Chapter 311: News of Taiyi

Ye Mo casually asked, “Since you’re an ancient martial artist, are you from the hidden sects?”

“Yes,” Luo Xuan replied, seemingly ignoring Ye Mo’s question.

“Then do you know about Tai Yi?” Ye Mo asked casually.

Luo Xuan nodded. “Of course. Tai Yi is one of the three big sects; how could I not know? Wait, how do you know about Tai Yi? Who are you?”

Luo Xuan’s vigilance increased, and she looked at Ye Mo intently.

Ye Mo, excited that Luo Xuan knew about Tai Yi and he’d learned it so easily, replied, “I’m from the hidden sects, of course I know about Tai Yi. Don’t you know I cultivate ancient martial arts? I was just asking if you’re from the hidden sects.”

“Where is your sect?” Luo Xuan remained unconvinced, her expression growing serious.

“Of course it’s at Wuliang Mountain. Why are you asking?” Ye Mo only knew of hidden sects on Wuliang Mountain.

Luo Xuan drew her sword, staring vigilantly at Ye Mo. “You lied. You’re not from the hidden sects, and you don’t know about Tai Yi.”

Ye Mo stared at her sword, bewildered. They’d been talking amicably; why the sudden aggression? He hadn’t said anything wrong; he'd even been to a hidden sect on Wuliang Mountain. Why did she think he was lying?

Suddenly, a thought struck him. He remembered what the Xiao Daoist had said: hidden sects were divided into inner, outer, and semi-hidden sects. However, the Xian Daoist had said the inner hidden sects were legendary, never appearing in the world. Could Luo Xuan be from an inner hidden sect? If so, Tai Yi might also be an inner hidden sect. If that were true, he wouldn’t learn about Tai Yi from Zhang Zhihui either.

“I don’t know how you know about the hidden sects, but I can tell you that no one in the outer hidden sects knows about Tai Yi. We have a rule: anyone outside the hidden sects who knows about it must be killed. So, I will kill you.” Luo Xuan raised her sword, her hand trembling slightly.

Ye Mo raised a hand. He understood Luo Xuan’s impulsive nature; it was a subconscious reaction. He sensed no killing intent. “If you want to kill me, go ahead. But are you going to kill outer hidden sect people if they knew you were from the inner hidden sect?”

Luo Xuan’s hands shook more violently. “You know about us inner hidden sect people. How? We never interact with the world. Every fifty years, some of us come out, but we never cause trouble. How did you know?”

“That elevator went up again,” Ye Mo said, changing the subject completely.

Luo Xuan’s hands stilled, her sword lowering. She didn’t really want to kill Ye Mo; it was just a reflexive action.

“If you mention anything about the inner hidden sects, you will be killed, and your family will suffer. I don’t know how you know about Tai Yi, but you must not mention it again. Don’t even mention the inner hidden sects.” Luo Xuan’s voice trembled.

Ye Mo looked at her in surprise. “If I mention it, I die. What are you so scared of?”

Luo Xuan shook her head helplessly. “If I know you mentioned it and I didn’t kill you, I will be killed by them. It could affect my entire sect.”

“How domineering,” Ye Mo frowned. “This is worse than Hitler.”

“Can we not talk about this? Please, don’t mention it again,” Luo Xuan pleaded weakly. She truly couldn't bring herself to kill Ye Mo, and she couldn't let her martial siblings know about this.

Ye Mo originally wanted to ask how long she’d been out and where the entrance to the hidden sect was, but he knew she wouldn’t tell him. It would be better to follow her when she returned. With his current power, tracking even an Earth level master would be easy.

“Okay, I won’t ask. I’ll go with you…on account of you not killing me,” Ye Mo said.

…

Returning to her house, Luo Xuan went to sleep immediately, dejected. Ye Mo took out his remaining supplementary ingredients and made a batch of Lotus Life Seeds and some face-preserving pills. After reaching stage four, his success rate had increased significantly.

After the pills were ready, Ye Mo checked the time: 3:00 AM. He decided to investigate the elevator’s movement. He went up and scanned again, but found nothing.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Luo Xuan emerged from her room as Ye Mo stepped onto the balcony.

Ye Mo studied Luo Xuan; she was neatly dressed. “Aren’t you sleeping either? Where are you going?”

“I slept for a while, but I was worried, so I got up,” Luo Xuan hesitated.

“I said I won’t say anything. What are you still worried about? I might leave tomorrow; I can’t stay here. When are you leaving?” Ye Mo planned to get revenge on the Earth Fiend first.

“It’s not that…never mind…it’s none of your business,” Luo Xuan said despondently.

Ye Mo ignored her and took out a chi-increasing pill, handing it to Luo Xuan. “Eat this. It will increase your power by one stage. My pills are precious; this one is worth eight of your qi recovery pills. I only used eight of yours.”

Luo Xuan took the pill and smiled. “Okay, since you say so. It was my fault earlier. I’ll eat it later.”

Ye Mo shook his head. “No, eat it now. First, it’s precious, and second, I’m a pill maker; if something goes wrong, I can help.”

Luo Xuan frowned at the faintly red pill. “You’re not trying to poison me, are you?”

Ye Mo said speechlessly, “Fine. If you think I’m harming you and you don’t want to repay me for the pills, give it back. I’m leaving.”

“Don’t be stingy. I’ll eat it.” Seeing Ye Mo reach for the pill, Luo Xuan swallowed it. She’d meant to taste it, but it melted instantly.

A burning sensation coursed through her meridians, making her tremble. She looked at Ye Mo uncertainly. Was he trying to harm her? Although she knew Ye Mo had flaws, her judgment of people was usually accurate. She’d never sensed any malice from him. What was this?

“Hurry up and sit down and absorb the power. This is your only chance,” Ye Mo said.

Luo Xuan did as he said, feeling the intense heat transform into inner qi, opening her meridians.

Could this pill really be that precious? Luo Xuan didn't dare to think too much and focused all her attention on controlling this power.

While four chi-increasing pills were needed for Ye Mo to reach level 4, one was enough for a Yellow level cultivator like Luo Xuan.

Luo Xuan felt her power surge rapidly, rising from Yellow level middle stage to Yellow level tertiary stage, then to the peak of Black level primary stage, before finally calming down.

One pill had brought Luo Xuan to the peak of Black level primary stage. Luo Xuan couldn’t believe it; neither could Ye Mo. Although the pill was potent, Luo Xuan’s talent also played a significant role.

Luo Xuan calmed her excitement, focusing on stabilizing her power. By dawn, she opened her eyes, her power solidified at the peak of Black level primary stage, one step from the middle stage.

“You’re truly a pill master? How can you make such a precious pill? Such pills don't exist even in our sect,” Luo Xuan exclaimed, standing up in shock.