Xiao Wanting must have done it on purpose, just to see me being ridiculed."
"This woman, her grudge isn’t small, huh? Could it be that she’s getting back at me for figuring out her situation back then?"
"To speak so poorly of me is utterly intolerable!"
Zhou Yan muttered to himself and then revealed what he believed to be his most handsome and sunny smile, gently saying, "Xiao Fei, I think you’ve misunderstood something. Everything that your Palace Master said about me was purely speculative! Yes, she speculated it all. She lacks a deep understanding of me, that’s why she’s jumped to conclusions so recklessly. In fact, I am very—"
"But the Palace Master said your name is ’Zhou Yan’, right? ’Seven Cosmos’ is just an alias you use because you’re afraid of people discovering those, shall we say, ’unspeakable secrets’. She told me you were raised by her close sister as a girl, which is why your personality tends to be more feminine. Of course, on the surface, you appear to have a manly demeanor, but that’s just a facade, so that I won’t be afraid to get close to you."
Xiao Fei was a bit puzzled, but after thinking about it, her face became flushed as she spoke.
Zhou Yan figured her out—besides being overbearing, this woman had another distinctive trait: she was incredibly direct. Too direct, saying whatever was on her mind; didn’t that mean she was missing a filter?
He had some fondness for this beautiful apricot-colored gauze-dressed girl before, but now it was completely gone.
Zhou Yan was stunned by what the young girl had said and found himself unable to refute a single word.
"This woman, has she gone mad? Does she need to smear me ?" Zhou Yan’s face darkened, this was something he simply couldn’t look straight at!
"Stop—don’t say another word. Your Palace Master is right, she’s right about everything, I have nothing to say anymore. Since she ordered you to serve me, just serve me well."
Zhou Yan was really convinced, he didn’t know what other unimaginable information Xiao Wanting would feed to Xiao Fei if he continued talking.
"Actually, it’s not something to be ashamed of. Once the Palace Master mentioned it, I felt I could get really close to you; we’re definitely going to be good sisters, right?"
Xiao Fei said seriously.
"Yeah, good sisters."
Zhou Yan said weakly.
He finally understood that when a woman held a grudge against a man and silently walked away, it would be the start of a nightmare.
"Zhou Yan... Young Master of Seven Cosmos, the Palace Master said you don’t have to be sad; there are still plenty of good men in this world for you to choose from—"
Xiao Fei sighed softly, comforting in a tender voice.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan almost spit out a mouthful of blood. What was this all about? How did it escalate to men again? Wasn’t it enough that the damn Xiao Wanting feminized his image, was she also insinuating he liked men?
From the implications in Xiao Fei’s words, wasn’t that the case?
"Xiao Wanting, you’re good, I’ll remember you."
Zhou Yan cursed bitterly in his heart, thinking that once he gained more power, he would definitely need to ’teach’ Xiao Wanting a lesson, or else it would be like the saying ’if not beaten for three days, they’ll climb to the roof to remove the tiles’.
"Young Master of Seven Cosmos, cheer up. Once you become powerful, everything will return to normal. You may seem a bit effeminate now, but after undergoing the Tai Chu Heavenly Tribulation, you’ll definitely make great progress. The Palace Master said—"
Xiao Fei expressed her concern.
But her words were cut off by Zhou Yan: "Can we not mention your Palace Master? Tell me about the Rebuilding Bones and such; I’m very interested in that area."
"Alright, but you’ll need to be prepared, Young Master. Don’t let fear arise after understanding, or else you won’t be able to become stronger."
Xiao Fei was somewhat worried, speaking with a slight hesitation.
Zhou Yan was quite helpless; he had already been smeared to the point of feeling aimless.
He also finally realized that although Xiao Wanting had sent Xiao Fei to help and take care of him, it was definitely also done to annoy him. Otherwise, why would she describe him in such a negative light?
Zhou Yan could even imagine Xiao Wanting at this moment, puckering her lips and raising her eyes haughtily, proudly saying, "I’m disgusting you , what can you do about it? Hmph, serves you right for bullying my sister!"
Inside the Demon Soul Palace, Xiao Wanting suddenly sneezed, then looked around with some confusion, but saw nothing amiss.
"How strange, could it be someone cursing me in their heart? Must be Lei Yan King Zhou Yan. He certainly has no idea that Xiao Fei inherently despises male cultivators or that this girl has an interest in male cultivators who fancy other male cultivators, not to mention her somewhat natural airheaded and reserved personality. Probably thinks I’m smearing him, doesn’t he?"
"But what’s wrong with a little smear anyway? Who told him to be such a bad guy, huh? For the sake of his safety, I even sent out my most beloved disciple, even schemed to get that disciple to get close to him. He won’t be lonely on his journey now... It’s just a pity that I can’t get into that place, otherwise I would have gone in disguise myself and wouldn’t have let Xiao Fei, that girl, go please him."
Xiao Wanting murmured to herself, her eyes somewhat vacant.
"Rebuilding Bones is a Cultivation Method where cultivators who have surpassed the Sword Tribulation Realm, under certain Heaven and Earth Dao conditions, naturally regress their strength and realm back to the Sword Void Nine Transformation Realm, then undergo the Sword Tribulation for Cultivation again. This Supreme Dao was derived by the Hongmeng Sky Sword Venerate, who was infinitely close to the legendary realm of Immortality. He was a peerless genius throughout his journey of Cultivation, making it all the way to the Hongmeng Sky Sword Venerate Great Perfection Realm, but he could never take the final step.
