Chapter 186: If Not Him, Then Should I Blame My Sister?

Back in his own cave dwelling, Lu Xingzhou still had a fine layer of cold sweat on his body.

A Nuo looked at him with some worry: "Master... even Mr. Ye thinks he can dig out the secrets of the Underworld Palace from you. Won't others try to capture you because of this in the future?"

Lu Xingzhou pinched A Nuo's small face: "We are 'traitors' of the Underworld Palace. Unless they are so desperate that they grasp at straws, they won't do anything. Under normal circumstances, they will only be conciliatory like Mr. Ye. If they can get me to actively fight the Underworld Palace, it is far more useful than capturing me."

A Nuo asked, "So Mr. Ye only did this for that reason?"

Seeing A Nuo's slightly sad expression, Lu Xingzhou laughed helplessly: "No."

A Nuo's eyes lit up.

"What? You used to call her an old woman, but now you don't want her to approach you only for other reasons?"

"But she is really beautiful and powerful... Isn't that how Immortals are?"

"First Grade..." Lu Xingzhou pondered, "Logically, at their level of cultivation, all their thoughts are focused on breaking through to become Immortals. Even Huo Liancheng, such a vulgar person, handed over most affairs to Huo Xingyuan after reaching First Grade. Huo Xingyuan didn't like managing affairs much after reaching First Grade either; matters are gradually being handed over to Huo Qi. Let alone your Sister Yu..."

A Nuo glanced at him sideways.

Lu Xingzhou did not avoid the topic of Yu Muyu this time; instead, he continued: "Your Sister Yu used to love teasing me, but after reaching First Grade, she visibly began to distance herself. She spent far more time in seclusion and contemplation than others, often staring blankly at the night sky. When discussing serious matters, the topics shifted from the development of the Underworld Palace to heavily incorporating 'Dao' and 'Ancient' concepts, which are so obscure to me that I don't like talking about them with her at all."

A Nuo propped her chin on her hand: "Is it possible it's because you grew up, or she thinks you grew up? Who knows how useless you are."

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

A Nuo said, "Also, if such behavior is unique to First Grade, that's not necessarily true... Master, after I reached Fourth Grade, I felt my heart start worrying about the Third Grade bottleneck, obviously much more than before... Is it possible this is common to everyone facing a major bottleneck?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "That is true. When I was stuck on the middle three grades bottleneck, I was far more anxious than before; above First Grade, it is obviously even more severe. So the question arises, where does Lady Ye get the time and mind to manage so many mundane affairs..."

A Nuo scratched her head, at a loss for an answer. After a long while, she reluctantly said, "Because she is beautiful and powerful!"

Lu Xingzhou couldn't help but laugh: "You are captured by whoever is beautiful."

"No! Pei Qingyan is so beautiful, but I still want to beat her up. She stole my buns!"

"Ha..." Lu Xingzhou picked up A Nuo and walked out the door: "Let's go to the Underworld Palace and change the direction of their investigation."

"If Pei Qingyan has already monitored Huo Hengxiu's altar, then Huo Heng definitely wouldn't dare to cause trouble here, right? Will it really work?"

"Actually, the real thunder in the Huo family is that alchemy furnace; triggering this matter is also the karmic connection between me and them. But we cannot recklessly use this trump card now. Before Gu Zhanting loses trust in the Huo family, they won't raid the family just because you said so; instead, they will be accused of false accusation."

"So we must shake their trust from other aspects first? But if Huo Heng didn't do it, is it framing him?"

"Since Lady Ye specifically mentioned this matter, it means Huo Heng most likely skimmed some profits here, and Lady Ye obtained information about it. In fact, these people are used to skimming profits; some things they do so habitually that they don't even realize they are being corrupt, thinking it's just a shared rule, so it might not be intentional. If the Pei family didn't spot the problem, it was probably because they thought the matter was too small and meaningless."

"But for us, we only need to plant a seed in Gu Zhanting's heart?"

"Yes... a seed to tear apart trust step by step."

Back in the observatory, Ye Tinglan was also discussing matters with an old man with a white beard.

"She said back then that we were looking for fish in trees and left in anger. I originally thought that since she was raised as a key disciple of the sect since childhood, she had little experience with the dangers of the human world and hadn't tasted the struggle for resources alone, so it was good for her to go out and walk around," Ye Tinglan sighed. "I thought that after a few years of tempering outside, she would eventually realize the sect's goodness. To truly reach First Grade, one cannot rely solely on oneself; she would always return..."

The old man also sighed: "Her departure was not as glorious as she claimed on the surface; she also refused to submit to you as Sect Master... She refuses to submit to anyone. At that time, we thought it was good for such a thorn to go out for a few years; once she realized the difficulty of resources, she would be more obedient in the future... But who knew she would actually establish a huge organization, become the Sect Master herself, have all the resources, and breaking through would be a non-issue."

"With her talent, I strongly suspect she is already beyond First Grade," Ye Tinglan said in a low voice. "The nine grades are only for ordinary people. The limit of Huiyang is not even a hundred years for her. She is undoubtedly a genius among geniuses."

