37: Chapter 37: Suddenly became a debtor after becoming a creditor?

A hundred miles outside Tianyuan Mountain, on a cliff.

The gale winds howled, churning the clouds and mist atop the cliff. Two figures stood elegantly, looking down at the vast land below, as if Immortals from the clouds were overlooking the mortal realm.

The person in front was a middle-aged Daoist nun, dressed in a simple yet shimmering moon-white Daoist robe, wearing a lotus crown, and holding a snow-white horsetail whisk.

Her face was beautiful but carried a bone-deep coldness and indifference, her eyes calm and waveless, as if nothing in the world could catch her eye.

Half a step behind her stood a stunning woman. A dazzling, fire-like scarlet long dress wrapped around her exquisite figure.

The hem of her skirt fluttered violently in the mountain wind, like a blooming flower of the other shore.

Her face was charming, but between her brows, she carried an undisguised air of arrogance and wilfulness.

"Revered Master, is that the territory of the Moonshadow Sect, that small Grade 3 Sect, up ahead?"

The red-clad woman parted her vermilion lips slightly, her voice crisp but filled with thick disdain. "The Spiritual Qi is sparse, though the scale of this mountain gate isn't bad; it does have some redeeming qualities..."

In reality, the Moonshadow Sect she saw now was more magnificent than Liuyun Temple, but after all, Liuyun Temple was her own Sect...

The red-clad woman paused, her tone full of contempt and confusion: "I truly don't know why the temple would trouble you, Revered Master, to come here in person to collect tribute from such a minuscule Sect?"

The Daoist nun's gaze remained indifferent as she looked into the distance, her horsetail whisk waving casually. Her tone was calm and waveless, revealing a superiority embedded in her very bones: "It is merely a routine matter. A mere Grade 3 Sect is nothing but dust in the eyes of my Liuyun Temple."

"The items they offer are not even a drop in the ocean for our temple."

She turned her head slightly, glancing at Su Meier, her eyes indifferent and empty: "Meier, for this trip, just ensure they submit their tribute on time. Do not lose your status by entangling yourself with the ants of such an inferior Sect."

Hearing this, Su Meier's red lips curled into a sharp sneer, the disdain in her eyes almost overflowing: "Revered Master's teaching is correct. A Sect the size of a sesame seed, lucky enough to have a Golden Core sitting in it, and they don't know the immensity of heaven and earth."

"I heard that a few days ago, they caused a bit of a stir and killed two low-class wretches?"

She scoffed, her tone frivolous: "Heh, frogs in a well! They probably stepped on two ants and thought they were some earth-shattering big shots."

As she spoke, she stretched out her slender, vermilion-painted fingers and pointed carelessly toward the Moonshadow Sect: "Disciple reckons that with just you alone, Revered Master, you could crush this dilapidated Sect into powder with a flip of your hand!"

Her tone shifted, and a fierce, vicious light that was completely out of place with her charming face flashed in her eyes as she looked at the Daoist nun: "For these hillbillies crawling out of such desolate mountains and bad waters to be able to obediently offer their tribute on time is a blessing they've cultivated for eight lifetimes. If they dare to shirk or stall even a little bit..."

A cruel smile bloomed on Su Meier's beautiful face: "Revered Master, why don't you let me just overturn their mountain gate? It could serve as a 'unique' appetizer for the Old Ancestor's eight-hundredth birthday celebration."

The Daoist nun's face remained calm as an ancient well, and she only said indifferently: "No need. Even ants have their purpose for existing. We must leave them some face, after all."

She flicked her sleeve lightly, as if to brush away dust: "Let's go. Finish this mundane business early, and leave early. The Spiritual Qi here is mixed and filthy, and the erosion qi is thick. Staying here for too long might stain the purity of our Dao foundation."

In just a few words, she had belittled the Moonshadow Sect and the mountains it resided in to be worthless.

"Yes, Revered Master!" Su Meier's face instantly switched to a respectful smile for her Revered Master, but when that smile turned toward the Moonshadow Sect, it immediately transformed into undisguised contempt and mockery.

The two figures flickered, turning into a white and a red stream of light, carrying an arrogant Aura as they broke through the clouds toward the Moonshadow Sect.

...

Fuqu Courtyard. Chi Wanhe sat in front of her vanity, habitually rubbing that warm, cyan jade pendant.

Her fingertips slid over the familiar flowing cloud pattern, and a sudden, jarring sensation of a "bump" came through! Chi Wanhe's heart trembled, and she hurriedly raised it to look closely.

She saw that on the surface of the jade, a crack as thin as a hair but incredibly clear was visibly present! "A crack?!" Chi Wanhe's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

Meanwhile, in front of the courtyard gate, Ling Hao rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache. How should he ask? Should he just say directly: "Disciple, Revered Master wants to see what material that thing you have on your leg is made of?"

Wouldn't that make him a dirty old man?! Chi Wanhe, wouldn't she think of him as that kind of perverted Revered Master with special fetishes? His image would be completely ruined! But that thing... no matter how he looked at it, it looked like...

Just as he was feeling irritated, his brows furrowed sharply, and his keen gaze shot toward the outside of the Sect like lightning.

Moonshadow Sect gate. The white and red streams of light faded, revealing the figures of Abbess Yunqing and Su Meier.

