Pan Hong’s first reaction was naturally to become defensive.
He concealed the malice in his eyes and lowered his head submissively, as though he did not dare look directly at a Golden Core Perfected One.
Yet within, his thoughts were in utter turmoil.
Pan Hong had investigated everything carefully. Although Yun Lie and Xu Ziqing had entered the Sword Cave together, they were not supposed to leave seclusion and reunite until three days later. That was precisely why Pan Hong had seized this opportunity to kill Xu Ziqing.
Yet Yun Lie was already here. He must have emerged from seclusion early… Pan Hong had suspected that killing Xu Ziqing might cause Yun Lie great sorrow, but he had never imagined Yun Lie would actually abandon his arduous cultivation for the boy!
Was this truly the reclusive Yun Lie, whose terrifying reputation had once spread so far?
Pan Hong could scarcely believe it, and an even deeper malice arose within him.
What a pity! Why didn’t I manage to kill Xu Ziqing?
But regardless of how fiercely Pan Hong’s killing intent raged or how vicious his thoughts became, another voice had already spoken inside the cave, cold as ice.
It was Yun Lie. “Where is Xu Ziqing?”
Pan Hong was startled. Keeping his head lowered, he said, “Reporting to Perfected One, this junior doesn’t know who Xu Ziqing is.”
His heart seethed with malice. Xu Ziqing fell into the Heavenly Demon Cavern. He’s certain to die! No matter how anxious you are, Yun Lie, you’ll never be able to save him!
But Pan Hong had scarcely finished thinking that when he suddenly felt a chill between his brows.
In the next instant, it seemed as though a hole had opened in his mind. His spiritual sense and consciousness drained out through that opening, and his life slipped away with them, as swiftly as sand pouring through his fingers…
Only then did he hear another sentence.
“You harbored murderous intent toward a junior martial brother of your own sect. Now you lie to conceal your crime, showing guilt without remorse. You deserve death.”
It was Yun Lie’s voice. The meaning of his words was utterly chilling.
Pan Hong had no time to react. His body toppled backward and struck the ground heavily.
Then his pupils gradually lost focus, and blood gushed from a tiny hole between his brows. As his consciousness faded, a final trace of unwillingness arose within him. Unfortunately, he was already utterly dead.
Yun Lie withdrew his finger, his expression unchanged, and stepped forward.
Without any visible movement from him, Pan Hong’s corpse, its eyes still wide open, suddenly rose into the air and plunged into the Heavenly Demon Gate. A moment later, Yun Lie took a step and descended straight after it.
The Heavenly Demon Cavern was very dark, without a trace of light.
Yet Yun Lie moved through it as though walking in broad daylight, entirely unimpeded.
A Golden Core cultivator’s spiritual sense could cover a radius of one thousand li. But nowhere within that thousand-li range could he find the green-robed young man he was looking for.
That was hardly surprising.
The Heavenly Demon Cavern was extraordinarily vast. Its subterranean tunnels wound and crossed one another, stretching from the outer regions all the way toward the center across an area of unknown tens of thousands of qing. Moreover, the many Heavenly Demon Gates created by powerful cultivators in ancient times did not operate without restrictions.
Since they served as transportation portals, Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators were transported to very different destinations.
Although Yun Lie was only at early Golden Core, his cultivation was exceptionally formidable. When he descended, he was naturally transported to a region much deeper within.
But even though Xu Ziqing was nowhere within that thousand-li radius, numerous powerful beings inhabited the area.
For instance, an enormous creature was now charging toward him: a Yaksha Heavenly Demon!
Its face resembled a hideous ghost, its torso was shaped like a snake, and its entire body was dark green. Two wings grew from its ribs, while a bone blade with savage backward-pointing hooks protruded from the crook of its arm.
In the blink of an eye, the Yaksha Heavenly Demon arrived and swung its bone blade. Its oppressive aura was astonishing, no weaker than that of a Golden Core cultivator!
Before even a full breath seemed to pass, more Yaksha Heavenly Demons came sweeping in from the left, right, and behind. A foul wind descended from above as another Yaksha beat its fleshy wings and raised its bone blade for a vicious strike!
