Chapter 865: Hard to See Through

The Yaksha Commander felt a chill run through him, his heart pounding several times faster than usual. He slowly turned his head to the side, finally seeing the owner of the left hand gripping the small sword, and instantly let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Mr. Ji, for saving my life!"

The Yaksha Commander stepped aside and bowed to Ji Yuan, the river water on his cheeks looking remarkably like cold sweat. He looked at the crimson small sword, still trembling and struggling in Mr. Ji's hand, thinking that if it had struck his brow just now, he would surely have died.

"You may withdraw now. Return to the Dragon Palace. I will handle this matter."

The Yaksha Commander glanced in a certain direction, then nodded to Ji Yuan.

"I shall take my leave now!"

With that, the Yaksha leaped back into the river, the surface rippling without a sound as he entered the water. Ji Yuan, holding the small sword, looked towards the direction the Yaksha Commander had previously observed and spoke with an indifferent tone.

"Will you come out on your own, or shall I invite you out?"

As he spoke, a flicker of electricity passed through Ji Yuan's left hand. The crimson small sword, struggling relentlessly in his grip, instantly quieted. He brought it closer for a look: besides being only a palm's length, the sword was exquisitely crafted with intricate spirit runes and floral designs, as if it were a long sword scaled down proportionally.

Approximately four or five breaths after Ji Yuan's words faded, a woman dressed in light blue slowly emerged from a grove by the river. Although her lower body was no longer a fish tail, a faint aquatic demonic aura still emanated from her.

What slightly surprised Ji Yuan was that despite the woman's demonic aura, his mystic sight couldn't discern her true form at once. Upon a closer look, a somewhat absurd guess formed in his mind.

How strange. Judging by her appearance, it was unlikely she was a sword immortal. Ji Yuan fully activated his mystic sight, closed the distance in a single step, and appraised the woman. She didn't appear to be an immortal cultivator at all, and he didn't believe anyone could deceive his mystic sight.

"This sword isn't yours, is it?"

The woman's face was expressionless. She nodded in acknowledgment.

"Mr. Ji is right, this sword is certainly not mine. I am no sword immortal; I merely know how to use it. Could Mr. Ji please return it to me?"

"I'm afraid not. You used it to commit violence and nearly killed that Yaksha. For me to simply return it in kind would already be quite restrained."

As Ji Yuan spoke, his eyes narrowed slightly, a rare sharp glint emerging from his calm gaze. Even that faint aura felt like a sword light shooting directly towards her.

At that moment, the previously calm woman's face instantly showed panic, and she involuntarily recoiled several steps, almost fleeing. Only by forcefully suppressing her urge to escape did she remain.

This reaction wasn't due to the woman being timid, but rather a strong, instinctive sense of crisis and spiritual perception—a natural fear of death and the complete dissipation of her being.

Based on her reaction, Ji Yuan initially thought he had seen that she wasn't a truly powerful master. But then, as his peripheral vision focused, he noticed that while the woman was retreating in a panic, a very subtle and hidden spiritual light emanated from her consciousness. Clearly, at that moment, her spiritual platform, primordial spirit, and thoughts were all operating at high speed, meaning her reaction might not have been entirely involuntary.

Ji Yuan frowned slightly. With a flick of his left hand, the crimson small sword in his grasp vanished.

"Mr. Ji, you..."

"I already said you intended to use it for harm. How could I possibly return it to you?"

"Hmph! Does Mr. Ji think I am someone who only puts on a brave front but is weak inside?"

The woman sneered, looking at Ji Yuan with anger. Ji Yuan, however, merely smiled, his tone not confrontational, his expression quite indifferent as he shook his head.

"To me, whether you are outwardly fierce but inwardly timid, or a mighty demon with vast powers, it makes no difference. You needn't think that my actions are deliberately aimed at you; I have no need for that."

Although Ji Yuan's words were a bit circuitous, they were quite direct. In short, he was implying: you are not important enough for me to deliberately target you. Whatever I do in your presence is simply what I happen to think of doing.

Ji Yuan rarely spoke this way. While his words didn't sound aggressive, this sense of dismissal could sometimes be more hurtful than direct insult.

The woman paused slightly, her brows furrowing then slowly relaxing.

"Mr. Ji, you must be quite concerned about what I said earlier in the Dragon Palace hall, aren't you?"

Ji Yuan remained silent, acknowledging it. The woman smiled and continued.

"As expected, Mr. Ji truly stands at the pinnacle of immortal cultivation in this world. To think you actually sensed the world's constraints! I had always thought that was just an ethereal, baseless claim!"

"Oh?"

