Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 406 - 255: You’re Not Going to Pull a Big One on Me, Right?

Chapter 406: Chapter 255: You’re Not Going to Pull a Big One on Me, Right?

The little couple sitting in the attic enjoying the moonlight and chatting intimately were completely unaware that someone was fighting over their affection.

"...Now, only your Purple Cloud Palace’s martial arts competition is still two months away."

"After all, among so many sect forces, the scale of your Purple Cloud Palace is one of the largest. It’s not easy to gather everyone; I heard the total number is approaching five digits. Even picking out a hundred from within is challenging."

"However, everyone actually has an idea who will qualify. The direct disciples of you Peak Masters, especially those above Core Formation, should all be eligible. Outer Disciples probably don’t need to think too much about it."

"Not only is there a gap in strength with you Inner Sect Disciples, their identities might not be clean either. The disciples who joined the sect in the last twenty years should also be almost eligible, but it will be very difficult for the third-generation chiefs to get in, and you guessed the reason just now."

"Many people far superior to Second Grandpa and Fourth Grandpa have not been able to return, largely because the entrance is too small. Many high-grade Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators have significantly advanced their cultivation after entering the Grotto Heaven."

"But as a result, they have trapped themselves inside. Our family and other sects probably also considered this when deciding to let Core Formation Stage and early Nascent Soul Stage disciples go in... Oh, right."

"This trip to Country Liang is not only to test your strength but also to pull allies. We’ll see if we can meet some skilled Demon Cultivators or members of the Demon Race. There’s no need to mention my maternal family; they will surely stand with us."

Listening and nodding all the while.

It’s the first time in his life that he’s heard of someone overexerting themselves to death, and it happened within the Cultivation World. It sounds somewhat ludicrous, but on second thought, if it was his first time setting foot in it, he probably would have also pushed himself to cultivate desperately.

But he has many doubts, initially wanting to ask if there were still predecessors in the Phoenix Heavenly Cave. On second thought, it’s been over six hundred years, almost seven hundred, since Candle Dragon last appeared, so any cultivator would have likely turned to dust by now.

Even though cultivators theoretically have long lifespans, the vast majority do not live that long. Whether it’s the burden that years of cultivation put on their bodies or the lingering injuries from battles, all these would shorten their lifespan unless they break through the ultimate limit.

Even the Village Chief, as strong as Old Biden, experienced a rapid decline in physical function after reaching five hundred years of age, not to mention others.

The current Sect Master Gu Yuanshan of Purple Cloud Palace has lived for over seven hundred years, having served as Sect Master for half his lifetime. In the entire Cultivation World, he’s already known as a miracle.

"Why not form alliances with families within the Southern Border? They’re at least more reliable than those from other races."

But faced with Jiang Feng’s question, Cen Yueyue didn’t reply immediately. Instead, she gave him a peculiar look and blurted out a sentence.

"Would you ally with Xuanyin Sect? After all, they’re children of the Central Plains too."

"Uh!"

He understood.

The principle of "distant friends and close enemies" has always been the same. People at a distance don’t threaten your local authority. Instead, it’s the intense competition among locals due to conflicting interests that leads to feuds.

Cen Family Village and a few others are in competition. The last time Yue Yue and he dealt with Gu Worms, a snitch from their family had snuck in; and they had been lying in wait for decades just to steal secret techniques and Gu Worms. If he were Cen Family Village Chief, he probably would make the same choice.

"Can’t you keep some secrets? These are precious and rare secrets you’re just blurting out. What if someone abducts you when you go out?"

Casually handing over a peeled and juicy peach, fresh and glistening with allure, Cen Yueyue just popped a chunk of peach into her mouth and raised her head proudly.

"After all, we’re going to explore the Phoenix Heavenly Cave together later, so I’m just giving you a heads up... Wait a second."

Cen Yueyue suddenly showed a moment of hesitation, looking at Jiang Feng distrustfully.

"You’re not setting up something big, are you?"

"Huh?"

His mind didn’t catch on at once. Setting up something big for Cen Yueyue?

What exactly is the big setup?

Premarital pregnancy or compelled marriage?

"I told you everything, and then two months later you deliberately fail the sect’s great selection, ending up without the qualification to enter Phoenix Heavenly Cave. That seems very much your style."

Typical of you.

Anyone who has spent a significant amount of time with Jiang Feng ends up being influenced by him. Cen Yueyue seemed to have a bit of that tendency too; she almost made him laugh.

So he grinned.

"Cack cack cack~ Finally, I’ve tricked all the information out of Cen Family Village. I’ll report it to the Sect Master, who will send many experts to besiege and set up an ambush within the Phoenix Heavenly Cave, cack cack cack..."

She lifted her hand and knocked on Jiang Feng’s head!

Of course, she didn’t dare to use too much force. What would she do if she knocked him silly?

"Don’t scare me. I only told you. If you dare to share our family’s secret information with others, hmph, I’ll have Grandpa deal with you."

