Chapter 18

The three sat in silence, facing one another. Xiao Yu withdrew his hand, then turned his gaze toward Su Zhen, speaking with great solemnity, “No, there isn’t.”

Su Zhen was momentarily speechless.

In that instant, she strangely understood his meaning immediately—not that he regarded her as someone special, nor that there were descendants resembling her.

She found herself inexplicably amused. “Mm.”

Xiao Yu first sighed in relief, then, as if struck by some thought, his eyes sparkled with greater warmth. He looked down at her and asked, “Have I interrupted the two of you from catching up?”

Though addressed to Su Zhen, the question roused Pei Yang beside her.

“...It’s no trouble,” he replied, glancing at the man standing next to his cousin. “I was on my way to report back to my master anyway.”

Pei Yang suppressed the surprise in his eyes.

As a high-level expert of the Seventh Realm, having recently ascended to the Earth Immortal Realm, he was among the top young talents of the Tianyuan Sect.

Anyone able to approach him and tap his shoulder without being noticed must be at least a Celestial Immortal Realm cultivator.

Above Celestial Immortal lies the Golden Immortal Realm, then the Quasi-Saint and Saint Realms. Any cultivator of Celestial Immortal Realm within Weiyun Peak, even if not an elder, would hold a significant position.

If that were the case, most of the disciples passing by would pay respects to him, not just glance and walk away as if they didn’t recognize him at all.

Moreover, this stranger’s face was unfamiliar. Although cultivators of such realms can alter their appearances at will, it is rare to do so openly within the sect.

Pei Yang ran through the list of Weiyun Peak’s top experts in his mind but found no match. He suspected the man was one of the predecessors who left the sect years ago to cultivate in seclusion.

Perhaps a disciple of the former head of Weiyun Peak, a junior or senior fellow disciple of Celestial Immortal Yu Chen, or even a senior uncle in their generation.

Pei Yang quietly guessed right. “Are you a disciple under Immortal White?”

That was the name of the previous Weiyun Peak head and the ancestral master of Yu Chen Immortal.

Xiao Yu shook his head. “I am not a disciple of Immortal Chang Heng.”

He paused before continuing, “But the current head of Weiyun Peak should indeed address me as senior uncle.”

Su Zhen turned her head, meeting his teasing gaze.

She was speechless.

Pei Yang, understanding the situation, assumed he was a disciple of a former elder of Weiyun Peak and didn’t think much of it. “Greetings, Great Senior Uncle.”

He was somewhat proud and only bowed his head slightly in greeting.

He probably thought that since the man was old and not well-known within the sect, he was likely only a Celestial Immortal.

Pei Yang himself was less than four hundred years old and had just advanced to the Earth Immortal Realm, so he looked down a bit on those who had lived over a thousand years yet had not risen to the Golden Immortal Realm.

Su Zhen knew her cousin well and was a little worried, about to caution him when Xiao Yu beat her to it.

“No need to be so formal. The sect master’s disciples are numerous and talented; I’ve long heard of the great reputations of the two Peis.”

Pei Yang was clearly used to such words and showed no change in expression, feeling it perfectly natural. “I shall return to report to my master.”

He glanced at Su Zhen, casting a meaningful look, then nodded to Xiao Yu.

In a flash, he transformed into a streak of light, shooting toward Lingxiao Peak.

Su Zhen watched his figure disappear into the clouds.

She then turned back. “If you had arrived a moment later, you would have heard me tell my cousin that I do not agree with his guess.”

Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh?”

Su Zhen nodded. “When you looked at me just now, it didn’t seem like you were reminiscing about someone, nor were you looking through me to see another. At least, that’s how I felt.”

“You’re right,” Xiao Yu agreed. “But don’t misunderstand. Besides, we’ve all been too talkative. If anything comes up, just ask me directly. I hate when people bottle things up, guessing and guessing, until misunderstandings pile up and hurt each other...”

Su Zhen gave him a puzzled look.

“What are you on about?”

She laughed. “You’re afraid? Whenever you want to know what’s on someone’s mind, it’s only a thought away.”

Xiao Yu was noncommittal. “It doesn’t matter what others think. And as I said, I don’t care about them. Even if they misunderstand me, so what?”

She caught the implication—that he emphasized he would not casually read or guess her thoughts.

Her mood grew a little complex. “So when you say ‘everyone,’ you actually mean you and me?”

Xiao Yu spread his hands. “I don’t want to be too blunt.”

Not blunt enough, she thought.

