Chapter 54

The scene in front of her suddenly changed. The midday sunlight shone directly on her face from the palace doors, blindingly bright. Yu Tao instinctively raised her hand to block it, but then she noticed the ring on her hand was glowing.

A faint blue spiritual light emerged from the ring and merged with the divine Hibiscus flower crown. At the same time, the spiritual power within her body was almost instantly drained.

Her sleeves, intricate and luxurious, hung down with faint golden adornments. This was not the outfit she had been wearing. Yu Tao froze, realizing it was the same outfit she had seen in the cabin on Star-picking Cliff.

Outside the palace, rows of divine attendants were bowing respectfully. Although they didn’t know what exactly had happened, Yu Tao realized she had been deceived by Kou Yi.

She turned around. “Kou Yi, you—”

Her questioning words were cut off as her body suddenly went limp and collapsed.

The head of the divine attendants, with a calm expression, extended his hand and easily caught the fainted girl. His tone remained steady, “The Lord has exerted too much energy during the ceremony and is in poor health. She needs to rest. The ceremony is concluded for today.”

Su Liuli had just stood up when the divine attendants ushered her out. The palace doors closed, and the figure beside the divine seat disappeared into the darkness along with the support pillar.

Below the stage, Zhu Mingyu and Lu Qingyu were in shock after seeing the face of the new Lord of Yaochi. The divine attendants behind them remained calm, indifferent to the situation, and gave a slight nod of respect towards the palace.

Zhu Mingyu hurriedly looked at Lu Qingyu. “That’s not…”

Lu Qingyu frowned and nodded. It was the face she had personally helped Yu Tao change. She knew that face all too well. It was definitely Yu Tao—there was no mistake.

Seeing the figure on stage lose strength and collapse, caught by Kou Yi, they quickly stood up and headed toward the palace, intending to find Kou Yi and get to the bottom of things.

A casual male voice suddenly spoke from a nearby table: “You two need not worry. Lord Yu just used the Spirit Ring for the first time and exhausted too much spiritual energy. She’ll be fine after resting for two days.”

The voice sounded vaguely familiar, and the two of them turned to look.

“Master…?”

Sitting at a nearby empty table drinking, wasn’t that the “sword master” who had guided them at the grand elder’s birthday feast, the one who had introduced himself as “a certain unnamed sword master”?

Zhu Mingyu glanced around. The reception hall had always been quiet, just the two of them and a few divine attendants. When had he arrived? They hadn’t noticed him at all.

Looking at the calm divine attendants around them, it seemed they were also unperturbed by his sudden appearance, clearly recognizing him.

Zhu Mingyu frowned deeply. “You know that’s Yu Tao?”

The young man took a sip of his drink. “Naturally.”

He smiled lightly. “It’s not that your disguise techniques are lacking, it’s just that I learned about it through other means. Shall we sit and talk?”

The two of them calmed down. Going to find Kou Yi now would be pointless. The ceremony was over, and they had no idea where Yu Tao had gone. This was Yaochi, and if the divine attendants didn’t want them to find Yu Tao, they had no way of locating her.

So now… it would be better to talk with this master who seemed to know everything.

Lu Qingyu’s tone grew a little heavier. “What do the people of Yaochi want?”

“As you’ve seen, Yu Tao has been accepted by the Spirit Ring and is now their new Lord of Yaochi.”

Zhu Mingyu sneered. “Was she willing?”

No more divine goddess, and now a new Lord of Yaochi? It seemed their goal was to find a way to bind Yu Tao to Yaochi.

The young man smiled. “Don’t be in a hurry, junior.”

“From what I know, Yaochi won’t force Yu Tao to stay. They will wait for her to wake up and let her decide whether to stay or leave. See, they haven’t removed her disguise, right?”

The two of them paused, realizing the truth in his words.

The young man put down his cup and lightly tapped the table. “If they really wanted to keep Yu Tao here, they could make her reveal her true appearance.”

“You both should understand, with her current cultivation, there’s nothing the people of Yaochi need to do. She would have no choice but to stay here.”

Lu Qingyu lowered her gaze. If others found out that Yu Tao was the Lord of Yaochi, the trouble that would follow would be countless. It might even put her life in danger. At this point, Yu Tao would have no choice but to seek Yaochi’s protection.

She raised her eyes. “Then, what is Yaochi’s intention?”

“To give the position of Lord of Yaochi to a girl with such low cultivation, while not restricting her freedom… there must be another plan at play.”

“Junior, as expected of someone from a prestigious family, you get straight to the point with your questions.”

The young man chuckled softly, then gave a slight hum of acknowledgment. “Yaochi must have some ulterior motive to do this. However, due to certain circumstances, I can’t reveal much. All I can say is that this situation will cause no harm to Yu Tao. You two don’t need to worry. A few days later, she will be able to leave Yaochi peacefully.”

Although Zhu Mingyu and Lu Qingyu were still worried, there was nothing they could do at the moment. They could only wait.

They were limited in their abilities, and if they were elsewhere, it would be one thing, but on Yaochi’s turf, there was nothing they could do.

Yu Tao woke up and paused for a moment. After becoming fully conscious, the first thing she wanted was to find Kou Yi and question her. As she propped herself up with a heavy head, she saw the gentle woman sitting at her bedside, holding a book and reading.

Noticing that she was awake, Kou Yi put the book down and asked with concern, “Does your head hurt?”

Yu Tao instinctively hummed in acknowledgment, then quickly realized what had happened and her tone grew serious. “What did you do? I was in the room, and then suddenly I was in the palace. And the ring…”

As she spoke, Yu Tao suddenly understood.

