"My junior, An Ning, pays respects to the Sect Leader and Senior."
After a respectful bow, An Ning stood quietly, awaiting the decisions of He Song and Elder Huanxue.
Although she had already foreseen today's events,
She was uncertain whether the Wind Snow Palace would let her go.
And what price He Song would have to pay to take her away,
She hadn't a clear idea.
Thus, even though An Ning knew this scene was due to her,
She had no way of knowing what would happen next.
After all, her cultivation had only reached the Gold Core stage.
Facing two Nascent Soul cultivators, she had no power to resist.
If He Song and Elder Huanxue's negotiations failed and Elder Huanxue forced her to stay in the Wind Snow Palace,
An Ning's future days would likely be far from pleasant.
However, if He Song and Elder Huanxue had already settled this matter,
Her life afterwards would be much more comfortable than now.
Moreover, according to He Song's previous words, she might have the opportunity to reach the Nascent Soul stage.
Though it was just an opportunity, not a certainty,
For An Ning, it could still be considered a tremendous chance.
With such an opportunity, if An Ning truly succeeded in breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage,
She would gain formidable strength and status unattainable within the Wind Snow Palace.
Holding various thoughts in mind,
An Ning felt slightly nervous at this moment.
But,
When An Ning arrived and greeted them with respect, He Song and Elder Huanxue exchanged a glance.
"Junior An Ning,"
"Today, Daoist Cang Song has come looking specifically for you."
"And claims that he has some past connection with you many years ago. Is this true or false?"
Although he had already heard from He Song about the relationship between He Song and An Ning,
Elder Huanxue did not blindly trust He Song's words.
Instead, as this matter was coming to an end, he directly asked An Ning a question.
He thought that He Song wouldn't deceive him over such a matter.
And in his heart, he believed seven or eight parts of He Song's words.
But, some things still needed to be done.
Such actions would not only make An Ning feel more goodwill towards the Wind Snow Palace,
But also show He Song how much the Wind Snow Palace cared for An Ning.
This matter could be considered killing two birds with one stone.
As Elder Huanxue's voice rang out,
An Ning instinctively lowered her head and replied.
"To the Sect Leader,"
"This matter is indeed true."
"Junior has had some past connections with Senior Cang Song many years ago."
An Ning did not elaborate on their specific connection, only acknowledged He Song's words.
Regarding this, Elder Huanxue did not care.
He merely looked at her again.
"Daoist Cang Song also said,"
"This time, he wants to take you to another place. Are you willing?"
Having spoken thus, he seemed to realize his words carried other implications.
Therefore, before An Ning could open her mouth, Elder Huanxue began to rectify his statement.
"Little friend, rest assured. Daoist Cang Song and our Wind Snow Palace have a close relationship. If it is him, our Wind Snow Palace will naturally allow you to leave."
"And when you depart, I will announce to the sect and give you a proper farewell."
"I wonder what Little Friend thinks?"
The usually dictatorial Elder Huanxue clearly wasn't used to speaking gently to juniors.
Thus, while making amends, he couldn't help but look at He Song, seemingly wanting to see what He Song thought of his words.
However, He Song didn't care about this.
Even An Ning didn't care.
Upon hearing Elder Huanxue's words, An Ning quickly responded.
"I am willing."
"But there is no need for a farewell."
"This junior is leaving to practice elsewhere with Senior."
"If I miss the sect in the future, I can naturally return to visit my friends here."
"And my friends in the sect will naturally know where I am afterwards."
"If they miss me, they can visit too."
He Song had already discussed this matter with An Ning and told her to pack up and get ready to leave at any time.
In such a situation, all necessary matters and farewells to friends had been handled by An Ning.
Elder Huanxue's mention of a farewell was entirely unnecessary.
Moreover, she didn't want to witness such a scene.
Therefore, it was best to refuse politely.
After all, if she truly missed the place in the future, returning wouldn't be difficult.
