340: Chapter 340 Ye Qingyao's Late-Night Waiting

"Revered Master? Why did you go out?"

Ye Qingyao's voice came from the porch of the Traveling Palace's main hall.

Su Changge looked up.

Moonlight fell on the steps in front of the hall; Ye Qingyao stood on the highest step.

She wasn't wearing the formal Taixuan Sect Sect Master robes from earlier that day, but had changed into a plain white thin shirt. A silver buckle was tied at the collar, and her wide sleeves revealed a portion of her wrist.

As the night wind blew, the thin shirt clung to her body, outlining her slender waistline.

Su Changge's gaze lingered on her for half a second.

[Standing at the door waiting for me in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?]

[How did she know I went out?]

Ye Qingyao walked down the steps.

She walked very lightly, her footsteps making almost no sound, like a patch of moonlight gliding across the ground.

As she drew closer, Su Changge noticed a faint dark tint under her eyes—she hadn't slept.

It wasn't that she had just woken up; she hadn't slept at all.

"This Disciple went to Revered Master's room half an hour ago to pay respects, only to find the door unlocked and the room empty."

Ye Qingyao's tone was calm, but the worry in her eyes could not be hidden.

Su Changge sighed inwardly.

[I just went out for a stroll, got cornered by an evil Cultivator, and almost didn't make it back. If she found out about that, she'd probably explode on the spot.]

He raised his hand to straighten his robes, adopting a casual posture as if saying, "I just went out for a walk."

"I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk."

Su Changge's voice was flat.

Ye Qingyao looked at Su Changge's face and didn't press further.

However, her gaze swept over Su Changge's robes—there was a small scorch mark on the hem.

That was left by the scalding volcanic rock beneath his feet while Su Changge was staking out near the mine.

Ye Qingyao said nothing.

She simply lowered her head slightly and flicked away the scorch mark on the hem of Su Changge's robe.

Her fingers brushed lightly over the fabric; her fingertips were cool.

Su Changge looked down at Ye Qingyao's hand.

That hand was so white it seemed to glow.

It wasn't just an adjective, it was real—the skin of a Mahayana Stage Cultivator has been nourished by spiritual energy to a nearly transparent degree. As the moonlight shone on the back of her hand, one could vaguely see the fine blue veins beneath.

[This hand is way too white.]

Su Changge shook the messy thoughts out of his head.

"You haven't slept either."

Su Changge looked at Ye Qingyao.

Ye Qingyao withdrew her hand from the hem of his robe and placed it at her side.

She hesitated for a moment.

"Revered Master, this Disciple has a matter to consult you on."

"Speak."

Ye Qingyao looked up, the moonlight falling on her face, making those almond eyes exceptionally bright and clear.

"Divine Flame Mountain... this Disciple feels something is wrong."

Su Changge's expression didn't change, but his heart skipped a beat.

[She noticed it too?]

Ye Qingyao turned and walked toward the interior of the hall.

"It is not suitable to stand here for long. Revered Master, please enter the hall to speak."

Su Changge followed her into the main hall.

The main hall of the Traveling Palace wasn't large, but it was exquisitely arranged. On a long mahogany desk sat a pot of warmed Spiritual Tea, two white porcelain cups, and a plate of sliced Spiritual Fruit beside them.

Clearly, it had been prepared long ago.

Su Changge sat down behind the long desk.

Ye Qingyao personally poured a cup of tea and handed it to Su Changge with both hands.

Su Changge took it and had a sip.

The tea was excellent. It was smooth upon entry with a faint orchid fragrance; after drinking it, his chest felt warm and cozy.

Ye Qingyao sat opposite him and poured a cup for herself, but didn't drink, only cupping it with both hands.

"In this Disciple's past life..."

Her voice suddenly lowered.

The hand Su Changge used to hold the teacup paused for a moment.

Every time Ye Qingyao said the words "past life," her tone would change.

It shifted from the steadiness of a Mahayana Stage Sect Master to a raspy tone filled with exhaustion and the weight of ages.

It was as if those memories were too heavy, making her throat tremble under the pressure.

"This Disciple also participated in the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly of my past life."

Ye Qingyao's gaze fell upon the tea in her cup.

"At that time, I was only at the Soul Transformation Stage and came to the Chixiao Dao Domain with the Sect Elders. I remember the grandeur of the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly very clearly—thousands of Sects, tens of thousands of Cultivators, and the entire Divine Flame Mountain was covered in immortal light."