Never had she thought of the lonely old man during their playful banter, but when threatening her little boyfriend, she suddenly remembered her grandfather, Old Biden. She was just about to tease a little more, but soon a strange light shimmered on the horizon!

This virtually made both of them stand up at the same time.

Staring intently in the direction outside the city, that subtle trace of presence was very faint, he could sense that it was his senior sister’s Sword Qi, Cen Yueyue was obviously less familiar with it, only knowing that someone was fighting and subconsciously asked, "Are there skilled fighters battling?"

"Mm."

He didn’t sit down immediately, instead, he looked towards the horizon and pondered for a few seconds, then spoke in an uncertain tone, "Senior sister seems to be... no, she must be fighting with someone, and it’s a fierce battle, it looks like the opponent is also quite proficient."

"Ah? Should we go and have a look?"

"No, no need."

The boy’s tightly knit brows suddenly relaxed.

Then he sat back down on the chair with a thump, continued picking up the dagger to peel the skins off the few freshly picked peaches, the soft and glutinous peels in Jiang Feng’s hands were neat and uniform in size and thickness.

He tossed it casually on the table, these peaches tasted good, he could bring a few boxes home for his senior sister.

The tension on his face gradually dissipated, becoming incredibly relaxed; over the years, he had completely figured out his own senior sister, he could even guess her thoughts fairly accurately.

Seeing the girl’s confused expression, he spoke to explain, "If we went there, we would only add to the hassle."

"With our level, if we went to spectate, we might need senior sister to protect us. The disturbance is at least twenty li outside the city, which means it’s definitely not a random encounter turned fight. Who would go out and about in the middle of the night if not on purpose?"

"The arrangement to stay near East Liang was made to avoid disturbing the locals, so it must have been a prearranged fight or both sides harboring the intent to battle. The Sword Qi just now, although subtle, was vast and confident; the Sword Qi was solid and effortless, and it didn’t contain any killing intent in the Sword Intent."

"So, they are not fighting to the death, this must be a sparring match. Moreover, if it were a deadly fight, senior sister would have already..."

He didn’t finish his sentence, and Cen Yueyue naturally assumed the rest of his sentence was "taken me to a safe place," but the opposite was true.

If Liu Tangxi were really playing a deadly game, her first reaction would definitely be to call Jiang Feng over for help.

Yes, Jiang Feng could be helpful.

That half an hour’s effort in the battle of top experts could be a game-changer, if it didn’t end the game... then it would be troublesome as his senior sister would have to drag him around like a dead dog, running all over the hills and fields for their lives.

"Miss Cen, don’t be too shocked either, my senior sister usually behaves quite proudly; it’s a kind of pride that isn’t shown on the face, and she’s a real fanatic for combat."

"A couple of years ago, didn’t she go back to Swordmaster Peak? She sat in the sect for two years in jail, dealing with interpersonal relationships every day, visiting the old friends and predecessors of our master. She’s itching for a fight after finally getting a chance to come out."

"This time, the big melting pot attracted a bunch of old folks, she’s probably clashed with someone she didn’t see eye to eye with, well, not only do we need to spar with each other, the elders also need to stretch their muscles now and then, normal."

"You also said, sending us young ones from our forces over here is to probe the depths of other forces’ younger disciples, and every few decades to investigate, and vice versa."

"The elderly people naturally need to probe the depths of other elders; uh, I’m not saying my senior sister is old, my senior sister is in the prime of youth and very eligible for marriage, yes, you mustn’t call her ’senior’ or anything like that when you meet her, remember that!"

"Pfft~"

Couldn’t hold back.

The somewhat tense atmosphere quickly lost its edge under his adjustment, no matter what era it was, mentioning a woman’s age was always a very sensitive topic.

"Speaking of which, Miss Cen, who from your family came?"

Hearing this title, the girl’s expression wasn’t very happy, she tilted her head and stared at the man with a scrutinizing gaze.

Feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, Jiang Feng quickly realized what he had said wrong and cleared his throat.

"Yue Yue."

"That’s more like it."

Her displeasure on her face disappeared immediately.

"It’s my grandfather who came, but he might not be around here. My grandfather said that many old friends are going to meet up this time."

"Wait a minute." Jiang Feng suddenly realized, "Could it be that your grandfather and senior sister are fighting?"

"How could that be!"

Immediately denied.

The little gossip girl just patted her chest and assured vehemently, "Don’t worry, my grandfather is usually benevolent and never argues with others, he’s very Buddhist, and he doesn’t get angry, moreover, he dotes on me a lot!"

"What he likes to do most every day is basking in the sun, you know our Southern Border is quite humid, he either goes out with his hands behind his back to guide the clan’s cultivation or finds his old buddies for a drink, I’ve never seen him make a move since I was a child."

"Besides, why should my grandfather fight with Liu Xianzi? It’s not possible because he saw the two of us sitting here drinking tea and got so enraged that they started a fight, he’s not that petty, he can’t wait for me to get married."

"The one who could provoke Liu Xianzi should definitely be those unworthy and shameless old guys, hmph..."