Chapter 36: One Day, You Will Understand

"Elder Asura, why did you help me?" Shi Muyao asked.

Mo Qianqian did not answer, but instead continued to stride forward.

"Back at the Shi family, was it you who saved me, Elder Asura?" Shi Muyao pressed.

Previously, she had no idea what a Spirit Master was or what kind of abilities they possessed. After witnessing Cen Yingqiu and the others lose their lives, and hearing the other elders’ explanations, everything became clear. A Spirit Master possessed the power to snap someone’s neck out of thin air and kill without lifting a finger. Back then, when she had rushed toward her grandfather, his neck had been abruptly snapped. That was undoubtedly the work of a Spirit Master. And the Spirit Master who had secretly saved her could only be the person standing before her right now. After all, Spirit Masters were incredibly rare; she had never even heard of them before.

Furthermore, Spirit Masters possessed the ability to heal injuries. After she was severely injured by her grandfather, the one who truly saved her might not have been Mo Qianqian. It also probably wasn’t the Life-extending Pill given by the Wanling Pavilion Master, as Mo Qianqian had claimed. The one who had actually healed her severe injuries and saved her life must have been this Spirit Master. Yet, she didn’t seem to know him. Why would he save her time and time again? Among her relatives and elders, there didn’t seem to be anyone of this caliber.

"One day, you will understand," Mo Qianqian replied indifferently before striding out of the room.

Shi Muyao wondered, "One day I’ll understand?"

Did that mean he was admitting to being the one who saved her back then?

Although she didn’t know why he would help her, her heart was filled with gratitude. If this Spirit Master hadn’t intervened today, her innocence would have been ruined. She might have even been turned into a fool, her life completely destroyed, leaving her as a laughingstock destined to bear a lifetime of infamy. In terms of saving her life, he had already done so twice. And this time, it was far more than just saving her life. He had protected her purity and vented her grievances for her. Furthermore, her ruined face could now be restored. For a girl, her appearance was incredibly important...

A profound sense of gratitude, combined with admiration and reverence for the Spirit Master, welled up in her mind. Watching him leave, Shi Muyao felt that his retreating figure was incredibly imposing. She even wondered if her husband was a Spirit Master instead of the highly controversial Mo Qianqian, would she have been spared from leaving the Shi family and living a life on the run?

Of course, her gratitude toward Mo Qianqian was genuine as well. Mo Qianqian had cured her paralysis, restored her cultivation, and given her a chance to stand back up on her own two feet. Shi Muyao didn’t connect Mo Qianqian with Asura. After all, one was a middle-aged man, and the other was a young boy. The medical skills Mo Qianqian used to cure her paralysis were simply a specific, unique technique he happened to know. Moreover, Spirit Masters were so rare and esteemed that if Mo Qianqian was one, he wouldn’t have been crippled and expelled by the Ling family. Instead, they would have treated him like a treasured guest. It was already difficult enough for Mo Qianqian to become a Body Cultivator; it was absolutely impossible for him to be a Spirit Master at the same time.

"One day I’ll finally understand..."

Seeing the door close behind him, the image of his back lingered in Shi Muyao’s mind. She even wondered, "Has he taken a fancy to me?" But she quickly shook her head in secret. She already had a husband, so why would a man like him be interested in her? Besides, she wasn’t a fickle woman. Mo Qianqian treated her quite well; how could she entertain such thoughts?

***

Stepping out of the large courtyard on Jade Spirit Peak, the mature and beautiful Yuling Sect Master stood outside the main gate, exuding an extraordinary aura.

Evidently, while Mo Qianqian was helping Shi Muyao heal, the Yuling Sect Master had been standing guard.

"I will come back tomorrow." Mo Qianqian spoke as he took out eight First-Grade Superior Elixirs. "Right, please give these First-Grade Superior Elixirs to her, Sect Leader."

"Do you like her?" the Yuling Sect Master asked directly as she took the elixirs. She could tell that it was obviously Shi Muyao’s first time meeting him.

