Stealing an Immortal Back to the Demon Realm Chapter 58

When the sharp sword, glinting with a cold light, was aimed straight at the point between her eyebrows, Shang Ningye’s heart suddenly leaped.
Instinct made her take a step back.
Could it be that she had already been recognized?
In that split second, Shang Ningye didn’t have time to carefully consider the guard’s actions.
Seeing the sword’s edge stop just short of her forehead without advancing further, Shang Ningye regained some of her composure from her fear.
The next instant, she had already grabbed the offensive magic artifact from her storage ring.
The magic artifact was gripped tightly in her palm, and the attack power of a Mahayana stage demonic cultivator was about to be unleashed.
But then she heard the guard in front of her shout a question.
“Who are you? Where are you from? Where are you going?”
Hearing this, Shang Ningye was startled.
At the critical moment, she managed to retract the demonic power in her palm.
Under the watchful eyes from both inside and outside the city, Shang Ningye had a sudden idea and instead took out a high-grade spirit stone from her storage ring.
She tried hard to steady her nerves and replied in a calm voice, “I’m from Ruili Pavilion, coming from Cold Moon City. I’m preparing to deliver a batch of spirit stones back to Jialuo City in the Demon Realm.”
The guard frowned and glanced at the spirit stone in Shang Ningye’s hand.
Its quality was excellent; it was indeed a rare find.
So he asked again, “Do you have a travel permit?”
“This…”
Shang Ningye hesitated for a moment, then took out a paper stamped with the Demon Lord’s seal from her storage ring.
Although she knew this wasn’t what the guard was asking for, Shang Ningye had no other option.
This was all she had. As for a travel permit from the Bai Clan, she couldn’t produce one.
With that white-robed demon cultivator on the city wall, Shang Ningye didn’t dare to rashly use her Charm Soul Spell.
She could sense that demon cultivator’s cultivation level was much higher than hers.
Right now, the other party was on full alert. Although there was some distance between them, his entire cultivation power was focused on her.
The chances of the Charm Soul Spell succeeding under these conditions were too low.
Shang Ningye didn’t dare take the risk.
She thought for a moment and decided to make her blurted-out identity as someone from Ruili Pavilion more convincing.
She then took out another bag of high-quality spirit stones and a large bag of slightly inferior ones from her storage ring, stuffing them all into the arms of the guard before her.
“Officer, please be a little flexible.”
The guard looked hesitant.
On one hand, the Demon Realm travel permit the woman had given him was indeed genuine. On the other hand, his new superior had only given him those earlier instructions.
At this moment, he hadn’t received any further orders from the one on the city wall, so he didn’t dare to act against this woman on his own authority.
The guard therefore sheathed his sword and said to Shang Ningye, “You wait here. I’ll go ask the General for instructions.”
Shang Ningye nodded, feeling a bit more relieved.
It seemed this gamble had paid off.
She immediately took out another large bag of high-grade spirit stones and handed it to the guard.
“Please, big brother, help put in a few good words for me. The Demon Realm has been a mess lately, and business has been really tough.”
At the same time, under Shang Ningye’s subtle maneuver, a few high-grade spirit stones discreetly slipped into the guard’s sleeve.
Seeing how generous she was, giving away piles of good spirit stones so readily, including some of top-grade quality, coupled with the Demon Realm travel permit she had, the soldier was now convinced of Shang Ningye’s story.
He went up to the city wall and handed all the spirit stones in the bags to the general who had just arrived from Cold Moon City, only secretly putting the few spirit stones from his sleeve into his own storage ring along the way.
The soldier bowed before the white-robed demon cultivator and reported in full detail, “General, in this subordinate’s opinion, the person outside the city is likely a merchant, unrelated to the person the Saint King is looking for. However, the origin of these spirit stones is suspicious. Perhaps they were secretly mined from somewhere in the Qiyuan Mountains.”
The white-robed demon cultivator had already heard their conversation clearly. Now, seeing the large bags of high-grade spirit stones, he hesitated for a moment.
He had long since noticed the soldier’s subtle actions.
