56 Chapter 56

◎Many truths◎

Master Xuanjing thought for a moment, then shook his head with a smile: "I'm not in a position to comment on Master Wangyu's private affairs. No one knows whether he really wants to or not. Later, Ye Xiuluo's reputation in the martial arts world deteriorated, and she became known as a female demon. Every time the sect launched a campaign against her, Wangyu would volunteer to be at the forefront. Ye Xiuluo was seriously injured several times by him."

Jiang Qiye was even more confused. "Even if Ye Xiuluo liked Chen Luobai back then, if Master fell in love at first sight, shouldn't he have been ruthless towards the woman he liked?"

“You are young and haven’t experienced these things, so you naturally don’t understand.” Master Xuanjing sighed. “Back then, my master, who is also your grandmaster, had already discovered Wang Yu’s thoughts and directly exposed him. He was probably furious and wanted to prove that he had no feelings for the demon and that he was irreconcilable with her and had to kill her.”

"Later, when your master had the chance to kill her, he still didn't go all out. It was on that occasion that Ye Xiuluo took the opportunity to spray him with the Evil Powder. From then on, Wang Yu's cultivation was greatly damaged, and no matter how he tried to adjust his breathing, he could not recover. The outside world only said that he had an eccentric personality, but no one knew that he was injured by the Evil Powder, and his physique was already difficult to restore."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qiye finally understood the cause and effect.

Does Master still like her?

Twenty years have passed.

Ye Xiuluo's hatred for him and the Qing Sect is understandable. After all, her master was always at the forefront of every campaign, inflicting the deepest wounds on her.

In order to maintain the image of the righteous sect and to suppress the feelings he had kept hidden for twenty years, the master gradually moved to the opposite side of Ye Xiuluo and became an irreconcilable enemy.

From this perspective, the fact that their cultivation levels have unexpectedly transferred to him might be a kind of relief for them.

Since Master took Ye Xiuluo away in the end, he probably wouldn't really hurt her.

Now, Jiang Qiye's body not only contains his master's lifelong cultivation, but also the residual poison of the "Evil Man's Powder" that has troubled his master for many years and has never been able to resolve.

Having acquired two opposing and deeply hateful cultivation methods, using and resolving them would be extremely difficult for him.

Before Jiang Qiye left, Master Xuanjing taught him some mental techniques to help him suppress and slowly resolve the tearing pain.

Jiang Qiye returned to the Qingzong Sect.

However, the questions in his mind about Pei Xueyan remained unanswered.

As I entered the room, perhaps because my footsteps were light, I was surprised to see Pei Xueyan lying on the bed with her legs crossed, leisurely eating snacks.

Jiang Qiye: "..."

It turns out that her previous weakness was all an act; she pretended to be pitiful when others were around.

He immediately regained his carefree demeanor as soon as he left.

Perhaps it was because of his profound inner strength that he concealed his aura so well that he remained unnoticed for a long time after entering the room.

It wasn't until he paused slightly and approached the bed that Pei Xueyan suddenly realized what was happening. She hurriedly lay down on the bed, not forgetting to tie herself with ropes, pretending to have just been startled awake.

“Miss Pei, it seems you’re quite comfortable living at the Qingzong Sect? You seem to really enjoy it here.” Jiang Qiye’s voice was calm and composed.

Pei Xueyan sat up abruptly and quickly retorted, "I...I don't like it. What are you talking about?"

Jiang Qiye raised his hand and pulled the loose rope off her body back into his sleeve: "I brought you back for only two questions. First, why do you possess the cultivation level of the Qing Sect? Second, why did you spread rumors about marrying me?"

Pei Xueyan stood up, her panic fading from her face, replaced by a faint smile, her tone tinged with provocation: "If I don't tell you, what can you do? Can you kill me or skin me alive?"

She reached out to touch Jiang Qiye's sleeve, her posture clearly flirtatious.

Jiang Qiye quickly took half a step back, avoiding her touch: "Miss Pei, please mind your manners and have some self-respect."

“Miss Pei, Master Pei, I address you as Master Pei out of politeness. Whether you speak or not has little impact on me. But you must know that if someone possesses the cultivation of the Qing Sect but its origin is unknown, and it is found to have been stolen, they will be subject to the most severe punishment according to the sect rules. Do you think you can escape with your meager abilities?”

Pei Xueyan stared at Jiang Qiye's cold profile, unable to get even a hint of extra emotion from him.

You used to be able to say those sweet nothings so easily, but now you can't remember anything. Are you just going to pretend that nothing happened?

And yet, so cold, with such a commanding tone.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

"People say we're husband and wife, but instead of asking them, you come to me? And in such a rude and vulgar way! Since you don't remember, it's fake. I'm not your wife! You've got the wrong person!"

Jiang Qiye's feelings for her had been severed, and he had long forgotten her past. Naturally, he couldn't understand the resentment and angry words in her speech.

He frowned slightly and asked in return, "Since we are not married, how can others say that you have abandoned me?"

"Then go ask someone else. How would I know? You can just grab anyone on the street and ask them why they're spreading these rumors!"

This was the first time Jiang Qiye had ever seen such a woman. Far from being afraid of him, her eyes were filled with undisguised contempt and disdain.

He had always disliked such rude people and felt deeply offended, yet he didn't know how to deal with this tense situation.

He could only say coldly, "I need to cultivate. You can leave now."

