Chapter 3: An Ally of the Villain Is Also a Villain
“Miscalculated. I didn’t expect ‘Natural Furnace’ to have this meaning…”
Mu Zhi’an looked at the description next to the title in the interface, momentarily speechless.
In the world of immortals, the dantian was the furnace, with dantians throughout the body. Cultivators would often absorb the spiritual energy between heaven and earth into their furnace.
However, Mu Zhi’an’s body was a natural furnace. In other words, certain cultivators could even use him as a furnace, absorbing the spiritual energy within his furnace for their own use… This was an incomparably rare medicinal ingredient.
“The secret of this furnace must be concealed…” Mu Zhi’an immediately arrived at this conclusion.
His existence was similar to Tang Seng. If others found out about his physique, even as the eldest young master of the Mu family, he would likely have sleepless nights in the future.
Slightly composing his thoughts, Mu Zhi’an opened the bookshelf and took out a thin booklet from it.
As one of the top powers in Tianxuan City, the Mu family naturally had excellent heritage. Thus, some intelligence that couldn’t be found outside could still have some clues within the Mu family.
The booklet in Mu Zhi’an’s hand was about some of the stories of the Two Polarities Sect. Since he would be going to observe the sect assessment in a few days, it was better to understand the Two Polarities Sect in advance.
Mu Zhi’an pulled a chair and sat down in front of the desk. Outside the window was a hazy drizzle. It was late autumn, with falling leaves withering outside, making it appear even more desolate.
The youth had black hair and skin that was pale like he was sickly. His face looked quite handsome. At this time, he was holding the booklet in one hand, leaning back in the chair. He slightly lowered his head to read, appearing quite scholarly.
“Ten thousand years ago, the Two Polarities Sect once produced a female emperor. She resonated with the Heavenly Dao, stepping into the Convergence Realm, transforming and ascending as an immortal. She added a rich stroke to history. According to legend, that female emperor coexisted with the heavens and earth, merely transcending the mundane world, thus no longer managing the Two Polarities Sect… With such an existence guarding the Two Polarities Sect, it’s no wonder the Two Polarities Sect is still a cultivation holy land that cultivators yearn for even now…”
Mu Zhi’an looked at the introduction in the booklet in his hand, sighing in his heart.
A Convergence Realm expert presiding over the Two Polarities Sect was enough to make countless geniuses yearn for it, even if it was unknown whether this female emperor was still alive.
Moreover, in this chaotic world, the Two Polarities Sect could be considered a pure land. Once entering the sect, one no longer needed to worry about enemies from the outside world.
Because those enemies simply didn’t dare to have any killing intent within the Two Polarities Sect.
In the past, the Two Polarities Sect had encountered challenges more than once, but those enemies were all suppressed the moment they set foot in the sect.
This included some demonic cultivators that made ordinary cultivators tremble in fear at the mention of their names.
After roughly flipping through the booklet in his hand, Mu Zhi’an raised his head to look at the curtain of rain outside the window, muttering to himself,
“The Two Polarities Sect with a powerful foundation… I should go take a look when the sect assessment begins.”
He still had some interest in cultivating immortality.
Just as he was thinking about these matters, at this moment, Mu Zhi’an suddenly noticed a “creature” spreading its wings and flying in the courtyard outside from the corner of his eye.
That creature looked like a butterfly, flapping paper wings and dancing in the rain. If one didn’t look closely, they might mistake it for an ordinary butterfly.
“Butterfly… No, a paper crane?”
Mu Zhi’an’s gaze focused. He stretched out his fingertip and that paper crane flew into the window as if pulled by a thread, gracefully landing on his fingertip.
What was strange was that it was clearly raining outside, but this paper crane wasn’t the slightest bit wet.
“How strange… This paper crane seems to be shrouded in immortal energy. There shouldn’t be such a powerful expert in Tianxuan City…”
Mu Zhi’an murmured to himself. He unfolded the paper crane and couldn’t help but mutter when he saw the words on the letter paper,
“Interesting. So there’s something like a message in a bottle in this world?”
Very quickly, Mu Zhi’an focused his gaze on this letter.
The words in this letter seemed a bit like the resentful outpouring of a young lady from a reclusive prominent family. The general meaning was expressing that she was trapped at home, unable to go out freely. She wanted to run away from home but was worried that her departure would make her family worry.
As for why the paper crane would drift here… it could only be said to be fate.
