Chapter 1 The Beginning

As Feng Bujue and Xu Huaishang stepped through the gate of Lianxian Palace, the blurry scenery before them became clear (similar to the city barrier of the Empress City, the barrier of Lianxian Palace also had the effect of hindering the outside view).

The inside of Lianxian Palace was truly like a fairyland.

Fine trees stood in the courtyard, and clouds drifted. Orchids and irises grew among artemisia, and jade springs produced roses. Slender jade flowers, wonderfully spiritual and uniquely outstanding.

Various unique, precious, and beautiful plants and jade stones from the Holy Yuan World formed this dreamlike picture.

And... this was only the front courtyard. Passing through the front hall, the Immortal Palace had four other courtyards. The beauty there was simply unimaginable to those outside the palace...

"Ho... the scenery is not bad." Seeing this magnificent sight, even Feng Bujue couldn't help but praise.

"Mm..." Xu Huaishang continued, "The scent here is also very pleasant, a faint, subtle fragrance."

"Probably the fragrance of flowers and plants," Feng Bujue casually replied.

"No..." At this moment, a gentle and pleasant voice sounded, joining the conversation, "This scent... is the fragrance of women."

Before the voice faded, a graceful figure walked slowly from among the flower trees.

The one who came was a woman, but her attire resembled that of a monarch. She wore black upper garments and scarlet lower garments, draped in a large red robe and crownless, her long hair reaching her waist.

With just one glance, Feng Bujue already knew... she was Ji Fenglong.

"So that's how it is..." Jue-ge's face was grave as he thought to himself, "I seem to understand that stalker a little..."

"So beautiful..." And Xu Huaishang, on the other hand, was watching a person of the same gender with fascination, murmuring those two words.

This was the magic of Ji Fenglong.

Her beauty was shocking.

No matter how many words had been used to describe her beauty, the moment people saw her, they would still involuntarily feel surprised and helpless.

Jue-ge had known quite a few beauties. Taking the ones in this script as examples, Li Ruoyu, Lute, Twenty-Three, Xu Huaishang, An Yueqin... each of them could be called an exceptional beauty. They were either touching and endearing, or flawlessly perfect; either with immortal grace and jade-like complexion, or as beautiful as the moon and flowers...

However, Ji Fenglong was different from any of them. There was a grandness, composure, and an aura of looking down upon the world in her beauty.

"The flowers and plants in my Lianxian Palace only contain pure elegance and do not exude rich fragrance," Ji Fenglong did not seem surprised by Xu Huaishang's reaction. She simply smiled slightly and continued from the previous topic, "The scent you smell is actually the natural fragrance from the bodies of my beauties... In the entire Holy Yuan World, only by being in my Lianxian Palace, filled with beauties like clouds, can one smell it."

Hearing City Lord Ji's explanation, Jue-ge's first reaction was: "It seems... the air circulation system here isn't very good..."

"Air... circulation... system?" Ji Fenglong looked at Jue-ge somewhat strangely, repeating those six words, but still not understanding the precise meaning.

"Oh... right, I haven't introduced myself yet." Feng Bujue didn't intend to get too far off topic with the other party, so he immediately changed the subject, "This humble one is Feng Bujue, the leader of the Broken Sword Teahouse." Having said that, he raised his hand and gestured towards Xu Huaishang beside him, "This is my..."

"Friend!" Xu Huaishang interrupted before Jue-ge could say the words "Fourth Concubine", "Just a friend! There is no other relationship."

"Heh... this must be Miss Lu, right?" Ji Fenglong smiled gently, looking at Xu Huaishang with tender eyes.

Before this smile that could captivate all living beings, Xu Huaishang's pretty face also blushed slightly, and she replied somewhat nervously, "Uh... City Lord might have misunderstood, the Miss Lu who entered the city with Leader Feng is not here at the moment (on the way here, Jue-ge had told Xu Huaishang about some of the things that had happened earlier)." She paused for a second, subconsciously touching the hair at her temples, and then clasped her fist in salute, "This one is Xu Huaishang."