Pei Xueyan was about to walk towards the bed when she heard him add, "That bed is mine. I don't like anyone in the palace. You should leave."

She glanced back at him and asked casually, "Are you always this cold to everyone?"

Jiang Qiye was already sitting cross-legged on the futon, his eyes closed, looking like he was keeping everyone at arm's length.

Seeing that she still hadn't moved, he parted his thin lips and uttered two cold words: "Get out."

"You're the one who told me to leave, so don't come bothering me again!"

After saying that, Pei Xueyan flashed down the mountain, but she did not expect that as soon as she stepped out of the courtyard, she was hit by an invisible barrier and stumbled to the ground.

The Heavenly River Palace is built on the mountaintop, surrounded by a protective barrier. Not far from the palace is a cliff shrouded in mist, without even a half-foot railing.

Pei Xueyan fell to the ground.

"My poor back."

Pei Xueyan stood up, rubbing her aching back, and angrily pushed open the door: "Jiang Qiye, what exactly do you want to do?"

Before he could finish speaking, a palm strike came from afar.

The force wasn't particularly strong; Pei Xueyan easily dodged it with a light tap of her toes.

Immediately afterward, Jiang Qiye flew over.

This palm strike appeared fierce, but the force of the strike avoided all her vital points, landing entirely on her shoulders, arms, and other insignificant areas.

"Since we're going to fight, why hold back?" Pei Xueyan stopped dodging and drew her soft sword from her waist with a flick of her wrist, the tip of the sword pointing diagonally at Jiang Qiye's wrist.

He slightly shifted his palm, his fingertips gently resting on the spine of the sword, and with a little force, he neutralized her strength, causing the longsword to deflect.

The two exchanged more than ten moves in the courtyard. Their back-and-forth exchanges didn't seem like a competition, but rather carried a sense of probing and an inexplicable tug-of-war.

Pei Xueyan was already impatient, and seeing him dodging and seemingly toying with her, her anger flared even more. She threw down her longsword, turned around, and said angrily, "I'm not playing with you anymore. Quickly release the barrier, I'm going down the mountain."

"The 'Soul Control Technique' was passed down to me by my master. There are no more than three people who know this technique. Who taught you your cultivation?"

"So, you're actually testing my martial arts?" Pei Xueyan was both angry and annoyed. "If you just want to test my martial arts, you can just say so. There's no need to resort to violence."

Jiang Qiye remained unmoved by her attempt to change the subject, and said coldly, "You haven't answered my question yet. You should know that if I wanted to investigate, it would be as easy as turning my hand."

"That's right! I stole your cultivation level. After I stole it, I abandoned you. What can you do about it?"

Seeing her readily admit it, Jiang Qiye raised his hand and a black veil fluttered down, directly covering his eyes.

His tone remained calm and even: "Then don't blame me for being rude."

As soon as she finished speaking, a burst of spiritual energy shot out, instantly blowing away Pei Xueyan's outer garment, leaving only her bodice and skirt clinging to her body.

She was both angry and anxious, her hands tightly covering her chest, her cheeks flushed red. Pointing at Jiang Qiye, she angrily cursed, "You filthy lecher! You filthy Taoist! You've lost your sense of shame, haven't you? Shame on you!"

"Watch your words!"

"You've humiliated me like this, what right do I have to be careful?" Pei Xueyan was furious. She bent down, picked up the long sword from the ground, and stabbed at him.

Even if he uses his suppression technique well now, he's not yet proficient, so you might not necessarily lose to him.

Let's take the initiative and see how he recovers.

Pei Xueyan's swordsmanship was already exquisite, and her movements were even more agile and unpredictable, which made Jiang Qiye slightly startled.

Such bizarre footwork at such a young age.

Being blindfolded already put him in a difficult position, and seeing this, he no longer held back. With a flick of his sleeve, a surge of powerful spiritual energy sent Pei Xueyan staggering back several steps.

Soft swords are really difficult to use.

She put on her outer garment, and her gaze fell upon a long sword with a chilling gleam hanging in the distance inside the hall. She immediately activated her inner energy technique to summon it into her hand.

With his cultivation level, he could probably use many of the magical artifacts of the Qing Sect.

This time, both of them went all out, and Pei Xueyan was not at a disadvantage at all.

Fortunately, the hall was spacious, and the fierce battle only shattered the doors and windows.

Unfortunately, Pei Xueyan lacked the support of the Melting Pill and could not fight for long. In addition, Jiang Qiye's attacks became increasingly fierce, and she gradually became exhausted.

Just as she was about to be knocked to the ground, Pei Xueyan mustered her last bit of strength and thrust her longsword forward, slashing his right arm.

Jiang Qiye removed the black veil, and with a flick of her finger, she retrieved the long sword from Pei Xueyan's hand, the tip of the sword pointing directly at her as she lay on the ground.

Pei Xueyan felt her back injury throbbing again, but she still forced herself to say, "Kill me if you want, I will not beg for mercy."

"I won't kill you, but I will cripple your cultivation," Jiang Qiye replied calmly.

Upon hearing this, Pei Xueyan suddenly looked up and laughed, her laughter filled with sorrow and resentment.

After laughing for a long time, she finally stopped and said coldly, "I knew you always cared about this and resented me. But the root of all this is you! It was only right for me to lie to you; who told you to lie to me first?"