Chapter 102

The mountain breeze was cool but gentle, while the dungeon was extremely cold, carrying with it a smell of decay that was mercilessly bone-chilling.

With the help of moonlight, Fen Xiu finally recognized the person: "You are not Chu Jinglan, you are not a demon... who are you?"

Xiao Mo kept silent, just looking at Fen Xiu with scrutiny: there were too many chains, the confinement was very tight, and Fen Xiu's cultivation was already useless, so he couldn't cause any trouble anymore.

Although it is unknown when Fen Xiu's cultivation was abandoned, if ordinary people abandon their cultivation, their lifespan can only be a mortal life. However, the demons are different. They can live for hundreds or thousands of years and can survive by relying on the power of their blood even without their cultivation.

The clothes on Fen Xiu's body were already old and tattered, and one could see some scabbed and rotten wounds underneath, which looked like sword wounds.

Fen Xiu didn't wait for Xiao Mo's answer. He looked down and saw the flute on his waist. His groggy head shook, the chain creaked, and a strange color flashed in his eyes: "That flute, are you Chu Jinglan's new love?"

"Haha, hahaha!" Fen Xiu's hoarse laughter suddenly rang out. He, who looked decadent and dead, actually still had the energy to laugh out loud. Although his laughter was not pleasant to hear, it echoed heavily in the dungeon, just like the crazy sound of a ghost bursting out from the dead. "I thought he could really guard the Taoist couple for a lifetime, haha, nothing more than this!"

Xiao Mo and he were enemies rather than friends. After examining him, he just looked at the man coldly as he went crazy, without saying a word.

The sound of his laughter tugged at the chains that penetrated his bones. His laughter was mixed with the sound of groans of pain. After a while, he collapsed as if he had no strength left. His brows drooped and his eyes were haggard. He asked lazily, "Boy, how long has it been outside?"

His voice was always hoarse, probably because he hadn't spoken for a long time.

Chu Jinglan broke through to Guixu a hundred years ago, and it was also at that time that he captured Fen Xiu alive. Xiao Mo finally spoke to him and said, "A hundred years."

"A hundred years, ah, it was just a moment in the past, but now..." Fen Xiu raised his eyelids, "My little beauty, do you know that the flute on your waist belongs to Chu Jinglan, your former lover?"

Xiao Mo said coldly: "I know."

Fen Xiu thought that Chu Jinglan would never give the flute to anyone other than his lover, so he naturally thought that Xiao Mo was his new lover. He then said, "Do you know what kind of person he is? I see that your demeanor is somewhat similar to his. Chu Jinglan must be looking for his own shadow in you, and he has never even looked at you as a person!"

He's been tied here for a hundred years, yet he comes to sow discord... But it can be seen that Fen Xiu's brain is still good. By instigating the relationship between him and Chu Jinglan, should he find a way to control himself and let him out later?

Unfortunately, he didn't know that the person in front of him was an old friend. He was his own substitute? Not possible.

Xiao Mo also laughed: "Impossible."

Seeing that he was not angry at all and was full of confidence, Fen Xiu asked in a hissing voice, "How can you be so sure?"

Nonsense, there are too many reasons, but Xiao Mo didn't mind learning something from Fen Xiu, so he picked one: "Chu Jinglan's former Taoist partner was just a shield for him, and he didn't have any love for her."

Hearing this, Fen Xiu also laughed out loud: "He told you that? Hahaha, Chu Jinglan can really make up any lie to please his new love!"

Xiao Mo had not brought up the issue, so Chu Jinglan only treated him as a friend. However, seeing the confidence in Fen Xiu's laughter, it was obvious that there was something else going on. Xiao Mo's heart skipped a beat: "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean? It means that you were fooled by him!" Fen Xiu swallowed his dry throat and continued, "Chu Jinglan agreed to keep me under his nose. No matter how high-sounding the reason was, he was obviously doing it for his own selfish reasons, in order to find the answer to a question from me."

"That is——"

【How did you get here? 】

The wind brought a voice from behind Xiao Mo. Fen Xiu groaned, and his words were interrupted by the wind pressure. Xiao Mo turned around in horror, only to see Chu Jinglan, who was supposed to be practicing, coming silently behind him.

...A person with too high a level of cultivation appears behind you like a ghost. Even if they are acquaintances, it is really scary at this moment.

He could not detect any footsteps, nor could he detect any breath with his spiritual sense. He suddenly appeared, and Xiao Mo was frightened. It was not until he saw the frightened figure clearly that his heart, which had jumped into his throat, slowly settled down.

Xiao Mo breathed a sigh of relief: "...Aren't you practicing?"

"I finished my practice and found you were not in the room, so I came here."

Chu Jinglan glanced indifferently into the dungeon. Fen Xiu glared at him viciously. He opened his mouth to speak but spat out a mouthful of blood. Fen Xiu was stunned for a moment and then laughed.

He was hurt by the momentum just now and couldn't utter a word for a moment, so he moved his lips silently and mouthed: People. Are. Not. As. Before.

