Chapter Sixteen: Are You Yi Tianling?

The Poison of Indulgent Flowers has already been administered?

What does that mean?

Who has been poisoned?

Ning Xianyu sensed that this was nothing good.

She wanted to listen for more, but the disciples of Flower Melody Island behind her were already urging her to leave.

The matches were about to begin, and she couldn’t linger here forever.

Besides, the voice had vanished.

Puzzled, Ning Xianyu stepped out, only to discover that Du Juezi had disappeared.

Jade Yaozi came over to report, “Ancestor, the sect master is feeling unwell and has gone to change clothes.”

Ning Xianyu found this odd. “Change clothes?”

A sudden realization struck her—Du Juezi must have seized this opportunity to steal the Nine-Stem Ephemeral Bloom.

But what a flimsy excuse! For the dignified sect master to leave and change clothes at a time like this—who would believe it?

They were cultivators, after all. A simple spell would have made the clothes clean in an instant.

Jade Yaozi glanced awkwardly at Xuan Yuan Tunhan—who was, at the moment, the great demon lord inhabiting her body.

“It’s because Fairy Ning tried to catch a bug just now and shattered the table, spraying everything onto the sect master.”

His voice grew smaller and smaller, for the ancestor was regarding him with an inscrutable gaze.

Could it be that he’d angered the ancestor by speaking ill of Fairy Ning?

Yet Ning Xianyu wasn’t angry. Instead, she habitually reached out to pat his shoulder. “Do your best.”

The moment her hand landed, she suddenly realized she was about to give herself away.

Behind her, it felt as if Xuan Yuan Tunhan’s murderous gaze could pierce through her at any moment, so she quickly flicked her finger forward.

“So many bugs.”

Her flick shattered a distant tree. She feigned profoundness, turned, and left.

That was close—she’d nearly blown her cover. If the truth were exposed, the great demon lord would probably crush her without a second thought.

Jade Yaozi let out a sigh of relief as well.

Just now, he’d thought the ancestor had changed, but thank goodness—she was still the same cold, unpredictable ancestor.

If she ever became warm and friendly, that would be truly terrifying.

Ning Xianyu returned to her seat, debating whether to warn Xuan Yuan Tunhan.

After all, what she’d overheard was no small matter. If it was a scheme by Fairy Long Yue, what then?

But as she hesitated, Xuan Yuan Tunhan suddenly sent a message to her.

“Sit still. I’m going out for a walk.”

What?

Before Ning Xianyu could ask, he’d already left.

So willful!

Fine, she thought, serves you right if you get caught in a trap.

His departure went largely unnoticed, as the matches were about to start; the focus was on the disciples and the Nine-Stem Ephemeral Bloom.

Forced to stay, Ning Xianyu watched the young disciples compete with great interest.

Any disciple brought out for such an event had to be talented, highly skilled—and, naturally, attractive.

They were the face of the sect, after all.

Watching their battles was truly a delight.

Except the chairs here were far too hard. Made from fine wood, yes, but uncomfortable to sit on, the curvature all wrong.

Cultivators rarely sat for long, and certainly not as slouched as she preferred, so they didn’t share her discomfort.

After a while, her backside started to ache. She rummaged in her storage pouch and pulled out two thick cotton cushions, placing them on the chair for much-needed comfort.

Seeing two empty chairs nearby, she considered pushing three together to make a couch.

But she stopped herself—she was currently disguised as the great demon lord.

If she did that, her persona would crack.

Given the demon lord’s temper, she’d probably be crushed and never sit comfortably again.

[System, next time I want to be number one in the world on my own. I never want someone else’s body again. I can’t keep up this aloof act.]

It was just too painful. All she wanted was to be a salted fish, curled up soft and relaxed wherever she wished. Why was that so hard?

The system replied perfunctorily, [Yeah, yeah, next time you might as well be a cat. You can curl up anywhere, be proud and lazy, and no one will care if you break character.]

She’d been joking, but Ning Xianyu took it seriously. [That’s a good idea. I like that.]

The system wished it had a physical form, so it could roll its eyes skyward.

Meanwhile, Xuan Yuan Tunhan had already entered the inner part of Flower Melody Island, searching for the location of the Nine-Stem Ephemeral Bloom.

Even at this distance, he could still hear Ning Xianyu chatting idly with the so-called system.

Not a word of it was serious.

Could this woman not survive without talking?

Once he got his body back, he would make sure her mind could never chatter again.

“Noisy!”

“Why is the little fairy so upset?” a suave, handsome man suddenly appeared on the path beside him.

Dressed in white robes, he stood tall and elegant, features sharp and refined, a smile on his lips.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan paused, eyeing the man who had appeared so abruptly. A thought struck him—this must be Yi Tianling.

There couldn’t be any other men on Flower Melody Island, and the system had said the male lead, Yi Tianling, was on the island.

The man before him could only be him.

“Yi Tianling?”

He frowned and asked coldly, unable to help sizing him up.

His looks? Average.

His build? Average.

All in all, just an ordinary cultivator. His cultivation was mediocre too—barely at the Golden Core stage, just enough to survive the island’s poisonous miasma.

Yi Tianling was surprised that a mere Qi Condensation stage girl could recognize him.

But he quickly reasoned that she must have entered Su Yun’er’s quarters and seen him there.

“You know me? What’s your name?”

Xuan Yuan Tunhan shot him a glance and walked straight past.

So this was the so-called male lead in the book, fate’s favored child, destined to stand atop the six realms of the Cloud Wilds simply because he was the protagonist?

Heh, wasn’t that just cheating?

If everyone in the world could stand at the summit just by relying on heaven-defying luck, then what was the point of everyone else’s hard work?

Xuan Yuan Tunhan, accustomed to being at the pinnacle, could not accept playing second fiddle to some nobody.

Yi Tianling stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

“If you won’t give your name, so be it. But are you unaware of the rules here, wandering alone?”

The rules on Flower Melody Island were strict; many places were forbidden.

Yi Tianling could roam freely only because Su Yun’er had vouched for him.

She’d told Fairy Long Yue that he was a cultivation partner she’d found, though the time was not yet ripe, so Fairy Long Yue tolerated his presence and didn’t care about his wandering.

He would be used for dual cultivation sooner or later, so a soon-to-be-dead man hardly mattered.

But this little disciple was different. For a female disciple in the Qi Condensation stage to wander around would bring severe punishment if caught.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan looked at him. “What are you trying to say?”

Was this a threat?

He had half a mind to kill the man right then. If he killed him, there would be no so-called male lead, and one less rival for the Nine-Stem Ephemeral Bloom.