Chapter 28 Part 2

Chongxu Sect cultivator: “…”

Liu Lizhu glanced at the speaker, feigning reproach. “Junior sister, mind your words!”

Zhan Yujie chuckled unhurriedly. “Junior Sister Yan, we just won’t look at them.”

Tension thickened in the smokeless battlefield. Cultivators smelled the gunpowder between the groups but dared not offend either side—their whispers died down.

In the camp, Chongxu Sect and Zhan Yujie’s group split clearly, lines drawn.

“They’re the stronger force, alas.” Yan Zhichuan propped her cheek, sighing. “Maybe we should just forget it—it’s not our problem anyway.”

Why should she care about others’ lives?

Zhan Yujie shook her head. “Letting one side grow while the other weakens isn’t wise.”

Yan Zhichuan said “oh” and closed her eyes. “I’m meditating. Call me if you need anything, senior sister.”

She stopped talking.

Unlike Yan Zhichuan’s carefree attitude, Jiang Cizhu was on edge. Since Liu Lizhu appeared, her nerves hadn’t relaxed. She still suspected Liu Lizhu was a Demon Cultivator, but associating with one didn’t paint her clean either. Now, with many rallying to Liu Lizhu and no proof, no one would believe her.

“Fellow Daoist Zhan, that cave—” Jiang Cizhu sent a transmission.

If Liu Lizhu colluded with Demon Cultivators, it wouldn’t hold lost Daoists but a brutal graveyard.

Zhan Yujie replied, “Good or bad, we have to check.”

The night passed uneventfully.

The next day, Liu Lizhu led the group toward the cave with suspected Daoist traces.

The sky was dim; they encountered a few Demon Shadows en route. The Demon-Luring Lamp absorbed two; the rest fled.

Some fighters were injured. Liu Yanqing had Chongxu Sect members carry the Demon-Luring Lamp to suck out the demonic qi from wounds.

Chang Zhi was hurt too and waited patiently for the lamp-bearer to cleanse her.

Little Fat Chirp chirped twice, at first just pecking lightly at Chang Zhi. But as the Demon-Luring Lamp drew nearer, it switched to fanning her with its wings.

Don’t underestimate it as a mere Little Fat Chirp—its strength was Golden Core level, far from its harmless appearance.

Chang Zhi took a slap to the face and it swelled instantly.

Chang Zhi: “…”

She expressionlessly plucked Chang Buzhi from her shoulder, said “Sorry” to the cultivator holding the lamp, and strode quickly toward the other side.

The murmurs of the other cultivators rang clearly in her ears.

“I always heard that Myriad Beasts Sect folks are just dogs for spirit beasts. Good thing I didn’t join.”

“You don’t have the beast-taming talent anyway.”

“Getting slapped by something fluffy is my honor.”

…

Chang Zhi lowered her voice. “Why not?”

The Demon-Luring Lamp hadn’t provoked such a big reaction from Chang Buzhi when it tried channeling demonic qi into it before.

Little Fat Chirp glared with its beady black eyes, looking ready to peck her to death the moment she stepped away.

Chang Zhi rubbed her forehead and pointed to her wound. “The Clear Heart Pill didn’t work. Do you want me to die?”

Little Fat Chirp: “Cheep cheep!” Clear Heart Subdue Demon Pill!

Chang Zhi frowned. “That’s your medicine.” The Demon-Luring Lamp couldn’t remove demonic qi from spirit beasts anyway—she couldn’t just use it up.

Little Fat Chirp flapped a wing to point at Yan Zhichuan, sprawled limply on Cloudy.

Zhan Yujie handed the used Clear Heart Subdue Demon Pill to the impatient Jie Tianxuan, who was waiting for the Demon-Luring Lamp. She then caught a fresh box from Yan Zhichuan’s pale hand.

Chang Zhi: “?”

Wasn’t that grass extinct? Is Fellow Daoist Yan telling bald-faced lies with her eyes wide open?

