The moment the words left his mouth, Zhongli realized he had made a blunder.
Watching Ganyu's expression shift as she began to put the pieces together, he muttered inwardly, This is bad.
He hurried to adjust his explanation:
"It's nothing. I just reported to the Sect Master earlier. Three days from now, during the Rite of Descension, I will announce my abdication. At that time, the Sect Master himself will also attend."
Ganyu nodded absentmindedly, but her thoughts were far away.
Zhongli's abdication…
That wasn't the key point!
The problem lay in what Zhongli had said just moments ago.
Everyone in Mount Shu knew that only she and Klee were allowed into the Sect Master's cave.
But Zhongli's earlier words had made it clear—someone else was inside.
"Wait a moment, First Seat Zhongli."
Alice's eyes gleamed with mischief as she pounced on the inconsistency.
"Didn't you just say the Sect Master was cultivating? You went to the main hall and didn't find him, then told me not to send Klee back yet?"
"…"
For a long moment, Zhongli was silent.
This Alice really loved to stir the pot.
If Ganyu and Klee weren't there, then clearly it was someone else in the Sect Master's cave.
Did this really need spelling out?
Wasn't she afraid of ruining Jiang Yan's good fortune—and worse, making him turn his attention toward her instead?
"…I misspoke earlier," Zhongli finally muttered vaguely.
Alice pouted.
A late-stage Refining Void and Unity cultivator—one who can even recall mysteries from the womb—makes a mistake in memory?
But she didn't push further. It was enough to tease. If she went too far and got herself thrown into the Demon-Sealing Tower, that wouldn't be fun.
Ganyu, however, was unwilling to let the matter drop.
Her thoughts whirled.
She might be naïve, but she wasn't a fool. Countless in Mount Shu admired Jiang Yan.
Keqing, Ningguang, Lisa, Miko, Jean…
Even Furina, who had only recently joined Mount Shu, constantly pestered her for stories about Jiang Yan.
Her expression back then—wasn't it the same as Ganyu's own, long ago?
But now, Furina had returned to Fontaine.
Jean had gone back to Mondstadt for official duties.
Lisa was in closed-door alchemy study, preparing for the secret realm expedition in a month.
Ningguang and Keqing were back in Liyue Harbor for council.
That left few suspects.
Eliminating Alice right in front of her, that left only…
Miko?!
Ganyu's face darkened.
She hadn't seen Miko all day today. Normally, her "little sister" would at least stop by once.
So now—
Had her own "sister" stolen into her home?
Her head swam, like a thousand horses trampling her thoughts.
She drew in a deep breath and asked softly:
"First Seat Zhongli, Elder Alice… have either of you seen Sister Miko today? She hasn't visited me, and she's not in her own cave either."
Hearing this, Zhongli and Alice exchanged looks of relief.
Case closed—the one in the Sect Master's cave was Miko.
But this wasn't something they could say aloud.
They both shook their heads in unison.
Ganyu's heart sank. It was her. Miko had slipped in while she wasn't looking.
I guarded against everyone else, yet in the end, I overlooked one person…
Drawing in another breath, Ganyu spoke gently:
"Pardon me, Elder Alice. Please look after Qingluan for me. I have something to discuss with the Sect Master."
Zhongli stiffened, nervous. He opened his mouth, but the look on Ganyu's face said clearly: If you speak, you're siding with them.
So he wisely shut it again.
The Sect Master's private affairs had nothing to do with him.
With a curt nod, Zhongli shot off on his sword—so quickly it was as if he feared getting caught in the fallout.
Alice chuckled awkwardly, gathered up Klee and Qingluan, and departed in a glow of Buddha-light.
Ganyu fixed her eyes on the distant main hall of the sect.
Step by step, she walked inside.
As expected, Jiang Yan was not there cultivating.
Anyone else might have left at that point. But she was not "anyone else." Her relationship with Jiang Yan was not ordinary.
She pressed on toward the back.
But this time, where she had always passed freely before, an invisible barrier turned her aside.
Each step closer twisted her direction, making further progress impossible.
Her faint hope shattered.