With these thoughts in mind, An Ning looked at He Song's figure.
Her heart finally settled.
As An Ning spoke,
Elder Huanxue's expression shifted slightly.
At the same time, a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes as he looked at An Ning.
Returning?
An Ning actually might return to the Wind Snow Palace in the future?
Indeed!
An Ning had spent two to three hundred years in the Wind Snow Palace.
Over such a long period, her relationships with other Gold Core elders and junior disciples were quite good.
In this situation, if An Ning left without ever looking back at the Wind Snow Palace, it would be strange.
After all, even in cultivation, one would naturally have a few good friends and juniors.
Thus, what An Ning said became very normal.
And upon hearing this, Elder Huanxue was filled with joy.
He originally thought that after An Ning left the Wind Snow Palace, she would sever ties with it.
But unexpectedly, An Ning spoke like this.
It meant that the affection between the Wind Snow Palace and An Ning hadn't ended.
In the future, if An Ning truly broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, the Wind Snow Palace might gain a powerful ally.
Behind An Ning was He Song, who was friendly with the two Nascent Soul cultivators of Yi Yang Sect.
Such intertwined relationships indicated that the relationship between Yi Yang Sect and the Wind Snow Palace had been drawn closer.
With these thoughts, Elder Huanxue looked at An Ning with even more satisfaction.
This An Ning was commendable.
However, to make An Ning feel more goodwill towards the Wind Snow Palace, it was necessary to offer some benefits to solidify this relationship.
Thinking this way, Elder Huanxue's smile widened.
Then, he casually waved his hand and took out a blank jade slip from his storage bag.
His divine sense probed out, and a large amount of information was inscribed by Elder Huanxue onto the jade slip.
After finishing everything, Elder Huanxue casually pushed it forward.
The jade slip in front of him flew to An Ning's face.
"Little Friend An Ning,"
"This jade slip contains some insights and experiences from my breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage."
"If Little Friend attempts to break through to the Nascent Soul stage in the future, the information on this jade slip will surely be helpful."
"This item is the last bit of support from our Wind Snow Palace to Little Friend."
"I hope that after Little Friend achieves great success, you won't forget the senior sisters and junior sisters of the Wind Snow Palace."
With a smile, Elder Huanxue finished his words.
He didn't put on airs and continued to look at He Song, giving a respectful gesture.
"Daoist Cang Song,"
"Little Friend An Ning has been in the Wind Snow Palace for many years."
"This place can be considered her second home."
"As an elder of this home, it is natural to give her a gift before she departs."
"I wonder what Friend thinks?"
Elder Huanxue's move clearly aimed to make An Ning remember the kindness of the Wind Snow Palace and deepen the bond between An Ning and the Wind Snow Palace.
Such a thing, if it were someone else, He Song definitely wouldn't agree.
However, as Elder Huanxue mentioned, An Ning had indeed spent two to three hundred years in the Wind Snow Palace.
Over such a long period, He Song absolutely did not believe that An Ning had no feelings for this place.
Therefore, Elder Huanxue's move did not anger He Song.
Instead, it made He Song sigh, realizing that those who could become Nascent Soul cultivators in the cultivation world were truly extraordinary.
Elder Huanxue was still striving for the interests of the Wind Snow Palace.
Such a situation made He Song feel deeply moved.
However, the specifics depended on what An Ning thought.
Thus, upon hearing Elder Huanxue's words, He Song did not speak but instead looked at An Ning.
And An Ning, after listening to Elder Huanxue's words and seeing He Song look at her, seemingly wanting her opinion,
quickly took the jade slip in front of her and responded.
"Sect Leader doesn't need to be so polite."
"The Wind Snow Palace can indeed be considered my second home."
"If it weren't for the Wind Snow Palace, I probably couldn't have even entered the Gold Core stage, let alone reaching the peak of the Gold Core stage."
