Chapter 71: Remnants of the Demon Empress
Du Yuejiao and her master returned to the Huo estate.
It was a sleepless night for everyone there.
The fire had been extinguished, but the flames of conflict, fueled by Huo Fu’s death and the division of his estate, were just beginning to ignite.
Even before his body was cold, arguments and disputes erupted.
Du Yuejiao and Zhuo Mulan, not wanting to get involved in the Huo family’s affairs, returned to their guest rooms after offering their condolences.
Du Yuejiao sensed something was amiss with her master, but she couldn’t quite place it.
She saw her master’s face occasionally contorted in anger, as if consumed by rage, then quickly replaced by a blush.
“Master, are you alright?” she asked, concerned.
Zhuo Mulan said, “I’m… I’m fine… It’s late. You should rest.”
Their rooms were adjacent.
Maidservants from the Huo household lit candles and brought them hot water.
After washing up, the maidservants left. Du Yuejiao hung her colorful Daoist robe on a rosewood clothes rack shaped like a coral branch and placed her sword by her bedside.
She climbed into bed and looked up at the ornate ceiling, its silk canopy embroidered with large, red flowers, giving the room a luxurious and elegant atmosphere.
She sighed softly.
She had originally planned to wait for Shi Hao’s return at Ming Kun Monastery.
But things had changed unexpectedly. Two of the three God-Sealing Stones being transported by the imperial army had been lost at Civilian Martial Ridge. Fortunately, Senior Brother Xuandu had arrived in time to secure the remaining one.
And then, her uncle had defected. As one of the Twelve Perfected Ones, his betrayal was a serious matter, a disgrace to the Chongxian Sect.
She and her master had been recalled to the main temple. And Abbot Song Cui had been removed from his position and taken back for questioning.
Even with her limited knowledge of the martial world, Du Yuejiao sensed something big was happening.
Like a tsunami gathering momentum, about to unleash its devastating power, engulfing everyone in its swirling currents, countless lives lost in its wake.
Du Yuejiao tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, wrapped in the red covers.
She wondered where Shi Hao was, how he was doing, if he was in danger.
The thought of him warmed her heart.
She pulled the covers over her head, her face burning.
She finally drifted off to sleep after a long while, lost in her thoughts.
She had a dream. She was in a forest, surrounded by darkness, the faint moonlight unable to penetrate the dense canopy.
She pushed aside the leaves and walked forward.
She heard a strange sound ahead, a sound both familiar and unfamiliar.
She continued forward, and through the swirling mist, she saw a young man embracing a woman on the grass.
The woman, in the young man’s arms, her face contorted in ecstasy, her cries unrestrained. Du Yuejiao stared in shock. She recognized the woman as her master, her usually composed and elegant master.
The young man turned and smiled at her… it was Brother Shi.
“No!” she screamed, clutching her head.
Memories, like pages of a book caught in the wind, swirled around her. Something unknown invaded her mind, stirring her memories.
Du Yuejiao woke up with a start, sitting up in bed, clutching her chest, gasping for breath.
She stumbled out of bed, poured herself a cup of cold tea, and drank it straight from the spout.
The cold tea calmed her slightly as she choked and coughed.
The candle flame flickered weakly, and darkness enveloped the room.
She chuckled to herself… What a strange dream.
She had dreamt of her lover and her master… together.
“I must be losing my mind,” she muttered, blushing.
To have such a dream, she felt it was both a betrayal of her trust in him and disrespectful to her master.
“It’s your fault… for not coming to see me,” she thought, she must be lovesick.
After calming herself, she went to the window and looked out at the dark night.
Brother Shi, when will I see you again…
A small figure sat on a branch above, watching the lovesick girl at the window.
The small figure, dressed in a pink and white rainbow robe, its hair styled in a beautiful morning cloud near fragrance bun, a wooden hairpin securing it, had just finished rummaging through the girl’s memories.
She found herself increasingly intrigued by the mysterious young man.
