Chi Muyao trembled as he was held.

Right now, the scene was like a little rabbit being held by a tiger. The little rabbit was flustered and panicked, its heart threatening to thump out of its chest and show the tiger how nervous it was.

His body was stiff, his arms were half-raised, and his fingers hovered in the air, slightly trembling.

Every breath Xi Huai took was breathed out onto his neck, surrounding him with the warm and soft sensation.

Xi Huai's breath enveloped him. Right now, his entire person was within Xi Huai's control.

The earth was still shaking, but not as intensely as before. From time to time, fine stones fell on the boundary of the formation before rolling off.

Because they were in a cave, they could really hear the sound of cracks and faults forming in the earth, as well as the deafening roar of the earthquake.

Yet neither moved. They silently hugged no matter what was going on around them.

It has to be said—Xi Huai's embrace was very roomy and comfortable.

Xi Huai had wide shoulders, a narrow waist and a tall stature. He could completely envelop the slender Chi Muyao in his arms.

It was as if he didn't need to be afraid even if the cave did collapse, for Xi Huai could protect him well. 

Even though Xi Huai was clearly the dangerous one, Chi Muyao, strangely enough, felt a sense of security when near him.

After a long time, he called Xi Huai's name, "Xi Huai."

"En.”

"Let's... let's go out. I have to go check other places."

"Aren't you going to respond to me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. "

Xi Huai finally released Chi Muyao. He let him go after staring at him for a moment.

Chi Muyao quickly scrambled off the stone bed. He took another look at the eggs and formation after adjusting his clothes.

Xi Huai stood aside and waited for him, exhaling a long breath.

His heart continued to beat an erratic rhythm. He once thought his unease was because he couldn't find A-Jiu.

Only to find out that A-Jiu refusing to admit anything after Xi Huai found him hurt even more. 

This made him even more hesitant. He always felt like A-Jiu was right in front of him, but out of reach—like the moon reflected in a dream. 

His heart wandered. Adrift in uncertainty like a stalk of grass. 

It was clearly him, but not him. 

After leaving the cave, Chi Muyao went to several places. Xi Huai followed him the entire time. When Chi Muyao tried to move the bird's nest on the edge of a cliff, his foot slipped and he almost fell. 

Xi Huai quickly used Shukuang to support Chi Muyao, steadily catching the bird's nest with his other hand. 

Xi Huai withdrew Shukuang after seeing Chi Muyao regain his balance. He handed the bird's nest to him.

Chi Muyao looked up at Xi Huai and accepted the bird's nest. "Thank you.”

 "En." Xi Huai responded briefly.

Chi Muyao noticed that Xi Huai was keeping him at arm's length again. Xi Huai had probably sensed his rejection and decided to not get too close to him anymore.

That...was pretty good too.

If Xi Huai could just quietly give up like this, Chi Muyao would feel relieved.

The Yu Chong School was still busy when they returned. Disciples brought the spirit beasts without a home back to the Sect. Some were hurt, others had received a fright. All in all, the Yu Chong School disciples were all quite busy.

Hao Xia and Yi Lan were so busy they didn't have time to pay attention to them.

Chi Muyao didn't rest either. He picked up the slack and joined in with everyone else.

After watching for a while, Xi Huai waved to Zong Sichen and Song Weiyue. 

The two of them thought that Xi Huai didn't want to stand here and watch everyone deal with the spirit beasts and wanted to head back to Sheng Ling Island. They were quite surprised when Xi Huai took out a large flying artefact and said, "We're going back to the Qing Ze Sect."

Zong Sichen was a little surprised. "Just like that?"

Song Weiyue also asked, "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"No need. He won't miss me anyway.”

With that, he led the way and left.

The duo didn't dare to ask too many questions. You could tell just by Xi Huai's tone that the conversation he had with Chi Muyao hadn't gone well. Asking too many questions was begging for a beating.

Chi Muyao happened to look up at the sky while helping treat the spirit beasts. He saw that kite-like flying artefact gradually become smaller, until it disappeared into the night sky, leaving only the endless sea of stars behind. 

For a moment and only a moment, he felt a sense of loss. Then he continued to work on the spirit beasts. 

* * *

Chi Muyao was sitting in his room, reading a book about formations when a peach blossom drifted inside. The flower fell gracefully and lightly landed on his desk. 

He set down the book like he was about to retire for the night. Yet after extinguishing the lantern with a wave of his hand, he quietly left his room.

