Chapter 126: The Return of Saintess Yaoguang, the Profound Sect’s Grand Plan

Chapter 126: Chapter 126: The Return of Saintess Yaoguang, the Profound Sect’s Grand Plan

He hadn’t slept well last night.

So Pei Shaoqing didn’t get out of bed until the sun was high in the sky.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Xie Qingwu. Dressed in an elegant, dignified white dress, she was sitting by the window, staring blankly outside, lost in thought. Under the warm autumn sun, her skin glowed like white jade.

"What are you thinking about?" Pei Shaoqing asked, sitting up.

Xie Qingwu snapped out of her daze. Turning to look at him, she said, "I was thinking about the Shaking Light Saintess. She should have run out of the antidote by now. I wonder why she hasn’t returned."

"Worried some expert in the Profound Yellow Sect has neutralized your poison?" Pei Shaoqing asked as he got out of bed and stretched.

Xie Qingwu nodded slowly. "Yes. While I concocted the poison myself, the Profound Yellow Sect is filled with masters and prodigies. I can’t guarantee one of them couldn’t have found a cure."

She was confident in the elixirs she refined, but not arrogant. After all, she was still just a novice in the field.

JINGLE JINGLE~ JINGLE JINGLE~

Just then, a familiar ringing of bells sounded.

Pei Shaoqing and Xie Qingwu immediately exchanged a look.

"Master, Mistress, Yao Nu requests an audience."

The Shaking Light Saintess’s clear, cold voice came from outside the door.

"Come in," Pei Shaoqing said, his voice low.

The door swung open. Wrapped up tightly as always, the Shaking Light Saintess entered barefoot. With a light flick of her long sleeve, the door shut behind her.

"Your servant greets you, Master, Mistress."

The Shaking Light Saintess knelt with the utmost reverence.

"Just a moment ago, your Mistress was worried that some expert from the Profound Sect had cured the poison in your body." Pei Shaoqing chuckled. Barefoot, with his hair unbound and wearing only his undergarments, he stepped forward and used his foot to lift the Shaking Light Saintess’s chin.

A bashful blush appeared on the Shaking Light Saintess’s sacred, inviolable, ascetic face, and a strange light flickered in her beautiful eyes. "This servant would never entertain such a disloyal thought."

’She’d been back at the Holy Palace for so long, of course the thought had crossed her mind. But in the end, she didn’t act on it. It seemed she’d grown to like this feeling of being under someone’s control.’

"The Profound Sect’s Sect Leader is quite generous with you. He treats you like his own daughter," Pei Shaoqing remarked, lowering his foot as he noticed the new Storage Ring on her hand.

Kneeling perfectly straight, the Shaking Light Saintess tilted her head up and smiled. "But this servant will forever be Master’s dog."

"Why did you take so long to return?" Xie Qingwu asked.

The Shaking Light Saintess placed her hands on the floor and crawled over to Xie Qingwu’s side, answering respectfully, "To answer Mistress, it’s because my Master was in seclusion. This servant was waiting for him to emerge."

"What did you bring back? Hurry up and show me," Xie Qingwu said, patting her head.

"Yes, Mistress." The Shaking Light Saintess answered obediently and took out two Divine Skill Secret Manuals.

"Master, this Jinghong Swordsmanship and Fiery Sun Divine Palm are both high-level Martial Arts from my Profound Sect. They are only bestowed upon those at the rank of Supreme Squad Leader or higher."

Next, she took out a great bow, black as ink and carved with intricate patterns, along with a dozen arrows that glinted with a cold light. "This is the Fallen Moon Bow. The body is forged from a single piece of Celestial Profound Iron, and the string is the sinew of a half-transformed Cow Demon. A Martial Artist must be at least in the Wandering Dragon Realm to even begin to draw it, while only a Grandmaster at the Transformation Realm can draw and fire it with ease."

"Oh?" Intrigued, Pei Shaoqing took the Fallen Moon Bow. It was incredibly heavy. He tentatively tried to draw the string but couldn’t even pull it halfway.

He stored it in his Storage Ring. "Anything else?"

"Yes, Master. This is our Holy Sect’s Spiritual Medicine, the Profound Jade Pill," the Shaking Light Saintess said, producing a Jade Bottle. "As long as a person is still breathing, this pill can save their life."

