Chapter 38 Chapter 38 "You obviously like me, why do you do it on purpose...

"The representatives sent by the major sects must enter the Demon Realm and negotiate with the Demon Lord regarding the various matters that have occurred previously. We suspect there is a hidden agenda behind the battle between good and evil. Perhaps someone with ulterior motives is manipulating this, and both the good and evil factions have long been reduced to pawns..."

Gu Wuchen spoke seriously, and the elders reacted differently, and everyone started discussing it.

Amidst the buzz of conversation, Chen Qian leaned slightly to the side, looked down at Yao Ning, and softly repeated, "Does it look good?"

Yao Ning glanced at him lightly and looked away lightly: "It doesn't look good."

Chen Qian smiled lightly and moved closer: "Then why don't you dare look at me?"

After the battle in Zhongze, at the critical moment of life and death, the shackles of Qingxin were removed, and the secret hidden in the past emerged, and Chen Qian finally saw his true feelings.

But by then Yao Ning was already extremely disappointed and felt only annoyance and indifference towards him.

He was sad, in pain, afraid and panicked, and every time he saw the indifference on her face, his heart ached even more.

He thought that today Yao Ning would be the same as before and would not care about him at all, and would look at him as if he were a stranger.

Chen Qian said this almost in a self-mocking tone, "Why don't you dare look at me?"

In fact, he understood that Yao Ning was not afraid to look at him, but was unwilling to look at him.

If someone had told Chen Qian a year ago that he would one day modify his appearance just to get someone's attention, he would have found it incomprehensible.

It was not until he was actually there that he realized that it was more than just about beautifying his appearance. He was willing to do anything to have his wife look back at him once.

But sadly, nothing he did was of any use.

The hall was empty, and the voices of the people discussing gradually became louder. Amid the clamor, the trembling of Shen Qian's last voice was well drowned out.

He waited for Yao Ning's ridicule, or waited for him to ignore it coldly.

Like self-torture, I want to feel the suffocating pain coming from my heart again.

He also has to go through what Yao Ning went through in the past.

Yao Ning only left him a side view of her face. She lowered her head silently, as if she had not heard the joke.

Chen Qian didn't realize that his gaze towards this person who was so close yet untouchable was bordering on obsession.

After a moment, a thin layer of mist appeared in his sight.

Shen Qian blinked, but the mist still did not dissipate.

He was stunned for a moment before realizing that it was the magic performed by Yao Ning.

He opened his eyes wide, trying to see her through the mist.

But I could only see a vague shadow, a piece of white, a black curve, and a touch of red.

The shadows are vague, seeming close yet distant.

"If he stays in it, his soul will be damaged. Moreover, he is my hope for the Qing Sect tomorrow. The journey to the demon world is dangerous and unpredictable. We cannot let him go."

"Chu Liangxiu is not a suitable candidate. My disciple is innocent and naive. Seeing the Demon Lord will only arouse his fighting spirit. How can he remember the important task?"

"My disciple is not a good choice either. His cultivation is shallow..."

"Let us old men give it a try..."

"Exactly, exactly..."

Amidst the heated debate, Chen Qian was completely unaware and stared blankly at the mist that suddenly appeared between him and Yao Ning.

Slowly, he seemed to think of something.

An incredible yet unstoppable thought instantly occupied his mind.

Yao Ning...is he trying to cover up something that is even more obvious?

Chen Qian's heartbeat suddenly quickened, and he suddenly reached out and grabbed Yao Ning's wrist.

Yao Ning struggled hard but failed. When the mist dissipated, Chen Qian saw a slightly red face.

The fog gathered again, and Chen Qian's hand was thrown away fiercely, hitting the corner of the table with a "bang", and a drop of bright red blood gushed out.

Boom, boom, boom.

He heard a heavy heartbeat.

Warmth rose from his heart, and the pain and bitterness of the past few days dissipated like a shadow meeting the light. He was like a stranger at the end of his rope who saw a glimpse of hope in the boundless despair.

"So, there's no one left in my Xuanqing Sect! Fellow elders, I know you're protecting yourselves, but when is this happening? Even protecting one's own needs to be done in the right place."

The hall suddenly became quiet.

The elders all looked away, embarrassed and not daring to answer.

