The Universe Within

Yan Jue yawned and pretended she hadn’t seen a thing. “I’m sleepy. I’m going to sleep, gege.”

Then she fumbled her way over to Qi Xianqing’s side and leaned against her, closing her eyes and preparing to conserve her strength for tomorrow.

-

In the dead of night, Yan Jue was roused by a rustling sound.

She cracked her eyes open and, at the scene before her, froze.

The cave was dimly lit, and all the children were sound asleep.

That quiet, blue-eyed girl was standing among them, and no one had noticed when she had appeared.

At first glance, she looked to be only five or six years old, but those blue eyes were frighteningly cold.

A huge tiger stood beside her.

This was... what exactly was going on?

Yan Jue instinctively glanced at Qi Xianqing.

Qi Xianqing’s eyes were open too, fixed on the same spot.

Yan Jue’s gaze fell on the giant tiger, and she recognized it at once; it was a tigger-hound.

Her pupils contracted sharply, and a scene from that day at the Myriad Demons Pavilion suddenly flashed through her mind.

The tigger-hound was the Beast Taming Pavilion’s mascot.

Could she be...

The tigger-hound suddenly opened its mouth; its already enormous jaw stretched wide like a little awning.

Then it gently swept up the child on the ground and swallowed them, one after another. All more than ten children lying there were swallowed into its belly just like that.

The tigger-hound’s stomach immediately bulged.

Yan Jue wanted to move, but Qi Xianqing caught her arm.

The girl took a key from her sleeve and went to the door, lowering her head to unlock it.

Suddenly, a calm voice came from behind her.

“Why doesn’t this fellow Daoist save my brother and me as well?”

The girl’s movement stopped; she turned back.

A boy with exceptionally refined features sat calmly on a rock. He wore a navy Daoist robe, but it did nothing to diminish his bearing. His eyes were as still as water, his temperament that of an exiled immortal; he looked at her quietly.

Meeting Qi Xianqing’s eyes, the girl did not refuse. She cupped her hands in salute. “Beast Taming Pavilion, Xue Shuangxing.”

Xue Shuangxing said coldly, “I don’t know why you’re here, so I don’t dare rescue anyone rashly.”

“So it’s Fellow Daoist Xue.” Qi Xianqing jumped down from the rock and returned a deep bow. “Your sect had only just finished discussing important matters at the immortal sect gathering a few days ago. How is it that you’re free to come here today?”

No wonder she had thought this girl looked so familiar.

Yan Jue realized that this was the woman she had seen at the Myriad Demons Pavilion in Nanxing Town that day; Beast Taming Pavilion’s Xue Shuangxing.

Just looking at her appearance wasn’t enough for Yan Jue to recognize her.

But once she saw the giant tigger-hound beside her, there was no mistaking it.

This was far too much of a coincidence.

Yan Jue couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Xue Shuangxing had been with them in the same cave for ten days. During those ten days, had that giant tigger-hound really been waiting outside the cave for her all along? And how had it gotten in to meet her?

And then there was Qi Xianqing.

Yan Jue subconsciously glanced at her.

Had Qi Xianqing known from the start that Xue Shuangxing was in the same cave as them?

Xue Shuangxing also knew.

Xue Shuangxing said coldly, “I received word from the sect that the demon cultivator here was deceiving the common people, so I came specially to rescue the trapped children.”

“Beast Taming Pavilion’s immortal art, the universe within the belly,” Qi Xianqing said flatly.

So that was why the tigger-hound could swallow all those children without harming them.

...

Beast Taming Pavilion was also one of the six great immortal sects.

Its internal system was similar to Five Dragons Sect’s; disciples took on trial missions and went down the mountain to uphold justice.

Xue Shuangxing must have also received this Xiaoxing Village mission, which was why she had come here to exterminate demons and vanquish evil.

Saving the children this way was, for Xue Shuangxing, a one-and-done solution.

That demon cultivator had brought these children into the cave, but he hadn’t truly intended to turn them into so-called immortal children.

These children had been locked in the Pharmacy all year round; each one was yellow-faced and emaciated, all skin and bones.

Xue Shuangxing didn’t need to explain herself much. She only needed to take the children back to Xiaoxing Village.

Once the villagers of Xiaoxing Village saw it for themselves, Su Yang Heavenly Master’s lies would naturally fall apart.

