Demonic Path People
At the bottom of the cave, there was actually a whole trove of precious phoenix embryos.
Phoenix embryos.
As the name suggested, these were the eggs laid by phoenixes.
Phoenixes only laid eggs once every thousand years, and each clutch was enormous.
These embryos piled up in the cave had been frozen here for a full thousand years.
Though they were called phoenix embryos, they would not come to life until they were combined with sacred water.
Long ago, when the pureblood phoenixes still ruled from Luan Terrace, phoenix embryos had been used as rewards for their clansmen.
They were the Phoenix Clan’s most sacred treasure. If an ordinary person ate one, they could obtain phoenix bloodline power and strengthen their body’s functions.
Their effects were comparable to a dragon blood pill.
Of course, if a mortal ate a phoenix embryo, they would also have to bear some side effects. For example, Skyferry City’s former city lord, Liang Tingmian, had only fallen into a dazed, absent-minded state after eating one, and that was ultimately what led to the tiger demon getting its hands on her.
After the phoenixes were imprisoned, Luan Terrace also often used this item to reward its clansmen.
After Phoenix Clan members ate phoenix embryos, their bloodline purity would increase, and they would not suffer the same side effects as humans.
The little chick shook its neck and stared fixedly at Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing.
My things are all for you!
Yan Jue’s eyes were practically glued to them. She laughed. “You’re really that generous?”
The divine beast phoenix was giving them phoenix embryos, and to a large extent that was because the Phoenix Clan had brought this on themselves. Yan Jue didn’t feel any psychological burden at all.
In a sense, the cultivation world was just that cruel.
There were opportunities everywhere; if you got your hands on one, you should take it happily.
If other people saw these phoenix embryos, they would also take them without hesitation.
So the two of them picked a few with better shapes from among the frozen phoenix embryos and put them into the Qiankun bag.
Yan Jue turned to look at the little phoenix and thanked it.
By the time Yan Jue stepped out of the cave, the sky was already completely dark.
Above them stretched a gorgeous deep-purple night sky, with drifting clouds and scattered stars.
The Phoenix Clan on Luan Terrace was probably in complete chaos too and had no time to care about anything here; now was the best time to leave.
Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing had only taken a few steps forward when the little phoenix suddenly flapped over into Qi Xianqing’s arms, wanting to follow her.
Now Yan Jue was a little troubled. She could take the phoenix embryos with a clear conscience, but this little phoenix…
Qi Xianqing lowered her head to look at the little phoenix in her arms. “No. You’re the mountain-protecting divine beast here.”
Then she pinched the back of the little phoenix’s neck and tossed it out.
The little phoenix turned back and looked at them with obvious displeasure.
The two of them had only just walked a few steps when Yan Jue suddenly felt her waist grow heavy.
The phoenix was clinging tightly to her, scattering feathers everywhere.
“Jiji jiji…” The little phoenix looked up at Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue, its bead-like eyes covered in a watery sheen.
Qi Xianqing pressed a hand to her forehead. She could never resist the charm attack of a cute little animal.
Actually, the little phoenix’s behavior was understandable.
It had once been the Phoenix Clan’s divine beast, but because its clansmen had rebelled, it had been locked beneath Phoenix Terrace in the Myriad Phenomena Secret Realm for hundreds of years.
Anyone treated like that would grow cold inside.
The little phoenix leaving Luan Terrace was probably partly because it was angry with its people. It was like a child running away from home.
“If you want to follow us, that’s fine,” Qi Xianqing said, looking down at it. “Just be obedient.”
Yan Jue blinked. “You’re really taking it with us?”
Qi Xianqing: “We’ll ask Master what should be done when we get back.”
The phoenix had already poured its memories into both of them. Since it was so unwelcome on Luan Terrace, the Phoenix Clan probably didn’t need it much anyway; in its current badly weakened state, if it stayed here, it would most likely just be locked up again.
At the very least, the phoenix was a divine beast of the world and could be considered a rare animal. Cultivators had a duty to protect it.
Yan Jue only hesitated for a second before stuffing the little phoenix into the Qiankun bag.
This Qiankun bag had a Vast Sea and Hidden Mountain formation pattern; its internal space was enormous. It could not only store materials, but also living creatures.
The instant the little phoenix’s ahoge disappeared into the Qiankun bag, the ground suddenly began to shake violently.
Yan Jue froze slightly.
