Chapter 27: Setting Off

Lu Shiyuan had puzzled over Shang Si’s bizarre behavior that night for two full days, but she still couldn’t make sense of it. As for the notion that “Shang Si might have developed feelings for her,” she didn’t even dare consider it.

In the three years they had known each other, Shang Si had never shown the slightest hint of romantic interest.

In Lu Shiyuan’s mind, Shang Si was the Ye Lord—unbound by the Three Realms, transcending the mundane world entirely. With so many burdens weighing on her shoulders, how could someone like that possibly entertain such worldly distractions?

Even stepping back ten thousand miles, supposing Shang Si did harbor such thoughts, there was no way they would ever fall on her.

Unable to figure it out no matter how she racked her brain, Lu Shiyuan simply let the matter drop and poured all her energy into advancing her cultivation instead.

The night before their departure from Kunlun, Shang Si did not return at all.

Lu Shiyuan didn’t think much of it. She knew Shang Si must have gone off to discuss matters with Senior Lin Xiao and Sect Leader Yun once again. In recent days, messages had poured in from various cultivation sects. After thorough investigations, they discovered that Kunlun was not the only place hiding an Ancient Extermination Grand Array—their own territories concealed identical formations, buried so deeply that without the incident at Kunlun putting them on high alert, no one would have ever found them.

A storm was brewing. The Three Realms teetered on the brink of chaos.

Yedu might have stood independent of the Three Realms for thousands of years, but Shang Si still had plenty to consider. If turmoil engulfed the Three Realms, even she could not remain completely detached.

The most pressing task at hand for the two of them was to reach the Fire Phoenix Clan and secure the Fire Spirit Spike before the chaos fully erupted. That way, even if the Three Realms descended into disorder afterward, Lu Shiyuan would not be left powerless and defenseless. Time had suddenly grown short and urgent.

Yet as dawn barely broke, gray and dim, Lu Shiyuan did not spot Shang Si returning to the small courtyard. Instead, another figure appeared.

Yun Feng stood at the courtyard gate, his jade-like features framed by azure robes, the morning frost still clinging to him. He must have heard that Shang Si and the others were leaving Kunlun that day and had come over before first light, hoping to exchange a brief farewell with Lu Shiyuan before she departed.

It was only upon seeing him that Lu Shiyuan remembered she had never actually mentioned her plans to him.

With Shang Si still absent, she invited him to sit at the small stone table in the center of the courtyard. They chatted idly for a short while until the first rays of morning light crested the horizon, spilling golden warmth across their shoulders. Their parting words had all been said, and an awkward silence settled in.

In Yun Feng’s eyes, Lu Shiyuan bathed in that radiant glow appeared breathtakingly beautiful—yet achingly distant, almost ethereal.

“Truth be told, I’ve received orders from my master as well,” he said. “In about half a month, I’ll be escorting that pair of Nightingale Demons to the Jiangnan region to investigate the extermination of their kind. Heaven knows when we’ll cross paths again… Junior Sister Lu, if you ever need any help in the future, don’t hesitate to seek me out. I’ll do whatever I can.”

With that, he drew a Sound Transmission Talisman from his robes and placed it on the stone table, then rose to his feet.

“Junior Sister, take care.”

The elegant young man stood there, hands clasped in a formal bow.

Lu Shiyuan hesitated for a beat before reaching out to pocket the talisman. After thanking him sincerely for his kindness, she offered a polite reply of her own: “Senior Brother, stay safe on your journey.”

Yun Feng smiled, looking thoroughly satisfied.

Lu Shiyuan, for her part, didn’t quite understand it.

As far as she could recall, she and Yun Feng had never been particularly close. They’d teamed up for a handful of demon-hunting missions, that was all. It was only today that they had finally exchanged Communication Spirit Talismans. If she tried to pinpoint the origin of that strange affection radiating from him, she truly had no idea when it had begun.

Still, he meant no harm, and a light acquaintance couldn’t hurt.

Lu Shiyuan let out a lazy yawn. One matter after another had crowded her mind all night, leaving her bone-tired now that sleep had evaded her entirely. And Shang Si still wasn’t back.

It was right then that Yun Feng’s voice rang out from the courtyard gate behind her, laced with faint surprise: “Ye Lord?”

Those two simple words chased away every trace of drowsiness. Lu Shiyuan pushed herself up from the stone bench and turned around. There stood Yun Feng, on the verge of leaving through the gate, face-to-face with Shang Si, who had just returned.

For some inexplicable reason, the handsome, refined young man— who had seemed so poised and elegant moments before—suddenly paled in comparison beside Shang Si.

Like a bright moon dwarfing the stars, utterly incomparable.

Lu Shiyuan watched as Shang Si gave him a cool, indifferent nod of acknowledgment before shifting the conversation: “Do all disciples of your Kunlun Sect go out of their way to help others like this?”

She didn’t spell it out, but it was obvious she had overheard their exchange in the courtyard.

Sensing trouble brewing, Lu Shiyuan hurried forward to smooth things over. “A Si, I’ve been waiting up for you all night. When did you get back?”

“It’s been a while since I got back—almost at the same time as him.” Shang Si paused, then raised her hand and pointed from afar at Yun Feng standing off to the side. Her voice was flat. In other words, she had seen Yun Feng enter the courtyard and overheard their conversation but simply hadn’t revealed herself until now.

Shang Si’s bluntness made Yun Feng’s expression turn subtly awkward in an instant.

Lu Shiyuan felt a flash of embarrassment too upon hearing this. She quickly reviewed their earlier exchange in her mind and, confirming nothing improper had been said, quietly breathed a sigh of relief. With a hint of displeasure, she called out, “A Si.”

