Xiao Ling's words made Su Su more vigilant.
However, in the following days, Su Su rarely saw Chen Yanyan.
On the occasional sightings, Chen Yanyan would be carrying a basket to dig for herbs in the mountains—everything seemed perfectly normal.
The villagers, still haunted by the Sprite of the tree, hoped Su Su would stay a few more days. Su Su agreed, planning to depart after two days.
During the day, Su Su would go to the town to check for any remaining minor demons.
She indeed caught a few dim-witted demonic creatures. Dazed and confused, they had been drawn by the peach tree. Su Su caught them one by one for inspection and found they carried no karmic debts and had never harmed humans.
She then dissolved a Talisman in water and fed it to them.
The demonic creatures gulped down the Talisman Water with "gurgling" sounds, and a murky aura emerged from their bodies.
Su Su carried them into the mountain forest and instructed, "Cultivate properly, do not harm humans. All beings are equal; one day, even demons may become righteous Gods..."
The little Sprites nodded blankly and ran off.
The curved jade, worried about the World-Toppling Flower inside Su Su, occasionally woke to check on the situation. Seeing Su Su release the minor demons, it said, "If Qingchi Zhenren saw this, he would surely scold you again."
Five hundred years later, the cultivation world held immense hatred for Demonic Beasts. Qingchi, the enforcement elder of the Hengyang Sect, was the most impartial and stern, rigid and severe.
Qingchi believed all Demonic Beasts deserved death.
Su Su leaned against a tree to rest and said softly, "I wish Elder Qingchi could scold me too. Thinking back now, it feels like a lifetime ago."
The curved jade fell silent.
Qingchi had been the most zealous in slaying demons—his eldest disciple had perished in the "Ten Thousand Immortals' Tomb," and Qingchi killed demons for revenge. Yet later, he was killed by the Demon God's Left Guardian. Tragically, Qingchi lasted less than ten moves against the Left Guardian.
Qingchi's death became a joke among the demonic realm.
It also indirectly reflected how rampant Demonic Beasts had become under Tantai Jin's leadership five hundred years later.
After the soul lamp of a Righteous Path elder extinguished, not even a wisp of his Soul remained.
The curved jade, having inadvertently brought up painful memories, quickly feigned death: "I'm going dormant now."
Stirred by its words, Su Su couldn't help but recall when she was captured and taken to the Demon Palace as a child—she had seen Tantai Jin's Left Guardian.
The Left Guardian was a man who wore a mask and carried a bone flute made of white skeletal remains.
The Right Guardian, however, was absent.
Su Su had never seen the Right Guardian. It was said the Demon God's Right Guardian was an enchanting woman in red robes, with profound Cultivation and ruthless methods, yet she remained fiercely loyal to Tantai Jin.
Su Su felt grateful they were not by Tantai Jin's side now; otherwise, her mission would likely be impossible to accomplish.
Only minor demons remained in the town, none of them the great demons suppressed in the Desolate Abyss. Su Su could not obtain any information about the Desolate Abyss from them.
Feeling somewhat disappointed, she resolved to continue searching for a Demonic Beast that could lead her to the Desolate Abyss.
As dusk fell, Su Su glanced back at the fading Demonic Aura in the town and returned to the village.
Xiao Ling sat in the yard washing vegetables. Looking up, she saw Chen Yanyan returning with her basket.
Xiao Ling stared at Chen Yanyan's cloth shoes, stained with mud. As Chen Yanyan passed by the yard, she glanced inside and met Xiao Ling's probing gaze. Uncomfortable, Chen Yanyan averted her eyes and walked away.
In the past, Xiao Ling would have happily called out "Sister Yanyan," but recently, the words stuck in her throat like a fishbone.Xiao Ling watched Chen Yanyan's walking posture. Without her noticing when, Chen Yanyan's waist had slimmed down considerably. Not long ago, she was just a village girl who knew nothing, but now Chen Yanyan walked with quite an elegant grace.
Her waist swayed gently, her steps light as lotus petals.
Xiao Ling stared at Chen Yanyan's face. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she felt Chen Yanyan's skin had become much smoother too. The traces of weathering from wind and sun seemed to have faded away in an instant.
Chen Yanyan has changed quite a bit, Xiao Ling thought to herself.
The girl sat at the doorstep, waiting for Su Su to return. She knew Sister Ye went to town during the day to hunt demons and wouldn't return until evening.
When she saw Su Su's figure, Xiao Ling waved vigorously: "Sister Ye."
Su Su smiled: "I'm back."
