Nie Yuan has always kept a secret in his heart.
He... is a time traveler.
Back then, when Nie Yuan woke up in a primeval forest, he found himself transformed back into his nine-year-old self and almost ended up inside a monster's belly.
Fortunately, someone happened to be passing by and rescued him.
After arriving at the Yunlan Sect, he finally understood this world and the identity of the person who took him away...
Yunshan, the sect leader of the Yunlan Sect.
A man determined to restore the Yunlan Sect to its former glory.
After testing, Nie Yuan was found to be exceptionally talented and was accepted as a disciple by Yun Shan, becoming Yun Yun's junior brother.
In the days that followed, Nie Yuan did not awaken the system, so he focused on cultivation and had no grand dream of becoming a Dou Di.
He knew very well that it would be difficult to succeed on his own, so it was better to protect the Yunlan Sect and avoid getting involved in the subsequent plot.
From rising to fame to becoming the youngest Dou Huang in the Jia Ma Empire, Nie Yuan endured a lot of hardship.
But in the year he finally broke through to the Douhuang realm, setbacks came one after another.
First, Teacher Yunshan was ambushed, and he was injured while protecting Yunshan.
Later, when Senior Sister Yun Yun got into a fight with Medusa, Nie Yuan went to save her despite his injuries. As a result, he was hit by the Snake Sealing Curse, and his strength dropped from Dou Huang to Da Dou Shi.
Perhaps feeling guilty, or for other reasons, Yunshan officiated at Nie Yuan and Yun Yun's wedding before going into seclusion.
The two were childhood sweethearts, and Yunyun did not object, so the marriage proceeded smoothly.
"Grandmaster, please don't be angry with Teacher. It's all my fault. Teacher only wanted to help me get a medicinal herb from the Monster Mountain Range after hearing that Xiao Yan had risen again."
Nalan Yanran knelt down in front of Nie Yuan, feeling helpless, and gently placed her hands on his clenched left fist.
[Ding! Nalan Yanran experiences fear, tension, and guilt, triggering a critical hit. Emotion value +999]
"Shut up! Don't say anything more!"
Nie Yuan shook off her hand, stood up, and then coughed violently.
"Master! Master!"
Nalan Yanran watched Nie Yuan's retreating figure, tears streaming down her face.
"Yanran, you can't mention Xiao Yan in front of the sect leader. Have you forgotten what the sect leader and the sect master's only argument was about?"
Ge Ye sighed and helped her up.
He didn't dare say a word when Nie Yuan got angry.
He knew very well that if he dared to speak up, he would probably be expelled from the Yunlan Sect tomorrow.
All of this started with the Xiao family's annulment of the engagement.
Nalan Yanran's eyes were red, and after being reminded, she realized that she had just said the wrong thing.
Previously, when she heard that her fiancé Xiao Yan had become a cripple, she had the idea of breaking off the engagement.
The master and the teacher had different ideas about this matter.
According to Master, it's not appropriate to go directly to their door; instead, we can invite the Xiao family father and son to the sect for a face-to-face meeting.
But the teacher thought it was unnecessary.
He shared the same thought, after all, what was the Xiao family? Just a down-and-out family from a peripheral city of the Jia Ma Empire.
Therefore, at her teacher's instruction, she took Ge Ye to Wutan City.
The annulment of the engagement was finally completed.
But the boy who cut his palm and wrote a letter of divorce in blood also lived deep in her mind.
Only then did she realize how devastating her actions were to a young boy and to her father, the head of the family.
It was then that she realized why her master was so polite to that kind of family.
It was because of this incident that the master, who had never argued with the teacher before, flew into a rage.
Master has always been very good to Teacher, preparing meals for him meticulously every day.
When a teacher encounters problems in their spiritual practice, their master will actively provide guidance.
The master didn't ask the teacher to do much, only that she should not go to the Monster Mountain Range in the next few years, and not even get close to it.
Nalan Yanran felt that her master loved her teacher too much and was worried that her teacher might encounter danger in the Monster Mountain Range.
But the teacher is already a Dou Huang, so he should be fine, right?
Pushing aside the ge leaves, Nalan Yanran ran after Nie Yuan's retreating figure.
The two came down from the mountaintop one after the other.
The sunset glow shone on the square of Yunlan Mountain, covering the main hall, railings, and pillars with a layer of orange-red embellishment.
A group of men and women dressed in white were practicing martial arts moves in the square.
"Sect Master."
Nie Yuan saw a disciple bowing to him and nodded indifferently.
But the conversation behind him made him pause.
"Yanran, the sect leader just gave me the materials. After the teacher refines the pills, will you go to get them yourself, or should I deliver them to you?"
The man noticed Nalan Yanran approaching and asked with a smile.
Upon noticing Nalan Yan's red-rimmed eyes, his smile froze.
"Senior Brother Liu, have you seen my teacher?"
Nalan Yanran wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and asked in a slightly choked voice.
Liu Ling nodded, about to say a few words of concern, when she found a shadow covering her.
Immediately afterward, he heard the sect leader who had walked by earlier ask a question.
Liu Ling dared not slack off and truthfully recounted the entire story of bumping into the sect leader and seeing him walk towards his residence.
After he finished speaking, he wanted to check on Nalan Yanran, but he only saw her leaving with the sect leader.
"Strange..."
Liu Ling scratched the back of her head, turned around and continued to look for her teacher. "I'll ask again when I deliver the medicine to Yanran after the pills are refined."
...
A small courtyard deep within the main hall.
A woman in a light blue dress pushed open the courtyard gate, walked into the house, and stood by the window.
The distant clouds looked as if they were on fire, glowing reddish-brown, overlapping to form strange outlines.
She heard hurried, chaotic footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw Nalan Yanran running in with red eyes.
Yun Yun asked with concern, "Yanran, what happened?"
"Teacher, I accidentally mentioned that you went to the Monster Mountain Range."
Nalan Yanran lowered her head, not daring to look Yun Yun in the eye.
Upon hearing this, Yun Yun's face first showed a hint of nervousness, and she turned her head to look behind Nalan Yanran.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized no familiar figures had entered.
"Yanran, Nie Yuan was just worried about me. Now that I'm back safely, I'll explain to him later. Nothing will happen, so you don't need to blame yourself."
Yun Yun placed her palm on Nalan Yanran's hair and gently rubbed it twice.
"Are you sure you won't argue?"
Nalan Yanran's watery eyes revealed a look of worry.
Yun Yun forced a gentle smile, "I have a hundred ways to control him. Go back and cultivate. Remember to pick up the pills when Elder Gu finishes refining them."
Nalan Yanran hesitated for a few seconds, nodded gently, and walked out of the room.
Standing on the steps,
Nalan Yanran's gaze searched for her master's figure, finally stopping at the house on the left, where white smoke rose from the chimney above the roof.
Seeing this, Nalan Yanran's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, slowly settled back into her stomach.
"Master has started cooking. He must have calmed down after seeing that Master has returned safely."
Nalan Yanran was no longer worried and walked briskly out of the courtyard.
However.
In the kitchen, Nie Yuan was cooking, but there was no smile on his face.
His face was etched with an inescapable gloom.
If Nalan Yanran saw this scene, she would understand the rising white smoke.
It's just the calm before the storm...