Chapter 548 493: "Pei Yuhang, Are You Willing to Become Dao Companions with Shang Miaoyan?

Yin Wanqing lifted the tip of a delicate, jade-white foot and swayed it with a smile.

Pei Yuhang averted his gaze from Yin Wanqing's unintentional seduction. Since she had revealed her identity, there was no need for him to pretend any longer. It was time to lay his cards on the table.

"Holy Master, why did you summon my Dao Companion and me here? It can't be as simple as just meeting, can it?"

"You're right. This Saint Master does indeed have a few things to say to you."

As she spoke, Yin Wanqing glanced at the hand Pei Yuhang had placed on the hilt of his sword, and she let out a soft chuckle.

"Don't be nervous. I'm not going to drag you back to the Yin Yang Sacred Land to be a Cauldron Slave.

If I were to seize a Void Refining Realm Sword Immortal from the Xuanyuan Dao Sect to be a Cauldron Slave, wouldn't your Dao Sect's Taoist Lord come after me with everything he has?"

Pei Yuhang fell silent for a moment before finally relaxing his hand from his sword's hilt. However, his back remained ramrod straight, like a sharp sword drawn half an inch from its sheath, ready to react to any sudden change.

"What is it that you wish to say, Holy Master?" Pei Yuhang's voice was low, laced with a faint, almost imperceptible tension.

Yin Wanqing twirled a lock of hair around her fingertip, the smile in her shimmering eyes deepening.

"Shang Miaoyan." Her red lips parted as she slowly uttered the name. "My disappointing Saintess... she hasn't been able to forget you since you escaped the Sacred Land."

"So—"

Yin Wanqing tapped the floor with the tip of her foot and leaned forward slightly, looking down at Pei Yuhang from her elevated position. A faint fragrance drifted from the cleavage revealed by her open collar.

"Pei Yuhang, are you willing to leave Ye Liyuan and take her as your Dao Companion?"

BOOM—

The moment the words left her mouth, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck. Pei Yuhang's pupils constricted, and his breath caught in his throat.

He didn't hesitate, rejecting her offer decisively.

"That is something I could never do."

Yin Wanqing wasn't surprised by Pei Yuhang's answer. She tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear and lazily shifted her position, reclining on the couch. Her satin-like black hair spread out around her like a pool of insoluble ink.

"I know you don't like Miaoyan, but I have no choice in making this decision.

After all, the Saintess of the great Yin Yang Sacred Land is supposed to be an unparalleled beauty who enchants the world's geniuses and wraps heroes around her finger. For her to now publicly declare that she wants to be a good wife and loving mother to one man... this is a scandal for our Yin Yang Sacred Land..."

Yin Wanqing's red lips parted, but a trace of helplessness flashed in her eyes.

She looked like a mother vexed by her rebellious daughter, wondering why she hadn't learned to pick up rich guys in bars and was instead determined to walk the path of pure love, a road of no return.

"But, what can I do? Miaoyan is a Cultivator of the Yin Yang Dao, yet instead of indulging in the pleasures of the world, she insists on hanging herself on the single tree that is you."

"To this day, her Dao Heart is still incomplete. If not for a certain divine Red Lotus Spiritual Object that she used to forcefully disperse her Celestial Tribulation, Miaoyan wouldn't have even been able to pass the Trial of Heart Tribulation within her Void Celestial Tribulation.

But while she could cheat her way into the Void Refining Realm, how could she possibly get lucky with the Mahayana Stage's Celestial Tribulation? Only by being with you, by satisfying her obsession, can the loneliness and emptiness on her path of cultivation be filled."

A rare softness flickered in Yin Wanqing's eyes, but she closed them for a moment. When she opened them again, her usual authority had returned. She looked at Pei Yuhang and said in a solemn voice:

"Shang Miaoyan is the most talented Saintess our Sacred Land has seen in thousands of years. Her future should take her far beyond me. Besides, to me, she is no different from my own daughter, and I wish for her to go even further...

But because I betrothed you to her as a Cauldron Slave back then, I've caused her to walk into this dead end... Pei Yuhang, allowing you and Shang Miaoyan to meet was the biggest regret of my life."

"I never imagined you would infect her with such a bone-deep Emotional Poison."

"Now, the only way to resolve all these entanglements is for you two to be together."

"Pei Yuhang, I'm not asking you to marry into our Sect. I'm letting Miaoyan marry you... Do you know what that means?

