"Humph, Uncle-Master is really good-tempered. If it were me, I wouldn't wait," Hong Zhaoyang snorted, crossing her arms with a look of sarcasm in her eyes.
The disciples all looked displeased and whispered to each other.
"I think those from Worry-Free Peak have really become arrogant. Before, we respected them as senior brothers because of True Lord Heng Ling. But now that I think about it, they're actually no different from us."
"They've enjoyed the resources of direct disciples but haven't achieved what direct disciples should. Sigh..."
"Don't they risk delaying our time to enter the secret realm? If we miss it, we'll have to wait another hundred years. By then, we might not even be Golden Core cultivators anymore."
"Maybe we should beg Senior Sister Hong to talk to Elder Yaoyue and tell her that we... don't have to wait anymore?"
The disciples were eager to act and didn't want to wait any longer.
Elder Yaoyue glanced at the disciples' expressions and casually pointed at one of them with her slender, fair finger.
"Disciple, please take my voice-transmitting jade pendant and tell the Sect Master that the disciples from Worry-Free Peak have missed the time. It's inconvenient for us to wait, so we'll set off first."
The disciple who was pointed at blushed and quickly took the jade pendant from Elder Yaoyue.
The disciples heaved a sigh of relief, but their resentment towards Pei Xuanjing and the others still lingered.
"We disciples are late. Please forgive us, Elder Yaoyue and Elder Feiyun," a clear and melodious voice suddenly came, attracting everyone's attention.
Shen Qing turned around with the others and saw Lin Yibai leading Pei Xuanjing and the others walking slowly over.
Lin Yibai and the others held their heads high. They weren't wearing the standard disciple uniforms but expensive clothes instead. There was also a valuable hairpin on Lin Yibai's head, all of which were magical artifacts, clearly the work of the He family.
A look of surprise flashed across Shen Qing's eyes. It wasn't their uniqueness that surprised Shen Qing, but Lin Yibai's appearance.
The facial features were still the same, but they looked much more delicate.
Lin Yibai, who used to be just a pretty girl in the crowd, now glowed with radiance and was stunning at first sight.
Many disciples were attracted by Lin Yibai's sudden change in appearance, and the dissatisfaction in their eyes gradually turned into admiration.
Shen Qing quietly observed the changing expressions of the crowd. When she turned her head, she suddenly met Qi Nian's big blinking eyes and was startled.
"Senior Sister Qi?!"
There was a look of doubt in Qi Nian's eyes. She whispered in Shen Qing's ear, "Don't you think Senior Sister Lin has become more beautiful? Don't be angry when I say this, but her change is really too big."
Before Shen Qing could answer, her arm tightened, and she was pulled over by Hong Zhaoyang on the other side.
"Shen Qing, tell me, has Lin Yibai... you know... with Pei Xuanjing and the others?"
What did she mean by "you know"?
Shen Qing was a bit confused, but Qi Nian immediately understood.
Qi Nian covered her mouth, her eyes widened in disbelief, and her cheeks flushed: "Senior Sister Hong, do you mean... they've dual-cultivated?!"
"Otherwise, how else can you explain Lin Yibai's change? And look at Pei Xuanjing and the others. Even Shen Chuyun, who was seriously injured, looks fine. They all look different."
Shen Qing asked awkwardly, "What does 'you know' mean?"
Hong Zhaoyang gave Shen Qing an annoyed look, with an expression of "how come you don't know anything".
Qi Nian's ears were bright red. She looked at Shen Qing shyly and hesitated, not knowing how to explain.
Seeing that Shen Qing really didn't understand and Hong Zhaoyang had no intention of explaining, Qi Nian had no choice but to whisper in Shen Qing's ear in a voice as soft as a mosquito, "Junior Sister Shen... 'you know' means... dual cultivation..."
Shen Qing had to listen carefully to make out the last two words.
"Dual cultivation..."
Seeing Shen Qing say it so casually, Qi Nian quickly covered her mouth.
"Junior Sister Shen, don't say it out loud!"
Shen Qing just grinned and didn't seem to care.
But secretly, Shen Qing didn't think so.
In the original text, Lin Yibai was described like this: She was the female protagonist of this world, aiming only for ascension and immortality. No man in this world was worthy of her attention.
If they weren't worthy, how could Lin Yibai be willing to dual-cultivate?
It was probably the work of the system again.
Seeing that all the disciples were stunned by her appearance, Lin Yibai nodded in satisfaction.
She had used another fifty years of her lifespan and overdrawn a hundred points to increase her beauty and affinity by thirty points.
With these thirty points of beauty and affinity, she could bewitch most people and gain benefits from them.
To test if it was worth it, she deliberately dragged Pei Xuanjing and the others to be late.
Sure enough, she got the result she wanted.
The disciples, who were originally angry, had all their dissatisfaction disappear the moment they saw her, leaving only amazement.
This was the effect she wanted!
She, Lin Yibai, was born to be the protagonist and was destined to enjoy the admiration and attention of everyone.
When Pei Xuanjing and He Yu saw Shen Qing again after some time, the strange feeling in their hearts became even stronger. The mixed emotions of disgust and closeness made them extremely irritable.
As for Nan Zhijin, who had just returned to the sect a few days ago, he was suddenly told that because of Shen Qing, he had to be punished on the Cliff of Reflection for three years and couldn't obtain the sect's resources. He was so angry that he smashed Shen Qing's residence on Worry-Free Peak to pieces.
Needless to say, under Lin Yibai's persuasion, Shen Chuyun firmly believed that Lin Yibai had her own difficulties.
She said those things in the Law Enforcement Hall at that time because she was forced by Shen Qing and had no choice.
Moreover, if it weren't for Shen Qing, he wouldn't have fallen from a high-ranking direct disciple to a lowly outer disciple and suffered so much contempt.
Shen Qing ignored these irrelevant people. She just walked through the crowd and looked at Lin Yibai from afar.
The pride and provocation in Lin Yibai's eyes were clearly seen by Shen Qing.
In Lin Yibai's surprised gaze, Shen Qing curled her lips and silently said, "Lin Yibai, you're really stupid."
Seeing Shen Qing's lip movements, Lin Yibai almost lost her composure, and the smile on her lips almost disappeared.
Just as she was about to instigate the people around her to deal with Shen Qing as usual, a powerful pressure swept over, forcing her and Pei Xuanjing and the others to kneel heavily on the ground.
True Lord Yaoyue slowly flew into the air. The wind blew her wide silk clothes and scarves. Her beautiful and cold eyes looked even more like the eternal ice on the top of a high mountain because of her anger.
She hovered in the air and looked down at Lin Yibai.
"You're late and still so arrogant?"
Her cold and clear voice made the disciples tremble. They suddenly came to their senses.
What on earth had they been thinking just now?!
Lin Yibai's kneeling posture was far from graceful. It was even a bit embarrassing.
Although Elder Yaoyue's cultivation was not as high as True Lord Heng Ling's, she was still beyond the reach of a Golden Core disciple like Lin Yibai.
For some reason, when Elder Yaoyue saw Lin Yibai, there was a familiar and disgusting feeling in her heart.
It wasn't too bad before, but after learning about Shen Qing's situation, this feeling became even stronger.
It made her can't help but think of True Lord Heng Ling a thousand years ago. He had the same disgusting aura on him.