Yun Yiyi looked at the dagger in her hand, now crushed into scrap metal, with a complicated gaze.
No one knew what she was thinking at this moment.
Facing a good friend who had suddenly developed a little secret from her, Yun Yiyi just felt a slight pang of sadness.
It was the feeling of being suddenly shut out by the friend she was usually closest to.
Yun Yiyi rested her cheek in her hand as she walked to the center of the pavilion.
It was as if the joyful time they spent drinking fine wine together that night was just a dream.
“Xiaoxinyi has secrets from me too, huh? But it’s normal for friends to have secrets. So why does it feel so bad inside…”
Yun Yiyi’s mood was complex.
A dangerous thought even surfaced in her mind: if Lin Xinyi became cold towards her again, perhaps it was because she had found a better friend, one who ranked above her.
“Because she has a new friend, my existence is no longer important.”
Yun Yiyi’s spirits were low.
Her finger slowly traced circles on the hard stone table.
Thinking of the scene just moments ago where the other had been guarded against her, Yun Yiyi felt a sour taste in her heart.
It was at this moment that a dangerous thought of that type appeared once more, thinking of that good friend who belonged to her, with whom she could speak freely.
‘If Xiaoxinyi only had me left by her side, then she could be a good friend with me properly…’
As soon as this thought appeared, Yun Yiyi shook her head.
After all, she knew that if she did such a thing, regardless of the final outcome, the other would definitely come to hate her.
‘I don’t want to be hated…’
Yun Yiyi propped up her cheek.
Although she very much wanted to ignore everything, Yun Yiyi had already begun to worry.
Before, she had always been alone, coming and going by herself, cultivating alone, working as a lecturer alone.
If that kind of life had continued, Yun Yiyi would have been accustomed to it.
But Lin Xinyi had barged into her life like an invader.
…..
“You’re Yun Yiyi, right? I’m Lin Xinyi. Since we’re both Elders, why don’t we get acquainted~”
…
Yun Yiyi looked at the gentle and amiable Lin Xinyi standing before her.
She was somewhat aware of the other’s deep scheming and calculations.
But when she saw the other standing before her with an outstretched hand, Yun Yiyi did not immediately refuse.
‘Is it because I have something she wants? Whatever, she’ll leave once she gets it anyway.’
…
From the first moment she saw the other, this thought had already appeared in Yun Yiyi’s heart.
Even though she knew the other was approaching her with an ulterior motive, Yun Yiyi still became trapped in the snare of that gentle friendship.
Even now, Yun Yiyi remained immersed in that false friendship, even using all her strength to maintain it.
Because Yun Yiyi didn’t know what she would do once she woke up from it.
“Xiaoxinyi, if you suddenly decide to cast me aside, you’d better not die…”
As she spoke, Yun Yiyi wiped away the sad tears flowing from the corners of her eyes, as if already mourning for the things she would do in the future.
But over here, Lin Xinyi had already run a fair distance away.
“That Yun Yiyi was definitely thinking something excessive just now. I almost got caught there…”
Lin Xinyi breathed heavily, her heart still pounding with lingering fear, clearly frightened by her own impulsive actions earlier.
If a real fight had broken out, she probably would have been lying there already, not even knowing how she died.
“Damn it! I almost failed to use her and ended up getting myself caught instead!”
Lin Xinyi only stopped to catch her breath after running out of that mountain peak, feeling somewhat angry.
After stopping, she took big gulps of fresh air.
She hadn’t expected her body to be so fragile now.
Just running a few miles had left her panting like this.
At the same time, she felt a wave of fear over her risky behavior earlier.
“No good. I shouldn’t provoke that Yun Yiyi for the next few days. I’ll just have to endure Qin Huaiyin’s side for now…”
….
Lin Xinyi’s attitude towards Yun Yiyi had been ambiguous from the very start.
At the beginning, it was clearly to get close to her for that Body Tempering technique.
She thought it would take some effort to gain her trust, but as soon as she reached out her hand, the other gave it.
Lin Xinyi never had much feeling for Yun Yiyi to begin with, but the other’s direct attitude had thrown Lin Xinyi off balance for a time, completely baffling her about what that person was thinking.
“Friends… Hah…”
Lin Xinyi took out the pill the other had handed her.
Although she couldn’t see any problems with it on the surface, Lin Xinyi just probed it with her spiritual power before tossing it under a nearby tree.
“I don’t believe in such selfless friends…”
Thus, an extremely precious pill was discarded like trash under a tree, covered in dirt.
