Chapter 297: The Guest Is Actually a Fellow Disciple

With a swirl of dust, Lingxiang and Shoucheng vanished; after a dizzying spin, the two landed outside the Deliberation Hall.

This escape caught Lingxiang completely off guard; the moment her feet touched the ground, she nearly stumbled, but fortunately, Shoucheng steadied her in time, preventing her from kissing the floor.

Even so, Lingxiang still looked a mess, her hair disheveled and her face covered in dust, and she stood there frozen for a long while.

Where was she, and where was she going...

After coming to her senses, Lingxiang blew at a lock of hair scattered before her face, spat out the sand and dirt from her mouth, and turned to complain to Shoucheng.

"I am your Junior Aunt, after all. I was just about to speak, and you—you just escaped without rhyme or reason, not even saying a word. Is it clear you were trying to tease me?"

Making her look so embarrassed—did she not have a reputation to maintain!?

Seeing Lingxiang's fury and her posture as if she were about to strike, Shoucheng quickly held his hands out in front of him, offering a sheepish smile while pointing behind Lingxiang, whispering a reminder: "Junior Aunt, you must mind your decorum!"

Decorum? She, Lingxiang, had never had any decorum!

Though she thought this, Lingxiang still followed Shoucheng's gesture and looked back, only to see rows of unfamiliar young Daoist acolytes, wearing Daoist Robes she had never seen before.

Eh? She had only been gone for a few months, and the sect had taken in so many disciples? And changed into new clothes?

"This is..." Lingxiang was not quite sure, but she restrained herself significantly, tidying her messy clothes and hair accessories while asking Shoucheng in a low voice.

After all, she still had to consider the face of the Yuanqing Ninth Elder, did she not?

"They are distant guests..." Shoucheng also replied in a whisper.

Ah~ so these are guests! No wonder they all looked like strangers!

Lingxiang suddenly realized, and while tidying her appearance, she strutted through the crowd with an air of importance, though inwardly she slandered Shoucheng: This brat, he must have gone too long without being teased; he actually made her lose face in front of outsiders. She would see how she would deal with him later!

It was just that the clothes these people wore looked somewhat familiar, yet for a moment, she could not recall where she had seen them.

Shoucheng felt so bitter inside! He knew his Junior Aunt too well; if he hadn't done this, he would surely have been on the receiving end of a long lecture today, and it might even have ended with his Junior Aunt messing with him. Rather than that, it was better to just escape to the entrance of the Deliberation Hall; although he might still be teased by her later, but...

Better to hide for one day at a time!

"Fucang Elder arrives!"

Following the loud announcement of the gate-keeping acolyte, Lingxiang entered the Deliberation Hall with a solemn expression, only to see her own old men actually standing there, with no clear order of precedence.

This was truly strange; could it be that the Head Disciple had attained enlightenment and wanted to pass the position of Sect Leader to her? That would truly be...

Well-deserved!

At this thought, Lingxiang's face beamed with joy, and she cleared her throat, just about to speak, when she heard a vigorous and powerful voice echo through the hall.

"Little Shopkeeper Lingxiang of Youran Abode, it has been many days; I hope you have been well!"

Who was it? Why was it so familiar? How did they know she was the shopkeeper of Youran Abode?

It was then that Shangqing Zhenren and the other Elders cleared a path, and the person on the dais was revealed, though he still had his back to Lingxiang and had not turned around.

Yi! This head of white hair, this proud bearing! Truly familiar!

"May I ask, Fellow Daoist, who you are..."

From which temple?

Before she could finish, Qianyuan Zhenren spoke up to stop her: "Lingxiang! Do not be rude!"

"Hey~ no matter! This old man and this little girl can be considered to have had a Daoist connection." The man on the dais raised his hand.

Had a Daoist connection? Then...

"That is truly rare. Although I, this little girl, am not very old, I am considered a veteran of the world. In these years, the Fellow Daoists I have met, even if not a hundred, are at least forty or fifty. As for your 'Daoist connection,' forgive my dull eyes, I truly did not recognize you." Lingxiang shrugged her shoulders and stuck her tongue out at Qianyuan Zhenren.

What could she do, she really did not remember.

Hearing this, the man smiled, then turned half his body, leaning over and playfully waving his hand at Lingxiang: "Do you still remember who this old man is?"

"Hiss!"

Lingxiang took a long breath; she saw that the man had long eyebrows reaching his beard, eyes like deep pools, and that immortal air and bone—was it not...

"Senior Lieyang!"

It was actually the Daoist Lieyang of the Taishang Sect!

It was just that the playful demeanor of Daoist Lieyang now truly caught her off guard.

The Daoist Lieyang that Lingxiang knew was extremely steady and solemn; when had he ever had such a posture? Could it be that in these years, fellow practitioners with high cultivation had all turned into old rascals?

Just as Lingxiang was at a loss, Shangqing Zhenren, who had been keeping his eyes closed, spoke up: "You should not call him Senior; based on seniority, you should call him Martial Uncle."

Martial Uncle?

This... how did that come about?

One was the Taishang Sect, the other the Yuanqing Sect; the distance between the two sects was not just a little bit, so how did they start discussing seniority?

Seeing Lingxiang's look of astonishment, Lieyang Zhenren stood straight, smiled, and said it was no matter, then sighed.

"It is all ancient history."

Ancient history? That was great; what she loved most was hearing about those clouds and mists of the past.

Lingxiang looked full of anticipation, just short of pulling up a long chair and brewing a pot of good tea.

As it turned out, Lieyang Zhenren was originally a member of Yuanqing, a fellow disciple of the former Sect Leader Lingxiao, both studying under Wuwei Laozu, who had recently undergone his tribulation and ascended.

Wuwei Laozu had only three disciples in his life: these two and Xunfeng Zhenren, though Xunfeng Zhenren was but a child at the time, and Wuwei Laozu had originally intended to pass the position of Sect Leader to Lieyang Zhenren, his Head Disciple.

However, things went against his wishes; on the eve of stopping the fierce beast Zhuyan from descending into the world, news came of Lieyang Zhenren's illicit affair with a fox demon.

Wuwei Laozu was furious upon hearing the news; he banished the fox demon from Guyang while locking Lieyang Zhenren into the Hexi Cave at Siguo Cliff.

The Hexi Cave was dark and sunless, filled with Dharma Arrays that sealed Qi and closed off breath; even with Lieyang Zhenren's high cultivation, falling into it would likely mean his life would not last long.

Xunfeng Zhenren could not bear to see his own Senior Brother suffer; while Wuwei Laozu was in seclusion and the former Sect Leader Lingxiao was leading his five disciples to suppress the soul of the fierce beast, he secretly climbed Siguo Cliff and broke the Dharma Array of the Hexi Cave.

This act was truly in violation of his master's orders.

At that time, the former Sect Leader was injured, and Wuwei Laozu had forcibly come out of seclusion; upon learning of this, he was not as enraged as before, but instead expelled both Lieyang Zhenren and Xunfeng Zhenren from the Yuanqing Sect.

Listening to Lieyang Zhenren sigh and lament while stating these past events in a flat tone, Lingxiang finally understood.

No wonder Huiwu could use techniques like the Overturning Water Sword Formula and Tayun Boots, which originally belonged to the Yuanqing Sect; it turned out the two sects were of the same lineage!

Ha! In this world, there actually exists such a coincidence, and she even happened to run into it.

"However..."

Just as Lingxiang was deep in thought, Lieyang Zhenren suddenly changed his tone.

"However, the reason why Master drove both me and Junior Brother Xunfeng away back then actually had other hidden circumstances."

Hm? Another story?