Chapter 113: The Holy Maiden’s Favorite
“Chase her! Capture her! Bring her back to me dead or alive!” Zhang Xianzhao roared, gnashing his teeth.
He flung his sleeve and stormed out of the imperial study.
He had no time for these Demon Abyss cultivators and their petty squabbles. His sect’s residence was being demolished.
If the spirit vein he had bought at great cost was destroyed… the Evil Spirit Sect would cease to exist.
Centuries of his hard work would be ruined.
But Shensuanzi suddenly moved, blocking Zhang Xianzhao’s path.
“Hold on, Sect Master Zhang.”
“Shensuanzi, I’ll admit defeat in this matter today. I’ll apologize to you another day, and we can discuss everything then.” Zhang Xianzhao suppressed his rage. “Move aside, I need to return to my sect immediately!”
With the spirit vein on the verge of collapse, these petty profits were nothing to Zhang Xianzhao.
“No, no, Sect Master Zhang, don’t be so hasty.” Shensuanzi said with a smile.
He turned to the Evil Spirit Sect disciple who had just barged in and asked,
“Little brother, you mean those villains are still at your sect’s residence?”
“Ye-, yes…”
The disciple stammered.
“Sect Master Zhang, look, this is a perfect opportunity to capture them all in one fell swoop.” Shensuanzi looked at Zhang Xianzhao cheerfully. “Why don’t we go together and take them down? Then your Evil Spirit Sect will be saved.”
Zhang Xianzhao’s face darkened, and he didn’t answer immediately.
Shensuanzi was right. Zhang Xianzhao had to admit that he couldn’t handle those women.
Even if he returned now, he could only watch them escape, unable to even track them.
Moreover, the Evil Spirit Sect’s only reliance, the protective formation, was useless. It seemed… he could only ask the other sects in the Northern Zhou Dynasty for help.
“In that case, how will the recovered resources be distributed?” Zhang Xianzhao asked.
“The Evil Spirit Sect’s territory will be returned to you, and we’ll take the rest.” Shensuanzi said faintly.
“What!” Zhang Xianzhao’s eyes widened. “The sect’s territory originally belongs to my Evil Spirit Sect, how can you talk about distribution?”
“It could also belong to us.”
Shensuanzi’s expression remained unchanged, still smiling faintly.
Zhang Xianzhao fell silent. He looked around at the other cultivators, their mocking gazes undisguised.
Without the sect’s territory, he would be just a rogue cultivator, a bankrupt one at that.
“Fine!” Zhang Xianzhao gritted his teeth. “Take it all! I just want to keep the Evil Spirit Sect’s territory!”
“Excellent.”
Shensuanzi stroked his beard and nodded, exchanging glances with the other cultivators.
Now that they had reached a consensus and formed a temporary alliance, it was time to capture those arrogant little brats.
“Finally, everyone, I have one more request.”
Shensuanzi’s expression turned serious. He bowed to the other cultivators and said earnestly,
“Please do not harm the two younger girls. Not just try your best, but absolutely do not harm them.”
Then, his tone sharpened.
“If you violate this, my previous promises… will have to be reconsidered.”
The cultivators exchanged glances, then nodded in agreement.
They didn’t care about Shensuanzi’s motives. In fact, for the Thousand Machines Sect to make so many concessions without any apparent purpose was even more suspicious.
For these Demon Abyss sects, profit was the most important thing.
As for those troublemaking brats, the Thousand Machines Sect could have them.
“Very… good.”
Shensuanzi repeated, his cloudy eyes narrowing slightly.
…
“Target locked, identities confirmed. Li Guixing of Underworld Water Ravine, Luo Xue of Falling Flower Peak… and an unknown demonic cultivator.”
“Hmph! A prodigy of the Peerless Summit Sect, associating with demonic cultivators. Luo Xue is one thing, but why is even a disciple of Underworld Water Ravine… It seems the weakness of the Peerless Summit Sect is beyond our imagination.”
“Silence, it’s not our place to judge the sect. Once Grand Elder obtains power, the swords of the Peerless Summit Sect… will reappear in the nine provinces and four domains, making everyone tremble!”
“Our current priority is to complete the Grand Elder’s orders. This wrongly stopped war between immortals and demons is about to restart.”
