IVYSCP - Chapter 118
Chapter 118
Pei Yin had naturally thought of the same thing, but her expression barely shifted beyond a faint lift of her brows.
The flesh, the physical vessel, meant nothing to her. As long as it was Ling Qingyue, that was enough.
"There is another matter I must caution you both about," Qiu Feng said. "Though cultivating demonic arts spares you the lightning tribulation, it brings a Desire Phase. Every demon's Desire Phase differs, but all fall within the Six Desires. When you are in a Desire Phase, satisfy the craving in your heart as fully as possible."
The demon race indulged freely. A Desire Phase troubled them no more than a tribulation troubled a cultivator. Many demons, in fact, looked forward to the arrival of their Desire Phase, for it meant they would grow stronger. Among the Six Desires, most demons experienced a Desire Phase of bloodlust.
Qiu Feng's own Desire Phase was bloodlust. Kill humans, kill yao, kill demons. She wanted to slaughter every living thing that appeared before her eyes. During those periods, she had stayed away from Yu Liuli's courtyard for over half a month. She understood her feelings for Yu Liuli, and she feared that the bloodlust-maddened version of herself would lose the ability to tell the difference between love and the urge to kill.
"Understood. Thank you."
After Ling Qingyue said this, she and Pei Yin studied the demonic art within the sealed text.
Qiu Feng stole a glance at Yu Liuli beside her and shifted a little closer, so discreetly it was almost imperceptible.
Yu Liuli did not notice.
Qiu Feng pressed her lips together, secretly pleased, and then edged a little closer.
The fingertip Yu Liuli had resting on the rim of her teacup stilled.
Qiu Feng moved closer a third time...
She looked up and found Yu Liuli's cold gaze fixed upon her.
"..."
Such an icy look, Qiu Feng had never seen it before. The amusement in her eyes scattered completely. Flustered and panicked, Qiu Feng reached out to tug at Yu Liuli's sleeve, but then, afraid that Yu Liuli was too angry to pay her any mind, she forced her lifted hand to retreat, reluctant and unwilling.
"Liuli..." Qiu Feng called her name in a small voice.
Yu Liuli was pricked by the wronged look in Qiu Feng's eyes. She nearly softened. But the moment she recalled what Qiu Feng had done, she gritted her teeth and resolved not to forgive her so easily.
Now that she had obtained the cultivation method, Ling Qingyue needed to begin practicing it without delay.
After a brief discussion, Yu Liuli nodded, rose to leave, and offered a few more words of caution for Ling Qingyue. Qiu Feng remained behind and left a strand of demonic qi to help her start.
Between the two of them, they each carried half of the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart. Their demonic qi was purer. For cultivating demonic arts, this would yield twice the result with half the effort. For any ordinary demon, receiving a single strand of demonic qi could send their cultivation soaring.
Holding that strand of demonic qi, Ling Qingyue walked toward her room. Passing the stone archway of the side hall, she paused and looked inside.
In the small courtyard, a figure tirelessly swung her sword again and again, repeating those few sword moves without a trace of impatience in her expression.
Xue Zizai had grown much thinner. Her features had sharpened, becoming more severe. Between her brows, that innate pride still lingered, but the depression and restless agitation had settled into something deeper.
The Great Wilderness held no spiritual qi. A cultivator could not cultivate here. All this time, Xue Zizai had done nothing but practice sword moves.
That day by the Wuding River, Ling Qingyue had seen it. Xue Zizai had not been ensnared by Yu Ting, and she had nearly made Yu Ting stumble in return. Bold, and very clever. If she could cross the hurdle in her heart, she was bound to achieve great things in the future.
Back in her room, Ling Qingyue sat cross-legged on the low couch beneath the window. Pei Yin stood guard at the other side.
The cultivation method was already committed to memory. Ling Qingyue sealed all the spiritual energy inside her body tightly within her core, and then let that single strand of demonic qi enter her.
The moment the demonic qi entered her body, it found her heart meridian and rooted itself there, growing wild.
In the span of a blink, that one strand had multiplied into tens of millions. They surged from Ling Qingyue's heart, spreading across demonic markings one after another, until finally they enveloped Ling Qingyue in an enormous cocoon that took up nearly half the room.
"BOOM—!"
Thunder exploded. Within a radius of a hundred li, dark clouds rushed toward a certain point above the Demon Palace. Layers of black-purple cloud piled up and pressed down, soon weighing upon the heart of every demon beneath them.
