Wei Huarou had her own plans. First, she descended to the mortal realm holding the Shanhe Sheji Tu, a treasure revered by the ancestral court of Taoism. She had originally promised her senior brother that the Shanhe Sheji Tu would remain undamaged.
However, it was too late. During a great battle, Lin Zhujie’s sword cleaved a gap in the Shanhe Sheji Tu, rendering it no longer a complete secret treasure. This pushed Wei Huarou to decide to sacrifice a portion of the Shanhe Sheji Tu’s power to thoroughly eliminate the scourge of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Since the treasure was already damaged, the worst that could happen was to spend considerable resources and effort to repair it upon returning to the upper realm; this was not the first time she had done such a thing.
Secondly, what spurred Wei Huarou’s idea was Su Qingjiu’s Jianxin Tongshen. Without Su Qingjiu present, Wei Huarou would never have risked damaging the Shanhe Sheji Tu to kill the Nine-Tailed Fox. The Nine-Tailed Fox was a pillar of the demon race’s dominion, a right-hand man to the demon ancestor named Qing Kui, and a spiritual being coexisting with heaven and earth. Killing the Nine-Tailed Fox required extraordinary measures.
Coincidentally, Su Qingjiu’s Jianxin Tongshen, with its divine nature, could kill a demon spirit coexisting with heaven and earth using divine power. This was truly a foolproof plan.
“Chh!”
Sword light shot up into the sky, and Su Qingjiu’s sword descended from above.
Within the painting, Qingqiu, the Nine-Tailed Fox, appeared stunned, as if frozen in the painted world. It couldn't move at all. Following Su Qingjiu’s sword strike, all of the Nine-Tailed Fox’s vitality was instantly severed. It had become the highest-ranking great demon to perish in this Western Shu upheaval. A great demon who had once been at the fourteenth realm before the great battle, with combat power comparable to a demon ancestor, had thus fallen in the human realm.
As the Nine-Tailed Fox disintegrated, that corner of the Shanhe Sheji Tu also turned to ashes amidst the overflowing divine sword energy.
Wei Huarou raised her hand and gently sifted through the remnants, keeping the useful items. Among them was a fiery red demon core, the fourteenth-realm demon core of the Nine-Tailed Fox, an extraordinary existence. Next was the Nine-Tailed Fox’s storage bag, which also contained quite a few treasures. Moreover, the Nine-Tailed Fox’s collections would undoubtedly be genuine treasures, far surpassing the usual collections of those in the upper five realms.
The treasures in the storage bag would be used as expenses for repairing the Shanhe Sheji Tu. In fact, Wei Huarou originally intended to give these spoils to Lin Zhao, but it seemed inappropriate. After all, the upper realm was not wealthy. Although the ancestral court of Taoism on White Jade Mountain claimed to have profound reserves, how many thirteenth-realm cultivators had descended from White Jade Mountain to kill demons and never returned in recent years? Coupled with the chaos of inner demons from the Outer Heavens, the ancestral court of Taoism’s reserves were indeed dwindling. As its sect leader, she could not neglect public duty for personal reasons!
“Alright!”
Su Qingjiu sheathed her sword and smiled, “Let’s go back to see Brother Lin Zhao.”
“Mm.”
Wei Huarou nodded with a smile. Just as Su Qingjiu was about to return, Wei Huarou, with her fourteenth-realm eyes, saw something misty fall onto Su Qingjiu’s head. In the end, the karmic debt for killing a fourteenth-realm being had fallen upon Su Qingjiu. For a moment, Wei Huarou felt remorse. If this karmic debt were to cause any disaster, how would she explain it to Lin Zhao?
…
The Demon Race, Ancestral Mountain.
Within the divine domain atop the Ancestral Mountain, the demon ancestor, a figure clad in grey, stood in front, followed by Yu Zhi, Fu Sheng, Ning Yuansheng, Nan Qingfeng, Long Zheng, and others who had just returned from the human realm. Each of them bore injuries to varying degrees. In this battle, the demon race had fielded its elite forces, yet they still suffered a crushing defeat.
