When Night Tinglan “departed,” she didn’t actually leave. She hovered high above, hands clasped behind her back, quietly watching Lu Xingzhou’s cheerful, humming figure as he went to find the medicine. She pursed her lips slightly, a hint of exasperation on her face.

She knew why the man was happy. It was just a hug, what was there to be so overjoyed about that he was even humming? It wasn’t like they hadn’t hugged before. In the secret realm, they had rolled around while embracing, entered the snake’s belly while embracing, fought and emerged while embracing. He had even held her in his wheelchair, speaking of indescribable intimacy, and kissed her bare shoulder. Even when they finally left the secret realm, hadn’t she been the one holding him as they burst through the spatial rift? Compared to this simple hug, that was nowhere near as significant. What was there to be so happy about? Such a small thing to be proud of.

But why was even she feeling a little flustered and anxious, wanting to run away? Because no matter how much they had hugged before, it had been out of necessity, not romantic involvement; after all, not doing so would have meant death, and she hadn’t harbored any ambiguous feelings. This time, even if she tried to psychologically rationalize it as “a master embracing a disciple,” she knew it wasn’t strictly necessary. Especially since in his mind, he didn’t see her as a master at all; he just wanted to take advantage. Yet, her heart softened, and she still went along with his wishes. Night Tinglan truly didn’t know how to face him, so she simply hid far away to calm down. She understood even less why she would be willing. Was it really just to spite Yuan Muyu?

Speaking of which, even in the Alchemist’s Trial, that fellow’s performance was quite perfect. In such a vast mountain, on a pitch-black night, he actually managed to find things alone, discovering the Zhu Zi Fruit hidden so securely. This time, A’nuo wasn’t there to help him cheat, which showed that even when A’nuo was around, he hadn’t really relied on her for cheating and hadn’t neglected his own training. If it were a real Alchemist’s Trial, he would even qualify for a reward… bah, who said anything about giving rewards?

That Gloom-glow Grass… wait, why would there be Gloom-glow Grass here? Night Tinglan frowned and calculated for a moment. The mountain’s ley lines were predominantly yin, with very faint fire properties and strong water properties. Normally, such a plant shouldn’t grow here. This area was near the outskirts of Shadowmoon Royal City, separated from the Shadowmoon Sect by Shadowmoon City itself, making it almost the most vibrant spiritual nexus in the entire Frost Nation. A dense imperial aura permeated the land. Night Tinglan’s decision to support Si Han was, in fact, partly related to the results of her “aura observation.” While ley lines didn’t determine everything, they were certainly a reference.

Although most cultivators in the Frost Nation leaned towards cold-attribute cultivation, and the Shadowmoon Sect, being named “Shadow,” must be particularly prominent in yin attributes, there was a difference between the ice-cold cultivation of the Snow Listening Pavilion and the shadow-based cultivation of the Shadowmoon Sect. Moreover, the ley lines here were so potent that they should suppress malevolent yin energies, making it even more unlikely for a yin-fire attribute plant like Gloom-glow Grass to grow.

Night Tinglan suddenly remembered Si Han’s bone dragon. Si Han likely cultivated a malevolent demonic art to control the bone dragon. His cultivation might have affected the ley lines here, giving rise to malevolent shadow energies. Originally, this was Si Han’s and the Shadowmoon Sect’s own business; whatever they chose to cultivate or become was none of an outsider’s concern. But Night Tinglan, as a Daoist cultivator skilled in aura observation, knew that this would lead to some undesirable consequences. It was roughly like a magnificent imperial aura being polluted and eroded, a bit like an earthly emperor transforming into a king of the underworld. She was absolutely not trying to pick on Yuan Muyu.

This kind of pollution and erosion, if left unchecked, would take a long time to dim the imperial aura, at least over a decade. But if someone exploited this change, there were many ways it could be manipulated. Night Tinglan herself could use this change to manipulate the ley lines, effectively transplanting the imperial aura of Shadowmoon City elsewhere. What if there were other demonic cultivators… they might even attempt ley line absorption.

Night Tinglan calculated with her fingers, her gaze falling on the dark mountains in the distance. Someone was indeed manipulating the ley lines and absorbing them. It hadn’t been completed yet, precisely because Si Han had lost his bone dragon, preventing the dark magic from going deeper. From this, it was clear that someone else had taught Si Han the method for acquiring the bone dragon. That person was using him to destabilize the imperial aura for easier absorption. Once absorbed, the prosperous Shadowmoon City below would become a wasteland within a few years at the very least. Someone with such methods was very likely a Huiyang cultivator.

She never imagined that after telling Lu Xingzhou they wouldn’t usually encounter such opponents, she would immediately run into one. Although it wasn’t a familiar enemy… encountering such an incident, Tianyao Holy Land had an inescapable responsibility.

Night Tinglan glanced at Lu Xingzhou, who was still searching for things. After a moment’s thought, she gently waved her hand, setting up a set of formation flags in the mountains. If she clashed with a Huiyang-level enemy, they could easily spot a mere fourth-rank practitioner here, which might be disadvantageous for Lu Xingzhou. It was better to hide him. Besides, this young man always acted like the head of the household, even wanting to be the main force against the Black Serpent. It wouldn’t be good if he overestimated himself and tried to join the battle. It was better to keep him inside.

After setting up the formation, Night Tinglan shot off like lightning, following the trail. Among the mountains, a hollow was encircled, forming a natural abyss. A bald monk sat cross-legged in the center of the hollow. Faint dark ley lines silently converged towards him, and the surrounding shadows congealed into a dark halo behind his head.

