This was not unfounded gossip.
Judging by the expression on the Jade Pool Holy Lord's face, the matter was anything but simple.
Furthermore, Situ Lin had traveled extensively in Xuan Tian during his youth.
Perhaps something had happened on one of those journeys?
"Cough, cough!"
Seeing everyone looking at her with expressions of avid curiosity, the Jade Pool Holy Lord couldn't maintain her composure.
She deliberately cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention back.
"Very well, let us set this aside for now."
"Xu Chuan, what business brings you to our Jade Pool Holy Land?"
The Jade Pool Holy Lord asked Xu Chuan.
Her question immediately shifted everyone's gaze to him.
They were all curious as well.
Why had this newly appointed Tai Yi Holy Son come to the Jade Pool Holy Land?
And moreover, he had returned with the Saintess.
Now that he had become Holy Son, shouldn't he be consolidating his position and receiving the Holy Land's inheritance?
How could he possibly have time to travel around?
At this moment, Xu Chuan no longer felt the nervousness he had before.
His heart was filled with a sense of calm.
"Reporting to Senior, Xu Chuan has come with a request!"
Xu Chuan bowed respectfully, then straightened up and said with neither subservience nor arrogance.
"Oh? What is it?"
"Speak!"
"If I can fulfill it, I will do my best to help you!"
The Jade Pool Holy Lord promised.
Her relationship with Situ Lin was deep, and she saw Xu Chuan as if he were one of her own juniors.
Therefore, she was naturally willing to grant Xu Chuan's request.
"This disciple and Miaoyin share mutual affection, and I implore Senior to consent to our union!"
Xu Chuan declared his true feelings out loud.
Su Miaoyin, who had been standing beside Xu Chuan without speaking, also nervously grasped his hand upon hearing his words.
The Jade Pool Holy Lord, situated at the head of the hall, immediately grew stern.
The surrounding Jade Pool Holy Land powerhouses also changed their expressions.
Some even stepped forward to object.
"Holy Lord, this matter absolutely cannot be agreed to!"
"Indeed, Su Miaoyin is the Saintess of our Jade Pool Holy Land, destined to succeed you as the next Jade Pool Holy Lord. How can she be entangled with a man!"
"We implore the Holy Lord to carefully consider. The rules of the Holy Land must not be broken!"
They glared at Xu Chuan as if he had committed some heinous crime.
For a moment, the entire hall was filled with a chilling aura, terrifyingly silent!
Xu Chuan had not expected to encounter such an obstacle the moment he spoke.
He hadn't even heard the Jade Pool Holy Lord's response yet.
Su Miaoyin became even more anxious.
A look of worry appeared on her face.
She even began to regret becoming the Saintess.
What was the point of being the Saintess if she couldn't be with the person she loved?!
Biting her crimson lips, Su Miaoyin's expression became conflicted.
After a moment, she made up her mind, her expression gradually firming.
Before Xu Chuan could speak further.
She stepped forward, standing resolutely before the Jade Pool Holy Lord, and said, "My feelings for Brother Chuan are unwavering. I hope my Master will grant us this wish!"
"If, if as Saintess I cannot be with the one I love, I am willing to relinquish my position as Saintess!"
Having spoken, Su Miaoyin knelt before the Jade Pool Holy Lord.
"Presumptuous!"
"How can you utter such rebellious words!"
"Su Miaoyin, do you know what you are saying?!"
Her words were like a bomb exploding amongst the Jade Pool Holy Land powerhouses.
They all looked at Su Miaoyin in disbelief, unable to fathom that such words could come from her lips!
The Jade Pool Saintess, a position so many dreamed of, how could she so readily give it up?
Moreover, it was for the sake of a man?
This was something they absolutely could not tolerate!
"Enough, stop your noise!"
The Jade Pool Holy Lord reprimanded them.
Instantly, the hall fell silent.
No one dared to test the Jade Pool Holy Lord's authority.
"Su Miaoyin, do you know what you are saying?!"
The Jade Pool Holy Lord ignored Xu Chuan and questioned Su Miaoyin.
Su Miaoyin did not answer, but simply raised her head.
Everyone could see that she was resolute and would not back down.
Xu Chuan stepped forward, standing in front of her.
"I implore Senior Holy Lord to grant our wish!"
He had decided that if the Jade Pool Holy Lord truly refused, he would take Su Miaoyin and leave the Jade Pool Holy Land immediately!
With the trump cards he possessed, it would be no trouble at all to take Su Miaoyin away from the Jade Pool Holy Land.
The onlookers, besides anger, felt mostly disappointment.
Some of them didn't understand how their Saintess, who had left the Holy Land for a while, seemed to have become a different person.
The Jade Pool Holy Lord, gazing down from her high position at the two below, saw the determination on their faces.
Suddenly, she felt a wave of dizziness.
She fell into a memory.
Once, there was someone who, like Xu Chuan, had come to the Jade Pool Holy Land to plead with the previous Jade Pool Holy Lord.
And, as expected, the previous Jade Pool Holy Lord had also refused to let them be together.
But she had not possessed Su Miaoyin's courage to stand up and fight for her own life's happiness.
She had been confined by the previous Holy Lord beneath the Cliff of Forgetfulness to cultivate.
In the end, that person had departed with disappointment and regret.
That departure had lasted for an eternity.
From then on, though the two who loved each other came from the same realm, they never met again.
Ultimately, both bearing endless regrets, one became the Peak Master of True Sun Peak in Tai Yi Holy Land, and the other became the new Holy Lord of the Jade Pool Holy Land.
And now, the dragon slayer had become the dragon.
She had become the very person she detested in the past.
Thinking of her past self, and then seeing the two below.
Finally.
She sighed, shook her head, and said, "I never imagined you would reach this point."
"Enough, I shall grant your wish!"
"I hope you do not regret this decision today!"
In the end, she could not bring herself to be harsh.
Perhaps it was empathy, or perhaps she was moved by the genuine affection between Su Miaoyin and Xu Chuan.
"Holy Lord, absolutely not!"
"Absurd, this decision is too absurd!"
Her words immediately caused an uproar.
Most of those who stepped forward to object had not experienced that past event.
However, the older generation of martial artists who knew of that matter remained silent.
"Alright!"
"My decision is made. There is no need for further discussion!"
The Jade Pool Holy Lord waved her hand. If nothing unexpected happened, the matter would be settled.
However, the unexpected was about to happen.
Before Xu Chuan and Su Miaoyin could express their thanks.
A voice from outside announced, "A disciple delivering a message! The Holy Son of Xuan Tian Holy Land in the Central Region has come to pay his respects!"
As the words fell, the expressions of everyone present changed.
Someone from the Central Region.
And it was the Holy Son of Xuan Tian Holy Land.
Why would such a person of high status come to their Jade Pool Holy Land?!
But they dared not delay. The fact that a Holy Land bore the name Xuan Tian indicated its immense power.
"Let them in!"
The Jade Pool Holy Lord commanded.
What was with all the Holy Sons arriving today?
Not long after, a young man whose features were as sharp as if carved by a blade, radiating an aura of an invincible king, appeared in the hall.
Upon entering, he bowed to the Jade Pool Holy Lord, "Li Qinghou of Xuan Tian Holy Land, on behalf of the Holy Lord, I extend greetings to Senior Jade Pool."
After speaking, he turned his head and gave Xu Chuan a charmingly wicked and disdainful smile.