This was…
Cracks of stone began rolling down from the rock ceiling overhead, and powerful spiritual fluctuations appeared all around them. Golden light spread outward in rippling waves like water.
“Boom…”
The green grass underfoot withered in an instant, and the blooming flowers all fell within moments.
The mountain valley, which had been warm as spring just moments ago, was suddenly swept by thin, frigid winds that chilled people to the bone.
Yan Jue thought for a moment, then turned to meet Qi Xianqing’s eyes.
Qi Xianqing stood with her hands behind her back, her brows slightly furrowed. “The phoenix is the master of the Myriad Phenomena Secret Realm. When the phoenix leaves, it will also take the realm with it.”
Yan Jue’s pupils shrank slightly.
So this little phoenix was also a walking secret realm.
-
Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue arrived at the secret realm’s entrance when Qi Xianqing suddenly stopped in her tracks.
A gaze seemed carved into their backs, scorching hot as fire; such a dangerous look was impossible to ignore.
Qi Xianqing turned around. “Why is Your Excellency following us?”
A woman slowly walked out from the woods behind them.
Her features were deep-set and striking, bright and unrestrained. A pair of great wings trailed behind her back, and complex Phoenix Clan sigils marked her forehead.
But those beautiful eyes were now filled with a bloody, ferocious aura.
The woman’s fists, hanging at her sides, were tightly clenched. Her voice was hoarse. “Your Excellency has taken away all the phoenixes from my Luan Terrace. If I appear here, is that really so strange?”
Qi Xianqing raised her eyes and looked at her indifferently.
The newcomer was none other than the Phoenix Clan princess, Feng Ru.
Their gazes collided in the air, and the atmosphere gradually grew tense.
Feng Ru stared at them for a long time, then her expression suddenly softened. She knelt down. “I am grievously injured, and my inner demon cannot be resolved. I beg the two immortal lords to help me remove it.”
Yan Jue hadn’t expected this turn of events and couldn’t help but start slightly.
Earlier on Phoenix Terrace, Feng Ru had been driven mad by the inner demon eroding her mind, and she had caused Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing to fall off the cliff.
After that, to evade control by her clansmen, she had jumped down herself.
There was still residual phoenix blood within Feng Ru’s body, so she had some resistance to inner demons and her mind had not been fully consumed.
In the valley, Feng Ru had personally witnessed how Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue helped the pureblood phoenix dispel its inner demon.
Feng Ru knew that with her current state, it was impossible for her to walk among humans and search for her beloved.
She would still need to ask these two mighty immortal lords to help expel her inner demon.
She knelt there devoutly, kowtowing several times to Yan Jue, and said in a low voice, “I heard from the servant girl that the letter my beloved sent me was delivered by the immortal lord.”
“I want to see my beloved, but in my current condition, I cannot walk among humans…” As she spoke, Feng Ru’s eyes gradually reddened.
Yan Jue hesitated. “I can try, but I can’t promise I’ll be able to solve it.”
Earlier, the emerald-green jade seal in her Qiankun bag had already helped the phoenix dispel its inner demon, and it had cracked cleanly down the middle. She wasn’t sure whether it would still work the same way as before.
“Let’s try,” Qi Xianqing said, turning to look at her. “As long as a magic artifact hasn’t been damaged beyond repair, it can still be used.”
Yan Jue nodded and took out the emerald-green jade seal from her Qiankun bag.
She activated it, letting its halo envelop Feng Ru.
Feng Ru’s eyes sharpened; she immediately sat down cross-legged and closed her eyes to regulate her breathing on her own.
Yan Jue poured a thread of true qi into the jade seal, and it began to spin frantically. Black qi gradually surfaced above Feng Ru’s head, only to be absorbed by the jade seal.
No one knew how long had passed, but the black qi above Feng Ru’s head had already mostly dispersed. Yan Jue tried to slowly withdraw her true qi, bit by bit.
Crack—
An eerie sound suddenly came from above.
The jade seal seemed no longer able to withstand such dense demonic qi; it shattered instantly into two halves.
Yan Jue felt a pang of distress.
At the same time, Feng Ru kept her eyes shut tightly; her body swayed, then collapsed to the ground.
Her body gradually shrank, transforming into the shape of a little chick. The chick crouched on the ground, its eyelids drooping.
This chick was completely different from the little phoenix from before; its feathers were dull gray and it was ugly beyond words.
Although the Phoenix Clan was not pureblood phoenix, because they possessed divine beast bloodlines, they were completely different from yao.
