Under the shade of a tree, Qinghe slept peacefully, his head resting on Wei Xiang's lap. Nearby, Wu Xiao and Jing Shui were bickering in lowered voices.

The people rescued from the imperial palace by the Sentinels were scattered around the orchard. Some cheerfully picked fruits from the trees and filled the large baskets placed at the base, laughing like they were having fun as Yan Lin patiently guided them. Others watched silently from the side, sitting under the shade of trees, small smiles on their otherwise solemn faces.

As for Zhang LiYing, she was puttering around inside the house, busy with making lunch for everyone after declining Wei Xiang's offer of help. Occasionally, she would come outside to bring a tray of refreshments.

It was yet another tranquil day.

In the distance, a glowing, lilac colored b.u.t.terfly ensconced in a bubble of spiritual energy fluttered its wings and slowly made for the four cultivators under the tree.

Soft gasps of wonder came from the people around them, everyone having stopped what they were doing to watch this mystical sight.

After drifting around as if searching, the small b.u.t.terfly finally floated over and accurately alighted on the tip of Qinghe's nose.

Awakened by the delicate tickling sensation right on his face, Qinghe lazily opened his eyes, his expression still sleepy.

"Brother Feng, it seems you have a message," Jing Shui informed softly from the side.

On the other hand, seeing the little b.u.t.terfly, Wu Xiao showed a shocked expression. For those people to actually send out a message, could it be that something dire was about to happen?

After casting a disinterested look at the fluttering insect, Wei Xiang continued stroking his beloved's hair.

As his mind slowly cleared from the muddle of sleep, Qinghe carefully inserted a thread of his spiritual energy into the message, since it seemed to require it to activate.

Sure enough, a melodious female voice immediately issued from the b.u.t.terfly, "The Mist summons Feng Qinghe. Elder Yue awaits your presence. Please do not delay."

After this brusque message, the b.u.t.terfly dissolved.

Qinghe lightly sneezed. d.a.m.n, could that b.u.t.terfly have not found some other place to perch? Why did it have to scatter its spent spiritual energy right on top of his nose?! Qinghe complained to himself in annoyance as he sneezed once again.

Seeing his little lover's aggrieved expression, Wei Xiang laughed amusedly. "Since it's a summons from the Mist, you shouldn't ignore it," he advised.

Nodding to show that he understood, Qinghe slowly sat upright and turned to Wu Xiao, "Sect Master Wu, do you know why they'd call for me?"

Wu Xiao shook his head with a wry expression. "That bunch rarely tells me anything. The people of the Mist are such a troublesome lot."

Seeming confused, Jing Shui asked, "Wait, what are you all talking about? What mist?"

Wu Xiao suddenly froze, an expression of guilt on his face. Most people weren't even supposed to know about the existence of the Silver Mist, but here he was, casually discussing it with others.

"I-I'll explain it later," Wu Xiao finally said. Well, telling it to the future sect master of the Golden Sun Sect should be alright, no? After all, Wu Xiao didn't want to keep any secrets from his beloved Ah-Shui.

Jing Shui squinted at his lover suspiciously, but chose to let it go in the end, feeling that Wu Xiao would tell him in due time.

Sighing, Qinghe stood up. "I guess we're visiting your sect then, Sect Master Wu," he spoke while dusting his robe.

Jing Shui blinked. They were going to the Silver Moon Sect now? Was it because of this 'mist' thing?

Following Qinghe, the others also got up, preparing to head out.

"You're leaving already? Did something happen?" Yan Lin walked up to them and asked, a worried expression on his face.

Smiling, Qinghe rea.s.sured him, "There no need to worry, it isn't an emergency, just something we can't ignore. Tell Madam Yan that we will have to skip out on lunch. We'll visit again later to make up for it."

Seeing Qinghe's casual att.i.tude, Yan Lin finally relaxed. "Alright then, take care on your way."

And so, the group had to leave behind their relaxed afternoon and set out towards the Silver Moon Sect.

But to get to the Silver Moon Sect, one had to first pa.s.s through the Golden Sun Sect, and that was where the group was headed now.

The sect grounds of the Golden Sun Sect were large, bright, and opulent, with the vast sky spreading above and an air of lively cheer throughout the premises. Behind the sect was the wide open sea, the blue stretching endlessly beyond until it merged with the sky at the distant horizon.

At its front, the sect was surrounded by a huge, sprawling and bustling market, which was also a famous trade area that people from all over the world regularly came to attend.

In this market, tall buildings with curving golden roofs were efficiently arranged in neat rows, leaving large s.p.a.ces between them. Countless wealthy-looking shops lined the streets on either side, the merchants within seeming especially well-mannered and polite. Rather than the scent of manure and sweat that permeated most streets, the roads of the Golden Sun Sect's business district smelled lightly of expensive incense and sun-warmed flagstones.