“Fellow Daoist only cares about saving people and doesn’t want to look deeper into this matter?”

Qi Xianqing said coolly, “Qingyu Taoist Temple is one of the righteous sects, yet it dares to commit such outrageous acts. Don’t you wonder what’s behind it, Fellow Daoist?”

Heavenly Master Su Yang had demanded boy and girl children from the people of Xiaoxing Village. He certainly couldn’t have simply locked them in the Pharmacy for ten or half a month and left it at that.

The truth behind this might be even more interesting.

Xue Shuangxing’s face remained cold. “I only handle rescue. I don’t concern myself with anything else.”

The two of them spoke back and forth, their voices kept extremely low, yet they still managed to send them perfectly into each other’s ears without disturbing the attendant Daoist boy.

Yan Jue watched from the side for a while and couldn’t help but marvel that Xue Shuangxing and Qi Xianqing really were somewhat alike; they both spoke in such cool, cutting tones.

Qi Xianqing: “What a pity. According to my sect, this demon cultivator isn’t simple, and there may even be people from the Demonic Cult stirring things up behind him.”

The Demonic Cult.

The Demonic Cult was taboo among the immortal sects.

It could even be said that there was no Demonic Cult left in the world anymore.

It existed only in the history books.

Because of the great immortal-demon war a thousand years ago, the two Demon Lords fell at Chalk Mountain, and since then there had been no more Demonic Cult in the world.

So the words “Demonic Cult” coming from Qi Xianqing’s mouth had a tremendous impact on Xue Shuangxing.

The huge tigger-hound beside Xue Shuangxing let out a low growl; its two tiger paws rubbed irritably against the ground, as if urging her to hurry.

Xue Shuangxing: “Farewell.”

She turned to leave, and Yan Jue suddenly said, “Does Fellow Daoist Xue know that the cave’s prison for children, the Pharmacy, isn’t the only one?”

Xue Shuangxing’s movements stilled.

That pink-cheeked, white-toothed girl had been standing quietly behind Qi Xianqing the whole time. She had instinctively overlooked her.

Xue Shuangxing turned back. “How do you know?”

Yan Jue: “I learned it from an attendant Daoist boy when I went to the Purification Room today.”

Xue Shuangxing lowered her eyes, seemingly thinking it over.

Yan Jue: “If Fellow Daoist Xue takes these children away tonight, they may be saved, but you’ll also alert the enemy. Once the demon cultivator becomes wary, it’ll be even harder to rescue the remaining children.”

“Earlier, I saw that besides the Pharmacy there was another cave, Drunken Breeze. That cave is much larger. Tomorrow when the demon cultivator returns, he’ll summon everyone in the cave to give his teachings. Fellow Daoist may still have a chance to rescue all the children.”

The information she had gotten from the attendant Daoist boy earlier was something Yan Jue hadn’t expected to be useful so soon.

Xue Shuangxing frowned. “Even if that demon cultivator summons everyone to hear his teachings, he’ll surely be on high alert. If we rescue people while he’s lecturing, I’m afraid relying on the tigger-hound alone won’t be enough to get them out.”

Perhaps dissatisfied that Xue Shuangxing was underestimating it, the tigger-hound snorted and thumped its whip-like tail against the ground.

Qi Xianqing raised a hand and flicked it; something black landed steadily in Xue Shuangxing’s palm.

Xue Shuangxing was slightly taken aback.

It was a medium-sized teleportation array disk, capable of transporting two hundred people at once.

The disk was made of greasy jade. Faint, intricate layers of talismans were visible on it; just from its appearance alone, one could tell how precious it was.

Xue Shuangxing: “There may still be restrictions in the cave designed to counter teleportation arrays.”

“If the demon cultivator is truly on guard by then, not only will all the children be impossible to save, even these children may not be rescued. Wouldn’t that mean losing one thing to save another?”

Qi Xianqing said flatly, “When I came here, I already checked. There are indeed restrictions, but they’re not impossible to break. If Fellow Daoist wants to save every child in the cave, you might as well spend tonight thinking about how to break this formation.”

Seeing that Xue Shuangxing remained silent, Qi Xianqing knew she had taken the words to heart, so she resumed her cross-legged seat.

Xue Shuangxing suddenly said, “May I ask where the two fellow Daoists are from?”

Qi Xianqing: “Five Dragons Sect.”