Xiao Ling also showed a smile.
"Where's Tantai Jin?"
Xiao Ling shook her head: "He went out this morning and hasn't returned since."
Su Su searched around but couldn't find him, and there was nothing she could do.
With the town's demonic creatures cleared out, Su Su planned to bid farewell to the village chief tomorrow. When Xiao Ling heard she was leaving, she felt very reluctant to part.
Tantai Jin didn't return all night. At the break of dawn, the door was pushed open and light footsteps sounded.
Su Su, resting her head on the Peach Wood sword, twitched her fingers but didn't open her eyes.
The newcomer seemed to be watching her. After a while, they reached out toward Su Su.
Su Su suddenly grabbed that hand. She opened her eyes and turned to ask: "What are you doing?"
The person was Chen Yanyan. Even with her hand caught, Chen Yanyan showed no panic. She said: "I noticed Miss Ye's blanket wasn't properly covered and wanted to help you adjust it."
Having heard Xiao Ling's words earlier, Su Su was very alert toward Chen Yanyan: "Why did you come to Xiao Ling's house?"
Chen Yanyan said: "Xiao Ling said you're leaving. The village chief sent me to invite you for a meal. The villagers want to thank you."
Her answer was flawless, and her expression showed a hint of pain: "Miss Ye, you're hurting me."
Su Su released her hand: "I understand. I'll go see the village chief."
After Chen Yanyan went out, Su Su dressed properly. Chen Yanyan was still in the courtyard.
Chen Yanyan said: "I'll go with you to the village chief's house."
Su Su nodded. Holding her small wooden sword, she followed behind Chen Yanyan, secretly observing her. She also noticed Chen Yanyan had changed quite a bit, but couldn't pinpoint exactly what was different.
Thinking carefully, it seemed to be her aura.
She was the same person, yet completely different. Chen Yanyan had become much more beautiful.
Walking one after the other, when they reached a fork in the village path, a venomous snake suddenly darted out from the grass, lunging to bite Su Su.
Su Su reacted quickly, thrusting her wooden sword into the small snake's body.
Chen Yanyan screamed and bumped into Su Su. Su Su found herself momentarily unable to move, feeling a sharp pain on her cheek as if scratched by a branch.
She covered her face and pushed Chen Yanyan away.
Chen Yanyan looked at Su Su with a smile, her expression strange.
Su Su wanted to speak, but found she couldn't open her mouth. The light faded from her eyes, gradually becoming dull and wooden.
Chen Yanyan said: "Follow me."
Su Su followed behind her.
This time, however, the two didn't go to the village chief's house. Chen Yanyan led Su Su up the mountain.
Walking along winding paths, Chen Yanyan arrived at a stone wall.
She reached out and touched the stone wall. Miraculously, she instantly passed through the stone wall and disappeared.
Su Su followed behind her, head lowered, and also passed through the stone wall.Inside the stone wall was a cramped passageway. Though it was early morning, not a single ray of light penetrated within. Chen Yanyan didn't need a torch and walked forward naturally.
Finally, when a magnificent door appeared before them, Su Su finally understood where this was.
It turned out to be an underground tomb.
The stone door was carved with intricate patterns. Chen Yanyan dripped blood onto the patterns and entered with Su Su.
Su Su's heart pounded, but she maintained the appearance of being controlled on the surface.
She guessed that the great demon she wanted to find might be here.
If she hadn't been unable to make unnecessary movements, Su Su would have liked to touch her pouch to calm herself.
In the tomb chamber stood a redwood coffin, but it was empty, containing nothing.
Behind a beaded jade curtain was a stone throne, and the figure behind it was blurry and indistinct.
"I've brought her," Chen Yanyan said joyfully to the person behind the curtain. "Will you keep your promise to me?"
"Of course," the person behind the curtain laughed, their voice charming and pleasant. "I'll make you more beautiful than her. Haven't you noticed how your waist has become slimmer and your face much prettier lately?"
Chen Yanyan nodded, hesitating for a long moment before saying, "But... will he really like me?"
The woman covered her mouth, giggling: "What's so difficult about that? After she dies, I'll give you her face, and you can be with your beloved."
Chen Yanyan said, "But... she saved the people of our village."
The woman seemed to have heard a joke: "Wasn't it you who summoned me here? You envy her - she's prettier than you, she can protect herself. The village boy you used to like didn't want you, he fancied that girl called Xiao You. When Xiao You was forced to marry Young Master Wang, how happy you were, though you didn't dare show it, even forcing yourself to shed two tears of secret delight for her."
