Chapter 436: 436: Blocked

    As the young masters of each clan located in the heavenly city had gathered by the entrance of the Crimson Cloud Pavilion. The topic moves from the head disciples of the three heavenly sects, and finally moves on to the topic about the head disciples of the unknown cultivator who bought the Heavenly Manor that used to be owned by the city lord.

    However, when the city lord was asked why he sold the mansion to Yue Xuexia, he only responded that the mansion wasn’t sold to the young lady directly. But someone extremely powerful bought it from him after giving him a chance to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm. Now the City Lord is a Yuanying Cultivator at an early stage, and his lifespan has extended for a thousand years, making his white hair turn back to black and his youth return. From an old man to a middle-aged, handsome man.

    It was by then that rumors of how the current owner of the Heavenly Manor was backed by the gods had spread among the powers within each sect and clan. Most of the young masters who had gathered for today’s auction were from those big clans. That’s why they knew more compared to ordinary organizations within the city.

    As for the head disciples they are talking about just now, they had arrived ahead of time as friends of the owner of the Crimson Cloud Pavilion. The guards only need to see their faces to be allowed inside. They had gathered in the personal hall of Lin Chiru. As for the seniors, they were sent into another hall where they met the other seniors.

    Lin Chiru was leaning on his white tiger while looking out the window of his room. His friends and their contractual beasts had also come with them. They’ve also heard what happened to the Heavenly Medicine Sect a few days ago, and the rest were relieved to see their friend alive even after his sect was purged.

    Hou Wen slung his arms around Di Lou’s shoulder and said, "It’s good that you are still alive, Lou!"

    "Your sect was suddenly purged by her. What did your sect do to make her angry like that?" asked Wan Yuren.

    Di Lou sighed helplessly as he told his friends what happened to his sect. "There is no grand scheming of anything. The former sect master and his minion elders covet the toddlers of the Goddess, Miss Yue! They deserved the ending they got. It’s just that even the grandmaster sided with his son, and in the end, died with him. Miss Yue didn’t even need to make a move."

    "What do you mean? She wasn’t the one who did the purge?" Hou Wen asked.

    Di Lou answered, "No. The two lotus flower spirits with her did all the work. They are both at the Nascent Soul Realm."

    "Nascent Soul Realm!"

    Seeing his three friends surprised was something Di Lou had already expected. After all, the Nascent Soul Realm is something only supreme elders of each sect have reached. Even the sect masters were only in the Golden Core (Jindan) realm. To have two under her protection only meant her cultivation was above Yuanying. The realm above Yuanying is the Huashen (God Transformation) Realm. In the Cultivation Realm, these beings were treated as gods, and they rarely got involved with the matters of the mortals. Which is why it was unknown if they truly existed.

    Di Lou asked, "Do you think Miss Yue is a real goddess?"

    "Maybe she is,"

    said Wan Yuren as he recalled what the sword god said to him and Lin Chiru.

    "If she is, then why isn’t she saving this city from the incoming beast riots?" asked Hou Wen.

    Lin Chiru said, "We’ve asked the Sword God from the Inheritance altar about that. Master said that... gods don’t care much about mortals. They only care about those under their protection. The reason she had been helping the Heavenly Sword Sect ever since she had arrived in this world, and why she was not directly getting involved. Yuren, you must know the reason. I’ve already heard it from you, but these two haven’t yet."

    Sigh~

    "It is not much of a secret anymore. It had something to do with the former disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Tan Bingyu. She is the senior sister of the Three Sword Peak before Junior Sister Meiren. At that time, her family clan, the Hidden Tan Clan, and the Snow Clan were against each other. She had asked for help with the sect. The Three Sword Peak was about to leave with her, but the sect master and elder forbade them to leave."

    Wan Yuren can still recall his master, Wan Yuyan, wanting to make a move himself for Peak Master Guan’s sake but being stopped by the sect master at that time. His master had even punished him by making him face the sword cliff as punishment. At that time, Wan Yuyan was still not the sect’s master but his master.