“…”
The demon ancestor’s gaze flickered as he looked forward. Before a massive, spirit-rich glazed rock, the perpetual lamps of many upper-five-realm beings from the Ancestral Mountain were enshrined. Now, another perpetual lamp began to dim. Soon after, the light of the perpetual lamp flickered and gradually extinguished, leaving no trace of light. For a moment, the demon ancestor sighed, his eyes filled with sorrow.
“Elder Qingqiu…”
Fu Sheng’s heart trembled, and he dared not utter the rest of his sentence.
“Chichu is gone, Fanling is gone, Qiyu is gone…”
The demon ancestor, his back to everyone, appeared incredibly ancient. He softly said, “Now, even Qingqiu is gone… The human realm truly intends to annihilate our demon race, leaving us no room to survive…”
“Lord Demon Ancestor…”
Yu Zhi wanted to offer comfort but didn’t know where to begin. In fact, she bore responsibility for the failure of the entire Shuzhou’s submerge plan. When Lin Wanhua and Jing Chu had snatched the Sun-Moon Water-Fire Rod, Yu Zhi should have realized that the Confucian scholars were brewing a plan to stabilize the situation, using the waterways to secure the land. Unfortunately, she was too arrogant and didn’t think deeply, believing her plan was foolproof.
“Demon Ancestor!”
Lu Hai said solemnly, “As long as the Demon Ancestor gives the order, millions of our demon race’s disciples will immediately march south and completely annihilate the human realm!”
“Yes!”
Long Zheng gritted her teeth, “Demon Ancestor, give the order!”
Ning Yuansheng frowned, remaining silent.
Conversely, Fu Sheng said solemnly, “Everyone, this matter still requires careful consideration…”
The demon ancestor sighed, turned to face everyone, and said, “Everyone, you are all tired. Rest and heal early. We’ll discuss future matters later; there is still a long way to go.”
“Yes, Demon Ancestor!”
Everyone bowed and retreated one by one, leaving only Yu Zhi behind.
“Lord Demon Ancestor,”
Yu Zhi frowned and asked, “Should I go to Shuzhou to retrieve Elder Qingqiu’s remains?”
“No need.”
The demon ancestor replied, “Do you think human sword cultivators would leave a complete corpse after killing someone?”
Yu Zhi fell silent.
“You may go too.” The demon ancestor waved his sleeve.
“Yes.”
Yu Zhi bowed again and exited the divine domain.
The demon ancestor turned back to look at the perpetual lamps before the glazed mountain wall. Suddenly, he was slightly startled, as if sensing that the perpetual lamp belonging to Jiao Chen had also begun to flicker. Could it be that he, too, was in danger of being killed?
…
Lingque Lake.
Seeing Wei Huarou and Su Qingjiu return safely, Lin Zhao finally felt relieved. Su Qingjiu helped Lin Zhao gather the remains of the human cultivators who had perished in the realm. Wei Huarou, meanwhile, turned and stepped into the depths of a lake. With a gentle flick of her finger, she used water transport to refine a divine ability, and in an instant, Wei Huarou’s figure vanished from the surface of Lingque Lake.
Upper Realm, White Jade Mountain.
Upon a pavilion, the Saint of War, clad in a green robe, held a red gourd and poured wine into his mouth. Others sipped their wine and savored it; he, however, drank as if his throat were a funnel. After pouring in a whole pot, he set down the wine gourd, let out a burp, and then began to savor the true essence of the wine.
Beside him, a young Taoist sat on a white jade railing, glanced at the green-robed guest, and said, “How is the taste of the fine wine from our ancestral court of Taoism?”
“Ordinary!”
The other party stated it with absolute certainty.