No wonder the Star-picking Cliff was left unguarded, no wonder the ring was casually left in the wooden cabin. It wasn’t because the ring was fake, it was intentional.

She raised her eyes. “You knew all along, didn’t you?”

“You’ve been talking so much just after waking up, your throat must be sore. Drink some pear water to soothe it,” Kou Yi said calmly, as if she had expected this. She brought a warm bowl of pear water from the table.

Yu Tao recoiled. “I don’t want any.”

Kou Yi didn’t press her, simply placing the bowl back on the table. Her tone softened. “Yes, from the moment you came to Yaochi, I knew it was you, Yu Tao.”

She stated concisely and comprehensively: “I knew you would go to the Star-picking Cliff. The ring was placed by me. The information within the ring is true. During the ceremony a few days ago, you were crowned as the Lord of Yaochi in place of the divine goddess. From now on, you will always be the Lord of Yaochi.”

Yu Tao took a moment, pressing her lips tightly together. “I don’t want to…”

This was the expected response.

Kou Yi couldn’t help but smile, realizing she was just like her mother.

Kou Yi interrupted her, “Yaochi will not restrict your freedom. You can return to Wuchang Sect as a disciple at any time.”

“You didn’t reveal your true face during the coronation ceremony. This ritual will not affect your life going forward. Yaochi does not require you to handle any matters. You won’t be forced to stay here. You can come and go as you please.”

Yu Tao was stunned for a moment. After a brief silence, she asked, “Why me? If you just need someone to hold the title, with so many people in Yaochi, anyone could do…”

“Because the Spirit Ring chose you.” Kou Yi replied simply. “The one chosen by the Spirit Ring becomes the Lord of Yaochi.”

Yu Tao looked down at the ring on her finger. Once it was put on, it couldn’t be removed.

“But don’t you still have the old palace lord? Why choose a new one?”

Kou Yi paused for a moment, then stood up, her voice soft. “If you want to meet her, come with me.”

Yu Tao thought for a moment and followed.

Kou Yi led her to a room that had no divine attendants guarding it. She gently pushed open the door, as if she was afraid of disturbing something.

In the vast room lay a beautiful woman with a pale complexion, her eyes closed. Her breathing was faint, and Yu Tao was afraid that even her footsteps would disturb her.

Yu Tao was a little stunned. Was this the Lord of Yaochi?

After watching for a while and seeing no sign that the woman would wake up, Kou Yi led Yu Tao out of the room, gently closing the door behind them.

“As you can see, the Lord of Yaochi is in this condition now. She spends most of her time in a deep sleep, rarely awake.”

“The coronation ceremony of the divine goddess requires the Spirit Ring to channel spiritual power, but given the Lord’s current physical state, even the Spirit Ring believes she can no longer perform it. It is already searching for the next successor.”

Kou Yi walked slowly ahead. “The Lord knows you’ve arrived, but she still intended to personally crown the divine goddess. It was I who kept this from her and arranged for you to take her place in the ceremony.”

Yu Tao bit her lip, understanding that this must have been done out of necessity.

“I won’t pursue this matter further, but I will return the ring to you. I have no ability to be the Lord of Yaochi. You should choose a more reliable person for the position.”

“I’m afraid I can’t take the ring off.”

Kou Yi stopped and looked at her. “The Spirit Ring only chooses a new lord after its current lord dies. Or, like the Lord, if the lord can no longer withstand its spiritual power, the contract will be automatically voided.”

…What a troublesome ring.

Yu Tao looked down at the ring on her finger and sighed. “Then I’ll take it off later and return it to you. Will that be alright?”

“Naturally.” Kou Yi nodded. “However, during this period, you are still the Lord of Yaochi. Everyone in Yaochi will follow your commands.”

Yu Tao felt a headache coming on and quickly waved her hand.

But then she suddenly remembered something and asked, “Can you tell me about my mother?”

When the topic came up, Kou Yi sighed softly and gestured for Yu Tao to sit down.

“Actually, I don’t know much. I only know that your mother and Bai Yinyin are both daughters of the former Lord of Yaochi. However, Bai Yinyin was raised as the divine goddess, a well-known fact in the cultivation world.”

“As for your mother, she didn’t live in Yaochi. No one knew her name, and very few even knew that Bai Yinyin had a sister. I didn’t find out until later.”

“Your mother came back many years ago and stayed at Star-picking Cliff for a few years. At that time, I was in charge of looking after her, and I spent some time with her. A few years later, she left Yaochi, and after that, there was no news of her. It was as if she had disappeared into thin air.”

“The former Lord of Yaochi sent many people to search for her over the years, but there was no news.”

Yu Tao looked up. “My mother seems to be quite skilled in formations and seals. Perhaps that’s why she couldn’t be found.”

“But I have another question. How did my mother go from being a cultivator to losing her spiritual power and becoming a mortal?”

Kou Yi shook her head. “She changed after that time when she returned to Star-picking Cliff. As for the reason, I never learned it.”

It was clear that no further information could be obtained from Kou Yi, and since she couldn’t stay in Yaochi forever, Yu Tao decided to leave.

Kou Yi told her that her companions were waiting for her at the Liuyue Residence and reminded her to remove her disguise and leave “Zhe Li” in the palace.

Yu Tao changed into new clothes using her real appearance and left the palace. Not far along the way, she unexpectedly bumped into someone.

Su Liuli nodded slightly and greeted, “Head Divine Attendant.”

Then she looked up at Yu Tao behind Kou Yi, a flash of surprise crossing her eyes. She quickly smiled lightly. “Cousin, what are you doing here?”