88: Is it a coincidence?

The woman looked at Chu Yuan, seeming to realize something, and a hint of surprise appeared in her eyes.

"Only seventeen years old, yet already stepped into the Spirit Crystal Realm Early Stage, and even comprehended Sword Intent?"

"Boy, who is your master?"

Chu Yuan felt slightly relieved. This was yet another person who couldn't see through the concealment of the primal divine crystal.

A thought suddenly struck him, and he hurriedly and respectfully replied, "Replying to Senior, Junior Chu Yuan comes from a remote mountain village on the border of Great Xia. Although I have twice received Cultivation Techniques gifted by benevolent people, I do not have a master."

Hearing this, the woman's eyes flickered slightly, noncommittal.

She looked deeply at Chu Yuan once more, her eyes moving slightly, and she parted her cherry lips:

"You are Chu Yuan, correct? You and I have some fate. Are you willing to take me as your master?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Yuan did not answer immediately, but instead asked with a hesitant voice:

"May I ask if Senior is a member of the Human Race?"

The woman narrowed her eyes, looking at him with a half-smile. "What if I am? What if I am not?"

Chu Yuan barely hesitated, speaking frankly, "If you are, Junior is willing to take Senior as his master. If you are not, please forgive Junior for being unable to comply."

"Oh?" The corner of the woman's mouth lifted slightly, and a hint of curiosity appeared in her beautiful eyes. "Why?"

Chu Yuan said calmly, "A master is like a parent; a master's command cannot be disobeyed!"

"Although Junior is not considered a good person, I know that Demons, monsters, ghosts, and ghouls wreak havoc in the mortal world. Junior is unwilling to assist in tyranny and harm the Human Race!"

Hearing this, the woman nodded, but said with a half-smile, "There are also wicked individuals within the Human Race who help Demons, monsters, ghosts, and ghouls harm the Human Race. Aren't you afraid that I am one of those people?"

Chu Yuan raised his gaze to look at her, shaking his head. "Senior does not seem like it!"

"Furthermore, even if Junior has truly misjudged, I will do my best to persuade Senior to turn back!"

"And if you cannot persuade me?" the woman continued to ask, her gaze becoming more probing.

Chu Yuan shook his head and sighed softly. "Junior just said that I am not considered a good person. If I truly cannot persuade you, Junior will stay far away and not participate. It will be enough to simply look out for myself."

Hearing this, the woman's expression remained calm and noncommittal.

Afterward, the woman looked at Chu Yuan with a half-smile and asked again, "I just saved your life. How will you repay me?"

Chu Yuan replied without hesitation, "Under the condition that it does not violate my bottom line, I can do one thing for Senior."

"A bit interesting!"

The woman chuckled, though her face retained a sense of aloofness. "What is your bottom line?"

"My bottom line..."

Chu Yuan opened his mouth, but then shook his head slightly, his expression growing serious.

"Senior, you have already heard one of my bottom lines. There are two more:"

"First, not harming my relatives, friends, and benefactors;"

"Second, not endangering my own life."

Hearing this, the woman nodded slightly.

Her eyes did not show satisfaction, but neither did they show dissatisfaction.

She looked at Chu Yuan again, and just as she was about to speak, her expression suddenly changed slightly.

She threw a token and a book to Chu Yuan, and her figure abruptly vanished.

Immediately after, her voice drifted down.

"My name is Shangguan Xinglan. If you can cross the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, you may go to the Xuantian Sect. I might consider accepting you as a disciple."

Hearing this, Chu Yuan narrowed his eyes. "The Xuantian Sect? Most likely led by a God Realm Expert. Isn't this the backing I need?"

He lowered his head to look at the token. He saw that the entire token was purple, engraved with mysterious runes on the side, emitting a faint light.

The front was carved with the three ancient characters 'Xuantian Sect', and the back was an exceptionally exquisite and gorgeous carving of a peak summit.

As for the book, the four characters 'Ice Soul Sword Dance' were clearly written on the cover.

Chu Yuan quickly flipped it open and glanced at it—it was actually a sword-type Spirit Skill!

