Nalan Yunyan’s mother was named Nalan Mingjing, titled the Reflecting Heart Venerable, and served as the current head of the Nalan Family.
Before Cloud-Weave Star Venerable became a Semi-Saint, the two of them were known as the two strongest experts of the Luoxia Immortal Sect.
Nalan Mingjing acted with overbearing protectiveness.
Within the Sect, she not only opposed the Cloud-Weave Star Venerable at every turn, but her prestige even threatened to overshadow the Sect Master herself.
However, this arrogance came to an abrupt halt once Cloud-Weave Star Venerable revealed her status as a Semi-Saint.
From then on, the family head—who once seemed intent on rebranding the Luoxia Immortal Sect as the Nalan Family’s private property—announced she was entering secluded meditation.
It was a blatant move to avoid conflict, as she clearly feared that Cloud-Weave Star Venerable might strike against her.
This shift from haughtiness to humility once became a laughingstock among the inner circle of the Luoxia Immortal Sect’s elders and Venerables.
Yet today, just as the gates of the Ancient Saint Crater closed and all the disciples, including Qian Yu, had entered, this woman—as sharp and majestic as a blade—actually made an appearance.
She landed directly in front of Cloud-Weave Star Venerable.
She shared 50% or 60% of Nalan Yunyan’s features and appeared to be about 30 years old.
Her hair was coiled high, every golden strand meticulously restrained beneath the Nine Phoenixes Holding Pearls Black Gold Crown that symbolized her status as the family head.
The gilded tassels hanging from the phoenixes’ beaks remained perfectly still.
The woman exuded absolutely no warmth, forming a stark contrast to the gentle and holy Cloud-Weave Star Venerable.
“Sister Mingjing?”
The surrounding elders of the Luoxia Immortal Sect all showed looks of hostility and wariness.
Cloud-Weave Star Venerable, who shared the deepest conflict with Nalan Mingjing and wished for nothing more than to see her gone, was the one who reacted with a startled pause before quickly stepping forward with a warm smile.
“I haven’t seen you for some time, and I’ve missed you quite a bit. I wanted to find you for a game of chess and a chat, but then I heard you were in seclusion. How do you have the time to come out today?”
“Because I want to.”
To everyone’s surprise, even though she knew Cloud-Weave Star Venerable’s cultivation was no longer on the same level as hers, Nalan Mingjing still refused to show the Semi-Saint any respect.
The icy words caused the warmth on Cloud-Weave Star Venerable’s face to cool slightly, and her eyes narrowed.
Everyone has emotions and desires, and Cloud-Weave Star Venerable was no exception.
Before her breakthrough to Semi-Saint, the woman before her showed no respect; after the breakthrough, she still acted this way.
Did that not make the breakthrough feel pointless?
“Sister Mingjing’s personality is as straightforward as ever.”
Cloud-Weave Star Venerable continued to smile calmly, but Nalan Mingjing interrupted her again.
“Enough nonsense. I have come out of seclusion this time to invite you to a cup of tea.”
“Oh?”
The smile at the corner of Cloud-Weave Star Venerable’s mouth remained unchanged as she waved her hand, signaling the surrounding elders to retreat.
“Right now? That might be a bit difficult.”
Qian Yu had already entered the Ancient Saint Crater.
Although Cloud-Weave Star Venerable was restricted from entering by her cultivation level, she could still seep some of her power inside.
It would be enough to make that little grand-niece—who had caused her to be struck by lightning—suffer a bit, or perhaps force her to reveal or exhaust her hidden trump cards.
Nalan Mingjing didn’t end her seclusion earlier or later; she chose this exact moment to invite her for tea.
‘Is she trying to stall me, to stop me from moving against Qian Yu? But why? And on what grounds?’
“Sister, can you be a bit clearer with your words?”
Cloud-Weave Star Venerable’s smiling gaze remained fixed on Nalan Mingjing.
This was a woman cruel enough to kill her own biological daughter.
If she truly came here to stall for Qian Yu’s sake, what could Qian Yu have possibly offered to move her?
Cloud-Weave Star Venerable was filled with doubt, but Nalan Mingjing didn’t even bother to respond. She simply tore open a rift in space and signaled for her to enter.
That arrogant manner was truly carved from the same mold as Nalan Yunyan.
“It seems Sister has been in seclusion for too long, allowing her wisdom to be stained by dust,” Cloud-Weave Star Venerable said with a fake smile.