And increasingly puzzled.
“Butterfly Flower Finger?” she muttered, “He knows the Butterfly Flower Finger?”
The fact that he knew techniques from the Night Charm Demonic scriptures was already strange.
The Soul Chasing Locking Steps, the Violet Vortex Blade Technique, the Unfettered Demon’s Boundless Art… these techniques, belonging to the three separate factions of the Evil Lotus Sect, were all used by the same person.
And now, the Butterfly Flower Finger?
The Butterfly Flower Finger, although a secret technique of the Evil Lotus Sect, wasn’t recorded in the Night Charm Demonic scriptures.
It was a playful creation of the Evil Lotus Sect witches, more of a seduction technique than a martial art.
After the sect split, the technique was gradually lost. No one in the three factions knew it anymore.
But that young man knew it… a secret technique lost for two hundred years, known by a man.
“Could he really be connected to the Demon Empress?” the small figure wondered.
Even after three hundred years, even in her current state, she had never given up on finding the Demon Empress.
She had witnessed the Demon Empress’s legend, her power. She had been entrusted with an important task but had failed to await her master’s return.
She refused to believe that her master, the powerful Demon Empress who united the demonic sects, could die so easily.
Even that immortal from the Taisu Immortal Pavilion couldn’t kill her master… she was certain of it.
There had to be some other explanation. Her master, the legendary Demon Empress, must still be alive, hidden somewhere.
She had to find her, fulfill the promise she had made three hundred years ago.
She believed that one day, her master would return and conquer the world.
She suspected the young man might be connected to the Demon Empress.
But he also knew the Taisu Immortal Pavilion’s Immortal Lightning Sword Technique… or was it?
She wasn’t entirely sure. She had only seen the woman who rivaled the Demon Empress from afar, just once.
She had only heard of the sword technique from others. But she was knowledgeable and familiar with many Daoist techniques.
The young man, with only a seventh-rank foundation, had been able to project his true energy. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was indeed the Taisu Immortal Pavilion’s Gathering Essence Flowing Pearl Technique and Immortal Lightning Sword Technique.
But how could someone master both demonic and Daoist techniques?
How could someone possess two opposing foundations within their body?
She felt like she was losing her mind. The longer she lived, the stranger things became.
Regardless, she admired the young man’s methods against that Chongxian Sect prude!
If the Demon Empress was truly gone, and she had to choose an heir for her legacy, she thought this young man would be a suitable candidate.
The Demon Empress had enjoyed humiliating those self-righteous Daoist prudes, making them worse than prostitutes.
As far as she knew, the Demon Empress had used a secret ritual to obtain powerful demonic essence from the Fifth Heaven and refined a pleasure-inducing drug, intending to use it on those hypocritical “immortals” of the Taisu Immortal Pavilion. She believed the Demon Empress would eventually succeed.
Then, those noble and virtuous immortals would be defiled, becoming playthings for men… She, like the Demon Empress, looked forward to that day.
She felt that the young man’s methods tonight were reminiscent of the Demon Empress, as if he had been personally trained by her.
But his Daoist foundation made her hesitate.
She was unsure of his background. If he was connected to the Taisu Immortal Pavilion… she would have to eliminate him.
Unfortunately, when she used the “Butterfly Dream Intrusion” technique to enter his dreams and probe his memories, she had triggered his Daoist foundation, and the demonic energy she had sent into his mind was quickly dispelled. She had been forced to retreat.
She had to find out his background. If he truly was connected to the Demon Empress, this might be her only chance to find her.
Since she couldn’t get anything from the young man directly, she would have to target those around him.
The beautiful doll, sitting on the branch, its black eyes gleaming with a sinister light, thought, “Fire tests the heavens, scorns celestial laws, dances amidst flowers, defying all order; plays in the mortal world, captivating all beings, destroys laws and the Dao, the night-enchanting celestial!”
No matter what, she would find her master!
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