Chapter 56: Mu Qingqing's Visit!

In the dead of night, Qin Tian sat on the rooftop with An Miaoling and Bai Xiaoru, gazing up at the moon.

Tonight’s moon was extraordinary—a blood moon, a rare sight once in a millennium.

There was a well-known proverb in the Vast Continent: "When the blood moon fills the sky, a turbulent era descends."

Most ordinary cultivators and conventional factions simply treated this saying as a joke.

After all, they rarely survived for ten thousand years; many were wiped out after merely a few centuries or even decades.

Such was the cruel reality of the cultivation world.

However, both An Miaoling and Bai Xiaoru knew it to be absolute truth. A blood moon would distort cause and effect, causing karmic retributions to erupt prematurely.

According to historical records in Qingqiu, countless factions across the Vast Continent would be deeply affected in the aftermath of a blood moon.

Innumerable sects and empires would perish, reduced to mere dust in the currents of history.

Even a faction of Qingqiu’s caliber could not guarantee it would weather the storm unscathed.

During the ancient era, there had been over a dozen openly formidable demon clans, not to mention countless hidden ones.

Yet now, only three remained in plain sight.

The reason Qingqiu survived back then was because a Heaven Fox had emerged from the depths of despair for the fox clan.

The Heaven Fox had turned the tide single-handedly and saved Qingqiu from destruction.

Upon learning of these details, Qin Tian’s expression grew grave.

Perhaps the time left for them to grow and mature was running out, for the three of them were already bound by a web of heavy karma.

...

In the Vast Sky Empire, within the Vast Sky Hall,

Xiao Zhan was reporting the matter regarding Gongyang Sheng to the Empress.

Upon hearing the report, the Empress said in a deep voice, "Since she offended Master Qin and ended up dead, so be it. We must maintain a good relationship with someone of his stature."

"I will have Qing'er make a trip there."

Xiao Zhan smiled faintly. "Given Princess Mu Qingqing's appearance and charm, even Master Qin might find it hard to resist."

Yet inwardly, he felt a twinge of worry; with Princess Qing visiting, his own daughter would have even less of a chance.

After Xiao Zhan withdrew, the Empress summoned Mu Qingqing, who had just emerged from secluded cultivation.

Arriving and finding no one else around, Mu Qingqing ran up to the Empress and affectionately called out, "Mother."

The Empress patted her shoulder, thoroughly enjoying this moment of familial warmth.

After a moment, the Empress asked, "What is your impression of Master Qin?"

"Are you referring to the Master Qin who helped me in the secret realm?"

The Empress nodded.

"He is quite handsome, and very powerful." A slight blush appeared on Mu Qingqing's face as she spoke.

Seeing her daughter's expression, the Empress instantly knew she held favorable feelings for Qin Tian.

If her daughter could forge a dao companion bond with Qin Tian, it would be tremendous news for the Vast Sky Empire.

Perhaps the Vast Sky Empire could even take another step forward and rival the ancient aristocratic families.

Thus, the Empress continued, "You may not know this, but he possesses another identity—he is an Imperial-grade Master Artisan."

Imperial-grade Master Artisan? Mu Qingqing covered her mouth in shock.

As the imperial princess of the empire, how could she not understand the weight of an Imperial-grade Master Artisan?

No wonder An Miaoling had chosen cultivation resources over divine artifacts during their previous exploration of the secret realm.

Seeing her daughter's astonished expression, the Empress added, "He currently resides in Qingyun City."

"If you are interested, you may go and find him."

Hearing her mother's words, she immediately understood the underlying meaning.

"I will go."

Mu Qingqing agreed without hesitation. She would have to marry sooner or later, and if she could marry someone as handsome and powerful as Qin Tian, why not?

At this thought, a rosy flush bloomed across her exquisite face.

The Empress then assigned an elderly cultivator at the Emperor realm to accompany Mu Qingqing and ensure her safety.

She also provided her with several crafting materials, instructing her to ask Qin Tian for assistance in forging artifacts.

