Formation Peak.
After Elder Chou left Mo Yan, she returned straight to her quiet chamber.
The moment she sat down, the careless, mocking smile on her face faded. It didn't vanish completely though, lingering with a strange, indescribable complexity. She waved off all her attendant disciples. Only when the room fell into utter silence did she turn her gaze toward the screen in the inner chamber. Her voice came out languid, deliberately soft, with a hint of teasing charm.
"What kind of wind blew you here? Such a rare guest."
Rustling sounded from behind the screen. A tall, upright figure slowly stepped out.
"You went to Elder Mo today." The deep, steady voice carried no emotion. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
Elder Chou pursed her lips. Instead of showing fear, she bounced forward with light steps and threw herself straight into his arms. Her hands curled naturally around his neck as she lifted her face and breathed against him.
"So what if I did? He wasn't the least bit moved, just guarded against me at every turn. Not like you… you've always known exactly what I want."
Her tone dragged at the end, her words carrying a hook of teasing ambiguity. "Since you actually came today, why don't you… stay?"
The body holding her stiffened. In the shifting light and shadow, the man's face loomed cold as it stared down at her. Silence stretched for a moment. Then that chilling voice rang again, carrying a warning sharp enough to cut.
"What you wanted, you already got. Formation Peak is established, the framework is set. Behave yourself, don't stir up more trouble."
Elder Chou didn't back off. Instead, she pressed herself closer, laughing lightly. "Isn't it still all for your sake? You know my temper. Besides, if I bring in another ally, wouldn't you be happier?"
But an icy aura burst forth, invisible yet unshakable, shoving her away without a word.
"Do what you're supposed to." His voice dropped colder, tinged with clear disgust and distance. "My patience has limits."
Before the last word fell, his figure vanished without a trace.
The force sent Elder Chou stumbling back a step. She steadied herself, and her coquettish, bewitching expression instantly froze. Then she let out a sharp, mocking laugh. Lifting her hand, she slowly smoothed her disheveled robes. Her eyes flickered with shifting thoughts before sinking into a bottomless gloom.
"Hmph… utterly heartless."
Her voice was low, her tone unreadable—neither disappointment nor rage, more like cold calculation when a scheme falls short. She stood in silence for a while. Then she moved to the window, gazing out at the distant peaks. Her usual inscrutable expression returned as she replayed the day's events in her mind.
Testing Xie Zhaolin and Mo Yan had been part of her own plan. Forcing the impression of "close ties with Elder Mo" onto the other peaks, muddying the waters, making them show their stance—that was one layer.
But more importantly, she'd grown deeply curious about that disciple called Xie Zhaolin. Maybe it was a cultivator's instinct. Maybe it was a woman's sixth sense. Either way, she was convinced Xie Zhaolin had a hand in the Alchemy Peak incident, even if she was only a small disciple still in the Qi Refining stage.
The timing, the precision, the way people's hearts were manipulated—it all looked like the work of a seasoned strategist. That wasn't something Mo Yan could pull off.
She understood men far too well. That was why she'd kept approaching Mo Yan, again and again, just to dig deeper into his background. Yet Mo Yan's actions didn't match his words at all. That contradiction was exactly why she doubted him in the first place.
So today, she'd gone so far as to unleash that instinctive charm of hers, all to test Xie Zhaolin. But the result had left her baffled. If her charm had worked, then why had Xie Zhaolin brushed her off so decisively, even making Mo Yan leave afterward to deliberately draw a line?
That wasn't how someone infatuated or trusting would react.
But if her charm had failed, then why hadn't she felt even a flicker of resistance?
That girl's eyes had been calm as still water, no ripples at all. No dazed longing, no guarded resistance. It was as if… as if her power had sunk into the sea without so much as an echo.
Completely unreasonable.
Even the most iron-willed cultivator showed some mental fluctuation when resisting charm. No one should've been that utterly unaffected.
This in-between result gnawed at her, worse than failure or success. Neither here nor there. Her original plan was simple. If she succeeded, she'd draw truth from Xie Zhaolin's mouth, maybe even turn her into a hidden chess piece. If she failed, she could still gauge her strength by the resistance.
Either way, she'd gain something.
But now, Xie Zhaolin's fog-like response had left her empty-handed, even more unreadable than before.
"Xie Zhaolin…" Elder Chou muttered the name under her breath. "Are you hiding terrifying depth, or… do you have some treasure that swallows charm itself?"
She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were cold and indifferent. In the end, it didn't matter what Xie Zhaolin's origin was. It wouldn't stop her from adjusting her methods. As long as those two didn't ruin her plans, that was enough. And to make sure of that, the simplest way…
"Is to let them think I'm not smart," Xie Zhaolin whispered.
Mo Yan nodded. "Master means we should act like we've got desires but no ambitions, a little clever but no vision, right?"
She inclined her head. "Exactly. Like when you barged into the Sect Master's hall and threatened him. Didn't you play the part perfectly then?"
Mo Yan flushed with embarrassment at the unexpected praise. He quickly lowered his head, trying to hide it. But she didn't care about his tiny reaction, her gaze already drifting back to the window.
She couldn't fully predict Elder Chou's next step. But judging by her methods, she'd likely mirror the same strategy. Still, that didn't mean the initiative had to rest in Elder Chou's hands.
She turned back to Mo Yan. "My cultivation has hit a bottleneck. I need to leave the sect and search for a chance at breakthrough."
Mo Yan's expression shifted, but he caught on quickly and nodded. "When will Master depart?"
"Right now." She paused, then added, "Once I'm gone, she'll focus more on you. Just maintain your current image. Don't overact, and absolutely don't meddle."
Mo Yan bowed his head solemnly. "Understood. Master, please be careful."
She nodded slightly, said nothing more, and began packing. In less than a stick of incense, she'd finished, stepped into the teleportation array, and left the sect behind.
And she knew this news would reach the others very soon.