A pin drop could be heard, and with a faint smile on his face, Chen Qian turned his back to the crowd and said softly, "You like it, don't you? I'll draw like this for you in the future, okay?"

His voice was not loud, but everyone in the hall was a top cultivator of the Xuanqing Sect with extraordinary hearing. This ambiguous whisper, in the quiet hall, resounded in their ears like the morning bell and evening drum.

Everyone looked at the two people below at the same time.

The old elder was in disbelief, his face flushed with shame: "How ridiculous! This is completely immoral!"

The other elders felt a little embarrassed when they saw that it was the young couple whispering, and quickly turned their heads away, pretending not to hear anything.

There was an awkward atmosphere in the hall, and the solemn atmosphere just now was gone.

Chen Qian turned around as if nothing had happened. He was already tall, and when he sat there with his majesty, he completely blocked the petite figure behind him.

This usually serious man smiled for the first time and bowed his head to apologize to everyone: "My disciple was frivolous. Please forgive me, Master."

Gu Wuchen: "Ahem, keep going. We must select the candidate today, and the immortal boat from Lingfeng Land will come to pick them up tomorrow."

The elders started arguing again.

Yao Ning glanced at everyone, stood up silently, walked to the center of the hall, and bowed to Gu Wuchen who was sitting at the head of the group.

"Master, I'll go."

The hall suddenly became quiet.

Gu Wuchen looked around and saw that the elders from various peaks who had been protecting their own people had all kept silent, so his expression turned a little colder.

Yao Ning said: "Senior Brother Shen is seriously injured and has not recovered yet. Senior Sister has to guard Xuanqing Sect. I have made a breakthrough in my cultivation recently and I have no important responsibilities. I am the best choice for this trip."

"No." Shen Qian said firmly.

Yao Ning didn't even look at him, but just lowered his head and looked at the ground.

The elders murmured to each other for a while, and an elder sitting on the left side of the sect leader said, "Junior Brother Yao Ning is suitable."

Chen Qian's hawk-like gaze shot towards the man: "How is it appropriate? Just because Yao Ning is not a disciple of Elder Shanyuan, does that mean we don't have to feel sorry for the injuries she suffered while protecting mortals in Zhongze?"

Being refuted in public, Elder Shanyuan was embarrassed and his face immediately fell: "How dare you! A junior like you speak to your uncle like that?!"

Chen Qian waved his sleeves and stood beside Yao Ning: "Disciple has no intention of disrespecting the elder, it's just that she is seriously injured and has not recovered——"

He glanced at Yao Ning and said, "I'll let you go to the Demon Realm."

Elder Shanyuan narrowed his eyes, his face already showing anger, but he clapped his hands and said, "Well, well, we old fools are just showing off, but our words don't carry any weight. It's a major matter for the whole clan to discuss, and you, a junior, have the final say. You don't even need to ask for our opinions."

Elder Shanyuan was already unhappy at being humiliated in public by the youngster's sarcastic remarks, and this man happened to be Shen Qian.

Chen Qian is extremely talented. At such a young age, his cultivation level has far surpassed everyone else. He is the undisputed number one in Xuanqing Sect.

There are countless cultivators in Jiuzhou, but only he has been awarded the title of Daojun.

It would be a lie to say that he wasn't jealous. It was just that Chen Qian usually observed courtesy towards his elders and never took advantage of his status to behave out of line. This hidden jealousy and resentment was suppressed by his high status.

But today, Chen Qian showed them no respect at all as a junior.

Chen Qian remained calm and bowed to Elder Shanyuan: "I have no intention of disrespecting you, but the journey to the demon world is dangerous..."

Shan Yuan interrupted him and sarcastically said, "You care about your wife, but you don't consider the interests of the sect at all. After all, you are young, indulging in love and pleasure, and it's inevitable that you are short-sighted..."

His words were full of sarcasm, and he was obviously dissatisfied with Shen Qian, but he forgot how he had just argued with everyone to protect his own disciple, and his face was red.

Chen Qian looked at him calmly for a moment, shook his head and said, "So what?"

Shan Yuan looked at him in shock: "What did you say?"

Chen Qian flicked his sleeves and stopped looking at Shan Yuan: "I said, so what?"

The whole hall was silent.

