Chapter 117.1: Demon Realm Soul Seizure (Part 10)

As soon as You Yin entered the Quiet Reflection Pavilion, he said, “Judgement, I request to be locked up with Xu Qianyu.”

Chu Linfeng: “I also want to be locked up with Xian.”
Yin Xiangjun, as they wished, placed Xu Qianyu between the two of them.

Xu Qianyu felt so annoyed she could die.
Having just left an extremely tense situation, she was exhausted and sleepy. She wanted to rest against the wall of the small, dark room, but the bruise on her back from the pillar during the fight with the Mirage Beast made it painful to lean against the wall.

The incessant chatter from both sides caused her to lose the good impression she had just formed of You Yin: “If you talk any more, I’ll ignore you.”
You Yin immediately fell silent, but after a moment, he spoke again: “I just want my innocence.”

“When you left traces of peach blossoms on others, did you ever think about their innocence?” Xu Qianyu sneered, “I’ll give you one incense stick’s time to think about how to apologize sincerely. If I’m satisfied, I’ll take it back; if not, we’ll talk later.”

She turned to Chu Linfeng, whose story was mostly in line with Tu Jiang’s speculations.
Chu Linfeng’s father was a Western Sea dragon, and during the Great Chaos Era, he had an affair with a fisherwoman. Later, the woman lived over 200 years and was revered as a celestial maiden. After 200 years, she laid a dragon egg, which hatched into a child. Apart from his pale skin, blue hair, and late speech, he was just like any human child—this was Chu Linfeng.

Because he was born with spiritual roots, the Qianlong Immortal Sect came to take him in. Likely because of his half-demon heritage, he had excellent innate talent in cultivation.
Xu Qianyu said, “But your shortcomings are quite obvious. Today, we attacked the demon dragon, and you fell before we even started. You were of no use at all.”
Chu Linfeng responded, “No, it’s not like you said. Only blood relatives have mutual perception; other dragon demons cannot interfere with me. I’m still strong.”

Xu Qianyu thought for a moment. Since Hua Liangyu was a dragon woman, whether it was a fierce ghost or a false dragon woman, anything that could cause Chu Linfeng to feel mutual perception must have been related to Hua Liangyu. She took the opportunity to ask, “Has any of your blood relatives gone missing?”

“My father’s sister. She was also half-dragon, raised in the sea when she was young. Later, she joined a human sect and said she wanted to cultivate immortality. She was gone for many years. Then she returned alone, having laid a dragon egg. There was no husband with her; it was shameful for a dragon to be without a husband. She said the father of the child was her junior disciple, and he couldn’t come with her because of urgent matters. After the dragon hatched, she left with the child and never came back. My father went ashore to look for the junior disciple but couldn’t find him, and the sect also disappeared. We don’t know how much of her story is true.”

Xu Qianyu was shocked. Hua Liangyu already had a child? The sect must have been the now-destroyed Wanfu Sect, so it made sense they couldn’t be found. Could the junior disciple be the one who cultivated the “Shura’s Eye” for his senior sister, Fu Shao?
On the day Hua Liangyu rejected Fu Shao, it seemed like she had no interest in him.

Fu Shao was the father of the child, which didn’t fit worldly knowledge. Even Hua Qingyu didn’t know; otherwise, she would have already led people to the demon realm to demand justice instead of staying so calm when mentioning the demon realm.

Hua Liangyu’s whereabouts were unknown, but what happened to the little dragon?
But in her mind, Hua Liangyu was already asleep, so it couldn’t be confirmed.
Xu Qianyu closed her eyes and calmed her thoughts, pushing aside the chaotic thoughts. She then turned to Chu Linfeng and said, “I’m not trying to scare you, but your relative asked me to bring her over. She must really like you, or she wouldn’t have used my body to knock on your door. Why else would she come to me and not others? She’s already so pitiful. You won’t show her some respect, but instead, you used sword energy to attack her?”
Chu Linfeng placed his hand on his knee, falling into deep thought.

After a while, his expression softened with guilt, and his previous arrogance seemed to have faded.

“I… I apologize to you,” You Yin said, seizing the opportunity as Chu Linfeng backed down. He grasped the railing and said, “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have left traces of peach blossoms on the arms of female cultivators. I not only harmed my own innocence but also slandered yours.”
Xu Qianyu replied, “Are you even human?”
You Yin admitted, “I’m not.”
Xu Qianyu asked, “Do I still owe you money?”

You Yin clenched his teeth and replied, “Not anymore. As for spirit stones, whoever gets them keeps them. I’ll treat it as if we never fought, and I’ll treat you to a meal. You eat a bit more, though. Is that okay?”
Xu Qianyu, with a proud expression, extended her arm through the gap in the railing. A quarter of an hour later, You Yin had his innocence restored and sighed in relief.

