The time wasn't long, at least before Bai Xuanling's patience ran out, Chu Xingchen still emerged with that familiar gentle smile.
The Xu Jin walking beside him, however, wore a strange expression.
It seemed that this so-called negotiation had resulted in the Mystic Void Heavenly Sect coming out worse off.
Bai Xuanling's spirits lifted.
If it was Chu Xingchen, that wasn't impossible. This kid was a bit like her—neither of them liked to come out on the losing side.
Back in the day, she had mostly needed to draw her sword to make her position clear to avoid losses. This kid could accomplish the same thing with just his mouth. There was clearly some skill there.
Li Moze's gaze swept across them, his expression also calm.
Taking a loss was just taking a loss. Since the Mystic Void Heavenly Sect had inherited the heavenly fortune, accepting losses was their fate.
Generations of sect masters and elders had paid who knows how much for this. Now that it had passed to him, naturally he should shoulder everything.
Someone always had to hold up the world so it wouldn't collapse.
If even they wanted to avoid it, who knows what this world would become.
At least the Mystic Void Heavenly Sect had never thought of avoiding it.
But before Li Moze could ask, Chu Xingchen naturally smiled and cupped his hands:
"This visit has been most beneficial. The Mystic Void Heavenly Sect truly deserves its reputation as a former premier sect—most generous indeed."
Li Moze hesitated slightly, his gaze briefly glancing at the deeply conflicted Xu Jin.
He had considered all sorts of expressions Chu Xingchen might have when he came out.
The pressure of inheriting the heavenly mandate, or perhaps disgust at being unwilling to accept the heavy burden of heavenly fortune.
Or perhaps Chu Xingchen, though appearing lax on the surface, would display extraordinary resolve when facing the heavenly mandate.
But... this appearance of having thoroughly taken advantage of the situation...
Li Moze truly hadn't expected.
Had his disciple given him something?
But there was nothing there to give!
Surely they hadn't dug up some elder's grave?
But asking wasn't appropriate at this moment.
Li Moze spoke in a warm tone:
"As long as Nephew Chu has gained something, that's what matters. If there's anything you need help with in the future, come anytime. The gates of the Mystic Void Heavenly Sect are open to you."
Chu Xingchen nodded with an even broader smile:
"I'll come when I have time."
If anyone else had said this, Li Moze might have taken it as mere courtesy. But when Chu Xingchen said it, Li Moze wouldn't.
"I'll come when I have time" was certainly acceptable.
The Mystic Void Heavenly Sect had long since made its position clear.
Li Moze nodded:
"Then until we meet again."
Chu Xingchen slightly cupped his hands in a polite gesture, then walked toward Bai Xuanling.
Bai Xuanling looked at Chu Xingchen approaching and slightly raised an eyebrow—Did you lose out?
Chu Xingchen lightly blinked his eyes—No.
"Let's go."
Bai Xuanling didn't hesitate, turning to leave without even a word of farewell to Li Moze.
Chu Xingchen offered a slight cupped-hand bow in farewell.
Leaving aside whether this talk of heavenly mandate was correct, the Mystic Void Heavenly Sect's attitude was there—at the very least, they appeared genuinely sincere.
Furthermore, the great tribulation was real. Having assistance was always a good thing. Having more friends was always better.
Two rainbows shot rapidly away from the Mystic Void Heavenly Sect.
Bai Xuanling flew calmly toward the Myriad Flower Ridge direction, neither asking nor saying anything more.
After flying for some time, Chu Xingchen looked at Bai Xuanling's proud figure ahead and couldn't help but ask:
"You're not curious at all about what Xu Jin told me?"
Bai Xuanling didn't turn her head, answering in an indifferent tone:
"If you want to tell me, you naturally will. If you don't want to tell me, asking is meaningless."
"You're not curious?"
"Not everything needs to be understood clearly." Bai Xuanling's tone grew slightly deeper. "Sometimes not knowing is a good thing."
Chu Xingchen looked at Bai Xuanling's figure ahead.
She likely already had some suspicions about this matter—the clearly rapid progress in cultivation.
Bai Xuanling had never asked about it, as if simply accepting that Chu Xingchen was a peerless genius whose breakthroughs were as easy as drinking water.
Cultivation so stable yet so rapid—this itself was an extremely enticing mystery.
Could Chu Xingchen achieve this? Could others replicate it?
This wasn't something as intangible as the Incense Divine Path. This was real, tangible cultivation.
Yet no matter how far Chu Xingchen's cultivation jumped, all Bai Xuanling did was accept, and never ask.
She didn't ask about his realm, didn't ask why his progress was so fast.
She didn't even ask if Chu Xingchen had become some kind of evil cultivator.
Whether Bai Xuanling was curious about these things, perhaps only she knew.
But she had indeed made some deductions based on this information.
Since knowing Bai Xuanling, the only thing she had taught or reminded Chu Xingchen to take seriously was one matter—the great tribulation was coming, you might be the one destined to face it, be careful in all things.
Bai Xuanling probably knew a lot of things, but much of the time she didn't say.
Sometimes, a person's charm is displayed most vividly in their silence.
It's just that many people overlook this不易 to perceive silence.
What is given isn't only what can be seen, but also much that cannot be seen, and quite a lot that is taken for granted.
Chu Xingchen thought for a moment, then smiled as he spoke:
"Then let me give you some inside information, so Qinghe doesn't grumble behind my back later calling me a traitor, saying I'm planning to side with the Mystic Void Heavenly Sect."
"But... I still need to confirm—do you want to hear it?"
Bai Xuanling's gaze turned back.
Though she appeared quite sociable in normal interactions, even able to take jokes calmly when Chu Xingchen made them.
But one unchanging thing was that regardless of the situation, Bai Xuanling's eyes always carried something like those of an elderly person at twilight—deep as a pool, calm and waveless.
Bai Xuanling's appearance showed no signs of age at all.
Even her movements and thought processes felt quite young.
The only time she showed her age was when she self-deprecatingly liked to say—she was old, starting to ramble like an old person.
You could discern her attitude from her subtle expressions, the tone of her speech.
But you could almost never get any useful information from her eyes.
But in this moment, Bai Xuanling's calm eyes rippled for the first time.
The ripples were so细微 that even Chu Xingchen couldn't perceive any useful information from them.
Bai Xuanling looked at Chu Xingchen for a moment before speaking:
"If you want to say it, say it."
Chu Xingchen cleared his throat, the smile fading from his face as he spoke seriously:
"I, humble as I am, seem to have become a savior. The fate of the five prefectures and ten thousand directions now rests on my shoulders alone."
Bai Xuanling's expression remained calm as she silently looked Chu Xingchen up and down, then smiled:
"Then you'll need to work hard. Can't cultivate one day and lie down for a year like before."
"I thought you'd feel like the sky was falling when you heard this." Chu Xingchen said self-deprecatingly. "With my somewhat lazy nature having to save the world, who knows if the heavens have truly gone blind."
Bai Xuanling's gaze returned to the front:
"I actually think the heavens have some judgment."
Chu Xingchen asked curiously:
"How so? What shining qualities do I have?"
Bai Xuanling didn't turn her head, only speaking firmly:
"Because I think you're not bad too. I don't believe in the heavens' judgment, but I trust my own."
[
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