Chu Jinglan led Xiao Mo out and raised his hand coldly. The door of the dungeon closed, forcing Fen Xiu's resentful gaze into a narrow gap, and then it was closed heavily behind the door.

Fen Xiu could only see Chu Jinglan's cold eyes, and could not see any other changes in his expression.

Of course he couldn't see it, because there was no way Chu Jinglan would be ruined by these four words. Old friends and new people alike were all Xiao Mo.

If I have to say, he is the only one who has changed.

Chu Jinglan took Xiao Mo's hand again and walked slowly in the mountains. The breeze was gentle and the moon was bright. He had just been practicing spiritual skills and was in a good mood. He spoke calmly, "Come out to see the scenery?"

"Well, just wandering around." Xiao Mo's mind was still lingering with the words that Fen Xiu had just interrupted, "Why is Fen Xiu in Du'e Sect?"

"After capturing Fen Xiu alive, several major forces of human cultivators discussed and decided to keep his life. He is of the Heavenly Demon bloodline, and the bloodline is inherently intimidating to the demons. Keeping him alive will help them mediate with the demons. They feel most at ease keeping him here with me."

Although there is no restriction in the dungeon, the protective restrictions of the entire Du'e Sect are very strong, and ordinary people can't just break in casually.

Chu Jinglan's reasons were reasonable, but Xiao Mo couldn't help but think of what Fen Xiu had just said, that Chu Jinglan had selfish motives in detaining him.

What question did Chu Jinglan want to ask Fen Xiu? Was Fen Xiu trying to instigate him, or was it true?

The topic was suddenly cut short, which really made Xiao Mo pay attention.

But it was obvious that there was no way to know the answer tonight. Chu Jinglan closed the cell door in shock, meaning to prevent Xiao Mo from asking any more questions.

But... no new restrictions were added to the dungeon, which meant that Xiao Mo still had a chance to come back and open the door to ask again.

I don’t know when Chu Jinglan came just now, and how much he heard. If he didn’t care, why didn’t he wait for Xiao Mo to finish listening; if he cared, why didn’t he just lock the cell so that he couldn’t open it?

Xiao Mo was a little confused.

When he came to his senses, Chu Jinglan had already led him by the hand to another mountain.

As he stepped into the mountain, a small point of light suddenly rose from the bushes beside him, as if the stars in the sky had fallen to the earth, and Xiao Mo's attention was immediately drawn to it.

The little sparks look like fireflies, but their light is more beautiful than that of fireflies, stretching endlessly, like a river or stars, gathering and rising from all directions, dancing gracefully.

A star flew past Xiao Mo's eyes. He touched it lightly with his fingertips. The small dots of light scattered with a "pop", then quickly gathered together, spun playfully and ran away.

"It is said that there are many wonders hidden in the 81 peaks of the Du'e Sect," Xiao Mo's eyes were also lit up by the fireflies all over the mountain, "Is this one of them?"

"Yes." Chu Jinglan took him up the stairs, "I can show you the rest of the scenery one by one."

Xiao Mo held his hand: "Okay, it's a deal!"

The two climbed the stairs in the glow of the fire. Chu Jinglan not only took him to see the scenery, but also a butterfly hurriedly flew over from the flowers high up. Its antennae buzzed and it made a human voice: "I have seen the Immortal Venerable."

"This is the original Lucky Butterfly," Chu Lan said in amazement, "You should sign a contract with it."

The Fu Lingdie was startled, looked up at Xiao Mo, then flew over obediently and bowed in front of Xiao Mo.

It is already an eighth-tier monster, but here it only maintains a palm-sized body, docile and beautiful, without the slightest bit of monster ferocity.

Unexpectedly, three hundred years later, Chu Jinglan insisted on not making a contract with it. He said he would keep it for himself, and he really kept it for himself. Xiao Mo felt warm in his heart, and blood beads popped out from his fingertips. As a human being, he reached a real contract with the Fu Lingdie.

The Fuling butterfly touched Xiao Mo's fingertips with its wings as a gesture of friendship: "Master, please give me a name."

Xiao Mo was just about to ask its name. Chu Jinglan hadn't given it a name in all these years. Was she waiting for him to come? Seeing that Chu Jinglan didn't say anything, Xiao Mo looked at the pattern on the butterfly's wings and its current size and said, "Just call it Xiao Cai."

Xiao Cai: “Yes.”

Xiao Cai had gotten used to living on this mountain, so Xiao Mo didn't let it follow him back to the yard on Du'e Peak. After all, the contracted monster would come whenever he was called, so he just let it stay in its comfortable nest.

The two of them leisurely looked at the scenery of one peak after another, and returned to the courtyard of Du'e Peak at dawn. Yan Chunchuxia and Mo Zhi arrived when the sun rose high in the sky, to discuss the matters concerning the ceremony with Chu Jinglan.

Now they had to draw up the invitation list first. Xiao Mo's inner demon body only knew a few people, so naturally Chu Jinglan had to decide the list. They went to the hall in the courtyard to discuss, and Xiao Mo returned to his bedroom to do his own thing.

