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At the same time.
West of Southern Desert County, there lies a vast estate, known as "Qian Garden".
This garden serves as a residence for the Zuoqiu family in Southern Desert County, specifically for members on official business.
As a Rank Four Prominent Family that has been passed down for nearly two thousand years, the influence of the Zuoqiu family in Southern Desert County is not as significant as the local Purple Abode family, but it is not without foundation.
In Southern Desert County, there are several estates and residences similar to "Qian Garden". Although they are not particularly large, their internal designs are extremely thoughtful, fully displaying the style and heritage of a Rank Four Prominent Family.
On usual days, the Zuoqiu family would dispatch members to reside there, specifically responsible for negotiating trade and communications with the various major families in Southern Desert County, while collecting local information on the side.
Zuoqiu Qingyun is now residing in this "Qian Garden" during his trip to Southern Desert County.
In order to facilitate cultivation, a secret chamber for cultivation was purposefully built underneath "Qian Garden". A small spirit gathering array was set up in this secret chamber. By embedding spirit stones, one could gather spiritual energy for cultivation.
Without having spirit veins to rely on, one can only maintain the cultivation speed by relying on such spirit gathering arrays and elixirs. Hence, to avoid hindering their members’ cultivation, those in charge from the Zuoqiu family would generally rotate every ten years, with only a very few members of the family who were nearing the end of their lifespan taking up long-term residency.
Now that Zuoqiu Qingyun lives in "Qian Garden", a room in the underground secret chamber has naturally been specifically assigned to him for daily cultivation.
On ordinary days, nobody would disturb him during his cultivation. Even the two elders who accompanied him to Southern Desert, without his permission, wouldn’t dare to set foot there.
Inside the secret chamber.
There were two women whose silk dresses were disheveled, their faces flushed, weakly collapsed on the royal couch, already deep in unconsciousness.
The light of the Fluorescent Stone Spirit Lamp was dimmed, creating a hazy glow. The patterns of the complex array on the ground flowed with a faint light.
The atmosphere was ambiguously romantic.
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However, Zuoqiu Qingyun, who was always graceful and elegant in public, was now sitting cross-legged, topless, cultivating with his eyes closed.
Clouds of a faint peach blossom color mist rose from his body, enveloping the room. The entire secret chamber was filled with the decadent air of sensual pleasure.
After a long while.
Zuoqiu Qingyun finished his cultivation technique, his chest swelled, and took a deep breath like a toad swallowing the moon.
In an instant, all the peach blossom colored aura was absorbed into his body, giving him a sense that his cultivation base had progressed a small step forward.
After a brief pause, his eyes slowly opened, revealing a pair of eyes that were wicked and unruly.
After shedding his disguise, an aura of evil swelled around him. His immense pressure, instead of lessening, increased. Emitting an uncomfortable and unsettled feeling.
He glanced casually at the two beautiful women who had fallen asleep, and a hint of disgust inadvertently flashed within his eyes.
These two women, one was the legitimate daughter of a Rank Six Prominent Family in Qing’an Prefecture, the other was a senior student from Qing’an College. Both were prime choices for their beauty and temperament, and both had the potential to be future geniuses, known as "Little Sky Prides."
To put it mildly, they are already the goddesses admired by many students and junior brothers in the Princely families and the College.
Some time ago, Zuoqiu Qingyun had put substantial effort into possessing these women behind the scenes. He had viewed them as treasures, carefully grooming them, until their defenses were completely disarmed.
However, now, he was growing tired and weary of them.
Especially after hearing about the radiant "Tian Yan Fairy," he regarded her as a treasure and began his operations.
Sky Prides are rare.
Whether it’s a prominent family or the direct disciple of a College, any Sky Pride within a family or a College would definitely be highly valued and seen as a treasure. Even if he possessed an "unusual technique" and was confident, he did not dare to cross that line easily.
But Tian Yan Fairy is different. No matter how gorgeous her appearance is, or how unparalleled her talents are, she was still a woman from the dust. She has no illustrious background nor anyone to rely on.
Once he "captures" her, she will be of great benefit to his status and reputation, as well as a cultivation vessel for the "Golden Toad Codex".
