Chapter 38: Lustful Expression
While Cheng Yue stood silently on her celestial platform high above the mortal peaks, the mist swirling around her robes like obedient clouds, her thoughts were entangled in a net of growing disappointment. The spiritual wind danced around her, stirring her long sleeves and the silver strands of her hair, but her heart was far from tranquil.
Her disciple, Li Yao, whom she had once molded with such precision and care, now seemed more and more like a dull blade—sharp once, but rusted by emotion and obsession.
"This girl..." Cheng Yue thought, narrowing her cold eyes as her gaze pierced through layers of cloud, directed vaguely toward the Sixth Peak. "I had hoped she would become my sword. Instead, she clings to this boy like a foolish mortal maiden... unable to differentiate between affection and ambition.She really have become hopeless."
She exhaled deeply, the spiritual qi around her trembling ever so slightly in response. The flowers on her peak, all nourished by her immortal essence, seemed to bow under her mood, their petals drooping like servants sensing their master’s displeasure.
But at that very moment, an abrupt vibration cut through the still air like a blade slicing water.
Far below, within the sect’s inner sanctums, Li Yao’s token—a smooth oval jade imbued with Su Lan’s spiritual imprint—suddenly pulsed with radiant light. The quiet hum it emitted was sharp, unmistakable. It shone with rhythmic urgency, vibrating faintly atop the carved wooden table beside the jade bed.
Startled by the sudden sound, Li Yao turned her head sharply toward the source. Her brow furrowed in irritation. She knew this token well—it had been given to her by her personal master, 6th Peak Master Su Lan, a woman she respected in name but inwardly despised.
The token’s glow intensified, forcing Li Yao to step closer and lift it with slender fingers. Its weight seemed greater now, pulsing with an authority that could not be ignored.
"What now...?" she muttered under her breath, her tone dripping with annoyance. "What does that vixen want from me this time?"
She injected her spiritual sense into the jade, and almost immediately, a voice transmission began to play, ringing clearly in the quiet air of the room.
"To all of my nine disciples—wherever you are in the sect—come to me immediately. It is a matter of urgency."
The message was brief, but carried a strong sense of authority and hidden weight. The moment it ended, the room fell silent again—save for the soft crackle of spiritual energy still lingering in the corners.