Because extracting the inner core from the Qingniao had taken some time, Zhao Xiu was already dead by the time Yu Qi emerged from the woods. “Senior Sister, you should have let me do it,” Yu Qi grumbled softly, her good mood from obtaining the core slightly dampened as she stared at Zhao Xiu’s thoroughly lifeless corpse.
She had always wanted to end Zhao Xiu with her own hands.
“Is this the cultivator from the Wanyao Sect?” Liu Cheng emerged after Yu Qi, spotting the body immediately. Her footsteps faltered for a second before she walked over as if nothing were wrong, asking with feigned confusion.
Liu Cheng had been quite helpful in securing the core, so Yu Qi was in a better mood and treated her more cordially. “It’s that scum from the Wanyao Sect.”
“It seems he had a history with you and Senior Sister Ruan.”
Since the previous incident of being besieged was too embarrassing to recount, Yu Qi simply snorted and said nothing. Instead, she produced a storage stone filled with a significant amount of immortal stones and tossed it to Liu Cheng.
Liu Cheng caught it, her fingers lightly tracing the cool jade surface. She lowered her gaze, surreptitiously scanning Zhao Xiu’s remains. According to what she knew, Zhao Xiu had quite a few treasures on him…
“What are you looking for?” Ruan Lan’s cold voice rang in Liu Cheng’s ear.
Liu Cheng looked up, smiling as she shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Is it this?” Ruan Lan threw a storage stone at her; the stone still bore a trace of blood.
Liu Cheng instinctively caught it. Under Ruan Lan’s icy stare, the stone felt like it weighed ten thousand tons. She opened her mouth to speak, but Ruan Lan had already looked away and turned to leave.
This was Zhao Xiu’s storage stone… Liu Cheng’s palm tightened slightly, and her heart sank. For some reason, under Ruan Lan’s chilling gaze, she felt as though she had been seen through completely.
The group split up from there. Liu Cheng went to find her junior sisters who had wandered off, while Feng Qi and the others hurried back to the inn.
On the way back, Yu Qi wanted to complain to Ruan Lan about the Zhao Xiu matter, but one look at her senior sister’s expression caused her to automatically fall silent. she retreated to Feng Qi’s side and whispered, “What’s wrong with Senior Sister?”
Feng Qi looked at Ruan Lan’s solitary figure walking ahead and said hesitantly, “I might have made the Master angry.”
“What did you do?”
“…Lied.”
Yu Qi looked at Feng Qi with sympathy, patted her shoulder, and offered some half-hearted comfort: “It’s fine, Senior Sister won’t actually do anything to you.”
Oh, she’ll do something… Feng Qi hadn’t been too worried initially, but hearing Yu Qi say it made her heart start to thrum with nerves.
Upon returning to the inn, Ruan Lan went straight back to the room. Feng Qi hesitated and didn’t follow immediately, sitting in the hall with Yu Qi and Ji Manqiu for a while. It wasn’t until the sky grew dark that she steeled herself to go back.
The room was dark, with no candles lit and the windows closed. However, this level of darkness was no obstacle for Feng Qi. She navigated around the screen into the inner chamber and immediately saw Ruan Lan leaning against the soft couch, deep in thought while holding a sound-transmission jade.
Feng Qi’s eyes lit up. “Master, is it a reply from Misty Valley?”
Ruan Lan glanced at her and nodded.
“Does that mean we can enter the Lingyun Sect now?” Feng Qi walked to Ruan Lan’s side, reaching out to ask for the jade.
Ruan Lan placed the jade in Feng Qi’s palm; her attitude seemed no different than usual.
Seeing that Ruan Lan wasn’t “angry” in the way Yu Qi had suggested, Feng Qi felt a wave of relief. She held the jade to her ear and listened intently. After hearing every word, she nodded with satisfaction.
It seemed the array in Nanshan had finally caught the attention of Misty Valley.
Her efforts during this period hadn’t been in vain. After Misty Valley came the Lingyun Sect, and then the entire cultivation world. By shifting the focus of the righteous cultivators toward the Immortal Realm early on, she and the Demon Realm could simply remain “invisible.”
Ruan Lan occupied two-thirds of the couch. Feng Qi handed back the jade, looked at the remaining space, and decided to shift into her original form. The black cat hopped up from the floor, intentionally stepping over Ruan Lan’s legs to curl up on the inner side.
“Master, have you figured out how to enter the Ling Sea yet?” The black cat flattened its limbs, stretching its neck to rest its chin on Ruan Lan’s arm. Its emerald eyes narrowed, and its voice sounded soft and sweet.
Ruan Lan turned her head to look at the kitten, her fingers gently scratching its head. Her expression softened. “We go in directly.”
“By telling the Lingyun Sect Leader directly?”
“Yes.”
“That works too.” The black cat opened its mouth in a yawn, tilted its head to hug Ruan Lan’s palm with its paws, and began to lick her fingers with its barbed tongue in a fawning manner.
Though the licking tickled, Ruan Lan didn’t pull her hand away. She rubbed the kitten’s chin with her thumb, indulging her.
