novelraw Chapter 960 - 960 A New Check-In Location
Chapter 960 - 960 A New Check-In Location
"Sorry, Xiaoyao, that King Fufeng is targeting you because of me — it really has nothing to do with you."
Luo Xiangling's face carried a trace of apology.
After all, no one would want to make an enemy of a quasi-immortal.
And Jun Xiaoyao had suffered a completely undeserved disaster.
Simply because of his close association with Luo Xiangling, he had drawn King Fufeng's hostility.
"Senior Xiangling, there is no need to apologize — this is not your fault." Jun Xiaoyao smiled faintly.
Seeing Jun Xiaoyao's attitude, Luo Xiangling couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
If it had been some other sharp-edged genius who suffered such an undeserved disaster, they would likely have been seething with rage, their heart full of resentment.
Yet Jun Xiaoyao's expression remained calm and composed.
This kind of temperament genuinely earned Luo Xiangling's admiration.
"It's been a long time since we last discussed the Dao together. Ever since our conversations, I've had no desire to exchange ideas with anyone else." Luo Xiangling said with a light laugh.
This was also why she had no interest in attending the ancient supreme Dao discussion gathering.
She felt that talking with those people yielded far less than talking with Jun Xiaoyao.
"Then that is truly Jun's honor." Jun Xiaoyao smiled as well.
The two were about to step inside.
At that moment, a rolled-up scroll of painting paper slipped unintentionally from Jun Xiaoyao's sleeve and fell to the ground.
"Hm?"
Luo Xiangling noticed it.
Jun Xiaoyao's expression shifted slightly, and he bent down to pick it up.
But the scroll floated up through the air and landed in Luo Xiangling's hand.
"This is..." A trace of curiosity flickered in Luo Xiangling's beautiful eyes.
"Senior Xiangling, this..." Jun Xiaoyao let a faint, subtle unease show on his face at just the right moment.
Luo Xiangling was curious, and she unrolled the scroll.
Then she froze on the spot as if struck by lightning, unable to move.
Painted on the scroll was a woman standing beside the Luo River.
Mist clung to her long skirt, her sash drifting in the breeze, graceful as a celestial being on the verge of riding the wind away.
Her spirit was like autumn waters, her bones like jade, her face like a lotus blossom, her brows like willow leaves.
Her eyes shimmered with a clear light, gazing into the distance.
A portrait of beauty taken to its absolute extreme.
It could be said that any man who laid eyes on the peerless beauty in the painting would be utterly entranced, his heart and mind captivated.
More importantly, this was not merely a painting.
The woman and the river within it seemed to be in motion.
Imbued with spiritual power and the resonance of the Dao, anyone who glanced at it could even gain a moment of enlightenment.
"This... is this me?"
Luo Xiangling was stunned.
The woman in the painting — was that herself?
Yet what left Luo Xiangling unable to calm her heart was this:
Beneath the portrait of peerless beauty, there was a dense inscription of words.
"Ode to the Goddess of Luo..."
Luo Xiangling's jade lips murmured softly.
"Her form — like a startled swan in flight, like a dragon gliding through the water, radiant as the chrysanthemum in autumn, lush as the pine in spring."
"Seen from afar, she shines like the sun rising through morning clouds; observed up close, she blazes like a lotus emerging from clear rippling waves."
"Her cloud-like hair piled high, her slender brows delicately arched. Her vermilion lips bright and vivid, her white teeth gleaming within, her luminous eyes full of expression, her dimpled cheeks resting upon her fair jaw."
"Her glance casts a radiant glow, her jade complexion lustrous and smooth. Words linger unspoken on her lips, her breath as subtle as the fragrance of orchids. Her graceful figure sways with elegance, making me forget to eat."
As Luo Xiangling read silently, her heart trembled uncontrollably.
The woman in the painting was beautiful.
The words were even more extraordinary.
It was hard to imagine that such a world-shaking piece of verse could have come from the hand of someone so young.
What made Luo Xiangling's heart tremble even more was this:
On the scroll, there was a single drop of fresh blood, startlingly vivid.
What did that signify?
It signified that the one who painted this and wrote these words had poured an immense amount of their very life's essence into it.
Otherwise, not every single stroke would carry the resonance of the Dao.
"Xiaoyao, you..."
Luo Xiangling looked at Jun Xiaoyao, her shimmering eyes trembling faintly.
Jun Xiaoyao had poured his heart and soul into this poem and painting for her sake.
Any woman, without exception, would find it impossible to remain unmoved.
"I apologize — presuming to compose verse and paint a portrait of Senior Xiangling without permission was rather forward of me." Jun Xiaoyao let a faint, subtle unease show at just the right moment.