Joy filled Chu Yuan's eyes, and he quickly and carefully stored the token and the book into his spatial storage.

Afterward, he put away the Black Bear corpse and turned to rush westward... On the other side.

Shangguan Xinglan stepped into the Void Realm and rushed eastward at extreme speed.

Her speed was incredibly fast; a single step crossed endless space, just like spatial displacement.

Before long, she stopped.

Standing clearly before her was a young woman in red—who else could it be but Ye Qingyi?

"Ming Ye Ghost God, you still dare to appear in my Tianji Divine Continent? Do you truly think I dare not kill you?"

Shangguan Xinglan's expression was cold, murderous intent soared from her body, her long sword appeared in her hand, and terrifying Sword Qi swept across the sky.

Ye Qingyi's expression was solemn, but she showed no intention of fighting. She spoke in a cold voice:

"I don't want to fight you today!"

"If you help me find one person, I will never step into the Tianji Divine Continent again. How about that?"

Hearing this, Shangguan Xinglan couldn't help but blink, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

Why did she feel that the Ming Ye Ghost God seemed a bit off today?

Usually, didn't this fellow either not bother confronting her and just run, or engage in a fight before laughing and escaping?

Moreover, who could make her promise never to step into the Tianji Divine Continent again?

Shangguan Xinglan couldn't help but feel a little curious and asked casually, "Who are you looking for?"

"His name is Chu Er, a seventeen-year-old, very good-looking young man..."

Listening to Ye Qingyi's description, Shangguan Xinglan remained outwardly calm, but Chu Yuan's figure quietly surfaced in her mind.

A coincidence?

Is there something wrong with that boy?

Shangguan Xinglan maintained a calm expression and said in a cold voice, "Hearing your words, he should be a member of the Human Race, right? Do you think I would help you harm my Human Race?"

Ye Qingyi blinked and said, "Who said I want to hurt him?"

"Everyone in the world knows I love to eat. That young man's Culinary Skills are excellent, and I like him very much. I want to invite him back to be my chef."

Hearing this, Shangguan Xinglan was noncommittal, but another matter came to mind.

She narrowed her eyes and asked with slight surprise in her voice, "Is this young man the one you abducted last time in the Qiyun Mountain Range?"

Ye Qingyi blinked, then nodded, admitting frankly:

"It is indeed him!"

"He was doing well originally, but I was momentarily careless and let him get swept away by a spatial rift that suddenly appeared. But I know he is still alive."

Shangguan Xinglan was thoughtful. "It seems you really like this chef!"

Ye Qingyi nodded.

Shangguan Xinglan narrowed her eyes and spoke again, "With your ability, it should be easy to find him. Why do you need me to help you search?"

Hearing this, Ye Qingyi glanced at Shangguan Xinglan and said bluntly, "His heavenly secrets have been concealed by someone; I cannot calculate his whereabouts!"

"I suspect that spatial rift was intentionally created by someone. So, I must find him, and I also need to expose the person who caused the trouble."

Hearing this, Shangguan Xinglan narrowed her eyes again, feeling somewhat surprised.

Afterward, she sneered, "That is your business. First, let's settle the score from a year ago. If you survive within a hundred moves, then we can discuss other matters."

As her voice fell, she had already made the first move.

The sword broke through the sky, carrying terrifying might, arriving instantaneously.

"You..."

Ye Qingyi's expression turned cold, and she quickly raised her hand to defend, but due to being caught off guard, she was fiercely forced back.

"If you want to fight, then fight! Do you think I'm afraid of you?"

Ye Qingyi's expression changed slightly, but she spoke coldly without showing weakness.

As she finished speaking, the two violently collided.

In an instant, the earth shook and the mountains swayed, and the surrounding space vibrated ceaselessly.

The expressions of the two remained unchanged, their actions continuous, unleashing killing moves one after another with frightening power.

Seeing that after a few moves, the ground below them had collapsed and the mountains had crumbled, Shangguan Xinglan couldn't help but frown slightly.

Afterward, although her attacks became slightly more ruthless, she subtly guided Ye Qingyi toward the sky above.