Chapter 7
Ye Ming began thinking about her current situation. Although she was now a member of the Heavenly Demon Race and possessed an undying, imperishable soul body, if she were discovered, suppressed, and sealed away, it would still be very difficult for her to escape again.
So she absolutely had to hide herself well.
She just did not know whether Xu Xianqing could discover that she was of the Heavenly Demon Race.
If Xu Xianqing failed to discover it, then Ye Ming would make full use of this body during this period and properly develop her strength in Cangyun Gate. Perhaps she could win Xu Xianqing’s trust, and when Xu Xianqing trusted her the most, she could deliver a fatal strike directly.
What good people were there among demons?
She had been killed by a single sword strike. Although she had not truly died, the pain of death had been real, and losing her physical body had also been real. How could she not hate her enemy?
That overwhelming hatred almost drowned her, but fortunately, she quickly calmed down.
Ye Ming glanced at the flower before her. It was a huge peony, and within the faint spiritual power it emitted was a medicinal effect capable of calming the heart and focusing the mind.
Ye Ming’s thoughts were complicated. She did not know whether this was a flower Xu Xianqing had carefully cultivated for her disciple.
The Light of the Righteous Path was indeed a decent person. Unfortunately, their identities were naturally opposed.
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock sounded outside the door.
Ye Ming suddenly froze. Almost by instinct, she nearly blurted out for the person to come in.
She covered her mouth, then remained silent.
She had been awake and clear-headed here for two days. Before Xu Liang entered, she would say, “Junior Sister, I’m coming in.” Xu Shang was more direct—she would push the door open while making a loud fuss.
As for Sister Zhao, she remained inside her own little house and almost never came out.
In the original owner’s memories, Ye Ming had also rarely seen Sister Zhao walking around outside.
So the person outside the door could only be the Master who had just returned today.
Xu Xianqing.
Ye Ming grew tense for a moment, but soon relaxed. She forced herself to stay calm. When she had no cultivation, being in a position no better than an ant truly made her feel displeased.
Her movements stiff and her expression dull, she stood up, slowly walked to the door, and opened it.
Standing outside was that person who seemed detached from the world, ethereal and more graceful than an immortal.
With just one glance, Ye Ming was stunned by her beauty.
But unfortunately, an enemy was still an enemy. She suppressed that flash of amazement and looked blankly and sluggishly at the person outside.
Xu Xianqing did not enter. She only stood at the doorway and smiled. “You haven’t seen Master for a few days, and now you’ve become distant? Do you not recognize me anymore?”
Ye Ming did not know how to react, so she simply said nothing. In any case, she was confident that her identity as a member of the Heavenly Demon Race should not be exposed. Even if Xu Xianqing discovered that she was an old monster who had seized this body, she would probably still pass judgment on her first. At that time, Ye Ming could still quickly escape from this body.
“Can you hold out your wrist? How about Master takes your pulse?” Xu Xianqing gestured for her to extend her hand.
Ye Ming did not move.
Xu Xianqing smiled. “Like this. Hold out your arm, and Master will give you something tasty, all right?”
Her tone was gentle. Even when facing a fool, she did not feel the slightest impatience. She even coaxed her with extreme indulgence.
Ye Ming slowly stretched out her hand, then under Xu Xianqing’s smiling gaze, accepted the other woman taking her pulse with unease.
Xu Xianqing examined her pulse.
In the past, Xu Xianqing had been a pure sword cultivator because Miss Ye back then had been a famous rising sword cultivator at the Golden Core stage, the pride of the Ye family.
Unfortunately, she had fallen while still at the Golden Core stage.
Later, when Xu Xianqing first entered the immortal path, she had subconsciously chosen the path of sword cultivation. In truth, she learned everything and practiced everything: talismans, arrays, artifacts, puppets, beast control, and so on.
Xu Xianqing withdrew her thoughts and carefully sensed Ye Ming’s pulse. Suddenly, she felt that this pulse was somewhat strange. The lost-soul illness was already gone, so why did Ye Ming still look like a foolish child?
The bead hanging around Xu Xianqing’s neck was burning hot. She stared fixedly at Ye Ming.
Ye Ming met her gaze without flinching at all.
But the more she looked, the stranger she felt. She actually saw complicated emotions in Xu Xianqing’s eyes. Love and hate? Not quite. It felt like pain intertwined with something else.
“It’s nothing. Ming’er’s lost-soul illness has already recovered. I believe Ming’er will get better after some time.” Xu Xianqing instinctively touched the burning bead.
