Chapter 72
It seemed that the demon bead had not been absorbed by these new disciples after all!
Could it be that the damaged divination talisman showed an error and failed?
However, seeing Qin Lingxiao’s pale and sickly appearance from vomiting, Cui Xiaoxiao felt sorry for him. While deep in thought, she casually handed Qin Lingxiao a cup of tea.
Qin Lingxiao took the fragrant tea from Cui Xiaoxiao and drank a few sips, finally managing to suppress his nausea.
He looked at the little girl lost in thought, her head slightly lowered, long eyelashes flickering, appearing much calmer than the mischievous little girl he knew.
Qin Lingxiao stared at her and finally said in a low voice, “Now that you’ve played a trick on me, we’re even. You won’t hold my previous revealing of you being a witch against me, will you?”
Xiaoxiao came back to her senses, blinking, only then understanding that Qin Lingxiao was referring to him exposing her as a witch in front of others before.
It seemed Qin Lingxiao knew she was deliberately troubling him just now, yet he still accepted it.
But Xiaoxiao didn’t consider herself and Qin Lingxiao to be on the same path, so what was there to forgive or not forgive?
Thinking of this, Xiaoxiao changed the subject, “Since using chilling objects didn’t detect the person possessed by the demon bead, could the divination talisman have made a mistake? Maybe the demon bead isn’t with these people at all?”
Qin Lingxiao had also considered this possibility and immediately said, “Impossible, this divination talisman is an ancient sacred object, the most accurate for probing demonic auras. If it wasn’t because you and another demon bead were too close, interacting with each other, it wouldn’t have shattered on its own! Moreover…not everyone present at that time was tested!”
Hearing Qin Lingxiao’s meaningful words, Cui Xiaoxiao slowly raised her head and stared at him wide-eyed.
Because he was right, on that day among the people at the foot of the mountain, apart from the new disciples taking oaths, there were also a few others.
It was Wei Jie, Tang Youshu and the others who went down the mountain to purchase supplies!
Counting the fox tribe man accompanying them, there were four people in total.
And at tonight’s yin banquet, apart from Tang Youshu accidentally eating a few bites after angering Yu Ling’er, the other three didn’t eat anything either.
Thinking of this, Cui Xiaoxiao’s heart sank like a rock.
The other two fox tribe men could be easily tested.
But Wei Jie, being a descendant of the Wei Family, was originally not afraid of chilling foods, so using the fish and shrimp from the Oblivion River couldn’t detect if he was possessed by the demon bead!
Moreover, she had already told him that another demon bead was hidden among the people on the mountain. If Wei Jie had taken precautions, how could she do anything about it?
Cui Xiaoxiao clearly knew that compared to others, Wei Jie’s constitution was actually more suitable for demonic possession.
Especially since that wrathful demon bead, like the greed bead, was refined from Wei Jie’s body, so if that demon bead possessed Wei Jie’s body, it would be returning to its original form, the consequences of which were unimaginable!
Cui Xiaoxiao didn’t know if the other demon bead would be as talkative as the greed bead, revealing to Wei Jie the fate that should not be divulged in the original timeline.
If Wei Jie knew his original destiny, no matter what he did, the change in events would lead to consequences that even the Heavenly Dao might not be able to control.
Thinking of this, Cui Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but pace around, and the more she thought about Wei Jie’s recent cold and strange behavior, the more uneasy she became!
If Wei Jie really became possessed, with his temperament, his demonic nature would develop rapidly, wouldn’t all her previous efforts be in vain?
Cui Xiaoxiao became anxious and had no heart to talk more with Qin Lingxiao.
Afterwards, she also tested the two fox tribe men with fish and meat, and after finding that they also reacted, her heart sank further!
This meant that among those present that day, there was only one person who did not pass the trial… Cui Xiaoxiao dared not think further.
Because after this Reveling Feast, all the new disciples of the Talisman Sect had fallen and could not get up.
This way, the mountain had regained some of its former tranquility.
After the banquet ended, Cui Xiaoxiao thought about it and decided to question Wei Jie to find out the truth.
She had never suspected him before, and if he was really possessed by the demon bead, he would definitely show signs of the snake and qilin.
