Chapter 682: You Dare to Stop Me?

Shi Xueyun couldn’t believe her eyes. The person she had been dreaming of day and night had actually appeared right before her. This was the Celestial Realm, the domain of the Celestial Plum Divine Clan! The guards outside were formidable, yet he had managed to break in. It was simply unbelievable.

“Am I… am I seeing things?” Shi Xueyun was stunned.

“You’re not seeing things, Aunt. I’ve come to get you.” Yi Tianyun walked in with a gentle smile, one filled with so much warmth it could melt any chill in the room.

“Tianyun!”

Shi Xueyun threw herself into Yi Tianyun’s arms without hesitation. Feeling his warm embrace and familiar heat, she finally knew this wasn’t a hallucination.

“I’m not seeing things… you’re really here. I thought I’d never see you again in this lifetime…” Shi Xueyun’s eyes reddened as she buried her face in Yi Tianyun’s chest.

If she had been the picture of strength before, she had now become a little girl—one who needed to be cherished and protected.

“I should be the one saying that. I thought I’d never be able to see you again… Aunt, you really ran off. You came up to the Celestial Realm without my permission. You certainly made me look for you!” Yi Tianyun admonished her, but his tone held not a hint of blame—only joy.

As Young Master Mei and the others watched this scene unfold, rage and jealousy surged within them. The moment Shi Xueyun threw herself into the other man’s arms, their fury reached its peak.

“So you’re the Tianyun that Xueyun is always talking about? How the hell did you get in here? You dare trespass in the Celestial Plum Palace? You’re courting death!” Before Young Master Mei had even finished speaking, he thrust a palm forward, intending to send Yi Tianyun flying.

Shi Xueyun’s heart leaped in alarm when she saw this. Just as she was about to block the palm strike for Yi Tianyun, he simply held her gently, turned his head, and stared coldly at the charging Young Master Mei. He spat out, “Is ‘Xueyun’ a name you’re worthy of saying? Scram!”

A cold light shot from his eyes, slamming heavily into Young Master Mei’s soul. Young Master Mei shuddered, thrown back several steps, and nearly collapsed.

“A… a powerful Soul Cultivator?” Young Master Mei felt as if his soul was about to be torn apart, on the verge of shattering. His pale face was the best proof of this.

A single word had struck his soul like a heavy blow, nearly knocking him unconscious.

A Soul Cultivator was a type of Cultivator specializing in soul attacks. They could attack from a distance, and their path was considered relatively difficult to master. Generally, Soul Cultivators were also excellent Divine Rune Masters.

‘If not for the fact that Shi Xueyun is unharmed, I’d have killed someone on the spot. Still, she’s benefited quite a bit from her time here.’ He saw that her cultivation had improved significantly, so he knew that staying here hadn’t been all bad for her.

‘For that reason, I’ll give the Celestial Plum Divine Clan some face. Otherwise, Young Master Mei would already be a corpse.’

“It seems you have some skill, no wonder you were able to sneak in. I don’t know how you managed to slip in, but she’s not someone you can just take away!” Young Master Mei did not back down, staring coldly at Yi Tianyun. “This is the Celestial Plum Divine Clan, and she is a member of the Celestial Plum Divine Clan. Even in death, she will be a ghost of the Celestial Plum Divine Clan! If it weren’t for us, Shi Xueyun would never have achieved what she has. We made her! We trained her!”

“We spent so much effort raising her, and you think you can just take her away? Let me tell you right now, it’s impossible! What’s more, even you won’t be walking out of this door. Trespassing in the Celestial Plum Palace is a death sentence!”

Young Master Mei was acting tough and didn’t seem to fear Yi Tianyun, but he was still a little intimidated. For instance, he no longer dared to call Shi Xueyun “Xueyun,” using her full name instead.

The soul assault had left him with a lingering fear.

Beside them, Elder Wan watched the two and sighed deeply. ‘What he said is true.’

“I do not know where this friend came from, but trespassing here is indeed a grave offense!” Elder Wan said with a sigh. “Xueyun, you should persuade him. Come out with us, and we can still be lenient. Otherwise, don’t blame your master for being ruthless.”

Young Master Mei sneered, his eyes filled with contempt. This was his territory; how could he not act tough?

“Elder Wan…”

Just then, Jiang Yi walked in from outside. He was about to make a report when he saw Yi Tianyun and froze. “Aren’t you one of the new handymen? What are you doing here?”

“A handyman?” Young Master Mei froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. “And here I was wondering what was going on! So you slipped in with the handymen. You’ve got some nerve! No wonder you got in. If someone hadn’t led you, you’d probably have wandered around in the Maze Array until you died!”

“So he slipped in with the newly recruited handymen. Quick-witted, but he used his cleverness in the wrong place. That adds to his crime!” Elder Wan said coldly. “Xueyun, for the sake of your good relationship with him, as your master, I’ll make a deal. As long as he is willing to leave and you are willing to stay, this matter will not be pursued!”

Just as Shi Xueyun was about to speak, Yi Tianyun gently tugged her hand and looked at them calmly. “Oh? I’d like to ask, about all these resources you claim to have spent… just how many resources are we talking about? Tell me. Exactly what did you give her? I’ll pay you back double!”

“Pay us back double? Do you think you can afford it?” Young Master Mei sneered, looking him up and down with a disdainful expression.

“My offer to pay you back double is already giving you face. It’s because you haven’t mistreated my aunt. If you had harmed even a single hair on her head, your so-called Celestial Plum Divine Clan would have already been wiped from this world,” Yi Tianyun said, his gaze turning icy.

Shi Xueyun’s beautiful eyes widened slightly, and her hand tightened its grip on Yi Tianyun’s. Then, a sweet smile bloomed on her face, looking absolutely radiant.

“Such arrogance! No wonder you were never willing to accept Yiming’s pursuit. So it’s because you’ve fallen for this ignorant brat who doesn’t know his place! No one is leaving today. I’ll stand right here and see just how much courage you have to try and take someone from right under my nose!”

Just then, a beautiful woman walked in from outside. She bore a slight resemblance to Young Master Mei; in fact, she was Mei Yiming’s mother, the Great Elder of the Celestial Plum Divine Clan!

“Mother!”

“Great Elder!”

Mei Yiming was overjoyed to see his mother arrive, his confidence soaring. As the Great Elder, her cultivation was at the eighth or ninth layer of the Spirit King Stage, and her power was astounding.

When Shi Xueyun saw the Great Elder enter, her heart tightened, and her beautiful eyes filled with worry. This was the Great Elder, an incredibly powerful expert at the Spirit King Stage. She feared for Yi Tianyun’s safety.

Yi Tianyun looked at her coldly, not taking her seriously in the slightest. Instead, he said calmly, “I dare you to try and stop me.”