The woman sitting in front of the desk wore a white dress, her face veiled in transparent fabric, yet even with just the outlines, one could discern her transcendent beauty.
However, if one shifted their gaze to her eyes above the veil, the cold gaze was akin to a sharp sword, seemingly able to cut through all disguises and pierce straight into the heart.
Almost instinctively, the Profound Yellow Merit Fire ignited from within the soul, shielding Lu Yan’s divine soul within.
"Merit Divine Techniques? How interesting."
The indifference in the woman’s brows and eyes dissipated by more than half, seemingly showing some interest in Lu Yan.
It was only until then that Lu Yan could break free from the intimidation of that gaze.
Lu Yan lightly pinched the center of his brow, trying hard to suppress the fully erupting Profound Yellow Merit Fire, and with a smile, saluted the beautiful woman in front of him, saying:
"Lu Yan greets Senior Sister Ji!"
The woman in front of him was none other than the True Disciple of the Cyan Simurgh Sect, Zuo Yu Fairy Ji Xingyao!
From the first glimpse in the market, this was Lu Yan’s second time seeing Ji Xingyao, and also the second person he had seen across versions.
The last person he saw across versions was Shopkeeper Chu, whom Lu Yan had beaten to death with a flurry of punches.
Facing the Xianxia version of Zuo Yu Fairy, Lu Yan no longer felt the ease he had in the urban version.
In the urban version, Ji Xingyao was merely a fallen internet celebrity, while Lu Yan was the world’s only cultivator.
But in the Xianxia version, Ji Xingyao was a lofty True Disciple of the mystic sect, and Lu Yan was just a minor Loose Cultivator in the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation.
Identities were reversed, but more important was the strength Ji Xingyao displayed.
She silently entered the cave mansion, and if she hadn’t intentionally exposed herself, Lu Yan would hardly have noticed.
With such strength, as long as she harbored murderous intent toward Lu Yan, he wouldn’t even have time to bring out the Soul Banner. The strength she displayed far exceeded any cultivator Lu Yan had ever seen.
Moreover, even if he utilized the Soul Banner, Lu Yan feared he would find it difficult to contend with Ji Xingyao.
The Soul Banner could indeed help Lu Yan cross great realms to kill enemies, but as the True Disciple of the Cyan Simurgh Sect, Ji Xingyao clearly did not fall into this category.
If he couldn’t make a move, the only option was to build a relationship.
Lu Yan hadn’t forgotten that in the urban version, he had once gained favor with Ji Xingyao.
Although he didn’t know what effect such a mapped version would have, perhaps it could serve some purpose.
Ji Xingyao glanced at Lu Yan, not objecting to the term "Senior Sister Ji," but with a hint of indifference, she said:
"Back in the Bamboo Forest Marketplace, I couldn’t see through you; I didn’t expect your cultivation to be only mid-stage Qi Cultivation.
Your divine techniques are trained rather well, but unfortunately, your realm is too low to truly harness the profound nuances of Merit Divine Techniques."
Lu Yan’s heart tightened; Ji Xingyao’s words made him keenly aware of a key point in a version update; it was that Lu Yan’s cultivation at Qi Refining Stage One in the urban version would not be revealed through information mapping.
In the urban version, where no one cultivates, no one could discern Lu Yan’s cultivation.
In Ji Xingyao’s memory, Lu Yan remained mysterious and unfathomable, rather than just a Qi Refining Stage One minor cultivator; this trait wouldn’t dissipate due to cross-version changes.
Until Lu Yan appeared before her once again, Ji Xingyao would update her memory based on current information.
"Perhaps, in future version updates, this could be leveraged."
A thought flashed through his mind, but on the surface, Lu Yan lightly smiled:
"Thank you, Senior Sister Ji, for the compliment. May I ask what brings you here?"
Ji Xingyao glanced at Lu Yan, who was trying to play dumb, and with an indifferent expression, said:
"No need to pretend; before they even began the investigation, I had already arrived at the Cyan Valley Marketplace.
