Chapter 42: Ghost Bird

In the ancient Demon Race, aside from the well-known orthodox bloodlines like dragons and phoenixes, the Nine-Headed Bird stood out as a peculiar fringe clan. Mortals revered dragons above all, defining the supreme human emperor—the Nine-Five Sovereign—as a dragon incarnate, while the orthodox empress embodied the phoenix, granting those two races unparalleled status. This alone showed the depths of human veneration for dragons and phoenixes.

The Nine-Headed Bird was different. Few knew it, but even ancient texts classified this demonic bird as an evil entity. With its grotesque and terrifying form, it fed exclusively on human souls for sustenance. Even among their own kind in the Demon Race, they were shunned and avoided.

They had been natural enemies of the Phoenix Demons since time immemorial and were also known by another name: the Ghost Chariot Clan. It was best not to provoke them if at all possible.

All the events unfolding here forced Shang Si to draw connections to the Ghost Chariot Clan.

Demons were not like ordinary mortals; they possessed innate cultivation. Even after death, their souls wouldn’t dissipate completely in a short time, leaving no trace behind—especially now that the Underworld no longer existed.

Such a massive number of demon souls, even if each one held modest cultivation, could dramatically boost one’s strength if fully devoured and absorbed.

There might be clues here after all. Perhaps these demons weren’t lying.

Shang Si knew it. Yun Qu knew it. The rulers of Yedu knew it. But the cultivators from various sects standing before them did not. At their level and cultivation, they lacked the insight into that hidden history.

Lu Shiyuan didn’t know either. To her, the exchange between Shang Si and Yun Qu just now had sounded like cryptic riddles.

Yet she trusted that Shang Si had her reasons for saying it.

So how should they handle these demons who had slaughtered an entire village of mortals? Lu Shiyuan hesitated. “Then… what do we do with them?”

She withdrew the spiritual energy gathered on her sword and frowned at the demons, who were temporarily suppressed by Yun Qu.

The demons had gathered here and massacred a whole village. The major immortal sects would demand answers no matter what. Yet these demons insisted that human cultivators had crossed the line first, igniting the conflict between humans and demons.

Each side clung stubbornly to their story. It was impossible to determine right from wrong on the spot—especially with so many eyes watching.

The old Lu Shiyuan, as a disciple of an immortal sect, would have naturally sided with her own people and declared the demons liars.

But things were different now. She had followed Shang Si for three years and knew exactly what Shang Si had been investigating during that time.

She was a person of Yedu, a person of Shang Si. She couldn’t take sides absolutely in every matter.

Still, facing the trusting gazes of her fellow humans behind her, Lu Shiyuan found it hard to decide. In that brief moment, they had already come to see her as their pillar of strength.

“We can’t make a hasty judgment based on one side’s words alone,” she said. “Otherwise, it might reignite strife between the realms.” Relations between humans and demons were already fraught with friction. If Yedu’s people stuck their noses in now, it could escalate the tensions further.

“Notify Nan Jin and hold them in the Ye Capital Great Prison for now, pending further investigation,” Yun Qu suggested, her own expression troubled but settling on a compromise.

With that, she turned to Shang Si, seeking the Ye Lord’s opinion.

No matter what, the slaughter of innocent civilians was beyond debate. Regardless of the full truth that emerged later, someone had to answer for that crime.

Imprisoning them in Yedu first was the best course.

Shang Si agreed. She gave a slight nod. “Very well. I’ll send Nan Jin a talisman.”

With those words, a Spirit Talisman floated from her sleeve and burned to ash before everyone’s eyes.

Both sides, who had been restless moments before, fell silent at the sight. A grave weight settled in their gazes.

Yedu’s exclusive Spirit Talismans were not invoked lightly; they signaled serious matters.

That single sheet of paper alone confirmed Shang Si’s identity.

“If you have any objections,” she said once the talisman had burned away, turning her slightly stern gaze back to the cultivators behind Lu Shiyuan, “return to your sects, report to your elders, and communicate with Yedu from there. In half a year, the Three Realms’ centennial summit will convene. Everything that happened today must be settled then. The clans of the Demon Realm will send representatives, as will the major sects of the Human Realm. We can resolve it all at once. Any objections?”

Her words, infused with spiritual power and carrying an implicit majesty, rang out like thunder. Everyone who heard them involuntarily bowed their heads, any thought of resistance crumbling.

Surprisingly, it was the tightly suppressed group of demons who responded first. One lifted his head. “Ye Lord, we have no objections. Taking this to the table at Spirit Void Palace couldn’t be better. We’re willing to go with you to Yedu.”

He shot a provocative glance toward the cultivators.

Soon after, someone from the cultivators’ side cupped his hands and spoke up. “With Yedu’s guarantee, we naturally have no objections either.”

Both sides had temporarily reached an agreement. With Yedu’s intervention, they set aside their immediate grievances for now. Yun Qu naturally withdrew the pressure she had released, allowing the group of little demons to catch their breath.

If Nan Jin wanted to bring people over from Yedu—even activating the Teleportation Array—it would still take half a day. In the meantime, humans and demons each settled on their own side, an invisible boundary stretching between them like the dividing line between Chu and Han, neither encroaching on the other.

The earlier fight had left most of the cultivators injured, some lightly and some severely.

Shang Si and Yun Qu had no interest in tending to these people, but Lu Shiyuan was kind-hearted, bound by ties of kinship to her fellow sect members. She couldn’t simply stand by with folded arms like Shang Si. And so, from dusk until the moon hung high in the sky, she didn’t rest for a single moment.

