Chapter 93: Temporary Farewell

The Demon Subduing Division consisted of public servants of the Great Zhou Kingdom—and rather sensitive ones at that.

Their publicly declared duty was to deal with evil spirits, so every time they arrived somewhere, they stirred up no small commotion locally.

It was one thing within the Great Zhou Kingdom itself, but venturing into other lands brought this inherent “halo” that could easily spark all sorts of trouble. Most neighboring countries weren’t particularly fond of Demon Subduing Division visits as a result.

If Zou Lian wanted to head out openly and aboveboard, she first had to report it to the General Affairs Hall of the Demon Subduing Division and get her master’s approval. Then it would be escalated to the Imperial Court for verification, after which an official letter would be sent to the destination. All in all, it was an incredibly convoluted process.

Of course, rules were made to be bent. Sneaking out without exposing one’s identity or causing any official headaches? The Demon Subduing Division tended to look the other way.

But Zou Lian would never stoop to something like that.

“Is that so?” The Little Snake Demon scratched her head regretfully. “I was hoping to hang out with Senior Sister a bit longer… But no biggie. I’ll make it to Luo City by summer, and we can catch up then! Du Xuan should be done with her special training by that point, right?”

“Is your head full of nothing but playtime all day long…?”

Senior Sister offered the remark with a hint of helplessness before growing serious.

“Since you’re heading to other countries, let me lay out the key things you need to watch out for.”

“Demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters—obviously, I don’t need to belabor that point. These bordering petty kingdoms have no Demon Subduing Division. It’s not like demons run totally rampant, but things are definitely messier than back home in the Great Zhou Kingdom. Some even collude with demonic evils to prey on mortals, but the Imperial Court ties our hands from intervening easily.”

“Second, bloodline families. There’s this group of people whose bloodlines carry inherited special powers. They’re born with exceptional talents and find it far easier to reach the Innate Realm. Remember that Gu Li from Sand Valley Kingdom we ran into on the road? She’s one of them.”

“Hm? No bloodline families in the Great Zhou Kingdom?”

The Little Snake Demon asked curiously.

“According to the histories, we used to have them long ago. But for reasons lost to time, those families gradually faded away until they vanished entirely.”

Zou Lian replied.

“Doesn’t the Demon Subduing Division recruit them?”

“There are always trade-offs. Sure, special bloodlines grant outstanding talent, but they also make people vulnerable to their bloodline’s interference—creating glaring weaknesses in willpower and mental fortitude. For our line of work at the Demon Subduing Division, that’s a death sentence.”

A Demon Subduing Division member’s raw power could be on Du Xuan’s level and still be fine, but their will had to be ironclad. Get tainted by evil spirits even once without that resolve, and it was game over.

That was one big reason to stay wary of such people.

They were easily swayed and corrupted. Even absent outside influences, unstable elements in their bloodlines could subtly push them toward extremism over time.

“Third, watch out for sects.”

The sects Senior Sister meant weren’t those fake outfits teaching basic fist-fighting and slapping on a tiger-skin banner to play at being Jianghu powers. No, she was talking about real cultivation sects—ones with genuine Innate Cultivation Methods and Innate Experts holding down the fort.

At that, the Little Snake Demon looked puzzled once more.

“Why be careful of sects? Didn’t Senior Sister recommend I join one to find an Innate Cultivation Method?”

“Sects aren’t full of upstanding gentlemen. A few individuals might have decent character, but the organizations themselves? Not so much. Do you know the core drive behind everything they do?”

“Senior Sister, you still haven’t explained why you recommended it before…”

“It’s the pursuit of power. Greater power. The power of immortality. That mindset makes them put ‘profit’ above all else—no gain, no effort. Pure opportunists.”

“Will you tell me…?”

“They preach demon-exorcism and dao-protection because it polishes their image for better gains. Especially the sects around the Great Zhou Kingdom—their sly, mercenary ways rival the slickest merchants you’ve ever met.”

“Senior Sister, are you too embarrassed to just come out and say it…?”

Smack.

A sharp chop landed on Little Snake’s head.

“This is different from back then, got it?” Zou Lian said sternly, face straight as a board. “You can rub elbows with those sects if you want, but I don’t see much point in actually joining one… If you’re dead set on chasing immortal opportunities, head somewhere much farther afield.”

“Got it,” the Little Snake Demon said, clutching her head with both hands, eyes brimming with tears. “Senior Sister just wanted to ship this little menace off as quick as possible back then, huh…?”

Profit-driven types like that—Ren Tan probably excelled at dealing with them. If their interests aligned, it was all good; if they clashed, one just had to stay sharp.

Demons, devils, bloodlines, sects—these were the three big things to watch out for when heading out into the world.

With Little Snake’s strength, she could handle pretty much any other trouble on her own.

Still, Senior Sister didn’t seem entirely reassured.

“Before you leave, train with me a few more days,” Zou Lian said. “Your grasp of Sensing Qi is barely passable. You need to pick up at least the basics of Drawing Qi.”

“Cultivation?”

The word alone made Little Snake’s head throb.

