137: Chapter 137 The Seven-Day Term

Xu Jianan hurriedly stood up. "This Junior pays respects to the Saint!"

Saint Lingyuan looked at Xu Jianan and spoke indifferently. Her tone was calm, yet it carried an unquestionable majesty.

"Seven days from now, it will be announced to the world that you two shall become Dao Companions."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire courtyard instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Liu Yun abruptly raised her head, her eyes wide open. The expression on her face shifted from anger to disbelief, and then from disbelief to a deathly pallor.

"Old Ancestor?! What did you say?!"

Her voice trembled, and her entire body stiffened as if struck by lightning.

Saint Lingyuan did not repeat herself; she merely glanced at her, her cold, clear eyes devoid of any ripples.

"This matter is settled."

Before her voice had even faded, she turned and walked out of the courtyard, her white robes fluttering, her pace unhurried.

Liu Yun remained frozen in place, her mouth opening and closing, opening and closing again, unable to utter a single word.

She wanted to chase after her, to question the Old Ancestor as to why she would do this, and to reject this absurd marriage proposal.

But her feet seemed to have taken root, nailed to the spot, unable to move.

The majesty of a Saint cannot be offended.

In the Tianxuan Sect, no one can defy what the Old Ancestor has decided.

Saint Lingyuan's back disappeared outside the courtyard gate, and the faint chill dissipated along with her.

Yet Liu Yun remained standing in place, her face deathly pale, her entire body trembling.

Xu Jianan scrambled up from the snow, patted the snow and mud off his body, adjusted his disheveled robes, and gave two dry coughs.

"Yun'er, that..."

"Shut up!"

Liu Yun whipped her head around, staring fixedly at him, the fury in her eyes threatening to erupt.

"Xu Jianan! What kind of tricks did you use?! What on earth did you say to the Old Ancestor?!"

Her voice was hoarse, filled with suppressed fury and bewilderment.

Xu Jianan opened his mouth to explain, but found his throat blocked as if by something, unable to say a single word.

What was he supposed to say?

Should he say he didn't know either? That he was just as confused?

Would Liu Yun believe him?

After a long while, Xu Jianan sighed, becoming uncharacteristically serious. "Yun'er, regarding this matter, I am also confused. I was forcibly dragged here by the Saint..."

Liu Yun stared at him, her gaze like a blade, scanning his face back and forth, trying to find some flaw in his expression.

Xu Jianan met her gaze steadily, his eyes showing no evasion or guilt, only sincerity and helplessness.

Liu Yun looked at him for a long time, then finally averted her gaze.

She turned, walked to the stone table in the courtyard, and sat down slowly, resting her hands on the table, her head bowed, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Watching her like this, an indescribable feeling surged in Xu Jianan's heart.

He had known Liu Yun for several hundred years.

Since they were both young, he had known that this woman was the most special person he had ever met in his life.

She was proud, stubborn, never bowed her head, and never admitted defeat.

But at this moment, she sat there, head bowed, shoulders trembling, like a wounded solitary wild goose, helpless and pitiful.

After a long time, Liu Yun finally raised her head.

Her eyes were slightly red, but she did not shed any tears.

She took a deep breath, suppressed the emotions in her heart, and stared at Xu Jianan, enunciating each word: "Xu Jianan, tell me honestly, does this matter have anything to do with you?"

Xu Jianan shook his head. "Yun'er, although I, Xu Jianan, am not a good person, I would not stoop to such methods. You know my feelings for you. If I wanted to force you, I would have done it long ago; why would I wait until now?"

Liu Yun fell silent.

Of course, she knew.

Although this old thing had been pestering her for hundreds of years, he had always been aboveboard and never used any underhanded methods.

When he said he liked her, he liked her openly, not caring what others thought, and not caring how she rejected him.

For hundreds of years, he had never used any forceful methods against her.

"Then why would the Old Ancestor do this?" Liu Yun's voice was hoarse, her eyes filled with bewilderment. "She is my Master, she has doted on me since I was a child! But now, why would she force me to marry someone like you?"

Xu Jianan also fell silent.

He was also pondering this question.

Saint Lingyuan, Old Ancestor of the Tianxuan Sect, an unparalleled powerhouse in the Saint Realm.

A person of this level is usually as hard to meet as ascending to heaven, let alone personally taking action to drag him from Guangnan City to the Tianxuan Sect?

Even more absurdly, that high and mighty Saint actually spoke up to have him and Liu Yun become Dao Companions?

This was definitely not a whim.

There must be a reason.

Xu Jianan paced back and forth in the courtyard, his brows furrowed, his mind racing.

He recalled what Saint Lingyuan had just said— "Seven days from now, it will be announced to the world."

Seven days.

Such a short time, so hasty; it didn't seem like a spur-of-the-moment decision at all, but rather...

She was in a hurry.

Was she rushing for something?

Xu Jianan's footsteps paused, and a thought flashed through his mind.

He thought of a person.

Young Master—Shen Qingyuan.

Once this thought appeared, it grew wildly like weeds, impossible to suppress.

He recalled the matter regarding the Great Emperors Secret Realm some time ago.

In that Secret Realm, Saints appeared, and some even fell.

And the Young Master happened to go deep into the Secret Realm.

The Saints of the Three Great Holy Lands had all entered the Secret Realm.

Saint Lingyuan was naturally among them.

"So... Saint Lingyuan has met the Young Master? She knows the Young Master's strength? She wants to use me to connect with the Young Master?"

Xu Jianan muttered to himself, and the more he analyzed it, the more he felt this possibility was extremely high.

Who was the Young Master?

Although he didn't know the Young Master's specific cultivation level, he could be certain that the Young Master was absolutely not some small Cultivator of the Meridian Opening Realm, nor could he be measured by the Primal Chaos Realm or the Asking Dao Realm.

At the very least, he was an existence comparable to a Saint!

Otherwise, how could Saint Lingyuan, the dignified Old Ancestor of the Tianxuan Sect and an unparalleled powerhouse of the Saint Realm, possibly do such a thing?

"No, I cannot cause trouble for the Young Master!"

Xu Jianan gritted his teeth, a flash of determination in his eyes.

He looked up toward the direction of the courtyard gate.

The courtyard gate was ajar, and it was quiet outside; not a single figure could be seen.

But Xu Jianan knew that the people of the Tianxuan Sect must be watching him.

Although Saint Lingyuan had left, she would definitely not leave him unattended.

"I must find a way to escape."

Xu Jianan took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and began to inspect the courtyard.

The courtyard wall was not high, just over a zhang; with his cultivation, he could jump over it in one leap.

But the Tianxuan Sect's mountain-protecting formation covered the entire mountain range, and without a passage token, he simply couldn't get out.

The only good news was that Saint Lingyuan perhaps felt certain he would not leave, and therefore did not Seal his cultivation.

Xu Jianan paced back and forth in the courtyard, his brows locked tight, the expression on his face flickering uncertainly.

A moment later, he thought of Liu Yun.

If he had Liu Yun's help, he might have a chance to leave the Tianxuan Sect.

Thinking of this, Xu Jianan suddenly stopped, turned his head to look at Liu Yun, his voice hoarse and tinged with bitterness.

"Yun'er."

Liu Yun did not look up, nor did she respond.

Xu Jianan did not mind and continued to speak to himself: "Yun'er, I know you are unwilling, and I do not want to force you. I will leave the Tianxuan Sect right now."

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