Chapter 16

On the second morning, just as Xie Pei Jun was pushing open the courtyard door to look for Dong Xia, she was stopped by a female disciple she usually got along well with.

The female disciple said with a strange expression, “Junior Sister Xie, Yu Shishu asked me to tell you that starting today, you don’t need to go visit Dong Xia anymore.” Xie Pei Jun wasn’t surprised at all in her heart, but she put on a confused and bewildered expression on her face, “Why?”

“I don’t know either…” The female disciple frowned, “She left in a hurry, and you were meditating in your room, so the master asked me to pass on the message. Her expression looked a bit scary.” Xie Pei Jun sighed lightly, “I understand. Then I won’t go. You all should discuss and arrange for someone to keep Dong Xia company today.” “Don’t worry about that,” the female disciple smiled, “You’ve been occupying that position all along. Now everyone will definitely fight for it.” After saying this, she let out an “Ah” and covered her mouth, realizing her slip of the tongue and smiling awkwardly.

“It’s fine.” Xie Pei Jun cooperatively showed a forced smile, “Then I’ll go back to my room to cultivate. Senior Sister, go ahead with your business.” After the female disciple left, Xie Pei Jun returned to her own room and finally let her face fall.

She knew Li Qing must have discovered something, which was why he decisively cut off her path to approach Dong Xia.

Alone in Wentian Gate, without exceptional cultivation, she really couldn’t think of any clever way after this route was cut off.

After pacing anxiously in her room for a few circles, Xie Pei Jun gritted her teeth and made a decision.

She opened the window and cast a spell, luring down a red bird from the tree outside.

The red bird, affected by the spell, was dazedly caught in Xie Pei Jun’s hand and manipulated for a while.

After the red bird flew away from Xie Pei Jun’s room with something golden in its beak, Xie Pei Jun also got up and walked out of her room.

The shy smile that was always on her face had disappeared completely, and her willowy figure now had a touch of uninhibitedness.

A passing female disciple greeted her with confusion: “Junior Sister Xie?” Xie Pei Jun smiled at her with a curved lip.

…

Before the demonic cultivator who had previously intruded into Wentian Gate was found, traces of demonic energy appeared for the second time.

Although this time the demonic energy was incomparable to the previous one in both quality and quantity, Wentian Gate, which had already been on high alert, still sprang into action with a rumble.

The location where the demonic energy appeared was the same as last time. No one dared to be negligent. Several elders were about to set out to chase when Li Qing made his move even earlier than them.

“I’ll handle this,” he transmitted his voice out.

The elders had no doubts about him and sat back down reassured.

— If Li Qing could even kill the Demon Woman, what kind of disturbance could those demonic cultivators under the Demon Woman create?

Not only the Wentian Gate elders, but the Wentian Gate patrol disciples who had surrounded Chu Ling’s courtyard and were on high alert also felt the same when they saw Li Qing.

“Immortal Lord, that demonic cultivator seems to know the art of soul possession. She has taken over Junior Sister Xie’s body and is holding another fellow disciple hostage, demanding to leave. We disciples were concerned about the lives of the two junior sisters and couldn’t take action…” an elite disciple came forward nervously to explain.

“Search her room inside,” Li Qing ordered, then glanced at the sky.

Although that demonic cultivator was doing her utmost to conceal the demonic energy on her body, the traces left behind were still quite obvious in Li Qing’s mind, like a streak of black smoke left in the clear sky.

After giving orders to the Wentian Gate disciples guarding outside Chu Ling’s courtyard, Li Qing directly followed the black smoke in pursuit.

Xie Pei Jun being possessed by a demonic cultivator, and the previous incident where Dong Xia nearly got hurt and demonic energy burst out, must have been this person’s mischief.

Li Qing had to know what that demonic cultivator had found on Dong Xia after deliberately approaching her, and what she had told her.

If the other party knew too much, he must also eliminate any future troubles.

…

Even though Xie Pei Jun escaped from Wentian Gate’s range with all her might, she was still no match for Li Qing. Before noon, she was caught up to.

When all escape routes were blocked by Li Qing’s overwhelming true energy pressure that seemed to cover the sky, Xie Pei Jun calmly stopped her steps and unhurriedly turned back, holding the female disciple in her hand, saying: “Li Qing.” Unlike people from the immortal realm, those from the demon realm naturally wouldn’t respectfully call Li Qing “Immortal Lord”.

However, Li Qing had no intention of wasting words with her. Before he even arrived, his sword technique came first. The sword energy trailed a silver tail, as fast as a thought.

Xie Pei Jun had seen Li Qing in action before, but this was the first time she faced Li Qing’s attack filled with killing intent head-on.

Except for the Demon Woman, no one could withstand Li Qing’s attack alone. This was the consensus of everyone in the spirit world.

Xie Pei Jun took a deep breath, and in this life-and-death moment, she put the female disciple she was holding in front of herself as a shield.

The female disciple, whose face had turned pale with fright, suddenly closed her eyes.

However, just as the sword energy was about to reach the two, it suddenly transformed into a crescent moon shape and carved towards Xie Pei Jun’s arm.