"But you never expected that Young Master Wang's next bride would be you. You were terrified, but fortunately you were saved. The one who saved you was like an immortal descended to earth, yet he didn't want you either."
"He's far more remarkable than that village boy. You've never seen anyone like him in your life. In your heart, you desperately wish to tear Miss Ye limb from limb, crush her under your feet, and take her place." The woman giggled, "Don't you really want her face? Then you can just go back with her."
Having her thoughts exposed, Chen Yanyan's face darkened, and she said nothing more: "Please help me."
The woman had expected this: "Come forward then."
Chen Yanyan stepped through the beaded curtain.
The woman said: "Relax your body. Don't resist whatever I do to you - I'm helping you."
Chen Yanyan looked at the woman, a intoxicated smile appearing on her face.
The woman raised her hand and placed it over Chen Yanyan's face.
Before long, Chen Yanyan collapsed.
Looking at Chen Yanyan's body, which had turned into a dried corpse on the ground, the woman laughed gleefully: "Mortals, so foolish. You believe whatever I say. How ugly."
With a wave of her hand, the beaded curtain automatically parted to both sides.
Su Su finally saw the scene inside. On the stone throne sat a man with ashen-gray skin, motionless, holding a beautiful woman in yellow clothes curled in his arms.
Su Su had recognized her the moment she spoke.
What an unfortunate encounter - it was actually that Seven-tailed Fox, Pianniang.Pianniang stepped out of the man's embrace with rosy cheeks, approaching Su Su. "I've waited far too long for this day. It was worth leaving my heart's blood within you."
"I thought that strange person would merge with the World-Toppling Flower, but it turned out to be you," Pianniang murmured. "What color is the last World-Toppling Flower in this world?"
Su Su answered involuntarily, "Purple."
Pianniang showed a hint of disappointment. "Not green after all, but no matter. As long as it's a Divine Artifact, it can help him awaken. He's slept too long—I can't wait any longer."
Su Su stole a glance at the figure on the stone throne. Clad in armor, he showed faint signs of turning into a Jiangshi.
Suddenly, Su Su understood Pianniang's plan. Just as the world has dragon veins and Spiritual Veins, there are also demonic veins.
Pianniang's lover had died. She placed him within a demonic vein, hoping he would revive through corpse energy.
However, Jiangshi are categorized as White Stiffs, Green Stiffs, Hairy Stiffs, Flying Stiffs, Wandering Corpses, Crouching Corpses, and Immortal Bones. Only those achieving Immortal Bones possess their own consciousness, no different from humans, rivaling powerful Demonic Beasts.
As a fox demon, Pianniang had been absorbing human essence everywhere to transfer to the man.
If combined with the Spiritual Power of the World-Toppling Flower, not only would the man awaken—he might even become Hanba!
Should Hanba emerge, it would spell another calamity for the mortal realm.
The fox demon approached, intending to drain Su Su dry as she had with Chen Yanyan.
As the fox demon raised her hand, twelve Peach Wood daggers materialized silently behind her, piercing her body.
By the time she reacted, it was too late. She rolled aside but still got scorched by four daggers.
Crouching on the ground, the fox demon glared up furiously. "You weren't affected!"
Su Su produced a Yellow Talisman from her sleeve, her previous dullness gone as she smiled brightly. "Do I look stupid to you?"
The fox demon spat, "I killed Chen Yanyan, yet you didn't save her!"
Su Su looked puzzled. "What are you talking about?"
Cultivation cultivates the heart—it refines kindness and a clear conscience, not foolishness. Since Chen Yanyan wanted her dead, she naturally wouldn't save her again.
After all, pursuing power was about following one's heart and living freely. Why endure harsh training through heat and cold if not to live joyfully?
The fox demon nearly coughed up blood from rage. She leaped up, hands transforming into claws to take Su Su's life.
Though Su Su had feared her before, now with the Divine Artifact inside her—flawed as it was—it offered considerable help. She thought, "I've prepared Teleportation Talismans again. If I can't win, I'll just run!Having successfully ambushed the fox demon and weakened her vitality, Su Su faced her gritted teeth hatred and desperate attacks.
Relying on her Peach Wood daggers and divine blood, Su Su barely held her own against the fox demon.
As the fox demon was repelled, she suddenly flashed a bewitching smile.
The motionless man on the stone throne lifted silver eyes. Clumsily, he grasped the sword beside him and swung at Su Su.
