SWNOVELXO chapter 405
No matter how he defended Hua Ningyan, Wu Xue would think he had fallen under the fox spirit’s charm.
“Let’s do this: Little Xue, you observe her for a while, see if she exhibits any suspicious behavior, and record it all. When the time comes, tell me everything. If I remain oblivious, you can even ask Shi Meng and the others for help.” Ye Yong felt that the more he explained, the more complicated it became; he might as well let time prove it. The Hua Ningyan in reality had not endured the tragedies of the novels; though their time together was short, Ye Yong found her to be an innocent little fox—what suspicious behavior could she possibly exhibit?
“Let’s do it this way.” Wu Xue nodded. She would not force Ye Yong to send the fox spirit away; that might only sadden him. It was better for her to discover and catch a glimpse of the fox’s wicked side, revealing it to the young master so he could let go completely.
——
Hua Ningyan was unaware of what was happening. She walked beside Xia Shijia, carefully observing the place where she would soon reside.
Though this was a human settlement, the spiritual energy here was even denser than where she had previously stayed. Cultivating here would yield twice the results with half the effort. The growth of flowers, grass, and trees followed natural patterns; aside from the human structures, it was not much different from the outside, very close to nature.
After circling the courtyard, Hua Ningyan felt very happy to be able to live here.
If only that wolf behind her would stop staring at her, making her feel so uneasy, she would be even happier.
Hua Ningyan tried to converse with Xia Shijia, but Xia Shijia did not speak the common beast tongue, and they could not communicate effectively. Glancing back at Xia Shiqi, it only emitted low growls filled with hostility.
Returning to the starting point, Hua Ningyan approached Ye Yong: “Master, this place is beautiful; I really like it.”
“I’m glad you like it. Later, I will teach you the heart method; you must cultivate diligently, understand?” Ye Yong bent down and patted Hua
“Hmm…” Besides the environment she adored, Hua Ningyan also cherished the feeling of Ye Yong’s hand ruffling her hair—so comforting, so warm to the heart. Though she had left her family behind, fear and loneliness did not creep into her spirit.
Seeing this, Xia Shiqi eagerly thrust her large wolf head closer.
Ye Yong shot her a glance, wary of her vying for attention and possibly bullying Hua Ningyan. He patted her head dismissively a few times, then casually picked up a stick and tossed it far out of the courtyard, sending her scampering after it.
Xia Shiqi bounded out, tail wagging.
“That foolish wolf has no brains; if she bullies you, remember to tell me.”
“Okay.” Hua Ningyan, curious about the identities of Xia Shiqi and Xia Shijia, turned to Ye Yong with a question.
“They both lived in the secret realm for ages, probably generation after generation. It’s been so long that they’ve forgotten the common beast tongue,” Ye Yong explained, reaching out to Xia Shijia. She lowered her head, accepting his touch with a humility that starkly contrasted with the eager Xia Shiqi.
“I see.” Suddenly, Hua Ningyan felt the gaze of a human girl behind Ye Yong, scrutinizing her. Realizing she hadn’t greeted the girl earlier, she offered a soft “Hello.” The response was cold, the girl muttering under her breath, “Don’t think you can charm me just because you’re cozying up to him, you wicked fox spirit.”
Hua Ningyan was taken aback. Was the fox spirit referring to her? True, she was a fox, but what was the significance of adding ‘spirit’ to it? She had no intention of charming anyone, nor was she wicked.
Hua Ningyan found Wu Xue to be a rather peculiar human girl.
—Hundreds of kilometers away from Lingyou Mountain;
“That demoness is terrifying.” Several Transformation Stage cultivators bore expressions of lingering dread, some even nursing serious injuries.
The once-mighty Supreme Elder of the Blood Flame Sect now looked disheveled and defeated, his face smeared with dirt. “Damn those demons.”
“Our only hope now lies with Muda and the others.”
After waiting for what felt like an eternity, the Yuan Ying who had pursued Ye Yong finally returned with news.