"Therefore, even if Sect Leader didn't say it, I would always remember the kindness of the Wind Snow Palace and its senior sisters and junior sisters."
"However, my departure this time will be very far from the Wind Snow Palace."
"In the future, if I want to return here, I will probably need Senior Cang Song to escort me to ensure safety."
"In this way, it will be hard to return once more."
"However, Sect Leader can rest assured. I have ways to communicate with the senior sisters and junior sisters in the sect. If something happens in the Wind Snow Palace,"
"I will naturally discuss with Senior Cang Song and decide on the course of action."
An Ning's words did not claim what she would do after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage.
She knew that boasting now and failing to reach the Nascent Soul stage later would turn her words into a joke.
Thus, she only claimed that she would remember the kindness of the Wind Snow Palace.
And that she would discuss with He Song and decide on actions if something happened in the Wind Snow Palace.
As for other matters, given her low cultivation level, she probably needed He Song to make decisions.
Upon hearing this, Elder Huanxue's expression changed.
An Ning's words were essentially saying nothing.
Compared to her previous words, there was no change at all.
It was as if Elder Huanxue's gift had no effect on An Ning.
However, having already given such a generous gift, Elder Huanxue couldn't ask for it back.
Thus, Elder Huanxue could only laugh it off and then changed the topic, chatting idly with He Song about other things.
And He Song,
Upon hearing An Ning's words, he smiled inwardly.
An Ning's loyalty to He Song was beyond doubt.
Thus, even after receiving Elder Huanxue's generous gift, without He Song's nod, An Ning wouldn't promise anything.
Most of An Ning's words were simply expressing loyalty to He Song.
As for other matters,
When An Ning's strength was sufficient, she would naturally act accordingly, and He Song wouldn't stop her.
And this was why An Ning didn't say what she would do after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage.
He Song understood this clearly.
The Wind Snow Palace was the sect where An Ning had stayed for two to three hundred years.
When her own strength was sufficient, An Ning naturally wouldn't stand idly by.
However, to what extent An Ning would act for the Wind Snow Palace, He Song didn't know at this moment.
But according to He Song's understanding of An Ning,
If the Wind Snow Palace truly faced annihilation,
An Ning would probably take action.
However, An Ning's intervention wouldn't be to fight for the Wind Snow Palace.
Instead, she would preserve some seeds of the Wind Snow Palace, allowing them to take root and sprout in the future.
As for other things, she probably wouldn't do them.
After all, under He Song's influence, An Ning was extremely cautious in dealing with any situation nowadays.
How could such a person endanger herself for the Wind Snow Palace?
Being able to silently preserve some seeds for the Wind Snow Palace, preventing its complete annihilation,
was already the limit of what An Ning could do.
As for other matters, An Ning would naturally lend a helping hand appropriately, but wouldn't ignore them completely.
However, the extent of her help probably wouldn't be significant.
Having interacted with An Ning for hundreds of years, He Song understood her well.
Thus, when An Ning spoke like this, He Song wasn't surprised. Instead, after Elder Huanxue changed the topic, they engaged in lively conversation.
However, as He Song's purposes for coming here were gradually achieved,
and even exceeded somewhat,
He Song naturally had no reason to stay longer.
Thus,
After chatting idly with Elder Huanxue for a while,
He Song quickly chose to take his leave.
And under Elder Huanxue's escort, he took An Ning far from the mountain gate of the Wind Snow Palace and soon headed towards the Yunzhou Prefecture.
Since He Song had disguised Qingfeng as one of his Nascent Soul acquaintances well-versed in formations beforehand,
In this situation, He Song brought An Ning to the Yunzhou Prefecture and directly teleported to Zetian Capital through the teleportation array in the Yunzhou Prefecture.
This way, He Song's identity as an array master wouldn't be exposed.
He Song only needed to tell An Ning that this teleportation array was set up by his acquaintance for him.
As for other things, An Ning would naturally fill in the gaps without He Song needing to remind her.
End of Chapter