Chapter 209: Phoenix Blood: Return to the Grotto Heaven!
Space shattered around him again, fragmenting into countless shimmering shards, thin as cicada wings.
Shi Hao, holding the doll, fell through the endless darkness.
Then, blue and purple lights appeared, swirling and merging, the darkness receding as space reassembled itself, a tunnel of light forming around him, a familiar sensation.
He landed gracefully.
The shadowy figure that had been pursuing him also entered, but a wave of flame erupted, effortlessly dispelling it.
“What trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?” Su Mei’s melodious laughter echoed.
She sat on a piece of jade, her crimson robe flowing around her, her hair styled in a beautiful bun, her demeanor relaxed and languid.
She extended a finger, and with a flick of her wrist, the swirling flames converged, forming a small, flickering flame at her fingertip.
“Master!” Little Emerald cried joyfully, flying towards her.
Su Mei, catching the doll in her arms, smiled, “You followed him again?”
On the other side, Ye Zi Yin stood, her skin as white as snow, her figure tall and slender, her white robe, embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns, fluttering gently, as if she could ascend to the heavens at any moment.
Shi Hao exhaled slowly, “Yi Shenzi.”
“Yi Shenzi?” Ye Zi Yin’s brow furrowed slightly, “I remember him. The leader of the Shen Ting Sect. I cut him in half, and he fell into the chasm beneath the Scripture Bestowal Platform. He should be dead.”
Shi Hao instinctively glanced at Su Mei.
Ye Zi Yin’s gaze also shifted to Su Mei, her voice turning cold, “What have you done?”
Su Mei smiled, “I left the Black Phoenix Poison Pearl there, for Yi Shenzi. It kept him alive.”
Ye Zi Yin’s eyebrows rose as she glared at Su Mei.
Su Mei, stroking the doll in her lap, said nonchalantly, “Are you going to attack me? I’m not afraid.”
After centuries of rivalry, they were still evenly matched, their strengths and weaknesses well-known to each other.
Ye Zi Yin snorted and turned to Shi Hao, her voice softening, “What happened?”
Shi Hao recounted the events since his last visit, starting with the appearance of the Taisu Immortal Pavilion descendant and the reunification of the three Evil Lotus factions, then his efforts in the Ba Mountains, his fight against the Hanyang Gang, which turned out to be just a pawn in a larger scheme. Despite his best efforts, he had only managed to maintain a stalemate between the Ba Mountains and the Hanyang River factions.
Then, he told them about his journey to the Demonic Qilin’s Lair at Changbai Mountain.
Ye Zi Yin glanced at Su Mei and snorted, “That place was originally called the Immortal Qilin’s Blessed Land, a place where Daoist cultivators grew immortal ingredients. The people who lived there were called the ‘immortal folk.’
“But after that woman united the demonic sects, she secretly destroyed the ‘heavenly staircase’ that led to the Blessed Land, allowing the Ghost Extreme Sect to slaughter the immortal folk and imprison their souls. Someone in the Daoist sects discovered this and informed the Taisu Immortal Pavilion. That’s why I went there, killed those demonic cultivators, eliminated the Black Blood Crimson Serpent they were cultivating, and used the Sui Marquis Pearl to create a barrier, suppressing the demonic energy.”
“If you used the Sacred Heart Clear Mirror Technique there, the Sui Marquis Pearl would have been drawn to you.”
Shi Hao whispered, “But there was also a Black Blood Crimson Serpent there.”
Su Mei chuckled, “I left an egg there. It must have hatched.”
Ye Zi Yin’s expression remained unchanged. She wouldn’t be surprised by anything Su Mei did.
Shi Hao then told them about the old woman’s trap, how he had absorbed the Demonic Qilin Blood Poison, lost his memory, and inadvertently merged his Daoist and demonic energies.
As he finished, Ye Zi Yin, like a gentle breeze, floated to his side and took his wrist, her fingers cool against his skin, a faint fragrance emanating from her.
“Indeed,” she said, her voice filled with surprise, “Your Daoist and demonic energies have merged.”
Su Mei also floated over and took his other wrist.
Shi Hao, his hands held by the two women, felt a strange sense of… completeness, as if they were his wings.
But he was also worried they might start fighting and tear him apart.
