Chapter 516: Tian Xiaoqian’s Curiosity

Huangfu Meizhen sat beside Song Tianzun, leaning against his body. "What do you think of this place, Husband?"

"Did Tang Xiao tell you anything about this place?"

"He told me nothing." From the moment they met, Huangfu Meizhen knew Tang Xiao was too secretive and kept everything close.

Song Tianzun wasn’t surprised. "Honestly, I feel that we’re in the outermost area of ??this island, and it’s a kind of safe zone."

"A safe zone?" Zhan Yiran was confused by that.

"Yes." Song Tianzun nodded. "Don’t you find it strange? We’ve been walking all day, and we’ve passed through several areas, but we haven’t encountered any other living creatures."

"I agree with you, husband." Huangfu Meizhen looked around the area. "Since morning, I’ve been observing every area we pass, but I haven’t found anything suspicious. The situation on this island is too calm, making me feel like it’s uninhabited."

"That’s impossible." Song Tianzun pointed ahead. "I can sense some kind of barrier quite a distance in front of us, and it separates the outer area from the inner area. If we pass through that barrier, we might encounter the native inhabitants of this place, whether they are humans, beasts, or demons."

The two women looked in the direction Song Tianzun was pointing, and Zhan Yiran asked. "In your opinion, how strong are the native inhabitants of this island?"

"Even though I haven’t met them, I’m sure they are far stronger than Emperor Xuanyuan." Huangfu Meizhen’s response made Zhan Yiran shudder. "I didn’t mean to scare you, and I said that based on the quality and strength of the qi in this place."

Song Tianzun agreed with his wife. "Since the qi in this place is far superior to that of our own realm, I am certain that the native inhabitants are far more powerful than Emperor Xuanyuan. By the way, it’s getting late; we should rest now, and we will set off for my cousin’s location first thing in the morning."

Zhan Yiran leaned against the large tree behind her, pulled her legs toward her chest, and closed her eyes. She struggled to sleep, her mind preoccupied with thoughts of Sun Qingyao’s safety.

Unlike her, Song Tianzun and Huangfu Meizhen rested while cultivating. With the portal opening only once a year, they felt it would be a loss not to make the most of the qi in that place.

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Inside the cave, the fake Shangguan Qingyue sat near the campfire; her eyes darted several times toward Zhao Xuenning, who was deeply focused on her cultivation. As an artificial doll, she didn’t cultivate like her; instead, she remained on alert, keeping watch near the cave entrance.

Meanwhile, Sun Qingyao was too lazy, and she slept at the far end of the cave.

The fake Shangguan Qingyue tried to contact the Shangguan Clan members to ask about their location, but unfortunately, they were quite far away and would need several days to reach her location.

After that, the fake Shangguan Qingyue contacted Tang Xiao to ask for further instructions, and he told her to stay at her current location for the next few days.

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Situ Hao and Situ Han could only shake their heads as they watched Situ Qingze sleeping, completely free of any cares. They never liked their young master because he was too lazy, and his cultivation lagged behind Situ Shuying’s, let alone when it came to Situ Lingxi’s.

In their opinion, Situ Qingze was merely fortunate to have been born a man, which allowed him to become their future patriarch.

Although Situ Lingxi’s character had been poor in the past, they felt she was more deserving of becoming the future leader of the Situ Clan; unfortunately, she was born a woman.

They looked at Dugu Cangxu, who hadn’t stopped cultivating since they arrived. Although they had heard his past story with Huo Mianmian, they felt that the Dugu Clan was fortunate to have a successor like him.

Looking at the carefree Situ Qingze, the two elders couldn’t help but sigh in their hearts. If he became their leader, they were worried that their clan would suffer a major setback.

They suddenly remembered Tang Xiao, but then they sighed heavily. They felt he was much better than Situ Qingze, and their seniors supported him, but he couldn’t possibly become the future leader of the Situ Clan.

Even though Tang Xiao had married Situ Lingzhi, he was still an outsider, and their clan members wouldn’t agree to him becoming their leader.

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In another area, Ning Zhiya sat in front of a bonfire, supporting her head with both hands. She had already contacted the Sun Clan members and ordered them to find her location as quickly as possible, but the two locations were too far away from each other.

"Aren’t you going to rest, Aunt Ning?" Luo Yixuan, who had just returned, sat opposite Ning Ziya.

Ning Ziya shook her head. "Even though you and your sister are quite strong, I am your senior, so I have to protect you two. What about the members of your Luo Clan? Have they set off toward our location yet?"

