Chapter 221: Shoot the Arrow First, Then Draw the Target

Watching Lu Yang, who was trying hard to suppress himself yet still showed signs of restlessness, True Person Miaoyin maintained her smile while secretly sneering in her heart.

Hah, men!

The next second, she voluntarily took a step back; having just appeared eager to seduce, she now resumed her elegant and dignified demeanor.

She understood these men's thoughts all too well; wanting to bewitch someone with beauty, throwing oneself into their arms was the lowest method, while the truly effective tactic was to seem reluctant yet welcoming. Men were like that—the more they could not have something, the more they wanted it; only by keeping them dangling and engaging in push-and-pull could one completely control them.

"How about it, Daoist friend, are you willing to talk?"

True Person Miaoyin spoke in a gentle tone, as if her earlier deliberate teasing had been an unintentional slip, and that she had never meant any of it in reality.

Being unpredictable only made people's hearts itch more!

As expected, upon seeing this, Lu Yang's restless behavior became even more obvious, and he spoke faster: "Lady, you have not yet said what business brings you to seek me out this time?"

"I wish to travel to the Wan Wu Realm to gather qi and increase my fortune."

"Alas, the world beyond the heavens is fraught with peril, and I have no one to protect me."

True Person Miaoyin sighed and said, "In the past, my husband supported me, but now that he has passed away, I truly cannot find a trustworthy helper."

After speaking, she lifted her head to glance at Lu Yang once more; every word, every action, every frown and smile perfectly displayed the fragility and helplessness hidden beneath her dignity following her recent loss of her husband. Coupled with her special identity as the wife of a former superior, this was enough to make many people's hearts flutter.

Lu Yang seemed to be no exception.

"I agree to this matter!"

Seeing him pat his chest and laugh loudly, he said, "I happen to be planning to go beyond the heavens to gather qi as well; we can travel together, protecting each other and providing mutual care."

"Thank you, Daoist friend!"

Upon hearing this, True Person Miaoyin immediately revealed a trace of emotion, and a moving flush of red appeared on her originally slightly pale, exquisite face.

"This time, I have invited only you, Daoist friend... I hope you will show me compassion."

After speaking, True Person Miaoyin bowed slightly; her words invited wild speculation, yet her tone was utterly serious, as if there were no hidden meaning whatsoever.

Lu Yang's expression became even more unable to contain himself.

However, True Person Miaoyin did not stay long; seeing his reaction, she immediately mounted a beam of escape light and drifted away amidst a fragrant breeze, leaving Lu Yang no opportunity to speak again.

"..."

After watching True Person Miaoyin depart, Lu Yang finally reined in his expression, only to see Patriarch Tingyou quietly appear behind him, looking at him with slight concern:

"Yuan Tu, you haven't truly developed feelings for her, have you?"

"Patriarch jokes."

Lu Yang turned around; the face that had just been restless was now completely cold. With calm eyes, he lightly uttered a single sentence:

"She wants to harm me!"

After speaking, Lu Yang pondered for a moment before adding, "To be precise, this woman should be colluding with someone malicious, intending to set a trap to harm me!"

"... h?"

Patriarch Tingyou paused, thinking to himself: Although I wanted to warn you to be careful of this woman and not be seduced by her beauty, isn't this a bit extreme?

"Surely not to that extent?"

"Why not?" Lu Yang glanced at Patriarch Tingyou upon hearing this and said in a low voice, "Patriarch, this is the Sheng Sect! Such things are not strange!"

It was merely the style of the Sheng Sect!

Patriarch Tingyou intended to refute, but upon reflection, felt that since this was the Sheng Sect, it was not impossible, so he changed the subject: "What basis do you have?"

"The basis is that she actively came to find me!"

Lu Yang's expression was calm as he analyzed, "Why would she actively come to find me? Is it simply because she misunderstood me as lustful and thought she could exploit that?"

—If not that, then what?

Seeing Patriarch Tingyou's strange expression, Lu Yang immediately guessed what he was thinking and couldn't help but say, "Patriarch, you know me."

"Am I the type who delights in female beauty?"

