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The hell, please spare me with this “otherworldly beauty” thing alright? She’s still a child.
“Sesame!” Zhu Yao called out to him.
Sesame however did not react at all. He continued to look infatuatedly in Yi Ling’s direction, and as though he was bewitched by the devil, he subconsciously moved closer in that direction. This scene was completely similar to that moment when the fox Bai Yi first met Yi Ling.
Zhu Yao simply felt her heart sank for a moment.
The people there finally noticed the movements over on their side as well. Turning anxious, Zhu Yao immediately kept Sesame in her divine sense.
“Mistress?” Sesame, who returned to his beast form, had a dazed look.
“Sesame, wake up.” Although Zhu Yao really wanted to chat about life with him, seeing that the few people there was already walking over, she could only cut her words short. “I will speak to you later.”
“Senior-martial sister Zhu.” The very first one to run towards her was Lin Xiang. After anxiously inspecting her body for a moment, her eyes gradually turned a little red. “It’s really you. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” She actually had a very good impression of Lin Xiang.
“That’s good… That’s good.” Lin Xiang finally heaved a sigh of relief.
“Senior-martial sister Zhu, it’s really great that you’re alright.” Yi Ling walked over as well, with that usual white flowery look of hers. “We searched for you for two days, I never expected that you would come out before us.” Behind these words, there seemed to be a slight dissatisfaction of her for leaving that dungeon without them.
Lin Xiang’s face instantly darkened.
“Oh? So junior-martial sister was looking for me?” Zhu Yao smiled. “Then earlier, why did I hear that you people wanted to first return to the sect without me?”
Yi Ling’s expression paled. Evidently, she never thought that Zhu Yao had completely heard her own words earlier. For a moment, she felt a little complicated, as she turned and glanced at the few people behind her with a pleading look.
“It’s good that you’re safe.” Flower protector Lan Qi immediately followed up, though he was even more unhappy with Zhu Yao.
Especially that foreign-looking man at the side. Though he did not speak the entire time, the eyes he was looking at her with were filled with enmity.
Seeing Yi Ling at a disadvantage, Lin Xiang was evidently elated, as she intimately pulled Zhu Yao and said. “Senior-martial sister Zhu, what about that Risefire Beast? How did you escape? We went to the place you fell into, but we couldn’t find any traces of you.”
“That underground area is really huge. After falling into that place, even I have lost sight of that demonic beast.” Zhu Yao naturally couldn’t tell the truth, so she had no choice but to lie with a straight face. “I wandered around that place for two days before I was able to find the exit.”
Though Yi Ling and the group were a little suspicious, they could not find anything out of place either. After all, the terrain of that underground area was indeed incredibly complicated.
“Oh right, where’s Bai Yi?” She did not notice it earlier, but after taking a careful look, she realized there was someone missing among them.
When her words fell, the expressions of everyone present changed.
Especially Yi Ling, whose eyes turned teary, as though she was about to cry. She glanced at Zhu Yao with a blaming look. “Senior-martial sister Zhu, why couldn’t you have escaped earlier? Junior-martial brother Bai, he… in order to save you… is already… in that dungeon…”
Yi Ling grew even sadder as she spoke. Before she could even finish, she had already turned around and leaned onto the shoulder of that stranger, bawling out loud.
“What happened to him?” Zhu Yao frowned. She no longer cared about Yi Ling pushing all the hate onto her whenever and wherever.
“Junior-martial brother Bai triggered an unknown formation mechanism inside, and is now lost inside that place.” Lan Qi followed up on Yi Ling’s words, as he looked at Zhu Yao with a slight hint of reprimand. Then, he looked towards that stranger and said. “If not because Brother Mu Liu was proficient with formations and brought us out, I’m afraid we would have still been trapped within.”
With an irritated look, Qi Ping added. “This is all because of you. If it wasn’t to look for you… Hmph!”
Yo, they were the ones who lost him, yet they wanted to throw the blame onto her as well.
“How can you put it that way…” Lin Xiang was instantly fired up. Just as she was about to say her piece, Zhu Yao pulled her.
After sizing up the four people, she coldly smiled. “Then I really have to apologize. I shouldn’t have lured away that Risefire Beast in the beginning and then fall into that dungeon because of doing so! Don’t worry, if such a situation occurs again in the future, I will definitely watch all of you die!”
