Chapter 378: Pure Yang Dead Wood First Meets Spring

Are the Qingqiu clan all so bold?

In Duxian Dian, the fox woman's shy words left the sect's elders secretly sighing in dismay. In contrast, the more than ten experts from the Qingqiu clan were all smiling, as if...

Quite proud of it?

This was probably just their racial talent.

Ling E stood up with a faint smile, bowed slightly to the fox woman, and said softly:

"Esteemed senior, please take my seat...

My master is devoted to cultivation and isn't skilled at handling such occasions. I kindly ask you to be mindful of his pure reputation."

As she spoke, Ling E put on a serious expression and calmly sat down in a lower seat at the back.

She had already reached the Tianxian realm and was the fastest to advance in cultivation history within Duxian Men!

At this point, even if she directly criticized the Qingqiu clan, Duxian Men would stand by her side.

Her actions weren't just impulsive; there were several layers of consideration.

The most important was to clearly express the attitude of her master and fellow disciples on Xiao Qiong Peak toward the fox woman, so the sect's higher-ups wouldn't arbitrarily arrange any marriages for their peak master.

Li Changshou chuckled lightly to himself. The fox woman gently bit her lip, thanked Ling E, and sat down in Ling E's original spot.

Then, she leaned a bit closer to Li Changshou, turning sideways to gaze at the elderly Daoist beside her.

Her eyes were full of longing, so full of emotion.

Ling E's lips twitched slightly as she muttered to herself:

'Xianzi Yunxiao, come quickly and see this—someone's got bold ideas about my senior brother!'

"Daoist..."

The fox woman called out softly, her body almost leaning on the low table, her slender hand propping up her cheek as she stared at Li Changshou's paper effigy.

Li Changshou reacted as his master Qi Yuan would: he first showed a somewhat forced and embarrassed smile, then looked straight ahead, focusing on the greetings between Duxian Men and the Qingqiu visitors.

Half of this matter was stirred up by Li Changshou himself.

Last time in Duxian Men, when he scolded the demons, he used the Qingqiu clan as an example, describing them as a people who pursued love and equality to support his views.

This had spread wildly through the Honghuang, seen as a classic way to criticize demons!

But unexpectedly, the Qingqiu clan took it seriously...

They truly believed that the Heavenly Court Water God, with his backing from Renjiao, held their clan in high regard!

Their main purpose in coming to Duxian Men with gifts was to establish ties with the Heavenly Court Water God and hitch a ride on the sturdy, spacious ship of Renjiao...

To achieve this, the Qingqiu clan came up with a brilliant plan that killed two birds with one stone.

"Headmaster Wuyou," the old woman with the thickest aura laughed, "what if our Qingqiu clan and your Duxian Men became in-laws?"

Ji Wuyou, who was sipping tea, couldn't hold back and coughed again.

Were all demons this bold and straightforward?

If Ling E hadn't spoken earlier, Headmaster Ji Wuyou might have nodded in agreement.

But now...

"You're joking, fellow Daoist," Ji Wuyou said with a smile. "Duxian Men is a place for worldly cultivation, far removed from such things as forming in-law relationships.

Moreover, the Renjiao tradition upholds the principle of quietude and non-interference, so we absolutely cannot force any disciples to do something against their true will."

"How could this be forcing? How could it go against one's true will?"

A plump old demon laughed. "Look at our Xiao Lan from Qingqiu—she's already set her heart on it, made up her mind."

Perfected One Wangqing frowned slightly, looking at the situation, and said calmly, "But our Duxian Men disciples have no such feelings for your Qingqiu people."

The plump old man replied, "Well, that's just a matter of spending ten days or half a month together!"

"You can't put it that way," an elder from Duxian Men interjected. "Our disciples are all focused on self-cultivation, and as for matters of romance..."

At this point, the elder's tone weakened.

"They all have their own decisions."

Li Changshou found it amusing to listen to, though his expression remained slightly tense, without any flaws.

The two sides began a not-so-intense verbal exchange on the matter, while the fox demon Xiao Lan sat there as if oblivious to everyone else, gazing at Li Changshou's profile and occasionally flashing a gentle smile...

As if this moment was enough.

