Chapter 40 Part 1

Clearly, it was already too late to throw her lot in with the Tao father and son.

Li Jiangying’s smile looked more painful than tears. “Yueying, there’s nothing in this world that can’t be solved with a good talk. Take a step back and you’ll find the sea and sky are boundless. How about you let me go first, and we can discuss this slowly?”

Li Yueying arched an eyebrow. “What’s there to discuss?”

Li Jiangying thought for a moment, felt the hand on her throat tightening again, and quickly said, “Like the question of who I really am!”

“Ha? Even now, you’re still playing the fool?”

“This time I really am not!” Li Jiangying protested. “Have you never suspected me? I don’t remember anything, and I definitely don’t remember you!”

As soon as she spoke, she saw the blood-red vertical pupils right before her eyes contract in shock, narrowing into sharper slits. Li Yueying trembled slightly, clenching her teeth in refutation. “Impossible, you’re lying to me!”

Li Jiangying’s throat ached fiercely. She coughed and said, “On this point, I’m not lying… Moon Shadow Devil Venerable. We’ve spent no short amount of time together now. Can you really not tell whether I’m lying or not?”

No… it was precisely because she could tell…

The hand around her throat trembled almost imperceptibly. As if forced to confront something so horrifying it could destroy everything, Li Yueying’s face showed a fear and evasion she couldn’t hide.

“I don’t believe it!” she shouted, stubbornly wanting Li Jiangying to admit she remembered everything. “You’re lying to me, you’re lying again! You always play the fool, toying with others… you clearly remember!”

She was strangling Li Jiangying as easily as holding a chick. In her agitation, she couldn’t help but shake her back and forth slightly. Li Jiangying immediately rolled her eyes back, almost passing out.

Li Jiangying hastily coughed a few times to remind Li Yueying to calm down. She looked at her with sympathy—the victim on the verge of being strangled, now reversing roles to pat the aggressor’s arm in comfort. “I really don’t remember. But I didn’t expect you still…”

“Ying Xiaoyou!”

“Daoist Ying!”

As the saying goes, arriving at the perfect moment, just as Li Jiangying was about to seek refuge with the Tao father and son, they rushed over.

The two had already sensed the anomaly here. Moreover, when a woman in a black hood carrying a cloth bundle suddenly appeared, claiming Daoist Ying was in danger, they hurried over immediately.

Tao Sanyu swiftly approached. Seeing the positions of Li Yueying and Li Jiangying, he was taken aback. “Ying Xiaoyou, what is the meaning of this?! And you… who are you, the Moon Shadow Devil Venerable?!”

Li Yueying’s beautiful face was filled with killing intent. She looked back at him coldly. “And who are you?”

Tao Sanyu’s mouth twitched. He stopped about ten meters away and said, “This junior is Tao Sanyu, head of the Tao Clan. The person Senior holds is a valued guest of my Tao family. Please let her go!”

Li Yueying thought for a moment, showing him absolutely no face. “Never heard of you! And you dare try to take my person with just that?!”

The Moon Shadow Devil Venerable’s madness was no secret. The rumors that a Descendant of the Divine Phoenix was at her side were even more widespread. Recently, everyone had guessed she was gravely injured, hiding within the Moon Shadow Devil Palace, too afraid to show her face.

And now she had actually appeared in Flying Swallow Capital… Still, they were both at the Transformation Realm, and the Moon Shadow Devil Venerable was injured. It wasn’t entirely impossible to contend against her.

Tao Sanyu smiled. “Ying Xiaoyou is simply far too important to my Tao family. Even if it means offending you, Senior… this junior will never allow her to die by your hand!”

Tao Sanyu’s domineering aura was fully displayed, but Li Jiangying’s legs went weak with fear. Overwhelming murderous intent radiated from Li Yueying. Though she was looking at Tao Sanyu, Li Jiangying felt those eyes were fixed solely on her.

That elegant yet terrifying hand finally released Li Jiangying’s neck. Crisp, clean air rushed into her lungs. Li Jiangying clutched her throat and coughed violently. But before the stinging pain even subsided, that hand simply shifted targets, letting fingertips glide over the tender flesh of Li Jiangying’s neck before gently lifting her chin.

Even though only two cold fingers touched her, it felt as if she were bound by invisible chains, leaving Li Jiangying too afraid to move recklessly.

