"Since that's the case, why doesn't the Great Venerable make a move himself?" Jiang Li pinpointed the critical question.

"This... for a character like the Great Venerable, how could someone of lowly fifth-rank like me speculate?"

Feng Manlou subtly praised the Great Venerable again, then said, "However, I can still share some information. The Water Monkey might seem to rely on brute force, but in reality, his perception ability is top-tier. He has a divine skill; when activated, within a hundred miles, no qi mechanism can escape his detection, and no sound can escape his hearing, not even barriers can block his perception."

"However, when this divine skill is used, his body shows an abnormality, growing six ears, making it instantly recognizable that he has used the divine skill."

Six ears?

Six-Eared Macaque?

Jiang Li immediately thought of the fake monkey associated with Sun Monkey.

But upon further thought, the Six-Eared Macaque should at least be fourth-rank, and besides both being monkeys, it doesn't really share any relation with Wuzhiqi's Dao Fruit. The distance of a hundred miles seemed lackluster compared to the divine skills of the Six-Eared Macaque.

It's probably a Dao Artifact or some other means, not that Wuzhiqi had assimilated the Six-Eared Macaque's Dao Fruit.

A series of thoughts flashed through Jiang Li's mind, then suddenly a chill ran through him, emerging from the realization.

It wasn't that he worried about his misdeeds being exposed—after all, most of the time Wuzhiqi was openly sitting on the mountain head. If the six ears appeared, it wouldn't go unnoticed.

The main concern was...

Jiang Li's gaze flickered and met Tianxuan's, who looked back at him.

The master and disciple had spent nearly ten days together in Shu County, with some intimate actions and words between them. Could it be that Wuzhiqi had also heard those?

The two were quite self-aware. Although they had not crossed that line—at least, Jiang Li did not consciously cross it—they indeed went a bit too far. Otherwise, Jiang Li wouldn't have felt apprehensive when Gongsun Qingyue suddenly appeared.

The mostly conspicuous Wuzhiqi wasn't always just sitting motionlessly on the mountain top. With such a divine skill, he wouldn't leave it unused. Even if the Water Monkey could sit still, he would definitely find an opportunity to eavesdrop hidden from others' eyes.

Thus, it was possible he knew about the relationship between the master and disciple.

Realizing this, both master and disciple averted their gazes, feeling a sense of shame at their secret being unveiled. More crucially, there was the prickly sensation from the looks of those nearby.

That moment of mutual understanding was also perceived by Gongsun Qingyue.

This is troubling.

Jiang Li inwardly sighed, also marveling at how quickly karmic retribution arrived, and how intricate the machinations of a great brother could be. Although it seemed not of high-grade, the trickery was adequately cunning.

"A hundred miles of perception, huh? That indeed is troublesome."

Although he felt uneasy inside, Tianxuan still displayed strong Qi cultivation technique, not flustered at all, and directly discussed the plan related to that topic, "But it's not without a solution. Wuzhiqi cannot lock onto Jiang Li's qi mechanism, so let him lure Wuzhiqi out. I have a Heavenly Water Pearl here, condensed from the spiritual essence of water collected in the sect's secret place. Should Wuzhiqi get it, he could recover at least thirty percent of his injuries."

Saying this, Tianxuan extended her right hand, revealing a blue luminous spiritual pearl in her palm.

"A fourth-rank condensed Heavenly Water Pearl?" Yin Tulong looked intrigued by the pearl. "It seems the rumors are true, Daoist Tianxuan's Dao Fruit at fifth rank was the Luoshen Dao Fruit. Such a Dao Fruit is not meant for anyone less than an exceptional beauty."

Generally, only cultivators who had assimilated a River God or Water God Dao Fruit could condense such a pearl, confirming Tianxuan had assimilated a related Dao Fruit.

Since she was still condensing Heavenly Water Pearls even at fourth-rank, it likely meant the grade of the Dao Fruit was close to her current grade. If it were eighth and seventh rank, its Dao Fruit Ability would be of little use to Tianxuan, naturally leaving her no spare time to delve into it.

"Too kind with your praise," Tianxuan said calmly.

In fact, she felt somewhat panicked internally as she realized she might have exposed a slight flaw.

Luoshen, the daughter of Fuxi Sect, had deep connections with the Feng family. It was by assimilating this Dao Fruit that Tianxuan managed to forcibly deduce Nuwa's appearance after watching Jiang Li transform into a Dragon and Snake Body.

If Jiang Li figured out the connection, it wasn't impossible for him to track down the true identity of Gongsun Yuanxi.

Fortunately, looking at Jiang Li's expression, it seemed he was unaware of the connection, and she had timely moved past that topic.

"Let Jiang Li disguise himself and take this pearl to lure Wuzhiqi to show himself. The Water Monkey is currently in dire need of recovering strength and definitely won't pass up on the Heavenly Water Pearl," Tianxuan added.

As to how to be discovered, there wasn't a need for much planning, with Wuzhiqi's perception ability, once the Heavenly Water Pearl appeared, it would definitely not escape him.

A simple ruse of asking someone into the urn, yet quite effective.

The premise was to take a risk.

Jiang Li felt that instead of being caught between his master and senior sister, he might as well take the risk.

He subconsciously agreed immediately, but upon seeing Gongsun Qingyue, he suddenly changed his statement, "Since my senior sister's Dao Fruit has supportive abilities, let her accompany me."

