Chapter 125 - 122: Falling in Love with Another Self

"You are a married woman," Mo Qianqian said once more.

Could it be that Shi Muyao had fallen in love with his Asura identity?

Shi Muyao’s body trembled again. A trace of disappointment flashed across her face as she replied, "I... I understand. I will think it over carefully."

She turned around and was about to open the door, but she couldn’t help glancing back at Mo Qianqian. "If, and I mean if—if Mo Qianqian and I were not husband and wife..."

"Miss Shi, he treats you well. You should reconsider this," Mo Qianqian interrupted.

"Elder Asura, I... I will think it over carefully."

A sorrowful expression surfaced on Shi Muyao’s face. Throwing the door open, she rushed out and closed it behind her, leaving in a hurry, overwhelmed with shame and disappointment.

Mo Qianqian let out a long sigh.

What was going on? Had he just defeated himself? Did he make Shi Muyao fall in love with his alter ego? He wondered what she would think once his identity was completely revealed to her.

However, this was still a form of betrayal. No matter what, it left a bad taste in his mouth. Moreover, judging by Shi Muyao’s words, did she actually want to divorce his true self?

For now, she had likely gone back to think things through.

Mo Qianqian felt conflicted, but he forced himself to calm down and immersed himself in cultivation. His most important goal right now was to kill Ling Qingxue and obliterate the Ling Family. Everything else would be set aside for the time being.

Another day passed. Many people came to visit or extend invitations to Mo Qianqian, but he rejected them all. This included the Third Princess.

At Noon on the third day, two rather unexpected guests arrived at the Wind Shelter Inn: Xie Shiming and Hu Boxiang of the Great Shang Dynasty. To his surprise, the two of them had not yet left the Imperial City.

Since the Yuling Sect Master and the Slaughterer with the Evil Blade were both in secluded cultivation, Mo Qianqian went into the tea room alone and ordered someone to bring the two guests in.

Xie Shiming and Hu Boxiang were soon led inside. Once they were seated, Mo Qianqian asked in a calm tone, "May I know why you two are looking for me?"

"Meeting us alone—aren’t you afraid that I might kill you in an instant, Master Kui Asura?" Hu Boxiang countered with a question.

"If you kill me, the Great Xia Dynasty will have enough reason to unite various factions and hunt you both down. It wouldn’t do you any good," Mo Qianqian said composedly.

"As expected of Master Kui. To possess such a temperament at such a young age," Hu Boxiang couldn’t help but praise.

"Asura, before I met you, I, Xie Shiming, refused to submit to any Spirit Master." At this moment, Xie Shiming also spoke up. His tone lacked the arrogance he had shown when he first entered the Hongyan Building. "You are the first person to truly convince me. Of course, I won’t resign myself to falling behind. Sooner or later, I will catch up to you—and even surpass you," Xie Shiming said with a resolute expression.

Mo Qianqian was slightly taken aback. A man as arrogant as Xie Shiming was actually admitting defeat? However, he had to admit that by conceding, Xie Shiming had shown remarkable growth. If he hadn’t accepted defeat, his progress might have stopped right there.

"You didn’t come all this way just to tell me that, did you?" Mo Qianqian asked.

"Naturally not," Hu Boxiang got straight to the point. "Asura, if you come to our Great Shang Dynasty, you will undoubtedly have a brighter future.

"Our Great Shang Dynasty surpasses the Great Xia Dynasty in terms of the number of geniuses, financial resources, and overall strength.

"If you are willing to go and contribute to our dynasty, we can pool the power of the entire Great Shang Dynasty to gather the medicinal ingredients for a Third-Grade Spirit-Breaking Pill. We can refine a Spirit-Breaking Pill for you, helping you break through to the Third-Grade Spirit Master Realm."

Mo Qianqian was surprised. Gathering the ingredients to refine a Spirit-Breaking Pill? This was indeed a substantial offer. However, these were nothing but empty promises. He naturally wouldn’t leave for the Great Shang Dynasty just because of this.

Who knew what the situation would be like once he got there? Besides, Xie Shiming himself was a Second-Grade Spirit Master possessing a Spiritual Source, yet even now, he hadn’t managed to gather the ingredients to refine a Spirit-Breaking Pill. The credibility of Hu Boxiang’s words was quite low.