“What is your relationship with her?” Li Yueying asked Tao Sanyu softly, her face full of casual disdain.

Trembling, Li Jiangying raised her hands to cover her own neck, preventing her from choking her again on a whim.

Tao Sanyu looked at the two women, bewildered. He felt their relationship was far more than just what he’d witnessed a moment ago. “Ying Xiaoyou is an extremely important friend to us.”

“Oh, a friend.” Li Yueying’s lips curled into a light smile. “I’ve let her go now. What do you intend to do?”

Li Jiangying frantically signaled Tao Sanyu with her eyes: Don’t say more!

Tao Sanyu nodded solemnly. “We previously invited Ying Xiaoyou to visit the Tao Clan of Flame City as a guest. Now, naturally, we must fulfill that promise.”

Li Jiangying looked at Li Yueying in despair. Sure enough, Li Yueying turned her head back with a smile, gentle as if the next second she’d wrap around her, strangle her, and swallow her whole. “In that case, Jiangying… do you want to go?”

Li Jiangying, hands still protecting her neck, asked mournfully, “Do you want me to go?”

Instantly, the smile vanished from Li Yueying’s face. The two fingers lifting her chin pressed slightly harder, forcing Li Jiangying to tilt her face upward, revealing a miserable expression.

“This Venerable One has said… you can only die by This Venerable One’s hand!” Li Yueying’s expression was icy.

Li Jiangying could only turn her head and say sorrowfully to Tao Sanyu, “Senior Tao… please forgive me, but I cannot visit the Tao Clan.”

Even though she refused, Tao Sanyu wouldn’t give up easily. He was deeply loyal. Stepping forward, he flipped his hand and produced a long sword crackling with lightning from thin air. He declared resolutely, “Ying Xiaoyou, do not fear! Since the Tao family has acknowledged you as a friend, we will never stand by and watch you die!”

“No! We’ve only known each other for a short time, you truly don’t have to go this far!”

But as a bottom-rung individual of the Devil Cultivation world, Li Jiangying simply couldn’t stop two top-tier Devil Cultivators from fighting. The hand lifting her chin dropped down, pushing against her chest. Li Jiangying stumbled back two steps. By the time she steadied herself, the two had already clashed.

They tacitly flew upwards, not engaging directly on the ground. At some point, Li Yueying’s nostalgically familiar great blade had reappeared. Compared to her slender, graceful figure, it was shockingly brutish.

Clang! Blade and sword collided. A gale swept across the ground, whipping up dust and fallen leaves. Li Jiangying raised a hand to shield her face, coughing lowly, and was pushed backward by the fierce wind.

Blade qi and sword qi scattered wildly amidst their exchange. Boom! Crash! The surrounding buildings and vegetation met disaster. Countless deep gashes splintered them into fragments. Li Jiangying’s skin stung. Suddenly, someone pulled her into a corner.

It was Tao Buluo. Acting according to circumstance, he had saved the recently embarked on cultivation Li Jiangying. Gu Qinglin was here too, having raised a barrier to protect the juniors.

“What is the meaning of this!” Gu Qinglin fumed. Her courtyard, her Alchemy Valley, her planted herbs and flowers… all damn well destroyed!

The two fighting overhead weren’t easy to provoke. Grinding her molars, Gu Qinglin glared darkly at Li Jiangying and Tao Buluo. “You two better explain this clearly! Then pay up!”

Tao Buluo rubbed his nose, his fan now fluttering quickly and shallowly close to his face, betraying his unease. He glanced up at the Moon Shadow Devil Venerable overhead, then looked at Li Jiangying with a strange expression. “Daoist Ying… if I’m not mistaken, weren’t you two getting along just fine before?”

Li Jiangying looked accusingly at Gu Qinglin. “It’s all Doctor Gu’s fault! You had to be idle and help her treat her Heart Devil!”

Gu Qinglin’s face was full of bewilderment. “No matter how much an outsider interferes, they can only influence a little bit. I saw her injury was entangled with her Heart Devil, so I helped ease it a bit along the way. What, is that a problem?”

Li Jiangying let out a long sigh. She crouched down, burying her face in her hands. She rubbed her face wearily and said, “It’s a huge problem! This identity of mine… likely had a significant falling out with Yueying long ago. She didn’t care when she was mad, but now that she’s clear-headed, she’s here to settle accounts with me.”

