You're just a single demon beast? I have a whole army of beast tamers!

Inside Zhenyuan Immortal Mansion, Shen Liuli sat on a soft wooden couch, teasing Qin Jiuqing in her arms.

The baby girl could already babble, her little hands clutching half a spirit fruit, her face covered in juice as she gnawed on it.

Qin Shou stood aside and watched for a moment before walking over and sitting down opposite her.

"We need to move," Qin Shou said.

Shen Liuli looked up at him, but didn't reply. She just pulled Qin Jiuqing closer to her.

"You can't stay in the immortal abode forever now."

The Myriad Demons Sect won't wait, and the Shui family won't pretend to be stupid forever.

With my current cultivation level at the peak of pseudo-immortal, I am still just a pawn that the Shui family can replace at any time.

Qin Shou said in a low voice, "If this drags on any longer, let alone saving you, we might not even be able to save these children."

"Do you want to go to the secret realm ahead of schedule?" Shen Liuli asked.

"It's not about advancing the timeline, it's about accelerating it."

Qin Shou looked at her and said, "The hundred-year period is not far off."

If you and I cannot obtain the Nine-Aperture Immortal Flower before then, we will have to take many times the detours if we wish to pursue true immortality in the future.

Shen Liuli was silent for a moment, then gently patted Qin Jiuqing's back and said:

"It's easy for me. If they can't find me, they'll just assume I'm colluding with some cultivator, or that I was secretly taken away by the Myriad Demons Sect."

The one who should really be worried is you.

She looked at Qin Shou and asked, "What will happen to Shui Yao and the others after you leave?"

There are also the children who stayed with the Shui family.

If the Shui family discovers you've left without permission and can't find you, they might take their anger out on them.

"I've thought about that."

Qin Shou frowned slightly. "But we can't just let them trap us here and die."

You're overthinking it.

Shen Liuli said calmly, "Shui Yao and the other two are originally cultivators of the Shui family, and your child is also of the Shui family bloodline."

If the Shui family had any sense at all, they wouldn't have gone to such lengths to wipe them out over such trivial matters.

At most, they'll take the child to the clan school and keep him there until you come back to deal with him.

Given the benefits you've brought to the Shui family, they won't easily break off relations.

Qin Shou remained silent.

Shen Liuli glanced at him and continued, "The most important thing right now is for you to advance to the True Immortal realm."

Only when you become a true immortal can you truly gain a foothold in the Shui family and protect these children.

If you continue to suppress your cultivation, not only will you be unable to bring them back, but you yourself could be held hostage by someone at any time.

"I know," Qin Shou exhaled a breath of stale air.

"Furthermore, even if you and I enter the secret realm, it may not be smooth sailing."

Shen Liuli looked down at her daughter's little face, "The people we have to face are not just the Myriad Demons Sect."

In the Three Immortal Realms, there are countless Xuanxian families like the Shui family.

They won't let a single Nine-Aperture Immortal Flower escape.

"But only you can enter that secret realm, right?" Qin Shou retorted.

"Going in and coming out alive are two different things," Shen Liuli said.

Qin Shou did not continue the argument.

He stared at the ethereal silhouette of the green tree outside the window for a long time before saying:

If you successfully obtain the item, what are your plans?

Has it always been hidden in the immortal abode?

Even if we both become True Immortals, the Myriad Demons Sect will still be a sword hanging over our heads.

Shen Liuli smiled softly:

"I don't really care."

With this celestial abode as a shelter, it's much more comfortable than staying at the Shui family's place.

As long as it doesn't implicate you or the children, I'm fine with anything.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you." Qin Shou's voice lowered a few decibels.

"There's nothing to feel wronged about."

Shen Liuli shook her head, "This kind of life actually makes me feel at ease."

Qin Shou did not speak again.

After a moment, he said, "Once this matter is settled, I will not treat you unfairly."

Before long, we won't have to depend on the Shui family anymore.

Shen Liuli raised her eyes: "You want to replace the Shui family?"

"Not a replacement."

Qin Shou paused, "It's to ensure they'll never dare to use my blood and bones to blackmail me again."

Shen Liuli placed the child back on the soft couch, sat up straight, and said earnestly:

"You'd better not underestimate the Shui family."

The reason why these five immortal clans are not afraid of the Myriad Demons Sect is not because each clan has a large number of True Immortals and Profound Immortals.

Rather, it's because the five families are closely connected and have joined forces to create a combined immortal formation.

It is said that if that formation is activated at full power, even a Golden Immortal could withstand it.

Qin Shou's expression changed slightly: "Can it block a Golden Immortal?"

"At least when the Water Clan Ancestor was still alive, he used this formation to force back a Golden Immortal from the Three Immortal Islands."

Shen Liuli said, "That's why these five families dare to establish themselves in the Three Immortal Realms."

Otherwise, given the strength of the Myriad Demons Sect, the Shui family alone would have been swallowed up long ago.

Qin Shou nodded thoughtfully.

He had initially thought the five-party alliance was just a loose alliance of offense and defense, but now it seemed to be far more solid than he had imagined.

This also means that he must be more cautious if he wants to accomplish his goals under the Shui family's nose.

"By the way, what's the origin of that Nine-Aperture Immortal Flower you mentioned?"

he asks.

Shen Liuli said, "This flower grows deep within a secret realm."

It takes 100,000 years for the first flower to bloom, and then another one to bloom every 100,000 years thereafter.

After three flowers bloom, they will wither on their own.

Each flower contains extremely pure immortal spiritual principles, which can help cultivators condense the foundation of true immortality.

Monsters are no exception.

The cultivation methods of demonic beasts in the celestial realm are not fundamentally different from those of humans; both can use this flower to attempt to become true immortals.

"Even demonic beasts can use it?" Qin Shou narrowed his eyes.

"Yes," Shen Liuli nodded. "However, the specific effects depend on the bloodline of the demon beast and the laws it cultivates."

If your natal beasts are currently stuck at the ninth rank of perfection, this flower might be more beneficial to them than to human cultivators.

Qin Shou did not ask any further questions.

He stood up, paced back and forth in the room a couple of times, and finally made up his mind:

"I'll go out first."

Sooner or later, the Shui family will find out you're not here.

I also need to find an excuse to go out.

I will have everything arranged within a month.

Shen Liuli looked at him and said, "It's better if I'm not here."

As long as the Shui family believes I escaped, the Ten Thousand Demons Sect will assume the Shui family deliberately released me. The more they fear me, the safer we are.

Qin Shou smiled, said nothing more, and turned to leave Zhenyuan Immortal Mansion.

A month later, the Shui family indeed noticed something unusual about Shen Liuli.

A jade plaque indicating seclusion always hangs in front of the gate of that guesthouse.

Previously, there were servants who would go and clean the courtyard every day, but after Shen Liuli went into seclusion for a long time, even the lights in the courtyard became less frequent.

Shui Qingli's men knocked on the door several times, but no one answered.

At first, it was assumed that the injury had not yet healed and that it was not advisable to disturb the patient.

It wasn't until a female cultivator from the inner quarters passed by the courtyard and suddenly sensed that the spiritual energy inside had stagnated, and she couldn't detect even a trace of living beings, that the clan was alerted.

Soon, the courtyard was forcibly opened.

The room was empty, and the prayer cushions were covered with a layer of fine dust.

Shen Liuli is long gone.