Lu Ziqian returned to the small wooden hut and found a handsome man pacing along the cliff edge.
He remembered Fairy Ranran's instructions well: no matter whether it was an outsider or someone from the village, he was not to speak to them.
But this stranger was clearly examining Fairy Ranran's residence. Thinking back to the odd cultivator he had encountered halfway up the mountain, Lu Ziqian grew wary. After some thought, he turned and descended the slope.
At the foot of the peak, he picked up a stone and carefully wrote out both strangers' suspicious behavior upon the dirt ground.
If Xiao Rong and the others returned, they would surely see the warning he left.
…
Jiang Shengxiang and his two companions trailed their quarry all the way to Biliu Sect. The Zhou father and daughter had suffered grievous wounds, and before fainting they had gasped out two words: "Gu Ling."
So Jiang Shengxiang's group turned their course toward Gu Ling Mountain.
Halfway there, a streak of crimson light tore across the sky. Xiao Rong and Tang Xiangyin exchanged looks, suspecting that this was the very cultivator who had injured the villagers.
Jiang Shengxiang gave no comment, only quickened his pace toward Gu Ling Mountain.
At the foot of Wuming Peak, they found the message Lu Ziqian had left.
The red light indeed belonged to the cultivator who had harmed the villagers. But what puzzled them was the mention of another man loitering at the summit, nervously staring at the Taoist temple where Fairy Ranran resided.
The three of them hurried up the mountain and arrived to see a handsome man blocking the wooden hut's doorway, speaking incessantly.
Recalling Yao Ranran's warnings before she went into seclusion, Jiang Shengxiang raised his voice in a stern rebuke. "Thief! This hut is a forbidden ground. You dare disturb the disciple of Fairy Ranran in his cultivation?"
Nie Rong turned in surprise. "That scholar… he's Yao Zhēnjūn's disciple?"
Both Jiang Shengxiang and Xiao Rong froze when they recognized his face. "How could it be you? The Braggart King?!"
Nie Rong coughed awkwardly. "I am not the Braggart King. At that time, I was injured, which is why I lost to Yao Zhēnjūn!"
"You all know each other?" Tang Xiangyin asked curiously.
Hearing someone voice the very question he'd long had, Lu Ziqian felt strangely relieved.
"Of course we know him. This guy is our boss's defeated opponent!" Xiao Rong said bluntly, yanking him over with a whip of tree vine.
Nie Rong didn't resist. He simply drew out a jade fan, opening it with practiced grace. "This Fairy, I did not have the honor of meeting you last time. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Nie Rong, a humble cultivator on the verge of forming a Nascent Soul."
"Bah!" Jiang Shengxiang exposed him without mercy. "Miss Tang, don't listen to his nonsense. The last time he introduced himself, he claimed to be an elder of the Wuxiang Sect in the Central Continent, only to be swatted into the horizon by Fairy Ranran with a single palm. I wager he only just managed to fly back now!"
Remembering that humiliating day within the secret realm, Nie Rong's expression stiffened. "I truly am not the Braggart King…"
Though, indeed, it had taken him great effort to return here…
Tang Xiangyin's expression softened with understanding. "People all wish to form a Yuányīng. Who in this world doesn't?"
Nie Rong: "…Enough. A loss is a loss. I've come here to fulfill my promise and acknowledge Fairy Yao Ranran as my master. But tell me, is that mute scholar inside truly her disciple?"
"Hold it! He isn't mute!" Xiao Rong, having laughed his fill, caught the slip. "And another thing, why do you keep calling my boss Yao Zhēnjūn?"
So he wasn't mute after all!
Nie Rong asked cautiously, "If not Zhēnjūn, then how should I address her?"
Could it be as he suspected? The Fairy within Black Mountain was stronger than a mere Nascent Soul?
"Zhēnjūn is a title for Nascent Soul cultivators. By calling Fairy Ranran that, aren't you treating her as one already?" Jiang Shengxiang probed carefully.
Nie Rong hesitated, then nodded. "Yes."
"Pfft—" Xiao Rong burst out laughing, nearly collapsing. "Hahaha! A Nascent Soul powerhouse? Why don't you just say she's a Divine Transformation expert, about to ascend already! Hahaha!"
He laughed until he was rolling.
Jiang Shengxiang, however, was intrigued. "Nie Daoyou, why would you think that?"
Nie Rong pulled out a storage pouch given by Kuang Lei. "Earlier, a Core Formation demon cultivator accidentally damaged Biliu Sect's main hall. He left me this pouch of treasures with instructions to hand it to the mighty expert dwelling in Black Mountain, his eyes full of reverence.
I thought, if the only one residing in Black Mountain is Fairy Yao Ranran, then this 'mighty expert' must be her. After all, in this world, only cultivators at or above Nascent Soul deserve to be called that."
"Haha… ha…" Xiao Rong's laughter died abruptly. His body straightened stiffly. "You're saying… a Golden Core Formation demon cultivator came here, left a bag of treasures, then left?"
"Exactly." Nie Rong tossed him the pouch.
Jiang Shengxiang and Tang Xiangyin crowded over. The moment they peeked inside, they let out cries of astonishment. "Spirit stones! Sevenfold Flame! Flowing Pulp Grass! Winddew!"
"Rong-yé, what level is Fairy Ranran's cultivation really? You've never told us!" Jiang Shengxiang's pupils shrank sharply.
Tang Xiangyin was equally shaken. "Yes, Xiao Rong… has Fairy Ranran already reached Divine Transformation?"
Xiao Rong stared blankly. "Boss has already reached Divine Transformation?"
Smack!
The brush heavy with ink slipped from Lu Ziqian's fingers, striking the ground. His face froze in shock.
"Fairy Ranran… Fairy Ranran is about to ascend!"
…
Without warning, soft rosy light blossomed atop Gu Ling Mountain.
All four of them turned toward it in unison.
In an instant, the gentle glow exploded. Blinding brilliance forced everyone within ten miles to close their eyes.
When they opened them again, dozens of verdant peaks were crowned with thin, shimmering barriers of seven colors. The clouds above were dyed with radiant hues. Even the scorching summer heat was swept away, replaced by comfort and tranquility that settled over the village.
Yao Ranran stepped gracefully out of the Daoist temple, gazing up at the grand formation overhead. She nodded slightly. "It's done."
"B-Boss!" Xiao Rong shouted, his voice trembling with excitement and awe.
Yao Ranran inclined her head, her gaze falling toward Lu Ziqian's window. He remained obediently inside the hut, though his eyes were wide with wonder, he did not step out.
"Master! Master!" Nie Rong waved both arms wildly, desperate to draw her attention.
As he wished, Yao Ranran's eyes swept over him, her brow faintly creasing. "Why is this man here?"
The formation had still opened too late!
Yao Ranran looked back with regret. In her room, a small shield floated in midair, radiating dazzling brilliance.
Tang Xiangyin's mouth formed a perfect O. "That seven-colored array just now… it flew out from Fairy Ranran's room?"
Jiang Shengxiang sniffed. "It seems so!"
Xiao Rong suddenly recalled Yao Ranran telling him once that the outside world was too dangerous, so she had to set up a defensive formation. "But this… this is far too large!"
…
Boom!
A streak of rainbow light struck Kuang Lei as he flew through the sky.
He slammed into the ground, eating dirt and dust. "Why am I so unlucky today? In just this short stretch of road, I've been struck by stray attacks three times already!"
Normally he would never be this careless, but today his mind kept drifting.
Looking back at the glowing rainbow veil, his pupils shrank. "Could this be… a warning from that Nascent Soul powerhouse?"