# Chapter 856: What Can You Give Her?
"Yun Zheng."
White Old Woman coughed twice, calling the middle-aged man to stop.
Yun Zheng was still quite respectful toward White Old Woman, immediately withdrawing his hand. His gaze remained cold and stern as he stared at Mu Lingxi, letting out a cold snort.
White Old Woman's gaze was gentle as she looked at Mu Lingxi, saying, "Lingxi, you've been out playing for so long now. Shouldn't you return to the headquarters?"
"Master, I..."
Mu Lingxi bit her lips, her pitiful starry eyes secretly glancing toward Zhang Ruochen.
In truth, Mu Lingxi had no desire to return to the Demon Sect at all. Once she went back, she feared she would never again be able to act according to her own heart. Moreover, meeting Zhang Ruochen again in the future would not be an easy matter.
White Old Woman's gaze shifted to Zhang Ruochen, noticing something, and asked, "Are you the Heir of Time and Space, Zhang Ruochen?"
"It is this junior," Zhang Ruochen said.
Since White Old Woman was Mu Lingxi's master, Zhang Ruochen naturally showed her great respect, his demeanor humble yet neither servile nor arrogant.
White Old Woman nodded, then turned her gaze back to Mu Lingxi, saying, "Lingxi, there are some things your master wishes to discuss with you alone. Come here."
"Mm." Mu Lingxi said softly.
White Old Woman and Mu Lingxi stepped on fallen leaves, walking toward the forest. Soon, the two disappeared among the thick tree trunks.
Zhang Ruochen did not follow but remained where he was, waiting quietly.
Yun Zheng's eyes fixed on Zhang Ruochen, his gaze quite cold and stern. "Zhang Ruochen, that Heavenly Proud Son of Liangyi Sect, Lin Yue, was also you, wasn't he?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Senior, if you have something to say, please speak directly."
Yun Zheng clasped his hands behind his back. A powerful fluctuation of Saint Qi emanated from him, causing the leaves on the ground to spin, making a rustling sound.
He said, "You and Lingxi are not of the same path. I hope you can stay away from her."
"Why?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Yun Zheng was far too overbearing, giving off a sense of arbitrary decisiveness, as if everything must follow his will. Even Zhang Ruochen, who had only just met him, felt a sense of resistance.
No wonder Mu Lingxi's relationship with him was so poor. There was indeed a reason.
Yun Zheng's eyes revealed a sharp, cold expression. "You ask me why? Then may I ask you, what can you give her?"
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen found himself speechless.
Yun Zheng said, "Let me be blunt. Your talent is indeed very high, and you are a young outstanding talent, worthy of Lingxi. However, you are a man with a fiancée. I do not wish for my daughter to marry someone like you. That is the first point."
"Second, if you truly like Lingxi, you should understand that although she is one of the Holy Maidens of the Divine Sect, she does not hold much power within the sect. Within her clan, she is also heavily ostracized. Can you help her?"
"Third, your identity is far too sensitive. Those who want to kill you are countless. Do you think I would let my daughter go into exile with you, living in constant fear and danger?"
"With Lingxi's superior conditions, she could easily marry the heir of a Medieval Aristocratic Clan. In the Divine Sect, there are at least three such outstanding talents. Only with the full support of a Medieval Aristocratic Clan can she gain a foothold in the sect. In the future, within the Mu Clan, no one would dare to ostracize her."
"Therefore, the things she needs, you simply cannot give her. You can only bring her danger and pain."
There was no denying that Yun Zheng was a very realistic person, but every word he spoke hit the mark, leaving Zhang Ruochen completely unable to refute him.
In Yun Zheng's eyes, Zhang Ruochen's talent was indeed very high, but in the end, he was merely a young junior, weak and alone, utterly incomparable to those long-established Medieval Aristocratic Clans.
He and Mu Lingxi needed a vast power as their backing, not to spend enormous resources cultivating a genius.
Although Zhang Ruochen indeed had great cultivation value, he also came with tremendous risk.
Zhang Ruochen smiled bitterly. "I would very much like to know, are those things you just mentioned what you want, or what Mu Lingxi wants?"
"The things she needs—as her father, I naturally must do my utmost to fight for them on her behalf. The struggles within the Divine Sect are extremely cruel. If she does not strive to fight for her own interests, she will sooner or later die in that brutal competition. This is something you will never understand."
Yun Zheng continued, "A genius like you should normally be fought over by major powers. But do you know why I have no desire to recruit you into the Divine Sect?"
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Why?"
Yun Zheng said without any emotion, "Because even if you joined the Divine Sect, you probably wouldn't live for many days."
