Chapter 145

On the day of the Tianfeng Conference, at the hour of Yin, Tang Miao, with an anxious heart, arrived at the maze with Qian Duoduo and their teammates.

This was the closest boundary of the maze to Tianfeng City. Perhaps due to the influence of the dense fog-like maze, this place was shrouded in a faint mist all day long, with lakes of various sizes, reflecting a light green like spring scenery, appearing tranquil and beautiful.

However, there were many beautiful places in the cultivation world. This place had no treasures or resources, and it was rarely visited. But today, thousands of cultivators gathered here, each with a breath, dispersing the lingering mist in the air.

With the robes of the cultivators fluttering, and the mist behind them drifting, it resembled immortals discussing the Dao. With such a grand scene, it was quite spectacular to behold.

Soon, Qian Du appeared in the sky, wearing the majestic city lord’s crown, emitting the pressure of the Tribulation Crossing period, instantly calming the scene.

After briefly explaining the rules, Qian Du waved his sleeves, and countless sparks of light flew down from the sky, dynamically attaching themselves to the wrists of the participants.

“This is the Tianluo Token. All rules, scoring, and voluntary withdrawals will be completed through it.”

“Now, divide into teams according to the Tianluo Token.”

Tang Miao checked the Tianluo Token, and sure enough, they were assigned to their own master’s team. He moved with his companions to the designated location, quietly waiting for their master and other powerful figures to arrive.

Several other teams arrived around them, totaling about a dozen, all assigned to their respective masters.

“That white-robed fairy over there is so beautiful, Tang Miao, do you know her?” a teammate suddenly exclaimed.

Tang Miao held his sword and looked over, “She’s the Cold Fairy from the Songxue Sect. We’ve met once.”

“I knew it, there’s no beautiful female cultivator in the cultivation world that you don’t know.”

Tang Miao sighed softly, feeling a faint melancholy in his heart. Perhaps his mother was right, he was originally a woman, which is why he could be surrounded by sisters everywhere.

He looked at Qian Duoduo, hoping to share his complicated feelings with someone who knew, but found Qian Duoduo’s expression even more complicated.

Tang Miao was moved.

Duoduo must be worrying about him, she’s such a good person.

“Huh? There aren’t many from the Lingyun Sect, but why are the teams from the Xuanyu Sect and the Shijue Academy also here with us?”

These two sects? Tang Miao’s thoughts were interrupted as he looked up and indeed, they were very close to them. It was obvious that they were also under the command of their masters— but they have their own sect elders, why come to their masters?

Tang Miao was puzzled, and someone from the Lingyun Sect team next to him asked unceremoniously:

“Hey, Sun Han, why aren’t you following your own elders and coming to us?”

“Senior Yu.” The named male cultivator was polite, smiling, “Our elders said that with the hidden demons among various teams, they gathered our teams under Elder Song. This way, they can free up their hands to deal with trivial matters in the scattered teams, making it more efficient.”

“Oh, what a nice way to put it.” Yu Wei rolled her eyes, “You’re making our Senior Sister take care of your mess and watch over your kids?”

“Dare not, it’s just some minor matters, how could Elder Song spare time for them?”

Yu Wei smiled and couldn’t be bothered to argue with him.

Sun Han didn’t need to say it, she could guess it herself. Which sect doesn’t cherish their own disciples? They usually guard them tightly when competing for resources, but this time, with the demons making moves, targeting their disciples directly, could they not be anxious? 

After a few sect elders discussed it, they just pushed their disciples to our side, with Tribulation Crossing protecting them, it’s better than relying on their Nascent Soul Formation.

However… The Tianfeng Conference was originally a competition among Dao cultivators, but the demons happened to interfere. If there were no demons involved, it would be fairer.

Seeing Yu Wei letting him off, Sun Han breathed a sigh of relief. He returned to his own team and saw an ordinary disciple who usually kept a low profile suddenly panicked.

“What? Are we in the Lingyun Sect team?”

This message was sent directly to the team leader, and ordinary disciples were unaware. Sun Han raised an eyebrow, “Yes.”

