Chapter 217 - 216: Cultivation World: Abandoning One’s Wife and Child Is Unacceptable

"Don’t call me Master."

Li Jingxuan’s expression was utterly cold; he looked at his disciple as if she were a stranger.

Chu Liangyu’s lip twitched imperceptibly. ’Is he overreacting just a little?’

Chu Liangyu looked him up and down for a moment before dropping a bombshell. "Then... should I call you Husband?"

Li Jingxuan’s face instantly darkened. The next moment, his longsword was unsheathed and aimed directly between Chu Liangyu’s brows. "Insolent disciple!"

From his reaction, Chu Liangyu could tell he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to strike.

So, she simply pushed the longsword aside and said, "Master, I think we should sit down and talk."

"I know you don’t want to speak with me, but you do want the Jade Spirit Grass, don’t you?"

"Just for a moment. We’ll only talk for a moment, and then I’ll give you the Jade Spirit Grass."

Li Jingxuan’s brow furrowed so deeply it looked like he could crush a fly between them.

The two remained at a stalemate for a long time before he finally spoke. "What do you want to say?"

Seeing that he was willing to listen, Chu Liangyu breathed a sigh of relief. Wasting no time, she got straight to the point. "I wasn’t the one who gave you the love poison, nor did I try to seduce you. You’re the one who pounced on me."

"And another thing—don’t you think the Sect Leader’s arrival was a little too convenient?"

But Li Jingxuan only sneered. "The sect has nothing to gain from losing a High Tier Cultivator. If you didn’t administer the poison, then who did?"

His tone made it clear he didn’t believe a word she said.

Chu Liangyu ignored his question, asking instead, "Master, you’re a smart man. There are far too many suspicious things about this incident. I refuse to believe you haven’t noticed them."

"Don’t you want to find out who’s behind all this and what their goal is?"

But Li Jingxuan didn’t care about the truth. To him, what was done was done, regardless of what the real story was.

They had consummated their relationship. That was an unchangeable fact.

Therefore, the truth was of no importance to him.

"What difference does it make whether I know or not? Is that all you wanted to say?"

Chu Liangyu fell silent. She had thought that if she could prove his disciple hadn’t betrayed him, he would feel some relief, and his Heart Demon would naturally dissipate.

But from Li Jingxuan’s attitude, it was clear he didn’t care who had plotted against him.

’If that’s the case, this will be much more difficult.’

’This Heart Demon of Li Jingxuan’s... does it stem from guilt over sleeping with his disciple, or is there some unspeakable secret buried deep in his heart?’

’To be more direct, perhaps he’d developed inappropriate feelings for his own disciple.’

’Was I brought here to help Li Jingxuan understand his own heart?’

Regardless of which possibility was true, if she wanted to test her theory, Chu Liangyu had to find a way to stay by his side.

"If you want the Jade Spirit Grass, Master, you just have to agree to one last condition: let me stay by your side."

Without giving her so much as a glance, Li Jingxuan rose from the table and pushed the door open to leave.

Seeing this, Chu Liangyu inwardly cursed. ’This is bad.’

The gap in their cultivation levels was too vast; there was no way she could stop Li Jingxuan if he was determined to leave. What’s more, she hadn’t finished paying with her Spirit Stones, so the Treasure Pavilion wouldn’t let her go either.

’Once he walks out that door, I might never get another chance to speak with him like this again.’

Closing her eyes, Chu Liangyu took a deep breath and shouted, "Master, I’m pregnant! It’s yours!"

Just as she’d hoped, Li Jingxuan stopped in his tracks, freezing on the spot as if petrified.

A few beads of nervous sweat trickled down Chu Liangyu’s forehead. She knew words alone wouldn’t suffice; her lie would be exposed soon enough.

So, she silently called out to the Heavenly Dao in her mind. ’Quick, help me fake a pregnancy! Make it look like five months, and add an Eye-blocking Technique for good measure.’

The Heavenly Dao itself seemed stunned by her audacity. After a long pause, it finally managed a reply: "Understood."

Li Jingxuan had left the sect nearly six months ago, so Chu Liangyu’s timing wasn’t far off.

Seeing that he seemed unable to face reality, hesitating to come and verify it himself, Chu Liangyu took the initiative and walked over to him.

Chu Liangyu stopped directly in front of him. With a flick of her wrist, she pretended to dispel the Eye-blocking Technique. In the next instant, her five-month-pregnant belly became visible.

"You were the one who forced yourself on me that day, but you can’t remember a thing. Instead, you put all the blame on my shoulders."

There wasn’t a trace of accusation in Chu Liangyu’s voice, only profound sadness and disappointment.

"And now, you’re still trying to run away. I am utterly disappointed in you."

"It was because of my feelings for you that I had a moment of weakness and decided to keep this child. But now, it seems there’s no longer any reason to."

As the words fell, Spiritual Power gathered in Chu Liangyu’s palm, and she struck at her own belly without hesitation.

But in the next instant, her hand was caught by another—a large, well-defined hand.

"It’s five months along. If the child dies, you won’t survive either."

Chu Liangyu struggled to break free of his grip, but no matter how hard she tried, that large hand held her fast.

"I know you see what happened between us as a disgrace, Master. Why bother caring whether the child and I live or die?"

She was growing frantic. Unable to break free, she began reversing the flow of Spiritual Power within her body, intending to self-detonate.

"You—!"

Li Jingxuan’s pupils constricted. A trace of panic finally broke through his cold, indifferent facade; he clearly hadn’t expected her to be so drastic.

His body moved faster than his mind. Forming his hand into a blade, he struck her, knocking her unconscious.

With that, the Spiritual Power in Chu Liangyu’s body, no longer under her control, stabilized and returned to its normal flow.

However, the backlash from the chaotic Spiritual Power had taken its toll. She looked unwell, and her face had grown visibly pale.

"Chang Qing."

"What is your command, Your Eminence?"

Li Jingxuan gazed at the woman in his arms for a long moment before speaking. "Back to the Demon Hall."

"Yes."

Coincidentally, the Female Cultivator finished tallying the Spirit Stones at that exact moment and came looking for Chu Liangyu.

She frowned upon seeing her being carried by a man, apparently unconscious.

’This isn’t a robbery and murder, is it?’ she wondered, but then dismissed the thought. ’No, that can’t be right. The pavilion has rules against fighting, and against poisoning or harming anyone involved with the auction.’

’Anyone caught would be immediately expelled from the Treasure Pavilion and banned from ever entering again.’

’Besides, there’s a Mahayana cultivator overseeing the premises. They surely would have given a warning if they detected any abnormalities.’

"Excuse me, Daoist, do you require my assistance in finding a Medical Cultivator?"

"Unnecessary."

Li Jingxuan didn’t even look at her, tossing out a single word in reply before leaving with the woman in his arms.

Chang Qing followed behind them, his face frozen in the expression of someone who had just witnessed the most earth-shattering drama imaginable.

The instant they stepped out of the Treasure Pavilion, Li Jingxuan felt gazes from all around locking onto Chu Liangyu.

They were after the Jade Spirit Grass she possessed, no doubt.

Without a change in his expression, Li Jingxuan released his spiritual pressure, the kind befitting the Divinity Transformation Stage. Lower-level cultivators instantly coughed up blood and passed out.

No one dared to give chase, not even after the three of them were long gone.

Once they were clear of the town, Chang Qing immediately released a Flying Boat. It expanded in the wind, and in the next instant, a vessel the size of a two-story building appeared before their eyes.