and right, and finally settled on what was behind her, now blocked from view.
Just as Yun Qingyue was about to question her, Zhu Baiyi happened to interrupt her unspoken words: "Yes, it is getting late. If you've decided to leave today, you should go soon—the farther you get from this place of conflict, the better."
The topic was suddenly diverted, and Yun Qingyue strongly suspected her birth mother had done this deliberately. Her suspicious gaze swept between the two.
Zhu Baiyi's expression remained unchanged as she asked again: "Are you still leaving?"
The little Swan Goose withdrew her gaze: "Yes."
After saying this, the little Swan Goose spread her wings and flew toward Jiang Mo. She had originally intended to perch on her shoulder, but Jiang Mo, quick-handed, caught her in her arms instead. Then the two bid farewell and left, with Jiang Mo, due to her embarrassment, never allowing her senior sister to see the book behind her.
However, before leaving, out of goodwill, Jiang Mo still transmitted a message to Sect Leader Zhu: "Sect Leader, that book... you'd better not read it."
Zhu Baiyi couldn't help but laugh, raising her hand to draw the book into her palm, then throwing it into the storage room without even looking at it.