His actions were silent from start to finish. It was hard to tell if anyone had left the room at all.

After leaving the vicinity of the Yu Chong School, he hurried into the forest.

A person leapt down from the tree after confirming he was the one coming. This woman landed on the ground gracefully and soundlessly. Her long hair fell onto her shoulders and was soon blown back by the wind.

She wore a dark grey outfit that was easy to move in, with an ebony longsword on her waist and a Hundred Item Brocade on her belt.

There was nothing strange about her attire, but dressing so low-key would inadvertently reveal a different kind of style.

Chi Muyao exclaimed in surprise once he saw the woman. "Shijie!"

Xu Ranzhu laughed lightly after seeing him. "I haven't seen you for a while, and you've already become the number one beauty in the three realms."

"Please don't make fun of me.”

"Has the little Sect Master of the Qing Ze Sect found you?" Xu Ranzhu came over and asked him like she was quite interested.

She was the one Zong Sichen approached back then to question. It was also her who said Chi Muyao had fox eyes and liked to have his lapels wide open.

Chi Muyao replied, "I think he's already onto me, but he didn't make things difficult for me. I didn't admit anything either."

Xu Ranzhu laughed out loud after hearing this. "Who would have thought that the Young Sect Master of the Qing Ze Sect was actually such a romantic? The unreasonable type is always more difficult to deal with. That Zong Sichen by his side is already enough to give me a headache, but he's even crazier. "

Chi Muyao was taken aback. "You and Zong Sichen...did it before?" 

"En.”

"How could you make a move on someone so young?!"

"Only the young can be fierce.”

"..." Chi Muyao turned his head away. He didn't hear anything, he didn't hear anything.

Xu Ranzhu stopped teasing him and got down to business, "Didn't you ask me about Huanwu Jade a while back? I've received news that it's in the same place as the Immortal Grass seeds."

He was immediately pleasantly surprised. "You found it? Is four thousand+ spirit stones enough to buy it?"

The four thousand+ spirit stones he had were from Xi Huai. Chi Muyao wanted to return them originally, but with Xi Huai's bad temper he would probably use them to skip stones over the water like he threatened to. 

So Chi Muyao kept them in the end.

He wanted Huanwu Jade, which was a treasure in the eyes of He Huan Sect disciples and coveted by many others as well.

With a piece of this jade, you could easily disguise yourself before anyone whose cultivation wasn't higher than Nascent Soul stage. And for the He Huan Sect disciples, who were already skilled at illusions, they could hide even more traces of themselves with the Huanwu Jade.

Chi Muyao didn't want it at first, not even to escape Xi Huai, but he changed his mind recently. 

If he had this piece of jade, he could change the appearance of the Colourless Yunni Deer and make it appear like an ordinary deer. That way the little deer wouldn't have to stay in the cave all the time.

As long as a Nascent Soul stage cultivator didn't come to their Yu Chong School, no one would be the wiser.

Also, after changing its form combined with the illusion spells of the He Huan Sect, even savage heaven grade beasts would be unable to distinguish the Colourless Yunni Deer. After all, the intelligence of beasts was inferior to humans.

That way the little deer would be safe.

Since he received the ability of the big deer, who didn't even require that he stay in the formation, Chi Muyao couldn't let the little deer suffer.

The Yixian Grass was also for the little deer. It was still growing so it should have some good things to eat.

Compared to buying it, planting it yourself was more low-key.

It didn't matter if someone saw that they were planting Yixian Grass. After all, few people came to their Sect in the first place, and those who did weren't as gossipy as the people of Fang City. The Yu Chong School had also struck it big recently thanks to the Goldeneyed Heavenly Wolves, so indulging in it this once wouldn't be too strange.

A more likely scenario was that they wouldn't know it was Yixian Grass at all.

 

It's just that Yixian Grass seeds were hard to come by. He had been asking around for a long time.

Xu Ranzhu nodded, albeit a little embarrassed. "I have a lead, but even I don't know how much it'll cost, since it's an auction. You know about the Thousand Sect Conference? It will appear there." 

Chi Muyao fell into contemplation after hearing this. "I see."

The Thousand Sect Conference was the grandest gathering of the Demonic Faction.

The Righteous Factions were usually named: xx Pavilion or xx School.

But the Demonic Faction named themselves: xx Sect. 

It was worth mentioning that the entertainment venues, flowery streets and alleys of the Demonic Faction could be named 'pavilions', purely for the sake of ridicule. Take the Zheng Yu Pavilion for example. 