    Lin Chiru said, "If I recall correctly, the Sect Master at that time was not yet your master. After all, it’s well known that Peak Master Guan is the chosen future Dao Companion of your master. There is no way he will not help at that moment."

    "You are right. Master wanted to help. That’s why the grandmaster punished him by reflecting on the sword cliff for five years. When he came out, news about the Hidden Tan Clan’s demise reached him. At that time, Peak Master Guan didn’t even want to see him, and the Master was devastated. A few weeks later, you heard how the youngest direct disciple of Peak Master Guan met with Miss Yue at the Fantasy Forest. Before she was accepted into the sect as an esteemed guest, she introduced herself as Tan Bingyu’s mistress and said that she was there to complete the karma between the sect and her subordinate," storied Wan Yuren.

    Di Lou and Hou Wen, after hearing this story, finally understood the stance of Miss Yue. She is willing to help the Heavenly Sword Sect due to the former ties Tan Bingyu has with the Three Swords Peak. Giving them free divination about the future calamity is her thanks for Peak Master Guan Yueyi taking in Tan Bingyu under her protection when she was young. The herb from before was a gift from her to the disciples of the Three Swords Peak for wanting to save Tan Bingyu at her lowest time.

    "Then... the reason she is staying at the Heavenly City is not because she can’t leave, but to make sure that the Heavenly City will not fall?" Hou Wen asked.

    Di Lou said, "She is not here to help the heavenly sects but to make sure this city will still exist, so when her subordinate comes over to pick her up, Tan Bingyu can end her ties in this place without worries."

    "Does that mean she will help the elder fight the evil dragon?" Hou Wen asked.

    Wan Yuren said, "No. She will only keep the city from being destroyed."

    "How is that different?" Hou Wen asked.

    Lin Chiru said, "In short, even if all the cultivators died fighting against the dragon, she will protect the city. However, she will not directly fight unless it’s the last choice."

    Silence fell in the room as they realized the seriousness of the situation. In short, Yue Xuexia will not fight with them or defend the city with them. She will only keep her involvement minimal and watch them die if that is their fate. One cannot say she was cruel, as they had treated Tan Bingyu the same way before. You can say that they were just reaping what they sowed.

    Wan Yuren asked, "Is she coming to this auction?" Wan Yuren asked.

    Lin Chiru didn’t give a direct answer to Wan Yuren’s question and said, "The main event of the auction is from her, and I already reserved the best room for her."

    "Maybe we should wait at the entrance. Those dandies had gathered at your gates. They must be waiting for her..." Di Lou said.

    Everyone saw Lin Chiru’s white tiger run out of the room, even ignoring its master. It was not only it; Wan Yuren’s eagle, Hou Wen’s wolf, and even the little sky mimosa had somehow disappeared from his master’s side.

    Hou Wen asked, "What happened? Why did they run off?"

    "She must be here," said Wan Yuren.

    Di Lou, who noticed that his plant spirit son is gone. "Son? Wenrou... Xiao Wen!? Come to Daddy. Where are you?"

    "Let’s go and pick her up," said Lin Chiru, and in the end, they all went down to get Yue Xuexia by the gates.

    —

    At the gates of the Crimson Cloud Pavilion.

    Upon Yue Xuexia’s arrival, she flew to this place using her divine-grade fan, pretending not to be able to fly on her own. She is wearing a light red ancient robe, which was prepared by Shen Jueyang for this occasion. This robe had long, wide sleeves that hid not only her arms but also her hands. It wasn’t too tight at her waist, making her figure not fully exposed. This time, to hide her face, she wore a half mask and then a veil, exposing her plump, red lips and flawless lower half of her face.

    Despite her appearance concealed behind the mask, just the shape of her small face, her phoenix-shaped eyes, and her small nose show that she is a gorgeous beauty who can cause cities to fall. Both males and females were stunned by her cold temperament and elegant posture. If not for the two toddlers holding her hands, one would think that an empress from the high heavens came over for fun.

    The young masters, as soon as they saw her, fell lovestruck, and lust gathered in their eyes. They had blocked her way before she could even reach the gates.

    Young Master Xu said, "Hello there, beauty~ would you like to join our table~?"