The rain on Heishi City’s mountain was colder than the rain below.
The raindrops fell slantwise and densely, seeping into the black soil underfoot. Above, an azure paper umbrella blocked the drifting rain threads, keeping the bone-chilling cold at bay.
In the mountainous terrain, Bujiang and Zanxing walked slowly together.
Early in the morning, Zanxing had awakened from the Demon Essence Pool. After Bujiang learned of this, she hurried to the Chaos Hall. Once she confirmed that Zanxing’s body was unharmed, she invited her to have breakfast together at the Yaoming Hall. After breakfast, they came to Heishi Mountain together.
The city below was shrouded in a layer of misty slate-colored gauze. Zanxing hesitated for a moment, then finally couldn’t help but speak: “Mother, today I saw Master Ming Jing coming out of your hall…”
No way, right? She had noticed Ming Jing’s appearance of being unable to let go of his old feelings for Bujiang. But they had only arrived at Heishi City last night, and today they were already staying together – wasn’t that a bit too fast?
Seeing Zanxing’s complicated expression, Bujiang looked at her reproachfully: “Where are your thoughts wandering? Your mother would never eat yesterday’s leftovers. Even if he and I had feelings for each other, that’s all in the past.”
Zanxing’s heart stirred: “You two were together?” She looked at Bujiang with an even more complicated gaze. “But he’s a Buddhist cultivator. Even if you were looking for a lover, how could you choose a Buddhist cultivator?” And to make this Buddhist cultivator still unable to forget their relationship after so many years – truly, Amitabha Buddha, what a sin, what a sin.
“Who had time to think about all that back then?” Bujiang walked forward nonchalantly. “I just found his saintly, inviolable appearance quite appealing, and he was good-looking too. Besides, I’d never had a Buddhist cultivator among my lovers, so I thought I’d give it a try. When you live a lifetime, you should naturally be brave enough to try new things.”
Zanxing: “……” Collecting them like stamps, are we?
She said, “But I noticed that Master Ming Jing seems to want to rekindle the old flame with you.”
“I don’t like Buddhist cultivators anymore.” Bujiang’s face carried a smile, but her words held no trace of lingering affection. “A broken mirror is hard to make whole again – no need to force it. If I were to rekindle old feelings with him, my current lover would get jealous.”
She turned her head sideways and saw Zanxing’s reproachful expression, then chuckled softly: “You don’t need to look at me like that. I think I’m not the only woman in the world who’s been moved by two men, am I?”
Zanxing: “You’ve had more than just two.”
“So what?” Bujiang proudly lifted her chin: “We demons are naturally born to break hearts. Do you think all demon women are as hopeless as you? If I hadn’t had Xiao Shuang stuff a few people into your Chaos Hall, you wouldn’t even have two right now.” As she spoke, she became exasperated again at her daughter’s lack of progress.
Zanxing was afraid that in her excitement, Bujiang would remember the matter of stuffing people into her Chaos Hall again. The current seven were already overwhelming – if more came, who knew what chaos the entire Chaos Hall would become. Thinking of this, Zanxing quickly changed the subject, looking forward: “The spiritual vein is here!”
On Heishi Mountain, the bright red spiritual vein coiled beside a stone wall in the dense forest. With a wave of Bujiang’s hand, the thin vein flows immediately spread throughout Heishi City, like countless red little snakes winding around and enveloping the city.
“This…” Zanxing’s brow gradually furrowed.
Compared to the spiritual vein she had seen last time, the Demon Realm’s spiritual vein seemed to have become much thinner.
Previously, the vein flow had only been slender, but now even the vivid red color had become much more faded, as if much of the spiritual energy within had been extracted by someone.
Bujiang’s gaze slightly condensed: “As expected.”
“Mother?”
Bujiang looked at Zanxing, her expression somewhat grave: “Zanxing, you try.”
Zanxing nodded.
When she was at Yuega Mountain fighting against Gui Yansheng, the Xiaoyuan Pearl had been split in half by Gu Baiying’s Embroidered Bone Spear. Zanxing and Gui Yansheng had each grabbed half. But Zanxing remembered very clearly that rather than saying she had grabbed it, it was more accurate to say that half of the Xiaoyuan Pearl had flown directly toward her.
After entering her heart, Zanxing had felt the surging Yuanli within the Xiaoyuan Pearl. When she fell from the Buddhist pagoda, half the reason was Gui Yansheng, but the other half was because of the energy surging from the Xiaoyuan Pearl.
Later, after returning to Heishi City, she had entered the Demon Essence Pool. When she awakened from the pool, the Xiaoyuan Pearl was no longer visible at her heart. However, she could feel the Xiaoyuan Pearl’s presence – in just one night, the Xiaoyuan Pearl had merged completely with her body.
Zanxing didn’t know if this was good or bad. Now that her palm bore no marks and she was no longer bound by the “Heavenly Way,” whether she had the Xiaoyuan Pearl or not should theoretically have no impact on her future. However, as Bujiang had said, the former Demon Lord Gui Diao Tang’s cultivation had reached the late stage of Shattering Void, just one step away from tribulation crossing. With such cultivation, he had still been unable to refine the Xiaoyuan Pearl. Yet she was only at the Soul Condensation stage, and the Xiaoyuan Pearl had been absorbed so easily – this didn’t make sense, no matter how one looked at it.
But for now, she felt no discomfort in her body; her Demon Lord Yuanli was abundant, so she could only take things as they came.
Zanxing walked to the source of the spiritual vein. Last time she came, she could still see the bright red vein flow continuously emerging from underground. Now the water flow was even slower than before – it looked like, before long, even this continuous flow might not be sustainable.
She closed her eyes, and Yuanli slowly gathered from her dantian. From within her dantian, a jade-green shadow suddenly emerged.
This shadow was the size of a pigeon egg, pure jade green in color. However, within the jade green core, there was also a swaying black tree shadow. This tree shadow had flourishing branches and leaves, deeply rooted in her dantian, continuously surging forth abundant Demon Lord Yuanli from within.
In the Ten Thousand Killing Formation, Zanxing’s Golden Core had dissolved and flowed away, causing her to lose her Golden Core. Later, falling into the Extreme Ice Abyss, she awakened her Heavenly Demon bloodline and cultivated the “Peerless Heart Sutra.” The Qin Chong seed had grown and withered completely in her spiritual veins, its fruit entering her body, along with half an Xiaoyuan Pearl fusing with her. Now, she had condensed her soul, but this Soul Condensation core was different from all other demon cores – it contained both demonic energy and spiritual power, and it was still continuously growing. Who knew what terrifyingly powerful energy it would become in the future?
A stream of azure-black energy rose from her palm, as if condensing countless Yuanli into a thin flow. This flow gently drifted toward the spiritual vein’s source, coating the bright red vein flow with a layer of azure-black color.
The rain on Heishi Mountain fell more urgently.
The rainwater made “rustling” sounds as it entered the bright red flow, but the water flow at the source didn’t become any more rapid.
Crows silently flew up from the dense forest and landed on the treetops, watching the two people beside the spiritual vein.
Time gradually passed, and Zanxing’s brow slowly furrowed.
Demon Lord’s power continuously poured into the spiritual vein, but the vein was not awakened again. The bright red source seemed to have become a bottomless pit, a greedy beast. The Demon Lord Yuanli flowing into it was like stones sinking into the sea, creating not the slightest ripple. No matter how much was poured in, it was all absorbed.
If this continued, even if she stood here for a day and night, there wouldn’t be the slightest change.
Zanxing stopped her actions.
“It’s no use.” She looked at Bujiang: “I cannot awaken the spiritual vein.”