The clear, scolding edge in her tone was enough to crack Shang Si’s impassive facade.

Shang Si let out a soft huff, lowered her hand, and strode past them into the courtyard.

Lu Shiyuan pressed her lips together. Seizing the moment, she subtly gestured for the still-rooted Yun Feng to scram. If he didn’t leave soon, she wouldn’t have a hope of smoothing things over anytime soon.

But just as she took two steps closer, Shang Si sensed it immediately, without even glancing back. “We were set to leave today. Have you said everything that needed saying?”

Her voice carried the crisp chill of freshly condensed morning dew.

Shang Si turned slightly toward her, dropping the earlier matter entirely and adopting a brisk, businesslike tone. “If the farewells are done, come with me. I’ve already arranged with Lin Xiao to borrow the Kunlun Sect’s Teleportation Array. At most half an hour, and we’ll be in the Demon Realm.” From there, they’d head deeper in from the edge—no more than seven days to the Fire Phoenix Clan’s hidden enclave.

Lu Shiyuan was long accustomed to Shang Si’s ways and knew exactly how to soothe the lingering irritation in her heart.

She sniffed softly, took two more steps forward, and hooked her pinky around Shang Si’s dangling hand. Her voice drifted low into Shang Si’s ear. “A Si, I waited up for you all night.”

The night breeze still carried a chill.

Shang Si lowered her gaze, her eyes settling on the knuckle where their fingers linked. Something in her heart stirred, like a string quietly plucked.

One second. Two.

The sensation of her emotions being tugged along without being able to voice them outright was utterly maddening. She had never been one to hide her feelings.

Shang Si fell silent for a moment, a decision crystallizing in her mind. She lifted her eyes to meet Lu Shiyuan’s. “Shiyuan, I’ve already sent word to Qingzhi and the others to head for the Demon Realm. They’re not far off. Once we have the Fire Spirit Spike, they can refine the Soul-Protecting Pill for you.”

“After your Spirit Veins are fully mended, there’s something very important I need to tell you.”

An hour later, in a small border city at the northwest edge of the Demon Realm.

Golden light erupted from the somewhat weathered Teleportation Array, and two graceful figures stepped out, immediately drawing the probing divine senses of the city’s lesser demons.

A moment later, an immense, unrestrained pressure radiated outward from the array, slamming every one of those senses back where they came from. Shang Si had done it deliberately.

Without pause, Shang Si led Lu Shiyuan out of the city and straight toward the Fire Phoenix Clan. The seven-day journey passed without incident—no foolhardy demons dared cross their path. That was likely due to Shang Si never bothering to rein in her aura along the way.

Truth be told, ever since leaving Kunlun, Lu Shiyuan’s mind had been preoccupied—aside from the travel itself—with wondering just what that “important matter” Shang Si had mentioned could be.

Was it something grand, like the safety of the Three Realms? Or something more personal, like where she might go once her Spirit Veins were repaired? A thread of unease twisted in her chest. She dreaded that it might be the latter—that Shang Si would tell her the Three Realms were descending into chaos and it would be inconvenient for her to remain by her side.

That anxiety simmered and spread in her heart until they finally crossed into Fire Phoenix Clan territory.

“Ye Lord, please have a seat and wait just a moment. I’ve already sent someone to fetch what you need.” It was as if their arrival had been anticipated; they hadn’t been in the clan’s domain long before a Phoenix Demon appeared to escort them inside. The one greeting them now was a young, unfamiliar face.

If the likes of Song Cong and Yun Feng back at the Kunlun Mountains could be called top talents of the younger generation, then the Fire Phoenix Clan’s Young Clan Leader, Qin Xinying, truly deserved the title. The Fire Phoenix Demons had always kept a low profile, rarely venturing into the wider world, which was why few ever spoke of her.

From the moment they formally met, Lu Shiyuan had sensed the profound, tightly coiled spiritual power emanating from the Young Clan Leader.

“Where’s Qin Lan?” Shang Si cut straight to the point.

Qin Xinying seemed to have anticipated the question. She smiled faintly. “Ye Lord, you’ve come at an unfortunate time. A month ago, Mother unraveled a profound mystery and immediately entered secluded cultivation. Before she did, she left instructions: if anyone from Yedu came calling, I was to hand over the Fire Spirit Spike.”

Just as her words faded, a maidservant dressed in simple robes emerged from the side hall, cradling an exquisite wooden box in her hands.

The item was ultimately presented to Qin Xinying.

At that moment, the three women in the hall shared a tacit understanding of what lay within the box—no words were needed.

Lu Shiyuan, in particular, who had always played the part of the obedient and well-mannered girl at Shang Si’s side, couldn’t hide her emotion any longer. Her fingers clenched tightly at her sides.

Shang Si had said that this Fire Spirit Spike was the final step in restoring her strength.

And that final step had arrived so effortlessly. There were no trials to overcome, no grueling trials or harsh conditions to meet. Thanks to Shang Si, the Fire Phoenix Clan had simply delivered this priceless immortal grass right into their hands.

“You two, please have a look.” Qin Xinying’s voice rang out clear and melodious. She lightly raised a fingertip, and the lock on the wooden box clicked open on its own. The lid lifted slowly, revealing a radiant glow. Nestled inside was an immortal grass with fiery red leaves that shimmered with faint spiritual light. Shang Si recognized at once the restraining barrier etched onto the box itself.

Qin Xinying spoke again, her tone solemn yet laced with a touch of pride that colored her lovely features. A soft smile played on her lips as she declared, “This is our Fire Phoenix Clan’s Companion Grass—the Fire Spirit Spike.”