It was also this movement that made Ye Ming notice that small Golden Core.
Her eyelids twitched. She did not understand why Xu Xianqing would string up a Golden Core and wear it around her neck.
The Light of the Righteous Path, the number one person in the spiritual cultivation world, actually hung another person’s Golden Core around her neck as an accessory?
How was this any different from an evil demon? Even evil cultivators would not dare hang such a thing out so openly. Was it because Xu Xianqing was certain no one in this world could do anything to her?
Even demons like them, after obtaining a Golden Core, only used it to improve their cultivation. Aside from a few perverse demons, most demons would not commit such acts of torture and humiliation. Or perhaps they simply disdained to do so.
But deeds mattered more than intentions.
Compared to evil cultivators and demons, was this Light of the Righteous Path not being far too brazen? Did those hypocritical gentlemen of the spiritual cultivation world not care at all?
With Xu Xianqing’s cultivation and strength, even if those people wanted to interfere, they probably could not.
Tsk. A bunch of spineless cowards.
Ye Ming cursed them in her heart.
However, Xu Xianqing had already withdrawn her hand, so Ye Ming also pretended to relax and lowered her hand.
Xu Xianqing handed over a sugar figurine. “Here. The tasty thing I promised you.”
Ye Ming reached out and accepted it. Xu Xianqing smiled. “Play by yourself. When you have nothing to do, you can come find me, and I’ll play with you.”
Ye Ming did not speak. Xu Xianqing turned and left. Watching Xu Xianqing’s departing back, Ye Ming somehow felt that her figure looked rather lonely.
She felt that she had simply lost her mind. She was actually feeling pity for her enemy.
What right did she, a demon who had been killed, have to pity the number one person of the righteous path?
Besides, Xu Xianqing hung another person’s Golden Core around her neck. What about such a person was worth pitying?
Ye Ming began thinking. Could Xu Xianqing possibly have cultivated some charm technique or similar art?
Otherwise, why was it that after interacting with her for only a short while, Ye Ming could not help feeling the urge to get close to her?
The door closed.
Ye Ming looked at the little sugar figurine in her hand. She did not eat it. She was about to throw it into the peony flowerpot, but when she reached out, she hesitated for a moment. Then, after thinking it over, she withdrew her hand and sent the little sugar figurine into her storage ring as well.
It was not that she wanted to remember her enemy’s kindness. Besides, this was something her enemy had given to her own disciple, not to Ye Ming, a great demon.
It was just… this was the first time she had ever received a sugar figurine, and she still did not know what one tasted like. Once she killed Xu Xianqing and avenged the great hatred of her own death, she would properly savor this little sugar figurine then.
Xu Xianqing arrived at Zhao Suian’s residence. Zhao Suian was still studying medical books. When she saw Xu Xianqing arrive, she quickly stood up.
“Aunt Xu.”
“Suisui.” Xu Xianqing sat down nearby. “What are you studying this time?”
“A plague has broken out in the mortal world. I’m thinking about how to distribute spiritual medicine through rainwater and scatter it across the mortal realm, so every place can be washed by spiritual medicine and this plague can be eliminated.”
“What caused this plague?” Xu Xianqing had been busy with matters at the Rogue Cultivators’ Alliance during this period and had paid little attention to the mortal world.
Zhao Suian’s face carried sorrow. “The emperor offended heavenly authority, so this is heavenly punishment. But the common people are innocent. Even if it is heavenly punishment, I still want to shield them from it.”
Xu Xianqing thought for a moment. “You have a good heart. How far has your research progressed?”
“Only refining the medicine remains,” Zhao Suian said. “At that time, I will need to leave Cang Mountain and make a trip to the mortal world.”
“In refining medicine, you are not as skilled as I am. Let me do it.” Xu Xianqing smiled and picked up the prescription she had placed on the table.
Zhao Suian hurriedly stopped her.
The emperor had offended heavenly authority, and heavenly punishment had descended.
If a cultivator interfered, even for the sake of saving those innocent common people, it would still provoke the Heavenly Dao’s displeasure.
Because of that, the cultivator would also bear a layer of karma. In the future, when they underwent their tribulation, the Heavenly Dao’s lightning tribulation would settle each account one by one.
They both knew this, so if Xu Xianqing wanted to refine the medicine in her place, she would naturally share a portion of that karma in the future.
Zhao Suian did not want to implicate Xu Xianqing, so she stepped forward to stop her.
