Chapter 30 Pinch and Count

Although there were reasons for underestimating the opponent, Yu Xiao clearly felt that the opponent’s strength far surpassed his own, making them an opponent he couldn’t defeat at the moment.

If it were Ah Xu here, he definitely wouldn’t lose; he’s brought shame to Ah Xu.

Li Yanhe looked incredulously at the defeated Yu Xiao as if witnessing a rare spectacle. He lowered his voice and said, “You did it on purpose.”

He suspected that Yu Xiao intentionally pretended to be unable to defeat him, losing face to his master.

Yu Xiao’s expression was solemn, not responding to Li Yanhe’s words. He couldn’t gauge the person’s cultivation level in front of him nor sense their aura, yet he felt a strange familiarity.

Lowering his gaze, he carefully observed the masked hat covering their face. The hat seemed like a magical treasure capable of temporarily concealing one’s aura, likely something only the Demon Domain would sell. Why would ordinary cultivators hide their aura when they entered a sect?

These two before him were most likely demon cultivators, and one of them had a cultivation level higher than his, allowing them to completely conceal their auras.

He didn’t expect there to be demon cultivators like this.

“See clearly now?”

Chu Xuyun sheathed his sword, not forgetting to ask, “Where did you go wrong with that sword move just now?”

Yu Xiao remained silent for a moment. Why was this person so eager to teach?

Without speaking, he made a gesture to sheathe his sword. The tip of the sword turned slightly and suddenly flicked the hat off the other person’s head.

As the hat fell to the ground, it revealed an unfamiliar face.

Chu Xuyun looked somewhat surprised at Yu Xiao and praised without hesitation, “Yes, that’s how you use this move.”

The ‘Picking Pear Blossom Sword’ is used to catch the gap when the pear blossom is suspended in mid-air and then cut off the pear blossom.

Yu Xiao deserved praise for quickly learning.

Yu Xiao gave him a cold glance. He wasn’t concerned about sword moves right now; he was already skilled in this sword technique, but he had made a mistake. He was more concerned about whether he had embarrassed himself in front of Ah Xu.

Yu Xiao turned his head and met the stunned gaze of his disciples.

Lin Ze was the first to applaud, saying, “The Master must have deliberately made a mistake to demonstrate it to us! No wonder I couldn’t learn this sword move well. So, this is how you use this move!”

An Suning also chimed in, “Thank you, Master. Your disciple also greatly benefited and feels much more proficient in this sword technique!”

Yu Xiao: …

Why did these people seem more concerned about embarrassing A Xu than he was?

“You guys are…” Li Yanhe couldn’t help but speak up. “Even Masters occasionally make mistakes. Isn’t that normal?” He paused and then turned to Yu Xiao. “Although I do think Master deliberately demonstrated that sword moves incorrectly just now. Master is indeed amazing, and I’ll remember this.”

To save face for his Master, he could lie a little.

Watching from the sidelines for a while, Tan Mo muttered in astonishment to Chu Xuyun, “Did you put a spell on them? What’s going on with them?”

Chu Xuyun pursed his lips and didn’t answer.

In Taiqing Sect, Chu Xuyun’s name wasn’t just a name anymore; it was a flag that couldn’t be toppled.

“Who are you guys and why did you break into my Master’s residence?” Lin Ze looked puzzled, a hint of wariness in his eyes.

Before Chu Xuyun could speak, Tan Mo spoke up, “We’re from the neighboring sect. With the Sect Master’s competition approaching, we came to visit the Immortal Lord and learn a thing or two.”

Li Yanhe looked at them knowingly. “Came to learn, huh?”

Tan Mo replied, “You could say that.”

These disciples were quite rude.

Hearing Tan Mo’s words, Yu Xiao squinted slightly. Now wasn’t the time to expose their identities; instead, he decided to play along and see their intentions.

“If you’re here to visit the Immortal Monarch, you should still seek permission from the Sect Master.” Lin Ze wanted to say more, but Yu Xiao raised his hand to stop him, leading Chu Xuyun and Tan Mo into the sleeping hall.

The disciples had to give up. With the Xianjun here, even if some unscrupulous people infiltrated, the Xianjun could handle it.

As they were about to enter the sleeping hall, Li Yanhe whispered in Yu Xiao’s ear, “I warn you not to embarrass my Master again. Learn some manners. I’m going out to practice swordsmanship.”