It wasn’t surprising that the soldier was tempted to hide some spirit stones for himself; faced with such a large pile of high-quality goods, even he found it hard to resist.
But he felt as if he had seen the woman below the city wall somewhere before, though he couldn’t recall where at the moment.
Perhaps he had seen her before when selecting spirit stones at Ruili Pavilion?
A hint of doubt flashed across the demon cultivator’s brow.
The woman below had low cultivation. How could Ruili Pavilion trust her to transport so many high-grade spirit stones alone?
Could it be they thought this way she wouldn’t attract attention?
The demon cultivator glanced again at the spirit stones presented to him.
The quality was, one might say, exceptionally good.
A sliver of doubt rose in his heart again.
Could this woman be intentionally concealing her cultivation level?
A sharp glint flashed in the demon cultivator’s eyes.
No, he absolutely couldn’t risk a huge loss for a small gain.
If he let the person the Saint King was looking for escape because of this small benefit, the consequences would be more than he could bear.
Thinking of the new Monster Saint Bai Zhan’s ruthless methods, a shadow of gloom flickered across the demon cultivator’s face.
He decided to act more cautiously.
The demon cultivator took the bags of spirit stones from the soldier’s hands, took out a few, and tossed them to the people beside him.
Then he tightened the bags and put them into his own storage ring.
“I’ll go take a look myself.”
Shang Ningye waited below the city wall for a long while. The soldier from before didn’t return; instead, she saw the white-robed demon cultivator from the city wall.
That person walked straight towards her.
A powerful pressure emanated from him, and Shang Ningye felt a little uneasy.
But she did her best to convince herself not to act rashly.
If this person truly intended to harm her, he wouldn’t be approaching like this.
She suppressed the panic in her heart and stood calmly in place.
The white-robed demon cultivator walked up to Shang Ningye, looked her up and down, and then spoke, “I hear you are heading to the Demon Realm?”
Shang Ningye nodded in affirmation.
The white-robed demon cultivator continued, “The Demon Realm is distant and the journey arduous. Surely you don’t intend to travel alone?”
Shang Ningye was unsure of the man’s intentions, so she didn’t say anything.
Seeing she didn’t answer, the demon cultivator curled his lips into a smile.
Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed Shang Ningye’s wrist.
A tyrannical and cold demonic energy surged unexpectedly into Shang Ningye’s body along her meridians.
For a complete stranger, such an action was extremely rude.
Shang Ningye was furious inwardly.
However, the other party’s cultivation allowed his energy to enter her vital organs in an overwhelmingly tyrannical manner; she was completely powerless to resist.
If she forcefully resisted, she would likely only damage her own meridians.
Fortunately, the demon cultivator had no intention of harming her; he merely wanted to probe her actual strength. Otherwise, her cultivation would have been completely crippled.
The demon cultivator probed Shang Ningye’s dantian. Seeing that she truly only had the strength of the Nascent Soul stage, although he was still puzzled, a heavy weight was lifted from his heart.
He immediately withdrew his demonic energy, turned slightly, and cupped his fists towards Shang Ningye.
“Forgive my offense.”
Seeing Shang Ningye didn’t respond, the demon cultivator continued, “You carry valuable goods and travel alone; I fear you may encounter many difficulties on your journey. Take this. It can ensure you travel unhindered in the Qiyuan Mountains area.”
After speaking, a cold jade pendant, carved with cloud and thunder patterns and emitting a faint blue glow, was offered to Shang Ningye.
Ruili Pavilion was a large and influential establishment, and rumor had it that its Pavilion Master was not someone to be trifled with. The demon cultivator didn’t truly want to offend someone from Ruili Pavilion, especially since he had just accepted a considerable bribe from her.
Shang Ningye took the jade pendant from his hand and said coldly, “In that case, thank you very much.”
She knew well that the jade pendant not only served as a pass but also carried the white-robed demon cultivator’s aura.
Accepting this jade, while saving her much trouble on the road, also meant completely exposing her whereabouts to his control.