“Suisui, are you being disobedient? You won’t even listen to Aunt Xu anymore?” Xu Xianqing brought out the dignity of an elder.
Zhao Suian laughed despite herself. She was already over ten thousand years old. Once she walked out of this mountain, she would be a mighty senior expert worshiped wherever she went. Only Aunt Xu still treated her like a child.
“Aunt Xu, anything else would be fine. This won’t do.” Zhao Suian still wanted to stop her.
Xu Xianqing’s face darkened. “Be good. You’re still young. What if the medicine you refine isn’t good enough?”
Zhao Suian found it even funnier. “I have been a registered physician of Medicine King Valley for almost ten thousand years. Among Medicine King Valley’s Seven Great Elders, I rank first. How am I still a child?”
“With Aunt Xu, our Suisui is still a child. Go out and play with them. Leave this place to me.” Xu Xianqing took the prescription and drove Zhao Suian out. “Don’t stay here and delay my work.”
Caught off guard, Zhao Suian was sent out by her spiritual power. Standing in the courtyard, she revealed a moment of blank confusion.
Xu Liang happened to come out of the medicinal field just then. She straightened her sore waist and back, then turned and saw Zhao Suian. “Sister Zhao, you… why did you come out?”
During this period, Sister Zhao had practically been sitting in her room, meditating on the Dao until she passed into stillness. If she had not roasted the big goose for Xu Shang yesterday, Xu Liang would have thought Sister Zhao had gone into seclusion again.
“Who else but your Master? She treated me like a child, thought I was getting in the way of her refining medicine, and drove me out.” Zhao Suian laughed helplessly. “How is Liangliang’s medicinal field? Have all the spiritual medicine seeds sent over from Medicine King Valley been planted?”
Xu Liang nodded lightly. “That batch of seeds is quite good, and the survival rate is very high. Also, all the soil here was brought back by Master from outside. After being specially nourished by Master, as long as there is no problem with the seeds, anything planted here can survive.”
Zhao Suian grew somewhat interested. “How is their growth? May I take a look?”
“Of course.” Xu Liang led her to the medicinal field.
The small medicinal field was filled with spiritual herbs. Every single one was a precious, famous item. Placed in the outside world, any one of them would be a treasure people fought over.
Here, they were pitifully squeezed into the same medicinal field and were all cared for equally by their owner, without distinction between high and low, noble and common medicinal materials.
“Once Shang’er finishes building the sect, I’ll be able to have an entire mountain peak. At that time, I’ll open all of it up and turn it into medicinal fields.” Xu Liang’s voice carried a bit of longing.
Hearing her words, Zhao Suian could not help laughing. “In the past, Aunt Xu never stopped you from playing and making trouble on Cang Mountain. If you wanted medicinal fields, you could have directly opened them up. Why wait until now?”
Xu Liang’s expression stiffened for an instant.
She was too embarrassed to say that she simply had not thought of that before.
This small medicinal field had been opened when she was very young, so Master could teach her to recognize medicinal materials and their properties. Master had said this was an experimental field.
So many years had passed, yet her rigid mind had never turned the corner. She had simply kept guarding this tiny experimental field all along.
She had never opened her mouth to ask for more medicinal fields, and Master had probably forgotten about this matter as well. No one had mentioned it until Shang’er suddenly became enthusiastic and wanted to participate in the Grand Tournament of Ten Thousand Sects, then decided she wanted to build up the sect.
“Oh, right. I forgot to tell Master about Shang’er wanting to build the sect.” Xu Liang was somewhat worried. “Sister Zhao, do you think Master will agree?”
Zhao Suian chuckled softly. “The things you all want—I’ve never seen Aunt Xu disagree with any of them. Don’t overthink it. Don’t you still understand what kind of person Aunt Xu is? With how well she treats all of you, is there any need for you to feel so nervous?”
“It’s precisely because Master always spoils us. This time, she will definitely agree to Shang’er’s suggestion. But Master likes quiet. If things become like this, won’t Master end up troubled?”
“Perhaps.” Zhao Suian suddenly thought of things from many years ago. In an instant of dazed recollection, she murmured, “But she was not born liking quiet.”
The Sword Venerable of those days had possessed the spirited boldness of youth. Together with her senior brother and close friends, she had wandered the world with a sword. Young people had never feared noise and bustle.
It was only that the people who had once accompanied her in that liveliness had all left. Some had died. Some had scattered.
In the end, only she remained, alone, guarding the ruins of this long-since dilapidated sect.
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