Chapter 33

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Chapter 33

The beautiful young cultivator broke the silence and said, "I am Xie Qi. May I know how to address you?"

This name was the same as what the system wrote, it seems the system just had a glitch, but it didn’t make a complete mistake.

Xie Qi’s tone was very friendly and gentle, with a hint of warmth, as if they were not just meeting today, but were old friends who had known each other for a long time.

Yun Chuyou finally remembered that there were others with a special panel in the sect, not just her younger martial brothers and sisters, but also her master. Xie Qi and Xie Fuzhi both had the last name Xie, and both of their panels had many question marks.

She didn’t believe that Xie Fuzhi had come in, after all, Xie Fuzhi was a late stage Nascent Soul cultivator and possessed a huge fortune, so it was impossible for him to enter the Sword Tomb Secret Realm to compete for resources with other cultivators.

Mainly because her master was a late stage Nascent Soul cultivator who had been nourishing himself with many rare treasures for the past year, and it seemed he was about to reach the Astral Projection Stage.

She remembered that in the original story, her master Xie Fuzhi broke through to the Astral Projection Stage after the Sword Tomb Secret Realm. Since he wanted to transmigrate, he definitely would not come to the secret realm.

This part was specifically described in the original book. In the secret realm, this period lasted a long time, and the disciples of the Qingxu Sect gained a lot of resources.

Unlike the top disciples in Song Mingzhu’s prestigious sect, disciples from big sects, even if they gained treasures that made others envious, had protective masters and sects behind them, so no one dared to fight for them.

But Zhong Wei, the wicked female character, was different; she was a disciple of a small sect. In the book, she was portrayed as a contrast to the beloved heroine.

It emphasized that the wicked female character Zhong Wei was pursued and attacked by others because her inheritance was coveted.

At that time, the Qingxu Sect was not harmonious at all. Yu Jiu was born to be bad and was happy to see the younger martial sister’s misfortune, so he chose to stand by and watch. Meng He liked the heroine and, as her devoted admirer, he only focused on Song Mingzhu, not wanting to take away opportunities from his own younger martial sister, which was already a show of friendship among fellow disciples.

If Xie Fuzhi had not successfully broken through to the Astral Projection Stage, Zhong Wei would have had no chance to keep her inheritance. But even though Xie Fuzhi saved her, Zhong Wei did not feel very grateful. She believed it was her master’s fault for being useless; a small sect caused her to suffer.

To be precise, not only was the wicked female character a contrast to the heroine, but the Qingxu Sect itself was also a counterpart to top sects. The heroine’s sect was harmonious and friendly, while the Qingxu Sect was filled with false brotherhood, a group of twisted and wicked beings.

Back to the topic, Xie Qi and Xie Fuzhi both have the last name Xie, which is definitely not a coincidence.

Looking closely at the face before her, she could vaguely see some resemblance to her own master. Yun Chuyou thought deeply and then suddenly realized! Could it be that Xie Qi was Xie Fuzhi’s illegitimate child? After all, Xie Fuzhi was now three hundred years old, and this young boy looked so youthful; it was not impossible for them to be father and son.

As for why she guessed that the other party was an illegitimate child unknown to her master, it was mainly because of Xie Qi’s name. The character "Qi" reminds one of paths that diverge, so normal loving parents wouldn’t give their child such a name.

Her master, despite the Qingxu Sect being in its most impoverished and difficult times, was willing to take in and care for a child with no blood relation like herself. He couldn’t be the kind of heartless person who abandons his wife and children. So, it was very likely that the master was completely unaware of this child’s existence!

Of course, he might not necessarily be a secret child, after all, in the original story, his own master seems to have always been single, without having any special romantic connection with anyone.

If it’s not a father-son relationship, then they must be brothers with a very close blood relation.

With a friendly attitude towards Xie Qi, who also seemed to be related to the Qingxu Sect, Yun Chuyou introduced herself with her real name and made a small test, "I am Yun Chuyou, the one from Yun Wuxin, I wonder which Xie or Qi you are, is it the Qi of fantasy, or the Qi of self-cultivation and family harmony?"

In the world of cultivation, names hold a lot of power; if the other person even lies about their real name, it means the friendliness they show is just fake and insincere.

The young man cooperatively answered her question, "Your name is very nice, not that pair of characters, but the ‘Qi’ in the word ‘wrong path.’"

Yun Chuyou said, "’Qi’ also means outstanding talents; the person who gave you this name must have wished for you to be wise and exceptional."

After all, Xie Qi indeed had a face that looked clever, clearly the kind of naturally gifted genius in cultivation, not a naïve and silly pretty person.

