Chapter 331: Wash Up
Upon noticing that Ye Guan did not argue with her, the Adjudication Sword Master snorted coldly and decided to go silent. Her expression remained as stoic as ice.
Ye Guan carried the Adjudication Sword Master and strolled toward the timeworn temple. The entrance was marked by a shattered gate overgrown by vegetation.
Raising his gaze slowly, Ye Guan found a weathered iron plaque emblazoned with characters that Ye Guan barely managed to read—Great Dao Temple
Great Dao Temple? Ye Guan's brows knitted. Is this temple related to the Great Daoist Brush Master?
The Adjudication Sword Master's brows were furrowed as well as she stared at the iron plaque.
Ye Guan set aside his thoughts and carried the Adjudication Sword Master into the temple. A lone statue was standing inside the temple, but the figure didn't belong to a monk. The figure was holding the Great Dao Brush; this was a statue of the Great Daoist Brush Master! The statue was holding the Great Dao Brush in its left hand, while its right hand seemed to be suppressing something with its palm.
Ye Guan's expression darkened. Obviously, this mysterious place was related to the Great Daoist Brush Master, which meant that the Great Daoist Brush Master was the one who had created the restrictions here.
The Adjudication Sword Master frowned and pondered deeply over something while staring at the statue.
Ye Guan gently placed the Adjudication Sword Master on the ground, releasing his grip on her waist. He then stepped back and created some distance from her. He was still rather wary of her.
The Adjudication Sword Master cast a glance at the wary Ye Guan but remained silent, offering only a cold smirk. Ye Guan found himself somewhat troubled by her. He turned to look outside the temple and saw darkness encroaching.
Ye Guan suggested, "We should rest here for the night."
With that, he gathered some wood from around the temple and started a fire. The two sat around the fire, and the temperature inside the temple gradually increased.
Ye Guan threw a broken piece of wood into the fire and then glanced at the bloodstains on the Adjudication Sword Master’s legs. A sense of confusion arose within him.
When did she injure her leg? He couldn't remember it.
The Adjudication Sword Master's expression turned cold upon noticing Ye Guan's gaze.
"What are you looking at?!" she snapped.
Ye Guan quickly looked away and changed the subject.
"What do you think about this place?” he asked. He believed that the Adjudication Sword Master might know a thing or two. However, the Adjudication Sword Master's gaze toward Ye Guan remained cold as she roared, "Shut up!"
Ye Guan was rendered speechless; her stubbornness was back.
The ancient temple was soon enveloped by silence.
After a while, Ye Guan suddenly walked up to the statue and picked up the large incense burner next to it.
He then walked outside the temple.
The Adjudication Sword Master frowned slightly and was about to ask him something, but she ended up staying silent. All of a sudden, a wave of sharp pain shot up to her brain once again, eliciting quite a few curses from her.
Ye Guan soon returned. He placed the incense burner in front of the Adjudication Sword Master. The incense burner was filled with clean water.
The Adjudication Sword Master was stunned.
Ye Guan explained, "I noticed a stream near the temple. You can go ahead and wash up."
The Adjudication Sword Master stared quietly at Ye Guan, but the coldness in her gaze was enough for Ye Guan to deduce her thoughts.
"I don’t have any ill intentions. Our cultivation bases are sealed as well, so I'm not really confident that I can kill you," Ye Guan added.
The Adjudication Sword Master sneered, but she started using the water to freshen up. However, she seemed to have recalled something and came to a halt. She turned and found Ye Guan staring at her.
Moments later, she hurled a wave of expletives at Ye Guan.
Ye Guan ignored the Adjudication Sword Master and lay on the floor with his hands behind his head.
"Master Pagoda, are you there?" he asked inwardly.
Ye Guan let out a sigh—he received no response.
Little Pagoda and the mysterious lady were both incredibly strong, but Ye Guan couldn't sense either of them at the moment. There was only one explanation; the two had suffered the same fate as Ye Guan's cultivation base.
