Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 312 The Devil’s Trace
The Southern Border of the Chu Kingdom, the Zhennan Prince's Mansion.

"My two fairies, are you really not going to stay a few more days?"

A young man, dressed in an extremely luxurious python robe, strolled slowly along the long corridor in the garden.

"Hehe, the mortal world is bland and boring. I'd like to hear more about the immortals..."

He was accompanied by two people, one a servant and the other a woman.

The woman was dressed in snow-white clothes, and her fair face still showed signs of childhood innocence.

"No, I have important business to attend to on my way down the mountain, so I won't stay any longer."

"Now that the Second Prince is the Prince of Zhennan, he holds a high position and is busy with many affairs of state. It is not appropriate for us to disturb him."

Xie Chan had long, jet-black hair, simply tied up, looking neat and tidy.

Her eyebrows were like distant green mountains, her eyes like brimming autumn water, and her gaze was radiant.

You Ruixuan was momentarily lost in thought.

"..."

"Alright, since both of you immortal masters have precious time, I won't stand on ceremony."

You Ruixuan nodded: "Yanhui, equip the two immortal masters with fine horses."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Although both of them are cultivators, they have not yet reached the Foundation Establishment stage and are therefore unable to fly.

You Ruixuan was aware of this.

"Oh, no need."

Xie Chan stopped the servant and shook her head at the Prince of Zhennan: "The lady traveling with me is not used to the bumpy ride, so there's no need to trouble her."

You Ruixuan was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.

"it is good."

The three of them arrived at a back garden and saw a young female cultivator sitting quietly on the blue stone steps by the garden, admiring the flowers and plants.

"Sister Sheng, let's go."

Hearing the voice, the young woman turned around. It was Sheng Nian's younger sister, Sheng Yun.

"Hey."

She responded and nodded slightly to the young Prince of Zhennan: "Thank you for taking care of me these past few days, Your Highness."

"Where is it."

The two did not linger any longer and immediately bid farewell to You Ruixuan and left the Zhennan Prince's Mansion.

"Xiao Chan, how did you come to know this prince?"

Sheng Yun asked, "This person is quite different from the princes and nobles we met before."

Several years have passed since the new ruler of Chu ascended the throne, and this prince seems to have only been here a short time.

"The Second Prince has been kind to our Xie family. Later, I became a disciple of Xuanjian Mountain. My father taught me not to forget his kindness. Therefore, when there was a political upheaval in the court, I happened to be traveling down the mountain and escorted him out of the palace."

"This second prince dislikes political maneuvering and prefers traveling and sightseeing."

"Later, when the new ruler of Chu ascended the throne, he was enfeoffed as the King of Zhennan and kept away from the court and the countryside."

Sheng Yun responded with an "Oh," and said, "That's a good thing."

"It's just a pity that he doesn't have spiritual roots and can't cultivate immortality. Otherwise, with his temperament, he would probably be an outstanding figure among his peers."

Xie Chan sighed softly, seemingly feeling some regret.

The Second Prince is a good person.

The two sisters chatted as they headed towards Nan Hong City.

"Xiao Chan, your home is in Nan Hong City, which is closer to Dong Yuan Sect, right? Why did you go to Xuan Jian Mountain?"

Sheng Yun was traveling down the mountain, while Xie Chan was carrying out a sect mission and taking the opportunity to visit his family.

The two were strangers, but happened to be resting in the same dilapidated temple. After chatting for a while, they felt like they had known each other for a long time and decided to travel together.

"It's a long story," Xie Chan said, a hint of reminiscence in her eyes.

"Nan Hong City is home to one of the four great families of cultivators, the Qin family of Nan Chu."

After a moment's consideration, she said only a few words: "The Qin family acts in a rather domineering manner."

Sheng Yun didn't quite understand, but seeing the situation, she didn't ask any further questions.

"If it weren't for the rescue by a senior from the Dongyuan Sect, my brothers and sisters and I would probably have died on the way to Xuanjian Mountain."

Xie Chan seemed to have remembered someone.

Little Chan's life has truly been full of twists and turns.

Looking at Xie Chan's still-childish face, Sheng Yun couldn't help but feel a pang of pity.

In comparison, I have always been blessed with the support of my two older brothers.

"Which senior from the Dongyuan Sect?"

She remembered that her brother Song Yan was also a cultivator of the Dongyuan Sect, and asked a question.

Her own brother was elusive and rarely seen. During her trip down the mountain, she planned to visit the Dongyuan Sect and ask Brother Song Yan if he knew where her brother had gone.

"It is Senior Song Yan."

"what?!"

Sheng Yun's eyes widened.

