Shen Tinglan felt a wave of sorrow rush straight into her sea of consciousness. Unable to restrain herself any longer, she barked, “Ji Linlang! You are out of line!”
“Out of line? Hehe...”
“Tinglan, for as many years as you have hidden from me, that is how long I have been mad.”
“I could never understand how, overnight, an impassable chasm suddenly opened between us.”
Shen Tinglan's face darkened as she pricked that old thorn. “During the internal strife of the Tianyan Sect back then, I was forced to leave. Do you dare claim you didn't fan the flames from behind the scenes?”
“As the Sect Master of the Wangchuan Sect, were your hands truly clean?”
“Tinglan! History is written by the victors. I was merely fulfilling my duties as Sect Master. If the Tianyan Sect had been a united front, no amount of instigation on my part could have shaken it.”
“Besides, you left the Tianyan Sect long ago. Why must you keep this score on their behalf?”
“What you did for them was already more than enough to repay their kindness in teaching you.”
Shen Tinglan exhaled slowly, unable to hide the weariness in her eyes. “I understand everything you're saying. But this knot... I cannot untie it, nor can I bypass it.”
“Elder Ji, I once regarded you as my confidante.”
She glanced down at the cliff face, her expression growing somber. “A-Ci is still down there, and I don't have time to argue with you. Leave. Let's not waste each other's time.”
“Tinglan.” Ji Linlang suddenly retracted her sharp edge, slipping close to her ear. Her voice was as sweet as dripping honey. “I'm not leaving. The more you push me away, the more I want to cling to you.”
“Unless you swear by the Heavenly Dao that we shall never meet again in this lifetime.”
“Ji Linlang, you are shameless...”
“Tinglan, I do have teeth... and you've tasted them before.”
“Don't push me, Ji... Lin... lang...”
Ji Linlang froze. Stepping back half a pace, a dark haze swirled in her eyes, and her expression became terrifyingly serious. “If you are truly willing to make that oath, I will never bother you again. I will not take a single step out of the Eastern Region for the rest of my life.”
Shen Tinglan was momentarily at a loss for words.
Her words just now had merely been a threat born of extreme anger, meant to force this woman to rein in her obsession and behave herself for a few years—at least until A-Ci finished her trial.
She hadn't expected Ji Linlang to be so decisively mad.
If Shen Tinglan had truly possessed the heart to cut ties completely, she wouldn't have hidden for all these years, nor would she have stood there, letting this woman press close to her time and time again.
Ji Linlang's words were like a knife; she had plunged it into her own chest first before handing the hilt over to Shen Tinglan...
Shen Tinglan suddenly found herself unable to utter another harsh word.
During the factional struggles of the sects back then, everyone had been at the mercy of circumstances.
She had resented, hated, and run away... By now, she could no longer distinguish whether she resented Ji Linlang for fanning the flames back then, or if she simply resented the cruelty of fate that forced two soulmates to stand on opposing sides.
“If Elder Ji wants to keep watch, then do so.”
“But do not disturb me, and do not bring up this pointless back-and-forth. After hundreds of years of entanglement, letting it end here is the best outcome.”
“Very well.”
“I won't disturb you.”
“I will only keep watch over you.”
Knowing when to stop, Ji Linlang changed the subject, asking softly, “Tinglan, there's still some time before A-Ci breaks through her realm. Shall we have a few drinks? I miss the Jade Dew Brew.”
“There is none left. Nanxing drank it all.”
Ji Linlang shot her a resentful look, like casting flirtatious glances at a blind person.
Her beloved was completely dense to her advances, leaving her to look like a fool.
Putting away her playful demeanor, she swept her sleeves and stepped into the empty air, walking a few paces away with a feigned coldness. “In that case, I shall not disturb your quiet rest, Tinglan.”
Though her words sounded aloof, her steps were deliberately slow. She was waiting for the person behind her to call out and ask her to stay, putting on a dramatic show of leaving in a huff.
Yet, there was no sound from behind her for a long time.
After a long while, Ji Linlang sighed inwardly. She could only pretend to be disappointed and retreat into the shadows of the clouds, leaving only a thread of her divine sense wrapped around the flying vessel.
By the side of the flying vessel, the thunderclouds drifted.
Watching her seemingly resolute back, Shen Tinglan's lips, which had been pursed for days, finally relaxed slightly.