Facing Gongsun Qingyue's astonished gaze, Jiang Li smiled, "Perfect, I obtained a fragment of the West Beauty Mirror from Kunxu Immortal Palace, which can bring my senior sister along with me."

Although avoidance was useful, it was shameful.

Most importantly, continually avoiding was futile, so Jiang Li thought it over and still strived for some alone time. Of course, Gongsun Qingyue's Treasure Lotus Lamp was indeed very useful, and at the crucial moment, could be combined with the "Taiwei Fu" to assist Jiang Li.

Gongsun Qingyue was initially astonished, then gradually bloomed a smile.

Like a lotus flower slowly opening, the fleeting elegance left Jiang Li momentarily captivated.

In that instant, Gongsun Qingyue felt most of her resentment fade away, with only one thought echoing in her mind.

— "My junior fellow apprentice has me in his heart."

Jiang Li also noticed the fleeting emotional change in Gongsun Qingyue and was surprised that his spontaneous idea had turned out to be an ingenious trick.

'Isn't this too easy? Compared to a certain old demon, elder sister, you really are too easy to deal with.' Jiang Li couldn't help but complain in his heart.

Being so easy to handle, it was no wonder that the Dao Fruit ability of the Three Holy Mothers skyrocketed, with such high compatibility.

Thinking along these lines, Jiang Li couldn't help but feel a tinge of guilt.

'Elder sister is wholeheartedly devoted to me, yet I've been playing both sides... Forget it, from now on, I will also devote myself wholeheartedly to elder sister, and similarly single-mindedly to Yuan Xi, being dedicated in both ways, that should be proper.'

The guilt vanished as Jiang Li resolved to reform.

Then, with a flash of light from his brow, Jiang Li placed Gongsun Qingyue inside a fragment of the Heavenly Mirror, reached out for the Heavenly Water Pearl, and said, "Then I'm off."

With a shimmer, he merged into the wind, blowing into the Broken Sky Gorge, entering the darkness.

On the other side, Gongsun Qingyue saw a blur before her eyes and found herself in a secluded valley.

"Wang!"

A small red dog appeared ahead, barking, then ran further inside.

Recognizing it as Jiang Li's Sky Dog, Gongsun Qingyue did not stop and followed Xiao Tian inside.

After walking a few dozen steps, the area suddenly opened up.

The surroundings were in perpetual spring, with a different climate from the outside world. In the distance, a mountainside laden with exotic flowers and grasses gleamed in myriad colors. The mountainside was fractured with large openings, from which springs gushed out, forming thirty to forty waterfalls that crashed down and gathered into a lake with a roaring sound.

In the middle of the lake stood a Divine Farmer Stone Statue.

"This place…"

Gongsun Qingyue looked at everything before her, eyes rippling with recognition, remembering it was here she had first met Jiang Li.

Back then, Jiang was a shameless Outer Disciple, and because of Gongsun Qingyue's pettiness, a slight friction had arisen between them, marking the beginning of a complicated relationship.

"You have some conscience, kid, remembering this place." Gongsun Qingyue held back a smile, whispering softly.

Then, blue butterflies fluttered up from the flowers, gathering and forming into Jiang Li's figure, clearly fabricated by his "Outer Object Transformation" ability.

Hearing Gongsun Qingyue's whisper, Jiang Li laughed, "How could I forget? If it weren't for meeting elder sister here, I might still be covered in dust as an Outer Disciple."

"Tsk! What do you mean 'meeting'? It's clear you shameless scoundrel." Gongsun Qingyue blushed and couldn't help but spit back.

"Exactly, that's why I deserved to swim for a day and a night, swimming all the way back to Qiao Mountain Island." Jiang Li responded.

"That's what you deserved—"

Gongsun Qingyue cursed laughing, then couldn't help but say, "You sly player, actually thinking of such a method to tease me."

Just to appease her, he swam hundreds of miles, sparking Gongsun Qingyue's interest. Now that she thought about it, Gongsun Qingyue felt she was too naive back then, easily falling into Jiang Li's plan.

However, thinking about it now, Gongsun Qingyue found she had no regrets.

If time could turn back, maybe she would continue this torrid affair.

As memories of the past surged, Gongsun Qingyue couldn't help but walk closer to Jiang Li, extending her hand as her sleeve gently slid down, revealing a section of her pale wrist.

Her fingers touched Jiang Li's cheek...

Then suddenly withdrew.

"Let your true body come in."

Jiang Li naturally complied, and a shift of light and shadow occurred as his true body entered the space. He then quickly tossed Xiao Tian out, letting the dog carry the fragment of the Heavenly Mirror outside.

In this space, only Jiang Li and Gongsun Qingyue remained.

Her jade hand reached out again, softly caressing Jiang Li's cheek. Under Jiang Li's gaze, Gongsun Qingyue took a small step forward, tiptoed slightly, tilted her head gently and slowly, and pressed her lips against his.

Soft lips met, breaths grazed each other's faces, gazes intertwined, and naturally, Jiang Li's lips parted slightly, releasing his tongue.

The hand on his cheek quietly moved to his neck, the other arm wrapped around his waist, while Jiang Li reciprocated with a more forceful embrace.

After a long time, long enough for even two cultivators to feel breathless, Gongsun Qingyue's tiptoes finally touched the ground.

She raised her hand gently, caressing Jiang Li's cheek again...

"Slap!"

A slap landed on Jiang Li's face.

"Why are you so skilled at this?"

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