Is there really such a coincidence in this world?
……

The former site of the Xuanwang Taoist Temple in the southern part of the Chu Kingdom.

The Taoist temple here has long been abandoned, with mottled stone tablets lying on the ground and cobwebs covering the eaves. The entire temple exudes an atmosphere of death and desolation.

Three figures appeared silently in the ruins, like ghosts.

The moonlight was too dim, and everyone's figures and faces were hidden in the darkness. Only one person could be barely seen, with a tall and handsome figure.

It looked exactly like Song Yan.

However, this person's eyes and brows lacked that open and sharp edge; instead, they were filled with a faint, chilling sense of gloom.

"Have all the people sent by the Qin family been inspected?"

The figure on the left, shrouded in a wide black robe, opened his mouth to speak, his hoarse voice ringing out.

"At the age of sixty, he has reached the seventh level of Qi Refining."

"Ah."

The two talked back and forth, discussing the lives of these cultivators as if they were mere resources or playthings.

"Song Yan" stood a little distance away from them, remaining silent.

He was naturally Song Yan's inner demon that had fled.

Several years have passed since I was forced to leave Longtan Mountain by that madman's plot to kill himself.

When the original body dies, the inner demon leaves the body and should dissipate quickly.

However, Song Yan's inner demon is extremely special, formed from demonic flames that have been scorched for thousands of years, and contains very few thoughts belonging to the original body.

Secondly, the original body was not truly dead, and it was quickly resurrected.

He initially possessed the body of a deceased cultivator in Dragon Pool Mountain and mingled among the cultivators of the Nine Meridians.

However, the mismatch between his soul and body prevented him from staying in the same body for long.

Therefore, he had to keep changing the body in order to maintain his sanity.

However, this stable state is becoming increasingly shorter and shorter, and it can hardly be delayed any longer.

Just when he was filled with despair and about to go and fight Song Yan to the death, unexpectedly, there was a way out.

He encountered these two demonic cultivators who practiced the demonic path.

They provided him with a human-made early-stage Foundation Establishment realm corpse puppet to live in.

This corpse puppet can change its appearance at will according to its own preferences, which is also the reason why it dared to sneak into Red Maple Plains and steal the Taotie Immortal Flute.

The only request from these two demonic cultivators was to assist them in killing a few people periodically.

Behind these two is a demonic cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage, who cultivates a demonic art that requires the life soul and essence of a cultivator.

The inner demon had no interest in participating in the discussion between the two; at this moment, his soul was still faintly aching.

About a year or two ago, he suddenly felt excruciating pain in his soul.

Then, he vaguely sensed the location of the original body.

This truly terrified him.

For ordinary cultivators, the strength of their inner demon is not much different from that of their original body. In addition, the inner demon has a certain influence on the original body's soul, so it is rare for the original body to be able to resist the inner demon's possession.

But his original self was even more sinister than his inner demon.

He roughly deduced that the Mirror Flower Water Moon Sword Intent had reduced his influence on the original body's soul to less than one-tenth.

And then there's that great radiant light...

What the hell is this "Great Light Form"? Who changed the name? It's practically an extreme demonic art!
If you randomly list a few of the original owner's methods, they are all extremely ruthless.

There was no chance of winning! Originally, the inner demon wanted to escape again, thinking that as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn.

Firstly, these demonic cultivators had promised him some benefits, and secondly, he now had a grasp of the original owner's movements, so as soon as they left the sect, he would immediately set off to escape.

In terms of escaping, inner demons have a significant advantage.

Even if the original owner possessed a sword-based escape technique like You Taixu, the inner demon was still confident of escaping.

As I was pondering this, footsteps came from outside the square.

The three of them turned their heads to look at each other.

"Sorry to have kept you all waiting."

A young voice came through: "I was busy with household affairs and arrived a little late."

The person emerged from the shadows, bathed in moonlight.

It turned out to be You Ruixuan, the Prince of Zhennan.

"Your Highness is very busy, we dare not urge you."

One of the two demonic cultivators was an old man: "We have already prepared the materials for the Spirit Blood Pill. The 'withered wood' and 'new vines' are all ready. We are only missing your 'spiritual root'."

You Ruixuan moved his fingers slightly.

Three black-robed monks emerged from the shadows, each carrying a large wooden box.

These wooden boxes look somewhat similar in shape to ingots, only slightly straighter.

The wooden box has a perforated surface, and in the dim moonlight, one can clearly see the faces of three young children inside.

"Oh? There are three?"

The younger demonic cultivator was slightly surprised: "It seems that Your Highness is impatient and anxious."

"No and no."

The elderly monk chuckled coldly, "I think the prince is indifferent to worldly desires and unwilling to put in real effort."