“You…”
The expressions of the four people completely paled in an instant, and they could not find any words to refute either.
She had seen many ungrateful people, but this was still the first time she had seen people like them who were ungrateful to such a fresh extent.
Zhu Yao could not be bothered with these dullards. Turning around, she looked towards that man called Mu Liu. If her memories served her right, this was that demon king in Yi Ling’s harem! It’s no wonder the demonic aura in his body felt like it could leak out at any moment.
“This fellow Daoist Mu, since you were able to bring everyone out of that dungeon, why didn’t you help junior-martial brother Bai while you were at it?”
Mu Liu smiled, his brows faintly emitted out a bewitching air that could steal people’s hearts. Even Yi Ling, who was in his embrace, was in a trance as she looked at him.
“Fellow Daoist Zhu, it’s not that I wasn’t willing. The terrain of that place is incredibly complicated, and I was unable to locate fellow Daoist Bai’s position.” He fluently answered.
“Is that so?” Zhu Yao said, finding his words funny. “And I had thought that since you and Bai Yi are both of the fox demon race, even if you have several more tails, being of the same race, you should have some unique way of contacting him, right?”
The smile on Mu Liu’s face instantly disappeared.
“Don’t throw such slanderous accusations at others!” Mu Liu did not speak, rather, it was follower Qi Ping who leapt out. “How can Brother Mu Liu possibly be a demon?”
This time, it was Zhu Yao who was shocked. They actually weren’t aware that Mu Liu was a demon? Though human practitioners were coexisting harmoniously with demon practitioners, there would definitely still be suspicion for races other than their own. In the depths of everyone’s hearts, the two races were still unable to trust each other. This was also why Bai Yi had been unhappy ever since he entered Blue Parasol Sect.
Zhu Yao looked at the few people. “Are you people blind?” His body was completely covered with demonic aura, yet they did not realize anything?
“Big brother Mu, you…” Yi Ling raised her head and looked at him doubtfully as well.
Mu Liu finally could not contain the calmness on his face either, as his expression changed. After a while, he blatantly admitted it. “Fellow Daoist Zhu, you have good eyes. You’re actually able to see through my true form with a glance.”
Sorry for her not being blind!
Only then did everyone’s face was filled with disbelief.
“But… That fellow Daoist with the surname Bai, I’m truly unable to locate his whereabouts.” He said as he turned towards Yi Ling with a guilty look. “Ling’er, I’m sorry for not being able to save your junior-martial brother.”
“Big brother Mu, I understand.” Yi Ling looked at him with an understanding gaze. “It’s already really difficult for you to bring us out.”
“Ling’er…”
The two of them looked at each other intimately, while the two men at the side felt an ache in their hearts.
Seeing this scene, Zhu Yao simply felt like looking for a corner to puke in.
If not because she knew of the scenario beforehand, she would have truly believed that Mu Liu was unable to locate him even if he had the heart to do so. However, this so-called dungeon underneath them was this nine-tailed fox’s nest in the first place. He had cultivated in this place for hundreds of years, so it was impossible for him to be unclear of the terrain.
In the beginning, because of that God Artifact found underground, she had yet to link the ruins with the dungeon this demon king was living in.
However, after pondering things through, she had once activated a teleportation formation when she fell underground, and was then sent to the ancient ruins.
In other words, these ruins were actually split into two floors. The first floor was most likely the dungeon Yi Ling and the rest went into to look for her, while the other floor was where the god weapon was situated. Mu Liu had lived in the dungeon for so many years, and the formation mechanisms were all set by him himself, so he couldn’t have possibly been unaware of Bai Yi’s whereabouts. The only explanation left, was that he did it on purpose.
Nine-tailed foxes were kings among demons, and they were born with great pride. He could stand having other talented men by Yi Ling’s side, but he might not be able to stand a lower-class individual of his own race.
。Though Zhu Yao was not interested in being involved in their love and hate relationships, she did not wish to have someone push the matter concerning Bai Yi onto her.
“In other words, you really can’t locate Bai Yi?” Zhu Yao confirmed with him once again.
“I have the heart, but not the power to do so.” Mu Liu replied.
“No worries!” Zhu Yao chuckled. “I can!”
She immediately released her divine sense and probed into the dungeon, spreading it throughout the entire first floor of the underground area in an instant. At the same time, she poured out her might without suppressing it even the least bit.
