At night, a group of guards patrolled the palace.
Passing by the study, they saw a furtive figure in the shadows. Moving forward to question it, they discovered it was Shen Liuxiang and exclaimed in surprise: “Young Lord?”
Shen Liuxiang poked his head out, looking toward the closed door: “Nothing. Carry on with your duties, no need to mind me.”
He had told Zhou Xuanlan to return to his room first while he came to assess the situation. He instinctively felt that this time they couldn’t follow the “disciple may die, but master must live on” approach, or else someone might truly be lost.
After the guards left, Shen Liuxiang took a light breath, ran to the door, and knocked: “Imperial Father, I’ve come to retrieve my Nascent Soul.”
The door opened, and light from inside fell upon him. A “heave-ho, heave-ho” chant reached his ears.
Following the sound, Shen Liuxiang looked toward the center of the large, exquisite writing desk. The palm-sized Nascent Soul, dressed in white robes with a golden crown and a golden phoenix-patterned belt at its waist, was holding an ink stick with both hands, circling the inkstone. Its small robes swayed left and right with its movements.
At the desk, similarly dressed, Di Yunyu held a scroll. His gaze lowered, his expression thoughtful: “This is a fake. The remaining two scrolls are in the Demon Capital, very close by.”
Shen Liuxiang immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Glancing at the small Nascent Soul, happily enjoying its new clothes, he said: “Last time in the Eight Cardinal Realms, could it be that the carrier went to the Demon Capital?”
Di Yunyu said: “The true scroll recording the sealed place is in the Demon Capital. The person who went to the Eight Cardinal Realms must have gone according to the fake scroll, discovered something was wrong, and then went to the Demon Capital.”
Shen Liuxiang moved closer to look. The fake scroll had a spell cast by Di Yunyu that could sense two other positions, which were indeed very close to each other.
The Nascent Soul nearby stood on tiptoe, found it was too short to see, sighed, and continued to carefully grind the ink stick, being extremely cautious to avoid getting ink on its clothes again.
Di Yunyu handed the scroll to Shen Liuxiang: “Take it and go to the Demon Capital.”
Shen Liuxiang nodded, and remembering Xu Xinglian, said: “Xinglian has always wanted to see the outside world. Why doesn’t Father Emperor let her leave the palace?”
Di Yunyu: “She has a special body constitution, and going outside would be dangerous, especially to the demon realm.”
Shen Liuxiang’s expression changed slightly: “What kind of constitution?”
The original text briefly mentioned Xu Xinglian, who disappeared in the demon realm, right around the time shortly before or after Di Yunyu’s fall. Xu Xingchen sent many people to search, but ultimately to no avail.
Di Yunyu: “Kongling (Void Spirit) Constitution.”
Shen Liuxiang was stunned for a moment, about to say he had never heard of it, when Di Yunyu said: “I named it.”
Shen Liuxiang: “…” It seems it wasn’t just his limited knowledge.
Di Yunyu explained: “When she was young, she disappeared in the demon realm. After I found her, a demon beast was living inside her body.”
Shen Liuxiang widened his eyes. The small Nascent Soul circling the inkstone twitched its ears; although it couldn’t understand what was said, it tried to match Shen Liuxiang’s surprise by opening its mouth wide, but when it noticed Di Yunyu looking, it sheepishly withdrew its shocked expression.
Di Yunyu: “Do you know there’s an evil technique in the world for refining demon beasts?”
Shen Liuxiang shook his head, thinking of how many people in Qilin City had mistaken Su Baiche for Zhuyan, and suddenly realized that he must have refined Zhuyan for his own use. However, “How can a mortal body contain the power of a demon beast?”
“That’s why it’s an evil technique, with very few successes. Even after success, one would eventually be backlashed by the demon beast,” Di Yunyu’s tone sank slightly. “But Xinglian won’t be like that. Her body is like a natural cage that can imprison the demon beast while she remains unharmed.”
Shen Liuxiang was shocked for a moment. If that was the case, if someone used Xu Xinglian to refine a powerful demon beast and then controlled her, it would be like having powerful additional help. “Who did it?”
Di Yunyu said: “By the time I arrived, those people had already withdrawn. I didn’t find anyone. Fortunately, the demon beast inside her wasn’t difficult to deal with, so I was able to keep her safe.”