Like the name suggested, the Thousand Sect Conference was a gathering of thousands of sects.

Unlike the Righteous Faction, which looked to the Nuan Yan Pavilion as their leader and host of all gatherings, the Demonic Faction was much more scattered, with many more sects. The smaller sects were considered independent with just a few dozen people. They liked living free and unfettered, ruling over their own territories as liege.

The Thousand Sect Conference was a rare, large-scale gathering of the Demonic Factions. There would be huge street parades, and many took the opportunity to come and sell treasures. You could also test your skills in combat at the Thousand Sect Conference, potentially earning quite a sum of spirit stones. 

Sometimes, when there was a big matter that the Demonic Faction needed to discuss, they would take advantage of this opportunity to do so. But even in the best case scenario, things would end with everyone leaving unhappy. In the worst, a big fight would break out.

The situation only got better after Xi Huai became a Demon Venerable. For now, the Demonic Faction was still a group of scattered small fries. 

Xu Ranzhu took in his sombre expression and asked, "Are you going? If not, I can try to get it on your behalf.” 

Chi Muyao hesitated for a while. "I'll go. It's easy to make fake Yixian Grass seeds and the people of the Demonic Faction are all sly. There's a high chance of fakes that will be hard for you to recognise."

"Aren't you afraid of that little Sect Master?"

"He recently entered closed door cultivation to form his core so it'll probably be a while. Besides, I'll wear the peach blossom face so others can't recognise me.”

"Okay then. I'll make arrangements for you. Can you pass on news to the Nuan Yan Pavilion? Ask if Lou Qiongzhi wants to go. That girl likes to join in on the fun. The Nuan Yan Pavilion has been heavily guarded recently and I can't get in at all."

"En.  I can figure out a way to get inside.”

Xu Ranzhu handed Chi Muyao a stack of Sound Transmission Talismans. "Contact me if anything happens."

"Okay. Thank you, Shijie."

Chi Muyao sorted out his things before telling the Yu Chong School people that he wanted to go out and rent a cave residence to do some closed door cultivation for a while.

Pu He's spiritual energy wasn't dense enough, so any disciples that wanted to cultivate needed to go out and rent a cave residence.

Yi Lan didn't think much of it since he knew Chi Muyao had recently obtained the devil core of a heaven grade spirit beast. He assumed Chi Muyao wanted to stablise his cultivation first.

After leaving the Yu Chong School, Chi Muyao went to Fang City to meet up with Xu Ranzhu, who was dressed in plain clothes, at a teahouse.

The business in the teahouse was booming. Many cultivators from small sects gathered together to sit and talk eloquently.

The two of them chatted occasionally. After an hour or so, Lou Qiongzhi skipped in with overwhelming excitement.

Lou Qiongzhi had also changed into simple and elegant clothes. Even though her hair was tied up and her dress was low-key, it still wasn't enough to disguise her witty, eccentric appearance.

She downed three cups of tea after coming in before complaining, "I can't stay in the Sect anymore so I quickly escaped. Fortunately, Shizu arranged an errand for me to do.”

Since it was inconvenient to talk about the Nuan Yan Pavilion outside, she referred to it as just 'the Sect'.

The three of them didn't dally in the teahouse and went on their way. Chi Muyao regarded Lou Qiongzhi with a faint smile and asked, "So the Nuan Yan Pavilion is still a mess?"

"A mess is too light a word to describe it. Everyone is fighting with each other using all sorts of methods. There are even people who deliberately plot to make the candidates make moral mistakes. Then the framed people would bring out evidence to exonerate themselves and somehow manage to turn the tables on their naysayers. Then, it would later come out that the framed people deliberately exposed their weak points to lure people into their trap." 

"Since everyone's a few hundred years old, they're all very smart and understand each other. The matter of Acting Sect Master is related to the interests of all the major Nuan Yan Pavilion clans, so it makes sense for them to fight fiercely."

"Even the master-disciple romance of a Heavenly Venerable and an Immortal Venerable was exposed by them. Sigh, I'm so envious. Not to mention a Nascent Soul stage Heavenly Venerable, I wish even a Golden Core stage Immortal Venerable would come and talk to me about feelings late at night, ah."

Chi Muyao sighed helplessly. Xu Ranzhu laughed out loud and asked, "How many years have you been at the Nuan Yan Pavilion? Have you reaped any fruit?" 