Abbess Yunqing swept her gaze indifferently over the Moonshadow Sect's gate, as if looking at an unremarkable piece of scenery. However, when she passed over the gate-keeping Disciple who was only at the first level of Qi Refining, a deeper indifference flashed in the depths of her eyes.

Su Meier stood there with a haughty posture, her scarlet dress swaying gently in the wind, exceptionally eye-catching. A sneer hung on the corner of her lips, and she looked around with a full sense of superiority.

"Please report to your Sect Master that Abbess Yunqing of Liuyun Temple, accompanied by my Disciple Su Meier, has come to visit." Abbess Yunqing's voice was cold and indifferent, without a shred of emotion, but the natural authority of a Golden Core True Person permeated the air.

"Please wait a moment, this Disciple will report immediately!" The gate-keeping Disciple dared not delay and hurriedly activated a communication talisman.

The Loose Cultivators near the mountain gate witnessed this scene and instantly erupted in an uproar. "Liuyun Temple! That's the Grade 4 great Sect with a Nascent Soul Old Ancestor!" "Heavens! An Elder of Liuyun Temple has actually come to the Moonshadow Sect in person?!" "The Moonshadow Sect has climbed up a high branch! Who would dare to provoke them in the future?" "I knew they had such confidence to challenge the Huoyan Sect; it turns out they have Liuyun Temple backing them!"

In the crowd, the Huoyan Sect Elder Tong Xiu's face instantly turned as dark as ink. "Is the Moonshadow Sect really backed by Liuyun Temple...?! His heart was in turmoil, no longer having any thoughts of spying, he quietly retreated, preparing to send the news back to his Sect at the first opportunity.

Abbess Yunqing and Su Meier stepped slowly into the mountain gate under guidance. As soon as their steps crossed the threshold, their figures paused almost imperceptibly at the same time.

The air! It was extraordinarily pure! There was not the slightest feeling of filth! This degree of purity could only be possessed when a Sect-protecting purification Formation was running at full power! And to maintain this state, the consumption of Spirit Stones would be massive! Usually, in Liuyun Temple, it would only be activated intermittently in the core area of the main peak, Liuyun Peak.

A trace of genuine surprise finally flashed in the depths of Abbess Yunqing's calm eyes, which immediately turned into a trace of realization. She nodded slightly and transmitted her voice to Su Meier: "They are certainly willing to spend a fortune on welcoming guests."

The implication was that the Moonshadow Sect had spared no expense to temporarily activate the Formation to welcome them, the envoys from the upper Sect, to show respect.

Su Meier also felt this rare, pure Spiritual Qi, and the disdain in her heart subconsciously receded a little, but what welled up instead was a sense of greed: "Revered Master, it seems this Moonshadow Sect... is a bit richer than we expected?" Being able to support such expensive purification, their accumulation was likely not thin.

Under the guidance of the Disciple, the two walked toward the inside of the Sect. As far as their eyes could see, whether it was the layout of the halls with white walls and silver patterns, flying eaves, and bracket sets, or the jade stone paths under their feet where Formations flowed and Spiritual Qi swirled, everything revealed an ancient and profound charm.

The age and exquisiteness of these Formation patterns faintly revealed an Aura of foundation not inferior to the core Legacy of Liuyun Temple... But this thought only flashed by, and Abbess Yunqing immediately returned to calm, just assuming that the Moonshadow Sect had obtained the superficials of some small ancient ruin. What kind of true Legacy could an inferior Sect have? It was nothing more than some worthless window dressing.

In the Sect Main Hall, the atmosphere was solemn. Ling Hao sat upright in the main seat, with Yu Lingshuang standing by his side. Ling Hao swept his indifferent gaze over the cold and the charming Revered Master-Disciple pair below, his tone devoid of waves: "Distinguished guests from Liuyun Temple have come from afar; I do not know the purpose of your visit?"

Abbess Yunqing stepped forward, her voice cold and indifferent: "Sect Master Ling. This Daoist has come under the decree of the Temple Revered Master to collect your Sect's—as a Grade 3 Sect under the jurisdiction of Liuyun Temple—tribute quota for this year."

As soon as her voice fell, Su Meier behind her immediately stepped forward half a step and raised her jade hand lightly. Hum! A shimmering Jade Slip appeared out of thin air, suspended in the center of the Main Hall. On the Jade Slip, dense items were clearly visible.

Arrogance appeared on Su Meier's beautiful face: "This is the tribute list. According to Liuyun Temple's rules, a subordinate Grade 3 Sect must surrender... fifty percent of its total annual resource gains!" "Covering items such as Spirit Stones, spirit ores, spirit plants, and equivalent beast materials. Please, Sect Master Ling, look it over immediately and prepare to gather and hand it over."

She raised her chin slightly and added, "Naturally, my Liuyun Temple will also grant you corresponding protection."

Fifty percent of the total annual resources! This demand was no longer just overbearing; it was naked plunder and exploitation! The Main Hall instantly fell into a dead silence, the air seemingly frozen. Standing on the side, Yu Lingshuang's cold eyes had a chill like ice shards appearing in their depths, sharp and bone-piercing.

On the main seat, the corners of Ling Hao's mouth slowly curled into an icy arc. So that's how it is, they came to "collect debt". Ling Hao only felt it was incomparably absurd in his heart. He had just set up a mutually beneficial tribute regulation with surrounding forces, and in the blink of an eye, he himself had become an "inferior Sect" being pressed for tribute by others?