“You’re joking. We’re just ordinary fellow disciples. If we weren’t, maybe we could have been double cultivation partners, but with an acquaintance, it’s a bit…” Mu Yanxi shook her head.
‘Even a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass near its own burrow.’
“That’s good then. Come with me; I’m quite familiar with this place,” Shangguan Yun said.
She walked out of the Assembly hall, and a Flying Sword made of flawless white jade flew out from her Spirit Moon Ring. She stepped onto the White Jade Sword and reached out her hand toward Yanxi.
“No need, I have my own flight divine artifact.” Mu Yanxi shook her head and released her Gliding Board. She stood atop it, and without saying anything further, Shangguan Yun took the lead and flew ahead.
After flying into the palace’s interior, Mu Yanxi discovered that the internal space was far larger than the palace complex appeared from the outside. It had already become its own Grotto-heaven.
Countless exquisite buildings floated within the massive space, providing more than enough room for disciples to fly using their artifacts. There were even blue skies, white clouds, and a sun created through illusions.
Shangguan Yun flew ahead on her White Jade Sword. She didn’t remain silent but instead sent a voice transmission to Mu Yanxi. “I didn’t expect you to actually come to the Spiritual Moon Sect. I thought you’d be hiding from me.”
“I didn’t want to either, but if I didn’t join the Spiritual Moon Sect, there wouldn’t be any other suitable Earth-grade High Sects, unless I wanted to become a soul cultivator,” Mu Yanxi replied.
She appropriately followed the customs of this world by referring to Ghost Cultivators as soul cultivators.
“Your Heart for the Dao is quite firm. I thought that after that incident, you would have become depressed and given up on immortality cultivation, choosing instead to live a life of hedonism in the Taiqing Immortal Domain,” Shangguan Yun said.
Whether “that incident” referred to her grandfather’s death leading to the family’s decline or the broken engagement with the Shangguan family, Mu Yanxi wasn’t sure.
However, from their dialogue, she was surprised to find that Shangguan Yun didn’t seem to harbor any hostility toward her. ‘Perhaps the original host and her were actually on good terms?’
Mu Yanxi had originally expected a “fortunes change with time, don’t look down on the poor youth” kind of plot.
“Speaking of which, I thought you’d be desperate to save face back then, preferring to write a letter of divorce rather than return the betrothal gifts.”
“I didn’t expect you to demand even more compensation for the breach of contract from the Shangguan family. It was truly interesting,” Shangguan Yun laughed.
“Ah? Uh, that was…” Mu Yanxi was suddenly at a loss for words. She never expected the broken engagement to have played out like that.
The original host had actually wanted more compensation? This was completely beyond her expectations.
“No need to explain. I know. Your family fell on hard times, and who knows how many creditors your grandfather left behind.”
“Besides, your sister needs to attend a heaven-grade High Sect, which costs even more than the Spiritual Moon Sect.”
“Even the several surgeries you had were likely funded by that triple-refunded betrothal gift, right? Otherwise, your mother and father wouldn’t have been able to produce so many spirit stones.”
Mu Yanxi was quite surprised that Shangguan Yun still referred to her parents with such intimacy.
She also understood now that demanding more compensation was to support her sister’s and her own continued cultivation. Mu Yanxi approved of the original host’s choice.
Another thing that struck her as odd was Shangguan Yun’s way of speaking; she didn’t seem to respect her own Shangguan family. In fact, there was a hint of underlying dissatisfaction. Why?
After a moment of silence, Mu Yanxi couldn’t help but ask, “Why did you choose me to be your double cultivation partner?” ‘It couldn’t be that she still has feelings, could it? If that’s the case, it would be a disaster.’
“It’s because your mother asked me to look after you. Do you believe that?” Shangguan Yun asked, looking back. Mu Yanxi shook her head. Since she put it that way, it definitely wasn’t the reason.
“Actually, it’s to get revenge on you for actually daring to accept the broken engagement. I thought you’d firmly oppose it, or even prefer marrying into our family as a son-in-law rather than agreeing to call it off. Do you believe that reason?”