So, when Hua Yan returned to the courtyard with Hua Xiangrong, this was the scene she saw:
In the courtyard, several wooden hobbyhorses had been set up at some unknown point.
A bunny-eared girl with pale golden hair, dressed in a white training robe, held a long ribbon and was hopping back and forth on the smooth wooden horses.
Beside her, an ethereal fairy with flowing white hair held a long wooden rod, occasionally swinging it at the girl’s wrists, waist, calves, and other spots.
On the other side, a gloomy female cultivator in a black robe leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, watching coldly.
“Ahhh——!”
Just as the mother and daughter entered the yard, Ning Shiliu, on the hobbyhorse, lost her balance as Yun Xuechang’s rod swept her calf, and she fell over like a toppled bunny.
“Little Pomegranate, are you okay?”
Seeing this, Hua Xiangrong immediately let go of Hua Yan’s hand and rushed over to the fallen bunny-eared girl.
“I—I’m fine…” Ning Shiliu took Hua Xiangrong’s hand and stood up, speaking weakly.
“Are you… teaching Little Pomegranate to dance?”
Hua Yan walked over to Yun Xuechang, who was holding the rod, and Ji Ling, who had been silently watching, and asked curiously.
“No, I’m teaching her the use of the soft sword,” Yun Xuechang said seriously.
She then recounted how Ji Ling had entrusted her with teaching Ning Shiliu the sword, and added:
“Little Pomegranate comes from the Xiaoyao Sword Sect. She has learned many sword techniques before, but she always used ordinary straight longswords. To switch to a soft sword and learn new techniques, she still needs to put in a lot of effort. The soft sword requires the most precise control of the energy throughout the body. This kind of practice is to help her become familiar with the coordination of footwork and body movements.”
Hua Yan nodded, half-understanding.
She had never refined or studied magical instruments like the soft sword, but since it was a practice method given by Yun Xuechang—a sword fanatic whose whole mind was on swords—it was likely fine.
Yun Xuechang looked at the orange-red sunset on the horizon, then at Ning Shiliu, who was being helped up by Hua Xiangrong.
“Little Pomegranate, today is the first lesson, so we’ll stop here. Go back with Elder Ji for now. Remember to review the sword techniques and footwork I taught you, and come again tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll have Elder Ji bring you to my courtyard. As it happens, from now on you can cultivate together with Rongrong—she also has to continue learning the Five Elements Path that Yan’er taught her tomorrow.”
From now on, practice with Rongrong…?
Hearing this, Ning Shiliu secretly glanced at the pink-haired little girl supporting her, and her red eyes instantly brightened.
But before she could agree, Hua Yan shook her head and said, “Unfortunately, as I see it, they probably won’t be able to practice together tomorrow.”
“What do you mean by that?” Ji Ling frowned, asking from the side.
“Sigh, don’t even mention it. Just now when we went out, Rongrong gave another prophecy. The South Sea Secret Realm will officially open tomorrow.”
‘Honestly, I was taking Rongrong out to buy things for Xue Shang’s birthday decorations, and we ended up running into this kind of thing.’
“Not only that, this time Rongrong also gave a list of most of the evil cultivators who will sneak into the secret realm. Next, we’d better find some trustworthy Daoist friends and discuss the upcoming South Sea Secret Realm thoroughly.”
Yun Xuechang and Ji Ling were both stunned at this, then nodded in unison.
/
An hour later, in an elegant private room within the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion’s lodgings.
“I say, Qu Linglong, what exactly is the matter that you called us here today?”
Beside the round table in the private room, Li Chengfeng, arms crossed, swept his gaze over the others at the table—most of whom were outstanding elites from various sects—then frowned at the only person not yet seated, the one who had summoned them tonight: the Cardinal of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, Qu Linglong.
A short while ago, the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion had suddenly sent a message that there was an important matter to discuss, yet they refused to say what exactly it was.