Seeing his silver eyes, Su Su knew trouble had come. Who knew how much essence the fox demon had transferred to this man? His Cultivation surpassed even the fox demon's.
The Jiangshi's sword strike left deep fissures in the ground.
This was the prelude to becoming Hanba!
Su Su struggled to dodge. A millennia-old Jiangshi was already impervious to weapons—her divine-blooded sword only produced faint smoke upon contact.
The fox demon screamed furiously, "Jiang Rao, kill her!"A silver glint flashed in the Jiangshi's eyes. Su Su quickly retreated, but unexpectedly, a Black Iron Cage descended from above, firmly trapping her inside.
The Demon Fox laughed heartily, "Did you think I came unprepared? This was specially made for those damned Taoist priests, and now you get to try it."
A demonic array activated on the ground, determined to reduce Su Su to a pool of pus and blood within the cage.
The Demon Fox paced closer, its sharp claws gleaming with a cold light in the air as it prepared to kill Su Su.
A sleeve arrow whistled through the air, piercing the Demon Fox's palm. The fox screamed in agony, pinned to a stone pedestal.
Su Su looked back and saw Tantai Jin holding the sleeve arrow, his expression cold.
Tantai Jin glanced at her through the cage, then suddenly curved his lips into a smile. "So you've come to this too."
Su Su gripped the cage bars and looked up at him.
The Demon Fox, having been outwitted twice, gasped in pain. It tried to pull out the arrow, but Tantai Jin's blood was smeared on it. Its cries finally turned into fox yelps as seven tails unfurled behind it.
From behind Tantai Jin, dozens of Night Shadow Guards emerged, surrounding the Demon Fox.
One of them knelt before Tantai Jin, holding a pearl in his hands.
Tantai Jin picked up the pearl and smiled. "The Nether Pearl."
The Demon Fox's face changed dramatically. Even when injured earlier, it hadn't been this panicked, but now it suddenly lost its composure. "No!"
It no longer cared about its injured hand, yanking out the arrow and lunging at Tantai Jin.
Tantai Jin said, "Overestimating yourself."
Binding threads shot out from the Night Shadow Guards' sleeves. These threads were far more powerful than Yu Qing's inferior ones, tightly restraining the Demon Fox.
Forced into a corner, the Demon Fox reverted to its Original Form. It even desperately activated its inner core, forcibly breaking the binding threads in an attempt to escape with the Jiangshi Jiang Rao.
Su Su looked over and saw that with the Nether Pearl removed from the tomb's array eye, Jiang Rao—who had been previously impervious to weapons—closed his silver eyes.
Su Su had heard before that the Nether Pearl was a supreme treasure capable of preserving a corpse from decay. Without the pearl, Jiang Rao, who hadn't yet become an indestructible skeleton, would inevitably slowly rot away.
Tantai Jin watched the spectacle with great interest, his thin lips parting slightly. "Kill that Jiangshi."
The Night Shadow Guards obeyed and moved to carry out the order.
The Demon Fox let out a mournful cry, disregarding everything to protect Jiang Rao.
Three of its tails were severed, yet it still stood in front of Jiang Rao. However, Tantai Jin had come prepared and wouldn't let it escape.
The Demon Fox's claws were chopped off, blood trickling from its mouth, but it still refused to leave.
It was willing to risk death to protect the unconscious Jiang Rao.
Su Su stared blankly at the Demon Fox.
Tantai Jin let out a soft sigh. Su Su felt a chill down her spine and couldn't help saying, "Enough. Do you find it amusing to torture her like this?"
Tantai Jin lowered his gaze and swept a cold glance at her.
Su Su said, "You could have given them a quick death."
"A quick death?" he murmured. "Why should I give them a quick death?"
He walked over, lifted Su Su's chin, and said, "You're a prisoner too. You'll be begging me soon enough. For now, shut up and behave."
Su Su slapped his hand away.
Tantai Jin withdrew his hand, looking at his reddened knuckles. He said coldly, "Cut off the rest of the fox's tails."
Just as the Night Shadow Guards were about to act, someone stumbled in, scrambling to shield the Demon Fox.
"Hostage... Your Highness," the newcomer said, his face pale. "I beg you to spare her life."
Su Su spoke in disbelief, "Second Brother!"The newcomer's face was haggard and travel-worn. His originally jade-like gentle cheeks now bore exhaustion and sorrow as he stood shielding the bloodied fox demon. Who could this be if not Ye Chu Feng?
Ye Chu Feng swept his robe aside, clear tears falling as he kowtowed toward Tantai Jin.
"I beg you."
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