Su Zhen didn’t know what to say. “Just now... well, my cousin is always like that. If he offended you in any way, I apologize on his behalf.”

Xiao Yu was utterly unconcerned. “I already called him brother. What offense is there?”

Su Zhen pretended to be annoyed. “I just wanted to say, please don’t call him brother. Even if his master calls you senior uncle, and even if I call you senior, it feels like I’m at a loss.”

Xiao Yu replied innocently, “...I already told you, you can call me by my name.”

“All right then.”

Su Zhen pursed her lips slightly. “It’s my fault for not following the Immortal’s instructions.”

“I’m at fault.”

Xiao Yu was momentarily stunned, then suddenly became serious. “From now on, I’ll call Pei Xianjun by his full name. I swear, I won’t call your cousin brother anymore, nor will I call you sister.”

His expression was so earnest that Su Zhen couldn’t help but laugh. “Why swear about something so trivial? It’s just a joke. You can call whoever you like. It has nothing to do with me.”

They strolled along the long street on the mountainside.

The nearby dojo was brightly lit. Tall stone lamps stood before the pavilions on both sides, casting a splendid glow everywhere.

Cultivators passed by in groups; some laughed and joked, others hurried along, and some entered and exited buildings overseeing the affairs of various peaks. Occasionally, the sound of loud voices echoed.

Wherever Su Zhen passed, many saluted her, and some seemed eager to approach and speak.

But she clearly showed she was busy, responding simply without giving them much attention, causing them to desist.

Some were curious about the identity of her companion, but even those who had been to Lingxiao Peak recently could not tell, treating him as just another ordinary senior.

Once the crowd thinned, Su Zhen instinctively asked, “What method did you use to make them not care about you?”

Without hesitation, Xiao Yu named two rare spells, their names rather tongue-twisting, then added, “You probably can do them too.”

Su Zhen was speechless.

She didn’t know whether to be flattered or not.

In her previous life at a hundred years old, these obscure secret techniques were unheard of.

But in this life, not only could she perform them, she was even proficient, mastering similar spells perfectly.

It was by relying on these that she had maintained an honorable identity as an Immortal’s disciple while secretly acting as a demon cultivator in the demon realm, traveling between worlds, escaping danger multiple times without exposing herself.

“I only know a little,” she said.

They began discussing.

Not all high-level sword cultivators were versatile; many despised or disliked spiritual magic, choosing to devote all their time to swordsmanship rather than studying other areas.

Earlier, Xiao Yu mentioned he had spent over a hundred years studying spiritual magic, and after chatting, Su Zhen realized he was telling the truth.

Her interest grew.

In her past life, when she studied spiritual magic, her relationship with her master had already soured, and her relatives and friends either showed no interest, or their cultivation and comprehension were too weak, or they had disappeared or died.

Later, the demon cultivators she met were similar in level and could talk, but each was wary of the other, never forming deep bonds or sharing much magic knowledge.

She could not find anyone with whom she could have a comfortable, open exchange.

Now, as they discussed the flaws and improvements of certain spells—the flow of spiritual energy, incantations, hand seals, and how to combine them with other magic—Xiao Yu spoke without any airs of seniority, and Su Zhen felt no need to hold back, freely expressing doubts or objections.

He never took offense, sometimes refuting seriously, sometimes pondering and admitting merit.

Although he still harbored many doubts and guesses, Su Zhen truly enjoyed their interaction.

Both the past and the present moments.

As they talked, they couldn’t resist casting spells, testing the improved methods one by one, succeeding several times.

In her excitement, Su Zhen realized that given her age and level, if she were a charm cultivator it might be reasonable, but as a sword cultivator, she seemed to know quite a lot about spiritual magic.

After all, time is limited. For those who practice swordsmanship daily, it would be hard at this age to master spiritual magic to such a degree.

But exactly how many sword techniques she knew—even Yu Chen Immortal did not know.

So she would just say it was due to interest, and thus she spent less time practicing swordsmanship and more on magic.

After all, she had no intention of discussing swordsmanship with Xiao Yu for now, much less sparring with him, so he wouldn’t know how many sword techniques she possessed.

With that thought, she crafted a spell to conceal spiritual pressure and aura.

There were many spells with similar effects, but this one was very rare, recorded in a secret manual she had found in a demon realm ruin in her previous life.

Xiao Yu’s eyes lit up. “I remember a similar hand seal, but never one exactly like this.”

“I can teach you,” Su Zhen smiled faintly. “But you must show me a spell I’ve never seen in return.”