They belonged to a half-human, half-bird lineage and were naturally able to take bird form.
The blood of the divine phoenix inside Feng Ru had already been washed away by the marrow-cleansing medicine by more than half, and her body was far weaker than before.
Feng Ru clung to Yan Jue’s waist, looking very weak.
Yan Jue raised her head and exchanged a look with Qi Xianqing.
Qi Xianqing smiled. There seemed to be a hint of gritted-teeth meaning in her tone. “Then we’ll have no choice but to take her to find Skyferry City’s city lord.”
-
Luan Terrace was in complete chaos, and there was no time at all to account for everything beneath Phoenix Terrace. On top of that, the original secret realm had already been entirely sucked into the little phoenix’s belly, so leaving the mountain was even easier than coming in.
Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing summoned their flying swords and quickly brought Feng Ru to Skyferry City.
Inside the city lord’s residence.
Liang Tingmian sat under the corridor in a daze.
She had consumed a phoenix embryo; although her mind had been muddled at first, the phoenix embryo’s effects were astonishingly good.
She had eaten too many phoenix embryos and thereby obtained the purest phoenix bloodline.
Her cultivation had stagnated at the early Heart Stirring Realm for several years, but now it had already broken through to the great-circle Heart Stirring Realm.
Power filled her entire body; even her breathing felt completely different from before.
At some point, rain had started falling from the sky.
The rain dripped steadily from the eaves. Liang Tingmian was staring at the downpour in front of her, lost in a daze, when the guards suddenly came to report that someone outside was asking for an audience.
Qi Xianqing stood beside Yan Jue, holding an umbrella over her.
Yan Jue fished a small gray-white chick out of her Qiankun bag. The chick had curled into a ball in her palm, its ugly monolid eyelids hanging low.
Liang Tingmian was startled. “This is…”
As though it had heard her voice, the chick slowly lifted its eyelids and let out a weak cry.
Liang Tingmian’s pupils shrank sharply. “A-Ru…”
She staggered forward two steps, unable to care about the cold rain overhead, and hurriedly gathered it into her arms.
-
Yan Jue: “Is bloodline really that important?”
It was already very late. Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing didn’t leave in a hurry, and instead chose to stay at an inn outside Skyferry City.
Qi Xianqing nodded. “For some races, yes, it really is.”
Yan Jue suddenly thought of something and said half-jokingly, “I’m a spirit fox. What if my family tries to stop the two of us in the future?”
Yan Jue imagined the scene; the original host’s father had fiercely opposed the original host eloping with the male lead Chu Fu back then.
That really was a little hard to say.
Qi Xianqing’s brow moved. “Would they?”
Yan Jue couldn’t help sighing.
It wasn’t just her family. Even the Five Dragons Sect, once they learned her true identity, likely wouldn’t allow her to be with Qi Xianqing.
The difference between human and yao was too great.
Qi Xianqing’s willingness to accept her was, in truth, equivalent to opposing the entire righteous immortal sect.
Qi Xianqing noticed Yan Jue’s expression, then looked up at the ceiling. Her tone also carried a teasing note. “Then I’ll take you and hide you in the mountains. Your family won’t be able to find you.”
Yan Jue froze, then couldn’t help but laugh. She slowly reached out and hooked her index and middle fingers around Qi Xianqing’s.
Qi Xianqing’s hand felt cold, her joints distinct, her skin fair, the blue veins faintly visible beneath it.
Yan Jue admitted that she was being a little selfish.
Although she and Qi Xianqing were facing so much trouble.
But today, under Phoenix Terrace in the Myriad Phenomena Secret Realm, at that moment when she had been so out of control, she had even actually hoped…
Yan Jue was still lost in thought when she suddenly heard Qi Xianqing say, “Let’s form our cores together.”
Yan Jue blinked.
Core-forming, as the name implied, was the merging of two inner cores.
It was an extremely intimate act, one only dao companions could perform. Dao companions who had formed cores together could unleash even greater power when they joined forces in battle.
But Qi Xianqing had not yet reached the Golden Core stage.
Right now, they were only trying to become dao companions; they hadn’t been in a hurry to form cores before, but if Qi Xianqing wanted to form cores with her, she would first have to reach the Golden Core stage.
Yan Jue frowned. “But you…”
Qi Xianqing closed her eyes and faintly curved her lips.
In that instant, a powerful, icy aura burst forth, so intense it made Yan Jue’s scalp tingle.