Seeing Zhang Ruochen's puzzled expression, Yun Zheng paused before continuing, "The sect already has a Divine Son. There is no need for another genius with talent equal to the Divine Son. Your existence would only threaten the Divine Son's position. The forces behind the Divine Son would never allow you to grow. If I brought you back to the Divine Sect, I would be standing in opposition to the Divine Son and the major powers behind him."
In the end, White Old Woman and Yun Zheng took Mu Lingxi away.
As she left, Mu Lingxi kept her head lowered, her eyes red and swollen, clearly having cried. No one knew what White Old Woman had said to her.
From beginning to end, she did not speak a single word to Zhang Ruochen. She was unusually silent, her gaze hollow, as if lost in thought, or as if she had lost her soul, like a puppet, gradually fading into the distance.
At that moment, Zhang Ruochen also seemed to have turned to stone, standing motionless in place.
Not far away, Han Qiu rested her chin on her hand, watching Zhang Ruochen for a long time. "I thought all cultivators of the Demon Sect were fierce, evil demonic people who would start fighting at the slightest disagreement. I never expected they wouldn't use their fists but their mouths instead."
"They were worried that Senior Sister Duanmu would refuse to return to the Demon Sect headquarters and resist them, which would only backfire," Zhang Ruochen said, closing his eyes, feeling a pang of pain in his heart.
Whether it was the Demon Sect or the Mu Clan, both were a pit of fire for Mu Lingxi. Watching her step into that pit of fire without being able to pull her back—this feeling was simply unbearable.
Han Qiu said, "If you had said one word to keep her, I bet she would have stayed even if it meant death."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at her, said nothing, and headed straight toward Shentai City.
Only Han Qiu was left standing alone in place, somewhat bewildered, muttering to herself, "Was what I said not reasonable?"
Han Qiu was not wrong. The problem lay with Zhang Ruochen.
Because even now, he was not certain what kind of feelings he had for Mu Lingxi.
Moreover, Yun Zheng's words had a profound impact on him. To some extent, he truly could not give Mu Lingxi what she needed right now.
"Returning to the Demon Sect, returning to her father and master's side, is more stable and safer than being hunted by various forces together with me."
Zhang Ruochen tried to convince himself, then let out a long breath.
Wan Ji had been killed by White Old Woman, Cao Gu had been captured, leaving only the severely injured Cao Feng.
Zhang Ruochen did not kill Cao Feng but instead took him into the Cosmic Divine Wood Map and handed him over to Xiao Hei.
Thus, the Scroll World finally had its first Half-Saint-level laborer. Such an expert would be excellent for building cities and constructing caves.
Han Qiu had long since stopped being amazed by the various methods Zhang Ruochen displayed. She could not help but say, "Zhang Ruochen, with the power and resources you currently possess, you are not inferior to a weaker Saint Clan. I really don't understand why Mu Lingxi's father looks down on you so much. Any other person would be overjoyed to have a son-in-law like you."
Han Qiu only said this after seeing the Blood Moon Ghost King. After all, many Saint Clans only had a single Saint sitting in charge. Zhang Ruochen not only had a Ghost King by his side but was also extremely powerful himself. He could indeed contend with some Saint Clans.
Zhang Ruochen did not want to continue discussing this matter and asked, "I recall that Liangyi Sect has a wormhole leading to the Central Domain, right?"
"You're going to the Central Domain?" Han Qiu asked.
"Mm."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze was quite resolute. Whether it was because of the Underworld King Sword Grave or investigating the truth of eight hundred years ago, he had to go to the Central Domain.
There were some things he ultimately had to face.
It was time to go back.
Han Qiu said, "Liangyi Sect does indeed have a wormhole leading to the Central Domain, which has existed since ancient times. All the disciples who go to the Central Domain for training are teleported through this wormhole. Since you want to go to the Central Domain, I'll help you find out when the wormhole will open next."
"Thank you," Zhang Ruochen said.
Han Qiu revealed her white teeth and chuckled. "I've accepted your benefits, so naturally I have to do things for you. Besides, this is a trivial matter for me."
Immediately, Zhang Ruochen, disguised as an outer disciple, followed behind Han Qiu and entered Liangyi Sect's mountain gate.
The current Han Qiu was the top disciple of the Water Moon Hall, holding a very high position in the sect, second only to Half-Saint ancestor-level figures. Bringing someone back to the sect was naturally an easy task for her.
However, all the cultivators of Water Moon Hall were women, and Han Qiu was one of the Four Beauties of Liangyi Sect, with a beauty that could topple cities. She was a prominent figure among the saint-transmitted disciples. Walking alongside her, Zhang Ruochen naturally attracted many curious and jealous gazes.
Fortunately, with Han Qiu's current cultivation level, no one dared to offend her, so the journey was quite peaceful.
In the following days, Zhang Ruochen temporarily stayed in Han Qiu's cultivation cave.