【Desolate Meteor Alchemy】

“And Elder Yao has a peculiar temper…” Yun Yao added. “He might say some unpleasant things, but don’t take them to heart. Let him talk all he wants—the medicine certainly won’t be shorted to you. I’ve already settled it with my master.”

“Much obliged.” Su Ji clasped his hands in gratitude.

For the head of a sect to personally appear, that was no small gesture of goodwill.

“If I gain it, it is my fortune; if I lose it, it is my fate. Su Ji understands.”

He spoke these words aloud, but beneath the surface, a faint, indescribable sense of dissonance stirred like a hidden undercurrent in still water.

Seeing that he had agreed, Yun Yao seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and the smile on her face grew even brighter.

“Then it’s settled!”

“Mm.”

He answered with his mouth.

But…

Something was off.

Su Ji replayed every detail of what had just happened in his mind, frame by frame, as if watching a film.

Where was the flaw?

First, there was the way she had entered.

Soundless.

Su Ji was certain he had heard no door creak or footsteps. His current state was indeed at rock bottom—his five senses dulled, his spiritual awareness withered.

But even an ordinary mortal wouldn’t fail to notice a full-grown person walking right up to them, would they?

Unless…

She had done it on purpose.

She deliberately concealed all her aura and movement, aiming to catch him off guard.

But why would she do that?

For fun?

Su Ji immediately dismissed that notion.

Yun Yao might be simpleminded, but this kind of sneaky, probing behavior didn’t seem like something she would do.

Next…

there were the words she had just spoken.

“After all my badgering these past few days, I’ve finally convinced my master.”

Badgering?

Su Ji chewed on those two words, his expression turning odd.

Would someone truly innocent, even a bit “saintly” at heart, use a word like “badgering”—with its clear negative and self-deprecating connotation—to describe their efforts to save someone?

No.

In Yun Yao’s understanding, going to beg her master to save someone was an act of merit, a righteous deed. She might have said, “I wore my master down for ages” or “I pleaded with him for a long time,” but she would never describe herself with a term like “badgering.”

Because in her heart, it wasn’t badgering—it was kindness.

Using such a word sounded more like an outsider, or someone with a meticulous mind, clumsily imitating another person’s supposed foolishness, making a verbal slip due to a misunderstanding of character.

Then there was that sentence:

“As long as you behave yourself and recuperate quietly, no one will drive you away.”

At first glance, it seemed like harmless reassurance, a promise.

But upon closer examination…

Didn’t that sound just like Yun Ying—that sharp-tongued, observant brat?

It was a warning.

A veiled slap on the wrist, telling him to stay in line and not cause trouble.

Would the real Yun Yao say that?

No. That naive girl would just pound her chest and say, “Stay as long as you like, I’ve got your back,” not use that kind of guarded, conditional tone.

One by one, the suspicions linked together in his mind.

Just as Su Ji’s thoughts were running wild like a runaway horse, a faint glimmer of light flashed before his eyes out of nowhere.

[Yun Xi has spoken. Target…]

[Target currently in observer mode.]

[Romantic options triggered.]

[Option One: Fellow Daoist, your facade has already cracked. Why must the Yin Yang Sect test me again and again? If I’m unwelcome, I’ll leave. Once my wounds heal in the future, I’ll return to pay my respects. (Reward: Yun Xi’s favor +30, a healing pill, and she personally escorts you out of the Yin Yang Sect)]

[Option Two: Pretend nothing happened. (Reward: Desolate Star Alchemy Art)]

[Option Three: Publicly reveal your spiritual root. Tell her that if she guarantees to protect you, this spiritual root is hers to dispose of. (Reward: Yun Xi’s favor +35, Su Jiu’s favor -35)]

[Permanent Option: With your mere three-foot mortal life, offer sacrifice to my supreme Sword Path. (Current kill count: 2132)]

Su Ji stared at the clear words “Yun Xi” and froze.

Not because of the name itself.

But because this thing was still alive?

It hadn’t shown up to remind him of its existence in a long time.

Everything now made sense.

Yun Xi…

Yun Yao…

Yun Ying…

The names sounded like they belonged to the same family.

A sister? An older or younger one?

For a split second, an absurd thought flashed through Su Ji’s mind.

Did the Yin Yang Sect have a monopoly on making family combos?

He shook his head, forcibly casting aside these random thoughts, and refocused his gaze on the three options before him.

The first option: call her bluff directly.

