The moment Ji Yutang’s consciousness returned to her body, she sensed a tremor beneath her feet.
The sun and moon within the dragon’s eyes still hung in mid-air, illuminating this small world, but a massive crack had appeared on the dragon’s body. From within it, a palm-sized pearl emitted a faint golden glow.
“Dragon Core—” Ji Yutang’s eyes suddenly narrowed. Here, only she and Li Jingyu were present, so the only one who could extract the Dragon Core was her! A chill ran up her spine, making her feel as if she were sitting on pins and needles. But when she turned her stiff neck, that cold sensation vanished.
Li Jingyu sat atop the giant dragon, legs crossed, her left hand resting on the cold dragon scales. With a flick of her right hand, the Dragon Core she had extracted was immediately tucked into her sleeve. A rich smile played on her lips as she propped her chin and looked at Ji Yutang, speaking leisurely, “Were you planning to take it too?”
Her voice was crisp, like shattered pearls or the sound of bells. There was a hint of unfamiliarity in it, leaving Ji Yutang somewhat dazed. Her relationship with her fiancée hadn’t reached the point where she had memorized her voice and appearance. She shook her head, but a sense of confusion arose.
Ran Guzhu’s cultivation method was the Taiyuan Palace’s “Taiyuan Beidou True Scripture,” right? This method involves visualizing and contemplating the Big Dipper, refining the path of starlight. What use would she have for a Dragon Core? Perhaps it was taken for someone else, like a cultivator from the Taiyuan Dao Palace? Speaking of which, she hadn’t seen the Taiyuan disciple by her side this time.
This was a private matter of her “fiancée,” and also something that made Ji Yutang uncomfortable, so she didn’t want to dwell on it. Steadying herself, Ji Yutang asked, “Do you know how to leave here?”
“Of course, you just walk out through the door.” Li Jingyu replied with a smile, jumping down from the dragon.
A gust of wind, carrying a faint fragrance, fell straight down, making Ji Yutang’s head spin. She looked up, afraid Li Jingyu would bump into her, and quickly stepped back. In mid-air, Li Jingyu spun, her clothes fluttering, her jewelry jingling, like a graceful butterfly, landing steadily opposite Ji Yutang. Li Jingyu glanced at Ji Yutang with a half-smile, as if seeing through her thoughts.
“It seems our goals aren’t aligned, which is good, fewer unnecessary disputes.” Li Jingyu twirled a strand of hair in front of her, adding, “But we still need to deal with those people outside.” The door of the Dragon Mansion, which originally blocked cultivators, was now open, indicating the Dragon Mansion had found its inheritor, and since it wasn’t her, it could only be Ji Yutang. She herself had her own path and wasn’t interested in the Dao scriptures left by the Celestial Beings, so she didn’t ask further.
As Li Jingyu’s voice fell, the tranquility of the place was pierced by a burst of noise and clamor.
Unlike the “sun and moon,” white light shone into the dark place, revealing one figure after another.
Ji Yutang’s eyelid twitched, preparing to activate the Xuanxiang Pearl, when her arm was suddenly grabbed. As she was pulled into a soft embrace, the surprise in her eyes finally showed. Looking up into those bright, sparkling eyes, Ji Yutang’s heart skipped a beat. She pressed her lips, wanting to say something, but Li Jingyu’s finger suddenly pressed against her lips.
“Don’t move, my concealment talisman isn’t very high level.” Li Jingyu whispered in Ji Yutang’s ear.
How could Ji Yutang dare to move? She had never been this close to anyone before! And this person was her “fiancée.” Instinctively, she wanted to break free from this uncomfortable embrace, but the group of cultivators in the Mortal Shedding Stage made her suppress that impulse.
Being held by Li Jingyu was better than being beaten to a pulp by those rogue cultivators.
The remains of the Celestial Realm’s true dragon made the cultivators go mad with greed, rushing forward like a torrent, while Li Jingyu and Ji Yutang moved against the flow. This “adventure” was much easier than Ji Yutang had imagined. She passed through the door in a daze, and the next moment, found herself in Danglong Ze.
A hurricane brought angry tides, the world a vast expanse of white snow.
“Where’s the Dragon Mansion?”
“The Celestial’s teachings, once there’s an inheritor, the Palace of Transmission naturally fades away.” Li Jingyu patiently explained. She released Ji Yutang, who, unprepared, fell headlong into the rushing snow waves. Li Jingyu sighed helplessly, reaching out to pull Ji Yutang back.
“That was… quite simple.” Ji Yutang murmured.
Li Jingyu glanced at Ji Yutang, seemingly mocking her naivety. After thinking for a moment, she asked, “Now that the Dragon Mansion matter is settled, what are your plans?”
Ji Yutang didn’t answer, instead asking, “Are you going home? Or back to the Taiyuan Dao Palace?” Seeing the confusion on Li Jingyu’s face, Ji Yutang’s nerves tensed, regretting her slip of the tongue. Right, the other now claimed to be “Li Jingyu,” how could she agree to those things?
Sure enough, Li Jingyu laughed.
She said, “Is Daoist Ji planning to visit my home?”
Ji Yutang sulked, raising her hand in a stiff salute, “Daoist Li, until we meet again.” What use would it be to go back? To give an explanation? Everything was clearly stated back then, and couldn’t be changed. Now, she needed to improve her cultivation, to make those who looked down on her see her in a new light. As for her “fiancée,” a thought of revenge flashed through Ji Yutang’s mind, but she quickly dismissed it.
