Little Guyu had always been mixed up with Little Marten.

More precisely, it had always been the one bullied by Little Marten—either sleeping or crying, truly a sleepy crybaby. But just now in Fu Chaosheng’s hands, it seemed quite pleased with itself.

At this moment, being placed back on Jian Chou’s shoulder, it showed a pitiful and aggrieved expression.

It stepped on her shoulder, taking two small steps with its tiny feet, then looked toward Fu Chaosheng.

In those eyes—one large and one small, drawn by Jian Chou’s shaky hand with the Eye-Dotting Brush—there appeared a watery gleam, and its little mouth pouted as if about to cry.

Completely looking like it had been abandoned, very much wanting to return to Fu Chaosheng’s side.

But Fu Chaosheng paid it no mind, his gaze only falling on Jian Chou. Seeing her suddenly fall silent, he thought he had said something wrong, so he asked again: “Isn’t it like this?”

“Visiting to pay respects, that’s correct, but…”

But it depends on the person!

You’re still the great demon that Kunwu’s Hengxu Master personally sent people to investigate in the Western Sea. You restrained your demonic aura and didn’t even change your face, then directly went up Yashan?

Jian Chou felt ten thousand kinds of bitter amusement in her heart. That melancholy that had been weighing on her heart somehow scattered completely clean.

She paused, thinking about her wording in her mind before speaking.

“Between people, there is indeed the matter of mutual visits. But Fellow Daoist Fu has a special identity. If you were to encounter danger or something happened because of coming to Yashan to find me, it would make me feel guilty.”

“Even if something happened to me, it would be my own affair. Why should an old friend feel guilty?”

Fu Chaosheng still didn’t quite understand the various logics and thoughts of humans, so he couldn’t really think through the cause and effect relationship of Jian Chou’s words.

“Moreover, what could happen coming to Yashan to find an old friend?”

Those not of our race may not have different hearts, but to communicate easily… would still require some effort.

Jian Chou could only patiently reply: “This is the Left Three Thousand of the Central Domain, and Yashan is also one of the three thousand sects. If you don’t disguise yourself well and expose your identity, inviting mortal danger…”

So that’s what she was worried about?

Fu Chaosheng truly didn’t take it to heart.

He had always been a demon, and still the most formidable kind in heaven and earth. Even heaven and earth didn’t control him, so naturally other unfamiliar laws of the mortal world that he wasn’t familiar with couldn’t constrain him either.

So, hearing such words, he only based his understanding of the Left Three Thousand and Kunwu Yashan, objectively and certainly judged for a moment, then said: “No matter, no one here can defeat me.”

With a “snap,” the Azure Jade Fish hairpin that had been steadily inserted in his hair somehow suddenly slipped and fell to the ground.

The fish carved on the hairpin head looked vivid and lifelike.

At a glance, it quite had the dejected feeling of a salted fish on shore.

No one here can defeat me…

At this moment, the feeling in Jian Chou’s heart was really too hard to describe in words: standing on their Yashan’s rope bridge, he dared to say no one here could defeat him?!

What to do—now she really wanted to beat him up!

Lifting her eyes, Jian Chou secretly took a breath, suppressing the thought that had just emerged in her heart, and seriously looked Fu Chaosheng up and down.

Perhaps because no one else was around, that demonic evil aura in his eyes showed through a bit more.

A pair of deep pupils, reflecting some heavenly light, actually had a kind of emerald quality when looked at.

He stood under Jian Chou’s gaze, completely unaware that he had said something incredible, even using an inquiring look to gaze back at Jian Chou, as if asking why she was looking at him like this again.

Sigh.

So Jian Chou helplessly sighed, finally couldn’t help but press her forehead, and smiled bitterly.

He truly knew nothing about human relationships and social customs, and his tone and expression when saying these words were very ordinary. In his view, this was indeed just stating a fact.

Throughout all of Yashan, from top to bottom, there truly wasn’t a single person who could see through his disguise, so how could they compete?

Just, she didn’t know…

She suddenly remembered what she had heard from Fudao Shanren earlier: “What about the Old Ancestor?”

“The bone that manages the Boundless Mirror?”

