Chapter 23, can we please move on with the plot faster?
Jiang Zhishui stared intently at Pei Jing, seemingly lost in thought.
That was a mistake; we shouldn't have rushed over.
Jing Qianheng may not be in his hands.
In Qiyun City, the evil spirit Qi Hong dissipated, and the array controlling the entire city also vanished on the spot. The demons did not struggle much; their plan had failed, and they immediately withdrew.
Pei Jing's judgment was very accurate; in that situation, unnecessary casualties should be avoided as much as possible.
This young demon lord is not as carefree and unrestrained as he appears on the surface. In reality, he is meticulous, ambitious, and adept at using every available opportunity to achieve his goals.
After that, he set his sights on Jing Qianheng and secretly investigated Jing Qianheng's background.
In the illusion, Pei Jing was just strolling around when he unexpectedly ran into Jiang Zhishui and Jing Qianheng. On a whim, he called out to her.
The Demon Realm was in decline, and the Demon Race lacked sufficient fighting power. Pei Jing searched for capable individuals on his own, but made little progress. Until he arrived in Qiyun City and discovered the evil spirit in the Qi family's ancient mansion.
He planned for many years and gathered a large number of people to create an illusion array that could cover the entire city.
I thought he had a perfect plan and was determined to succeed. I never expected that his years of hard work would be ruined by these two people.
Of the disciples of the immortal sects who entered the city at that time, only Jiang Zhishui and the Qi family had contact with her, so Pei Jing couldn't help but pay more attention to her situation.
Little did they expect that the truly dangerous person would be the young man whom Jiang Zhishui had made one of her male concubines.
Pei Jing failed at the last minute, but he was not upset. On the contrary, he felt more motivated and became more interested in the two men.
Jiang Zhishui learned about Pei Jing's background from the system. He was a deep and scheming person who would not easily reveal his true self in front of others. He was a habitual liar and skilled at manipulating people, making him an extremely troublesome character.
Jiang Zhishui sheathed her sword and calmly said, "You led me here, so you might as well speak frankly."
If he really wanted to kill her, he wouldn't have taken her this far.
Pei Jing raised an eyebrow and said, "Alright, since you're so straightforward, I won't beat around the bush either."
After learning that her next mission was to marry Jing Qianheng and then be killed, Jiang Zhishui instinctively wanted to escape and didn't want to make any further plans.
She had come to the Thousand Machine Sect hoping to get away for a while and clear her head.
But who would have thought that she would run into Jing Qianheng again.
Jiang Zhishui thought that no matter whether she wanted to or not, or how things developed, she probably wouldn't be able to act freely outside of the main mission.
As if by some unseen force, she and Jing Qianheng would inevitably become entangled in various situations.
Pei Jing told Jiang Zhishui everything he had learned from his investigation in the State of Jin.
It turns out that what Jing Qianheng had been searching for all along was not some sealing magic, but the Dragon-Attracting Method.
A kind of evil magic that absorbs the life force and power of others.
Pei Jing said he had a perfect plan that would allow Jing Qianheng to completely break free from the entanglements of the Jin royal family and regain his freedom, but he would need Jiang Zhishui's help to implement it.
After listening to his plan, Jiang Zhishui realized that it could indirectly help her achieve her system task—to win over Jing Qianheng and gain his favor.
Jiang Zhishui was stunned, and couldn't help but suspect that Pei Jing might be a tool that the system had called upon to urge her to complete the story missions quickly.
If Jiang Zhishui agrees to cooperate with Pei Jing, Pei Jing promises to help Jing Qianheng return to a normal life and stay away from conflict.
Pei Jing's goal was to completely eradicate the Jin Kingdom's demonic dragon lineage from the world. He couldn't allow the power of the ancient demonic dragon to fall into the hands of others and become a threat to the demon race.
His father is the ruler of the Demon Realm. In recent years, all the major forces of the Demon Clan have wanted to take his place. They all believe that Pei Mo is too weak and incompetent and is not qualified to sit on the throne of the Demon Lord.
If the Jin Kingdom's demonic dragon lineage were to be revived, the Pei family's position in the demon realm would be even more precarious.
Jiang Zhishui listened for the time being, but made her own judgment.
Given Pei Jing's character, he is ambitious. He claims to want to remove the dragon spirit from Jing Qianheng's body, but he is probably thinking about how to take this power for himself.
If you agree to his request, you can secretly be on guard and adapt to changing circumstances.
Anyway, she'll just do her mission. Who's using whom is still unknown. Once she completes her mission and successfully overcomes her tribulation, she'll be long gone from the story and off to live a carefree life. She won't need to worry about these relationships anymore.
As the male lead, Jing Qianheng has the golden finger of the system to protect him. No matter how many hardships he experiences, they can all serve as stepping stones for him to advance and break through. As a cannon fodder, she should just focus on following the plot.
After a day and a night of fighting, Granny Yun, with Shen Rang's help, captured Old Qin. The demons, having exhausted their energy, exploded and died one by one. The riot was quickly quelled without Bai Zang and the others having to do much.
Old Qin was taken to the dungeon.
Lu Cheng led his men to a secret chamber to gather information from various sources and report it to Sect Leader Shen.
Meanwhile, on the vast grassland, the full moon hanging high in the night sky looked particularly huge and strange.
Pei Jing took out a white pill. "This is the Spirit-Soothing Pill."
Jiang Zhishui frowned and said, "You want me to eat it?"
Pei Jing: "This is just a pill to seal your spiritual power. I will give you the antidote after it's done."
Jiang Zhishui thought to herself that he was a very suspicious person, and if she didn't take the pill, he probably wouldn't let her go easily. She took the pill, hesitated for a moment, and then put it in her mouth.