At worst, she could make an excuse to change his clothes or something, and take a good look at his front, back, top and bottom…
But Wei Jie seemed to have disappeared. Cui Xiaoxiao couldn’t find him in the residences, so she could only search along the corridors.
When she reached the small path behind the residences, she happened to meet Tang Youshu emerging from the bushes, holding his stomach.
The outhouses on Lingshan were too crowded tonight, and Tang Youshu hadn’t been able to secure a spot several times in a row, so he had to violate the Patriarch’s new sect rules and sneak into the woods.
Unexpectedly, he ran into Cui Xiaoxiao, so he quickly apologized to the Patriarch and begged for her forgiveness.
Cui Xiaoxiao’s new sect rules were not meant to punish Lord Tang, and she was in a hurry to find Wei Jie, so she quickly interrupted Tang Youshu’s nervous apologies and asked, “Did you see your master just now?”
Tang Youshu pointed towards the small path leading to the back mountain, “Master seemed to have gone towards the back mountain.”
Hearing this, Cui Xiaoxiao hurried towards the back mountain. Tang Youshu saw that it was too dark, so he quickly took a lantern from a lamp post by the road and followed the Patriarch.
When Cui Xiaoxiao reached the cave in the back mountain where she and Master Tang Youshu used to practice, she immediately saw Wei Jie lying on the ground with his eyes closed.
Cui Xiaoxiao recognized Wei Jie at a glance and hurriedly ran over, calling out anxiously, “Wei Jie! What’s wrong with you?”
There were obvious signs of impact on the back of Wei Jie’s head, indicating that someone had taken advantage of his current inability to use true qi and lowered alertness to launch a sneak attack on him.
No matter how loudly Cui Xiaoxiao called out to him, he didn’t open his eyes, but fortunately his breathing was steady, so he seemed to have just passed out.
On the damp and cool ground at night, the back of Wei Jie’s clothes was completely soaked. At this moment, Tang Youshu arrived panting with the lantern.
Cui Xiaoxiao asked Tang Youshu to help carry Wei Jie onto a nearby large rock, then used her own robe as a pillow to prop up his head.
Whoever was capable of ambushing Wei Jie was not to be underestimated. They didn’t kill Wei Jie, only knocked him unconscious, but what was their intention?
After confirming that his master was not seriously injured, Tang Youshu took the lantern and searched around for the culprit.
At this moment, by the light of the lantern, Cui Xiaoxiao saw a clear trail of footprints leading from where Wei Jie had been lying towards the dark cave.
Could the one who attacked Wei Jie be hiding in the cave?
After making sure Wei Jie’s breathing was steady and he wasn’t in serious danger, Cui Xiaoxiao took the lantern from Tang Youshu’s hand and cautiously approached the cave.
However, before reaching the cave entrance, Cui Xiaoxiao clearly felt a faint resistance, as if there was some kind of spell formation at the entrance.
This was the cave where Tang Youshu would go into seclusion two hundred years later, and Cui Xiaoxiao had also entered the cave with him to cultivate in seclusion, but there was no such formation at the entrance back then!
With a thought, she chanted a spell with one hand, directing the nearby water towards the cave entrance. Under the water’s effect, an orderly invisible net-like formation appeared.
Although bats and insects could still enter and exit the cave, larger beings would be blocked by this net formation.
The last time they stayed outside this back mountain cave, Yu Ling’er was afraid of bats, so they never went inside and didn’t discover this hidden formation at the entrance.
The footprints lingered around here, so could the person who ambushed Wei Jie be hiding inside?
Thinking of this, Cui Xiaoxiao became cautious. She let Tang Youshu watch over Wei Jie while she tried to use her true qi to break through the formation.
However, after two strikes, the five phoenix seals on her neck suddenly grew hot, and at the same time, colorful needle-like rays of light shot out. The formation sealing the cave entrance reacted as if recognizing its master and immediately dispersed.
Cui Xiaoxiao frowned slightly, then ignited the flame in her palm to light the way as she slowly entered the cave.
Unlike the orderly state after renovations two hundred years later, this cave was full of stalactites and stalagmites everywhere.
In the center was a three-zhang-tall stone pillar, carved with a phoenix at the top, and a mysterious colorful gemstone embedded in the phoenix’s forehead.
