Liaohai Secret Realm
Zhang Zitao seemed to notice their gazes and immediately turned around. He paused for a moment when his gaze fell on Ruan Qingyu. Then, he looked at Lü Liangke with a slight smile as if nothing had happened: "Junior Sister Lü, you've finally arrived. I thought I had misremembered the time."
Lü Liangke frowned. What do you mean, "wrong time"? It's today, and the time hasn't come yet! Why is Senior Brother Zhang speaking so strangely today?
"Senior Brother Zhang, we're not late, are we? I remember it was around this time. I even went to find Qingyu early and came here ahead of time."
Hearing Lü Liangke say this, Zhang Zitao's face stiffened. He had a deep impression of Ruan Qingyu, who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage not long after entering the sect, and then soared to the Golden Core stage.
Now that he had finally reached the Golden Core stage, he discovered that the other party's cultivation was still far superior to his own. Thinking of this, Zhang Zitao felt both envious and jealous.
I don't know how the Ruan family provided the resources back then. This Lü Liangke looks very poor. If he weren't a single water spirit root, I'm afraid he wouldn't even give him a second glance.
She had initially thought there was something between Lü Liangke and Zhang Zitao that she didn't know, but now it seems they were just partners working together on a mission.
Ruan Qingyu understood perfectly well, but pretended not to know that Zhang Zitao was deliberately putting on a patient and considerate act.
"Fellow Daoist Zhang, have you and Liang Ke divided up the tasks?" On the way here, Lü Liang Ke had already told him where they were going. It was none other than the Snowfield of the Far Continent.
A new secret realm appeared in the Far Continent Snowfield half a month ago, and all the major sects have already searched it out. Now it is open to the public.
The sect named the new secret realm the Liaohai Secret Realm, simply because it was mostly seawater. The resources were naturally all on the seabed, and many cultivators discovered a type of demonic beast within it.
Dissecting the flesh of a demon beast and removing its inner core yields a spiritual pearl. This pearl can be used for refining and crafting weapons, which is why many disciples flock to it.
Zhang Zitao's face darkened upon hearing Ruan Qingyu's address. Previously, this person had to address him as "Senior Brother," but now he was calling him "Fellow Daoist."
They completely forgot that in the Xuan Tian Sect, those who have achieved the highest level are given priority. Since Ruan Qingyu's cultivation level is far higher than his, it is acceptable for him to call him junior brother.
“Fellow Daoist Ruan, the contribution points for this task will naturally be split equally among the three of us. Apart from the materials submitted for the task, the remaining materials will also be split equally among us,” Zhang Zitao said calmly.
Nodding, Ruan Qingyu turned to Lü Liangke and said, "Liangke, since you two took on this mission, I naturally won't contribute any points. We can just split the materials from the secret realm among ourselves."
Although there are many ways to obtain contribution points in the Xuantian Sect, each task is not easy. Ruan Qingyu took the initiative to give up contribution points, which naturally made Lü Liangke happy.
However, it wouldn't be right to refuse everything, so she said with difficulty, "Qingyu, we agreed on a three-person mission. If I wasn't worried about the danger, I wouldn't have asked you for help. As Senior Brother Zhang said, the contribution points can be split equally among the three of us."
Then, the three summoned their spirit boat and set off towards the snowy plains of the distant continent.
Along the way, Ruan Qingyu noticed that although Zhang Zitao was often speechless because of her words, he was still persistent.
He couldn't help but sense something amiss, so he took the opportunity to ask Lü Liangke, "Is this Senior Brother Zhang Zitao going to become your Daoist partner?"
These words were so blunt that even Lü Liangke, who had seen a lot in his life, was stunned. He blushed and immediately shook his head.
“Senior Brother Zhang never said that, and I have no feelings for Senior Brother Zhang either. Qingyu, are you overthinking this?” Lu Liangke said, glaring angrily at Ruan Qingyu.
Seeing this, and knowing that the two were really not related, Ruan Qingyu smiled and said, "I was just seeing how much he took care of me, so I thought... Okay, I won't say anything more."
Seeing that Lü Liangke was about to get angry, Ruan Qingyu grabbed her hand and quickly apologized.
However, her suspicions about Zhang Zitao hadn't disappeared. He was too calculating; she simply didn't believe he hadn't investigated Lü Liangke.
Whenever he felt neglected, he would find another reason to inquire about things, his words implying a desire to get closer to Ruan Qingyu.
"Fellow Daoist Ruan, do you know anything about some of the senior elders in the sect?"
"I don't know."
“Then let me tell you, there are a few senior elders who are short of disciples. If you are willing, I can introduce you to one of them.”
Anyone else would probably think this was a good thing. But the elder Zhang Zitao knew was none other than Chen Tian, the man with whom Ruan Qingyu shared an irreconcilable feud.
"No need, I appreciate your kind offer, Fellow Daoist Zhang." Ruan Qingyu's refusal was straightforward, after all, their relationship was merely that of an initiator and guide.
If she didn't want to find her master, that would be normal in the sect; it's just that people like her are a minority.
Zhang Zitao tried several times to steer the conversation toward his master, but was stopped each time.
Seeing Zhang Zitao's gritted teeth as he turned around, Ruan Qingyu thought for a moment and decided not to be too definitive, so she asked again, "Could it be that Fellow Daoist Zhang's master is an inner sect elder?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zitao's expression softened somewhat. "Hmph," he thought, "no disciple doesn't yearn for a good master. Ruan Qingyu has mentioned it several times, and she's still not tempted?"