The path of cultivation and seeking the Dao was meant to help others, after all. Her selfless efforts quietly won her the goodwill of many.

“Thank you, Senior Sister Lu.” As Lu Shiyuan gathered her energy and rose to tend to the next injured person, a grateful voice sounded in her ear.

She paused, surprised that anyone here would recognize her. But when she looked closely, it was a stranger’s face—she had no memory of ever meeting him.

“You recognize me?” she asked.

“During the last Dao Discussion Assembly, I tagged along with my senior brothers to join the fun. I caught a glimpse of Senior Sister Lu’s grace from afar.” The young cultivator scratched his head sheepishly, then added, “When you healed me just now, it felt like your cultivation has advanced far beyond what it was before. Did Ye Lord heal your injuries?”

“Mm.” Lu Shiyuan smiled and glanced toward where Shang Si sat, her gaze softening with tenderness.

Only then did the young cultivator continue. “Then Ye Lord isn’t as awful as everyone says.”

“What do outsiders know? It’s all nonsense. Just focus on healing.” At the mention of it, the smile faded from Lu Shiyuan’s eyes. She rose briskly and moved on to the next person.

Even though Shang Si’s reputation in the cultivation world was poor, Lu Shiyuan didn’t like hearing it brought up to her face.

How could these people possibly understand Shang Si’s true worth? And her own sect brothers and sisters—if the chance arose, she would make sure everyone changed their view of Shang Si.

Harboring such thoughts, Lu Shiyuan reached into her Spirit Ring and produced a small bottle of fine-quality healing Spiritual Medicine. She distributed one pill to each person.

After handing them out, she offhandedly added, as if it were nothing, “These are from Ye Lord.”

A short distance away, Yun Qu took in the whole scene. She turned to the person beside her and said bluntly, “She’s building goodwill for you.”

“I know.” Shang Si’s lips curved slightly. She had no need for such fleeting favor.

But what Lu Shiyuan did for her sake? That, she truly appreciated.

Several hours passed. Lu Shiyuan healed without pause, and her pretty face grew visibly paler to the naked eye. Drawing on one’s own energy and cultivation to heal others was never a simple task.

Fortunately, some of the injured had lighter wounds. With Lu Shiyuan’s help, they recovered enough to start tending to the others.

A virtuous cycle had formed. At last, Lu Shiyuan could relax and return to sit beside Shang Si. The motion interrupted the two women, who had been speaking softly; they fell silent and turned toward her in unison.

Shang Si first scrutinized Lu Shiyuan’s slightly pale complexion. Then she leisurely extended a hand and lifted her right wrist.

In an instant, rich spiritual power surged through Lu Shiyuan like a warm current, easing the faint sense of exhaustion that had settled over her.

“Actually, a bit of rest would have fixed it.” Once again helped by Shang Si, Lu Shiyuan disagreed.

Helping others had been her own choice. There was no reason to trouble Shang Si with the aftermath, wasting her spiritual power on recovery—it wasn’t worth it.

But Shang Si clearly paid no heed to her words. She only said flatly, “Same difference.”

Such a small expenditure of spiritual power meant nothing to her.

“There’s something I need to tell you, Shiyuan.” Shang Si gently rubbed the other’s slender wrist with her fingertip. She lowered her gaze, her voice softening. “While you were healing people, Yun Qu and I talked it over. Once Nan Jin arrives, the two of us will head back to Yedu with him.”

Lu Shiyuan froze for a moment. “What about me?”

“You return to Sword Spirit Sect and wait for the centennial gathering in half a year.” Shang Si slowly raised her eyes to meet Lu Shiyuan’s.

Her red lips pressed into a tight line.

These words had come out of nowhere, and the sudden prospect of parting clearly pained Shang Si as well. But there was no helping it.

The matter had arisen abruptly. Yedu needed to launch an investigation, and the major sects couldn’t sit idle. They had to clear their names at Spirit Void Palace in half a year, which meant uncovering the truth within that time.

Over these past few years, Lu Shiyuan had stayed by her side, privy to everything Shang Si wanted her to know—and even the secrets she shouldn’t.

Letting Lu Shiyuan go back made perfect sense. With her current strength, she could guide those cultivators to the truth within half a year.

Even in the worst case, if they failed to uncover it, at least the suspicions could be cleared, preventing the tensions between the two realms from boiling over again.

Sending Lu Shiyuan back would make her the chief disciple of the Sword Spirit Sect—a flawless choice.

Yet Shang Si’s heart twisted with unease.

Yun Qu had slipped away at some point, perhaps the moment Shang Si spoke or during their quiet murmurs. Wisely, she had left the scant remaining time to this pair of lovers fresh from confessing their feelings, retreating to a spot a little farther off.

Lu Shiyuan froze only briefly before responding without hesitation, her eyes dropping low. “All right. I’ll go back.”

Whatever Shang Si said, she would do—even if it chafed, she wouldn’t question it.

But Lu Shiyuan never imagined her unquestioning obedience would lead to…

“No conscience.” The oddly peevish words suddenly floated into her ear.

Lu Shiyuan looked up, meeting Shang Si’s gaze, tinged with irritation.

In a fit of pique, she flung the twig she’d been using to stir the campfire heart into the flames. Her voice cooled. “I tell you to go back, and you just go? Not a single question? Were you dying to leave all along?”

Lu Shiyuan: ?

Sarcastic women like that deserve to be punished.