Early sixth realm!
“So that’s how it is,” Yan Jue said, staring fixedly at her.
Immortal Spirit Physiques were naturally favored by heaven and earth, and Qi Xianqing never lacked resources.
It must have been when they came back from Skyferry City that she had already… broken through to the Golden Core stage!
Yan Jue frowned as she felt the aura on Qi Xianqing. Qi Xianqing pulled with her right hand and drew her straight into her arms.
Yan Jue heard Qi Xianqing’s steady heartbeat, and her own heart began to race for no reason.
There was no doubt that she still felt a little apprehensive toward this overwhelming righteous aura.
This was also the problem they had faced ever since she and Qi Xianqing got together.
“Junior Sister,” Qi Xianqing said softly, “don’t be afraid.”
Hearing Qi Xianqing say that, Yan Jue forced herself to calm down and took deep breaths, hoping to gradually get used to Qi Xianqing’s aura.
Seeing how hard she was trying, Qi Xianqing’s heart softened even more. “I doubted you before. Today in the secret realm, my inner demon reminded me.”
“I don’t want to have any more distrust toward you.”
Yan Jue’s heart lurched.
Qi Xianqing: “After we form our cores, you’ll also feel a little more secure.”
Qi Xianqing: “Don’t be afraid of me anymore.”
Once two Golden Cores merged into one, both cultivators would be able to adapt to each other more quickly.
But in the process of exploring each other’s inner cores with true qi, the cultivators were indeed, in a very real sense, giving away all their cultivation to the other person.
Qi Xianqing saw at a glance what Yan Jue was worried about.
Yan Jue swallowed and subconsciously gripped Qi Xianqing’s hand tighter.
A fox demon’s nature was greedy to begin with; after Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing had confirmed their feelings for each other, how could she not want to have Qi Xianqing?
Yan Jue had read about the steps for core-forming in the Library Pavilion before and understood a little.
Slowly infusing one’s own true qi into the other person’s body, so that their inner core became familiar with one’s qi.
At its core, it was just a process of becoming accustomed to each other.
If the two parties’ inner cores and true qi could complement one another, then in future joint actions, once both inner cores sensed that familiar aura, the force of their attacks would be greatly enhanced.
And not only in battle; regularly taking turns channeling true qi into each other’s bodies to promote the operation of each other’s Golden Cores would also greatly benefit daily cultivation.
This was also why, when choosing a dao companion, it was best to choose someone whose Five Elements or yin-yang properties complemented one’s own.
Qi Xianqing held Yan Jue in her arms, her voice low and a little thick. “Ah Jue, will you?”
This was coaxing. Although her voice wasn’t loud, in the quiet room it was especially clear.
The fragrance of the Immortal Spirit Physique filled her nose, and under the dim candlelight, it especially highlighted the other person’s presence.
The girl wore a plain white inner robe; the collar was slightly open, revealing fair skin and a slim collarbone.
Qi Xianqing had peach-blossom eyes, the folds at the corners deep. She was kneeling on the bed, her dark pupils clear as water.
Yan Jue nodded, then suddenly grew bold and leaned over to kiss Qi Xianqing’s face. “Okay.”
“I don’t really have much experience,” Yan Jue said, gripping the bedsheets tightly and looking up at her, somewhat hesitant to speak.
Qi Xianqing’s expression didn’t change, but a faint smile flashed in her eyes. “I don’t have much experience either. Let’s each take our turn.”
Their gazes tangled together beneath the candlelight, and a thick atmosphere gradually ignited in the air. Qi Xianqing slowly leaned closer and took her lips first.
After several kisses, Qi Xianqing had already learned how to tease her in all sorts of ways. Yan Jue’s face flushed bright red; she froze in place, not knowing what to do.
Yan Jue felt as though the other woman had graduated from university overnight, while she herself was still stuck in kindergarten.
The two of them kissed for a while. Yan Jue’s breathing caught, and Qi Xianqing raised a hand to gently cover her eyes.
Her vision abruptly went dark, but her senses became especially sharp. Yan Jue only felt soft contact sweep past her teeth.
For a moment, she was a little breathless.
Forming cores wasn’t too difficult; once the true qi inside the body began to fluctuate, one would naturally know how to do it.
At the beginning of core-forming, yin and yang alike were very painful, because the inner core ran independently within one’s own sea of qi, and then another person’s aura suddenly appeared in that sea; the body would produce a very strong rejection reaction.
