"In your eyes, is that the only reason I've been sticking around you all this time?" Yun Di was clearly angry.
"Of course not. I know you're protecting your uncle, since he's your only family left." Ye Lanshan was somewhat puzzled as to why he was upset.
"Do you even consider me a friend?" This time, Yun Di was genuinely furious, his heart aching.
"Yes, I do. Otherwise, why would I let you into my space?" Ye Lanshan had long regarded him as a confidant.
"Since you see me as a friend, you shouldn't think of me that way. What I said earlier was entirely for your own good. Right now, you simply can't take on both the Moon Kingdom and the Holy Land at the same time."
Yun Di knew that Ye Lanshan trusted him deeply—otherwise, she wouldn't have revealed her most precious secret to him. But this move of hers was far too impulsive.
"I don't recall ever saying I'd fight both the Moon Kingdom and the Holy Land at once." Ye Lanshan smiled faintly, as if nothing in the world concerned her.
"But haven't you already sent Mu Xinlian to sway the Mu family into helping you destroy Yue Jinghong?" At this point, Yun Di truly had no idea what Ye Lanshan was thinking.
"True, but have you forgotten that I know disguise techniques? Even if I wipe out Yue Jinghong, the Holy Land won't necessarily know it was me."
Yun Di was taken aback. He had indeed forgotten about Ye Lanshan's disguise skills.
"Once I take control of the Moon Kingdom, I'll help you become the head of the Sikong family." Ye Lanshan patted Yun Di on the shoulder, her tone as casual as if she were discussing what to eat for dinner.
"Alright, I've been waiting for this day for a long time." Yun Di knew that once Ye Lanshan made a promise, she would keep it. And now, he was eager to return to the Sikong family.
Not for himself, but for Ye Lanshan. If he fully took over the Sikong family, he would become a major asset to her.
"Ye Lanshan, the principal is starting to waver a bit, but truly winning him over is probably impossible. However, I can form a resistance group against the Holy Land within the academy." After much deliberation, Fu Feng finally used a sound transmission talisman to share his thoughts with Ye Lanshan.
"That's certainly doable. Getting the principal on our side is indeed unrealistic, but those who enter are geniuses among geniuses. If we can win them over—setting aside their families—they'd be a tremendous force."
Ye Lanshan clearly agreed with his idea, though she knew it would be difficult for him to pull off alone. She'd need to think carefully about sending more people in.
"Over there, there's the Holy Valley; over here, the Holy Land. Both are cut from the same cloth, with the same nature. I wonder what connection they have." Huo Feiyan, after listening to Qing Dai's explanations, had a decent understanding of what the Holy Land was like.
"Are you saying that on your side, there's another force claiming to be a divine territory, just like the Holy Land?" Ye Lanshan turned to Huo Feiyan upon hearing her words.
"Not just claiming to be a divine territory—their methods, their style, and even the techniques their people practice are almost identical." Huo Feiyan's tone suggested she despised them.
"How interesting. I was wondering how anyone here could know about the Red Lotus Karmic Fire. So that continent has its own version of them too." Ye Lanshan rubbed her chin.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. With her current strength, she couldn't even defeat the Holy Land here, let alone the Holy Valley over there.
"Master, these are the materials we gathered on the major families of the Moon Kingdom." Qing Dai hesitated as she approached, but ultimately handed the intelligence to Ye Lanshan.
"Yue Yinuo, huh. I never expected her to be involved in this." Ye Lanshan gripped the documents tightly. Her expression seemed calm, but her eyes blazed with fury.
"It looks like I'll need to go to the Moon Kingdom myself. Huo Feiyan, this is your territory. Keep an eye on them here—nothing will go wrong." Ye Lanshan tossed the demon beast, the Wu Jiao, Sikong Kuang, and Ye Yu into her space, leaving the others behind under Huo Feiyan's care.
"I'm coming with you." Yun Di stepped forward, his gaze fixed firmly on Ye Lanshan.
"Master, let us come too." The others also stepped forward, eager to join her.
But Ye Lanshan refused. "Going there alone is enough. Too many people will only complicate things."
"If only I'd contracted more spirit beasts. Not even having a mount now is truly miserable." This time, Ye Lanshan had disguised herself as a refined, scholarly weakling, walking alongside Shangguan Xin.
She had originally planned to toss Shangguan Xin into her space, but he refused, insisting on coming out. Now, she had no choice but to let him walk with her.
"Want a mount? That's easy. Watch me catch one for you." Shangguan Xin walked gracefully beside Ye Lanshan. His horns were now hidden, and even his tail had disappeared. The only distinctive feature left was his captivating purple eyes.
"There isn't a single rideable spirit beast for miles around. Where are you going to find me a mount?" Ye Lanshan raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.
"Tsk, you clearly have spirit beasts but claim to have no mount. I'll just have to catch something unfit to be a mount and make it one." Shangguan Xin shook his head, a smile playing on his lips.
Ye Lanshan shot him a speechless glance. She felt Shangguan Xin was getting more and more mischievous, nowhere near as amusing as he was at the start. If she had to compare, Ye Yutian was still more fun.
For some reason, Ye Lanshan found herself starting to miss Ye Yutian.
"Woman, you must be the only one in the world with such leisure, bringing a pot to a place like this." Shangguan Xin watched her pull out a pot and pour water into it, his lips twitching in exasperation.
"Instead of spouting nonsense, think about how you're going to compensate me for scaring off the prey I worked so hard to catch." Ye Lanshan tossed the mushrooms she'd picked into the pot and added seasoning.
"Didn't I catch you a Green Grass Snake?" Shangguan Xin vanished like the wind and reappeared just as quickly, a small snake in his hand.
At the sight of the snake, Ye Lanshan's eyes lit up. She snatched it away, skinned and cleaned it in a flash, then used Tunshi to chop it into pieces and dropped them into the pot.
"Using an ancient divine weapon as a kitchen knife—there's no one else like you." Shangguan Xin was truly at a loss for words.
Just as the snake soup was done and its aroma was at its richest, the sound of someone swallowing saliva came from a tree above.
Ye Lanshan looked up and saw a little girl perched on a branch, staring at the soup below with eyes glowing green.