Ch63 - City Master Pei, you’re not being very appropriate here

Feng Ci almost laughed in anger because of this asshole.

This was a great demon(妖), who has cultivated several thousands of years after all. Yet he was still throwing a childish tantrum like this; a three-year-old kid was more mature than this person. 

The joy that Feng Ci felt initially due to their reunion washed away under Pei QianYue’s juvenile behavior. He pondered briefly. Instead of being in a hurry to follow after the other, on the contrary, Feng Ci took half a step back and dragged Meng ChangQing away to hide back inside the crowd.

The news of LangFeng City’s arrival spread very quickly. A moment later, an elder from LingXiao Gates came out of the Main Hall to greet them. With a squeeze from the crowd, Feng Ci lost sight of Pei QianYue’s figure completely.

Feng Ci withdrew his gaze. Meng ChangQing asked next to him: “What exactly is going on here? Why are you—”

“Shh.” Feng Ci raised a hand and pressed it to his lips. He glanced around and said in a deliberately mysterious manner: “I snuck out secretly and didn’t come together with my sect.” 

Meng ChangQing was shocked: “You—”

“What’s so strange about that.” Feng Ci interrupted him: “The Immortal Alliance evaluation is a once-in-a-lifetime event. What’s wrong with me coming over to get involved in the fun?”

“You are so……” Meng ChangQing started to say, but then felt that something didn’t seem right: “Wait a second. Didn’t City Master Pei accept you as his disciple? The different sects all brought their disciples with them to the evaluation, so why didn’t he want to bring you as well?” 

Feng Ci glanced towards the direction of Pei QianYue’s departure, recalled the other person’s conduct just now, and couldn’t help but smile: “Oh him, he’s pissed off at me right now. So petty……”

There’s no one in the entire cultivation world who’d dare say this about City Master Pei. Meng ChangQing instantly looked at Feng Ci with an incredulous expression on his face.

Feng Ci was unconcerned. He glanced left and right, appearing relaxed and leisure.

Meng ChangQing dragged him to the side: “This is not going to work for you. Lately, LingXiao Gates has been on strict survalliance. All the guests coming and going have been issued passage tokens. It’s only because you ran into me that no one has checked it yet. But in a little while, I’ll be entering the secret realm, you can’t—”

Feng Ci asked him: “You’re also entering the secret realm?” 

“That’s right.” Meng ChangQing said: “A lot of people are involved in this trial. The Six Sects have each sent patrolling disciples inside to prevent accidents from occurring. See, here’s the tracking device issued by the sects.” 

He raised his wrist. Around his wrist was a bracelet that seemed to be created from some kind of metal.

This thing was dainty and cute with a square panel on top. Meng ChangQing gave it a tap and a blue light lit up on the panel. With another tap, a map appeared.

“Impressive, right?” Meng ChangQing gave him a smug smile and showed him: “This is the map of the Heavenly Spirit Ruins. The disciples participating in the trial will appear as green dots. If someone is in danger or has no way to continue the evaluation, the dot on here will turn red. Our job is to save those people.” As he spoke, he started sighing: “Hopefully, nothing crazy will happen. I hear that the demons and monsters inside this place are pretty hard to deal with. I definitely don’t feel confident.” 

Feng Ci didn’t answer.

He lowered his head, examined it for a moment, and asked: “Isn’t this enchanted craft?”

“This is indeed enchanted craft.” Meng ChangQing said: “Ever since the Heavenly Spirit Ruins was determined to be the location of the evaluation, my Shizun…… in other words, Elder Ji Yun, personally delivered the Heavenly Spirit Ruins’ magic arrays to WanFa Pavilion to have the Pavilion Master enhance them. Two days ago, Pavilion Master YuChi sent the arrays back. A pile of these things came with them.”

“I heard that he had spent two months and a half making these things without sleep or rest. Immediately after showing us how to use them, he fainted. He’s been sleeping in a little courtyard in our back mountains since.” 

He paused briefly and then said: “Sleeping yet still cursing City Master Pei under his breath for exploiting him.”

Feng Ci: “……”

Enhancing the magic arrays for such a formidable secret realm in only two and a half months, while needing to create so many tracking devices simultaneously, this was indeed a type of exploitation.

But…… 

Feng Ci asked: “Can I see that?”

“Ah?” Meng ChangQing hesitated for a moment, but he still took off that bracelet-looking item: “Considering we came from the same sect, I’ll let you take a glance. Just don’t break it.”

Feng Ci accepted the item.