His gaze lingered on her face for a moment, as if suddenly delighted by something, and he smiled instinctively.

“Let me think.”

He pondered aloud, “Spirit transformation realm...”

“Senior,” Su Zhen interrupted, “Don’t worry about my insufficient primordial spirit power. Just pick a rare, special secret spell. Even if I can’t use it now, when my cultivation improves, I’ll have a chance.”

Some spells require a strong primordial spirit and cannot be used at lower realms, but these could be forcibly controlled using demon sect secret techniques. Although it caused some harm, her constitution and attributes enabled quick recovery, so it was no problem.

“I know,” Xiao Yu sighed and looked down at her.

“I know,” he repeated twice.

Su Zhen smiled. Then he said, “How about the ‘Dream Weaving Technique’?”

She was slightly startled.

Xiao Yu raised his hand; the dark silver patterned sleeve slid down, revealing a fair wrist with sinewy strength, the muscular lines faintly visible.

His broad, powerful palms clasped together, slender fingers interlacing in a precise rhythm.

As his fingers moved, thin black patterns spread across the back of his hand, weaving a complex, eerie, and enchanting design.

Su Zhen was very surprised.

Her feelings now mirrored Xiao Yu’s earlier words: she hadn’t seen this exact pattern before, but something similar.

In the demon cultivator spellbooks, such patterns often appeared in chapters related to dreams.

Demon sect secret techniques generally fall into two types:

One requires specific demon sect cultivation methods or demon bloodline to use.

The other can be practiced by anyone but is extremely risky or demands great sacrifice.

The second kind is most feared by orthodox cultivators because many died or went mad from them; they warn apprentices to avoid such spells.

The pattern on the hand of Immortal Chaohua now was likely the second type.

Orthodox cultivators would call it demon sect heresy if they saw it.

Su Zhen raised her eyebrows. “Wow.”

Logically, if she knew nothing of demon magic, she shouldn’t have reacted.

Showing any unusual expression would be tantamount to revealing that she not only understood demon secret techniques but knew more than one or two.

She blinked, staring at the unfamiliar pattern, itching to learn it immediately.

But she forced herself to remain calm on the surface.

“What kind of spell is this?”

Xiao Yu gently moved his fingers; the black patterns shimmered on his hand. Smiling, he said, “You teach me that one first.”

Su Zhen couldn’t help glaring at him. “Shouldn’t an Immortal be able to learn from just watching once?”

Cultivators of his realm could usually understand related skills quickly.

Xiao Yu replied without changing expression, “I’m slow.”

Taking a deep breath, Su Zhen explained the hidden spiritual pressure concealment spell at top speed, then crossed her arms and watched him.

Xiao Yu stopped with no further nonsense and carefully explained the spell he maintained on his hand. “It’s just a little trick to kill people in dreams—consider it a fun experiment.”

For him, to kill someone he had no need for such means, but Su Zhen was different.

And even if the spell had no practical use, she was willing to learn any.

However, such spells were not easy to test in a place like this.

So she committed it to memory first.

After finishing, they returned to their previous topic, trying other spells.

Some naturally required higher realms, beyond the capacity of a primordial spirit at the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Su Zhen, in high spirits, relying on her attributes and demon sect secret techniques that forcibly controlled spiritual energy, wanted to risk injury to try them once.

Just as she was about to summon spiritual energy, Xiao Yu suddenly called her.

“...So, do you have any more interesting or novel spells? Teach me one more.”

He asked eagerly.

Su Zhen was taken aback. “Even if I have, you’re not lacking one or two, and can perform similar spells as substitutes.”

Xiao Yu shook his head. “Maybe so, but who doesn’t like learning new spells?”

Su Zhen felt a pang inside.

That was exactly her thought. She was just surprised that this world’s top sword cultivator had such a hobby.

“We just...” she began.

She wanted to say their discussion was not finished, but on second thought, it actually was—at most, they had tried casting. Given her cultivation, she shouldn’t try more openly.

“Mm,” Xiao Yu agreed. “Like just now: you teach me one, I’ll find a new one to teach you.”

Su Zhen was momentarily speechless.

The black-haired, blue-eyed young man lowered his head slightly, eyes fluttering beneath long lashes, wearing an expectant and somewhat cautious expression.

His striking, wild yet refined features softened into a tender, almost pitiful look.

“...Is that okay?”

His voice was low and earnest.

Su Zhen blinked. Was he... acting spoiled?