Chapter 151

Qing Zhouxue followed the attendant through the city gates, and the moment she stepped inside, she was met with a wave of fragrant air.

In the left quarter, a few girls gathered together picking out trinkets, laughing and chattering merrily. To the right was an inn, where people came and went—every one of them female.

Adult demon women were strikingly beautiful, their figures alluring, and they passed by in pairs. Even a few children were playing tag in the crowd, and when Qing Zhouxue looked closer, they were all girls with wide, blinking eyes.

Although Qing Zhouxue had heard of this place, it was her first time seeing so many women gathered in one spot, and she couldn't help but be taken aback.

As she walked in with her sword on her back, she drew countless gazes.

Those demon women seemed unaccustomed to seeing such a bold cultivator, and many even halted mid-step, their gaze lingering on her like silken threads, probing yet elusive.

Qing Zhouxue stared straight ahead and followed the attendant through the crowd. The demonic qi here was thick and cloying, almost giving her a headache. The Qingshuang Sword trembled faintly, and she had to keep a steady hand on it to soothe it.

She entered a lavish courtyard and stepped into the main hall, where Fan Yin sat quietly in a chair and raised her eyes again as Qing Zhouxue approached.

Seeing it was her, Qing Zhouxue demanded coldly, "Where is my master?"

A slight smile curved on Fan Yin's lips, and she clicked her tongue. "I am, after all, the lord of this domain. Why are you still so rude? First, sheathe that sword of yours—can't you see everyone here is on edge?"

At that, Qing Zhouxue held the Qingshuang Sword in her hand, and the demon women guards beside Fan Yin grew even more tense. But Qing Zhouxue merely bowed her head and slid the sword fully into its scabbard, the metal clinking as it sealed shut.

"My aunt is gravely injured and has not yet awakened," Fan Yin sighed. "But for now, her life is out of danger. Aqü, take her to see her."

A woman at the door bowed in acknowledgment and led Qing Zhouxue out of the hall.

Qing Zhouxue followed her to another room, and as the door slowly opened, her heart leapt into her throat.

A faint scent of blood still lingered, subtle but present.

Qing Zhouxue's breath caught as she saw the figure lying on the bed, pale faced, her lips bitten raw from pain, so still it startled her.

But her heartbeat was steady and her skin warm.

Qing Zhouxue felt like a drop of water that, after a long journey, finally falls from a rushing torrent onto a tranquil lake—she let herself finally relax, spreading out completely.

She leaned quietly against the bedside for a while. Her energy had not fully recovered, and she was already quite weary.

When she finally had a moment of stillness, she couldn't sleep, her thoughts scattered.

Idly, she took out a vial of pills from her storage ring, lifted the thin blanket covering Yun Shuchen, and carefully pulled aside the sticky, bloodied cloth.

These pills had been made by Senior Sister Bai Su in the past few days, presumably using Liu Xunqin's formula, and could be applied both internally and externally.

The Immortal Ascension Assembly had been in full swing, so she hadn't had the chance to use them.

On Yun Shuchen's abdomen was a deep wound, the flesh torn open. Qing Zhouxue frowned, crushed a pill into powder, and sprinkled the white powder over the gash.

Yun Shuchen, in her sleep, felt a momentary pain in her belly, followed by a cooling, moist sensation. She stirred her fingers, feeling as if her eyelids were glued together. Frowning, she struggled to open her eyes and finally saw a faint light in the gloom.

"Master."

She lifted her heavy eyelids, and the blurry light flooded in.

Before her was a face—it looked like her disciple.

Yun Shuchen blinked, still dazed, as if she thought she was seeing things.

Once she confirmed it was Qing Zhouxue, she slowly closed her eyes and curved her lips into a relaxed smile. "Why are you here?"

She coughed lightly, her voice still hoarse. She seemed to try to sit up, but Qing Zhouxue pressed her back down. "How did you end up like this?"

Yun Shuchen opened her eyes, her delicate brows drawn together as if she had absorbed all the world's grievances. "A wicked woman wanted my life."

