Chapter 274: Only for a Spar

Sunlight pierced the distant mountain peaks and fell upon Sun Moxing. He looked up, finding the sunlight a bit piercing to his eyes.

Sun Moxing’s mood did not improve with the appearance of the morning sun; he still felt trapped.

He had originally thought that coming to the Scripture Pavilion would allow him to investigate its Daoist techniques, but there was a Spirit Sensing Realm Cultivator inside, and he didn’t dare enter at all.

Now, let alone gathering intelligence on the Qingxiao Sect, he didn’t even have the time to go watch the Dharma Battle Assembly.

The more he thought about it, the more something felt off. Why was he stationed here as soon as he arrived?

And that Spirit Sensing Realm Cultivator in the Scripture Pavilion—why did he just stay inside and never leave?

Could this Zhao Zhen be targeting him on purpose?

This wasn’t the first time Sun Moxing had infiltrated an immortal cultivation sect. He was always able to escape unscathed by relying on his intuition; once things felt wrong, he would pull away and leave.

“Forget it. I’ll find an opportunity to leave, head north to take a look first, and then come back later to collect intelligence.”

Sun Moxing thought this way; after all, he would have to pass through the Qingxiao Sect anyway on his way back to Ziyang Island.

Although the Dharma Battle Assembly was still ongoing, many Disciples visited the Scripture Pavilion daily. There were quite a few Outer Sect Disciples like Sun Moxing standing guard nearby. Under such circumstances, trying to steal a Secret Manual from the Scripture Pavilion would not be easy.

Having made his decision, Sun Moxing felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He regained his previous mindset and observed the passing Disciples.

Guarding this place made Sun Moxing feel that time passed very quickly.

As evening approached, a team of Disciples finally arrived to relieve them.

He walked down the mountain laughing and talking with his courtyard-mates. This was just a rotation, so he couldn’t get rid of this chore yet. Unlike him, the other Disciples from his courtyard were very satisfied with this task. As long as they held out until the end of the Dharma Battle Assembly, they would all receive generous rewards, including the most important thing in the Qingxiao Sect: dao affinity.

Walking down the mountain path of Qingxiao Mountain, they chatted and laughed, all harboring beautiful fantasies for the future.

Suddenly.

A group of female Disciples approached from below, drawing the gazes of Sun Moxing’s courtyard-mates.

Each of these female Disciples had a prominent Aura. They were laughing and talking quite loudly, led by Cloud Color.

Cloud Color walked at the very front without making a sound. With her cold face, she looked extremely difficult to deal with.

These female Disciples were the ones who had come from Pan City with Cloud Color. After years in the sect, they had formed a small team with Cloud Color as their backbone, distributed across various halls.

Cloud Color’s gaze was suddenly drawn to the group of Disciples walking down the mountain. She looked at Sun Moxing, her brow furrowing.

Sun Moxing noticed Cloud Color’s gaze but didn’t pay it much mind. He hadn’t witnessed Cloud Color’s dharma battles yet and didn’t know that this woman was the hottest Genius in the sect lately.

The other courtyard-mates were the same. They had been transferred to the Scripture Pavilion right after joining the sect and hadn’t seen many dharma battles, so naturally, they hadn’t seen Cloud Color either.

Facing this group of female Disciples with no weak presence, Sun Moxing and the others subconsciously shut their mouths and stopped talking.

As the two sides were about to cross paths, Sun Moxing and his group chose to yield the way.

Cloud Color, however, stopped in front of Sun Moxing and glanced at him. That look made his heart skip a beat; he actually felt as if he were being seen through.

This woman’s cultivation is not low!

Sun Moxing immediately averted his gaze. He believed in his Qi-concealment technique; even the Spirit Sensing Realm Cultivator in the Scripture Pavilion hadn’t noticed him, so it was impossible for a Nourishing Origin Realm Cultivator to see through him.

However, Cloud Color’s voice came: “You, come with me.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Sun Moxing looked up at her in bewilderment, and the other courtyard-mates were also stunned.

“Cloud Color, do you know him?” a female Disciple asked curiously.

Cloud Color!

