A Family of Hopeless Romantics, Except for the Evil Little Junior Brother

In the blink of an eye, six months had passed.

On this day, Sword Bearing Pavilion sent a message.

Sword Bearing Pavilion was the mission hall of Mount Shushan. Any peak that needed to accept a mission had to go to Sword Bearing Pavilion.

Each peak had a set mission quota every year.

And the reason Sword Bearing Pavilion sent a message today was precisely this.

They informed Li Xuanxiao that this year, their mission quota had not been completed.

A major reason was that First Senior Brother Xue Yun had gone down the mountain.

There was no other way—Xue Yun had always been the main force of Silver Sword Peak.

There was no other way—Silver Sword Peak already had few people.

Li Xuanxiao arrived at Sword Bearing Pavilion to report in.

There, he saw the last people he wanted to see for this mission—Murong Mo, Jiang Luoshui, Fourth Senior Sister Su Wan...

Tsk~

Li Xuanxiao's expression remained unchanged.

After avoiding them for so long, he still couldn't escape in the end.

He had still run into them.

"This time, I’ll be leading the team. The target is the human-faced serpent in the Wuwang Mountains on the southern border," Murong Mo said.

Li Xuanxiao hesitated for a moment.

When he saw Murong Mo and Jiang Luoshui also in the team, he immediately thought about pretending to be sick.

As long as he took the pill he had refined, within moments, he could start foaming at the mouth and have his breath become erratic.

But when he heard that the mission was to go to Wuwang Mountains in the southern border and search for the human-faced serpent, he gave up on that idea.

Wuwang Mountains were located on the southern border.

Poisonous insects and venomous snakes were everywhere, but for cultivators, this also meant resources.

The puppet mechanisms he refined needed materials, and Wuwang Mountains were clearly the best choice.

Moreover, even though Murong Mo was leading the team this time, because they were heading to Wuwang Mountains, a junior elder was also accompanying them.

As the group left Sword Bearing Pavilion, Murong Mo summoned his spirit beast.

A large white bird emerged from the rolling, surging sea of clouds. Its wings flapped gently, scattering the mist around it.

When the white bird was fully revealed before them, the silky-smooth feathers on its body shimmered with a faint silver glow, as if bathed in moonlight.

"Only Senior Brother Murong could afford to raise a spirit beast like this," someone immediately said enviously.

Murong Mo motioned for everyone to board the spirit beast.

"The journey to the southern border is long. Using sword flight would be too exhausting."

The group quickly stepped onto the spirit beast.

Only Su Wan seemed unwilling to ride Murong Mo’s spirit beast. However, seeing that everyone else had gone up, she silently followed along as well.

The junior elder was named Feng Yun and was making small talk with Murong Mo.

There were many junior elders like Feng Yun in Mount Shushan.

They were simply accumulating seniority. At Feng Yun’s age, this was likely the highest position he would ever attain in his lifetime.

But Murong Mo was different—he was young, talented, and had an influential family background.

His future was full of possibilities.

"Junior Brother Li."

Li Xuanxiao glanced at Fourth Senior Sister Su Wan.

Su Wan was looking at him. It had been a long time since she had seen Li Xuanxiao.

It seemed like he had been deliberately avoiding her.

This didn’t sit well with Su Wan.

She worried that it was because of her that Li Xuanxiao was too embarrassed to see her, so he had simply chosen to avoid her altogether.

But at this moment, Li Xuanxiao was looking at her with his usual calm expression, without the panic she had imagined.

Su Wan couldn’t help but think: As expected, he’s still the same. Acting like he doesn’t care, when in reality, just talking to me is making his heart race like crazy.

If Li Xuanxiao could hear Su Wan’s thoughts, who knows what expression he would make.

Senior Sister, your imagination is truly impressive~

"Junior Brother Li, when we get to the southern border, if you need anything, I can help you look for it," Su Wan said.

"Thank you, Senior Sister, but there's no need to trouble you with such small matters," Li Xuanxiao politely declined Su Wan’s offer.

He’s still nervous.

Su Wan thought to herself.

Li Xuanxiao, however, noticed that Murong Mo, who was talking to the junior elder Feng Yun, had been glancing in their direction from time to time.

