Moon Embracer Peak was one of the offshoots of the Zephyr Mountains. Its summit was not particrly impressive and wasn''t even considered part of the main base of the Basking Moon Sect. It was only because of all of the cultivators who hade to visit with Tang Jie''s return that it had been developed to ept guests. Given that the feast was nned tost for ten-some days, with various activities like singing, dancing, and martial contests, such arrangements had to be made.
The Wandering Pce had been ced here.
As a medium sect, the Wandering Pce was unremarkable among the many attending sects, which was inevitable given the sheer number of sects in the Rosecloud Domain. In the era of the six sects, a medium sect would have been rather high up in Sageheart. The only thing separating the Wandering Pce from Basking Moon would have been a fewrge sects and ten-some upper-medium sects.
But after Yun Tian became a True Immortal, the structure shifted from six sects equally holding power to one overlord and three major sects. The Basking Moon Sect was the overlord sect while the Seven Absolutions Sect, Horizon Ocean Pavilion, and the Thousand Passions Sect were the three major sects. Beneath them were several dozenrge sects and several hundred upper-medium sects.
All of these sects hade without exception, so the Wandering Pce was cast into the ranks of obscurity, its status only enough to get it a spot on the unremarkable Moon Embracer Peak. In such circumstances, the people of the Wandering Pce naturally had no chance of seeing Tang Jie.
<em>And what if I met him? Perhaps he''spletely forgotten about me?</em> Shen Qingdan thought to herself.
Their destiny had ultimately been simply passersby in life. Compared to the long lives of cultivators, that incidental encounter was but a mere instant. Was it strange if he couldn''t remember her?
Even so, she still felt somewhat sad and lonely, and also a little bitter. All this left Shen Qingdan in a rather sour mood.
Standing at the summit of Moon Embracer Peak, she gazed at the stars, specting as to which was Tang Jie.But regardless of which one it was, Xu Miaoran would probably always be at his side, no?
Shen Qingdan bitterly thought to herself. Even her fantasies were starting to get infected by heartache.
In the middle of her sorrow, a voice rang out behind her. "Pce Lord, Gate Master Tuoba has arrived."
The one who spoke was an old woman, Elder Miao of the Wandering Pce.
Shen Qingdan grimaced. "I''m not seeing him!"
Before Elder Miao could reply, a man spoke. "Pce Lord Shen, there''s no need to be so cold."
A green-robed man walked out, and while he didn''t walk quickly, a green lotus grew beneath his feet with each step, allowing him to keep his feet unsullied. And as the lotuses bloomed, they radiated the power of a Violet Pce cultivator!
A few momentster, he had arrived at Shen Qingdan''s side and bowed to her. "Tuoba Hong pays respects to Pce Lord Shen. Have you been well since ourst meeting?"
Shen Qingdan coldly replied, "I was doing rather well, but then I met you."
Tuoba Hong hadn''t expected Shen Qingdan to be so direct. After a momentary daze, he pped his hands and said, "Pce Lord Shen is as feisty as ever, but that''s why I like you—sincere, pure, never putting on airs. A husband can''t ask for more from his wife, haha!"
Shen Qingdan''s eyes spat out mes. "Tuoba Hong, don''t be so shameless. Who''s your wife?"
Tuoba Hong smiled. "Right now you''re not, but you will be in the future. The Wandering Pce owes the Green Bamboo Gate ten thousand spirit jades, and this debt will be repaid. If the Wandering Pce can''t pay, my Green Bamboo Gate won''t go too far. If Pce Lord is willing to marry me, this debt can be considered the betrothal gift from my gate. Not only that, my Green Bamboo Gate is willing to offer ten thousand more."
Shen Qingdan angrily red. "Tuoba Hong, shut your mouth! If not for your breaking the agreement, my mother wouldn''t have died! And if my mother had lived, my Wandering Pce would have never been pushed so far by the Fire Lotus Gate and Three Blossoms Church that we couldn''t pay! And you still have the face to bring up this matter?"
Tuoba Hong sighed. "The breaking of the agreement was my fault. But I already exined that the Fire Lotus Gate and Three Blossoms Church had invited another expert to deal with me, making me unable to join the battle." R
Shen Qingdan snorted. "You couldn''t join the battle, so what about all the elders and hall masters of your Green Bamboo Gate?"
Tuoba Hong replied, "They were all intercepted."
"You think I would believe your obvious lies?" Shen Qingdan shrieked.
Tuoba Hong sighed again and spread out his arms. "Pce Lord, whether you believe it or not, such is reality. Pce Lord, there''s no need to be so stubborn about this. So long as you are willing to marry me, I swear that I will treat you well. The heavens can serve as witness to my sincerity!"
Shen Qingdan gazed up at the heavens and said nothing.
Tuoba Hong gradually grew angry. "Pce Lord Shen, are you still obsessed over that august one?"
"What did you say?" Shen Qingdan angrily turned to re at Tuoba Hong.
Tuoba Hong casually replied, "It''s been several centuries, but has that august one ever gone to your Wandering Pce? Look at you. On this day when all the cultivators havee to pay their respects, the Wandering Pce among them, has that august one spoken of visiting you? No! In truth, he can''t even remember you."
"Is that why you''vee to find me?" Shen Qingdan coldly looked at Tuoba Hong. "You want to see for yourself my Wandering Pce being given the cold treatment, after which you can have your way with me?"
