That ridiculous description made both the Skyfaring Ape Demon and Yuan Nan’s faces twist with odd expressions. How could the world’s most lethal female assassin ever be linked to words like that?
But news like this, while not entirely reliable, couldn’t be dismissed outright either.
The Skyfaring Ape Demon made a snap decision. “The timing here is just about right. I'll lead the team myself and bring that old killer Bone Rot along. Whatever tricks Shui Die Lan tries to pull, we won’t fear her!”
No sooner had he spoken than the sky suddenly darkened. In the middle of the night the change was subtle, but the two of them were sharp enough to sense it instantly.
They tilted their heads back and saw the moon dim and the stars thinning out. From the forest below, layers of mist began to boil upward, spreading until it veiled the heavens and the earth.
“Why did it suddenly get so hot?” Yuan Nan, still badly injured, was even more sensitive to the shift in temperature. He wiped his face, already slick with a thin film of sweat.
The Ape Demon sniffed the air, his simian features scrunching up. “This doesn’t feel like fog. More like a damn steamer… What the hell’s going on?”
Before the words had even faded, a cry rang out from the direction of the Demon Thunder Monastery. “The restrictive formation is broken! The restrictive formation is broken!”
Both of them froze at the shout. Then the Ape Demon let out a strange howl and hurled himself headlong into the thickening fog, vanishing from sight.
Yuan Nan instinctively tried to rouse his qi to follow, but it only triggered a fit of choking coughs as his qi rebelled against him. Inwardly he cursed the Skyfaring Ape Demon as a worthless bastard, yet he had no choice but to stumble after him, step by dragging step.
The Ape Demon bounded forward in great leaps and soon reached the ruins of the ancient temple. Just as he was about to step inside, he suddenly halted. His simian eyes swept the scene. Ahead, the very air was warping under waves of heat, as if he were standing at the mouth of a volcano.
Strangely, the heat gathered without dispersing. A single step farther and the sensation was gone, as though some invisible wall was holding it back.
“Have the natural fire nexus erupted?” he muttered.
“Exactly so.” A voice answered from the side, finishing the thought. “All thirteen earthfire nexus points have opened. The earth veins have merged, and water and fire are clashing with ferocious force. At this rate, within days this entire jungle will be transformed into the Yunmeng Marshes.”
The speaker stepped into view: tall and lean, radiating a razor-edged aura. Slung across his back was a long-handled iron sword, strikingly prominent. He was none other than Qi Wusheng, the ‘Soul-Hooking Broken Sword’ of the Heavenly Demon Sword Sect.
Within the Heavenly Demon Sword Sect, he ranked just beneath the sect master, the Sevenfold Sage. Proud by nature, bloodthirsty and combative, he never mixed easily with others. During the siege against Ti Wujiu, the Skyfaring Ape Demon and Bone Rot Child had joined in the ambush, but Qi Wusheng only struck down the disciples who came to aid from the Heavenly Vigorous Sect. His solitary temperament could not have been clearer.
And now, the fact that he was speaking at length for once showed just how pleased he was.
The Ape Demon let out a strange laugh, but before he could reply, another laugh floated toward them from nearby. “How rare indeed. For even Qi the Iron Sword to be in such a poetic mood; on that alone, Heaven itself must surely favor us for a while yet!”
At the sound, both the Ape Demon and Qi Wusheng looked faintly embarrassed. They turned their heads at once and called out together, “Sect Master Mo!”
The newcomer was none other than the highest authority of the Five Demonic Sects Alliance in the southeastern forest. The Bliss Sect’s master, the Heart-Consuming Concubine. Her true surname was Mo, which was why the two addressed her so.
Her infamous title was known across the land, tied to the arts of passion for which the Bliss Sect was renowned. Hearing the name Heart-Consuming Concubine inevitably sent one’s thoughts down a certain path. Yet, at a glance, few would actually place her among the ranks of sluts or wanton whores.
She wore a short silk jacket of lake-green, patterned in fine weave and trimmed with matching ribbons. Below was a white skirt of brocade shot with gold thread, her waist bound by a jade belt worked with intricate designs. Her hair was drawn up in a high coiffure, held in place by nothing more than a single jade hairpin. The whole ensemble was stately and resplendent, with not the slightest trace of flirtatiousness or wantonness.
Her skin was pale and smooth as carved jade, her features delicate and finely formed. Most striking of all were her eyes. Lively, bright, and carrying a spark of spirit. When she smiled faintly, with such poise and ease, an undeniable air of dignity and authority shone through.
And yet, no one could fail to notice the lingering flush upon her cheeks, a soft crimson that all but betrayed the pleasures she had only just indulged in behind the veil of the pink tent.
She moved with a dignified grace, though there was a touch of languidness in her step. Leaning lightly on the arm of another charming woman beside her, her long skirt swept the floor as she glided forward. The two tomcats, who had yet to taste such allure, felt a fire ignite within them. They could only stare, aching with desire, but not daring to act.
The woman lending her arm for support was none other than the Flayer of Yin Calamity, who had only just clawed her way back from the brink of death.
She too was a beauty of rare caliber, but lacked that uncanny, otherworldly allure that could snatch away the soul at a glance. Here, beside Heart-Consuming Concubine, she could only play the role of a green leaf setting off the blossom.
When the Heart-Consuming Concubine reached them, she smiled radiantly. “Now that the earthfire nexus points have opened, the next restrictive formation should reveal itself soon. I wonder, though, how far Master Wuji has progressed with his calculations?”
Her words had barely fallen when loud laughter rang out, and a figure strode forth from the billowing heat.
“Rest easy, Sect Master Mo. At this moment I’m completely certain. The other sealed ground lies not far from here. Why don’t we head there now?”
