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Inside the hall, Zhou Yuntian led Lu Ye and the other three forward, stopping 15 meters away from the sofa. He bowed his head respectfully and said, “Zhou Yuntian pays respects to the Mistress. The newcomers have been brought in.”
As he spoke, he glanced sideways and signaled to Lu Ye and the others with his eyes.
Li Baxian and the two quickly bowed and cupped their fists, so Lu Ye also imitated them, and they all said in unison, “We pay our respects to the mistress!”
“Mm,” the lazy voice sounded again.
Lu Ye secretly raised his eyes to take a peek, and he couldn’t help but be stunned by what he saw.
Even though he had met the Mistress before in the mountains, they were separated by a curtain the whole time, so Lu Ye didn’t know what she really looked like, only that she was a woman.
Now, without the curtain separating them, he could clearly see her face.
To be honest, Lu Ye had seen many women since he started cultivating, and many of them were exceptionally beautiful… Among female cultivators, there were hardly any who were unattractive. Most of them were elegant and at least above average in appearance, with a considerable number of them that were stunningly beautiful.
The main reason was that cultivators possessed Spiritual Power, which helped preserve their youthful appearance.
But Lu Ye had never seen a face as exquisitely beautiful as this one. One could hardly find the slightest flaw on that face, and it was so perfect that it seemed otherworldly.
It wasn’t just flawlessly beautiful, her face carried an indescribable allure! Especially the tiny mole below the corner of her eye that added a touch of charm.
Such a face undoubtedly had a great visual impact on the men in this world, especially combined with the light and revealing clothing she wore, exposing large seconds of snow-white skin. It could be considered provocative, further causing one’s veins to swell.
With such looks and figure, she probably had the qualifications to captivate most men even without relying on her mysterious Divine Soul Secret Technique, making them willingly devote themselves to her.
But what intrigued Lu Ye even more was not her appearance but rather the aura emanating from her.
He had sensed it from earlier. There was something strange about the Mistress’s aura, and now it felt even clearer.
The power flowing within her was different from regular Spiritual Power… It felt more like Mutant Power.
Having spent so much time with Amber, Lu Ye had become quite sensitive to Mutant power.
In that case, did that mean that this Mistress was not human, but a Mutant Beast? Moreover, she was definitely a special kind of Mutant Beast with some extraordinary abilities. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for her to be able to perform a Divine Soul Secret Technique that could control cultivators with her Cloud River Realm level of cultivation.
That explained it. Orthodox cultivators didn’t have the ability to use Divine Soul Secret Techniques in the Cloud River Realm, but it was different for Mutant Beasts. Some powerful ones naturally possessed abilities that ordinary people couldn’t match.
As if sensing Lu Ye’s gaze, the captivating eyes of the Mistress swept over and met Lu Ye’s eyes. Her mouth curved slightly, revealing a playful smile.
She had seen such gazes many times before, so she was naturally accustomed to them. However, Lu Ye’s boldness surprised her a bit. Because of the Divine Soul Secret Technique, most people who saw her for the first time should generally be respectful and fearful of her.
Even someone like Zhou Yuntian, who had been with her for many years, only dared to occasionally steal glances at her and never openly stare at her like this.
Lu Ye was the first to meet her with such a direct gaze.
As their eyes met, Lu Ye’s expression suddenly changed because the Mistress’s beautiful eyes gave him the feeling that he was being drawn into an endless abyss, causing his consciousness to sink involuntarily. His mind trembled, and Lu Ye quickly lowered his head.
“Oh?” The Mistress made a surprised sound. She was taken aback by Lu Ye being able to break free from her gaze. She had originally wanted to teach him a small lesson, but she didn’t expect to discover the strength of Lu Ye’s mind through this.
However, this was a good thing for her. The stronger the cultivation of her subordinates, the more power she could harness. After a deep glance at Lu Ye, she no longer paid it any more attention.
“Introduce yourselves,” the Mistress ordered in a lazy voice.
Zhou Yuntian whispered from the side, “The Mistress wants to know your strengths. If you have any special abilities, reveal them all. Do not conceal anything. Brother Xia, you can start.”
Xia Liang immediately cupped his fist and said in a deep voice, “Raving Bladesmen’s Xia Liang, Ninth Order Cloud River Realm, Combat Cultivator. As for any special abilities, this Xia has always focused on the blade and has no other skills.”
Zhou Yuntian explained on the side, “Mistress, the Raving Bladesmen is a First-Tier Sect. Brother Xia once ranked in the top ten on the Roll of Supremacy. His cultivation cannot be compared to an ordinary Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator.”
“Not bad,” the Mistress responded lightly.
Zhou Yuntian prompted the next person, “Brother Tan!”
Tan Sheng quickly said, “New Moon Sect’s Tan Sheng, Ninth Order Cloud River Realm, also a Combat Cultivator.”
Zhou Yuntian continued, “Brother Tan once ranked on the Roll of Supremacy as well. The New Moon Sect is a Third-Tier Sect, and it is also considered a major Sect in Jiu Zhou.”
The Mistress remained silent, clearly showing less interest in Tan Sheng compared to Xia Liang.
Next was Li Baxian, who said, “The Devoted Ones’ Li Baxian, Fifth Order Cloud River Realm, a Sword Cultivator.”
