Chapter 175: The Real and Fake Holy Maiden (Part Four)
Chu Yanfeng felt deeply confused and bewildered, as if he had been struck by lightning.
No, it couldn't be. How could this person possibly be the Empress?
This despicable... female cultivator clearly doesn't possess any demonic energy! How could she be a royal guard of the demon realm or even the Empress?
However, the highly respected Blue-eyed Evil Buddha, who nobody dared to offend, showed great respect and favor towards this female cultivator.
Chu Yanfeng's lips trembled, and with a complex look in his eyes, he unconsciously took a step forward, wanting to ask more questions.
Cen Qingyou, a gentle and kind-hearted man, made Chu Yanfeng break out in a cold sweat.
"Empress," Cen Qingyou smiled innocently, "Let's go."
Qiao Wan blushed and followed Cen Qingyou out, feeling utterly despairing and embarrassed.
As they walked, the guards in the corridor saw them but didn't dare to approach, their faces filled with both astonishment and doubt.
This situation was absolutely messed up, and Qiao Wan silently burst into tears.
Long-lost friends, not only did their cultivation increase rapidly like they had taken magic pills, but their style also improved along with their cultivation. The clothes she was wearing didn't seem to be from the book "Immortal Ascending Road". Maybe she also had books like "Arrogant Evil Buddha" and "Nine Heavens Lone Sword". And she might just be a minor character in these three books.
Chu Yanfeng suddenly snapped back to reality, watching Qiao Wan and Cen Qingyou as they walked away. He quickly whispered to those around him, "Quick! Go and inform the high priest."
The high priest had ordered that this female cultivator should not be treated poorly in terms of food and clothing. Although he followed the orders, his attitude wasn't very good.
If she really is the Empress...
Chu Yanfeng looked into the distance at the silhouette of the girl moving away, his expression complicated.
In many ways, he could be in trouble.
Cen Qingyou, who had no idea what embarrassing Mary Sue play he had done, curiously asked, "Is the Empress troubled?"
Qiao Wan immediately froze, becoming stiff as if her hands and feet were glued together. Her face turned red as she complained, "No no no!! That title is too awkward!"
Qiao Wan covered her face silently.
She was always aware of who she really was, even though she was called the empress of the demon realm. She was simply Qiao Wan, a normal and attractive college student in her previous life, instead of a so-called noble and cold empress of the demon realm.
"Empress, you don't like it?" Cen Qingyou smiled and pressed his lips together. "If the empress doesn't like it... then..."
The young man paused for a moment and softly said, "Xin Yi."
This opening line made it feel like they were back in the Cen Mansion, where the young man in front of her would still feel uneasy and shy about interacting with her.
However, when Qiao Wan saw the sparkling green eyes of Cen Qingyou, she understood that certain things had happened and that the current young man was no longer the same one who used to read books with her and get scolded for it in the meditation room.
Regardless, Cen Qingyou would always be her friend, that wouldn't change!
Qiao Wan shook her head, trying to shake off the jumbled thoughts in her mind.
The fact that Cen Qingyou was her friend would never change!
"Speaking of which," Qiao Wan hesitated and asked the question that had been lingering in her mind since earlier, "Why did you come here?"
Cen Qingyou was straightforward, "I came to find something."
Qiao Wan hesitated and asked, "The Immaculate True Crystal?"
"Yes."
She had wanted to ask more, but when her gaze met the young man's gentle and determined eyes, Qiao Wan suddenly felt deflated.
"Can you... come back?"
Cen Qingyou looked remorseful, "Xin Yi, I'm sorry. I have something important that I must do. The annihilation of our clan was not a coincidence. Do you still remember the Demon Realm Emperor?"
Qiao Wan widened her eyes, "The one who was sealed?"
The wind blowing through the corridor rustled the prayer beads on the young man's wrist. Cen Qingyou seemed to have carefully considered for a while before speaking, "That sealing was a grand formation that stretched from the eastern Seven Peaks and Ten Ridges, to the western mountains of Kunshan, the snowy mountains in the north, and the Qizawa Province in the southern Thirteen Continents. It was nourished by the divine veins and aura of the world."