"No, the painting is beautiful — and the words too. I never imagined that you, Xiaoyao, not only possess unparalleled talent, but also such breathtaking literary and artistic gifts."
Luo Xiangling looked at Jun Xiaoyao as though seeing him for the first time.
His appearance was peerless, his talent monstrous — that much she already knew.
But to also possess such astonishing creative brilliance.
The painting and the verse were not something an ordinary person could produce.
To be honest, even Luo Xiangling herself, upon seeing them, could hardly believe that the painting and the poem were written about her.
What made Luo Xiangling's heart skip a beat even more was this:
Why had Jun Xiaoyao created this poem and painting?
Could it be because...
"Xiaoyao, can you give this to me?" Luo Xiangling asked.
"This... if Senior does not mind, then of course." Jun Xiaoyao said.
"Stop calling me Senior — just call me by my name." Luo Xiangling said.
"Alright, Xiangling." Jun Xiaoyao nodded.
Hearing that form of address, Luo Xiangling's heart gave a sudden leap, and she turned away.
"Go cultivate for now — we can discuss the Dao again later."
With that, Luo Xiangling hurried back to her room.
Watching Luo Xiangling's retreating figure, the faint unease on Jun Xiaoyao's face faded away.
The corners of his lips curved into a subtle arc.
All of this had naturally been deliberate on his part.
From painting the portrait, to composing the Ode to the Goddess of Luo, to letting a drop of his heart's blood fall upon it.
Then deliberately pretending to let it slip out, only for Luo Xiangling to see it.
Every single step had been carefully orchestrated by Jun Xiaoyao.
He did not expect to fully win Luo Xiangling over.
As long as, should he find himself in danger later on, Luo Xiangling would step forward to help — that would be enough.
The might of a quasi-immortal was beyond measure.
"Although things have progressed to this point, I still don't truly know what Luo Xiangling's feelings toward me are."
"It's time to put that to the test." A glint flickered in Jun Xiaoyao's eyes.
He already had a new plan in mind.
The reason Jun Xiaoyao had gone to such lengths to draw Luo Xiangling closer was this:
He had a premonition that he would inevitably stir up great waves in the foreign realm before long.
When that time came, he would need a top-tier powerhouse standing behind him as his backing.
If this were the immortal realm, Jun Xiaoyao would have no need to work so hard to borrow someone else's influence.
A single word from him, and countless powerful figures would willingly stand at his back.
But this was the foreign realm, after all, and the Jun family's reach could not easily extend here.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Back in her room, Luo Xiangling found her heart pounding rapidly.
It was a feeling she had never experienced before.
She studied the woman in the painting once more, along with the inscription of the Ode to the Goddess of Luo.
The more she looked, the more joy welled up inside her.
If someone had praised her beauty to her face,
Luo Xiangling would have felt a degree of distaste.
King Fufeng, for instance, had done exactly that in the past.
But this approach — she had to admit — had struck straight at the heart of Luo Xiangling.
"Am I truly this beautiful?"
Gazing at the breathtakingly beautiful woman standing gracefully beside the Luo River in the painting, Luo Xiangling's eyes grew soft and hazy.
She was a little lost in it.
What kind of divine artistry could capture such transcendent beauty in a single image.
"Yu Xiaoyao is truly quite fascinating." Luo Xiangling murmured inwardly.
A captivating flush of red bloomed across her incomparably beautiful face.
In the days that followed,
Jun Xiaoyao remained in Luo Xiangling's private courtyard.
The place was suffused with dragon qi, which also aided Jun Xiaoyao's cultivation.
Jun Xiaoyao and Luo Xiangling would often discuss the Dao and converse together.
At times, when the mood struck them, they would compose poetry, paint, and play music.
Jun Xiaoyao's mastery of the zither once again left Luo Xiangling astonished.
The music was like the sounds of heaven itself, woven through with the resonance of the Dao, soothing to the very soul.
In Luo Xiangling's eyes, Jun Xiaoyao was simply a treasure trove waiting to be discovered.
The bond between the two naturally grew warmer and more harmonious with each passing day.
There was even a faint sense — like that of a celestial couple deeply in love.
And yet, amid this tranquil atmosphere,
Elder Mu arrived with a rather grave expression, bringing Jun Xiaoyao a piece of news.
"The Mo Jie Imperial Clan's Mo Jie Imperial Son is about to awaken. Word has already spread — the Mo Jie Imperial Son intends to face you, little friend Xiaoyao, in battle at the Mountain of the War God."
"Ding — congratulations, Host. A new check-in location has refreshed. Please check in at the Mountain of the War God!"