Setting up an array of blood and engaging in a fierce battle with Mu Xuanling had worsened Xie Xuechen’s already unhealed severe injuries. Mu Xuanling had also expended considerable energy; Xie Xuechen noticed her face showing a hint of paleness. Even with her full smile, she couldn’t hide her weakness.
The two found an inn to stay at in a nearby town. Taking advantage of the night, Mu Xuanling went out to buy some changes of clothes. This time, she didn’t set up any restrictions to prevent Xie Xuechen from escaping. Xie Xuechen didn’t think about getting away from Mu Xuanling anymore, because she had bluntly told him that she had placed a mark on him, allowing her to sense his direction and distance.
Mu Xuanling found quite a bit of silver money and spirit pills in Gao Qiumin’s storage ring. She bought some fitting clothes for Xie Xuechen and secretly inquired about news from the Immortal Alliance.
As expected, the news of Xie Xuechen’s disappearance had not yet spread.
When Mu Xuanling returned to the inn, Xie Xuechen had just finished his breathing exercises. After taking the spirit pills from Mirror Flower Valley, some color had returned to his face. Mu Xuanling handed him the long robe she had bought and smiled, saying, “Shall I ask the waiter to arrange a bath for Sect Leader Xie?”
Xie Xuechen took the clothes, glanced at her indifferently, and said, “The body of a Fa Xiang is pure and untainted.”
Implying that he didn’t need a bath.
But clothes that were torn still needed to be changed.
Cultivation is wonderful, Mu Xuanling thought. Not only do they not eat grains, they’re untainted by worldly dust, and can even erase love, hate, and all emotions.
Mu Xuanling rested her chin on her hand, watching the slender shadow on the screen. She wavered between looking and not looking for a moment, and by then, he had already changed.
Never mind, it’s not like I haven’t seen it before—Mu Xuanling thought with some regret.
Xie Xuechen walked to the table and sat down, then heard Mu Xuanling say, “Sect Leader Xie, it seems you were heading towards Yongxue City today.”
Xie Xuechen nodded.
Mu Xuanling sighed lightly, “If I were you, I absolutely wouldn’t return to the Immortal Alliance before recovering my Yuan Power.”
“Before I entered the array, I had made arrangements. If I didn’t return within seven days of entering the array, the Five Elders of the Immortal Alliance would enter to investigate and discover traces of my battle with the demon race,” Xie Xuechen said. “I presume that by now, the Immortal Alliance has secretly sent people to search for my whereabouts.”
“Sect Leader Xie, haven’t you ever wondered why the demon race knew exactly which day and time you would enter the array, allowing them to set up a trap in advance?” Mu Xuanling rarely showed such an earnest expression.
Xie Xuechen lowered his eyes, the candlelight casting a faint shadow under them.
“There’s a demon spy within the Immortal Alliance,” his cold voice said slowly.
Thousands of years ago, the human Immortal Alliance had exerted all their efforts to set up the Ten Thousand Immortals Seal at the border between the demon realm and the human world, the Two Realms Mountain, stopping the demon race’s invasion of the human realm. However, this seal was eroded by demonic energy and needed to be repaired every sixty years. Traditionally, the leader of the Immortal Alliance was responsible for protecting the array. Xie Xuechen had succeeded as the leader of the Five Sects of the Immortal Alliance a few years ago, and this year marked the first time he was to repair the array alone. However, he was ambushed by a large demon army.
The Ten Thousand Immortals Array was complex and interlocking. The person repairing it had to be at the array’s eye, summon their Fa Xiang, and use their primordial spirit to communicate with the entire array to know where repairs were needed. Therefore, only one person could repair the array, and it had to be one of the strongest cultivators in the world. During the repair, the repairer was most vulnerable to attacks. But the Ten Thousand Immortals Array was a sacred array formed by human cultivators; demons within it would suffer as if being tortured. So even if the demon race knew this was the year for repairs, they couldn’t determine exactly which day and hour the repairer would enter the array, nor could they set up an accurate ambush.
But this time, the timing of their ambush was just right…
When Xie Xuechen saw the Demon Lord in the array, he understood everything.
“So you understand,” Mu Xuanling breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright, you said it yourself, so it’s not me who’s telling tales.”
