A snake. It was a snake.
At some point, the man wrapped inside Mingming’s fur cloak had transformed into a tightly coiled giant snake.
Its body was dark bluish-black, and beneath the moonlight, its scales glimmered with a terrifying sheen. Its snake eyes, however, were shut tightly. Its entire body was ice-cold, devoid of even the slightest trace of life.
Although relations between humans and the demon race had eased considerably over the years, humans still harbored deep fear toward snake demons. That was also why Mingming had to conceal her identity.
Ten thousand years ago, the great demon Xiu, whose true form was a snake, had brought countless calamities upon the human realm, slaughtered innumerable humans, and nearly turned the entire world upside down.
It was no wonder that the Shen Clan’s attendants instinctively attacked the instant they saw the giant snake.
With no time to be surprised, Mingming clutched her injured arm, turned to look at Shen Ji, and said calmly, “I told you it was prey, so it’s prey. Snake soup, sliced snake meat, snake wine… pan-fried, deep-fried, braised, stewed… It’s such a big snake that I can try every cooking method.”
“Do you even know what a snake is?” Shen Ji asked, her voice still trembling from the shock.
“As long as it’s edible, that’s enough. Look, it doesn’t have a heartbeat. It’s already dead. Once an animal is dead, it’s food.”
Mingming wrapped the fur cloak around it once more, then hoisted her conquest target, who had now changed into an entirely different species, back onto her shoulder.
But only she knew that the fingertips hidden behind her back were trembling, not because of the hostile expressions on the humans before her, but because the snake this man had become looked too much…
Too much like her own true form.
Shen Ji’s gaze fell upon the wound on Mingming’s arm, and she felt somewhat guilty. She had been the one to start this, and Mingming really had not been lying.
“Hmph. You’d better hide it quickly. I was the only one who saw it today. If any of our other brothers or sisters see it, you won’t escape a punishment,” Shen Ji said as she called her attendants back, warning Mingming.
Mingming nodded and did not argue with her any further. All of her attention was fixed on the man, or rather, on the snake.
At last, Shen Ji left. Mingming returned to her residence, the small bamboo courtyard halfway up the mountain. She had just pushed open the courtyard gate when the young maid waiting behind it hurried over.
“Second Miss, you’re finally back. They saved some food from the banquet. I went to the kitchen and asked for some. Would you like to eat?”
If it had been any other day, Mingming would certainly have agreed, but this time she shook her head.
“Lingsong, there’s no need.”
“Second Miss, what are you carrying? I’m strong. Let me do it!” The maid, Lingsong, looked closely at Mingming and only then noticed the enormous thing she was half carrying, half dragging.
“Today’s hunt.” Mingming shifted aside to avoid her. Despite carrying something twice her own weight, she remained remarkably nimble.
“So Second Miss wanted some game meat.” Lingsong tactfully withdrew.
Lingsong knew Mingming well. Whenever she was at the main residence, she always prepared her own meals, and her culinary skills surpassed even those of the finest spirit chefs.
Mingming would often share her food with the people around her. Lingsong had tasted it a few times and had never forgotten the flavor.
“I’m eating today’s catch by myself.”
Seemingly noticing Lingsong’s craving, Mingming promptly extinguished her hopes.
After returning to her room, Mingming laid both the fur cloak and the conquest target wrapped inside it onto the couch. She then turned and set up a restrictive formation at the doorway to prevent outsiders from entering and discovering her secret.
She was meticulous in everything she did, and the formation she laid down was exquisitely crafted. It completely sealed off the inside from the outside, allowing not even the faintest sound or trace of aura to escape.
When she turned back again, the only thing she saw was the man from before, wrapped in her pale pink fur cloak, quietly leaning against the couch as he watched her.
His eyes were dark and unfathomable. Aside from his slightly disheveled hair, he looked exactly like the handsome man beneath the moonlight moments ago, rather than the giant snake he had transformed into before everyone.
The lamp fueled by spirit stones illuminated every detail of the room. With the restrictive formation in place, the silence inside was almost oppressive.
In such tranquil surroundings, it was as though the encounter with Shen Ji moments earlier had been nothing more than an illusion.
Mingming had a quiet disposition. When she had been with the previous conquest target she had mistaken for the right one, the two of them had remained in a stalemate for over half a month before the other party finally spoke first.