Everyone looked at Chen Qian, who had a calm face, and then at Elder Shan Yuan, whose face was flushed red. Although they knew that Shan Yuan had gone too far today, they were shocked when they saw that Chen Qian was too lazy to argue or explain and just tore his face off.

Yes, so what?

In the past, he was very respectful to all the elders, which was due to the teachings he received since childhood. As a result, everyone relied on his status as an elder and almost forgot that Chen Qian was the future leader and the person with the highest cultivation level in Xuanqing Sect.

And Yao Ning is his wife.

"Aning, you think you are of low status and have no worries, so you are willing to go." In the silence, Gu Wuchen spoke, his voice tired and disappointed, "But you really don't know that if you go, I will be worried, your senior sister will be worried, and so will Chen Qian."

Yao Ning's eyelashes moved.

"When Yao Ning first came to Xuanqing Sect, because her parents were both mortals, despite her excellent aptitude, no other sect was willing to accept her. This venerable master had no choice but to teach her personally." Gu Wuchen looked around at the elders. "Fortunately, she has surpassed her master. She recently broke through to the realm of transformation. Even the Demon Venerable Jiangcan said that this is rare in the world."

Zhongze broke through the realm, and everyone in the Nine Continents knew about it, but no one knew who it was.

In order to prevent someone from taking advantage of Yao Ning's serious injury to harm her, Gu Wuchen joined forces with Beiming Sect and Tianshu Sect to block the news.

Now that he said it, everyone was shocked. They stared at the petite and pale woman beside Chen Qian with their mouths wide open, unable to believe it for a moment.

Elder Shanyuan was shocked and confused, and swallowed subconsciously.

Gu Wuchen said, "I heard that Master Kongwen of Brahma Temple sent that Buddhist disciple on this trip to the Demon Realm."

Fozi is Kongwen's most proud disciple, and he has always been protected as the apple of his eye.

"Xuanqing Sect and Brahma Temple are equally famous. I have no intention of competing with them, but I cannot let the reputation accumulated by my ancestors for a hundred years fall at this time." Gu Wuchen's eyes fell on Yao Ning, "Yao Ning will go on this trip."

Yao Ning said: "Yes."

Gu Wuchen leaned forward and said, "Take good care of yourself. Your safety is more important to me than the reputation of the Qing Sect."

Yao Ning paused, lowered his head and said softly, "Yes."

Gu Wuchen looked at Chen Qian, who had a cold expression on his face. "Zhongze's Xizhou Pavilion has been deserted since the war. I'm afraid the owner, Chen Ying, is involved with the Demon Realm, or even the person behind all this. I want you to work with the Beiming Sect to investigate."

Seeing the man's unwilling face, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes and said, "If you can find any clues, it will be helpful to Aning's journey to the demon world."

Chen Qian lowered his head and thought for a moment, knowing that Gu Wuchen was right, he could only agree: "Yes."

Gu Wuchen looked at Elder Shanyuan, who had a pale face. "Shanyuan's heart is with Xuanqing Sect, even more than mine, Gu Wuchen. How about you take the position of the Sect Master?"

Elder Shanyuan was startled and quickly stood up and knelt down: "Junior brother, I dare not."

He gritted his teeth and said, "Junior brother, you acted impulsively today, disregarding the feelings of your fellow disciples and favoring your own disciple. Please punish me, Senior Brother."

Gu Wuchen no longer looked at him: "Go to the cliff of reflection and face the wall for ten days."

Elder Shanyuan: "Yes."

After leaving the Taishi Palace, Chen Qian followed Yao Ning: "Aning, wait for me."

Yao Ning walked very fast, as if there were jackals, tigers and leopards following him. In the blink of an eye, he had descended the main peak, passed the cloud stack, and arrived at the Asking Dao Peak.

There are only Chen Qian and his wife and one disciple living in Wendao Peak, and it is quiet all year round.

On the mountain road, Chen Qian blocked her way.

Yao Ning looked at him expressionlessly.

Chen Qian lowered his head, looking at her fair and plump forehead and the hair fluttering at her temples. His heart felt full and slightly sour, and his voice unconsciously lowered.

Gently, as if afraid of startling a trembling butterfly.

"You obviously like me, so why are you trying to make me sad? Huh?"