After Changing to the Ruthless Way, the Brothers Cried and Begged for Forgiveness-Chapter 455: Cui Jue, Do You Know What I Like Most About You
From the crowd, a well-dressed man with striking brows stepped out. Seeing him, Dong Fang Yue bit her red lip and looked helplessly to Bei Ming Yan. Bei Ming Yan sighed inwardly yet said nothing. If Dong Fang Yue would not stand up for herself, others were powerless to help.
Nangong Jie looked as if he might speak, but one glance toward where Nangong Yin stood left him hesitating; after wrestling with himself, he still did not step out to announce his name.
By then other Cultivators had also voiced their thanks, though few offered family tokens as Bei Ming Yan and Dong Fang Yu had.
Ancestor Sui Bian did not care whether their gratitude was heartfelt; as long as they did not make trouble, he would thank his lucky stars. Beaming, he accepted whatever they handed him, offered a few polite words, then seized the moment to whisk Yu Zhao away from that troublesome place.
They flew for several hours at a stretch. Only after confirming no one was following did Ancestor Sui Bian finally let the heart he’d been holding in midair settle. He said, smiling wryly: “Little Yu Zhao, you scared the Ancestor half to death. Next time something this thrilling is coming, give the Ancestor a heads up.”
Yu Zhao smiled apologetically and said: “There won’t be a next time.” Inviting the Auspicious Beasts had been a spur-of-the-moment impulse; even she found it inexplicable and could only chalk it up to the influence of her dream. The Antler Imprint in her Sea of Consciousness also gave her a premonition that she would meet the Auspicious Beasts again.
The Ancestor had never truly meant to blame her; seeing how seriously she took his words, he felt a bit abashed and said: “The Ancestor was only speaking offhand; don’t take it to heart. We escaped the jaws of death thanks to you. You’re the Ancestor’s lucky star.” Thinking back on their recent, hair-raising adventures, he felt that besides luck, Yu Zhao deserved the most credit. Yu Zhao, of course, could not accept the praise and only said that the Ancestor’s guidance had been superb. After they flattered each other to mutual satisfaction, they finally changed the subject.
“The Cultivators in the Land of Divine Remains have been decimated,” Ancestor Sui Bian said. “Now’s the perfect time to search for Starry Sky Stones.” He had even taken a headcount when they left: fewer than one in ten Cultivators had survived. With so few people still in the Land of Divine Remains, it was at its safest.
“No rush,” Yu Zhao said, drawing a Storage Bracelet from her robes. “There may be something we want in here.”
“Where did you get that bracelet? It looks far from ordinary.” Storage tools come in ranks: the common Storage Pouch holds less than a roomful, while high-grade tools can fit an entire city. The Storage Bracelet in Yu Zhao’s hand was exquisitely shaped, its engraved patterns faintly extraordinary at a glance—clearly the work of a master of Artifact Refining.
“It’s the Storage Bracelet of the Earth Clan’s young patriarch.”
Ancestor Sui Bian’s eyes lit up; he rubbed his hands and said: “Then it must be packed with precious things. Quick, open it!”
Ordinarily, when the master dies, the Divine Sense imprint on a Storage Bracelet dissipates and the bracelet becomes ownerless. But when Yu Zhao extended her Divine Sense into it, an invisible Barrier blocked her, and an ear-splitting voice detonated without warning deep in her Sea of Consciousness. In an instant, her vision blurred; a ceaseless buzzing roared in her ears, and a crushing force seemed ready to grind her Sea of Consciousness to dust.
“Yu Zhao!” Sensing something wrong, Ancestor Sui Bian slapped a palm to the center of her back. A gentle, weighty force surged into her Sea of Consciousness, cocooning her restless spirit. Yu Zhao’s scattered awareness snapped back a little; she decisively severed her link to the Storage Bracelet and collapsed backward, limp, drenched in sweat as if hauled from a river.
“Yu Zhao! Yu Zhao! Don’t scare the Ancestor!” Ancestor Sui Bian fumbled in a panic, supporting her with his Spiritual Power while rummaging for healing pills.
“Ancestor—” Yu Zhao had just parted her lips when he unceremoniously stuffed several pills into her mouth. The pills melted at once, and she settled cross-legged to absorb their power while he kept a watchful eye on her, ready to rescue her at any moment.
Fortunately, the Ancestor had acted in time, and the pills mended what they could. Three days later, Yu Zhao’s spirit was fully steadied. She opened her eyes, lingering dread in her gaze. This had been a wake-up call. The Middle Thousand World was not the Lesser Thousand World: its Cultivators’ methods were subtler and stronger, and a moment’s carelessness could see her fall into their snares.
Ancestor Sui Bian was delighted to see her awake, then his face flushed with self-reproach as he sighed: “It’s my fault—I should’ve warned you.”
“How could I blame the Ancestor when I owe you my life?” Yu Zhao produced the Storage Bracelet again and asked: “Do you have a way to break this Barrier?”
“I’m no Formation specialist,” Ancestor Sui Bian said with a wave of his hand, “but I know someone who is. Your Jade Ruyi will need his help too. Next time, we’ll bring them both.”
Hearing this, Yu Zhao set aside, for now, the thought of forcing the Storage Bracelet. Since they could not know whether it held a Starry Sky Stone, she and Ancestor Sui Bian decided to remain in the Land of Divine Remains a while longer and try their luck.
… Bei Ming Palace, outer court. Cui Jue had just stepped out of the Alchemy Hall when he saw a woman in a fitted red suit waving to him with a smile. He drew a slow breath, pressed down the disgust and impatience in his eyes, and said in a voice cold as polished jade: “Senior Sister Tuo Ba.”
Tuo Ba Jing laughed heartily and said: “I’ve told you so many times, don’t call me Senior Sister. I’m giving you the privilege of calling me by my name.”
“Rites cannot be discarded,” he answered.
She glanced at his icy expression, smiled as if unconcerned, and lightly changed the topic: “I acquired a new pill recipe a few days ago. It should be useful to you. Take it and study it; you might pass the next Alchemy Hall disciple assessment.”
The refusal on Cui Jue’s lips stalled. To blend into the Bei Ming Palace more quickly, he had broken his own vow and rekindled his alchemy furnace. Passing the Alchemy Hall’s disciple assessment was the bridge into the palace’s inner circle. Yet the talent he had once taken pride in was nothing special in the Bei Ming Realm, and with limited recipes and herbs in the cultivation world, he had failed the assessment several times. The recipe Tuo Ba Jing offered was precisely what he needed. He hesitated, then shook his head and declined: “Thank you for your kindness, Senior Sister Tuo Ba. I cannot accept without merit. This junior brother is grateful.”
Tuo Ba Jing’s face darkened for an instant, but in the next heartbeat she lifted her lips in a smile and said: “Cui Jue, do you know what I like most about you? It’s that ice-pure, jade-clean disposition of yours, and the way you keep everyone a thousand miles away.”
Chapter 455: Cui Jue, Do You Know What I Like Most About You
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