No one could say what unexpected changes might occur if he went to the Great Shang Dynasty. Furthermore, he had no desire to go there at the moment. He only wanted to improve his strength as quickly as possible so he could exact his revenge sooner rather than later.

"I appreciate your good intentions, but if I were to leave with you, I’m afraid the Great Xia Dynasty wouldn’t allow it," Mo Qianqian replied.

"Since we dared to come, we naturally have a way to leave. But it doesn’t matter. We only came to tell you this, Master Kui Asura: if there ever comes a day when you can no longer survive in the Great Xia Dynasty, you are welcome to seek us out in the Great Shang Dynasty at any time," Hu Boxiang said. "Asura, think about it carefully. If you come to the Great Shang Dynasty, you will definitely have a better future."

Xie Shiming chimed in, "If the two of us cooperate, we can certainly gather more geniuses—perhaps even an entire generation of them.

"It is only a matter of time before we advance to become Third-Grade Spirit Masters.

"In the future, the entire Great Shang Dynasty, and even all of Yangzhou, will belong to us."

Hearing this, Mo Qianqian couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Xie Shiming’s ambition was certainly not small.

"Thank you both for the invitation. If the day truly comes when I can no longer stay in the Great Xia Dynasty, I might give it serious consideration," Mo Qianqian responded tactfully. Truth be told, once he set foot in the Ling Family’s estate, it was hard to say what would happen in the future.

"Then we shall take our leave!" With that, Hu Boxiang stood up and left with Xie Shiming.

After the two departed, three figures appeared near the Wind Shelter Inn. These three were none other than Chu Yiming, Xian Ling’Er, and Qiu Fengliang. It was evident that both Chu Yiming and Qiu Fengliang had been keeping an eye on those two and Mo Qianqian.

"Those two guys have a decent amount of tolerance. Old Chu, should we go in and meet him too?" Qiu Fengliang suggested.

"No need. We don’t have much to talk about right now," Chu Yiming said, shaking his head.

"Master, I... I want to go see Chu He," Xian Ling’Er spoke up.

"Go ahead. You were the one who invited Asura to the Spirit Master Banquet, so he will let you see him," Chu Yiming said.

"Alright!" Xian Ling’Er walked toward the Wind Shelter Inn.

Inside the Wind Shelter Inn, Mo Qianqian soon received another report that Xian Ling’Er had come to visit. He immediately instructed the people of the Asura Conglomerate to let her in.

When Xian Ling’Er entered, she didn’t have much to discuss; she simply asked Mo Qianqian to have someone take her to Chu He. The two of them didn’t chat for very long before Chu He saw her out. However, Chu He did agree to let Xian Ling’Er come over to the Wind Shelter Inn to visit him more often.

In reality, Chu He’s true intention was to give Xian Ling’Er more opportunities to interact with Mo Qianqian. Mo Qianqian, of course, was completely unaware of this.

At 3:00 PM, someone else came to visit. To his surprise, the visitor was Ling Qingxue.

Initially, Mo Qianqian wanted to have her sent away immediately. But this time, it was said that Ling Qingxue had discovered a Land of Opportunity and wanted to discuss it with him. Only then did Mo Qianqian agree to meet with her.

Inside the tea room, Ling Qingxue dismissed her servant girl upon entering and had her close the door.

"What does Miss Ling want to discuss this time?" Mo Qianqian asked directly, suppressing the anger in his heart.

"Master Asura still seems to have some misunderstandings about me?" Seeing Mo Qianqian’s attitude, Ling Qingxue smiled faintly. "Last time, I was in the wrong. I am here to apologize to Master Asura."

Noticing that Mo Qianqian showed no reaction, Ling Qingxue continued, "I won’t beat around the bush. I’ve come this time to discuss a collaboration with Master Asura. Our Ling Family has discovered a Land of Opportunity at Buzhou Mountain."

"What kind of opportunity?" Mo Qianqian asked bluntly.

Since the Ling Family had discovered it, he absolutely could not allow them to obtain it. On the contrary, if he could sabotage or snatch it away, he wouldn’t let the chance slip by. Of course, he would also verify its authenticity. Ling Qingxue was far too scheming—who knew if this was just another trap?