Pei Shaoqing took the Jade Bottle and opened it. A rich, refreshing fragrance wafted out. Inside was a single, emerald-green pill that emitted a faint yellow glow. "A fine treasure."

This Profound Jade Pill was as good as a second life.

"Master, this is a Memory Stone." The Shaking Light Saintess took out an amber-like piece of jade and presented it to Pei Shaoqing with both hands. "You can use your will to store the sights and sounds within a certain area inside it. It was a common, naturally occurring stone before the Spiritual Qi dried up, but in this day and age, it’s an extraordinary treasure."

Pei Shaoqing’s eyes lit up. ’Isn’t this thing basically a video camera? Excellent, excellent!’

’What man doesn’t dream of being a director?’

"However, Master must be aware that once the Spiritual Qi within the Memory Stone is depleted, it will become a useless rock if it cannot be replenished," the Shaking Light Saintess added as a reminder.

It was as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on Pei Shaoqing.

’So this thing has a battery!’

’And the power’s been out in this world for ages.’

’Guess I can’t just use it to record my heroic exploits in bed. I’ll have to save it for crucial moments.’

The Shaking Light Saintess sensed that her Master was particularly fond of the Memory Stone, so she added, "If Master can find Spirit Stones, you can use the Spiritual Qi inside them to recharge the Memory Stone. However, Spirit Stones are the only remaining source of Spiritual Qi since it dried up, so they are now exceedingly rare and precious. Even this servant doesn’t possess a single fragment."

Over a thousand years ago, after the Spiritual Qi vanished, the last generation of Cultivators could only rely on Spirit Stones to prolong their existence. The consumption and conflict over Spirit Stones throughout Jiuzhou were severe.

As the Cultivators passed away one by one, news of them gradually vanished from the world. Immortals and ghosts became the stuff of legend, Martial Arts began to flourish, and not even one in a hundred Spirit Stones remained. Now, they are even scarcer.

"If even you don’t have any, where am I supposed to find Spirit Stones?" Pei Shaoqing shook his head and put the Memory Stone in his Storage Ring. "I’ll have to use this thing sparingly."

’Besides, if I actually found something as precious as a Spirit Stone, why the hell would I use it to charge a Memory Stone? That would be a goddamn reckless waste of a priceless treasure!’

He looked at the Shaking Light Saintess. "Is there more?"

"That’s all." Shaking Light shook her head, looking at him with pleading eyes. "Master, this was the best I could bring out. I have no access to things like Spirit Pills or Magical Treasures. As for worldly items like gold and jewels, I assumed you wouldn’t be interested, so I didn’t take any."

Pei Shaoqing was speechless.

’You fool! Your master is a very worldly person!’

"Very good. What reward does Yao Nu desire?" he asked, leaning down to gently stroke the Shaking Light Saintess’s cheek.

’Smooth, soft, supple.’

Lying on the floor with her rear raised, the Shaking Light Saintess opened her luscious red lips, took his long fingers into her mouth, and began to suck gently. "This slave dares not hope for a reward," she said timidly. "It is enough that Master does not beat this slave."

Though her words were meek, her eyes were filled with excitement. Her raised, full posterior swayed gently, a clear sign that she was anticipating a whipping.

SLAP! Pei Shaoqing pulled his fingers from her mouth, slapped her across the face, and cursed, "Slut."

"Master is right. This servant is a shameless slut. Please, Master, punish me." The Shaking Light Saintess’s face flushed crimson. She bit her lip, her eyes misting over as her delicate body trembled slightly.

Xie Qingwu suddenly said, "Husband, why don’t you reward her with that outfit I’ve never worn?"

Pei Shaoqing was taken aback for a moment, then he smiled.

He turned and retrieved a pair of white, crotchless Ice Silk stockings. Crucially, they had a dog’s tail attached to the back.

"A reward for you," he said, casually tossing them to the Shaking Light Saintess.

The Shaking Light Saintess was worldly and not surprised by Ice Silk itself. However, she had never seen a pair that was crotchless and came with a tail. She felt both shame and excitement.

"This servant thanks Master. Thank you, Mistress."

She held the stockings high with both hands, thanking them profusely.

"Hurry and put them on. I want to see," Xie Qingwu said eagerly, her beautiful eyes filled with excitement.

