Don't be afraid, fairy, I'm blind

Chapter 498: Such a good opportunity must not be missed!
As Liu Yinyin finished speaking, Ji Xueruo's pupils suddenly shrank.

She turned around slowly, and Liu Yinyin's words were like a heavy hammer, buzzing in her ears.

She stared at the radiant elder in front of her in disbelief. Her throat moved, but she didn't know what to say. She just pretended that she had misheard and asked:
"Can you say that again?"

Liu Yinyin lowered her head and looked at her new fingertips. The delicate skin glowed with a pearly luster in the twilight.

She took a deep breath, as if she mustered up her courage to look directly into the clan leader's eyes: "Miss, the second lady once told you and me that Master You has the body of a heavenly furnace. Her achievement is closely related to Master You's physique."

She turned to face the elders, her voice as light as a mosquito, but every word was clear, "In fact, the second young lady studied in Zhongzhou for three years. During these three years, she was not studying in Xuanxiao Sect, but in a small city called Izumo City. That was also the sect where Young Master You first studied, called... Tiandi Yinyang Hehuan Yuanyang Sword Sect."

The elders' eyes widened and they looked at each other in bewilderment. They really didn't know these details. They had always thought that Ji Lingruo was a disciple of the Lotus Sword Master from the beginning to the end, but they didn't expect that the second young lady not only learned swordsmanship in Zhongyuanzhou, but also learned the art of dual cultivation...

It turns out that Master You not only has this amazing body, but is also a professional...

Ji Xueruo was shocked. She wondered what had happened to Granny Liu, who rarely took the initiative to make decisions, and why she brought such a private matter to the table.

Ji Xueruo could of course guess her intention of saying this at this time, but she still had a chance. So she suppressed the surging emotions in her heart and maintained the dignity of the clan leader on her face:
"so what?"

Liu Yinyin bit her lower lip. She knew that the eldest lady pretended not to understand in order to remind her to be careful with her words, but things had come to this point, so how could she turn back?

She had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak, "So I thought that maybe I could use Mr. You's Heavenly Furnace Body to help the elders purify their demon cores. The demon core is the foundation of demon cultivation, and purifying the demon core is more effective than any magic weapon for tempering the bones."

As soon as these words came out, the elders below all had different expressions. Although they had reached a certain consensus when they knew that Liu Yinyin's changes were also due to this body of the Heavenly Furnace, they were still a little shy and nervous to bring up this idea openly.

Ji Xueruo felt a surge of blood. She looked around at the elders she respected. Some of them hurriedly avoided her sight, while others looked at her frankly. However, there was only one thing in common, which was the eagerness in their eyes.

"You knew about this a long time ago?" With her intelligence, how could she not see that Liu Yinyin was just a representative put forward by these six people.

The elders' eyes flickered, and they remained silent, as if they agreed.

"They once asked me about the origin of my second young lady's demon pill, and I told them." Liu Yinyin answered for them, but it was to cover up the embarrassment of being discovered for "cheating".

Ji Xueruo pinched her palm with her fingertips, and her voice was filled with rare anger: "Although the snake tribe is composed entirely of women, they have survived for thousands of years without relying on the power of outsiders! They will never rely on men and flatter them for profit! Have you all forgotten this!"

Everyone was shocked by her aura and fell silent for a moment.

Liu Yinyin also felt her old face blushing, and was about to mediate when she saw the tall and thin Elder Zhu step forward and said bluntly:
"We have not forgotten. It's just that the clan leader is wrong. Young Master You is not an outsider, and we are not asking him for help just to be dependent on a man."

Elder Yin carefully glanced at Elder Zhu's back and felt that this woman's behavior was as straight as a bamboo pole. He couldn't help but complain in his heart:

How dare you, a venomous girl, offend the chieftain at this time? I think you are really greedy! But since you are working for the welfare of the sisters, I will pity you if you are punished...

Ji Xueruo didn't expect that the first person to stand up and express his opinion was the most taciturn Elder Zhu, so she became even more angry and retorted:
"He is just a human, not even a demon! How can he not be considered an outsider?!"

Elder Hua clenched her fists lightly, but could not hold back and spoke carefully: "But didn't the clan leader want him to be included in the clan tree? If he is included in the clan tree, how can he be considered an outsider..."

These words were like a blow to Ji Xueruo, leaving her speechless.

Yes, it was indeed her idea to let You Su enter the family tree. How could he be treated as an outsider after entering the family tree?
No, no! What does this have to do with whether or not you are an outsider?
Ji Xueruo immediately regained her confidence, "Even if he is one of us, a woman of the snake clan has been independent and strong until now, how can I rely on a man!"