Yan Zhichuan actually didn’t want to work so hard.

But thinking of the possibly endless black shadows and the shortage of Clear Heart Subdue Demon Pills, she rallied herself.

She could always mooch other spirit plants from Miracle Hand Sect if needed, but Subdue Demon Spirit Grass could only be exchanged from the system.

She frantically refined batch after batch of Dao Pills, which the system promptly devoured without leaving a crumb.

By the time she’d processed the last stalk of Subdue Demon Spirit Grass, she felt like she was about to drop dead.

Jie Tianxuan offered to help.

Yan Zhichuan refused.

It wasn’t that she feared leaking the recipe—Jie Tianxuan was just a beginner, and what if she botched it? Those Subdue Demon Spirit Grasses were her life’s blood; not a single one could be wasted.

“Thanks, Fellow Daoist,” Jie Tianxuan whispered gratefully.

Yan Zhichuan said nothing and handed her a jade slip.

Jie Tianxuan froze, glanced at it, and her expression changed dramatically. “No, this is too precious. I can’t accept it!”

The jade slip contained the recipe for Subdue Demon Spirit Grass!

Hearing this, Yan Zhichuan turned away listlessly. “It’s fine. The Subdue Demon Spirit Grass is extinct anyway.”

Jie Tianxuan: “…” If it’s really extinct, where did Yan Zhichuan get hers? Has Nine Abyss Sect’s Medicine Peak revived it? Is this recipe a signal for deeper exchange with Miracle Hand Sect? In that instant, Jie Tianxuan’s mind raced through possibilities, her expression shifting repeatedly. Finally, she accepted the jade slip and solemnly bowed to Yan Zhichuan.

Zhan Yujie sent a transmission: Aren’t you worried about giving them the recipe?

She didn’t buy Yan Zhichuan’s story about getting the Subdue Demon Spirit Grass from a secret realm, but this extinct plant had indeed appeared.

Yan Zhichuan’s eyes darted around. “I wasn’t trying to scam them out of their money.”

Zhan Yujie’s lashes trembled.

Got it. The free stuff is the most expensive.

Knowing Yan Zhichuan had more medicine eased Chang Zhi’s mind.

She didn’t want to wait for the Demon-Luring Lamp and popped a Clear Heart Subdue Demon Pill right then.

The medicine worked like a charm—better than the high-grade spirit drugs she’d splurged on in the past.

Is Fellow Daoist Yan a beast tamer, a sword cultivator… or a medical cultivator?

Chang Zhi was baffled.

Activating the Demon-Luring Lamp required spiritual power, so one fewer person lightened the load for Chongxu Sect.

Assuming Chang Zhi had suppressed the demonic qi some other way, the cultivator kindly warned, “Even if you suppress the demonic qi without rooting it out, it’ll come roaring back—maybe even fiercer than before.”

Chang Zhi cupped her hands toward the cultivator and said solemnly, “Many thanks, Fellow Daoist.”

But she felt great now—no need for the lamp!

They cycled through two more lamp-bearers before reaching the cultivator with no demonic qi traces, who asked them gently if they were injured.

Zhan Yujie shielded Yan Zhichuan. They’d both emerged unscathed from the fight with the black shadows.

But when the Chongxu Sect cultivator approached, Yan Zhichuan’s face paled further, and she adopted a deathly feeble look.

The Chongxu cultivator saw no injuries and lazily moved on without asking.

Yan Zhichuan suddenly spoke up. “Demonic qi invaded my inner palace. I’m dying.”

Zhan Yujie: “……”

Even if she resented Nine Abyss Sect, she couldn’t let someone die. The cultivator channeled spiritual power over Yan Zhichuan and found nothing amiss. She eyed Yan Zhichuan suspiciously, wondering if this was deliberate troublemaking. But that ashen face looked like she was truly on her last breath.

Yan Zhichuan gazed pitifully. “Come closer.”