Gu Qinglin pondered for a moment, then turned her head to Tao Buluo. “Remember to pay compensation.”

Tao Buluo nodded repeatedly. “Certainly, certainly.”

Then, Gu Qinglin raised a foot and kicked Li Jiangying right out of her small barrier.

“??!” Li Jiangying sputtered. “Doctor Gu, aren’t you being too disloyal!”

She tumbled across the ground a few times. The moment she stopped, she felt the blade and sword qi from the two in the sky slicing towards her flesh. She immediately ducked her head and scurried away in a crouch.

“Li Jiangying!”

This sneaky, fleeing figure couldn’t escape the Moon Shadow Devil Venerable Lord’s sharp eyes. She was furious. Exploding with power, a continuous blade technique forced Tao Sanyu into a terrified retreat.

Blade qi invaded his internal organs. Tao Sanyu staggered back to the ground, clutching his chest and vomiting blood. The Fire Affliction had just subsided, and now blade qi had entered his body… he inexplicably felt he’d been rather unlucky lately.

Meanwhile, Li Yueying charged straight for Li Jiangying. With a wave of her hand, the pitch-black great blade, as tall as a person, descended from the sky and stabbed into the ground right in front of Li Jiangying.

Thud!

Li Jiangying’s face went pale. She braked desperately, nearly slamming headfirst into the blade.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Accompanied by a chilling question, a cold, soft hand landed on her shoulder.

Li Jiangying made a last-ditch struggle. “Nature calls! Can’t I go answer it for a moment?”

Li Yueying sneered. “Of course. Since you’re in a hurry, answer it right now.”

“???” Li Jiangying looked back at her in disbelief. “Are you serious?”

Li Yueying stared at her coldly. “Liar.”

Li Jiangying was enraged. “I wouldn’t mind, but I’m afraid you’d be too scared to watch!”

“What is there This Venerable One wouldn’t dare watch? What part of your entire body haven’t I seen before?” Li Yueying showed no weakness whatsoever. Her grip on Li Jiangying’s shoulder tightened slightly, her whitening knuckles betraying her inner fury.

Li Jiangying’s shoulder hurt, and fire ignited in her heart. Rage rose from within, wickedness swelling in her gut. She grabbed Li Yueying’s hand in return. “Come on then, watch if you dare!”

The cold-faced woman shot eye-daggers at her. Li Jiangying was about to drag her to the outhouse to prove whether she was lying when the Tao father and son finally couldn’t hold back.

Tao Sanyu coughed several times. Embarrassed, he said to Li Jiangying, “Ying Xiaoyou, I’m sorry… it was my incompetence.”

Extremely touched, Li Jiangying pleaded, “Senior, please don’t say that! I appreciate your kindness, but we’ll talk about this later!”

“Lat…er… talk?” Li Yueying asked darkly.

Li Jiangying: “Senior, go heal your wounds quickly!”

Gu Qinglin was here, and Li Jiangying couldn’t fend for herself, she truly didn’t have the mind to keep exchanging pleasantries with the Tao father and son.

On the surface, she strode quickly outwards, pulling Li Yueying along. In reality, she was terrified, her brain spinning frantically, thinking of how to convince her to let her go.

As they walked, Li Yueying stopped. Li Jiangying hadn’t noticed and continued forward. Instead of moving ahead, the tug on their clasped hands sent her stumbling back into Li Yueying’s embrace.

Li Yueying didn’t even need to adjust her posture. She lowered her head slightly and asked coldly into her ear, “Is this how you’re in a hurry?”

Li Jiangying coughed!

She looked up and found they had arrived at the small courtyard they were borrowing. No wonder Li Yueying had pulled her back.

After walking this stretch, Li Jiangying’s impulsiveness had mostly evaporated. Showing her whether or not nature really called was impossible. She was afraid that the moment her pants dropped, her head would follow.

“Your Highness!” Cui Yu saluted Li Yueying in surprise. Earlier, when Li Yueying and Tao Sanyu had fought, most people had seen it. The small fries didn’t dare approach. Even Cui Yu was hesitant to come forward at such a sensitive moment.

But unfortunately, her Highness had already arrived. She could only brace herself and greet her.