Elder Hua was panicked by Ji Xueruo's stare. He was hesitating whether to continue speaking, but he heard Elder Xiang behind him say:

"You are too kind, Chief! Since Master You is from the Snake Tribe, how can this be called dependence? It is normal for tribe members to help each other, and asking a tribe member for a favor is just a normal thing. How can it be considered flattery?"

"That's right!" Elder Chi on the other side also echoed excitedly, "Our snake tribe women are beautiful, haven't we seen enough temptations like this? But no one, whether it's us or the snake women below, would do such a shameless thing! If Master You was not from our snake tribe, even if he could help us reach the top in one step, we would still discard him like a worn-out shoe!"

Ji Xueruo frowned deeply when she heard that, thinking, does that mean she can follow the rules just because they are family members?
"But with his physical condition, if we want him to help purify the demon pill, we must use the dual cultivation method. You are all people that Ling Ruo calls aunt, how can this be allowed?!"

At this point, Ji Xueruo had no choice but to deal with it by awakening the shame of these elders.

Seeing that the elders were silent again, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief and turned her eager gaze to Elder Yin who had not spoken yet.

"Elder Yin, when the snake blood pool was still there, the births within the tribe were in your hands. Do you think what I said makes sense?"

The other elders knew what the clan leader was thinking. Elder Yin was very concerned about his reputation, so he would be the first to speak out. If someone gave in, their alliance would fall apart, and it would be even harder to persuade the clan leader.

Elder Yin's cheeks really turned red with shame when Ji Xueruo looked at him. He bowed shyly and was about to speak.

Seeing this, the other elders all secretly clenched their fists and sighed in their hearts, all acknowledging that Elder Silver would turn against the eldest lady.

After all, they grew up together and knew each other's temperament very well. If she switched sides at this time, she would not only be known for her noble character, but also please the clan leader. There was no way this silver ring snake would refuse such a good thing.

"To the clan leader..." Elder Yin carefully glanced at the clan leader who was looking expectant, but bit his lower lip as if he had made up his mind, "In my opinion, the clan leader's words are biased."

As soon as the words fell, the elders' beautiful eyes lit up and they looked at the woman who spoke in surprise.

"The demon race seldom abides by the stereotypes and rules of the human race in the first place, not to mention that we are all born from the blood of the snake race, so there is no need to pay attention to these things. As for the matter of dual cultivation, the clan leader, as a cultivator, can see clearly - Young Master You and the Second Miss are proficient in this way, one is energetic and the other is full of vigor. It can be seen that dual cultivation is not a scourge, but a subtle knowledge that nourishes one's spirit. So... we should treat it with a normal mind." Elder Yin spoke slowly and without any shame.

The girls were surprised to hear this, but they also found it funny. In order to save face, the little silver snake portrayed the matter as Gao Dashan's knowledge. It was really like "Wang Po selling melons and bragging about herself".

“Ridiculous!” Ji Xueruo waved her sleeves suddenly, and the sound of the cups and bowls overturning startled the elders’ shoulders. “Even if he is one of us, even if you are not ashamed of this, he already has a Taoist partner! It is not right for you to do this with him! Elder Jin!”

When his name was suddenly called, Elder Jin straightened his back and became nervous.

Of these seven elders, she was the only one who hadn't spoken since Liu Yinyin proposed this method...

“You tell me! Is it possible for my snake clan to practice dual cultivation with a married man?” Ji Xueruo slammed her hand heavily on the green jade table, her eyes almost spitting fire.

Elder Jin swallowed subconsciously, and several sisters stared at her with burning eyes.

She was the most old-fashioned and the most rule-abiding among the seven, so she was the elder in charge of discipline. Apart from the foolish elder Chi, she was the one who controlled her desires the most among the elders. Including this proposal, she was also the most reluctant one, and only agreed under pressure from her sisters.

She originally thought that she would keep silent when the advice was given, and she would just follow orders regardless of whether it was passed or not. But the clan leader forced her to express her opinion, so how could she go against her own heart...

She took a deep breath, then slowly shook her head: "My snake clan doesn't have such logic."

All the elders were stunned, even Liu Yinyin's eyes were fixed, feeling a sense of loss as if everything had gone wrong.

Ji Xueruo sweated a drop on her temples, and she felt the pressure on her body suddenly dissipate. But before she could catch her breath, she heard Elder Jin speak again:
"But my snake tribe doesn't have it, because my snake tribe has no men, so there is no relevant record in the law code. But as a demon tribe, we may be able to learn from the laws of other demon tribes. Including Shenshan, many tribes have the custom of 'cultivating together' in order to become stronger. The women in the tribe can combine with the strong to give birth to a more excellent bloodline, and the men in the tribe can do the same. So from this perspective, the method proposed by Elder Liu is... there is a law to follow."