"Oh? 'This one'?" Hearing this title, Ji Fenglong's gaze quickly shifted to the pair of sabers at Xu Huaishang's waist, "Miss Xu... is also a member of the martial world?"

"I... wouldn't say so." Xu Huaishang noticed the other party's gaze and instinctively pressed a hand on the hilt of her saber, "This... is just for self-defense."

"Self-defense?" Ji Fenglong smiled, "Heh... alright..." She showed an expression of noncommittal, turned around, and said, "The two of you, please follow me."

Hearing this, Jue-ge and Xu Huaishang exchanged glances, and then the former shrugged and the latter nodded... and followed along.

Before long, under the leadership of Ji Fenglong, the two of them passed through the flower forest in the front courtyard and arrived beside a lotus pond.

On the rocky shore by the pond stood a stone pavilion.

At this time, tea had already been prepared on the stone table in the pavilion. The three of them quickly entered the pavilion and sat facing each other.

While the heat from the first cup of tea was still rising, Ji Fenglong took the lead in speaking, "Leader Feng, I don't like to beat around the bush, so... I'll just say it directly..." She looked straight into Jue-ge's eyes without any hesitation, "I'm not interested in your set of cultivation methods from 'outside the Holy Yuan'. The reason I invited you here is actually just to exchange a few moves with you... to relieve some boredom."

"Oh, is that so..." Feng Bujue replied lazily, "Then what's in it for me?"

Jue-ge's reaction greatly exceeded Ji Fenglong's expectations. She had originally thought that this man would agree to the request with a flattering or pleasantly surprised expression, but she never expected that the other party would calmly start negotiating terms...

"Benefits?" Ji Fenglong repeated the key point in Jue-ge's words with a questioning tone and a half-smile.

"Of course," Feng Bujue replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "Even if I went to the streets to sell my skills, performing a set of farming techniques, I could earn a few copper coins, right? Now you've invited me to your door to perform for you individually, and even want to 'exchange a few moves', don't you give any compensation?"

"Heh... that's strange..." Ji Fenglong seemed to find the current situation quite amusing, and replied with a smile, "People in the martial world, sparring and comparing notes, still have to charge money?"

"Ha!" Feng Bujue laughed loudly, "I ask you, what is the martial world?"

Ji Fenglong seemed to have become interested and prepared to continue chatting with Jue-ge, "I don't know... otherwise... tell me, and I'll listen."

Feng Bujue replied with a straight face, "The martial world is a vague concept. It is used to describe the relationship between a group of organized but undisciplined non-governmental armed forces."

His explanation successfully stunned Ji Fenglong...

"Oh..." City Lord Ji rarely responded to others in this way, but at this moment, she was indeed a little confused.

"I think City Lord Ji doesn't count as a member of the martial world," Feng Bujue added.

"Doesn't count?" Ji Fenglong asked.

"Doesn't count," Feng Bujue replied.

"Then what do I count as?" Ji Fenglong asked again.

"You're a rich person with money, land, combat power, and also someone who raises a group of private armed forces..." Feng Bujue said.

"Hahahaha..." Ji Fenglong laughed loudly, and after laughing for a while, she shook her head, "I really didn't expect... that someone would say to a Yuan Sheng's face that they're not a member of the martial world, but a rich person." Saying this, Ji Fenglong's expression suddenly changed, and the topic switched, "Heh... I'm a rich person, then what do you count as?" Her tone suddenly turned cold, "Could it be a beggar?"

"No," Feng Bujue was unmoved, and leisurely sipped his tea.

"Then you're a storyteller," Ji Fenglong added.

"Hehe..." Feng Bujue put down his teacup, "City Lord's implication... is that I'm a swindler who only knows how to talk?"

