At the summit of the back mountain of the Cloud Mist Sect.
Clouds and mist swirled, resembling a fairyland.
At this moment, atop a large black boulder on the edge of a cliff, an exquisitely beautiful figure stood elegantly. The oncoming breeze caused her three thousand strands of dark hair to drift slowly, and as the hem of her skirt fluttered, it faintly revealed the perfect contours of her silhouette.
The woman wore a simple yet elegant white dress, and her three thousand strands of dark hair were pinned up in the shape of a noble Phoenix crying out. She gazed calmly toward the eastern sky, the direction of the eastern part of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
She remained silent, her stunning, peerless face resembling a blooming snow lotus—graceful, luxurious, noble, and untainted by dust.
At this moment, Yun Yun's curved willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed slightly, and a trace of worry flashed across her beautiful eyes, as if she were troubled by something.
After a long silence, she suddenly heard footsteps approaching from behind. Yun Yun spoke suddenly, her ethereal and melodious voice giving one a strange feeling, as if their heart had been cleansed.
"Yanran, didn't you say you were returning to the Imperial Capital? Why have you come back?" She turned around gracefully, looking toward the direction of the footsteps with a smile.
The next moment, she froze in place, her shoulders trembling slightly, and her previously calm state of mind became chaotic.
Xiao Se casually removed his Golden Silkworm Mask, looking gently toward Yun Yun, a soft smile appearing on his fair, clean cheeks.
Nalan Yanran stood to the front left of Xiao Se, not noticing the change in Yun Yun's expression, nor did she see Xiao Se remove his Golden Silkworm Mask. She smiled and said to Yun Yun, "Master, look who I've brought."
As she spoke, Nalan Yanran turned to look at Xiao Se. When she saw his true face clearly, she too was stunned.
It wasn't that she hadn't suspected Xiao Se of using a disguise, but when the fact was laid out before her, she couldn't help but be shocked. Xiao Se was simply too young, even younger and more handsome than she had imagined. If his appearance after the disguise looked like he was in his early twenties, then now he was about the same age as her—seventeen, at most no more than eighteen.
After a long while, Nalan Yanran finally recovered. She took a deep breath, looked at the Golden Silkworm Mask in Xiao Se's hand, and exclaimed, "Big Brother Xiao Huohuo, you..."
"Ahem." Xiao Se coughed softly and restrained his smile. He looked at Nalan Yanran and said solemnly, "Young Miss Nalan, let me reintroduce myself. My name is Xiao Se, the'Se' of 'ancient zither'. Previously, due to certain irresistible factors, I used the pseudonym Xiao Huohuo to participate in the Alchemist Convention. Please forgive me for any offense caused."
"Ah... no... it's okay." Nalan Yanran stared blankly at Xiao Se's handsome and masculine perfect face, her cheeks flushing red, her gaze darting away.
Gently stroking her chest with her jade hand, Nalan Yanran let out a heavy breath and asked the question she was most concerned about: "Then is Big Brother Xiao Huohuo—oh no, Big Brother Xiao Se—the Fourth ElderXiao Se of the Xiao Family in Wutan City?"
Xiao Se shook his head and said, "I am indeed that Xiao Se from Wutan City, but I have no connection to the Xiao Family. The conflict between you and Xiao Yan is not your fault either."
Hearing this, although Nalan Yanran was still puzzled, she let out a sigh of relief. She had truly been afraid that Xiao Se would despise her because of the broken engagement.
"Hmm? Where is Master?" Turning her gaze toward Yun Yun, Nalan Yanran was surprised to find that Yun Yun was already gone. Instinctively, Nalan Yanran looked toward the spot where Xiao Se had been standing and found that he was also gone. "Big Brother Xiao Se, did you see my Master? Xiao..."
Nalan Yanran looked around, a troubled expression on her beautiful face. "Strange, why is everyone gone?"
In the distant sky.
Two streaks of light, one cyan and one golden, streaked rapidly through the sky. They maintained a distance of less than two meters between them. If one looked closely, they could observe that no matter how much the cyan streak accelerated, the golden streak could easily keep up.