Xie Xuechen raised his eyebrows, his clear black and white phoenix eyes focused intently on Mu Xuanling. “So, you deliberately led me away from the path to the Five Sects of the Immortal Alliance. You knew the demon race would send pursuers to intercept halfway.”
Mu Xuanling bit her lip and nodded helplessly.
“My master is the demon race’s Grand Priest Sang Qi. I imagine you know about him. Master excels at divination. As long as he has someone’s item, he can easily calculate their location, with an error of no more than ten miles. Therefore, demon pursuers will soon find Qingshan Town and use it as a starting point to search along the path to the Five Major Sects. Now, with your severe injuries unhealed and your divine orifice sealed, if the demon race discovers you, the consequences would be unthinkable.”
“Avoiding crowds makes it less likely for the demon race to detect us.”
“But even if you return to Yongxue City, you’re not safe!” Mu Xuanling said urgently. “The one who knew about your entry into the array must be someone of high status in the Immortal Alliance. With your Yuan Power depleted you’d have little chance of victory if you encountered that person! They would surely try to kill you!”
“So what?” Xie Xuechen frowned slightly. “Fearing death and standing still is not the way of a sword cultivator.”
Xie Xuechen said seriously, “The way of the sword cultivator is to advance in the face of a thousand armies.”
Mu Xuanling stared at Xie Xuechen, seeing not a trace of fear in his eyes. Those phoenix eyes were like his sword, unstoppable, with a sharp radiance.
Mu Xuanling remembered outside Zhushen Palace when he deployed his Heavenly Fa Xiang. At that moment, he seemed to swallow mountains and rivers, shaking heaven and earth. When the Jun Tian Sword appeared, it outshone the sun and moon.
If his determination and sword heart weren’t like this, how could there be today’s Xie Xuechen, known as the world’s number one?
Mu Xuanling rested her chin on her hand, her lively and intelligent eyes fixed unblinkingly on Xie Xuechen, a smile slowly blooming on her lotus-like face.
Xie Xuechen sensed her sudden change in emotion, those watery eyes frankly and passionately expressing her admiration and love.
“What… what’s wrong?” Xie Xuechen was somewhat confused and uncomfortable.
Mu Xuanling smiled and said, “I think my taste is really good. I didn’t fall for the wrong person.”
This time, Xie Xuechen understood. Mu Xuanling’s condition was acting up again.
She supported her chin with both hands, her eyes curved into crescents as she gazed at Xie Xuechen. “Although I hope you can temporarily avoid danger and protect yourself, hearing you say this makes me feel that this is the real Xie Xuechen.”
“If you’re going to Yongxue City, I’ll go with you!” Mu Xuanling declared firmly.
Xie Xuechen was stunned. He frowned slightly and said, “You’re a half-demon, and you’ve cultivated demonic techniques. Although you have artifacts to conceal your aura, Yongxue City is different from other places. There are many strong cultivators; your disguise might be seen through.”
Mu Xuanling smiled sweetly, “So you do care about me!”
Xie Xuechen was blocked for a moment. He paused, then said with increased emphasis, “Half-demon demonic body, the people of the Immortal Alliance will kill on sight!”
“But you didn’t kill me!” Mu Xuanling still looked carefree.
Xie Xuechen felt somewhat powerless. He rubbed his forehead, took a deep breath, and said, “Why must you be like this?”
“I like it, I’m willing!” Mu Xuanling’s gaze was passionate and determined. “Although I know you’re unwilling, I still have to force you. There’s no help for it, cultivating demonic techniques means following one’s heart’s desires. Just as you must adhere to your principles, I must follow my true feelings.”
Xie Xuechen was stunned by Mu Xuanling’s righteous but twisted logic. For a moment, he couldn’t refute and could only say with a wave of his sleeve, “Absurd, how can you generalize like this?”
Mu Xuanling was already used to his harsh words. Such mild rebukes didn’t bother her at all. She smiled and said, “If I didn’t cultivate demonic techniques, could I stay by your side?”
Xie Xuechen was taken aback.
Mu Xuanling continued, “The demon race cultivating demonic techniques is like your human race cultivating. It’s just that humans absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth, while the demon race absorbs demonic energy. There’s no demonic energy in the human realm, so demons consume the flesh and blood of living people and devour inner demons to cultivate. That’s why they’re killed by human cultivators.”