Chapter 471: The Alliance

The voice from within the restaurant overpowered the strains of the strings that had been drifting through everyone's ears, sending a visible tremor through the swirling mist surrounding the veiled women.

At this point, the women paused their playing and parted into two rows within the mist.

The strains of the strings around them cut off abruptly, and at the same time, a chiming, jade-like sound rose from behind the hazy mist.

In the next instant, a cloud palanquin hung with jade bells and golden beads seemed to materialize out of thin air, emerging from the center of the mist where the women had been standing.

The palanquin's silver curtain lifted on its own, without any wind, and a woman of extraordinary beauty, dressed in robes of gold thread and jade silk, stepped down from within.

The woman's features were exquisite, her figure graceful and slender, her eyes gentle and soft as water. The moment she lifted her gaze to look into the restaurant, every martial world figure inside felt their minds instantly cloud with confusion, falling into a dazed, entranced state.

"Old Ancestor of the Earth Guide, I never expected to see you emerge from that Ten Thousand Cave Sand Abyss of yours."

The woman spoke softly, her voice gentle and pliant, like a spring breeze drifting past.

But the moment this voice reached the ears of the martial world figures inside the restaurant, it left the already dazed crowd even more thoroughly lost and entranced.

"Enough. If you have something to say, come upstairs and discuss it with this old man properly. There is no need to toy with these young juniors of the martial world."

The voice from above the restaurant spoke again, ringing through everyone's ears like the deep boom of a great bell, gradually pulling the entranced crowd back to their senses.

Yet by the time the martial world figures within the restaurant had fully regained their clarity, they found that the scene outside the restaurant's entrance had somehow already returned to normal.

Whether it was the mist that had risen so suddenly, or the veiled women holding their instruments, all of it had vanished entirely without a trace.

The area before the restaurant's entrance stood completely empty, as though everything they had just witnessed had never happened at all, like nothing more than a passing dream.

At the same time, within a private room on the restaurant's upper floor, the Cloud Immortal from Banyun City walked forward with graceful, unhurried steps and seated herself across from a pale-skinned, white-haired, heavyset old man before the wine table.

"Have you also come for that Jiang family boy?"

The Cloud Immortal parted her red lips lightly, her almond-shaped eyes studying the Earth Guide Old Ancestor before her, one of the top figures from the Hill Market, one of the Western Desert's six great powers.

The Earth Guide Old Ancestor had spent decades cultivating a divine art of the earth's veins, dwelling for years in a place called the Ten Thousand Cave Sand Abyss beneath the Hill Market. He almost never involved himself in the Hill Market's affairs, yet remained a figure known to everyone within it.

This was because the Earth Guide Old Ancestor's divine art gave him near-complete control over the Hill Market's entire network of earth veins, meaning the survival of the Hill Market itself rested entirely in his hands.

At this point, faced with the Cloud Immortal's question, the Earth Guide Old Ancestor studied her in turn and said, "So it was you who obtained the last remaining 'Face-Shaping Pill,' the one from that old rumor circulating through the martial world. It has been over a decade since I last saw you, and you have returned to the appearance of your youth."

As he said this, he shifted his tone and continued, "Even so, though flowers may bloom again, a person never returns to youth twice. Your appearance may have reverted to the past, but your life continues to draw toward its end all the same. You and I are both people with one foot already in the grave."

At those words, a smile spread across the Cloud Immortal's beautiful face, which looked no older than sixteen. She seemed entirely unbothered by the Earth Guide Old Ancestor's words and said, "You do not understand. Walking through the streets now, I have no idea how many young men turn to look at me. Those talented young men throughout the martial world need only see me once to be consumed by longing thereafter."

The Earth Guide Old Ancestor narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Hearing you speak like this, could it be that your trip to White Emperor City is intended to seduce that Jiang family boy, to make him your own exclusive possession?"

The Cloud Immortal's fine brows curved into an arc. She extended a wrist as white as fine jade and gave it a light curl, and the wine jug on the table poured a cup of wine for herself.

Yet she only lifted it to smell the fragrance, never actually drinking from it.

"That was indeed my original intention. But if you also want that boy, Old Ancestor of the Earth Guide, I would be willing to step aside and not compete for him."

The Cloud Immortal dipped her slender, jade-white finger into the wine and spoke with a meaningful tone, "And besides, I have already set my sights on a far more interesting target now."

At those words, the Earth Guide Old Ancestor's pale, paper-white face remained entirely still, and he said, "Though this old man does indeed wish to take on a disciple, there are already no small number of people with their eyes on that Jiang family boy. Even if the Cloud Immortal were willing to yield him to me, I might still not get what I want in the end."

The Cloud Immortal let out a soft giggle, an unmistakably girlish charm surfacing on her face, and said, "That may not necessarily be true. What if I were to help you? Would you not then get exactly what you desire?"

At those words, the Earth Guide Old Ancestor's brow furrowed slightly. He clearly had not expected that the Cloud Immortal, whom he had not seen in so many years, would open their reunion with a proposal like this.

Even so, the Earth Guide Old Ancestor considered this briefly before asking, "And what condition does the Cloud Immortal have in mind?"

"My condition is simple. I want you to help me deal with someone."

The Cloud Immortal spoke evenly, and the Earth Guide Old Ancestor followed with, "Who do you wish to deal with?"

At those words, the Cloud Immortal turned her head slightly and looked through the window of the restaurant's private room toward some part of White Emperor City, saying, "I have heard that the Hidden Kill Pavilion in White Emperor City has a new Pavilion Master, and what's more, this new Pavilion Master is not only young, but remarkably handsome as well."

Hearing the Cloud Immortal say this, the Earth Guide Old Ancestor naturally understood what she meant, and his brow furrowed as he said, "You have set your sights on that demon lord who has fallen into the demonic path? I wonder, are you even aware of what has happened in the city today?"

"I have heard something of it."

The Cloud Immortal reached up to smooth a lock of hair by her temple, revealing her alluring collarbone, and narrowed her autumn-water eyes slightly, saying, "I have seen countless men throughout this world in my lifetime, but I have never before encountered such a remarkable one as this. If I could experience even a taste of this man's tenderness, it would be well worth my long journey here."

The Earth Guide Old Ancestor studied the Cloud Immortal before him for a moment, then shook his head and said, "If you wish to have this man, you must be prepared to risk your very life."

"Besides, this old man merely wishes to take on a disciple. There is no need for me to take such risks alongside you. Let us simply set aside this matter of cooperation you have proposed."

At those words, the corners of the Cloud Immortal's captivatingly beautiful almond eyes curled upward. She showed not the slightest trace of anger at the Earth Guide Old Ancestor's refusal, and instead let a faint, knowing smile surface as she said, "There is no need to be so hasty. I still hold a bargaining chip in hand that you will find impossible to refuse. Shall I tell you what it is?"

The Earth Guide Old Ancestor watched the Cloud Immortal before him, who appeared remarkably confident, and a look of puzzlement crossed his pale, aged face.

After considering for a moment, the Earth Guide Old Ancestor ultimately gave a nod and said, "Go ahead and tell me, Cloud Immortal. Even so, that new Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion is no ordinary man, and moreover is in the very prime of his youth. This is hardly something old relics like you and I could easily involve ourselves with."

The Cloud Immortal let out a soft giggle, an unmistakable seductive charm rising all around her, and said, "And is it not precisely his young and vigorous body that has caught my eye?"