She couldn’t reach to bite.

The Chongxu cultivator, enduring impatience, brought the lamp nearer.

Out of their sight, Yan Zhichuan swallowed the struggling black mist in one gulp.

The lantern flame flickered in the wind, its light dimming sharply.

Yan Zhichuan sat up and patted her belly.

A brilliant smile bloomed on her pale cheeks. She blinked. “I’m alive! Thanks, big sis.”

The Chongxu cultivator frowned.

She felt played, a stifled frustration rising—but meeting Yan Zhichuan’s spring-flower smile, she forcibly swallowed it down.

She shot Zhan Yujie a glance and said coolly, “Fellow Daoist Zhan, keep an eye on your junior sister. Don’t let her get hurt again.”

With that, she walked off without looking back.

Zhan Yujie remained expressionless.

She turned to Yan Zhichuan, trying to read her face.

She couldn’t fathom Yan Zhichuan’s actions.

But Yan Zhichuan, utterly shameless, flopped onto Cloudy, hands behind her head, humming a cheerful tune.

Zhan Yujie told herself: She’s having one of her episodes.

She had to forgive her terminally ill junior sister.

It wasn’t her who’d been tricked, after all.

But what was with that Chongxu cultivator’s look?

She even overheard, “All reputation and no substance.”

On Cloudy, Little Fat Chirp—the Heavenly Dao System incarnate—stomped furiously.

Do I have to be this gluttonous? The real issue is, she didn’t see anything wrong with gobbling black shadows!

Yan Zhichuan’s camp was still “play it by ear,” but why was Zhan Yujie’s mind spinning like a lantern procession?

Nothing even happened!

The Heavenly Dao System despaired.

It turned and met Zhan Yujie’s cold, inhuman gaze. Little Fat Chirp froze, feathers puffing up.

Yan Zhichuan drowsed atop Cloudy.

But suddenly, a biting gale like arrows pierced her skin, a massive weight pressing on her head.

She jolted awake and tossed a Forget-Sorrow Pill into her mouth without thinking.

Beside her, Zhan Yujie saw her stir and didn’t need to call out.

Ahead, the glacier refracted rainbow hues in the sunlight. Amid the dazzling glow, a colossal Demon Shadow emerged. Unlike the previous formless blobs, this one had a distinct outline—like a winged demon bird descending upon the human world. It flapped its wings, whipping up bone-chilling winds.

The pale sun vanished behind smoke, as if night had fallen.

“Is it the leader of those Demon Shadows?” Yan Zhichuan muttered. She stretched lazily, saw the other cultivators’ grim, battle-ready fear, and blinked in a daze. To blend in, she mimicked a look of being crushed by its pressure.

“This aura—” Jiang Cizhu’s face drained of color.

“Nascent Soul!” Zhan Yujie spat the words.

No sooner said than the Demon Shadow unleashed a shrill cry, shaking the entire glacier.

Two crimson glows bloomed from its head—like the demon opening its eyes.

A ferocious storm swept forward amid crackling bursts. Those in front with insufficient cultivation instantly froze into ice sculptures, then shattered by the gale!

Sword of Nine Abyss unleashed Kun Spin, surging waters like an inverted heavenly river.

But the instant it met the icy wind, it froze solid into an ice wall.

Zhan Yujie gazed at Liu Lizhu.

For a split second, she suspected this demon was her doing.

But Liu Lizhu showed no tells, instead rallying Chongxu Sect to form a sword array. She led the charge, sword in hand—her ice-wind gashes looked genuine.

Looks like the Demon Shadows in Three Ways River…

…are enemies of the Demon Cultivators too.

The Demon-Luring Lamp was a Xuanmen artifact that suppressed demonic qi, but for some reason, a thread of unease lingered in her heart.

A voice rose from the crowd: “Fight! If we can’t, send word via jade slip.”

They weren’t alone—so many Golden Cores could grind down a Nascent Soul!