Stealing an Immortal Back to the Demon Realm Chapter 49

The worry in her heart deepened as the night grew darker.
Eventually, Shang Ningye became almost too restless to sit or stand.
She knew this feeling was a bit strange.
The person in that room was clearly capable of concocting even immortal-grade pills like the Yin-Yang Mystic Dragon Pill.
What on earth was she worried about?
Shang Ningye took a deep breath and, for the first time in a long while, began to meditate, hoping to calm her agitated heart.
Spiritual energy circulated through her meridians.
The surrounding spiritual energy also began to gather towards her Dantian.
The newly condensed spiritual energy tried to merge with the Golden Core in her abdomen, but it started another round of struggle with the demonic energy already there.
Shang Ningye felt the two forces battling within her Dantian and sighed softly.
Her cultivation level hadn’t improved for many years. This was certainly related to her poor spiritual roots.
But the fundamental reason was still this problem.
Whenever she tried to advance to the next level, the demonic energy in her Dantian would instinctively fight back.
Perhaps Mu Qiuhan was right. She was of the demon clan; she shouldn’t be cultivating spiritual energy like those human cultivators.
But…
Thinking of the unbearable suffering of her clansmen when the Silk Flower Essence acted up, Shang Ningye dismissed the idea of cultivating demonic arts.
If there wasn’t a suitable person, she would rather remain a Golden Core cultivator forever, just like she was now.
Shang Ningye struggled to maintain a precarious balance between the two types of energy within her.
After that, she didn’t dare to continue cultivating.
Finally, there was a stir from Mu Qiuhan’s room. Shang Ningye didn’t want to disturb her, so she could only stay put and listen intently.
But as she listened, she heard some unusual sounds.
The sound was very faint and low, and it seemed to have occurred during the day as well.
Shang Ningye’s unease grew stronger.
She stood up, wanting to find the guards outside the courtyard, but then worried about making too much noise and disturbing Mu Qiuhan.
So, she forced herself to stop.
Shang Ningye spread out her divine sense. The courtyard was unusually quiet; she could faintly hear the demonic soldiers on patrol walking back and forth outside.
She remained vigilant, aware of every little detail around her, ready to deal with any sudden surprises.
When Mu Qiuhan emerged from the room holding a pill, she saw Shang Ningye looking as if she were facing a great enemy.
She glanced at Shang Ningye with some surprise.
Did something happen that I don’t know about?
Even if I was completely immersed in pill concoction, I shouldn’t have been completely unaware.
“What’s wrong?”
She walked up behind Shang Ningye and asked softly.
Seeing Mu Qiuhan appear, Shang Ningye breathed a sigh of relief.
She glanced at the white jade bottle in Mu Qiuhan’s hand, knowing the pill must have been successfully concocted.
“I just feel like something isn’t right. I’ll go out and take a look.”
With that, she stood up and walked towards the courtyard exit.
Shang Ningye followed the direction of the sound she had heard earlier, heading towards the red wall outside the courtyard.
Mu Qiuhan followed closely behind her.
The soil near the red wall looked like it had been recently disturbed.
By the light of the palace lanterns on the wall, Shang Ningye discovered a few newly sprouted plants in the fresh earth.
Although the sprouts were barely larger than green beans, Shang Ningye recognized them at a glance.
Her pupils constricted.
“This is… Biluo Vine!?”
“What is it?!”
Mu Qiuhan saw Shang Ningye instinctively step back a few paces upon seeing the seedlings.
Without thinking, almost at the same moment Shang Ningye retreated, Mu Qiuhan released a stream of spiritual fire, completely engulfing the seedlings.
The terrified look on Shang Ningye’s face made the gloom in Mu Qiuhan’s eyes hard to conceal.
The spiritual fire, as if sensing her emotions, flared violently, turning an almost deep purple.
Mu Qiuhan stared at the few Biluo Vines in the flames, which had only just sprouted tiny shoots.
This is the main ingredient of Snow Artemisia.
How did it appear here?
Turning to look again, Shang Ningye had, at some point, moved far away.
Mu Qiuhan’s voice carried a rare hint of anxiety.
“I did indeed have people plant some easy-to-grow feather grass in this area, but I never asked anyone to plant Biluo Vine here.”
She stared at Shang Ningye from a distance, as if trying to discern something from her face.
However, Shang Ningye’s expression was hidden by the deep night, and even with divine sense, Mu Qiuhan couldn’t clearly see the subtle changes in her expression.
Mu Qiuhan felt a surge of irritation, and the spiritual fire burned even more fiercely.
Shang Ningye’s gaze fell on the spiritual fire.
Within the flames, she could still faintly sense the seedlings, scorched yet stubbornly resilient.
The sounds I heard earlier must have been these plants breaking through the soil.
And my unease must also be because of this.
Shang Ningye knew these plants must have been tampered with.
Biluo Vine wasn’t like feather grass; the soil of the Demon Realm was not suitable for its growth. Yet, these plants grew so quickly, unless…
Unless someone had transferred a large amount of spiritual energy to them, aiding their growth.
And this, perhaps, only a demonic cultivator could achieve.
Mu Qiuhan naturally thought of this as well.
Even after the seedlings were burned to ashes in her hand, she still felt uneasy.
The spiritual fire continued to spread over a large area of the newly turned soil.
In an instant, the blaze illuminated the surroundings, and a cacophony of crackling sounds filled the air.
It was the sound of feather grass seeds bursting open after being burned in the flames, and perhaps other things too.
