Mission: Seduce the Master!
Chapter 260: Welcome back, my disciple [II]

"Xu Mei frowned. Sometimes she felt that her acquaintances had become too unrestrained. However, before she could delve deeper into the topic, she suddenly narrowed her eyes and looked back.

Ssh-sh-shk…

A spatial crack appeared behind her. Then, a slender leg emerged, stepping onto the air. A moment later, a beautiful woman appeared from the spatial distortion.

Long, silky white hair fluttered in the wind, and beneath those eyes were seductive, not at all frightening red eyes with narrow pupils, like those of a cat.

"Hm? Second stage of Transcendence?" Zhang Mei raised an eyebrow and looked at the uninvited guest. Her beautiful eyes narrowed: "Who are you?"

The intruder flicked her hair and looked at what were probably the main representatives of the Righteous Dao.

"I am Steav-... Lady Lian Qingyi, Nine-Tailed Fox,' the girl introduced herself briefly and, looking them over, asked: 'You look carefree. Have you caught Hao Shen yet?"

"Ha-a-a? Hey, nine-tailed something, are you trying to interrogate us?" Xu Mei snorted and in an instant appeared in front of Lian Qingyi. Her blue eyes gleamed darkly: "Even if you are a representative of a rare race, that doesn't give you the right to be so arrogant, understand? So, explain yourself, what do you want?"

"…"

Lian Qingyi fell silent. Despite her indifferent appearance, she was very nervous—that was obvious. Before her were cultivators who surpassed her by at least several stages. And this uncultured woman who immediately attacked her was just a step away from the peak of Transcendence.

And it seemed that the atmosphere was so heated that a fight was about to break out, when suddenly.

Bzz-z-z…

The portal emitted an electric sound, and a tall man began to emerge from it. His face had become much more masculine, almost losing its innocent youthful look. Replacing the soft appearance was a masculine and handsome one.

With more pronounced muscles, a straight back, and a confident aura, the man walked towards Xu Mei and then clasped her hand. A faint smile appeared on his stern and handsome face.

"I missed you, Master."

"Eh…"

Xu Mei looked at the man in front of her and opened her eyes wide, in which tears were visible. Her body trembled, and the aura ready to cleave the Heavens immediately dissipated. Lian Qingyi sighed in relief.

Zhang Mei raised an eyebrow, looking at Xie Qing. Her calculating eyes could not immediately see through his disguise.

"Eh? Peak of Spiritual Ascension? And he has already begun to comprehend the law? How absurd…" she muttered.

Liu Yang, who was standing nearby, was no less surprised, and Zhang Mei's words only reinforced her shock. Even if Xie Qing was already twenty-seven years old (which in her eyes was still comparable to an infant), his achievements in cultivation were absurd.

Even Xu Mei, the universally acknowledged genius in the history of cultivation, had to spend over a hundred years to reach Spiritual Ascension—and that was already considered an incredibly fast result.

Therefore, against the backdrop of the sensual reunion of Master and disciple, who were embracing and whispering sweet nothings to each other—those who knew about the overall situation could only remain silent.

***

Like a koala, Xu Mei clung to Xie Qing and refused to let go, even considering Liu Yang's strictness.

All her elegant, frightening appearance disappeared the moment this guy appeared. Lian Qingyi could only remain silent, seeing such an outcome.

At the moment, active negotiations were underway—of course, discussing the fox's proposal.

"Hm. You mean you can absorb his soul along with all the Negative Karma, thus depriving him of reincarnation?" Liu Yang said in surprise, waiting for Lian Qingyi's confirmation.

She, in turn, silently nodded. Zhang Mei squinted, and with her cold face, it looked quite tense.

In fact, such an ability was dangerous for them as well. Therefore, Zhang Mei's first thoughts were about how to restrict this fox somehow. In any case, they were strong enough, so there was no need to worry.

Lian Qingyi knew their thoughts, but she had nothing to add. In any case, being the weakest among them, she had to make concessions to achieve her goal.

"Hmm..." Zhang Mei rubbed her chin. She glanced at Hao Shen, then looked at Lian Qingyi: "You want to take his body, right?"