The black cat licked for a while, then peeked with one eye to check Ruan Lan’s expression. Seeing a trace of a smile at the corner of her lips, the weight in Feng Qi’s heart finally lifted.
With such hard work at playing favorites, Ruan Lan surely won’t hold today’s lie against me anymore, Feng Qi thought naively.
…
In contrast to the cozy atmosphere with Feng Qi and Ruan Lan, Yu Qi’s room on the other side of the inn felt quite desolate. Despite the late hour, the candle on the table remained bright. She sat there, staring at the inner core in her hand.
Because the attributes matched, the spiritual energy emanating from the core felt incredibly comfortable. Even without actively absorbing it, simply wearing it could gradually enhance her cultivation.
As Yu Qi was observing the core, there was a sound at the door. She looked up in confusion and used her spiritual energy to flick the door open. The little fox ran in and crouched by her leg.
“You’re back again…” Yu Qi raised an eyebrow, reaching down to pet its head. The little fox pressed her hand down with a paw, then lowered its head to spit an inner core into her palm.
The core in her palm was still slightly warm, emitting a spiritual aura similar to the Qingniao’s, though a bit weaker.
“…An inner core?” Yu Qi stared at it, stunned. “Did Ji Manqiu send you with this?”
The little fox didn’t seem to understand, but it nuzzled her calf affectionately.
Yu Qi pursed her lips, her grip on the core tightening. A flicker of internal struggle crossed her eyes before she finally bent down, picked up the fox, and walked out.
For both demons and cultivators, sleep was optional. However, for the naturally long-lived demons, they often found hobbies to pass the time; conversely, righteous cultivators mostly spent their efforts on cultivation to prolong their lives and ascend.
Ji Manqiu was born a high-ranking demon with high status. In the Demon Realm, she had plenty of distractions, but in the cultivation world, she could only sit in her room drinking alone out of boredom.
When Yu Qi pushed the door open while holding the fox, Ji Manqiu was just putting down an empty wine cup. The fragrance of wine in the room was exceptionally thick.
“You…” Yu Qi stared at the slight redness at the corners of Ji Manqiu’s eyes, her voice suddenly dropping. “Aren’t you a cultivator? Why are you drinking?” She averted her gaze and sat down opposite her, still holding the fox.
Ji Manqiu arched an eyebrow. “Cultivators aren’t allowed to drink?”
“My Senior Sister says they aren’t.”
“Fair enough.” Ji Manqiu pushed the cup aside and rested her head on her hand. Her eyes were dark and moist, and her soft voice carried a seductive hint of intoxication. “Did you receive the core?”
Yu Qi stared at the patterns on the table, her voice tight. “I did.”
“Do you like it?”
“…Why give me this?”
“Because the attribute suits you perfectly.”
Yu Qi looked up quickly at Ji Manqiu, then looked away. She placed the core she had been clutching onto the table and said coldly, “I already have one. I don’t need this.” Without waiting for a response, she stood up to leave.
The speed of her temper shift left Ji Manqiu momentarily dazed. Only after Yu Qi’s figure vanished from the doorway did Ji Manqiu frown and lower her hand. Her gaze caught the core on the table; she picked it up to examine it, and a smile flashed in her eyes.
The core Yu Qi had thrown back with the claim that she “didn’t need it” was not the one Ji Manqiu had sent.
Just like the Water-Wood dual spiritual root Feng Qi had tested for when she first entered Misty Valley, Ji Manqiu had rarely used her powers since saving Yu Qi. To avoid suspicion, she had also disguised her own roots.
Fire-Wood dual roots—the same attribute as the core Yu Qi had thrown back.
“Indeed, very interesting.” Ji Manqiu played with the core, thinking of how Yu Qi hadn’t dared to meet her eyes just now, and lightly licked her lips.
In her haste, Yu Qi had forgotten to leave the little fox behind. Back in her room, she looked at the fox with hesitation, but felt too awkward to make another trip. In the end, she let it stay.
…
The next day, Yu Qi walked out holding the drowsy fox, just as Ruan Lan emerged from her room with a small black cat perched on her shoulder.
The cat seemed to be throwing a tantrum; its long, soft tail kept flicking across Ruan Lan’s face until Ruan Lan caught it. The cat struggled for a while with its paws in the air before finally settling down.
“Senior Sister,” Yu Qi looked curiously behind Ruan Lan. “Where is Feng Qi?”
“She will be in secluded meditation for a while.” Ruan Lan glanced at the black cat. Seeing the emerald eyes full of grievance, her lips curled slightly. “She was being too naughty; she needs a little discipline.”
Feng Qi instantly wilted. She slumped onto Ruan Lan’s shoulder, her small head nuzzling Ruan Lan’s neck apologetically, and her lively tail went still.
She had thought that since Ruan Lan didn’t settle the score about the lying last night, the matter was over. It turns out she had overthrown it.
The moment she woke up this morning, Ruan Lan had grabbed her tail and forcibly prevented her from transforming back. At the thought that she would have to stay in this form outside for the next few days, Feng Qi felt like her entire “cat-hood” was falling apart.