Almost as the Heavenly Sword Sect prepared to leave the scene, the scattered cultivator “Zhou Xi,” who had also secured a spot in the Dharma Assembly, quietly returned to her temporary rest area.
Compared to the areas designated for the great sects, this place appeared simple and desolate.
She raised her hand slightly and gently removed the ordinary mask from her face, revealing a countenance that bore a sixty percent resemblance to the Jin Emperor, Zhou Ruolin—though her features were more refined and cold.
Her ice-blue hair cascaded down like a waterfall, making her skin look even more translucent.
Her eyes, of the same color, seemed to hold ten thousand years of frost.
At this moment, she was staring toward the direction where Lu Li and his disciples were, her gaze complex and difficult to discern.
As she gazed, a deep voice with a hint of a helpless smile sounded from behind her.
“My dear Regent, this entire Dharma Assembly is organized by our own family. Whatever reward you want, you may simply take it from the treasury. Why bother personally descending to the field to compete with these wandering cultivators and sect disciples? As expected, you still haven’t outgrown your childish playfulness.”
Zhou Ruoxi did not turn around, already knowing who the newcomer was.
The only one who could appear behind her so silently and speak in such a tone was her biological brother, the current Emperor of the Kingdom of Jin — Zhou Ruolin.
Zhou Ruolin had arrived at the Dharma Assembly at some point, and he had clearly been observing from the shadows.
Now dressed in plain clothes, he had suppressed his imperial majesty, looking like an ordinary wealthy young master.
However, the depth and sharpness between his brows were still difficult to fully conceal.
Zhou Ruoxi’s gaze remained fixed on Lu Li, as if she wanted to carve that green-robed figure deep into her heart.
She shook her head gently, her voice as cold as ever but carrying a trace of unquestionable determination.
“Brother, you have misunderstood. I am not here for rewards, nor am I playing.”
Zhou Ruoxi paused, a very faint but exceptionally stubborn soft light flashing in her ice-blue eyes as she whispered, “I just… have someone I am worried about. I must watch him from up close to be at peace.”
Zhou Ruolin followed her gaze and naturally saw Lu Li talking with his disciples.
His brows twitched slightly, feeling somewhat puzzled.
“Worried about? You mean… your master, True Person Chongyang, Lu Li?”
His tone carried a bit of surprise and amusement.
“Ruoxi, are you letting your concern cloud your judgment? Your master is a bona-fide Golden Core Stage cultivator. Within Yicheng, those who could threaten him can be counted on one hand. Furthermore, he has those two junior sisters of yours with him. What do you have to be afraid of?”
However, Zhou Ruoxi’s expression darkened several shades upon hearing her brother’s words, and a deeper layer of frost seemed to congeal on her frozen face.
She slowly turned her head to look at Zhou Ruolin, a sharp light flashing in her eyes.
Her voice dropped even lower, carrying an unprecedented gravity.
“What I fear has never been external danger.”
Zhou Ruoxi’s gaze drifted toward the distance again, but this time, it seemed to pierce through the void and land on a certain unknown, threatening shadow.
“I am afraid… that my Fourth Junior Sister will strike against my master.”
“Mo Qingyou?”
Zhou Ruolin’s expression became serious upon hearing that name.
He knew a bit about his sister’s former life and was well aware that the “Fourth Junior Sister” she mentioned was by no means a kind soul.
She was entangled with the Yin Corpse Sect and her actions were unpredictable.
“Her? She would dare to strike a Golden Core cultivator—her own master—in front of everyone?”
“Hmph… what wouldn’t she dare?”
Zhou Ruoxi’s tone held a hint of icy mockery and deep-seated worry.
“In our former life, she could commit such rebellious acts. In this life, she is involved with the Yin Corpse Sect. Who knows what bizarre methods she has gained? In this life, she might be even more trouble than we imagined.”
Zhou Ruoxi recalled Mo Qingyou’s unavoidable assassinations and bizarre abilities from her former life, and her fingertips tightened slightly.
“Master… although his nature is kind, he is sometimes too upright and lacks sufficient guard against those around him. Mo Qingyou knows this well. I fear she will exploit his trust or use some sinister method we don’t know about…”
Zhou Ruoxi did not continue, but Zhou Ruolin already understood her concern.
On the eve of the Secret Realm’s opening, various factions were gathering, and the crowd was a chaotic mix of fish and dragons.
It was the best time to strike from the shadows.
