The Emperor's Domineering Favor, the Evil Consort's Unparalleled Reign

The news of Chu Lianyi's awakening quickly spread throughout the entire Yunshan Palace. Xuan Ye's disciples were both happy and worried. Chu Lianyi had come back to life, which meant that their master, the Great Sage Jue Ling, might live on forever until the next Ghost Spirit Fruit ripened, living in the Ghost Realm for a long time, ignoring the conflicts brought by others.

However, they knew the Great Sage Jueling's temperament very well. If he was certain he wouldn't intentionally harm anyone, he wouldn't. Last time, all his disciples had to kneel and beg him, repeatedly promising not to harm Chu Lianyi's life, before he finally agreed. But Chu Lianyi was strong-willed, and having witnessed her threatening suicide, he naturally wouldn't force her in the slightest.

Now, everyone in Yunshan Palace both hates and fears Chu Lianyi. If the Chu family hadn't tried to seize the Ghost Spirit Fruit, none of this trouble would have happened. Thinking about this mess, everyone is deeply troubled.

Xuan Huo sat in front of Yunshan Palace, gazing at the ancient and towering palace. Remembering that the Great Sage Jue Ling was nearing his end, he couldn't help but sigh. He held a withered blade of grass in his hand, twirling it between his fingers, looking utterly bored.

"Xuanhuo, your master has been looking for you for ages, did you hear me?! Why are you slacking off here again!" Xuanbing searched around and found Xuanhuo sitting in front of Yunshan Palace, and couldn't help but ask curiously.

Xuan Huo glanced at Xuan Bing sideways, his expression slightly disgusted. "Why aren't you staying in your ice cave? What are you doing up here?! If a stranger enters Yunshan Palace, Master will hold you responsible!"

"Hey, if you hadn't been lazy and not sat at the crater, and hadn't ignored Master when he called you, would I have had my senior brothers sending people all over Cloud Mountain looking for you?! I see your temper has been getting worse these past few days! Even Master can't control you anymore, huh?!" Xuanbing said, then sat down next to Xuanhuo, muttering, "Hmph, Master has been obsessed with that Chu Lianyi these past few days, you're unhappy, and I'm unhappy too!! Why are you taking your anger out on me?!"

"Hey! Stay away from me, you're radiating ice. I don't want to get sick in this freezing weather!"

“I’m right next to you. Anyway, I’ll be bossed around by my senior brothers if I go up there, so I might as well stay here in the cool air! Hey, you’re so warm. Come and warm my hands! We’re brothers, so I’ll make an exception for you and lend you some warmth!” Xuanbing said.

"You..." Xuan Huo suddenly jumped up and said, "You, Xuan Bing, are you deliberately putting on a show for me?! You know I hate this kind of self-destructive behavior, and you still put on this act for me?! I want to see what kind of nonsense Master is going to fabricate for that Chu Lianyi this time!!!"

Having said that, Xuan Huo, filled with anger, hurried off towards Yunshan Palace. Xuan Bing secretly chuckled behind him, but after a long while, she shook her head helplessly. "If I don't provoke you, how can I properly handle the task my senior brother assigned me? Xuan Huo, don't push your responsibilities onto others, otherwise, you'll just cause me all this trouble again. Why bother!"

Xuan Huo stormed into Yunshan Palace, but her expression changed immediately upon seeing the Great Sage Jue Ling. Even if she had ten times the courage, she wouldn't dare to challenge the Great Sage Jue Ling. She could only show off her power to Xuan Bing in private.

"I wonder what business Master has with Xuanhuo?! I just went for a stroll in the back mountain and didn't hear you call me." Xuanhuo said respectfully, but the corners of his mouth were turned down. If you called me here because of Chu Lianyi, I'd better run away quickly! Please, please, please don't let it be about that troublesome Chu Lianyi bothering me!

"What are you doing in the back mountain?! Instead of staying in Fire Cloud Cave, are you slacking off?"

"Xuanhuo dares not, Xuanhuo is just... just..." Xuanhuo racked his brains trying to get away with it, but found that he couldn't come up with a way to cover up the lie.

Fortunately, Xuan Ye didn't pursue the matter. "Alright! You've been dragging your feet, you must not have done anything good. But your master won't hold it against you today. Did you bring the book on the Fire Cloud Secret Technique that your master gave you a few days ago with you?!"

"Oh, I brought it with me, I brought it with me, Master. I wonder what Master is going to do with this Fire Cloud Secret Technique?! I've been studying it for several days and I'm quite familiar with the technique. I was even thinking of putting it in the Secret Technique Palace today!" When Xuan Huo heard that the Great Sage Jue Ling wasn't causing him any trouble, and it wasn't because of Chu Lianyi's mischief, he was overjoyed and quickly took the Fire Cloud Secret Technique out of the Xuan Brocade and handed it to the Great Sage Jue Ling.

Xuan Ye took the book and then four other books from the nearby bookshelf, saying, "Miss Chu has woken up, but her health hasn't been very good. I was thinking of giving her some cultivation techniques to practice, not only to strengthen her body but also to help her deal with bad people in the future. There's nothing more for you here, so go down and stay in the Fire Cloud Cave. If I catch you slacking off again, I'll punish you severely!"

Xuan Huo looked at the five books in the hands of the Great Sage Jue Ling, which contained the secret techniques learned by the five disciples. Several other books beside them were even secret techniques that they were not allowed to practice. Xuan Huo couldn't help but get angry and said, "Master, why are you so good to that Chu Lianyi?! She's the one who caused Master's premature death! It's one thing if you pity her and let her learn secret techniques, and it's understandable if she learns the secret techniques of the five of us. These five secret techniques were originally Master's most valued ones, and I can understand that. But Master, you let Chu Lianyi learn those precious secret techniques. Do you want Chu Lianyi to take over your position and your Yunshan Palace, Master?! Xuan Huo has never been lazy. Master is just a new girl. Xuan Huo has firmly guarded Huoyun Cave for Master. Master doesn't appreciate Xuan Huo's kindness. Why does Master give all the good things to others?! Xuan Huo feels it's unfair!"