“Tell me! Have you captured Ye Yong?” The Supreme Elder clutched a communication stone, his voice low and ominous.
“I’m terribly sorry… We thought we had struck Ye Yong, searched every inch of the ground, but according to reports from disciples lurking within the Tianluo Sect, Ye Yong has already returned to their ranks.”
“Pfft!” The Supreme Elder spat out a mouthful of blood, disbelief etched across his features. “Has Ye Yong’s fortune grown so strong that even the heavens conspire to aid him… I refuse to accept this.”
With that, the aged Supreme Elder collapsed to the ground, prompting gasps of shock from the remaining high-ranking members of the Blood Flame Sect.
03 A New Version
“The Grand Elder is advanced in years, long without a breakthrough. In his effort to protect us, he battled the demoness, exhausting himself greatly. Now we learn that the plan has failed, and his vital energy has turned against him, leaving him with severe internal injuries.” Soon, someone diagnosed the elder’s condition.
“Our sect’s strong ones took action; it should have been a foolproof endeavor, yet in the end, it was like drawing water with a bamboo basket, all for naught…” An equally aged high-ranking member clutched his chest, spitting blood, unable to accept such a result.
“Ye Yong is unaware of our identities; this is a stroke of misfortune turned fortunate. Otherwise, if he returns to report to the Tianluo Sect, inciting their wrath and bringing about a full-scale pursuit, our future days would be grim.”
“In any case, the news of the injured must not reach those below, not even to our own direct disciples. We, the Blood Flame Sect, cannot let our hearts waver.” With the Grand Elder now unconscious, the one with the highest authority present was the sect leader, who sighed, “Since we targeted Ye Yong, each of our actions has suffered losses of varying degrees. Once the Grand Elder regains consciousness, let us persuade him to cease. The Child of Heaven is not something we can meddle with.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Initially, when targeting Ye Yong, the Blood Flame Sect dispatched a Nascent Soul and several Golden Cores to the Luofeng Forest, believing that joining forces with other demonic sects against a mere Foundation Establishment boy was a sure victory. Who would have thought that the Tianluo Sect would turn the tables, leading to a disastrous ambush? Fortunately, the losses were not severe.
The second attempt was to subdue him in the century-old secret realm. With over ten people and a fourth-grade formation unleashed by magical artifacts, this time it should have been a guaranteed success, right? Yet Ye Yong, with his cunning, had already anticipated an attack and captured them instead. Losing over ten promising disciples was a heavy blow to the Blood Flame Sect.
The third attempt, which is this one, saw the entire sect’s strong ones mobilized, a true ten out of ten certainty—who could have predicted that the losses would be even greater?
For those like them, the Transformation Stage experts, healing from injuries without high-quality spiritual herbs and pills would take a long time. The key was that all the Transformation Stage members were injured, leaving only a few Nascent Souls to maintain appearances. If other demonic sects were to strike now, the Blood Flame Sect could very well be swallowed whole.
Being swallowed was not entirely unacceptable; what they feared most was annihilation.
Those corpse-refining sects, those ghost-refining sects, thrived on collecting the bodies and souls of the strong, refining them into their own weapons.
After a brief discussion, the sect leader feigned a furious outburst, using a communication stone to instruct those below not to return to the sect, to hide their identities and keep watch for news of Ye Yong. Meanwhile, the Transformation Stage experts sought a hidden place to tend to their injuries and regain their strength. This way, even if true enemies sought to target the Blood Flame Sect, they would be hard-pressed to find everyone’s whereabouts.
—In a cave hundreds of kilometers away;
“Miss, you are pushing yourself too hard.” Both maidservants bore injuries of varying degrees, while Ye Qingwu, though outwardly unscathed, appeared pale and weak, clearly overexerted, looking worse than the injured maidservants.
“Is this truly worth it?” The feather-adorned maid gazed at her mistress, her eyes filled with pain. “It was he who lured them here, yet not only did he deceive us, but after sowing discord, he fled immediately. What have you done for him that he remains oblivious?”