Chapter 404: The Xiang Jianzong's Eldest Ye Shijie

Countless sword-lights wove ceaselessly through one another, brilliant as a galaxy of stars yet perfectly ordered.

A rather unremarkable cyan-gold sword-light joined the stream, slicing through the night sky, and followed one of the descending Divine Radiance rankings toward the Inner Sect continent.

The sword-light quickly surged upward, paused briefly, then plunged down toward one particular spot.

She had been to Li Ke's cave dwelling many times before, so naturally she knew the way by heart.

Whoosh~!

Amid the dense shade of the trees, a breeze swept through, stirring the branches and leaves into a rustling whisper.

The cyan-gold sword-rainbow gradually dispersed before touching the ground, and Chi Jiuyu dropped down lightly, her movement exceedingly graceful, before turning her gaze toward the unremarkable cave dwelling ahead.

From the outside, it looked no different from her own current dwelling—quite plain, all things considered, for a Cave-Truth realm cultivator.

Light filtered out through the cracks of the door and the windows; the surroundings were unnervingly quiet.

After all, this was the cave dwelling of a Cave-Truth realm Sword Lord—barring necessity, no one would deliberately approach the place.

Even passersby would deliberately keep their voices low.

"Ye Shijie! Ye Shijie! I've come to see you!" Chi Jiuyu called out as she ran toward the cave dwelling.

In her hands appeared a heap of parcels large and small—all souvenirs she had picked up at the Yuling Star Interstellar Hotel during this trip abroad.

"I brought you gifts, open up!" So saying, she reached the door of the cave dwelling.

Normally, the door would swing open on its own well before she got that close.

But this time, even after she had run right up to it, the door of the cave dwelling remained firmly shut.

Bang bang bang!

"I've got news about Martial Uncle too—I need to tell you!"

Still, there was no response.

"……"

Could she not be in?

What a coincidence.

Setting down the things in her hands, she pulled out her phone, sat down before the door, and sent a message.

Future Sect Master of Xiang Jianzong: "Ye Shijie, where did you go?"

Li Ke's reply came quickly enough.

Ye Shijie Who Won't Give Me Her Book: "Busy with chores-hall matters, what's up"

Yan Ming had gone into closed-door cultivation, so she could only temporarily stand in as hall master; on top of that, preparations for the Xian Sect Grand Competition were starting this period, so she was swamped.

Future Sect Master of Xiang Jianzong: "Just got back from the Star Realm, figured I'd come find you for a chat"

Future Sect Master of Xiang Jianzong: "I even brought you gifts"

Click!

Future Sect Master of Xiang Jianzong: "/image"

Chi Jiuyu snapped a photo of the parcels piled beside her and sent it straight over.

Ye Shijie Who Won't Give Me Her Book: "Just for that?"

Ye Shijie Who Won't Give Me Her Book: "You didn't go cause trouble out there and come running to me to lie low, did you?"

Sigh!

I really am…

I came all the way here in good spirits to keep you company, and even brought you gifts—and this is how you think of me!

Ye Shijie Who Won't Give Me Her Book: "Fine, fine, go on in and wait for me yourself, I'll be right back"

She'd heard that dead-fish Chi had run into Master in the Star Realm—perfect chance to ask her and find out where Master had gone.

Ye Shijie Who Won't Give Me Her Book: "Behave yourself, don't go touching my stuff"

Chi Jiuyu, who had just typed out a long string of text, froze at this message; then, as if something had occurred to her, she deleted every last character.

She rose, dusted off her trousers, took a key from her storage ring, and channeled a wisp of magic power into the door's lock.

Click-clack!

The door cracked open, warm light spilling out from within; Chi Jiuyu picked up the gifts from the ground, pushed the door open, and walked in.

Because Li Ke had been preparing to head off to garrison the Western Star Region, she had given Chi Jiuyu a key, asking her to look after the place when she had the time.

Nothing for it—whoever made her such a warm-hearted person.

Stepping inside the cave dwelling, she gave the door a kick and slammed it shut behind her.

"Leaving the lights on too—what a waste."

Muttering, she walked further in and set the Yuling Star System specialties from her hands down on the table.

Looking around, the interior was hardly lavish—rather, quite simple; the doors leading to the other rooms were all tightly shut.

Glancing left and right, sharp-eyed Chi Jiuyu quickly spotted a silver wooden chest sitting on the coffee table, its surface carved with intricate array patterns that seemed specifically designed to keep prying eyes out.

So mysterious…

Drawing her gaze back, she made her way familiarly to the side, opened the fridge, poured herself a glass of juice, and only then went over and sat down on the sofa.

As a mouthful of juice went down, amid the crisp fruit fragrance a surge of dense spiritual energy rose up, leaving her feeling almost dizzy.

"Ha…!"

Not bad, not bad—Ye Shijie's juice here really packs a punch!

Actually, Li Ke had quite a collection of fruit wines stashed away, but Chi Jiuyu didn't dare touch those; last time she'd accidentally caught even a whiff of the scent, she'd slept straight through a day and a night…

Even now that she'd reached Soul Transformation, it probably wouldn't be much better.

Unclipping the Xiang Jianzong Token from her waist and turning it over in her hands, Chi Jiuyu's gaze drifted, almost of its own accord, toward the wooden chest on the coffee table before her.

emm……

Sister just said not to touch it, she didn't say not to look.