Was he bothered by him talking to Su Wan?

Senior Sister, please stop making me an enemy.

Li Xuanxiao felt a bit helpless.

Three days later.

They arrived above Wuwang Mountains.

The group dismounted from the bird and landed on a small forest path.

The southern border was shrouded in toxic miasma year-round.

Although Wuwang Mountains were located on the edge, they still couldn’t be underestimated.

The junior elder Feng Yun remained in the sky, waiting for them.

Murong Mo quickly assigned formation positions.

The task of clearing the path fell to Fan Zhiyu, Li Xuanxiao, and two other disciples.

Due to the miasma in Wuwang Mountains, cultivators typically couldn’t replenish their spiritual energy in time.

But along the way, they would inevitably encounter plant spirits, venomous insects, and snakes blocking the path, requiring someone to clear the way.

Murong Mo, having the highest cultivation, was the main force against the human-faced serpent.

So he couldn’t afford to waste his energy on tasks like this.

"Xuanxiao, be careful."

Li Xuanxiao was the first to take the lead.

Murong Mo patted his shoulder and gave him a gentle smile.

Li Xuanxiao responded with a cool and indifferent nod.

"Senior Brother, my cultivation is weak, so you have to protect me~"

Jiang Luoshui said coyly to Murong Mo.

Murong Mo affectionately ruffled her hair.

Seeing this, Su Wan let out a cold snort.

She turned to Li Xuanxiao, "Junior Brother Li, let me take care of the path-clearing instead."

Although Su Wan meant well, Li Xuanxiao couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

Am I just a part of your love triangle play?

He shook his head and chose to reject Su Wan’s goodwill.

The group quickly moved forward.

Li Xuanxiao led the way, walking at the very front of the team.

They had been walking for about half a stick of incense when they encountered their first obstacle.

A venomous snake with an entirely emerald-green body.

It suddenly emerged, catching Li Xuanxiao completely off guard.

"Watch out!"

Fortunately, a disciple behind him reacted quickly, raising his sword and slicing the snake in half.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

The people behind them watched the scene, and a faint sense of disdain inevitably rose in their hearts.

That emerald-green snake’s cultivation level wasn’t high. It had been hiding in the trees just now, and they had all noticed it—only Li Xuanxiao had been running too fast.

Su Wan stepped in front of Li Xuanxiao, taking over the task of clearing the path.

"I’ll take the lead from here."

Murong Mo watched it all coldly.

The group continued forward and was soon attacked by a slightly more formidable spider.

However, with their teamwork, they made quick work of it in just a few moves.

Without giving other creatures in the forest a chance to be drawn over, they kept moving forward.

At this pace, they reached the human-faced serpent’s lair in just one hour.

Murong Mo, who had remained still until now, finally made his move!

With a flick of his wrist, the renowned Thunderclap Sword in his hand instantly transformed into a dazzling blur of light, as brilliant as a streak of lightning across the night sky.

In an instant, rolling thunder surged forth like a raging tide, crashing toward the human-faced serpent.

The human-faced serpent was clearly no ordinary foe. Its agile body twisted sharply, narrowly dodging Murong Mo’s fierce first strike.

However, before it could even breathe a sigh of relief, it found itself trapped in an even more perilous situation.

Murong Mo had already set up a sword aura cage, lying in wait for it to step right into the trap.

At that moment, Murong Mo gripped the Thunderclap Sword tightly in his right hand, each swing unleashing a brilliant arc of lightning.

Meanwhile, his left hand continuously formed hand seals, sending out streaks of mystical runes from his fingertips, fusing them into the surrounding sword aura. The cage of sword energy grew even stronger and more imposing.

"Die!"

Before the others could even make a move, the human-faced serpent had already collapsed to the ground under Murong Mo’s relentless assault.

The group let out a series of exclamations.

"As expected of Senior Brother Murong!"

"Senior Brother Murong really is too well-rounded—we’re completely outclassed."

"We were probably just here to accompany Senior Brother Murong on a stroll."

The mission was completed with unusual ease.

Of course, now that the mission was over, according to the usual practice, the disciples carrying out the task were free to tend to their own matters.

Each person set out to search for the medicinal herbs or other resources they needed.