Chapter 199: Differences in Treatment

Around the gravel path, a faint mist lingered. Zhou Yuan carefully followed the path. After a few minutes, his view gradually opened up, and a stone pavilion appeared in his sight.

Zhou Yuan approached the pavilion and then froze, for he saw that someone was inside.

Inside the stone pavilion, a graceful figure in white was reclining on a stone chair. Her white attire accentuated her slender, elongated form, and her dark hair cascaded down. She held a jade bottle in one hand and a jade cup in the other, leisurely pouring and drinking for herself.

Zhou Yuan's gaze lingered on the figure's face, and his mouth immediately twitched.

"Yao Yao?!"

Zhou Yuan's eyes widened slightly because the figure before him was none other than Yao Yao, who had vanished the moment she entered the Sacred Stairway!

"You... how are you here?!" Zhou Yuan couldn't help but exclaim.

Yao Yao raised her beautiful eyes, glanced at Zhou Yuan, and chuckled softly. "Oh, not bad. I didn't expect you to be the ultimate victor... That truly surprises me."

Tilting her head, Yao Yao said with a smile, "I don't know how I got here. After that azure torrent rushed down, it swept me along and brought me here."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan's face turned green with dismay. He had fought tooth and nail, overcome countless obstacles, and endured untold hardships along the way, finally reaching this place bruised and battered. Yet, Yao Yao had arrived here before him without doing anything! This stark contrast made even Zhou Yuan, with his temperament, feel a bit exasperated. How could the difference between people be so vast?

"How is that fair?!" Zhou Yuan walked into the pavilion, snatched the jade cup from Yao Yao's hand, and guzzled its contents, his voice full of indignation.

Yao Yao's beautiful eyes fixed on the jade cup in Zhou Yuan's hand; she had been drinking from it just moments before. Immediately, her eyes narrowed into a dangerous arc, and she smiled faintly. "Zhou Yuan, do you have a death wish?"

Zhou Yuan noticed the dangerous tone in Yao Yao's voice and realized his mistake. He quickly put down the jade cup, awkwardly saying, "I'm severely injured right now; one touch could kill me. Don't mess around."

Yao Yao gave him an exasperated look and snatched the jade cup back. If anyone else had dared to do that, she would have long since unleashed a hundred Genesis Rune scrolls to blast them into dust.

"Sister Yao Yao, where is this? Didn't they say there was a great fortune to be found?" Zhou Yuan quickly changed the subject, smiling.

Yao Yao stretched, revealing her stunning, alluring curves. She said languidly, "I don't know. I've just been sitting here drinking wine for half the day, without bothering to look."

Zhou Yuan couldn't help but feel speechless. Others would risk their lives to seize this good fortune, yet Yao Yao, despite having the advantage, showed little interest. In her eyes, searching for that good fortune was probably less appealing than finding fine wine.

"I waited here because I wanted to see who would make it in. If it were Wu Huang or Ye Ming, it would mean you failed, and in that case, I would help you drive that fellow out again."

Yao Yao's clear, ethereal eyes stared at Zhou Yuan with a hint of surprise. "But what I didn't expect was that you actually made it through... So, does that mean Wu Huang was defeated by you?"

Zhou Yuan felt a slight warmth in his heart upon hearing this. The main reason Yao Yao stayed here was likely because of him.

"Yes, I fought Wu Huang, destroyed his physical body, and reclaimed a portion of the Sacred Dragon Qi. It's a pity his soul escaped, though," Zhou Yuan said calmly.

"Tsk, tsk."

Yao Yao's delicate hand lightly propped up her pale, pointed chin, and she said with a smile, "This outcome is quite surprising, actually."

Her beautiful eyes swept over Zhou Yuan's face, and she said with a half-smile, "Why are you pretending to be so calm? You're clearly a little proud, aren't you?"

Zhou Yuan's mouth twitched awkwardly.

Yao Yao's slender, crystalline fingers lightly tapped the jade bottle. "But it is something to be proud of. I didn't even expect you to be able to achieve this much."

Zhou Yuan asked in surprise, "Are you praising me?"

Yao Yao reached out her jade hand, patted Zhou Yuan's head, and said earnestly, "You're a teachable young man."

Zhou Yuan's face darkened, and he impatiently swatted her hand away.

"As for his soul escaping, it's not a big deal, because he's already lost his best chance," Yao Yao said with a smile.

Zhou Yuan also nodded, his expression calm but with a hint of self-assurance. "If I defeated him once, I can naturally defeat him a second time. Next time, he won't be so lucky."

Before, he had lagged too far behind Wu Huang, which was his most dangerous time, yet even then, he had persevered. Just as Yao Yao said, Wu Huang had lost his best chance. And such an opportunity would not appear again.

Yao Yao rose gracefully, her dark hair brushing Zhou Yuan's face with a faint fragrance. She lifted her flawless, beautiful face, and looking into the light, she gazed towards the distance beyond the pavilion, saying without much enthusiasm, "Well, since we're here, let's go further in and see what there is."

Zhou Yuan's eyes lit up upon hearing this, filled with eagerness. He had fought tooth and nail, enduring countless hardships to get here; wasn't it all for that fabled good fortune? So, compared to Yao Yao's languidness, his heart was full of excitement.

Thus, the two left the stone pavilion and once again headed deeper.

They walked along a gravelly mountain path, passing through dense woods, and then their steps finally slowed. Before them was an endless cliff.

Beyond the cliff, mist swirled.

At the edge of the cliff, a massive green pine tree stood majestically. Beneath the pine tree was a white jade-like stone seat, and beside the stone seat, there was a figure.

"Have you finally arrived?"

As Zhou Yuan and Yao Yao saw the figure, a gentle voice reached them.

The figure raised his head. His skin was like jade, like that of an infant, and his long hair fell loosely. His face was like that of a young boy, but his eyes were ancient and profound, as if they had witnessed the passage of ages, exuding an aura of antiquity.

When Zhou Yuan's gaze met his, he felt an indescribable sense of pressure. That pressure made even his spirit tremble slightly.

This made Zhou Yuan realize that the person before him, with the appearance of a handsome youth, was an extremely terrifying existence. In fact... he was likely the legendary fallen Saint. Of course, this was probably just an afterimage of him. But even just an afterimage caused Zhou Yuan to feel an indescribable pressure.

After somewhat adapting to the pressure, Zhou Yuan and Yao Yao walked forward.

"Senior," Zhou Yuan said, bowing respectfully.

Yao Yao, however, remained somewhat languid, even covering her small mouth with her jade hand as she stifled a soft yawn.

The youthful-looking man before them smiled faintly. He stood up, his gaze sweeping over Zhou Yuan and Yao Yao. His profound eyes seemed capable of seeing through all secrets.

He walked closer, giving Zhou Yuan's respectful bow a mere casual nod before his gaze shifted to Yao Yao. He looked at Yao Yao very carefully, for a long time. In that instant, Zhou Yuan noticed a strong sense of relief and satisfaction emerge in the man's gaze as he looked at Yao Yao. Then he chuckled softly at Yao Yao.

"Finally, I've seen you..."

Zhou Yuan, standing nearby, felt like crying but had no tears. *I fought my way here through my own strength, so why am I treated so poorly?*