He reached the realm of the Hongmeng Sky Sword Venerate within a few thousand years but couldn’t advance any further for tens of thousands of years, and eventually, he died as his body decayed. However, before his death, he derived a breakthrough method: ’Rebuilding Bones’—returning to one’s previous realm under specific Heavenly Dao Laws to once again face an even more powerful Heavenly Tribulation. Using the Heavenly Tribulation to refine the Soul, to re-experience Heavenly Tribulation.
Even though after leaving the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Dao Laws, all realms will remain unchanged as they were before the tribulation, the benefits to the Soul will be preserved.
After all, Young Master, you understand that the more powerful the Heavenly Tribulation a cultivator faces at the Sword Tribulation Realm, the further they can progress on their path of Cultivation in the future. By employing this rule, if one can return to the past to experience the Sword Tribulation again, wouldn’t one have the potential to infinitely enhance their future Cultivation prospects?
Of course, returning to the past is impossible, but it is possible to undergo this Transformation under certain Heaven and Earth Rules. For example, this ’Ancient Ice Glacier’ where we are, happens to be such a place. It’s a pity that the Ancient Ice Glacier restricts the entry of Venerables and also specifies constitution and age, otherwise, the old-generation powerhouses from all sides would surely come here."
Xiao Fei reverted back to her inherently cold nature as she spoke about Rebuilding Bones, her demeanor very focused.
But after she finished speaking, her face immediately softened again, comforting Zhou Yan, "Young Master of Seven Cosmos, you need not be afraid. Actually, the fact that you were able to learn the Soul Cutting Skill is already an incredible achievement. Many people can’t stand such suffering."
Zhou Yan had immediately recognized this Rebellious Bone Cultivation Method as a wonderful Cultivation opportunity and was ready to try it out, but when he suddenly heard Xiao Fei’s words, he was utterly speechless.
How bad must Xiao Wanting make him out to be that Xiao Fei thinks I’m so fragile!
Zhou Yan even had a feeling of being caught between laughter and tears, wanting to cry but lacking the tears.
"Look, you’ve turned so pale out of fear. You really are too fragile. Don’t be afraid, just endure, and it will pass. Think about it: after such Cultivation, you’ll quickly become powerful, and then you can grind those who look down on you under your heel..."
Xiao Fei gazed at Zhou Yan tenderly, her voice just as gentle.
But Zhou Yan felt, somehow, that there was a hint of ’pity’ in Xiao Fei’s eyes.
Women always have sympathy for the miserable weak; it’s in their nature.
Xiao Fei was obviously a woman and also possessed this nature.
In general, it’s an excellent quality, but when applied to Zhou Yan, he felt quite helpless.
But gradually, he also let go. Let it be, let others see as they wish. After all, just do what I need to do and treat it as a misunderstanding by others.
Zhou Yan comforted himself.
"The Palace Master said your realm is low, your temperament is fragile, and that you don’t like women, so I can be at ease when I’m with you, and I’m not worried at all that you’ll bully me."
"By the way, the Palace Master said she has a good sister, who is her life and death friend, an extremely powerful person. But why haven’t I heard about her before? Who is she? And where exactly do you come from?"
Xiao Fei’s big eyes looked at Zhou Yan, filled with curiosity.
This expression, this gaze, was almost too adorably clueless.
Zhou Yan rolled his eyes and decided to keep quiet. Now that every single word was a potential wound, if he kept going, he might not survive the conversation.
"Look at you, so nervous. Sighs, I’m actually envious of you; you can learn the Soul Cutting Skill, a Cultivation Method I can never master. But the Lei Yan King from the generation of Emperors also mastered this Venerable Dao. Do you know about him? I’ll tell you a secret, don’t tell anyone. The Lei Yan King is the biggest idol in my heart; I want to marry him in the future. You should learn more from him. See how domineering and tender he is. He’s the ideal Daoist couple in my imagination. With the Lei Yan King as my goal, I’ll never get close to any other man in this lifetime.
But you’re the exception; the Palace Master has said, don’t worry about you. You like men, just like us at heart, very feminine inside."
"Er—big sister, Fairy, please, could you just stop talking?"
Zhou Yan was at a loss for words. He realized that even the coldest women, once they start gossiping and babbling, can also go on and on endlessly.
At this rate, Zhou Yan truly felt like screaming for help.
However, from Xiao Fei’s words, Zhou Yan also analyzed that maybe Xiao Wanting wasn’t really bad-mouthing him but was using this approach to not only protect him, Zhou Yan, but also to correct Xiao Fei’s ’personality’ of disliking men based on how he behaved.
Zhou Yan had the Nine Orifice Exquisite Heart and, weaving together Xiao Fei’s words, he slightly deduced and understood Xiao Wanting’s ’kind intentions.’
He felt speechless again, finding that women’s way of dealing with matters could sometimes be so capricious and wildly imaginative as if their thoughts were untethered horses, completely unrestrained.
But understanding this, Zhou Yan also felt some sympathy for Xiao Fei, this poor, foolish woman. She didn’t realize her own flaws but thought that he, an invincible, handsome, renowned, and formidable top talent, had issues. Truly pitiable.
"In light of her pitifulness, let’s just pretend as if I didn’t hear any of her unpleasant words."
Zhou Yan thought to himself, and for a moment, he regarded himself as a magnanimous and open-minded gentleman.