“You mean the culprit is a demon, but the demon aura is gradually fading?” Meng Ying asked.

“Not fading, but being hidden,” Gu Baiying said. “There’s no demon race in the world that can completely hide their demon aura, unless they use some special method.”

“But what method could achieve this?” Mendong was puzzled. “There’s never been any record of this in Taiyan Sect’s library pavilion, and I’ve never heard my master-uncles or master mention it either.”

Gu Baiying lowered his eyes and only spoke after a long while: “I don’t know.”

…

That night, because Mu Cengxiao was injured and needed rest, they didn’t talk for long before Zanxing and the others returned to their respective rooms to sleep.

Since Meng Ying had returned to the royal palace, Zanxing didn’t need to shamelessly drag Gu Baiying to share a room, but instead stayed in the same room as Meng Ying. However, perhaps because Meng Ying’s cultivation was high and the other party was wary, this night was very peaceful. No demon creatures came to disturb them, and Zanxing had a good night’s sleep.

After sleeping until dawn the next day, because the Bixi spirit had been captured, the atmosphere in the royal palace was much better than before. Even the maids and guards walking about had genuine smiles on their faces.

Because the secret realm entrance at the imperial mausoleum would open tomorrow night, the cultivators who had gone with Tan Tianxin to capture the Bixi spirit were more or less injured. Disciples from various sects were all resting and cultivating in their courtyards, preparing for the upcoming secret realm.

Zanxing was the same.

Since arriving in Li’er Kingdom, because of the merman incident, Zanxing had been too busy to cultivate the “Qing E Nian Hua Gun” technique. However, she was still stuck on the second form of this staff technique and couldn’t get past it no matter what. The Xiaoyuan Pearl in her chest was now like a dead weight. It hadn’t given any warning when the demon creature infiltrated her room, and it did not assist whatsoever in cultivation matters. Zanxing tried calling out to it several times with her qi but got no response, so she simply gave up.

Perhaps once the protagonist’s golden finger was distributed to a supporting character, the golden finger would gradually become ineffective. But this way, the smaller the changes she caused to the plot, the less likely she would receive warnings from the original world, right? Zanxing looked at the red mark on her palm and sighed.

The plot was becoming increasingly unpredictable.

This day was spent in earnest cultivation. When night fell, the victory banquet specially prepared by the sovereign for the cultivators arrived.

The victory banquet was held in the southwest of the royal palace gardens—Yunhai Garden.

Yunhai Garden was different from ordinary royal gardens. Since Li’er Kingdom was an island nation on the sea, the royal palace was located at the very center of the island. From the observation tower in Yunhai Garden, looking into the distance, one could see the sea level like a line. In the morning, there were clouds like the sea, and at night, the sea tides were like clouds. When the moon was clear and bright, the sea’s color filled the palace buildings, the heavenly wind was vast, and the tides soared, giving one the feeling that dawn, dusk, spring, and autumn were but fleeting moments.

Li’er Kingdom’s royal family was wealthy. Though it couldn’t compare to the spiritually energy-rich food from the immortal mountains of the sects, for mortals, the ingredients were extremely precious. They had also hired famous chefs to prepare for them, so it wasn’t neglecting these sect disciples.

The royal palace was hung with blue glazed lanterns that looked like blue fireflies in the night. The sovereign said a few words, then stood and left his seat, not wanting to disturb these cultivators’ enjoyment. Among these sects now, Chihua Gate and Yinfeng Sect were implicitly leading. Though they were wary of Gu Baiying’s profound cultivation, they wouldn’t actively approach him. Of course, Zanxing and her group didn’t want any entanglements with them either. They simply stayed far away from those people and went to the observation tower on their own.

The observation tower was extremely high. Standing on the platform and looking into the distance, one could see moonlight illuminating the sea, with silver-white waves surging from the horizon toward the shore. The long wind brushed against people’s faces, both moist and cold.

Tian Fangfang set down the food basket. He didn’t want to talk with people from Chihua Gate, but he couldn’t bear to miss the good food at the banquet. So he simply had a maid bring a large basket and packed some wine and dishes to bring up, treating it as having a small meeting.

“Junior Sister, come help me arrange these.” Tian Fangfang spread a blanket on the ground. The perfectly good observation tower looked like a countryside picnic spot under his management.

Zanxing walked to his side and laid out the wine and dishes from the basket plate by plate. Tian Fangfang said, “I have to say, their cooks here are really good. Smell these dishes—they’re quite fragrant.”

“You can still eat,” Mendong said, looking disapproving. “You just saw those female corpses. Doesn’t it affect you at all?”

“To be honest, I sympathize with them, but it can’t affect my eating,” Tian Fangfang poured wine into the cups. “Besides, if I don’t eat my fill, how can I investigate the real culprit?”

“What real culprit are you still investigating?” Mendong curled her lip. “Didn’t you see how those people wish we wouldn’t meddle in other people’s business? I think after we enter the secret realm and come out again, the matters here will mostly have nothing to do with us.”

Zanxing followed his gaze toward Yunhai Garden. At the banquet, sect disciples were either complimenting each other or building relationships to pave the way for future interactions. All in all, everyone looked completely happy and satisfied.

Mu Cengxiao looked around and asked, “Where’s Seventh Master-Uncle?”

“Master-Uncle wouldn’t deign to look at these mortals’ food. How could he possibly come?” Mendong answered matter-of-factly.

“Then… why isn’t Senior Sister Meng here either?” After hesitating, Mu Cengxiao asked again.

Zanxing answered, “Senior Sister is cultivating in her room and won’t come out to socialize. Besides, that Nie Xinghong from Yinfeng Sect keeps pestering her, so it’s better she doesn’t come out.”

Meng Ying was truly naturally gifted and very hardworking. Zanxing had hardly seen her engage in any recreational activities. She heard that Meng Ying’s emergence from seclusion and entry into Li’er Kingdom’s secret realm was also for sword testing. Otherwise, their group of newcomers would never have had the opportunity to travel with Meng Ying.

Zanxing had just tasted some of the wine and dishes Tian Fangfang brought over when Mimi suddenly let out an “aowu” sound and jumped away from her side. She heard someone speak behind her: “Sister Yang.”

Zanxing turned around to see Rong Yu being pounced on by Mimi and looking at a loss as he tried to lift Mimi off himself.

With the cat’s current weight, it really wasn’t something a delicate fellow cultivator like Rong Yu could handle. Zanxing lifted Mimi off Rong Yu and said, “Sorry, Brother Rong. This cat just likes you too much.”

“It’s fine,” Rong Yu smiled. “It’s very cute.” Though he said this, his facial expression didn’t match his words at all.

Zanxing looked toward Yunhai Garden and understood. “What, are you also being isolated by them?”

“Liuli Sect is just a small sect to begin with. We normally wouldn’t have opportunities to interact with Chihua Gate,” Rong Yu was quite frank. “So isolation or not doesn’t matter.”

“Brother Rong, how is your senior brother?” Tian Fangfang looked up and asked. “Can he still enter the secret realm tomorrow?” Previously, Rong Yu’s senior brother had been severely injured by Tan Tianxin. In just these few days, with Li’er Kingdom’s royal medicinal materials inferior to those of the sects, it was hard to say whether he could recover before entering the secret realm.

Upon hearing this, Rong Yu’s expression became somewhat gloomy. He said, “Senior Brother still can’t get out of bed. I’m afraid tomorrow, when we enter the secret realm, he probably won’t be able to go.”