Chapter 24

The atmosphere in the room had grown too ambiguous earlier, and Fu Lan Cen, feeling a touch of disappointment, turned down Lu Xi’s offer to accompany her on a stroll outside. For the time being, she wanted some solitude.

“…I carry a strand of your divine soul within me. If any danger arises, you’ll sense it immediately, so there’s no need to worry. Besides, this is the Mortal Realm. As long as I suppress my aura completely, no one will notice me.”

Fu Lan Cen refused repeatedly, and Lu Xi realized she simply didn’t want her company right now—which was fine, since Lu Xi needed time to sort out her own feelings for the other woman. After a moment of silence, she issued a solemn reminder: “Your injuries haven’t fully healed yet, so don’t wander too far. If you feel any discomfort at all, hurry back.”

The door creaked open and then swung shut behind her. The little fox, having pinched the seal for her Invisibility Art, slipped quietly from the room. As that faint, sweet fragrance faded away, Lu Xi felt an odd emptiness settle in her heart.

Though a fragment of her divine soul lingered in Fu Lan Cen’s mind sea and could alert her to any peril, it wasn’t enough anymore. Lu Xi wanted to know where she was heading, what trinkets caught her eye, and whether the sour hawthorn in the tanghulu made her wince as she bit into it…

But her ingrained habits warned her that secretly spying on others was wrong.

She wavered for a long while, one foot already poised to throw back the covers and dash into the streets after the little fox, when a familiar cry echoed through her mind sea.

“Xi Ning!” It was the original host’s guardian divine beast, Zhi Wu, reaching out through their contract bond.

Recalling that Zhi Wu had gone to the Northern Wastelands to inspect the seal, Lu Xi’s heart sank. “What happened to the seal?”

That formation imprisoning the Demon Venerable had been established ten thousand years ago by the original host and the ancient gods, who expended their essence blood and used their divine souls as the anchor to barely contain the rampaging fiend. In the end, only the original host had survived.

To keep reinforcing it afterward, she had left the Heavenly Realm entirely for the array’s location. For tens of thousands of years, the current immortal lords and maidens of the Heavenly Realm had never laid eyes on True God Xi Ning, while Zhi Wu and Qi Ran obeyed her decree without ever revealing her whereabouts—lest they incite panic among the immortals.

Yet even Xi Ning had noticed faint cracks forming in the array thousands of years ago. To prevent the Demon Venerable’s escape and the calamity it would bring upon the world, she petitioned the Heavenly Dao itself with her true god’s authority. The decree it bestowed was for a Divine Maiden to descend, unite with a god in dual cultivation, and reseal the Demon Venerable using a pristine bloodline.

Thus, unable to leave the Northern Wastelands herself, Xi Ning relayed word to Zhi Wu and Qi Ran in the Heavenly Realm, instructing Qi Ran to seek out and safeguard the Divine Maiden in advance.

Who could have foreseen that after a mere thousand years, the cracks would widen dramatically? It wouldn’t be long before the array could no longer contain the Demon Venerable.

“…The formation shifted violently all of a sudden. Even transforming into my true form and suppressing it with my own flesh and blood, I can’t keep the fissures from growing. I’m afraid… I’m afraid something terrible is about to happen!” Panic, rare in Zhi Wu’s voice, underscored the urgency.

But Lu Xi was not in the Northern Wastelands. Even rushing there would take time, and she knew Fu Lan Cen was the true Divine Maiden—she had to stay by her side. Otherwise, if Bai You Ran made a move, things could turn far worse.

After a long moment of contemplation, Lu Xi crossed her legs at the bedside, closed her eyes, sealed off her five senses, and extended her divine sense outward, projecting it through the contract bond to Zhi Wu.

The moment her divine sense arrived in the Northern Wastelands, her illusory projection materialized beside Zhi Wu, where she immediately spotted the swirling vortex of thick clouds atop the mountain peak. “I can’t come in person. This is all I can manage to inspect.”

Zhi Wu’s taut nerves eased slightly with Lu Xi’s divine sense bolstering her.

Before long, Lu Xi’s spiritual power enveloped the entire mountaintop once more. She addressed Zhi Wu steadily: “The fissures can still be repaired—we can buy more time. Listen closely: First, exhale a breath of Dragon Breath…”

In the serene expanse of the Four Seas Eight Wastelands, no one knew of the crisis that had nearly erupted in the Northern Wastelands.

