After standing in the room for a moment, dazed, Fang Meiyun suddenly felt that the whole world had betrayed and abandoned her.
After all, she never imagined that Meng Zihao would have that attitude toward her.
"Did I do something wrong?"
As a cultivator at the peak of the Divine Transformation realm, whose heart was supposed to be firm, she doubted for a moment.
But only a moment later, her gaze once again filled with determination.
She only wanted to eliminate a great future threat to the Maiden Sect.
Had she done something wrong?
She wasn't wrong; the world was the one that was wrong!
After regaining her conviction, Fang Meiyun thought for a moment and flew to the cave where her disciple lived.
When she arrived at Ning Qingyan's residence, she sensed a scent that she hadn't smelled in a long time.
The smell of meat?
At that moment, Ning Qingyan was in the yard of her cave, lighting a bonfire.
She was holding a piece of meat from some unknown spiritual beast and roasting it over the fire.
Her delicate white face was full of anticipation, as if she were holding not a piece of meat, but an ancestral treasure.
"Qingyan."
Fang Meiyun flew closer and called softly.
Ning Qingyan, focused on roasting the meat, didn't even notice her master's arrival.
Only when she heard her name did she react, immediately standing up and greeting respectfully: "Master."
"What are you doing?"
Fang Meiyun pointed to the roasted meat, which was beginning to release its fat.
"This disciple... suddenly had a craving."
Ning Qingyan didn't dare to tell the truth.
During the time she was locked up with Tang Yu,
every time they ate, he complained that without shrimp in sauce and without stewed meat, the food had no flavor, that it was like chewing raw beans.
Then he talked about how to marinate the meat, what seasonings to use, how delicious it was when roasted... so much so that she ended up being tempted.
So, upon returning, she remembered all of that and wanted to try it for herself to see if it was true.
"Can a cultivator indulge in worldly desires like appetite? Is this how you cultivate?"
Fang Meiyun's face darkened as she reprimanded her.
With just a flick of her sleeve, the bonfire vanished without a trace.
Ning Qingyan's eyes dimmed along with the flames; she lowered her head and replied softly:
"This disciple acknowledges her mistake."
"If you truly knew you were wrong, you wouldn't be here doing this. We suffered great losses on this expedition to the secret realm, and you still have time for these distractions?"
Fang Meiyun furrowed her brow even more and questioned her harshly.
Ning Qingyan lowered her head and remained silent.
"I've spoken through voice transmission with the other elders who returned alive. They told me they saw you being taken by Tang Yu. What happened there?"
Ning Qingyan didn't answer, but as Fang Meiyun began, her tone turned even colder.
At these words, Ning Qingyan's face tightened, and she quickly explained:
"This disciple was taken hostage by force. Tang Yu feared that our sect would continue to pursue him, so he used me as a shield."
"Oh? Then why did he let you go so easily? Not only did he not harm you, he didn't even take your storage ring!"
Fang Meiyun questioned her loudly.
The other elders, when they fell into Tang Yu's hands,
were stripped of their rings and robes.
Only she came out unscathed; it was hard not to think ill of it.
"Tang Yu has always been unpredictable in his actions; how could I know the reason?"
Ning Qingyan, rarely, dared to reply. She couldn't say that, privately, they had almost become friends.
"Very well, very well, you don't know the reason... but I do."
Fang Meiyun, confronted, laughed in anger.
"Because secret feelings arose between you, you had private dealings, didn't you? Are you the traitor who sold out the sect? Since when have you been together? Since he gave you that jade hairpin?"
"Master, I didn't do it."
Ning Qingyan's face changed drastically; when had she developed secret feelings for Tang Yu?
"You didn't? On several occasions, I failed in attempts to assassinate Tang Yu, and you were involved in all of them. Who else, other than you, could have leaked the information?"
"He doesn't let anyone go, except for you, who he has allowed to leave repeatedly. I don't believe that's just a coincidence."
Fang Meiyun's face became even angrier; her aged, grim face looked like a demon's, and with a chilling glare, she fixed her eyes on Ning Qingyan.
"I also noticed the expression on your face when you were sitting there a moment ago. Clearly, you've fallen in love. Do you think I don't understand matters of men and women?"
When she practiced the Dao in her youth, she was also disturbed by matters of love.
And the person who disturbed her wasn't Mèng Ziháo, of course.
It was a cultivator named Juè Lè, and they were almost about to consummate their relationship, like the Great Yu who passed by his home three times without entering.
But she stood firm in her principles, refusing to let him take her virginity. Apart from that, she accepted everything else.
She never expected that after being rejected several times, he would abandon her.
Since that day, Fang Meiyun swore to reach the peak of the Dao, considering men as enemies on her path.
"What the master says is the truth. How could I, her disciple, dare to contradict it? If you want to expel me from the sect or whatever, I will accept it."