Now was no different. Mingming simply focused on observing the man, trying to detect the slightest irregularity about him.
After a long silence, the man with no heartbeat finally spoke first.
“Judging by this, it seems you’re planning to keep me locked up here.”
“There’s no need to apologize. The rules in the main residence are strict.”
The man’s words were like a ripple breaking the surface of still water, bringing a touch of life back into the silence. Mingming’s movements and speech became noticeably more natural.
She turned around, casually took a few calming spirit medicines from a cabinet shelf, and held them out to him.
“I saw that you fainted.”
The corners of the man’s thin lips curved upward ever so slightly.
“You don’t know why I lost consciousness?”
Mingming’s delicate brows knitted together.
“This is the first time I’ve met you today. Why would I know why you fainted?”
She looked at him, the light shimmering in her eyes as it danced with the illumination.
From such a prolonged gaze alone, it was impossible to discern what emotions lay concealed beneath the mist veiling her eyes.
“It’s merely a congenital ailment.”
The man accepted the spirit medicine from Mingming. The white porcelain medicine bottle rested in his palm as he absentmindedly rolled it between his fingers.
“You changed into a different form just now.”
Mingming’s gaze remained fixed on his chest. His heartbeat still had not returned.
“To cooperate with your performance,” the man replied with a slight nod.
“Why a snake?”
“Whatever is in my heart is what I become.”
Mingming pursed her lips. She was certain it was impossible for him to have seen through to her true form. Perhaps her aura had influenced his mind instead?
True to being a snake who had remained single for thousands upon tens of thousands of years and had never experienced a love tribulation, she was remarkably awkward around the opposite sex.
“Since you’re awake, then get some rest. Oh, right, what’s your name?” Mingming’s abrupt change of topic was painfully stiff.
“You haven’t told me yours yet.”
“Shen Ming.”
Another brief silence followed before Mingming asked again,
“What about you?”
“Lu Xuan,” he answered.
“Oh,” Mingming replied.
She remembered that the pale pink fur cloak she had been wearing was still draped over him, so she moved closer, intending to pull her cloak back.
The room was so quiet that Mingming could detect the slightest change in sound.
As she drew near Lu Xuan, she heard a clear heartbeat echo from within his body.
She leaned in a little closer, and the heartbeat grew louder.
Only when she reached out did Lu Xuan suddenly seize her wrist. A trace of hostility flashed through his lowered eyes as he stopped her from coming any closer.
The hand he grabbed was the very one Mingming had injured. With that squeeze, the wound that had only just scabbed over split open again, and blood began to seep out. Yet Mingming’s attention remained fixed on him.
“I’m just taking back my clothes. Why did your heart suddenly start beating? Are you better now?”
Mingming swiftly snatched her fur cloak back.
Lowering his gaze, Lu Xuan looked at Mingming. His fingers pressed against her wound as crimson blood spread over the raised veins on the back of his hand.
He did not answer her question. Instead, he took out a white handkerchief and pressed it against her arm. Then, using a simple healing spell, he mended Mingming’s injury.
“You’re hurt like this. Why are you worrying about me?” Lu Xuan asked.
‘Because you’re my conquest target. If I don’t worry about you, who else would I worry about?’ Mingming thought.
She hugged the fur cloak in her arms with both hands and stared intently at Lu Xuan. The man before her stirred not the slightest ripple in her emotions.
In Mingming’s world, there were only two categories: edible and inedible. Even though Lu Xuan’s heart had started beating again, he still seemed bland and utterly unappetizing to her.
Her confusion and contemplation merely passed through her mind once before every trace of emotion was concealed deep within her misty eyes.
Even though Lu Xuan’s gaze remained fixed on her the entire time, all he could see was a girl who seemed dazed and innocent.
After a long while, Mingming finally managed to squeeze out a single response.
“It’s just a small injury.”
She walked to the door, preparing to leave. Yet the moment she moved away from Lu Xuan, she heard his heartbeat stop.
“You…”
Mingming turned around and saw Lu Xuan’s face suddenly turn deathly pale. His expression was indifferent, and he paid no attention to her call.
She took a step backward until her back rested against the door, putting even more distance between them, as though testing something.