Shen Liuxiang pondered for a moment: “Xinglian doesn’t remember this. Father Emperor should tell her, otherwise she’ll harbor resentment in her heart over time.”
But Di Yunyu said: “It’s not a good thing, why make her remember it?”
Shen Liuxiang was about to reply when his hand on the desk was lightly touched by a small foot. “The ink is ground well. Um, I’m a bit tired and want to go home.”
When it said “home,” it meant returning to the dantian area.
Di Yunyu took the ink stick from the Nascent Soul’s arms, rubbed its head, and with his slender fingers lightly brushed the small figure, sending it back to Shen Liuxiang’s dantian. Then he asked: “What cultivation technique did you practice today?”
Shen Liuxiang: “Star-Shifting Technique.”
Di Yunyu took off the jade pendant from his waist and handed it over. Shen Liuxiang instinctively received it. The jade pendant in his palm emitted a warm heat, with the character “Di” carved on it flashing with fine golden light, quite brilliant.
While Shen Liuxiang was admiring it, he heard Di Yunyu say: “If that’s the case, let’s switch with me.”
Shen Liuxiang: “Eh?”
He couldn’t master it so quickly. Standing in place hesitating for a moment, he hardened his resolve to channel his spiritual power and cast the spell.
The room was silent for a moment, and then another moment.
Di Yunyu was silent, feeling from the bottom of his heart that after an hour or so and still not learning it, Shen Liuxiang was a bit stupid.
If it were Xu Xingchen and Xu Xinglian like this, he would only want to comfort them gently, but facing Shen Liuxiang, not only did he not want to comfort, he even had the thought of discouraging and mocking him.
But he controlled himself, and with the thought of treating everyone equally, he got up to take back the jade pendant, patted Shen Liuxiang on the shoulder, “Cultivation is not rushed. Go back and rest early. Tomorrow, go to the Demon Capital.”
He walked to the door, switched positions with the figure beside the desk, demonstrated once, “It is a bit difficult, it’s normal not to learn it in a short time, don’t be discouraged.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the door closed.
Shen Liuxiang was stunned for a moment, not expecting Di Yunyu to comfort him. Just as a touch of moved feeling arose, he heard a low laugh floating in the room, “A bit difficult? Hmph.”
Shen Liuxiang: “…”
He gritted his teeth and walked towards his residence. Halfway, he turned to Zhou Xuanlan’s door. The light was on inside, and before he could knock, the door had already opened.
Zhou Xuanlan was holding the jade slip he usually used to communicate with Ao Yue and others, with a rather solemn expression. Shen Liuxiang immediately said: “What’s happened?”
Zhou Xuanlan put down the jade slip: “Just received news that the Qinglinq Sect Master has appeared in the Demon Capital and had a magical battle with Heng Jiuyin.”
Shen Liuxiang’s face changed: “How is Senior Brother!”
Heng Jiuyin is an old demon who has lived for several hundred years. Even if Ling Ye’s cultivation is high, it’s impossible to contend with him with just a few decades of cultivation.
Ling Ye is not a person who strives for superiority or enjoys killing. His suddenly doing these strange things, like bothering the great demon king and repeatedly trying to put Zhou Xuanlan to death—these actions Shen Liuxiang couldn’t understand no matter how much he thought about it. But hearing this news, he instinctively worried.
Zhou Xuanlan said: “He was injured, whereabouts unknown.”
After saying this, he saw Shen Liuxiang’s expression tighten slightly. “Master need not worry too much. According to Ao Yue, Heng Jiuyin was also injured and didn’t gain much advantage over Ling Ye.”
Shen Liuxiang breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at Zhou Xuanlan, and lowered his head with a slight sigh: “Senior Brother has repeatedly tried to kill you, and I’m still…”
“This is between me and Sect Master Ling,” Zhou Xuanlan interrupted, seriously saying: “This disciple still needs to find out why he is determined to kill me.”
At Qilin City, he hurriedly returned to the Eight Cardinal Realms because Ling Ye was wreaking havoc there. He thought the other was trying to force him out, but unexpectedly found upon returning that Ling Ye was not targeting him, but seemed to be looking for something, willing to turn every place he went upside down.
However, this did not affect Ling Ye showing killing intent upon seeing him.
Shen Liuxiang rubbed his brow, thinking that going to the Demon Capital would be best to see Ling Ye face to face and ask clearly what about his disciple displeased him so much that he had to be at odds with a dragon.