"...Who?"

Yun Shuchen took her hand. "It's bad luck, I don't want to speak of her. Oh, and you... ahem, how did the Immortal Ascension Assembly go?"

"It went well," Qing Zhouxue replied distractedly, staring at the wound on her abdomen. "I won."

Yun Shuchen froze, then smiled. "Are you happy?"

Qing Zhouxue met her eyes, seeing the faint warmth within them. She relaxed too, smiling back faintly. "Of course I'm happy when I win."

"I'm glad," Yun Shuchen said, still drowsy. She closed her eyes to rest again. "Child, will you stay here for a few days?"

"Mm... I still need to go back for a banquet. I don't think I can get out of that one."

Yun Shuchen paused, then remembered and sighed. "It's tradition every time. Well, go early and return soon, then head back to Taichu Sect with your companions."

"...It won't be long before I come back."

As she spoke, her voice grew softer, and her body gradually relaxed, clutching a corner of Qing Zhouxue's clothes as she fell asleep.

Her breathing was steady and even.

Qing Zhouxue watched her until she slept. Slowly, her eyes began to ache. So she looked away and quietly asked, "Is she truly out of danger?"

Aqü, who was standing at the door, pushed it open upon hearing this. "Her dantian is unharmed. The lord's cultivation is profound. There's no need to worry about her physical injuries."

Qing Zhouxue nodded. She glanced at Yun Shuchen once more, then looked at the sky outside.

Three days had half passed, and she needed to rush back; the journey would take some time.

Certain that her master was safe, Qing Zhouxue rose with her sword and slipped out the door.

She took to the sky again, now at dusk.

If she flew fast, she could just make it back to Liuyun Sect in time.

Once this matter was settled—

Qing Zhouxue flew through the wind, watching the sunset clouds, which were tinged with a rare hint of purple.

It made her think again of the scenery of Heyi Peak, which she hadn't seen in a year. It should still be beautiful as ever.

Once this was over, she would be able to meet her master and return to those peaceful days.

There would be no more troubles down the mountain.

She let her mind relax for a moment, but a sharp sound of a blade cutting through the air came to her ears.

Who?

Qing Zhouxue turned back, but before she could see the person's face, her eyes widened slightly.

Everything happened so suddenly. The Qingshuang Sword hadn't time to react. She only felt a heavy blow to her chest, and when she tried to counterattack, the oppressive aura of a Mahayana cultivator left her paralyzed.

A chill flooded her heart, spreading to her limbs, and she fell into utter coldness.

A red cord was roughly torn away, drifting lazily down from the clear sky, landing in a mountain hollow where the wind nudged it a few times.

The sky was a brilliant, cloudless blue, as if nothing had happened.

* * *

Since the day Qing Zhouxue slipped out through the window, she never returned, and no one knew where she had gone.

By the day before the banquet, Lin Xunzhen and the others were beside themselves with worry. They tried every means of communication, informing Liuyun Sect and sending word to Taichu Sect.

For a time, the immortal sect was in turmoil.

On the Taichu side, anxiety was the greatest. The Sect Leader and the elders knitted their brows in distress. Yun Shuchen's whereabouts were known to the Sect Leader—it was announced that she had gone into seclusion.

But where had Qing Zhouxue gone?

During the Immortal Ascension Assembly, all communication talismans had been confiscated, so Qing Zhouxue had no way to contact Taichu Sect, and there was no news from her.

Yun Shuchen had been recuperating in the Demon Realm for a few days, keeping to her room, and so was unaware of the sect's upheaval.

Fan Yin also caught wind of these rumors. After some hesitation, she felt this couldn't be delayed any longer, so she told Yun Shuchen the grim news.

A cup of hot tea was knocked over, splashing dark stains across the floor.

Yun Shuchen froze for a moment, then suddenly seized Fan Yin, her voice urgent. "How can a perfectly healthy person just go missing?!"

Fan Yin choked, unable to breathe under the tight grip. "Aunt... I—how would I know?!"