Lu Xuan’s hand hanging at his side clenched into a fist. Excruciating pain spread through his entire body. The suffocating sensation brought on by his stopped heartbeat was slowly, relentlessly draining away his life.
“Lu Xuan.”
Mingming did not want her conquest target to die just like that. His congenital illness looked particularly troublesome.
She ran toward him, intending to check on his condition.
As she drew closer, Lu Xuan was like a fish stranded on shore finally returning to water. His breathing became smooth again, and a trace of color returned to his pale face.
Thump.
Thump. Thump.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Lu Xuan could clearly feel his heartbeat gradually reviving as Mingming approached.
What exactly was going on?
They had clearly… never met before.
The next moment, Lu Xuan wrapped an arm around Mingming’s waist and brought her down onto the couch. Rolling over, he pinned her beneath him, one hand pressing against her neck as killing intent lit up his eyes.
Mingming lifted her lashes. Her breathing was restricted, yet her eyes remained shrouded in their usual absentminded mist.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. Her voice was as calm as ever, soft as water, as delicate as a strand of spider silk bearing a single dewdrop.
“Those who know about my congenital illness are the Heavenly Crane Manor, the Burning Heaven Pavilion… and the Wen Clan of Changling. You knew I came to Mount Jia tonight to gather Spring Glow Moss. Only the Heavenly Crane Manor could have obtained that information. What poison did you use?”
A long whip slithered out from Lu Xuan’s sleeve like a snake, gradually coiling around Mingming’s neck and limbs. The sharp barbs covering it opened and closed like scales, scraping across her skin without leaving so much as a scratch.
She had been injured during her confrontation with Shen Ji earlier only because she had not wanted to expose her identity and had pretended to be an ordinary cultivator.
“What? What are you talking about?”
Mingming looked utterly bewildered. Her long hair spread across the couch as she tilted her head and gazed at Lu Xuan in confusion. She had never heard a single one of the names he had mentioned.
“Playing dumb?”
Lu Xuan wanted to tighten the whip, yet he found himself unable to activate his magical treasure. His body… did not want to hurt her.
“Lu Xuan, I don’t know any of that. The only thing I know is you.”
Mingming raised her hand and lightly touched the beauty mark on the tip of his nose.
“You fainted right in front of me. I didn’t want you to get hurt, so I brought you back. It’s really that simple.”
Mingming slipped her fingertips into the narrow gap where the whip pressed against her skin and leisurely pulled Lu Xuan’s magical treasure away. It could not injure her, but it was making it rather difficult for her to breathe.
Strangely enough, in her hands, Lu Xuan’s magical treasure became perfectly obedient and meekly loosened its hold on her.
“You’re so nice.”
Mingming assumed Lu Xuan had released her of his own accord, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
She normally wore very little expression, yet when she smiled, a pair of adorable dimples appeared on her cheeks.
Unlike the breathtakingly seductive beauty typical of snake demons, Mingming possessed a slightly round face, rosy cheeks, misty almond-shaped eyes, and the delicate charm of a blossoming peach flower. When she smiled, the warmth in her eyes spread like ripples across a spring lake. It was not the sort of beauty that stole one’s soul at first glance, yet it filled Lu Xuan’s entire field of vision.
Lu Xuan turned his head aside and released her. For the moment, there was nothing he could do to her.
Mingming could only remain in his room for the time being. She looked him up and down, wondering how she was supposed to win him over and develop feelings with him.
But she truly had no interest in him. In her eyes, he was completely devoid of any appeal.
Unlike that unlucky fellow in the Wilderness of Eternal Night a hundred years ago. After parting with him, she had slept for more than a hundred years before finally suppressing her craving to eat him.
That unlucky fellow had been the most delicious food Mingming had ever encountered.
Her thoughts drifted far away, while Lu Xuan turned his back to her and pressed a hand against his chest.
Embedded within his chest was the most exquisite mechanical heart in the world, painstakingly crafted over several years by one of his elders. Countless tiny formations were fitted together inside it, operating in perfect harmony.
As long as this world still had wind, water, spiritual energy, breath, or anything that flowed, it could continue functioning.
Yet the instant it saw Mingming, it stopped.
In its place came… the beating of his own heart whenever he drew close to her.
Mingming’s thoughts drifted back to food again. Tilting her head, she leaned against Lu Xuan’s bed and fell asleep. Once asleep, she remained that way until noon the next day.
