Mu Qiuhan glanced at it when she heard the sound.
Seeing Chuxue’s particularly strange expression, Mu Qiuhan suddenly recalled some rumors about the ancient demon Bai Ze she had heard many years ago in the Demon Realm. A bold guess gradually formed in her mind.
She carefully examined the Ice Crystal Beast before her and asked meaningfully, “What is your relationship with the current Monster Saint, Bai Zhan?”
Chuxue’s gaze seemed to flicker, but it remained silent and did not answer.
Mu Qiuhan did not press it.
But her guess in her heart was somewhat confirmed.
She raised an eyebrow.
After thinking for a moment, she said again, “It’s not impossible not to go that way. However, we would have to pass through the demons’ blockade, which would be riskier.”
When Chuxue heard this, it looked at Shang Ningye several times in succession, seemingly very hesitant.
Seeing this, Mu Qiuhan said half-truthfully, “Even if you are really caught by the demons, since you are both of the demon race, it might not be difficult to tell a lie and blend in. During the war, I doubt those demons would cause unnecessary trouble by provoking people of the demon race.”
Both paths were now laid out before them. Mu Qiuhan then formed an incantation and began circulating her spiritual energy to cultivate on her own, leaving the person and the beast to make their own decision.
After a moment of silence, two voices sounded in their ears, one after the other.
“Go to the back mountain.”
“Let’s go towards the main peak.”
Shang Ningye hesitated to speak, seemingly thinking about how to persuade Chuxue to go towards the main peak with her.
She knew Chuxue’s origins and understood what Chuxue was worried about. However, that spirit beast seemed to have made up its mind now.
She only heard it say, “Just go towards the back mountain! We’ll act alone, and not go with them!”
Seeing that these two were about to start a long argument, Mu Qiuhan interrupted them very decisively.
She raised her eyes towards the water mirror.
“The people outside are still waiting.”
Shang Ningye glanced over when she heard this, and indeed saw Perfected Yu Ji still standing on the rainbow bridge.
She cleared her throat and said to Chuxue, “You go and reply to her first. Just say that I’ve decided to stay and guard our ancestor, and won’t go with them.”
Chuxue was quite obedient at this time.
It nodded, took a few steps forward, and leapt into a magic array to the right of the water mirror. Its entire body then disappeared from the room.
Soon, it reappeared within that water mirror.
Mu Qiuhan scanned the hidden transmission array with her peripheral vision, one she hadn’t noticed before, but the incantation in her hand did not stop.
Shang Ningye quietly watched all of this.
“You…”
She was about to talk to Mu Qiuhan about her current situation, but saw that Mu Qiuhan had once again lowered her eyes as if no one else was there and started cultivating.
Shang Ningye sighed softly, taking back the words she had not yet spoken.
Chuxue soon returned from outside the room.
It shook its fur, which had not gotten wet, and its voice carried a hint of pleasure.
“The person has been sent away.”
It glanced at Mu Qiuhan, wanting to ask her when they were setting off.
But seeing that the woman seemed to have half-closed her eyes, looking as if she had entered meditation, it had no choice but to look at Shang Ningye again.
Shang Ningye shook her head at it.
She glanced in Mu Qiuhan’s direction, saw that she still had no intention of stopping, and said to Chuxue, “Wait for me a moment.”
If she was really going to leave, there were still some matters she needed to arrange.
Mu Qiuhan had not actually fully entered meditation; she left a wisp of her divine sense to pay attention to everything around her.
Shang Ningye delayed for a while after entering the room. When she came out again, Mu Qiuhan had already stopped the incantation in her hand.
Seeing that the person and the beast were both looking at her at this moment, she said lightly, “Let’s go. Let’s meet those demons.”
After speaking, she stepped into the magic array beside the water mirror, just as Chuxue had done earlier.
Leaving Chuxue and Shang Ningye behind her, looking at each other in dismay.
Chuxue was a bit confused.
Shouldn’t they be avoiding the demons and try their best not to be discovered? From what it heard, it sounded like they were going to meet them head-on instead?
Shang Ningye seemed to have thought of something, and her brow furrowed slightly.
As Mu Qiuhan stepped into the magic array, a chill suddenly struck her heart. Her heart trembled.
Before she could even tell what kind of feeling it was, Mu Qiuhan was already standing on the rainbow bridge of Jade Dragon Abyss.
Beneath her feet were layers of white mist stirred up by the roaring water flow; everything was hazy and indistinct.
Mu Qiuhan looked around. Perfected Yu Ji had already left, and she didn’t sense anything out of place.
Before she could think further, Shang Ningye and Chuxue appeared beside her.
Mu Qiuhan put away that trace of unexplained wariness that had arisen.
“Let’s go,” she took a step.
“We can’t use magic artifacts, they make too much noise.”
She explained to the people beside her, but she didn’t notice that the Five Elements Bracelet she wore in her storage ring was emitting strange white light.
Shang Ningye walked behind Mu Qiuhan. Since Mu Qiuhan was silent the whole way, she also didn’t speak.
Chuxue just assumed the two of them were afraid of being discovered by the demons, so it remained silent.
Only after walking for a while did it realize that there seemed to be an atmosphere between the two of them that was even stranger than silence.
For example, Little Ye would occasionally sneak a glance at the Mu Qiuhan beside her, then lower her head in thought, looking either confused or furrowing her brow.