The expressions of everyone present, other than Lin Xiang whom she had especially left out, turned miserably pale in an instant.
Cold sweat faintly emitted out of their foreheads, and Yi Ling’s blood was gushing about even more so than the rest. If not for Mu Liu protecting her by his side, her meridians would have already been damaged. Qi Ping however was not fortunate, as he instantly puked out a mouthful of blood.
“Junior-martial brother Qi!” Lan Qi was startled. He looked towards Zhu Yao, and just when he was about to speak.
Zhu Yao was one step ahead of him, exclaiming out. “Found him!”
After performing a hand seal, she raised her hand and shouted. “Heavenfall!”
Thunder rumbled, and then, thousands and hundreds of lightning bolts struck directly onto an empty piece of land dozens of meters away from them. In an instant, a deep crater was struck out.
Zhu Yao ignored the people who were already completely dumbfounded, as she flew straight towards that piece of land. Lowering her head, she saw a yellow furred fox which had shrunk itself into a ball and was hugging its own tail, several meters below her. With a wave of her sleeves, she instantly pulled him out with a mystic art.
Raising her finger, she tapped onto his furry forehead, forcefully reverting him back into his human form.
Not even a moment later, a man dressed in dirt-yellow clothes appeared before her. It was no wonder this fox had a fetish for clothes, this set of yellow furred clothes… was truly uncomfortable to look at.
“Junior-martial brother Bai!” With an excited expression, Yi Ling charged forward to make her existence known.
“Senior-martial sister Yi!” Bai Yi was only startled for a moment, but he immediately sprinted happily towards Mary Sue for an embrace. His face was filled with joy from their reunion.
“It’s really great that you’re alright. You don’t even know how worried I was.”
“Senior-martial sister, I’m fine, I’m fine. For senior-martial sister, I will continue to hang on.”
“Junior-martial brother Bai…”
“Senior-martial sister Yi…”
“Oh my lord…” Lin Xiang suddenly interrupted from the side. With a mocking look, she glanced at the two people, and coldly snorted. “I wonder who was bent on returning to the sect just earlier.”
Yi Ling’s expression paled, as she anxiously spoke to Bai Yi. “It’s not like that, junior-martial brother Bai. I just wanted to return to the sect to gather more people, that’s why…”
“I understand.” Bai Yi said with an unregretful look. “I knew that senior-martial sister would definitely save me.”
“The one who saved you wasn’t your senior-martial sister Yi!” Lin Xiang coldly snorted, and turned towards Zhu Yao.
The faces of the two people stiffened, and only then did they recall Zhu Yao was behind them.
Bai Yi’s expression carried a hint of guilt, as he respectfully bowed in front of Zhu Yao. “Many thanks to senior-martial sister Zhu for saving me.”
“It’s nothing much, I guess?” Zhu Yao glanced at the two people back and forth, and said unceremoniously. “Though, I do deserve your thanks!”
“…”
Lin Xiang laughed as she hurriedly walked over. With a curious look, she asked. “Senior-martial sister Zhu… no, I have to call you senior-martial aunt Zhu now.” Other than people like Lan Qi who would lower their own statuses to pick up girls, normally, anyone with cultivation of Azoth Core and above had to be addressed as senior-martial uncles or aunts. “How did you suddenly form your Azoth Core? And you even learnt such an incredible mystic art?”
Everyone, Lan Qi and Mu Liu especially, looked towards her in an instant. One of them was at the early stages of Azoth Core, while the other was at the late stages, in this world, they were already considered as talents with extremely good aptitudes. However, they never expected that after just two days, Zhu Yao who was merely at the early stages of Foundation before, putting aside the fact that she had directly formed her Azoth Core, had even risen straight to an Azoth Paragon. Not to mention that strange heavenly bolts of lightning she summoned earlier.
Mu Liu was a demon-kind, so he was extremely fearful of tribulation lightning. After that display of heavenly lightning bolts earlier, he was presently still a little shaken.
“I merely comprehended it while I was at the border of life and death in that dungeon.” Zhu Yao casually explained. “Since we have found Bai Yi, then let’s return.”
Lin Xiang knew that she was unwilling to speak about it any further, so she did not probe deeper either.
The few people thus began to rise into the skies on their swords with strange expressions.
