Refining the Mountains and Rivers

There were 3,000 cultivation methods and 7,000 daos in this world.

If we use viciousness and brutality as the standard and make a top-down ranking, Ning Xiao had always believed that the Taotie Method he cultivated would be at the top.

This so-called Taotie Method used swallowing power. Of course, it did not swallow mindlessly. There was also a set of strict standards. Only devouring capable cultivators could bring benefits and enhance his strength.

From Ning Xiao's point of view, the most difficult part about cultivating this method was to stick to the limits. Getting manipulated by this skill would cause him to gradually lose his mind. The 'Taotie' would take over his will and swallow everything in its way, eventually causing him to die.

The reason was very simple. There were many capable cultivators that met the standards, but could not be touched.

Such as the Eldest Princess!

Her scent made Ning Xiao almost crazy. He had no doubt that if he could swallow this noble princess, he would be able to break through the boundaries and enter the Ruler level.

That was the realm that Ning Xiao had always dreamed of and pursued, but he had served the Eldest Princess for a hundred years and never dared to take any action.

Not to mention that it would be seeking death to do so, what awaited him would be endless pursuit from the West Desolate's Royal Family!

Ning Xiao was able to live peacefully to this day with his current cultivation base because he always reminded himself to stay calm.

However, not long ago, Ning Xiao found a similar scent on another woman…no, to be precise, that scent gave him an even stronger desire to swallow.

And this time, he was very lucky. This woman did not have a royal status like the Eldest Princess, nor did she have someone powerful to rely on. She was just a pretty woman from a brothel…this woman was called Yun Qing!

With Yun Qing's looks, it would not take long for her to win the favor of high-profile customers in the capital city. That is to say, if he delayed devouring her even more, he would get into trouble if he tried to do so later on.

But now, everything was just right. She had just entered the capital city's Moon Brothel and was still relatively unknown to people. As long as he paid a high price to buy her and take her away, he could do whatever he wanted to Yun Qing.

Thinking of this, Ning Xiao was so excited that he started trembling. The carriage stopped and he looked out. His eyes fell on Moon Brothel's elegant gatehouse, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

In order to avoid looking suspicious, Ning Xiao forcibly suppressed the urgency that he felt. He had visited Moon Brothel several times and expressed his 'fondness' for Yun Qing several times. Today, he was going to pretend to hesitate before agreeing to pay the price to buy Yun Qing.

Taking a deep breath, Ning Xiao stepped out of the carriage, feeling the excitement roll like a tide in his heart. But soon, Ning Xiao felt as if cold water had been poured on him - Yun Qing had been bought by someone else!

He looked at the middle-aged man who had an apologetic smile on his face. His eyes were cold as knives as he slowly asked, "Who is it?"

Locked onto by these terrifying eyes, the middle-aged man's smile remained unchanged and his tone was calm and gentle, "As you know, Moon Brothel has always placed great importance on our guests' privacy, so we cannot tell you who it is."

Ning Xiao was silent, but killing intent soared in his heart. He wished to tear this middle-aged man into pieces.

But he did not dare to!

This person seemed to be a mere clerk who worked in Moon Brothel, but he was backed by a faction of the Royal Family. Even the Eldest Princess would not dare to offend these people.

Taking a deep breath, Ning Xiao cupped his hands and said, "You must know about my origins…Yun Qing is a woman that I value very much. If you can tell me who it is, just take it as me owing Moon Brothel a favor."

This was his promise. As someone who worked under the Eldest Princess who was now highly favored, he believed that this man would understand the weight of his promise.

In particular, he entered the Imperial Palace not long ago, which was a secret that the upper class of the capital city knew about.

"I…" The middle-aged man hesitated for a while, and then said, "Then please send our regards to the Eldest Princess."

Ning Xiao's eyes lit up. "Definitely!"

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "The one who bought Yun Qing was Border Cliff Saint, who works for the Sixth Prince. They just left a moment ago."

Ning Xiao cupped his hands before turning to leave, frowning with gloom in his eyes.

Sixth Prince…

Even though he knew the Sixth Prince was no longer favored, he was still one of the Desolate King's sons. Unless the Imperial Palace ordered it, no one could do anything to him.

The Eldest Princess suffered from an accident because of the Third Prince, and thus she was at odds with the Sixth Prince. Ning Xiao's status as the Eldest Princess' trusted aide would only sow discord between himself and Border Cliff Saint.

The thoughts turned quickly in his head, before Ning Xiao took a deep breath and exhaled.

I can't be bothered anymore!

In any case, Yun Qing must be his.

……

In front of Li Zhouyi's palace, Border Cliff Saint sat in the carriage and suddenly raised his eyebrows, feeling slightly surprised. He originally thought that the plan was too simple. Unexpectedly, it was working.

Looking back at the carriage that followed his one, Border Cliff Saint really could not understand. She was just a pretty girl from a brothel - how could she have such great magic power?

"Ning Xiao greets Border Cliff Saint!" A calm voice came from the outside.

Border Cliff Saint kept his composure and stepped off the carriage. He saluted, "It's you, Saint Ning Xiao. What's the matter?"

In his calm voice, there was coldness and alienation.

It was very normal. Everyone in the capital city knew about the feud between the Eldest Princess and the Sixth Prince.

In the capital city, the Eldest Princess was one of the top three people that wanted to see Li Zhouyi be doomed.