But after the brief rejection passed, what replaced it was heat.
Qi Xianqing lay on the bed, her breathing disordered, her cheeks flushed red.
She frowned slightly; there was no part of her body she could use to exert force, so she could only wrap her arms around the neck of the person before her.
Hot breaths… sticky sweat…
Qi Xianqing was an adult too, and she knew perfectly well what she wanted to do.
She pressed her lips together.
Yan Jue was on top of Qi Xianqing, slowly channeling true qi into the other’s body. Some obscure thoughts belonging to a yao quietly began to surface along with hidden desire.
Those thoughts had already started to appear today in the valley beneath Phoenix Terrace.
She wanted to have Qi Xianqing completely.
Then Qi Xianqing would have no way to kill her.
After forming cores, both dao companions would become familiar with the structure of each other’s meridians.
That meant one dao companion’s true qi could invade the other’s body without the slightest effort.
It could even be used to crush the other’s meridians when they were unprepared.
Of course, at this moment, all those thoughts from earlier in the secret realm had turned into possessiveness toward Qi Xianqing.
Her demon blood surged faster through her meridians, and Yan Jue knew very well that her state right now was disgraceful. Yet Qi Xianqing lay beneath her so indulgently, brows slightly furrowed.
Yan Jue suddenly came back to herself and gently pulled Qi Xianqing into her arms, looking down at her.
The loose hair by Qi Xianqing’s ears was soaked with sweat; her peach-blossom eyes opened a sliver, unfocused.
No one knew how much time had passed.
Yan Jue lowered her head and kissed her intermittently. She closed her eyes and steadied herself, and could see that above her sea of qi, a blue-green Golden Core radiating righteous energy was rising and falling, while an ice-blue demon core did the same.
Yan Jue’s tongue unconsciously brushed her teeth.
A sharp pain suddenly came from her neck. Qi Xianqing’s eyes opened slightly as her awareness drifted back in pieces, and when she looked down, she couldn’t help but laugh and cry at once.
Yan Jue had bitten her again.
-
The next day, when the first slant of winter morning sunlight spilled into the room, Yan Jue woke on the bed only after a very long time.
Her demon core had already fully grown used to Qi Xianqing’s pure yang sword intent. Compared to before, when she had been uncomfortable, now that she was together with Qi Xianqing she only felt at ease.
There was only a very thin quilt on the bed.
Yan Jue looked at Qi Xianqing for a long while, then quietly crawled up, went to the Purification Room to wash her face, rinsed her mouth, and lay back down on the bed again.
Yan Jue hooked her arm around Qi Xianqing’s waist and curved her lips slightly, rubbing against Qi Xianqing’s face now and then.
Qi Xianqing’s face was very soft.
Qi Xianqing’s eyelashes trembled lightly, but she still didn’t wake up. It was unclear whether she was simply too tired or whether she knew Yan Jue was being mischievous and intentionally chose not to wake.
Qi Xianqing was indulging her.
After forming their cores, Yan Jue felt that Qi Xianqing had become even more approachable than before. She only wanted to cling to Qi Xianqing and not move at all; this kind of physical contact made her feel very comfortable.
Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, Yan Jue caught sight of the little golden phoenix.
She didn’t know when it had come out. Perhaps it had been somewhat uncomfortable staying inside the Qiankun bag, and now it was curled up in a corner, keeping the posture of an egg-sitting bird as it slept with its eyes closed.
Yan Jue: “…"
Yan Jue stared at the little phoenix and subconsciously shrank a little closer into Qi Xianqing’s arms.
Qi Xianqing suddenly moved and opened her eyes. Yan Jue’s whole body trembled lightly, and she subconsciously let go of Qi Xianqing’s hand, only to have it caught at once.
Qi Xianqing slowly opened her eyes, staring at those flickering amber phoenix eyes. Her voice was a little hoarse. “You like rubbing against me that much? Why aren’t you rubbing anymore now?”
Yan Jue’s face immediately burned bright red. Only then did she realize that at some point her legs had ended up pressed against Qi Xianqing’s as well. “I like it.”
“Can’t I?”
“You can.” Qi Xianqing rolled over, her fair hand gripping Yan Jue’s wrist and pinning her beneath her. She lowered her head and kissed her bit by bit.
This was the first time Qi Xianqing had truly tasted the feeling of having Yan Jue.
In fact, when she formed cores with Yan Jue, she had not been without her own selfish motives.