As soon as the words fell, the expressions on the faces of the elders were beyond words of surprise, and they all sighed that this golden snake with a stern face was really not to be judged by appearance. They were just thinking about cultivation, but this guy even thought of "giving birth to a rich bloodline"!
At this point, Ji Xueruo still underestimated the consequences of the sudden appearance of a man in a tribe consisting of only women.

Ji Xueruo felt her temples throbbing. She looked at these usually dignified and solemn elders and felt that they had become somewhat unfamiliar to her:

"According to what you said, if I also need it, then doesn't it mean that as the head of my clan, I can also do this with You Suxing?!"

The girls looked at each other, and all of them thought to themselves, "Didn't you do it a long time ago?", but no one dared to actually say so.

"You are wrong, clan leader." Liu Yinyin held the snake-head staff horizontally and bowed solemnly. "What they want is just to use Mr. You's physique to improve their cultivation, so that the clan leader doesn't have to work hard. It has nothing to do with love between men and women, let alone romance. When the snake tribe returns to the sacred mountain, there will be thousands of wonderful ways to improve, and then this matter will naturally be put to rest. But the most important thing now is to return to the sacred mountain safely first."

This has nothing to do with love between men and women, let alone romance. What do they want? Don't you want it?
Elder Hua's beautiful eyes turned when she heard this, and she secretly sneered at the fact that the oldest person was the one who hid the most, but she did not say anything to expose him.

“Grandma Liu, why are you here too? Sigh!” Ji Xueruo felt isolated and helpless. “It’s easy for you to say that, but You Su is Lingruo’s Taoist partner, and also my…”

She bit her lower lip fiercely, and swallowed the word "sweetheart" back into her throat under the strange looks of the elders, "He is my brother-in-law! If this matter gets out, how will the snake clan have any face?"

"Face? What kind of face is this about? Besides, when the Golden Peng tribe exterminated the Tengu tribe, did they care about face? When the six major demon tribes divided up the Golden Peng tribe's territory, did they care about face? The tribe leader must know that in Japan, only being strong enough is face. Regardless of the fact that outsiders don't know about this, even if they know, they will only envy our snake tribe for having such a treasure! Such a good opportunity must not be missed!"

Elder Hua stood up and saluted side by side with Liu Yinyin.

Seeing this, the other elders followed suit and saluted. The seven of them shouted in unison:
"Don't miss this opportunity!"

The night wind blew outside the hall, and Ji Xueruo felt a bitterness in her throat. She was bombarded by these seven elders in turn, and she was actually shaken.

After all, they are all family members, and the fundamental purpose is to allow the snake tribe to return to the sacred mountain, so that all subsequent plans will have a better chance of being carried out. So, there seems to be nothing wrong in making the best use of everything?
"Even if you don't mind, You Su may not agree to it." Her voice finally softened. "He and Ling Ruo are in love with each other, so how could he agree to such a ridiculous thing? Even if he is willing, Ling Ruo is even less likely to agree."

"Then wouldn't it be better to hide it from the Second Miss?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Elder Yin covered his red lips in panic.

All the girls' eyes were focused on her, making her blushing face almost bleed. She secretly hated herself for saying what was in her heart subconsciously!

"If you hide it now, and Ling finds out later, how will she look at you! And how will she look at You Su?" Ji Xueruo snorted coldly, scaring Elder Yin so much that he kowtowed immediately.

Unexpectedly, the other six elders, except Liu Yinyin, kowtowed:
"We are waiting! We are willing to personally petition the Second Young Lady!"

Ji Xueruo was dazed, looking at the black hair on the ground, and felt that this scene was ridiculous and like a farce.

“Forget it…” She closed her eyes and sighed, “We’ll discuss this later. I’ll ask for their opinions as soon as possible. If they agree, I’ll consider it. If they don’t agree, let’s not talk about this anymore. I’ll do everything I can to help you break through.”

When the elders raised their heads again, tears welled up in their eyes: "Thank you, Patriarch!"

Elder Xiang was the most emotional, and choked up as he said, "The clan leader said he doesn't want to see anyone sacrifice again. Even if this method doesn't work, the clan leader must never sacrifice himself for us again!"

The other elders were all moved and agreed with what he said, which looked like a scene of sympathy between the ruler and his subjects.

However, Liu Yinyin carefully glanced outside the palace. At the end of the long corridor, she was the only one who noticed that Ji Lingruo had been listening there for a long time...

(End of this chapter)