247: Chapter 27 Tong Piaoyun

Under Meng Li's intentional guidance, the Old Woman of Tian Shan completed her own mental fabrication, attributing the Jia Yi Hun Yuan Gong to Murong Longcheng. She then asked no further questions, turning instead to the matter occupying her thoughts: "Where is Wu Ya Zi?"

Meng Li did not reply, merely flashing the Seven Treasures Ring.

Seeing this, the Old Woman of Tian Shan instantly understood. Her eyes flickered, and finally, she cupped her hands in greeting: "Xiaoyao Sect's Tong Piaoyun pays respects to the Sect Head."

Hearing her self-reported name, Meng Li was inwardly surprised.

Tong Piaoyun?

Wasn't the Old Woman of Tian Shan named Wu Xingyun?

He suddenly recalled that the original *demi-gods and semi-devils* did not explicitly mention the Old Woman of Tian Shan's name.

The name Wu Xingyun was fabricated by a derivative movie. In that film, the Old Woman of Tian Shan was played by Gong Huang, and Li Qiu Shui was played by Qing Xia. The plot and related settings were heavily altered. What left the deepest impression on Meng Li was the Beiming Divine Skill.

That version of the Beiming Divine Skill was not only astonishingly powerful but also included a Rebirth effect, called the Beiming Rebirth Technique.

As for the name Tong Piaoyun, Meng Li vaguely remembered it; it seemed to be the name of the Old Woman of Tian Shan in the '97 version of the *demi-gods and semi-devils* TV series.

The Old Woman of Tian Shan before him was actually named Tong Piaoyun. Could it be that because they both belonged to the TV version, they inherited the name?

Meanwhile, several Lingjiu Palace members in the distance were experiencing turbulent shockwaves in their hearts.

To the people of Lingjiu Palace, the status of the Old Woman of Tian Shan was Supreme and ultimate.

This could be seen from how they addressed her.

Revered Mistress—revering her as superior, serving her as master.

In their impression, their own Revered Mistress had always been strong, even domineering, and had never bowed her head to anyone.

Now, that person was actually actively greeting Meng Li.

This caused them tremendous shock.

At the same time, they noticed the key words in the Old Woman of Tian Shan's speech and became extremely curious.

Xiaoyao Sect—was this their Revered Mistress's sect?

The Sect Head is actually so young!

The Old Woman of Tian Shan naturally noticed the reactions of the few members but paid them no mind, nor did she offer an explanation.

Given her personality, she generally would not bow to anyone.

But she was a Disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect, and even after establishing Lingjiu Palace, she never considered leaving the Xiaoyao Sect. According to the rules of the Xiaoyao Sect, anyone who held the token of the Xiaoyao Sect Sect Head and knew the Xiaoyao Sect Martial Arts was the Sect Head of the Xiaoyao Sect.

Meng Li met both conditions, his strength was also above hers, and he might know news of Wu Ya Zi. Emotionally and logically, it was difficult for her to deny Meng Li's identity as the Sect Head, so she simply admitted it.

Meng Li was not entirely clear about these reasons but guessed some of them and paid them no attention.

After a moment, he raised his hand in a gesture of support and smiled: "Senior Sister Tong, there is no need for such ceremony."

Upon hearing this, the Old Woman of Tian Shan immediately dropped her formal posture and brought up the old topic again: "May I ask the Sect Head, where is my Junior Brother Wu Ya Zi now?"

Seeing her unwavering preoccupation with Wu Ya Zi, Meng Li sighed inwardly and truthfully replied: "He suffered a great calamity in his early years and is currently living in seclusion on Leigu Mountain."

Leigu Mountain?

The Old Woman of Tian Shan was inwardly surprised.

Ever since Wu Ya Zi and Li Qiu Shui ran off, she had been trying to find them. The establishment of Lingjiu Palace and control over the Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Islands, among other Jianghu organizations, had one of its goals as searching for the whereabouts of the pair.

However, the world was vast, and people were countless.

Wu Ya Zi and Li Qiu Shui were not ordinary people.

If they intended to hide, even she would have difficulty finding them.