How should this be handled?

Li Changshou used his immortal sense to glance at his master Qi Yuan, who was drunk and asleep on Xiao Qiong Peak, and then at the fox woman.

His master was currently in an emotional low period and could easily be taken advantage of...

Never mind whether his master could resist— if Xiao Qiong Peak ended up with a fox woman as the new mistress, what would that mean for him and Ling E?

The answer was that it wouldn't affect them at all.

If she wanted to marry into Xiao Qiong Peak, Li Changshou would have to plant something in her soul; even a Heavenly Dao oath wouldn't be secure enough.

"Qi Yuan...

Qi Yuan, ah..."

The fox woman urged, "Daoist, say something."

"Oh," Li Changshou pretended to snap out of his thoughts, immediately turned to the headmaster who had called him, stood up, and stepped out from behind the low table.

He played the role of a stubborn, etiquette-obsessed turbid immortal to perfection!

"I was lost in thought just now—please forgive me, Headmaster."

"Qi Yuan, take this Lan fellow Daoist for a walk in the mountains. Come back to the hall in half a day and give us your answer."

Ji Wuyou smiled. "Don't worry about anything else or consider other factors. This is your own matter, so decide for yourself.

If you're unsure, go discuss it with your disciples."

Half a day...

This was Duxian Men's way of giving the Qingqiu clan some face, allowing Qi Yuan and Qingqiu Lan to spend half a day alone to see if she could win him over.

Three hours—neither too long to foster subtle feelings nor too short for a basic understanding.

Li Changshou turned and made a gesture of invitation.

The fox woman grew nervous, stood up gracefully, bowed slightly to Li Changshou, and then followed behind the "Qi Yuan elderly Daoist" as they left Duxian Dian.

Ling E and Jiu Jiu were about to follow, but an old woman from Duxian Men smiled and stopped them:

"Don't rush. In our mountains, she won't harm your master."

Ling E and Jiu Jiu had no choice but to wait in the hall, not worried at all about Li Changshou's situation. Instead, they started feeling sorry for the Qingqiu fox who had targeted the wrong person.

So, moments later...

Lost?

Creak, creak—

The wooden sign hanging from the tree branch swayed back and forth. Qingqiu Lan couldn't help but tap her forehead in frustration.

Right after leaving Duxian Dian and following "Qi Yuan," she had wandered into the forests of Xiao Qiong Peak with the man of her dreams, only to inexplicably find herself alone and trapped in an array.

She sighed softly: "Daoist, won't you even give me this half a day?"

The fox woman's face showed deep sorrow. She stood there in silence for a while, then suddenly seemed to have an epiphany.

"Daoist, are you testing my understanding of arrays?"

With that, the fox woman stepped forward, constantly searching around, but she couldn't escape the array.

By the lakeside grass hut, Li Changshou had already woken his master and sobered him up, calling out:

"Master! The demons have attacked!"

"What?!"

Qi Yuan leaped up, grabbed his duster, and rushed to the door, shouting, "My time to sacrifice myself has finally come!"

Li Changshou tilted his head—why was that his master's first reaction?

Qi Yuan rushed out the door and quickly realized something was off. He turned back and glared at Li Changshou. "Where are the demons?"

"Master, look," Li Changshou pointed casually at a cloud mirror, which showed the situation inside the trapping array.

The alluring fox woman was still searching around.

Qi Yuan recognized her immediately, his brows furrowing into a "chuan" character as he whispered, "My disciple, why is she here again?"

Li Changshou transmitted his voice with a smile: "Don't worry, Master. I'm sending someone to Yue Lao Hall to check on your marriage fate.

This fox woman seems dead set on you."

"Ah," Qi Yuan sighed, "I'll go talk to her and make things clear."

"She's too deeply infatuated; words won't fix it," Li Changshou frowned. "And if you go into the array yourself, I'm worried she might..."

"How?"

"Force herself on you."

Qi Yuan clutched his robe collar, his face turning pale. "I've kept myself pure my whole life! I absolutely won't allow it!"

"Don't worry, with me here... Master, just wait a moment. Let me check your marriage fate."

Pausing, Li Changshou signaled for his master to stay calm and closed his eyes in concentration.

