Chapter 24 Wood-type Card Little Star, Demon Lord Appears
"The real culprit is someone else!"
Having survived by sheer luck, Huali plopped down on the bed, her heart pounding in her chest.
"What kind of murderer is this? Antisocial personality disorder!" The chilling feeling hadn't faded yet when Huali shrank under the covers, only her round head peeking out as she accused, "Are you sure that's the chosen one? Are you kidding me?"
Ao Bai nodded affirmatively: "Your cards are all lit up, aren't they?"
Huali looked at the little stars on the wood-type card, but she couldn't feel happy at all. "I almost died at this person's hands after lighting up just one. I need at least one more to upgrade. Sigh."
Fortunately, the lost health points were restored because of this little star, and were not completely absorbed by the other mission participants.
She took out the jade pendant that the man had just thrown back at her, looked at it from left to right, but couldn't find anything unusual.
Madam Xu had said that this was a gift from a cultivator to her mother's mother, and unexpectedly it saved her life by a twist of fate.
The person just mentioned a soul oath; there must be some connection between them.
After carefully putting away the jade pendant, Huali sighed and lay down in her comfortable bed.
"Let's celebrate our narrow escape from death, then go to sleep first."
*
"My lord, your injury." Tuowu, who was dozing in front of the door in the North Garden barrier, was awakened. He looked at his master's cold and aloof face and subconsciously shrank his neck.
"Bring me the Heart-Burning Pill."
"Yes." Tuowu hurriedly responded and summoned the medicine-serving demon cultivator. Seeing the cultivator approaching with a bowl of medicine, he immediately lowered his voice and asked, "Why aren't they pills?"
The demonic cultivator serving the medicine trembled and immediately knelt at the foot of the steps, his voice shaking, "Reporting...Reporting to Your Excellency, news came from Sunset City that they have developed a new medicinal ingredient that can...can heal Your Excellency's injuries...They asked me to present it..."
Upon hearing this, Tuowu's eyes lit up immediately. He snatched the medicine bowl and carefully presented it with his ridiculously delicate fingers, his hand capable of killing a lion with a single punch. "These old guys have finally done something good, my lord, please try it."
Demon Lord Wen Jin lowered his eyes and casually tapped the bowl, glancing lightly at the demon cultivator serving medicine. The demon cultivator's body immediately trembled like a leaf.
The next second, his veins bulged, and he turned to ashes.
Tuowu, used to this, waved his hand, and the ashes vanished completely. He took out his communication stone and continued posting "job advertisements" on Xianbo.
"My lord, this medicine?"
Wen Jin lowered his eyes to look at the boiling venom in the bowl. Crimson veins emerged from the dark green medicinal soup, and sparks flew from the surrounding ever-burning lamps at the same time.
Under Tuowu's horrified gaze, he drank the medicine in one gulp, as if it were not a deadly poison but an ordinary bowl of sugar water.
As the medicine entered his throat, an ancient curse mark appeared on the side of Wen Jin's neck. The flame of the ever-burning lamp flickered instantly, and the wind blew open the doors and windows, extinguishing the lamp in a flash.
A soft laugh drifted through the dark night.
Tuowu was sweating profusely. He immediately knelt on one knee, placed his right fist on his chest in a gesture of respect, and bowed his head.
“Heart-Eating Gu, Soul-Destroying Pill... Blood River Sand…” Wen Jin crushed the medicine bowl with his fingers, the fragments floating in the air, reflecting his face with a smirk. “They even have Purple Mansion Soul-Stabilizing Pill. These old guys really went all out.”
As his mocking tone spread outwards, Wen Jin's left hand, supporting his temple, bulged with dark blue veins. "There are less than ten days left until my return to the world. Before that, I will obtain the Blessing Lamp. These old bastards are nothing but a rabble. The one who truly wants me dead is my good brother."
Tuowu said, "But this is not Sunset City. The higher the master's supreme demonic cultivation, the weaker he becomes when returning to the soul. Xiwu is far away in the Demon Realm. If the master encounters any mishap halfway through... *sob*." Tuowu's voice slowly faded away in Wen Jin's eyes, which were colder than the sword blade frozen for three thousand years under the ice.
Xiaoshan's large body was curled up in a ball, his expression one of deep grievance.
Wen Jin didn't bother to look at him. He crushed a few begonia petals that had accidentally gotten on his sleeve with his fingertips and scoffed, "I will not allow any mistakes."
*
At the same time, at the residence of the Buddhist disciple.
As dawn broke, Lian Zhuo, who had been sitting idly all night, opened her eyes.
The meridians were constantly destroyed and rebuilt under the powerful impact of the Gu poison.
With a flick of his finger, spiritual energy swirled around his fingertip like fireflies, transforming into an impregnable barrier with the slightest thought of his mind.
The oppressive aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator unfolded.
The lotus leaves are silent; they are the blood of the rosewood.
When their lips touched, her blood also entered his mouth.
Who exactly is she, and why does she possess such powerful energy in her blood? The first time, she brought him back to his senses while he was being controlled by the Gu poison. The second time, she directly restored his spiritual power.
Now, the blood of the demon beast Bifang can no longer suppress Lingkan, only the blood of Huali remains, but this blood is like poppy, once you get a taste, you can't quit.