Thinking this, Zhang Zitao immediately said, "That's right, Master is Elder Chen Tian, an inner sect elder of the sect and a senior elder."
Seeing the proud look on his face, Ruan Qingyu sneered inwardly and slowly straightened her lips: "It is Elder Chen. I am honored to have heard of him once."
Ruan Qingyu had been cold and indifferent to him the whole way, but now that she heard that her master was a senior elder, her expression changed immediately, which made Zhang Zitao feel frustrated and disdainful.
As expected, these disciples without any significant background or status were all like this. Hearing that there was something to gain, they all swarmed around, lost in their own thoughts, completely unaware of Ruan Qingyu's icy expression.
Some boasted, "After becoming a senior elder, Master stopped participating much in sect affairs, which is why some disciples don't know. As a Nascent Soul Ancestor, Master is extremely protective of his disciples, and he never fails to grant any request from them."
Seeing how obviously he praised her, even Lü Liangke, who was standing to the side, was a little surprised. She had known Senior Brother Zhang for three months, but he had never specifically introduced her to him.
Immediately afterwards, Lü Liangke realized that his current cultivation level was only at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and he was afraid that the senior elders would not take him seriously.
A moment of melancholy washed over her, but Lü Liangke was happy for Ruan Qingyu. Now that she had been in the sect for a while, she knew the benefits of having powerful backers. Since Senior Brother Zhang had spoken to this extent, he probably intended to introduce Qingyu to Elder Chen.
"Senior Brother Zhang, you've said so much today, you wouldn't be trying to get Qingyu to become your master's disciple, would you?" Lü Liangke said with a grin.
Immediately, Zhang Zitao had something else he wanted to say, but he didn't know whether to say it or not.
He did want to persuade Ruan Qingyu to become his master's disciple, but being told it so directly left him speechless for a moment.
Seeing this, Ruan Qingyu did not respond, but simply said calmly, "We have arrived at the Snowfield of Far Continent."
The purpose of this trip was solely to complete a mission; idle chatter along the way was merely a way to pass the time. Upon hearing that they had arrived at their destination, Lü Liangke immediately shifted his gaze to the outside of the spirit boat.
A moment later, the spirit boat disappeared, and the three landed in a small grove of trees.
"Qingyu, we can walk there from here. Not far away, to prevent various sects from rushing in, they have already set up formations to prohibit cultivators from flying," Lü Liangke explained in a low voice. Before coming here, she had thoroughly investigated the Liaohai Secret Realm.
In the cultivation world, only newly discovered secret realms are open to cultivators to plunder. Only after all the major sects have looted them will they join forces to take control.
The purpose is to ensure that smaller sects can at least get a share. Although there isn't much left after looting these secret realms, some special spiritual herbs and environments are only found in certain secret realms, and it's not like they're no longer needed after just one looting.
At this moment, the advantages of Xuantian Sect as a top-tier sect became apparent, as all three of them carried Xuantian Sect disciple tokens.
As they approached the entrance to the Liaohai Secret Realm, no one asked them any questions before letting the three pass.
Meanwhile, the rogue cultivators were blocked by the formation. Beams of white light shot into the sky, enveloping the cultivators who had landed near the secret realm.
The white light swept over the area four or five times before letting the person pass. However, although this secret realm was controlled by an array, it was not uncommon for some powerful cultivators to try and seize it.
Ruan Qingyu calmly approached the entrance to the secret realm. Although divine senses flew over from all around, they withdrew after realizing the identities of the people.
After discovering that two of Ruan Qingyu's companions were at the Golden Core stage, another group of them was eliminated, allowing the three to enter the Liaohai Secret Realm safely.
"I thought those three were easy targets, but they're actually disciples of the Xuantian Sect," muttered a cultivator who was looking around from the shadows.
"We could even try to rob the Xuan Tian Sect, but they only have two Golden Core cultivators, so it would be difficult for us to succeed." The speaker was a Golden Core cultivator, but his clothes were tattered and extremely worn.
The person next to him muttered irritably, "You mean, a small, shabby secret realm doesn't need two Golden Core cultivators?"
It turned out that after several rounds of plundering, many sects found that this secret realm not only had few resources but also no danger.
Thus, the Liaohai Secret Realm became an extremely accessible secret realm; those at the Golden Core stage could come and go freely without even considering it. Foundation Establishment stage cultivators could go in to accumulate some spirit stones, and Qi Refining stage cultivators could also try it out in groups.
This is also why Ruan Qingyu and the others didn't sense much malice; two Golden Core cultivators and one Foundation Establishment cultivator didn't seem like spineless cowards.
Ruan Qingyu had no idea that her side was known as a tough nut to crack. At this moment, the three of them stepped into the light circle passage of the Liaohai Secret Realm.
Suddenly, she appeared on the sea. Seeing that she was about to fall into the sea and become a drowned rat, Ruan Qingyu spread her arms and unfurled her fiery wings.
He then pulled Lü Liangke into his arms, and seeing that Zhang Zitao had already stood firmly on his sword, he said, "Shall we go down directly?"
Since the two of them are here to find the Spirit Pearl, they will definitely have to go into the sea, but they still need to ask questions first.
With a mixture of apprehension and longing, Zhang Zitao glanced at Ruan Qingyu, then looked down at the sea below: "Spiritual pearls aren't plentiful in this area. Let's search some more."
Ruan Qingyu looked at Lü Liangke in her arms: "Let's look again?"
Lü Liangke subconsciously reached out and grabbed Ruan Qingyu's collar, nodding: "Since Senior Brother Zhang has come once, I will listen to Senior Brother Zhang."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com