Chapter 255: Shoot the Arrow First, Then Draw the Target

Seeing Lu Yang's appearance, which he tried his utmost to suppress but still showed some impatience, True Person Miaoyin maintained her smile while couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

Heh, men!

The next second, she actively stepped back; just moments ago she had seemed to be actively flirting, yet now she had returned to her elegant and dignified, graceful demeanor.

She understood these men's thoughts too well; to use beauty to bewitch someone, throwing oneself into their arms was the lowest method, the truly effective tactic should be to feign refusal while inviting, for men, the more they cannot get, the more they want, only by dangling and pulling them can one completely control them.

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

True Person Miaoyin spoke in a gentle tone, as if those deliberately teasing words just now were an unintentional slip, and in reality she had no such intention at all.

Being unpredictable is what makes the heart itch even more!

As expected, Lu Yang's restless behavior became even more obvious upon seeing this, and he spoke faster, "Lady, you haven't said yet, what is the purpose of seeking me out this time?"

"This humble one wishes to make a journey to 【Wan Wu Jie】 to gather Qi and increase one's fortune."

"Alas, the world beyond the heavens is perilous, and this humble one has no one to protect her."

True Person Miaoyin sighed and said, "In the past, this humble one had my husband to assist, but now that my husband has passed away, this humble one truly cannot find a trustworthy helper."

After speaking, she raised her head to glance at Lu Yang once more; every word and action, every frown and smile displayed to the fullest extent that weakness and helplessness hidden beneath her dignity, stemming from her recent loss of a husband, and combined with the special identity of being the former superior's wife, was enough to make many hearts flutter.

Lu Yang seemed to be no exception.

"I have agreed to this matter!"

He was seen patting his chest and laughing loudly, "It just so happens I also plan to go beyond the heavens to gather Qi; I can travel with the Lady, and protecting each other will provide mutual care."

"Thank you, Daoist friend!"

Upon hearing this, True Person Miaoyin immediately showed a trace of emotion, and the delicate face that had been slightly pale now flushed with a charming blush.

"This time, this humble one has invited only you, Daoist friend; I hope you will pity this humble one."

After speaking, True Person Miaoyin was seen bowing slightly; her words made people imagine all sorts of things, yet her tone was extremely serious, as if there were no hidden meanings whatsoever.

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

However, True Person Miaoyin did not stay long; seeing this, she directly rode a beam of escape light, drifting away with a fragrant breeze, giving Lu Yang no further chance to speak.

"..."

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

"Duanmu Yuan Tu, you wouldn't have truly fallen for her, would you?"

"Patriarch is joking."

Lu Yang turned around; the face that had just been restless was now completely cold; he was seen with calm eyes, softly uttering a sentence from his mouth:

"She wants to harm me!"

After speaking, Lu Yang pondered for a moment, then added, "To be precise, this woman should be colluding with someone with ill intentions, wanting to set a trap to harm me!"

"... Ah?"

Patriarch Tingyou was stunned, thinking to himself that although he wanted Lu Yang to be careful with this woman and not be seduced by beauty, was his reaction a bit too extreme?

"Is it really that necessary?"

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

It's just the style of the Holy Sect!

Patriarch Tingyou wanted to refute, but thinking about it, since it was the Holy Sect, it wasn't impossible, so he could only change the subject: "What is your basis?"

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

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

— Otherwise what?

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

"How could I be the kind of person who loves women?"

Upon hearing this, Patriarch Tingyou immediately slandered in his heart: I am worried you might be confused by beauty precisely because I understand you too well.

Seeing this, Lu Yang could only explain with a helpless face, "It cannot be denied that she has the intention to pull and tug with me, but that is just a conventional tactic for a True Person of the Holy Sect, explaining nothing; looking past the phenomenon to the essence, no matter what tactics she used, her coming to find me actively this time is wrong!"

"Because she is the one holding the initiative."

"She possesses detailed information about 【Wan Wu Jie】; if I want to go to 【Wan Wu Jie】 to gather Qi, I must rely on her, making me the weaker party."

"In this situation, a qualified True Person of the Holy Sect would naturally wait for a good price to sell, so as to maximize benefits, yet she came to find me actively."

"Doing this must mean she has other requests, and the request is very great!"

"So great that she thinks I would never agree, so great that she lowers her status and comes to find me as the superior party; that can only mean she wants to take my life!"

Patriarch Tingyou listened with a face full of difficulty:

"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 start that she has ulterior motives against you."

Lu Yang's problem could have many plausible explanations, such as True Person Miaoyin losing her composure because Chongguang died, or she simply didn't think that much, or because Lu Yang had spoken face-to-face with True Lord Feixue, she worried Lu Yang had already obtained information about 【Wan Wu Jie】.

Lu Yang did not deny this.

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

"For a True Person of the Holy Sect, no amount of caution is too much!"

Unless it was Lady Ruoxiang whose cultivation was inferior to his own, Lu Yang would treat her relatively casually, but True Person Miaoyin and Lady Ruoxiang are completely different.

Because she is at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, fully accomplished!

Moreover, as the former Daoist partner of Chongguang, she secretly obtained who knows how many good things, and in a magical duel, she might be even more formidable than Ye Guyue.

Dealing with such a person, Lu Yang would never let his guard down.

"Better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't," Lu Yang pondered in his heart, then stood up: "I must go to the Hall of Manifested Dharma; I need to prepare beforehand."

The Cloud Sea Reaching Heaven, the Mountain of Hearing the Dao.

This place is True Person Miaoyin's dojo; in the deepest part of it stands a great hall. True Person Miaoyin descended with a fragrant breeze, riding a beam of escape light, and then closed the hall.

It is because this hall is actually a superior spiritual treasure named 【Court of Not Looking at What is Improper】; its wonder is similar to Lu Yang's 【Star-Hiding Luster】, and as long as the hall door is closed, all karmic causes are hidden, and everything that happens inside is difficult to trace, unless a True Lord intervenes, it might be possible to calculate it.

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

The mirror surface was smooth; she merely ran her hand lightly over it, infused it with magic power, and instantly a brilliant radiance reflected, revealing numerous scenes within the light.

Soon, a voice emerged from it:

"Fellow Daoist, it is quite a coincidence that you come to seek me at this time."

The voice was clear and resonant; at first hearing, it seemed like that of a scholar. As the figure gradually appeared on the mirror surface, a handsome young man was indeed revealed to all who looked.

"Suo Huan."

True Person Miaoyin spoke calmly, her tone low and faint: "I have found a top-tier Qi for you."

"Oh?"

The young man named Suo Huan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "Top-tier? That is not something said lightly. Does the Qi in your words refer to an object or a person?"

"Naturally, a person!"

True Person Miaoyin said softly: "Cultivating for a hundred years, achieving the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment in a single lifetime, and now seeking to reach the perfection of that mid-stage—do you not say this is top-tier?"

Upon hearing these words, Suo Huan immediately narrowed his eyes: "Indeed, it is top-tier..."

(End of this chapter)