Chapter 3 The fairy is going to the demon realm.
Having lived in Cuiling Mountain for nearly a century, Hua Xun is extremely familiar with every plant, tree, mountain, and valley here.
Although he was attacked by spiritual energy several times due to his lack of cultivation, he was still able to escape to safety because he was familiar with the mountain terrain and fled east and west in the jungle.
Hua Xun hid in a hollow of an old tree that had been dead for many years, curled up slightly, and held his breath as he listened to the group of cultivators fly past him and gradually disappear into the distance.
Only when she could no longer hear any more noise did Hua Xun finally breathe a sigh of relief, but she dared not go out rashly, for fear that the group of cultivators would return.
Only when the first light of dawn appeared and she was certain there were no more cultivators around did Hua Xun cautiously jump out of the tree hole.
The moment I landed, a sharp pain shot through my ankle, followed by a burning sensation in my back and lower abdomen.
Hua Xun's calves trembled uncontrollably as if in spasm, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes from the pain.
Hua Xun vigorously rubbed the dirt and tears mixed with blood on her cheeks.
Now is not the time to be vulnerable. Baili Sheng is currently powerless, so she needs to go find him first.
Hua Xun took a long breath, exhaled forcefully, and mobilized his dantian energy to feel the feather he had given to Baili Sheng.
I felt it!
Hua Xun was overjoyed and quickly transformed into her original form, flying away following the scent of the feathers.
The more Hua Xun flew, the more familiar the surrounding scenery seemed.
It wasn't until she passed that familiar mountain stream that she suddenly realized that this was the path she had taken down the mountain to go home.
Has Baili Sheng gone home?
What if the group of cultivators return to the village after failing to catch her?
As she was pondering, Hua Xun suddenly smelled a pungent odor, like the burnt smell of something that had been burned.
She looked up and saw wisps of black smoke rising from a distant mountain village, with sporadic sparks mixed in with the smoke.
Confused, Hua Xun hurriedly activated his demon core and sped off in that direction.
When she reached the foot of the mountain, she finally saw the horrific scene hidden in the smoke.
The peaceful and tranquil mountain village I left yesterday is now like a place scorched by blazing flames, leaving only ashes and deathly silence.
The roof beams of the house were still emitting faint sparks, burned to a charcoal black.
Hua Xun's legs suddenly gave way, and she fell to the ground in a sorry state. Then, remembering something, she stood up using both hands and feet and staggered forward.
She could still feel the scent of her feathers, right in the direction of home.
Finally, we arrived at the front door of the house in that small courtyard.
By this time, her house had been burned to ashes, and the place that held her memories of the past few years had vanished.
Hua Xun stared blankly at the ruins before her, the heat wave rolling into her eyes and drying her tears.
She blinked dryly, and after a long while, she seemed to wake from a dream. She rushed into the yard and searched through the ashes.
His hands were burned by charred wood, and his eyes were red from the smoke. Finally, in the ashes of a flower bush, he found the familiar feather.
It was once consumed by flames, leaving only half a feather.
Hua Xun's hand holding the feather trembled involuntarily.
If the feather is here, then where is Baili Sheng?
Was he caught? Is he dead?
He was the person who stayed by her side the longest...
Is she really a jinx?
Hua Xun held the feather in her hands and looked at a patch of ashes in the distance.
Suddenly, a powerful surge of demonic energy appeared, and Hua Xun saw a person wearing black armor and a mask standing in mid-air.
Seemingly surprised to find a living creature in the courtyard, the black-armored man was taken aback. Purple flames surged in his palm as he casually attacked her.
As the flames drew closer, Hua Xun vaguely saw a flash of cold, silver light passing from the waist of the black-armored man. Then she felt a suffocating wave of scorching heat crashing down on her, as if her skin was about to be burned away.
In mid-air, Baili Sheng looked down at this scene from high above.
Hua Xun was the most wretched little demon he had ever seen, and he should let her disappear from the Three Realms.
But when the demonic flames were about to scorch her hem, he couldn't help but pause.
In the next instant, an invisible shield of light blocked the purple flames, instantly dissipating the attack.
Shang Qu looked up in surprise and saw the crimson light in his master's hand gradually fading away on the treetops in the distance.
Shang Qu glanced at the woman not far away, then made no further move and vanished from the spot in an instant.
Through layers of clouds, Baili Sheng watched Hua Xun's bloodshot eyes as she held the feathers in her hands. Her gaze lingered on the wound on Hua Xun's back, and she paused for a moment.