In front of the couple, the Shaking Light Saintess, her face flushed, stripped off her clothes layer by layer, revealing a voluptuous and graceful figure. After putting on the white silk, she voluntarily prostrated herself on the floor, gently shaking her hips and wagging the tail.

Pei Shaoqing then said, "Put your clothes back on."

The Shaking Light Saintess put her clothes back on, piece by piece. Although she looked no different from the outside, her fair, delicate bare feet were now sheathed in thin white silk, and a tail now peeked out from beneath the hem of her skirt.

Plus, the open design offered a pleasant, cooling breeze.

"From now on, Yao Nu, you will dress like this. I’ll have someone prepare several more pairs for you in different styles and colors," Xie Qingwu said, her voice brimming with laughter.

The Shaking Light Saintess’s face was as red as a sunset. "This slave obeys."

"Do you like this reward?" Pei Shaoqing asked.

The Shaking Light Saintess answered shyly, "I like it."

"Good." Pei Shaoqing smiled and sat down in a chair. "Are you returning to the Holy Palace now?"

The Shaking Light Saintess crawled to his side and rested her head on his lap like an obedient puppy. "This slave is going to kill a Sub-Squad Leader who publicly betrayed the Holy Sect and defected to the Court," she whispered. "Of course, if Master forbids it, then this slave will not go."

Although the Profound Yellow Sect had intentionally kept a low profile for the past two years, minimizing overt conflict with the Court, they had to respond to such a public betrayal with overwhelming force.

Pei Shaoqing stroked her flawless cheek as if petting a dog. "As long as it doesn’t affect my interests," he said, shaking his head, "you can proceed as you normally would."

"Yes, Master," the Shaking Light Saintess replied.

Pei Shaoqing suddenly thought of County Magistrate Wang. "Why did your Profound Yellow Sect send County Magistrate Wang to Tongzhou?"

Ostensibly, County Magistrate Wang had been demoted after offending someone in the Capital City, but Pei Shaoqing knew it was all a deliberate ploy by the Profound Sect. ’What does the Profound Sect have planned for Tongzhou?’

The Shaking Light Saintess, feeling the dog tail occasionally brush against things and cause an itch, shifted her perky bottom to adjust her position before answering Pei Shaoqing’s question.

"Master, it’s because the Holy Sect has adjusted its grand strategy in the last two years. We no longer aim to overthrow the Court through direct military force. Instead, the plan is to take control of numerous county seats by installing our own people as Court officials."

Pei Shaoqing sucked in a sharp breath.

County Magistrate Wang was working hard to be an incorruptible official in Tongzhou, earning the deep support of the local populace. If the Profound Yellow Sect could truly use this method to seize control of a large number of the Zhou Court’s foundational counties, the moment they made their move, the world would be torn asunder.

What was even more terrifying was that the Profound Yellow Sect had spent a thousand years rebelling, generation after generation. They had all the time and patience in the world for this plan and were in no rush to see immediate results.

"What are the results so far?" Pei Shaoqing asked.

The Shaking Light Saintess frowned, slowly shaking her head. "Not good," she said softly. "Many Holy Sect disciples, after becoming officials and gaining power, gradually forget their original mission. They become even more corrupt and greedy than the Zhou Court officials."

"They even have the audacity to justify it, claiming that by oppressing the people while wearing the ’skin’ of a Great Zhou official, any hatred from the populace will be directed at the Great Zhou Court, which benefits the Holy Sect. It’s difficult for the Holy Sect to deal with these people. We’ve executed several, but to the outside world, it just looks like the Holy Sect is assassinating more Great Zhou officials."

’Alright.’ Hearing this, Pei Shaoqing felt relieved.

’The basic caliber of these Profound Yellow Sect bottom-feeders is worse than a grade-school dropout’s. There’s no way they have the discipline to pull something like this off. Idealists like Old Wang are the exception; most of them are just opportunists.’

’This plan was probably cooked up on a whim by some high-level Profound Sect leader completely out of touch with reality. The fact that such a ridiculous plan was even approved just goes to show the caliber of idiots in the Sect’s leadership.’

’For now, it seems the ship of Great Zhou is still steady.’

’And he could continue to be a loyal subject of Great Zhou!’