Giant vines erupted from the sand, instantly entangling the monstrous creature. In the next moment, golden light from the Supreme Harmony Art rained down, piercing it like a deflated ball.
The depths of the sea were dark and silent, devoid of life. The monstrous creatures either hid within coral forests or buried themselves in the sand, each grotesquely shaped and enormous. This was a place where one wouldn’t want to linger for even a moment.
Bai Li Ge Lin glanced back. Behind her, the taciturn senior brother Lu Li followed casually, not even bothering to set up any defenses. She couldn’t help but sigh. “Senior Brother Lu, are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
After being pushed into the barrier by their Master, they had coincidentally met and decided to travel together. She wasn’t very familiar with this Senior Brother Lu. Though he appeared heroic and extraordinary, he was reticent and seemed to harbor no goodwill toward her. She usually wouldn’t bother engaging with him. The last time at the tavern, she had only approached him out of sheer boredom, only to be met with cold indifference—he hadn’t spared her even a shred of courtesy.
But since they were traveling together, he couldn’t just remain silent the entire time, could he? Letting her take the lead in slaying monsters while he idly watched from behind—what was that about? If she remembered correctly, Senior Brother Lu Li had a metal-aligned Spirit Root, so shouldn’t he be the one taking action?
Lu Li replied indifferently, “I’m searching for traces of the Demon Vermilion Fruit. There are none in these depths.”
“Oh, then let’s head upward.”
Seeing how he remained cold and aloof, not even sparing her a glance, Bai Li Ge Lin felt both amused and indignant. As he summoned a crab demon, she suddenly leaped lightly onto its back, pressing herself against Lu Li with a soft, coquettish voice. “Senior Brother Lu, why are you always so distant? Do you really dislike me that much?”
Lu Li took several steps back, his tone icy. “Junior Sister Bai Li, please behave with dignity.”
Bai Li Ge Lin giggled and clung to his arm. “I can’t help it. Why don’t you teach me?”
Lu Li turned his head away, his expression frosty, eyes filled with disgust. “Let go.”
Bai Li Ge Lin released him with a smile, her voice sweet. “All the other senior and junior brothers chat and laugh with me, but you’re the only one who ignores me. Now that we’ve met by chance today, why are you still so cold? I’ve never done anything to you—won’t you even look at me?”
Lu Li lowered his gaze and stared at her quietly, unmoved by her charming, playful smile. After a long pause, he spoke. “My Nine Phoenix Clan has a rule: we do not associate with frivolous and wanton individuals.”
He then summoned another enormous toad demon, flipping onto its back and leaving the crab demon for her, saying nothing more.
His words were undeniably harsh. Even though the Eastern Sea was known for its open and unrestrained customs, labeling a woman as wanton and frivolous—especially coming from a man—was deeply hurtful and excessive.
Bai Li Ge Lin burst into laughter, tilting her head as she studied him. “Senior Brother Lu, where exactly have I been wanton or frivolous? Since you’ve judged me so, you ought to list out the reasons so I can reflect and feel ashamed.”
He remained silent. The toad demon beneath him hopped and leaped upward, looking somewhat comical as the deep blue seawater loomed overhead. Lu Li spread his hands, and a translucent bubble-like shield formed around his head. The toad demon plunged into the water, moving even faster now, darting upward like an arrow released from a bow.Baili Gelin urged the crab demon to catch up while asking, "Senior Brother Lu, what is the Nine Phoenix Clan? This is my first time hearing about it."
He continued to ignore her as if she didn't exist at all. Seeing that he seemed genuinely annoyed, Baili Gelin decided to shut her mouth and stop talking. This Senior Brother Lu really couldn't take a joke—unromantic, sarcastic, and taciturn, completely different from the bold and straightforward men of the Eastern Sea.
The crab demon leaped out of the water, and Baili Gelin immediately sensed the rampant demon qi on the sea's surface. She quickly activated two layers of Earth Defense. Before her eyes, a small island floated on the azure sea, shrouded in thick, dense miasma like a layer of dark purple mist. Within the mist coiled an enormous octopus demon, its soft tentacles thicker than a tree that would take three people to embrace.
Given the unusual situation, Lu Li finally spoke: "There's the scent of Demon Vermilion Fruit on the island."
The island was thick with miasma, making it impossible to use Immortal Techniques inside. Just as Baili Gelin was about to command the crab demon to land on the island and drive the octopus demon away from the miasma, sudden roars erupted from within the dense fog. The next moment, the octopus demon coiled on the island actually leaped up and plunged into the sea with a splash, fleeing into the depths without looking back.
The two of them were left baffled, exchanging puzzled glances. Baili Gelin murmured, "The scent of the Demon Vermilion Fruit is still there."
Lu Li took out a pitch-black talisman paper from his sleeve, channeled spiritual energy into it, and waved it in the wind. The talisman instantly transformed into a palm-sized monkey, chittering as it darted like lightning into the thick miasma of the island. Moments later, a girl's voice cried out in alarm, "A monkey demon? Ah, it's here to steal the Demon Vermilion Fruit!"
The mist suddenly parted as the little monkey demon scurried back, clutching a fist-sized, dark purple fruit in its hands. It knelt on Lu Li's arm and reverently presented the fruit to him. Soon after, a male and female disciple from the Mountain Sect chased out of the island. Once free of the miasma, they immediately soared on clouds. The four of them locked eyes, all momentarily stunned.