Lou Qiongzhi suddenly replied in a whisper, "One shy little shidi of mine was just a snack. He was so shy the entire time that I had to take off his clothes. But he isn't hard working and my cultivation's better than his now, so there's no point in sleeping with him anymore. I've moved on."

Xu Ranzhu was curious. "Has he moved on?"

"Apparently not. He came looking for me, crying. Ugh, so annoying. If he has time to cry, he might as well cultivate. We should just break up and go our separate ways.”

After reaching a desolate area, the person with the highest cultivation, Xu Ranzhu, scanned the area with her divine sense before saying, "Sprint.”

With that, all three vanished from sight at the same time.

If you looked for them, you would find them already hundreds of miles away. 

The three of them instantly changed into the He Huan Sect's uniforms. The uniforms of the major sects could be mobilised with spiritual energy and changed into in an instant.

They were each dressed in pink and white clothes, with peach blossom and white butterfly chains around their necks and peach blossom masks on their faces. 

While sprinting, phantom images of peach blossoms and white fluorescent lights were left behind. Their large pink sleeves opened like butterflies in flight before quietly disappearing.

Coming and going like fog.

There were a total of twelve He Huan Sect disciples who came to participate in this Thousand Sect Conference. 

He Huan Sect disciples were normally scattered to the winds. Even their Sect Master was busy staying at the Nuan Yan Pavilion as the wife of a Heavenly Venerable. Gathering twelve of them in one place was already no easy task.

They grouped together, chattering on about their recent conquests. Chi Muyao's face flushed crimson as he listened. He pursed his lips tightly and pretended to be a sculpture.

Lou Qiongzhi brought over two steamed buns. Chi Muyao took them subconsciously and said, "I'm not hungry."

"Who said it was for you to eat?" Lou Qiongzhi said, tugging open the lapels of Chi Muyao's shirt. He was so scared he quickly raised a hand to his chest and recoiled, looking at her in horror.

She raised her chin and gestured. "Put these on your chest so that you can pretend to be a girl."

He raised his chin to show her, "I have an Adam's apple."

"But it's covered by the peach blossom face. No one will see it from a cursory glance. Quickly, before people find out there's a male He Huan Sect disciple. Our Sect's reputation is at stake."

Did the He Huan Sect have any reputation to speak of?

Chi Muyao was very unwilling, but when he refused, a group of girls swarmed over to pull his shirt. In the end, he could only do it himself so they would stop nagging him.

His shijie and shimei surrounded him for a look. They discussed with a smile, "Look at how thin Little Shige's waist is."

"Looking at it this way, A-Jiu's figure is actually better than ours."

"No wonder he haunts the young Qing Ze Sect Master's dreams. If it were me, I would also like to bully him for a few days."

"Little Shige really is ruthless. We can't find furnaces of this quality.”

Chi Muyao retorted with completely flushed cheeks, "There's nothing going on between us anymore!"

Lou Qiongzhi suddenly brought up, "Shijie, Zong Sichen isn't bad, ah. Aren't you going to..." 

Xu Ranzhu shook her head. "I've already formed my core while he's still at peak Foundation Building stage."

Chi Muyao couldn't help but ask, "Then what if his cultivation surpasses yours?"

After thinking about it, Xu Ranzhu replied, "I'll think about it then."

The furnaces of the He Huan Sect could only be cultivators of a higher cultivation than them, which was why they had all sorts of tricks up their sleeves to convince the other party to dual cultivate with them. 

Their group arrived at the street where the Thousand Sect Conference was going to be held. The entire street was extremely ornately decorated, covered with lanterns and red ribbons. One could imagine that the sight at night with the lanterns all lit up would be very gorgeous.

The shops on both sides of the street were very different from their mortal counterparts. Their shapes were exaggerated and domineering. For example, one building in front of them has hundreds of fierce, lifelike beasts carved masterfully on the wall.

Chi Muyao couldn't help but look around. He always felt like some things of the cultivation world were enough to attract his attention for a long time.

When they were about to enter the main hall, they heard someone mention the He Huan Sect.

"These dancers really don't amount to much. Swaying this way and that so dully...Their looks are average at best too.”

"Then go and invite the He Huan Sect disciples over, ah. They only select the most beautiful of girls to enter their Sect, educating them to be outstanding individuals and masters of all arts. Including, of course, dancing. Maybe they'll even take their clothes off during the routine..."

"For shame! Just the mention of those women makes me sick. Who knows who was the last person to press them down? The thought makes me unable to indulge no matter how beautiful they are.”

"Right?”

