Lu Mingyue returned to the courtyard of the Heaven Origin Sect and summoned Mu Qinghan and Qu Hongling.
“Master, have they made a decision over there?”
Mu Qinghan asked, glancing at her junior sister out of the corner of her eye.
She had already heard the entry conditions that were sent back, so she couldn’t enter, which meant only Qu Hongling could go in.
“Yes, this time, Hongling, you will lead the team and select three disciples to enter the mystic realm.”
“Three?”
Qu Hongling was taken aback.
“Isn’t that too few? There should be plenty of good things in this kind of mystic realm. Shouldn’t we bring more people?”
Lu Mingyue shook her head.
“No, that mystic realm is very dangerous. The various sects probably won’t bring many people either. We also have to prevent sneak attacks from the Demonic Path. Let’s do it this way.”
‘If it’s dangerous, you’re still sending me? Just because I’m your disciple? Why don’t you let… well, it seems there really is no one else besides me.’
‘Sigh… I’ll go over there and see if there are any signals left by our own people, and get in touch.’
“Then this disciple will go make the arrangements.”
“Mm, go ahead.”
Mu Qinghan watched her junior sister leave, then spoke to Lu Mingyue:
“Master, what Junior Sister said makes sense. After all, this is a ‘Dao of Deception’ mystic realm. There won’t be few good things inside.”
“This time is different. Ling Cang didn’t see anything, and on top of that, the Demonic Path is lurking in the shadows, eyeing us covetously.”
Lu Mingyue lowered her eyes and looked at her own palm.
“Qing Han, when they enter the mystic realm, you keep a close watch on the surrounding movements. Your master has some matters to attend to.”
“Master, where are you going?”
Lu Mingyue didn’t answer.
She stood up, patted Mu Qinghan on the shoulder, and then walked straight out.
Mu Qinghan stood alone in the room, pressing on the spot where her master had just patted.
‘Master trusts me. I can’t let her expectations down!’
‘But, come to think of it, where did Lin An go?’
As her only weakness, Mu Qinghan paid very close attention to Lin An.
Since this morning, she had seen everyone from the sect who came here, but she had not seen Lin An at all.
The most crucial thing was that she couldn’t even ask!
‘Ask who? Manager Hua?’
‘Definitely not. I don’t want anyone to know about this. The matter with Junior Sister was purely an accident, and fortunately she was sensible and said nothing.’
‘Then ask Junior Sister?’
‘Hmm, that won’t work either. It’s just like how I didn’t use a magic artifact to directly find Lin An.’
‘Every time I hear him call her “Senior Sister Qu,” I feel so awkward, and my temples throb.’
‘So now I’m stuck in this awkward situation.’
Mu Qinghan felt that because her colleague was too incompetent, her heart was tired.
‘Forget it. I won’t bother with him. I’ll go carry out the task Master assigned first.’
……
……
No Life Town had never been this lively.
After news of the mystic realm’s appearance spread, the first to arrive were not the disciples of the various sects, but rogue cultivators.
These people were scattered across the Nine Provinces, without the protection of a sect or fixed cultivation resources, relying on their own exploration and occasional opportunities to climb up step by step.
For them, a mystic realm was a chance to change their fate.
Lin An stood at the doorway, watching the bustling street outside.
He noticed that among the rogue cultivators, there was an indescribable sense of distance.
Although they gathered together, they maintained obvious vigilance toward each other.
When their eyes met, they would instinctively look away; when they drew near, they would unconsciously grip their weapons tighter.
Gu Yingge had said that the martial world was full of deceit and treachery.
That was indeed true, and perhaps even more accurate than what Lin An had originally meant to say.
Without the discipline of a sect or the bond of fellow disciples, anyone could become an enemy in the face of opportunity.
A middle-aged rogue cultivator in a short gray jacket walked past Lin An’s house, glanced at him, let his gaze linger for less than half a second, then quickly walked away.
Lin An looked down at his clothes.
He had changed into an ordinary cotton robe, made for him by Aunt Yan, with no markings at all.