As one would expect, the goods in this trade area were all of the highest quality, many of them rare beyond compare, with all the heavyweights in the world itching to get their hands on at least one of them no matter the cost. And befitting their rarity, the prices of these items were of course beyond sky-high, but none questioned these astronomical rates, since based on the quality alone, the prices were more than reasonable.

A huge chunk of these shops in the marketplace was run by the Golden Sun Sect, either out in the open or behind the scenes. There were also several auction houses in the trade area, the most famous and sought after ones also unsurprisingly belonging to the Golden Sun Sect. Only highly rare things that were too invaluable to set a price upon were sold at these auction houses directly backed by the sect.

Looking over the busy scene of the market, Qinghe mused that most of the Behemoth's body must have also been auctioned at one such place.

The group of four leisurely strolled down the main street of the marketplace, casually observing this world-famous trade area that buzzed with energy.

The many gold-colored decorations on the buildings dazzlingly reflected the bright sunlight that rained down from the cloudless blue skies, causing glints and glimmers of gold to constantly flash at the corners of their eyes.

Meanwhile, the packed streets of the marketplace bustled in a well-mannered and orderly way, displaying a calm and controlled systematic chaos.

"It's very lively, isn't it?" Qinghe commented as he happily looked around, his eyes showing open curiosity.

Wu Xiao shot him a surprised glance. "Xiao Feng, don't tell me, you've never been here before?"

Shrugging casually, Qinghe easily confessed, "Oh, I have, once or twice. But it was always during nighttime and for purposes that are better dealt with in the dark. I've never been here during the day. It's quite a different atmosphere."

Jing Shui looked at Qinghe curiously. "What type of businesses did you handle here during the night?"

Waving a hand breezily, Qinghe replied, "Nothing much, just this and that."

"I hope your 'this and that' did not involve smuggling, a.s.sa.s.sination, or other illegal activities," Wei Xiang cautioned half-jokingly.

Qinghe rolled his eyes. "No, nothing so exciting. But tell me, Xiang, if I did do something illegal, would you personally come to apprehend me and detain me in one of your cells?"

Wei Xiang raised an eyebrow and returned with a smirk, "Would you want me to?"

Giving it some serious thought, Qinghe leaned into his lover. His fingertips trailing over the curve of Wei Xiang's jaw, Qinghe whispered with a sly smile, "I'll let you capture me, but only if you plan on taking advantage of me afterward. I can think of plenty of ways you can use―"

A sudden burst of exuberant shouting interrupted him and spared the others from having to listen to this couple's open and bizarre way of flirting.

"Senior Brother Jing is here!" an excited voice squealed.

A chorus of other such sentiments followed in high-pitched and loud voices, and soon, a gaggle of junior disciples from the Golden Sun Sect, both male and female, gathered around them.

"Senior Brother Jing, did you just get back from a mission?"

"Senior Martial Brother, when are you going to become the Sect Master?"

"Senior Brother, will you help me with my cultivation?"

"Hey, that's no fair! Senior Brother Jing is very busy, you can't take up his time like that!"

"That's right! He's the Sect Master's head disciple! The Sect Master must give him a lot of secret a.s.signments!"

"Senior Martial Brother, I have a new cultivation manual that you might like. Will you accept it?"

"Senior Brother Jing, marry me!"

Wu Xiao's mouth twitched. He didn't expect that they'd be besieged by his beloved's fan club so soon.

Despite being surrounded by a crowd of excitable juniors, Jing Shui only frowned. There was none of his blus.h.i.+ng and stuttering self present, only an air of disapproval and mild annoyance like back when Qinghe had first met him for their a.s.signment in the hidden realm.

In his usual ill-tempered tone, Jing Shui admonished the squawking juniors, "What are you all doing out here clogging up the streets? Get back to your respective duties now. If you want to be a disgrace to our sect's name, then don't let people know that you are related to me in any way!"

But the juniors were far from offended, already used to Jing Shui's sharp tongue by now. They were all convinced that under that harsh and p.r.i.c.kly exterior lied a warm and soft heart. And contrary to expectations, some of the disciples even looked ecstatic at being given a tongue las.h.i.+ng personally by their idolized senior brother, becoming even more energized.

And so the crowd surged around them even more excitedly.

Seeing that the commotion didn't look like it was going to clear up soon despite Jing Shui's attempts of asking the disciples to disperse, Qinghe could only sigh. It was at times like these that he wished they could directly use spells of flight to fly over populated areas and directly reach their destination. It was too bad that the Sentinels had outlawed it, even though they had good reason to.

After all, before the Sentinels had pa.s.sed the law banning flight above inhabited places, there had been a lot of accidents.