“Um, I’m injured, cough cough, feeling awful. I need to sleep… zzz…”

~~~

Escaping was pointless.

Over the next few days, Yin Luan endured a brutal training regimen under the Demon Subduing Division’s Eldest Senior Sister.

Sensing Qi was all about detecting the flow of Innate Qi within the Dantian, guiding it into a self-sustaining cycle for continuous refinement.

In Innate Cultivation, this was known as the “Small Circulation.”

But the body’s energy was finite, and relying solely on Small Circulation made progress painfully slow. That was when one drew in energy from the heavens and earth, merging it with their own to speed things up—this was the “Great Circulation.”

Mastering Small Circulation was the prerequisite for Great Circulation, which actually made the former easier in terms of difficulty.

Given three to five months, Little Snake could have learned it effortlessly.

But Zou Lian allotted her only three to five days.

Yin Luan sat cross-legged on the ground, hands resting on her knees, back ramrod straight, eyes fixed ahead—just like Senior Sister’s usual meditation posture… except for the hundred-jin boulder perched on her head.

“Senior Sister, why the rock on my head?”

“Sufficient external pressure helps unlock one’s potential,” Zou Lian replied flatly. “Succeed in drawing Qi into your body, and it comes off. Otherwise, I add another one every hour.”

“Wahhh, you’re gonna crush me into an idiot!”

Zou Lian hadn’t chosen this seemingly risky method on a whim. She knew the little snake demon’s talent well enough; with the right motivation, mastering the Drawing Qi technique in three to five days wasn’t out of the question.

“So tired… head’s spinning… wanna sleep…”

The little snake demon’s vision blurred with stars as she mumbled nonsense.

Suddenly, a sweet, fragrant aroma teased her lips. Little Snake instinctively flicked out her tongue for a lick.

Delicious!

She cracked one eye open and saw Senior Sister half-crouching in front of her, holding a pastry she’d never seen before.

“Hit your goal, and it’s yours to eat.”

Zou Lian enunciated each word deliberately.

“Hmph… hmph, I’m not some three-year-old you can trick that easily…”

Little Snake tried to sound tough, averting her eyes, but her tongue sneaked out anyway.

She got nothing.

Senior Sister controlled the distance with precision, keeping the treat tantalizingly close yet forever just out of reach, tormenting the little snake demon.

This was torture—pure torture!

“A friendly reminder,” Zou Lian said. “I’ve got a whole pile of goodies prepared. Up to you if you can snag any.”

As it turned out, a motivated Snake and an unmotivated one were like two entirely different species.

Under the twin pressures of coercion and temptation, Yin Luan succeeded on the third day of training, drawing a wisp of ambient energy into her body.

She had broken through the entry barrier!

Even Zou Lian gave a slight nod of approval at the feat.

Her talent really was top-notch. It was a shame the Demon Subduing Division wasn’t suited for cultivation, and she carried far too many secrets; otherwise, she could have made an excellent partner.

With the most critical matter settled, Zou Lian turned to outfitting the little snake demon for her trip.

Unlike Du Xuan—that airhead who hadn’t even thought to provide travel funds when they parted—Senior Sister’s experience ran much deeper.

“Great Zhou Kingdom currency works in some areas but not others. Carrying gold and silver is more reliable. Though it’s bulky in quantity, so you’d be better off taking some prime jade from the Mine and trading it locally for cash.”

“Those petty kingdoms have brutal environments, crawling with venomous bugs and plants. I’ve got Antidote Medicine here… or if you have your own, that’s fine.”

“Most of my gear wouldn’t suit you anyway, but this bottle of Demon-Expelling Powder should come in handy… What, you don’t like the smell?”

Senior Sister’s usual “aloofness” came from her awkwardness with strangers—her inability to chat with them in a “normal” way, or more accurately, her lack of understanding about how normal people even conversed.

Once she grew familiar, she actually had quite a bit to say… even turning a little nagging at times.

“Senior Sister is so good to me,” Yin Luan said, a touch of shyness in her voice. “What if Du Xuan finds out? Won’t she be grinding her teeth in hatred?”

“If she has the spare time to dwell on such pointless matters, it just means her cultivation isn’t diligent enough,” Zou Lian replied without a change in expression. “I’ll suggest to Master that we ramp up her training.”

With her luggage packed, it was time to hit the road.

Zou Lian saw her off for a stretch, until they reached the Border Pass.

“Though I hate to rain on your parade,” Zou Lian said, “I have a feeling… that this journey won’t turn up much about your background.”

“I know that deep down too,” the Little Snake Demon said. She tightened the bundle on her back and smiled. “But you know how it is—life’s too short not to wander, to take in the sights, right?”

“You’ve got a point.”

A wind from the western border swept in, stirring up clouds of yellow sand and tossing the young maiden’s long, waterfall-like hair.

Zou Lian tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear with one hand. She fell silent, gazing intently at the figure before her.

After a long moment.

“Then… safe travels.”

She murmured softly.

“Mm!” The Little Snake Demon nodded vigorously. “See you later, Senior Sister! Catch you in the summer!”

Under the scorching sun on the ancient road, Zou Lian watched the young maiden’s silhouette grow smaller and smaller until it vanished at the horizon. Only then did she turn silently and walk away…

~~~