“This… how can this be!” The disciple’s expression was panicked for a moment, then he calmed down, “Isn’t this tarnishing the reputation of our academy? Senior Brother Sun, I think we should—”

“Is it your turn to decide?” Sun Han wasn’t so tolerant with ordinary disciples. He snorted and scrutinized the disciple, “What about Lingyun Sect? As for you, always acting suspiciously…”

“What’s his name?” This was a question to the nearby cultivators.

“Senior Brother, his name is Zhao Ge, he transferred from the outer sect a few years ago.”

Sun Han understood. He had no roots and his background wasn’t clear.

“Keep an eye on him.”

“I…” Seeing the vigilant look from the disciple beside him, Zhao Ge dared not say more. He took a deep breath.

He wasn’t a demon, he wasn’t afraid of the maze, but… he was in the Lingyun Sect team.

A hint of fear and anxiety appeared in his eyes. Song Pianxian, who now stood at the pinnacle of the cultivation world, was controlled by Yu Yi as her puppet. If discovered—

No, it wouldn’t happen, Song Pianxian had never seen him before, Yu Yi had already been disabled, and there were hundreds of cultivators here. As long as he didn’t approach, how could she possibly notice him?

As he usually did, keeping his distance… Zhao Ge felt somewhat relieved and leaned towards his fellow disciples, but unexpectedly, they immediately moved away from him.

“…” Zhao Ge pretended not to notice and squeezed over, hiding himself in the crowd.

But regardless of whether he admitted it or not, there was a lingering chill in his heart, like a taut string, with a cold, hard, and ruthless light.

Hum—

The wind rose, causing the strings to tremble continuously.

“They’re here!”

The robes of the crowd fluttered loudly in the wind, and the dense fog of the maze surged endlessly, with clouds swirling overhead as numerous powerful figures flew in with the wind.

Almost everyone’s gaze was drawn to Song Pianxian and Yu Yi, who came together. There was no other reason than Song Pianxian’s extraordinary strength and outstanding demeanor. Even Yu Yi, who had no cultivation and was protected by her side, looked exceptional. Who wouldn’t enjoy looking at beautiful people?

Not to mention, the robes and dresses of the beauties were lighter and more elegant than those of others, fluttering like divine feathers, making it hard for people to look away.

In a trance, Song Pianxian found the team she was going to lead, landed on the ground, and moved gracefully like a piece of golden red leaves floating down. After settling Yu Yi, she looked at the many cultivators in front of her.

As Song Pianxian was counting the cultivators, Yu Yi stood by her side holding her contract beast.

The contract beast had always been obedient. By the standards of the Wind Thunder Leopard, its figure had grown larger and its fur more lush. Yu Yi, petite herself, made the contract beast look like a naughty little monster who wanted to be carried by its owner even as it grew up.

Yu Yi wanted to put it down, but she was afraid the little cat would embarrass her again by running to cling to Song Pianxian’s leg like it did before.

As she hesitated, the little cat, contrary to its usual behavior, stood halfway up in her arms, its eyes wide, emitting a muffled low growl in a certain direction.

What’s wrong? It was the first time Yu Yi had seen the little cat, who usually idled around and acted cute, look like this. Even Song Pianxian immediately stopped what she was doing and looked over, her eyes questioning.

With a threatening growl rumbling in its throat, the not-so-high-level contract beast didn’t have much status, but Song Pianxian cared about it, so no one dared to underestimate this young leopard in the presence.

Especially the cultivator who was being stared at by the Wind Thunder Leopard without relenting felt restless.

Yu Yi shook her head and pursed her lips. “I don’t know either.”

Manzhi should know, but unfortunately, she was inside the Mustard Seed Ring, so Yu Yi couldn’t ask her right now.

Yu Yi hadn’t forgotten that every move of the contract beast represented herself, sometimes even more keenly than her own body.

She stroked the back of the little cat and whispered, “It’s okay.” She received the signal.

The cat’s roar gradually subsided, and then it turned its ear and hummed twice, twisting in Yu Yi’s arms and burying its big furry head against her chest.

In full view of everyone, the long tail of the cat curled up like a vine, silently wrapped around Song Pianxian’s wrist, stubbornly hooking onto her fair wrist and refusing to let go.

The whole cat was extremely willful, behaving outrageously.

“Hiss.” The cultivators clearly saw the coiled tail around Elder Song’s wrist and couldn’t help but gasp.

