Chapter 460 : The Future Is Long
460: The Future Is Long
Making a sachet for the first time, Jiang Mo's hands were somewhat clumsy, but fortunately, after thousands of years of development in the cultivation world, various auxiliary magical techniques had become quite mature. So after spending a morning, Jiang Mo finally managed to create a small tiger sachet.
Then, as expected, she gave the sachet to Yun Qingyue.
Yun Qingyue's fingertips caressed the sachet as she met Jiang Mo's eyes, which feigned composure but were clearly seeking praise. Suddenly, she curved her lips into a smile: "Not bad. For a first attempt, it's quite well-formed. It looks... quite like a cat."
Hearing Senior Sister's initial praise, Jiang Mo's tail was nearly raised in delight, but the unexpected twist at the end startled her, immediately widening her eyes. Her already round tiger eyes became even rounder: "How, how can it look like a cat? I clearly modeled it after myself as a cub, and I think it looks quite similar."
Hearing her say this, the curve of Yun Qingyue's lips deepened further. Although she didn't say anything more, facing her teasing gaze, Jiang Mo's mind automatically filled in Senior Sister's unspoken words: Yes, you were quite cat-like as a cub.
Jiang Mo opened her mouth, wanting to say something in rebuttal, but since Yun Qingyue hadn't actually spoken, she had no grounds for refutation.
The little tiger kicked at the newly sprouted weeds at her feet, her entire being depressed. She occasionally looked up, openly stealing glances at Yun Qingyue, as if saying: I'm unhappy, come comfort me.
Neither of them spoke telepathically, but with one exchange of glances, all the unspoken words seemed to be understood by the other.
Sure enough, Yun Qingyue understood, slightly suppressing her smile. She wasn't truly ignorant of how to comfort someone. Immediately, she hung the small tiger sachet at her waist, then with a turn of her hand, another small sachet appeared in her palm. She hung that sachet at Jiang Mo's waist, then smoothed out her robe: "Alright, don't be angry. I was just joking. The previous sachet was too old; from now on, let's use this one."
Under Senior Sister's skilled stroking technique, the bristling little tiger instantly calmed down. She felt happy inside—though she had planted Purple Cloud Flowers all over her spirit peak because of Senior Sister, that was just a trivial matter, and the other might not remember.
Every bit of true feeling being understood, every bit of love being reciprocated, was worth rejoicing over.
Jiang Mo instantly regained her vitality. She leaned slightly against Senior Sister's shoulder, her voice as soft as if it contained sugar: "What sachet? That was so long ago, how do you still remember?"
Having raised this tiger herself, how could Yun Qingyue not see that she was so happy her eyes were nearly dancing? So she suppressed the smile at her lips and nodded along with Jiang Mo's words: "Yes, yes, yes. Then I suppose Ah Mo no longer likes sachets, as I haven't seen you wear one for so long." As she spoke, she flicked the tassel of the new sachet at Jiang Mo's waist with her fingertip, causing it to sway back and forth.
Hearing her words, Jiang Mo acted as if afraid she would take back the sachet, hurriedly protecting it with her hand and reflexively contradicting: "How could I not like it? I love it. You've given it to me, so it's mine now."
Yun Qingyue couldn't help laughing again. She certainly wasn't the type to take back gifts, and had only been teasing. Who would have thought Jiang Mo would take it seriously and even solemnly protect the sachet?
The two bantered back and forth, with eight out of ten sentences being idle chatter, either teasing or flirting.
After Yun Qingyue had teased her from every angle, just as the little tiger was about to bristle again, she finally restrained her playful mood. Then she looked up at the sky, saw that the sun was at its zenith, and said: "Alright, we've been fooling around all morning. It's time to attend to serious matters."
Jiang Mo, who had been teased by Senior Sister to the point of nearly bristling just a moment ago, also looked up at the sky upon hearing her mention the time. Seeing the bright sun high above, she realized it truly wasn't early anymore, and felt somewhat regretful—had she known Senior Sister would be so accommodating, she wouldn't have suggested just half a day. After all these days of rushing about, wouldn't a full day of rest be fine?
When Yun Qingyue turned back, she caught sight of Jiang Mo's darting eyes, and knew without guessing that this one was plotting something again. So she raised her hand and lightly tapped Jiang Mo's forehead: "What are you thinking about? We agreed on half a day. The future is long; why are you in such a hurry?"
Compared to Jiang Mo's clinginess, Yun Qingyue's emotions weren't actually as intense. As she said, the future was long—not to mention how long a divine beast's lifespan was, even with her Fusion stage cultivation, she had a longevity of ten thousand years. And they were now only a hundred years old; the future was truly long. Whether they wanted to plant and appreciate flowers, watch sunrises and sunsets, or accompany each other, they still had far too much time.
People in the cultivation world probably never had the same sentiment of cherishing each day as those who had crossed over.
Jiang Mo didn't explain, but hearing Senior Sister say "the future is long" made her heart sweet. Because Senior Sister never made empty promises, and when she said the future was long, it meant she had included Jiang Mo in her future plans. Looking at it this way, their remaining lives were indeed extensive.
"Alright, alright, I understand. Let's attend to serious matters first." As Jiang Mo spoke, she tugged at Senior Sister's sleeve coquettishly.
