Chapter Thirty-Six: The Scent of Conspiracy

The brutal war ended in such an unexpected manner that all the exhausted cultivators could not help but sigh that the heavens had eyes, and that the Immortal Emperor had bestowed his favor upon them.

However, Boss Li sensed something fishy in this outcome, an undercurrent of conspiracy running through the war.

He found some time to visit his beautiful grandmaster-aunt, Wu Rui, only to find her beaming with joy, as if she were about to be wed.

“You little rascal, what brings you here this time?” Grandmaster-aunt covered her mouth, laughing slyly as her bright eyes fixed on Boss Li.

“Your disciple’s grandson has missed you terribly and came to pay his respects,” Boss Li replied, squinting as he smiled.

Wu Rui pouted and raised her hand to pat him on his big head. “You silver-tongued rogue!”

Feigning innocence, Li Chengzhu spread his hands. “Truly, it’s been days since I last heard your guidance, and I’ve been feeling rather stifled.”

Wu Rui giggled, her laughter so lively that even her perfectly shaped chest seemed to sway with delight.

Boss Li reached out and patted his forehead, peering through the gaps in his fingers, taking advantage of the cover his large hand provided.

After all, with the ancestral master’s restriction still placed within him, what was a little mind-reading technique?

“You really know how to flatter,” Wu Rui said, unable to resist patting his head again. “They say people with big heads are always clever.”

Faced with her mischievous smile, Boss Li blushed. “Big head, big head, no worries about the rain, haha.”

Wu Rui slid her delicate hand from his head to his shoulder, smiling. “Boy, I am at least your grandmaster-aunt. Can you restrain your gaze a little?”

“Hm?” Boss Li quickly shifted his eyes away from her waist and gave a sheepish grin. “Though I might be a bit of a lecher, I wouldn’t dare show any disrespect to you, grandmaster-aunt. It’s just... I can’t help myself.”

“So, you’re saying it’s my fault?” Wu Rui smiled sweetly, but her words were through gritted teeth.

“It’s simply that you are a natural beauty!” Boss Li quickly bowed, praying he hadn’t angered her.

Wu Rui pursed her lips. “You have that enchantress from the Cult of Harmony by your side, and a classical fairy who ascended from your homeland—do you still remember to show any respect to your grandmaster-aunt?”

Hm? Her words carried a deeper meaning, and Boss Li raised his brows in thought.

Wu Rui burst out laughing again, carefree and unrestrained. “You little rascal, I’m just teasing you, don’t overthink it.”

Clearing his throat, Boss Li composed his expression, shedding his earlier playful demeanor.

“So, tell me, why have you come?”

At last remembering the matter at hand, Boss Li hastily took out three divine crystals from an ordinary storage ring. “Grandmaster-aunt, look—these are the two-winged angel crystals I set aside five months ago.”

He then retrieved three more from the Bloodjade Ring. “And these are the ones I acquired just a few days ago.”

Though not particularly large, the six two-winged angel crystals sat easily in Boss Li’s broad palm, yet a stark difference was apparent between the two sets.

Ever since he had discovered that a six-winged angel’s crystal would dissipate, he had been cautious and made a point to keep three two-winged crystals.

Now, of the six, the three he had taken out first were only half the size of the newer ones.

Seeing the puzzlement in his eyes, Wu Rui smiled. “You noticed as well?”

“What do you mean?” Boss Li’s eyes widened. “Are you saying the divine crystals really do dissipate?”

“I don’t know if they evaporate per se, but I do know they gradually shrink until nothing’s left,” his grandmaster-aunt replied.

“Isn’t that the same as evaporation?”

She shook her head. “All I said is that they shrink.”

Boss Li scratched his head. Was there really a difference, or was it just a matter of semantics?

“How did you discover this, grandmaster-aunt?” he asked, feeling instinctively that things weren’t so simple.

“It wasn’t me—it was Marshal Ye who found out,” she said, shooting him a look. “Why are you so impatient, as if your pants were on fire?”

“Heh, just curious.”

“All the divine crystals you harvested were stored with Marshal Ye. One day, he realized that the crystals in his storage ring were shrinking. That’s when he went to consult your ancestral master and the others,” Wu Rui said, smoothing her wind-tousled hair. “That’s how I learned of it.”

Boss Li pointed skyward, lowering his voice mysteriously. “So, what did they say?”

“Why do you ask? That’s classified!” Wu Rui’s eyes flashed.

“Just curious!” Boss Li’s heart skipped a beat, for he had sensed a subtle killing intent from her just now. “I’ve been puzzling over it for days, can’t even sleep.”

“Do you even need sleep anymore?” Wu Rui looked at him with exasperation.

“Heh.” Boss Li scratched his head. “Right, there’s one more thing…”

Seeing his hesitant manner, Wu Rui sighed. “Go ahead, ask. I’ll answer if I can.”

“Why… why only now send out the three Celestial Sovereigns? If they’d been dispatched earlier, wouldn’t the war have ended sooner?” Boss Li pointed to the sky, stumbling over his words.

Wu Rui sighed. “If the war had begun with powerful Celestial Sovereigns and Immortal Lords on the field, the Angelic Realm would certainly have sent over a Ten-Winged Angel. Don’t look so indignant; war is cruel. If not for the hundreds of thousands of cultivators and immortals holding the lines, forcing the Angelic Realm to keep their Ten-Winged Angels busy maintaining the spatial rift and draining their strength, things would not have ended so smoothly. Had even one Ten-Winged Angel crossed over, the casualties in the Immortal Realm would be no less than now—perhaps even greater.”

“I know!” Boss Li clenched his fists. “But seeing countless comrades fall before my eyes…”

“Enough, boy!” Wu Rui patted him on the shoulder. “Which is harder, teeth or tongue?”

Boss Li paused, glancing at Wu Rui’s tempting lips, imagining the delicate tongue within. Blood surged in his veins as he stammered, “Teeth?”

Wu Rui glared at him. “Even the hardest tooth eventually falls out, but the tongue remains, because it is soft.”

“But the tongue can be cut out,” Boss Li muttered stubbornly—earning himself a slap.

“You little rascal, stop changing the subject!” Wu Rui pouted, then said, “What I’m trying to teach you is: don’t be too forceful in life. In the Immortal Realm, no matter how powerful you are, there’s always someone stronger—unless…” She did not finish her sentence. “Do you understand?”

Boss Li bowed deeply. “Your disciple is enlightened!”

He knew his fearless valor on the battlefield had caught his grandmaster-aunt’s eye, and her words were a warning not to become a target.

A tree that stands out in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind; a crane among chickens draws the farmer’s knife.