"Just because of that guess, you revealed your identity..."

Xuanzhen shook her head, somewhat disappointed.

This nephew-disciple might have encountered a stroke of luck and advanced leaps and bounds to the True Pill Stage, but his experience was still a bit lacking.

What if she, Xuanzhen, was playing the long game to catch a big fish? What if her feigned ignorance before was just to lure Qing Yu into the trap?

"Nephew-disciple Qing Yu," Xuanzhen watched the confident figure, "rashly trusting others comes at a cost. Though I came here alone tonight, that doesn't mean I can't capture you or even kill you."

The air rippled slightly and nearly ten Qi Needles suddenly appeared, in the blink of an eye, piercing various acupoints on Qing Yu's body.

In an instant, Xuanzhen had subdued Qing Yu.

Outsiders, and even many from the Zhenwu Sect, thought of Su Nu Peak as a gentle haven of healers. Consequently, they considered the Peak Master of Su Nu Peak, Xuanzhen, high in realm but not skilled in combat.

However, the truth was, they didn't know that this combat-averse Peak Master of Su Nu Peak was among the strongest, aside from Xuan Chen, amongst the other six Peak Masters.

Otherwise, after Xuan Chen formally became Sect Leader, why would he allow Xuanzhen to continue as a neutral faction?

It was precisely because of Xuanzhen's strength that Xuan Chen, who didn't dare to pressure her directly for fear of pushing her to the other side, allowing the Anti-Sect Leader Faction to stand on equal footing with the Sect Leader Faction, kept the neutral faction in play.

It was also because of Xuanzhen maintaining a balance in the middle that Xuan Chen had not yet acted against the Anti-Sect Leader Faction.

Xuanfeng might think that his mediatory efforts were to his credit, but in fact, it was Xuanzhen, the neutral faction, who was balancing the contradictions.

"Could Xuanzhen as an aunt-master stay neutral if she were weak? Your nephew-disciple has never looked down on my aunt-master." Qing Yu, immobilized by the Qi Needles, stayed completely motionless but remained calm and composed.

Originally planning to visit Xuanzhen tomorrow, Qing Yu had spent half the day learning about Xuanzhen's past.

In this, Xuan Shang had a particularly painful enlightenment of Xuanzhen's strength.

Xuan Shang's words were: "Senior Sister Xuanzhen might appear gentle and approachable, not fond of strife, but in fact, among our generation of disciples, her strength is among the top three. I once on a whim picked the Xuanling Flowers that Senior Sister had painstakingly cultivated for three years to brew liquor, and as a result..."

At the time, the look on Xuan Shang's face when recalling the painful memory made Qing Yu want to laugh even now.

According to what Xuan Shang said, when he was hanging off the cliffside, Xuanfa once tried to plead on his behalf, which accidentally provoked Xuanzhen's fury, leading her to chase and beat him.

Although Xuanfa was wrong and couldn't seriously contend with her, he wouldn't have been chased down like that if he weren't close in realm. After all, at that time, Xuanfa was nearing the peak of the True Pill Realm, having reached the Golden Core Eighth Transition for quite some time.

Given what Xuan Shang said, it wouldn't be surprising to Xuanzhen if she was on the land ranking. Many years had passed, and Xuanzhen's realm should at least have reached the peak of the True Pill Stage by now.

What struck Qing Yu as odd was that, if Xuanzhen's strength was as exaggerated as Xuan Shang claimed, why was she not listed on the land ranking.

Unlike the people's ranking, the land ranking was divined by the members of the Fate Altar through the Heavenly Mechanism. If one had the strength to be on the list, even without noticeable battle achievements, their name should be there.

"If I hadn't been confident in getting away from my aunt-master's grasp, your nephew-disciple would have called for Xuan Shang's support as soon as my aunt-master appeared."

The body that should have been stiff moved naturally, and as Qing Yu lowered his head to look at the spots where the Qi Needles had struck earlier, under Xuanzhen's surprised gaze, he said, "Good thing there are no tears. I'm quite fond of this outfit."

The Qi Needles, which hovered between tangible and intangible, passed through clothing and skin without injury, directly hitting Qing Yu's vital acupoints. Just this skill alone showed Xuanzhen's extraordinary strength.

If it had been an average Taoist at the fourth transition of the True Pill Stage, they would have been directly captured by Xuanzhen.

Qing Yu's somewhat artificial behavior made Xuanzhen abandon her previous astonishment and view him with renewed eyes, "It seems that it is not you who are arrogant, but me, the aunt-master."

Such strength was unimaginable for a man in his twenties.

Qing Yu must have had an extraordinary adventure; otherwise, he couldn't have come this far. But even with an adventure, he shouldn't have such strength.

The Qi Needles entered the body, locking the flow of True Qi in the major acupoints. Not even the other Peak Masters should have been able to resolve this easily. Yet Qing Yu had effortlessly regained his mobility without batting an eye.

"Aunt-master, what do you think?" Qing Yu patted his clothes, looked up again at Xuanzhen, and asked.

"Very good."

With that, the atmosphere between the two finally eased, and they exchanged smiles.

Xuanzhen smiled because Qing Yu's strength did not disappoint her, giving her hope for a victory against Xuan Chen. Qing Yu smiled because he gained approval for his choice, and this long-standing neutral faction had now shown its inclination.

Overall, tonight's encounter left both parties very satisfied.

"By now, Xuan Chen must be considering whether to initiate the Seven Peaks Resolution or not."

Qing Yu informed Xuanzhen of the day's events and asked for her advice on whether Xuan Chen would agree to start the Seven Peaks Resolution.

"Based on my understanding of Xuan Chen, he will," Xuanzhen said, her beautiful eyes sweeping over Qing Yu and speaking with certainty.

"However, what kind of matter could possibly threaten Xuan Chen?"

Rather than the Seven Peaks Resolution, Xuanzhen was more curious about what leverage Qing Yu had over Xuan Chen. The matter of Xuan Chen conspiring with Xuan Guang to frame Xuanfa was already something everyone tacitly acknowledged, and it wouldn't be enough to threaten Xuan Chen.

"As for that, I must apologize but your nephew-disciple has to keep you guessing for a little longer," Qing Yu chuckled.

Just kidding, they were just starting a cooperative relationship, and what they needed most was trust. Revealing his trump card to Xuanzhen at this point would be foolish or tantamount to being dazzled by beauty.

On that note, Aunt-Master Xuanzhen's Daoist Skill was profound, her Qi Mechanism pure, and she was at the peak of the True Pill Realm—an excellent choice for a Daoist partner indeed.

Qing Yu observed Xuanzhen's Qi Mechanism and True Yuan with an extremely clear gaze, his mind spinning with thoughts unknown to others.

"Heh, my nephew-disciple is indeed cautious. Caution is a good trait to maintain, some people, even after many years of acquaintance, may not fully reveal their true thoughts," Xuanzhen said, tilting her head slightly with a light sigh as her figure shot backward, like a fairy descending to earth, plummeting directly over the cliff outside the peak.

"Cannot see through their thoughts..."

Qing Yu didn't pay attention to Xuanzhen, who seemed to be committing suicide, instead, he turned his gaze towards the direction she had looked towards just before.

In that direction lay Tianxu, Kunyin, and Chi Ming Peaks. Out of these three peaks, two were now aligned with the Anti-Sect Leader Faction.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.