At the same time, his Water God paper effigy in the Heavenly Court had already arrived at Yue Lao Hall and was warmly welcomed inside by Yue Lao...

Li Changshou used a simple excuse:

Recently, the demons were enemies of Renjiao and the Heavenly Court, so he wanted to check if any Renjiao disciples had marriage ties with demons. If so, it would be good to plan ahead.

How could Yue Lao refuse?

Yue Lao led the Water God to the back hall and quickly brought out the clay figures for the six major immortal sects of Renjiao.

There were over a dozen pairs with demon connections.

The most prominent was the turbid immortal Qi Yuan from Xiao Qiong Peak of Duxian Men and the Qingqiu demon woman Xiao Lan!

At that moment, Qi Yuan's clay figure had only one thread end on it, which still connected to Wine Yushi's marriage clay figure.

Xiao Lan's clay figure also had only one red string, but it was tied directly around Qi Yuan's clay figure's waist—and knotted tightly!

"This!"

Yue Lao's eyes widened, and in an instant, his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Li Changshou was about to question Yue Lao, but seeing his odd state, he reacted quickly...

"Yue Lao, what is this?"

"Have I been drinking lately?"

Yue Lao asked himself, then pointed at the three clay figures—one, then another—unable to form a complete sentence, his face growing more anxious.

A moment later, Yue Lao sorted his thoughts and said:

"This is wrong!

When Qi Yuan fellow Daoist came to the Heavenly Court before, I clearly stepped in and tied him to the nearby Wine Yushi with a joy knot!

How did the red string break and get connected to this demon woman..."

"Yue Lao!"

Li Changshou interrupted him firmly, frowning. "Be careful with your words! Besides you, who else could affect Yue Lao Hall?"

"Yue Lao Hall..."

Yue Lao shook his head at first, then paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, muttering to himself.

Yue Lao Hall was a critical place under the Heavenly Dao; even someone as powerful as the Grand Supreme wouldn't tamper with it without Yue Lao knowing...

The two young attendants couldn't access the scissors, and Yue Lao rarely made such big mistakes...

Soon, Yue Lao shuddered and looked up at Li Changshou, whispering, "That red ball, the one that once oversaw heavenly marriages—it must be able to do this."

Li Changshou fell silent upon hearing this.

A Saint's lady?

Why would she do something like this? One was a small fox demon, the other a turbid immortal who might not even win a fight against a Yuanxian...

A Saint's actions always had deeper meaning. It couldn't just be for entertainment.

Was there some massive scheme behind this that he couldn't see yet?

"Yue Lao, besides the red ball..."

"There's no other possibility," Yue Lao said lowly, looking around Yue Lao Hall. "This hall and the other god halls in the Heavenly Court are formed by the Heavenly Dao's power—key places under its protection.

And the red ball that should be here has power even greater than mine as the hall's spirit."

Li Changshou stared at the red string, left with only silence.

Yue Lao added, "We can't touch this—absolutely not!

Water God, you must believe me. Even if you gave me a hundred times the courage, I wouldn't dare mess with the marriage of your close friend and elder!"

"Very well, thank you for the insight, Yue Lao. I'll think of another way."

As Li Changshou turned to leave, a sudden thought struck him, and he looked back at Qi Yuan's marriage clay figure.

In a daze, he saw this scene:

Yue Lao entered from outside the hall, summoned Qi Yuan's clay figure, used the Tree of Longing to prick them a few times, and pulled the red strings that had drifted apart from Qi Yuan and Wine Yushi together, tying a joy knot.

But after Yue Lao left satisfied, the red strings shook gently, broke apart again, and Wine Yushi's clay figure even retracted most of her string.

The vision ended abruptly, leaving only a familiar aura of the Dao.

Indeed, it was the Saint's lady at work. This vision was telling Li Changshou that she hadn't broken apart Wine Yushi and Qi Yuan's fate, nor had Yue Lao done anything secretly.

Coincidentally, she was also admitting that she had tied Xiao Lan's string on.

This was...

Had she seen enough of the bloody epics and now wanted some sweet romance?