Fu Chaosheng glanced at the hairpin on the ground, showing no particular expression, and lifted his foot to kick it off the rope bridge’s wooden planks into the river. Fortunately, the hairpin reacted quickly, flying back to his head and inserting itself properly again.

“Speaking of which, it’s all Brother Kun’s fault. Coming to Yashan to seek an old friend without success, I originally intended to explore the Boundless Mirror then leave. Unexpectedly, just as I was about to leave, Brother Kun suddenly burped…”

“Slandering Kun!”

That fish hairpin immediately couldn’t help but tremble, actually emitting a deep voice, though the following tone carried quite a bit of guilty weakness.

“I have cultivated for many years, am the ruler of heaven and master of earth—how could I do something as unseemly as burping? It was clearly that stupid bookworm. I just fed it two or three scrolls of Dao techniques, who knew it would get stuffed…”

It seemed like pots were flying in the sky.

Jian Chou had no idea what expression would be most appropriate to show at this moment, so she simply kept a blank face and asked quietly: “So, you were discovered by the Old Ancestor like this?”

“Indeed so.”

The fish hairpin’s head nodded, looking extremely bizarre. Then azure light flashed, and a tiny bookworm appeared on the hairpin head, motionless—it should be sleeping.

So the fish hairpin unhesitatingly took the opportunity to place the blame on it: “This bookworm is the culprit!”

“Little bookworm?”

Seeing it, Jian Chou was immediately surprised.

Because this little insect before her eyes, no bigger than a baby’s fingernail, was exactly the same in both appearance and aura as the one she had once seen in the hidden realm of Qingfeng Nunnery!

Her puzzled gaze immediately went to Fu Chaosheng.

The last time she saw this bookworm was in the hidden realm of Qingfeng Nunnery. Afterward, she fell into the Extreme Domain, and when she came out, the hidden realm had already fallen into Xie Buchen’s hands. As for the spirit beasts within, including the little bookworm, they had also disappeared.

Red Butterfly went to Qu Zhengfeng, but how did the little bookworm end up with Fu Chaosheng?

Fu Chaosheng probably saw her confusion and said frankly: “After my old friend went to the hidden realm of Qingfeng Nunnery with the others, I also went. Seeing it was interesting, I took it in and raised it.”

Took it in and raised it—said so casually indeed.

Jian Chou didn’t know how to evaluate this, so she simply didn’t evaluate it. Although she was somewhat surprised, it wasn’t really a big deal. Just…

“Why did you go to the hidden realm again?”

“I originally wanted to go to the hidden realm to seek the ‘Nine Curves River Map,’ to see if there was anything left in the realm related to the River Map, but after reading through the ‘Forty-Eight Records of Qingfeng Nunnery,’ I found nothing.”

It was said that the River Map recorded the secrets of heaven and earth’s birth, so Fu Chaosheng wanted to see it.

“So I left the realm and went to that Great Xia Dynasty on the isolated island in the human world, then went to the Extreme Domain. Only after coming out from the Extreme Domain did I hear that the River Map was in the hands of the new Sword Emperor of Mingri Xinghai.”

It was said that when Qu Zhengfeng slaughtered the Jianzhu Sect back then, it wasn’t really to vent anger for Yashan, but to seize the ‘Nine Curves River Map’ privately hidden by the Jianzhu Sect.

Since his betrayal, all of Shijiu Zhou spread the word that the River Map was in his hands.

Jian Chou had heard all this news, but she hadn’t expected Fu Chaosheng to have sought this item, and had already read the ‘Forty-Eight Records of Qingfeng Nunnery.’ That would have been before them.

This feeling was somewhat complex.

Jian Chou felt somewhat helpless, thinking of her scheming and calculating with Xie Buchen in the Mustard Seed space, and sighed half-jokingly: “If I had known you had read it, I should have asked you in the Extreme Domain.”

Although it was mutually beneficial, she felt that Xie Buchen had also gotten benefits, which made her uncomfortable.

“Then if there’s a next time, I’ll tell my old friend everything.”

Fu Chaosheng didn’t know what she was sighing about, but hearing her tone seemed slightly regretful, so he roughly sensed something and answered thus.

Jian Chou couldn’t help but be moved again by his wholehearted trust in her.