If she could make Yan Jue rely on her wholeheartedly and no longer fear her, then her goal would be achieved.
The touch on her lips was astonishingly soft. Yan Jue dazed for a moment, then shrank into Qi Xianqing’s embrace; her knees curled up unconsciously and pressed against the girl’s waist and abdomen.
Qi Xianqing’s waist and abdomen were very firm, and it could be seen that, as a sword cultivator, she usually paid great attention to training the strength there.
If one touched it…
Yan Jue was thinking about that again.
The study of dual cultivation was vast and profound.
Before that matter was completed, Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing could not really count as true dao companions at all.
It was just that she didn’t know whether Qi Xianqing would be willing.
What was Qi Xianqing’s attitude toward the union of two women?
Just thinking about it made Yan Jue’s face flush hot, but she was too embarrassed to bring it up with Qi Xianqing, so she could only keep it to herself.
-
After washing up, the two of them left the inn.
Yan Jue was walking ahead of Qi Xianqing when she suddenly saw a woman over there who looked very familiar.
Yan Jue froze and hurried forward to salute her. “City Lord Liang.”
Today, City Lord Liang was wearing a round-collared, narrow-sleeved patterned long robe, with a black veiled bamboo hat on her head; her face still looked very delicate and weak.
The way she was dressed now was clearly men’s clothing, but not because she was deliberately disguising herself as a man; it was simply for the convenience of travel.
There was a diamond ring on Liang Tingmian’s finger, seemingly some very advanced storage ring. She appeared to be leaving on a long journey.
Yan Jue noticed a small pouch hanging from Liang Tingmian’s waist, and inside the pouch was a chick whose mind was still unclear.
Liang Tingmian: “I don’t want to be city lord anymore. I’ve already handed the position of Skyferry City’s city lord to someone else, and today I’m planning to leave.”
Qi Xianqing wasn’t very surprised. If Liang Tingmian continued staying in Skyferry City, the Phoenix Clan would still come to seize the princess back; in her current state, the princess had no power to resist at all.
“Though it may be a bit presumptuous,” Qi Xianqing said calmly, “may I ask where City Lord Liang plans to go next?”
Liang Tingmian smiled slightly. “I’m going to Heaven-Earth Cliff to live beside the Sacred Water Spring.”
-
After forming her core, Yan Jue kept wanting to stick close to Qi Xianqing.
Maybe foxes were born with wariness in their bones; only now was Yan Jue truly beginning to accept Qi Xianqing.
It was only belatedly that Yan Jue realized Qi Xianqing had used this method to show her sincerity.
Yan Jue sat outside the inn, watching the people coming and going on the street, lowering her eyes and not knowing what to say. She only felt strangely empty inside.
Qi Xianqing walked over and placed a bowl of hot tea beside Yan Jue. “What are you thinking about?”
“Your soul’s gone missing.”
Qi Xianqing was always rather cool and detached with other people; only when facing Yan Jue did her expression grow more varied.
Maybe it was because Yan Jue was a little fox, and Qi Xianqing had seen too many of Yan Jue’s embarrassing moments, so she held no real grudge against her.
Seeing Qi Xianqing, Yan Jue’s heart lifted with joy, and the empty feeling in her chest rose at once.
The effects of last night’s core-forming on her were enormous. If not for the stream of people around them, she really might have had trouble controlling her behavior.
Yan Jue asked her, “Where is Heaven-Earth Cliff, and what exactly is sacred water?”
Qi Xianqing: “Heaven-Earth Cliff is in the Northern Frontier. Sacred water is…”
She paused, then looked at Yan Jue with leisurely composure. “Sacred water is water that, once drunk, can make one pregnant.”
Yan Jue froze, her face instantly red.
Under Yan Jue’s embarrassed gaze, Qi Xianqing briefly explained what sacred water was.
The sacred spring originated beneath Heaven-Earth Cliff. Whether male or female, anyone who drank from the sacred spring could conceive.
Of course, it didn’t mean one would become pregnant immediately after drinking it. Qi Xianqing paused. “It still requires the cooperation of a dao companion.”
Yan Jue didn’t find that particularly strange. After all, this was the cultivation world. Dao companions could even form cores together, so sacred spring water being able to make one pregnant was perfectly normal.
Qi Xianqing kicked her calf. “Why are you embarrassed? Weren’t you not embarrassed this morning?”
Yan Jue wanted to kill her.
-
Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing left Skyferry City and traveled by sword all the way.