Yun Qingyue was quite susceptible to this kind of coquettishness, her eyes quickly showing indulgence. The two exchanged a few more sticky, idle words, and after pinching the little tiger's earlobe, she finally took Jiang Mo's hand and left together.
As they rose into the air, the mountain breeze swept past their clothes, causing the sachets at their waists to sway. One was a vivid little tiger, the other was of the most ordinary design, but with a small white phoenix embroidered in one corner. Though they were two completely different sachets, at this moment they somehow seemed strangely compatible.
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Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue had spent half a day idly, but as Jiang Mo had said earlier, the mighty Xuanqing Sect didn't really lack their services. Without them patrolling the entire sect, no chaos had arisen here.
The two flew around Xuanqing Sect and, seeing the sect peaceful, Jiang Mo immediately became smug: "See? It's the same without us."
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue gave her a strange look, really not knowing what there was to be smug about. However, it was good that the sect was fine. After that day's massive outbreak of demonic patterns, though people continued to be infected and break out sporadically, the numbers had decreased significantly.
Now seeing the sect so peaceful, Yun Qingyue suggested: "The sect seems particularly peaceful today. Let's go to the lightning pool and take a look."
Jiang Mo naturally didn't refuse. So many days had passed—how were those disciples soaking in the lightning pool now? Had anyone successfully had their demonic patterns removed? Or how many had been unable to withstand it and ultimately perished in the lightning pool?
Thinking about this topic felt somewhat heavy, so the two didn't discuss it further, remaining quite silent throughout the journey.
……
When the two arrived at the back of Mount Tianyang, the scene here was no different from their last visit. Because disciples were periodically sent to soak in the lightning pool these days, the pool's barrier had never been closed again, with only a few elders always guarding the entrance as a precaution.
Perhaps because today was relatively leisurely, when Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue arrived, several elders were gathered drinking tea.
Jianbing's identity was already special, and Yun Qingyue's cultivation was now high as well. Seeing the two arrive, those elders all rose to welcome them, even inviting them to join for tea. The result, of course, was a polite refusal from Yun Qingyue, but the two also learned from these elders that Sect Leader Qingxiao was currently inspecting the lightning pool.
It had been many days since they had seen Sect Leader Qingxiao, so Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue naturally didn't withdraw, but directly entered the lightning pool to find him.
This entry into the lightning pool was no different from previous times. Upon entering, apart from the ninety-nine lightning pools, they saw a sea of black heads. Some could be seen being tormented by the conflict between demonic patterns and the lightning pool's power, but the barriers above the lightning pools not only blocked their escape routes but also confined all sounds to that small space.
Jiang Mo had never liked such scenes; even a silent drama made one's heart cold to watch. So her gaze circled around, seeing only those soaking in the lightning pools and a few elders meditating along the edge of the mountain's belly, guarding against accidents.
Suddenly, Jiang Mo's scanning gaze halted, and she tugged at the sleeve of the person beside her: "Ah Yue, the Sect Leader is over there."
Her voice wasn't particularly loud, but not only did Yun Qingyue beside her hear it, but even Sect Leader Qingxiao, who was far away, seemed to have heard, looking over from a distance. Seeing it was the two of them, Sect Leader Qingxiao turned his steps and walked directly toward them.
Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue couldn't just stand there waiting for him to come over, so they also actively went to meet him. The two parties met beside a lightning pool flashing with purple lightning, and then exchanged a few simple greetings.
Yun Qingyue first asked about the condition of the disciples in the lightning pool—originally, these people from Xuanqing Sect should have been infected with demonic patterns less severely than Huiqian had been, and they had soaked in the lightning pool for many days, so logically, some effect should have been visible. However, the result given by the Sect Leader was disappointing: very few disciples had recovered, while many had perished in the lightning pool.
The topic hadn't started well, and the atmosphere of the conversation seemed to become oppressive.
But the reality was that few current topics could avoid being oppressive, such as Yun Qingyue's next topic: "Sect Leader, my master led people to aid the Buddha Sect many days ago. Do you know how the situation is now?"
With the protective grand formation activated, only the Sect Leader could communicate with the outside world, and a sect leader's information channels were always the fastest and most extensive.
Hearing this, Sect Leader Qingxiao frowned deeply, his face visibly showing worry. He shook his head and said: "It's unclear. No news has been sent back yet." But at such a time, no news itself represented trouble.
Yun Qingyue and Jiang Mo both felt concerned upon hearing this, but setting aside this topic, Yun Qingyue had other questions. So she pressed her lips together and asked: "Then how is the situation at Mount Xuanyin?"
Back then, the Crimson Blood Sect and Xuanqing Sect had secretly formed an alliance, and although they later had to recall several peak masters and elders due to trouble from Tiandao Sect, Xuanqing Sect naturally still paid attention to and cared about the situation at Mount Xuanyin. Moreover, since Yun Qingyue's background had been exposed eighty years ago, her concern for Zhu Baiyi was only natural.
Sect Leader Qingxiao didn't conceal anything, just shook his head in bewilderment: "It seems they're still at a stalemate, but many have died..."
His words seemed unfinished, but he suddenly stopped, his sharp gaze flashing toward them.