In an inconspicuous corner of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, a group of cultivators with various identities gathered.
Some were dressed as farmers, some as wealthy merchants, and one even wore the armor of a general.
But they all had the same hidden identity: spies of the Law Enforcement Hall of the Peerless Summit Sect.
And… they were all the Grand Elder’s elite.
The weakest among them was at the peak of Foundation Establishment.
And one Core Formation cultivator emanated a powerful, late-stage Core Formation aura.
All the power of the Law Enforcement Hall in the Demon Abyss was here, each one capable of defeating opponents of higher levels.
After a period of investigation, without the spy token, Luo Xue’s identity was finally confirmed, and the Grand Elder’s kill order had been issued.
The spies of the Peerless Summit Sect were not to be trifled with. Even if Luo Xue and Li Guijiao hadn’t caused trouble in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, it was only a matter of time before they tracked her down.
“Their plan to attack the Evil Spirit Sect is about to unfold. We have to move now.”
The general tapped the hilt of his sword, the sharp sword intent in his eyes seemingly able to pierce through skin.
Li Guijiao was indeed too inexperienced, only able to take advantage of Zhang Xianzhao and the Evil Spirit Sect elders’ ignorance of formations.
The formation she set up had already been seen through by many true formation masters, but no one wanted to get involved in this troublesome matter.
Moreover, the style of the formation also exposed Li Guijiao’s identity. The sword intent contained within could be recognized by anyone who had faced a Peerless Summit Sect disciple.
All clues pointed to their target being among them.
The farmer, with a pipe in his mouth, tossed the dagger in his hand and said softly,
“In that case… Operation ‘Falling Snow’, commence!”
With his command, countless figures leaped into the air, their surging sword intent carrying a bloody killing intent, heading straight for the capital of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
…
“We’ve… found her.”
“Really?”
A look of joy appeared on Su Yiyao’s face.
She put down the broken dagger and stood up.
“But unfortunately, it was the lineage spies who found her.” The Zither Witch said faintly. “They didn’t reveal the information, but secretly sent spies, intending to use the local sects to capture Luo Xue.”
“Could it be… that they’ve already noticed?”
Su Yiyao suddenly became nervous, clutching her clothes slightly.
Whenever it came to Ah Chou, the usually calm and cautious Su Yiyao would inevitably lose her composure.
The outside world had gradually learned that this order was issued by the capricious Holy Maiden of the Temple, and her purpose was likely to take this Immortal Domain disciple as her… plaything.
And the Holy Maiden, who remained in seclusion, was thought to be patiently waiting for her toy to be delivered.
In reality, Su Yiyao was extremely restless, contacting the Zither Witch every few days, afraid of missing any news about Luo Xue.
The Zither Witch saw this, but didn’t say anything, just silently carrying out the Holy Maiden’s orders.
“They probably haven’t noticed. They likely just don’t want this huge bounty to fall into the hands of others.” The Zither Witch shook her head. “They’re about to succeed. No one knows about this. Luo Xue’s trail has been deliberately misled to the Demonic Ghost City.”
Even though the Zither Witch said this, Su Yiyao was still worried that the lineage masters would use Ah Chou to threaten her, instead of offering her as a gift to curry favor.
For Ah Chou, Su Yiyao couldn’t engage in such power plays with the lineage masters. It was too risky.
She didn’t care about herself, but she was worried that Ah Chou would be harmed.
The Zither Witch saw through Su Yiyao’s worries, but she couldn’t help with this matter.
Although she was the Holy Maiden’s protector, she was also the protector of the Temple of the Nether Spirit and couldn’t interfere in the affairs of the various lineages. Remaining neutral was her absolute principle.
“If the Holy Maiden is worried about her safety, there’s another way.” The Zither Witch said.
“What way?”
Su Yiyao quickly asked.
“Spread the news about Luo Xue, let everyone know where she is.” The Zither Witch replied. “This way, the lineages’ secret plans will be useless. They will be forced to act openly and won’t be able to resort to any underhanded methods.”
If Luo Xue was captured secretly, the lineages might use some special, perhaps even extreme, methods to get information from her.
The Temple of the Nether Spirit had many ways to torture someone without injuring them.
