Senior Sister Hong Fu actually brought the young woman to the back room to personally examine Dong Xuan’er’s arm. To her astonishment, the chastity-preserving cinnabar mark was still intact!
Judging by Dong Xuan’er’s coquettish appearance, she hardly seemed untouched. That day, when the couple had readily agreed to the dual cultivation proposal, they had deliberately feigned ignorance. They never expected that the girl’s reputation was already widely known to be tarnished, which later led them to retract their agreement to protect their own reputation.
Amid the young woman’s surprise, Hong Fu explained that her disciple, in pursuit of eternal youth, had chosen to practice a top-tier technique called the “Spring Transformation Art.” The flirtatious charm in her eyes was merely a superficial effect of the cultivation method. Thus, cultivators skilled in detecting virginity naturally assumed Dong Xuan’er had long lost her purity after a few encounters, leading to numerous unfavorable rumors.
Of course, her disciple did lack some self-restraint and had ambiguous relationships with several male disciples. However, given the enchanting effects of the Spring Transformation Art and her special status, it would have been strange if no male cultivators swarmed around her!
As more male cultivators gathered around her, Dong Xuan’er developed a peculiar habit: whenever she encountered a young man who suited her fancy, she would immediately desire to have him worship at her feet. She even took pleasure in provoking these men, making them compete for her attention.
Fortunately, Hong Fu had set a strict condition before allowing her to practice the Spring Transformation Art: she must not lose her chastity. If her cinnabar mark ever disappeared, Hong Fu would immediately strip her of her cultivation and reduce her to a mortal. This was to prevent Dong Xuan’er, with her seductive skills from the Spring Transformation Art, from disgracing the Dong family’s reputation.
Under this life-threatening constraint, Dong Xuan’er, though often flirtatious, never dared to cross the line.
However, her misdeeds eventually reached Hong Fu’s ears, infuriating the Core Formation cultivator. She severely punished Dong Xuan’er and placed her under house arrest for a period.
But it was too late—Dong Xuan’er’s sullied reputation had already spread throughout the entire Yellow Maple Valley. Once such rumors spread, they become impossible to clarify. Even Hong Fu, a Core Formation cultivator, was powerless to stop them.
By then, even reputation-conscious cultivators who knew Dong Xuan’er was still chaste would not risk their own reputations by forming a dual cultivation partnership with her.
Yet, due to the nature of the Spring Transformation Art, Dong Xuan’er had reached a stage where dual cultivation was necessary. Otherwise, her cultivation would stagnate or even regress.
As for the cultivators still pursuing her, Hong Fu found none satisfactory and distrusted their character and intentions. This led to her visit to Li Huayuan’s cave dwelling and her interest in Han Li.
After hearing all this, the young woman returned to Li Huayuan with an awkward expression and relayed the story. The couple fell into a long silence.
Although they had indeed misunderstood Dong Xuan’er’s purity, as Hong Fu had said, her reputation was too tarnished. Li Huayuan was unwilling to let his disciple form a dual cultivation partnership with her, as it would severely damage his own reputation. Thus, he could only feel apologetic toward Senior Sister Hong Fu.
To make amends, Li Huayuan naturally did not obstruct Han Li’s participation in the Treasure Hunt Conference and even facilitated it. This led to Han Li and Dong Xuan’er’s journey.
According to Li Huayuan’s expectations, given Han Li’s extremely poor impression of Dong Xuan’er, even if the two traveled together, no entanglement would arise. However, his seventh disciple, Wu Xuan, had become infatuated with Dong Xuan’er after meeting her once. A few days earlier, he mustered the courage to ask Li Huayuan to approach Hong Fu again to propose a match between him and Dong Xuan’er.
Li Huayuan, already feeling indebted to Hong Fu, naturally refused such an absurd request. After sternly reprimanding his disciple, he sent him away on a mission to prevent further trouble within the mountain.
Although Wu Xuan seemed to behave himself after the scolding and obediently left on his mission, Li Huayuan could still sense his disciple’s lingering intentions, which gave him a headache.