He had never cherished this small, heart-shaped mark more than he does now. He thought to himself that he must explain everything clearly to Lin Shuyue. A man could be killed, but not humiliated.

Xu Qianyu looked at her smooth and flawless arm, feeling satisfied as she gazed out of the window at the moonlight.

Her senior brother would surely no longer be heartbroken now.

At that moment, a soft exclamation was heard from a woman. Though the sound was small, the three cultivators, with their sharp hearing, all held their breath and listened carefully.
It seemed that the two adjudicators were in some sort of argument.

Yin Xiangjun lowered her voice and said, “You should listen to me. Since you entered the path, everything has been planned by me, and you’ve never gone astray.”

Luo Shui Yuanjun seemed to disagree, “Brother…”
But Xu Qianyu, with her foundation-building cultivation, could only hear bits and pieces. She anxiously prodded You Yin, “What did he say?”
You Yin replied, “Yin Xiangjun said, ‘The ruler of the demon realm has lost control, and his crimes are too severe. He must be killed.’”

“I only have Golden Core cultivation, so I can only hear that much,” You Yin said, lifting his chin. “Let’s see what the Nascent Soul says.”
Xu Qianyu turned to Chu Linfeng.

Chu Linfeng said, “He also said, ‘The appearance of a dragon woman from the Mirage Beast is an ominous sign. I suspect something related to the dragon woman got on the ship. We can’t let outside forces interfere with the ruler of the demon realm like last time and cause more unforeseen changes. We need to eliminate the risk.’ He also said, ‘The highest cultivation level from Penglai this time is Shen Suwei, who has only reached Nascent Soul. He can’t represent Penglai to pressure the adjudicators. What are you worried about?’”

They hadn’t expected Chu Linfeng to hear everything so clearly. He likely had a Nascent Soul cultivation level. Both Xu Qianyu and You Yin sighed in admiration.

Looking at the adjudicators’ words, they seemed to have the righteousness of the situation. The ruler of the demon realm, Fu Shao, had killed disciples from the Immortal Sect, causing great anger. He deserved to be executed. Senior Brother had also said that the true purpose of the Hairpin Flower Conference was for the Four Immortal Sects to join forces and eliminate the demon realm, so neither You Yin nor Chu Linfeng reacted.

Only Xu Qianyu chewed on the strange thought: why were they so wary of the Dragon Maiden? Did they know about her relationship with Fushao? Foreign interference, but she didn’t understand its meaning.
Xu Qianyu felt a bit restless. It seemed her senior brother already knew she was in the quiet reflection pavilion and was figuring out a way to release her.

She didn’t mind much; cheating would only result in her grades being canceled, and the person who would lose face would be Xu Binglai, not her. But would Hua Liangyu be taken away?
Hua Liangyu wasn’t just a senior sister to Hua Qingshan; she had also protected her on the way here. Xu Qianyu’s intuition told her she couldn’t let Hua Liangyu fall into others’ hands, but how could she, alone, fight against two adjudicators and hide Hua Liangyu?

When Yin Xiangjun and Yin Luo Shui appeared, the dark, cramped space was lit up. The two of them stood together, their features exquisitely delicate and elegant, side by side in an intimate stance, without a hint of discord.
Yin Xiangjun stood at a distance and said gently, “You don’t need to panic, young friends. Since you all say you didn’t carry another’s soul, perhaps something is hidden on you. For this task, we will remove any foreign objects from you without harming your cultivation. Luo Shui, check them.”

Luo Shui Yuanjun bowed slightly and approached, holding a lamp. She first went to the small room where Chu Linfeng was.
Xu Qianyu watched as Luo Shui placed her hand on Chu Linfeng’s chest, seemingly probing. She felt her heartbeat trembling in her throat.
Would she be discovered through this check?
Chu Linfeng, slower to react than the others, seemed to understand that his relative was about to be captured. He looked at Luo Shui and said, “I am half-dragon.”

Luo Shui paused for a moment. “I know.”
Chu Linfeng said, “It’s normal for the Dragon Maiden’s mirage to appear. Because that magic dragon was inspired by me, it turned into the Dragon Maiden’s form?”
Luo Shui smiled slightly, not responding, but focused again, probing once more. “No anomalies.”
With that, she stood and walked toward Xu Qianyu.

Xu Qianyu watched as her skirt, reflecting the light of the glass lantern, drifted closer, resembling the rippling waves of the sea under the moon. The gold-thread embroidery blurred momentarily in her vision. She thought quickly between feigning unconsciousness and begging for mercy, considering various possibilities, and finally, she widened her eyes to look at Luo Shui.