The day after A Yao successfully transformed into a deity, Nangong Qi came to congratulate her.
In front of the pavilion, dozens of tall pear trees were planted, their blossoms as clear as snow, their petals appearing almost transparent in the sunlight. Inside the pavilion, Ayao and Nangong Qi sat on either side of a jade table, each with a cup of fragrant tea in front of them.
Today, Ayao was dressed in a light yellow gauze dress. She gently picked up the teacup in front of her and glanced at the pear blossom tree outside. Nangong Qi gazed at her beautiful face and felt that her face was like a bright pearl with a halo, and a beautiful jade with a radiant glow.
“I said before that you would probably catch up with me soon, and it’s only been three years, and you’ve already achieved the Nascent Soul stage. Ah Yao’s talent is truly admirable!” Nangong Qi said with a smile.
Nangong Qi was still dressed in white.
His features were clear and bright, his demeanor gentle and refined, exuding an indescribable elegance and grace, yet also a warm and approachable nature.
Ayao smiled softly, without saying a word.
Nangong Qi asked, "Ayao, you've been in seclusion for three years. Do you know about Senior Brother Xu's disappearance?"
Upon hearing this, Ayao's expression didn't change much. Lou Munan had disappeared for the past three years, and she didn't even know if he was still in the Canglan Realm. Although her main body remained with the Lu family, her avatar was still traveling outside. How could she not know what was happening outside?
Because Lou Munan had disappeared without a trace, everyone in the Shenmeng Sect thought Xu Fengzhi had vanished. She knew that the Shenmeng Sect was searching everywhere for Xu Fengzhi. She wanted to tell them that they didn't need to look anymore, that he was long gone, but how could she tell Xu Fengzhi's parents such a thing?
"I know." Ayao's eyes dimmed for a moment.
“The Divine Dream Sect has been searching for him everywhere, but there’s still no news.” Nangong Qi said, looking outside as if deep in thought. “His last appearance was three years ago at the Jia Nan Grand Gathering in the Northern Region.”
At this point, he looked at A Yao:
"Ah Yao, have you seen him since you left Jianan Mountain?"
A Yao's mind immediately flashed back to the battle with Lou Munan three years ago. Seeing Nangong Qi staring directly at her, she shook her head: "Never seen him before."
Nangong Qi lowered his head and picked up the tea in front of him. "I didn't pay attention at the time, but now when I think back, I always feel that Senior Brother Xu was very strange back then." As he said this, he looked at A Yao, "A Yao, I think you noticed it too, right?"
Ayao gripped the cup tighter unconsciously, but didn't reply.
“Senior Uncle Xu, Senior Uncle Wei came looking for me. They know I met with Senior Brother Xu in the Northern Region. Now that you’ve come out of seclusion, I think they’ll come looking for you.” Nangong Qi said, picking up his teacup and taking a sip.
After Nangong Qi finished speaking, he carefully observed A Yao's reaction. He felt that A Yao was hiding something, but he couldn't discern anything from her face. He continued:
"I plan to go into seclusion for a while. Yao's cultivation speed is so fast, I can't let you leave me too far behind."
As he spoke, Nangong Qi chuckled softly.
Ayao said, "Then I look forward to our next meeting, when you will already be in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm."
Nangong Qi smiled radiantly and said, "Okay."
————
Kiriyama Mountains.
Gu Huaiyuan was passing by a palace when he heard several junior brothers and sisters talking nearby. Suddenly, he heard the name A Yao and instinctively stopped in his tracks, and the voices of the people talking reached his ears.
"This Miss Lu Qi is already at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. If only Third Senior Brother hadn't broken off the engagement with her back then!"
"Yes, Lu Xuening is still in the early stage of Foundation Establishment. She can't compare to Miss Lu Qi at all."
"Hey, tell me, what exactly did Third Senior Brother see in Lu Xuening back then?"
"It's not our third senior brother's fault. Who told Lu Xuening to be such a good actress? We were all fooled by her."
"That Lu Xuening is a jinx. She almost harmed the third young master of the Nangong family, and even her own elder brother. The eldest young master of the Lu family was crippled because he was trying to find some kind of spirit pet for her. What will happen if she really marries into our Gu family?"
"Yeah, don't drag us down with you!"
"Don't worry, the head of the family and his wife are so shrewd, they would never let this jinx into our Gu family."
Do you think Miss Lu Qi will marry Nangong Qi?
"Anyway, no matter who she marries, she can't marry Third Senior Brother. Anyone would hold a grudge after being publicly rejected by him!"
Gu Huaiyuan couldn't bear to listen any longer. He turned and transformed into a streak of light, flying back to his cave. Once back in his cave, he locked himself in a secret chamber. He wanted to cultivate, but found he couldn't calm his mind at all.
Lu Xueyao has already reached the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. The dark-skinned, thin girl who was publicly rejected by him back then is now the most stunning and unparalleled prodigy in the entire Canglan Realm.
Every time Lu Xueyao broke through to a higher level, he felt extremely distressed.
All the gazes directed at him seemed to say: Look at you, so blind, mistaking a pearl for a fish eye and a fish eye for a pearl.
How could you be so stupid as to abandon the proud daughter of the Lu family's direct bloodline for a vicious and useless person!
He's stupid, incredibly stupid! Why is he so stupid?
Lu Xueyao is already at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, while he is currently stuck at the late stage of the Golden Core realm. The more he tries to break through the bottleneck, the less he can.
The thought of Lu Xueyao becoming increasingly powerful, and the gap between them widening until he could only look up to her in the future, filled Gu Huaiyuan with unbearable sorrow. He clutched his chest, feeling a tightness in his chest. Unable to meditate, Gu Huaiyuan vented his frustration by smashing things in the secret room before finally leaving.
A maid came over and respectfully handed over a jade slip: "Young master, this is a jade slip containing a message from the eighth young lady of the Lu family."
There are restrictions throughout Tongshan; only jade slips bearing the Gu family's mark can fly in directly. This is the same for other major families and sects.
Previously, Lu Xuening and Gu Huaiyuan communicated using jade slips given to them by each other. However, Gu Huaiyuan hadn't visited Lu Xuening in recent years, and Lu Xuening had long since used up all the communication jade slips given to her by Gu Huaiyuan. These ordinary jade slips were intercepted as soon as they entered the Tongshan area.
After being intercepted, the guards saw that it bore the insignia of the Lu family of Kunshan and the name Lu Xuening before handing it over to Gu Huaiyuan's maid.
Gu Huaiyuan was already feeling irritated. Without even glancing at the jade slip in the maid's hand, he coldly said, "Throw it away!"
After saying that, he walked away into the distance.
The maid glanced at his back and then at the jade slip in her hand, thinking to herself: It seems that the young master has completely despised that Miss Lu.
Curious, she took the jade slip to a secluded spot. After reading Lu Xuening's nauseating words, she got goosebumps and threw the jade slip away.
————
Lu Family, Kunshan.
On Crimson Serpent Peak, Lu Yunli took his medicine and fell asleep. Lu Xuening paced back and forth in the main hall, waiting for Gu Huaiyuan to reply.
But she waited from morning till night without receiving a single message from Gu Huaiyuan.
Lu Xuening tried to comfort herself, thinking that perhaps, perhaps Brother Huaiyuan was just too busy; he must be incredibly busy. So she waited two more days, but still received no reply from Gu Huaiyuan. She was furious; she couldn't deceive herself any longer.
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