Yun Hai felt a wave of irritation and restlessness, a stabbing pain in his chest.
Yun Hai closed his eyes and slowly regulated his breathing, trying to calm himself and ease the pain.
In the stands.
Feng Qingran sensed a strange aura from Yun Hai.
This aura was extremely similar to the bronze carved object she had once used.
Evil and ominous.
“Seventh Senior Brother, there’s something that might need…” Feng Qingran blinked her big eyes and stared at Mo Jinghong, as if floating pearls and flowing cinnabar were flickering in her gaze.
Mo Jinghong’s jade-like eyes glanced sideways at Feng Qingran.
“Seventh Senior Brother, help me take a look at what’s inside this box.” Feng Qingran obediently handed the item over, her apricot eyes sparkling.
Mo Jinghong’s slender fingers took the exquisite box, every movement pleasing to the eye.
Feng Qingran looked at Mo Jinghong’s face that could overthrow nations and felt a sigh in her heart. Seventh Senior Brother’s peerless beauty—she could never tire of looking at it, no matter when!
Sometimes, standing next to Mo Jinghong, she even felt a sense of inferiority.
“A snake-browed copper fish? Where did you get this?” Mo Jinghong transmitted his voice.
“Bought it at Qinghe Tower.” Feng Qingran’s eyes flickered slightly, remembering that once outside Lingyun Sect, Seventh Senior Brother had said that the jade pendant Hu Yunxiang carried was a snake-browed copper fish.
But that jade pendant wasn’t the snake-browed copper fish’s true form.
Seventh Senior Brother had also said that the snake-browed copper fish was a Mystic One’s favorite—it could peer into all things in the world, but prolonged use would drain one’s lifespan.
No wonder that time at Bear Tiger Ridge, Baili Xuanqing had chased her so relentlessly.
It was probably because he sensed the aura of the snake-browed copper fish.
“How many times have you used it?” Mo Jinghong’s voice was deep as jade, his gaze clear and cold.
“Once.” Feng Qingran nodded guiltily.
Mo Jinghong’s eyes darkened slightly. “Did you sense some kind of aura from Yun Hai?”
“Seventh Senior Brother, you can even guess that?” Feng Qingran suspected Mo Jinghong had mind-reading abilities.
Mo Jinghong transmitted, “Besides the Loyalty Gu, Yun Hai also has a mental medium placed by a Mystic One. Using the mental medium, one can freely wash his memories and make him loyal to the Baili family in both body and soul.”
“What… does that have to do with the snake-browed copper fish?” Feng Qingran asked cautiously.
“The snake-browed copper fish is a Mystic One’s item. Before the Mystic One’s brand is removed, if anyone else uses the snake-browed copper fish, it will leave a mental medium in their body. The Mystic One does this to make it easier to recover lost items.” Mo Jinghong explained in a deep voice.
Feng Qingran was speechless. That was even possible?
Mo Jinghong put the box into his own spatial storage. “Come to my room tonight.”
Feng Qingran quickly nodded. A mental medium—just hearing the name told her it was nothing good.
The two of them had only left the last sentence un-transmitted, so the other members of Lingyun Sect successfully misunderstood it.
Liu Canglan’s gentle eyes flashed with surprise. He said softly, “Seventh Junior Brother, Little Junior Sister is still young, and there’s a competition coming up. You’d better restrain yourself.”
A cultivator’s stamina was always excellent. Liu Canglan was worried the two would indulge too much and lose track of the days.
Baili Wenyue’s mouth dropped wide open. He gave Mo Jinghong a thumbs-up. “Seventh Junior Brother, I didn’t expect this—you two are quite fierce!”
Ning Shiyue propped her chin on both hands, hearts in her eyes. Could it be that Seventh Junior Brother and Little Junior Sister were finally planning to become dao companions?
Immortal cultivators were different from mortals. Once a cultivator consummated a relationship, it meant they had become husband and wife.
Dugu Jianyi’s eagle-like eyes narrowed slightly. He said nothing.
Yan Moyu pressed close to Dugu Jianyi and whispered, “Second Senior Brother, why do you all have such weird expressions?”
Dugu Jianyi’s gaze softened slightly. He patted Yan Moyu’s shoulder. “You’re still young. Some things you’ll understand when you grow up.”
Yan Moyu was even more confused.
Tang Chonglou, who had been ignored by everyone, had an extremely dark expression. His aura was ice-cold, and his face was written all over with resistance.
But Tang Chonglou knew he had no standing to interfere in Feng Qingran’s affairs.
Of the ten people who heard Mo Jinghong speak, only Qin Hanyan was focused on the competition below the stage and hadn’t heard Mo Jinghong’s words at all.
On the competition grounds.
Fang Cheng was completely immersed in the pill recipe. Over on the other side, Chen Liu had already finished processing all the spiritual plants.
Seeing this, Mu Qianjue reminded him, “Fang Cheng, you can try refining one batch first. The competition allows three attempts anyway.”
One thing pill refining and artifact refining had in common was that very few people succeeded on the first try.
“But I’m worried about wasting the spiritual plants. These are all top-grade spiritual plants…” Fang Cheng had studied the pill recipe several times, and even the steps for washing the spiritual plants were clearly written on it.
“It’s fine. Little Junior Sister prepared five sets of spiritual plants. Waste them however you like.” Mu Qianjue lightly waved his folding fan, speaking carelessly.
Given how wealthy Little Junior Sister was, these spiritual plants were practically a drop in the bucket for her.
Fang Cheng nodded hesitantly and placed an orange sign on his desk, indicating that this refining session was not official and wouldn’t be scored.
Over on Chen Liu’s side, he had prepared several sets of spiritual plants but hadn’t put up any sign, leaving people unsure whether he was refining officially or just testing.
Chen Liu seemed to have forgotten to put up his sign, and the two judges didn’t comment either.
As soon as the two judges saw Fang Cheng’s action, they immediately spoke up, “Qingyun Province has used one trial attempt. Two attempts remain.”