The shape of this thing actually looked more closely like wrist watches that Feng Ci has seen in other worlds. The body of the item was entirely silver. Just by appearance only, it was impossible to tell the type of material used to make it. 

Feng Ci turned the thing back and forth in his hand several times and examined it for quite a while. He frowned slightly.

To utilize enchanted machinery successfully, spiritual energy was indispensable as its source of power. However, the strange thing here was that Feng Ci couldn’t sense the slightest spirit energy from this thing.

Or was it because……WanFa has invented some new technique that can conceal the spirit energy inside their enchanted crafts?

Feng Ci couldn’t figure out the reason in such a short time and had no choice but to return the item back to Meng ChangQing. 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Meng ChangQing still wanted to say something to him, however, someone suddenly called his name in the distance. Because it was almost noon, the LingXiao Gates disciples needed to assemble and get ready to enter the secret realm.

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“Zfcu-Vtlzlbcu.” Mfcu Jl mjiifv tlw. 

Zfcu JtjcuHlcu aegcfv yjmx ab ibbx ja tlw: “Ct?”

Feng Ci suddenly recalled what he had seen previously in Lu JingMing’s memories— the events that happened the night of TianXuan Sect’s destruction. Through Lu JingMing’s eyes, Feng Ci had seen this youth’s still rather young and inexperienced face.

Three days later, Lu JingMing’s body would end up failing completely. Strictly speaking, this was probably the last meeting between these two orphans of TianXuan Sect. 

However, Feng Ci didn’t say much and only said softly: “You should also be careful.” 

Meng ChangQing was stunned briefly.

“Don’t worry.” He gave Feng Ci a smile and said seriously: “I still need to get revenge for our sect. I’ll definitely take good care of myself.”

It was almost noon. The Heavenly Spirit Ruins was about to open. The crowd gathered in the front plaza of LingXiao Gates.

The frontmost area of the plaza held the seats of the Leaders of the Six Sects. Besides the empty seat of the WanFa Pavilion Master, the other head leaders have all arrived. Pei QianYue sat upright and proper at the center. His expression looked even worse than a moment ago when he first arrived in LingXiao Gates. He exuded an unapproachable aura from head to toe. 

Feng Ci naturally knew the reason for this.

The little snake threw a tantrum and screwed himself over, losing the opportunity to unite with Feng Ci just now. Feng Ci has already concealed his presence again.

Pei QianYue couldn’t find him anymore.

Feng Ci laughed silently and continued to look up onto the platform. Behind the seats of the Six Sect Leaders sat the representatives of other sects within the Immortal Alliance. To make this evaluation even more fair and impartial, Pei QianYue gathered pretty much all the sects within the Immortal Alliance to witness the event together. 

A LingXiao Gates disciple walked up to the center of the stage and started to read aloud the rules and regulations of this Immortal Alliance evaluation.

These rules and regulations were pretty much the same as what Xiao Guo had told him. Amidst the crowd, Feng Ci listened quietly.

The people currently present weren’t only cultivators about to enter the secret realm for the trial. There were also fellow sect members who came to cheer them on. It was a vast jumbo of people. As such, Feng Ci just used illusion magic to create a passage token for himself and successfully assimilated himself into the crowd with no difficulties.

There was a cultivation sect right next to where he was standing. 

“I, I’m so nervous!” A young woman’s crisp voice spoke up.

Feng Ci turned his head and looked over. It was a girl in a light-yellow dress. She had a pretty face and didn’t look older than 15-16 years old. She held a sword tightly in her hands.

Next to her was a boy around the same age. He answered: “Then don’t go.”

When the girl heard this, she became unhappy: “Why shouldn’t I? I’m definitely going.” 

Holding his sword, the boy turned his gaze away: “Your cultivation level is not high enough. Heading inside is nothing more than creating trouble anyways. What’s the point?”

“You talk as if your cultivation is really strong or something!” The girl said furiously: “Don’t forget that you entered the sect one year after me, Xiao. Shidi.”

The boy’s cheeks instantly flushed red. He even started stuttering nonstop: “I, I am older than you. My swordsmanship also surpasses yours……”

“Just 8 months older. In terms of swordsmanship, you only won 5 out of 9 times. Can this even count as winning?” The girl swung the sword in her hand and said tauntingly: “How about we have another fight and see who will win and who will lose.” 

“Enough!” An old man reprimanded behind them: “Already arguing before even entering the secret realm, do you guys still plan to participate in this trial?”

The two people hastily shut their mouths and lowered their heads like quails.

