Chapter 37: Guilt Part 1

Noisy footsteps and chaotic discussions filled the air.

The courtyard had silently filled with many people.

Bo Xuenong and Liu Huairou were all quite surprised, but Shen Yanting showed little change. She took Bo Xuenong’s hand and walked out, casually instructing Gui Nian’an, “You should have the ability to take care of your mother, right?”

She signaled for Gui Nian’an and the others not to leave the room. Gui Nian’an feared that Shen Yanting and the others saw her and Liu Huairou as burdens, so she hurriedly took two steps forward. “Shen… Senior Shen, I can help!”

Shen Yanting glanced at them. “No need.”

Bo Xuenong looked toward Gui Nian’an and signaled with her eyes for her to stay put, then followed Shen Yanting into the courtyard.

She followed all of Shen Yanting’s decisions completely, regardless of right or wrong—only the person mattered.

As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she saw a dense crowd. Before she could make out who stood in the yard, several powerful pressures came at her. Her back felt as if it bore a mountain of stone; she involuntarily bent slightly, and even her knees buckled toward the ground.

Bo Xuenong bit her lip, about to grit her teeth and resist the pressure, when a veil of pale golden mist suddenly spread from Shen Yanting.

The golden mist intertwined with a powerful surge of air, instantly repelling the pressure bearing down on Bo Xuenong and shattering the ‘giant stone’ weighing on her.

Shen Yanting placed her palm on Bo Xuenong’s back and gently pushed up on her curved spine.

Bo Xuenong felt her back lighten completely; she no longer sensed those oppressive forces.

Only then could Bo Xuenong raise her eyes to survey the courtyard.

The yard had at some point crammed full with people—around a hundred by count. They all wore matching long robes embroidered with the Heavenly Feast Sect’s emblem; they appeared to be inner sect disciples of Heavenly Feast Sect.

Leading them were two in red robes, dressed like bridegrooms.

These two possessed the strongest auras among the group, their spiritual power profound and immeasurable. Yet they seemed somewhat odd.

They stood very close together, their bodies shrinking back intentionally or not, both watching Shen Yanting warily.

The two exchanged a glance. The slightly older male cultivator spoke. “Miss Shen, you suddenly visited Heavenly Feast Sect without prior notice. We could have come to welcome you!”

As soon as he spoke, the disciples behind him erupted in jeers. “Elder Hua, this demoness looks like she’s here to cause trouble. Who knows if she’s with the Beast Taming Sect folks? Why speak so politely to her!”

This was Elder Hua, the one assigned to Liu Huairou.

Hua Fangqi wiped the cold sweat from his brow and glared fiercely at the disciples behind him. “Shut up.”

The younger elder beside him spoke up. “Elder Hua, I’m no match for her alone. But with the two of us joining hands, plus these hundreds of top disciples, are we still afraid of her?”

Shen Yanting stared at that elder and suddenly said, “So you begged for mercy from me to wait for reinforcements.”

Jin Yuanliang’s expression stiffened. “I… when did I beg for mercy from you? Don’t spout nonsense! Do you think you’re still the chief disciple of Cloud Smoke Sect? You’re just a discarded disciple now. Mo Tingshu won’t back you anymore. You stand alone. Have you considered the consequences of offending Heavenly Feast Sect?”

“Who says my master stands alone!” Bo Xuenong took a step forward, meeting the gazes of Jin Yuanliang and his group. “Master has me!”

Jin Yuanliang glanced disdainfully at Bo Xuenong. “A nascent soul early stage dares to challenge us.”

He lightly patted toward Bo Xuenong. A palm shadow carrying unstoppable spiritual pressure hurtled toward her.

With Bo Xuenong’s cultivation, taking that palm head-on would leave her either dead or vomiting blood from injury.

Shen Yanting didn’t even move. Her fingertip lifted slightly.

The golden mist swirling around her instantly met the palm shadow, not only dispersing it but also carrying a surge of air that rushed toward Jin Yuanliang. He stumbled back two steps, and the lingering force scattered nearby disciples several steps back.

Hua Fangqi raised his sleeve to block the approaching airflow.

He wasn’t repelled by the lingering force, but his gaze toward Shen Yanting changed.

From mere wariness, it now held a touch of dread.

“I never imagined that after leaving Cloud Smoke Sect, Miss Shen’s strength not only didn’t regress but advanced considerably. I wonder how Miss Shen cultivated—could you share some pointers?”

Hua Fangqi’s words dripped with flattery, but Shen Yanting didn’t buy it. “Your heart is not upright, and you possess only cultivation.”

Cold intent soaked her voice.

Like icy streamwater from melting snow.

More sweat beaded on Hua Fangqi’s brow. He feigned calm. “Miss Shen, Heavenly Feast Sect has no one you’re looking for.”

Shen Yanting shook her head. “I’m not looking for anyone.”