Illuminated by the flame in Cui Xiaoxiao’s palm, the gemstone reflected a mysterious glow, lighting up the entire cave.
The phoenix had its wings spread as if about to take flight, but its talons were grasping a giant python also seemingly poised to soar. Its cold, sidelong gaze made one hesitant to approach.
Cui Xiaoxiao didn’t dare look too closely, only wanting to first confirm if there were any suspicious persons in the cave.
However, after searching the entire cave, there were no other footprints, so the mysterious person must not have been able to get past the previous formation.
At this moment, Cui Xiaoxiao finally looked at the walls of the cave…
Cui Xiaoxiao clearly remembered that in the cave two hundred years later, the walls were covered in many colorful murals, depicting not only scenes of her teacher Wei Jie’s conquests and expansions, as well as Tang Youshu’s solitary adventures, but also legends of many ancient deities.
Those murals had varying depths of color and different styles. Many were painted by her teacher when he was bored during seclusion, but some were said to date back to ancient times.
Illuminating the damp cave walls with the lantern light, there were still many faded and mottled murals in this cave.
However, these murals lacked the later additions by Tang Youshu praising the glorious deeds of the Demon Lord Wei Jie. Only the legends of the ancient deities remained.
Without Tang Youshu’s later additions glorifying her teacher, these original less prominent ancient legends stood out.
However, what caught Cui Xiaoxiao’s attention the most was a mural depicting a Phoenix Tree and phoenixes. Because that Phoenix Tree… was exactly the same as the one she saw in the Phoenix Secret Realm!
Cui Xiaoxiao studied it intently, and on the branches of the tree were also five colorful phoenixes, but above the treetop, there was an even larger phoenix circling.
That phoenix was completely black, and she didn’t know what pigment was used to color it, but under the lantern light, it seemed to be flickering with flecks of gold.
After watching for a while, Cui Xiaoxiao moved to another mural, which also depicted a black phoenix, but this time circling in the sky, as if spreading its wings and calling out.
Facing the black phoenix was a majestic-looking man.
The man wore a black robe, with a strange flame pattern on his forehead, standing in the clouds, holding a sword in one hand, his back radiating brilliant light – clearly the appearance of a celestial deity.
However, this deity was pointing his sword at the black phoenix, as if about to strike it down!
Tang Youshu, seeing that Cui Xiaoxiao had not come out for a while, also entered the cave. Walking up to her, he glanced at the murals and suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “This…isn’t this the legend of the ancient Flame Emperor battling the Evil Phoenix?”
Cui Xiaoxiao turned her head in astonishment, “The Flame Emperor?”
She had also heard of this great name from antiquity. The Flame Emperor governed the ghosts and demons of the world and was the lord of the Qiongshan Underworld, ruling over the reincarnation of souls in the six realms and maintaining the balance of the three realms.
Why would such an ancient deity draw his sword against the phoenix? Could it be that he also considered the black phoenix ominous?
Tang Youshu had devoted his life to studying medical books and pharmacology, spending the rest of his time on legends of deities, spirits, feng shui and other esoteric studies.
Hearing Cui Xiaoxiao’s question, he recounted the legends he had read.
Apparently, the Flame Emperor had once fought with another deity in order to save the collapsing underworld.
The two deities disagreed and ended up battling fiercely, with an intensity rivaling the clash between Gongong and Zhurong that shook heaven and earth.
The Flame Emperor and the other deity were both severely injured and lost their divine statuses. To evade his enemy, the Flame Emperor had to transform into a giant black python and hide beneath a lotus pond.
Unexpectedly, his enemy devised a cunning plan and released an evil phoenix to search, which immediately found the Flame Emperor’s hiding place and used its talons to drag him out from under the lotus leaves.
However, when battling the black phoenix, the Flame Emperor revealed his human form, and his handsome and innocent appearance actually deterred the evil phoenix, allowing him to escape unscathed.
The evil phoenix was then punished by the deity and had its soul sealed in the Valley of Eternity.
Such a earth-shattering battle naturally disrupted the order of heaven and earth. While losing his divine status, the Flame Emperor was also punished by being stripped of his memories and cast into the cycle of reincarnation until he expiated his karmic sins and could restore his divinity and return to rule the underworld.