Ye Guan gazed at the statue of the Great Daoist Brush Master not too far away from him. There was a high chance that the restrictions here had been constructed by the Great Daoist Brush Master. Run-of-the-mill cultivators couldn't possibly seal Little Pagoda and the mysterious lady.
However, the question was why—why did the Great Daoist Brush Master bring them here? Ye Guan shook his head and cleared his thoughts. He didn't have the luxury to think about the Great Daoist Brush Master's motives, as he had to find a way to leave this eerie place first.
Just then, Ye Guan turned to look at the Adjudication Sword Master next to him. The blood stains on her legs were no longer there. Sensing Ye Guan's gaze, the Adjudication Sword Master raised her head abruptly and glared at Ye Guan.
Ye Guan asked, "Do you know where we are?"
The Adjudication Sword Master tossed aside the skirt she had used to clean herself.
She lay down without responding to Ye Guan's question.
Ye Guan turned to look outside the temple. It was pitch-black outside, which made the place appear even more eerie. There were neither stars nor moons here to illuminate the world. This was a terrifying place for ordinary people, but the two were cultivators, so they weren't afraid of something like this.
However, they realized that the pitch-black world outside was giving off an ominous aura.
Ye Guan looked at the Adjudication Sword Master and found that she was staring at the statue of the Great Daoist Brush Master while seemingly lost in thought.
The Adjudication Sword Master turned to look at Ye Guan upon sensing his gaze, but she didn't curse at the latter.
Ye Guan took advantage of that to ask, "Do you know where we are?"
The Adjudication Sword Master replied, "We're in the Eternal Secret Realm."
"Eternal?" Ye Guan furrowed his brows slightly. "Is this place related to the Eternal Sovereign?"
The Adjudication Sword Master turned to gaze at the statue of the Great Daoist Brush Master and said softly, "The Eternal Sovereign created the Eternal Civilization, and a great battle unfolded between him and the Great Daoist Brush Master.
"Do you know the outcome of that battle?"
Ye Guan shook his head and replied, "No."
The Adjudication Sword Master calmly asked, "Do you want to know?"
Ye Guan nodded eagerly
"Then, guess!" the Adjudication Sword Master replied.
Ye Guan's face darkened.
The Adjudication Sword Master felt satisfied to see Ye Guan's disgruntled looks. She chuckled a few times, and her cold chuckle sounded eerily harsh in the ancient temple.
Ye Guan went silent and stopped asking questions. He turned his back on the Adjudication Sword Master before closing his eyes.
The Adjudication Sword Master frowned as her gaze landed on the statue once more. After a while, the Adjudication Sword Master closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep.
Late at night, footsteps echoed from outside the temple.
Ye Guan immediately jumped to his feet and rushed out of the temple. He scanned the surroundings, but he saw nothing other than darkness. He also couldn't hear anything at all. Ye Guan's brows furrowed. The footsteps he had heard just now were unmistakably real, but there was no one around.
Is someone playing tricks on me? Ye Guan's gaze gradually turned icy. After contemplating for a while, he turned and went back into the temple.
The Adjudication Sword Master had woken up and was staring at him.
Ye Guan asked, "Lady Adjudication Sword Master, you heard those footsteps, too, right?"
The Adjudication Sword Master was silent.
Ye Guan was starting to get annoyed.
The Adjudication Sword Master calmly said, "They're still outside."
Ye Guan was taken aback, and he immediately rushed outside the temple to find nothing.
The Adjudication Sword Master added, "They're in front of you."
Ye Guan felt a shiver down his spine. "Don't scare me!"
The Adjudication Sword Master said indifferently, "Believe it or not."
Ye Guan looked around. His gaze inadvertently landed on the ground, and he was horrified to find footprints on the dusty ground.
"Oh, shit!" Ye Guan hastily retreated into the temple, and he stared outside in horror before crying out, "You were right! There's someone outside!"
The Adjudication Sword Master glanced at Ye Guan and sneered, "Aren't you the King of the Guanxuan Universe? Why are you such a scaredy-cat? You should be ashamed of yourself."