Zhou Yuntian explained, “Li Baxian was a legendary figure when he was in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. He was the only one to rank in the top ten of the Roll of Supremacy with a Heaven Eight cultivation, even maintaining that position for over ten years. I heard that Brother Li’s Spiritual Points were shattered in a battle before, but now that he has advanced to the Cloud River Realm, his Spiritual Points should be repaired, right?”
“Yes. Thanks to Little Junior Brother spending a huge sum to buy the Point Restoration Pills, my damaged Spiritual Points have been repaired.”
“Congratulations! Mistress, though Brother Li’s current cultivation is not high, in terms of potential, none of us can compare to him. Moreover, he’s a Sword Cultivator. If he can grow into the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm in the future, he will undoubtedly become a top-tier expert!”
“Very good!” The Mistress’s voice carried a sense of joy. “Prepare some cultivation resources for him later and let him cultivate diligently to improve his cultivation.”
Zhou Yuntian immediately turned to Li Baxian. “What are you waiting for? Quickly thank the Mistress for her reward!”
Li Baxian promptly said, “Thank you, Mistress.”
Zhou Yuntian looked at Lu Ye.
Lu Ye also cupped his fist and said, “Crimson Blood Sect’s Lu Ye, Fourth Order Cloud River Realm, a Combat Cultivator.” After a pause, he continued, “This subordinate is proficient in the Way of Glyphs, the Way of Wards, and I also have some knowledge in the Way of Tattoos.”
Zhou Yuntian had previously said that if they had any special abilities, they should reveal them all without concealing anything.
Even though Lu Ye didn’t want to disclose this information, it was common knowledge, and Xia Liang and Tan Sheng already knew about it. So, even if he didn’t want to, he had to say it to avoid exposing any flaws.
Zhou Yuntian was greatly astonished at that. “Cultivator Lu is proficient in so many different disciplines?”
“Just bits and pieces of them,” Lu Ye replied modestly.
“Very impressive.” Zhou Yuntian looked delighted. “Mistress, we currently lack such talents. Especially in the Way of Wards, Brother Xie has been complaining about the lack of suitable helpers all this while, so I think we can send Cultivator Lu to assist him.”
“You can make the decision. There’s no need to ask me,” the Mistress replied casually.
“Yes.”
“I’m tired. All of you, leave me.” the Mistress dismissed them with a wave.
Zhou Yuntian immediately said with respect, “This subordinate will excuse himself.”
Saying this, he shot a glance at Lu Ye and the others, then led them away while maintaining a bow.
After leaving the building, they followed Zhou Yuntian closely and quickly arrived at one side of the valley where many pavilion-like buildings stood, each spaced about a hundred meters apart, totaling about a hundred or so in units.
Zhou Yuntian said, “You can feel free to choose your own residences. From now on, you will live in Fox Immortal Valley. We are all family, so there is no need to be overly reserved, but there is one thing you must remember!”
Speaking up to this point, his expression became extremely serious, and his voice lowered, “Once you enter Fox Immortal Valley, you must sever your connections with the past. From now on, you are all people of Fox Immortal Valley. You must not contact your former Sects or friends, and you must never expose the existence of the valley to anyone outside. If anyone violates this order, they will be killed without mercy!”
“Yes,” Lu Ye and the others nodded to indicate that they understood.
“Other than that, Fox Immortal Valley has no rules. Usually, besides going out to recruit talents, there isn’t much else to do. You are free to cultivate as you wish.” He pointed to the pavilions, saying, “If the second-floor doors are closed, someone is living there. If the doors are wide open, it means that it’s unoccupied. You can choose any place you like.”
After that, he exchanged Battle Imprints with Lu Ye and the others, informing them that if they had any issues, they could contact him before leaving.
After Zhou Yuntian left, Tan Sheng and Xia Liang went together to find their residences.
Lu Ye and Li Baxian also walked together in one direction.
Along the way, Lu Ye observed Li Baxian’s expression and found that he appeared calm with no signs of discomfort.
Lu Ye called out to him tentatively, “Fourth Senior Brother.”
“En?”
“What should we do about Senior Sister Feng and the rest?”
Zhou Yuntian had said that once they entered Fox Immortal Valley, they must sever all contact with the past and not reveal the existence of Fox Immortal Valley to anyone. Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had grown up together and had been cultivating together for so many years. Now, suddenly being brought here and having to sever ties with their past, Lu Ye was curious to know how Li Baxian would choose.
Li Baxian sighed. “Since the Mistress has already given the order, I can only follow it. Although Yuechan… may be sad, she will get over it with time.”
A chill ran through Lu Ye’s heart, but he said, “You’re right.” He pointed to two pavilions ahead. “Senior Brother, let’s choose these two. If we live closer to each other, it’ll make it easier for us to watch out for each other.”
Li Baxian nodded in agreement, “All right.”
Thus, they each selected a pavilion.
Lu Ye chose the one on the right. Upon entering, he noticed signs of past habitation. A few things were left behind, but it seemed that the previous occupant hadn’t returned in a long time as dust covered everything inside the room.
Lu Ye wasn’t sure about the current situation of the previous occupant of this pavilion, but from what he saw, they must not have fared well. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been away for so long.
This place called Fox Immortal Valley seemed peaceful on the surface, and everyone got along harmoniously. Under the Mistress’s Divine Soul Secret Technique, everyone was united as one cohesive unit. However, from what he had observed, it might not be as safe here as it appeared.
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