The paper crane didn’t specifically float to Mu Zhi’an’s place. It just happened to pass by here and was intercepted by him midway.
Mu Zhi’an pondered for a moment, then dipped the brush in some ink and wrote his suggestions on the back of the letter paper in great detail. Afterwards, he refolded the letter paper into a paper crane and threw it out from the window.
That paper crane seemed to possess intelligence. When Mu Zhi’an threw it out, it flapped its paper wings and flew towards the sky, quickly disappearing from sight.
After doing all this, Mu Zhi’an gently put down the brush and quietly looked at the curtain of rain.
After a long while, he finally spoke, “Who is it?”
The room was silent.
The sound of rain pattered down along the eaves, like a string of pearl curtains, scattering on the ground like flying flowers and shattered jade in the wind.
Mu Zhi’an lightly tapped on the desk and said, “If you don’t come out, I’ll have to ask someone to call you out.”
He turned his head to look at the shadows not far to the side.
After a long time, that shadow seemed to distort. A man in black robes quietly appeared.
He had a thin figure. The black robe’s hood covered most of his face, and a pair of cold eyes stared at Mu Zhi’an through the hood.
Mu Zhi’an’s gaze focused slightly, and he became a bit more guarded in his heart.
Spirit Refinement Realm cultivator… Not as strong as that maidservant at home in terms of cultivation, but probably not too far off.
There shouldn’t be such a character in Tianxuan City… Someone from outside?
“Rumor has it that the young master of the Mu family in Tianxuan City is a good-for-nothing obsessed with beauties. It seems that rumor is ultimately just rumor,” the black-robed man spoke. His voice was hoarse, but it carried undisguised admiration.
“You’re wrong.” Mu Zhi’an steadied his state of mind and said indifferently, “The rumor is correct.”
“Oh?” The black-robed man became a bit interested. “If the rumor is true, how did Young Master Mu perceive me—”
“The rumor about being obsessed with beauties is true.” Mu Zhi’an said.
The black-robed man was stunned for a moment.
Then he laughed, “Young Master Mu really likes to joke.”
Although he seemed nonchalant, the black-robed man was secretly shocked in his heart. He was quite confident in his strength and ability to conceal his aura. But he never expected that after concealing his aura, he could still be detected by Mu Zhi’an.
From this, it could be seen that the other party’s strength was likely not inferior to his…
Mu Zhi’an smiled and said, “A guest is a guest. How should I address you?”
The black-robed man shook his head and said sinisterly, “The name is not important. I came to find Young Master Mu because I have a matter I wish to seek cooperation on.”
Mu Zhi’an nodded, “Please speak.”
“I heard Young Master Mu has been pursuing that pearl in the palm of the Bai family recently?”
The black-robed man grinned and said, “But Bai Ruoxi has had a childhood sweetheart since a young age. The two have a very good relationship. If it’s normal pursuit, even if it’s Young Master Mu, you may not necessarily be able to make Bai Ruoxi completely devoted. It’s also improper.”
Mu Zhi’an looked at the black-robed man with some surprise and said, “You know quite a lot.”
Bai Ruoxi indeed had a childhood sweetheart. He was the son of the Ye family patriarch, Ye Yu.
Ye Yu was also once a genius in the past. But two years ago, for some unknown reason, his cultivation level inexplicably plummeted. Until now, he was no different from a good-for-nothing.
The Bai family and Ye family had arranged a childhood marriage for the two since a young age. Because of this, Bai Ruoxi had lost her temper at her family more than once in the past.
Although Bai Ruoxi and Ye Yu were childhood sweethearts, she simply didn’t like Ye Yu at all. But as soon as she became sensible, she found out she already had a marriage agreement. Naturally, she was unhappy.
“The Ye family’s fortunes have declined now, and Ye Yu is no different from a waste. He’s not worthy of Miss Bai.”
The black-robed man grinned, revealing a cold smile. He continued, “The Bai family actually also hopes to cancel this marriage agreement, but they can’t bring it up due to saving face. However, if Ye Yu is no longer around, the marriage agreement will naturally come to nothing.”
“At that time… The Bai family will naturally choose a more suitable fiancé for Miss Bai…” The black-robed man paused and looked towards Mu Zhi’an.
Although he didn’t continue speaking, the implied meaning in his words was already very obvious.
He was asking Mu Zhi’an if he wanted to cooperate with him.
