Chapter 449: Old Loli, Schemes Within Schemes

In February, the early spring breeze swept away the winter cold, and the snow on the twelve peaks of the ***Black Star*** Sect gradually melted.

Tender buds broke through the ground as grass sprouted and songbirds flew to and fro.

In the cave on the **Red Spring Peak** mountainside, Si Xuanji, who sat cross-legged on a long couch, suddenly opened her tightly closed eyes.

The parrot, who was chewing rice on the windowsill, tilted its head and informed her of the time of the year in a suspicious voice. *"Love season! It's love season!"*

The yin-yang eyes stared at it with a scowl, causing the parrot to quickly point with its beak to the early spring green buds outside the window and add, *"Spring season! It means the spring season!"*

The little tiger had been digesting for almost a month, and its stomach was already empty, but Si Xuanji understood a principle: if the official collected grain too often, it would only leave people without food, and then they would have weak bodies and cold blood, weakening the people and the country.

Ye Anping still had the girls to feed at home, so she thought she'd better hold back for a while longer.

Si Xuanji let out a light breath and looked out the window at the spring scenery. She was looking forward to Ye Anping successfully forming his *Nascent Soul* as he had said before, and then coming to her.

At the same time, she was also a little confused about this. She did not quite understand how Ye Anping was going to overcome the *Nascent Soul* tribulation.

But right now, there was nothing she could do.

Pills, spiritual land, formations... she could provide Ye Anping with the best in the world of these things.

But the immortal path was going upstream. The last time Ye Anping formed his core, she only helped him recover after each thunder tribulation.

Passing the heavenly tribulation could not be done by relying on others except himself.

"Ye Anping, I'll be waiting for you..."

Si Xuanji lowered her eyes slightly, hiding a hint of tenderness in her eyes.

However, the next moment---

*Swoosh---*

A breeze blew in from the window, fluttering the white and black tresses on her back.

As if she had seen something she resented, the warmth in Su Xuanji's eyes suddenly disappeared, replaced by a glacier of coldness.

She slightly waved her small hand, and a double-opened veil curtain embroidered with the ***Black Star*** Sect symbol unfolded in front of her. It floated in the center of the room, and then the bed, table, and chairs in the room disappeared instantly, transforming into an endless void space.

Then, one after another, veil curtains appeared around her, and each curtain was embroidered with the symbol of a sect of the Immortal Family.

***Green Jade*** Sect, ***Feathered Beast*** Sect, ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect, ***Moon Shadow Sword*** Sect, ***Bright Star*** Sect, **Cold Country**...

In a short time, thousands of veil curtains of different colors and sizes were spread throughout the boundless dark space, and a figure was reflected on each curtain.

Si Xuanji's yin-yang eyes scanned the area, and her brows furrowed.

"..."

This void space originated from the '*Immortal Summoning Order*' spiritual treasure.

Each sect master of the Immortal Family had one of these treasures, which could forcibly pull the consciousness of all the other sect masters into a virtual realm outside the four regions.

There was no concept of time here, nor was there any difference between life and death.

Currently, in the four regions, only the *Void Returning* cultivators like Si Xuanji were qualified to use the *Immortal Summoning Order*.

Unless there was a particularly important and urgent matter that needed to be communicated to the sect leaders, this thing would generally not be used.

Besides, the spiritual energy needed to activate this *Immortal Summoning Order* was not low at all.

Si Xuanji was silent, thinking of who could have used the *Summoning Order*.

The next moment, behind the curtain embroidered with the **Cold Country** symbol, Sun Juehu's puzzled voice was heard. "Yo~ *Immortal Summoning Order*, what a grand display. It shouldn't have been Sister Red Moon, right? The baldy from the ***Awareness*** Sect shouldn't have been so idle either. So... Old Man Zu, why did you summon the masters of the sects here?"

"Cough-- cough cough..."

Zu Yuan's cough came from behind the curtain of the ***Bright Star*** Sect, and Si Xuanji frowned even deeper when she heard it.

It didn't sound like the kind of cough used to interrupt, but like the feeble cough of a sick old man.

Si Xuanji could hear it, and naturally, Sun Juehu and the ***Awareness*** Sect's Grandmaster Zhiming could hear it as well.