…

The bustling streets teemed with ordinary mortals hurrying to and fro, while vendors on either side hawked their wares, clamoring to drum up business.

Fu Lan Cen, aura fully suppressed and now wearing the guise of a handsome youth, melted into the crowd. She drifted along with the flow of people, leisurely browsing the stalls.

All of it was so novel and strange to her—things she had never glimpsed before, sights she had always yearned to witness with her own eyes.

After a bit of wandering, her earlier frustration ebbed away, and her features softened. Remembering the tanghulu she wanted to try, her pointed ears twitched faintly, drawing her toward the vendor’s calls.

She stopped before a rack of bright red, enticingly sweet tanghulu skewers and grinned at the vendor as she handed over a gold ingot. “I’ll take two strings.”

One for herself, and the other for that stubborn gourd Lu Xi—let her taste it too.

The vendor took the ingot with wide-eyed delight and a hint of shock, passing over two plump, vibrant skewers before hesitating. “Miss, that’s far too much. I can’t make change for it…”

Fu Lan Cen inhaled the honeyed aroma and waved him off. “No need. Keep it.”

She turned to leave when a strange, alluring fragrance suddenly permeated the air. No one around her seemed to notice, but her heart clenched, and she bolted to flee.

One glance over her shoulder, however, and she saw the one standing behind her.

It was an elder from their clan: Nian Ci.

“Come back with me,” Nian Ci said curtly, without preamble. A violet-glowing rope shot from his hand, binding Fu Lan Cen.

“Elder?!” Fu Lan Cen cried out in shock, but before she could struggle, Nian Ci yanked her along—and they vanished from the spot.

The vendor who had witnessed it all stared in disbelief, eyes bulging. Shaking his head at what he assumed was a hallucination, he scanned the area. But the lovely young woman was gone.

A glance downward revealed the two tanghulu strings fallen to the dirt, now soiled and ruined.

…

In the Heavenly Realm.

After days of rest and recovery, the God Venerable’s Wife was finally well enough to leave White Orchid Hall.

To ensure the verification process remained impartial, Qi Ran God Venerable had summoned all the Heavenly Realm’s immortals to the Star Platform early that morning.

Mist swirled across the vast Star Platform, already crowded with spectators.

Today’s check was crucial. The infiltrating Demon Clan members could very well be among the White Orchid Hall attendants.

The immortal lords and maidens watched as Qi Ran God Venerable summoned the Demon-Exterminating Mirror once more, observing the guards and servants step forward one by one.

But after verifying just a few, a commotion erupted from outside the platform.

The gossip-loving immortals craned their necks and saw two figures shoving past the obstructing guards, striding boldly onto the Star Platform.

Someone moved to scold them, but the young woman who had arrived offered a proper salute to Qi Ran God Venerable atop the platform, amplifying her voice with immortal power: “God Venerable, Immortal Maiden Bai Qing Yuan of Qingqiu and Long Qian of the Dragon Clan have come to pay respects. We bear urgent matters to report.”

Her words silenced the crowd. People from Qingqiu were kin to the God Venerable’s Wife, and the Dragon Clan hailed from Lady Zhi Wu’s ancient lineage—none dared offend them.

“What is it?” Qi Ran asked. Mindful that Bai Qing Yuan was his wife’s younger sister, the stern lines on his face softened slightly.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Bai Qing Yuan fixed her gaze solely on Bai You Ran beside Qi Ran. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, her “dear sister” cut her off first: “Sister, if you have some private words for me, why not head to White Orchid Hall first? Once I finish here, we can chat family matters.”

The immortals exchanged varied glances, murmuring their sudden displeasure at Bai Qing Yuan’s unannounced ascent to the Ninth Heaven.

As cleared White Orchid Hall personnel approached Bai Qing Yuan and Long Qian to escort them away, unleashing subtle attacks underhandedly, Long Qian swiftly shielded her, blocking the strikes.

“God Venerable,” Bai Qing Yuan declared, stepping forward amid gasps of surprise, “The matter I must report concerns you, the God Venerable’s Wife—and the Demon Clan.

“Bai You Ran is not the true God Venerable’s Wife. The one meant to wed you is my other sister, Fu Lan Cen.”