The two entered the cabin, but not for that kind of activity.

To act so wantonly in front of many elders was something Ye Tinglan, with her current composure, couldn’t do, and Lu Xingzhou didn’t want to destroy her modesty—which he probably couldn’t anyway.

Ye Tinglan even left the cabin door ajar, to show her uprightness, then turned to him, pleading in a low voice, “Not here, please? I’ll reward you when we get back.”

Seeing her, who had just been so fiercely pulling his ear, turn into this after entering the room, Lu Xingzhou felt extremely satisfied. “Look at you, am I that kind of person?”

There was a hint of seduction in Ye Tinglan’s eyes. “Aren’t you?”

“Don’t be like this… I’ll lose control.”

“Pah, still saying you’re not.”

Lu Xingzhou chuckled, took out the Soul Banner, and sat down next to Ye Tinglan. “I have a captive here, and I’m losing control. Lend a hand.”

The Ten Thousand Soul Banner was originally specialized in countering陰魂 (yīnhún), and with his Red Lotus Tribulation Flames offering purification and suppression, even this double effect couldn’t restrain the陰魂. At this moment, the Soul Banner was already shaking erratically, with a feeling of tearing, and wisps of black energy diffused from the banner, creating a very demonic scene.

It was as if a righteous companion had been imprisoned by a great demon lord and was attempting to escape.

In the past, Ye Tinglan would have been very disgusted by such a scene, but now she showed no reaction at all. Instead, she pointed a finger at the banner.

The struggling陰魂 instantly fainted.

Ye Tinglan said, “Is this the one that possessed Duan Ning?”

“Yes, and it’s a male soul. It’s a wonder he managed to possess her.”

“He was probably forced into it. His soul is very weak, far from the appropriate Huiyang (Huīyáng) level; he’s merely lingering on. In this state, he probably couldn’t possess someone as stable and powerful as Fang Qihau (Fāng Qǐhào), so he had to target that girl. Similarly, if he were strong enough, your Soul Banner and Red Lotus Tribulation Flames would be useless… A transcendant-grade is a transcendant-grade after all. You must not be so disrespectful in the future. This陰魂’s weakness doesn’t mean other transcendant-grade ones are so useless.”

“Alright, alright, I get it.” Lu Xingzhou couldn’t help but smile. Now, her motherly scolding seemed endearing.

This just goes to show that people’s feelings towards the same things differ based on their positions. If he were truly a disciple, being lectured would only make him secretly resent her as an old hag, and Yuan Muyu’s (Yuán Mùyú) rebelliousness might even be related to this… But when you’re someone who can seal her chattering little mouth with a kiss at any moment, her lecturing only becomes endearing.

In fact, whether it was to a disciple or a lover, her scolding was always well-intentioned.

Ye Tinglan studied his Ten Thousand Soul Banner, somewhat puzzled. “Your Soul Banner’s level has also increased. Otherwise, the gap would be too great to restrain it… Strange, I’ve been with you for the past six months, and I haven’t seen you use the Soul Banner. When did you secretly upgrade it?”

Lu Xingzhou chuckled, “The Soul Banner’s upgrade relies on the main soul. Back in the desert on the first level of the Demon Suppression Domain, Chen Yu (Chén Yǔ) and his group used the desert fire seed there to trap me. I fed that fire seed to the Flame Demon. The Shattering Golden Fire was collected later in the second-level volcano.”

Ye Tinglan suddenly realized, “So you actually got two fire seeds back then!”

“Yes, others thought I only got one, but the other was fed to the Flame Demon early on. It leveled up, and naturally, the Soul Banner did too.”

Ye Tinglan wasn’t particularly familiar with this type of evil cultivation. She found it somewhat peculiar because, purely in terms of energy reaction, the Soul Banner itself had almost no power; it would be difficult to even make a hole in a wall with it. But against陰魂-type entities, it was an absolute bane, possessing the power of a top-tier item.

For normal cultivators, its soul-summoning and soul-controlling abilities were also very powerful, making it a terrifying treasure for overcoming higher ranks. Yet, he hardly ever needed to nurture it, and its advancement was so silent and rapid.

Evil demonic techniques indeed had their extraordinary aspects, especially suited for ambitious and impatient demonic cultivators.

Ye Tinglan felt a slight urge to tell him to give it up… Demonic items, despite their obvious advantages, naturally also had significant drawbacks. For instance, cultivating the Soul Banner could easily make the owner’s temperament gloomy—it was said that the previous Judge was quite grim, and Lu Xingzhou wasn’t much better when he first arrived in Xiazhou (Xiàzhōu), a completely different demeanor from his current smiling self.