The morning scenery was beautiful; the immortal sword passed over the clouds, and a boundless radiance spread out below like a painting.
The two of them arrived at the foot of Five Dragons Mountain, but they did not go up immediately.
Yan Jue looked dumbly at Qi Xianqing. “Is there something else?”
Qi Xianqing held her shoulders and patted them lightly. “There’s still something very important to handle.”
The two of them arrived at an inn in Qingye Town at the foot of Five Dragons Mountain.
Inside the quiet room.
Qi Xianqing slowly took out that scroll painting from her Qiankun bag.
It was the illusion artifact they had obtained from the Taoist priest that day after leaving Nanxing Town.
Yan Jue suddenly remembered that a few days ago, on Phoenix Terrace, Qi Xianqing had used it to deal with that demonic woman by trapping her inside the illusion artifact.
Qi Xianqing’s painting had long since been carefully altered. The mountain shapes in the painting had already been changed, and the center still showed that inn in the mountain forest, but many Myriad Soul Ghost Spiders lurked within it.
No one would want to go in and take a look.
When Qi Xianqing released the woman, she was already exhausted. Her injured arm was dripping blood; inside the painting, hanging between life and death, she had not only had to spare energy to deal with those little spiders, but could very likely have fallen into the traps dug along the way by accident. By now, she had reached the brink of collapse.
The black-clad woman sat on the ground, glaring angrily at Qi Xianqing. “I really didn’t know that people from your righteous immortal sect would also use such despicable methods!”
She was still thinking about how, on Phoenix Terrace, Qi Xianqing had clearly said she would let the nine-tailed fox fight her phoenix, only to secretly ambush her from the shadows.
Qi Xianqing looked down at her, her eyes as cold as ice. “Who sent you?”
Actually, capturing this woman was a huge gain.
In the previous encounters, although they had faced off directly with the Cliff of Severed Malice, in the urgency of the moment it had simply been impossible to leave any living witnesses behind.
This time, being able to capture a demonic woman alive was an unexpected windfall, and of course they had to interrogate her properly.
Ye Yunying knelt on the ground, stiffening her neck and refusing to speak.
Yan Jue stood nearby and took the golden little phoenix out of her Qiankun bag.
The little phoenix was still crouched in its egg-sitting posture, curled up in Yan Jue’s palm like a ball.
The phoenix saw Ye Yunying and immediately spread its wings, letting out a series of threatening “aah aah aah aah” cries, its eyes shooting out bursts of golden light.
Ye Yunying stared back at it for a while, and suddenly felt a wave of intense pressure; in an instant, she became a little chilled to the bone.
Yan Jue pointed out the window. “Do you see that?”
They were staying in the largest inn in Qingye Town’s red-light district; right outside on the street there was a constant stream of traffic.
Ye Yunying followed her gaze and looked outside.
On the street beyond the window stood row upon row of brightly lit brothels, and the girls with graceful figures, dressed in thin clothing, stood shoulder to shoulder outside the establishments, soliciting customers.
A drunken man wrapped his arms around one of the girls at the door, and laughter rang on and on. The scene was indecent beyond measure.
Yan Jue: “That’s a brothel.”
“What has the most of anything in a brothel?” Yan Jue lifted her eyes and said coolly, “Naturally, drunks.”
After all, this wasn’t her first time interrogating someone. Yan Jue was already extremely practiced at this sort of thing. With a flick of her right hand, a sleeve arrow flashing with cold light appeared in her grasp.
“I think you’re quite pretty,” Yan Jue said, pressing the icy sleeve arrow against the girl’s chin, her face full of viciousness. “If you don’t speak, I’ll strip your clothes off and throw you out into the street.”
Qi Xianqing watched from the side and couldn’t help but smile.
Her little fox seemed to have grown a lot.
Even interrogation had become as smooth as flowing water. She had originally been thinking of stepping in and helping with a word or two, but now it didn’t seem necessary.
Ye Yunying felt the cold object against her throat. The one holding the sleeve arrow seemed to possess formidable inner force; although she was only pressing it against Ye Yunying’s throat without exerting force, Ye Yunying could still feel an extremely terrifying threat.
The laughter of the brothel girls outside never ceased.
Ye Yunying’s scalp went numb, and she immediately said, “Fairy, please wait!”
“I… I’ll talk!”
Yan Jue withdrew the sleeve arrow. “Speak.”