The old man gave them a glance and didn’t continue nagging them. He only said with a sigh: “If it weren’t for the fact that our JiuXiao Sect is few in numbers with less than 10 people within the sect that actually meets requirements, the sect wouldn’t have made an exception to allow you two to go. Considering you guys still haven’t entered the secret realm yet, there’s still a chance; if you don’t want to go inside, just take off the tracking device on your wrist.” 

To be fair, the trial inside the secret realm only accepted the younger generation disciples. For some small-scaled sects, it’s actually not easy to assemble 10 young disciples with passable cultivation levels. As a result, the requirement of the evaluation was relaxed to 5-10 people. 

However, since the rules and regulations involved searching and fighting for treasures, most of the cultivation sects did their best to fill all ten spots. After all, the more people, the greater the chance of finding treasures. 

“No way.” The girl hastily covered her wrist: “I also want to do my best to help the sect, you know. It’s Mu-Shidi who doesn’t want to go. If you’re going to take anyone’s, take his!”

“That’s not what— I was just……”

The boy took a glance at the girl beside him. His voice became more and more inaudible. The latter part of his sentence was practically nothing but breathing.  

The girl didn’t hear clearly: “What did you say? Mumbling to yourself.”

Feng Ci smiled faintly.

He actually heard it pretty clearly.

The boy said: “I was just worried about you.” 

If this were before, Feng Ci definitely wouldn’t have paid any mind to these kinds of youthful troubles. However, seeing it right now actually felt pretty interesting.

What seemed like opposing rivals at each other’s throats, were actually people concerned for each other mutually through ambiguously suggestive verbal exchanges and phantom fleeting physical contacts.

How interesting.

Feng Ci thought of something and raised his eyes to look up front again. 

After LingXiao Gates acquired the Heavenly Spirit Ruins, they sealed the entrance in a bronze mirror that was half a person in height. Right now, that bronze mirror was placed in front of everyone. After the LingXiao Gates disciple finished reading the rules and regulations, Pei QianYue got up and raised his hand directly without even saying anything.

The originally undisturbed surface of the mirror swirled like a vortex and activated.

Inside the whirlpool of dark purple spirit energy seemed to hide sparks of lightning, making it look extremely eerie.

Pei QianYue said coldly: “Go ahead.” 

The cultivation sects entered the secret realm one by one.

Most of the sects attending the trial gathered the full ten people. 120 cultivation sects, that meant 1200 people. After these 1200 people entered the secret realm, it was the turn of the patrolling disciples dispatched by the Six Sects.

Once everyone has entered the secret realm, the hundreds of mirrors above the plaza light up, reflecting the situation inside the secret realm.

As the name implied, the interior of the secret realm, Heavenly Spirit Ruin, was a whole new different universe, otherworldly and beautiful. Rumors say that there were more than ten different regions inside this secret realm. Each region held treasures and beasts of a different difficulty level. 

This was also why the secret realm can accommodate a thousand people entering it simultaneously for the trial by fire.

The trial started officially. The contestants with good luck and fast speed have already encountered demons and monsters and started fighting with them.

The hundreds of mirrors reflected the scenes inside the secret realm simultaneously. If he had to look through them one by one, it was really very tiring. Feng Ci wasn’t like other observers either, who had fellow sect members inside the trial right now and were eagerly searching for familiar faces inside the mirrors. As a result, he only sat down cross-legged where he stood and started to stare lost in thought…… at Pei QianYue sitting up front.

Pei QianYue also had no interest in the situation inside the secret realm. He still maintained that same ice-cold appearance and sat in place without saying a word. 

Seething silently.

Thanks to his hundred meters thick filtering lens, Grandmaster QianQiu only thought that this sullen and sulky appearance of his family’s little snake was so cute no matter how he looked. However, in the eyes of the other cultivation sect leaders, this was naturally not the case.

Since the Alliance Leader Pei QianYue didn’t seem to be in a great mood, they also didn’t dare to talk. This group of people sat upright and still, not daring to relax the slightest.

Perhaps because Feng Ci’s gaze was too concentrated, Pei QianYue sensed something faintly and turned his head towards Feng Ci’s location. 

Feng Ci hastily shifted his gaze.

He could vaguely sense a certain power searching around him. That power was formless, but the intimidating aura of a powerful demon(妖) who has cultivated thousands of years, was quite apparent. Not to mention Pei QianYue didn’t even bother to conceal it. He directly made several cultivators beside Feng Ci shiver uncontrollably from the chill.

“Why do I suddenly feel so cold……”

Feng Ci broke into a laugh. 

This asshole bastard couldn’t find him, so now he’s starting to torment bystanders.