The other party was so assertive, and was now clearly making a goodwill gesture; it was definitely not wise to refuse directly.
Shang Ningye accepted the jade pendant but had no desire to converse further with this person and turned to leave.
The demon cultivator didn’t stop her, merely assuming that his earlier rudeness had caused Shang Ningye to harbor resentment.
Thus, she managed to leave Hongyue City.
After traveling south for several hundred more miles, she reached a mountain hollow.
From afar, Shang Ningye sensed the dense aura of vegetation here.
Now that she was closer, seeing the valley floor covered in lush green grass like brocade and dense trees, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy.
To think that within these ice-and-snow-covered Qiyuan Mountains, there was actually such a place.
Shang Ningye looked around and discovered that the towering mountains on all sides blocked out the surrounding cold air.
Coupled with underground hot springs in this area, it had formed a small area as warm as spring.
Shang Ningye rested temporarily in the woods. Relying on the strong aura of vegetation, she temporarily concealed her own aura.
After entering the Dream Floating Life again to check on Chu Xue’s condition, Shang Ningye lightly touched the fish pendant on her neck.
When Mu Qiuhan’s voice came through the formation, Shang Ningye was momentarily dazed.
They had only been apart for a few short days, yet she missed her so much.
The person on the other side, hearing her prolonged silence, couldn’t help but feel anxious.
“Why aren’t you speaking? Has something happened?”
Mu Qiuhan’s voice came from the fish pendant, her concerned expression almost visible before Shang Ningye’s eyes.
The words Shang Ningye was about to say, she forced them back down.
She couldn’t selfishly drag her into this.
The reason Mu Qiuhan hadn’t accompanied her, aside from being busy with Demon Realm affairs, was also out of consideration for her status as the Demon Lord.
Shang Ningye knew the Demon Realm had just gone through a war. If, because of her, they made an enemy of the Bai Clan, that was not something she wanted to see.
She couldn’t rely on Mu Qiuhan for everything; it would put Mu Qiuhan in a difficult position.
Besides, this was her personal matter.
Shang Ningye hid the difficulties she had encountered on her journey and only asked about the restriction on Chu Xue.
“A Profound Iron Lock? It won’t be easy to undo. Only the one who placed the lock or someone with a higher cultivation level than them can completely remove it.”
Shang Ningye frowned.
That Bai Zhan’s cultivation was at the Mahayana stage. Didn’t this mean she had no way to remove this lock on her own?
Mu Qiuhan heard her ask this question out of the blue and then fell silent again.
She was anxious.
But since Shang Ningye could still activate the fish pendant, her demonic power couldn’t have been sealed.
She had no choice but to ask further, “Is it Chu Xue? Is she okay?”
Hearing this, Shang Ningye felt a sting in her nose for some reason.
“She’s not injured, but her cultivation has been sealed, and a silencing curse has been placed on her. She can’t move or speak. I…”
Mu Qiuhan heard the sob in her voice and comforted her gently, “Don’t worry. The Profound Iron Lock is hard to remove, but lifting a silencing curse isn’t difficult.”
“Try summoning your demonic core to protect Chu Xue’s physical body. Then, place the Nine Palaces Li Fire Talisman I gave you on her neck and activate it with an incantation. Do you remember the incantation?”
Shang Ningye silently wiped away the tears welling in her eyes and nodded.
“Mm.”
Mu Qiuhan didn’t call her out on her tears and only said, “Then you try it first. If it doesn’t work, I have other methods.”
Shang Ningye cut her palm again and entered the Dream Floating Life.
Following Mu Qiuhan’s instructions, she activated the talisman.
Pale red incantations appeared on the stiff young woman’s neck. As the flame ignited, the talisman ash seeped into her skin.
When the last wisp of firelight dissipated, frost-like patterns appeared on Chu Xue’s neck.
The fiery red patterns and the frost intertwined, seemingly battling each other.
After a moment, the flame gained the upper hand, melting away layers of the ice patterns.
With a coughing sound, Chu Xue’s voice was heard.
“Xiao Ye, run! Bai Zhan is deliberately using me to lure you here!”