The woman: “We entered Luan Terrace because we actually wanted to steal the precious phoenix embryos.”
The little phoenix shook its head.
Yan Jue: “You’re lying.”
The room fell into silence.
Yan Jue had only learned this a few days ago: as a divine beast, the phoenix could see through what people were thinking. When interrogating someone, placing the little phoenix beside them made it much easier to tell whether they were lying.
The little phoenix was a natural lie detector!
Ye Yunying pressed her lips together and simply stopped speaking altogether.
A sound of something being unpacked suddenly came from the front.
Qi Xianqing took out a wooden box from her Qiankun bag, slowly opened it, and removed a red pill.
Qi Xianqing lifted her eyelids indifferently and glanced at her. “If I feed you an aphrodisiac and then throw you down there, the men who see you should be very happy.”
When Qi Xianqing wasn’t smiling, she naturally gave off a ruthless, decisive aura. This frightened Ye Yunying so badly that her face went pale. As someone from the demonic path, she naturally had seen aphrodisiacs before, and coincidentally, when their honored lord punished disobedient female disciples, she sometimes used such things too.
Ye Yunying stared at that blood-red pill, her arms beginning to tremble.
Yan Jue had still been wondering why Qi Xianqing would bring such a thing on a long journey, but the moment she saw what was in her hand, she understood at once.
What Qi Xianqing was holding was not an aphrodisiac at all, but a top-quality dragon blood pill.
Qi Xianqing tossed the red pill to Yan Jue. “Feed her.”
Yan Jue caught the blood-red pill from Qi Xianqing’s hand, grabbed the woman’s collar, and Ye Yunying’s eyes flashed with panic. She retreated two steps sharply, but Yan Jue dragged her back, pried open her mouth, and was about to stuff the pill inside.
Ye Yunying immediately said, “I’ll talk, I’ll talk!”
“My name is Ye Yunying. I’m a disciple under the Jueming Valley Demon Lord. The purpose of our trip this time was to use the Phoenix Clan princess’s wedding to wipe out all of Luan Terrace in one go. The six great immortal sects are our enemies in the demonic realm, so naturally, we can eliminate one whenever possible.”
The phoenix shook its head again.
Yan Jue’s gaze turned abruptly fierce; the blood-red pill seemed about to be pushed over, and Ye Yunying hurriedly cried, “The purpose of our operation this time is to do an… experiment…”
Yan Jue blinked. “Experiment?”
Ye Yunying: “Because…”
She glanced at the phoenix glaring at her with bared teeth, then at Yan Jue. Fine beads of sweat had already formed on her forehead.
Ye Yunying clenched her teeth and blurted it out: “We wanted to see just how strong the effect of inner demons is on the Phoenix Clan.”
Yan Jue frowned slightly and fell into thought.
Because during this incident on Phoenix Terrace, the phoenix’s avatar, controlled by the demonic race, repeatedly used the sound of Mingli, thereby provoking the Phoenix Clan members’ inner demons.
Phoenix Clan members eroded by inner demons were indeed easier to control.
From this point of view, the demonic race’s goal was not simple. Having experienced the immortal-demon war, the demons knew very well that they could not deal with the assembled immortals using brute force anymore.
But using inner demons to control the righteous immortal sect was certainly a very good method.
After all, no matter who it was, there would always be darkness inside their heart.
Qi Xianqing walked slowly over to Ye Yunying’s side, crouched down, and looked at her. “Do you and your organization usually have communication talismans?”
Only then did Ye Yunying fully see Qi Xianqing’s face.
Although she had once caught a glimpse of Qi Xianqing on Phoenix Terrace, Qi Xianqing had been wearing a Breath-Concealing Bamboo Hat at the time, so she had not been able to make out her face clearly at all.
Looking at her now, this person was truly stunning.
What made Ye Yunying even more chilled to the bone was that she found this face extremely familiar.
She had seen several portrait scrolls before, and in them were the newly risen outstanding disciples of the six great immortal sects; these new forces were enough to make the demonic sect wary.
And the white-clad woman before her was none other than Lord Meng Heng, Qi Xianqing, the slayer of countless demons and countless yao.
Ye Yunying glanced at the phoenix, then at Qi Xianqing, before slowly taking a wooden communication talisman from her pouch. “This is the demonic sect’s communication talisman.”
The phoenix stared straight at her, and Ye Yunying did not dare lie.
Qi Xianqing raised her head, just about to say something.
The communication talisman on the ground suddenly trembled once.