I'll just take one quick glance.

It took her less than three seconds to convince herself.

Then, her eyes glowed with a faint Jin Guang, possessing the power to pierce illusions and reveal truths, eager to see what lay inside.

Chi Jiuyu strained to widen her eyes, but it was useless—her once-infallible Tai Xu Po Wang Jin Tong had lost its power, revealing only a hazy Bai Guang.

Damn it!

Is this really necessary? Even my Tai Xu Po Wang Jin Tong can't penetrate it.

Finally, her eyeballs nearly popped out, and in that hazy Bai Guang, she spotted a faint line of text: 'Sister…'

Bam!

She'd barely made out the first character when the blurred script vanished with a sudden sound.

The Jin Guang in her eyes instantly faded, and she saw Li Ke had returned—her hand resting on the silver wooden chest.

'…'

The atmosphere was just a little awkward.

Chi Jiuyu tightened her grip on the Master Jianzu Ling and forced a nervous laugh: 'Sis-sister, how'd you get back so fast?'

'I clearly told you not to touch my things.'

'I didn't touch anything! I just looked—I hadn't even seen anything yet when you interrupted me.'

Li Ke stared at her silently; Chi Jiuyu met her gaze without flinching, her eyes full of 'determination.'

'…' Li Ke picked up the chest and sat down beside it. 'I'll let it slide this time.'

Hehe!

!

She was trying to scare me? I'm not even afraid of Master's gaze!

'Speak. What do you want?'

'Didn't I already say? I brought you a gift.' Chi Jiuyu pointed aside. 'There! All of it!'

Looks like this damn fish is truly bored.

Fine. I was planning to go find her anyway.

She glanced at the Master Jianzu Ling in her hand: 'Did you meet Master at the hotel?'

'No, we met Uncle only when we went to investigate the fourth planet of Yu Yao.'

Noticing Li Ke was staring at her hand, Chi Jiuyu quietly tucked the Master Jianzu Ling away.

Showing off is good, but timing matters.

'But Uncle also stays at Yu Ling Interstellar Hotel—I think he noticed us long ago.'

'Naturally.' After a pause, Li Ke asked, 'By the way, since you met Master so early, you must know where he went.'

'Huh? Don't you know?'

'Should I know?'

'Oh.'

Chi Jiuyu scratched her head and took another sip of juice.

Because when she told Master earlier…

She thought everyone already knew!

'Uncle went to He Huan Sect.'

'He Huan Sect?' Li Ke frowned slightly. 'Why did Master go to He Huan Sect?'

'I don't know.' Chi Jiuyu shrugged. 'We wanted to ask, but Uncle left before we could.'

So…

Master went into the starry void to confirm conditions on the other side—he should've returned long ago, yet he lingered…

After returning with you lot, he didn't head straight to Jian Zong—he went directly to He Huan Sect…

He must be seeking He Huan Lao… Master Mei Zu. There's likely some connection between them.

'Did Senior Brother know about this?'

'I told Master immediately, but she said she already knew.'

Where else would you find such a loyal disciple!

'By the way, Sister.' Chi Jiuyu shifted closer. 'I heard a Star Domain Warden is being rotated—and apparently, he's Uncle's disciple. Is he a Senior Brother or Ye Shijie?'

Cultivators live long; though I'm already Soul Transformation, I'm still young—only in my twenties—so I haven't met many Senior Brothers or Sisters yet.

Sigh~

This is the burden of being a peerless genius…

But Li Ke fell silent after hearing her.

The rotating Star Domain Warden…

'Female,' she said coolly.

'Oh! So she's a Ye Shijie.' Chi Jiuyu nodded. 'Then who among you entered Uncle's sect first—her or you?'

'Her.' Li Ke looked at her. 'You came to me just to ask about her, didn't you?'

Chi Jiuyu beamed, grinning: 'I'm the senior direct disciple of the Jian Zun line—we're both from Jian Zong's two major branches. Of course I need to understand her well!'

This girl really…

'Save your breath,' Li Ke set the chest beside her. 'She's not easy to deal with.'

'No problem—I'm easy to get along with. Perfect complement.'

"Fine, suit yourself. Don't blame me later for not being clear."

"How could I!" Chi Jiuyu had full confidence in her social skills. "Which Ye Shijie under our martial uncle's tutelage is she?"

As she spoke, she even pulled out her phone and flipped through the Xiang Jianzong disciple directory.

The female disciples under their martial uncle's tutelage who ranked before Ye Shijie Li weren't that many, and those currently stationed guarding the starfields were even fewer…

"Xu Qianning."

Xu Qianning…?

After a pause, she suddenly caught on: "Holy shit! Isn't that your Big Ye Shijie, Ye Shijie?!"

The Big Ye Shijie under their martial uncle's tutelage could be said to be the Big Ye Shijie of the entire Xiang Jianzong.

And that name… there had to be something fishy about it.

She'd find time later to ask her master about it.

"Oh right, between that Big Ye Shijie and you, Ye Shijie, who's stronger?"

"…" Li Ke paused. "Don't ask such meaningless questions. Can a Soul Transformation cultivator like you tell the difference in strength between Cave-True realm cultivators?"

Got it!

So that means the Big Ye Shijie is stronger, right! (End of Chapter)