After Faking Her Death and Fleeing, the Emotionless Daoist Master Regretted It - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Restraint – Shizun’s Possessiveness

Su Lingqing was the first to look away.

Shizun’s gaze was too gentle, and she was afraid of getting drawn in again and doing something that would displease Shizun.

Upon careful reflection, some of her actions last night had already crossed the line.

Shizun not blaming her did not mean she could act recklessly.

Cultivators in the Qi Refining stage could not fly with a sword. To avoid missing the registration time, Su Lingqing cautiously asked: “Shizun, do you know where the registration site for the slot selection is?”

Ling Yunyue replied softly: “It’s on Wanwu Peak (Ten Thousand Affairs Peak). Lingqing doesn’t need to go in person. I can send a voice message to the deacon there.”

“Thank you, Shizun!”

Su Lingqing did not decline. The trial was about to start tomorrow. Wanwu Peak was not close to Xuantian Peak. Traveling back and forth alone would be time-consuming and exhausting. If she could save some time for cultivation, it would be for the best.

With this thought, she remembered what Ruozhu had said via thought transmission and continued: “The spiritual beast egg obtained from the auction in Qingyun City now shows signs of hatching. Would Shizun like to come and see it in this disciple’s cave dwelling?”

Ling Yunyue nodded with a smile, agreeing to go.

In the next moment, Su Lingqing felt a tightening around her waist, and her whole body was instantly airborne.

Because she couldn’t fly on her own, her sense of security plummeted. She instinctively hugged Shizun tightly.

The familiar fresh scent reached her nose, immediately making her feel much safer.

In a moment, Shizun landed with her in front of the cave dwelling surrounded by a barrier.

Ruozhu, who was guarding the spiritual beast egg, sensed her Master’s return and immediately rushed out, wanting to pounce on her sweet-smelling, soft Master.

However, the next moment, her neck suddenly felt heavy. The little fox let out a whimper, suspended by the scruff of its neck by a pair of long, strong hands, just inches away from her Master.

Ling Yunyue looked at the white fox, her expression unreadable.

“Lingqing is your Master. As a spiritual pet, you should have the awareness of a spiritual pet.”

Facing the beautiful white fox, Ling Yunyue’s words held no tenderness, but were mixed with a slight coldness.

“Awoo awoo~”

Ruozhu dared not defy the powerful Venerable. She could only stare at her Master with a pair of wet, fox eyes, pleading for help.

Su Lingqing felt pity for the little fox and immediately started to intercede.

“Shizun, Ruozhu hasn’t seen this disciple for a long time and got excited. Furthermore, Ruozhu is a girl. It’s fine if she is a little closer to this disciple.”

Because she spoke quickly, her words were not carefully thought out. Only after speaking did she slowly realize something was wrong.

She was naturally attracted to the same s3x… Although it was impossible for her to have any thoughts about the little fox, bringing this up now sounded a little off.

Su Lingqing quickly tried to correct herself: “Shizun, Ruozhu is like family to this disciple…”

Mid-sentence, she immediately bit her lip, stopping herself.

This was because Shizun’s eyes visibly grew colder.

At this moment, Su Lingqing regretted her clumsiness with words, unable to clearly explain her thoughts.

Just as she was sighing and blaming herself, a slightly cool voice reached her ear.

“Lingqing, don’t forget that this little fox came from Beast Taming Peak. Do you still remember the warning I gave you in the Treasure Pavilion?”

The girl was startled, then nodded repeatedly: “Of course, I remember.”

“Beast Taming Peak possesses a few unpassed secrets in controlling spiritual beasts. Even though Ruozhu has acknowledged you as its master, do not trust it completely.”

This was communicated via thought transmission, so the little fox did not hear it, but an ominous premonition rose in its heart. The entire fox was inwardly grumbling.

As a spiritual beast, she was very sensitive to certain human emotions.

Since the first meeting, she had felt a subtle hostility from her Master’s Shizun.

This hostility was not solely due to her origin. The more important reason… was that she stayed by her Master’s side and was close to her Master.

This woman, who looked cold, had a strong possessiveness towards her Master, so strong that she couldn’t stand the sight of any living creature close to her Master.

Yet, her appearance was always that of an ethereal beauty, aloof and detached, as if indifferent to everything in the world, deceiving everyone…

Thinking of the spiritual beast egg that hadn’t hatched yet in the cave dwelling, the little fox instantly felt a sense of mutual sympathy…

Su Lingqing looked at Ruozhu’s droopy appearance and wanted to comfort her, but she had just promised Shizun. She could only steel her heart and temporarily pretend not to see.

In the little fox’s eyes, this meant her own Master had been successfully manipulated by her hypocritical Shizun, and she suddenly felt that her future fox life would be difficult.

Before, she only found that fierce woman from Beast Taming Peak annoying, but now, she had someone she disliked even more…

The restraint on her neck suddenly disappeared. The little fox landed successfully. She instinctively wanted to get closer to her Master, but was instantly blocked by an invisible force.

After several unsuccessful attempts, Ruozhu stared pitifully at her Master with a pair of extremely beautiful fox eyes, hoping that her Master would notice the abnormality and actively pick her up.

However… her hope was dashed.

Her Master walked into the cave dwelling with that cold woman without looking back…

Ling Yunyue subtly prevented the little fox from getting close to her disciple and did not feel that this action was inappropriate.

In her eyes, the little fox’s origin was always an issue. With the warning from that divination, she had to be careful of anyone or any spiritual beast from Beast Taming Peak.