Pei Jing looked at her and laughed, "You really have a big heart. You just eat whatever I tell you to eat."
Jiang Zhishui realized what was happening too late, and her face turned pale.
Yes, what if it's poison?
Pei Jing couldn't suppress the urge to smile: "There's no need to be so afraid. Since you trust me so much, I won't let you down."
They put it nicely, claiming it was cooperation, but they still resorted to drugging her to control her.
But for now, we can only play along with him and take it one step at a time.
Pei Jing said that Jing Qianheng had been taken away by the Chi Yi, who were from Jing Qianheng's maternal clan and would not harm him. The Queen of Jin wanted Jing Qianheng to cultivate the Dragon Guiding Technique to help her child complete the return of the dragon spirit. The Chi Yi had already regrouped their forces and were heading to Jin to help Jing Qianheng reclaim the throne that was rightfully his.
Pei Jing had already sent people to secretly follow those people's movements, so he could keep track of any developments at any time.
Jiang Zhishui used to worry that Jing Qianheng would encounter the same misfortune as in his first life when he returned to Jin Kingdom. Now she knows that he is the male lead in this world. No matter what happens to him, he will not be in trouble. Even if something happens to him, he will be able to turn danger into safety. At worst, he can turn evil and become the Jade Emperor. No one can do anything to him.
Back at the Thousand Machines Sect, Ying Xue had been waiting for a long time. "Where have you been?"
Jiang Zhishui looked at the scattered demonic creatures on the ground and replied, "Jing Qianheng is missing. I'm going to find him."
Ying Xue's expression turned grave. "Have you found it?"
Jiang Zhishui shook her head.
The two then went to the council hall of the Thousand Machines Sect. Upon entering, they found Elder Bai Cang and the others with grim expressions.
Shen Rang glanced at Jiang Zhishui as she entered and said, "Zhishui, I heard from your master that the person you brought is from the Jin Kingdom of Wushan."
Jiang Zhishui didn't know what they had talked about before, so she nodded and said, "Yes, he is a prince of Jin."
Shen Rang's expression was grave as he said in a low voice, "There are rumors that the royal family of Jin is descended from an ancient demonic dragon and has inherited its bloodline."
Song An said, "What do you mean by that? Are you saying Jing Qianheng is a demon?"
Shen Rang had been searching for the whereabouts of the Spirit Refining Artifact. The artifact was indeed initially in Qin Wu's possession, but he used some methods to cleverly lead the clues to someone else, causing Shen Rang to follow those clues and find his way to the State of Jin.
Qin Wu was an elder of the Thousand Machines Sect during its glorious period. He watched as the sect fell from a leading immortal sect to a neglected and insignificant one. Now, the sect was filled with lazy and good-for-nothing commoners. Seeing the Thousand Machines Sect in this state, he could not balance the sense of loss in his heart.
For more than a decade, he shut himself off and ignored everyone.
Everyone said he was a reclusive madman and avoided him.
However, he dug a secret chamber inside the Thousand Machines Sect and secretly brought back the demons he had captured outside, refining them with the stolen spirit-tempering artifacts.
Qin Wu wanted to purify the demonic energy to enhance his cultivation. He was eager to revitalize the Thousand Machines Sect and would stop at nothing to break through his realm in a short period of time.
The forbidden techniques and secret methods of the Thousand Machine Sect had long been burned to almost nothing. Qin Wu finally found a few tattered ancient books, and he tried to experiment with them based on his limited understanding. The result was naturally a complete mess, and he even drove himself insane.
The monsters also broke out of the cage he had set up.
Like Qin Wu, Granny Yun was an inner disciple who survived the great calamity of the Thousand Machines Sect in the past. Granny Yun's cultivation level was higher than Qin Wu's, and her mentality was also more open-minded.
She didn't have many ambitions in mind, having stayed in this declining sect since she was young, and didn't want to go anywhere else.
Life went on peacefully, and she felt there was nothing wrong with it.
Shen Rang was unaware of Granny Yun's true identity, always believing her to be a homeless old woman. In order to maintain the Thousand Machines Sect, he allowed many good-for-nothing playboys to join the sect, and the spirit stones and wealth they contributed were an important source of income for the Thousand Machines Sect to continue to this day.
Qin Wu did not have any spirit-tempering artifacts on him, and Shen Rang guessed that the artifacts should still be in the Jin Kingdom.
During his travels in the State of Jin, he learned that two members of the royal family of Jin had inherited the Dragon Spirit, but the Dragon Spirit was not distributed evenly and could not exert its strongest power. Only by concentrating the power on one person could the full power of the Dragon Spirit be gathered.
If the power of the ancient demonic dragon were to reappear in the world, then the world would once again witness horrific carnage.
Song An had finally managed to take on a disciple, and before he could even properly assume the role of a master, he was suddenly told that he had actually taken on a disciple with demon blood. He couldn't accept it and exclaimed, "Who said that Jing Qianheng is the prince who will inherit the Dragon Spirit? There are so many princes in Jin State, how could it be him?"
Jiang Zhishui fully understood Song An's feelings, but Shen Rang's guesses were basically true. She lowered her head and remained silent, ignoring Song An's probing gaze.
This matter was only Shen Rang's opinion, and Bai Zang told him to shut up and not to spread it around.
Once the crisis of the Thousand Machines Sect was resolved, Bai Zang and the others immediately returned to the Purple Sun Immortal Mansion.
Su You, who should have been at the Ziyang Immortal Abode, has also disappeared. Bai Zang and Song An have not yet reported this matter to the sect leader until they have found out.
Bai Zang summoned Jiang Zhishui and said, "Zhishui, go to the State of Jin. If what Shen Rang said is true, you must stop him."
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