The speaker was clad in dark robes, his head bare and gleaming like a monk’s. His manner of speech, though, was far more casual than that of the Ape Demon or the others.
The Heart-Consuming Concubine took no offense, only smiled. “But of course. Master Wuji’s efforts in breaking the restrictions are truly invaluable… Hm? Bone Rot, what are you doing?”
She was pointing at the figure who had just stepped out from behind Monk Wuji—the Bone Rot Child.
Despite his title of Child, and his outward appearance as nothing more than an innocent little Daoist acolyte, he had already cultivated for over a thousand years. He was one of the most formidable “Poison Envoys” of the Hidden Venom Veil Sect, infamous for methods as cruel as his heart was cunning. Everyone present carried a measure of wariness toward him.
“Make way, make way!” The Bone Rot Child looked up with a giggle, his voice thin and piping. His pale, boyish face looked the picture of innocence. Yet the moment anyone caught sight of the thumb-sized jade skull on his headband, they would feel a chill grip their heart and hurry to keep their distance.
Even as he spoke, that skull flickered with a cold green light. Everyone there knew all too well what that meant. Startled, they drew back half a step without thinking.
The Ape Demon, hot-tempered as ever, barked at him. “You damn brat, waving your poisons around like that. You trying to get yourself killed?”
Bone Rot took no offense. He giggled again. “Apologies, apologies. Couldn’t help myself. Such pure natural fire nexus points are a rare sight. I went ahead and refined a little toy on the spot. Don’t mind me.”
He lifted a pinch of purplish-red powder with his fingertip, held it beneath his nose, and inhaled lightly. At once a flush spread across his pale face, leaving him looking as though he were drunk on wine. “Excellent, excellent. The potency is at its peak… This fire nexus, I want it!”
The others felt an even deeper chill at the sight. For any poison strong enough to leave Bone Rot Child in such a “drunken” state, it would be no exaggeration to say it could lay waste to a thousand li of land.
Everyone grew more cautious still, none daring to compete with him over it.
“If we can succeed in seizing Mist-Hidden Pavilion, then gifting you this fire nexus will be of no consequence,” the Heart-Consuming Concubine interjected, deftly drawing their attention elsewhere. “Still, even with Ti Wujiu dead, the situation in the southeastern forest is far from under our full control. We must tread carefully…”
Her gaze flicked briefly toward Yuan Nan’s face. Others might not notice, but the Ape Demon and Yuan Nan both felt a jolt. Only then did they realize that even while indulging in pleasures within her tent, this woman had never stopped listening to every change outside. Their hearts stirred with a fresh and complicated awe.
Bone Rot, oblivious to this undercurrent, only tittered again. “As long as we hold the gates, who cares who comes! But about that restriction at the bottom of the lake... Monk, is it really something we can’t touch without the Cloudmist Stone?”
Master Wuji shook his head. “We must not act rashly. A backlash from the restrictive formation is a small matter, but if that gateway is destroyed, I fear only the Patriarch himself returning to this world could ever open the Mist-Hidden Pavilion again.”
The Ape Demon bared his teeth in a grin. “Infuriating! If Xiao Zhongzi had any sense, he would have delivered himself long ago. But if he keeps circling outside, how are we supposed to endure these days?”
“What’s so difficult about that?” The Heart-Consuming Concubine gave a light smile. “The one we just captured may no longer be a virgin, but her yin energy is overflowing, and she happens to have the rare constitution of ‘extreme yin giving birth to yang.’ If you gentlemen are interested, you can pass the time enjoying her. At least it offers some amusement.”
The Ape Demon, Wuji, and Bone Rot exchanged glances, then burst out laughing, clapping their hands. A favor so convenient was gladly accepted.
Yuan Nan neither cared nor objected, while Qi Wusheng only gave a cold snort. The Heart-Consuming Concubine shot him a glance and added in an offhand tone, “If anyone is too impatient to wait their turn, they can always choose from the maidens under me. Just make sure you pick someone who can actually handle your rough and reckless ways.”
Everyone present knew perfectly well that this was aimed at Qi Wusheng, who never showed an ounce of pity for women. The comment only poured fuel on the fire, and in the midst of their unrestrained laughter, even the icy look on Qi Wusheng’s face began to thaw.
The Heart-Consuming Concubine knew the moment was ripe. She bent to whisper something in Flayer of Yin’s ear. Flayer of Yin gave a slight nod, then slipped into the Peach Blossom Tent and personally carried Gu Pin’er out.
Gu Pin’er’s clothes were neat and orderly, showing no sign of what had just transpired inside. Yet that very tidiness only sharpened the crowd’s curiosity, making them search all the harder for traces of what might have taken place.
And in this setting, the faint tear marks at the corner of her eyes, the blush lingering on her delicate cheeks, a few stray strands of hair slipping from her coiffure, the faint crease at her collar. Each subtle sign invited the imagination to reconstruct the intimate scene that must have unfolded.
The Ape Demon’s breathing had already grown heavy.
Flayer of Yin, well aware of his nature, let a playful smile cross her lips and leaned slightly toward him, placing Gu Pin’er close enough that he could almost reach out and take her.
With such a beauty placed right before him, how could the Ape Demon possibly restrain himself? He gave a strange laugh and stretched out his hand. Yet just as his hairy hand was about to brush her face, Flayer of Yin’s slender body turned, and his hand passed by with only a hair’s breadth to spare, provoking another round of raucous laughter.
Gu Pin’er was completely restrained; she could not move even a finger. Yet in the face of it all, her eyes betrayed not the slightest ripple. Instead they held a dreamy, unfathomable depth, the kind that imprints itself on memory at a single glance.
“This little one’s strange,” the Ape Demon muttered, grinning. “But interesting.”
His words echoed the thoughts of nearly everyone present.