The Cold and Aloof Palace Master's Daily Demon-Slaying Life

There was no sword riding, no cloud riding, just simple wind riding.

An invisible current gathered beneath her feet, lifting her and Bai Yuling beside her like two light feathers, drifting gracefully down into the sea of ​​clouds below. Their speed was not fast, even somewhat leisurely, and they were swallowed up by the churning mist in the blink of an eye.

The ten elders stood at the edge of the platform, watching them disappear.

"This child is still as aloof as ever," said Master Bibo softly, gazing at the vast sea of ​​clouds.

"It's good that it's a bit aloof." Master Qingwei stroked his beard and smiled. "A True Lord should have the dignity of a True Lord. Besides, she has already shown us old folks great affection."

"Yes..." Master Lieyang stroked his chin and chuckled, "The thought of those old fogies from the Zuo family now having to be so respectful to a two-hundred-year-old woman, an 'Ancient Ancestor,' just makes me laugh! Hahaha!"

Everyone smiled upon hearing this.

They had heard a bit about the ways of the Zuo family, a long-established cultivation family. Zuo Qingqiu's return home this time was bound to be quite "exciting".

-

Once outside the protective array of Mount Taihua, the world suddenly opened up.

Below, rolling, verdant mountains stretch across the land like the spine of a giant beast. Rivers meander through them like silver ribbons.

In the distance, cities and villages dot the landscape like stars in the sky, with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys. Ordinary people, like ants, live and thrive in this vast expanse of land. Further still, where the horizon meets the sky, clouds rise and fall in a myriad of breathtaking scenes.

Zuo Qingqiu, holding Bai Yuling's hand, flew leisurely through the air a thousand feet high. A fierce wind howled, causing their clothes to flutter and their hair to dance. But with their cultivation levels, this wind was barely a gentle breeze.

"Sister, shall we go to your house?"

Bai Yuling tilted her head up and asked curiously.

The pair of iconic white jade dragon horns on her head were quietly hidden by the secret technique taught by Zuo Qingqiu after she left Mount Taihua, and even the faint dragon aura around her was completely concealed.

At this moment, she looks like a human girl with white hair and eyes and an excessively delicate appearance due to cultivating a special yin attribute technique. She no longer has any dragon characteristics, and no one would associate her with a true dragon.

"Hmm." Zuo Qingqiu responded, her gaze sweeping across the mountains and rivers below, somewhat distant. "Cui Weishan, the Zuo family."

"Does the Zuo family...have many people? Are they good to my sister?" Bai Yuling blinked her big eyes. She had been with Zuo Qingqiu since she was born, so her concept of "family" and "relatives" was vague. She only knew that her sister didn't seem to like talking about that place.

Zuo Qingqiu paused for a moment before saying, "There are a lot of people. Whether it's good or bad... it doesn't matter anymore."

She is no longer the timid little girl she once was in the Zuo family.

Now she is a Golden Core True Monarch, an "Ancient Ancestor" whom the Zuo family must look up to.

Good or bad, gratitude or resentment, all lose their meaning in the face of absolute power and status disparity.

Her trip was merely to settle some karmic debts and draw some boundaries.

Bai Yuling seemed to understand, but she could sense that her sister was in low spirits, so she obediently stopped asking questions and instead began to enjoy the scenery below with great interest.

"Sister, look! That river meanders like a silver snake!"

"There's a lake over there, it's huge, and it's so shiny, like a mirror!"

"Wow! That cloud looks like a big rabbit! Its ears are so long!"

She chattered away, her voice clear and melodious, like a cheerful bird in the forest, adding much life to this tranquil flight.

Zuo Qingqiu would only occasionally hum in agreement or glance in the direction she was pointing, but most of the time she would just listen quietly and let her be lively.

With her cultivation level as a Golden Core True Monarch, she has many ways to travel.

Tearing through the void and escaping into the "Great Void" for long-distance teleportation is the fastest method, but it is also very energy-consuming and carries certain risks. The Great Void is not absolutely safe, as it contains various strange spatial turbulence and unknown entities.

Alternatively, one could use lightning techniques to travel by electricity, achieving a speed far exceeding what is happening now.

But she didn't.

She was just using ordinary wind manipulation, and her speed was about the same as that of an ordinary Purple Mansion cultivator.

Take your time, like a leisurely stroll in nature.

The True Lord has a lifespan of ten thousand years; she has plenty of time.

Why are you in such a hurry to go back?

Why rush to see the obsequious faces of those clan elders?

Are you eager to accept compliments that are not pure, or even calculated?

No need.

The ones who should be anxious are the Zuo family members. They need her, their "ancient ancestor," to return home to stabilize the clan, to intimidate others, and to gain tangible benefits.

All she had to do was calmly accept the appointment.

Sunlight streamed in from the side, casting long shadows of the two people onto the sea of ​​clouds below.

A large and a small child walk hand in hand, their clothes fluttering, their black and white hair intertwined in the wind. The scene is serene and beautiful, as if time has stood still at this moment.

Bai Yuling suddenly quieted down and secretly turned her head to look at Zuo Qingqiu's profile.

In the sunlight, the older sister's skin was as white as jade, almost transparent, and her long eyelashes cast faint shadows under her eyelids.

Her profile was beautiful and aloof, with a straight nose and pale lips, like a carefully drawn stroke in a traditional Chinese ink painting—detached yet breathtakingly beautiful.

My sister was beautiful before.

But now, it looks even better.

It wasn't a change in appearance, but rather a kind of... indescribable charm. It was like... like her favorite piece of "Nine Heavens Cold Jade," which was originally crystal clear, but now seemed to contain an entire starry sky within it, profound, mysterious, captivating, and instinctively awe-inspiring.

Is this the True Lord?

As Bai Yuling thought about it, her little hand unconsciously tightened its grip on Zuo Qingqiu's fingers.

Feeling the force in her hand, Zuo Qingqiu turned her head slightly and looked at her.

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing!" Bai Yuling shook her head quickly, as if caught doing something wrong, her face slightly flushed. "I just think... Sister is so beautiful! More beautiful than anyone else!"

Zuo Qingqiu was slightly taken aback, then her lips curved into a very slight smile, like a warm breeze that swept by when the ice and snow first melted, which disappeared in the blink of an eye.

She raised her hand and gently tapped Bai Yuling's forehead.

"Nonsense."

Bai Yuling covered her forehead, giggling, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

The sound of the wind, the shadows of the clouds, the sunlight, and the warmth of the fingertips of the person beside me.

At this moment, life is indeed peaceful and serene.

-

Cuiwei Mountain is not a single peak, but a majestic mountain range stretching nearly a thousand miles from north to south. Its main peak, Cuiwei, rises over ten thousand feet, its mid-slope perpetually covered in snow and shrouded in mist, brimming with spiritual energy—one of the most blessed and spiritually significant places within the Taihua Gate region. The Zuo family has been rooted here for over three thousand years, cultivating and transforming the entire mountain range into an impregnable fortress. The core family settlement is located in "Zuojiayu," at the foot of the main peak.

It was already night.

As the autumn night deepened, the chill intensified. Frost had already crept up the high peaks of Cuiwei Mountain, and the night wind swept through the forest, stirring up rustling pines that sounded like a mournful lament. But in the "Xiaoxian Square" in the core area of ​​Zuojiayu, the lights shone brightly, as if it were daytime.