“From now on, I will be your heart!”
Jiang Xu was left somewhat dazed by these words, having no idea what she meant.
Hadn’t her heart been dug out by Yue Sheng and given to Song Qingling?
The soul gazed at her, a tenderness easily read in her eyes: “I am Ming Yuan—Ming as in lucid, Yuan as in wish.”
“Ming Yuan?” Jiang Xu repeated uncomprehendingly.
“Mm.” Ming Yuan hummed softly, looking at Jiang Xu: “Empty your mind and do not resist.”
Still feeling dazed and somewhat at a loss, Jiang Xu watched as the soul claiming to be Ming Yuan transformed into a gentle ray of light and sank straight into her chest.
A warm current swept through her entire body. Under its embrace, the pain of her wounds gradually faded, making her feel as warm and comfortable as if she were bathing in the sunlight.
Most miraculously, the bloody hole in her chest began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. In a short while, the wound vanished entirely from sight.
“Ming Yuan,” Jiang Xu called out tentatively toward her chest, remembering what she had said.
“I am here,” Ming Yuan replied promptly, her voice clear and refined.
“You… are you living inside my heart?” Jiang Xu asked out of curiosity. She had never heard of such a method before.
Yet, a technique that could heal her wounds out of thin air was something even the Patriarch of the Gong Clan—a supreme master standing near the very peak of the human realm—could not achieve.
“I am not living inside your heart; rather, I am your heart. Your previous heart is gone, and you were close to death. Now that I am here, my presence replaces the function of that heart,” Ming Yuan explained earnestly.
“Oh,” Jiang Xu uttered, only half-understanding.
Yet she also understood the miraculous nature of this technique; it could not be explained in just a few words, so she did not press further.
As long as she could survive, that was already more than enough!
“Although I have temporarily healed your wounds, your injuries are far too severe. You will need medicinal herbs to nourish your body, otherwise, it will be difficult for you to make any further progress in your cultivation,” Ming Yuan told her.
Ming Yuan did not know who she was, where she came from, or what kind of past she had.
As for the method of fusing her own origin into Jiang Xu’s chest to support her physical body and heal her injuries, it was something that had only flashed into her mind as a sudden inspiration after seeing Jiang Xu’s miserable state.
Still, Ming Yuan did not care. As long as it was useful for the present situation, there was no need to dwell on how she came to know it.
After all, such was her temperament—detached and untethered if put nicely, or cold and heartless if put bluntly.
Whichever it was, Ming Yuan did not care in the least.
Jiang Xu’s gaze grew dim. Cultivation? Since she had survived, she naturally had to cultivate properly so that she would have the capital to seek revenge.
“You don’t need to worry. I have a medicinal formula; you just need to find the right herbs, and I will help you refine the medicine. Even if you cannot find them, I will help you,” Ming Yuan said softly.
“I believe you,” Jiang Xu replied in a faint yet steadfast voice.
She did not know what Ming Yuan’s true background was, but since Ming Yuan had saved her, she was naturally willing to give her complete trust.
Furthermore, Ming Yuan was inherently the kind of person who could easily command trust. The aloof detachment about her was not an affectation like Song Qingling’s, but a genuine, all-transcending haughtiness.
If such a person wished to harm someone, they would never deign to use petty schemes and plots.
Ming Yuan raised an eyebrow. Touched by her unwavering trust, a faint joy bloomed in her heart, and her gaze softened.
“Evil energies pervade this place, which is harmful to your body. If you are able to walk, you had better leave as soon as possible,” Ming Yuan transmitted her voice.
“Have you decided where to go?”
“Yes. We are going to the Demon Realm.” Jiang Xu stood up, swept a glance across the mass grave, and walked toward the exit while answering Ming Yuan.
A clever girl! Ming Yuan praised inwardly, raising her evaluation of Jiang Xu a notch higher.
In the human realm today, there were two great noble clans—the Gong and the Song—alongside the slightly weaker Jiang family. With these three families around, it would be difficult for Jiang Xu to cultivate in peace.
If it were discovered that she was still alive, there was no guarantee what they might do.
As for other noble clans or sects, they had always been the sort to cling to advantages and avoid harm, minding their own business or even turning against Jiang Xu if the stakes were high enough.
As for the Demon Realm, although it was remote, harsh in environment, and its inhabitants mostly crude and direct, there were very few humans there, and humans were viewed with hostility.
Ordinary mortals faced this, let alone cultivators from major clans.
If Jiang Xu went there, she would actually be safer. At worst, she would face cold glances and bullying, but her life would not be in danger.
This was because Jiang Xu was a half-demon. Her mother had been an ordinary, low-cultivation, humble fox.
Years ago, the little fox had just attained human form when she encountered the Young Master of the Jiang family. In a daze, she was favored by him and even gave birth to Jiang Xu.
This was also the reason Jiang Xu had been looked down upon since childhood; humans had always looked down upon demons, let alone children born of them.
Half-demons could be found everywhere across the six realms, yet they were universally discriminated against by all races—their status humble and life difficult, with human contempt and malicious humiliation serving as daily fare.
The same was true for demons. They likewise looked down upon kin who mated and consorted with humans, though out of a sense of shared grief for their own kind, they were somewhat more tolerant of half-demons than humans were.
Three months later.
A crude city gate stood in majestic solitude. Demons entered and exited in a swaggering manner, while a squad of guards patrolled back and forth near the entrance.