Wasn’t this Wind Thunder Leopard too pampered? It’s just a fifth-rank demon beast, what merits or abilities does it have?

But Elder Song herself indulged in her pet, what could others say?

Yu Wei watched this scene and muttered, “If it weren’t for everyone wearing skirts, they’d look like a family of three…”

Beside her, Qian Duoduo was now extremely sensitive to the word “skirt”: “What?”

“Nothing.” Yu Wei cleared her throat lightly and looked at Qian Duoduo’s team. She and Qian Duoduo had met a few times, but the others hadn’t. Now that they were exchanging greetings, upon hearing that Tang Miao was the only disciple of Song Pianxian beside Qian Duoduo, Yu Wei immediately became enthusiastic.

“Oh, I’ve heard so much about you.”

Tang Miao was accustomed to his popularity and adapted well. After greeting everyone, he looked at the maze with a hint of melancholy.

At this moment, Qian Duoduo’s heart was completely calm. Logically, she had thought she wouldn’t be willing to share Tang Miao with other close sisters like in fantasy novels, but she had never thought that Tang Miao himself would become one of her close sisters.

Qian Duoduo looked at Yu Wei, smiled slightly, and decided to become good sisters with her.

In Qian Duoduo’s heart, which was as lifeless as ashes, after everyone finished counting, the Tianfeng Conference officially began.

The rules of the Tianfeng Conference were as usual. The organizers of Tianfeng City would sprinkle a special artifact called the “Lingering Pearl” on the field, and each team would compete for it. If they encountered opponents, they could fight for it. Regardless of casualties, each Lingering Pearl earned one point. Seven days later, the team with the highest score would win.

Because they needed to find the demon cultivators in the teams, all the teams gathered in one place to enter the maze.

Song Pianxian led Yu Yi at the forefront of the team. Behind her, there were about one or two hundred cultivators, forming a massive queue, surging with her into the vast white misty array.

From the outside, the maze appeared as a millennium-old undispersed fog. When Song Pianxian stepped into it, the mist was pushed aside by her and quickly enveloped her whole body, bringing with it a cold and damp sensation.

The mist was sticky and cold, and with just a little inhalation, Song Pianxian felt the flow of spiritual energy in her body slow down significantly, and her divine sense range was greatly restricted, making it difficult for her to adapt to such a narrow field of view for a while.

Song Pianxian twitched her nose and caught a faint, indistinct smell from the mist.

After noting it down, she didn’t pay much attention to the maze itself and went to check if Yu Yi was safe. But as soon as she looked, she heard Yu Yi let out a small exclamation behind her.

Hmm? Were there also demon cultivators among the sect disciples?

Song Pianxian’s eyes instantly became sharp as she followed Yu Yi’s gaze.

At a glance, even Song Pianxian was stunned.

She distinctly remembered that the first in line behind her was Zhang Shuhuai, and behind him was Tang Miao. But now, in the position of the second row leader, the handsome and elegant cultivator had disappeared inexplicably, replaced by a woman.

The woman was still wearing Tang Miao’s light blue daoist robe, her green hair disheveled as if wet, sticking to the side of her face. With beautiful eyes and nose, her gaze was hazy, and the originally flat robe was bulging.

Wearing a proper and restrained male cultivator’s robe, yet her figure and face were alluring, charming, and enchanting. Not a demon cultivator, but more seductive than one.

“Tang Brother…?” Tang Miao’s teammates were dumbfounded.

“Tang Junior Brother…?” Yu Wei’s fan fell from her hand.

“Oh my swan, isn’t this Tang Miao too beautiful without his disguise on?!” Other passing cultivators were in uproar.

…

Some people were stunned for a long time, then quickly covered their noses, fearing that if their blood surged, they would have a nosebleed and embarrass themselves.

Among them, only Qian Duoduo, who knew the situation, should have been the calmest.

She looked at Tang Miao, who was close at hand.

Tang Miao searched through the crowd and found Qian Duoduo first, looking a bit at a loss.

The beauty sought help, her eyes still shining with a timid glimmer, evoking pity and making people want to see her cry.

“…,” Qian Duoduo covered her chest.

Damn.

Tang Miao only said he would become a big girl, but he didn’t say he would become a big beauty, right?

Junior Sister Tang, I can handle it, I really can.

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu

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