Xu Ranzhu directly led the other disciples inside, gracefully landing in the room. Walking towards some open seats, she said, "Everyone has overthought things. Our Sect is very particular about selection. Those with miscellaneous spirit roots don't even make the list, because cultivating with them will only attract a bunch of impurities and trash. There's no need for us to mistreat ourselves like that."

A dozen disciples of the He Huan Sect dressed in pink lined up to enter the venue. All of them appeared like beautiful fairies of excellent posture and slender appearance. Even wearing the peach blossom face masks, the sight of twelve beauties gathered together was a pleasing sight.

The entire cultivation world believed the beauties to be in the renowned Righteous Faction, where every flower was of graceful bearing.

But no one could deny that the He Huan Sect disciples had their own charms. They were all dashing beauties cloaked in fire.

The person being ridiculed was so angry he stood up. "A group of sluts not even as clean as these dancers are acting aloof and pure now?"

Xu Ranzhu sneered, "What? Are you this angry because we think you're beneath us and not worthy of being furnaces?"

Someone else replied, "Haven't there been enough victims of your He Huan Sect? Just think of all the sordid affairs you've caused."

"Don't worry." Xu Ranzhu flicked her sleeves and sat down primly. "You yourselves know best what quality your cultivation partners are. We will not waste ourselves on you, so there's no need to overthink things. If everyone is still interested, why don't you continue to enjoy the performance?"

Chi Muyao followed and took a seat. Looking at those people who were either fuming or taking joy in other's misery, he couldn't help but think that the gatherings of the renowned Righteous Sects were better. Although the fights in secret were fierce, at least it wouldn't be so noisy on the surface. 

All the better—the secret fights would also not affect him, who was in the Yu Chong School. 

It was common for people to argue as soon as they came in to Demonic Faction gatherings. No one was surprised at all. 

While Xu Ranzhu was busy arguing with everyone, Lou Qiongzhi had the mind to ask for a plate of sunflower seeds on Chi Muyao's behalf. "Little Shi...jie, here are some sweet sunflower seeds."

He obediently took them and whispered, "Thank you."

Xu Ranzhu took a break from arguing to turn around and fed Chi Muyao a pill. "Just in case.” 

"Oh..." The voice that came out when he spoke again was his previous voice in the He Huan Sect, the same one Xi Huai was familiar with from the cave. 

Others would quarrel with Xu Ranzhu from time to time, but Chi Muyao and Lou Qiongzhi just sat behind her, continuously munching on their seeds.

It wasn't until two people from another sect caused a big commotion that attracted everyone's attention by flipping the table that Xu Ranzhu stopped arguing and sat back to watch the show.

More people filed into the main hall. When the conference was about to begin, the ceiling of the main hall opened to reveal the sky.

The cultivators who were late simply flew in on their swords.

The ones who came last were also the most important. Drums even sounded because of their arrival, a sign of respect for the Qing Ze Sect.

Lou Qiongzhi leaned forward and whispered to Xu Ranzhu, "Do you think Zong Sichen will come? Will he come find you then?"

"What does he want to do when he finds me? Cry?"

"He might—"

"Sigh. Don't mention him, alright? Spoilsport.”

Chi Muyao suddenly stopped munching on sunflower seeds. Because he saw the first to arrive on a sword was actually Xi Huai. 

When Xi Huai was in the Qing Ze Sect's party outside, even the Nascent Soul stage Heavenly Venerable could only stay by his side and listen to his commands. This was the status afforded to him as the young Qing Ze Sect Master.

After Xi Huai landed, the hem of his robes fell gently to either side. He strode forward, tall and confident, towards the centermost seat.

The other Nascent Soul stage Heavenly Venerables sat to either side of him like they were his bodyguards.

At this time, the voices of other cultivators carried over, "As expected of the young Qing Ze Sect Master, he succeeded in forming his core after three days. He even rushed to mid-Golden Core stage with the help of several Heavenly Venerables. He'll probably be at peak Golden Core stage soon."

"Could it be that he will become the youngest cultivator in the cultivation world to reach Nascent Soul stage?"

"Probably. After all, he has exceptional talent rarely seen once per millennium.”

The yet to be eaten sunflower seed Chi Muyao held with his fingertips fell to the ground.

Never would he have expected someone to form their core within three days. He initially thought that Xi Huai would take three to five months at the very least to leave closed-door cultivation.

This...This...

Both he and the steamed buns on his chest fell into a state of extreme unease.