Dual Cultivation God Returns

“This has turned complicated…”, the Inner Court Elder of the Ember Palm Pavilion spoke with a heavy sigh, looking at the ‘long-distance communication array’ that the masked talisman master made.

The Inner Court Elder’s aura was unstable, but undoubtedly that of the Essence Ignition Realm.

[On the contrary, things seems to be progressing well, which is why we need to be vigilant, of course], the voice from the communication array was calm and emotionless.

“The Heaven Turning Pill was supposed to be our trump card!”, the Inner Court Elder exclaimed in a frustrated tone.

[And it was], the voice from the communication array did not react to the frustrated tone continuing in the same calm tone, [As a result, you have successfully advanced. Ah, I almost forgot, congratulations on your advancement]

“Psh~”, the Inner Court Elder snorted at this lackluster congratulation. There was now a new sense of confidence in his voice and demeanor, bolstered by his new cultivation.

The masked talisman master slightly moved, but the Elders did not give it much meaning, since there was a slight shift in atmosphere even if he could not hear them. Rather, this slight movement amused the Inner Court Elder, who took it as a reaction to the slight pressure released when his mood shifted, emphasizing his new prowess.

However, this was still not enough to change his mood completely, as he continued in a disgruntled voice, “Some trump card it is, it’s only called a trump card when it can’t be easily countered…”

He then added a mutter in a much lower voice, almost as if talking to himself, “Besides… if I knew it was going to be put up for an auction-…”,

He stopped in time to not spell it out, but it was already obvious what he meant.

After all, he entered a rather risky pact with this unknown entity to receive his 3rd-tier Heaven Turning Pill, when it could have been his through an auction if he waited for just a bit.

The two Outer Court Elders exchanged subtle looks.

They too, had advanced, and with Inner Court Elder’s new cultivation, felt an enormous boost to their confidence overall. However, they still thought the Inner Court Elder was treading a dangerous line with such words, even if it was a slip of the tongue.

But to their surprise…

[Its status as a trump card haven’t changed. Of course, if you are careful about not revealing your new cultivation too early, everything is still going according to our initial plan], the voice either didn’t catch on, or more likely, chose to ignore the risky remark.

“How is it according to plan when the other two leaders of local forces for the Sects now have a chance to advance as well? This is complete miscalculation!”, one of the two Outer Court Elders grumbled, seemingly emboldened.

[How do you think the small and young Soaring Feather Trading Company, with almost no reputation, got it? Everything is going according to plan because it was our side that secretly contacted them to auction it], the voice calmly announced, shocking the three.

“Are you kidding me? Why would you do something like that?!”, the Inner Court Elder stood up.

[I don’t remember our deal stipulating that I must report my actions to you, or explain them], this calm response quickly cooled down the outburst.

[I don’t answer to you outside the confines of my obligations within our deal, just like I don’t care about your little power trips as long as you follow our deal], the voice in the communication array stayed neutral and calm throughout, but the meaning was clear:

All the subtle signs of confidence shown by the three Elders did not go unnoticed, whey just did not matter.

Their expressions became cautious again, sobering up a little.

“Khm~…”, the Inner Court Elder cleared his throat, as if to clear out the mood, speaking in a slightly more amicable tone, “Speaking of our deal… isn’t it time for us to start conversing in person…?”

Wu Long narrowed his eyes under the mask, ‘Heh, so this is how they want to play it… it seems their increased strength really went into their head a bit too much…’

He could see, that while the Inner Court Elder was seemingly trying to mend the sour tone of their conversation, there was a very well hidden glint deep within his eyes.

He wished to know, whether this mysterious partner they had was formidable enough, to not have to guess.

[It is not convenient to do so at this time yet], the voice spoke, causing smiles to appear on the faces of the three Elders.

“Is that so? I understand… we all have our arrangements after all…”, the Inner Court Elder spoke with a chuckle.

The meeting concluded shortly after.

As the mysterious talisman master removed the arrays, and made a hand and fist salute, preparing to leave, one of the Outer Court Elders called out to him, “Isn’t it a bit inappropriate for you, a simple messenger, to keep hiding your identity in front of us? Even if you have a special token to prove your identity, if we don’t know who you are, it is a bit…”

The talisman master stopped, half-turning to the Elders, and a slightly hoarse, unpleasant voice resounded from behind the mask, “it is the way I work, my identity remaining anonymous is guaranteed by the one you just spoke to”

The expressions of the Elders slightly soured, but the talisman master seemingly didn’t care, making a polite nod and turning to leave.

He calmly left the building, and then the Sect’s territory.

When he was far enough away…

“Is it really alright to ally with them? …They seem like unreliable cooperation partners…”, a black cloud of smoke appeared to his side, as a white-haired beauty with crimson eyes appeared, moving in the same directions as he did.

The talisman master slowed down and eventually stopped, taking off his mask, “It’s fine, they’re not allies, just convenient collaborators for the moment. As long as we treat them with caution, they should be still useful”

“I didn’t like how they talked to you, Darling”, another shadow appeared, closer to him from the other side. First delicate hands appearing from the black smoke, weaving around his forearm, as Hong Ye stepped out, leaning onto him.

“Haha, I could tell, I thought you’d lop off his head at one point”, Wu Long chuckled, remembering the moment he was prepared to move to stop her, which resulted in a slight movement, noticed by the Elders.

He freed his hand and took the beauty into his embrace instead. Hong Ye smiled, closing her eyes, enjoying the sensation, leaning onto his chest.

“I agree with Ye’er. They were quite provocative… it seemed their newfound confidence really got the better of them”, Hong Yue noted, still focused on what happened during the meeting.

“That’s natural”, Wu Long shrugged, “Cultivation World may have all kinds of rules and traditions, but underneath it, it often is extremely simple”

“The strong eat the weak…”, Hong Yue narrowed her eyes.

“Mm, they only deal with us as equals, or even more than equals, since they don’t know who they’re dealing with. That boost of confidence made them question this imbalance. That’s why they want to meet face to face, to be certain in how to approach us. Not knowing is extremely frustrating for them”, Wu Long nodded.

“Your refusal to meet seemed to embolden them though…? Seeing as they’re also starting to bother the ‘talisman master’ now for the first time”, the white-haired beauty asked, since that refusal was taken as a sign of weakness. Thе М|V|LЕ&МРYR tеаm wоrkеd hаrd оn this сhаptеr.

“Yeah, but I let them believe what they want for now, it doesn’t matter in short-term, and is actually easier to deal with”, Wu Long nodded.

“Hehe, relax, Sister, Darling knows what he’s doing~”, Hong Ye spoke in a mellow, completely relaxed tone.

“…”, Hong Yue narrowed her eyes a bit, looking at her twin in Wu Long’s arms, and sighed, shaking her head, as she thought that Hong Ye was too reliant on Wu Long.

“Thank you for the trust, Ye’er”, Wu Long chuckled, leaning in to kiss the beauty on the forehead, and then turned to her twin, “Though it is always important to hear outside opinion, and I welcome it. Please feel free to ask or clarify things if you’re doubtful. So thank you for sharing your concerns, I do agree that we should treat them with caution, and closely monitor the situation in case it shows any signs of going South”

Hong Yue’s eyes very subtly widened, as she froze.

“Hehehe, see, Sister? Isn’t Darling just the best?”, Hong Ye’s red eyes had a playful and joyful shine to them, as she turned to her twin while still in Wu Long’s arms.

The latter lightly laughed at this quite blatant praise, just slightly tightening the embrace. Hong Yue, on the other hand, didn’t answer, remaining silent, with unreadable expression.