Lin Xinyi didn’t feel the slightest bit of heartache.
She even crushed the jade box in her hand to powder.
Originally, having failed in her plan, Lin Xinyi had lost her mood for wandering.
But as the distant bell tolled once more, over at the back mountains, one after another, stairways that seemed to lead straight to the clouds appeared within Lin Xinyi’s line of sight.
Before Lin Xinyi could even react, several dozen inner sect disciples riding magical swords soared across the sky above her head.
Seeing people passing by, Lin Xinyi almost instinctively hid behind a tree.
“This Sect Grand Selection is really lively…”
Lin Xinyi looked up at the spectacle in the sky, but her eyes were filled with nothing but disdain.
The Sect Grand Selection had been held dozens of times, but in the end, it was still the same few procedures.
“Although it feels boring, this time~”
Recalling the little tricks she had played on Bai Pingqian earlier, a wicked smile appeared at the corner of Lin Xinyi’s mouth.
She headed towards the back mountains.
After all, she couldn’t miss the good show about to happen next.
The accessory hanging on Bai Qianqian was something she had obtained by chance from a demonic cultivator decades ago.
Although it had no special effects, it could continuously emit demonic energy.
It was truly a treasure for creating topics.
…..
“But with just one magic treasure, it doesn’t seem enough to bring down Bai Qianqian…”
As Lin Xinyi walked towards the Sect Grand Selection, her gaze casually swept and spotted two female disciples standing opposite each other under a tree ahead.
The outer sect disciple robes they wore allowed Lin Xinyi to recognize their status at a glance.
“You two, wait a moment…”
Lin Xinyi just casually called out.
The two female disciples in front of her jolted as if electrocuted.
They immediately separated, standing stiffly like wooden stakes on either side, maintaining a distance.
One of them even had a shifty, flustered look in her eyes.
“E-Elder! Outer Sect Disciple Li Yue pays respects to the Elder!”
“Outer Sect Disciple Wang Si pays respects to the Elder!!”
Lin Xinyi had merely called out to the two female disciples from behind, and they immediately turned around and bowed with clasped hands.
Lin Xinyi didn’t understand why their reaction was so intense just from her calling them.
But when Lin Xinyi approached a bit closer, she realized not only were their clothes disheveled, but one of them even had lip rouge at the corner of her mouth.
Clearly, these two female disciples had been doing something unspeakable.
Looking at their messy clothes and flushed cheeks, Lin Xinyi’s brow furrowed slightly.
She even saw at a glance that one of the female disciples had her hands covered in a wet sheen.
To think, as disciples of an immortal sect, they would be so shameless, doing such things outdoors.
“You… What were you two doing?!”
“Reporting to the Elder! My senior sister and I were practicing a cultivation technique! We were so engrossed we didn’t notice the Elder!”
“Practicing a technique? You’re telling me this is practicing a technique?!”
Facing the female disciple’s lame excuse, Lin Xinyi questioned the two angrily.
However, before she could finish her sentence, this disciple named Li Yue’s legs gave way before she could steady herself, and a round spirit stone fell to the ground, also covered in a wet sheen.
The air instantly fell silent.
…..
Lin Xinyi couldn’t help but frown slightly.
She hadn’t expected these two outer sect disciples to play in such… creative ways.
However, before Lin Xinyi could speak, that female disciple trembled again.
With a series of sounds, four or five more spirit stones fell out.
“And this is also practicing a technique?”
The moment those four or five spirit stones fell out, the female disciple who had been standing and bowing lost all strength, directly kneeling and sitting on the ground.
Simultaneously, a large patch of the ground instantly became wet.
The words on Lin Xinyi’s lips didn’t know how to come out.
The other female disciple who was still standing also had obvious panic in her eyes.
Lin Xinyi glanced sideways at the dazed female disciple sitting on the ground.
“This disciple was also led astray by ghosts, momentarily lost her mind, and committed such an act! I beg the Elder for punishment!”
Seeing that the situation could no longer be glossed over, the disciple who was still conscious directly prostrated herself on the ground, kowtowing and admitting her mistake.
Although Lin Xinyi’s eyes were filled with disgust, seeing the other pleading like this, Lin Xinyi suddenly seemed to think of something.
‘Just demonic energy on Bai Qianqian might not be enough. These two could also be put to use…’
Once this thought occurred to her, a slight smile appeared at the corner of Lin Xinyi’s mouth.
She slowly crouched down.
“Although according to sect rules, you should be dealt with severely… I have a better proposal~”