Mu Qiuhan couldn’t tell if there were other Biluo Vine seeds mixed in the soil.
To ensure Shang Ningye’s safety, she chose this most foolish, yet most reliable, method.
The raging inferno attracted the nearby patrolling guards.
Squads of demonic soldiers saw Mu Qiuhan’s face, dark with anger, personally burning the feather grass seeds sown just that day until not a single one remained. For a moment, they didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.
Mu Qiuhan silently finished clearing this large patch of land, then turned to ask the long line of demonic soldiers standing ramrod straight behind her.
“Who was responsible for tilling and planting this land?”
One of the bolder team leaders stepped forward and saluted her.
“Your subordinate was on patrol during the day and saw people from the Iron Harrier Army tilling and planting here.”
Seeing several others in the line nod, Mu Qiuhan’s heart sank.
The Iron Harrier Army?
Those are Hua Ganglie’s men.
She suppressed the urge to summon them for questioning and waved her hand at the crowd of demonic soldiers, who were as silent as cicadas in winter.
“There’s nothing more here. Return to your duties.”
Mu Qiuhan walked back to her room in silence under the gaze of the demonic soldiers, her mind secretly calculating.
Who could have come up with such a plan to kill three birds with one stone?
It could potentially harm Shang Ningye, perhaps sow discord between me and Hua Ganglie, and most importantly…
Will Shang Ningye develop resentment towards me because of this?
Mu Qiuhan turned to look at the person quietly following behind her, her fists clenching for a moment.
“Who do you suspect?”
Once they were inside the room, Mu Qiuhan ventured, trying to gauge Shang Ningye’s attitude.
Shang Ningye didn’t answer directly, only saying, “Only a demonic cultivator can transfer spiritual energy to plants.”
“So you suspect Su Hongyu?”
Seeing Shang Ningye didn’t deny it, Mu Qiuhan spoke up for Su Hongyu for a rare change.
“I just examined the spiritual energy in those plants. It’s not Su Hongyu’s.”
Hearing this, Shang Ningye gave her a look that Mu Qiuhan couldn’t quite understand.
Mu Qiuhan sighed softly at this.
She thought for a moment and finally said, “We can’t rule out Su Hongyu’s involvement, but the spiritual energy in the plants definitely isn’t hers.”
Shang Ningye hummed softly, lost in thought.
Mu Qiuhan ultimately failed to discern Shang Ningye’s true thoughts, and a trace of anxiety inevitably crept into her heart.
Will she think I arranged for this to be done?
Or will she think I condone my subordinates’ actions, disregarding her feelings?
Mu Qiuhan didn’t know how to explain all this to Shang Ningye. A myriad of thoughts raced through her mind, but in the end, she only said one thing.
“I’ve already concocted the Origin Restoring Pill. Given the current situation, you should take it sooner rather than later.”
“I’ll stay nearby and guard you. If there’s too much spiritual energy in the pill for you to absorb at once, I’ll find a way to draw it to myself.”
Shang Ningye looked at Mu Qiuhan’s somewhat pale face, a flicker of pity crossing her heart.
She just finished concocting a batch of pills and then used a large amount of spiritual fire. Her spiritual energy must be depleted right now, which is why it’s showing on her face.
She suppressed the baseless speculations in her mind and released a gentle stream of wood-element spiritual energy, enveloping Mu Qiuhan.
“There’s no rush. You should rest first.”
Mu Qiuhan was indeed a bit tired, but Shang Ningye’s old injuries couldn’t be delayed any longer.
She recovered slightly with the help of the healing spiritual energy, then interrupted Shang Ningye.
“You still need to absorb the medicinal power of the Origin Restoring Pill. Don’t waste your spiritual energy on me. I’m fine.”
She took a pill from the jade bottle and gestured for Shang Ningye to take it.
Seeing her insistence, Shang Ningye didn’t refuse.
She took the pill from Mu Qiuhan’s hand, sat cross-legged on the couch, and then swallowed it.
The moment the pill entered her stomach, Shang Ningye felt it was different from the previous one.
Powerful spiritual energy flowed through her meridians, nourishing her body.
Almost instantly, the lingering pain in her chest was completely healed, and the old injuries in her meridians slowly disappeared.
Shang Ningye tried to guide the excess spiritual energy into her Dantian, but the demonic energy within her body began a new round of rebellion at that moment.
Mu Qiuhan had been watching Shang Ningye’s reaction intently.
At first, Shang Ningye was fine; her complexion regained its healthy rosy hue shortly after taking the pill.
But later, her face began to alternate between flushed red and deathly pale.
Large beads of sweat seeped from her forehead, trickling down her cheeks.
Mu Qiuhan knew this was bad.
She said to Shang Ningye, “Forgive my intrusion.”
Uncertain if Shang Ningye had heard her, Mu Qiuhan opened the front of her own robes.
She moved forward, gently removed all of Shang Ningye’s robes as well, and then pressed her entire body against hers.
Shang Ningye was currently struggling to balance the two forces within her body. When Mu Qiuhan suddenly pressed against her, she didn’t feel it.
It wasn’t until the chaotic spiritual energy in her Dantian began to reverse its flow, dispersing outwards from the Dantian, that Shang Ningye finally sighed in relief.
However, just as she relaxed, she suddenly felt a body entirely embracing hers.
Something warm was pressed tightly against her Dantian, feeling like another person’s lower abdomen.
The sensation of skin-to-skin contact made Shang Ningye’s eyes snap open in an instant.