This name caused Sun Moxing and the others’ expressions to change. Lately, they were always hearing Cloud Color’s name. Her fame had already eclipsed that of Zhao Zhen and Hu Yan, and more and more people considered her the number one Genius of the Qingxiao Sect.

Cloud Color spoke, “I don’t know him. I want to ask him something.”

Hearing this, the female Disciples nodded and turned their gazes toward Sun Moxing.

Although Cloud Color held no official power, she was a Disciple personally taught by the Sect Leader. If she wanted to question a Disciple, who would dare stop her?

The Disciples living in the same courtyard as Sun Moxing were all suppressed by their Aura and didn’t dare speak up for him.

“Are you coming or not?” Cloud Color asked again, threatening Sun Moxing with her eyes.

Sun Moxing felt uneasy but could only brace himself and agree.

Subsequently, he followed Cloud Color toward the nearby woods. The female Disciples stayed behind to wait, and Sun Moxing’s courtyard-mates were also quite loyal, not leaving and waiting on the spot as well.

Sun Moxing followed behind Cloud Color, his heart full of apprehension, unsure of what she wanted with him.

If she had truly seen through his cultivation, how should he explain it?

He tried his best to calm himself down.

This was the Qingxiao Sect, after all. Unless absolutely necessary, he must not resort to violence.

Once they reached a deserted part of the woods, Cloud Color turned around, looked at Sun Moxing, and said, “Ninth Layer of the Nourishing Origin Realm. Speak, what is your origin?”

Sun Moxing’s expression changed slightly. He hadn’t expected her to actually see through his cultivation.

“What Ninth Layer of the Nourishing Origin Realm?” Sun Moxing tried to play dumb.

Cloud Color said with an indifferent expression, “You probably don’t want to make a scene, do you?”

Hearing this, Sun Moxing knew he had to change his strategy.

He took a deep breath and said, “I have no ill intent. I am a Loose Cultivator who wanted to take root here. I’ve been with the Qingxiao Sect for several months and haven’t done anything out of line. You can ask the other Disciples; during this time, I’ve been on guard duty outside the Scripture Pavilion.”

After hearing this, Cloud Color didn’t question him but instead stared at him with burning eyes and said, “A spar?”

“What?”

Sun Moxing was stunned, thinking he had misheard.

He had guessed many possibilities, but he hadn’t expected her to be looking for a spar.

He frowned and asked, “Isn’t this inappropriate?”

Cloud Color said, “Don’t worry. Even if this blows up and draws others over, I will speak for you.”

Looking at her eyes, Sun Moxing felt disgruntled. She was looking at him as if he were prey.

He had heard of Cloud Color; she had a cultivation of the Nourishing Origin Realm Eighth Layer and was only twenty-five years old.

Knowing he was at the Ninth Layer of the Nourishing Origin Realm, she still dared to challenge him?

Damned Qingxiao Sect junior!

Sun Moxing asked in a low voice, “If you lose, you won’t get angry and fly into a rage, will you?”

Cloud Color raised an eyebrow and said, “I cannot lose.”

These words made Sun Moxing furious.

Cultivators in the Nine Provinces are truly shallow-sighted. Do they not know that the gap between Realms is insurmountable?

“Then come!”

Sun Moxing raised his hand and produced a jade fan. His entire Aura suddenly shifted. The afterglow of the setting sun spilled into the woods and fell upon him as his Ninth Layer of the Nourishing Origin Realm Qi began to burn like a flame.

Cloud Color’s eyes turned silver-blue. As soon as the change occurred, she pounced toward Sun Moxing… The night grew darker.

Li Qingqiu walked into the Lingxiao Courtyard and saw Zhang Yuchun, Jiang Zhaoxia, Li Dongyue, and Li Sifeng sitting around a long table, talking.

“Eldest Senior Brother, you’re finally here. A mysterious Cultivator at the Ninth Layer of the Nourishing Origin Realm infiltrated the sect and was discovered by Cloud Color. Look, how should we handle this?” Li Dongyue asked, looking at Li Qingqiu.

Zhang Yuchun had a smile on his face, rarely showing worry over such a matter.

Jiang Zhaoxia’s brow was tightly knit, lost in thought.