He estimated that in the eyes of those rogue cultivators, he was probably just a young man from an ordinary commoner family, not worth a second glance.
He turned and went back into the courtyard.
Aunt Yan was sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard, holding the black cat in her arms, with a comb in her hand.
She was brushing the cat’s fur, stroke by stroke.
The black cat squinted its eyes and made a purring sound.
“Those people outside aren’t bothering you, are they?”
Lin An walked over and sat down beside her.
Yu Zhiyan shook her head, not stopping her movements.
“They won’t stay long.”
“How do you know?”
Yu Zhiyan smiled and glanced at Lin An.
“Just a guess. Even though your Aunt Yan hasn’t seen much of the world, I know that door won’t stay there forever.”
Lin An thought that made sense.
He reached out and touched the black cat’s head.
The cat opened its eyes, looked at him, then closed them again.
“Aunt Yan, what do you think is really in that mystic realm?”
“No matter what’s in there, it has nothing to do with you.”
Yu Zhiyan’s tone was heavier than usual.
“Don’t even think about going near there, you hear?”
Lin An was taken aback.
“I didn’t say I was going.”
“You didn’t say it with your mouth, but you thought it in your heart.”
Yu Zhiyan put down the comb and set the black cat on the ground.
“Do you think Aunt Yan can’t see through your little thoughts?”
She looked at Lin An, her brows filled with a complicated expression.
“An’er, Aunt Yan knows you want to cultivate, but… that Old Master we invited back then already explained your situation.”
Lin An opened his mouth but didn’t rebut.
When he was a child, a white-bearded old man with an immortal air had come to the house.
The reason he couldn’t cultivate was learned from that old man.
Although he didn’t know where Aunt Yan had found him, Lin An never doubted it.
His body was indeed as that old man had said.
Aunt Yan’s warm palm touched his cheek.
“An’er, don’t think about those things anymore. Isn’t it good to live a peaceful life? Aunt Yan will always be with you, okay?”
Lin An looked at Aunt Yan’s gentle gaze, curved the corners of his mouth, which counted as an agreement.
He did want to go take a look.
Not to go in, just to get a little closer and see what that door really was.
But he also knew that Aunt Yan was right.
With his cultivation level, getting near that kind of place was just asking for trouble.
“I won’t go. I’ll just stay home.”
Yu Zhiyan stared at him for a while, as if judging the truth of his words.
After a moment, her expression relaxed, and she pinched Lin An’s cheek.
“Good.”
The little black cat squatted at their feet, looking up, its eyes shifting back and forth between them, then let out a soft “meow.”
That night, in Lin An’s room
He lay on the bed, tossing and turning restlessly.
‘What’s in the mystic realm? No one knows. No, maybe the Demonic Path people have already emptied it out and are just waiting for people to go in.’
‘Should he go take a look?’
Lin An turned over to face the window.
The moonlight shone on the floor, making him feel that another Lu Mingyue might “grow” out of it.
Of course, it was just a thought.
He closed his eyes and started counting sheep.
One sheep, two sheep, three sheep.
When he counted to over a hundred, his mind became even more alert.
He opened his eyes and sat up.
‘Go take a look? Just a glance from afar?’
‘Aunt Yan said not to go, but taking a look wouldn’t hurt.’
Having made up his mind, Lin An changed clothes and tiptoed to the door.
He pulled open the door, poked his head out, and looked outside.
The light in Aunt Yan’s room was already off; it seemed she had gone to sleep.
He didn’t notice that in the shadows of the corner of his room, a small spider was clinging to the wall.
It was only the size of a grain of rice, entirely emerald green, its six slender legs pressed tightly against the wall.
After Lin An left, it moved.
Its six legs moved quickly, crawling along the wall to the window, and slipped out through a gap in the window.
“Alas…”
After a short while, a long sigh came from Yu Zhiyan’s room.
Then the window opened, and a petite black shadow leaped out, chasing straight in the direction Lin An had gone.