Ye Guan ignored the mocking and asked, "Can they not come in?"
The Adjudication Sword Master calmly replied, "They're already here—right in front of you."
Ye Guan froze, and he took several steps backward in shock.
The Adjudication Sword Master chuckled and said, "I was just joking, you idiot!"
Ye Guan was dumbfounded, but he started walking toward the Adjudication Sword Master with a serious look.
The Adjudication Sword Master furrowed her brows.
"What do you want?" she asked.
After a moment of thought, Ye Guan sat down and said earnestly, "Lady Adjudication Sword Master, I know that you don't like me. However, we're stuck here with our cultivation bases sealed, so we'll be nothing but sitting ducks if we end up encountering an enemy here.
"I think it's in our best interest to cooperate with each other."
Ye Guan had zero knowledge about this place, but he could feel that the Adjudication Sword Master seemed to be a bit familiar with it.
The Adjudication Sword Master stared at Ye Guan without uttering a single word while Ye Guan looked back at her with a sincere gaze. Moments later, the two suddenly felt awkward, and they looked away at the same time.
Ye Guan coughed before sitting down and picking up a few pieces of wood.
He then hurled the wood into the fire.
Meanwhile, the Adjudication Sword Master finally started talking, "The Eternal Sovereign was defeated, and then he was sealed in the Eternal Secret Realm. The restrictions here were personally constructed by the Great Daoist Brush Master. It suppresses all cultivation, divine spells, secret arts, and ancient arts."
Ye Guan quickly asked, "Do you know a way out?"
"This temple is the key," the Adjudication Sword Master replied. She then looked outside before continuing. "I'm guessing we're not the only ones here."
"There are others here?" Ye Guan asked with furrowed brows. He pondered briefly over something before asking, "Are you trying to say that the Eternal Sovereign is bringing people here to break the seal for him?"
The Adjudication Sword Master was quiet.
Ye Guan pressed on. "If there are others here, my assumption should be right. In that case, those who got dragged here must possess the means to help break the seal."
The Adjudication Sword Master suddenly said, "Spiritual cores!"
Spiritual cores! Ye Guan stood up abruptly. He had billions of spiritual cores on him, and if spiritual cores were necessary to break the seal, then it made sense that he ended up getting dragged here.
Ye Guan looked at the Adjudication Sword Master and was about to say something, but his gaze inadvertently landed on her chest. The Adjudication Sword Master's clothes had suffered greatly during their fight, exposing a significant portion of her skin.
The Adjudication Sword Master was trying her best to cover herself up, but her efforts were clearly ineffective.
The Adjudication Sword Master's gaze flashed in killing intent when she noticed Ye Guan's gaze. However, Ye Guan suddenly took off his blue shirt and handed it over to her.
The Adjudication Sword Master was stunned.
Ye Guan quietly placed the shirt on the ground in front of her.
The Adjudication Sword Master stared deeply at Ye Guan before picking up Ye Guan's shirt and covering her exposed chest.
Tap, tap, tap!
Footsteps abruptly echoed from outside. Ye Guan's eyes narrowed, and the Adjudication Sword Master suddenly said, "I have a way for us to leave this place, but I need to recover a bit more."
A way to leave this place? Ye Guan furrowed his brows and was about to start asking questions when three men suddenly entered the ancient temple.
The black-robed man with thick eyebrows and black hair standing at the helm of the group seemed to be their leader. The black-robed middle-aged man's gaze was cold.
The three of them were momentarily taken aback the moment they saw Ye Guan and the Adjudication Sword Master.
Ye Guan stood up and sat in front of the Adjudication Sword Master.
The Adjudication Sword Master stared at his back, but she didn't say anything in the end. Without cultivation bases, women were bound to suffer more than men, especially if the women in question were extremely beautiful.
The Adjudication Sword Master was extremely beautiful, so when the gazes of the three men fell on her, the two men behind the black-robed man began showing signs of lust.
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