Xie Qi looked at her with a gentle smile, "Then it should be just as you say."

He chose this name himself; he truly has been on a wrong path, and he has strayed many times.

However, Chuyou was kind and thoughtful to outsiders as well, so Xie Qi naturally would not do anything bad to ruin her goodwill.

The foolish beauty spoke out at an awkward moment, "Master, are we going to stay here and not look for them?"

As soon as Hu Xiao Bai finished speaking, he suddenly felt a chill all over his body. His tail fluffed up in a reflex, and his four fluffy tails became four large blooming dandelions. He took a defensive stance, standing between Yun Chuyou and Xie Qi.

The instincts of the demon beast were very sharp. Although Hu Xiao Bai was not that smart, he managed to get by in the sect with his outstanding intuition. He was very good at reading Yun Chuyou’s mood and was excellent at acting cute.

The unique and dangerous instincts of beasts told him that this sudden appearance of a black cloak was not from a good person.

Yun Chuyou looked around but did not notice any danger, "Little Bai, what’s wrong?"

Hu Xiao Bai closed his mouth and used his mind to communicate with Yun Chuyou, "Master, this guy is very dangerous. He might be a monster in disguise, so be careful."

Undoubtedly, monsters were the enemies of cultivators, but a significant part of the demon race also really hated human cultivators. Real good monsters that were true friends were very rare.

It turned out that the danger sensed by Little Bai was Xie Qi. Yun Chuyou let out a sigh of relief and gently stroked the silky fox tail, "I know, Little Bai, don’t worry."

Yun Chuyou did not sense any danger from the other person, but she agreed with Hu Xiao Bai’s idea, "We will leave here soon; I will find an excuse to part ways with him."

Hu Xiao Bai clenched his fist, "Yes, master!"

Yun Chuyou originally wanted to gather with Yu Jiu, Zhong Wei, and the others. Once Hu Xiao Bai reminded her, she naturally said to Xie Qi, "I need to find my fellow disciples; shall we say goodbye here?"

The boy in the black cloak then spoke quite naturally, "It’s fate that we both ended up in the same place. Why don’t we travel together? It will be safer that way."

He had come for Yun Chuyou; he had only separated a part of his soul, so he couldn’t use his real name or appearance. It would be easy for the secret realm to detect him and expel him.

In fact, besides him, there were also some very important direct disciples who had silent guardians.

When they encounter danger, if these disciples do not have time to crush the teleportation jade talisman to escape, their guardians will come to save them, protecting the lives of the most important seeds of the sect.

However, as soon as they take action, no matter how powerful the soul, it will be expelled by this secret realm. After all, this is the Sword Tomb Secret Realm, where the Sword God stepped out with a human body to carve his own path, touching the realm of the immortals.

Even though in the secret realm, it is likely that only a remnant soul left by the past Sword God remains, the power of that god, even just as a remnant, is enough to defeat all cultivators in the current spiritual world.

The Buddha Child of the Buddhist Gate and the Sword Bone of the Tianyuan Sect both have a small spirit behind them, but this spirit is no bigger than a hand.

As long as there is no life-and-death crisis, these spirits will not appear before the disciples who need to seek experience, so that they can sharpen their own minds.

Originally, Xie Fuzhi should have done the same; he should have quietly guarded his precious disciple like a ghost.

With Yun Chuyou’s current skills, she definitely cannot discover him.

However, Xie Fuzhi does not want it this way; he doesn’t want to be a foolish person who contributes silently. Besides, watching Yun Chuyou and others play around while he can only be a silent ghost feels terrible.

The hot-tempered phoenix cannot stand this kind of injustice, so he became the young and beautiful Xie Qi, planning to accompany Yun Chuyou to explore the secret realm as her companion.

For the first fifteen years, he was Yun Chuyou’s most important teacher, and during this time in the secret realm, he will be her most important companion.

Xie Fuzhi absolutely will not allow any accidents to happen, and he cannot tolerate his precious disciple falling for some wild man from another sect like that fool Zhong Wei, losing her mind.

Yun Chuyou said helplessly, "I don’t know which sect my friend is from; shouldn’t you find your own fellow disciples?"

When going out, your identity is given by yourself. Xie Qi said, "I am a direct disciple of the Tianyuan Sect."

He has a large sycamore forest in the Tianyuan Sect, so how can he not be considered a direct disciple? A disciple from thousands of years ago is still a disciple.