After seeing off the two, Hong Fu chatted briefly with the couple before taking her leave. Li Huayuan and the young woman returned to the Green Wave Cave to resume their daily cultivation, temporarily setting aside the matter of Han Li and Dong Xuan’er.
…
The Yan family, the foremost family in the State of Yue, had its roots in the inconspicuous Linzhou, one of the thirteen prefectures of Yue. Linzhou was average in both size and population, a place of mediocrity. Qingliang City was an ordinary small town in Linzhou, with no notable features or local specialties except for the nearby scenic Mount Yanliang. The Yan family’s stronghold, Yanling Castle, was situated within Mount Yanliang.
At that moment, Han Li held a slip of paper—the invitation to the Treasure Hunt Conference. The venue indicated was Yanling Castle.
After reading the invitation once more to confirm, Han Li slowly put it away. Just then, a woman’s mocking voice reached his ears.
“What a blockhead! You’ve read that invitation five or six times and still aren’t satisfied. You really have a problem!”
Her voice was soft yet carried a low magnetic quality, capable of stirring men’s imaginations and leading young men to indulge in fantasies.
But Han Li remained unmoved, as if he hadn’t heard her. Instead, he raised his hand and shot three bowl-sized fireballs into the sky, where they exploded. Then he said calmly, “If the Yan family doesn’t come to fetch us soon, we’ll leave and return tomorrow. If you’re not tired and still have energy to argue, why not fly up and scout the area to see if anyone else is around, just in case.”
“Senior Brother Han, you’re really too timid! We’re at the Yan family’s doorstep. What danger could there be? I think you’re just making trouble for no reason and trying to exhaust me!” Dong Xuan’er pouted lazily, leaning against an ancient pine tree with no intention of obeying.
Han Li and the young woman were on a small mountain peak, seemingly waiting for something to happen.
This was supposed to be the meeting point mentioned in the invitation, but they had been waiting for some time without any sign of the Yan family. Han Li grew increasingly wary, fearing something unexpected might occur.
But Miss Dong dismissed Han Li’s caution as mere cowardice.
It had been seven or eight days since they left the Green Wave Cave.
Along the way, the two seemed naturally incompatible, finding each other thoroughly disagreeable. None of the ambiguous tension that usually exists between men and women arose between them. For some reason, Dong Xuan’er’s seductive charms, which worked effortlessly on other male cultivators, had no effect on Han Li. Instead, her spoiled nature soon erupted due to her failure to manipulate him, and she threw a tantrum.
But Han Li was unfazed by her antics. He ignored her unreasonable behavior and simply said, “I will report Junior Sister’s conduct truthfully to Aunt Hong Fu.” This immediately subdued Dong Xuan’er.
Though spoiled, the young woman knew Hong Fu was truly furious about her reputation this time.
The warning given at their parting had been serious! If this detestable man really spoke ill of her to her master, severe punishment would be inevitable—perhaps even another house arrest.
The thought of being confined again sent a shiver down Dong Xuan’er’s spine. Though she refused to show weakness verbally, she no longer dared to act recklessly.
Han Li, in turn, did not make things too difficult for her. He even allowed her to win minor verbal victories without concern. But whenever Dong Xuan’er overstepped, he would sternly invoke Hong Fu’s name, immediately suppressing her without room for rebuttal. After all, before their departure, Hong Fu had explicitly instructed Dong Xuan’er to obey Han Li.
Thus, along the journey, one party relentlessly mocked and taunted, while the other acted as if hearing nothing and focused solely on traveling. But whenever the latter mentioned Hong Fu, the former would immediately change her expression and refrain from further insolence.
So, the two journeyed awkwardly together, traveling by day and resting at night, finally arriving at Mount Yanliang after several days and finding this peak.
Unexpectedly, the Yan family, who should have appeared long ago, was nowhere to be seen. After waiting for most of the day, Han Li grew impatient.
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