Every direction was sealed, without the slightest gap.
Yun Lie was surrounded by no fewer than five Yaksha Heavenly Demons. It was as though five Golden Core Perfected Ones had encircled him, leaving him on the brink of disaster, with deadly danger hanging over his head!
But Yun Lie’s expression did not change.
He merely raised a hand. Wind curled around its edge, and fierce sword qi erupted from his body, soaring toward the heavens!
His ink-black hair danced in the wind. The tips of every strand seemed like fine swords, both supple and razor-sharp. Countless threads of sword qi spiraled and intertwined, growing denser and denser until they formed layer upon layer of sword aura, which suddenly burst outward in every direction.
Hiss, hiss, hiss!
Several sounds of blades piercing flesh rang out, echoing along the corridor-like stone tunnels of the subterranean cavern.
Yun Lie paid them no attention. Step by step, he continued toward the outer regions.
Behind him, the corpse of a Yaksha crashed to the ground. Several more heavy impacts followed one after another, sending up clouds of dust.
* * *
Without anyone noticing, half a day had passed. Although there was no distinction between day and night in the Heavenly Demon Cavern, they had been working hard for a long time and were indeed rather tired. Wu Anyi, Ji Rui, and Xu Ziqing decided to stop advancing deeper into the cavern and rest for a while.
At one corner of the cave wall, Ji Rui activated a talisman and burned away all the red plants growing on the rock before beginning to tidy the space. Wu Anyi set up protective restrictions all around them. Both had tasks to occupy them.
Seeing the pair working, Xu Ziqing felt it would be improper to remain idle, so he decided to tidy the ground a little.
Just then, he noticed a dried-up skeleton leaning against a corner of the cave wall.
The corpse’s magical robes had been torn in places, but apart from that, there was nothing left on it.
Having finished clearing the wall, Ji Rui saw Xu Ziqing standing still and came over. “This person was probably drained of blood by Leech-Disc Grass.” Seeing that the corpse possessed nothing, she sounded rather regretful. “Someone else must have helped themselves to the poor soul’s storage pouch and magical treasures.”
Only now did Xu Ziqing learn that the plant was called Leech-Disc Grass.
Its name presumably referred to its habit of springing at living people and clinging to them like leeches, refusing to let go. Like leeches, it drank human blood, draining a person’s vital blood until the victim died.
He had originally wanted to examine the grass and see whether it might serve as a subordinate wood. But once he understood its nature, he abandoned the idea. He already had enough headaches from Chonghua, a vicious creature fond of blood. Why invite still more trouble by taking in another bloodthirsty plant, especially one even less intelligent than Chonghua?
While Xu Ziqing was thinking, Ji Rui stepped forward and swept her hand through the air, sending the skeleton flying far away and letting it break into scattered fragments.
Xu Ziqing frowned slightly when he saw this.
Whatever the circumstances of death, the dead deserved a little respect. Then he sighed softly, his vigilance increasing.
In an ordinary place, when one came across a dead fellow cultivator, one would at least cover the corpse’s face or walk around it. But Ji Rui had treated the bones so casually. Was there some particular reason?
Xu Ziqing’s gaze darkened.
Perhaps the Heavenly Demon Cavern really was as he had suspected… a place with very few prohibitions.
Nearby, Wu Anyi had finished arranging the restrictions. Clearly accustomed to hunting Heavenly Demons in the outer regions, the pair quickly lit a small talisman flame in the space between the three of them.
Its glow was pale red and not particularly bright, but it was enough for the three to see one another’s faces.
Wu Anyi had done this partly for his junior martial sister’s sake.
A cultivator could use spiritual sense to observe their surroundings clearly, so the gloom of the cavern was not much of an obstacle. Still, seeing with one’s eyes made things feel more immediate. His junior martial sister was so beautiful. Perhaps the young man had failed to understand her hints earlier because his spiritual sense had been taking in their surroundings and he had not paid enough attention. Now that she could draw closer to him, surely he would finally fall for her charms?
Ji Rui understood her senior martial brother’s intention. Steadying herself, she sat down seemingly by chance on Xu Ziqing’s right, quite close to him but not so close as to appear improper.