Again, the fox nodded. Zhang Mei continued, seeing her nod.

"But knowing that his very existence is quite dangerous and any mistake could lead to even more deaths, you still insist on this?" Zhang Mei continued, this time releasing her pressure. Lian Qingyi hesitated but still nodded. Zhang Mei's pupils narrowed: "How amusing. So you, little fox, possess sufficient abilities to be so confident? Or is it pointless pride?

Let me tell you, any mistake of yours could cause countless deaths that will hang on your fox neck, and in that case, you will suffer, and envy of the dead will be just a trivial thought during your sufferings."

"...I have enough confidence in my abilities. And I can show it. Besides, weren't you planning to capture Ma Lu as well?" Lian Qingyi said this time with much more confidence.

"Hooo..."

Xu Mei let out a surprised sigh and finally freed herself from her disciple's embrace. She looked at the fox with curiosity.

"I've heard something about you. They say you're quite an influential figure here, right? And... you definitely have something on Ma Lu, since you mentioned him?" Xu Mei's eyes sparkled, and a battle-ready, bloodthirsty aura appeared around her: "Answer. Where is that bastard? If you cooperate with us, I'll give you a chance to prove yourself."

Lian Qingyi looked at Xu Mei, then at Xie Qing, who was watching everything with peripheral vision. Meeting Lian Qingyi's gaze, he just smiled.

"Tsk..."

The woman clicked her tongue in annoyance. She looked at Xu Mei and, biting her lip, replied.

"Blood Mountain. He was in its very heart. Although, it would be more accurate to say that it was his essence. The physical body was destroyed because he was poisoned by a spy with pure Yin Qi."

"What?"

Xu Mei clicked her tongue. Her expression immediately became disappointed and annoyed.

"Seriously, some bastard managed to poison him when I was so excited to break his face? I wonder who this spoiler is... hmm? Why are you looking at me like that?"

The woman looked at her colleagues. Even Lian Qingyi was looking at her with a strange gaze. Then, Xu Mei turned to Xie Qing, who looked a bit shocked.

"Uh..."

And then it dawned on her. The person she was talking about, the one she was cursing... was her disciple!

"Ha-ha, as expected from my disciple, always so genius and cunning!" Xu Mei laughed awkwardly, then changed the subject: "So, where is your Blood Mountain located?"

"..."

What shamelessness...

***

Blood Mountain. Previously, it had a completely different name, which was a bit longer – Mountain Piercing the Heavens.

This was because the height of the mountain reached the Heavens, piercing the clouds. No one knew what was on its peak – it was incredibly difficult to get there.

Once, there were legends that by climbing this mountain, even an ordinary mortal could become a cultivator. Therefore, many skeletons could be seen at the foot of the mountain.

Unfortunately, all these legends were just legends – there is no such way to achieve Immortality.

"Ah, what nostalgia. I climbed this mountain to its very peak, but in the end, I found nothing good. I remember, I even wanted to destroy it, I was so angry," Xu Mei cracked her neck and shared the terrible memories with a bright smile.

"I remember such a thing..." Liu Yang shuddered and looked at Xu Mei with annoyance, who averted her gaze: "At that time, I had to use my artifact to protect the mountain. If I hadn't done that, everything within a radius of tens of thousands of miles could have become part of history."

"I was young, all that stuff..."

"Indeed..."

Xie Qing pursed his lips. It seemed his Master was much more feisty than he thought. Compared to her, he seemed like a harmless creature who wouldn't hurt a fly.

And when they reached the foot of the mountain, Xie Qing could only marvel at how enormous it was. What impressed him the most was that within thousands of miles around the mountain, there was not a single trace of devilish Qi, which was already something incredible.

It was as if it were an otherworldly realm, unconnected to anything. Perhaps this was why many believed that by climbing this mountain, there was a high chance of becoming immortal, even if you were an ordinary mortal.

"I've never seen such a huge mountain," thought Xie Qing, scratching the back of his head. "I can't even imagine how it's possible – to climb such a mountain. Seriously, it looks endless."

Bright glints of sunlight and clouds obscured the view of the mountain's peak, like a majestic maiden, detached from the world, veiling her face.