The benefit was that it would immediately resolve the current predicament, get him a healing pill, and allow him to leave safely.

But the downside was obvious: once he left the Kongxuan Mountains as a cripple with no cultivation, carrying a half-dead fox, he’d be nothing but a walking piece of fat meat in the lawless, danger-ridden Chaos Star Sea.

The second option: play dumb.

The reward was the Desolate Star Alchemy Art.

This reward was tempting.

Was that old bastard finally willing to pass down the Scorching Art?

Still… looking at it that way, had this romance option fallen from the shattered celestial fate of the Fallen Dragon Immortal Lord?

The permanent option’s “Supreme Sword Path” subtly resonated with [Desolate Star Sword].

And now there was the [Desolate Star Alchemy Art].

Even for a colorful celestial fate, directly pulling out one of an Immortal Lord’s inheritances seemed a bit too extravagant…

As for the third option…

Su Ji’s eyes landed on that line of text, his gaze turning strange.

Again?

Was he really that gifted by nature?

He lifted his head and glanced at the gray sky beyond the window.

The snowstorm seemed even fiercer.

He needed a safe haven——a place where he could peacefully recover.

Making a sound was a risk.

So he would keep quiet.

“Alright, I won’t disturb your rest anymore.”

‘Yun Yao’ added a few more trite reassurances like “rest well” and “don’t move around,” then hummed an out-of-tune little melody as she pushed open the door and left.

The door shut with a soft creak, and the room fell silent again.

Su Ji’s smile, however, slowly faded away at that moment.

…

Outside the house, the cold wind churned with powdery snow, shadows flickering in the dim light.

“Yun Yao” hummed her off-key ditty as she walked out with light steps.

Yet the lightness carried a peculiar, indescribable strangeness.

With every step she took forward, her aura condensed deeper by one degree.

The round, faintly baby-faced contours of her cheeks shifted subtly in the shadows, becoming more sharply defined, gaining a hint of cold edge.

The bottomless innocence and curiosity in her almond-shaped eyes gradually drained away, replaced by a deep, time-worn profundity.

When she stepped for the tenth time, the texture of her simple black-and-white disciple robe changed on a micro level—— the stitching grew finer, the cuffs hinting at threads of silver drifting through the fabric.

The green hair ribbon that had once held her long hair back had already turned into an unadorned yet elegant white jade hairpin, pulling her waterfall of ebony hair into a high bun.

That bouncing, naive girl “Yun Yao” had utterly vanished.

In her place stood a slender, graceful beauty.

She simply stood there silently in the wind and snow.

A figure had long been waiting.

It was Yun Ying.

He stood like a silent stone statue, letting the wind and snow settle on his shoulders.

Watching the series of changes in 'Yun Yao,' Yun Ying’s face, which had been tightly drawn, showed no surprise.

Stepping forward, he bowed respectfully.

"Greetings, Master."

Yun Xi did not look at Yun Ying. Instead, she raised her head and gazed at the main peak of Kongxuan Mountain, veiled by the wind and snow.

Yun Ying hesitated for a moment. "Should I... directly expel him from the mountain?"

"No," Yun Xi shook her head.

"Why drive him away?"

"Then what does Master intend to do?"

"Tomorrow, I will have Yun Yao take him to see Elder Yao."

Yun Ying paused. "Elder Yao?"

That elder’s temper was notoriously stubborn and difficult throughout the entire Yin Yang Sect, and he hated nothing more than being asked to refine pills.

Su Ji, going to see him?

"That’s right."

"I’ve already spoken with Elder Yao."

"I’ve asked him to be a bit restrained in his words tomorrow."

"He will tell Su Ji that his injuries are beyond the reach of immortals and gods, and advise him to prepare for his final arrangements."

Yun Ying instantly grasped his master’s intent.

"Master means... to force him to reveal his true nature?"

"A true expert can endure temporary humiliation."

"But character is the hardest thing to fake."

Yun Ying nodded, deeply convinced by his master’s plan.

This was indeed the best approach.

"And if he isn’t... one?" Yun Ying asked further.

"Then it would just mean he is an ordinary person with an unyielding spirit," Yun Xi replied, her tone returning to calm. "In that case, he is merely a homeless, pitiable soul. Our Yin Yang Sect can still afford to support him. We can also spare the cost of a dose of medicine. From now on, you are not to use those petty, underhanded tactics to test him again."

"Yes, Master," Yun Ying answered with a bow.