Xue Shuangxing lowered her brows, a hint of surprise in her expression as she said softly, “So it’s Lord Meng Heng.”

Among the younger generation of disciples, most knew one another.

The circle was simply too small. There were only so many cultivation prodigies, and prodigies inevitably tended to admire one another...

What’s more, Xue Shuangxing had once witnessed Qi Xianqing’s brilliance at the Myriad Immortals Assembly martial competition.

Xue Shuangxing’s gaze then shifted to the pink-and-jade girl beside Qi Xianqing. Her expression grew cold as she said, “And this one is?”

Yan Jue: “...”

Though the question was polite enough, from Xue Shuangxing’s expression, Yan Jue had the feeling that she might kill her once she learned her name.

Yan Jue: “I’m from Five Dragons Sect. Li Hong.”

Anyone who could come down the mountain with Lord Meng Heng must surely be someone of some standing within Five Dragons Sect.

Li Hong? Xue Shuangxing stared at Yan Jue’s face and frowned slightly, but she had never heard of this person before.

Xue Shuangxing: “My master is also deeply concerned about the Demonic Cult’s resurgence. If Lord Meng Heng learns anything, could you tell me in detail? It would be convenient for me to inform my master.”

Qi Xianqing: “If I obtain definite news, I will have my honored teacher inform the six great immortal sects. By then, Fellow Daoist’s master will naturally know.”

-

Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue sat back down to rest.

Xue Shuangxing glanced at the tigger-hound, and the tigger-hound began spitting out children nonstop.

One after another, small children rolled out of its gaping maw.

Strangely enough, those children had been inside the tigger-hound’s belly for so long, yet they weren’t the least bit dirty.

They were still sleeping soundly.

Yan Jue saw Xue Shuangxing close her eyes and form a seal with both hands, seemingly reciting some sort of incantation.

Then the tigger-hound closed its eyes; its body actually began to shrink little by little.

In the end, it turned into a tiger-shaped necklace, hanging quietly around her neck.

Yan Jue sent a message to Qi Xianqing: “When traveling outside, it’s better to keep a low profile and not use your real name. I’m not as capable as Lord Meng Heng.”

“When I’m as capable as Lord Meng Heng someday, I won’t mind introducing myself then.”

Qi Xianqing gave a slight nod, then suddenly heard Yan Jue ask, “How did Senior Sister know that girl was from Beast Taming Pavilion?”

Qi Xianqing: “She had been sitting cross-legged in meditation since ten days ago. I sensed a little of it; the technique she was circulating was precisely Beast Taming Pavilion’s Tianshuang Heart Art.”

Yan Jue: “...”

So that was it. Were fights among immortals really this quiet?

-

The group rested in the cave as if nothing had happened.

Roughly an hour later, the Pharmacy door was opened.

It should have been morning.

An attendant Daoist boy came in from outside, flicked his whisk, and said coldly, “You all will now go to Drunken Breeze and wait there. Master will arrive shortly.”

The quiet cave instantly turned noisy.

The children woke one after another, not knowing anything about what had happened the night before.

Jia Ni came over and grabbed Yan Jue’s hand. “Sister! We’re going to see Master today. Will Master choose us to be immortal children?”

Yan Jue: “I don’t know either.”

“Maybe Master will choose the one who’s been best behaved to be an immortal child. Have you been behaving well lately?” Her eyes curved, her voice very soft.

Jia Ni: “I’ve been the best!”

Yan Jue looked up and, caught off guard, met Qi Xianqing’s gaze.

Yan Jue shouted at her through transmission: “What are you looking at! Haven’t you ever seen someone coax a child before?”

Qi Xianqing looked away. “...”

Qi Xianqing was currently at the edge of breaking through from the early stage of the Fusion Realm.

After reaching the fourth realm, breaking through depended not only on accumulated cultivation, but also on sudden insight.

When she was traveling outside, she often looked for opportunities to reach that insight.

In the past, Qi Xianqing had also dealt with children while handling matters outside.

But she wasn’t very good at talking to little kids.

Usually, she would save the child, only for the child to already be frightened into tears by her.

So this was how one coaxed a child...

The way Yan Jue spoke to the child was just like the way she spoke to her little fox cubs. Qi Xianqing had never once imagined that a girl with such a firecracker personality could also be so gentle.