Chapter 55: The Celestial Master Mansion

Seeing Moying's peculiar expression, Wan Yi asked out of curiosity, "What other ideas do you have?"

Moying's pretty face flushed all the way to the root of her neck, and she stammered, "It's just..."

Seeing this, Wan Yi became even more puzzled. "Just what?"

"It's like this!" Embarrassed and flustered, Moying stamped her foot, let out a "swish" sound, and transformed her body into a wisp of black mist, slipping right through the collar of Wan Yi's chest!

"What the hell! What is going on here?" Exclaimed an utterly clueless Wan Yi. He grabbed the collars on both sides of his chest and tore his clothes open with a "rip."

To his astonishment, a black Qilin tattoo had now appeared on his left chest.

Seeing this, Wan Yi's face darkened. "Is this the method you were talking about?"

Moying's shy voice sounded, "Master said it was too conspicuous for me to attach myself to your clothes, so I had no choice but to attach myself to your body instead. That way, outsiders won't be able to see me.

Besides, our Qilin clan excels in the powers of water and fire. From now on, as I guard the master closely by your side, if you get hot, I can help cool you down. If you get cold, I can even breathe warmth on you!"

Upon hearing this, Wan Yi felt a buzzing in his head and thought to himself, *Breathe warmth on your sister! I've lived through two lifetimes and have never had any skin-to-skin contact with a member of the opposite sex, and now it turns out you're the one taking advantage of me!*

When Wan Yi returned to his thatched cottage, it was just past midnight. The moment he materialized, he instantly sensed something was amiss.

Although the furnishings and layout were exactly as they had been when he left, he was certain that someone had visited his room during his absence.

Alarm bells started ringing in his mind. He hurriedly held his breath and circulated the *Emperor-Slaying Art*. Sensing no powerhouse of the Emperor Realm in the vicinity, he let out a long sigh of relief.

Right at that moment, a rustling sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside.

Immediately following that, a low voice spoke up: "I've searched both the front and back of the house, and I didn't see that brat's shadow anywhere."

As the voice trailed off, another voice replied, "I just checked inside the house again and couldn't find any trace of him either."

"What should we do now? Elder Li told us to come and deal with that brat, how are we supposed to report back empty-handed?"

"Empty-handed it is then. That brat is just lucky tonight, we'll find another chance to deal with him later. If we keep lingering here and get discovered by the patrolling disciples of the Vast Expanse Sect, we'll be in big trouble."

Listening to the conversation between the two men outside, Wan Yi furrowed his brows deeper and deeper, thinking to himself, *These people are clearly targeting me. Where on earth did these two fellows come from?!*

Just as he was feeling puzzled, Moying's voice echoed in his mind: "Master, those two outside are Golden Core stage cultivators. Do you want me to go out and kill them for you?"

Wan Yi shook his head and replied via telepathic transmission, "No rush. They clearly have someone pulling the strings behind them, so I must find out who it is first."

At this point, as if remembering something, he transmitted his voice to ask Moying, "Earlier you said you belong to the Ink Qilin bloodline, and besides excelling in water and fire powers, you are also adept at concealing your tracks. Can you help me hide my tracks as well?"

"Of course I can!" As Moying's voice faded, a faint, hazy mist dispersed from Wan Yi's chest.

Enveloping Wan Yi within it, Moying said, "Alright, with my method of concealment, no one beneath the Emperor Realm will be able to detect you."

Wan Yi felt a surge of joy. With Moying's help beneath the Emperor Realm, and the *Emperor-Slaying Art* above the Emperor Realm, nobody would ever be able to discover him when he concealed his tracks in the future.

Meanwhile, the two men outside were preparing to leave.

Being inside the Vast Expanse Sect, the pair feared being discovered by the patrolling disciples, so they did not dare to fly through the air.

Under the cover of night, dressed in night-walker attire, the two swiftly shuttled between the buildings using rapid movement techniques.

Unbeknownst to them, another black figure was trailing closely behind them in the distance.

As Wan Yi tracked the two, a growing sense of doubt arose in his heart, because judging by their physiques and footwork, the martial techniques they were using did not belong to the Vast Expanse Sect.

*Outsiders?! But I haven't made any enemies outside the sect! What I did at the Pill Cauldron Sect was airtight and left behind no clues; it's impossible for others to have found out.* Filled with internal suspicion, Wan Yi leaped across roofs and vaulted over ridges following the pair until they finally arrived at the Internal Affairs Hall.

Upon recognizing the surrounding environment, Wan Yi sneered inwardly, *So it was you!*

Sure enough, what happened next confirmed his suspicion.

The two men turned and entered a guest room, and Wan Yi concealed his presence and followed them. Crouching beneath the window outside the guest room, he peered into the room through a crack in the window.

Inside, Li Huan was drinking with a middle-aged man—a middle-aged man Wan Yi had seen earlier that afternoon.

The other party was an elder of the Heavenly Master Mansion. When the people from the Heavenly Master Mansion had come up the mountain to offer birthday congratulations, Wan Yi had even received them personally.

Seeing this, Wan Yi thought to himself, *What is going on here?*

Just at that moment, the elder of the Heavenly Master Mansion spoke.

Glaring at the two disciples who had returned empty-handed, he said with displeasure, "You two good-for-nothings! You can't even handle such a trivial matter, what use are the two of you?!"

Seeing the elder flare up, the two disciples hurriedly dropped to one knee, cupped their fists, and said, "Elder, please calm your anger. It is not that we are incompetent. When the two of us arrived, we couldn't find any trace of Wan Yi at all. How were we supposed to make a move?"

Hearing their words, the Heavenly Master Mansion elder furrowed his brows slightly. "You're saying Wan Yi wasn't there?"

The two disciples nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

The Heavenly Master Mansion elder turned to look at Li Huan. "Second brother, what is the meaning of this? You told me that brat lived in the thatched cottage next to the septic tank, which is why I sent people over to vent your anger for you! Now that we've made a wasted trip, I'm afraid it will be very difficult to find another opportunity to assassinate him in secret later on."

Li Huan's expression shifted. "Big brother, it was my oversight this time. That brat Wan Yi has gained the favor of Zhou Shu, so he must have been assigned new living quarters in the Pill Peak inner courtyard. He probably stayed up on Pill Peak tonight."

Upon hearing this, the Heavenly Master Mansion elder anxiously asked, "Then what should we do? Wan Yi exposed you right in front of Lin Qiaosheng, nearly ruining our brothers' grand plan. If we don't teach him a lesson, how can I vent the anger in my heart!"

Li Huan pondered for a moment, then turned to the two disciples of the Heavenly Master Mansion. "There is nothing for you two here anymore. Go back and get some rest."

After dismissing the two disciples, a cold sneer appeared on Li Huan's face. "Big brother, do not panic. Zhou Shu's birthday banquet is set for two days from now. In these two days, more and more people from various factions will arrive to offer congratulations. According to past custom, disciples of the various sects will inevitably engage in sparring and exchanges. Tomorrow, you can have your subordinates challenge Wan Yi. Injuries are inevitable during sparring and exchanges; even if we can't kill him then, we can at least cripple him. As for our plan, we'll just have to postpone it for a little while. Once that brat Wan Yi is crippled and loses his usefulness, he will naturally fall out of favor with Lin Qiaosheng. When that happens, Lin Qiaosheng will naturally restore my position as Hall Master, and it won't be too late to continue our plan then!"

Hiding outside the window, Wan Yi heard every single word of their conversation clearly, and exclaimed inwardly, *I never expected an unexpected harvest!*

To be continued...