As they neared the entrance to Xiyue Manor, Feng Hao stopped and said, "I won’t go in. Just have Chief Black Cat take me to Yaoyao."
Xiyue Luan nodded in understanding, chuckling as she handed Chief Black Cat to him. "Go on, then. That little lass talks about you every day."
"Mm," Feng Hao replied with a slight smile, then rode away on Chief Black Cat.
Watching Feng Hao’s departing figure, a grave expression appeared on Xiyue Luan’s face. She hurried back into Xiyue Manor.
After entering, she flashed a few times to find Xiyue Feng, shut the door behind her, and asked in a low voice, "Xiaofeng, be honest with your big sister. Is Rongcheng really connected to the ancient restriction in the Ancient Cang Realm?"
Xiyue Feng’s expression faltered. He shook his head and gave a wry smile. "So it really is about this."
"What? It’s true?" Xiyue Luan exclaimed, her eyes filled with shock and suspicion. "How could I not know?"
Xiyue Feng gave a bitter smile. "According to the ancestral teachings, only the successive Patriarchs are qualified to know of this matter."
"Father really did play favorites," Xiyue Luan huffed lightly, then asked seriously, "This is a matter of great importance. Tell me everything in detail."
"Since it’s already been exposed, there’s no reason to hide it anymore." Xiyue Feng shook his head with a weary sigh, his gaze distant. "Our four great families lived here long before Rongcheng was even established. Ever since the calamity in the Ancient Cosmos, our ancestors have guarded the Ancient Forbidden Core."
Xiyue Luan’s heart pounded. ’So the family has been hiding such a secret. Then where is the Forbidden Core?’
"It’s beneath the family’s rear garden," Xiyue Feng said bitterly.
"Can it be opened?" Xiyue Luan asked, her eyes glinting. Having spent so many years wandering outside the realm, she was keenly aware of the gap between the Ancient Cang Realm and the outside world. Deep down, she very much hoped the ancient restriction could be opened.
"Combining the bloodlines of the four great families can open it, but it must not be opened."
"Why is that?" Xiyue Luan asked, confused.
Xiyue Feng said gravely, "According to the ancestral teachings, our Ancient Cang Realm is a critical fortress against the extradimensional demons. Once the restriction is broken, it will be very difficult to resist their invasion."
"But weren’t the extradimensional demons already driven out of the cosmos?" Xiyue Luan asked with a strange look.
"But what if they stage a comeback?" Xiyue Feng countered.
Xiyue Luan was stunned. "You’re saying the extradimensional demons will return?"
"It’s highly likely. Otherwise, our ancestors wouldn’t have been tasked with guarding the Forbidden Core," Xiyue Feng said heavily.
"If the extradimensional demons are going to return, then it’s better not to open it." Xiyue Luan was well aware of the gravity of the situation. She said in a low voice, "This matter must not be leaked, under any circumstances. If the other sects ask about it, we must deny it to our dying breath."
"I know." Xiyue Feng nodded grimly. "The other three families think the same way."
"That’s good," Xiyue Luan said with a sigh. "As a member of the Xiyue Family, I don’t want to see the ancestral teachings violated either."
"The problem now is how to deal with the other sects."
Xiyue Luan mused for a moment. "I’ll figure out a way to handle this."
...
Meanwhile, Hu Xun, having just left the tavern gathering, had a grim expression. According to the Ghost Realm’s plan, they were supposed to unite the five great sects to investigate Rongcheng’s secrets, but he never expected the complication that was Xiyue Luan.
"Senior Brother Hu, what should we do next?" a few of the accompanying Ghost Realm experts asked.
Hu Xun pondered for a long time, then said with a frown, "Relay the current situation back to the Ghost Realm. Have the intelligence department investigate Xiyue Luan’s background—the more detailed, the better. We might find some clues."
"Understood." One of the Ghost Realm experts quickly departed in a flying car.
The other experts continued to ask, "So what do we do now? Just wait around?"
"You few will keep a close watch on the movements of the other sects. The rest of you, come with me to investigate that pharmacy called Miao Medicine Tower. I heard they have pills that can directly raise one’s level," Hu Xun said, his eyes glinting.
