Chapter 47 : Beginning the Layout
Chapter 47: Beginning the Layout
To be honest, True Person Mingzhu was indeed breathtakingly beautiful, but that allure went far beyond facial features alone.
What made Long Tao, who in his previous life had been accustomed to all kinds of heavily edited photos and influencer filters, lose his composure in an instant lay in a more fundamental reason—she had long since transcended the mortal realm.
A Golden Core True Person was, at the level of life’s essence, already completely different.
She stood there quietly.
Her skin was not the pale whiteness of an ordinary beauty, but instead possessed a jade-like, crystalline translucence.
Even under the dim, yellow candlelight of the Scripture Pavilion, one could see a faint, seemingly living halo circulating around her body, as though she were gently shrouded in an exceedingly thin layer of immortal mist and spiritual radiance.
Her figure and bearing had reached the extreme of some natural law of heaven and earth.
Every curve appeared perfectly innate—any more would have been overly lush, any less would have felt too cold—so perfect it was suffocating.
A mortal might find it hard to distinguish between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment, but could absolutely recognize a Golden Core cultivator at a glance.
It was a non-human perfection and detachment that radiated from within after a leap in the level of life itself.
Faced with this peerless beauty who seemed to gather all the spiritual elegance of heaven and earth into one body, Long Tao viciously pinched himself, forcibly suppressing the desire in his heart.
He then bowed obediently and answered,
“This… about that incident last time, it truly was that this disciple had lard clouding his heart and lost his senses for a moment. But please let the True Person discern clearly—this disciple truly only sought… only sought some verbal excitement, to satisfy a dry craving. I absolutely dared not harbor even the slightest act of real desecration.”
He paused, striving to make his voice sound more natural, and smoothly shifted the topic.
“Rather, you… why did you have the refined interest to come to the Scripture Pavilion today?”
He deliberately used “this disciple” to refer to himself, because most Golden Core True Persons had more or less lectured low-level disciples before.
Addressing himself this way was not incorrect, and it subtly drew the distance a little closer.
“If you had truly done something, you would not be standing here speaking with me now,” True Person Mingzhu said calmly, with no discernible joy or anger in her tone.
Her gaze casually swept over the surrounding bookshelves.
“I occasionally wish to change my state of mind and take a walk here. That is nothing unusual. However… I did not expect you to be rather diligent. It is already late, yet you are still buried in reading here—and what you are reading is not idle miscellany. This is… an overview of the Secret Realm in the Azurewood Demon Forest?”
Her gaze returned to Long Tao’s face, carrying a faint trace of inquiry.
“With your cultivation level, researching this… is it not a bit too early?”
A slight stir arose in Long Tao’s heart, accompanied by a strange feeling.
True Person Mingzhu’s attitude toward him did not seem as icy and distant as he had anticipated.
Instead, it carried an indescribable… subtlety? This unexpected gentleness even made him feel somewhat flattered.
However… perhaps this was also an opportunity?
His mind weighed the options at lightning speed, and he immediately made a judgment.
If he were to directly plead for Nan Yuchen now and request the lifting of his confinement, it would appear far too deliberate and goal-oriented.
With True Person Mingzhu’s exquisite discernment, she would certainly judge him to be putting on an act, which would only place him at a disadvantage.
After all, a Qi Refining cultivator lying before a Golden Core True Person was one of the stupidest behaviors in the world.
Better… to take another route.
To reveal a portion of the matter regarding the Secret Realm, mixing truth with falsehood, might produce an unexpected effect.
He timely showed a hint of helplessness and candor on his face, sighed, and said,
“Alas, before the True Person, this disciple dares not conceal anything. Actually… it was because an itinerant merchant from my hometown, someone I am familiar with, passed near the Azurewood Demon Forest some days ago, and the peachwood sword he carried for warding off evil suddenly underwent an abnormal change. That man has traveled far and wide and has broad experience. He immediately suspected that the Secret Realm of the Azurewood Demon Forest might be about to open again. Today, he happened to pass through Qixia Town and secretly informed me of this matter.”
“Oh?” True Person Mingzhu’s brows lifted slightly, as though a trace of interest had been piqued.