However, Su Yiyao hesitated at the Zither Witch’s suggestion.
“If I do that, will Ah Chou be in danger…”
“Just some rabble, nothing to worry about.” The Zither Witch’s expression softened slightly. “And after disrupting the situation, I can also intervene slightly.”
“Perhaps then, I can bring her directly to you.”
“Really?”
Su Yiyao’s delicate face lit up with joy.
“Of course.” The Zither Witch sighed inwardly, but her expression remained gentle. “Holy Maiden, I always act according to your wishes.”
And also, according to the Holy Master’s will.
…The lineage masters weren’t wrong. Bringing back Luo Xue was indeed approved by the Holy Master.
As the protector of the Temple and the only confidante of the Holy Master, the Zither Witch had reported this matter to the Holy Master from the very beginning.
One of the reasons she didn’t immediately bring Luo Xue back from Ghost Demon Pass was that she didn’t know the Holy Master’s attitude.
For some reason, the Holy Master remained silent for a long time after learning about Luo Xue’s existence, but in the end, she gave the Zither Witch instructions, confirming that Luo Xue could be brought to Su Yiyao.
However, even with this decision, the Holy Master still seemed to have some doubts.
She muttered a sentence softly.
“Why are there two doors?”
The Zither Witch didn’t understand this sentence, but she still faithfully carried out the Holy Master’s will, helping the Holy Maiden retrieve this Immortal Domain disciple named “Luo Xue.”
“Thank you, Sister Qin.”
Su Yiyao smiled again, her beautiful smile making the Zither Witch feel a bit dazed.
The Holy Maiden she had seen before didn’t seem to have the expression of “smiling,” always cold and indifferent, her heart seemingly dead.
But since confirming Luo Xue’s existence, the smiles on the Holy Maiden’s face had become more frequent. She would often stay alone in her room, giggling to herself.
And those who encountered the Holy Maiden recently were surprised by her improved mood.
To avoid being noticed, Su Yiyao had chosen to remain in seclusion.
“I really want to go to Ah Chou’s side right now…”
Su Yiyao rested her chin on her hand, swinging her legs slightly.
“Be careful, Holy Maiden.” The Zither Witch reminded.
“I know.” Su Yiyao waved her hand. “Sister Qin, hurry up and help Ah Chou!”
“As you command, Holy Maiden.”
The Zither Witch nodded slightly and closed the communication stone.
…
Meanwhile, at the Evil Spirit Sect’s gate.
The protective formation was operating at full power, continuously drawing spiritual power from the spirit vein, something brewing within its core.
The protective formation was connected to the spirit vein to enhance its power.
But the Evil Spirit Sect never expected that it was simply being used to drain the spirit vein dry.
Although the Evil Spirit Sect disciples resisted, trying to stop the formation’s operation, this formation could withstand an attack from a Nascent Soul cultivator!
Moreover, there was ample spiritual power from the spirit vein as an energy reserve.
Only a guardian elder at the early stage of Core Formation could barely break through the formation, but the formation’s self-repair ability was also astonishing.
The Evil Spirit Sect disciples were on the verge of tears. They hadn’t expected to experience the power of their protective formation for the first time under such circumstances.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the trio of Luo Xue, Li Guijiao, and Nangong Mengxiang snuck into the Evil Spirit Sect’s treasury and looted their accumulated resources again.
Then they waited for the formation to finish condensing and obtain the “Super Invincible Powerful Heaven-Shaking Tyrant Explosive Spiritual Pill (Li Guijiao Limited Edition)” before leaving.
“Calculating the time, Sect Master Zhang should be back soon, right?”
Luo Xue looked at the setting sun and murmured softly.
When Li Guijiao built the protective formation, she had already taken Zhang Xianzhao’s strength into account.
Even if he managed to return in time, he wouldn’t be able to break through after the formation was fully condensed.
At this moment, Li Guijiao was fully focused on controlling the “Zou Junxin” puppet, dodging the Evil Spirit Sect disciples’ pursuit, and testing the power of her new formations.
Nangong Mengxiang dozed off beside her, looking sleepy.
Soon, a familiar, thin figure appeared outside the sect’s gate, and a shrill scream, like a pig being slaughtered, rang out.
“—My sect!”
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