But then she reconsidered. His Soul Banner had never stopped, and it didn’t seem to hinder him from becoming more cheerful. Perhaps it was unrelated… He had his own opinions and didn’t need too much interference.

So, she didn’t pursue that topic, and instead said, “Give me this陰魂. Your Soul Banner’s level still makes it very difficult to control him, and there’s a risk of him retaliating. It’s better to give him to me. After I pry his mouth open, I’ll tell you whatever conclusions I reach.”

Lu Xingzhou gave a wry smile. “You two sisters are really…”

“Hmm?” Ye Tinglan’s expression became dangerous. “You can give one to her, but not to me, is that it?”

“Nonsense.” Lu Xingzhou directly pulled the fainted陰魂 from the Soul Banner and handed it over. “The value of these things is in exploring the ancient realm, and for you, there’s the added benefit of understanding the root of their dealings with Tianyao (Tiānyáo) Sacred Land. Anyway, the matters of the ancient realm are a bit far from me and not my responsibility for now; they should rightfully be yours.”

Ye Tinglan produced some kind of bag and put the陰魂 inside. Then she looked at Lu Xingzhou, a little hesitant.

The speaker had no intention, but the listener paid close attention.

Exploring the ancient realm was indeed somewhat distant for him. As a third-grade cultivator, he still had many foundational things to practice. For example, his advanced studies in alchemy had been interrupted by various matters and made almost no progress; he would certainly need to continue his advanced studies. In the current situation, with turmoil in the sea and Zhao En’s (Zhào Ēn) whereabouts unknown, Ye Tinglan would definitely need to stay in charge of the East Sea for the short term and not wander off. So… could he also stay here for advanced study and not go back?

She felt he wouldn’t agree. His heart didn’t truly belong to Tianyao Sacred Land; he had never been a Sacred Land disciple.

Moreover, Ye Tinglan had never approved of the concept of solitary cultivation; she always encouraged practical experience. She also raised Xiao Baimao (Xiǎo Báimáo) by having her train in the cold river since childhood, and previously told Lu Xingzhou, suggesting he train alone and not follow her, not even bringing A’nuo (Ā’nuò). How could she now, because she was reluctant to let him go, force him to stay in Tianyao Sacred Land?

Lu Xingzhou noticed that his mentor had suddenly fallen silent and felt a little puzzled. Even the smartest man couldn’t fully comprehend the myriad thoughts in a woman’s heart. Just moments ago, she was lecturing him in a motherly tone, and now she had moved on to thoughts of parting sadness.

He thought she was worried about the situation in the sea caused by the陰魂, so he comforted her, “Their plan to quickly establish a human foothold has failed, and now you have the陰魂 in hand to search. The initiative is entirely yours, so why worry?”

Ye Tinglan snapped back to reality, smiled, and softly said, “I know… Hmm, we’ve arrived. We’ll talk later.”

The phoenix carriage had returned to Tianyao Sacred Land. Ye Tinglan stepped out of the cabin, and the elders exchanged secret glances, all letting out a sigh of relief.

The door was only ajar, and there were no strange sounds from inside; occasionally, they heard discussions about serious matters.

Who said the Sacred Lord and the little pup were like that? Was the Sacred Lord that kind of person? Nonsense!

An elder had already sent a message via jade talisman to inform the sect of the change in the grand competition at sea. Now, seeing them return, the sect erupted in cheers.

The Sacred Lord had once again led them to a splendid victory, establishing her might in the East Sea, and the prestige of Tianyao Sacred Land continued to rise. The disciples felt honored. Wherever the phoenix carriage passed, everyone bowed to Ye Tinglan at the bow of the ship, making way for her.

Ye Tinglan remained expressionless, only sending a telepathic message to various places: “The matter of Jinfeng (Jīnfèng) Island is the top priority for the Sacred Land at present. Disciples’ training missions will also be arranged in this direction recently.”

“Yes.”

Ye Tinglan stopped the phoenix carriage and walked towards her sleeping quarters without glancing aside. “Lu Xingzhou, come with me. We haven’t finished discussing what happened earlier.”

Lu Xingzhou followed her, and the elders didn’t find anything unusual.

Du Guqingli (Dúgū Qīnglí) and A’nuo sat together with their knees hugged on the bridge leading to the sleeping quarters, watching the dragon turtle eat below. After a long while, Du Guqingli finally said, “A’nuo, after your master found her mistress, she seems to be ignoring you.”

