18: Depart for Xuanwu Kingdom

Lu Yi emerged from the Forbidden Ground, preparing to return to his Holy Son's Palace.

However, his mind was still replaying the Old Ancestor's utterly ridiculous remarks about "hitting on his Junior Sister."

No matter how he heard it, the old man's words sounded like total nonsense.

Peach Blossom Tribulation, straightening out the seniority... these excuses sounded more unreliable than the last.

Nevertheless, Lu Yi didn't bother to delve into the old man's true intentions.

Based on their intermittent contact over the past few years, he still trusted this "cheap" Master's character.

After all, with his unfathomable strength, if he truly wanted to harm him, Lu Yi wouldn't even have the chance to fight back.

There was absolutely no need to go through such convoluted lengths to set such a ridiculous trap.

Since he couldn't figure it out, he stopped thinking about it.

Instead, drawing on his extensive experience reading web novels in his past life, he made a "professional" deduction about the matter itself.

The "Junior Sister" with extraordinary talent and a tragic background mentioned by the Old Ancestor was most likely another destined female protagonist.

And her Disciple, who was destined to bring calamity upon her, was undoubtedly the corresponding Son of Destiny.

Thinking of the "Peach Blossom Tribulation" the Old Ancestor mentioned, combined with their Master-Disciple relationship...

...the corners of Lu Yi's mouth couldn't help but curl into a peculiar smile.

"Tsk, could it be some melodramatic 'forbidden Master-Disciple love' trope?"

He muttered a quiet complaint.

Not dwelling on it any further, Lu Yi returned to the Holy Son's Palace and immediately summoned Ling'er, instructing her:

"Go and get ready. In two days, follow me to the Xuanwu Kingdom to participate in the Cultivator Exchange Conference."

"Xuanwu Kingdom? The Cultivator Exchange Conference?"

Hearing this, Ling'er's beautiful large eyes immediately lit up, sparkling with excitement.

Since she started following her Master, she had hardly ever left the Primordial Holy Land.

Her daily life consisted of either serving her Master or Cultivating, which was quite suffocating for her lively and active personality.

Now, hearing that she could go on a long trip, and to the Xuanwu Kingdom—one of the most prosperous ancient kingdoms in the Heavenly Profound Realm...

...and even attend an event as lively as the "Cultivator Exchange Conference," she almost cheered out loud.

"Yes! Master! I'll go prepare right away!"

She responded enthusiastically and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Lu Yi called her back.

Ling'er turned back in confusion.

"Master, do you have any other instructions?"

Lu Yi looked at her, thought for a moment, and then said:

"Actually, there's nothing special to prepare. Just... bring a few more sets of clothes."

"Bring a few more sets of clothes?"

At first, Ling'er didn't react, muttering in confusion:

"Master, we're going to a Cultivator conference. Why bring so many clothes? Besides, the Xuanwu Kingdom is so prosperous, it's not like we'd have trouble finding clothes for sale..."

Before she could finish, her voice came to an abrupt halt.

The word "clothes" wasn't spoken, yet it seemed to flip a switch.

Instantly, she thought of those "special clothes" in the Side Hall—the ones with strange designs and very little fabric.

She immediately understood the deeper meaning behind her Master's words.

It was one thing to wear those clothes inside the Holy Son's Palace, but was he really planning to take them outside?

However, thinking about it carefully, it really was a bit thrilling... Ling'er coughed lightly to hide her embarrassment, her pretty face turning red at a visible speed.

She didn't dare look at Lu Yi anymore and simply replied with her head lowered:

"Ye... Yes, Master. Ling'er understands."

With that, she quickly left to pack the "clothes" in the Side Hall... Two days later, on the massive plaza at the center of the Holy Land.

Several massive Immortal Vessels, crafted entirely from special spirit wood, floated quietly in mid-air.

Complex Formation patterns were engraved on the hulls, emitting a faint glow of Spiritual Qi.

Lu Yi arrived at the plaza with Ling'er and his group of followers.

Ignoring the reverent gazes of the surrounding Disciples, he stepped directly onto the most magnificent Immortal Vessel at the front.

However, as soon as he stepped onto the deck, he ran into two familiar figures.

It was Shen Yueyao and Lin Qingxuan, who had come together.

Lu Yi's gaze immediately met Lin Qingxuan's in the air.

With just that momentary eye contact, Lin Qingxuan trembled like a startled fawn.

Her cheeks instantly turned crimson like ripe apples; she lowered her head in bashful panic, not daring to look Lu Yi in the eye.

After all, up until now, Lu Yi was still her "creditor."

Although Lu Yi had been busy with who-knows-what and hadn't come to "collect the debt" over the past few days, giving her a glimmer of hope...

...this debt, which she had no idea when she could repay, wouldn't simply vanish into thin air.

Every time she saw Lu Yi, it brought back vivid memories of those shameful scenes.

Beside her, Shen Yueyao clearly hadn't noticed her best friend's abnormality.

Her attention was entirely on Lu Yi.

She glanced at Lu Yi and immediately remembered the scene in the Holy Son's Palace a few days ago, where he had lectured her from a moral high ground.

Although she later admitted that Lu Yi had a point...

...as a Saintess, being lectured so mercilessly in front of her best friend meant the resentment in her heart wouldn't dissipate so easily.

She couldn't help but let out a very soft cold snort at Lu Yi.

Then, grabbing Lin Qingxuan's hand and without even looking at Lu Yi, she bypassed him and walked straight into the cabin ahead.

Having been snubbed to his face, Lu Yi didn't get angry.

He rubbed his nose helplessly, watching Shen Yueyao's somewhat tsundere-like back.

He thought to himself that this Lady Saintess really held a grudge.

"It seems I really need to find a time to properly apologize to her. After all, she is a destined female protagonist and will likely return to the Upper Realm sooner or later."

He continued to calculate in his mind:

"If I really get the chance to ascend to the Upper Realm in the future, what if she uses her Family's influence to make things difficult for me?"

He made a mental note of this, planning for the right time.

He then took Ling'er to the cabin prepared for them by the Disciple in charge of the arrangements.

To his surprise, the Disciple in charge was quite thoughtful.

They had actually arranged only one spacious cabin for the Master and servant.

"Oh, quite sensible, aren't they!"

Lu Yi nodded in satisfaction.

Once all the Disciples participating in the exchange conference had boarded, the Formation cores of the Immortal Vessels were activated.

With low rumbles, the massive Immortal Vessels slowly rose into the sky.

They then began to accelerate, turning into several streaks of light that broke through the clouds, flying rapidly toward the distant Xuanwu Kingdom and soon vanishing at the horizon.

The Xuanwu Kingdom was a great distance from the Primordial Holy Land; even with the Immortal Vessels, it would take two or three days.