Your act of using my name to fool Xie Yun is something I won’t bother to argue about with you."
As she spoke, Ji Xingyao extended her right hand, smooth as jade, towards Lu Yan.
"What thing?" Lu Yan tried to play dumb.
"The item you showed Xie Yun."
Lu Yan’s face displayed a pained expression, and he took out the storage bag containing the Spirit Marrow Ore from his bosom.
The Spirit Marrow Ore, while it was something he had seized, was significantly valuable to him in the future urban version change.
But since Ji Xingyao had already come to his doorstep to retrieve it, it would be ungrateful not to hand it over.
The favorable impression was enough to prevent Ji Xingyao from making a move right away, which already made Lu Yan content; he did not dare hope for this Zuo Yu Fairy to be any more amiable.
Ji Xingyao received the storage bag, glanced at its contents, and then tossed it back to Lu Yan with an expressionless face, seemingly indifferent to the Spirit Marrow Ore worth tens of thousands of Spirit Stones.
Just as Lu Yan’s face was lighting up with joy at having something returned, her words froze him.
He immediately realized that what Ji Xingyao wanted wasn’t the Spirit Marrow Ore but the photo he had shown Xie Yun.
That photo was from the urban version; only his trait as the Unchanging allowed it to be retained in the Xianxia version.
In the apocalypse version, leaving behind provisions was possible because both versions were modern cities, differing only slightly in timelines as long as information like production dates was erased.
However, the photograph was entirely an artifact unbecoming of the Xianxia version, and showing it to Xie Yun was to prove his relationship with Ji Xingyao, out of sheer necessity.
Xie Yun, who hadn’t touched the photo, could not discern the material or make of the photo and would assume it as a form of special spell capture.
Yet once Ji Xingyao got hold of the photo, she would undoubtedly see it as an ordinary item.
Plus, the content of the photo was Ji Xingyao herself; she didn’t harbor the memories of being a downtrodden internet celebrity from the urban version. How would Ji Xingyao react to such a starkly different image of herself?
Would the world version update due to the collision between these two versions of Ji Xingyao bring about unknown changes?
Lu Yan fell silent, instinctively sensing danger, while Ji Xingyao watched him quietly.
There was no urging, nor intimidation.
After a moment, Lu Yan reached into the storage bag on his chest and handed the photo to Ji Xingyao.
Ji Xingyao took the photo, her eyes falling upon it, and her usual ice-cold demeanor finally showed a change.
A powerful aura suddenly erupted from Ji Xingyao, like a sword soaring into the sky, the invincible Sword Intent seeming capable of severing clouds upon clouds, instantly shattering the tier two defensive formation protecting the marketplace.
Just by facing the pressure directly, the Profound Yellow Merit Fire was triggered, with the Merit Spiritual Light protecting Lu Yan from being harmed by the residual Sword Intent.
Outside the Cyan Valley Marketplace, Xie Yun, who was inspecting many loose cultivators, had a drastic change in facial expression.
"She’s actually in the marketplace!"
"What were those disciples doing who were supposed to stop her?"
Without any hesitation, Xie Yun abandoned the numerous cultivators around and turned into a streak of light speeding away.
Seeing the actions of their senior inner disciple, more than a dozen outer disciples scattered and fled, leaving only the bewildered loose cultivators outside the Cyan Valley Marketplace.
In the cave mansion, Lu Yan fixed his eyes on the changes in Ji Xingyao, even though the Profound Yellow Merit Fire protected him, the sharp Sword Intent still stung his eyes, causing tears to flow.
The next moment, the colorful photo in Ji Xingyao’s hand disappeared.
It was as if a supreme, towering presence had erased all traces of the photo; information, causality, and concept all vanished at this moment.
No matter how far back in time one searched, the traces of the photo could not be found.
In the next moment, a piece of text appeared before Lu Yan’s eyes.
[Version Change Value: 1%]