Ning Qingyan smiled sadly, no longer knowing how to communicate with her master.
Fang Meiyun, who had been furious just a moment ago, softened her tone slightly.
"I won't do such a thing. You are the disciple I appreciate the most; I've always considered you my own daughter, which is why I'm especially strict with you."
"Love between men and women is nothing more than an obstacle on the Dao's path. If you are my disciple, you will naturally overcome it."
"If that Tang Yu really feels something for you, you can take advantage of it. Associate with him privately."
"And when he completely lowers his guard, you kill him. Break the bond of affection, affirm your Dao, and wash away the humiliation he caused our sect!"
Before her master's orders, Ning Qingyan remained silent.
"Are you going or not?"
Fang Meiyun repeated, her tone more severe.
Ning Qingyan shook her head.
Enraged, Fang Meiyun struck with her palm, sending Ning Qingyan flying several meters, landing on the ground while spitting blood.
"Rebellious disciple! Beast! Cursed spawn!"
After shouting a few insults, Fang Meiyun used a spatial displacement technique and locked her directly in the Pure Water Formation.
She even sealed Ning Qingyan's cultivation.
Reducing her to the Foundation Realm.
This ensured she wouldn't die within the formation, but would suffer constant torment.
"Come out when you've reflected."
She sealed the Pure Water Formation.
Fang Meiyun left one last sentence before turning and leaving.
...
With the matter of the secret kingdom resolved, wang Yu also returned with the advanced squad to the Hehuan Sect to rest.
In this expedition, everyone gained great benefits; they had obtained more than ten initial-level Divine Transformation Beast Cores.
In addition, Tang Yu took advantage of the chaos to loot a large number of resources from the Maidens' Sect.
And caused the deaths of many elders at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm from the rival sect.
The rise of one and the fall of the other brought the Hehuan Sect to the same level as the Maidens' Sect.
"Everyone has worked hard, rest for a day. After that, I will give out the rewards."
Liu Yanlan, who returned with them, allowed everyone to go rest. She still needed to calculate the merits of each person before giving out rewards.
Everyone accepted the order and withdrew to rest.
Tang Yu walked calmly back to his tower and took a glance at his room.
He didn't see the little fox on the bed.
So he went to the neighboring room of Nangong Ying to take a look.
Nangong Ying was talking with Liu Yanlan, so she wasn't there.
The empty room also showed no signs of the creature.
Before leaving the Hehuan Sect, the little fox had been asleep, digesting the large number of spiritual stones she had eaten, and Tang Yu didn't bother waking her up.
Not finding her, Tang Yu raised his voice and shouted: "Little one?"
A moment passed, and then footsteps could be heard from outside.
Tang Yu went out to look and nearly fainted.
A little girl, with rosy cheeks, was standing outside.
The little girl had soft, silk-like pink hair.
A pair of furry ears mischievously peeked out from between her hair.
Her sparkling eyes stared at Tang Yu for a few seconds.
And then, with a giggle, she ran over to hug his leg, shouting: "Tang Yu, my hero!"
"…"
Tang Yu picked up this little creature and inspected her as if she were a treasure.
Damn, she was cute as hell, her face was the type that won competitions among human children.
But, hold on! If she turned human, goodbye fur!
Who in their right mind rejects fur?
"Tang Yu? What, you don't recognize me? Look, I'm a real girl now!"
As Tang Yu stared at her like a fool, the little girl wagged her little tail to give him a clue.
"Go back to being a fox, give me my fur back!"
Tang Yu, with a dramatic face, shook the little one like a plush toy.
He had no idea that this thing could turn human when reaching the Foundation Building Realm.
"Pff, you're so annoying! Keep that up, and I'll ignore you."
The little girl gave him a "how basic are you" look, what was so great about fur anyway?
"If you don't want to play, fine, what's so fun about a little one like you?"
Tang Yu made a face of "I don't care," put her on the ground, and checked her back.
She was wearing a cute little dress with a hole in the back to let her tail out.
"Who sewed this for you?"
Tang Yu rubbed the tail a couple of times, enjoying the last bits of soft fur.
"Aunt Liu made it for me, she's a genius!"
The little girl, hands on her hips: "And she said you'd give me a name when you came back."
"I'll call you Little, cute as hell."
"…"
The little girl climbed onto Tang Yu like a monkey and tried to bite his face.
"Take that, rebellion! Crazy fox attacking the boss!"
Tang Yu lifted her with one hand and pretended to throw her off the tower edge.
"Ahh, daddy, sorry, I won't do it again!"
The little girl, scared out of her mind, clung to his arm and gave up in two seconds.
"That's how I like it."
Seeing that the little one switched sides as fast as he did,
Tang Yu put her down and winked at her: "Lesson one from the greats: if you have to kiss the ground, you kiss it."
