Chapter 46: Paving the Way for Enlightenment

Xiao Lin appreciated the good intentions of the live chat.

He merely wondered if the head of the Tang family was aware of this matter.

He assumed not.

Otherwise, Tang Qianxue wouldn't have been so cheerfully happy whenever she returned home for a visit before heading back to Sword Mountain.

As for the Tang family matriarch, she was most likely playing dumb while knowing everything full well.

Ah, women...

Wang Xi finally noticed the eight-petaled golden lotus before her, and under the double stimulus, she was almost angered to the point of fainting. "Do you know that when a divine artifact is born, it still needs time to grow? To pluck it directly like this completely drains its spiritual essence—it is simply utter waste!"

"I know."

"And yet you still took it!" Wang Xi ground her teeth in fury. "I am already in this state, and you still worried that I would compete with you for this item?!"

"And here Senior Sister Tang praised you for being exceptionally clever! Looking at you now, you're clearly all show and no substance—pretty on the outside, but utterly useless!"

Nearby, the two protectors wanted to speak but hesitated, thinking that the young mistress wasn't using that phrase quite correctly...

Yet they felt even more strongly that an outsider mastering the Five Elements Imperial Scripture was something they should pay attention to.

However, since the young mistress hadn't said anything, how could it be their place to speak?

Xiao Lin smiled without a word.

It would still take quite some time for the divine artifact to fully mature.

True, disciples from the three major sects—the Five Elements Palace, Sword Mountain, and the Heavenly Desire Sect—were jointly guarding this place, and no others dared to approach.

But the Fallen Sword Immortal's scheme was imminent.

He could not wait.

Gu Jianyao could not wait either.

The ordinary citizens of the city could wait even less.

"Eight petals are enough. There is no need for it to be completely whole."

Xiao Lin stored the eight-petaled golden lotus inside his cosmic bracelet.

Wang Xi caught a glimpse of his wrist, and her shock deepened. "Why is Senior Sister Tang giving you everything? You, you, you..."

She repeated the word "you" three times, but ultimately swallowed the sentence: "Are the two of you dating?"

Wang Xi suddenly lost all her fighting spirit.

Forget about going to report him to Tang Qianxue; given the relationship between the two of them, if Senior Sister Tang found out that she had almost killed Xiao Lin, it would be a blessing if she didn't get beaten up herself.

Wang Xi abruptly asked, "Which of the five elements are you still missing?"

Xiao Lin was startled, then answered truthfully, "Earth and wood."

Wang Xi nodded slightly. "Once I find them, I'll send someone to deliver them to you."

With that, she raised her hand and shoved Xiao Lin right off the flat boat, her expression ice-cold. "Go, go, go, get back!"

Leaving Xiao Lin and Huo Yuanzhou staring at each other in mid-air.

Xiao Lin belatedly realized what had happened.

Was she doing this for Tang Qianxue's sake, intending to help him complete the items for the Five Elements?

That was truly a massive favor.

Just as he was thinking this, Huo Yuanzhou said, "Since Brother Xiao has already obtained the treasure, I will not linger any longer. I hope we shall meet again."

Xiao Lin smiled and nodded. "Naturally."

"Farewell then."

"Farewell."

Watching Huo Yuanzhou depart in the distance, Xiao Lin felt a sense of emotion.

His gains from this trip had been plentiful.

More importantly, this was his first direct contact with disciples from various sects since coming to this world.

After spending time together, he found that everyone was different.

Although they lacked ethereal immortal charm, they indeed possessed a touch of mortal warmth.

The desire to protect this world had evolved, to a greater or lesser degree, from mere self-preservation into something genuine.

Xiao Lin smiled. With a thought, Xian Mie transformed into a giant sword.

He drifted lightly onto it, his robes fluttering, resembling a carefree immortal of the mortal realm.

"Swordsmanship, return to the mountain."

Unexpectedly, halfway through his flight, the previously vanished live chat popped up once more.

Before he could react, a cool jade hand touched the back of his neck. His spiritual power was instantly sealed, rendering his entire body immobile.

Xiao Lin's body stiffened, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a cold, pretty face.

Yue Suxian of Empty Sky Peak.

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Facing a Golden Core powerhouse, he could not muster even the slightest thought of resistance.

He knew all too well the gap between himself and the Golden Core realm.

Back then, a mere negligible sliver of pressure from Yue Suxian had forced him to pull out all the stops just to barely withstand it.

If Yue Suxian genuinely had intent to kill, ten lives of his wouldn't be enough for her to slaughter.

"What is the meaning of this, Senior?"