This was the omen of a great demon appearing in the world...
It had been just like this when the Formless Demon Lord descended.
Beyond Wuding Demon Palace, whether human, yao, or demon, everyone could clearly see this disturbance. A single thought rose unbidden in all their minds: Another Demon Lord has descended!
"Go! Let's go see!"
"Such a commotion. Could it be that one inside Wuding City?"
"If there is a new sovereign, she can lead us out of the Great Wilderness!"
"Naturally! Follow the new sovereign! Kill our way out! Hahahaha, slaughter those hypocritical orthodox sects!"
...
Qiu Feng was still lingering at the courtyard gate, begging Yu Liuli to let her in. After calling out a couple of coaxing words, she suddenly whipped her head toward the guest hall.
The instant those dark clouds began to gather, Qiu Feng narrowed her eyes.
Ling Qingyue, you really are full of surprises...
The guards posted at the guest hall soon came to report, carefully observing their Demon Lord's expression.
The three Demon Lords of the Great Wilderness were evenly matched in strength. Were a new sovereign to descend, the three Demon Lords would naturally be relegated to a lower standing. And this "new sovereign" was right here in their Wuding City...
The guard had already steeled herself, prepared for her Demon Lord to fly into a rage and lead people to first kill this heaven-and-earth-disturbing "new sovereign."
But when she lifted her gaze, she found nothing but excitement and ecstasy in the Demon Lord's eyes, an eagerness that suggested she could not wait to welcome this "new sovereign."
The guard was promptly overcome with remorse. Their Demon Lord's heart was so magnanimous! With a new sovereign descending, the demon race would surely rise again. They would leave the Great Wilderness and avenge a century of grievances. Their Demon Lord's thoughts were fixed on the demon race's great cause, and she, a petty person, had measured a noble heart by her own mean standards!
"Go. Mobilize all the elite soldiers in the city and guard the Wuding River." Qiu Feng, having collected herself, gave her orders at once. "Without my command, no one is to cross the Wuding River!"
The guard's blood was already surging with emotion. Convinced that a new sovereign was about to descend, she answered in a ringing voice: "Yes!"
After the guard left, Qiu Feng stared at her retreating back, puzzled.
Why was she suddenly so elated?
The thought flickered and passed. Qiu Feng raised her hand and set up another barrier outside Yu Liuli's courtyard. Almost the moment the barrier fell into place, Yu Liuli appeared before Qiu Feng's eyes.
Qiu Feng froze. "How did you..."
"What are you planning to do?" Yu Liuli asked urgently. The coldness in her eyes was gone, replaced by worry.
She looked at Qiu Feng, her tone suspicious and aggrieved. "Are you going to abandon me alone again?"
A pang struck Qiu Feng's heart. At once, she remembered what Ling Qingyue had said that day.
The one who is left alive is the one who suffers the most.
"I'm not." Qiu Feng hurried to explain. She pointed toward the guest hall. "Ling Qingyue cultivating demonic arts has caused a disturbance. The same thing happened when the Formless Demon Lord descended. The Great Wilderness will surely fall into chaos. The demons have been restless for a long time. Quite a few demons in Wuding City have already petitioned me to join forces with the other two Demon Lords and charge out of the Great Wilderness. The other two must have heard the same by now. They cannot possibly miss this disturbance. They will certainly come to investigate. I must stop them before the Wuding River."
Qiu Feng's explanation was thorough. Yu Liuli appeared at the courtyard gate in an instant. "I'll go with you! Open the barrier!"
"No." Qiu Feng's expression was grave. Realizing her tone had been too harsh, she softened her voice and said, "I know you're worried. Be at ease. I won't throw my life away recklessly anymore. Besides, there's this."
She raised her wrist, revealing three golden markings on its side.
Yu Liuli looked at her, puzzled.
Wasn't that the chain Pei Yin had given her?
"Though this thing is a restraint, it allows Pei Yin to sense whether I live or die. If I encounter danger, she will not stand idly by." Qiu Feng gave Yu Liuli a gentle smile. "Liuli, the fact that you are willing to speak to me again... it makes me very happy."
Yu Liuli was still uneasy, but time was already running out. In the distance, dense black specks had appeared. They were all heading toward the Wuding River.