Sun Juehu was a little surprised. "Wow..."

Grandmaster Zhiming seemed to be silently chanting the scriptures.

The three of them suddenly understood why Zu Yuan would use the *Immortal Summoning Order*.

---Zu Yuan was the oldest among them, and he was even nearing the end of the life span of *Void Returning* cultivators, which seemed endless to ordinary cultivators.

These coughs meant only one thing.

---If Zu Yuan could not break through the Void and ascend within the next few hundred years, then he would have to resign himself and return to dust.

On the ***Bright Star*** Sect's veil curtain, Zu Yuan's figure trembled slightly.

He stroked his long beard and sighed. "Today, the leaders of the various sects are gathered together for the sake of the Immortal Family's righteousness. Everyone must have heard that the ***Ghost Spirit*** Sect had already crossed the Eastern Great Wall and occupied the desert area in the southeast of the **Central Region**. Ever since Nangong Cheng died and the ***Imperial Sect*** was destroyed by the ***Demon Clan***, the cultivators of the **Western**, **Southern**, and **Northern Regions** have been uneasy, so..."

Zu Yuan paused for a moment, then shifted his gaze to the figure of Commander Fu Xuan. "While I still have strength, I will summon the immortals and attack the **Eastern Region** within half a year. I will wipe out all the demonic cultivators that were not completely eradicated back then and bring peace to the four regions."

Sun Juehu chuckled. "Wow~ Old Zu, your words are quite inspiring. But didn't we discuss this matter last time? We talked for so long, and Sister Red Moon cracked thirty kilograms of melon seeds, but there was still no conclusion, is that right? Sister Red Moon."

Si Xuanji glanced sideways at the **Cold Country** curtain, and the corner of her eye twitched slightly as she said, "It's just the eastern desert area of the **Central Region**. Why mobilize so many troops? If a war breaks out, it will only cause great suffering. Thousands of years ago, the **Central Region** was a place with beautiful mountains and forests, and all kinds of birds and beasts. But after the last war between immortals and demons, what has become of it? Old Zu, you have lived longer than me, you must have seen it, right?"

"So we're just going to let the demonic cultivators take over the **Central Region**?!!" Zu Yuan retorted sternly, but he choked himself. "Cough, cough, cough..."

"Hehe... The **Central Region** is now the territory of the ***Demon Clan***. No matter how lawless the demonic cultivators are, they will never dare to invade the three regions. Isn't it good to leave the yellow sand to them to take care of?"

"Red Moon, where is your spirit of righteousness?! Don't think I don't know, you are just afraid of fighting with the leaders of the ***Heavenly Demon*** Sect and the ***Ghost Spirit*** Sect. Seven Ghost Tomb and Yu Yan hate you to the core."

"Heh..."

Si Xuanji interrupted with a sneer. "Yeah, as you said, I am indeed afraid of death. But old man, what about you? You have practiced for nearly ten thousand years, and now you are only a dead body. I am much younger than you. If you died at the hands of Yu Yan and Seven Ghost Tomb, you would be more reluctant than me."

"..."

"Inspiring, huh? I'll give you something inspiring. You talk about the righteousness of the immortals, but you only care about fame and fortune. You teach your sect disciples to live in peace and obey their fate every day, but you are certain that you yourself can go against the heavens' will. Don't think I can't see that you are a petty old man. You just want to use the immortals who died fighting the demonic cultivators to find an opportunity to break the Void and defy fate. I'm going to say this clearly. Do you want me to bring the ***Black Star*** Sect into the **Eastern Region**? I won't! My answer is no!!"

"...Cough-cough-cough..."

Zu Yuan was so angry that he couldn't stop coughing. Behind the curtain of the ***Awareness*** Sect, Grandmaster Zhiming chimed in. "Immortal Red Moon, we are all cultivators of the Immortal Family, and we should value harmony."

"Then, are you willing to bring your ***Awareness*** Sect to the **Eastern Region** to exterminate the demonic cultivators?"

Grandmaster Zhiming nodded slowly. "Right, well..."

The smile on Si Xuanji's face disappeared, and she said coldly, "What's right is to stop fighting and promote benevolence."

After these words, there were no more sounds in the void.

Although thousands of sect leaders had their own thoughts, whether they sided with Si Xuanji or Zu Yuan, they did not have the courage to speak.

