Chapter Forty: Like Smoke

The Joy-Harmony Sect.
Wind and Moon Pavilion.
The Wind and Moon Pavilion was the place where the disciples of the Joy-Harmony Sect engaged in their daily activities and practiced their cultivation arts.
Cultivators from outside sects seeking romantic pleasure, as well as wandering rogue cultivators, could spend cultivation resources or even offer a portion of their own cultivation base to partake in union with the disciples of the Joy-Harmony Sect.
"Welcome to the Wind and Moon Pavilion, two fellow Daoists."
As Chen Xuan and Luo Hao stepped through the entrance, a fair and alluring young matron immediately greeted them. "Which floor do you two intend to visit for your pleasure?"
"Oh?"
This was Chen Xuan's first time visiting such a place, and he couldn't help asking with some curiosity, "What is the difference?"
"The difference is substantial."
The matron explained with a beaming smile, "Our Wind and Moon Pavilion has a total of ten floors. The first, second, and third floors are for the outer disciples of the Joy-Harmony Sect, and they can be visited simply using spirit stones."
"The fourth, fifth, and sixth floors are for the inner disciples of the Joy-Harmony Sect, whose cultivation bases are at least at the late stage of Qi Refining. Those require cultivation resources to visit."
"As for the seventh, eighth, and ninth floors, they house the personal disciples of our various elders. To visit them, you must expend a certain amount of your own cultivation base."
"I see."
Chen Xuan came to an understanding. Wasn't this essentially a high-end pleasure house?
The disciples of the Joy-Harmony Sect provided the services.
The guests paid the price.
Except that the currency here was one's cultivation.
"And what about the tenth floor?" Chen Xuan asked further.
"The tenth floor?"
The matron let out a dainty giggle. "The tenth floor is reserved for the elders and the Saintess of our Joy-Harmony Sect. However, to attain union with them, you must first win their personal consent; otherwise, paying with any amount of cultivation will be useless."
Chen Xuan nodded.
It seemed that the elders and the Saintess of the Joy-Harmony Sect were not women that anyone could simply have.
"Fellow Daoist, have you decided which floor to choose?" the matron asked once more.
Chen Xuan glanced at Li Ergou, realizing he still didn't know which floor Li Ergou's beloved Ruyan was on.
"We are here to see Ruyan," Li Ergou quickly blurted out.
"Saintess Ruyan?"
The matron froze for a moment, then recognized that Li Ergou's face looked familiar. Her expression shifted drastically as she snapped, "So it's you, you wretched ant! We didn't kill you when you caused a disturbance here last time, and yet you dare to return!"
"Men, seize them!"
Instantly, several cultivators swarmed forward, surrounding Chen Xuan and his companion.
Chen Xuan was somewhat taken aback; he hadn't expected the Ruyan mentioned by Li Ergou to actually be a Saintess.
He had thought a few resources would suffice.
It appeared he would now have to reveal his true identity.
Patting Li Ergou's shoulder to signal him to remain calm, Chen Xuan slowly spoke, "This seat is Chen Xuan of the Mysterious Dan Sect. We are not here to cause trouble."
"Chen Xuan?"
The matron stared blankly, her expression transforming instantly into one of utter terror. "You are the Sect Master of the Mysterious Dan Sect—the venerable Sect Master Chen who obliterated a Deity Transformation expert with a single staff!"

Three major sects had besieged the Mysterious Dan Sect, only for Chen Xuan to obliterate a Deity Transformation master with one swing of his staff.
That legendary feat had already spread far and wide among the surrounding sects.
Given the Joy-Harmony Sect's acute intelligence network, it was impossible for them not to know of Chen Xuan's formidable reputation.
"So it is a senior who has graced us!"
The matron's face blossomed into a flattering smile as she eagerly looped her arm around Chen Xuan's, practically pressing her entire body against him.
This was a supreme expert capable of annihilating a Deity Transformation cultivator with a single staff.
If she could attain union with Chen Xuan, she would gladly do it even without any compensation.
She would even be willing to pay him out of her own pocket.
The surrounding Joy-Harmony Sect thugs, who had previously glared with hostile intent, dropped to their knees in haste upon hearing Chen Xuan's name and bowed deeply. "Greetings, Senior!"
"Senior, please follow me up to the tenth floor."