“Then don’t drink it,” the young Taoist said dejectedly. “You’ve consumed a large vat of fine wine in just a few days and still have the nerve to call it ordinary?”
The green-robed man grinned, not refuting.
Just then, a wisp of water transport swirled in the breeze, transforming into the peerlessly elegant figure of Wei Huarou. She glanced at the green-robed guest, frowned, and then looked at the Dao Saint, saying, “Senior Brother.”
“Mm, congratulations, Junior Sister. The upheaval in Shuzhou has been stabilized.”
“Thank you, Senior Brother.”
Wei Huarou asked, “After joining forces with Su Qingjiu to kill the Nine-Tailed Fox, what should be done with the spoils?”
“What do you think, Junior Sister?”
“Our ancestral court of Taoism is not wealthy. I believe it’s better to bring back the Nine-Tailed Fox’s collected Golden Hairfins and various treasures to the ancestral court of Taoism. After all, the upper realm actually requires more expenditure than the lower realm. As for this…”
She looked at a fiery red demon core in her palm. “What should be done with this fourteenth-realm demon core? Although Xuzhi lacks demon cores to refine the Demon Soul Sword, this Nine-Tailed Fox’s demon core is extraordinary. I’m afraid she might fail to refine it and be反噬ed by the Nine-Tailed Fox’s residual soul. I did consider giving it to Lin Zhao to soak in the orange gourd and make wine, which could also nourish his cultivation. But I have the same concern: he might not be able to bear the Nine-Tailed Fox’s demonic energy.”
“Nonsense…”
The young Taoist frowned. “What is Lin Zhao’s current cultivation level? Even ordinary cultivators in the upper five realms might not be able to handle the Nine-Tailed Fox’s demon core in wine, let alone Lin Zhao, who is only at the Nascent Soul realm. Junior Sister, I know you want to be good to Lin Zhao, but you must have a sense of proportion. Don’t let your concern cloud your judgment.”
Wei Huarou pursed her red lips. “Then what about this demon core?”
“Bring it back!”
The green-robed man interjected boisterously. “If Junior Brother can’t handle it, I, Ding Muchen, can! Look at my gourd; it’s just missing one fourteenth-realm demon core. The Nine-Tailed Fox’s demon core is just perfect! Once brewed, it will be the strongest wine. From now on, Ding Muchen, alone with my sword, will drink the strongest wine, kill the wildest demons, and do…”
“Enough, enough!”
Wei Huarou quickly interrupted, afraid he would say something embarrassing. She frowned and asked, “Senior Brother, are you really giving it to him?”
“Give it,”
The young Dao Saint said with a drooping head.
“Why? Our ancestral court of Taoism doesn’t owe him anything,” Wei Huarou said with a furrowed brow.
The green-robed man laughed heartily and pointed to a chessboard placed on the railing. “Your Senior Brother lost to me in Gomoku this morning. If you don’t give it to me, he’ll have to give me his Dao crown.”
“Ah?”
Wei Huarou was stunned. What was her Senior Brother thinking, gambling away his innate item? It must have been the Saint of War instigating him to play chess! How long had the Saint of War been on White Jade Mountain, and he had already corrupted the entire atmosphere of White Jade Mountain!
She said indignantly, “We’ll talk about it when I get back!”
With that, Wei Huarou waved her hand, and the scene before her vanished. She turned to look at Lin Zhao and the others, no longer in a hurry to ascend. Since she was here, she might as well stay for a few more days.
…
Dongyue.
After a long period of breathing exercises, Lin Wanhua slowly stood up. Her exquisitely beautiful face regained its rosy glow. The new flying sword, Xinhua, had been successfully refined, and it was even stronger than before. The next task was to pacify the East Sea. It was time to let that old scoundrel Jiao Chen know the price of betraying the human realm.
She soared into the sky, transforming into a sword light that shot straight towards the East Sea. In mere moments, she hovered in the air above the East Sea, drawing her sword and cleaving the sea with a single strike!