CHAPTER 122: 097 WICKED MAN OF CHANG’AN (TWO IN ONE)

The mountains are heavy with dark clouds, and the chill of impending rain fills the air.

The ominous tribulation thunder gathers above, showing no signs of dispersing.

Pools of water cover the ground, reflecting the overcast sky when viewed at an angle.

Above is the thunder, in-between is the falling rain, and below is the empty, extraordinarily desolate Celestial Bright Peak without a single person in sight.

"Boom——"

A peal of thunder resounded in the sky, illuminating the dark clouds like daylight, raising fears that the tribulation thunder might engulf the entire Celestial Bright Peak in the next instant.

Such scenery is somewhat terrifying, but the ever-cautious Xu Chang’an felt nothing, as he walked along the path with his eyebrows slightly knitted, pondering the list of Spirit Grass given by Wen Li. His Contribution Points and Spirit Stones are both limited, and it’s currently impossible to get everything for Miss Yun, so he must prioritize her immediate needs.

The saying goes that precision steel should be used for the blade, and money spent where needed most; he should first buy what Yun Qian currently can use, and as for the rest... he’s now in the Open Source Realm, so he can take on more tasks and find ways to earn.

Xu Chang’an’s boots landed on the pools of water at Celestial Bright Peak, splashing water with each step.

Suddenly, Xu Chang’an heard the crisp sound of raindrops falling on the surface of an umbrella. Slightly startled, he looked over to see, not far away, a woman in red holding a light-colored umbrella and walking towards him.

The woman wore a veil that concealed her features.

Xu Chang’an frowned.

Was she... coming for him?

Amid the curtain of rain, Xu Chang’an couldn’t help but wonder.

He wasn’t imagining things; this path leads directly to the North Garden, so if she wasn’t coming for him, could she be looking for Miss Yun?

The red-robed woman was dressed in a luxurious but not gaudy outfit, with a skirt longer than usual. Strangely, she held an umbrella and wore simple cloth shoes; the elegant hem of her skirt was stained with mud, and her plain shoes were soaked by the rain, her clothes even drenched—she appeared somewhat disheveled from a distance.

In such a storm, not using cultivation and relying solely on a small umbrella was almost indistinguishable from simply getting drenched in the rain.

"..."

Xu Chang’an looked up at his self-created Spiritual Barrier and sighed lightly.

The other party had cultivation but chose to use an umbrella and get drenched in the rain, identical to those senior sisters on Mu Yu Peak.

Mu Yu Peak was large, and Xu Chang’an didn’t know everyone; he only knew the girls near Three Officials Rock, so he stopped in his tracks.

Sure enough, the woman in red walked directly to him, stopped, and looked at him quietly.

The flash of lightning illuminated the slender figure.

The veil of the woman in red got soaked by the rain, revealing a faint outline of her features.

She examined Xu Chang’an from head to toe without saying a word, with an attitude that felt slightly scrutinizing, leaving Xu Chang’an somewhat puzzled.

As she was looking at Xu Chang’an, Xu Chang’an also looked at her, but unlike her focused gaze, he glanced and then quickly looked away.

Embroidery Seal?

At a close range, Xu Chang’an noticed some embroidery patterns on her clothes, was briefly stunned, and then recognized them. These patterns were similar to those belonging to the mysterious senior who gifted him the Glazed Jade when he broke through to the Open Source Realm, suggesting they were of the same rank.

The difference was that although the woman in front of him had an embroidery seal, she didn’t have the waist token of Mu Yu Peak.

But the two shared a commonality; they both had cultivation but chose to get drenched.

Was she... related to that senior?

Xu Chang’an’s fingers lightly brushed the Glazed Jade at his waist, wondering if she knew he had been marked by the senior from Mu Yu Peak, coming to see what kind of person he was.

Encountering her at Celestial Bright Peak didn’t surprise Xu Chang’an.

Someone like him would have no privacy anyway; otherwise, he wouldn’t be so cautious when using the system.

Xu Chang’an quickly organized a seemingly plausible reason.

Yes, quite plausible.

——

The silence lasted only a moment. The woman in red examined Xu Chang’an from his cultivation to his soul with her pupil technique, not detecting any anomaly. She softly spoke, "Xu Chang’an?"

Xu Chang’an nodded and said, "Greetings, Senior Sister."

He addressed her as Senior Sister for good reason.

On Mu Yu Peak, those with embroidery patterns but without an identity token were uniformly referred to as Senior Sister, a rule he learned in the Steward Hall.

As for what she ultimately intended?

Xu Chang’an didn’t care.

He had seen many eccentrics on Mu Yu Peak before, including ones who called him over and didn’t speak a word for half an hour. Hence, Xu Chang’an was long accustomed to dealing with these senior sisters.

He would simply follow their lead.

Answer their questions, and once done, everyone would go about their business.

——

Senior Sister?

Listening to Xu Chang’an, the woman in red was momentarily stunned, then nodded.

Senior Sister, as it is.

Her gaze lifted, and she realized that while scrutinizing Xu Chang’an, she had unknowingly entered beneath his Spiritual Barrier. At that moment, a weak barrier kept the bizarre rain, capable of washing away spiritual power, at bay.

The woman in red frowned, her light eyes flashing with a vibrant blue as a subtle spiritual power burst forth momentarily, dispersing half of Xu Chang’an’s spiritual barrier from below upwards.

Poof...

In the instant Xu Chang’an’s Spiritual Barrier collapsed, some intercepted rain fell down, dousing the woman in red, who was covered extensively in barriers, until she was utterly soaked.