Seeing this, Ye Ling felt his blood surge.
"Master, no matter how wealthy our Sect is, it's still our own property. Don't actually treat this like you're giving a dowry!"
Ye Ling stepped forward and shoved the Heavenly Silk Jade Armor straight into Leng Qingqiu's stunned arms. "Hurry up and head down the mountain, Envoy Leng."
"Uh… oh. Until we meet again, Sect Master Bai, Ye—"
Only after Ye Ling's reminder did Leng Qingqiu snap out of Bai Yiyi's extravagant display. Then she realized she didn't know how to address Ye Ling.
Calling him "Senior" felt awkward, since he was Bai Yiyi's disciple. Calling him by name alone seemed far too presumptuous. For a moment, she hesitated.
"Call me Senior Brother."
As long as one belonged to a sect within the Righteous Path Alliance, addressing each other as senior and junior brothers or sisters was perfectly normal.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Ye."
When Leng Qingqiu said those words, her emotions were anything but simple. But what else could she do?
She had been outmatched and had no choice but to concede.
Even though Ye Ling had "deceived" her about his cultivation, from start to finish he had only used techniques at the early Foundation Establishment realm, never once crossing the line.
A loss was a loss, and she could accept it. At worst, she would return one day after her cultivation had improved and reclaim her dignity.
There was a saying among mortals: a gentleman's revenge can wait ten years.
Among cultivators, there was another saying—
Can't beat you?
Then I'll outlast you!
In any case, Leng Qingqiu believed that as long as she lived long enough, good things would eventually happen.
When the day came that she smashed the Leng Clan and trampled the Righteous Path Alliance underfoot, she would definitely settle the score with Ye Ling.
For now, what she needed to do was return to the Righteous Path Alliance and thoroughly investigate, to find out who had been scheming against her.
Once she uncovered the real culprit, she would make whoever was behind it pay a terrible price.
Watching Leng Qingqiu's retreating figure, Ye Ling finally let out a sigh of relief.
To be honest, he had been worried Bai Yiyi might suddenly insist on keeping Leng Qingqiu around.
He didn't understand why Bai Yiyi had taken such an interest in Leng Qingqiu, but he had caught a fleeting trace of guilt in her eyes.
Did she do something that wronged me?
Ye Ling's instincts told him something was off, but with so little information, he couldn't piece together the truth.
And when he saw Bai Yiyi's innocent, carefree expression, he dismissed the thought altogether.
It must be my imagination.
Don't be ridiculous. This girl, tricking me?
If she could trick me, then I'd… I'd marry Leng Qingqiu!
"Master, go rest for now. I'll take care of cleaning things up."
Ye Ling paid no attention to that "poisonous oath" forming in his mind. Right now, all he wanted was to cultivate as soon as possible.
Leng Qingqiu's side might look calm for the moment, but the System's "annulment" setting was definitely not a joke. If he didn't work hard, he would absolutely end up being beaten senseless by Leng Qingqiu in the future.
"My good disciple, then I'll leave it to you."
Bai Yiyi didn't think much of it. With a casual wave of her hand, she retrieved the floating spirit artifact armor pieces into her storage ring and sauntered off.
Busy tidying up the training ground, Ye Ling failed to notice the disappointment flickering across her cute face.
Sigh… looks like I'll have to trouble my junior sisters to find a suitable Dao companion for my precious disciple.
As she walked toward the back courtyard, her expression turned grave. Anyone who didn't know better would think she was facing some extremely difficult problem.
Until a stern voice suddenly sounded by her ear.
"Sect Master, how many times have I told you? Don't think about things while walking. Focus on what you're doing!"
At the entrance of the rear courtyard's archway stood a young girl wearing a plum-blossom qipao. Yet when she put on that severe expression, she somehow seemed to age more than ten years in an instant.
If Ye Ling had been there, he would definitely have been reminded of the sheer terror of being stared down by a homeroom teacher back in school.
...
Within the Righteous Path Alliance, inside a quiet, well-lit room.
A plaque hung on the wall, its black background emblazoned with gold-painted characters that read: Upright Righteousness.
Beneath the plaque, someone sat bent over a desk, carefully reading through the work details recorded in a Jade Slip.
"Holy Lord, Target A has been eliminated."
A cold, sinister voice suddenly reached the ears of the person bent over the desk.
"Oh?"
The Holy Lord's expression did not change as he asked calmly, "Confirmed?"
"A full-strength strike from a Tribulation Transcendence Stage powerhouse was used. Given Target A's strength, there was no possibility of failure."
The sinister voice remained steady, carrying clear confidence.
"The cleanup?" the Holy Lord asked again.
"Cause and effect have been erased. If anyone comes looking for answers, it will all point to the Leng Clan."
"And the remaining targets?"
"Our experts are already lying in ambush along the only route the targets must take to return to their mountain."
"Still no clue why they left?"
"Please forgive us, Holy Lord. Three Soul Formation Stage instructors were sacrificed, yet none of our divination specialists could predict the targets' purpose."
"Hmph!"
The Holy Lord let out a low snort and said nothing more. A trace of blood-colored murkiness flashed through his usually clear eyes.
But it vanished just as quickly. A soft green glow rose around him, and he soon regained his composure.
"Can't even divine the actions of Golden Core Stage ants? The sect has no need for useless trash."
Though he did not say it outright, the fate of the diviners was already sealed.
"Yes."
The eerie voice remained perfectly calm, without the slightest hint of agitation.
"You should have died as well for failing your task. But since your mission is not yet complete, I will give you a chance to redeem yourself."
"This subordinate understands."
"Go. Do not disappoint me again."
When the exchange ended, the Holy Lord lowered his head and muttered through clenched teeth, "Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden, the sins you committed against our sect will be repaid by your disciples!"
His arrogance came from one simple fact: this was the most idle department in the Righteous Path Alliance, the Records Hall.
This place might see real work once every few decades at most. Anyone assigned here was, for all intents and purposes, exiled to obscurity.
Who would have imagined that he, the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Demon Sect, once among the most powerful demonic sects, would be hiding here as an undercover agent?
But that was precisely why it was "once."
The Heavenly Demon Sect had long since declined.
Although nearly a thousand years of effort had allowed it to regain some foundation, it was still far from its former glory. At best, it could now be considered a first-tier demonic sect.
Even so, that level of strength was still terrifying.
Unlike first-grade righteous sects, any demonic sect that reached first-tier status was an elite force capable of withstanding the combined assault of ten others.
And yet, a thousand years ago, even such a sect had provoked someone they never should have crossed—the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden.
Because her title contained the word "Heaven," the Heavenly Demon Sect, then at the height of its power, openly declared that they would capture her and make her the sect's communal human cauldron.
In their eyes, it was nothing more than a "joke," a routine publicity stunt meant to enhance the sect's reputation, never something they truly intended to carry out.
But the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden took it seriously.