Mu Qingqing was a clever young woman. She did not approach Qin Tian directly, as that would have seemed too abrupt.

Furthermore, she believed Qin Tian was not a man swayed purely by superficial beauty.

One could easily tell by the fact that he kept such a stunning disciple by his side.

Upon arriving in Qingyun City, she first sent a voice transmission to An Miaoling.

The two of them had previously exchanged voice transmission stones.

Receiving the message, An Miaoling welcomed Mu Qingqing inside, as she actually held a rather favorable opinion of her.

Upon meeting Qin Tian, Mu Qingqing respectfully greeted him as "Master Qin."

As obedient and polite as their first encounter, she once again left a wonderful impression on Qin Tian.

Subsequently, Mu Qingqing stayed temporarily under the pretext of learning.

By the time An Miaoling realized what was happening, it was already too late, as she had already agreed to let her stay.

She could only sigh inwardly, *"What a truly worrisome master."*

Then, she began to reminisce about the days on Hidden Sword Peak. Although Bai Xiaoru had been there as well,

she could barely tolerate it, unlike now, when new people arrived every few days.

And all of them were so incredibly pretty.

After settling in, Mu Qingqing would occasionally strike up a conversation with Qin Tian.

When no one else was around, she would even stealthily massage Qin Tian's shoulders.

The thought of a future empress massaging his shoulders was, after all, a rather pleasant experience.

As the hour approached midnight, Qin Tian walked over to An Miaoling’s room and pushed the door open directly.

An Miaoling was resting under her blanket and opened her eyes at the sound of movement.

Without looking, she knew who it was—only her lecherous master would ever pull such a stunt.

"Why are you here so late?"

"Your master came to check on you. You haven't seemed very happy lately."

An Miaoling glanced at Qin Tian, surprised that he had noticed even though she barely showed it.

Qin Tian walked over to the bed and lay right down beside it.

Fortunately, he didn't try to crawl under the covers; An Miaoling simply shuffled a bit further inward.

Her hands clutched tightly onto her blanket from within, preventing him from slipping inside.

An Miaoling’s hair was scattered near Qin Tian’s head. He picked up a strand, inhaled deeply, and looked utterly intoxicated.

"Did you bathe in rose petals?"

"?? Were you peeping at me bathe again?" An Miaoling asked angrily.

At the same time, she thought to herself, *I clearly set up a protective array and was extremely careful.*

"Is your master that kind of person? I smelled it."

Only then did An Miaoling realize that the fragrance indeed lingered on her.

"Dog's nose," An Miaoling muttered under her breath.

Qin Tian casually gave An Miaoling’s blanket a light pat. "Is that any way to talk to your master?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he felt something was off—he seemed to have landed his hand on a spot he shouldn't have.

He immediately withdrew his hand, though a split second later, he regretted not giving it a squeeze or two.

At that moment, Qin Tian felt the temperature in the room begin to drop again.

Sitting up, Qin Tian said, "Actually, your master is here to tell you that I am not a casual person."

"Get out."

An Miaoling’s expression shifted several times before she finally spat out those two words.

The next moment, she used her spiritual energy to push Qin Tian out and slammed the door shut.

An Miaoling pulled the blanket all the way up to cover her face, blushing furiously beneath the covers.

The next morning, an irate old man arrived at the Artistic Painting Studio.

However, no sooner had he forced his way in than Zong Wu blocked his path, and the two immediately started a fight.

Since the intruder was only at the first level of the Emperor realm, Zong Wu knocked him flat on his back within a few moves.

Hearing the commotion, Qin Tian and the others walked out to see what was happening.

The old man lay sprawled on the ground, cursing angrily, "I am a semi-Emperor-grade Master Artisan! How dare you treat me like this?"

At that moment, Mu Qingqing recognized the old man instantly—he was Baili Ce, the greatest master artisan in the Vast Sky Empire.

Realizing this, Mu Qingqing hurriedly pleaded with Qin Tian on his behalf.

Out of regard for Mu Qingqing, Qin Tian gestured for Zong Wu to let him go.