"Hehe ~ Tian Yan, you have repeatedly refused to see me. I thought you were a chaste woman~~~" A strong desire for possession flashed across Zuoqiu Qingyun’s eyes, "Your push-and-pull technique is simply playing with fire. Wait until you taste my secret technique ’Golden Toad Embracing Carp’... hehehe~"
He let out a series of laughter, an obvious sign of a villain.
But at this moment.
An old voice suddenly came from deep within his spirit, "Zuoqiu boy, with my numerous centuries of experience, Tian Yan’s background may not be simple. She seeks you out so privately, I fear her intentions are unpredictable. If you are careless, you might capsize in the gutter."
"Elder Jiang, you’re awake?" Zuoqiu Qingyun was startled, quickly regaining his composure and responded respectfully with his consciousness, "Could it be that Elder Jiang thinks I should abandon this great opportunity?"
The old voice spoke gently, "A Sky Pride in the Sky People Realm is indeed a good candidate for cultivation, she can’t be easily given up. Thanks to you, you’ve been very diligent in your cultivation recently, and my divine soul has recovered quite a bit. Have you collected the medicinal herbs I asked for a while ago?"
"Elder Jiang, although it took some effort, I managed to gather all of them." There was an intense excitement in Zuoqiu Qingyun’s eyes, "Elder Jiang, have your powers recovered enough to concoct the ’Golden Toad Soul Dissipating Powder’? If so, Tian Yan will be in my grasp."
"It’s barely possible. Although it will consume a lot of my divine soul power, for you to grow faster, and to avenge me in the future, any loss is worth it." Elder Jiang said, his voice flashed with a hint of hatred, as if recalling some deeply etched past nightmare.
However, he quickly regained his composure, turning to Zuoqiu Qingyun he said, "Zuoqiu boy, you should relax as soon as possible..."
"Sorry to trouble you, Elder Jiang."
...
That night.
In the deep of night, there were few lights to be seen in the Southern Desert County Town, and the city’s outskirts had already been enveloped in thick darkness.
The wind on the prairie is usually strong, and as night fell, the noisy sounds of the world gradually quietened, leaving only the whistling wind as the dominant sound. Occasionally, the howling of wolves and horses mixed in, making the world feel vast and desolate.
By the Dong Cha Cha Lake, the normally vibrant floating restaurants were strangely quiet tonight, all closed for business and not taking customers.
As the night deepened, the faraway guests had to leave disappointedly. The lights on the floating restaurants also gradually went out. There were no stars in the sky, only the bright moon high above. The pale moonlight cast down, making the darkness of night even more desolate.
However.
Within this desolate darkness, there was still a place by Dong Cha Cha Lake where a light remained.
It was a modest mansion.
In comparison to the usual rough and rustic mansions of the Southern Desert, this mansion was much more delicate. It was built by the lake and had not only little bridges over flowing water and pavilions, but also a variety of strange-shaped rocks. Walking amongst them, there were sparse shadows and lush trees crisscrossing each other.
There was even the sound of gurgling water, making it delicate and unique.
This kind of garden is usually found north of the Jinsha River, in Lingbei, and Longzuo. It is extremely rare in the Southern Desert.
To build such a garden in the Southern Desert requires a large amount of manpower and resources.
Without mentioning anything else, even the peculiar stones commonly found in the garden were not ordinary. They were "Wild Marsh Peculiar Stones" from the Great Wilderness Marsh, specifically transported over a thousand miles from Lingbei, an expense that was considerable by itself.
Not to mention, this garden also had many plants unique to Lingbei and Longzuo. If there weren’t Profound Martial cultivators specializing in this field painstakingly caring for them, these plants wouldn’t survive in the Southern Desert.
This mansion was the private residence of Tianyan Fairy in the Southern Desert, named "Cloud Reliance Pavilion". The name meant "Relying on the cloud to watch the lonely geese, leaning on the bridge to listen to the cloud."
It was also the place she was about to meet Zuoqiu Qingyun.
At this moment.
Within the "Cloud Reliance Pavilion", in a pavilion full of antiquity, there was a qin table.