Tuoba Hong hastily replied, "Pce Lord, mind your words. This Tuoba Hong would never try to do anything against your will. It''s just that the Wandering Pce has owed ten thousand spirit jades to my Wandering Pce for more than a hundred years, so is it not reasonable for this Tuoba Hong to press the matter of repayment? Repaying debts owed is only natural, and everyone would agree that the right is on my side. Even if that august one came, he would not be able to punish me over this. While the world of cultivators has always revered the strong, it can''t bepletely unreasonable, can it?"
"It truly is reasonable," a voice resounded.
Tuoba Hong instantly paled, and just when he was about to bark at this intruder, he saw a look of glee on Shen Qingdan''s face. Realizing who it was, he had an ill foreboding. This matter had developed in the worst possible way!
But he reacted quickly, dropping to his knees and shouting, "Tuoba Hong pays respects to the Immortal Sovereign!"
The ethereal figure of Tang Jie appeared in the air.
Ignoring the prostrating Tuoba Hong, he gazed at Shen Qingdan.
"Long time no see," he said.
"Long time no see," Shen Qingdan replied, tears in her eyes.
He had finallye.
She suppressed her agitated emotions and did her best to calm herself, but her trembling hands still exposed her nervousness.
"Over the years, I have been so busy with my cultivation that I had no idea of your situation. This is my mistake. But since you were in trouble, why did you not tell the Basking Moon Sect?" Tang Jie asked.
Shen Qingdan froze, but then she silently shook her head.
<em>''Tell the Basking Moon Sect''?</em>
<em>How?</em>
It wasn''t that she had never requested help from the Basking Moon Sect. It was just that she only knew Tang Jie and not any of his friends. As a result, her requests weren''t prioritized.
As for how she and Tang Jie had developed a friendship and fought alongside each other in Endsea, nobody actually knew about such a thing.
All they knew of their rtionship was that contest in the Celestial Mountains and that hundred-year oath.
But after one hundred years, Tang Jie hadn''t married Shen Qingdan, and the matter hade to an end. From this, it became clear that the two sects weren''t on as good terms as imagined. After another one hundred years, everyone came to know of the marriage between Tang Jie and Xu Miaoran, after which everyone ceased to pay attention to the Wandering Pce.
How they had fought alongside each other was a personal matter between them that nobody knew about, and they couldn''t care about what they didn''t even know.
Seeing the helpless look on Shen Qingdan''s face, Tang Jie realized something and nodded. "It was my mistake again. I thought that once the Wandering Pce entered Sageheart, it would receive some consideration."
Shen Qingdan fell silent.
"Consideration"?
Of course it had.
The Basking Moon Sect had been very generous toward the Wandering Pce at the start.
But it couldn''t take care of the Wandering Pce forever. Eventually, it had to rely on itself.
She looked at Tang Jie and smiled. "I''m happy enough to see youe visiting me."
Tang Jie shook his head. "But I cannot forgive myself so easily. Tell me who has made you suffer or bullied you, and I will settle things for you. Was it this Green Bamboo Gate Master?"
He looked at Tuoba Hong.
Tuoba Hong yelped in rm. "Immortal Sovereign, don''t misunderstand! My Green Bamboo Gate has never bullied Pce Lord Shen. We have always been very considerate and generous to the Wandering Pce. When the Wandering Pce was trying to fight off the Fire Lotus Gate and Three Blossoms Church, it was my Green Bamboo Gate that intervened to help fend them off. Later on, when the previous pce lord needed resources to cultivate the Wandering Hand Divine Connection, it was my Green Bamboo Gate that loaned her the resources. This debt has been outstanding for more than a hundred years! My Green Bamboo Gate has never once pressed for repayment, and I have been as righteous as can be! I admit that I was impolite in my attempts to persuade Pce Lord Shen to marry me, but I have never bullied her! Please, Immortal Sovereign, I beseech you!"
Tang Jie turned to Shen Qingdan. "Is that the case?"
Shen Qingdan lightly nodded, indicating that Tuoba Hong had not told a lie.
Tang Jie frowned. "I know of the Fire Lotus Gate and Three Blossoms Church. Both have been sects of Sageheart for a thousand years. How did youe into conflict with them? And why did the Basking Moon Sect not intervene?"
Shen Qingdan began to exin.
It turned out that this was connected to the Wandering Pce''s migration into Sageheart.
Cultivation required resources, andnd was the most direct manifestation of resources. Withnd, one had spirit fields, people, and spiritual energy.
Thus, even though cultivators could fly high in the sky, they ultimately couldn''t stay away from the ground and their constant need for resources.
When the Basking Moon Sect recruited the Wandering Pce, it naturally needed to allotnd to it.
But at the time, all the worthwhilend in Sageheart had already been distributed. Thends richest in spiritual energy belonged to the Basking Moon Sect, while the remainder were divided among the smaller sects. As the Wandering Pce was a neer, it had nond to speak of, so the Basking Moon Sect needed to give itnd. As they couldn''t creatend out of nothing and were unwilling to give the Wandering Pce their ownnd, they could only take from the existing sects.
The Wandering Pce''s territory had been taken from two medium-sized sects, the Fire Lotus Gate and the Three Blossoms Church.
Thus, the seeds of hatred were sowed between the three sects.
For those two sects, the Wandering Pce had stolen theirnd, but for the Wandering Pce, this was the price that had to be paid for them to join Sageheart. If those two sects had a problem, they should go to the Basking Moon Sect rather than them.
s, the two sects didn''t care how innocent the Wandering Pce thought it was.
Fortunately, the Basking Moon Sect still protected the Wandering Pce at the time, so the two sects could only swallow their hatred.
But this situation couldn''tst forever.
Unfortunately, it began to change because of Tang Jie.