Chapter 88: Xuanhuan Cultivation BL (IV)

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Chapter 88: Xuanhuan Cultivation BL (IV)

Jiang Lingwen had always known that he was easily drawn to beautiful things, whether people or otherwise. He possessed eyes that appreciated beauty, and those eyes had seen countless breathtaking sights. Because of that, he had never imagined that he himself could ever be associated with love at first sight. But now, he finally understood what it truly meant to be captivated at first sight.

His gaze happened to fall upon a distant mountain peak and discovered a scene that seemed too beautiful to exist in the mortal world. Since cultivators who reached a certain level could fly, few people climbed mountains simply to admire the scenery, so there were very few people on the summit.

A young man dressed in red stood atop the peak. The shadow of a tree shielded him from part of the sunlight as he rested one hand against the trunk with his head slightly lowered, seemingly taking a short break. The distance was too great for even a cultivator’s enhanced eyesight to make out his features clearly. All Jiang Lingwen could distinguish was the youth’s graceful silhouette. That hazy outline stirred an inexplicable longing within him.

He had always considered red to be the most vulgar of colors. Festive though it might be, it inevitably reminded him of blood. Yet on that youth, red revealed an entirely different kind of beauty. He looked like the legendary phoenix with flaming wings descending upon the world. Unfortunately, there were no parasol trees within the Heavenly Sword Sect for a phoenix to perch upon.

Still, once that veil of mystery was lifted, would the sight remain so captivating? Sometimes things were most beautiful when seen through a haze. Remove the mist from a mountain valley, and only cold, unfeeling rocks remain. With Jiang Lingwen’s current influence within the Heavenly Sword Sect, finding someone would have been effortless. For the moment, however, he had no intention of unveiling the youth’s mysterious facade.

Feng Yingruo carefully followed beside him, obvious fear lingering in his eyes. Hidden beneath it, however, was a trace of dependence so deeply buried that even he himself had yet to notice it. Jiang Lingwen suddenly stopped walking, and Feng Yingruo instinctively halted as well, following his Master’s gaze upward.

From where he stood, he could just barely make out another red figure. Though the youth’s face was indistinct, his immortal bearing was unmistakable even from afar. Feng Yingruo unconsciously pressed his lips together. Watching Jiang Lingwen stare so intently, jealousy flickered in his eyes, along with a barely perceptible panic.

Although his Master possessed certain unusual preferences, aside from that, he treated him exceptionally well. No one else could compare to the cultivation environment or abundant pills Jiang Lingwen provided, allowing Feng Yingruo’s cultivation to advance rapidly. Otherwise, there would not have been so many disciples envying him. He stole a glance at Jiang Lingwen’s profile. Who could have imagined that someone who appeared so gentle toward everyone could reveal such a wicked side beneath the surface?

Jiang Lingwen had been the first person to humiliate him, and the first to touch his body. He bit lightly down on his lower lip, leaving a faint mark. In this unfamiliar cultivation world, he could not leave Jiang Lingwen, not yet. After sacrificing so much, why should he surrender his privileged position?

Finding an excuse for his jealousy and unease, Feng Yingruo’s gaze toward the youth on the mountain filled with resentment. Red robes? Not everyone deserved to wear them. Just as no one of his generation in the Feng Family dared wear red except himself, there should not be another person in the Heavenly Sword Sect dressed in red. He completely overlooked Miao Lichen, who had always worn his tattered red robes, likely because he had never considered him a rival.

Miao Lichen sensed the gaze from below. Looking into the distance, the two exchanged a brief glance. The people below could not see it, but while understanding lingered in Miao Lichen’s eyes, they were filled even more with calm detachment. Compared to him, this so-called protagonist was nothing extraordinary. They were both people who acted entirely as they pleased. Jiang Lingwen had countless prey, and Miao Lichen would surely have many of his own. It simply depended on whose net proved stronger.

“A’chen, you’re up here enjoying the scenery again? Didn’t I tell you to avoid wandering around the Heavenly Sword Sect? There are hardly any normal people here, and dangerous ones are everywhere.” A young woman in pale yellow approached, looking nothing like a cultivator. Her eyes were filled with unmistakable concern.

She casually draped an arm over Miao Lichen’s shoulders like an old friend and followed his gaze downhill. All she could make out was a distant figure dressed in red. There were plenty of women in red robes within the Heavenly Sword Sect. Had Miao Lichen secretly fallen for one of them? “Hey, are you even listening to me?”

“I am. If it’s so dangerous here, why are you wandering around yourself?” Miao Lichen looked up at Bai Yingqi, the Heavenly Sword Sect Master’s daughter and its future Sect Master. Since all the men had gone chasing other men and the protagonist would eventually travel the world, the position of Sect Master naturally fell to her.

This Bai Yingqi, however, was clearly no longer the original owner of the body. She was a transmigrator who firmly believed that the protagonist was a pervert, the male supporting characters were perverts, and therefore anyone she cared about should stay as far away from them as possible. Miao Lichen had clearly fallen within the scope of her protection.