"Yun'er, why are you hiding from me?" The golden streak accelerated, instantly catching up to the cyan streak. The two streaks merged, and as the light gradually faded, the familiar figures of Xiao Se and Yun Yun appeared.
"You've reached a Breakthrough to Dou Zong?" Yun Yun looked down at her feet, then at Xiao Se's back, noticing that the latter was hovering in the Void Realm without relying on any external force—this was the mark of a Dou Zong expert.
"Yes, I've been in seclusion for nearly a year and managed to break through by luck," Xiao Se said with a smile.
"What a freak." Yun Yun rolled her eyes. Her cultivation had improved quite a bit over the past year and a half, but she had stopped at the eight-star Dou Huang level. This was even with the two-star cultivation boost from the Huangji Pill that Xiao Se had given her.
"Yun'er, you still haven't told me why you were hiding from me!" Xiao Se pulled Yun Yun into his arms.
"Let me go." Yun Yun's cheeks flushed red as she gently pushed at Xiao Se. Although she was refusing, her resistance was insignificant; she didn't even use a shred of strength, let alone Qi.
"I won't let go. You are the wife I've chosen; if I let go and you run away, who would I cry to? Besides, I said that the next time I saw you, I would never let go." As he spoke, Xiao Se hugged her even tighter, his entire body pressing against Yun Yun.
"Pah! Pah! Who is your wife? You're shameless." Yun Yun rolled her eyes, but she stopped struggling and just let Xiao Se hold her. Her red lips curled up slightly, her pretty face pressed against Xiao Se's chest, and she closed her beautiful eyes, feeling a sense of peace.
"Um... Yun'er." After a moment, Xiao Se suddenly spoke.
"What is it?" Yun Yun looked up, puzzled.
"Take me to see your Master," Xiao Se said seriously.
"Why do you want to see my Master? Ever since he passed the position of Sect Master to me, he has been in a death-seclusion." Yun Yun's expression was a bit flustered. Was this meeting the parents? Was it too fast?
"Then ask him to come out of seclusion. As for the death-seclusion, it's nothing more than trying to break through to Dou Zong. The Break-Sect Pill is not a difficult thing for me to obtain," Xiao Se continued.
"Has something happened?" Yun Yun was not stupid; she had vaguely guessed something in her heart.
Xiao Se paused, not answering but instead asking, "Do you know why I have been hiding myself all these years?"
Yun Yun shook her head and remained silent, gazing at Xiao Se, waiting for her to continue.
Xiao Se's expression became grave. "Because I don't want to attract the attention of the Hall of Souls. The Hall of Souls already has an Earth RankProtector who has come to the Jia Ma Empire. His current strength is, without surprise, a mid-stage Dou Zong. I am worried that your Master, unable to break through to Dou Zong, has made some unspeakable deal with the Hall of Souls."
"The Hall of Souls is a place that eats people without spitting out the bones. They unscrupulously collect the Souls of experts across the continent. The moment someone makes a deal with the Hall of Souls, they have already stepped into the latter's trap. They add an insidious, undefendable secret technique into their Medicinal Pills. Once consumed, at a critical moment, they can extract the Soul of the person who was implanted with the secret technique at any time to devour it and increase their own strength. When that happens, the fate of the Cloud Mist Sect can be imagined."
"You mean Master has already..." Yun Yun's face showed panic. As a Dou Huang expert, although she rarely left the Jia Ma Empire, she had heard of the Hall of Souls. Xiao Se's words were not alarmist.
"I also hope my prediction is wrong. When we see your Master, if everything is fine, it will be a happy ending. If it is already too late, then I will think of another way." Xiao Se sighed and said, "There is no time to lose, let's go quickly."
"Mm." Yun Yun did not hesitate. At this moment, she could not care about shyness. She grabbed Xiao Se's hand and flew back in the direction they had come from. Xiao Se felt that Yun Yun's speed was too slow, so he simply wrapped his arm around her waist, stepped on the Void Realm, and the two turned into a golden streak of light, flying rapidly toward the Cloud Mist Sect.
(End of Chapter)
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