After all, taking one side would make the other unhappy.

No one wanted to be noticed by any of them.

Seeing that Zu Yuan was silent, Si Xuanji waved her hand slightly and gave him a way out. "Since you have nothing inspiring to say anymore, let's disperse."

However, just as Si Xuanji was preparing to leave this void realm, Sun Juehu suddenly interrupted. "Hey~ Sister Red Moon, don't be anxious. Old Man Zu must have spent quite a lot of spirit stones to use the *Immortal Summoning Order*. How wasteful would it be to use it just for two or three sentences? Why don't we talk about what happened at the Eastern Wall?"

Si Xuanji's eyes instantly became more alert. She knew that Sun Juehu was trying to set a trap for her, and she hurriedly said, "What is there to say? Hasn't Commander Qu compiled the events into a report and submitted it to the Elders of each sect?"

"But there are some things that are not mentioned in the report." Sun Juehu smirked. "Isn't it, Commander Qu? I wonder how your life is going in the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect? Does Master Ye of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect have anything to say?"

At these words, Ye Ao, who was resting with his eyes closed behind the pink gauze curtain embroidered with the emblem of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect, was startled.

This was the first time a *Void Returning* cultivator personally addressed him. His heart was beating fast, and he was quite nervous. Fortunately, Ye Anping seemed to have expected this and especially sent him a jade slip, telling him not to speak no matter what.

Not wanting to let down his son, Ye Ao relaxed a little and used a spell to seal his mouth to prevent him from making any sound accidentally.

Ye Anping had previously sent him a message, saying that if he was called by the *Immortal Summoning Order*, he should not speak no matter what, and let Commander Fu Xuan speak on his behalf.

Behind the curtain embroidered with the ***Imperial*** Sect emblem, Qu Ruyun shrugged, obviously used to such scenes. She replied coldly, "Really? I don't know what you're talking about."

"For example..." Sun Juehu deliberately paused for a moment and jokingly said, "Why didn't Commander Qu describe the handsome Young Master of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect in the report so that everyone in the Immortal Family would know that the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect has a handsome and elegant Young Master? I'm very fond of him."

Qu Ruyun replied calmly, "Senior Sun, there are so many sect leaders here. Please don't make such jokes."

"How boring. Everyone, the Young Master of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect is really handsome..."

All the sect leaders present were puzzled when they heard this.

Although they understood every word, they couldn't understand the meaning of this.

They all knew that Sun Juehu liked handsome men, but wasn't it too inappropriate to say it on this occasion?

However, Si Xuanji understood that Sun Juehu was testing her.

---The second half of the sentence that Sun Juehu didn't finish when she complimented Ye Anping just now was: *...He is so handsome that even Immortal Red Moon values him so much.*

Si Xuanji didn't bother to respond.

"..."

Sun Juehu chuckled. "Just kidding. But I heard from someone that the Young Master of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect seems to have the '*Spring Phase* spirit'. Sister Red Moon, you are very close to the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect, I wonder if you know about it?"

Si Xuanji answered, "Rumors also say that chicken can soar three thousand feet high."

However, although her tone was calm, she already had the thought of shoving Sun Juehu's head into the Water Dragon's butt.

Sun Juehu was just spouting nonsense, but she was, after all, a *Void Returning* cultivator of the Immortal Family and the Great Empress of the **Cold Country**.

Even if it was just random nonsense, there would still be people who believed it.

More precisely, the person who believed it was...

*Rustle---*

Zu Yuan's figure on the ***Bright Star*** Sect's veil trembled slightly.

Si Xuanji also understood that Ye Anping had become a target for Zu Yuan.

Zu Yuan had been searching for the *Spring Phase* spirit energy recorded in the books thousands of years ago. He wanted to break through his cultivation bottleneck using the *Spring Phase* and become an immortal in one fell swoop, but he had failed so far.

Sun Juehu mentioned this at the right time, when Zu Yuan's lamp oil was about to run out. No matter whether this matter was true or false, Zu Yuan would not sit still and wait for death. He would definitely find a way to capture Ye Anping to verify the truth.

