Cultivating with Bragging System-Chapter 692 - 339: Ten-Year Plot! The Saintess Pretending to Be Possessed by Demons!_1

Hearing Confucius's words, Meng Ran froze for a moment, a flash of joy appearing in his eyes. "Confucius, do you mean Brother Wang is still alive?"

Confucius suddenly made a silencing gesture. "Do not speak!"

"Why?" Meng Ran asked, puzzled.

Confucius waved his hand. "Someone forbids it!"

Meng Ran was even more perplexed. He could understand if Confucius feared divulging the secrets of the heavens. But given Confucius's strength and status in all the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, who could possibly force him to hold his tongue?

However, Confucius clearly had no intention of saying more. He simply patted Meng Ran's shoulder and said, "Rest assured, those people... they won't let that young friend come to harm so easily!"

With that, he turned and left, leaving Meng Ran standing there alone, baffled.

Who are 'those people'? And since when did Confucius start speaking in riddles like some roadside charlatan?

「Meanwhile.」

「Xuan Tian Sect, Council Hall.」

"Sect Master, we cannot continue this war!" an Elder of the Saint Manifestation Realm declared gravely. "Although we currently have the upper hand on the battlefield, this war itself offers little benefit. If we press on, it will only lead to a mutually destructive outcome for our Xuan Tian Sect and the Yi Clan. We'll become a target for others!"

The other Elders voiced their agreement.

Seated at the head of the hall, the Sect Master of the Xuan Tian Sect, dressed in a purple robe, looked helpless. "Do you think I want to fight? But given the Saintess's current condition, I'm afraid she would suffer a major setback if she heard we returned from this war unsuccessful!"

At his words, everyone fell silent. They had all heard about the Saintess's situation, but how had a Heart Demon appeared so suddenly? And one so severe it was a matter of life and death!

If something were to truly happen to the Saintess, given the Old Ancestor's temperament, he'd probably tear a hole in the very sky! At that point, it would no longer be a simple matter of profit or loss!

The Saint Manifestation Elder who had first spoken asked, "Sect Master, how is the Saintess... now?"

The Sect Master shook his head. "I haven't seen her in a long time, but her condition is likely not ideal. The Old Ancestor has gone in to see her several times, and each time he emerged, his expression was grim!"

Hearing this, all discussion turned to sighs. A heavy silence fell over the hall.

The Xuan Tian Sect Master waved his hand. "That's enough. You are all dismissed. I will go and discuss this thoroughly with the Old Ancestor!"

"Yes, Sect Master!"

The Elders exchanged glances and slowly withdrew. Although they knew the discussion between the Sect Master and the Old Ancestor was ninety percent likely to fail, what else could they do?

The hall fell completely silent. The Sect Master of the Xuan Tian Sect gazed into the distance, his eyes seeming to pierce the void as he let out a long sigh.

「Elsewhere in the Xuan Tian Sect.」

On a solitary clifftop stood a snow-white palace resembling a lotus, exuding an aura of utmost sanctity. In front of the palace was a vast, boundless lake with azure waves stretching for miles. A thin mist, formed from Spiritual Energy, constantly rose from the water's surface, creating a scene like a fairyland.

Zhao Qingyu, the Saintess of the Xuan Tian Sect, stood by the lake. Dressed in a long gown, with her hair like a waterfall and her figure impossibly graceful, she was a breathtaking sight. She stood perfectly still, like a white lotus rising from the water, pure and suffused with Immortal Qi. Her eyes were strikingly clear and pure.

If the Elders of the Xuan Tian Sect were to see her now, they would be astonished.

How does she look even remotely afflicted by a Heart Demon?

Zhao Qingyu appeared to be waiting for someone, remaining motionless for half a day. An unknown amount of time passed before a Jade Talisman shot in from the outside world, flying toward her.

However, a powerful Formation protected the area. The Jade Talisman was blocked, lost within the barrier, and began to bump around erratically.

Without even looking up, Zhao Qingyu's divine sense swept over the Jade Talisman to scan its message. With a flick of her sleeve, she swatted it out of the air.

Immediately, a blank Jade Talisman appeared in her hand. Using her finger as a brush, she wrote swiftly. A moment later, the new talisman flew off, disappearing into the sea of clouds.