Ji Yuan looked at the woman very seriously.

"You uttered those words, made a grand show of testing me, yet you yourself didn't believe them. Don't you find that amusing?"

Ji Yuan looked towards the turbulent Tongtian River. Though the river surface appeared unchanged, a certain premonition had already formed in his mind. He waved his right sleeve, and a warning signal flared in the woman's heart. Before she could react, all she saw was Ji Yuan's sleeve filling her vision, and then the world plunged into complete darkness.

"Mr. Ji? Mr. Ji! I swear I spoke no falsehoods; I didn't deceive you!"

The woman shouted a few times into the seemingly empty surroundings but received no reply.

After Ji Yuan took the woman into his sleeve with his 'Sleeve of the Universe' technique, he transformed into a gust of wind and departed. A few breaths later, the waters of the Tongtian River parted, and a faint dragon silhouette descended to Ji Yuan's original spot, transforming into the appearance of Old Dragon Ying Hong.

Old Dragon's expression was calm. He looked left and right but found no traces, only a faint demonic aura lingering, with no sign of it extending anywhere. It was as if the owner of the aura had vanished into thin air.

'Where did Ji Yuan take her? Never mind, I'll ask him later.'

Old Dragon had complete trust in Ji Yuan, so he didn't ponder further and re-entered the Tongtian River directly.

Meanwhile, Ji Yuan flew over a hundred miles before descending near a wild forest beside an official road. With a sweep of his large sleeve, the woman was flung from his sleeve opening. Unable to maintain her balance, she fell in front of a large tree, clearing a patch of the pristine white snow on the ground.

The woman felt dizzy and disoriented, as if both her body and soul were in a trance after emerging from the Sleeve of the Universe. It took her several breaths to gradually recover. She brushed the snow from her clothes and slowly rose.

"Mr. Ji, isn't it rather unbecoming to treat a weak woman this way?"

"While your cultivation isn't particularly high, you are by no means a weak woman. If I hadn't taken you away just now, it would have been difficult to explain to Old Mr. Ying. He tolerates no nonsense; if he had seen you, you wouldn't have been able to escape."

Hearing Ji Yuan say her cultivation wasn't high, the woman immediately felt a surge of anger. Just as she was about to speak, Ji Yuan, no longer interested in playing games, looked at her very seriously.

"I have no time for pleasantries with you. Who are you? Who are your elders? Who sent you to find me, and for what purpose?"

Ji Yuan's calm, ancient eyes, though seemingly undisturbed like an old well, now fixed on her with a profound gaze that felt like tons of heavy water pouring over her. All the teasing words the woman had intended to say were swallowed, and she dared not joke around.

"My name is Lian Ping'er, and of course, I am from the Lian family. My elders may not be widely known in the cultivation world, but they are certainly not ordinary individuals. Even you, Ji Yuan, would not... underestimate them..."

The woman paused, recalling Ji Yuan's unfathomable cultivation, and subtly amended her words.

Ji Yuan's face remained impassive. He continued to look at the woman calmly, waiting for her to speak further. Seeing his lack of reaction, and uncertain whether he believed her or not, she could only grit her teeth and continue.

"Some time ago, I heard that you, Mr. Ji, might be someone standing at the pinnacle of immortal cultivation in this era, seemingly very powerful, even more so than any known immortals. So, I became curious and simply wanted to approach you to see for myself!"

"And the matter of the world's constraints, was that also something you wanted to ask about?"

"Exactly!"

The woman's expression changed. She brushed the snow from her clothes and moved closer to Ji Yuan.

"We don't involve ourselves in matters of the cultivation world. Mr. Ji, with your high cultivation, aren't you curious how to break free from the world's constant confinement? If one day your cultivation can no longer advance, and your lifespan slowly dwindles, do you truly intend to simply die like that?"

"Does your family have a solution?"

Ji Yuan smiled, but his expression clearly showed disbelief. The woman, unfazed, clapped her hands.

"If I said we did, that would be boasting too much. But it's certainly better than those who know nothing at all. You, Mr. Ji, with such profound cultivation, aren't you still asking me?"

Ji Yuan's smile faded as he pondered Lian Ping'er's definition of herself and her family. Was she genuinely thinking this way, or was she merely fabricating this impression for him?

Undeniably, the woman's acting skills were highly sophisticated. Among all the people Ji Yuan had met, perhaps only Niu Batian could surpass her.

But whether this woman genuinely knew half-truths or was fabricating everything, regardless, the Lian family was definitely being manipulated by a hidden player, a chess piece moved by a powerful hand. As for whether the chess piece was aware of its role, that remained unclear.