She gazed at him for a long while before saying: “That was just a casual remark. Fellow Daoist Fu need not take it seriously. What you do and what you want to do are your own affairs, and you don’t need to inform me of everything.”

“Casual remark…”

Fu Chaosheng seemed to find it somewhat puzzling. He knew the meaning of this phrase, but…

“To others, I naturally wouldn’t say a single word. But I cannot distinguish between your words—whether serious or casual, they sound the same to me.”

In other words, any casual remark of hers, he would take seriously.

In some details, Fu Chaosheng was completely unlike an enlightened great demon.

Or perhaps it was still what she had initially sensed…

This great demon’s spiritual intelligence wasn’t used for these details.

So, after hearing Fu Chaosheng’s words, Jian Chou could only remain silent, only asking about the Boundless Mirror matter: “Speaking of which, what’s the situation with the Boundless Mirror? And why did the Old Ancestor keep you?”

“After being discovered, we fought. I originally wanted to dismantle his bones, but Brother Kun said he was very important to Yashan, so I didn’t act and explained my purpose to him. Unexpectedly, he wouldn’t let me leave, and even inquired about the method to activate the Boundless Mirror.”

Fu Chaosheng recalled while speaking.

In just these few sentences, the fish hairpin was already trembling.

Jian Chou glanced at the fish hairpin, not knowing whether it was laughing or angry. Though she felt utterly speechless, she still steeled herself to continue asking: “The Old Ancestor wants to activate the Boundless Mirror, and you happen to have the method?”

“I originally didn’t know, but last time after going from the Snow Domain to the Extreme Domain again, I happened to hear them discussing this mirror. They said that with this mirror, attacking Shijiu Zhou would be much easier. It’s said this mirror was left by your human race’s supreme being Pangu, and can connect Yin and Yang. But after the last battle of the Yin-Yang realms, it mysteriously disappeared for unknown reasons and has been without trace since. I then searched the Eight Directions Yama Halls for this mirror, thereby obtaining the method to activate it.”

Fu Chaosheng actually didn’t understand how Yashan could have gotten this thing back—it could be considered inconceivable.

Hiss.

Upon hearing this, Jian Chou immediately knew what the Old Ancestor was really planning!

If even people like Lord Qin Guang from the Extreme Domain could think of using this mirror to attack Shijiu Zhou, how could the Old Ancestor—this human essence, or rather skeletal essence, who had lived, no, existed for countless years—not think of it?

He probably didn’t master the activation method originally, but who would have thought heaven would send a Fu Chaosheng—naturally he couldn’t let him escape. So, even though Fudao Shanren didn’t quite understand, the Old Ancestor forcibly kept Fu Chaosheng.

No other reason.

If this mirror could truly be activated, it could have an immeasurable impact on the impending war!

Thinking carefully about this whole chain of events, it could be considered quite marvelous.

Since the Old Ancestor had made this decision, there was naturally no need to worry about it at all.

So Jian Chou didn’t plan to ask further. After standing on the rope bridge for a while, she remembered she should indeed return to see Zuoliu, meet with her junior brothers, and also needed to briefly seclude herself for a couple of days to familiarize herself with her current realm.

One must know, conflicts don’t wait for people.

Although she was at the early stage of Void Refining, her realm had risen too quickly all at once, so the various Dao seal techniques she cultivated hadn’t been able to keep up. Even though her realm and cultivation weren’t poor, when facing other powerful cultivators, the possibility of suffering losses was extremely high.

So she only chatted with Fu Chaosheng about matters from the Extreme Domain and Snow Domain, then slowly walked back.

First, she gathered with her junior brothers, especially Zuoliu.

This young man was a true heavenly genius. Twenty years ago, he had just broken through to the Nascent Soul stage not long ago, but in the blink of an eye, he was already at the late Nascent Soul stage—his cultivation speed was countless times faster than others.

When several people gathered together, even Shen Jiu couldn’t help but lament that the later waves would beat the earlier ones to death.

Of course, regarding the most unreasonable and terrifying one—Jian Chou—they had subconsciously ignored her.

After all, Zuoliu’s speed could still be considered human; Jian Chou’s speed…

That had to be some kind of monster.