"They will arrive at our location in three or four days."

"I see." Ning Zhiya nodded in understanding. "People from the Sun Clan will likely arrive a day earlier than the others, so we will stay in this area until everyone has arrived. While waiting for them, we will focus on cultivating, with one of us taking turns standing guard."

"Alright." Luo Yixuan agreed immediately. "By the way, Aunt Ning, have you ever heard of Tang Xiao and the Tang Clan?"

Ning Zhiya stared at him in a daze, and the events in the forest a while ago replayed in her mind. Although their faces and appearances were completely different, she believed that the Feng Xiao she encountered in the forest was the same person as the Tang Xiao she met at Chen Hongde’s wedding.

Ning Zhiya was convinced that her assumption was correct, as Feng Xiao had once shown her a picture of Tang Yin and Xing Xing, and both women accompanied Tang Xiao to Chen Hongde’s wedding.

"Aunt Ning?"

Ning Zhiya collected herself and replied, "There is no Tang Clan in our realm, so I have no information regarding Tang Xiao. However, his closeness to Xuanyuan Yueyao and his level of cultivation prove that he is no ordinary man; his background is likely not inferior to hers."

"Could it be that the Tang Clan is a hidden clan? Thus, no one knows about them, except for Emperor Xuanyuan and the members of the Xuanyuan Clan." Ning Zhiya disagreed with Luo Yixuan’s assumption, and she felt that there was a deeper secret about Tang Xiao. "By the way, my grandfather previously asked Grandpa Dugu to persuade Tang Xiao to let us join his group, but he rejected our request."

Ning Zhiya wasn’t surprised to hear that. From the start, she knew Tang Xiao didn’t want to have any relationship with just any cultivators, which was proven by his action of running away when they met her father-in-law in the forest.

"Let’s stop discussing him, and you should start cultivating again."

After Luo Yixuan closed his eyes, Ning Zhiya tried to contact Tang Xiao, but he didn’t reply to her. She decided to leave him a message, and she hoped he would be willing to answer her questions.

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Tian Xiaoqian sat on the branch of a large tree, with her gaze fixed in the direction of Xuanyuan Yueyao’s location. "Who exactly are the people with her? Why is she so secretive about their identities?"

"What are you thinking about, young miss?" Tian Weiran asked as she landed beside Tian Xiaoqian.

"I’m thinking about the people in Yueyao’s group." Tian Weiran looked at Tian Xiaoqian in confusion. "I previously sensed a demon aura in the same location as her aura."

"Does that mean Young Miss Xuanyuan has joined the demon race? But how is that possible?"

"I feel there is something unusual about the owner of that demon aura." Tian Xiaoqian paused. "Moreover, Xuanyuan Yueyao was accompanied by Elder Xuanyuan Mengli and Elder Luo Feng, and both of them should have realized that the person was a demon, yet they didn’t seem to have done anything."

"Have you asked her about this matter?"

"She told me that person was an ordinary human."

"That’s weird." Tian Weiran murmured. "If that person is an ordinary human, how could he or she have a demon aura?"

"That person is a woman, by the way." Tian Xiaoqian pointed in that direction. "Yueyao entered this place with many people, including Taixu Wuxian, Situ Lingxi, Xuanyuan Wenxuan, Zhu Xuan’er, Duanmu Jingjing, and several others."

Tian Weiran was shocked after hearing the lineup of people in Xuanyuan Yueyao’s group, especially the presence of Taixu Wuxian, Situ Lingxi, and Duanmu Jingjing in her group. "Was she the one who invited them to join a group?"

"You’re wrong about that." Tian Xiaoqian tilted her head to the side. "Yueyao told me that she’s not their group leader, but a man named Tang Xiao, and he’s an inner disciple of the Nine Profound Sect."

Tian Weiran raised an eyebrow. "But—"

"Tang Xiao came from the Qingquan Realm, and he arrived in our realm approximately two months ago."

Tian Weiran had never been to the Qingquan Realm, so she lacked information about the clans in that realm. However, she was quite familiar with Xuanyuan Yueyao’s character, and she never made decisions rashly.

Thus, Tian Weiran was sure Tang Xiao wasn’t an ordinary cultivator; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to attract the attention of Xuanyuan Yueyao, who was Emperor Xuanyuan’s beloved niece.

Tian Xiaoqian’s lips curled upward. "I can’t wait to meet Tang Xiao; I want to see what kind of qualifications he possesses to have caught Yueyao’s attention."