Lian Zhuo quietly turned his head, the sunlight coating his profile with a layer of cold glaze. There was no wind within the barrier, yet the begonia petals stubbornly fell onto the snow-white kasaya on his shoulder.
Inside the spiritual platform, the Buddhist disciple stood under the tree, gazing at the pear blossoms that were blooming in twos and threes, and slowly raised his hand.
Compared to its crispness as a seedling, the tree roots had taken deep root, and when it was pulled out, the entire spiritual platform trembled.
Lian Zhuo's expression changed slightly, but her hands did not stop moving. The Shurangama Mantra continued to bless the tree, and the golden Buddhist light transformed into a tangible shackle, encircling the trunk. As the tree was uprooted, Lian Zhuo suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
The flower buds withered one by one, the spring in Lingtai faded, and it returned to the desolate landscape of thousands of miles of ice and snow.
As the barrier faded, the pressure from the Nascent Soul stage decreased to the mid-Nascent Soul stage. Lian Zhuo opened her eyes, and all the blossoms on the tree had turned into skeletons.
With a look of pity in his eyes, he gazed at the last petal stuck in the window frame, then got up and closed the door.
*
"How could this happen!" Rongxing paced back and forth in a frenzy. "That must have been fake wine, otherwise how could I have gotten drunk so quickly and made a fool of myself in front of Songran, waaaaah!"
With dark circles under her eyes and a resentful look on her face, Huali said, "Are you sick? You called me here so early in the morning just for this?"
God knows, she had nightmares all night long, dreaming of being strangled by ghosts and dying in various ways. She finally managed to fall into a peaceful sleep when Rongxing woke her up.
"Of course not." Rong Xing chuckled. "Didn't you say you wanted to do some sightseeing when you came into town yesterday? Today I got an exclusive guide from Song Ran. Do you want to come?"
"Songran is going too?" Huali stopped yawning. She had just witnessed his plot last night and didn't know how to face Songran later. Would he kick her out?
Maybe she should just leave on her own to avoid embarrassment, and besides, that antisocial personality in Beiyuan is kind of creepy.
But what if the mission is completed?
No way! Karin, you need to separate work and life. Don't become a workhorse for tasks.
I don't want to! Don't think about it!
"Are you two heading out?" Song Ran's voice came from behind.
Huali turned around and saw that Songran had changed into a light blue robe, with yesterday's bamboo basket hanging on his shoulder and a flower shovel in his hand, looking like a herb gatherer in the mountains.
"Yes, it's a rare treat to be in Chenliu, so we're planning to go out and explore." Rongxing smiled sheepishly, "We caused the city lord some trouble last night."
Song Ran shook his head. "No, it's rare for my manor to be this lively. Young Master Rongxing is so cheerful and adorable; I like him very much." He turned to Hua Li and smiled gently, "Did you sleep well last night, Miss?"
Karin, who hadn't expected the other person to bring it up, said, "...Did I sleep well... or not...?"
Rongxing waved in front of her, "Huali, are you alright? How would the city lord know if you slept well?"
Song Ran didn't dwell on the issue too much, as if it were just a casual greeting, "I still need to go to the flower garden, please make yourselves at home."
As Rongxing watched Song Ran's departing figure, he couldn't help but sigh, "Truly, a person's name reflects their character; they are as steadfast as a pine or cypress. Only with a broad mind can one embrace all things."
Huali glanced at him sideways, "Speak like a human being."
Rong Xing's expression instantly turned gossipy. "I just heard this morning that Young Master Songran is exceptionally talented and a chosen one."
"Hmm?" The person and the cat looked up at the same time.
When Rong Xing saw that someone was as gossipy as him, he immediately became interested. "You don't know this, do you? When Song Ran was born, there were strange phenomena in the sky. It was very magical."
"So you became the chosen one?" Upon hearing this, Huali knew it was definitely something someone else made up, and her interest waned considerably. "Let's go, let's call Lianzhuo to eat wontons."
“No way! So he was abandoned at birth!” Rongxing replied, “You don’t need to call the mage anymore. I knocked on the door when I arrived, but no one answered. He must have gone out.”
Huali paused, remembering the life-saving kiss from last night. Fine, she figured she could figure it out later, since she didn't know how to explain it back then.
The two walked together through the crabapple trees under the corridor. "Abandoned? Then how did you become the city lord?"
“Song Ran was rescued in the mountains and lived there until three years ago when a plague broke out in Chenliu City. He disregarded his own safety and collected herbs to make a miraculous pill to save the people of the city.”
"No wonder he gives off a warm and welcoming vibe; he has such great merits." He didn't kill her last night; he's truly a kind-hearted person.
Rongxing nodded, casually brushing the fallen petals off her shoulder. "That's right. But logically, the merit from such good deeds should be very strong, but I don't know why I can't see it."
"You've reached the Golden Core stage?"
"Early stage of Golden Core." Rong Xing patted his chest with a proud expression.
"You've reached the Golden Core stage and you were still injured by a half-demon. It seems you're not that powerful. It's normal that you can't see the great merit in him."
Rong Xing was heartbroken. "How could you say that to me? Was he just an ordinary half-demon? He was the son of the Demon King!"
Huali was shocked, "The Demon King really has a son?" She completely forgot that this was just something she made up on the spot.
Ao Bai sighed; that's how the rumors started.
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