Miao Yun's large, watery eyes grew even brighter. She thought he was indeed incredible! She hadn't noticed a thing, yet this Master Leiting had already found an enemy.
She immediately began pressing the buttons on her phone.
Seeing her practiced movements, Shen Yun figured she wasn't a recent adopter of mobile phones. Still, looking at that archaic senior-citizen model, he wondered if he should just be glad it was even capable of sending texts.
"Let's pretend we're taking a stroll and walk for a bit," Shen Yun said. Adhering to the principle that the more one speaks, the more mistakes one makes, he swallowed his urge to make a snarky comment.
"Alright." Miao Yun nodded slightly, but her gaze remained fixed on him. After taking just two steps, she couldn't help but ask in her soft, sweet voice, "Fellow Daoist, how did you discover that person's identity? Using Divine Thought to pierce through a human body is very troublesome, and it's also easily detected..."
"It's a secret." That was Shen Yun's only reply.
How was he supposed to know how Xiao Jiu had detected it? Maybe a phone's Divine Thought was different from a normal Golden Core's? Or perhaps it used signal wave scanning?
Miao Yun wasn't disappointed; she had her own secrets, too. Still, she thought, this Master Leiting was truly formidable. Standing beside him right now, she felt he was no different from an ordinary person. But upon closer inspection, he clearly emanated traces of incomparably pure Spiritual Power—even purer than what she had cultivated herself. If she tried to look deeper into his destiny and fortune, it was like peering into a shroud of fog, profound and mysterious.
They were both at the Golden Core stage, so why was the difference between them so vast?
"Have you always cultivated in seclusion, Fellow Daoist?" Miao Yun asked, her large eyes wide with curiosity.
"That's right." He could answer this one. Sticking to his pre-planned cover story, Shen Yun said, "If I hadn't learned that something happened to my sister today, I wouldn't have left my residence at all."
"Then..." A glimmer of anticipation suddenly appeared in Miao Yun's eyes. "Could we cultivate together from now on?"
"—?" Shen Yun nearly tripped over his own feet. He managed to catch himself but still wore an expression of sheer astonishment. Did this woman know what she was saying? Or was he really just that charming?
"I really enjoy cultivation because it cured my illness. It also lets me fly and do all sorts of things," Miao Yun continued, seemingly oblivious to his shock, though a touch of bitterness crept onto her face. "But I'm finding cultivation increasingly difficult. The people around me just give me Daoist scriptures I can't understand, and they can't answer my questions. But since you are so incredible, Fellow Daoist... perhaps..."
So that was what she meant. Shen Yun roughly understood the situation. This Miao Yun really was pure-hearted. She seemed somewhat lacking in common sense, which might have something to do with the illness she mentioned.
Unfortunately—
"I refuse," Shen Yun said, shaking his head. "Everyone's Dao is different. While it's fine to discuss and exchange ideas on the path of cultivation, the most important thing is to walk your own path. Cultivating together is meaningless."
He was a complete novice in cultivation; what on earth could he teach her?
"Is that so?" Miao Yun felt a little disappointed, pondering his words about her own path. She lowered her head, looking at the ground beneath her feet. Ever since she survived the Thunder Tribulation last night and formed her Golden Core, she had felt a sense of bewilderment about the road ahead. Moreover... looking at the envious or adoring gazes of the people around her, all she felt was utter boredom.
Miao Yun fell silent, and Shen Yun didn't speak either. The two of them simply walked side by side.
Around this time, however, some of the pedestrians finally realized what they were seeing. Weren't these two the currently famous Master Leiting and the Wudang Sect's senior disciple, Fairy Miaoyun? Rumor had it that Fairy Miaoyun had also formed her Golden Core last night! There was definitely something romantic going on between them!
Although no one dared to casually approach and interrupt the pair, several excited onlookers whipped out their phones to snap photos, swiftly uploading them to the internet.
[Two Masters Stroll Through the Streets in Ultimate Romance!]
[The Two Foremost Figures in the Global Cultivation Realm: A Handsome Man and a Beautiful Woman, a Match Made in Heaven!]
[The Long Road of Cultivation: Hand in Hand, We Ascend to Immortality!]
[A Double Harvest of Cultivation and Love: Why Is Master Leiting So...]
Shen Yun frowned slightly as he watched the crowd constantly taking photos around them. Even without Xiao Jiu telling him, he could imagine exactly what was happening online. He didn't really mind, but as a man, he was ultimately the one taking advantage of the situation.
"Master Miaoyun," Shen Yun said, using her Daoist title for the first time. "There might be some misunderstandings online. Once this matter is resolved, I'll personally clarify things. I apologize."
"It's fine," Miao Yun shook her head, speaking slowly in her soft voice. "Anyway, Fellow Daoist, you're the kind of Cultivator who is solely devoted to the Dao without any other distractions, right? I'm the same. So there's no need to worry about such trivial matters."
"..." Shen Yun was silent for a long moment before voicing his denial. "I'm not."
"Mhm, huh?" Miao Yun responded automatically at first, then turned her head in surprise to look at him.
"Cultivation is absolutely not everything to me." Shen Yun stopped walking and said with a solemn expression, "Family, love, friendship—I have desires and needs for everything in an ordinary person's life. Therefore, Master Miaoyun, may I borrow your phone for a moment?"
"I... I suppose so." Miao Yun suddenly grew nervous and stammered. Did he want to leave her his number?
Good heavens! She had always assumed this Master Leiting was a Cultivator solely devoted to the Dao, a comrade free from romantic inclinations. That was why she had so naturally approached him as a fellow Daoist to seek guidance and learn. But if he actually had those kinds of thoughts, didn't that mean her behavior just now was...
Recalling her recent suggestion that they cultivate together, Miao Yun couldn't help but inwardly groan. Although she rarely interacted with others, she read a lot of books and wasn't entirely devoid of common sense. She had simply projected her own assumed persona onto the Master Leiting standing before her. Had she completely misunderstood his character?
"Master Miaoyun?" Shen Yun prompted again.
"O-okay." Miao Yun kept her head down, her face burning hot. After handing her phone over, all she could think about was how to explain herself and then find an excuse to leave. She hoped he wouldn't turn into a clingy nuisance like the others. Ever since her cultivation talent had begun to reveal itself, her suitors had become too numerous to count, even though she herself had absolutely no interest in such things.
But Shen Yun simply took the phone, offered a quick word of thanks, and with a sudden flash of lightning across his body, shot straight up into the sky with a loud WHOOSH.
He left Miao Yun standing there, completely dumbfounded.
Shen Yun had asked for the phone simply because it would make it easier to contact Zhong Huiyun. Although the refugee camp only occupied a portion of the city, at his previous walking pace, it would have been difficult to cover the entire area even if he walked for a whole day—let alone find He Anhe and all of his subordinates. However, from high up in the air, given the efficiency Xiao Jiu claimed to have, scanning the entire camp wouldn't take much time at all. It would also effectively stop those rumors about him and Miao Yun from spreading any further.
And so, accompanied by the rumble of thunder and the glow of electric currents, Shen Yun flew through the sky. He pretended to be a man trying to reach his sister but struggling with directions, occasionally swooping down to ask for the way. In reality, he was having Xiao Jiu rapidly scan the entire city to weed out everyone harboring a large number of Gu bugs in their bodies, before sending their locations and physical descriptions to Zhong Huiyun via text message.