Information about the Tianyuan Sect immediately appeared in Yun Chuyou’s mind: the Tianyuan Sect is a prestigious sect, and in the original story, it stands on the side of righteousness; it has a good reputation in the cultivation world. More importantly, it is said that the Qingxu Sect and the Tianyuan Sect were originally one sect.

Yun Chuyou thought, Xie Qi really is related to her master. No wonder the panel displayed relevant information. She said, "I am a disciple of the Qingxu Sect."

Xie Qi immediately showed a bright smile, "I know the Qingxu Sect. It is considered a branch of the Tianyuan Sect. The elder of the Qingxu Sect is very powerful, and the current leader is also an outstanding cultivation genius!"

His words were genuinely flattering, without any insincerity.

The Qingxu Sect does not have much fame in the cultivation world. If a stranger cultivator knows about the relationship between the Tianyuan Sect and the Qingxu Sect, it seems that his identity must be true.

Yun Chuyou’s attitude became even friendlier; after all, everyone likes to hear good things, even though this praise was a bit exaggerated, making her cheeks blush, "The Qingxu Sect is indeed very powerful."

Perhaps compared to those powerful Soul Changing Stage cultivators, Xie Fuzhi, as a later Nascent Soul cultivator, is not much. But in her heart, her master is the best master in the spiritual world, without exception. She only praises her own family and is not modest at all.

People praised herself, Yun Chuyou replied politely, "Your senior brother Ye Xuanye is also very impressive. I heard he has a natural talent for swordsmanship and is the best swordsman of the new generation."

"Really?" Ye Xuanye, who is that little brat? He seems like that cold-faced iceberg.

"Chuyou is overpraising him; he is not as amazing as you say."

After Yun Chuyou finished complimenting the senior brother of Tianyuan Sect, Xie Qi’s handsome face turned slightly pale and dark. Didn’t they say that the male protagonist, as the admired senior brother of the sect, is very popular among the disciples?

However, the male protagonist wasn’t exactly the most loved person; maybe Xie Qi has some personal grudge against him.

Yun Chuyou felt a bit awkward and chuckled, "Is that so? I’m not very sure."

By the way, what did Xie Qi just call her? Chuyou? The elegant girl frowned slightly, "Taoist Friend Xie, we are not that familiar, are we?"

Such a close term felt a bit too friendly, making her feel a little uncomfortable, and even Xie Qi’s handsome face seemed a bit greasy.

After all, they were just strangers who had met once; Xie Qi was being a bit too frivolous.

When she said this, a mist appeared in Xie Qi’s eyes, looking quite pitiful, "Is that so? I’m sorry. I used to live alone on the mountain, without family or friends. When I saw Taoist Friend Yun, I felt very close and familiar, thinking we hit it off right away and had this connection, so I casually called you in a friendly way. It’s my fault for being too forward; I hope you don’t dislike me."

Xie Qi already looked quite young, like a delicate boy of about sixteen or seventeen, which easily stirred feelings of pity in women. His soft and vulnerable demeanor reminded Yun Chuyou of a dew-kissed white tea flower. She honestly found it hard to resist this kind of style.

"I don’t dislike you… If you think my fellow friend is cold, you can just call me Yuzu." She steadied her heart and held her ground, "Chuyou is what my master calls me; it feels strange if you call me that."

Names are very important, so in front of strangers, it’s better not to use real names. Calling each other ‘fellow friends’ helps to guard against those with hidden motives.

Xie Qi clearly accepted this reason and immediately smiled, "Yuzu, you can just call me Little Qi."

The way he said the name was especially gentle and affectionate, making Yun Chuyou feel as if ants were crawling on her.

"Let’s leave this place first." She shook off the goosebumps that had risen on her skin and decided to find someone.

There was nothing to fear while with Xie Qi; before entering the secret realm, she had put on many layers of defensive magical items, nearly maxing out her defense points.

Even if a Golden Core Stage body cultivator hit her, they would definitely cry after throwing a punch—punching her would lead to their own tears from the pain of a broken bone.

Not only that, but these defensive artifacts also have a counterattack feature that weakens attacks; the stronger the damage received, the greater the force of the retaliation.

The system’s refining furnace has recycling and smelting functions. Yun Chuyou worked many times to make each defensive artifact have a counterattack property.

She did not tell anyone about the attributes of the artifacts she used herself, and of course, she could not tell the person in front of her, Xie Qi.

Yun Chuyou treats her younger martial brothers and sisters, and even her spirit pet, Hu Xiao Bai, very well, but she always uses the best for herself.

Love others but first love oneself; Yun Chuyou would never lose herself for anyone, not even for her most respected master.