A woman in red walked out from the wilderness, faint, imperceptible traces of blood clinging to her body.
“A human?” a city gate guard questioned, a clear and obvious hostility shining in its eyes.
Although the guard had taken human form, its completely un-transformed horse ears betrayed its true origin.
Clearly, this was already the Demon Realm. Even though it was a remote, minor border city, it still belonged to demon territory.
“I am not entirely human,” Jiang Xu murmured quietly.
The guard looked at her with half-belief, assuming a defensive posture to prevent her from suddenly lashing out, before channeling a wisp of demon essence to probe her body.
After just a few breaths, the guard withdrew its demon essence. Its defensive posture relaxed into ease, and its gaze filled with disdain as it spoke with a lofty, condescending attitude:
“A half-demon, huh! You may enter, but hand over one hundred spiritual stones. Once inside, you are forbidden from causing trouble, and you must show a respectful attitude when you see demons. Understand?”
Passersby who learned that Jiang Xu was a half-demon looked at her with contempt and arrogance, and upon hearing the guard’s words, gloating expressions surfaced in the eyes of many.
Jiang Xu glanced around. Even though this was her first time setting foot in the Demon Realm, she knew that one hundred spiritual stones was merely an arbitrary price demanded by the guard—simply because she was an adversary-free half-demon easy to bully.
“Hurry up. Scram if you don’t have spiritual stones. Of course, if you really want to enter the city, it’s not entirely impossible,” the guard’s tone turned flippant.
“Accompany your Lord Horse for a night and call out a few times praising the great king, and I can let you in, hahaha.”
The guard laughed loudly and mockingly, his eyes filled with undisguised banter as the surrounding demons burst into boisterous laughter.
With an expressionless face, Jiang Xu gave the guard a deep, chilling look, her fingers twitching slightly to leave a mark upon him.
Then, she drew a hundred spiritual stones from her pocket and handed them over.
“May I enter now?” Her tone was slightly cold.
Feeling a chill pierce his heart under her gaze, the guard instinctively lowered his posture upon hearing the question: “Yes, you may, you may.”
Ignoring them further, Jiang Xu stepped past the cluster of demons and walked straight into the city.
The guard watched her receding figure. After a moment, realizing he had actually been frightened by a half-demon, he felt deeply humiliated and began shouting curses and complaints.
Once inside the city, Jiang Xu looked around. Scattered about were sparse stalls, with demons wandering aimlessly to and fro.
After scanning her surroundings, she beckoned over a hamster-transformed demon standing by the roadside.
“What are your orders, guest?” The hamster scurried over to Jiang Xu’s side, wagging its tail eagerly.
“I want to buy a courtyard, somewhere with a quiet environment,” Jiang Xu said, tossing a few spiritual stones to the hamster.
“Understood. Please follow me, guest.” The hamster caught the stones, looking evidently delighted.
Nodding, Jiang Xu followed behind the hamster.
Even the Demon Realm had its own order, though it appeared somewhat rougher compared to the human realm.
That hamster had low cultivation; attaining human form was already its limit, and advancing any further was practically impossible, which was why it chose to earn extra spiritual stones.
After all, besides serving as currency, spiritual stones also aided in cultivation—especially in the spiritual-energy-scarce Demon Realm.
This was a remote border city in the Demon Realm, and many demons arriving for the first time were unfamiliar with local conditions. At such times, they needed native demons to introduce the basics so external demons could adapt as quickly as possible.
And all they needed to pay in return were a few spiritual stones.
To those minor demons, this was a rare and precious harvest, but to travelers like Jiang Xu, it was something not worth mentioning at all.
She knew about these customs because Gong Hantian used to tell her about them in the past just to make her happy.
Jiang Xu lowered her eyes, masking the emotions within them. Without strength, overthinking is useless. I must endure!
Guided by the hamster, Jiang Xu purchased a brand-new courtyard for the price of three hundred spiritual stones.
The courtyard was quite spacious and located on the desolate outskirts of the city. Very few demons passed by there, making it truly tranquil and quiet.
Jiang Xu felt satisfied inside. Though her face remained expressionless as she paid the spiritual stones, a deep ache of frugality wrung her heart.
When she was dumped into the mass grave, she had possessed absolutely nothing. Her former magic sword, storage ring, and other trump-card treasures had all been taken away by that black-clad commander before she was locked in the water prison.
The few hundred spiritual stones she had on her were the earnings from digging up medicinal herbs while following Ming Yuan’s guidance during the three-month journey to the Demon Realm.
Ming Yuan had refined the usable herbs into pills for her to consume, and sold off the rest as medicinal liquid.
One hundred had been taken by the guard at the city gate, and now another three hundred were gone. She did not have many left.
Ming Yuan, floating beside her in her soul form, found this rather amusing: “Jiang Xu, they’re just a few spiritual stones. With me here, you can have anything you want.”
Jiang Xu blinked, feeling a bit embarrassed as warmth flushed her cheeks.
She hadn’t expected Ming Yuan to manifest at this exact moment and catch her looking so destitute.
As for the fact that Ming Yuan could move in and out of her freely, she had only found out when Ming Yuan helped her refine medicine.
Back then, she had been extremely surprised, assuming that since Ming Yuan had become her heart, she could only ever reside inside her chest.
Floating nearby and watching Jiang Xu’s slightly reddened face, Ming Yuan found it even more entertaining, the amusement in her eyes entirely unmasked.
She hadn’t expected before that Jiang Xu would be such a little miser…