“This important matter you speak of—could it be that your Heavenly Mystery Pavilion has come up with some new messy mechanism and is looking for people to invest spirit stones for mass production? Let me tell you, Qu Linglong, I won’t be fooled again this time. Without a proper physical demonstration and a review of the specific mechanism parameters, I won’t spend an extra spirit stone with you.”
Li Chengfeng snorted and looked suspiciously at Qu Linglong.
It wasn’t that he was being overly suspicious, but given the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion’s usual ways, he had to doubt the true importance of tonight’s so-called “important matter.”
The few people beside him also nodded in agreement.
“Ahem, Daoist friends, please don’t be impatient. Tonight, I, Qu Linglong, have invited you all, and it definitely won’t be to promote some ordinary mechanism.”
Carrying a large box on her back, Qu Linglong stepped onto her small stool and looked down at the seated crowd.
“To be honest, during this time, our Heavenly Mystery Pavilion has indeed developed a new mechanism worth investing in. It…”
Hearing this, several people, led by Li Chengfeng, stood up to leave.
“Hey, hey, hey, don’t go!”
Seeing this, Qu Linglong quickly smiled and called out to them.
“There really is serious business today! Can’t I just not sell anything?! Our Heavenly Mystery Pavilion calculated the opening time of the South Sea Secret Realm—it’s tomorrow!”
Hearing this, Li Chengfeng, who had already reached the door, whirled around and stared at Qu Linglong.
“Are you talking about the opening time of the secret realm? Is that true?”
“Of course it’s true. Our Heavenly Mystery Pavilion’s reputation and divination abilities have always been trustworthy.” Qu Linglong smiled calmly.
“A divination about the secret realm must have cost quite a bit of lifespan, right? Which senior from your Heavenly Mystery Pavilion performed the divination?” Li Chengfeng pressed, frowning.
Leaving aside Qu Linglong’s claim of the “Heavenly Mystery Pavilion’s good reputation,” divination about a secret realm was no small matter—it would cost a considerable amount of lifespan.
Moreover, the path of divination was an esoteric one.
Even in the long-established Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, those willing to walk this path were as rare as phoenix feathers.
Which senior would be willing to spend their precious lifespan on calculating something as seemingly trivial as the opening time of a secret realm?
“Ahem, regarding which senior performed the divination… that is a private matter of our Heavenly Mystery Pavilion. Fellow Daoists need not ask further.”
Qu Linglong cleared her throat and deliberately left it mysterious.
The person who performed the divination was naturally Hua Xiangrong.
But whether out of consideration for convincing those present or to protect Hua Xiangrong, Hua Yan and the others never intended to tell them the prophecy came from Hua Xiangrong.
They had only first approached Qu Linglong and discussed gathering everyone under the name of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, attributing the prophecy’s origin to the Pavilion.
Qu Linglong naturally agreed readily—not to mention her registered master-disciple relationship with Hua Xiangrong, publishing the prophecy could also increase the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion’s prestige, which was beneficial and harmless.
“Forgive my audacity. Since you divined the opening time of the secret realm, you must have also calculated some other information about it. Then why does Fairy Qu make this information public to us, rather than seizing the opportunity to seek out the treasures in the secret realm first?”
By the round table, Su Feiyao, who had been silently watching, opened her folding fan with a whoosh and asked Qu Linglong.
“Is it that in this secret realm, you divined some difficulty that the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion cannot resolve alone, and therefore you seek our cooperation and alliance?”
“Daoist Su is indeed perceptive. That is exactly the case.”
Qu Linglong cupped her hands to her, then said seriously,
“According to our Heavenly Mystery Pavilion’s divination, this secret realm will have many evil cultivators infiltrating it, attempting to cause chaos. They are hidden among rogue cultivators and some sects, with many infiltrators.”
At this point, she paused slightly, her gaze sweeping over everyone present.
“As for all of you present, in our Heavenly Mystery Pavilion’s divination image, you are all trustworthy individuals.”
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