It was precisely due to the absence of the lord of the underworld that the Wei Family, as demon subjugators, had to guard the entrance to the underworld at Qilao Mountain to prevent chaos while the true lord was gone.
Cui Xiaoxiao’s mind stirred as she recalled the old matriarch of the Wei Family mentioning that a deity with damaged divinity had deceived the Xia imperial family for two hundred years with the promised blessing.
Could that deceptive deity be the one who battled the Flame Emperor? The Flame Emperor was demoted and punished, while that deity seemed unscathed. Could it be that he used deception to quickly restore his divinity and avoid the suffering of reincarnation?
Viewed this way, the Heavenly Dao was truly biased, as both deities were fighting but only one was punished!
But when Cui Xiaoxiao asked which deity it was that the Flame Emperor fought, Tang Youshu could only shake his head, saying the legends were unclear on that detail.
Cui Xiaoxiao had dreamed of a tiny black phoenix hatchling before. Could that be… the very evil phoenix that was bewitched by the Flame Emperor’s beauty and ended up sealed?
From this, it could be seen that neither humans nor birds should be too lustful, or else one misstep could lead to interminable disaster… though it was hard to imagine what sort of devilish looks the Flame Emperor had to bewitch even a phoenix.
There were many more murals about deities, but Cui Xiaoxiao had no interest in looking further, as Wei Jie was still lying outside.
When Cui Xiaoxiao and Tang Youshu came out, Qin Lingxiao, Yu Ling’er, and a few fox tribe people had also arrived. They had apparently helped Cui Xiaoxiao search for Wei Jie earlier.
Qin Lingxiao had likely seen Tang Youshu running towards the back mountain with a lantern and followed him here.
Perhaps due to the surrounding voices, Wei Jie finally opened his eyes slowly. However, the eyes that opened were bloodshot, clearly indicating demonic possession.
Qin Lingxiao, who had long suspected that the wrathful demon bead had possessed Wei Jie, immediately called out in alarm, “Be careful!”
At the same time, he quickly pulled Cui Xiaoxiao to his side, grabbing her hand as if to stop her from getting close to Wei Jie.
However, the moment the red-eyed Wei Jie saw Qin Lingxiao’s large hand reach for Cui Xiaoxiao, he flew into a rage!
In the next instant, the bulging veins on Wei Jie’s head protruded as he suddenly pounced towards Qin Lingxiao, stretching out his long fingers to claw at him.
Qin Lingxiao hastily summoned a qi sword to block, but Wei Jie’s palm smashed it apart, his hand thrusting straight for Qin Lingxiao’s throat.
The White Family matriarch from the Xican Silkworm Village was just an ordinary woman, yet she became formidable after demonic possession. If it was Wei Jie who was possessed, it would be like adding ferocious claws to a fierce tiger!
Fending off the attacks with difficulty, Qin Lingxiao turned his head and shouted urgently at Cui Xiaoxiao, “He’s been demonically possessed and will start indiscriminate killing! At that point, everyone on the mountain will be in danger! You have the Heaven-Smiting Sword, which can subdue demons. You must strike his Spiritual Platform and extract the demon bead!”
Hearing this, Tang Youshu cried out in alarm, “Ancestor! You absolutely cannot! That would kill Master!”
Qin Lingxiao gritted his teeth in frustration when he heard this.
Among those present, only he had truly experienced the terror of Wei Jie’s demonic nature erupting in his previous life.
If Wei Jie’s demonic side was fully unleashed, even trying to kill him would be impossible! Was he supposed to let such womanly kindness lead to the slaughter of everyone on the mountain?
Thinking of this, Qin Lingxiao suddenly turned to try and seize Cui Xiaoxiao’s Heaven-Smiting Sword.
This sword carried the power of heavenly punishment, which no demon could withstand. Only by striking Wei Jie’s Spiritual Platform like he did in his past life could he truly slay this murderous demon!
But Cui Xiaoxiao had anticipated he would try to take the sword. In desperation, she activated a fire talisman, igniting the lantern Tang Youshu was holding and transforming it into a ring of flames that shot towards Qin Lingxiao.