A while ago, she heard from her subordinates that two people matching the descriptions of Wu Ya Zi and Li Qiu Shui seemed to have appeared near Mount Wuliang in Dali, and she planned to take time to visit.

Now, Meng Li said Wu Ya Zi was in seclusion on Leigu Mountain.

This statement differed greatly from the information she possessed.

But comparatively, Meng Li's words carried more credibility.

Therefore, the Old Woman of Tian Shan immediately changed her plan and prepared to take time to visit Leigu Mountain.

Next, she noticed another piece of information revealed in Meng Li's words.

"Suffered a great calamity?"

"What happened to Wu Ya Zi?"

The Old Woman of Tian Shan asked with concern.

Meng Li sighed: "This matter is a long story."

The Old Woman of Tian Shan's gaze shifted slightly, and she said to those few Lingjiu Palace members: "You are not needed here. Go about your business."

"As you command."

The few members cupped their hands, accepted the order, and turned to leave.

Then, the Old Woman of Tian Shan made a gesture inviting Meng Li: "Please, Sect Head, come up the mountain to the Palace for a discussion."

Meng Li nodded slightly.

Afterward, the Old Woman of Tian Shan activated her Lightness Skill and led the way.

Meng Li followed closely behind.

Along the way, many stationed Lingjiu Palace members saw the pair. They were first startled, then hurriedly paid their respects to the Old Woman of Tian Shan, feeling curious about Meng Li.

Not long after, Meng Li followed the Old Woman of Tian Shan into the main hall of Lingjiu Palace.

As soon as the two were seated, two girls slightly older than Wang Yuyan rushed over.

Meng Li glanced at them and noticed their appearances, figures, and attire were almost identical. There were two main distinguishing features: the color of the collars on their clothes were different—one red and one green. Secondly, they tied their hair in two slanted ponytails facing different directions with hair ties of different colors—one slanted left, one slanted right.

Seeing these characteristics, he understood immediately.

They should be the twin sisters Mei Jian and Zhu Jian who served under the Old Woman of Tian Shan in the original story.

As expected, after the two girls paid their respects to the Old Woman of Tian Shan, she said: "Mei Jian, Zhu Jian, go have someone serve fine tea. I need to entertain an honored guest."

Hearing the words "honored guest," Mei Jian and Zhu Jian were surprised. They secretly glanced at Meng Li before accepting the order and leaving.

A short while later, the two returned and served tea to Meng Li and the Old Woman of Tian Shan.

After half a cup of tea, the Old Woman of Tian Shan spoke: "Sect Head, I heard from my maids earlier that you came here looking for me. May I ask the reason for seeking me out?"

Hearing this, Meng Li was straightforward and said directly: "I come from the Murong Family of Suzhou. My given name is Fu. My ancestor, Murong Longcheng, once created three great ultimate techniques. After learning of his deeds, I always wanted to emulate him. However, my talent is limited, making it difficult to pioneer alone, so I planned to take the path of drawing from many sources."

"Therefore, once I gained the ability, I began collecting various Martial Arts."

"Later, by a stroke of Opportunity, I encountered Senior Wu Ya Zi, learned the Xiaoyao Sect Martial Arts, and accepted the position of Sect Head."

"Senior Wu Ya Zi learned of my ambition and intended to help, but he was constrained and could not exert his full strength."

"During that time, I learned of your connection from Senior Wu Ya Zi, so I wished to visit you, Senior Tong, and exchange some insights to broaden my horizons."

Hearing Meng Li say this, the Old Woman of Tian Shan was very surprised: "If that is the case, you are not Wu Ya Zi's Disciple?"

Meng Li nodded: "Senior Wu Ya Zi and I have no Master-Disciple relationship."

"Then why did he pass on the Xiaoyao Sect Martial Arts and the position of Sect Head to you?" the Old Woman of Tian Shan asked.

Meng Li replied: "Because I helped him fulfill a wish through a twist of Destiny."

"What wish?" the Old Woman of Tian Shan pressed.

"To clean up the sect."

"Clean up the sect?" The Old Woman of Tian Shan frowned, confused.

Seeing this, Meng Li realized she truly knew nothing about Wu Ya Zi's situation, so he began to recount the events in detail...