After a while, the sea of clouds parted, and a figure shrouded in light descended from the sky.

Zhao Qingyu looked at him and asked, "How much longer do you need?"

The radiance around the figure gradually faded, revealing a young man. It was Ye Guhong.

"Have they been pressuring you?" Ye Guhong asked calmly.

Zhao Qingyu replied, "I've told the outside world that I've developed a Heart Demon. They don't dare rush me; they only inquire about my condition. However, I can only maintain this ruse for three more years at most..."

If Zhao Qingyu hadn't "recovered" by then, it would prove that this war was insufficient to alleviate her "Heart Demon." In that case, the Xuan Tian Sect would never truly risk a mutually destructive war with the Yi Clan.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Ye Guhong gazed out at the sea of clouds. "Three years is enough," he said nonchalantly.

A trace of surprise flashed in Zhao Qingyu's eyes as she looked at him. "Your Cultivation Level... you've broken through again?"

She remembered that when she first met this mysterious young man, his Realm was merely at the initial stage of Saint Manifestation. That was only a dozen or so years ago. Now, he had already surpassed the mid-stage and late-stage bottlenecks to reach the Eighth Heaven of the Saint Manifestation Realm!

Such speed... it's simply inhuman!

Ye Guhong's expression was placid. "That's not important. You, on the other hand, have managed to cultivate the complete Feather Transformation Art to the ninth level so quickly. The Immortal Spirit Body truly lives up to its name!"

Zhao Qingyu was long accustomed to the young man's seemingly omniscient abilities. Her expression remained calm as she said, "I have you to thank for that. The latter half of my sect's ultimate technique has been lost for nearly sixty thousand years... I've always been curious, where exactly did you obtain it?"

"From some ancient ruins," Ye Guhong replied.

"What ruins? Where are they? Who left them behind?" Zhao Qingyu pressed.

"You didn't ask so many questions before," Ye Guhong noted.

Staring into his eyes, Zhao Qingyu said, "I want to ask more now."

"Such as?" Ye Guhong asked calmly.

"What, exactly, is your relationship with Wang Xiu?"

"Well, it's certainly not the romantic kind," Ye Guhong replied coolly. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

An exasperated look crossed Zhao Qingyu's face. "When you found me, you told me my Xuan Tian Sect should find a pretext to wage war against the Yi Clan and tie up as many of their forces as possible. In exchange, you gave me the complete Feather Transformation Art. At first, I thought you were trying to get revenge for Wang Xiu!"

Ye Guhong chuckled to himself. His revenge? As if he needs me to take it for him.

"And now?" he asked.

"Now... I no longer think it's that simple. But I still feel that everything you're doing is related to him," Zhao Qingyu said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, her gaze sharp.

Ye Guhong fell silent for a moment.

Zhao Qingyu continued, "You two don't seem like friends. I've met his friends, and you give off a completely different feeling. They're willing to take risks for Wang Xiu, not just out of loyalty or gratitude, but also because of their bonds as sect brothers and other complex reasons.

"But you... you are much more pure. Your eyes don't have any of that mess. It's more like the old retainers in my clan! Hmm... even more fervent than them. More sincere. Or perhaps it's more like a faith!

"But you've only met him a few times, and you yourself are a highly talented and mysterious genius... That," Zhao Qingyu said, pausing to fix her gaze on him, "is what I find most perplexing."

Of course, Ye Guhong knew Zhao Qingyu had investigated him. He couldn't care less. In his view, if not for that one person, the entire trip to the Cangyuan Realm would have been ridiculously simple, revealing nothing of his past.

White Chicken was right, Ye Guhong mused, his expression unchanging. Women really do have a strange sixth sense sometimes...

"You're saying all this just to sound me out," he stated.

Staring into his eyes, Zhao Qingyu asked, "So, he really is still alive?"

A flicker of emotion finally stirred in her eyes. It was faint, but it did not escape Ye Guhong's notice.

"You've seen him even less than I have, yet you don't seem any less concerned about him," Ye Guhong remarked, the corner of his mouth twitching into a teasing smile.

A faint, almost imperceptible blush rose on Zhao Qingyu's cheeks.