And after all, Zu Yuan was a *Void Returning* cultivator. Unless she stayed by Ye Anping's side all the time, he would capture Ye Anping as long as there was a chance, and would not leave her any evidence or clues.

Moreover, if she tried to protect him, it would be like announcing to all the current sect leaders of the Immortal Family that her relationship with Ye Anping was not ordinary, which would also cause him a lot of trouble.

This was Sun Juehu's overt scheme, but it also included Zu Yuan's plot.

So now, the two *Void Returning* cultivators were teaming up to deal with her.

Even if she was 100% sure that she could save herself, she was not 100% sure that she could save Ye Anping.

Si Xuanji gritted her teeth slightly as she calculated all the possibilities in her mind.

Perhaps one day, Ye Anping would disappear. Even if she knew it was Zu Yuan who did it and barged into the ***Bright Star*** Sect, Zu Yuan would deny it. And it was impossible for her to fight Zu Yuan in his territory.

This was troublesome...

How could she protect Ye Anping in this situation?

Si Xuanji lowered his eyes and pondered.

However, the next moment---

Behind the curtain with the Imperial Sect symbol, Qu Ruyun suddenly spoke up. "Although I have never seen the *Spring Phase* with my own eyes, according to some disciples of the *Justice Division*, Master Ye once lost an arm, but it grew back in just a few days. But I believe that this matter has nothing to do with the Eastern Wall matter, so naturally, it wasn't recorded in the reports submitted to the sects."

!

Hearing this, Si Xuanji narrowed her eyes and stared incredulously at Fu Xuan. For a moment, she thought Qu Ruyun had betrayed Ye Anping and wanted to hand him over to Zu Yuan.

But after thinking about it, Qu Ruyun probably wouldn't have the guts to betray Ye Anping in front of her.

In other words, it was Ye Anping who told Qu Ruyun to say this.

Si Xuanji bit her lips and lowered her eyes in deep thought.

Ye Anping had probably expected the *Immortal Summoning Order* to happen. He had also expected Sun Juehu to speak about the *Spring Phase* on this occasion, and he even knew that Zu Yuan was running out of time...

The reason he asked Qu Ruyun to say this now was because he wanted to lure Zu Yuan into a trap.

---*Idiot!! What an idiot!!*

---*Such a dangerous thing!*

---*Ye Anping, where is your stability? What are you doing?*

Si Xuanji clenched her fists. She was already worried about the Eastern Wall incident last time. This time, he even let himself act as bait for the old man Zu Yuan...

Why did a little *Core Formation* cultivator make her so worried?

Si Xuanji took a deep breath and gradually calmed down. She asked, "Oh? Is there such a thing? The ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect is right next to us, how come I haven't heard about this *Spring Phase* thing?"

Just as Si Xuanji's words fell, a young lady's worried voice suddenly sounded. "Same here! I have never heard my husband mention it."

Everyone turned to look and saw that the voice came from behind the veil embroidered with the ***Dragon House*** symbol. Li Longling sensed that things seemed to be unfavorable to Ye Anping, so she mustered her courage and said, "I am engaged to Master Ye and have known him for many years, but I have never heard my husband talk about the *Spring Phase*. If Master Ye had the spirit of *Spring Phase*, he would have cured my eyes long ago. Isn't it written in the books that the *Spring Phase* spiritual energy heals everything?"

Qu Ruyun raised her eyebrows slightly. She understood that the ***Dragon House*** Young Miss did not want Ye Anping to be in danger, so she mustered up the courage to speak now.

Ye Anping probably forgot to tell Li Longling his plan...

Thinking of this, Qu Ruyun shook her head slightly. "But it is true that Young Master Ye protected the lives of countless disciples of the *Justice Division* with a strange spiritual energy. This is a fact."

"But..."

Li Longling was speechless. In the end, she did not say anything, and she could not help but sweat for Ye Anping in her heart.

While her side went quiet, from behind the veil of the ***Moon Shadow Sword*** Sect, Yun Tianchong's murmur was heard. "Uh..."

Sun Juehu looked over and asked, "Master Yun, do you have anything to say?"

"No, no... I just have a sore throat. Please continue... Please continue..."

Yun Tianchong was taken by surprise. Why did Ye Anping have an engagement with the Lady of the ***Dragon House*** as well?

What rank would his Yiyi have then?