Just as Ji Shengyao was pleading with her Master, her Junior Sister Zheng Linger was staring blankly at the communication jade token in her hand, which read: 'Junior Sister, come find me. I'm at Yuan Mountain River.'
But shortly after, her Senior Sister unexpectedly added another message: 'Forget it. Your cultivation is more important right now. Don't go out to play. If Master finds out you've been slacking off again after coming out of seclusion, you'll be punished with a month of facing the wall!'
'Why is Senior Sister's message so contradictory? She said Yuan Mountain River, right...' Zheng Linger's pretty face wore a thoughtful expression. Her high, perky ponytail made her appear even more capable and playful.
'Senior Sister, don't forget that your identity jade token and mine were both forged by Master. They have some tracking ability. The more you try to stop me from going, the more suspicious it seems. I *have* to go investigate and get to the bottom of this.'
She looked around at the twenty-five Inner Sect Disciples from the Tianchi Holy Land. Among them, seven were at the Golden Core stage, and eighteen were at the Foundation Establishment stage. Besides herself, there was another Personal Disciple whose cultivation had reached the seventh layer of Golden Core. With such strength, they didn't need to worry about any reckless Demonic Cultivators.
'Senior Sisters, since the Sect's lockdown will last at least a month anyway, why don't we go down the mountain to find Senior Sister Jiang and the Saintess? I've almost hunted the Vicious Beasts here to extinction!'
Hearing Zheng Linger's suggestion, everyone started talking at once, and the cave instantly turned into a noisy marketplace.
In the end, the minority yielded to the majority. Another Personal Disciple, Xu Yu Zhu, made the final decision:'Since Junior Sister Zheng has a way to find the Saintess, we'll treat it as a training expedition. It just so happens we need to go out for experience anyway.'
'Great! When my Senior Sister sees us, she'll be so shocked! I can already picture her surprised and delighted expression!' Zheng Linger immediately jumped for joy upon hearing this, thrilled at the thought of her Senior Sister's astonished face.
On the surface of the Yuan Mountain River, Lin Fan was frozen into an ice sculpture, completely encased in layers of ice. If not for the faint wisps of steam from his nose and mouth, passersby would have thought he had already passed on to the western paradise.
An aged voice rang out from the ring: 'Disciple, it's best not to provoke that demoness for now. This Master of yours cannot expend mental energy to save you every time. We must bide our time temporarily. In three to six months, I will have recovered to the Nascent Soul stage. Then, defeating that demoness will be effortless.'
'But I can't swallow this insult!' Lin Fan's face was pale. Fortunately, he had narrowly escaped death this time and had gained insights between life and death, allowing his Sword Intent to Breakthrough to the third layer.
His mind raced wildly. Since he needed to lie low now, why not let others fight while he reaps the rewards? He took out a communication jade pendant, channeled his spiritual power, and contacted someone he thoroughly despised.
'Meng Yinglong, the Tianchi Saintess Ji Shengyao has been kidnapped!'
'A waste like you, stagnant at the Qi Condensation stage for five years, dares to call my name... Wait! The Tianchi Saintess was kidnapped? Didn't the Tianchi Holy Land rescue her?'
'The Tianchi Holy Land has its own problems. A tide of a million beasts could attack the Holy Land at any moment. It happened so suddenly they didn't even have time to react.'
Lin Fan thought of Meng Yinglong's background. This Meng Yinglong was the Saint of a first-rate Sect, a direct descendant of the immortal Meng Family. Unfortunately, with too many direct descendants in the Meng Family, he had gradually become a marginal figure.
In earlier years, Meng Yinglong's grandfather had even wanted to propose a marriage alliance with the Ji Family. But when Ji Shengyao was born, celestial phenomena appeared in the sky. The then-famous Fairy Ye of the Tianchi Holy Land rushed into the delivery room before the phenomena had even dissipated, carried Ji Shengyao out, and directly designated her as a Personal Disciple.
Not even the Utility Disciples of the Tianchi Holy Land were allowed to be coveted by outsiders. Meng Yinglong's grandfather didn't dare to propose again. But when Meng Yinglong grew up and learned of this past event, he began paying attention to Ji Shengyao, becoming her admirer and pursuer.
