Chapter 460: Winning Over Hearts

Ignoring the strange, frightened expressions of the few Emei Sect girls, Kaixin gazed at Yuehua with a calm, happy smile. It seemed that the Yuehua he had seen in the royal tomb was troubled and worried, and it seemed to be related to Yu Shanhú and Hei Meigui as well. Although they were talking about various experiences and interesting stories from the Emei Sect, when his gaze fell on Hei Meigui fighting against the Black and White Fiends, his eyes inevitably revealed some information.

Moreover…
Yu Shanhú’s expression was also very strange—she wore a faint smile on her face, yet there was also a hint of wariness. After maintaining that state for a while, she finally calmed down:
“So, this time, Kaixin, you’ve also taken on our Emei Sect’s mission to come here and eliminate the evil sect experts in the area?”
Yuehua looked at Kaixin in surprise.
Kaixin smiled and shook his head. “More or less, but it’s not a sect mission. I’m not an Emei disciple.”
“Oh.”
Yuehua understood quickly, her eyes lighting up. “It must be Zhou Zhiruo. After Master Jiéjué passed away, it’s said you voluntarily handed over the sect leader position to her. Tsk tsk, even our sect leader owes you a favor. It seems we Emei Sect disciples will need your help in the future. Following you will surely make the sect leader look at us differently.”
“Don’t say that. Heh… I’d feel embarrassed.” Kaixin laughed while seriously advising, “But please try not to reveal my whereabouts to others.”
“Mm-hmm, definitely.”
Yuehua raised her delicate chin, looking more charming and less like a strong-willed woman than usual. “Since you’re willing to trust us enough to show up voluntarily, wouldn’t it be disloyal of us to reveal your whereabouts?”
“Sis, my internal energy is almost depleted. I’ll go help.”
Yu Shanhú glanced around the scene, said something to Kaixin, then drew her sword and rushed forward. With a single move, two muffled groans came from the battlefield:
“Damn woman!”
“Despicable!”
Hit by the Ice Soul Divine Needle, the Black and White Fiends paused their attack on Hei Meigui, giving her a chance to catch her breath. She quickly swallowed a Jade Dew Pill to restore her internal energy.
“Together!”
With brief words, the two of them distracted one of the fiends each and fought them alone.
Yu Shanhú’s swordsmanship was extremely strange—like black lotuses, brilliant and eerie, with a deep black light that seemed to corrode the heart. These lights detached from her sword and flew out.

Faced with Jade Coral’s White Fiend, her movements quickly slowed down, as if deeply trapped in some indescribable aura. She sweated profusely, constantly dodging the black lotuses spreading through the air. But as time passed, more and more black lotuses appeared, leaving her overwhelmed. Eventually, they devoured her body one by one, creating horrifying wounds that resembled blooming lotus petals.

Yue Hua and the others were secretly shocked:
“What kind of sword technique is this…”
“The Lotus Flower Sword Technique,” replied Kai Xin with a slight smile.
Yet Yue Hua sensed something unusual in Kai Xin’s gaze as it shifted toward Jade Coral. Lowering her voice, she asked, “Could it also be… a legendary technique?”
“More or less,” Kai Xin replied ambiguously.
But Yue Hua’s expression immediately changed…

Black Rose was already very strong, surpassing her in power. To think that Jade Coral had received such high praise from Kai Xin meant she was even more formidable.
Suddenly, a strong sense of disappointment filled her heart. Even the newly established Moonlight Hermitage couldn’t withstand this intense sense of loss.
Unconsciously, Yue Hua voiced her thoughts:
“I never expected it. Just a few months ago, they were at my level. Now both of them have surpassed me. I’m wondering if I made a mistake by founding the Moonlight Hermitage. If I had chosen to venture out into the martial world like them, would things have turned out differently?”
The Moonlight Hermitage wasn’t well-known in the martial world, deviating from Yue Hua’s initial plans. Now, seeing Black Rose and Jade Coral stand out far above her, she must be feeling regret and confusion.
“…”
Kai Xin listened silently.
“A few days ago, my former sisters advised me, saying that sticking to Emei was an act of arrogance. One after another, they left the Moonlight Hermitage to join other factions…”
With a sigh, Yue Hua suddenly fixed her gaze on Kai Xin’s face:
“It’s only now that I realize not everyone can become someone like Meng Yun, Mo Feng, or Qin Qing.”
Pausing briefly, she added, “Meng Yun has leadership skills, cunning, and allies like Blood Cloak and Desolate Slayer. Mo Feng is as brave as a man, along with brothers like Lin Xiao and Red Dust who are loyal to the extreme. Even Qin Qing sees further than many others and has a group of skilled allies. I have nothing—just a girl who dreams of making a name for herself in the martial world… I’m not even as good as Black Rose, who has a group of loyal sisters by her side… Looking back, I was really naive back then. I couldn’t do anything and even held my sisters back from progressing.”
“…”

A few sisters from Yingyue Nunnery had red eyes. They knew the pressure on Yuehua’s shoulders, but they hadn’t realized it was so heavy—she was pushing herself so hard.
“That’s how the martial world is—either move forward or fall back…”
Kai Xin sighed thoughtfully. “Actually, Miss Yue, establishing Yingyue Nunnery and bringing in thousands of Emei sect female disciples is already a remarkable achievement. It’s just that you’re not yet ready to be a leader—you haven’t clearly defined the sect’s role nor utilized your strengths. As for those people you mentioned, they all have rich experience, knowledge, and resources. After all, you’re starting from scratch—don’t be discouraged.”
Having had some acquaintance with her before, Kai Xin knew Yuehua was a bold and straightforward girl.
These words seemed to imply an intention to align with the Mu family. But Kai Xin also knew that if she took on Yuehua’s burden, the latter might disappear from the martial world soon…
All kinds of shame and self-reproach would make her leave this world, even casting a shadow over her future life. That was something Kai Xin didn’t want to see!
“Actually, from my observations these past few days, although the Emei sect has inherent shortcomings, it boasts abundant resources—not only are various ores concentrated here, but there are also many spiritual beasts, such as ‘Golden-Armed Apes,’ ‘Cranes,’ ‘Leopards,’ ‘Iron-Backed Bears’… There are countless of them, along with many martial arts secrets for crafting armor. With few cities in the vicinity, only the Emei sect can establish a foothold here. Such valuable resources even make me envious. If Yingyue Nunnery can harness all these resources, it will surely gain a place in the martial world in the future.”
As soon as Kai Xin expressed her idea, Yu Shanhú and Hei Meigui, who had just defeated the Black and White Fiends, stepped forward to chime in:
“That’s right. The pelts of those spiritual beasts can be used to make first-class equipment materials—very precious… We’ve long wanted to discuss with the Mu family setting up a branch here to develop the resources in this area first. Unfortunately, this place is already north of the Yangtze River, very close to the territory of Yipin Tang. If anything goes wrong, the Mu family won’t be able to help, so we never brought it up…”
“But I’m afraid I can’t do it.”
Yuehua shook her head bitterly.
“It’s okay, I’ll help you.”
Inspired by Yu Shanhú, Kai Xin had a flash of inspiration and came up with a solution that satisfied both sides: “You develop the resources, and the Mu family will handle the collection. If you have any questions, you can ask Rose and Shanhú. They’ll stay on Emei Mountain for a while anyway and will help you.”