Yu Xiao glanced at him. How could this fool not see anything strange about these two? He might not even know how he’d die in the future.

But it was fortunate he was so foolish; otherwise, like Ji Lianzhou, there would probably be another person in the portrait.

Inside the sleeping hall, the simple furnishings were incongruous with the status of the Taiqing Immortal Monarch. It looked no different from the dormitories of other disciples, just cleaner.

Tan Mo looked around but didn’t see anything valuable.

“Is this how an Xianjun lives? You might as well be a demon cultivator.”

Chu Xuyun coughed lightly and discreetly hid the rotten apple on the table under it, feeling his ears heat up.

He wasn’t poor; the Sect Master gave him a lot of money. He just didn’t know where to spend it all on his daily cultivation.

Yu Xiao picked up a teacup and took a sip. He wondered what these two were really up to.

“I heard that the Immortal Lord was abducted by that Demon Lord a few days ago. We’ve been worried for a long time. We just don’t know when the Immortal Lord returned. Could it be that you successfully got rid of the Demon Lord?” Tan Mo looked meaningfully at Yu Xiao. “That Demon Lord is ruthless. It’s a great fortune for us that the immortal Monarch returned alive.”

Yu Xiao looked at him calmly and said softly, “Thank you for your concern. I’m well aware of when I returned.”

He didn’t need to pretend in front of them. Besides, these two demon cultivators didn’t know Ah Xu had renounced his word.

Tan Mo hesitated for a moment and then said, “Naturally. In this upcoming sect competition, the Immortal Lord is a formidable opponent from our sect. Of course, we need to pay more attention. Just now, seeing the Immortal Lord teaching his disciples, I wonder which disciple the Immortal Lord favors the most?”

Yu Xiao frowned slightly and whispered, “They’re all good.”

“Is that so?” Tan Mo smiled knowingly. “But I heard that the Immortal Lord’s most proud disciple is named Li Yanhe. The Immortal Monarch has a deep affection for him. Even that former disciple of the Immortal Lord, Yu Xiao, despite his high talent, couldn’t earn the Immortal Lord’s favor as much as Li Yanhe.”

Tan Mo learned all this from Yu Xiao’s own mouth.

He knew who Yu Xiao envied the most, so he was sure Yu Xiao wouldn’t miss the best opportunity to get rid of Li Yanhe. He only needed to add a bit more fuel to the fire.

As he finished speaking, Yu Xiao’s face indeed grew colder.

“Indeed, Li Yanhe is an extraordinarily rare genius disciple,” Tan Mo continued to provoke, staring straight at Yu Xiao’s expression. “If it were me, I would also choose Li Yanhe over Yu Xiao, who has fallen into the demonic path.”

“You and I are of the same kind, Yu Xiao.”

Chu Xuyun favored Li Yanhe. You should hate him, not love him. Why couldn’t you figure that out?

“Yu Xiao is not my disciple.” Yu Xiao calmly spoke. “Since he’s no longer under my tutelage, there’s no need to compare.”

“The Immortal Lord speaks wisely.” Tan Mo laughed even more audaciously. “Then Yu Xiao is not qualified to be the Immortal Lord’s disciple. He’s a reckless demon cultivator who dares to deceive his Master. It wouldn’t be excessive for the Immortal Lord to kill him…”

Before he could finish, his words were abruptly interrupted.

“You’re talking nonsense.”

Chu Xuyun clenched his lips and spoke bravely, “Perhaps Yu Xiao initially didn’t want the Immortal Lord to approach him?”

Tan Mo fell silent for a moment, puzzled. “What’s the connection between these two?”

“Well…” Chu Xuyun’s ears turned red, his voice lowered. He dared not look at Yu Xiao’s eyes. “Perhaps the Immortal Lord felt that Yu Xiao initially disliked him.”

Yu Xiao stared at him blankly for a moment before realizing what he meant. He whispered softly, “How did you know?”

Initially, he did not particularly like Chu Xuyun. However, Yu Xiao had never thought about the reasons for it from this angle.

Chu Xuyun kept his head low. “Just a guess.”

“You should speak less nonsense and stop guessing. The Immortal Lord’s thoughts are not for you to understand. If there were a way to speak without speaking, it would suit you very well.” Tan Mo was about to cover his mouth. He’d almost made Yu Xiao jealous of Li Yanhe. Chu Xuyun was always messing up his things.