A beautiful woman in a white dress was sitting by the qin table, her slender fingers gently stroking the strings. The sound of the qin was as soft as a mountain spring, melodious and pleasant to ears.
The tender sound of the qin, combined with the colors of the lake, pavilions and the bright moonlight, complimented each other perfectly.
The woman’s eyebrows were occasionally lightly furrowed. Her eyes were deep, as if there were thousands of silk threads of worries lingering in her heart that couldn’t be dispelled. Seeing this, one couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with a desire to protect her.
This woman was naturally Tianyan Fairy.
Far away.
Among the purple bamboo trees that cost a fortune to plant, next to the Wild Marsh peculiar stones, several young gentlemen with hairstyles bounded by crowns and wearing brocade clothes were sneakily holding a "Thousand Miles Mirror" and peering at the woman playing the qin.
However, although there were five individuals, there was only one "Thousand Miles Mirror".
The person currently using the Thousand Miles Mirror to observe was an handsome youth wearing a purple crown and a red gown.
While looking he couldn’t help but sigh in astonishment, "Truly ’the sound of the strings soothes a thousand worries, a fragrance expressing boundless sorrow’. Tianyan Fairy is so charming, one can’t help but want to hold her and protect her."
"Little Commandery Prince, let me have a look too." Wang Shihai, standing nearby, craned his neck trying to see but could only vaguely catch sight of Tianyan Fairy, which only made his heart itch even more.
"Shihai, as the saying goes, a brother’s wife is off-limits." The youth in the purple crown didn’t even spare him a glance, and gave him a serious lecture, "I, as the Prince, have already decided to save the position of an Imperial Consort for Tianyan Fairy. Once my father passes away, she will be one of the official Commandery Prince Consorts. Shihai, you must give up your delusions."
Wang Shihai immediately rolled his eyes. He thought, thanks on behalf of the Fairy. And about waiting for his dad to kick the bucket... the Commandery Prince is only a few hundred years old, when will it be his turn to take over?
However, his family, although claiming to be kings of the Southern Desert County, their son, the Little Commandery Prince, Wu Jinghao, is indeed the first heir to the Commandery Prince’s residence. Wang Shihai could not compete with him and only said, "Little Commandery Prince, we didn’t come tonight for you just to admire the beauty.
Did you bring the ’Sky Mechanism Recording Disk’ from your house?"
"Right, right, I have the Sky Mechanism Recording Disk. With such beauty and exceptional music, how could I not save it?" Little Commandery Prince, Wu Jinghao, took out a palm-sized jade disc and handed it over to Wang Shihai saying, "Shihai, you use it to record everything, don’t waste a moment."
Wang Shihai took the disc, his mouth twitched. In the past, he and the Little Commandery Prince were called the Twin Little Hegemons of Southern Desert, and he didn’t think Wu Jinghao was bad. Instead, he thought they were confidants.
After hanging around with his own fourth grandfather, Wang Shouzhe, his horizon expanded, and he had realized that this Wu Jinghao was actually quite annoying.
Another young master said worriedly, "Little Commandery Prince, how did you steal the Sky Mechanism Recording Disk from the Commandery Prince’s Residence? The whole Southern Desert County Town knows that it is Commandery Prince’s treasured item, with recorded images of yaoguang’s youth inside. You reactivated the Sky Mechanism Recording Disk and destroyed the original images.
Aren’t you afraid of being killed by the Commandery Prince?"
"Am I supposed to be scared?" Little Commandery Prince, Wu Jinghao, snorted coldly. "Not to mention that I am the heir to the Commandery Prince’s Residence. Everything there is from my ancestors, and all will be mine in the future. Besides, that immoral old man always hides in his study, surreptitiously looking at the Sky Mechanism Recording Disk. His indecent behavior belittles my mother.
Where does it put her?"
"By using this Sky Mechanism Recording Disk to uphold justice, I can show its true value."
"Well..." Wang Shihai was speechless. This guy said his own Commandery Prince father is immoral as if he himself were very moral. Wang Shihai felt that with his raised consciousness, he was getting increasingly incompatible with Wu Jinghao.
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