“Holy Lord of Tianyao,” he murmured, as if to himself, “This matter doesn’t concern you. Why meddle?”

Night Tinglan hovered above him, looking down, “Those from the ancient realms are not supposed to freely appear in the human world. You’ve also brazenly manipulated ley lines to absorb a city; you’ve violated the heavenly rules.”

“Heavenly rules? Who is heaven? What rules?” The monk smiled slightly, “For us, the human world is no different from a secret realm we’ve discovered. How we dispose of a secret realm is our own business. Just as you delved into the Black Serpent’s side, you wouldn’t think the Black Serpent was the master and you were the intruder.”

Night Tinglan was long accustomed to such fallacious arguments and showed no reaction, merely counter-questioning, “How do you know about my entry into the Black Serpent’s secret realm?”

“I didn’t know originally,” the monk chuckled. “However, you still carry the scent of the Black Serpent’s blood. When I calculated back, I naturally figured it out.”

Night Tinglan felt a pang of solemnity; this monk’s strength was greater than she had anticipated. She said, “If I were benevolent towards the Black Serpent, the Black Serpent would still devour me. But if you are benevolent towards the human world, the human world will not devour you. You are inherently a practitioner of dark, malevolent cultivation; why seek excuses for yourself?”

The monk still smiled, “Are you sure the human world won’t devour me?”

Night Tinglan was too lazy to answer. A dignified Huiyang, a transcendent cultivator, would have no trouble gaining the utmost respect in the human world. People would only prostrate themselves in worship; who would dare to devour you?

“The human world won’t devour me, but my lifespan will,” the monk sighed. “I need to break through; I can’t afford to care about many things. If mountains and rivers are beneficial, then I shall sacrifice these mountains and rivers. Anyone who obstructs me is an enemy.”

This was the root cause. Night Tinglan had seen such situations many times in her life, including with Gu Shaoli.

The monk continued, “I observe your cultivation, and you are also on the threshold. Your support for Great Qian is not without the intention of borrowing its ley lines. If you do not spoil my plans, I can share a portion of the Frost Nation’s ley lines with you. Everyone would be happy, how about it?”

Night Tinglan said coolly, “No need. You should return to where you belong.”

“Why bother?” The monk sighed, “Holy Lord, your romantic destiny is stirring. This is precisely the time for you to be tender with your husband and deepen your relationship. Why wade into these troubled waters? It’s like an earthly general abandoning his bride on his wedding day to go to war. If he falls in battle, his wife’s isolated sorrow will be truly lamentable.”

Night Tinglan: “?”

Putting everything else aside, this monk’s aura observation ability was definitely no less than her own. What exactly did he perceive? No, what nonsense are you spouting? Whose romantic destiny is stirring, whose wedding day is it?

Just as her mind was in turmoil, the dense shadows around her coiled silently towards her back like living snakes. The monk, seemingly conversing, had already made his move in secret. Night Tinglan suddenly vanished. The shadows coiled around empty space; Night Tinglan, already holding her divine sword, struck at the monk’s forehead. The dark halo floating behind the monk’s head also came alive, directly positioning itself above his head to block the sword strike. With a “clang,” it emitted a crisp metallic sound. A forceful energy surged outward, scattering the surrounding shadows, which then, like a retreating tide, swept back in.

The battle officially began.

In the mountains, Lu Xingzhou was attempting to break the formation, but he already felt the tremors from afar, and his heart tightened. The opponent was indeed a cultivator on par with Night Tinglan; this was not a battle he could participate in. During the Black Serpent battle, he had desperately wanted to be the main force, but in reality, before he entered its belly, he had been hiding far away. Every strike from the Black Serpent had been blocked by Night Tinglan. If he had truly faced it head-on, he would have been crushed to a pulp long ago. Rashly joining such a battle would only hinder his “master.”

But how could he do nothing, just wait here? In any case, he needed to break out of the formation first. Did that foolish woman really think he would just charge in recklessly? Why set up a formation to restrict him? Lu Xingzhou’s knowledge of formations was inherited from Yuan Muyu, and the formations Yuan Muyu had learned were identical to Night Tinglan’s. This was essentially a test between fellow disciples. The main purpose of Night Tinglan’s formation was to prevent enemies from finding Lu Xingzhou, not to trap him. It was indeed not difficult for Lu Xingzhou to break out from the inside. He quickly found the breaking point and, with a whoosh, rushed out of the mountain.

Turning his head to look in the direction of the tremors, Lu Xingzhou pondered for a moment, then headed straight for the Shadowmoon Sect. Lu Xingzhou had previously learned about ley line changes from Night Tinglan, and even methods for reversing fortune. When the ley line changes were unclear, he couldn’t detect them, but during this battle, with the opponent heavily drawing on the ley line flow, Lu Xingzhou became aware and, after some thought, reached a similar conclusion to Night Tinglan’s earlier.

“I, Lu, have urgent matters to discuss with the State Lord Si! Everyone, get out of my way!” Lu Xingzhou quickly rushed into the Shadowmoon Sect’s gate, pushing aside the disciples guarding it, and headed straight for the main hall. The main hall was brightly lit. Si Han, having experienced a sudden turn of events today, was holding a small meeting with a group of elders. Lu Xingzhou burst through the hall doors with a “bang” and stormed in. Si Han was startled, “Young Master Lu, what is the meaning of this…”

“State Lord Si, who taught you the method for controlling the bone dragon?”