Just after they took off, a rumbling sound suddenly reverberated. As though the entire forest was shaking from an earthquake, it began to cave inwards at a large scale. In an instant, mountains shook and the earth rumbled.
Something seemed to be rising from beneath the earth, as half of the entire forest began to rise off the ground. Countless rocks slid off, and many trees collapsed. The piece of land that rose into the air, like having its shell peeled off, revealed a towering palace. It rose even higher into the sky, and finally, it stopped and floated in mid-air.
“This is…” Everyone present was looking dazedly at the gigantic palace that had suddenly flown out of the ground. They were all dumbstruck.
A while later, sparks of lightning suddenly shone around the palace, and the sounds of thunder constantly rumbled in their ears. Not even a moment later, the lightning sparks actually gathered to form several gigantic spiritual swords that were as tall as mountains. Like guardians, they circled around the palace, forming a huge sword formation which was even faintly emitting out a pressure which could tense the hearts of people.
This formation was – the Nine Revolving Five Elemental Lightning Formation!
“Yu… Yao!” A familiar voice transmission, with still the same clear and light tone, suddenly rang in her heart. “No matter where your master is, you must remember this. I will always be protecting you.”
The corner of Zhu Yao’s lips could not help but rise, her heart was filled with bliss. “I know.”
“If you’re really unable to defeat your opponent…” That voice once again reverberated. “Then run back to your master’s side. Don’t court death.”
“…” Just how unconfident are you of your own disciple, hey!?
“Senior-martial sister Zhu…” Lan Qi looked towards Zhu Yao. “What do you think this is?”
“I don’t know either.” Zhu Yao acted oblivious. She couldn’t possibly say that her own son had made the underground ruins rise up to the sky, right? “Let’s first return to the sect before discussing about this.”
Everyone exchanged glances, and acknowledged that they should first return to the sect to report about this anomaly.
Thus, they sped back to Blue Parasol Sect.
Zhu Yao was concerned about Sesame’s matter, so she flew the fastest.
She had a faint feeling that she seemed to have forgotten something? Yet, she couldn’t recall it at that moment. Forget it, I can think about it later.
In the ruins, a Risefire Beast which was still unaware that he had already risen into the sky, was presently staring at the six passageways with a serious look.
“Uuuu… Why hasn’t master’s mistress return to hold my paws? So anxious, so anxious.” It lowered its head and looked at its own nails. Then, it began to count them one by one. “She will return to hold my paw… She won’t return to hold my paw… She will return to hold my paw…”
“Sesame, just what happened to you?” The moment she returned to her own courtyard, Zhu Yao placed down a few isolation formations, dove into her own divine sense, and glared at the demonic beast who had returned to his original form. “I’m warning you. I don’t care who you set your eyes on, but that Mary Sue Yi Ling is off limits. You better wake up.”
“Who is Yi Ling?” Sesame tilted its beast head, with a twist of its body, he asked. “Mistress, why did you suddenly lock this beastie in your divine sense? I have been sealed for so long, and have only just managed to be released. I want to head out and have some fresh air.”
“Don’t think you can fool me! Earlier, you were still looking at her with such dazed eyes.” Zhu Yao ignored his attempt at acting cute, and instantly formed an image of Yi Ling within her divine sense. With a stern tone, she said. “Sesame, I understand your feelings of being a single beastie, but if you want to find a partner, you must find someone good.” You must have a lower limit.
“Her?” Sesame was startled, as he shook his beast head like a pellet drum. “I don’t like beasties with two legs. I only like four-legged beasties.”
“Then what happened to you earlier?” His eyes were clearly fixated at her.
“Earlier…” Sesame looked perplexed. As though he recalled something, he was suddenly thrown into a shock. “I… I don’t know either.” He then glanced at that image again, and his expression turned even more perplexed than before. His entire beast head was turning into a bun from all that frowning. “Her body… There seems… seems to be something on her body, and I unconsciously…”
“What do you mean?” This answer seemed to have gone out of Zhu Yao’s expectations.
“Mistress, I’m unclear of the reason as well. Earlier, when I saw her, I suddenly felt the urge to approach her, just like…” Sesame frowned as he used his claw to scratch his head. After pondering for a long while, his eyes shone and said. “Just like that time when mistress released her dragon might.”
