Senior Sister Hong Fu actually brought the young woman to the back room and inspected Dong Xuan'er's blushing, crimson arm on the spot. The result—the Virgin's Bloodmark that symbolized purity was still perfectly intact. This came as a tremendous shock to Han Li's master's wife!
Because judging from her alluring appearance and the charm in her eyes and brows, Dong Xuan'er didn't look like an untouched woman in the slightest! The reason the couple had agreed so readily to the dual cultivation arrangement that day, while pretending not to know the truth, had been partly an act of deliberate ambiguity on their part. But they never imagined that this woman's reputation had already been thoroughly disgraced in public knowledge. It was precisely for the sake of their own standing as a couple that they had reneged on the arrangement.
In the young woman's astonishment, Hong Fu explained. Her disciple had chosen to cultivate a top-tier technique from her own collection called the "Spring Transformation Technique," coveting its remarkable age-preserving effects. The captivating charm in her eyes and brows was merely an external byproduct of this cultivation method. As a result, some cultivators skilled in the arts of evaluating a woman's virginity would meet Dong Xuan'er a few times, assume she had long since lost her innocence, and gradually spread numerous rumors harmful to her disciple.
Of course, her disciple had indeed been somewhat lacking in self-respect, maintaining flirtatious relationships with several male disciples. However, given the bewitching charm produced by the Spring Transformation Technique and her special identity, the fact that no male cultivators swarmed around her like flies would have been the truly astonishing thing!
But as the number of male cultivators lingering around her grew, Dong Xuan'er gradually developed a peculiar compulsion—the moment she encountered a young man who suited her fancy, she would immediately feel the urge to bring him to his knees before her skirts. She even took pleasure in stirring up jealousy among these men, provoking them into competing for her affections!
Fortunately, the condition Hong Fu had set when first agreeing to let her disciple cultivate the Spring Transformation Technique was that she must never lose her virginity. If the Virgin's Bloodmark were ever found missing, Hong Fu, as her master, would immediately cripple her magical power and send her back to the ranks of mortal women. This was to prevent Dong Xuan'er, who had acquired certain bewitching abilities through the Spring Transformation Technique, from bringing shame upon the Dong family's honor.
Therefore, under the constraint of this critical condition, even though Dong Xuan'er often exchanged flirtatious glances with men, she still dared not cross any truly serious lines!
But the trouble she had caused still gradually reached Hong Fu's ears, enraging this Core Formation female cultivator. She punished Dong Xuan'er severely and immediately placed her under house arrest for a period of time.
But by then the damage was done. Dong Xuan'er's reputation for impurity had already spread throughout the entire Yellow Maple Valley! And once such a thing got out, there was simply no way to explain it clearly. Even Hong Fu, a Core Formation cultivator, was utterly powerless!
At that point, even those cultivators who valued their reputations and truly knew that Dong Xuan'er was still pure would not risk their own standing by entering into a dual cultivation partnership with her.
Yet due to the Spring Transformation Technique, Dong Xuan'er had reached a stage where she absolutely needed to find a dual cultivation partner, otherwise her magical power would stagnate—and might even regress.
As for those cultivators still pursuing Dong Xuan'er, Hong Fu could not find a single one who met her standards, nor could she trust their character or intentions. This was what led to the visit to Li Huayuan's cave abode and the targeting of Han Li.
And so, having heard the full account, the young woman returned to Li Huayuan's side with a deeply awkward expression and relayed everything. The couple sat in silence for quite some time.
Although they had indeed misunderstood Dong Xuan'er's purity, just as Hong Fu had said—even if she were truly still a virgin, with such a terrible reputation, Li Huayuan would still be unwilling to have his disciple form a dual cultivation bond with her. The damage to his own reputation would simply be too great. Thus, he could only feel guilty toward this Senior Sister Hong Fu!
But to make amends for that guilt, Li Huayuan naturally did not create any further obstacles when it came to Han Li attending the Treasure Seizure Grand Assembly. On the contrary, he did everything he could to facilitate it—which was how Han Li and Dong Xuan'er came to be making this journey together.
As Li Huayuan had figured, given Han Li's extremely poor impression of Dong Xuan'er, even if the two of them did travel together, nothing would come of it. But his seventh disciple, Wu Xuan, had been unable to forget Dong Xuan'er since the day he first laid eyes on her. Just a few days ago, he had mustered his courage and asked Li Huayuan to approach Hong Fu once more, to see if there was any chance of making his union with Dong Xuan'er a reality.
Li Huayuan already felt indebted to Hong Fu, so he naturally refused this absurd request. After giving the disciple a thorough dressing-down, he sent him out of the sect on errands, so he would stop causing trouble within the mountain.
Although Wu Xuan had apparently become much more obedient after the harsh reprimand and had dutifully departed to carry out his duties, Li Huayuan could still clearly sense that the disciple had not given up his intentions. This was enough to give anyone a headache.
After seeing the two off, Fairy Hong Fu chatted with the couple for a few more pleasantries before taking her leave. Li Huayuan and his wife then entered the Green Wave Cave to resume their daily cultivation, and the matter of Han Li and Dong Xuan'er was finally set aside for the time being.
...
The Yan family, as the foremost clan in the Yue Kingdom, had its roots in the unremarkable Lin Prefecture—one of the thirteen prefectures of the Yue Kingdom. The prefecture was average in area and had a middling population, making it a thoroughly unexceptional place. And Qingliang City was just an ordinary small city in Lin Prefecture, with nothing noteworthy to speak of except for the nearby Yanliang Mountain, which offered some pleasant scenery. The Yan family's ancestral stronghold, Yanling Fortress, was situated within this Yanliang Mountain.
At this moment, Han Li held a slip of paper in his hand—it was the invitation to the Treasure Seizure Grand Assembly. The location of the assembly listed upon it was Yanling Fortress.