322: Chapter 322 Then myself...

In the Imperial Garden, Ling Hao and Su Fengyi finalized the details of their cooperation agreement, while Gu Qingyao stood to the side taking notes.

“As for the specific implementation matters, I will send someone to discuss them with your Sect's Deputy Sect Master Yu Lingshuang when the time comes,” Su Fengyi said to Ling Hao.

Ling Hao nodded in agreement, laughing inwardly.

She certainly put on a serious act in front of others.

After the Empress departed, Ling Hao stretched his muscles and took his daily stroll with Gu Qingyao through the garden filled with blooming flowers.

Gu Qingyao seemed somewhat distracted.

Noticing this, Ling Hao asked out of curiosity, but she only shook her head and said softly:

“It is nothing.”

Ling Hao then turned to ask about her Revered Master Ye Xinglan's preferences. Though Gu Qingyao found it strange, she still answered honestly: “Revered Master... has a preference for sweets.”

“Sweets, is it?”

Ling Hao whispered thoughtfully.

Seeing that he did not press further, a trace of resentment and insecurity rose in Gu Qingyao's heart. She was actually waiting for Ling Hao to bring up the question he had asked that day—whether she was willing to go to the Tianyuan Immortal Dynasty.

Looking at it now, it seemed that it had likely just been a casual question back then.

Just like when Su Fengyi had asked her that same question.

At this moment, Gu Qingyao's thoughts were as chaotic as ripples in a pond.

After wandering with Gu Qingyao for a while, Ling Hao returned to the side hall of the Stargazing Palace.

Just as he was about to push the door open, his footsteps suddenly paused.

He turned his head and saw a bewitching figure leaning lazily in the shadows of the palace wall. Tushan Bailing’s thin gauze skirt swayed gently, and her collar was slightly open, revealing a breathtaking patch of snowy skin. Her fluffy fox tail swayed softly behind her, adding a few hints of flirtatiousness.

Her eyes rippled with a hint of resentment: “The Supreme has been so busy lately, I fear... you have long since forgotten this humble woman's common appearance?” Her voice was soft enough to melt one's bones.

Ling Hao smiled: “It was indeed my oversight.”

Tushan Bailing moved with lotus steps, drawing close. Her soft fox ears brushed against Ling Hao's cheek as if by chance, her breath like orchids: “These past few days, several little girls in the clan have suffered from their old ailments again. They keep pestering me to ask... when they might receive the Supreme's miraculous touch again.”

Her slender fingers, carrying a provocative intent, lightly traced over Ling Hao's lapel. “I wonder... when the Supreme will have the time to show some pity?”

That look, that posture, and that seemingly accidental touch pushed the ambiguity to its peak, making Ling Hao feel ready for battle!

Ling Hao was just about to open his mouth to agree.

Boom!

A deafening roar suddenly erupted from the horizon! A brilliant pillar of purple light shot into the sky, tearing through the clouds and causing the winds and clouds to change color.

Ling Hao snapped his head up, his eyes narrowing slightly:

“Xinglan? She is about to undergo the Ninety-Nine Small Heavenly Tribulation?”

High in the sky, thunderclouds surged and lightning snakes danced wildly as bolts of tribulation lightning, containing the aura of destruction, crashed down violently. That purple figure drifted within the sea of lightning; though she appeared small, she exuded an aura of unyielding tenacity.

Though the tribulation lightning was fierce, it failed to shake her foundation.

Eventually, the thunderclouds dispersed, and an even more powerful aura spread out, announcing a successful breakthrough.

...

Nightfall.

Due to Ling Hao's request, the Moonshadow Sect's farewell ceremony was canceled.

Su Fengyi thus decided to hold a simple night banquet in the Qifeng Hall, both as a farewell for the Moonshadow Sect and to celebrate State Preceptor Ye Xinglan's successful promotion to the Tribulation Transcendence Stage.

As the banquet began, Ling Hao was the first to raise his jade cup. His gaze turned toward Ye Xinglan as he offered his congratulations loudly: “Congratulations on successfully passing the Ninety-Nine Small Heavenly Tribulation and stepping into the Tribulation Transcendence realm. Your path to immortality is broad, and your future is bright.”

A trace of joy flickered deep within Ye Xinglan's eyes as she raised her cup in return,

“Thank you, Supreme.”

As the banquet proceeded and cups were exchanged, the atmosphere gradually became subtle.

Su Fengyi, as the host, sat in the main seat but could not hide a hint of distraction; her gaze involuntarily drifted toward Ling Hao's direction time and again.

Ye Xinglan quietly sipped her tea, surrounded by a cold and aloof aura as if she were isolating herself from the festivities. Only when she occasionally glanced at Ling Hao did a ripple appear in the depths of her deep purple eyes.

The protagonist of the banquet seemed to have invisibly shifted from the Empress to Ling Hao.