Left with no choice, Qin Lingxiao could only retreat repeatedly. This left Cui Xiaoxiao fully exposed before Wei Jie.
The red-eyed Wei Jie, seemingly not recognizing anyone, suddenly pounced towards Cui Xiaoxiao.
Cui Xiaoxiao didn’t dare dodge, fearing he would attack Tang Youshu and the others instead, so she could only steel herself to battle her own disciple!
Although Cui Xiaoxiao took Wei Jie as her disciple, she never truly understood his level of cultivation. She only knew he was a rare genius talent in immortal cultivation, but such gifted geniuses often didn’t reveal the depths of their abilities until the utmost crisis.
He himself probably didn’t know how far he had progressed either.
And now, Wei Jie had completely lost his sanity, his expression murderous, muscles taut, clearly in a frenzy of life-and-death struggle.
So his every move utilized his full power without holding back.
Since meeting him, Cui Xiaoxiao had never even sparred with her own disciple. Yet their very first exchange was this fight to the death, leaving her flustered and struggling to respond.
Of course, Qin Lingxiao wouldn’t allow Cui Xiaoxiao to face Wei Jie alone, so he formed another qi sword to fight alongside her against the frenzied Wei Jie.
For a moment, the three battled fiercely, attacking and defending, their spiritual qi violently clashing and forcing the others to retreat from the gale-force winds.
Cui Xiaoxiao noticed that when Qin Lingxiao joined her side, Wei Jie’s killing intent intensified even further, his qi shield crashing down like a tidal wave, the spikes on it multiplying several times over…
So Cui Xiaoxiao made a snap decision and shouted at Qin Lingxiao, “Quickly withdraw and find somewhere to hide! Don’t let Wei Jie see your face!”
Qin Lingxiao was dumbfounded. In his over two hundred years of demon subjugation, he had never heard of such a tactic of hiding one’s face when battling demons!
But Cui Xiaoxiao was not joking. Seeing no response from him, she shouted again, even summoning a few sparks in an attempt to singe his butt.
Left with no choice, Qin Lingxiao temporarily retreated and concealed himself in a nearby bush.
Sure enough, with Qin Lingxiao out of his sight, Wei Jie’s attacks slowed somewhat, though he remained restless in his assault on Cui Xiaoxiao.
Cui Xiaoxiao had once been influenced by the demon bead when battling Wan Liansi, losing consciousness and briefly turning demonic, so she understood the feeling.
However, facing this red-eyed Wei Jie, Cui Xiaoxiao felt something was amiss…
Why did she keep feeling that her demonically possessed disciple seemed more interested in her clothes, sash, and the like, as if frantically trying to tear her garments open?
The more exchanges they had, the more certain Cui Xiaoxiao became that Wei Jie was using moves from the lecherous “Flower Picking” style!
He really did seem intent on ripping off her clothes!
What sort of demonic possession was this, the lust demon?
Seeing his flushed red eyes, Cui Xiaoxiao’s cheeks reddened as she felt flustered and angry. Even knowing he didn’t mean to take her life, she still didn’t dare let her guard down!
After all, they were being watched by everyone here. If she slowed down and let Wei Jie undo her sash, wouldn’t she be exposed in full view, losing face as the Sect Patriarch?
Cui Xiaoxiao also noticed that although Wei Jie’s eyes were red, his fingernails had not turned black like demonic claws, completely different from when she was possessed before.
His frantic, undressing behavior was actually more akin to when he sniffed that aphrodisiac powder in the secret passages of Prince Can Manor, just far more intense.
At this moment, the observing Yu Ling’er also realized what was going on. Covering her eyes with one hand while peering through her fingers, she called out loudly, “This… Has Wei Jie been secretly practicing the Joyous Unity Sect’s techniques and gone into demonic frenzy from dual cultivation?! Xiaoxiao, be careful, don’t let him undo your clothes!”
If the situation permitted, Cui Xiaoxiao really wanted to roll her eyes. Barely fending off Wei Jie’s relentless attacks and unable to use her water spells, the flustered Cui Xiaoxiao hurriedly shouted to Tang Youshu and Yu Ling’er, “Quick, go get some water and douse Wei Jie with it!”