Because the more populated an area was, the more people would be flying over through its skies. And the more air traffic there was, the more people who were careless or incompetent would b.u.mp into each other, either falling themselves or dropping things that, when plunging from great heights, might cause injury to those below on the ground. And if something that was volatile or explosive was dropped down by mistake, then the consequences would be disastrous, especially to the mortals who had no ways of defending themselves from such a predicament if they were caught in it.

After carefully considering the pros and cons of the situation, the Sentinels had decided that protecting the people was more important than the convenience provided by being able to fly over populated areas to cross distances.

And thus, the law prohibiting people from flying over densely inhabited areas was duly established.

But even though he already knew all this, Qinghe still couldn't help grumbling about how inconveniencing it was.

"Eh? Is there some sort of a commotion going on over there?" a familiar voice suddenly floated over.

"And it seems like the ones in the middle are people you already know, Little Sheep," another familiar voice replied.

Qinghe looked over in the direction of these voices and finally saw Chen Xiande and Hei NingYu looking over with interest towards the crowd of junior disciples surrounding them.

Grabbing Wei Xiang's arm, Qinghe stealthily extricated himself from the chaos that showed no signs of abating anytime soon. Though his retreat earned him a glare from the Wu Xiao who couldn't very well just leave Jing Shui alone and escape, Qinghe still pretended to not see it and walked over to where his senior brother and his lover were standing.

"Sect Leader Hei, you look well," Qinghe greeted Hei NingYu. Then without preamble, he turned to Chen Xiande and directly asked, "Senior Brother, have you completed consolidating your realm already?"

Chen Xiande shook his head. "Not yet. An important matter just came to my attention, so I'm going to the Silver Moon Sect to resolve it before I go back to continue cultivating."

Hei Ning Yu sighed as he advised, "Little Sheep, I still think it would have been better if we came here after you finished stabilizing your cultivation."

"If I let you, you'll keep procrastinating and pus.h.i.+ng this away. Don't think I don't know that," Chen Xiande admonished while frowning.

Qinghe felt faintly surprised. After spending just a few months with his lover, his senior brother seemed to have become a lot more expressive and outgoing. No matter what, the Chen Xiande of the past would never have had the courage to speak so rudely to someone as powerful and prominent as Hei NingYu, and yet here he was, scolding him as if it were only natural.

Seeing such an obvious improvement in his senior brother, Qinghe smiled, his eyes warm.

On the other hand, Hei NingYu didn't look displeased at being reprimanded at all. Laughing, he wrapped an arm over his beloved and leaned into him bonelessly, "We've only spent a few months together and my little sheep already knows me so well. At least I know now that it's not only my body you've been paying such keen attention to all these days~"

"NingYu!" Chen Xiande reproached embarra.s.sedly.

Qinghe looked on in amus.e.m.e.nt at how Hei NingYu seemed to be draped around Chen Xiande like a great black cat, teasing and playing cheerfully with his feisty little mouse.

Turning his face away from his lover, Chen Xiande attempted to regain his composure as he addressed Qinghe, "Anyway, Junior Brother, it's been a while since I last saw you."

"Yes. Senior Brother, it's good to see you again as well. And during the time you were gone, we've heard much about your exploits in the demonic faction's Sanctuary," Qinghe replied in a solemn tone that belied the twinkle in his eyes.

As if knowing where this was going, Hei NingYu covered his mouth to hide his chuckles.

On the other hand, Chen Xiande remained oblivious as he asked confusedly, "Exploits? What exploits? You mean my training? I don't train in the demonic faction but in the Spirit Bewildering Forest. Junior Brother, I thought you already knew that since you were the one who sent me there."

"No, that isn't what I mean by your 'exploits'," Qinghe began, his expression still serious as he continued to explain. "I've heard that…ehem, the current leader of the demonic faction and the future leader of the righteous faction engage in constant battles in their bedroom. Both sides are said to have been conquered an equal number of times till now. And considering the great age and power of the demonic faction's leader and how you were able to 'conquer' him…many think that you truly deserve the t.i.tle of the future sect master of the Heavenly Peak Sect, and by extension, the future leader of the entire righteous faction."

"…"

Chen Xiande was rendered speechless, while Hei NingYu began laughing uncontrollably.

"Th-This is…really too…great…," he got out between gasps.

At the side, Wei Xiang could only shake his head in amus.e.m.e.nt. His little imp really loved teasing the people he was closest to, always getting up to mischief like this.

On the other hand, after opening and closing his mouth like a fish for a long time while his face slowly burned red, Chen Xiande finally stuttered out, "W-W-What are you― This is just so… H-How did you all even know―?!"

Qinghe suppressed a smile as he consoled, "Now, now, Senior Brother, there's no need to be so overwhelmed. Just take it in stride. After all, now your position as the Sect Master is more or less confirmed."

Unable to hold it back, Chen Xiande burst out loudly, "Who the f.u.c.k decides on a sect master that way?!"