“Xuanhuo, those cultivation techniques are not suitable for your and your senior brothers’ physiques. Moreover, Master has no intention of having you guard the Fire Cloud Cave for the rest of your life. When you reach the age of twenty, Master will allow you to freely enter and leave the Ghost Realm, to go wherever you want. Right now, your skills are not up to par, your temperament is too fiery, and you lack the mind to make decisions. Apart from Cloud Mountain, you will suffer wherever you go! You are my disciples, and Master has never thought of mistreating you.”

Xuan Huo stared into the dark eyes of the Great Sage Jue Ling, unwilling to accept it, and said, "Master, you still say you haven't favored Chu Lianyi! From the past until now, when have you ever said so many things, when have you ever explained so much?! You were clearly bewitched by Chu Lianyi!"

“Xuanhuo…” Xuan Ye sighed. Xuanhuo snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves, and ran out. “Master, if there’s nothing else, Xuanhuo is going to Fire Cloud Cave. Xuanhuo will definitely guard Fire Cloud Cave well. Master, are you relieved now?”

Xuan Ye stared helplessly in the direction Xuan Huo had left, feeling a headache coming on. This Xuan Huo was so reckless; what would become of him if no one helped him in the future? He was bound to suffer greatly.

"Why do you want me to learn these things?! I know very well that Xuanhuo and the others don't like me. If I were them, I wouldn't like someone who killed my master either. I don't understand why you're so good to me?! You won't let me risk my life to save you, you won't force me to marry you, and now you want to teach me secret techniques. What is the purpose of all this?!" Chu Lianyi walked over and asked, watching Xuanhuo's angry departing figure.

She was curious about Xuan Ye's thoughts. She couldn't understand what was in those dark eyes of his. That kind of mystery, that lack of desire, was something she had never seen before, and she would never be able to see through it.

“There’s no reason why. I just think you have considerable talent and a strong character. You learned some secret arts when you were very young, so you have some foundation. I only have these few disciples. It’s a real pity that so many secret arts and techniques here are not passed down to the world. Don’t you really want to learn techniques from the Great Sage Jue Ling?! Don’t you want to learn?!” Xuan Ye handed the books of secret arts and techniques in his hand to Chu Lianyi and said.

Chu Lianyi was indeed a prodigy in learning secret arts. If her mother hadn't delayed her training back then, she should be able to rival Xuanbing now. Unfortunately, there are no "ifs" in life.

Chu Lianyi took the cultivation manuals, feeling an even heavier burden in her hands. She said, "I really want to learn them, but what happened between us makes me feel ashamed to learn these cultivation manuals."

“I ate your Ghost Spirit Fruit, which has caused your life to be nearing its end. Now you don’t want to repay your life, nor do you want me to marry you to prolong my life, yet you’re still being so kind to me. I feel very uncomfortable.”

Xuan Ye looked intently at Chu Lianyi's face and said, "Just learn it. Why ask so many questions? Are you feeling guilty, or do you not want to learn?! Are you afraid you won't be able to learn it?! Ying Li memorized these techniques in ten days and practiced most of them. Do you think you're inferior to Ying Li?! Or do you think that even if you try your best, you'll never catch up to Ying Li in your entire life?!"

"Of course not, I just feel a little sorry for you. Xuan Ye, I don't want you to die. Will you drink my blood?!" Chu Lianyi pulled up her sleeve, revealing a white scar on her wrist. "It won't hurt at all. As long as you live, I won't feel any pain. If you agree to drink my blood and prolong your life, I will learn these techniques. Otherwise, I will stay by your side forever!"

Xuan Ye suddenly laughed. He found Chu Lianyi's unreasonable behavior quite adorable and couldn't help but laugh. Chu Lianyi stared at Xuan Ye's smile, stunned. She had never seen such a captivating smile before, as if his smile could make all the troubles in the world vanish.

"I want you to learn, so please learn, okay?! I'll be fine. A dignified Great Sage of the Spirit Realm, does losing the Ghost Spirit Fruit mean I'm doomed?! At least I still have the Heavenly Power to support me. Even if things get really bad, Ying Li has learned the technique to control the Bone Ring. If I'm not able to continue, she can use the reverse power of the Bone Ring to revive me. What trouble could there be? You know, I taught her that technique. I have a disciple from another family, Jiang Yanli, who also knows that control technique. Now that she's back in Yunshan Palace, why would she be afraid of dying?! Don't worry, just study hard. After you've mastered it, perhaps I'll take you as my disciple."

As Xuan Ye spoke, he touched the stray hairs at Chu Lianyi's temple with his right hand, smiled slightly, and then sat down beside the chessboard, silently starting to play chess.

Chu Lianyi looked at Xuan Ye's focused expression, her lips twitching slightly. If that was the case, she would be relieved. But was it really that simple?!

Hearing the two of them laughing and joking, Jiang Yanli clenched her fists tightly. How could Xuan Ye like Chu Lianyi?! Each word was like a sharp knife, piercing Jiang Yanli's body and heart. She had originally thought that Xuan Ye wanted her to be a disciple of a different surname and taught her the method to control the Bone Ring because she was different from Xuan Huo and the others in Xuan Ye's heart. However, now, Chu Lianyi was the one who was truly different.

She possessed a smile and gentleness that no one else had—a smile like Xuan Ye's. She was unwilling, unwilling to accept it!