Xiao Lin spoke up. He knew Yue Suxian wouldn't dare kill him, but he couldn't fathom the mind of this crazy woman either.

In his mind, a brainless romantic was synonymous with an idiot...

Yue Suxian said in a deep voice, "Ziyao said you were in danger and asked this palace to save you."

At the mention of this, her liver flared with anger.

Did Qu Ziyao ask?

She was clearly begging!

Her eyes were red as she recounted how Xiao Lin had risked his life alone against more than a dozen evil cultivators, and that if not for him, even resting in peace would have remained an extravagant hope for her. She had even blurted out words like, "If he dies, I will return this life of mine to him."

A debt of life-saving gratitude was indeed hard to repay, but would a normal person repay it with their own life?

That girl was clearly deeply infatuated—heavens knew where she had learned such behavior!

Yue Suxian was genuinely furious, mentally cursing herself along with the rest.

Hearing this, Xiao Lin was astonished. Qu Ziyao was actually willing to go this far for him, and Yue Suxian had really come...

Catching sight of the anger between Yue Suxian's brows, Xiao Lin suddenly understood.

So saving him was merely incidental; her real business was coming to settle accounts.

Xiao Lin chuckled and said, "Why does Senior need to be angry? This disciple can tell that Senior Sister Qu holds a sliver of affection for me, but that is merely a misunderstanding born from the suspension bridge effect. Such a stirring of the heart will naturally dissipate after ten days or half a month. Furthermore, this disciple harbors no feelings for Senior Sister Qu, and it will not affect her cultivation. I hope Senior will not worry."

Having watched plenty of martial arts novels before transmigrating, he knew that many emotional entanglements were a tangled mess that couldn't be easily severed.

As long as he didn't pretend to be ignorant, saw through it with keen insight, and explained it frankly, he could make a clean break.

Yue Suxian frowned upon hearing this. She didn't understand what the suspension bridge effect was, but she understood Xiao Lin's words completely.

This was precisely the main purpose of her trip.

Yet, for some reason, seeing Xiao Lin's attitude be so frank, and his rejection so crisp and decisive, the anger in her heart inexplicably flared even hotter.

Was 沈无涯's persistent refusal to accept her feelings also due to holding the exact same mindset as Xiao Lin?

Could it be that Ziyao was going to walk down her old path as well?

"You master and disciple pair have remarkably identical personalities..." Yue Suxian said faintly.

"Like master, like disciple."

Xiao Lin took this as a compliment.

As his voice trailed off, Yue Suxian suddenly grabbed him by the scruff and unleashed the full flight speed of a Golden Core cultivator.

Xiao Lin was shocked. "Senior, you forgot to use spiritual energy to protect me..."

Yue Suxian ignored him and increased her speed further. Xiao Lin's voice was quickly drowned out by the howling wind.

The live chat, seeing Xiao Lin suffer defeat for the first time, went wild with amusement.

[Hahahahaha!]

[Brutal, he stepped on the tigress's tail.]

[Brother Lin is usually quite perceptive, so why is he suddenly acting like such a dense, iron-willed straight man right now?]

[He just doesn't want to be entangled by women! Romance only slows down the speed of his sword swings!]

[If Xiao Lin and them engaged in mutual affection, his character setting would collapse and I wouldn't want to watch anyway. On the contrary, with the female side experiencing unrequited love, I find it immensely entertaining.]

[You just want to see a bunch of heartbroken losers circle around Brother Lin!]

[Popularity Value +1...]

[Popularity Value +1...]

Flying at lightning speed all the way back to Sword Mountain, Yue Suxian had finished venting her anger and dumped Xiao Lin at First Sword Peak before leaving.

Leaving Xiao Lin standing there in a state of utter disarray.

He had been completely blown stupid by the wind.

After a long while, he fiercely wiped his face and secretly gritted his teeth.

Crazy woman, just you wait until the day I form my Golden Core!

Xiao Lin quickly recovered his composure and intended to seek out Gu Jianyao.

His relationship with his second senior sister was nowhere near as good as the one with Tang Qianxue, primarily due to Gu Jianyao's personality.

Aside from her sword, there was no room for anything else in her heart. She hadn't felt excessive sorrow or grief even when Shen Wuhai died.

To a certain extent, this could be considered instinctively severing the mortal path and cutting off emotional ties.

Without laying some groundwork in advance, Xiao Lin estimated that even if he died right in front of her, it would be difficult to spark any realization in her untainted sword heart.

Before long, Xiao Lin found Gu Jianyao standing before a sheer cliff.

Only, her state at the moment... seemed deeply abnormal.