"Yes, yes, Tang Yu is the master!"
The little girl nodded like it was nothing, going from "daddy" to "Tang Yu" in a second.
Tang Yu didn't mind, leaned on the railing, looked at the flying clouds, and chuckled.
"And what name do you want?"
"No idea! Should I take your surname?"
The little girl moved her ears like antennas while speaking.
"Whatever you want, Tang Furry sounds great, because of the fur."
"…"
The little girl looked at Tang Yu with a face of "seriously, you?"
When she was a fox, this bastard used to cuddle and rub against her fur like crazy.
How could anyone be so excited about fur?
"When did you turn human? It's been a while, right?"
"Right when you left, bam, human!"
"And in all this time without me, you didn't get into trouble, right?"
"…"
The little girl coughed twice, jumped up, and leaned on the railing pointing to a white cloud in the distance.
"Tang Yu, look, doesn't that cloud look like the big butt you like?"
"Remember one thing, those who like big butts are not bad people."
Tang Yu replied instinctively, but then realized this girl was changing the subject, and laughed while scolding: "You haven't been doing anything bad, right?"
Tang Mao laughed nervously and played dumb.
He had only gone out to trick a few guys and gals into getting some spiritual stones as snacks, he hadn't done anything really bad.
Tang Yu raised his hand, wanting to smack her on the head, how could this be the future guardian of the mountain?
But then he thought she wasn't exactly a saint either, and her fox was just as mischievous.
Taking advantage of having some free time, Tang Yu took out a table from his storage ring and began to prepare tea. He also pulled out the information on Lin Xuan and started reading it.
Since he did something in the Guiyuan Sect last time, Lin Xuan's position in the sect became quite awkward.
Although he could make potions, his relationship with several of the elders was hard to repair.
A few days ago, Lin Xuan had descended the mountain alone and left the Guiyuan Sect, saying he was going to buy medicinal herbs in a city.
"Grandma, what part of the plot are we at now?"
Tang Yu thought in his mind.
"We're back to the main plot, it's the classic auction, you know."
The little girl from the divine tree couldn't help but laugh as she spoke.
Tang Yu also laughed. One of the most common plots in cultivation and fantasy novels was the auction.
Anyway, being the protagonist, he'd always end up finding bargains at those events.
At the auction, items would appear that no one recognized, but the protagonist would know their value and auction them off. Then, a big shot would recognize them and start raising the price, and by the end of the auction, both would end up in a conflict, fighting and brawling.
"How many days until the auction starts?"
"Five days."
"Well, then everything's fine."
Once he confirmed he still had time, Tang Yu didn't worry. Now he just needed to focus on the main mission.
As for the side plots, they kept appearing, but he couldn't always be on top of them.
After chatting with his grandma for a while, the tea was ready.
Tang Yu raised the cup of tea and asked: "Do you want some?"
"Yes, give me some."
Tang Mao hopped over and sat next to Tang Yu, imitating him while holding the tea cup.
After taking a sip of hot tea, he sighed deeply.
"What's wrong? Don't like it?"
"It's not that, I just have something on my mind."
"What's bothering you?"
"When you get to my age, you'll understand."
"…"
Tang Yu thought it was better not to transform, at least not say those things that only caused annoyance.
While they both drank tea together, a small white jade boat floated in the sea of clouds.
On the boat, besides Nangong Yan and Liu Yanlan, there were three elders from the Heshan Sect, all of them the most famous and beautiful of the place.
"Little, girl, big sister, married lady, ***..."
Seeing the five women gathered, Tang Yu couldn't help but sigh, he still preferred his Heshan Sect.
If he were at a mediocre sect like the Thousand Sword Mountain, he'd be seeing people carrying swords around all day, who could stand that?
"Dad, which of the aunties do you think is the prettiest?"
Noticing Tang Yu's gaze, Tang Mao also looked and asked.
"They're all pretty, beauty is relative, it can't be defined so easily."
"Then, if you had to choose, which would you pick?"
"I'm a straight man, I don't get close to women, what do you think?"
Tang Yu patted the little fox's head, after all, it was still young and immature.
The next second, Tang Mao looked at the boat and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Aunt Nangong, my dad says he wants them all!"
"…"
-----------------------------
Featured projects:
Goddess Training Manual — 500 chapters (R‑18 novel)
Second Generation Villain (Revised Version) — 35 chapters (R‑18 novel)
Detective Conan Fanfic — 350 chapters (R‑18)
The Heroine Wants to Join My Harem — 1000 chapters
I Am the Villain's Father — 370 chapters
I Have 90 Million in Funds — 30 chapters (R‑18 novel)
I Have Caught a Pokémon — 100 chapters (R‑18 novel)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
👉 Join and support these projects at: patreon.com/LEYI396
— Don't miss a single chapter or any manga translation done on demand!