"With her unruly personality back then, who could have imagined she would actually develop such an organization?" the old man sighed. "Actually, if she could truly build a career, we would be happy to see it, but she walked the Demonic Path..."

"She picked up a rascal, who knew she picked up a treasure," Ye Tinglan gritted his teeth. "The most infuriating thing is that her act of walking the Demonic Path was instigated by that rascal. If no one had stirred the pot, she might not have taken such a path."

The old man: "..."

Ye Tinglan held his head in pain: "Now that her foundation is larger, the topic returns to the past. Our family quarrel has now become a sufficient basis for a stance and Dao conflict; the situation is extremely troublesome."

The old man said, "It should be fine; her nature is not bad... That time we tried to capture her and bring her back, she still showed mercy, only wounding her without killing."

Ye Tinglan sighed: "She is a person with truly firm ideas... When she truly has the capital to realize her ideas from back then, we will belong to the category of 'even if orchids block the path, they must be removed.' By that time, I fear she will no longer care about this bond of incense."

The old man fell silent. "Ultimately, that rascal who helped her build power is the real culprit. If she couldn't succeed, she would have gone home obediently long ago; there wouldn't be this matter." Ye Tinglan ground his teeth: "You said that time we tried to capture her and bring her back, she showed mercy... Later it was proven that even that battle was designed by the Judge. Without that scoundrel, we would have captured her back two years ago!"

The old man twitched the corner of his mouth: "This, Sect Master, blaming a low-grade disabled person who just offered advice for the whole situation, isn't that a bit..."

"I don't blame that dog-headed strategist, so should I blame my own younger sister?"

"... Then it is normal to blame your younger sister."

Ye Tinglan: "?"

The old man coughed dryly: "Anyway, this rascal in the Sect Master's mouth now belongs to the Sect Master. Hasn't the winning move already been seized? Maybe we can even anger her to death."

Ye Tinglan: "..."

"That is not important; what matters is that he will help you now, not Muyu," the old man said. "What is rare is why she was willing to let him go back then; does she not know how much trouble this will bring her?"

Ye Tinglan thought blankly for a while: "Probably, from his departure, she remembered her own departure back then, felt resonance, and her nature is ultimately not bad... It can't possibly be because she couldn't bear to part with him?"

"That is absolutely impossible!"

"Forget it." Ye Tinglan held his head: "I ultimately do not wish to truly conflict with her. I want to resolve this matter through conciliation, which mostly depends on Lu Xingzhou. I will take personal responsibility for this matter. You should also suspend your daily measures against the Underworld Palace; do not trigger any uncontrollable major conflicts to avoid irreversible damage."

"Yes."

"Help me call Miss Qingli over."

The old man took the order and left. Not long after, Dugu Qingli entered: "Master, you called for me?"

"Yes. There is a mission here. I hadn't decided who to assign it to originally, but since you have already broken through to third grade, it is perfect for you to go as part of your tempering."

Dugu Qingli clasped his hands and said, "Please instruct me, Master."

"In the Western Tian Shuang Kingdom, there is currently a Demonic Path faction colluding with the Underworld Palace, secretly plotting to organize the Alliance of the Ten Halls of Yama. Go investigate which faction they are and how far the Ten Halls Alliance has progressed. Especially clarify how the alliance with the Underworld Palace is being conducted and see if we can find a way to insert a nail... Be extremely careful; safety comes first."

Dugu Qingli accepted the order: "Yes."

Then he remembered something and hesitated: "Go right now?"

"Of course, right now." Ye Tinglan asked strangely, "What? Do you have something unfinished?"

"N-no, nothing much." Dugu Qingli scratched his head: "Then I will go say goodbye to a friend."

"Does 'friend' refer to Lu Xingzhou?"

"Yes."

So openly, Ye Tinglan didn't think much of it: "If nothing unexpected happens, he should be at the western suburb altar now; just go."

Du Gu Qingli was stunned.

How did Master know Lu Xingzhou's whereabouts so precisely? Has the attention paid to the Yan Luo Hall now reached this extent, where even the former Judge is under constant surveillance?

Ye Tinglan added another sentence: "There is something fishy about the altar in the western suburbs. I do not know if he can discover it; if he cannot, you may offer a slight hint."

Du Gu Qingli was even more puzzled: "What fishiness? I do not know, so how can I hint?"

Ye Tinglan tossed over a small mirror: "This mirror can reveal the threads of witchcraft and poison magic. It is quite normal for a successor of the Holy Land to possess some treasures. Coincidentally, this thing will also be useful to you on the journey to Tian Shuang Kingdom."

Do you think it is useful to me, or do you think it is useful to Lu Xingzhou?

A thought flashed through Du Gu Qingli's mind, but of course, she did not dwell on such baseless matters. She honestly accepted the mirror and thanked him: "Thank you, Master."

After speaking, she did not stay long, but turned and left calmly.

It was obvious that after breaking through to third grade, even with the Fire Origin Pill from Lu Xingzhou as a foundation, she had become much more cold and sharp.

Watching her disciple leave, Ye Tinglan stood silently in a daze for quite a while before murmuring to himself: "The Huo family was never the key... Let us see what you think after you discover the true key. Will you, like your former superior, believe that rolling heads are the right path?"

(End of this chapter)