Aunt Xue's knowledge, intellect, grace, and virtue all earned the admiration of Han Dong and Ouyang Ye. Especially after learning that Aunt Xue had once been an immortal, the two of them held her in even greater reverence.
"Aunt Xue, weren't you in seclusion?"
Ouyang Ye knew Aunt Xue was currently very weak. Although she had been recuperating for half a year and was gradually improving, she still couldn't remain outside for long periods, particularly during the day when the yang energy was strong, which greatly affected her spirit-ghost body.
"Silly girl, after being in seclusion for so long, Aunt Xue needs to come out for some fresh air too."
After half a year of interaction, Ouyang Ye had long regarded Aunt Xue as a close elder sister. If Aunt Xue weren't a spirit-ghost, the little girl would have loved to throw herself into her arms and act spoiled. She said, "Aunt Xue, you came out just in time. Please try to persuade Sister Han Dong. She simply won't listen to me."
Aunt Xue nodded, looking at Han Dong with a faint, gentle smile.
"Han Dong, Aunt Xue knows you have a kind heart and don't want to burden anyone. But many things in this world are hard to explain clearly. Moreover, helping each other among friends can't really be called a burden. Right now, Yeye wants to help you, but you're afraid of burdening her. Yet if you don't let her help, Yeye will feel guilty in her heart. Conversely, if Yeye were in trouble, I believe you would also do everything in your power to assist her."
Aunt Xue advised softly, her voice as if imbued with magic, very persuasive. She continued, "As for that Old Jiu... I've been observing him secretly these past few days. How should I put it... He gives me an indescribable, unclear feeling. Somewhat strange. He looks like an ordinary person, yet he doesn't. As for how he doesn't, I can't quite put my finger on it right now. But that's not important. What's important is, as Yeye said, he should be a trustworthy person."
Aunt Xue knew that Han Dong had been isolated by Yao Yue Palace since childhood, leading to a somewhat aloof and cold temperament. Coupled with shouldering the heavy responsibility of leading Yao Yue Palace from a young age, the burdens she carried in her heart were things ordinary people simply couldn't understand. After a pause, she added,
"Moreover, with me here, you don't need to worry about his safety. Aunt Xue can guarantee you that. The only thing you can do now is stall the elders of Yao Yue Palace. And the only one who can stall them is Young Master Chiyan. He claims to be the successor of Lord Chixiao. Although it's unknown whether it's true or false, as long as the elders of Yao Yue Palace cannot verify for a single day whether Young Master Chiyan is truly Lord Chixiao's successor, they won't dare act rashly."
"Use this time to focus on your cultivation, striving to condense your Dao-heart as soon as possible. Once you condense your Dao-heart, your Primordial Spirit will become stronger, and your strength will increase severalfold. Combined with those fortuitous encounters you possess, dealing with the elders of Yao Yue Palace will become much easier then."
Aunt Xue spoke unhurriedly, her tone measured: "And Yeye, as long as she is willing to work hard, reaching the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage in a short time is not difficult. Yeye's current strength is already enough to contend with a Daozun. If she condenses a Primordial Spirit, she could absolutely annihilate a Daozun. Furthermore, Yeye possesses the miraculous fortune of the Great Nature. The Primordial Spirit she condenses would definitely be extraordinary. With her help then, with the strength of you two, you might very well be a match for those elders of Yao Yue Palace."
"So, time is very important to us now. The longer we stall, the more advantageous it is for us, and the greater our chances of success. During this time, I will also try every possible means to recover as quickly as I can. As long as we can stall for three months, I will have the confidence to deal with them."
Ouyang Ye said joyfully, "Sister Han Dong, did you hear that? We just need to stall for three months! Don't worry, I will definitely work hard on my cultivation during this time, striving to condense my Primordial Spirit as soon as possible. Then we'll see if those old fogies from Yao Yue Palace still dare to be so arrogant!"
Noticing Han Dong's continued silence, Ouyang Ye pretended to be angry: "Sister, if you keep being like this, I'm going to get upset! And to be honest, even if you don't agree, I'll still go find Old Jiu to impersonate Young Master Chiyan. You should know I'm absolutely capable of doing something like that. It's up to you."
Yes!
Han Dong knew very well that with Ouyang Ye's temperament, she was absolutely capable of doing such a thing. Earlier, when she had proposed having Sister Ling impersonate Young Master Chiyan, Han Dong hadn't agreed, yet Ouyang Ye had gone ahead and done it anyway.
She looked at Ouyang Ye, then at Aunt Xue, and finally nodded in agreement, saying softly, "Let's still hear what he has to say."
"Hehe, that's more like it! Sister, don't worry, that fellow Old Jiu will definitely agree. If he doesn't... hmph! He'll regret it! Come on, let's go talk to him now."
Hearing this, Han Dong raised an eyebrow. "Go now?"
"Why not?"
"When I came back, I saw him resting on a chair. Perhaps we should wait until he wakes up."
"Sister, that guy isn't resting; he's sunbathing..."
"Let's still wait. After all, we're asking for his help. Moreover... he gave you that Cloud-Color Sword to thank you. We shouldn't be so rude."
"Well... alright."
This estate was named Little Fold Manor, which Han Dong had bought several years ago. Although called 'Little Fold,' the place was not small at all, comprising a total of nine gardens and dozens of buildings.
At this moment, in a garden named Fold Green, a man in white robes was lying back on a hammock, resting. The hammock was exquisitely crafted, woven from silk. The man lay there, his body swaying gently with the hammock's motion. In one hand, he held a wine pot; in the other, he gently fanned himself with a white jade fan. His eyes were closed, and a hint of playful amusement curled at the corner of his mouth.
This man in white was none other than Gu Qingfeng.
However, he was neither resting nor sunbathing. He was spirit-wandering.
The location of his spirit-wandering was also the fragmentary space of the Mysterious Era.
To be precise, he wasn't exactly spirit-wandering either; he was tracking a Divine Sense.
This Divine Sense was as pure and holy as the bright moon—it belonged to Su Hua.
Originally, Gu Qingfeng hadn't intended to track her. In the afternoon, having nothing better to do, he thought he'd enter the fragmentary space of the Mysterious Era to take a look. As soon as he entered, he detected a strange aura drifting within the space. Gu Qingfeng initially thought he'd encountered some treasure. Upon careful investigation, however, he discovered it was a trap—a trap specifically designed to capture traces of Divine Sense.
Gu Qingfeng deliberately pretended to fall into the trap. After struggling, he intentionally left behind some traces of his Divine Sense, then pretended to leave, quietly hiding himself to wait for the other party to appear, and also to see who was so bored as to set up a trap in this place.
What he didn't expect was that the one who had set the trap was Su Hua.
After Su Hua obtained the Divine Sense traces Gu Qingfeng had left, she quickly departed. Curious about what game this woman was playing, Gu Qingfeng once again silently merged his own Divine Sense into Su Hua's. When Su Hua's Divine Sense left the fragmentary space, his Divine Sense followed along.