Ning Xiao was her trusted aide. Now that he was in front of Li Zhouyi's palace and blocking Border Cliff Saint's carriage…no matter how one looked at it, he definitely had bad intentions!

Ning Xiao could clearly feel Border Cliff Saint's coldness and he was silent for a while before he said, "Border Cliff Saint, are you the one who took Yun Qing away?"

Border Cliff Saint frowned with a gloomy expression on his face, "What a good Moon Brothel, learning how to play on different sides now. They really think that His Highness can be bullied at will!"

Although Ning Xiao did not reply, his reaction gave an answer.

Ning Xiao cupped his hands and said, "Border Cliff Saint, please calm down. I am here today not on the Eldest Princess' orders. I have no malicious intentions."

He took a deep breath and said solemnly, "To be honest, it was love at first sight with Yun Qing. I intended to buy her today, but I did not think that I would be too late. After learning about this, I chased after you until here, hoping that you would be generous and give Yun Qing to me. Of course, to show my sincerity, I am willing to pay three times the price that you bought Yun Qing for."

Border Cliff Saint frowned with suspicion on his face, as if he did not expect such a situation, "Saint Ning Xiao, are you being serious?"

Ning Xiao's heart rejoiced, and his voice became even more sincere, "Yes, everything that I've said is true, and there is no deception at all. Please grant my wish, I will definitely remember this in my heart!"

Border Cliff Saint pondered silently, looking like he was tempted by Ning Xiao's suggestion.

Just when Ning Xiao was about to continue speaking, a voice suddenly sounded, "Border Cliff Saint, I'm the one who asked you to bring back Lady Yun Qing for me; you are not qualified to make the decisions for me."

Ning Xiao's face changed slightly and he raised his head to see the man in a black robe walking out of Li Zhouyi's palace. His eyes suddenly became gloomy.

It was him!

Border Cliff Saint coughed lightly, looking slightly embarrassed. "Darkness Ruler, it's just a woman from a brothel, she's not worth mentioning at all…why don't you just give her to Saint Ning Xiao?"

While saying that, Border Cliff Saint gave Qin Yu a side glance and motioned him to nod in agreement.

Ning Xiao suppressed his emotions and said with a smile, "Darkness Ruler, we met on that day at the Imperial Palace."

After a slight pause, he continued, "If you are willing to give me Lady Yun Qing today, I promise I will return this favor in the future."

His words sounded very sincere.

Qin Yu laughed coldly in his heart. How are you going to return this favor? Are you going to return a corpse to me?

As if I would believe you!

Of course, even if everything that Ning Xiao said today was true, Qin Yu still would not agree to his request. Unless this guy was willing to hand over his Ice Flame - maybe then Qin Yu would consider agreeing.

However, obviously, this was not something that was going to happen. So the plan had to continue.

Under the black robe, Qin Yu's cold voice sounded, "I'm sorry but Lady Yun Qing is mine. I don't have the habit of selling my women in exchange for favors."

He then turned around to leave. "Border Cliff Saint, I don't think His Highness would want to see Saint Ning Xiao outside his palace. Aren't you going to see him off?"

"Darkness Ruler!" Ning Xiao shouted, "I hope that Your Excellency will think carefully about this again and not make an impulsive decision that you will regret!"

Qin Yu's voice became even colder, "I will never regret my decision."

Ning Xiao gave him a death stare and his robe started to move even though there was no wind, and a terrifying aura burst forth!

Qin Yu raised his eyebrows, really appreciating the fact that Ning Xiao was boldly making a move here. Attacking a prince's palace…for this crime, even killing him would not cause any trouble!

But obviously, Ning Xiao was not an idiot. His emotions leaked out for a while, but he remained calm.

He sneered and turned around to leave, his silhouette disappearing quickly.

The carriage entered the palace and after the servants were dismissed, Border Cliff Saint laughed bitterly and said, "Darkness Ruler, it seems that Ning Xiao is really going to make his move. I am going to ask you again, are you sure that your plan will succeed?"

Qin Yu replied, "Do not worry, as long as he falls into my setup, he will surely die!"

Border Cliff Saint exhaled, his eyebrows still filled with worry. "I hope this is the case. I have to report back to His Highness, I will take my leave now."

Watching Border Cliff Saint leave in a hurry, Qin Yu glanced at his own residence. His eyes flashed as he stepped into it.

Yun Qing and Yun Die were both sitting in the courtyard. When they saw Qin Yu coming in, they hurriedly stood up and greeted him.

"Welcome, our guest…"

Before they could finish speaking, Qin Yu interrupted, "To outsiders, you will be known as my women. Be careful not to seem too distant, otherwise people will be suspicious…my surname is Qin, you can call me Mister Qin in the future."

"Okay," Yun Qing and Yun Die respectfully bowed.

Qin Yu nodded his head, "What both of you have to do is now over; just stay here with peace of mind. I still have things to take care of, so I will leave first."

He stood up to leave. It was not that he was unwilling to say a few more words to the two beauties, but Yun Qing's face that greatly resembled Feature's always made him feel uneasy.

Furthermore, why would she be so sure that Ning Xiao would fall for their schemes? It seemed that Yun Qing was hiding some secrets.

He entered another room and waved his sleeves, blocking the outside world from listening in.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Now, it's time for you to come out and give me an explanation."