He was going to use the black ice stone to carve a sword tassel for Chu Jinglan. The style was decided to be a lotus. After all, Chu Jinglan seemed to like lotus more.

Gifts must be prepared and cultivation cannot be neglected. Chu Jinglan has already returned to the underworld, and his lifespan is a thousand times that of a Yuanying. If he wants to stay with Chu Jinglan in the future, he must of course improve his cultivation. Only in this way can he stand shoulder to shoulder with Chu Jinglan.

Xiao Mo wanted to be his favorite, but not to be his weak link or a burden.

There are so many things to do, and it's quite busy. When Xiao Mo is carving the lotus, he can concentrate and refine his consciousness, and use the knife in the way of a talisman, which is also a control of the precision of spiritual power.

He counted little by little, and unknowingly two hours had passed until he heard the sound of flapping wings outside the window. It was Qiuqiu coming over with the food box in its mouth.

Xiao Mo finally came out of his concentrated state and stretched his waist. He carved very slowly because he had to use his spiritual power. Qiuqiu said, "The master sent it over!"

Xiao Mo opened the food box, which was full of fragrant spiritual food. Just smelling it was very tempting. He touched Qiuqiu's head and said, "Chu Jinglan, can't you come and eat with us?"

"They are still discussing something." Qiuqiu flapped his wings, "Another master, I will eat with you."

Xiao Mo couldn't help laughing: "Why do you still think I'm another master?"

Qiuqiu puffed out her fluffy chest and said, "You two are going to get married, and you are my other master, that's right!"

Xiao Mo amused it and didn't mind eating with it. They chatted while eating. All Xiao Mo asked Chu Jinglan questions, and Qiuqiu was happy to talk. Today, from it, Chu Jinglan mainly learned about the situation when Xiao Mo returned to the Chu family for revenge.

Chu Jinglan went to the lower world when he was in the Spirit Severing stage and fought against the elders of the Chu family. Among the direct descendants, only Chu Shi, who had never harmed him in the past, was left, and the rest were all killed.

He let Chu Shi run to the middle realm, and then pass the news to the upper realm, allowing rumors to spread everywhere.

"He destroyed his own family, and the rumors outside are very confusing. Even if Yingyue Sect came out to clarify and said that he was avenging his mother, some people still don't believe it. Humph, they are blind!"

Xiao Mo fed Qiuqiu another bite, thinking about those malicious words reaching Chu Jinglan's ears. Although he knew that Chu Jinglan would definitely not care and that rumors could not hurt him, he still couldn't help but feel distressed: "Then what?"

"He took the opportunity to practice in seclusion for three years, and he was not hurt. After he came out, he became even stronger. Those who wanted to insult his reputation and ruin him must be very upset!"

Qiuqiu was beaming with joy... Well, it doesn't have eyebrows, but it still had this feeling. When the meal was almost finished, Qiuqiu was still not satisfied: "Next time I'll tell you about his heroic performance in the battle between humans and demons!"

Speaking of this, Xiao Mo asked, "Do you know what Chu Jinglan asked Fen Xiu after he captured him?"

"I don't know about that." Qiuqiu said, "The master always interrogated him alone, but he only went there a few times, and then he just ignored him."

In this case, we can only ask Chu Jinglan or Fen Xiu.

After noon, Chu Jinglan returned to the yard. Xiao Moben was preparing to meditate, but when he saw him coming back, he pushed the door open and walked out. Instead of meditating, he chose to ask Chu Jinglan directly first.

"I have asked him a lot of questions, mostly on behalf of others who are cultivating their power. As for my personal questions, I have them, but..." Chu Jinglan glanced at Xiao Mo lightly, "Let's not talk about it now. I'll tell you later."

What answer depends on time? Xiao Moqi asked, "How long do we have to wait?"

Chu Jinglan pondered for a moment and gave an uncertain answer: "At least after the wedding."

How long it would take, but there was no certainty. Xiao Mo pondered and temporarily changed the subject: "There is one more thing. I need to find a material. I flipped through the book and found that the thing needs to be cast on the spot in the Tianyuan Secret Realm with one's own spiritual power. I just sent a message to Yan Chun. The Tianyuan Secret Realm is about to open recently, so I want to go and look for it."

That is the material needed to weave the tassels for the sword.

When Chu Jinglan heard this, the peaceful aura around him suddenly disappeared.

His expression hadn't changed, and the sunlight was still gentle, but the darkness in his eyes had inexplicably deepened, and his voice was the same as before, as if nothing had changed: "Do I have to go in person?"

Xiao Mo nodded: "Yes, I have to transform that thing myself, otherwise it will be useless. The highest level of cultivation in Tianyuan Secret Realm can be suppressed to the Mahayana stage. We——"

He wanted to say "We can go together", but before he could finish his words, Chu Jinglan interrupted him: "No."

When these two words came out, Xiao Mo and Chu Jinglan were both stunned.

After the two met in this life, it was the first time that Chu Jinglan interrupted Xiao Mo with the word "No" without even listening to the end of his words.

Their eyes met, and facing Xiao Mo's surprised look, Chu Jinglan tightened his fingers under his sleeves again.