'We can't just stand by and let the Saintess be humiliated! If they won't save her, then I will! By the way, who kidnapped the Saintess? She's so beautiful... that audacious person wouldn't have improper intentions towards her, would he?'
'You guessed right. The one who kidnapped her is a Hehuan Disciple who wants to refine her into a Cauldron!'
'What are we waiting for then! Tell me where to meet. I'll come with my Senior Brothers right away. If necessary, I can even call my uncle who's an Elder!'
'Meng Yinglong, the fewer people who know about the Saintess being wronged, the better. For the sake of her reputation and the Tianchi Holy Land's honor, you'd better come alone. That demoness is at most at the fourth or fifth layer of Golden Core. You're at the sixth layer; no need to worry! There's a Yuan Mountain City by the Yuan Mountain River. Let's meet at the largest inn in the city.'
'Wait a moment... You said the one who kidnapped and wants to use the Saintess as a Cauldron is a demoness...'
'Enough nonsense! Hurry up!'
Back in the dilapidated temple, Ji Shengyao felt the demoness wrap the arm that had been tormenting her around her waist again. She breathed a sigh of relief, but then, to her surprise, the demoness brought her face closer with a mischievous, seductive smile.
She gently kissed Ji Shengyao's earlobe. The fragrance from her breath, intensely intoxicating, wafted softly into her ear canal.
Causing Ji Shengyao's body, held tightly by the demoness, to tremble uncontrollably once more. A soft kiss.
'Demoness, stop it right now! So many people are watching!' Ji Shengyao couldn't care less anymore and immediately cried out in a mixture of shame and anger to stop her.
What she didn't see was that the other four demonesses had already turned around the moment their Sect Master placed her hand on her Dao Companion's face. After all, no one knew this Senior's quirks. What if she was extremely possessive, enjoyed public exposure, and killed anyone who glanced their way on the spot?
'But I see you like it! You're practically saying 'don't... stop'!'
'Nonsense! This is the expression of extreme disgust!'
As a Tianchi Saintess wholly dedicated to cultivation, she hadn't even read such unhealthy picture books. At most, she had heard her Senior and Junior Sisters mention them.
And the expressions they used when talking about them were always full of disdain. Having been taught from childhood to Cultivate through asceticism and hardship, they adhered to Sect rules more strictly than most of the Righteous Path. They found those wanton Hehuan Demonesses utterly detestable, and she had been influenced to detest them too.
But now she was... wrapped in a cloak by a Hehuan Demoness, held in her arms in public, being caressed, being kissed, performing a spring palace scene for all to see!
In the past, just a glance at such a scene would have felt like polluting her eyes. But now she was a participant... Well, at least she couldn't see it, so her eyes weren't being polluted.
'Is that so? I don't believe you.'
Suddenly grabbing Ji Shengyao's sensitive spot, Wang Li also thought this was a good opportunity to earn System points. As for herself, she was also somewhat aroused, but without the System, she wouldn't be acting this way, and the two of them would never have crossed paths.
With that, she ignored Ji Shengyao's objections and kissed her again. Ji Shengyao tightly closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling with shyness, even mixed with a hint of... excitement.
Wang Li stuffed the thoroughly flustered and heated Ji Shengyao into the sleeping bag and, under her gaze full of resentment, pulled the cloak off her body inside the bag.
Wang Li could be considered a natural. Her hands were very dexterous, gently placed on Ji Shengyao's waist... until Ji Shengyao began to tremble slightly.
Only then did she deliberately put on a beaming, even somewhat coquettish smile: 'Isn't it comfortable to hold you like this~?'
'You scoundrel!'
Ji Shengyao forced herself not to think about these shameful intimacies and steered the conversation to the sleeping bag: 'This quilt is so tightly sealed. Even the metal buckle at the entrance, with a gentle pull, leaves no gaps. The design is truly ingenious.'
Wang Li crawled into the sleeping bag. It wasn't spacious enough, so the two were slightly cramped, facing each other, holding each other, almost cheek to cheek. Wang Li pretended to yawn: 'Why bother with that? Give me a goodnight kiss. The main event is just about to begin.'
'Get lost, get lost, get lost!'