Mo Qianqian paused for a moment, but feigning an indifferent and profound composure, he replied, "For certain reasons."

"But she is Mo Qianqian’s wife," the Yuling Sect Master deliberately pressed.

"You don’t need to concern yourself with this matter, Sect Leader," Mo Qianqian replied. He neither admitted nor denied anything, acting as if he didn’t care.

The Yuling Sect Master asked no further questions, allowing Mo Qianqian to leave.

Soon after, the Yuling Sect Master entered another large courtyard on Jade Spirit Peak. Inside the courtyard, a woman around twenty-four or twenty-five years old, dressed in spotless white clothes with skin as fair as snow, cupped her hands and bowed respectfully to the Yuling Sect Master.

This person was none other than the Sect Leader’s Direct Disciple, Shangguan Jing!

"If you treat everyone as an enemy, you will end up with no friends. Don’t take certain things too far," the Yuling Sect Master warned before striding away.

"This disciple respectfully heeds your teachings!" Shangguan Jing hurriedly bowed to see her off. Her expression was unreadable, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

***

Elsewhere, in a location filled with lush forests, rocky ravines, and cascading waterfalls.

Wu Yubai, his clothes stained with blood, sat cross-legged on a somewhat hidden boulder.

WHOOSH!

A surge of aura abruptly erupted from Wu Yubai’s body.

"I’ve broken through!" Wu Yubai opened his eyes, a deep sense of joy spreading across his face.

A few days ago, while tracking down Mo Qianqian, he had encountered a powerful spirit beast. After a life-and-death struggle, he barely managed to escape. He hadn’t expected this ordeal to trigger his breakthrough.

"Spirit Vein Realm Ninth Layer! Once I break through one more layer and advance to the Spirit Profound Realm, I will be able to compete with those three for the position of the Sect Leader’s successor!"

Wu Yubai’s fighting spirit soared. As his ambition grew, his face beamed with immense confidence.

Right at this moment, a figure dashed toward his location at breakneck speed. It was a young man in black, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.

"Wu Yubai!" the young man in black shouted as soon as he arrived.

"Senior Brother Liu!" Wu Yubai hurriedly stood up to greet him.

"Wu Yubai, you’re in trouble!" the young man in black said.

Wu Yubai frowned. "What happened?"

"A Spirit Master has arrived at the Yuling Sect..." The young man in black briefly recounted the course of events to Wu Yubai.

"What???"

Hearing that Lian Ziying had pinned the blame on him and that the Sect Leader had already expelled him from the Yuling Sect, Wu Yubai was completely dumbfounded.

He had just broken through another layer of cultivation. Just a moment ago, he had been brimming with ambition, planning to fight for the position of the Sect Leader’s successor and even take control of the Yuling Sect in the future. Yet now he was being told that he had been struck from the Yuling Sect’s roster?

"I never ordered them to do anything—"

Wu Yubai was furious. He was just about to explain himself when the young man in black interrupted, "Does it matter? You’ve merely become a scapegoat."

Wu Yubai clenched his fists tightly.

He was unwilling to accept this. Terribly unwilling. He had reached the Spirit Vein Realm Ninth Layer and possessed a special talent. As long as he advanced to the Spirit Profound Realm, given his age, he would be one of the top geniuses in the Yuling Sect. His status and treatment would skyrocket. In the future, the entire Yuling Sect could even be his. Even now, he was admired and adored by countless female disciples, allowing him to surround himself with endless beauties. To be slandered like this, to be used as a scapegoat and completely expelled from the sect—he simply could not accept it!

"Being expelled from the sect is better than dying in the Yuling Sect. If you hadn’t been out, you would have already been killed," the young man in black said. "Besides, this might not necessarily be a bad thing for you."

Despite hearing this, Wu Yubai didn’t think there was anything good about it at all.

"Elder Tan has issued an order. Go to the Cloud Void Sect and pass on the message that a Spirit Master has joined the Yuling Sect," the young man in black instructed.

"Huh?" Wu Yubai was stunned.