One was in the light, the other in the dark; one held onto old sentiments, the other was ruthless and heartless.
If Mo Qingyou was truly determined to deal with Lu Li, it would indeed be difficult to guard against.
Zhou Ruolin remained silent for a moment.
Looking at the unmistakable worry and determination in his sister’s eyes, he finally sighed.
“Fine. Since you are so uneasy, then keep a close watch. How do you need me to cooperate?”
Zhou Ruoxi shook her head.
“Brother only needs to act as usual. Do not attract the attention of others. I will continue to participate in the assembly as ‘Zhou Xi’ and stay nearby. As for the rest… I know what I’m doing.”
She turned her gaze back to Lu Li in the distance, her ice-blue eyes filled with both worry and resolve.
‘Master, in this life, I will never let anyone hurt you again. Whether it is Mo Qingyou or anyone else… none shall even think of it!’
***
While the cold light of a guardian’s resolve gathered in Zhou Ruoxi’s eyes and she made her vow.
On the outskirts of the Dharma Assembly grounds, on the official road leading to the West City, a seemingly ordinary merchant caravan was traveling at a steady pace.
The creatures pulling the carriages were all low-level spirit steeds with long-lasting endurance.
The exterior of the carriages was plain and unadorned, no different from the common merchant teams seen in Yicheng.
Around the caravan followed some cultivators dressed as guards, their auras suppressed.
Their cultivation levels were mostly in the middle to late stages of Qi Refining, making them completely unremarkable.
However, inside one of the closed carriages in the middle of the caravan, which appeared to be loaded with cargo, there was a hidden world of its own.
The interior space was much more spacious than it looked from the outside, clearly enhanced by a sophisticated spatial expansion technique.
The furnishings inside were simple, with calming sandalwood incense burning and the light kept dim.
Mo Qingyou sat alone in a corner of the carriage, her posture still carrying her characteristic lethargy and detachment.
She did not look out the window; her eyes were slightly closed as if she were dozing.
But if anyone could peer into her sea of consciousness, they would find that her perception was spreading out like an invisible spiderweb, quietly passing over the noisy Dharma Assembly grounds and accurately locking onto Lu Li.
In her perception, Lu Li was talking with the two disciples beside him, his expression gentle and carrying his usual concern for his juniors.
Looking at this familiar figure that made her emotions so complex, Mo Qingyou slowly opened her eyes.
Her eyes were deep, like an unfathomable ancient well.
They did not have the outward frost and sharpness of Zhou Ruoxi, nor the cunning of Gong Shangyu or the stubbornness of Gu Qingying.
There was only a silent, thick darkness that could not be washed away.
However, in the deepest part of that darkness, a faint but exceptionally stubborn flame flickered — it was a “fixation” twisted to the extreme.
‘Master…’
Mo Qingyou called out silently in her heart, her fingertips twitching unconsciously.
‘You are still the same… always so ready to trust those around you, giving your tenderness to those… who don’t deserve it at all…’
The faces of Gu Qingying, Gong Shangyu, and even Feng Lingshuang flashed through Mo Qingyou’s mind, and a trace of extremely faint emotion mixed with disgust and jealousy quietly crossed her heart.
Images from her former life flashed through her mind—the end she never wanted to see again, where her gentle Master became someone else’s exclusive plaything.
Her heart felt as if it were being squeezed hard by an invisible hand, bringing a suffocating throb of pain.
“That kind of thing… I will never allow it!”
Mo Qingyou murmured softly, the flame of fixation hidden deep in the darkness suddenly growing a bit stronger.
‘Don’t worry… Master. In this life, no matter what, I will rescue you from the established cycle of fate!’
Having said that, Mo Qingyou slowly closed her eyes and withdrew her perception.
The carriage returned to a dead silence, with only the sandalwood incense curling in the air, highlighting her beautiful, expressionless profile that hid an undercurrent of surging emotions.
The merchant caravan continued to travel at a steady pace.
The wheels crushed the dust of the official road, gradually moving away from the clamor of the Dharma Assembly and from the Master she had vowed to “save,” heading toward the unknown, conspiracy-laden darkness.
At the edge of the Dharma Assembly field, Lu Li, who was gently comforting his two disciples, was completely unaware of this.
He only felt a sudden, inexplicable chill pass through his heart, making him subconsciously pull his robes tighter.
He looked up at the still-clear sky, a faint, groundless sense of unease drifting through his heart.