“That is indeed an interesting piece of news. An itinerant merchant’s perception was actually keener than that of the sect’s covert sentry disciples stationed nearby? Hehe… if it is true, it would indeed count as a curious anecdote.”
That light, drifting “hehe,” tinged with a bit of lazy skepticism, made Long Tao’s heart tremble along with it.
He nearly lost control again.
He forcibly steadied himself and threw out the more critical words that followed:
“Alas… at first, this disciple also thought he was just boasting nonsense after drinking. But he spoke with great certainty, and even said… that in a daze he saw a divine bird resembling either a green luan or a phoenix, dragging brilliant streams of light as it flew across the sky above the forest sea. Well, boasting does not incur taxes anyway, so this disciple simply let him talk.”
Long Tao knew perfectly well that at this moment, True Person Mingzhu would not believe a single word.
But as long as he waited one or two days, when news of the Secret Realm entrance being officially discovered by sect disciples was reported back, she would inevitably recall what he had said today.
By then… even if there were only a one-in-ten-thousand chance of it being related to “green luan” or “phoenix,” such sacred beasts, the vast majority of Golden Core cultivators would take the gamble! There was a high probability that she would lift Nan Yuchen’s confinement and include him in the exploration team for the Secret Realm.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, a trace of undisguised disdain immediately surfaced on True Person Mingzhu’s exquisitely beautiful face.
She clearly categorized this “ghost story” as the wild imaginings of common folk and Long Tao’s unreliability, and her impression of him seemed to worsen by a few points.
Just as Long Tao was racking his brains, thinking about how to find a topic to slightly salvage his image, True Person Mingzhu suddenly shifted the conversation and asked a question that caught him completely off guard:
“Enough. These groundless tales from markets and countryside are not worth mentioning.” She lightly waved her jade-like hand, as if brushing away dust, then let her gaze fall seemingly casually upon Long Tao.
“There is, however, one matter I wish to ask you. I heard that yesterday, True Person Zhiying accepted a new personally transmitted disciple, said to be from Qinglin Town… a hometown native of yours? Do you… know her?”
Long Tao’s mind went buzz and he froze in place.
He never imagined that she would suddenly ask about this! And… how did True Person Mingzhu know that he was from Qinglin Town? He had never told her before—or rather… he had never even had the opportunity to speak to her at all!
Oh! That was it! It must have been after the voyeurism incident that she had someone investigate his background!
Long Tao’s thoughts spun rapidly, and he quickly found a reasonable explanation.
After a brief consideration, he decided to tell the truth.
Before a Golden Core True Person, whether one spoke truth or lies, the other party had their own means of judgment.
There was simply no way to hide it.
Being candid might instead leave an impression of honesty.
“This… in reply to the True Person, I do indeed know her.” He squeezed out an appropriately timed expression of embarrassment and awkwardness.
“That girl… is named Xiao Ying. She was a maid I adopted when I was young, and we grew up together. Alas… speaking of it is truly shameful. Now she has soared in a single step to the heavens, becoming a high disciple of True Person Zhiying. As for this disciple… now when I see her, I only feel that I have nowhere to hide my face. It is extremely awkward.”
After hearing this answer, True Person Mingzhu’s expression remained calm and unruffled, as though she had merely heard some utterly insignificant matter.
However, the flawless corner of her lips imperceptibly curved upward just a little, outlining an extremely faint yet meaningful arc.
As if… she had truly obtained some answer she wanted.
“Is that so? Then that is good. Zhiying is, after all, my martial niece. When she suddenly accepted a personally transmitted disciple, I naturally paid some attention to the other party’s background. Since she was raised by you from childhood, that does put one somewhat at ease.”
Hearing her reply, Long Tao did not know why, but he recalled last night’s spring dream.
Although many details were already unclear, he vaguely remembered that at the time… True Person Mingzhu seemed to have complained quite a bit about True Person Zhiying.
But after all, it had only been a dream, and he would not take it seriously.
How could a female cultivator as perfect and maternally gentle as True Person Mingzhu possibly hold that kind of attitude toward her own martial niece? It must have been his frayed nerves causing abnormal dreams.