Chapter 333 - 146: Sycophantic Qing Lian

"Besides, that Female Nether Demon controlled my body before, but even she couldn’t use it!"

"But I can use it myself!"

"In any case, no one else can use it!"

"Such a thing is possible?"

Xu Lei was surprised. "If that’s the case, then I’ll have to trouble you."

"It’s no trouble, Senior."

Qing Lian said, "My Thousand-Mile Clouds is very fast when I use it.

And it doesn’t consume much Magical Power!

The amount it uses is still very small!

It uses far less than other people’s Flying Magical Artifacts!

Senior, hold on tight.

Up!"

As she spoke,

the Thousand-Mile Clouds lifted into the air.

The wind whistled past them.

To Xu Lei’s surprise, Qing Lian’s speed was truly impressive!

It was even a bit faster than his Locust Leaf Flying Ship.

Qing Lian also explained that the speed of her Thousand-Mile Clouds was actually influenced by her Cultivation level.

It had multiple layers of Arrays inside it.

With her current Cultivation, she could only activate the outermost Array.

In the future, as her Cultivation increased, the Thousand-Mile Clouds would become even faster!

This left Xu Lei secretly amazed.

After that, Qing Lian flew while Xu Lei gave directions.

The two of them traveled like this,

flying all the way to the outskirts of the Great Xing Mountain Range.

Along the way, the two naturally made some small talk.

"By the way, when we’re in front of outsiders, don’t call me Senior anymore."

Xu Lei said at this point, "I don’t want my secret to be exposed!

Your life is now tied to mine,

so it’s fine for you to know.

But it’s not okay for others.

If you keep calling me ’Senior’ like this, don’t you think outsiders will find it strange?

After all, I’m only a ten-year-old child, yet you address me as Senior?"

"Senior is farsighted."

Qing Lian replied obediently, "Then, Senior, what should I call you?"

"Let’s just stick to how it was before."

Xu Lei thought for a moment. "We’ll maintain the appearance of master and disciple.

From now on, just address me as you did before."

"What? Keep calling you my disciple?"

Qing Lian froze, her beautiful eyes blinking a few times. She then said, "Wouldn’t that be disrespectful to you?

How am I qualified to be your master?

Won’t it shorten my lifespan?

I’m scared."

"How about this? You can just call me by my monastic name."

Xu Lei added, "Use the names from before. Call me Jing Kong, Little Jing Kong, or Kong’er.

Any of them are fine.

In any case, the more we stick to how things were, the less likely we are to expose ourselves."

Xu Lei wasn’t using the Contract Seal to issue a command with these words.

He was just speaking normally.

"Yes."

But Qing Lian still nodded obediently. She said tentatively, "Well, since Senior—no, since you said so, Kong’er?

Then I, your master, will have to respectfully obey?

So, Kong’er, you have to be good to your master from now on!

You can’t bully your master!

Especially not when it comes to... matters between men and women!"

"You didn’t have to specifically point that out."

Xu Lei said speechlessly, "By saying that, aren’t you just making me think about it more?

Is it possible that I might not have had any such thoughts, but now I won’t be able to stop myself from having them?"

Qing Lian froze, stunned.

"I’m just pointing it out,"

Xu Lei then added, "Don’t worry, I won’t."

"Oh, oh."

Qing Lian said, "Qing Lian... Qing Lian trusts you."

Then, the two continued flying, heading deep into the Great Xing Mountain Range!

They arrived near the location of the cave from before!

Of course, Xu Lei didn’t let Qing Lian enter the cave with him.

He had her wait directly at the entrance.

As for the White Cloud Magical Artifact, she naturally put it away.

Xu Lei entered the cave by himself.

He walked through the winding cave corridor.

He arrived at the location of his former cave abode.

But after reaching his destination,

Xu Lei discovered that there was actually a Blinding Technique Shield outside the cave abode.

This wasn’t something he had set up in his past life!

’Has someone else been here?’

Xu Lei froze, thinking, ’Has this cave abode been discovered?’

Of course, this Blinding Technique Shield was actually very simple and crude.

It was a low-level Array.

It might be able to fool an ordinary person,

but it couldn’t fool Xu Lei.

Besides, Xu Lei was already very familiar with this place, so he saw through it at a glance.

Next, Xu Lei spread out his Magical Power to sense the Arrays he had set up inside the cave abode in his past life.

After sensing for a moment,

Xu Lei discovered there was no one inside the cave abode.

He immediately understood that the person who discovered this place had probably gone out and wasn’t currently inside.