Qiu Feng's hand passed through the barrier. She cupped Yu Liuli's cheek and lowered her head to press a kiss to the woman's lips. "Wait for me to return."
Before the words had fully faded, Qiu Feng's body abruptly dissolved into black mist and surged toward the Wuding River.
The black mist coalesced on the riverbank. Qiu Feng looked at the dark, swarming mass on the opposite shore and pressed her brows down.
They had come fast indeed.
On the opposite bank, the two figures at the very front were unmistakably two of the three Demon Lords of the Great Wilderness.
Both were full demons, covered head to toe in demonic markings. Now, seeing Qiu Feng's half-demon visage, they were faintly startled.
One of them, a Demon Lord in blue robes, smiled and said, "This sovereign assumed these sky-spanning dark clouds were caused by Wuding Demon Lord breaking through her demonic art. Unexpectedly, it seems that is not the case. May I ask who within Wuding City could provoke such a disturbance? Would Wuding Demon Lord be so kind as to make an introduction?"
The probing intent was far too obvious.
Qiu Feng hooked the corner of her lips. She raised her eyes toward the people on the opposite bank, lifted her chin slightly, and asked in return, "And why would this sovereign make an introduction?"
Seeing more and more people and demons arrive on the opposite bank, Qiu Feng felt a cold sweat forming in her heart.
The Wuding River could stop the greater part of them. But there were those who could cross the Wuding River by relying on their cultivation alone.
Such as... those two Demon Lords.
Demons generally had no names. However, a few demons of notable reputation and influence carried titles. As for the three Demon Lords of the Great Wilderness, their titles came from the cities where their demon palaces stood.
They were, respectively, Wuding, Youling, and Qingyan.
Qiu Feng was Wuding. That she was a half-demon was known by everyone. The one who had spoken just now, probing, was Youling, a smile masking a dagger, ruthless and merciless. The other was Qingyan, rumored to have once served the Formless Demon Lord as a demon general.
"Wuding, do you truly not know why we have come?" Youling's smile did not reach her eyes.
Qingyan's gaze was fixed unwaveringly on the distance.
Qiu Feng said, "The three domains established their rules long ago. We do not interfere with one another. The two of you suddenly appearing at my Wuding River... are you looking for trouble?"
"Wuding!" Seeing her talk around the issue, Youling's smile vanished entirely. She erupted, "This cloud formation is far from ordinary. Do you not know? Or do you know, but you wish to secure your position as Demon Lord and are pretending ignorance so you can maneuver behind our backs?!"
By now, a considerable number of demons had gathered on both banks of the Wuding River.
Youling spread her arms and called out to the demons around her: "The demon race has been trapped in the Great Wilderness for a hundred years. How could we be content! Now heaven manifests this strange phenomenon, no different from when the Formless Demon Lord descended. A new sovereign may be descending within Wuding City! A new sovereign can lead our demon race back to the Immortal Realm!"
"Yet Wuding Demon Lord keeps evading and refuses to speak the truth." Youling's words pivoted sharply, pointing straight at Qiu Feng. "She is a half-demon to begin with. She does not share a heart with our demon race. She keeps a cultivator from the Immortal Realm by her side. A new sovereign descends, yet she blocks us at the Wuding River. Who knows what she may have done to the new sovereign? If we miss this opportunity, must our demon race wait another hundred years?!"
Youling's words stirred not only the demons on the opposite bank. Even the demons beside Qiu Feng wore hesitant expressions and glanced repeatedly at her.
"Since you put it that way, this sovereign will tell you." Qiu Feng laid it out plainly. "There is no new sovereign. She is like me, a half-demon."
Youling blurted out: "Impossible!"
How could a half-demon stir up such a commotion?
Qiu Feng: "..."
She had told them, and they still didn't believe it.
"This sovereign only trusts what she sees with her own eyes."
As she spoke, Youling's figure had already crossed to the opposite side.
Qingyan followed right behind her.
Qiu Feng lifted her hand to stop them. In a flash, the three were locked in combat.
It was said that the three Demon Lords were equal in cultivation, but now that blows were actually exchanged, Qiu Feng could feel she was still a step behind. These two demons had lived far longer than she had. Now it was two against one. How could she possibly win?
After being forced back yet again, Qiu Feng could endure it no longer. She asked in a low voice, "Are you still not going to act?"
The words had barely left her mouth. Before Youling or Qingyan could react, a formation descended from the heavens and came crashing straight down.
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