“Ardent Yin Sect..?” Xiao Yueyin muttered.

She took out another small tablet, this one being made of wood. She infused it with her Essence and immediately after, a voice sounded in her head again.

“Yueyin! Are you finally out of seclusion?”

This voice belonged to Guo Xinyi!

“Yes, I am leading the Sect disciples this time to attend the All Desolate Competition.” Said Xiao Yueyin.

“What! Are you in Solitude City right now? Where are you?”

“Let’s meet at the River Wine Restaurant.”

…

Half an hour later, Xiao Yueyin arrived first. The waiter recognized the symbol on her dress and escorted her to an exclusive room.

Guo Xinyi showed up a moment later. Surprisingly, the young Lin Roulan was with her as well.

“Yueyin, It’s been a while, you’re always in seclusion.” Guo Xinyi complained the moment they met.

“How have you been, Xinyi?”

She shook her head, and a tired expression appeared on her face. She waved her hand to create a sound barrier around her and Xiao Yueyin.

“Ever since Senior Sister Fang Yu became incapacitated, the matter of the First Yin Pavilion has been left for the rest of us to handle. The work has been overwhelming.”

“There hasn’t been any progress?”

“No, her injuries are too severe. All the doctors we invited were unable to help. Even Senior Yu Li had his arms tied. He can only ensure that her life is protected.”

Guo Xinyi’s eyes suddenly brightened, she grabbed Xiao Yueyin’s jade-like hand and asked, “Can the Arcane Mountain help?”

“I’m sorry, Xinyi. If even Senior Yu Li is unable to do anything, then there isn’t much we can do. Perhaps if it was the Ancestor…”

Xiao Yueyin shook her head, “Unfortunately he's busy watching over that formation at the mountain so he cannot leave."

Guo Xinyi let out a dejected sigh. Xiao Yueyin saw this, she opened her mouth wanting to say something but nothing came out. She isn’t good at comforting people so she wasn’t sure of what to say to make her friend feel better.

After a brief moment of silence. Xiao Yueyin hesitated but finally asked Guo Xinyi about the reason for this meet-up.

Guo Xinyi sweetly laughed upon seeing her awkwardness, she answered, “The book was bought by a young woman named Xia Lihua.”

“Xia Lihua…” Xiao Yueyin repeated.

“Yes. I don’t know much about her. At first, I thought she was from a reclusive clan, but now, I’m not sure.”

“Why?”

“Because she doesn’t know the Empress. I find it hard to believe that there's a person in the Mortal Desolate World that doesn’t know the Great Empress Han Lan. Even mortals know about her legend.”

Xiao Yueyin narrowed her pitch-black eyes and a hint of killing intent emitted from her body.

Guo Xinyi quickly waved her hand to reinforce the barrier, containing the killing intent within.

“Is she one of them?” Xiao Yueyin asked coldly.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“No, she’s human. I’m sure.”

“That’s not all..” Guo Xinyi saw her friend had calmed down so she told her about Xia Lihua’s age and cultivation level, shocking her even more.

Xiao Yueyin thinks back, she had broken through Life Destruction at twenty-four years old, falling just slightly behind. This means Xia Lihua is even more talented than she is!

Xiao Yueyin can no longer contain her curiosity and said, “I want to meet her.”

“I want to go too!” A cute childish voice suddenly shouted.

“Ah, I forgot she was here…”

…

A little later, three figures stood outside a door. Xiao Yueyin glanced at the short figure standing in front of her and gave Guo Xinyi a questioning look.

Guo Xinyi bitterly shook her head. She originally didn’t want to bring Lin Roulan along but the little girl kept complaining to the point where she was on the verge of crying, Guo Xinyi can only allow her to tag along.

Lin Roulan is especially doted in the Ardent Yin Sect. From the disciples to the Sect Master, everyone adored her. Although she has yet to join due to her age, it was only a matter of time.

