CHAPTER 131: CHAPTER 131 - THE JADE LOTUS PEAK

Jade Lotus Peak - Moonlight Sect Territory

The mountain peak pierced through low-hanging clouds like a sword thrust toward the heavens, its pristine white stone formations glowing softly under the afternoon sun.

Ancient jade formations carved into spiraling lotus patterns decorated the cliff faces, marking this as sacred ground within the Moonlight Sect’s territory.

A streak of violet light tore through the sky, moving with the desperate speed of someone fleeing their own thoughts.

Yu Xiang materialized on the peak’s highest platform with barely controlled grace, her feet touching down on polished stone as residual qi crackled around her trembling form.

Her usual composed demeanor was nowhere to be found—instead, her violet eyes blazed with an irritation so intense it made the air around her shimmer with heat.

’What is wrong with me?’ she thought furiously, pacing back and forth across the platform like a caged beast.

Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides, the precious breakthrough pill still clutched in her palm, its warmth a constant reminder of what should have been a triumphant moment.

She should be ecstatic.

The pill in her hand represented everything she had worked for—a guaranteed path past the bottleneck that had not even existed when she reached Middle Core Formation a month ago, thanks to the pill he had given her.

With this, she could ascend to Late Core Formation, then push toward Nascent Soul realm.

It was power beyond her wildest dreams, handed to her by the most powerful man in the continent.

So why did she feel like screaming?

’I got what I wanted,’ she told herself, but the words felt hollow. ’The Emperor gave me exactly what any ambitious cultivator would kill for. This is victory.’

But images kept flashing through her mind—the way Tianlong’s eyes had softened when he looked at Mei, the casual tenderness in his voice, the complete transformation from terrifying authority to devoted husband in the span of a heartbeat.

And those sounds...

Yu Xiang’s felt pulling her hair as she remembered the intimate moans that had echoed from his chambers.

The raw passion, the genuine affection, the way Mei had gasped his name like he was her entire world.

’Why does it bother me?’ she wondered, her irritation spiking higher. ’I don’t even want that kind of... weakness. Men who show emotion are tools to be used, nothing more.’

But even as she thought it, she knew it was a lie.

There had been something in Tianlong’s eyes—a depth of feeling that went beyond mere lust or possessiveness.

Something that made her chest ache with an emotion she refused to name.

"Did you see that bastard? How he reacted?"

Yu Xiang spun around, her hand instinctively moving to the concealed dagger at her waist before she recognized the voice.

Zhao Chen stood at the edge of her private platform, his bronze eyes blazing with poorly contained fury, his usually perfect hair disheveled from flight.

’How long has he been here?’ she wondered, but her irritation was too strong for her to care about stealth or surveillance.

"When you weren’t the one who told me to ask for a favor from someone like him?" Chen continued, his voice rising with each word. "He clearly seemed to be leaving no excuse to humiliate me!"

Yu Xiang looked at him—really looked—and felt her annoyance spike even higher.

Here was this pampered young master, ranting about humiliation when he’d been the one stupid enough to lust for woman of a Great Vehicle realm cultivator.

Zhao Chen was an idiot who didn’t know the difference between his own level and that of the other man; it was something akin to the difference between the land and the sky.

’And I told this idiot to approach that monster for favors?’ she thought, rubbing her temples as the memory came flooding back. ’Right, because I thought an old, lonely emperor would be easy to manipulate through his "grandson."’

The sheer stupidity of her original plan made her want to laugh bitterly. Or punch something. Preferably Chen’s face.

"Yes, you are right," she said through gritted teeth, her voice carrying an edge that made Chen take a small step back. "But at least I got this."

She held up the breakthrough pill, watching as Chen’s eyes immediately lit up with greedy interest.

The spiritual energy radiating from the small sphere was unmistakable—this was the kind of treasure that could change a cultivator’s entire destiny.

"A bottleneck loosening pill," Chen breathed, his earlier anger forgotten in the face of such wealth.

"Yu Xiang, this is... this is incredible! With this, you can break through to Late Core Formation, maybe even touch the threshold of Nascent Soul!"

His enthusiasm was pathetic.

Yu Xiang watched as his bronze eyes gleamed with avarice, probably already calculating how he could benefit from her advancement.

The way he looked at the pill—like it was the most precious thing in the world—only made her more irritated.

’At least someone appreciates what I accomplished,’ she thought sourly Because somehow she herself doesn’t feel anything about this.

Chen reached out, his hand moving toward her cheek in what was probably meant to be a tender gesture. "Yu Xiang, I’m so proud of you. You managed to get something valuable from that bas—"

Yu Xiang took a sharp step backward, her body moving before her mind could process the action.

Chen’s hand hovered in the empty air where her face had been, his expression shifting from affection to confusion to embarrassment in rapid succession.

The silence stretched between them, awkward and heavy. Chen slowly lowered his hand, a forced laugh escaping his throat that fooled neither of them.

"Haha... sorry, I just..." he stammered, his confident young master persona cracking like cheap pottery. "I was just so excited about your success..."

’Excited about the pill, more like,’ Yu Xiang thought with growing disgust.

The way he’d reached for her—as if he had some right to touch her, as if her achievements were somehow his to celebrate—made her skin crawl.

"By the way," she said, her voice cutting through his awkward laughter like a blade, "why are you here?"

Chen blinked, clearly not expecting the question. "What do you mean?"

Yu Xiang gestured around them, her irritation bleeding into her tone. "This is Jade Lotus Peak. My sect’s territory. Specifically, this platform is my private cultivation space, exclusive to Fairy Yu Xiang. So I’ll ask again—why are you here?"

The implications hung in the air like a drawn sword.

The Moonlight Sect was known for its strict rules regarding male visitors, and Jade Lotus Peak was sacred ground.

For Chen to be here meant either he had official permission—unlikely—or he’d trespassed on one of the most heavily guarded locations in the southern territories.

"It was that bastard who told me to come here!" Chen said quickly, his voice defensive. "Not like I wanted to... no, no, no, I mean exactly I wanted to come, not that I hate you or anything!"

His stammering explanation made Yu Xiang’s eye twitch.

The man couldn’t even lie convincingly, stumbling over his words like a child caught stealing sweets.

And bringing up Tianlong again only reminded her of the strange hollow feeling that had been gnawing at her chest.

’This idiot is making my headache worse,’ she realized, her already frayed patience snapping entirely.

Without another word, she brushed past him, her shoulder deliberately clipping his as she headed toward the inner pavilion that served as her private quarters.

She needed space, needed time to think, needed to get away from Chen’s pathetic presence before she did something violent.

Behind her, she could hear Chen’s sharp intake of breath as her scent washed over him—jasmine and sword oil, cultivation herbs and something uniquely feminine.

The sound made her stomach turn with disgust.

’Like an insect,’ she thought, quickening her pace. ’Just like every other man who thinks with his cock.’

But Chen was following her, his footsteps echoing across the stone platform as he hurried to catch up. "Yu Xiang, wait! Where are you going?"

She reached the entrance to her private pavilion and spun around, her violet eyes blazing with barely contained fury. "Why are you following me into my residence?"

Chen stopped short, confusion written across his handsome features. "Aren’t we... I mean, didn’t you say that you’re in love with me? Shouldn’t we be living together?"

’This pathetic worm... is he really that man’s blood? How can he not see the truth?’ And naturally, even now she was reminded of Emperor Tianlong, who was the grandfather of this man, who had ego and pride but not a bit of brain to understand that she had fooled him.