She was also one of Miao Lichen’s capture targets, though perhaps the easiest one in this world. He had done almost nothing, yet she had already attached herself to him, nursing his body back to health. Her favorability had rapidly climbed to eighty percent. In truth, Miao Lichen understood that she regarded him as the reason for her own existence in this unfamiliar world. Not everyone could calmly accept suddenly waking up in another world. Some people lost themselves completely.

Back then, his frail body had appeared before her as someone desperately in need of help. By helping him, Bai Yingqi had also found purpose for herself in this world. Miao Lichen had no objection to that kind of mutual benefit.

“That’s different!” Bai Yingqi looked at the fair, healthy young man standing before her, whom she had painstakingly raised back to health. In this world full of BL relationships, beautiful women either became cannon fodder or fujoshi. As for her, she was slowly turning into the latter. As long as she successfully delivered her equally perverted senior brother into the protagonist’s bed, a bright future awaited her. But Miao Lichen was different. Although he had never appeared in the original novel, someone with a face like his could never truly be just an extra.

If she had known from the beginning how handsome Miao Lichen would become, she never would have fed him pills and delicious food until he looked this good. Looking at that face, which occasionally left even her distracted, she felt it was practically suicidal to let him wander around the protagonist and the major supporting characters. The protagonist was definitely no saint; he was someone who liked to “discipline” whoever caught his eye before discarding them. Hadn’t she already stopped wearing makeup because she feared that modern-day “switch-hitter” might relapse into his old habits?

“Anyway, from now on, cultivate in my training room whenever possible. Even if you go for a walk, make sure I’m with you.” Bai Yingqi pulled Miao Lichen toward her residence. “Better yet, don’t go back there anymore. My place has denser spiritual energy, free food and lodging, and most importantly, if that person ever comes, I can at least try to stop him…”

She sounded far from confident. Thinking about Miao Lichen’s unfortunate identity only made her more anxious. Why did such a beautiful young man have to be the disciple of that big pervert? In the cultivation world, a Master was practically one’s parent. Blood relatives mattered far less. Mortals lived only a hundred years, but on the path of cultivation, one’s Master was the elder who truly remained by one’s side. There was no way she could encourage Miao Lichen to betray his Master.

In the cultivation world, betraying one’s Master was equivalent to severing ties with one’s parents in the mortal world. Once branded as someone who disrespected his teacher, his future path would become unimaginably difficult, especially with his apparent Five-Element Spiritual Root.

Thinking of that, Bai Yingqi found herself questioning Miao Lichen’s identity yet again. A Hidden Heavenly Spiritual Root? Wasn’t that kind of overpowered ability supposed to belong exclusively to protagonists and major supporting characters? She genuinely wished he were an ordinary Five-Element Spiritual Root. His cultivation prospects might be limited, but at least both his life and his chastity would be safe. With talent like his, people either became supporting bosses or final bosses. Although the ghost-hunting talismans from her previous life were primitive compared to true cultivation talismans, her family’s inherited Heavenly Eye remained as reliable as ever. There was simply no way it could be mistaken.

The more she looked at Miao Lichen, the more convinced she became that he was far more important than an ordinary background character like herself. Yet ever since meeting that child who had once been so frail he scarcely seemed human, she had already surrendered. Even if she suspected she had misplaced her pitiful maternal instincts, once they had taken root, there was no taking them back.

‘OTZ… How am I supposed to protect such a beautiful, defenseless young man in a world full of perverts?’

Without saying anything more, Bai Yingqi simply tugged on Miao Lichen’s sleeve and led him toward her residence. Having been a ghost hunter in her thirties before transmigrating, she practically regarded Miao Lichen as a child she was raising. Naturally, she harbored no inappropriate thoughts. Unfortunately, that did not stop rumors from spreading. Before long, many people were saying that the Sect Master’s only daughter had fallen for an outer disciple who always wore red robes, and that the two had already pledged their love to one another for life.

After the pair disappeared from sight, Jiang Lingwen left with Feng Yingruo. He had noticed the resentment hidden in Feng Yingruo’s eyes. The smile on his lips deepened while impatience flickered within his gaze. A toy that had been played with for too long inevitably became boring. Once a little cat lost its wildness and became obedient, there was no longer any point in training it. Perhaps it was time to find a new target.

The red figure from moments ago surfaced in his mind once more. Combined with his own imagination, the memory became even more beautiful. For the first time, looking upon a beauty did not awaken his desire to destroy it. Instead, he found himself wanting to protect it.

Since when had Jiang Lingwen ever been associated with the word protect? The Jiang Lingwen in the modern world had been raised to protect his family, yet he had ultimately destroyed it, taking enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life while becoming an amateur Dom. To think that one day he would voluntarily think of the word protect—what an unpleasant feeling. Instinctively, he wanted a few glasses of red wine, only to remember that this was no longer his original world. His good mood vanished instantly, and Jiang Lingwen’s gaze darkened.

∇ Capture Target Jiang Lingwen Favorability: 10.

Whether someone was loved the most or hated the most, the impression they left upon the heart was equally unforgettable. And everything connected to that person became difficult to forget as well. Like Miao Lichen and the idea of protection.

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