Chronicles of Heaven's Chosen - Chapter 67

In the courtyard, Cang Li emerged from the inner hall and immediately searched for Yuan Yao. When he saw her surrounded by the disciples of the Xiaoyao Sect, he let out a quiet breath of relief.

Good. She had not slipped away.

He walked over to the group.

The disciples noticed him as well. They cupped their hands and greeted him in unison. “Senior Brother Cang.”

Cang Li nodded with a smile.

“Third Senior Brother!” Yuan Yao folded her arms and lifted her chin with a smug little tilt, as if to say: See? I didn’t sneak off.

Amused by her self-satisfied expression, Cang Li teased, “Keeping one’s promises is a basic human virtue.”

Yuan Yao gave a soft hmph before asking curiously, “What’s happening in Yunming City now? Hurry and tell us!”

Cang Li recounted everything he had heard about Yunming City in the inner hall.

Just as he finished, the representatives of the various sects emerged from inside. At their head was none other than Zong Rao, the Second Elder of the Xiaoyao Sect.

When the group came to a stop, Zong Rao swept her cool, commanding gaze over the courtyard. Then she spoke in a grave voice.

“Everyone, the elders of our respective sects will enter Yunming City together to investigate. During that time, all of you are to remain outside the city and wait for news. If no one has returned after three days, or if you receive no word from us at all, immediately send messages to your sects so that reinforcements may be dispatched. You are not to act on your own and create any unexpected complications. Is that understood?”

The disciples’ hearts tightened, and they hurried to answer in the affirmative.

The elders then gathered their own disciples to give further instructions.

Zong Rao came to the Xiaoyao Sect’s group and looked at Cang Li. “If I have not returned in three days, contact your Master at once.”

Cang Li nodded to show that he understood.

After a brief pause, Zong Rao added, “Your Master asked me to pass on a message: whatever happens, your own safety must come first.”

Yuan Yao’s heart trembled.

All at once, she felt rather guilty toward her Master. Before descending the mountain, she had not only neglected to say goodbye, but had even concealed the trip from him.

Cang Li glanced at her. “All right. We understand.”

“Little Yuan Yao.” Zong Rao patted Yuan Yao on the shoulder. “Your Master does not mean to blame any of you. He is simply…worried.”

At that, Zong Rao could not help smiling.

She and Qian Jueshan had known each other since childhood, so she knew that he was, in truth, a deeply sentimental man. He might appear cold and unfeeling, but his heart was soft.

Only those he allowed into that heart would ever experience the full measure of his tenderness.

Zong Rao’s smile faded. She turned to the other Xiaoyao Sect disciples and said, “Protect your Little Junior Sister.”

“Don’t worry, Second Elder! We’ll definitely protect Little Junior Sister! Cough…cough, cough…”

A boy as thin as a bamboo pole had thumped his own chest so hard that he sent himself into a violent coughing fit.

The corner of Zong Rao’s mouth twitched. “I’m honestly afraid you’ll knock yourself out of existence.”

“Hehe.” The scrawny boy scratched his head with an honest grin.

Zong Rao knew him. He was Ao Su, the fourth personal disciple of Sect Master Baili Mo.

Ao Su had entered the sect at ten, reached the Foundation Establishment Realm at thirteen, and advanced to the Golden Core Realm at seventeen. Now eighteen years old, he was one of Heavenly Inquiry Peak’s most outstanding disciples.

“All right,” Zong Rao said. “Let us head to the gates of Yunming City.”

The various sects set out together.

…

Roughly fifteen minutes later, every group had arrived outside Yunming City.

Yuan Yao looked up. A dense layer of black fog shrouded the entire city, filling the air with a sinister, uncanny chill.

Although it was broad daylight, she could not feel the slightest trace of warmth. There was only a bone-deep cold, as though she had fallen into hell itself.

She studied the tightly shut city gates, then lowered her voice and asked Cang Li beside her, “Has someone placed a formation barrier around Yunming City?”

Cang Li paused, then followed her gaze.

“Has someone?” He knew little about formation barriers.

But as the elders approached the gates, their bodies visibly passed through an invisible barrier.

Cang Li raised his brows in surprise and turned to Yuan Yao. “How did you notice that?”

He was already at the early stage of the Golden Core Realm and had sensed nothing. Yet she, a mere mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, had seen it at a glance.

Yuan Yao held up one finger and smiled. “Because I know a tiny bit about formation barriers.”

“How did I not know that?”

“Because I never told you.”

Cang Li was speechless.

The bamboo-thin Ao Su spoke up. “That formation barrier likely permits entry but not exit. It is meant to seal the unidentified fog inside Yunming City and prevent it from spilling out.”

Yuan Yao nodded in agreement. “Senior Brother Ao is right.”

Ao Su grinned and scratched his head. “Hehe.”

“Little Junior Sister, I heard your temperament changed drastically recently and that you’ve taken a liking to cultivation?”

“Has my temperament really changed that much?” Yuan Yao blinked. “I only started enjoying cultivation, that’s all.”

Ao Su said, “Before meeting you, I truly thought the rumors might be right. Now that I’ve seen you, though, I’d say you’re still exactly the same.”

【Target Ao Su’s Awakening Value has reached 16.】

Yuan Yao’s heart jolted at the system’s voice. She whipped her head around and stared fixedly at Ao Su.

Ao Su stared back in confusion.

When she saw that he was neither blushing nor flustered, she instantly relaxed.

Thank goodness.

But she had not even begun to pursue him. How had his Awakening Value already climbed so high?

“Senior Brother Ao, how did you get even thinner?” Yuan Yao asked.

“Did I? I thought I’d put on some weight lately.”

Cang Li smiled brightly. “Ao Su, how about I sell you a few Great Tonic Pills? I guarantee they’ll make you fair and plump—soft, tender, and absolutely lovable.”

Soft and tender?

Why did that sound so strange?

Ao Su shook his head at once and sighed. “I still prefer this exquisitely bony figure of mine.”

Yuan Yao and Cang Li fell silent.

At that moment, a long creak came from the city gates as they slowly opened.

The black fog surged outward, only to be suppressed and forced back by the combined efforts of several elders.

Under everyone’s anxious gazes, the elders disappeared one after another into the darkness.

The next instant, the gates slammed shut with a deafening boom, completely cutting off the view of those outside.

Yuan Yao was curious about what had happened inside Yunming City, but her cultivation was simply too weak. If she sneaked in, she would only become a burden.

She pressed her lips together. “I hope Eldest Senior Brother and everyone else are safe.”

Ao Su comforted her. “Don’t worry, Little Junior Sister. They will surely return unharmed.”

Then a senior sister smiled at Yuan Yao with gentle warmth. “Little Junior Sister, would you like some candied hawthorn or roasted bird eggs? I can go to Yushan City and buy them for you.”