The top ten disciples of the Monster Fighting Competition were all asleep now. Each lay securely in their bed, wrapped up in many layers of spiritual energy. Each was immersed in their dream, fighting inner demons or seeking their strongest desires.
Gong Liyun clapped her hands happily, "There, all done. Time to go."
She ushered their immortal masters out of the dream room and back onto the balcony.
"You all can return to the ceremony now. I think the Golden Feather Hunt will be quite exciting. It's a pity I will have to miss it." She said.
She had to remain with the dream array and monitor it constantly. She couldn't sleep and could not leave the array for even a few minutes. As a Spirit King, it was an easy but tedious and boring task. There was nobody else who could do the job, it was her responsibility.
"Off you go now. Don't worry about your precious disciples. Go!" She waved them off and went back into the tower.
Some of the immortal masters seemed reluctant but the door was tightly shut. It wasn't going to open again for at least a month. They didn't want to be parted from their prized disciples but it was an opportunity that could not be passed up.
"Let's not keep the others waiting, come!" Huang Wuji said and flew off.
The rest follow suit one by one, with Chen Wentian among them. He silently wished for Wu Qianyu and Long Yifei to have a productive time. There was no need to worry about mishaps since his souls were there, silently observing everything. He turned his focus onto the scavenger hunt which would no doubt be full of intrigue.
After all the immortals all left, Gong Liyun did not reenter the dream room but went into a side room that was directly adjacent. Inside was a small, cozy space with two chairs and a table in between that was laden with snacks and several porcelain bottles of wine.
To one side was a large piece of transparent glass that showed the dream room in its entirety. This glass was not visible from the other side and was disguised to look like the wall. It allowed people in the viewing room to secretly observe the disciples while they slept.
Gong Liyun took the one empty seat and glanced at the person who was occupying the other one.
"Abbotess Liang, welcome to the Eastern Sanmu Metropolis." She said, "Before you are the five most talented women of this generation in the whole subcontinent. I would even dare to say they are the most incredible batch of women we have had in a hundred years!"
The woman in the other seat turned and gave a smile that wasn't a smile. Despite this, it was enough to make Gong Liyun blush.
The abbotess was stunningly beautiful, enough to shock Chen Wentian if he was here. She had a flawless face that was neither old nor young, it was impossible to tell her age. She wore a dull red full-length gown that was very conservative. It was opposite to Gong Liyun who showed plenty of skin. Despite this, Gong Liyun was easily outclassed and seemed rather tacky in comparison.
"They are pretty nice." Abbotess Liang replied cryptically.
"… Perhaps abbotess needs a little more time to examine them?"
Gong Liyun's tone was careful and courteous. It was a stark contrast to how she usually spoke, especially in front of men. It was like she was no longer a domineering female Spirit King and simply an ordinary woman. She was, of course, anything but ordinary but this was also an indication of how much respect she had for this esteemed guest.
"Hehe, Xiao Yun, don't be like that. I did say they are pretty nice." Abbotess Liang waved in front of her, towards the transparent glass that separated them from the dream room. "This one, He Zhi, is already forty-one. Although her cultivation is good, she's too old. She's far beyond the acceptable age. If she was ten years younger…"
She pointed to another sleeping figure.
"This girl, Qu Rong, is even worse. Her body has been tainted by practicing low-quality beast arts. Such a thing should never have been allowed. This Beast God Sanctum truly brings shame to the name of beast cultivators. They should travel north and then they will truly open their eyes!"
Gong Liyun sighed and poured her guest some more tea, "I keep trying to tell them but they are a bunch of stubborn old men. But they are nearing the end of the lives so we don't have to worry about them for much longer. They've already lost one and the other two will probably soon follow. Forget about her, what about Wu Qianyu, our champion?"
"Mmm, strong, very strong. She would have been a good candidate under normal conditions, only…"
"Why… what's wrong with her?" Gong Liyun asked.
"She's hard to describe. If I had to say, it's her aura." Abbetess Liang rubbed her chin, "Her aura is extremely strange, it contains a Dao I've never seen or experienced before. There are many strands of familiar things along with many fearsome and unknowable aspects intertwined. They are all very powerful but it's chaotic…"
She shook her head, "It makes no sense to me, there is too much uncertainty."
Gong Liyun nodded, "Your words make sense. I always thought she was a bit weird. That little dragon certainly has a few weird ones. How about Qian Lei? I had to beg and plead with the Sapphire Empress to borrow one of her daughters. How is she?"
"The Sapphire Empress? Is that what she's calling herself these days? Unruly!" Abbotess Liang seemed displeased as if she had eaten something bitter. "This Qian Lei is indeed that slut's daughter. She has little sense of what it means to be a woman. That whole region has been poisoned by erroneous ideas…"
"Okay, okay, forget I asked. I really thought you'd like her." Gong Liyun grumbled. "They've gotten a lot better in the last century. They've even started allowing their disciples to marry men!"
Abbotess Liang scoffed, "What do they know about marriage? Do they even know what men want? Do they know how to treat them well? Bah, thinking about them makes me angry. Maybe find me in another century and tell me how far they've improved."
Gong Liyun didn't press the matter. She had developed a good relationship with the Sapphire Empress over the last few decades in hopes of finding a good female cultivator for Abbotess Liang. She didn't expect the abbotess to hold such strong feelings. She looked back through the viewing window, at the last possible candidate.
"Well, there's only one left. What about her?"
Abbotess Liang turned and gave true smile, one that was deep and filled with joy, "I was waiting for you to ask me about her…
"Well, I was saving the best for last." Gong Liyun replied
"Indeed, indeed! She is the one and only gem of the subcontinent. I thought you were exaggerating but now I see it was all true."
Abbotess Liang's spiritual energy surged as she examined Long Yifei more closely, far more closely than the others. The more she did so, the more excited she became.
"A good woman… what truly good woman! And she's still a virgin, unbelievable at her age. All the other ones have long lost their virginal aura." She slammed her hand on the table, "I've decided. It has to be her."
"Excellent." Gong Liyun rubbed her hands together like a bandit, "Then regarding the payment we discussed?"
"Here." The abbotess flicked her wrist.
A handful of spiritual crystals appeared on the table. They weren't yellow but a brilliant green instead.
It was actually green spiritual crystal… a true Spirit Emperor Realm crystal!
Nothing less would have made Gong Liyun do what she did. She was a Spirit King but she was still human. She wanted to live on, to have a chance at breaking through to the next realm. Although the amount was small, far from a kilogram. But it would giver a chance. There was nothing else in the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent that could help her do so. Only someone like Abbotess Liang could help her.
She could only apologize in her heart to Chen Wentian and accept this transaction. Plus, he had too many good women anyway. His arrogant face was getting way too annoying lately…
--
Thank you to all my patrons!
Support me and read ahead by 5 or even 10 chapters!
p atreon.com/kigreenwriting
Join my discord for updates, delays, and my ramblings :)
d iscord.gg/dY5UApw
--
My second novel The Treasure King has just finished its first arc, please take a look!