After a long while, he calmly withdrew his gaze, turned around, and flew away.
*
After pulling the last child out of the fire, Hua Xun looked at the children huddled together and opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately stopped when she saw the fear in their eyes.
Before the group of cultivators returned to Dahe Village, Hua Xun re-entered Cuiling Mountain.
Deep in the woods, she walked with uneven steps, still clutching the half-finished feather tightly in her hand.
Just like when she first took human form, step by step she walked from the forest into the world of humans.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, it suddenly started to rain in the woods.
The rain pattered softly on the leaves, making a delicate sound, and fell on my face like a wet mist splashing down beside a waterfall.
Humans worship immortals and revere cultivators, while imperial power has declined.
Cultivators slay demons, demons destroy humans, and the strong are respected—this has almost become an unwritten rule of the world.
The annihilation of a remote mountain village did not attract the attention of human officials. They simply sent a few officials to investigate, took the dozen or so surviving children back to the charity hall in town, and hastily concluded the case as a fire.
But Hua Xun knew very well that it was the demons who destroyed the mountain village.
Hua Xun stepped into a shallow pit without realizing it, and fell to the ground in a sorry state.
She tried to stand up, but the blows the cultivator had struck her earlier, along with the injuries to her calves and ankles, were still causing her pain.
My head feels dizzy and I want to sleep.
My eyelashes drooped one by one, and my vision blurred in waves. Just a little while, just a little while...
Hua Xun finally closed her eyes.
She seemed to be dreaming about the people of Dahe Village.
Forty years ago, Dahe Village was not called Dahe Village, and no one lived there. There were only dilapidated mud houses and walls that were left over from an unknown dynasty, which could not even provide shelter from the wind and rain.
Hua Xun found the best house, renovated it, and moved in.
Ten miles away, there is a village called Zhuxi Village, with forty or fifty households living sparsely.
At that time, Hua Xun was rescued from the hands of a rogue cultivator by Baili Sheng and transformed into human form. Her demonic power also improved considerably due to the demonic energy he transferred to her, and she could occasionally foresee natural disasters and strange phenomena.
On weekdays, she would go into the woods to collect medicinal herbs and ginseng, and then go to Zhuxi Village to exchange them with the villagers for sweet water, fruits, and snacks.
At that time, the villagers did not know that she was a demon. They saw that the herbs she brought were good and the ginseng was large, so they treated her kindly and were willing to trade with her.
Three years later, Hua Xun witnessed an unusual phenomenon in the sky, a sign that a great flood was about to occur.
The villagers didn't believe her and laughed, saying that the river rises every year and that she was just a little girl who didn't know anything about divination and was making a fuss over nothing.
In her desperation, Hua Xun had no choice but to reveal her true form, throwing Zhuxi Village into chaos.
People were afraid of her and angry with her. They chased after her with farm tools until they reached Dahe Village, which was on higher ground. Suddenly, a flood came and submerged the village.
Even so, nearly twenty families who stayed in Zhuxi Village lost their lives.
Later, the rising river water never receded and completely flooded Zhuxi Village.
The small river suddenly turned into a large river, which is how Dahe Village got its name.
The surviving villagers stayed in Dahe Village and rebuilt their homes on the site of their former dilapidated houses.
Hua Xun saw the fear in those people's eyes about her demon race identity, and quietly moved to the small courtyard at the westernmost part of Dahe Village.
Humans are strange.
They still feared and loathed her, or rather, they feared all races born stronger than themselves. Therefore, they never got close to her, avoiding her at all costs, or throwing stones at her, resenting that she had brought them bad luck.
However, no one reported her.
They lived together in this strange way for decades.
Even today.
A sudden fire turned all fear and disgust into ashes.
"Girl? Girl?"
In a hazy state, Hua Xun heard someone gently calling her name. Then, a cool hand covered her brow, and pure, gentle spiritual energy flowed into her body through her brow.
Hua Xun opened her eyes groggily, only vaguely seeing a pale peach-colored light and shadow quietly watching her before falling back asleep.
When I woke up again, it was already late at night.
Hua Xun looked around and realized that she was leaning against a tree trunk, and the light pink figure was not there beside her.
Feeling a dull, aching pain all over her body, Hua Xun tried to get up, but suddenly sensed a slight movement in the air around her, and a woman shimmering with light and mist gracefully approached.