Baili Gelin cheered excitedly, "Li Fei! Lei Xiuyuan! So it was you two harvesting the Demon Vermilion Fruit! Oh heavens! This is perfect! Let's team up!"
"Ge Lin!" Li Fei also waved at her with a bright smile. Seeing the monkey demon squatting on Lu Li's arm, baring its teeth as if both scared and eager to provoke, she couldn't help but chuckle.
Lu Li steered the toad demon closer and handed the Demon Vermilion Fruit to her. "Apologies, this should belong to you."
Li Fei smiled. "Since we're teaming up, it doesn't matter who holds it."
The Demon Vermilion Fruit could only grow in areas dense with miasma. The moment it left the miasma, it began to wither. Lu Li pulled out a blank talisman paper, bit his finger, and hastily wrote a line of runes. Wrapping the fruit in it, he still handed it to her. "Apologies, but I don't plan to join the team."
Baili Gelin clicked her tongue and frowned. "Senior Brother Lu, isn't this a bit unnecessary?"
Even posturing should have its limits—this was just too disrespectful.
Li Fei suddenly gave an awkward laugh and said softly, "If you can preserve the Demon Vermilion Fruit, that's even better. There's more here..."
She pulled out four more Demon Vermilion Fruits from her sleeve, all nearly withered. Baili Gelin's eyes nearly popped out. "You actually took this many?!"
"Friends from the Mountain Sect, may I ask how you managed to harvest so many Demon Vermilion Fruits?"
Even Lu Li was shocked and hurriedly bowed in inquiry."Uh... well..." Li Fei racked her brains trying to come up with a perfect excuse, when Lei Xiuyuan beside her calmly said, "I obtained them, but the method isn't something I can disclose. Please understand."
"You're always so secretive!" Baili Gelin disliked this trait of Lei Xiuyuan the most. She carefully wrapped the four Demon Vermilion Fruits and handed them to Li Fei, smiling. "Now we have five Demon Vermilion Fruits—complete! Who knew we'd get them all on the first day!"
Li Fei could only force a dry laugh. She truly didn't know how to explain the origins of these fruits.
Her and Lei Xiuyuan's trial this time had been absurdly easy. Wherever they went, the demons fled in terror—likely because of the Source Spiritual Qi she had unleashed previously in Chestnut Blaze Valley. The demons feared her even more now. On one small island occupied by monstrous creatures, they had immediately been presented with Demon Vermilion Fruits, making her feel like some kind of bandit overlord.
Was this considered cheating?
Lu Li watched as they not only gathered all the required Demon Vermilion Fruits but even obtained two extra. He couldn't help hesitating. If he left the group to search on his own, it would undoubtedly take considerable effort. Moreover, the team still needed a Mountain Sect disciple. With only thirty Demon Vermilion Fruits in total, they would only become scarcer as time passed, making it increasingly difficult to obtain them later. Although magical combat could be used to seize them, the Mountain Sect disciples' Immortal Techniques were incredibly refined—snatching them wouldn't be so simple.
His dislike for Baili Gelin made him even more unwilling to fail the trial because of her. Seeing that Li Fei had shared one of the fruits with him, he smiled slightly. "How thoughtful of you to hide the Demon Vermilion Fruits separately. That way, they can't all be stolen at once."
Baili Gelin shot him a glare. "You're so polite to others, but with your own junior sister, you're cold as ice, treating her like an enemy."
Li Fei remembered this male disciple—the one who had mercilessly rejected Gelin that night. Was his name Lu Li? From his expression, he seemed to despise Gelin. Another man who didn't understand her.
Ignoring her playful provocation, Lu Li said, "There's still a month left in the trial. We can't let our guard down—people may come to steal the Demon Vermilion Fruits at any time. The later it gets, the more attempts there will be. With the fruits on us, we can't stay in one place too long, or others will track us down. Let's move."
Baili Gelin summoned her Centipede demon and gleefully pulled Li Fei aboard, looking immensely pleased. "Well? This is the Centipede demon! Isn't it beautiful?"
Li Fei examined its enormous, hardened shell, its unsettling emerald-green hue, its countless legs, and its hideously ugly head. She couldn't bring herself to lie and call it beautiful, so she only nodded vaguely. "Y-you're really amazing."
"There's more!" Baili Gelin pulled out a pitch-black Talisman Paper. Earlier in the city, they hadn't been allowed to use Immortal Techniques or Mystic Arts, nor even summon their mounts, which had frustrated her to no end. Now, finally having a chance to show off, she proudly displayed all the strange and wondrous items she carried.
The black Talisman Paper instantly transformed into a tiny, bright yellow Oriole Demon, no larger than a thumb. Its round beak was a vivid red, and its eyes—crimson like those of all demons—were strikingly beautiful and adorable.
Baili Gelin extended a finger, and the little creature immediately fluttered up, opening its beak to sing a melodious birdsong, its voice extraordinarily sweet.
"This is my Demon Beast." Gelin stroked its head with her finger. "I tamed it myself."Li Fei also patted its head, feeling the cold touch against her fingers. Indeed, one couldn't judge a Monstrous creature by its appearance—it looked like a yellow oriole, but it was still a Demon at heart.
"How did you tame so many Monstrous creatures?" Li Fei was extremely curious. In the eyes of the Mountain Sect, Monstrous creatures and Celestials were locked in endless plunder and slaughter—when they met, it was always a fight to the death. Yet here in the Ocean Sect, they could coexist with these creatures. It was truly mind-blowing.
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