Xu Ziqing frowned slightly but could hardly say anything.
Wu Anyi sat down opposite Xu Ziqing, beside Ji Rui, with a hearty air. “We’ve used quite a lot of true essence hunting Heavenly Demons. Fellow Daoist Xu, why don’t you and Junior Martial Sister recover your strength first? I’ll keep watch so none of the demons can catch us unprepared.”
Seeing Wu Anyi’s smiling face, Xu Ziqing nodded. “Thank you.”
Ji Rui did not try to force matters. She meditated alongside Xu Ziqing to restore her strength. Before long, Xu Ziqing opened his eyes first. He possessed a single Wood spiritual root, and the Yi-Wood qi in his bloodline had not yet dissipated. Naturally, he recovered more quickly than Ji Rui.
Wu Anyi was astonished by his rapid recovery. He became still more convinced that disciples of major sects were extraordinary and adjusted his estimate of Xu Ziqing’s position within the Wuling Immortal Sect.
Another hour passed before Ji Rui opened her eyes. Seeing that Xu Ziqing had recovered long ago, she was just as surprised as her senior martial brother. Wu Anyi gave her a meaningful look, and she nodded slightly to show she understood.
After thinking for a moment, Ji Rui smiled and made the talisman flame burn brighter. With a thought, she took two prepared legs of a second-rank demon beast from her storage pouch, erected a spit above the fire, and began roasting them. “Fellow Daoist Xu, this is your first visit to the Heavenly Demon Cavern, so you probably haven’t brought any supplies. Why not eat with us and replenish your strength?”
Xu Ziqing paused.
He truly had not prepared anything. When he had first entered the Sword Cave, he had brought Fasting Pills, but after five months, he had used them all. If he were alone, he could simply take some spiritual grasses from his storage ring to satisfy his hunger. With two outsiders present, however, he did not wish to reveal what he possessed.
Seeing him hesitate, Wu Anyi smiled. “Junior Martial Sister is right. Fellow Daoist Xu, although we met by chance, we’ve traveled together as companions. Why not try my junior martial sister’s cooking? It’s only a beast leg, hardly anything valuable. We hope you won’t disdain it.”
With the offer put so courteously, Xu Ziqing was unwilling to grow close to the two martial siblings, but they had helped him, and he could hardly embarrass them by refusing outright.
There was nothing for it. Xu Ziqing smiled and said, “Then I thank you both for your kindness.”
Ji Rui maintained her smile, though she was disappointed inside.
Wu Anyi felt much the same and was rather helpless.
This Xu Ziqing was plainly an inexperienced young man, yet he spoke so flawlessly, leaving them no opening. It was as if he failed to notice any of their hints. Even Wu Anyi, despite his considerable experience, could not determine whether Xu Ziqing truly saw through their intentions and was deliberately pretending ignorance. But their sect was struggling to survive, and opportunities like this were rare. Even if it meant enduring some frustration, they could not give it up lightly.
By now, Ji Rui had committed herself. Indeed, she was somewhat calmer than her senior martial brother.
Since they had decided to win Xu Ziqing over, nothing would secure the connection more reliably than a brief intimate encounter. His temperament seemed extremely good. If she could spend one night with him, she would surely find a way to hold some influence over him afterward.
At that thought, a faint blush rose to Ji Rui’s face.
After all, the boy was young, but he was also remarkably handsome and elegant… Her determination grew even stronger. With a graceful turn of her wrist, she flipped the roasting beast leg.
The surface of the meat had browned, and fat dripped onto the flames with a sizzling sound.
Ji Rui gazed at the roasting meat and became momentarily lost in thought.
These were legs from a Yang-Gathering Red Ox. The beast was drawn to sunlight and ran beneath the blazing sun every day. Its hide and flesh were saturated with the force of yang fire, making the meat exceptionally warming. Because it contained abundant yang qi, female cultivators particularly favored it.
Many female cultivators possessed yin-attributed constitutions and abundant yin qi, yet could not casually surrender their primordial yin. They therefore often ate beasts rich in yang qi to balance their yin and nourish their bodies.
But if a man ate meat from this beast, he might replenish his yang qi so excessively that desire would blaze uncontrollably within him…