That night, several people in Siyou Village remained sleepless throughout the night.

Early the next morning, Qiongniang and Youlang instructed their clanspeople to deliver breakfast to everyone’s rooms. After everyone had finished eating, they led the group toward the Wulun Pagoda.

Although the people of Siyou Kingdom appeared somewhat world-weary, they were quite considerate in their hospitality. The breakfast was very sumptuous—Baozhu Mountain tea, pearl radish cake, Job’s tears sweet soup, clear broth dragon whisker noodles… All were vegetarian dishes, yet made with extreme refinement. The taste was no less impressive than what they had in their sect.

Gu Baiying sat at the table, absent-mindedly moving his chopsticks.

“Fellow Cultivator Gu,” Nie Xinghong, who was passing by the doorway, looked at him with some surprise: “You don’t eat scallions?”

Gu Baiying came back to his senses. On the table before him was a small pile of chopped scallions. He was stunned for a moment. Gu Baiying didn’t have the habit of being picky with food, and normally had nothing he avoided eating. He hadn’t noticed when he had picked out all the scallions from his bowl.

Putao, who was about to enter the room, paused her steps. Her gaze lingered on that pile of scallions for an instant before quickly moving away. She spoke softly: “Youlang and Qiongniang asked me to come tell everyone that we can set off shortly.”

Tian Fangfang said, “Understood.”

Putao glanced once more at the thoughtful Gu Baiying before leaving.

On the other side, the demon clan had also finished their preparations.

After sleeping through the night, Mimi had shrunk back to her white cat form and was following behind Zanxing as they walked outside. When Zanxing emerged from the room, Xiao Shuang was already waiting outside with everyone else. Seeing Zanxing come out, Xiao Shuang spoke with some concern: “Young Master…”

Last night, he had seen Zanxing and Gu Baiying talking under the flowering tree, but hadn’t approached. First, because these two had exceptional cultivation levels and would immediately discover him if he got close enough to eavesdrop. Second, in such a situation, it wasn’t appropriate for an outsider like him to interfere. However, his worry remained undiminished, especially since before departing this time, Bujiang had given thousands of warnings that they absolutely must not let Zanxing suffer any losses.

However, looking at the present situation, Zanxing seemed fairly calm.

The clan leader of the Sishi Clan, Youlang, said: “Qiongniang’s side is also ready. Time is getting late, let’s set off now.”

Zanxing thanked him: “Much obliged.”

The Wulun Pagoda was located at the summit of Mount Yuea. There was a temple on the mountaintop called Liuquan Temple. The old friend of Bujiang, Master Ming Jing, lived in Liuquan Temple. Most of the predecessors who had broken into the Wulun Pagoda in the past had already vanished without a trace, and in nearly a hundred years, no one had been heard of entering the Wulun Pagoda. Rashly breaking in would indeed be somewhat hasty. Zanxing thought it would be better to first ask Master Ming Jing about the situation regarding this temple.

Youlang of the Sishi Clan led the demon clan members, while Qiongniang of the Sinü Clan led the Demon Suppression Army, heading together toward Liuquan Temple. Once they entered the mountains, there was no need to walk hand in hand anymore. The two groups walked separately, with a river’s distance between them. They watched each other warily and guarded against each other secretly. If not for Zanxing and Gu Baiying maintaining order, they would probably have started fighting on the road.

However, although they didn’t come to blows, verbal disputes were inevitable. The Demon Suppression Army cursed the demon clan for their strange dress, so the demon clan cursed the Demon Suppression Army for being bland and boring. The Demon Suppression Army accused the demon clan of being dissolute and arrogant, so the demon clan mocked the Demon Suppression Army for never understanding the pleasures of the mortal world in their entire lives.

The people from the sects were usually rigorous and rigid in their conduct. When it came to cursing, they naturally couldn’t match the demon clan’s rich vocabulary. They quickly fell into a disadvantage, and in their unwillingness to accept this, some turned their attack toward Zanxing.

A disciple from the Chihua Gate said: “Talking big, but isn’t your demon clan’s Young Master still pitifully infatuated with our Demon Suppression Army’s Fellow Cultivator Gu? When they held hands yesterday, we all saw it—she kept looking at Fellow Cultivator Gu!”

Zanxing: “……”

Previously, the disciples of Chihua Gate had been quite dissatisfied with Gu Baiying, and now they were using Gu Baiying to attack her. Indeed, Gu Baiying was like a brick—useful wherever needed.

Gu Baiying also heard this person’s words, and his expression immediately became quite colorful.

That person felt as though he had grasped Zanxing’s sore spot, and his expression gradually became smug: “I heard that back at Gufeng Mountain, she deliberately bewitched Fellow Cultivator Gu. Well, that’s understandable—Fellow Cultivator Gu is young and accomplished, spirited and inspiring. What ordinary woman wouldn’t be smitten? However,” he laughed heartily several times, shouting enthusiastically while secretly observing Zanxing’s expression, trying to discover a trace of sadness in her demeanor, “how could an evil, heretical demon woman compare to a junior sister from a prestigious orthodox sect! Fellow Cultivator Gu and Junior Sister Putao from Xiangling Sect have long been deeply in love—they’re a match made in heaven!”

Gu Baiying, walking at the front, could no longer bear it and angrily shouted: “Shut up!”

Putao was startled, her face quickly turning red. She bit her lip, looking toward Gu Baiying, who was frantically clarifying things ahead, a flash of darkness passing through her eyes.

Hearing this person’s provocation, Zanxing only felt it was absurd. Honestly, the things that disciples from Chihua Gate sometimes said and did were quite undignified. It made one wonder just how improper Chihua Gate’s sect culture must be to raise such tasteless disciples.

Before she could speak, the Bone Lady over there laughed first. The woman’s smile was charming, but her words were quite cutting: “So that’s how it is. Some people have been in the well too long and think the little patch they see is the whole sky. The women of our demon clan aren’t as useless as human women.”

She extended her jade hand, gently caressing the skull in her grasp. Her smile became even more radiant, but her tone carried faint contempt: “The women of our demon clan can treat men as prey, as pets, even as playthings, but we would never treat men as important figures.”

“Young, accomplished, spirited, and inspiring youths—we have hundreds, if not thousands, in Heishi City, each one outstanding. Your sects are full of misfits and rejects, so when you find one good seedling, you treasure it incredibly. Understandable—you haven’t seen good things before. However, as for constantly keeping men on one’s mind, let your Junior Sister from Xiangling Sect handle that. Our Young Master has to manage the affairs of Heishi City and also favor seven consorts daily. With myriad responsibilities, she simply lacks the energy.”

Zanxing coughed lightly, signaling for the Bone Lady to stop talking. She was going a bit too far. After the Demon Suppression Army returned, the cultivation world would again be filled with rumors about her being dissolute and debauched.

Xiao Shuang stepped forward at the right moment, taking out a handkerchief to gently wipe away the nonexistent sweat from Zanxing’s forehead. His appearance was refined and handsome, his posture elegant—he truly looked like an attentive and thoughtful male favorite.

Gu Baiying at the front glanced back at the two of them, his gaze slightly condensed as he frowned almost imperceptibly.

While this side was engaged in verbal warfare with sharp words and cutting remarks, on the other side, Youlang, who had been silently leading the way, suddenly stopped and looked toward the distance: “We’ve arrived.”

Everyone looked up and saw that about ten meters ahead, an old, lush elm tree had appeared. The old elm tree concealed an ancient, weathered temple with three characters written in ink: Liuquan Temple.

They had reached Liuquan Temple.