If Jiang Yan and Miko had done nothing, why put up a barrier?
Unless…
It had already begun.
Anger flared in her chest, yet she couldn't truly blame Jiang Yan.
With talent like his, if he had been born in the golden age of Mount Shu, the elders would have eagerly urged him to find many wives, to bear many children, to pass on his gifts.
Still, she felt wronged.
She crouched before the barrier, gazing at the hazy silhouettes within.
From her experiences with Jiang Yan, she could imagine exactly how far they had gone.
Though if Jiang Yan had been asked, he might have told her—
What was happening now was far beyond anything she had experienced.
For Ganyu was shy; she could only accept part of his dual cultivation methods.
But Miko embraced it all.
Inside the cave, Jiang Yan and Miko were already deep in their union.
The once pristine shrine maiden now lay with her silken hair in disarray, beauty touched with wildness. Yet her eyes sparkled with vitality.
Perhaps she simply delighted in being with the man she loved.
Jiang Yan, though, was focused—seriously guiding the flow of their dual cultivation.
Their primordial spirits intertwined, divine light roiling through their seas of consciousness.
Miko's yin essence, though at late Essence-Refining stage, far outshone Ganyu's in quality.
It wasn't enough to push Jiang Yan to the next realm—but it brought him that much closer to Union of Void and Dao .
Waves of true essence surged through his dantian, yin and yang merging into the great pattern of heaven and earth.
The Huangting Jade Scripture encompassed all, naturally including dual cultivation. He usually left that aspect untouched—
But today, he did not let the chance slip.
Yet his constant focus on cultivation irked Miko.
She halted, gazing at him with grievance.
"Sect Master… am I not tempting enough?"
Jiang Yan calmed his surging essence, puzzled.
"How could you say that? With your Heavenly Enchantress Physique, your allure is unrivaled."
She pouted.
"You always think of cultivation, always of your duties as Sect Master. No matter when, it's always like this.
"I know cultivation comes first in your heart, but sometimes…"
Her eyes softened, pleading.
"…sometimes, I just want you to forget you're a cultivator. Forget my physique. Forget your dual cultivation methods.
"Just—" her breath tickled his ear, "just be Jiang Yan, a man. Do what you want to do.
"This time, it doesn't have to be about cultivation. Sometimes, joy itself is more important, isn't it?"
She lay back, gazing at him expectantly.
Jiang Yan almost laughed. For a cultivator, there was no forgetting. From the moment they stepped on this path, cultivation was life.
And as Mount Shu's Sect Master, he carried the duty of revival.
His foremost identity was always "cultivator," second "Sect Master," only lastly "Jiang Yan."
But her eyes brimmed with yearning. He couldn't ignore that.
The vital step of dual cultivation was already complete. Why not grant her wish?
He nodded, letting his true essence still, withdrawing his spirit.
"That's more like it…" she whispered, smiling.
"Let's begin again, my dear Sect Master.
"After all, humanity's nature is still… beastly."
And so, setting aside cultivation, they embraced only as man and woman.
No longer the roar of true essence or clash of primordial spirits—
Yet for Miko, it was far sweeter.
And for Jiang Yan, too, freed from method and scripture, acting simply as himself.
The clash of heaven's thunder and earth's fire was silent yet vast.
Outside, Ganyu sat unaware, waiting.
Until sunset bathed the peaks in golden glow, a nine-tailed fox raised its head to the moon, its breakthrough complete.
Even without further practice, Miko had risen to the peak of Essence-Refining. In days, she would step into Refining Void and Unity.
But she cared little for that now.
At last, she caught her breath, smiling at Jiang Yan.
"My, my… life is unpredictable. Who would have thought I would end up becoming the disciple who betrays her master?"
Jiang Yan summoned her robe with a gesture, draping it over her.
Holding her gently, he said:
"Strictly speaking, you were never my disciple. So you're no such 'rebellious student.'"
"Is that so?" Miko blinked playfully.
"Then somehow… I almost feel disappointed."
To read 220+ future chapters, head over to Patreon:
patreon.com/WhiteDevil7554