In the future, when Miaoyan inherits the position of Saint Master of the Yin Yang Sacred Land, it means that you, alongside her, can rule over the entire, vast Yin Yang Sacred Land.

Even if you aren't moved by such monstrous power, just consider the resources an entire Sacred Land can provide. The Mahayana Stage, that near-immortal realm of the Immortals... it would be within your grasp!"

Yin Wanqing first laid out her grievances before extending an olive branch that perhaps no one in the entire Cultivation Realm could ignore.

The chance to possess the most beautiful woman in the world, the opportunity to rule a Sacred Land and become an overlord, or the prospect of becoming an immortal Mahayana Great Power and leaving one's name in the annals of history.

Any one of the temptations Yin Wanqing offered would be enough to drive the people of the world into a frenzy.

Perhaps anyone would think that receiving so much was a treatment reserved for a Chosen One. Surely no one would be foolish enough to refuse, right?

But Pei Yuhang, standing before Yin Wanqing, remained utterly silent. From his clenched fists, Yin Wanqing could feel an immense rage rising within the White-clothed Sword Immortal!

"Holy Master... you are far too arrogant!"

Pei Yuhang's voice was hoarse. He raised his head, every word seemingly forced from the depths of his chest. He glared at Yin Wanqing, his eyes bloodshot, like an enraged dragon that had just broken its chains.

For a split second, Yin Wanqing's knees felt weak under the sheer force of Pei Yuhang's presence.

"Just because Shang Miaoyan carries the hopes of your entire Sacred Land, I must fulfill her wishes? On what grounds!"

"Back then, it was tricksters from your Yin Yang Sacred Land who abducted me and sold me into that Demon Cave! Do you know how lowly my status was as a Cauldron Slave? Do you know how terrified I was, day and night?!"

"I was taken to the Yin Yang Sacred Land as a boy. By the time I returned to my mortal home, everything had changed. Everyone I knew, everyone I was close to, everyone I loved... they had all vanished without a trace."

"You tell me to fulfill her wishes, but who will fulfill mine!"

Pei Yuhang took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, his expression had returned to calm.

"Holy Master, you don't really believe Shang Miaoyan is in love with me, do you?"

"That selfish, greedy woman has only ever loved herself. If I hadn't escaped the Yin Yang Sacred Land back then, I'm afraid... I would have died at her hands long ago."

"..."

Yin Wanqing was silent for a moment, her red lips pursed slightly. She then slowly shook her head, the purple veil swaying gently with the movement.

"Pei Yuhang, I agree with what you said earlier... Your karmic entanglement with Miaoyan was indeed born from suffering.

But as for your last statement, this Saint Master must refute you."

Yin Wanqing rose to her feet and walked over to Pei Yuhang.

She leaned in close, her veil nearly brushing the tip of his nose. From behind the purple fabric, her beautiful eyes met his calm gaze.

"The one thing that has never changed is that Miaoyan truly loves you."

"Did you think that with your paltry status as a mere Cauldron Slave, you were able to leave the Yin Yang Sacred Land because—"

DONG—

DONG— DONG—!!

Three reverberating tolls of the Honglu Bell echoed between heaven and earth. Outside, the peaceful Sect banquet, filled with song and dance, was abruptly interrupted by the three mighty chimes.

Pei Yuhang's expression changed in an instant. He muttered in disbelief:

'That bell is the Dao Sect's highest alert signal... An enemy is invading the Sect?!'

The Yin Yang Saint Master, Yin Wanqing, also closed her eyes at this moment. Upon sensing a terrifying, domineering, and powerful aura rapidly approaching the Dao Sect's territory, her brows furrowed deeply.

Yin Wanqing turned back, glanced at Pei Yuhang, and said in a grave voice, "Now, this Saint Master must go deal with some trouble alongside your Dao Sect's Taoist Lord..."

Before her voice had faded, she waved her wide sleeve, and a rift tore open in the void. Just before leaving, she gave Pei Yuhang one last, deep look.

"We will finish our conversation when I return. I will find you and make things clear."

Pei Yuhang watched as the rift in the void slowly sealed itself shut, then let out a long breath.

'What on earth did that woman want to tell me?

Could it be that my escape from the Yin Yang Sacred Land back then involved something more than just Fan Xuan's help...?'

Yin Wanqing's words left Pei Yuhang deeply unsettled. But with the Dao Sect's Divine Bell having rung, signaling a crisis for the Sect, he couldn't afford to dwell on it.

More important than Yin Wanqing right now was ensuring the safety of Liyuan and Xiaoxiao—the people he cared about!