She had heard Boss Yan say this.
Qiao Wan's heart skipped a beat.
Qizawa Province, the Cen family's spiritual veins.
Cen Qingyou said softly, "As long as we destroy these spiritual veins, the seal of the heavens and earth will be broken."
Cen Qingyou gently asked Xin Yi, "Have you noticed that the disputes in the cultivation world have been more intense than ever before? The demonic troubles from hundreds of years ago have long been resolved, and although the cultivation world seems peaceful on the surface, there are hidden currents."
Qiao Wan silently lowered her head and recalled.
She had a premonition that what Cen Qingyou was about to tell her was very important information.
"Yes..." Qiao Wan thought for a moment and answered seriously.
The power struggle between the Xiao family and Kunshan, the Cen family and the Lin family, the Great Hall of Light and Sun Tao College, as well as the conflicts between the demon Jia Yin and Xiluo...
Although there wasn't a major war in the entire cultivation world, these local conflicts kept happening.
Cen Qingyou hesitated for a moment and suddenly blurted out, "Mei Kangping is extremely loyal to Immortal Emperor Shi Yuan. His scheming is much deeper than you can imagine, Xin Yi. You should be careful and watch out for him."
Qiao Wan was shocked but then quickly realized, "Are you saying that Mei Kangping... wants to... release the seal of the Demon Lord?!!"
But what does Cen Qingyou mean when he tells her to be careful?
Qiao Wan furrowed her brows and pondered deeply.
She knew herself very well, but she was just a figurehead, the empress of the demon realm. If Mei Kangping truly cared about her as his niece, he wouldn't have put her in such a dangerous situation.
Sometimes, if you can't understand what Mei Kangping is doing, it's better to think about why he does it. He must have a reason for doing it," Cen Qingyou's expression turned serious, "In this world, everyone is driven by their own interests. People don't waste their efforts on things that don't bring them any benefits."
Yes.
She must be valuable to Mei Kangping because he gets something in return. That's why he invests in her, and that's why he uses her.
Qiao Wan focused and quickly thought things through.
He's not in a hurry to find her right now because he doesn't need her urgently. Does that mean that her value to Mei Kangping is more important in the later stages?
She remembered that her adoptive father, Su Buhuo, disappeared after Immortal Emperor Shi Yuan was sealed. There was no news of him being killed either. Can we speculate that her adoptive father is somehow connected to this seal?
In this world, she's the only one with Su Buhuo's bloodline.
If Mei Kangping really wants to break the seal...
Following this clue and continuing to speculate, does it mean that her value is also related to being sealed away?
If she and the seal are really directly connected...
What Mei Kangping wants to do is to disrupt the cultivation world, use the conflicts here as a cover, destroy the spiritual veins, and then release the seal. And releasing the seal happens to be the final step in everything he has done.
So he doesn't rush to find her.
They made eye contact.
"Ah!"
Qiao Wan suddenly looked up, cold sweat breaking out.
"Xin Yi," Cen Qingyou said softly, "I can only help you until here."
Qiao Wan was stunned, "You..."
But unexpectedly, at this moment, a familiar black hood suddenly appeared at the end of the corridor.
Shui Fengxiao walked quickly, the black robe swirling like a dark cloud, "Holy Monk..."
And also...
His gaze fell on Qiao Wan beside Cen Qingyou, leaving him speechless for a moment.
Cen Qingyou gently reminded, "Empress."
The face of the usually mature and stable high priest lit up with excitement.
As soon as he heard that Chu Yanfeng had come to report, he hurried over and was surprised to see Qiao Wan and Cen Qingyou walking side by side.
Is this woman really the empress of the demon realm?!
Noticing the change in Shui Fengxiao's expression, Cen Qingyou asked, "You don't believe it?"
Shui Fengxiao lowered his gaze, the wide brim of his hat timely hiding the changes in his face, "I didn't mean it that way."