With a ripping sound, Xie Pei Jun’s entire arm turned red, and the female disciple she was using as a hostage suddenly fell downwards.

Being a sword cultivator after all, the female disciple summoned her long sword in mid-air. Still shaken, she thanked Li Qing and then left towards Wentian Gate with weak hands and legs.

This demonic cultivator might be insignificant to Li Qing, but not to her!

After Xie Pei Jun was suddenly injured, more demonic energy gushed out from her wound.

She coldly pressed on her wound and looked towards the figure riding a sword not far away.

— After two full moves, Li Qing had only just arrived in front of her.

Xie Pei Jun licked her dry lips and sneered: “You indeed discovered me.”

Li Qing didn’t exchange a single word with her. His true energy pressed over like a huge monster, like a heavy hammer directly smashing into Xie Pei Jun’s dantian.

Xie Pei Jun’s face suddenly changed, but she couldn’t dodge. She felt that this strike shook her soul along with the demonic energy, almost directly kicking her out of the possessed body. It took almost all her strength to barely hold on.

The chaotic demonic energy overflowing from her body became even more.

— One more time, and she would be finished.

This thought flashed clearly through Xie Pei Jun’s mind.

Even if only a wisp of her soul was caught by Li Qing… it would be equivalent to her true body’s location being found by Li Qing.

If Li Qing really wanted to hunt someone down, could anyone else in the world survive?

In the urgency of the moment, Xie Pei Jun had no time to think much. She immediately spoke hurriedly: “Who exactly is Dong Xia?”

“… You don’t need to know.” Li Qing finally spoke.

Xie Pei Jun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly turned her thoughts and spat out seemingly provocative words: “I feel she seems a bit like someone who died three years ago.”

Li Qing looked at her quietly: “What do you know?”

Xie Pei Jun swallowed and forced herself to maintain a bit of firm sanity in the midst of her shaken soul: “What do I know? I know that your attitude towards the Demon Woman is not at all what the world knows.”

At first it was just nonsense, but as she spoke, Xie Pei Jun actually caught a hint of terrifying inspiration from this nonsense.

“Dong Xia is not a substitute or puppet at all,” Xie Pei Jun looked at Li Qing in shock, “She is actually—”

The tip of Li Qing’s sword moved slightly.

He had already determined that the demonic cultivator before him could not be left alive.

In the instant when she was gripped by the premonition of death, almost all of Xie Pei Jun’s muscles were locked by fear.

Just as Xie Pei Jun was desperately thinking of a final way out, she sensed a faint fluctuation of her own demonic energy coming from the direction of Wentian Gate in the distance.

— It was the red bird she had driven with her spell, rashly intruding into Li Qing’s cave dwelling.

Li Qing’s expression also paused almost at the same time, his attention drawn by the sudden change in his cave dwelling.

Xie Pei Jun bit her tongue, seizing this momentary gap to extract her soul and demonic energy from the possessed female disciple’s body, dispersing into a cloud of black smoke on the spot.

This action was almost equivalent to self-destruction. Even if she really escaped, it would result in severe injuries.

By the time Li Qing confirmed that what had intruded into his cave dwelling was just an ordinary bird, he waved his hand to restrain the black smoke, but the gradually fading smoke obviously no longer contained the demonic cultivator’s soul.

He lowered his eyes to separate the demonic energy from the smoke and cast a complex tracking spell, but it was interrupted halfway.

The interruption didn’t mean the spell failed, but rather indicated another matter.

This person was hiding in the demon realm, whose entrance had already been sealed.

Li Qing didn’t pursue further.

Firstly, the demon realm was too far away; secondly, this person had fled with severe injuries, and it would take who knows how many years just to recover.

Although Li Qing didn’t know whether there would be more demonic cultivators disguising themselves to approach the amnesiac Dong Xia in the future, at least this crisis, he considered it overcome.

…

When Dong Xia saw a red bird flapping its wings and entering her room, she was a bit curious.

— This was the first time she had seen a small living creature intrude into Li Qing’s cave dwelling.

When the red bird flew in front of Dong Xia without any fear of strangers, she finally saw that it was holding something golden in its two claws.

Dong Xia tilted her head to look, and tentatively reached out her hand towards the red bird.

The red bird released its two claws and dropped the golden thing into her palm.

The mask, originally only the size of an egg, expanded several times the moment it touched Dong Xia. She was startled and almost dropped it.

After the golden thing expanded to the size of a human face, Dong Xia realized it was actually a mask, only it had fallen into her palm with the back side up.

Dong Xia picked up the mask and casually turned it over.

The moment she saw the mask’s appearance, the headache that hadn’t appeared for over half a month sharply swept away Dong Xia’s rationality, depriving her of half her strength to stand.

More and clearer images than last time thunderously appeared in her mind, loud and clear.

Coincidentally, on this day, the female disciple who had come to replace Xie Pei Jun to keep Dong Xia company arrived. Seeing Dong Xia holding her head and swaying, almost falling to the ground, she stepped forward in shock to support her: “Dong Xia, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” Dong Xia said in a voice as thin as a mosquito’s, “I want some water.”

