Chapter 547: Third Senior Sister's Letter

Three months had passed since Lu Yang returned from the Five Elements Sect. One day, the Senior Disciple Sister received a long-distance message and was momentarily stunned.

She pondered for a moment in her cave dwelling and softly sighed.

"It seems I'll have to send Junior Brother on an errand."

At this moment, Lu Yang was entering a critical phase of his cultivation. He opened his mouth wide, devouring spiritual energy. Sweat appeared on his forehead, turning into mist, which gathered above his head, resembling auspicious clouds.

"Phew, I've finally cultivated from the seventh level of the Golden Core stage to the eighth level!"

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the Senior Disciple Sister standing before him, who asked with an expressionless face: "Since when has the Golden Core stage been divided into seventh and eighth levels?"

Lu Yang decisively revealed the mastermind: "The Immortal Fairy said it. She claimed that the more detailed the cultivation level divisions, the more motivated one becomes, and there's a sense of accomplishment with every step!"

"Hey, hey, hey, are you selling me out already?" The Immortal Fairy burst out from Lu Yang's body in dissatisfaction. She was wearing pink pajamas and had just woken up to hear Lu Yang badmouthing her.

"How can this be called selling out? This is just Senior Disciple Sister asking a question, and I'm answering truthfully."

"This is selling out."

"This isn't selling out."

The Senior Disciple Sister felt that if she let them continue discussing, nothing would get done today. She pulled out a letter. The handwriting on the envelope was elegant and lovely, and it read, 'For Senior Sister Yunzhi's Personal Attention.'

"This is..."

"It's a letter from your Third Disciple Sister, Gan Tian, from the Demon Realm. She says she found some ancient artifacts there and wants me to find a scholar familiar with ancient history to research them with her or help her answer questions."

This was no ordinary letter, but a magic artifact. It came in two forms: master and subordinate. The Senior Disciple Sister had the master artifact, and the Third Disciple Sister had the subordinate one. Whatever the Third Disciple Sister wrote on her artifact would synchronize to the Senior Disciple Sister's.

"After much thought, you are the one who knows the most about ancient history. If you're not busy lately, you could make a trip to the Demon Realm."

Lu Yang pondered. He had broken through to the eighth level, but there was still a long way to go until the ninth. Constantly cultivating within the sect wasn't ideal; he might as well go out and explore.

"I'll go."

Seeing Lu Yang agree so readily, the Senior Disciple Sister seemed to see a reflection of their master in him. She reminded him, "You might find something new at the border between the Central Continent and the Demon Race territories. You can ask your Third Junior Sister about it when you see her."

A cultivator dressed in gray silk robes landed, his hands tucked into his sleeves. A faint smile played on his face, his eyes squinted into an almost invisible slit, making it nearly impossible to see them.

"Halt. Who goes there?"

The Dao Seeking Sect disciples guarding the mountain gate raised their hands, preventing the gray-robed cultivator from entering, and watched him warily.

The gray-robed cultivator had anticipated this. He fumbled in his sleeve, pulled out a letter, and handed it to the two disciples.

"Excuse me, both of you," he said. "I am Xu You, the chief steward of the Meng family. I've come to visit our Young Master. Please grant me passage."

The Dao Seeking Sect disciples opened the envelope. It was an introduction letter from the Meng family, verifying Xu You's identity. No one dared to forge such a document. The Meng family was known for deceiving others, not for others impersonating them. Impersonating them would be tantamount to not wanting to remain in the Central Continent.

"So it's Senior Xu," they said. "May I ask what business Senior Xu has with Junior Brother Meng?"

Everyone in the Dao Seeking Sect knew Meng Jingzhou was the Meng family's Young Master, but no one openly mentioned it.

Xu You sighed, the smile vanishing from his face. "What else could it be?" he said. "It's simply to persuade the Young Master to change his mind. His parents miss him and want me to convince him to go home for a visit." As he spoke, he took two storage rings from his sleeve and pressed them into the hands of the two Dao Seeking Sect disciples.

"It's freezing cold," he said, "I imagine it's not easy for you two guarding the gate. There are some inexpensive trinkets in these storage rings. Please do me a favor and let me in."

The Dao Seeking Sect disciples repeatedly refused.

"This simply won't do!" they said. "The sect strictly forbids accepting bribes. If discovered, there will certainly be severe punishment!"

"Just take them, both of you," Xu You insisted. "You know, and I know. If the three of us don't say anything, who will ever know?"

Seeing they couldn't refuse, the two Dao Seeking Sect disciples could only accept them.

"It's only natural for parents to want to see their son. Please come in, Senior Xu." The Dao Seeking Sect disciples folded the letter, put it back in the envelope, returned it to Xu You, and cleared the path.

Upon entering the Dao Seeking Sect, Xu You dropped his worried and sighing expression, and a benevolent smile returned to his face. The River Spirit revealed its head, surfacing from the water. Xu You nodded and bowed to the River Spirit, waiting until it returned to the water before continuing his walk.

He had already made inquiries. The Young Master was in his cave dwelling on the Body Cultivation Peak, and Old Ma was grazing at the entrance, so he would be easy to find. He greeted Old Ma, who snorted in response, indicating that Meng Jingzhou was inside.

Xu You gently knocked on the stone door. He knocked three times, waited thirty seconds, and, seeing no movement, knocked three more times. Just as he was about to knock again, Meng Jingzhou impatiently pushed open the stone door. "Who is it?" he grumbled. "I'm not in seclusion. Couldn't you just come right in if you wanted to find me...?" He looked up and saw Xu You's face. He hadn't expected it to be him and asked warily, "Steward Xu, why are you here?"

"Young Master," Xu You said, "can we talk inside? Some things are not convenient to discuss outside."

Meng Jingzhou had no choice but to invite Steward Xu inside.

Inside the cave dwelling, Steward Xu found a straw mat and sat down, explaining his purpose. "The Master saw that you haven't returned home for two years and wants you to go back for a visit," he said. "He says he misses you very much."

"Impossible."

Meng Jingzhou refused without a second thought. How resolute he had been when he ran away from home! Only two years had passed; how could he go back now?

"The Master says he knows about all your wrongdoings and has already forgiven you."

Meng Jingzhou eyed Xu You's smiling face suspiciously, trying to discern the truth from his words.

"Really?"

"Really."

Meng Jingzhou was overjoyed. "You mean my father knows I deliberately arranged for him and my maternal uncle to spend a fortune at the brothel, competing for the courtesan, and that the conflict escalated until they awkwardly met face-to-face when they pulled back the curtains, and he's forgiven me for it?"

"And that time I beat up Minister Li's grandson, Minister Gong's youngest son, and the young prince—I thought I'd covered my tracks perfectly, but my father found out, and he's forgiven me?"

"My father wanted to take a concubine, and I told my mother about it, leading to my maternal grandfather's side beating my father up in the dark. My father found out I was behind that, and he's forgiven me too?"

"And also..."

The more Xu You listened, the more alarmed he became. When he left, the Master had only mentioned two or three incidents, not the rest. He cleared his throat twice and, steeling himself, said, "Young Master, actually, you don't need to rush home so soon. The Master has been busy with state affairs lately and might not have time to see you. Just go back on another day."

"My main purpose in coming here this time is for something else."

"What is it?"

Xu You said with a smile, his voice low and sinister, "I hear you have a close relationship with Lu Yang, the Heavenly Genius. The Master says this child has extraordinary talent and will surely achieve great things in the future. Perhaps he could be of use to our Meng family..."