It's not surprising that he's skeptical.
There have been cases before where imposters pretended to be the empress of the demon realm to deceive others. When encountering such situations, it's natural to be cautious.
"I heard that your sacred spring has dried up, is that true?"
"Yes."
This is why he urgently wants to find a holy woman. Not to mention that the holy scriptures record that a holy woman can come with holy water to resolve the crisis of the holy teachings. Recently, that old trickster Shui Xian caused trouble within the sect, implying that the drying up of the holy spring was due to his abuse of power. With these two pressures, he must find a holy woman no matter what.
As always gentle and polite, he was like a clear mirror in his heart, a young lord of the Cen family who can be both good and bad at the same time.
In addition, after merging with the Blue-eyed Evil Buddha for several hundred years, his behavior and actions, although still very polite, showed a hint of dominance and fierceness within his gentle and frugal demeanor.
Because they were friends, he didn't mind supporting his friend a little more.
Cen Qingyou smiled and said, "Since the high priest doesn't believe, why not let the imperial princess try?"
"At that time, the high priest will know whether the girl by my side is the imperial princess or a commoner."
As the words "lowly commoner" were spoken, Shui Fengxiao felt a wave of sweat but didn't dare to say anything.
With lips pressed tightly together, he pleaded, "Holy monk, please."
Silently, he turned away.
*
The spiritual spring of the Water Phoenix Sect was near the waterfall.
It was said that the Blue-eyed Evil Buddha was going to make the long-dried-up spring flow again today. Almost everyone from the Water Phoenix Sect had gathered, including Mu Xiaoxiao , who was accompanied by several maids.
She took off her maid attire and put on a white hood. The young girl's face was filled with unease.
One of the maids behind her curiously said, "Holy maiden, take a look."
Following behind the high priest was a young monk, and the so-called fake holy maiden in the pink robes.
She couldn't believe that this person was their sect's holy maiden.
...
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Qiao Wan and Mu Xiaoxiao hadn't returned for a long time, and Liang Yiqing felt a pang in his heart, sensing that something was wrong.
In theory, Qiao Wan was always calm and considered one of the brightest young talents in Kunshan. So why was there no news from her after she left?
After waiting outside the Water Phoenix Sect for two or three days, Liang Yiqing couldn't wait any longer.
The plan failed, so they had to come up with a different approach.
It was said that the people of Water Phoenix Sect suddenly gathered near a spring by a cliff, and the Holy Maiden would also come.
"Elder Martial Sister Mu will be present," Kunshan hesitantly asked, thinking about Qiao Wan who was nowhere to be seen.
They had agreed to exchange Mu Xiaoxiao before, but there had been no news from Qiao Wan until now.
Other people were also unsure about what to do.
"No matter what," Yu Sanniang sighed, "we must go this time. At least we have to find a way to rescue Elder Martial Sister Mu."
And so, on that day.
Not only did the people from Water Phoenix Sect arrive, but even those from Kunshan secretly gathered around to watch.
From a distance, they first saw the members of Water Phoenix Sect entering, followed by the top-ranking members of the sect.
Shui Xian, an old man with white hair, smiled mysteriously as he looked on. Shui Fengxiao and Cen Qingyou were present, and there was also Qiao Wan dressed in pink beside them.
Xiao Boyang was shocked, saying, "Qiao Wan?! How did she sneak in so openly? And she's following the High Priest with the black hood?"
Sensing the sudden change in the young man's breath beside her, Yu Sanniang turned her head in surprise. She looked at this handsome young man with admiration.
"Pei Senior Brother?"
The young man's cold expression changed, his chest heaving heavily, gripping tightly onto the Snow Fright Sword in his hand.
Pei Chunzheng snapped out of his daze.
The Buddhist bead, it belongs to the Cen family...Cen Qingyou's.
Their eyes met for the first time.
The girl seemed to realize something, and after a few words with Cen Qingyou, there was a faint red mark hidden in the collar of her dress.