The little girl happily opened the door and walked in first while the other two followed behind with a wry smile.

The moment Xiao Yueyin entered the room she immediately noticed a figure sitting lazily in a chair, reading a book.

Who else could it be but Ji Xian.

He didn’t greet them but instead remained focused on reading.

The room was relatively simple. A glance was enough to see everything. Other than the Ji Xian, Xiao Yueyin saw a barrier with a faint silhouette of a person inside, clearly cultivating. For some reason, she felt a strange feeling welling within when she saw this silhouette.

"..."

The room had an awkward silence. Usually, it was the servant's job to greet new guests but looking at Ji Xian's lazy posture, it was obvious that he had no intention to do so.

Guo Xinyi cleared her throat to grab his attention.

Ji Xian slightly lowers the book in his hand revealing the messy hair that's covering his eyes.

He took one look at them and gave a half-ass nod before stuffing the book back into his face.

Guo Xinyi was speechless.

She cleared her throat again, and said, “I have a friend that wants to meet your Young Lady, can you notify her?”

Hearing this, Ji Xian put down his book. He looked around him as though in search of something. The three ladies watched with confusion, wondering what he was doing.

Finally, he grabbed an ink brush that was an arm's length away and threw it at the barrier around Xia Lihua.

In an anticlimactic fashion, It bounced away and landed on the floor.

"…"

Ji Xian pinched his chin with his finger. Although his appearance couldn’t be seen he looked like he was pondering something.

He reached for the inkstone next and repeated his previous action.

As expected, it bounced away, flying towards Xiao Yueyin. She reached out her arm, easily catching it within her palm.

He gave her a thumbs up and gestured at her to throw the inkstone again at Xia Lihua.

Perhaps it was due to her utter astonishment at this ridiculous scenario, Xiao Yueyin indulged him.

The result remained the same but this time the inkstone flew toward Guo Xinyi.

"…"

In her peripherals, she can see Ji Xian motioning her to throw it again. Guo Xinyi took in a deep breath and resisted the urge to throw the inkstone at him before putting it down on the table.

Lin Roulan was happily standing beside Ji Xian giggling at this sight.

Feeling exhausted all of a sudden, Guo Xinyi said “We will return when Sister Xia is done with her cultivation.”

She headed for the door when all of a sudden, Ji Xian’s voice sounded out from behind, “She should be done in another ten minutes.”

!

A visible vein bulged from Guo Xinyi’s forehead, “Why didn’t you say that earlier?”

“Ah, this lowly servant thought that's too long of a wait so I could only resort to extreme measures to try to wake the Young Lady sooner.” He replied nonchalantly.

Guo Xinyi and Xiao Yueyin were dumbfounded.

Ten minutes for cultivators was nothing! It’s equivalent to the blink of an eye. And did he just say picking up random objects and throwing them, is using an extreme measure?

Lin Roulan's adorable laugh filled the room, causing Guo Xinyi to look at her in annoyance.

The little girl sticks out her tongue before asking “What's your name, Big Brother?"

“Ji Xian.”

“I am Lin Roulan.”

“I know.”

“Oh... Big Brother Ji Xian, what are you reading?”

“A book.”

“What is it about?”

“You’re too young to know.”

"Why are you always hiding your face?"

"To protect the people of this world."

"From what?"

"The destruction of the natural order."

"…"

The two women watched as the two of them go back and forth, talking about absolutely nothing. They gave each other a glance before Guo Xinyi sat on her bed and begin meditating.

At the same time, Xiao Yueyin leaned outside the window. Her arms rested on the frame as she take in the view from the tall building.

As the date of the All Desolate Competition approaches, the city has become even more lively. The sounds of chatter came from every direction.

Her eyes subconsciously moved to the city gates. Looking at the familiar scene, she suddenly thought about the figure watching her, but then, a thought hit her.

She glanced back at Ji Xian, who was still talking nonsense with Lin Roulan

She silently muttered, "It was him..."