She didn’t understand.
How could Nalan Mingjing, who was only at the peak of the Venerable Realm, have the confidence to stall a Semi-Saint?
The chasm between those levels was far greater than the gap within the Venerable Realm itself.
In the next moment, however, her expression changed as she sensed something.
She actually felt a faint trace of the Saint Realm’s aura on Nalan Mingjing’s body.
This Dao Rhythm was very thin, and she was still a long distance away from truly stepping into the Semi-Saint realm.
But just as the woman had said, she only wanted to invite her for a cup of tea.
With that trace of faint Saintly Rhythm, it was impossible for her to win a battle, but it was enough to stall her for the duration of a cup of tea.
“Sister has good luck. It seems I truly have no choice but to intrude today.”
Cloud-Weave Star Venerable affectionately took Nalan Mingjing’s hand, and they stepped into the spatial rift together.
Only she knew the shock and jealousy brewing in her heart.
Having been stuck at the peak of the Venerable Realm for a long time, Yunzhi knew exactly how difficult this step was.
That faint trace of Saintly Rhythm was something countless Venerables could not obtain in ten thousand years.
Even she had paid an unimaginable price to finally move forward.
Why did Nalan Mingjing get to?
The other woman’s talent was clearly inferior to her own.
“Now, can Sister tell me why you insisted on this cup of tea?”
Clouds served as their table and chairs, while the sunset glow formed their tea set.
When they emerged from the spatial rift, the two were sitting opposite each other high in the sky.
Cloud-Weave Star Venerable smilingly served Nalan Mingjing a cup of tea, suppressing her internal emotions as she asked.
This time, Nalan Mingjing answered her: “Because of a bet.”
Someone had owed her a massive debt that they couldn’t repay.
To settle the debt, they had made this bet over ten years ago.
Nalan Mingjing needed to stall Cloud-Weave Star Venerable for the time it took to drink a cup of tea at the appropriate moment, allowing that person’s disciple to act freely within a Secret Realm.
If that person won, the debt was forgiven, and she, as a senior, would have to do one thing for the disciple in the future.
But if that person lost, the disciple’s life, opportunity, and bloodline would all belong to her.
As for the conditions for winning… it depended on the disciple’s original heart.
That person had said that a person is wicked only because they lack sufficient restraint and deterrence.
A hypocrite is hypocritical because they lack the ability to protect themselves; they wear a mask to survive.
Once they possess the power to protect themselves, they can show their sincere side.
Furthermore, that sincere side would remain kind.
For example, that disciple of theirs.
At the time, Nalan Mingjing didn’t even know who the disciple was.
But whether it was herself or every being she had encountered since birth, there was no such thing as a truly frank and sincere person.
Even the powerful experts who acted willfully and never hesitated to show their true selves could hardly be called “kind.”
Once someone possessed power that was free from any restraint, being kind for a day was one thing, but after ten-plus years, it was a miracle if they were even still human.
Therefore, Nalan Mingjing had accepted this “guaranteed-to-win” bet.
As ten years passed, she had almost forgotten about the matter.
It wasn’t until the news arrived that Qian Yu had severed her Sacred Body and even intended to gift it to her daughter in front of everyone that Nalan Mingjing finally remembered the bet.
She didn’t understand how that person could calculate today’s events across a span of ten years.
However, the insight gained from watching these shifting sands of time had actually given her the push she needed at the peak of the Venerable Realm, granting her the strength to stall Cloud-Weave Star Venerable.
The twists and turns of the situation made Nalan Mingjing’s skin crawl even now when she thought about it.
She wondered if even this realization had been part of that person’s calculations.
If so, just who was that person?
She couldn’t figure it out, but that person’s strength made Nalan Mingjing crave the stakes of this winning bet even more.
How vast a treasure must the total opportunities of such a being’s disciple be?
As for losing…
Nalan Mingjing never believed that anyone, after gaining absolute power, could remain a truly good person.
She—and even Cloud-Weave Star Venerable—had once been moved by the sect’s motto to ‘establish a heart for Heaven and Earth and a life for the people,’ hadn’t they?
And look at them now…
No matter how shameless she was, Nalan Mingjing didn’t consider herself a good person.
Once you reach the Venerable Realm, you inevitably have to make a few “necessary trade-offs” or “painful sacrifices” for the sake of your own interests or those of your kin, right?
Once those trade-offs pile up, doesn’t it just become a morality crowned with wickedness? —
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