She didn’t wait for any other response from Li Jingyu, except for a light laugh.
Ji Yutang pressed her lips together and turned to leave.
Li Jingyu leisurely followed behind.
The sound of waves crashing was like drums exploding in her ears. It should have drowned out all other sounds, but it couldn’t hide the tinkling of jade from the green dress behind her.
Ji Yutang turned her face.
“I’m not following you, this is the only way out.” Li Jingyu preemptively said before Ji Yutang could speak. She met Ji Yutang’s gaze and added in her heart, if not using magic to fly away.
As the two conversed, a shadow fell from the sky, spreading its wings to block the light from the heavens. The Xuanxiang Pearl on Ji Yutang’s body spun, and she quickly drew her sword, the sword energy hidden in the wind slicing towards the shadow. But with a clang, the sword in her hand was shattered by the shadow’s sharp claws. She only had time to see the gust and water waves stirred by the shadow’s wings before losing consciousness, falling into the shadow’s claws.
The aura around Li Jingyu surged, her clothes fluttering in the wind. But for some unknown reason, the rising energy suddenly dropped, and her powerless body was knocked away by the gust, then caught in the shadow’s other claw. Like Ji Yutang, she became a prisoner of the shadow.
The shadow was a large black bird, with wings spanning ten zhang. It carried the two through the clouds, leaving a trail of harsh cries.
A thousand miles away.
A gray-robed Taoist sat cross-legged on a rock. He wore a dull gray robe, with sunken, dark eyes and a withered appearance, resembling a piece of decayed wood. Upon hearing a sharp cry, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared in his murky eyes. A thread-like yellow sand slowly rose from his body, wrapping around the two people thrown down by the large bird.
“A body of the Taiyin and a heart of the Great Dao, luck is on my side this time.” The old Taoist calculated with his fingers, his eyes gleaming with excitement, and burst into laughter. He grabbed Ji Yutang and Li Jingyu, and with a few leaps, disappeared into a pitch-black cave. The demonic bird folded its wings and obediently guarded the entrance.
Inside the cave, several talisman papers fluttered gently on the walls. The old Taoist pushed forward with his hand, causing the stone wall ahead to ripple and then slowly vanish. Inside was a stone chamber for imprisoning people, containing eight blood-colored wooden cages that emitted a strong stench of blood. Only one cage was empty, and without a glance, the old Taoist stuffed Ji Yutang and Li Jingyu into it.
“Hey? Wake up!” Ji Yutang was awakened by a clear voice. As she opened her eyes, she saw several blood-stained vines hanging inside the red wooden cage. Her eyelids twitched violently, and she looked towards the source of the voice, meeting Li Jingyu’s gaze at close range.
There couldn’t be a worse situation. She and Li Jingyu were trapped in a wooden cage, with seven other blood cages outside, imprisoning eleven others who shared their plight.
Ji Yutang tried to summon the power of the Xuanxiang Pearl, but the artifact gave no response, only futile struggle. Steadying herself, she looked at Li Jingyu and said, “It was that big bird.”
“The big bird is just a servant of that demonic cultivator.” A strange voice suddenly entered her ears, and Ji Yutang turned her head. Not far away, a delicate female cultivator was imprisoned. Vines pierced through her shoulder blades, and the flowing blood stained her front, making her look as if she had been pulled from a pool of blood.
“That Taoist is named Ye Guguang, a rogue cultivator of the demonic sect, now at the Golden Core stage.” The female cultivator frowned slightly, took a breath, and continued, “He captures people everywhere as blood food, intending to advance his demonic skills further.”
Ji Yutang exclaimed in shock, “Isn’t anyone stopping him?” The female cultivator gave a faint smile and replied, “How could there be no one? Unfortunately, that demonic cultivator is superior in skill. Several of my senior brothers from the Spring and Autumn Heaven Palace have already become his meal!” A strong hatred flashed in her eyes, but after it faded, it was replaced by overwhelming despair. “The power here is sealed, and we can’t send out any messages.”
Ji Yutang listened, her heart pounding. In the six months since she ran away from home, she had never encountered anything so terrifying. Most of the time, she only heard about the cruelty of demonic sect cultivators, never facing it directly. The Spring and Autumn Heaven Palace is one of the eight great immortal sects, and even they fell to the demonic cultivator, showing how formidable he is. She, a fake cultivator at the Mortal Shedding stage, wouldn’t stand a chance against a Golden Core demonic cultivator, even if she had real power.
Are they destined to become this demon’s blood food? Allowing him to continue cultivating demonic skills, who knows how many more people will suffer.
Ji Yutang furrowed her brows and turned to Li Jingyu. Meeting those clear, lively eyes, she thought for a moment and decided to dispel the confusion before her eyes, whispering, “Now that you’re in the Taiyuan Dao Palace, don’t you have a way to contact them?”
Li Jingyu: “…”
Pretending not to hear Ji Yutang’s words, her gaze fell on the female cultivator. “You are a disciple of the Spring and Autumn Heaven Palace, and you managed to survive in the demon’s hands because of the Wen Yin, right?”
Every true disciple of the Spring and Autumn Heaven Palace has an identity jade bestowed by their master. Once they die, the identity jade is triggered, reflecting their entire life journey from birth to death.