Afterward, the sky had already darkened, and at the time appointed with the Old Ancestor, Fu Chaosheng went down the Guihe Well by himself, while Jian Chou thought for a moment, made some inquiries, and went to the Council Hall again.

Here, she didn’t see Fudao Shanren.

So she didn’t ask, only told Zheng Yao, who was in the hall, about her experiences in the Snow Domain, especially regarding the “Divine Offspring Shaoji,” and handed over the thunder message that Kunwu Precept Hall Elder Xuanyang had risked his life to send out and was hidden by Yu Zhifei at the cost of his life.

When she was speaking, Zheng Yao’s face was grave.

After she finished speaking and he took the thunder message to look at it, his expression changed dramatically, his eyes faintly showing horror.

He immediately didn’t dare delay for even a moment, only telling Jian Chou that although they had vaguely guessed something, they hadn’t expected it to be more serious than imagined. Because the matter was of great importance and needed urgent consultation, he immediately went to the surrounding mountains to find Fudao Shanren.

Jian Chou waited for a long time without anyone returning. Though worried, she didn’t wait anymore.

Kunwu Yashan had stood at the peak of the Central Domain for so many years—their experience in dealing with such matters should be extremely rich. She thought that if there were matters ahead, they would come to ask her.

So she directly returned to her small room and began circulating her spiritual power, familiarizing herself with her completely new strength.

But unexpectedly, neither the sect leader nor her master came to ask her about this matter again.

It seemed that there was something tying up Kunwu’s Hengxu Master, so they only discussed the general situation, arranged the urgent matters first, and left the rest to be decided when everyone gathered at Mingri Xinghai another day.

Jian Chou only heard that Xie Buchen had returned to Kunwu on the same day as her, and remembered that his realm at that time was Nascent Soul Peak. As soon as he returned to Kunwu, they said Hengxu Master was tied up with something…

Why did she faintly feel there was some connection?

But this was just speculation, impossible to verify, so Jian Chou didn’t think too deeply about it.

In this short period of time, she had gained some understanding of a Void Refining stage cultivator’s strength, but was still very lacking in Dao techniques.

She had learned three Dao seals from the “Hidden Realm of Qingfeng Nunnery” and could use them basically. But to say she was skilled, or even masterful enough to unleash their full power, Jian Chou honestly couldn’t do that yet.

Fifteen days passed in a flash.

In the blink of an eye, it was already the day that Kunwu and Yashan had decided to set out for Mingri Xinghai.

On this day, any sect in Shijiu Zhou with some reputation would send cultivators from their sect with sufficient strength or authority to go. Yashan was no exception.

They didn’t have very many people.

Sect Leader Zheng Yao, Law Enforcement Elder Fudao Shanren, Executive Elders Bi Yan and Xihe, and more than ten elite disciples including Jian Chou, Zuoliu, Kou Qianzhi, Shen Jiu, Chen Weishan, Jianghe, Yan Chensha, Tang Wancheng, Fang Xiaoxie, and others.

Of course, there was also an unexpected person, or rather demon—

Fu Chaosheng.

Early in the morning, seeing him also appear in front of the Council Hall at Lingzhao Peak, Jian Chou didn’t quite react at first and subconsciously asked: “You’re going too?”

Fu Chaosheng was still dressed as before, with the fish hairpin binding his hair still on his head.

He walked over, and hearing Jian Chou’s question, nodded: “Since it concerns the Extreme Domain, I’ll go take a look. Also, since I didn’t get the chance last time, this time I want to find that Sword Emperor to borrow the ‘Nine Curves River Map.'”

Borrow, borrow the ‘Nine Curves River Map’?!

From the Sword Emperor?!

Could such a thing even be borrowed!

Everyone present, including Jian Chou, almost simultaneously felt their eyelids twitch, and Qu Zhengfeng’s seemingly smiling, apparently refined face instantly appeared in their minds.

For a moment, they felt a chill rising from the soles of their feet, shivering involuntarily!

Fudao Shanren even dropped his chicken leg to the ground, nearly popping his eyes out, looking at Fu Chaosheng like he was looking at an idiot.

“Borrow? Is there really nothing wrong with your brain?”

Old Ancestor Luye, this person couldn’t be sent by the Extreme Domain to sabotage their Shijiu Zhou affairs, could he?