Hei NingYu only laughed more at his little sheep's outburst.

Meanwhile, Jing Shui and Wu Xiao had successfully managed to send off the junior disciples by now and walked to where Qinghe and the rest were standing.

"Brother Chen, I heard you had another breakthrough. Congratulations," Jing Shui greeted Chen Xiande, then bowed to Hei NingYu, "And Sect Leader Hei, I welcome you to my sect's territory. May I know the reason for your visit?"

As the head disciple of the Golden Sun Sect, Jing Shui felt that he couldn't abandon all propriety towards the second most strongest and oldest cultivator in the current world, hence he followed courtesy and greeted Hei NingYu politely.

Hei NingYu wiped away tears of laughter from the corner of his eyes and stood upright, his demeanor casual and completely unbefitting someone of his station. "We are here to ask for an audience with someone from the Silver Moon Sect," he explained.

Since the Golden Sun Sect acted as the first checkpoint for those who wanted to visit the Silver Moon Sect, it was necessary for the visitors to first get permission from qualified personnel in the Golden Sun Sect. However, since Qinghe had received a summons, he was exempt from this rule, though the others still required a permit. But since they had both Jing Shui and Wu Xiao leading the way for them now, the rest of the group could also easily pa.s.s through the Golden Sun Sect and enter the premises of the Silver Moon Sect without much fuss.

"Since it's like that, then why don't we go together? We have business in the Silver Moon Sect as well," Qinghe offered.

After Chen Xiande and Hei NingYu accepted, the group of four swelled to a group of six as they made their way to the Golden Sun Sect first.

As they entered and pa.s.sed through the sect grounds, Qinghe spotted a familiar face hurrying around with an armful of papers.

"Ah, isn't that Junior Brother Wen? He seems very busy," Qinghe observed.

Jing Shui nodded. "Yes, Master took him in as a direct disciple and appears to have made him her a.s.sistant. She now sends him on errands constantly."

Qinghe chuckled as he spoke, "Then you should take care of him more, Brother Jing. You'll be spending a lot of time with him in the future as well, won't you?"

Though the words appeared casual as long as one didn't read too much into it, Wu Xiao nevertheless felt his spine stiffening.

This precocious brat…did he already figure out that Wen Huan was the one chosen to be his direct disciple? And was he insinuating to his Ah-Shui that since they were both going to be fellow sect masters in the future, they should get along well?

As if reading his doubts, Qinghe glanced at Wu Xiao from the corner of his eyes as he asked, "Sect Master Wu, what do you think?"

Endeavoring not to show his suspicions on his face, Wu Xiao replied, "What do I think about what?"

"About Junior Brother Wen. I think his name was…Wen Huan, yes? He seems very diligent and hardworking. I'm sure anyone would want to have him as their disciple. Doesn't Sect Master Wu think so too?" Qinghe spoke as if casually commenting, but his eyes glowed with mischief.

Wu Xiao gritted his teeth. This brat…he definitely knew! And he was clearly enjoying taunting him!

In a dry tone, Wu Xiao asked helplessly, "Xiao Feng, are you using your wind to spy sneakily again?"

But shaking his head, Qinghe spread his hands and widened his eyes innocently as he defended himself, "Why, I would never! It's just that I noticed back in the hidden realm that Junior Brother Wen was very perceptive with his questions, so his astuteness left an impression on me. It was as if the world he was seeing was clearer and unclouded by mists unlike the rest of his peers. He gave off quite a different feel compared to the others, that's all."

In the hidden realm, Junior Brother Wen had been the only one who had suspected that all was not as it seemed with Qinghe, constantly questioning him and his methods, seeming to subconsciously recognize that though Qinghe appeared sincere on the surface, he was merely playing with them.

Hearing Qinghe's reasoning and realizing that he truly didn't seem to have found it out using his trusty wind, Wu Xiao's mouth twitched. He had to admit that this youngster's mind was really not to be underestimated! To have surmised Wen Huan's ident.i.ty within just that little time spent together, his observation and deduction skills were truly frightening!

Jing Shui cut in curiously, "What are you both talking about? What's wrong with Wen Huan?"

Wu Xiao turned his head away and grumped, "Nothing, your friend is just being nosy again."

Qinghe laughed merrily.

Seeing his mischievous little lover playfully poking around for his amus.e.m.e.nt, Wei Xiang could only shake his head while smiling warmly. Bending down, he lightly nipped at the tip of his beloved's ear as he said, "Qinghe, enough of toying with other people's secrets."

"Okay," Qinghe agreed easily, his lips still stretched in a wide smile.

And in this way, they soon pa.s.sed around the Golden Sun Sect and arrived behind the sect grounds. From the edge, a giant stone bridge extended from the Golden Sun Sect and over the ocean, leading to the island where the Silver Moon Sect was situated.