Yun Shuchen's words struck like a thunderbolt from above, dimming the entire world.

She swayed, momentarily dizzy. Releasing Fan Yin, she steadied herself against a table to keep from falling.

Her thoughts raced, piecing together any clue. She had been sleeping these past days... the Immortal Ascension Assembly... what had Qing'er done? Who could have targeted her? Panic surged in her mind.

She was a tangle of anxiety. She had been so cautious for so long, and only because of the demon clan's recent troubles and the splash the Immortal Ascension Assembly had made, she thought no one would dare cause trouble at such a time.

She had relaxed her guard for just a moment, and Qing Zhouxue was taken, her fate unknown.

She steadied her breathing, about to rush back to Taichu Sect immediately, but the spiritual energy in her dantian was weak, not yet fully recovered.

But she couldn't wait—where Qing Zhouxue might be now, what she might be facing, Yun Shuchen dared not imagine.

"Send some people to escort me back to Taichu Sect."

Fan Yin was taken aback, then nodded. "That's certainly possible. But the scouts have reported these past few days that many immortal cultivators are searching—mostly from Taichu Sect and Liuyun Sect. It will be hard to avoid them. If people see you with my clan..."

Fan Yin had her own selfish reasons; she feared that Yun Shuchen, if she lost her standing among the immortal sects, might turn her gaze to the demon realm, and then she herself would be an obstacle.

What loyalty would she get then?

Tang Wuyue had killed her own sisters. To Yun Shuchen, Fan Yin was just a convenient niece.

She didn't want to stake her life on that.

"Write a letter and send it secretly to Taichu Sect. Ask them to send some support." Yun Shuchen's chest heaved, and the fingers hidden in her sleeve unconsciously tightened. "There's no need to go back to the sect."

She said coldly, "Every minute of delay is more danger. Let's go search directly!"

* * *

The place where Qing Zhouxue disappeared was near Liuyun Sect for them.

The disciples of Taichu Sect and Liuyun Sect searched around the floating stones, scouring the ground, but found not a trace.

But Fan Yin knew that Qing Zhouxue, worried about Yun Shuchen, had come to the Demon Realm.

She might have disappeared on the way back.

So the demon clan searched along the route between Liuyun Sect and Xiaoxibei Youtian.

At a mountain hollow, Yun Shuchen picked up the broken red cord, snapped in two, worn and frayed. Those past days she hadn't sensed her disciple's exact location, and she had thought it was due to her depleted spiritual power.

She rubbed the red cord that Qing Zhouxue never removed, and was momentarily at a loss.

The last trace of hope was extinguished.

Over the years, she had experienced such things—her master's wife's death, her mother's grudges, the demons, the immortal clans, the hardships of cultivation. Carrying her frail, sickly body, going through these tribulations time and again... Yun Shuchen had never truly been crushed. She was like a bamboo bent under frost and snow—slender, bloodstreaked, yet astonishingly tough.

But this time, she truly felt barely able to stand. After coming through a long journey, she had finally found a place to take refuge.

It was as if fate were set against her.

Fan Yin watched the woman standing still for a long time, her back looking like a withered tree about to fall in the cold wind, thin and fragile.

"Fan Yin." Yun Shuchen took a deep breath. "I want to cast a divination. Bring me some yarrow stalks."

Fan Yin paused. Divination for a person's fate had a toll on one's lifespan.

Especially for a reading concerning Qing Zhouxue, who existed outside the cycle of the six realms and five elements—each casting would cost a great deal.

But Yun Shuchen had no other choice now; she had to try her best.

She laid the yarrow stalks on the ground, murmured a few words, then opened her eyes, held them in her hands, and cast them skyward.

The stalks glowed with spiritual light and landed with a clear clatter, but they didn't stop—they spun rapidly, vaguely forming a bagua pattern.

Yun Shuchen cut her finger, and a thin thread of blood slowly congealed into a line.

The blood line coiled and twisted, eventually giving her the answer.

The direction was due south, pointing straight to Liuyun Sect.