Hua Fangqi’s probing gaze drifted toward Jin Yuanliang. Shen Yanting didn’t wait for his explanation and said flatly, “Senior Hua, I came from Mistlongevity Village—still in your wedding garb.”

“What!” Hua Fangqi glared venomously at Jin Yuanliang. “Why didn’t you explain clearly!”

Hua Fangqi and Jin Yuanliang were both elders of Heavenly Feast Sect, but his cultivation and seniority outranked Jin Yuanliang’s—by seniority, Jin Yuanliang had to call him Senior Shishu.

He had just been summoned by the sect master and hadn’t seen Shen Yanting or Liu Huairou in the room.

He had only learned from Jin Yuanliang that Shen Yanting had entered Heavenly Feast Sect. Fearing she knew their sect’s secrets, he rushed over. Only now did he notice the wedding garb on Shen Yanting—the unique garb identical to what Heavenly Feast Sect prepared for the spirit supplements from Mistlongevity Village, save for an extra tear.

This meant Shen Yanting already knew Heavenly Feast Sect’s secret.

Hua Fangqi’s gaze darkened. He no longer flattered her and deliberately lowered his voice. “Miss Shen, a smart person knows when to play deaf and dumb.”

He meant to threaten her.

Bo Xuenong took half a step forward. “Master, can I kill him?”

Hua Fangqi: “You?”

Hua Fangqi meant to mock Bo Xuenong’s overreach, but Shen Yanting slowly nodded. “Can it wait a moment?”

Shen Yanting’s serious expression made it seem as if nascent soul early stage Bo Xuenong could truly slay one of Heavenly Feast Sect’s sect-protecting elders, Hua Fangqi. He grew somewhat frantic with rage. “Miss Shen, I’m still your senior, eighteen hundred years older than your master.”

Shen Yanting didn’t look at Hua Fangqi; she was still earnestly discussing with Bo Xuenong.

Hua Fangqi’s face twisted in fury. Beside him, Jin Yuanliang reached his limit of anger. “Senior Shishu, let’s strike! No matter how strong Shen Yanting is, without Cloud Smoke Sect’s resources, her cultivation speed can’t match before. Five hundred years ago, she was merely out-of-body realm peak. At best now, she’s early stage divinity transformation. I’m out-of-body realm peak, you’re divinity transformation realm peak—why fear her? Plus, we have all these top-talented elite disciples behind us. She has only a little nascent soul.”

So Jin Yuanliang was out-of-body realm peak.

Truth be told, his cultivation was lower than Bo Xuenong had imagined. She had sensed an aura from him no weaker than Hua Fangqi’s. But that made sense—she was only nascent soul early stage. After breaking through to nascent soul cultivation, further breakthroughs grew immensely difficult, requiring exponentially more spiritual power. Gaps between realms widened vastly.

Early stage and mid stage already differed like clouds and mud, let alone nascent soul early stage versus out-of-body realm peak.

The tier gap was too vast.

That was why Bo Xuenong couldn’t judge who was stronger between Hua Fangqi and Jin Yuanliang by aura alone.

Against these major sect elders, she was still too weak.

Bo Xuenong secretly vowed to cultivate a hundredfold harder from now on. She carefully observed the two, guarding against a sudden attack. Unexpectedly, though Hua Fangqi fumed with rage, he hesitated to act. “You should understand—she’s a sword cultivator, you’re spirit cultivation, I’m array cultivation. In a real fight, we suffer disadvantage.”

Array cultivator.

Hua Fangqi wouldn’t be the cultivator who set the array at Mistlongevity Village, would he?

Shen Yanting clearly thought the same; her gaze drifted to Hua Fangqi.

Hua Fangqi and Jin Yuanliang continued debating whether to attack Shen Yanting. Jin Yuanliang disagreed. “Sword cultivator or not, she left her sword at Cloud Smoke Sect. How strong can a sword cultivator be without a lifebound sword!”

Bo Xuenong’s thoughts halted.

She vaguely recalled that she had indeed never seen Shen Yanting use a lifebound sword.

That divine artifact wouldn’t be Shen Yanting’s lifebound sword, would it?

A bold idea suddenly surfaced in her mind, quickly dismissed by herself.

Sword cultivators ranked highest in combat among the eight orthodox immortal paths because they grew alongside their swords. Later, their bodies became sharp blades. Finally, forging a sword soul with their spiritual qi allowed ascension to godhood.

Divine artifacts already had souls; they couldn’t serve as lifebound swords.

Though called a sword cultivator, Shen Yanting always used spell arts, talisman arts, even arrays.

The book never mentioned Shen Yanting’s sword either.

Bo Xuenong stared unblinkingly at Shen Yanting, but she showed no intent to explain.

Bo Xuenong wasn’t strongly curious by nature.

But anything concerning Shen Yanting, she wanted to know.

Bo Xuenong remembered Feng Jin saying the system could exchange for anything in this world. She hurriedly pulled up the system panel and spent ten points to exchange for information on Shen Yanting’s lifebound sword.