"I didn't say that," Ji Fenglong stood up from her seat, put her hands behind her back like a man, and paced slowly in the pavilion, "Although General Huo Lao is injured, someone who can take his Meteor Chasing Cloud Sword head-on... undoubtedly has some ability."

"Then what does City Lord mean?" Feng Bujue asked.

"What I mean is..." Ji Fenglong slowly said, "You are very good at bluffing and mystifying."

"What makes you say that?" Feng Bujue continued.

Ji Fenglong sneered and replied, "Generally... especially men... after seeing me, most of them will be distracted and lose control of their words and actions. And for the requests I make, they often agree without thinking, not considering the consequences at all." She turned her head and glanced at Jue-ge, "But you are different..."

"What about me?" Feng Bujue picked up the teapot and added another cup of tea for himself.

"You know how to pretend to be calm, disrupt my thoughts with some bizarre remarks, and bargain with me," Ji Fenglong replied.

"I agree with the 'bargaining' part," Feng Bujue corrected, "But 'pretending to be calm' and stuff... I don't have that."

"Really don't have it?" Ji Fenglong pressed.

"Really don't have it," Feng Bujue replied.

"Hmph... that's strange..." Ji Fenglong obviously didn't believe it, "Among the men in this world, apart from the elders in my family, even eminent monks would have a slight fleeting thought when they see me..." She sat back down at the table, picked up her teacup, took a light sip, and looked at Jue-ge provocatively.

In the next second, Feng Bujue replied to her with five calm words: "I like men."

"Pfft--"

Ji Fenglong was over three hundred years old, whether she was called a lady or a female tyrant... in front of and behind people, she had always maintained the image of a perfect woman. But today, in front of two people, she spat a mouthful of water out of her mouth.

"You..." Suppressing the urge to cough, City Lord Ji wiped her face with her sleeve while glaring at Jue-ge with wide almond eyes, "...You... this..."

But she quickly realized that she was speechless...

"Hehehe... sorry, I was just kidding." Two seconds later, Feng Bujue continued with a malicious smile, "I like women just like you. It's just that... I really wanted to see if you would spit out the tea."

"Bastard!" Ji Fenglong was instantly enraged. With a single wave of her hand, she unleashed a huge Holy Yuan force, striking towards Jue-ge's chest.

Of course, despite the anger, she didn't intend to take the other party's life. Ji Fenglong was, after all, a Yuan Sheng, and still had her dignity. She couldn't possibly kill someone just because she choked on tea. Therefore, this attack accurately used the "limit power of a Holy Yuan Infinite Rotation Practitioner"; one was to test Jue-ge's depth, and the other was to teach him a lesson.

Boom--

Accompanied by a muffled sound, Feng Bujue flew out of the stone pavilion.

However, he was not knocked back by the impact, but rather he instantly activated [Spiritual Consciousness Gathering Body Technique - Modified], stepped down, and jumped backwards.

The Holy Yuan force unleashed by Ji Fenglong barely chased after Jue-ge, failing to touch his body...

Two seconds later, when Jue-ge arrived in the middle of the lotus pond, he suddenly leaned back and flipped over, using an ultra-high speed to "kick" out five [Rankyaku] strikes in an instant, and each kick used the tip of his foot.

"Rankyaku - Five Instant Stars!" Because this was Feng Bujue's self-created high-level use of Rankyaku, he casually gave it a name... and even announced it...

Boom--

As soon as Jue-ge's move came out, a violent collision suddenly rang out in mid-air.

Two strands of energy resisted each other in mid-air, blooming with a red, strange light.

Several seconds passed, and the power was exhausted, and the light scattered.

On the lotus pond, ripples shimmered.

Feng Bujue, with his hands behind his back, floated in mid-air, and said coldly, "I'm fine, don't get excited... City Lord Ji is just playing with me."

On the other side, in the stone pavilion...

Without anyone knowing when, Xu Huaishang had already appeared behind Ji Fenglong.

The pair of sharp sabers in her hand was already resting on City Lord Ji's neck...