...
By this time, Feng Hao had already ridden Chief Black Cat to the trial assessment grounds.
With the help of Chief Black Cat’s powerful sense of smell, he quickly advanced toward Xi Yueyao’s location.
Along the way, he encountered many student teams, scaring quite a few of the youngsters. It couldn’t be helped; even though he had left Rongcheng Academy, his reputation as the strongest auditing student in history lived on.
On the outskirts of Breeze Forest, Feng Hao urged his cat onward, effortlessly weaving through the dense woods.
Meanwhile, in another corner of the forest, Xi Yueyao was leading her gang of underlings, burning, pillaging, and stopping at no evil.
Dressed in the lolita outfit Feng Hao had sent her, Xi Yueyao looked as imposing as could be. With her outfit, she had no need to come to Breeze Forest to hunt demon beasts, but her gang of underlings still did.
"Big Sis, Zhou Chen’s team is up ahead. Should we go over?" Zhang Meng asked, his fleshy frame jiggling.
Xi Yueyao waved her hand with the air of a true leader. "Go? Why wouldn’t we go? You think I, this young lady, would be afraid of him?"
"I think we should just forget it. Gathering materials is our main objective, after all," Li Mufeng said with a wry smile. Speaking of which, since the trial began, they hadn’t hunted a single demon beast properly; they just spent all their time picking fights with other teams.
Xi Yueyao said fiercely, "No way! We finally ran into Zhou Chen. How can we not give him a good beating?"
"But you’ve already beaten him up several times this month, haven’t you?" Li Mufeng said, speechless.
"I wish I could beat him up every day!" Xi Yueyao declared with a look of mischievous delight.
"..." The three underlings were instantly rendered speechless, silently offering Zhou Chen their sincerest sympathies.
Xi Yueyao couldn’t be bothered with any more talk. Waving her whip, she charged toward Zhou Chen’s team, and her three underlings could only follow helplessly.
"If only the Boss were still here. When Big Sis goes crazy, she’s not even human," Tu Xiaoshan said with a bitter smile.
Zhang Meng curled his lip and retorted, "What do you mean, ’when she goes crazy’? Big Sis is crazy every day, okay?"
"That’s a fair point," Li Mufeng said in deep agreement. "Only the Boss can keep her in check."
"Don’t say it. The more we talk, the more I want to cry. Ever since the Boss left, the three of us haven’t had a single day of peace," Zhang Meng said, wiping away tears.
Since Feng Hao left, he had gone from being a master of Demon Patterns to a mere Ma Zai, following Xi Yueyao around every day as she caused trouble, and had become one of the most disliked students at Rongcheng Academy.
"What are you guys talking about? Hurry up and follow me!" Xi Yueyao yelled back. "In a bit, keep a close watch, and don’t you dare let Zhou Chen and Beixing Ran get away!"
"No problem!" the three underlings hurriedly replied in unison.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Zhou Chen and Beixing Ran’s team had just killed a Tier Three Golden Silk Bear and were in a fairly good mood.
Unfortunately, they hadn’t been happy for long before Xi Yueyao arrived with her three underlings and charged. Without a word, they surrounded the team. Before Zhou Chen’s group could even react, Li Mufeng and Zhang Meng had already made their move.
A sky full of light bullets sprayed like machine-gun fire, complementing the Secret Technique thrown by Zhang Meng.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Wahaha, nicely done! Aim for their faces!" Xi Yueyao shouted, charging into the battlefield like a Little Demon. With a flick of her long whip, she targeted Zhou Chen and Beixing Ran directly.
Zhou Chen and Beixing Ran’s faces paled. Caught completely off guard, they were thoroughly thrashed by the chaotic flurry of attacks.
"You again!" Zhou Chen’s mouth twitched as he glared at Xi Yueyao, grinding his teeth.
Xi Yueyao laughed arrogantly. "Less talk, more whip!"
Beixing Ran, who had been standing by, could no longer hold back. She shrieked and charged at Xi Yueyao. "You damn girl, I’ll fight you to the death!"