Upon hearing this, Patriarch Tingyou silently retorted in his heart: It is precisely because I know you too well that I worry you might be blinded by beauty.

Seeing this, Lu Yang could only explain with a helpless expression: "It is undeniable that she has the intention to engage in push-and-pull with me, but that is merely a standard tactic of True Persons in the Sheng Sect and proves nothing. Looking past the phenomenon to the essence, regardless of what methods she used, the fact that she actively came to find me this time is wrong!"

"Because she is the one holding the initiative."

"She possesses detailed intelligence on the Wan Wu Realm; if I wish to go to the Wan Wu Realm to gather qi, I must seek her help, making me the weaker party."

"Under these circumstances, a qualified True Person of the Sheng Sect would hold out for the best price to maximize profit, yet she actively came to find me."

"Doing so must mean she seeks something else, and what she seeks is enormous!"

"So enormous that she believes I would never agree, so enormous that she willingly lowers herself; as the advantageous party coming to find me, her only motive can be to take my life!"

Patriarch Tingyou listened with an expression that was hard to maintain:

"This is just your suspicion, right? Most of it is speculation; you are shooting the arrow first and then drawing the target, having decided from the very beginning that she plots against you."

There could be many plausible explanations for Lu Yang's questions, such as True Person Miaoyin losing her composure due to Master Chongguang's death, or perhaps she simply hadn't thought that deeply, or maybe because Lu Yang had spoken face-to-face with True Person Qingcheng Feixue, she worried that Lu Yang had already grasped the intelligence regarding the Wan Wu Realm.

Lu Yang did not deny this.

After all, he had indeed deduced the motives by directly assuming that True Person Miaoyin had other calculations against him, but he did not feel there was any problem with that.

"One can never be too cautious regarding True Persons of the Sheng Sect!"

Unless it was someone like Lady Ruoxiang, whose cultivation base was inferior to his own, Lu Yang would treat them more casually, but True Person Miaoyin was completely different from Lady Ruoxiang.

Because she was at the Great Perfection of the Mid Stage of Foundation Establishment!

Moreover, as Master Chongguang's former Dao companion, who knew how many good treasures she had secretly accumulated; when it came to magical combat, she might be even more formidable than Ye Gu.

Towards such a person, Lu Yang would absolutely not let his guard down.

"It is better to believe it exists than to believe it does not." Lu Yang pondered in his heart, then stood up: "I must go to the Xianfa Pavilion to make preparations in advance."

Clouds connecting to the sky, Wendao Mountain.

This was the cultivation ground of True Person Miaoyin; deep within its innermost section stood a great hall. True Person Miaoyin descended amidst a fragrant breeze and escape light, then closed the hall doors.

This was because the hall itself was actually a superior magic treasure named the Court of Do Not Look Improperly; its mysticism was similar to Lu Yang's Star Concealment. As long as the hall doors were closed, all karma was hidden, and everything that occurred within was difficult to investigate; only if a True Person intervened would it be possible to calculate what had happened.

Inside the hall, True Person Miaoyin took out a round mirror.

The mirror surface was smooth; she gently swept her hand across it, injecting magic power, which instantly reflected a burst of brilliant light, within which many scenes appeared.

Soon, a voice emanated from within:

"For a Daoist friend to come find me at this time is quite coincidental."

The voice was clear and bright; at first listen, it sounded like that of a scholar, and when the figure gradually appeared on the mirror surface, it was indeed a handsome young man.

"Suo Huan."

True Person Miaoyin spoke calmly and softly: "I have found for you a fortune of the highest upper grade."

"... h?"

The young man named Suo Huan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "Highest upper grade? That is not something to be said lightly. I wonder, does the 'fortune' you speak of refer to an object or a person?"

"Naturally, it refers to a person!"

True Person Miaoyin said softly: "Having cultivated for a hundred years, achieving the Mid Stage of Foundation Establishment in one lifetime, and now seeking Great Perfection of the Mid Stage—would you not say this is of the highest upper grade?"

At these words, Suo Huan immediately narrowed his eyes: "Indeed, it is of the highest upper grade..."

(End of Chapter)