A’nuo said, “Your master is the same.”

Du Guqingli: “…”

A’nuo pulled a piece of candy from her pocket, threw it into the pond for the dragon turtle, and casually asked, “Why, weren’t you asking me because of this?”

Du Guqingli said, “Don’t you feel very unaccustomed? I’m used to traveling alone, and even I feel unaccustomed. You’re usually always sticking with your master, how can you be so cheerful instead… I’m genuinely asking for advice.”

“Because when master and Sister Yu (Yú) were together before, it was like this… I’ve long been used to it…” A’nuo stroked her chin. “But now it’s not good, there are too many… Sister Baimao (Báimáo), let’s form an alliance.”

Du Guqingli said, “How so?”

“I need to find a way to hold master back; we can’t have any more mistresses.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“I need you to stay away from my master.”

Du Guqingli: “…”

A’nuo finished feeding the dragon turtle and finally stood up, swaying as she left. “Let’s go, my master won’t be coming out tonight…”

Du Guqingli followed closely, earnestly asking, “Didn’t they seem quite normal just now, discussing serious matters?”

“You also said ‘just now.’ They were on the boat then, now they’re in bed.”

Xiao Baimao felt that since meeting this master and disciple duo in Xiazhou, her knowledge base had been continuously polluted and was now utterly skewed.

Meanwhile, the Sacred Lord, who appeared composed and had just settled the world in people’s eyes, closed the door after entering her sleeping quarters and immediately turned to embrace the young man.

She hugged him so tightly, even trembling slightly.

Lu Xingzhou felt she had been a bit off since earlier. He gently patted her soft back and asked tenderly, “What’s wrong?”

“I won’t be leaving the sea area for a while.” Ye Tinglan leaned into his arms, speaking softly, “If I ask you to stay at Tianyao Sacred Land to accompany me, would you be willing?”

Lu Xingzhou paused, then fell silent.

Silence was a form of answer. Ye Tinglan understood, sighing softly, “I knew it.”

Then, the hand wrapped around his back reached up and touched him. “The inner armor on your back is cracked. Take it off, and I’ll repair it for you.”

Lu Xingzhou obediently took it off, revealing his well-built upper body.

Ye Tinglan directly placed the cracked Dragon Subduing Armor into her ring, without any intention of repairing it.

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

Ye Tinglan bit her lower lip, gently caressing his chest. “You’re injured… Shouldn’t you prioritize treatment?”

Lu Xingzhou then set aside the matter of the Dragon Subduing Armor for the moment and whispered into her ear, “Now that we’re here, what level of reward should Master give?”

Ye Tinglan looked up at his eyes slightly, her beautiful gaze somewhat hazy.

This silence also served as an answer. Lu Xingzhou didn’t wait for her response; he quickly bent down, lifted her horizontally, and strode towards the bed.

Ye Tinglan obediently allowed him to place her flat on the bed, then reached up, hooked her arms around his neck, and softly murmured, “That day, I said I was willing if you wanted me, but because of the waste of Yuan Yin (yuányīn) and the potential impact my Yuan Yin might have on you, I ultimately didn’t agree.”

Lu Xingzhou lowered his head and kissed her earlobe. “Are you still going to say that today… Is my third grade not enough?”

“What I mean to say is, I was actually deceiving you that day. Yuan Yin would indeed be wasted, but saying it would impact you was alarmist; it wouldn’t be that severe. The true reason was that I couldn’t let go. Tianyao Sacred Lord, Master Tinglan (Tīnglán), is seen as a renunciant by the world. Our intimacy ultimately had no concrete evidence. If my body were truly defiled and it became known, I… I don’t know how I would face people, or how I would face the position of sect leader.”

Yuan Muyu said, “You also have inner demons.”

Her inner demons were about caring too much for her reputation, being too bound by the identity of Tianyao Sacred Lord.

So much so that in her interactions with the young man, even though she knew she couldn’t hide it, she still tried to find various disguises, deceiving herself and others, as if it was only acceptable if she wasn’t Tianyao Sacred Lord, just for that one step.

But if she knew it was a deception, how could she deceive her own heart?

From beginning to end, she hadn’t been able to fully let go.

She couldn’t openly contend with Shen Tang (Shěn Táng) precisely because she was confined by her identity and couldn’t openly snatch him.

Yuan Muyu said, “You dare not go public, so is he an older brother-in-law? No.”