"But that Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly—something terrible happened."

Su Changge's eyebrows quirked slightly.

"What happened?"

Ye Qingyao shook her head.

"This Disciple... cannot remember clearly."

There was a hint of frustration in her tone.

"The memories of my past life are not entirely intact. Many things I remember very clearly, but some key turning points are blurred, as if obscured by something."

"This Disciple only remembers that—after that Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly, the landscape of the Chixiao Dao Domain underwent earth-shattering changes. The Blazing Dragon Sacred Hall suffered heavy losses, and many established powers were wiped out overnight."

"And the reason... this Disciple only remembers four words."

Ye Qingyao looked up at Su Changge.

"Heavenly Demon Descends."

Su Changge set down his teacup.

His hand was steady.

His face didn't change.

But his heart had already begun to race.

[Heavenly Demon Descends.]

[The left arm of the World Devouring Master. The Seal has only thirty percent remaining. The Blazing Flame Dragon Emperor wants to detonate the earth veins.]

[It all matches up.]

Ye Qingyao couldn't see Su Changge's inner turmoil; she only saw that his expression hadn't changed from beginning to end.

In her understanding—Revered Master had known all along.

Revered Master's late-night "walk" was likely to investigate this very matter.

And after Revered Master returned, his expression was as usual, and he even had the leisure to drink tea.

What did this mean?

It meant—everything was under Revered Master's control.

Ye Qingyao's heart eased slightly.

But only slightly.

"Revered Master."

Ye Qingyao put down her teacup, stood up, and walked over to Su Changge.

She didn't kneel.

But she leaned forward slightly, less than two feet away from Su Changge.

At this distance, Su Changge could smell a very faint, ethereal fragrance on her.

It wasn't the scent of cosmetics.

It was the pure Qi naturally emitted by the spiritual energy within a Mahayana Stage Cultivator, carrying a slight coolness, like the mist drifting from a mountain stream on a winter morning.

Su Changge's gaze unconsciously drifted down a bit.

When Ye Qingyao leaned over, a small gap opened at the silver buckle of her collar.

Moonlight shone into that narrow slit, dazzlingly white.

Su Changge immediately retracted his gaze.

[What am I thinking? Concentrate! Someone is talking to you about a matter of life and death, and what are you looking at?]

"If Revered Master feels this place is dangerously uncontrollable—"

Ye Qingyao's voice was very, very soft.

"This Disciple implores Revered Master to leave first."

Su Changge was stunned for a moment.

Ye Qingyao straightened up and looked into Su Changge's eyes.

"This Disciple is in the Mahayana Stage. Although there are many Cultivators in the Chixiao Dao Domain, very few can truly threaten me. Even if something goes wrong at the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly, I have the power to protect myself."

"But Revered Master is different."

Ye Qingyao's tone changed.

It became very serious.

"Revered Master is the Spiritual Void Desolate Dao Master. If anything happens to Revered Master, the entire Lingxu Wilderness will be thrown into chaos."

"This Disciple is willing to stay here to clean up the aftermath for Revered Master. If things become impossible—"

She paused.

"Even if I must sacrifice my life to cover the rear, I will buy enough time for Revered Master to evacuate."

Su Changge looked at Ye Qingyao.

Her expression was calm, but there was something in those almond eyes.

It wasn't fear, nor was it hesitation.

It was certainty.

A kind of "I've already made up my mind, my life can be discarded" certainty.

An indescribable feeling suddenly welled up in Su Changge's heart.

[She's serious.]

[She really plans to let me go first while she stays behind to bear the burden.]

[A Mahayana Stage Reborn Empress—is willing to die for me, a fake Dao Ancestor at the Qi Refining First Layer.]

[This woman...]

Su Changge felt a bit of a lump in his throat.

It wasn't a lump of fear.

It was a different kind of tightness.

Looking into Ye Qingyao's earnest eyes, he suddenly didn't know what to say.

Say "Okay, thank you"? That would be too shameless.

Say "Don't worry about me, I'll run on my own"? He did want to run, but saying it would be too undignified.

Say "My cultivation reaches the heavens, you don't need to worry"? That's freaking fake.

Silence spread through the main hall.

Ye Qingyao just stood there in front of Su Changge, quietly waiting for an answer.

Moonlight shone through the gaps in the window lattice, falling on her shoulders as if draping her in a thin veil.