Li Changshou felt utterly helpless, imagining the goddess by the pond with her hands on her cheeks, eagerly watching the cloud mirror.

What a headache for Shousheng!

Bidding farewell to Yue Lao, Li Changshou's mind returned to Xiao Qiong Peak.

He still didn't fully believe that the Saint's lady had acted just for a story; he suspected there was more to her plans.

But he absolutely couldn't oppose a Saint!

Even 'Lang Qian'an' had been reduced to remnants in an era without the Six Saints, so how could he, facing these ancient survivors, even think of resisting?

On Xiao Qiong Peak, Li Changshou watched his master pacing back and forth and pondered for a moment...

"Master?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you really not interested in this fox woman at all?"

"Of course not," Qi Yuan declared firmly. "Do you think I'm some lustful fiend? How could I let a woman's beauty disrupt my state of mind!"

Li Changshou couldn't help but press his hand to his forehead. "How about you... give it a try?"

"Try what?"

Qi Yuan swept his duster and rode his cloud toward the confusing array, easily spotting the sign.

Lost?

Qi Yuan snorted lightly, stood still, and held his duster while closing his eyes to meditate.

Soon, Xiao Lan, who had been circling in the array, wandered over in a daze and stumbled into this section of the array...

"Daoist!"

Her call was so sincere and heartfelt that Qi Yuan shivered all over, his hairs standing on end and his Dao heart trembling.

He turned around to see the beautiful woman in her rainbow skirt rushing toward him.

In that instant, Qi Yuan stepped back half a pace and instinctively said:

"Fellow Daoist, please stop."

The fox woman halted immediately, smiling slightly, her eyes sparkling and her fair skin flushed with a soft red, as she said gently:

"You're finally willing to see me, aren't you?"

"Fellow Daoist, truthfully, I have no feelings for you at all..."

"Then why do you avoid my gaze and not look at me directly?"

Qi Yuan stepped back twice more, his turbid Dao heart in disarray. "Fellow Daoist, please... maintain some decorum."

At this point, Li Changshou completely gave up on his master and started thinking about how to handle the fox woman and ensure his master didn't reveal his true identity...

Some things were impossible to hide from someone sharing your pillow.

Li Changshou soon realized that the fox woman had come prepared...

Just then, Jiu Jiu, Ling E, Jiu Wu, and Jiu Shi returned to Xiao Qiong Peak and met up with Li Changshou. He activated a cloud mirror, and they all observed the situation inside the array.

Not long after, Jiang Lin'er arrived with Wine Yushi, joining the group of onlookers.

Watching the fox woman, she executed a rather clumsy and obvious strategy...

She began with: "Daoist, could we sit and talk?"

Qi Yuan frowned and nodded, and they sat down three feet apart.

After a moment of silence, the fox woman poured out her heart, softly describing her endless longing and the scenes she dreamed of every night.

She used no charm techniques or seductive arts; she just spoke.

Half an hour later, she said:

"Even if you won't keep me, I'd like to dance for you."

Qi Yuan, unable to refuse, nodded in agreement.

The fox woman stood and stepped away, dancing gracefully in the forest, unconsciously shedding her outer layer of sheer skirt, her movements stunningly beautiful...

When the dance ended, Qi Yuan looked serious and nodded, saying, "Is the dance finished?"

Suddenly, Li Changshou's voice transmitted: "Master, your nose—your nose!"

Qi Yuan blinked, touched his philtrum, and found...

It was covered in blood.

"Daoist! What's wrong with you!"

Xiao Lan exclaimed and turned into a fragrant breeze, rushing to Qi Yuan's side.

Qi Yuan, with his low cultivation, couldn't dodge in time and was pressed at the nose by a slender hand. Instinctively, he reached up and grabbed that hand.

The forest fell silent, the two locking eyes, both the elderly Daoist and the fox woman blushing deeply.

Qi Yuan pulled his hand away as if burned, while the fox woman gazed at him tenderly and whispered, "Daoist, let me help heal your wound."

"Mm... mm!"

Outside the array, Li Changshou, along with his grandmaster, senior uncles, and junior sister, all pressed their hands to their foreheads in unison.

What a sight to behold—utterly unbearable, completely hopeless.