After this conversation, Shen Liuxiang’s thoughts calmed down. He returned to his room, washed up, and went to bed to rest and regain his energy.
The next day, he woke up at dawn, packed his things, and prepared to depart.
The Demon Capital was different from Qilin City. In the Demon Capital, the Imperial Palace had a territory proclaimed to the world, where the Imperial Tutors and the second-in-command of the Imperial Palace were stationed. Shen Liuxiang and the others would receive excellent assistance upon arrival.
Plus, the timing was perfect—it coincided with the Demon Princess’s wedding. As long as they prepared a modest gift, the two of them could openly appear in their capacity as young lords of the Imperial Palace.
Before stepping into the teleportation array, Shen Liuxiang glanced at Xu Xinglian, who forced a smile at him. Just as he was about to approach her, Xu Xingchen moved faster, pulling his sister aside with a heartbroken expression to comfort her in a low voice. During their conversation, he must have said something that made Xu Xinglian laugh: “Then I’ll wait for brother in the palace.”
Shen Liuxiang’s gaze shifted to Di Yunyu, who stood with his hands behind his back and a calm expression. The latter nodded slightly, “Let’s go.”
The teleportation array flashed with light, and the three figures disappeared from their original location, reappearing inside the Demon Capital.
As the scene before their eyes changed, several people were standing in front of the teleportation array. Zhang Huaiwu, who led them, respectfully bowed. Seeing this familiar face who often accompanied Father Emperor, Shen Liuxiang stepped out of the array and said with a light smile, “I’ll go outside for a walk first.”
Xu Xingchen snorted: “Give me the scroll, I’ll go look for someone.”
Shen Liuxiang handed it to him: “There’s no rush. Why not get familiar with the Demon Capital first?”
Xu Xingchen ignored him, determined to be a diligent little bee and search for the scroll without delay. Seeing this, Shen Liuxiang stopped trying to persuade him, winked at Zhou Xuanlan, and led him away from their lodgings.
However, when they reached the main entrance, Zhou Xuanlan stopped.
As the Ninth Demon King, it would naturally be inappropriate for him to appear in Heng Jiuyin’s territory without reason. Fortunately, with Yao Mengyue’s wedding, other demon kings, out of respect for the Great Demon King, had mostly brought gifts to the Demon Capital in person. Zhou Xuanlan could legitimately appear with this reason.
But first, he had to bring a wedding gift to Heng Jiuyin’s lair. “This disciple will go to the demon lair and then meet up with Master later.”
Shen Liuxiang had forgotten about this and immediately waved his hand, “Go ahead, I’ll enjoy myself.”
The two parted at the street corner. Shen Liuxiang walked a few steps forward when suddenly he was attracted by a familiar fragrance in the air. He looked up and saw a familiar graceful figure shouting: “There are beautiful women everywhere in the world. Don’t mind that heartless man, I’ll take you to the male brothel to have fun.”
The woman beside her was quite beautiful, but the curve of her vermilion lips revealed a hint of arrogance.
Before this woman could respond, someone following closely behind immediately said: “Princess, you cannot do this. The Great Demon King will not be pleased if he finds out.”
Yao Mengyue said irritably: “Get lost! He’s still injured. Go ahead and report me!”
After speaking, she pulled Nan Xiang away and said softly: “You’ve just arrived with the Third Demon King. How do you already know about such places?”
Nan Xiang: “Cousin told me. With Xiong You absent, he was worried I might stir up trouble, so he recommended some entertainment for me.”
Yao Mengyue chuckled: “If that’s the case, let’s go. I happen to be hiding someone there.”
Nan Xiang was surprised: “Could it be that person?”
Yao Mengyue snorted: “It’s his body double, who looks about seventy to eighty percent like him. I went to some trouble to find him. I plan to have someone embellish the news and spread it around to stimulate that person. Otherwise, he won’t come looking for me and will let me marry someone else!”
Nan Xiang: “This is truly a brilliant plan.”
Yao Mengyue: “It’s ordinary, I suppose.”
Not far behind them, Shen Liuxiang changed direction and found a shop to buy the fastest messenger bird available.
Since the body double had already arrived, he needed to warn his childhood friend from the Qinglin Sect, to prevent him from turning back in anger on his way here.
Thank You for the new chapter ❤٩(•౪•٩)