Then, with a flick of his finger, Xu Lei shattered the Blinding Technique Shield.

He stepped directly into the cave abode.

Sure enough, he saw traces of someone living inside.

There was even a bed, complete with a quilt and pillow.

Next to it was a desk with some books on it.

Nearby, there were also water buckets, ladles, and basins.

Behind the bed, there was even a wardrobe containing some clothes.

Xu Lei gave them a quick glance and saw they were a man’s clothes.

The traces of life were only of a single person, so it must have been just this man.

Xu Lei didn’t look any further.

He quickly walked to the spot where he had hidden his treasures in his past life.

’Thankfully, the Arrays in the cave abode haven’t been forcefully broken.’

Xu Lei breathed a sigh of relief. ’My things should still be here.’

So, the man living here

must have also thought that the cave abode’s Arrays would take many years to break.

And that if he tried to break them by force, he would get nothing.

So, he didn’t try to force his way through and instead just lived here,

enjoying the supplemental Spirit Gathering effects provided by the Arrays.

Just like Qi Yang had done.

"Array, open."

After that, Xu Lei didn’t waste any time and directly broke the Arrays.

He retrieved all the Magical Artifacts from his past life from the hidden hole in the ground.

"Excellent!"

Xu Lei smiled as he watched all his possessions return to his hands.

Hiding them here was indeed safe; nothing had been taken!

Whether it was the Phoenix True Flame, the Demon Core, or the Locust Leaf Flying Ship, everything was back where it belonged!

After absorbing the Phoenix True Flame back into his body,

Xu Lei’s smile grew wider.

That familiar warmth inside his body had finally returned.

These past few days, Xu Lei hadn’t eaten any meat at his home in this life.

Now that the Phoenix True Flame was back, he could finally feast heartily!

"Spirit Gathering Array, retract!"

Next, Xu Lei of course retracted all the various Arrays.

A few minutes later,

Xu Lei exited the cave and met up with Qing Lian, who was waiting at the entrance.

"Senior, have you taken care of your business?"

Seeing Xu Lei appear, Qing Lian gracefully rose to greet him and asked in a delicate voice, "How did it go? Was it successful?"

"Everything is done. It went very smoothly."

Xu Lei then said, "Right, here’s a small piece of a Demon Core for you.

Consider it replenishment for the power you used to propel the Thousand-Mile Clouds.

The little bit extra can be your reward."

"Ah?"

Qing Lian was pleasantly surprised, then said, "Th-this... doing things for you is what I should be doing!

I can’t accept this!

Your mother once saved my life!

I had encountered a rather powerful Demon and was injured.

I escaped to the area near your home,

and your mother saved me!

Now you’ve saved me from the Nether Demon.

With such a debt of gratitude, helping you travel is just a small repayment that I ought to do.

How could I dare accept—"

"I’m giving it to you, so take it."

But Xu Lei cut her off, saying bluntly, "Enough nonsense."

"Oh, oh, yes!"

Seeing Xu Lei’s cold expression, Qing Lian’s beautiful eyes glistened. Frightened, she quickly and obediently accepted it. "Thank you, Senior."

"It’s nothing. It’s what you deserve."

Xu Lei said, "You used up some energy while traveling just now.

I won’t take advantage of you for free."

"Senior is so righteous."

Qing Lian said in a fawning tone, "Qing Lian is full of admiration."

"There’s no need for that. Our business here is finished."

Xu Lei added, "Let’s get out of the mountains. Let’s go."

Now that his Phoenix True Flame was back, Xu Lei wanted to leave the mountains, enter a city, and have a feast of meat.

Besides, there were still traces of another Cultivator in the cave abode.

Now that Xu Lei had taken all the treasures,

it was best to leave quickly before the other person returned.

Otherwise, there might be trouble.

Even though the things in the cave abode were originally left by Xu Lei in his past life,

the other person had been guarding this place for who knows how long.

If he found out, he would most likely be unwilling to let it go!

Just as he was thinking this,

unexpectedly, the next moment, Xu Lei turned around and his eyes met those of a middle-aged male Cultivator.

Although the man hadn’t said a word, Xu Lei already understood that the person before him was likely the owner of the bed and dishes in the cave abode.

His build was a perfect match for the clothes in the wardrobe.

At that moment, the middle-aged Cultivator’s expression changed.

At the same time, he immediately pulled out a small Jade Pendant from his waist.

He channeled his Magical Power into it to sense something.

And then, his expression turned extremely ugly!