She shook her head helplessly, scolding her in a soft, exasperated whisper.
This woman had no idea where she had learned such tricks, always playing hard to get to gain the upper hand.
To think that the once-solemn Sect Master Ji had actually learned such clingy, shameless tactics!
She must have read the wrong novels and picked up bad habits!
...
On the twelfth day inside the cave, the purple vortex of qi in Shen Qingci's dantian condensed to its absolute limit. The spiritual liquid within felt as if it were about to burst through the barrier.
Knowing the time was ripe and that suppressing it further would only damage her meridians, she immediately circulated her cultivation technique, drawing the lightning spiritual force from the cliff face to pour into her body.
The vortex of qi spun at a blinding speed, gradually condensing a deeper purple light at its center before exploding outward.
The mid Foundation Establishment stage was achieved.
She opened her eyes and exhaled a mouthful of turbid qi.
Before she could fully savor the thrill of her breakthrough, a sudden itch tickled the back of her neck, and she sneezed three times in a row.
Shen Qingci rubbed her nose and looked around suspiciously.
There was no wind inside the cave, and only the rumble of thunder echoed outside. Could a bolt of lightning have struck the cliff face, sending stone dust flying in to irritate her nose?
Unable to find a reason, she simply consoled herself, “Ah, it must be Senior Sister thinking of me.”
Once a cultivator reached the Foundation Establishment stage, they became impervious to cold and heat, so why would she sneeze for no reason? It had to be because her senior sister missed her so dearly that it resonated across their souls.
The moment this thought arose, she felt entirely at ease.
Even when some stone dust fell from the cave ceiling onto her bald scalp, she didn't feel the least bit disheveled.
Knowing her senior sister missed her was more comforting than any Heaven-grade artifact.
Dozens of li away, Ji Linlang, hidden within the clouds, had her divine sense focused on Shen Qingci. Upon hearing this, she nearly tumbled out of the sky.
This Eldest Young Lady of the Shen family sure knew how to comfort herself.
Just moments ago, Ji Linlang had been thinking that this heir of the Shen family was cultivating far too slowly.
Going from the early to the mid Foundation Establishment stage had taken her five months. While that would be considered fast to the outside world, in Ji Linlang's eyes, it was agonizingly slow.
She wished she could empty all the natural treasures from her storage ring and stuff them down this junior's throat to make her achieve Golden Core in a day and Nascent Soul in three...
Just so Tinglan wouldn't spend all her energy worrying over her niece.
Tinglan used to treat her so well!
Whenever Tinglan obtained any rare treasure, she would always think of saving a portion for her first.
Yet, after a hundred years of separation, not only had their statuses changed, but several of Tinglan's clan members had also cropped up.
Now, just to watch over her little niece's trial, Tinglan wouldn't even bring out the Jade Dew Brew to share with her.
It would be a lie to say Ji Linlang wasn't jealous, but she only dared to grumble in her head.
If she actually did anything, Tinglan and that pack of Shen family secret guards would probably be the first to hack her to pieces.
She wanted to be with Tinglan for a long, long time, and she didn't want to completely infuriate her future Dao companion by forcing the junior's growth.
Ji Linlang withdrew her divine sense and leaned against a bank of clouds for a moment. She couldn't watch any longer.
If she kept watching, she feared she wouldn't be able to resist showing herself to critique the mid Foundation Establishment stage Shen Qingci from head to toe, and then "casually" point out a few errors in her cultivation.
If Tinglan discovered that a peak Soul Transformation stage old monster like her was spying on her niece's cultivation, she would undoubtedly drag her up above the clouds for a few sparring sessions.
She wasn't afraid of a fight, but once it was over and she was left recovering in bed, Tinglan would start avoiding her again.
When they weren't fighting, Tinglan was actually wonderful!
In those times, Tinglan would lean against the window, peeling spiritual oranges and flipping through the art books published by the Hehuan Sect. When she grew annoyed by Ji Linlang's antics, she would cast a few sidelong glares and scold her for being a rogue.
That gentle, quiet demeanor was enough to make anyone's heart skip a beat.
Ji Linlang sighed, turning to vanish into the deeper layers of the clouds, keeping watch from a distance with envious eyes.
Inside the cliff cave, Shen Qingci remained completely oblivious to it all.
Rate on N.U.