"The young lady is awake?" The woman landed slowly, her smile gentle.
Hua Xun looked up and saw a beautiful woman looking at her. Her peach-colored dress fluttered gently with her spiritual energy. Her eyebrows were like crescent moons, her face like spring peach blossoms, her eyes like autumn water, and her lips like summer cherry blossoms.
Beautiful and refined.
Like peach blossoms falling like snow on a mountain in early spring.
Hua Xun was stunned, yet also felt a sense of familiarity.
“I was passing by when I saw you unconscious in the woods, so I helped you here.” The woman walked up to her. “You are seriously injured, young lady. You must not move rashly.”
Hua Xun caught a whiff of a subtle fragrance and quickly came to her senses: "Thank you..." Then she realized that she didn't know the woman's name.
“My name is Qingjiao,” Qingjiao said with a smile.
"My name is Hua Xun. Thank you, Miss Qingjiao."
Qingjiao shook her head, and after considering for a moment, she said, "When I was healing you, I examined your meridians. You are a demon?"
Hua Xun said seriously, "I am a demon, and my true form is a crow."
Her expression was open and honest, and she did not belittle herself because of her identity as a demon.
Qingjiao looked at her with slight surprise, but felt a bit of goodwill towards her because of her frankness: "I am a disciple of Baiyujing, and I am on my way to the Demon Clan."
Hua Xun had already sensed the celestial light emanating from her and was not surprised by her identity as a disciple of a celestial sect. Rather, her whereabouts were more surprising: "Are you going to the Demon Realm?"
“I have an old friend who is a demon. His imperial seal reappeared recently,” Qingjiao said, her expression slightly dazed. “I want to go and see if it is him.”
Hua Xun looked at her eyes and brows, which were even more beautiful because of her dazed state: "That old friend must be very important to you, young lady."
Qingjiao smiled gently, not responding to these words, and stood up: "Now that you are awake, I should also set off." As she spoke, she remembered something and took out a jade porcelain bottle from her bosom. "There are two pills in this bottle. Take them over four days, and you should recover faster."
Hua Xun quickly stood up and said, "I will always remember Fairy Qingjiao's kindness."
Qingjiao took flight on the wind, turned around and smiled: "It was nothing, don't worry about it."
Then it transformed into a beam of light pink and flew into the distance.
Hua Xun watched her retreating figure until she disappeared from sight before turning his gaze away.
Even though her benefactor said "don't worry about it," Hua Xun still kept it in mind.
*
Hua Xun stayed in the deep forest, gathering fruit during the day to fill his stomach, and transforming into his original form at night to sleep in the dead old tree.
The fairy Qingjiao gave her a celestial medicine, and after taking it, her injuries healed extremely quickly.
A few days later, the injuries to her ankle and calf had healed considerably.
As for her internal injuries, they needed to be healed with magical power. During this period, she absorbed spiritual and turbid Qi every day, refined it into her body, and then used it to nourish her dantian and demon core, with remarkable results.
That day, Hua Xun went to pick fruit as usual, but from the tree branch she saw two middle-aged men in black clothes and hats walking by in a hurry. One of them had a pointed mouth and monkey-like face, and the other was tall and fat, and they were both surrounded by a faint demonic aura.
Hua Xun quickly hid in the tree.
"Have you heard? The Left Protector was scared away, and the former Demon King was skinned alive and his flesh was thrown to wild dogs to gnaw on. Over a thousand years of cultivation, given to those mindless wild dogs. I'm drooling just hearing about it..."
"How could I not have heard of it? Who would have thought that the Demon Lord is the Demon Lord?"
"Speaking of which, I'm afraid the Left Protector won't let this go easily; I've heard he's gone to call for reinforcements."
"Luckily, we escaped Eternal Ashes City early on..."
Seeing the two people walking further and further away, Hua Xun leaped down from the tree, scattering the red and green berries in her arms all over the ground, rolling away in the grass.
Her heart began to pound uncontrollably.
Is the "Demon Lord" those two mentioned Baili Sheng?
Hua Xun was lost in thought when her hand involuntarily pulled the half-feather out of her sleeve.
Is he still alive?
If he was still alive, why didn't he inform her?
Or did something happen?
Countless thoughts crowded into her consciousness, and Hua Xun remained in a daze until she returned to the tree hollow.
As night deepened, Hua Xun's expression gradually hardened.
She's going to the Demon Realm.
A note from the author:
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