"Hmm? I...don’t think so?"
This time, Zhiran was really surprised, and he wasn’t acting at all. He never thought the reason she summoned was to ask this.
’So she suspected Tianyu all along? Pfttt...why do I find this kind of hilarious?’
Zhiran felt a little amused. Poor Tianyu was getting dragged into trouble for no reason at all.
But although Zhiran truly wanted to throw him into this pit, he still didn’t. He knew that to cover one lie, he would have to tell countless more.
It would be troublesome and a bother. Besides, he didn’t think Tianyu would be affected by this anyway. If anything, it might even bring Elder Yan Yue closer to him. Who knew?
Heaven’s plots always worked in mysterious ways.
"Elder Yan Yue, to be honest, I have no idea. Although we are from the same clan, as I said, we are not close."
"Is that so?"
Yan Yue could see that Tinayu wasn’t lying. So, she just sighed,
"It is okay then. It is just my suspicion. If you find anything in the future, you can tell me then."
She said, and after seeing Tianyu nod, she suddenly waved her hand, throwing a pouch directly into Zhiran’s hand.
"This?"
"I heard from Xiao Lan that you used all your spirit stones to buy some random artifacts in the auction?"
Elder Yan Yue asked with a cold voice as if she were dissatisfied with Zhiran.
"I gave you those stones so that you can properly prepare for the upcoming Secret realm exploration, not for you to squander."
She then directly scolded him without giving Zhiran a chance to explain.
Only after seeing the embarrassed expression on his face, did her voice lower a bit,
"Okay, I won’t care about your behavior this time. Take these spirit stones and spend them to increase your strength this month."
"Even if you cannot form a foundation within a month, you can still enhance your strength in other ways, like accessing the sword pavilion."
She explained, giving a direction that a master should give to her disciple.
"Okay, that’s all. Now go and prepare!"
She said suddenly, in a hurry, giving an order of eviction.
Poor Zhiran couldn’t even reply before he was directly transported out of the peak, forcefully directly to the base.
’Damn...why are you suddenly in so much hurry to make me leave?’
Mo Zhiran rolled his eyes at this master of his, finding her quite moody.
But since he could do nothing, he just lowered his head and looked inside the pouch in his hand. He never thought that he would gain something this time again.
’Shsss...another 30 Middle Grade spirit stones.’
As soon as he looked inside, he saw glittering spirit stones arranged neatly. Although this time, there was no Jade Array, it was still a significant sum.
To be honest, he now had a bad feeling about this generous gift.
’What the hell does that elder want me to do in that secret realm?’
Zhiran wondered but had no clue. At last, he could only sigh and keep the stones with him for now. This came at the right time, as he had already used everything he had in the city before.
’Forget it. Let’s just return to my courtyard for now. I am quite tired.’
He felt that there was no point in rummaging over things he couldn’t control. So, he might as well sleep to relieve all the fatigue of today. His head was still throbbing slightly with pain.
***
At the top of the Ember Lotus Peak, as soon as Zhiran’s figure disappeared after Elder Yan Yue waved her hand, the pond behind her suddenly began to stir violently, causing all the spiritual fishes to dive deep in alarm.
Then, once all the fish vanished, the surface of the clear pond rippled slightly before transforming into a mirror-like sheen.
If Zhiran were here, he would see a dark figure slowly taking shape within that reflection.
"Yan Yue, are you trying to take in a personal disciple?"
Once the reflection took full shape, a stage creepy voice echoed around the pond, stirring its surface.
"Personal Disciple? Why will I take in a Personal Disciple out of nowhere?"
Elder Yan Yue asked in confusion. She had her own problem; why would she accept anyone?
If possible, she didn’t want to accept even the peak disciples.
"Hehe...if you aren’t trying to take him as a personal disciple, why are you being so generous? Yan Yue, are you planning something?"
The creepy voice asked in a slightly mocking tone, as if amused. It seemed he was also paying attention to their conversation just now from the shadows.
"Lu Sheng, did you activate the Ancient Mirror on your own? Do you have a death wish?"
Sure enough, as soon as Yan Yue realized his implications, her expression turned as cold as frost, while her aura, at the Core Formation realm, was released without restraint.
In an instant, the surroundings trembled violently as if responding to her presence.
Even the Ember Lotus began rustling, its fiery petals quivering and glowing brighter, while the Silvermist River churned and sparkled unnaturally.
It was clear that Yan Yue was furious; she never wanted anyone to spy on her.
Still, just as she was about to attack the mirror surface on the pond with anger, the creepy voice sounded again,
"Yan Yue, I didn’t activate the mirror. You know I can’t do that. It’s just... I have my ways of gathering news."
Seeing her anger, Lu Sheng hurriedly explained, as that was the truth. He just learned that she gave quite a sum to that boy Zhiran in her first meeting.
"Hmm?"
Sure enough, after hearing him, Yan Yue also realized that he was telling the truth. After all, besides the leader and her, nobody could activate the ancient mirror without authority.
Realizing it was likely just a coincidence that he brought up the topic at this moment, she lowered her aura and returned to her usual composure.
"Speak, why did you come here again?"
Even then, her voice wasn’t pleasant in the slightest.