Watching the Mountain

Chapter 313: Chapter 184: The Might of Evergreen

Xu Ran felt that he was beginning to see Qin Yufeng as a real friend.

Xu Ran wasn’t sure what Qin Yufeng thought, but as for himself, he had always just been humoring the man. Or rather, he had been forced to play along due to Qin Yufeng’s overwhelming power.

There was also the fact that he knew Qin Yufeng was privy to many secrets, and he hoped to maintain contact to gain some intelligence.

But with each conversation they had, Xu Ran could increasingly sense Qin Yufeng’s sincerity toward him. The man was remarkably open.

Although it seemed unbelievable, Xu Ran felt that Qin Yufeng genuinely considered him a friend.

By Xu Ran’s logic, it was completely incomprehensible. Yet, based on the man’s every past action, it also seemed to be true.

All he could say was that it was truly strange, leaving him unable to make a final judgment.

After they finished talking about Ye Shan, they chatted idly for a while longer. There was no particular topic, just a casual back-and-forth about everyday things.

This time, Xu Ran didn’t try to probe Qin Yufeng for intelligence about the Demon Race and the Demon Court. They just kept up the idle chatter. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to ask, but he felt that in his current state, knowing too much was not a good thing.

If he kept testing Qin Yufeng’s limits, there might come a day when the man’s patience ran out, and that would spell trouble. He had to think about the long term.

This surprised even Qin Yufeng, who couldn’t help but tease, ”Why so few questions this time, Fellow Daoist Xu? I was starting to think my only use to you was for gathering information.”

His intentions exposed, Xu Ran replied without batting an eye:

”You jest, Senior. Actually, I’ve been thinking. Since you genuinely consider me a friend—though I admit I don’t quite understand why—I feel that perhaps I could also try to genuinely treat you as one.”

Qin Yufeng clearly hadn’t expected such a reply. He seemed taken aback, remaining silent for a long moment before speaking:

”From your perspective, I should be considered an enemy of the Cultivation Realm right now.”

Xu Ran chuckled lightly and said, ”You jest, Senior. The Cultivation Realm is vast. My standpoint as a mere Junior Cultivator can’t influence anything.”

Qin Yufeng fell silent for a moment at his words, then suddenly let out a soft laugh. His tone was unreadable as he said:

”In that case, I will look forward to the day you truly consider me a friend.”

Xu Ran also gave a slight smile and replied, ”Then I’d advise you not to get your hopes too high, Senior. As you know, I’m greedy for life and afraid of death. If we really became friends, the first thing I’d probably do is stab you in the back.”

But Qin Yufeng replied with supreme confidence, ”No need to worry. I am extremely confident in my personal charisma. I believe that if you truly came to see me as a friend, you would never betray me.”

Xu Ran was a little surprised to hear this. ’It seems things have been going very smoothly for Qin Yufeng with the Demon Race. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have developed such confidence.’

But then it hit him. ’This is a man who aims to reshape the world. If he didn’t even have this much confidence, how could he possibly succeed?’

Before ending the transmission, Qin Yufeng said to Xu Ran:

”I have always held great admiration for Sword Dao Ye Shan. I’ve often imagined his return, and the chance to compete with him.”

”Our Demon Court has coveted the Phoenix Race for a long time. We’ve only refrained from acting because we were wary of their strength.”

”We had originally planned to build up our resources a bit more before making a move. But since they’ve revealed news about Sword Dao Ye Shan and caused trouble for you and your Sect, I won’t wait any longer. I’ve decided to act now. I’ll make a move against them, and you can consider it my way of venting some frustration on your behalf.”

A strange feeling surged through Xu Ran as he heard Qin Yufeng’s words.

’I’ve always seen Qin Yufeng as the great villain bent on destroying the world. So what is this?’

’Has the great villain suddenly become my backer?’

’How... peculiar.’

*

*

*

After ending the transmission with Qin Yufeng, Xu Ran immediately went to find Yue Qingyu and told her the news he had received.

Yue Qingyu showed little reaction after he finished his account. She said with a calm expression:

”This was to be expected after Junior Brother Ye Shan unleashed that sword strike, regardless of whether he actually went to the Phoenix Race to take that Phoenix Egg.”

”Those who fear him will always try to probe, to see if he has truly disappeared. It’s just that all sorts of things happened afterward that forced everyone to pause.”

”Now that the situation in the Cultivation Realm has generally calmed down, their attention has naturally returned to Junior Brother Ye Shan.”

Hearing this, Xu Ran had a realization. ’So that was why that young couple, Zhao Wuyang and Liu Yunge, showed up at the Profound Pure Sect back then? Wasn’t it all just for the sake of probing?’

’At the time, everyone thought their probing was aimed at Senior Sister Yue. But looking at it now, that was only one of their objectives. The greater purpose was likely to find out about Senior Brother Ye Shan.’

Yue Qingyu watched Xu Ran’s reaction, then waved her hand dismissively and said:

”Actually, the Cultivation Realm’s attitude toward Junior Brother Ye Shan isn’t entirely malicious. Otherwise, our Sect would have ceased to exist long ago.”

”I suspect many people can’t even say for themselves what their attitude toward Junior Brother Ye Shan should be. They don’t know whether to fear him or welcome him.”

”After all, Junior Brother Ye Shan is simply too brilliant. His growth completely surpassed the understanding of the entire Cultivation Realm.”