Feng Ci contemplated briefly. Propping his forehead up with a hand, he pretended to be sleeping. At the same time, a wisp of his Divine Soul floated out of his physical body.

Everyone present right now were all leading figures within the cultivation world; however, Feng Ci has been careful in concealing his presence the entire time. As such, no one noticed him. His Divine Soul crossed over a dozen cultivation disciples and walked onto the high platform above unhindered, as if passing through an uninhabited world.

Feng Ci stood in front of Pei QianYue and looked down at him. 

Pei QianYue searched around the crowd, but found no one. The chill on his face turned worse and a layer of thick frost seemed to freeze over that handsome face, making people afraid to get near him. However, the more he was like this, the more it made Feng Ci recall Pei QianYue’s face in the middle of passion.

The tips of his ears stained crimson and his brows furrowed slightly, yet still smiling faintly around the corners of his lips.

As if his entire person flourished, alive.

Only Feng Ci has seen… such a lively and vibrant Pei QianYue. 

Thinking this, Feng Ci bent down and squeezed Pei QianYue’s earlobe softly.

Pei QianYue raised his head abruptly.

His reaction made the people next to him jump in shock. Wen HuaiYu turned his head to ask him: “City Master Pei, is there something wrong?” 

The dozen of gazes on the high platform all turned to look at Pei QianYue. 

“…… It’s nothing.” Pei QianYue said coolly: “The trial will continue for three days. During this period, everyone can move freely as you please.” 

As soon as he said these words, Li Jiu immediately got up and yawned: “Then I’m going back to sleep. I’ll come look at the results tomorrow at noon. Today I got up too early, so tired……”

As soon as Li Jiu left, Xiao Guo got up as well and bowed to Pei QianYue: “This one remembered that I still have an urgent issue to deal with so I bid my farewell as well.”

Feng Ci: “…..” 

These two people were already so obvious, they were only missing the words, “Currently in a relationship and have no energy to deal with other things” written across their faces.

Feng Ci criticized silently, looked down, and continued to play with his family’s little snake.

His fingers moved from the other’s earlobe to his cheek. Giving it a gentle squeeze, Feng Ci watched in satisfaction as the muscles on Pei QianYue’s neck tensed.

After Pei QianYue said that everyone can move freely, in reality, only those two people left. The other leaders still remained sitting upright in place. Although the atmosphere was no longer as grave and heavy as before, it wasn’t too relaxed either. 

Pei QianYue’s every word and action were still under the public gaze.

So he couldn’t move.

The smile in Feng Ci’s eyes deepened as his hand slowly moved downward. One hand propped up on Pei QianYue’s knee, he placed his other hand on Pei QianYue’s throat and gently fondled the protruding Adam’s apple, playing with it tirelessly.

Adam’s apple rolling, Pei QianYue raised his hand carefully and let his wide sleeve drape downward. 

Under the cover of the sleeve, Pei QianYue grasped Feng Ci’s hand.

“Stop playing around.” Pei QianYue’s voice transmitted into Feng Ci’s head.

Feng Ci replied with a smile: “Not pretending I’m invisible now?”

Pei QianYue fell silent for a moment: “……It was clearly Master who failed to uphold his promise first.” 

Although he said this verbally, under the cover of his sleeve, Pei QianYue continued to knead and squeeze Feng Ci’s fingers, playing with them without the slightest plan of letting him go.

These two people have already experienced physical intimacy. Adding the fact that it’s been so long since they have seen each other, to say there was nothing else in their minds right now would be completely impossible.

The smile on Feng Ci’s face subdued slightly. He was pulled into Pei QianYue’s arms.

The bystanders couldn’t see Feng Ci. This move from Pei QianYue seemed as if he was simply tidying up his sleeve. No one knew that the majestic Grandmaster QianQiu was currently sitting on his arms in front of the eyes of the public. 

They were completely surrounded by the prominent figures of the cultivation world; below were also over hundreds of cultivators observing. This unusual circumstance gave Feng Ci a different kind of thrill in his heart. He leaned into Pei QianYue’s embrace, raised both arms, and wrapped them around the other’s neck.

“City Master Pei, you’re not being very appropriate here?”

Pei QianYue, expressionlessly: “How so?”

Feng Ci really felt somewhat awed by the other’s composure. 

He thought briefly, tilted his head, and dropped a quick kiss on Pei QianYue’s lips.

“Isn’t this……” Enjoying the feel of Pei QianYue’s stiffening body, as well as the palms that suddenly tightened around his waist, Feng Ci said with a smile: “…somewhat inappropriate?”