"otherwise……"

"Why would they let those two female cultivators who came to their doorstep go?"

Upon hearing this, You Ruixuan felt a chill run down his spine.

His expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and said, "One of those two is an old friend of mine."

"what!"

"Have you forgotten?" the young demonic cultivator chuckled, "we're collecting these 'medicinal herbs' not just for our senior brother's Black Fiend Sun Technique, but also to help you break through your mortal body."

"You Ruixuan, do you even care about these things?"

You Ruixuan frowned and remained silent.

In reality, he had no right to speak here.

"That's all."

The old demonic cultivator waved his hand: "Zhifeng and the others have already led some men to intercept them, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

You Ruixuan's pupils contracted: "You..."

"how?"

The old man narrowed his eyes: "Your Highness, is there anything else you would like to instruct me on?"

"..."

The young demonic cultivator ignored him and asked the old man, "Those few Qi Refining stage trash, let's hope nothing goes wrong."

"There's no other way. Now that the Demon Ruins have been defeated, we should avoid taking action if we don't have your senior brother's order."

The old man casually waved his hand, and the three wooden boxes flew towards him, hovering beside him.

"Your Highness, please don't think I'm being too talkative."

"Without you, we can still find a hundred 'princes,' but without us, you're nothing..."

"I'm afraid I'll never have the chance to get involved with the affairs of immortals in this lifetime."

"Let it go this time, but if you delay our important business next time, you know the consequences."

The three figures slowly rose into the air and disappeared into the night.

The young Prince of Zhennan clenched his fists tightly, but he didn't dare to utter a sound.

How disgusting.

He was clearly pursuing the same path to immortality as her, so why was he so unfree?

But now it's too late to turn back.

……

The two women chatted as they hurried along.

"I never expected it to be such a coincidence."

Even Xie Chan looked somewhat surprised.

Sheng Yun smiled brightly: "Hehe, this is fate!"

"If you're not in a hurry to return to your sect, you can come with me to Dongyuan Sect to see Brother Yan."

"it is good."

Recalling her previous visits, Chan'er felt a deep sense of distress.

Either you miss out, or you're in seclusion.

She couldn't help but wonder if she and this Senior Song were no longer destined to be together.

Unexpectedly, the flowers you plant with care may not bloom, while the willows you plant unintentionally may thrive.

On his trip down the mountain, he unexpectedly met Senior Song's sworn sister.

This is really...

Suddenly, Xie Chan vaguely sensed a strange fluctuation of spiritual energy.

However, Sheng Yun seemed unaware and continued walking forward, unconsciously taking a step forward herself.

"Om-"

The ground beneath our feet rippled like water.

"not good!"

Xie Chan was greatly shocked and immediately took out a flying sword from his Qiankun bag.

Sheng Yun also looked wary, drawing a short knife with her left hand and holding three talismans between her fingertips with her right. She stood back to back with Xie Chan, looking around.

The surrounding scenery was shrouded in a faint ripple of water.

A mid-grade first-tier trapping formation.

Xie Chan's heart sank.

Formations were something she was least adept at dealing with...

Ripples spread across the surrounding land, where soil and flowers rippled gently, and circles of transparent water appeared out of thin air, blurring the surrounding scenery into several illusory images.

Five figures slowly rose from the center of the ripples.

The leader, who was at the ninth level of Qi Refining, made no attempt to conceal it. The other four were at the eighth level of Qi Refining and the seventh level of Qi Refining.

"Why are you two fairies in such a hurry to leave?"

Xie Chan was at the eighth level of Qi Refining, while Sheng Yun had barely passed the seventh level.

Having already entered the trap he had set in advance, this time victory should be assured.

Qin Zhifeng has been very depressed in recent years.

Qin Zhan, the young master of the Qin family whom they had painstakingly nurtured and supported, had his own son die mysteriously in a battlefield ruin.

What a waste.

To get Qin Zhan to stand up for him, he spent countless resources and exhausted many favors.

He died quietly and without a sound.

As a result, he himself began to be marginalized by the Qin family.

However, he was not the type to complain or blame others. He believed that it was pointless to waste time and energy investigating this person or that person.

If your son dies, you can just raise another one.

However, in order to seize power from the Qin family as quickly as possible, he had to take a risky approach and take some unconventional measures.

These two people in front of us are therefore particularly important.

If I hand these two over as medicinal ingredients, I might be able to get a few Blood Pills in return.

He gave a forced smile, glancing at the two women, his words dripping with murderous intent: "My master invites you two to his residence. If you don't wish for your untimely demise, you'd better surrender obediently..."

hum-

A cold glint flashed, and to everyone's surprise, Xie Chan made the first move.

(End of this chapter)