Su Mei chuckled, “Your demonic source and Daoist internal elixir are still distinct, but their energies are intertwined within your meridians. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s similar to the primordial energy in this grotto heaven.”
“Primordial energy?” Shi Hao asked.
Su Mei said, “The energy here is different from the outside world. Your cultivation isn’t high enough to sense it yet. It’s neither yin nor yang, a pure and balanced fusion of opposing forces.
“Although formed from two distinct energies, it’s incredibly pure, like a taiji symbol, two opposing colors forming a perfect whole. The energy within you, a fusion of Daoist and demonic energies, is similar to the primordial energy here.”
Ye Zi Yin said softly, “It seems that mishap was a blessing in disguise. When you left last time, the True Dragon energy had forcibly enhanced your cultivation, and I was worried about your unstable foundation. Now, however, your energies have merged, your foundation stabilized.”
She took his hand, “You look tired. You must have been through a lot. Let’s go and sit down,” leading him away.
Su Mei also took his hand, “Come and sit with me,” and tried to pull him in the opposite direction.
Shi Hao, pulled in two directions, quickly said, “It’s alright. I’ll just stand here.” He had a sudden, disturbing image of them each taking half of him and walking away.
And for some reason, it seemed… plausible.
The Holy Jade Immortal and Su Mei exchanged glances, and for a moment, Shi Hao thought they were about to fight over him.
But they both snorted and released his hands.
He wondered if they had also had that… disturbing vision.
Su Mei chuckled, “Then let’s sit here. So, you went to Wu Gorge?” She sat down on the ground.
Shi Hao and Ye Zi Yin also sat down. Shi Hao said, “Many things happened in Wu Gorge…”
He told them about the Shen Ting Sect’s Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Array, the threat to the mountain ghosts, the Poisonous Sunflower Sect’s scheme, and his forced alliance with them.
He then said, his voice filled with frustration, “I don’t understand. We stopped the Shen Ting Sect, disrupted their array, and even forced the Black Phoenix Poison Pearl out of the Primordial Yellow Dao Body, but Yi Shenzi still returned, his power even greater than before.”
He muttered, “It doesn’t make sense. The spiritual energy was dispersed. He didn’t absorb it. And Little Demonic Mother used the Sui Marquis Pearl to disrupt the fusion. According to her, the Dao Body was a vessel of yang poison, while Yi Shenzi’s soul, infused with the pearl’s yin poison, should have been neutralized by the pearl, preventing the possession. He should have been destroyed.
“But he returned, even stronger than before, without the pearl or the spiritual energy, and with their array disrupted. What was he doing all that time?”
The Holy Jade Immortal glanced at Su Mei, her voice cold, “That woman must have made other arrangements.”
Shi Hao also looked at Su Mei… That’s what he suspected as well.
There was clearly more to the Melting Sun Demonic Abyss than they knew.
Su Mei, however, smiled, “Don’t blame me. I had nothing to do with it. In fact, you should be thanking me. If it weren’t for me, Wu Gorge would have been destroyed long ago.”
She looked at Shi Hao, “So, you have the Black Phoenix Poison Pearl?”
Shi Hao took it out.
The Holy Jade Immortal, looking at the blood-red pearl in his hand, her eyes widening slightly, said, “Phoenix blood?”
Su Mei giggled, “That’s right. The Black Phoenix Poison Pearl is actually phoenix blood. The Poisonous Sunflower Sect obtained it long ago, but they didn’t know its true purpose, thinking it was just a powerful poison.
“Then I killed their leader, and they surrendered, so the pearl became mine. During that incident in Wu Gorge, your little wife…”
She pointed at the Holy Jade Immortal, whose face remained cold and impassive.
Su Mei continued, “…destroyed the Shen Ting Sect and killed Yi Shenzi, but she didn’t bother checking the Melting Sun Demonic Abyss, leaving behind a hidden danger. I simply… cleaned up her mess.”
The Holy Jade Immortal said calmly, “The Melting Sun Demonic Abyss is filled with demonic energy. I’m a Daoist cultivator. I couldn’t enter.”
Su Mei sneered, “You could have, but it would have weakened you, and you were more concerned about our duel.”
The Holy Jade Immortal’s expression remained unchanged.
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