Snow Absolute Valley was the domain of the Chi Dragon.
Unlike the heavy snow outside, there wasn’t a hint of cold here.
The valley was lush and vibrant, like a scene from spring.
Ji Yutang’s gaze swept around, but she stayed tense, ready to unleash a Dragon Thunder at the first sign of trouble.
“Beneath all this prosperity, you can’t hide the stench of blood and death.” Li Jingyu walked ahead of Ji Yutang, looking at the flowerbeds as she spoke calmly.
This Chi Dragon fed on humans; buried below were piles of human bones.
The plants here all grew from flesh and blood.
Suddenly, she heard a rustling sound from the east.
Her expression sharpened, and Jewel of the Rising Tides shot toward the source before she even thought about it.
A scroll of ink painting unfurled, and the swirling mist acted like a barrier, constantly weakening the power of Jewel of the Rising Tides.
The person hiding in the shadows stepped out just in time, straightening his clothes and hurriedly saying, “Junior Sister Ran, wait, it’s me! Lin Heng!” A cold glint flashed in Li Jingyu’s eyes, and she withdrew Jewel of the Rising Tides.
Only Lin Heng was speaking, but another person came out with him—Qin Ruoshui.
Li Jingyu remembered her current identity, blinked, and raised her sleeve to Qin Ruoshui.
“Senior Brother Qin.” She paused, then added, “Where’s Senior Sister Zhao?”
Ji Yutang silently walked to Li Jingyu’s side.
Her gaze lingered on Qin Ruoshui’s handsome face for a moment before she frowned and looked away.
These senior and junior siblings really were thick as thieves.
Lin Heng sighed.
“She was taken by the Beihai Demon Cultivators.” And it wasn’t just Zhao Hechen—many cultivators had fallen into their hands.
They’d had terrible luck: after barely escaping the Xuanming Yin Region, they ran straight into the Beihai Demon Cultivators.
Normally, the Beihai Demon Cultivators would show some respect for the Eight Great Immortal Sects, but this time they’d gone mad, capturing or killing any “abnormal” they found.
After explaining his misfortunes at sea, Lin Heng looked at Li Jingyu and Ji Yutang.
“You two didn’t run into anything?”
Li Jingyu shook her head.
Aside from the sea beasts, they hadn’t encountered any real danger.
“Lucky you.” Lin Heng gave them a thumbs up, full of envy.
Li Jingyu just smiled, but Ji Yutang asked, “This is the Chi Dragon’s lair.
Are you here looking for the Chi Dragon too?” Lin Heng turned to Qin Ruoshui, who stayed silent.
Qin Ruoshui said, “Using the sect’s tracing technique, I sensed my junior sister had been here.
But after searching for a while, we found nothing.
The Chi Dragon is missing too.”
Lin Heng said, “Could it be in the Dragon Palace?” Among scaled creatures, true dragons were supreme, and the Chi Dragon was one of their kind, aiming to grow dragon horns and evolve into a true dragon.
The Dragon Palace was sacred ground for it.
Normally, Lin Heng wouldn’t guess this—true dragons rarely allowed others into the Dragon Palace—but hadn’t there been rumors of trouble there lately? With the Beihai Demon Cultivators leaderless, anything could happen.
After he finished, Ji Yutang and the others fell silent.
After a while, Ji Yutang looked at Lin Heng seriously.
“Daoist Lin, since coming to the icefields, have you been to Xuanming City?” Lin Heng was stunned and shook his head.
He’d been busy searching for fellow cultivators taken by demons—he hadn’t had time to visit Xuanming City.
Seeing his reaction, Ji Yutang nodded knowingly and tossed him a jade slip.
“The cultivators in Xuanming City know the situation in Beihai best.
Let’s kill some demons as a show of good faith and go into the city to find out more.”
Li Jingyu glanced at Ji Yutang.
Traveling as a group of four was definitely easier than just the two of them.
“Senior Brother Qin, what do you think?” Lin Heng turned to Qin Ruoshui, raising an eyebrow.
Qin Ruoshui was worried about his junior sister, but they weren’t regulars in Beihai.
The cultivators in Xuanming City knew the area much better.
With their guidance, things would go smoother.
After a moment’s thought, he nodded.
“Alright.”
The jade slip listed more than just the Chi Dragon as targets for their show of loyalty, and it didn’t matter if those targets had powerful backers.
Lin Heng and Qin Ruoshui were from the Eight Great Immortal Sects—they weren’t afraid of any threats.
After killing four demons from the list, the four of them appeared outside Xuanming City.
The same Daoist as before greeted them, but when he saw the demon heads, his indifference vanished, replaced by a cheerful smile.
Light flowed over the great formation, and a profound, boundless aura wrapped around the four of them, instantly bringing them into the city.
“This place is no different from any other city in Jiuzhou.
Inside, you don’t have to worry about demon attacks,” the Daoist said warmly.
“The Beihai Demon Cultivators—” Lin Heng started, but the Daoist waved him off.
“If you want to know more, go find out for yourself.”
Lin Heng: “…”
There were plenty of cultivators coming and going in the city, especially with the chaos in Beihai.
Many who’d been adventuring outside had returned, so most of the best residences, treasure houses, and blessed lands were already rented out.
After asking at several places, they still couldn’t find an empty spot.
“We won’t be here long anyway, so there’s no need for a fancy place.
A regular residence… will do.” Lin Heng reluctantly said, “If Senior Brother Qin doesn’t mind, we can squeeze in together.”
Qin Ruoshui looked up at Li Jingyu.
Lin Heng’s eyelid twitched.
He followed Qin Ruoshui’s gaze and immediately frowned.
“Senior Brother Qin, even if we’re all cultivators, men and women are still different.
Even if we’re from the same sect, there’s no reason to share a room.”
Qin Ruoshui’s face darkened.
Lin Heng’s words made it sound like he had ulterior motives.
He didn’t mean that at all—he just remembered that Junior Sister Ran really disliked that person and didn’t want any trouble.
But with Ji Yutang and Lin Heng here, he couldn’t explain, so he just stayed silent.
Ji Yutang watched the “senior brother and sister” exchange glances and sneered inwardly.
Li Jingyu glanced at Qin Ruoshui, suppressed her impatience, and said softly, “I’ll stay with Daoist Friend Ji.” As if that wasn’t enough, she moved closer and took Ji Yutang’s hand.
Ji Yutang instinctively tried to shake her off, but Li Jingyu secretly used a spell.
It wouldn’t do to make a scene now.
Ji Yutang took a deep breath, reminded herself of her “big plan,” and forced a gentle smile.
“We’ve been together this whole journey.
This time is no different.” She even glanced at Qin Ruoshui, her eyes holding a hint of challenge.
With that settled, Lin Heng was finally satisfied.
He was used to dealing with people, so after arranging their lodging at a few treasure pavilions, he went out alone to gather information.
Inside the residence.
Ji Yutang and Li Jingyu sat facing each other.
With nothing to do while they waited, Ji Yutang took out paper and brush and began carefully drawing Daoist script.
Daoist script was different from ordinary writing—it was the manifestation of the Dao itself, and writing it consumed spiritual intent.
Just writing the line “The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name”¹ was enough to exhaust her spirit.
“Want to take a look?” Ji Yutang wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked up at Li Jingyu.
Li Jingyu met Ji Yutang’s gaze and smiled, shaking her head.
She’d read the Daode Heavenly Book as a child, but after some things happened, she could no longer study the Tai Shang root scripture.
Her path had been set by the words “Tai Yin”—there was no changing it now.
Author’s note: ¹ From the Dao De Jing.
Usually the received version, not the silk manuscript.