Sometimes a faint smile would appear, but it was quickly replaced by deeper confusion.
Mu Qiuhan, however, remained expressionless the entire time.
Chuxue observed the entire way and knew that Mu Qiuhan was not completely unaware of Shang Ningye’s little actions.
But she pretended not to see them and made no response.
It became even more alarmed.
The few of them walked for about an hour, having already entered the main peak’s territory.
Because they were afraid of running into demons, they deliberately avoided all roads and traveled through the dense forest.
When they reached a relatively open area, Mu Qiuhan, who was in front, suddenly stopped.
She gestured to the person and the beast behind her, signaling for them to quickly find a place to hide in the nearby trees.
She also leapt up, jumping onto a treetop.
Shang Ningye was originally a tree transformation, so it was quite easy for her to conceal her aura among the many trees.
It was slightly more difficult for Chuxue.
It released the demon race aura within its body, but deliberately restrained its cultivation significantly.
If someone passing by sensed its presence, they would likely think it was some kind of flying beast on the treetop that had just attained enlightenment.
But if the person who arrived had very high cultivation, it might still not be able to hide from them.
Chuxue was therefore a bit apprehensive.
Fortunately, what appeared before them shortly after was a team of demon soldiers who didn’t seem to be of very high status.
That group of demon soldiers was numerous, with at least a hundred. The leading few were escorting two immortal sect disciples, one on the left and one on the right.
Mu Qiuhan saw from the shadows that one of the immortal sect disciples looked very familiar.
After thinking for a moment, that person was none other than Wei Liangfeng, who she had once had a conflict with in the Scripture Pavilion.
Wei Liangfeng’s face was covered in blood at this moment.
A long gash ran across his handsome face. Blood had already clotted at the wound, so this injury was probably not new.
He was wearing a bright red robe, which was now stained dark red with speckles. It was unclear if it was stained with the blood of demons or if he also had many wounds on his body.
The other disciple was also wearing a red robe, and his condition seemed similar to Wei Liangfeng’s.
Shang Ningye saw these two young disciples from Danxia Peak from the tree.
Just hearing others describe it a few days ago, Shang Ningye still couldn’t fully grasp how tragic this great battle was.
Now that injured and dying disciples were right before her eyes, perhaps not even their lives would be saved soon, Shang Ningye truly felt the sect’s plight and immediately grew anxious.
She couldn’t just stand by and not save them! But there was no way she could defeat these hundred-odd demon soldiers, and even with Chuxue, it would probably still be tough. But if Mu Qiuhan was willing to act…
If Mu Qiuhan was willing to act, a cultivator about to enter the Void Refinement stage would be more than enough to deal with a hundred-odd Nascent Soul stage demon soldiers.
Moreover, among this group, only the few leading ones were at the Nascent Soul stage of cultivation; the majority of the rest were only at the Golden Core stage.
But Mu Qiuhan did not move.
Shang Ningye knew that Mu Qiuhan was affected by Dream Floating Life and didn’t care about anything.
Her current attitude showed this point; she didn’t want to meddle at all.
Shang Ningye gritted her teeth, about to channel her spiritual energy to control the surrounding trees, first silently surrounding that group of demon soldiers, and then considering how to save the people.
But she heard the leading demon soldier suddenly say vigilantly, “Who’s there!”
Shang Ningye was startled and immediately didn’t dare to move.
The team of demon soldiers stopped in an instant.
They quickly changed formation, with three people forming a group, standing back to back to form sturdy small triangles.
Upon closer inspection, the positions where each small squad stood also had specific arrangements.
The formation implicitly displayed by the entire team was the Demon Race’s well-known formation – the Heaven and Earth Three Talents Array.
This was clearly a well-trained team.
Mu Qiuhan was hidden in the shadows and silently approved of this team of soldiers in her heart.
Especially the leader; although his cultivation was only at the late Nascent Soul stage, his senses were quite sharp. It was unclear which subordinate he belonged to.
The team stood for a while in a defensive posture, surrounding the two captives, when they saw a figure slowly walk out from the forest.
That person glanced at the soldiers in front of him and took out a token from his dark black clothes.
Although the leading soldier did not recognize the person before him, he recognized the token.
It was the Imperial Guard General’s token!
He then quickly cupped his fists and bowed in greeting.
“General!”
The person grunted when he heard this.
Just as he was about to leave, he seemed to remember something.
He walked up to the two captives and took out a portrait from his storage ring.
“Have you seen this person in the portrait?”
Wei Liangfeng knew that the cultivation of the person before him was immeasurably higher than that of the demon soldiers who had captured him, and he was no match at all.
He did not dare to act rashly, only glanced at the portrait, and then hesitantly shook his head.
The other person also shook his head.
Seeing that he couldn’t get anything out of them, the person lightly grunted again.
It was unclear if it was disappointment or something else.
After that, he left without saying another word.
A layer of cold sweat broke out on the leading soldier.
Just now he had secretly glanced at the portrait. The person in the portrait was clearly the former Demon Lord who had fought ten against one in the previous war between immortals and demons and ultimately fell!
He raised his head and looked at the person beside him.
The two quietly exchanged a look.
He knew the other person must have also seen it just now.
Could it be true, as the rumors said, that this Lord, the one with the highest cultivation in the Demon Realm’s history, is really still alive?