"Senior, this humble handmaiden will immediately summon the Saintess and the elders for you to choose from. If you wish to have them all, I am certain the elders will not refuse."
The matron fawned obsequiously.
Li Ergou, standing nearby, was left dumbfounded.
This was the sheer difference strength made.
Earlier, he had merely exchanged a few angry words with them, only to be hunted down relentlessly by their hired assassins.
Yet now, before Chen Xuan, this very same matron believed the elders and the Saintess had no reason whatsoever to refuse him, even offering him absolute freedom of choice.
"There is no need. Just have your Saintess come over," Chen Xuan said indifferently.
He had only come to help Li Ergou find out whether Ruyan had joined the Joy-Harmony Sect of her own free will; he was not here to indulge in hedonism.
"Understood, this handmaiden will go right away."
The matron scurried off in a hurry.
"Many thanks, Sect Master!"
Li Ergou said with deep gratitude, his heart filled with boundless reverence for Chen Xuan.
"Do not thank me too soon,"
Chen Xuan waved a hand and said, "As this seat stated, if Ruyan was coerced, I can help you take her away. But if she is here of her own accord, I will not interfere."
"Ruyan must have been forced,"
Li Ergou insisted with unshakeable conviction.
"Whether it is voluntary or not will soon come to light,"
Chen Xuan smiled faintly. "For now, do not show your face; just observe from the shadows."
Before long,
the matron returned, followed closely by a woman clad in crimson robes, voluptuous and alluring in figure, with a bewitching countenance.
"Senior, Saintess Ruyan has arrived. This handmaiden will take her leave."
The matron departed with a ingratiating smile, her eyes filled with envy toward Ruyan. How she wished she could also catch the eye of Chen Xuan.
"Ruyan greets Senior."
Name: Ruyan
Cultivation: Early stage of Qi Refining
Qi Fortune Value: White
Spiritual Roots: Supreme-grade Wood Spiritual Root
Physic: Innate Charming Physique
Comprehension: Superior
Cultivation Technique: Joy-Harmony Art (Heaven Grade, Lower Tier)
filial piety value: 0
Summary: Born with a Charming Physique, the ultimate constitution for dual cultivation.
Chen Xuan swept his gaze over Ruyan.
An innate charming physique.
No wonder she possessed such a bewitching allure.
Yet her fortune was merely white—the tragic destiny of an innate caul vessel.
Furthermore, since she was Li Ergou's betrothed, Chen Xuan felt no personal romantic inclination toward her.
"I heard that Senior obliterated a Deity Transformation expert with a single staff. Witnessing Senior's majestic demeanor today fills this junior with boundless admiration." Ruyan offered a captivating smile as she smoothly untied her outer robe, revealing shoulders as white and flawless as jade.
Instantly, a wave of intoxicating fragrance drifted toward the tip of Chen Xuan's nose.
"I am told that Saintess Ruyan is already betrothed." Watching Ruyan draw close, Chen Xuan remained entirely composed.
"Betrothed?"
Ruyan paused in surprise, then laughed softly,
"Senior jests. Ruyan has never been wed to anyone. Moreover, ever since I joined the Joy-Harmony Sect, I have never practiced cultivation arts with anyone; I am still of pure body."
Hearing Ruyan's words, Chen Xuan chuckled lightly.
Li Ergou, you consider her your betrothed, yet she claims she has never been wed to anyone.
"If Senior doubts my words, you are welcome to put it to the test. Should this junior be lying, I leave myself entirely to Senior's punishment." Ruyan assumed Chen Xuan doubted her purity.
"The Saintess is so strikingly beautiful; surely many proud sons of heaven pursue you. Could it be that not a single one has caught your fancy?"
"Senior is joking."
Ruyan replied, "Those so-called proud sons of heaven merely rely on the backing of their sects and piles of resources to prop up their strength."
"Ruyan only worships true experts like Senior."
"Senior,"
Ruyan snuggled close to Chen Xuan, her breath sweet like orchid, and murmured softly, "Please show mercy and cherish this junior."
The fragrance was intoxicating.
For reasons unknown, Chen Xuan's normally tranquil mind suddenly began to stir with restlessness, a fire seeming to ignite deep within his body.
Chen Xuan was greatly astonished.
Ruyan's appearance was indeed bewitching, but even with her innate charming physique, he should not have been so easily overwhelmed by mere allure.
Could it be that she had used some kind of secret charm technique on him?