The place where he sat seemed to have become the invisible center of the entire hall.

Gu Qingyao, standing by as an attendant, arranged everything with gentle composure.

An Hongxiu walked up to Ling Hao with a wine cup, a brilliant smile on her face. She said in a booming voice: “Supreme, I toast to you! I shall ask for your guidance on the Heaven-Burning Battle Codex another day!”

She tilted her head back and drank heartily, her eyes burning with intensity, making no effort to hide her closeness to Ling Hao.

Ling Hao also raised his cup in response, thinking to himself.

At least she didn't mention Dual Cultivation this time. She's learned to be a bit more subtle; it seems the results from last time were quite good.

Tushan Bailing leaned lazily at her table, her soul-stealing fox eyes filled with a shimmering smile as she gazed at Ling Hao from afar.

Yue Qianqian was like a happy little sparrow, shuttling between the dessert table and Ling Hao with a plate. As if presenting a treasure, she brought a piece of crystal-clear pastry before Ling Hao, her eyes sparkling.

“Supreme, Supreme! Try this! It's something new I learned; it's definitely better than the last one!”

She completely ignored the gazes from others, her heart and eyes entirely focused on Ling Hao's evaluation of her craftsmanship.

Lan Zhiwei sat quietly in a corner, her cool eyes looking at the food before her, though her mind had long since flown far away.

Whenever there was movement from Ling Hao's side—whether it was An Hongxiu's hearty laughter or Yue Qianqian's crisp voice—she couldn't help but lift her eyes for a quick glance before quickly looking away. The tips of her ears were quietly stained with a faint red, and her hands on her knees curled slightly without her realizing.

She thought back to the scene she had witnessed in the bamboo forest that day.

Later, when she had regained her senses, she realized some things were not quite right.

For instance, when she had returned, she hadn't heard the Eldest Senior Sister's voice from inside the hall. When her Divine Sense first spread out, she also couldn't “see” the scene inside the hall.

It was only at a certain moment that she was able to hear and “see.” The person capable of doing this couldn't be the Eldest Senior Sister, so it could only be...

Lan Zhiwei looked toward Ling Hao's direction again. This time, she met a pair of eyes that seemed to be smiling yet not.

Lan Zhiwei immediately lowered her head, her heart beating like a drum.

Shui Wanqing and Shui Liuli, the aunt and niece pair, were more like onlookers.

Shui Wanqing's temperament was as gentle as water. She quietly sipped her tea, occasionally whispering a few words to her niece.

Shui Liuli, on the other hand, had her curious purple eyes wide open, her small head turning back and forth as her gaze lingered on the many women at the banquet.

She was surprised to find that from her aunt Shui Wanqing to the majestic Empress, the bewitching Fox Clan Chief, and the Senior Sisters, and even the maids serving on the side—the looks they gave her Revered Master Ling Hao all carried an unusual brilliance.

Some were admiring, some were reverent, some were shy, and some were fervent.

She marveled in her heart, “Revered Master's charm... is simply too incredible!”

In truth, a strange ripple also rose in her own heart, but thinking of her aunt, she immediately suppressed it.

As the ones with the highest status, Su Fengyi and Ye Xinglan naturally found it inconvenient to join in personally. They could only watch from the sidelines, each harboring complex emotions.

Finally, as the banquet was about to disperse, Su Fengyi spoke up, keeping Ling Hao and Gu Qingyao behind for a private talk.

...

Water Iris Courtyard.

Shui Liuli leaned in close to Shui Wanqing, her large eyes blinking as she teased: “Aunt, at the banquet just now, I saw the way those Fairies looked at Revered Master. It was quite unusual!”

“I see that Heavenly Venerable Fengwu and even that State Preceptor have designs on Revered Master. They will become your competitors...”

“What is there to compete for?”

Shui Wanqing said with a calm expression.

Competitors? Perhaps. But in the end, everything depends on the Sect Master's heart.

If I must speak truthfully... my opponents are far more than just those in front of me.

In her heart, she silently admitted to that quietly growing affection.

Shui Liuli asked in confusion: “Aunt, you clearly like the Sect Master Supreme very much, don't you? Don't you... have even a single bit of a sense of crisis?”

Shui Wanqing shook her head gently and stood up to leave, leaving behind a meaningful sentence:

“Once we return to the Moonshadow Sect, you will understand.”

Shui Liuli was stunned in place, even more puzzled.

Suddenly, she recalled the marketplace rumors she had heard, and a thought so bold it was absurd suddenly flashed into her mind.

“Could it be... could it be that Revered Master is truly as the rumors say... the entire Sect belongs to him...?!”

She covered her small mouth in shock, her eyes wide and round.

“Then... then I myself... also cannot escape?”

This thought made her face turn beet-red instantly, her heart in a mess.

“I was pulled into a...”

Wait, it seems I wanted to join myself?! I was the one who took the initiative to take him as my Revered Master!