The female disciple hurriedly responded and went to pour water from the table, while Dong Xia turned her hand and stuffed the mask under the chair behind her, then struggled to stand up supporting herself on the chair.

She didn’t even know why she was doing this, but she did it instinctively as if it were natural.

The female disciple turned back with the water, quickly helped Dong Xia sit down on the chair, handed her the cup, and felt her forehead with concern: “I heard you’re often ill, and Great-grandmaster Zhu has come to see you twice… Did you suffer some hidden injury from being struck by demonic energy last time? Where’s the Immortal Lord? Should I go find Great-grandmaster Zhu for you?”

Dong Xia shook her head lightly, her face pale as she said, “It’s an old problem. It’ll be fine after a while.”

The female disciple let out an “Ah” and gently wiped away the cold sweat on Dong Xia’s forehead, feeling a bit at a loss: “I remember now, the aura of a demonic cultivator appeared again just now. The Immortal Lord should have gone to pursue that person and will be back soon… Ah!”

She suddenly exclaimed in realization and horror, as if finally connecting something.

“That demonic cultivator possessed Junior Sister Xie’s body, who knows how long she had been lurking in Wentian Gate. She happened to have been in close contact with you for many days. No wonder the master ordered me to come keep you company immediately!”

The persistent pain had somewhat eased after Dong Xia calmly gritted her teeth and endured it, allowing her to hear the female disciple’s long string of words clearly: “…Xie Pei Jun? She originally said she would bring me something today.”

“It must have been that demonic cultivator who said that to you!” The female disciple was still frightened, “If that’s really the case, it must have been to harm the Immortal Lord through you! — Dong Xia, don’t be afraid. This is the Immortal Lord’s cave dwelling. No one can harm you here. As long as you don’t leave this place, you’ll definitely be safe!”

Dong Xia rubbed her forehead and remained silent for a moment before softly responding.

“Do you want to lie down and rest for a while?” the female disciple asked with concern again.

“Let’s just talk for a while. If I think about other things, my head won’t hurt as much.” Dong Xia smiled weakly and said, “…Speaking of which, Xie Pei Jun did tell me about the demon realm a few days ago.”

The female disciple became alert: “What did she say?”

“She said that the ruler of the demon realm is a woman.”

“The Demon Woman!” The female disciple’s face showed a hateful expression, “She’s a character who devours people without spitting out the bones, her hands stained with blood. Who knows how many living beings she has harmed!”

“I heard that during the great war between immortals and demons, she lost to Li Qing and is already dead?” Dong Xia asked.

“Yes!” The female disciple answered without a doubt, “It’s precisely because the Immortal Lord struck down that Demon Woman with his sword that the spirit realm has today’s peace and tranquility. The demonic cultivators are terrified and have all sealed themselves in the demon realm, not daring to come out and cause trouble.”

“Why does everyone only call her… Demon Woman? Doesn’t she have a name?”

“No one knows her name, and she’s very demonic,” the female disciple pursed her lips, “I once saw her from afar. She always wears a demonic golden mask, never showing her face. Although her figure is graceful, who knows what her face looks like under the mask?” She frowned as she said this, and went to feel Dong Xia’s forehead temperature again: “How are you feeling? Any better?”

Dong Xia let out a long breath, wiped away the fine cold sweat on her forehead, and smiled at her: “Thank you, I feel much better.”

“That’s good. Wait a moment, the Immortal Lord will definitely return soon, ah.” The female disciple patted Dong Xia’s head as if comforting a child, then turned to refill her water.

Just as she filled the cup with water, the female disciple looked up and saw Li Qing’s figure, her hand immediately trembled: “Immortal Lord.”

Li Qing nodded: “That’s all for today.”

The female disciple quickly put down the cup, respectfully responded with a “Yes,” then quietly said goodbye to Dong Xia before turning to leave.

Dong Xia looked up at Li Qing with a pale face and smiled: “Where’s Xie Pei Jun?”

Li Qing walked towards her, his footsteps not stopping: “She was possessed by a demonic cultivator and needs to recuperate for a while.”

Dong Xia lowered her eyes, her gaze sweeping around the room, but she could no longer find any trace of the red bird.

The thing Xie Pei Jun had said the day before that she would bring her something “very suitable” was probably the mask she had hidden.

Just as Dong Xia thought of this, her forehead felt warm. It was Li Qing covering it with his palm.

He asked in a low voice: “During this time, did that demonic cultivator who deliberately approached you do anything to you?”

“I didn’t notice anything.” Dong Xia grasped Li Qing’s wrist and looked up into his clear and bright eyes.

Li Qing shouldn’t lie to her. It had no value and made no sense.

After gazing at Dong Xia for a moment, Li Qing crouched down: “What’s wrong?”

“…You won’t lie to me, right?” Dong Xia asked him softly.

Li Qing gently stroked her forehead and temples before answering: “I won’t lie to you.”

Dong Xia bit her lip, bent down, took out the golden mask she had just stuffed under the chair and handed it to Li Qing: “Then tell me, why do I get a headache when I see this mask? What relationship do I have with that Demon Woman from the demon realm?”