However, early the following morning, while Mingming was still fast asleep, a major incident occurred within Mount Jia.
Beginning at Mount Jia, the eight hundred and three thousand li of surrounding territory all belonged to the Shen Clan. Though it appeared vast and imposing, it was not actually considered one of the foremost powers in the Immortal Realm.
The Eastern Region of the Immortal Realm had made extraordinary contributions during the ancient war between the gods and demons. After the war ended and order was restored, most of the ancient sects, clans, and factions with long histories became concentrated in the Eastern Region, and the Shen Clan was among them.
The Western Region, by contrast, was home to more recently established sects and clans. Among them, Wentian City had gradually risen to prominence under the leadership of its City Lord, Lu Wei. Its momentum was so overwhelming that even the great clans of the Eastern Region were wary of its edge.
Lu Wei himself was a legendary figure in the Immortal Realm. In his early years, he had been ambushed by an unknown force and trapped within the Wilderness of Eternal Night, the ruins left behind by the war between the gods and demons. Legend claimed that venomous mists blanketed the place beneath an eternal sky without daylight, bewildering the minds of anyone who entered and luring them toward a bottomless abyss.
When he was young, he had been blind. He had not yet begun cultivating and possessed only meager magical power, yet he had somehow escaped the Wilderness of Eternal Night all by himself. After emerging, not only had his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, but his blindness had also been cured. No one knew what extraordinary encounter he had experienced within that terrifying abyss.
Lu Wei rebuilt Wentian City and took the title Lord Wuya. Over the years, his influence within the Immortal Realm had grown impossible to ignore. He had long been someone the Shen Clan sought to befriend. For this grand hunting gathering alone, they had sent dozens of invitations, yet not a single person from Wentian City had come.
But today, auspicious clouds enveloped Mount Jia.
Behind the sea of clouds, six golden luan birds drew a magnificent carriage as a resplendent cloud ark emerged from the void.
Countless streams of brilliant light reflected off the treasures adorning the vessel. The entire cloud ark had been forged from Scarlet Silver Mother Ore, an exceptionally rare spiritual material in the Immortal Realm. Even adding a few inches of it to refined steel when forging a flying sword would produce an outstanding magical treasure.
Yet this entire cloud ark had been built from that precious material alone, an extravagance beyond reason.
The cloud ark itself was unique within the Immortal Realm. Throughout both the Eastern and Western Regions, the moment any faction saw the six golden luan birds drawing it, they immediately knew who had arrived in person.
“Lu Wei? Lord Wuya… the City Lord of Wentian City?”
Upon receiving the report from an immortal page, Shen Fu, one of the Shen Clan’s elders, shot to his feet in astonishment.
He immediately ordered people to receive Lu Wei while wondering why Lord Wuya, who had ignored the Shen Clan for decades, had suddenly come here in person.
Meanwhile, aboard the radiant cloud ark, Lu Wei stood before an extinguished life candle, his expression cold and solemn.
He resembled Lu Xuan by about seventy percent, especially the beauty mark on the tip of his nose, identical in both size and position.
However, his facial features were sharper than Lu Xuan’s. A strip of white silk covered his eyes, concealing them from view and lending him an ethereal, almost immortal air that kept others at a distance.
As the Lu family’s only descendant, Lu Xuan had been born with a congenital heart condition. Lu Wei had devoted tremendous effort to creating for him a mechanical heart that would never cease beating.
As a precaution, he had left behind a life candle linked to that mechanical heart. If the heart ever stopped beating, the life candle would be extinguished as well.
Last night, the life candle had gone out. Not knowing what mishap had befallen Lu Xuan, Lu Wei had rushed overnight to Mount Jia, the last place Lu Xuan had been seen.
Unfortunately, Mount Jia lay within the Shen Clan’s territory, and the Shen Clan happened to be people Lu Wei despised.
“Lord Wuya, the Shen Clan has sent people to receive you. They’re asking whether you came because you received their invitation,” a cultivator outside the hall reported.
“An invitation? I don’t read waste paper.” Although a strip of white silk covered Lu Wei’s eyes, it posed no obstacle to his movements. He strode down from the cloud ark, every word he spoke as cold as ice.
“Tell them I lost something in Mount Jia.”