Li Sifeng toyed with a wine gourd, his gaze also falling upon Li Qingqiu.

Li Qingqiu sat down beside Li Dongyue and asked, “What’s going on? Explain it clearly.”

Li Dongyue immediately recounted what had happened that evening.

Cloud Color had run into Sun Moxing and proposed a spar, eventually severely wounding him. The commotion from their dharma battle was too great and alerted other Disciples. Upon learning that Sun Moxing was a Loose Cultivator at the Ninth Layer of the Nourishing Origin Realm, the sect’s upper management was alerted, which was why Zhang Yuchun and the other three had gathered here.

“Where is that person now?” Li Qingqiu asked.

Zhang Yuchun replied, “He’s been sent back to the courtyard where he previously lived. Cloud Color won’t let us arrest him, so we can only send people to guard that courtyard.”

Li Qingqiu nodded and said, “Since Cloud Color promised him, we must keep that promise. This Loose Cultivator hasn’t done anything out of line since joining, right?”

Zhang Yuchun shook his head and said, “No. His transfer to the Scripture Pavilion was also a coincidence. With Zhao Zhen stationed there, he had no chance to cause trouble. We can observe him a bit longer.”

Years ago, Shen Yue had come to challenge Li Qingqiu and only joined the Qingxiao Sect after being defeated. With many such precedents, Zhang Yuchun also wanted to try winning over a Loose Cultivator at the Ninth Layer of the Nourishing Origin Realm first.

It was not easy to cultivate a Cultivator at the Ninth Layer of the Nourishing Origin Realm.

Li Qingqiu knew that Sun Moxing was a spy from another immortal cultivation sect. If not for Sun Moxing’s 【Double-Minded】 destiny, he wouldn’t have gone through all these twists and turns.

Now that Sun Moxing’s whereabouts had been brought into the open, it was just as well; he could let others handle the matter.

“I don’t think he can be a Loose Cultivator. How could a Loose Cultivator be so powerful?” Li Qingqiu said.

Zhang Yuchun nodded; he thought so too. He was currently pondering how to win Sun Moxing over.

Jiang Zhaoxia looked at Li Qingqiu and said, “Eldest Senior Brother, once Cloud Color reaches the Spiritual Consciousness Realm, could you let her spar with me?”

Upon learning that Cloud Color had defeated a Ninth Layer of the Nourishing Origin Realm Cultivator with a Nourishing Origin Realm Eighth Layer cultivation, Jiang Zhaoxia’s view of her had completely changed.

A second Xu Ning has arrived!

He couldn’t catch up to Xu Ning, but surely he couldn’t be surpassed by a second woman, could he?

Li Qingqiu nodded with a smile and said, “She would certainly be very happy.”

Although he was full of confidence and expectations for Cloud Color, her performance this year still surprised him.

Why did it feel like since she started studying the Hunyuan Scripture, Cloud Color had entered an unprecedented stage of soaring strength?

“It looks like the first place of this Dharma Battle Assembly has already been decided,” Zhang Yuchun said with a smile. He had a good impression of Cloud Color.

Cloud Color was very much like Xu Ning; she only took orders from Li Qingqiu and held no power. Zhang Yuchun hoped there would be as many such Genius Disciples as possible. They could consolidate the Sect Leader’s power without affecting the authority of the sect’s upper management.

Not everyone could view power as dirt. The higher one’s natural talent, the easier it was for ambition to grow. Genius Disciples like Xu Ning and Cloud Color were few and far between in the sect.

Li Sifeng thought of his two sons’ praise for Cloud Color, and his heart was filled with mixed emotions. He had witnessed Cloud Color’s dharma battles before and had to admit that he was not Cloud Color’s match.

The feeling of being surpassed by a junior was not pleasant.

Meanwhile.

Sun Moxing lay on his bed, looking at the bright moon outside the window. He gritted his teeth, and two lines of tears flowed down from the corners of his eyes.

Thanks to ‘Only Seeking Peach Blossom Spring’ for the 3000 Qidian coins tip, and ‘Cold Mountain Floating Dream’ for the 2800 Qidian coins tip~