As for the fact that the little fox had long acknowledged its master and was bound by a spiritual beast contract, making it impossible to harm its Master, that fact was directly ignored by her…

Su Lingqing followed Shizun to the bamboo basin soaking the spiritual spring water and saw the crimson spiritual beast egg with a fissure.

Driven by curiosity, she concentrated and observed for a while, but gained nothing.

“Shizun, can you tell what kind of spiritual beast this is now?”

Ling Yunyue retracted the wisp of divine sense she had sent out. Suppressing the surprise in her heart, she mused: “It’s an avian type. According to my guess, this beast has an extraordinary origin and should not have appeared in the cultivation world.”

“Does Shizun mean…”

“I cannot be certain yet. The spiritual spring water in the bamboo basin is already insufficient. Lingqing, why not take it to the spatial artifact? The spiritual energy there is richer. If nothing goes wrong, it should be able to hatch tonight.”

“Shizun, would you like to come to the space as well?”

“That would be good. The sect is quiet today. On the way here, I already sent a voice message to the Wanwu Peak deacon to sign Lingqing up. It won’t hurt to stay in the space for a day.”

Seeing Shizun agree, Su Lingqing’s eyes curved in a smile. She took the spiritual beast egg, actively reached out, and held Shizun’s long, jade-like hand, and together they arrived in the familiar space.

Many days had passed. In the boundless spiritual field, the spiritual seeds planted earlier had all sprouted new shoots.

Ling Yunyue scanned the area with her divine sense and casually asked: “Has Lingqing come to the space to water the spiritual field with spiritual spring water these days?”

The girl looked a little embarrassed: “Since the seeds were sown, this disciple hasn’t tended to them.”

Ling Yunyue observed the girl’s expression and immediately realized she had misunderstood. She gently explained: “Lingqing, don’t overthink it. The spiritual plants in the field are growing extremely well. I asked about this only to confirm the efficacy of the supreme-grade spiritual spring.”

Supreme-grade spiritual springs were rare in the world. Rumors said that where such a spiritual spring existed, the spiritual plants within a hundred li (approx. 50 km) radius would eventually grow into supreme-grade specimens.

Now, the condition of the spiritual plants in the space confirmed this rumor.

Ling Yunyue shared what she knew, and the girl’s face showed a smile once more after hearing it.

Before long, Su Lingqing walked to the spiritual spring well, filled a bamboo basin with spiritual spring water, and placed the spiritual beast egg back into it.

The spiritual energy in the space was rich. Ling Yunyue intended to seize this opportunity to continue letting her disciple practice sword techniques.

There was a large patch of emerald bamboo by the well. She used spiritual power transformed into a blade, cutting down two sections. She carved each into a bamboo sword and handed one to her disciple.

Su Lingqing took the bamboo sword and instantly guessed Shizun’s intention.

Sure enough, in the next moment, a gentle voice reached her ear.

“Today, you and I, Master and disciple, will continue the sword practice. Lingqing, still put forth your full effort and do not hold back.”

“Yes, this disciple understands.”

Through the sparring session yesterday, Su Lingqing gradually changed her perspective and no longer felt any resistance towards drawing her sword against Shizun.

She knew Shizun did this to temper her and improve her strength. She also clearly understood that she couldn’t possibly hurt Shizun. Her previous internal struggle had long vanished with the advancement of her sword path realm.

The moment she held the sword, the Illusory Shadow Tracking and Shadowy Light sword techniques were almost simultaneously deployed. The ordinary bamboo sword followed the girl, transforming into multiple afterimages, indistinguishable between real and fake, and together attacked the woman in a plain white dress, who stood calmly and gracefully with a sword in hand.

In a moment, the crisp sound of bamboo swords clashing reached her ears.

A powerful anti-shock force came from the position of her thumb and forefinger. Su Lingqing flew backward, retreating halfway. As if sensing something, she quickly changed direction.

At the same time, Ling Yunyue appeared at the girl’s original position. Her figure immediately transformed into several afterimages, chasing after her…

The Master and disciple sparred repeatedly. Realizing her disciple’s rapid progress, Ling Yunyue slightly lowered the suppression on her strength.

Su Lingqing sensed it and still responded with full effort. However, with the widening gap in realms, the exchange of attacks became significantly more strenuous. After about half a cup of tea’s time, her bamboo sword was flicked away by Shizun due to a single missed move.

The strong inertia carried her entire body sideways. She expected to fall face-first, but the next moment, she landed in a warm embrace.

The long period of sparring had resulted in a considerable expenditure of spiritual power. Even though the spiritual energy was rich in the space, leading to faster recovery, she still felt tired.

Now, landing in Shizun’s embrace, her tightly wound mind relaxed. For a moment, Su Lingqing wanted to let go of everything and just fall asleep like this.

Shizun’s embrace made her feel very secure.

But she had vowed to strictly observe the etiquette between Master and disciple. She should not yearn for such an embrace…

Su Lingqing resisted her reluctance, quietly thanked Shizun, and took the opportunity to return to the ground.

The moment she stood steady, several cracking sounds suddenly reached her ear.

She followed the sound and saw dense cracks appearing on the surface of the crimson spiritual beast egg.

After a short while, a dazzling red light flashed.

Su Lingqing subconsciously closed her eyes. A moment later, a chirping sound reached her ear. Opening her eyes again, she saw a palm-sized, entirely crimson bird circling beside her.

Ling Yunyue looked at this scene and understood.

“My prediction was correct. It is not a spiritual beast, but a divine beast, a Phoenix, that only exists in the Immortal Realm. For some unknown reason, it fell into the cultivation world…”