At these words, Yu Xiao suddenly laughed, as if he had figured something out. He said meaningfully, “You mean… the Dao of silence.”

Tan Mo hadn’t expected such a thing to exist. He was speechless for a moment, then quickly changed the subject, “I was just talking casually. Let’s continue discussing Li Yanhe…”

“No need to talk about him.”

Yu Xiao lowered his eyelashes, resting his chin on his hand as he looked at Chu Xuyun opposite him, who kept his head down. He smiled faintly, “I’m curious now. My friend, who understands my thoughts so well, what else do you know about me? Why not tell me everything at once?”

Tan Mo:?

He turned to block Yu Xiao’s gaze towards Chu Xuyun, “What could he possibly know? In our sect, he’s just a grunt. Don’t take him seriously.”

“I really don’t know.” Chu Xuyun also spoke softly.

Yu Xiao suppressed a smile, handing him a cup of warm tea, speaking gently, “This friend is so insightful, must be a sage who can predict fate. How about you help me figure out why there’s a portrait of a sword immortal in my room?”

A portrait of a sword immortal?

Chu Xuyun frowned. He didn’t remember any portrait. Was there someone else besides Lianzhou who was also a sword immortal?

“I think we should talk about Li Yanhe again…” Tan Mo squeezed in between their overlapping gazes, struggling, “Do you really not care about this child Yanhe at all?”

No one answered him.

Chu Xuyun pondered in confusion. He had no idea about the portrait. Could it be something he had used as a table leg support before?

“I can’t figure it out.”

Yu Xiao’s smile faded gradually. He pursed his lips and said calmly, “It’s not something important. If I can’t figure it out, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, I’ve torn up that portrait.”

He carefully watched Chu Xuyun’s expression, trying to see if there was any trace of regret or annoyance.

But Chu Xuyun showed nothing.

His face was calm, serene as water, even scratching his cheek.

Chu Xuyun thought to himself,

If Lianzhou’s portrait is found, it’s not a big deal, as long as the portrait he hid isn’t discovered, or else it would be embarrassing.

Luckily, judging from Yu Xiao’s expression, it seemed he hadn’t noticed. Chu Xuyun breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that they had finally finished discussing the matter of the broken portrait, Tan Mo took a deep breath and said, “I have prepared a great gift for the Immortal Lord’s visit this time, hoping it will help the Immortal Monarch and his disciple shine in the sect’s grand competition.”

He took out a jade pendant from his pocket, smiling as he handed it to Yu Xiao, “This is a blessing jade from our sect. Since we are rivals, this jade does not enhance cultivation, only offers a blessing.”

Yu Xiao finally looked at him. This person’s intentions were too obvious, repeatedly provoking the hatred between Li Yanhe and himself. Highly suspicious.

There must be some mystery in this jade pendant. Maybe after Li Yanhe uses it, he will drop dead on the spot, then Ah Xuyun will fail the task given to him.

Thinking of this, Yu Xiao reached out to take the jade pendant, but just before touching it, he suddenly let go.

The jade pendant fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.

“What are you doing!”

Tan Mo looked at him incredulously. There were ninety-nine days of devil’s gu in that jade pendant he had refined. He had planned that if Yu Xiao really didn’t kill Li Yanhe, he would secretly use the jade pendant to eliminate Li Yanhe and then frame Yu Xiao.

Damn it, Yu Xiao actually didn’t catch his jade pendant. Was it intentional?

He quickly bent down to pick up the jade pendant, but found it already shattered beyond recognition, and the devil’s Gu inside had disappeared.

Tan Mo was horrified. What if that devil’s Gu crawled into some corner and accidentally bit someone…

Anxious, he was about to dive under the table to search when Chu Xuyun grabbed his shoulder.

Tan Mo:?

“The pendant is broken. Help me find it quickly.” Tan Mo urgently tried to push away Chu Xuyun’s hand holding him, but Chu Xuyun remained unmoved.

Tan Mo: “… What are you doing? Help me find it quickly!”

Otherwise, we’ll all be dead!

Chu Xuyun still firmly held Tan Mo’s shoulder, his forehead slightly sweating.

No,

Absolutely not,

—Under the table, was the portrait he had secretly hidden.