Chapter 121: Demon Realm Soul Seizure (Part 14)

The runes flew out of the spellbook held by Hua Liangyu. Amidst the serene image, Hua Liangyu remained unfazed, still flipping through the book with her delicate fingers.
It seemed the runes represented the malicious intent of the consciousness’s owner, targeting them as intruders.

The three of them exchanged glances; none had seen this style of rune before or knew how to break it. It was likely a secret technique not shared outside the Sect of Ten Thousand Runes.
The golden rune floating in the air suddenly changed from a crying face to a smiling one, emitting faint laughter.

The air distorted, and it felt as though the spiritual energy in their cores was being drained from their shoulders while their souls were pulled apart. It was similar to the sensation of being watched by the false Dragon Maiden on the ship, but much more intense.

Chu Linfeng’s blue hair billowed as he shouted, drawing his sword, Cangque, to slash at it. The runes, however, darted away like birds from the blade, transforming into several butterflies that flew toward their faces.

As they neared, they carried a sense of death, intent on draining the life force.
Before the spiritual energy could disperse, Shen Suwei transcribed the unfamiliar runes onto a spirit butterfly and flicked it from his sleeve.
Then, his ruler sword skillfully rotated once across his hand before he gripped it. Frost condensed on the blade as he struck, knocking the runes away from You Yin.
You Yin watched the sword flash before him. Shen Suwei used no spiritual power, relying solely on strength, yet he wielded the sword as though it were part of him—swift and fierce, his swordsmanship evidently formidable.

You Yin was struck by the overwhelming speed, feeling the disparity between his Golden Core and Shen Suwei’s Nascent Soul.
Fortunately, Shen Suwei said, “No need to use divine powers; just hold on for a while.”
No matter how powerful, even runes required the world’s spiritual energy to sustain them. Although potent, they would not last long. If they could withstand their effect until their spiritual energy depleted, they stood a chance.

Chu Linfeng began gathering sword energy in his chest, and golden sword energy condensed and shot wildly in all directions, shattering a few runes.

As Shen Suwei predicted, after about a quarter of an hour, the runes gradually dimmed and dissolved into the air. The figures of Fu Shao and Hua Liangyu also vanished.
The three of them stood in the empty courtyard, with You Yin already feeling faintly exhausted. He gasped, glancing at Shen Suwei with a complicated expression. Shen Suwei looked calm, transferring spiritual energy to him.

The difference in spiritual cores between the Golden Core and the Nascent Soul was indeed vast.
Mist drifted across their vision as three cultivators approached from the other side.
Two disciples in black robes from the Hidden Dragon Sect were supporting a disciple from the Lingyue Sect, all with fresh injuries on their faces. They were the same Yang Luo and Shen from earlier, looking no better than before.
Chu Linfeng asked, “Why are you back again?”
Yang Luo replied dejectedly, “There’s no way out anywhere.”
“What’s the rush to leave? We’re finally here; we should kill every last one of them. Why leave in a hurry?” Chu Linfeng said cheerfully. “Let’s go together!”

Shen Suwei had no objections, so they decided to travel together. Shen Suwei slowed his pace, lagging behind slightly. You Yin felt Shen Suwei tug at the hem of his robe and heard him send a message: “Take another look.”

You Yin raised his gaze sharply. Look… Look at what, these three?
The request gave him a chill.
He silently used his peering technique, and a chill settled in his heart as he saw only the shadowy skeletal figure of Chu Linfeng moving ahead. Everywhere else was blanketed in dense, golden mist.

“They… they’re no longer human…”
No longer human? Chu Linfeng’s ear twitched, and he turned around in confusion. The other three disciples also turned. Shen Suwei stood in the courtyard, his robes billowing in the wind, his sword and eyes filled with killing intent. “Chu Linfeng, come here.”

It seemed the three had failed to find a way out earlier and were now trapped here.
You Yin thought that if he and Shen Suwei had failed to withstand the runes’ assault, they too might have been sealed in the mist, becoming phantom beings.

Within the night mist, the three cultivators became transparent, their bodies faintly emitting blood-red runes.
They slowly turned toward the runes, seemingly aware of their own deaths; their expressions twisted as they suddenly attacked each other.

They had become phantom beings, retaining their cultivation—three Nascent Souls! Flames flared on their blades, closing in on their faces in an instant.

Xu Qianyu frowned as she looked at the runes on the spirit butterfly.

As the only rune master among the disciples, she quickly opened her spellbook to compare, confirming that she had not seen this rune before. She transcribed it onto paper, passing it to her fellow disciples from Penglai, who all shook their heads. Only Yun Chu hesitated. “It seems… to be a dangerous sealing rune.”

It seemed they would have to consult Hua Qingyu.
Xu Qianyu didn’t know why the runes had been sent over without any additional instructions, but she sensed a very urgent situation.
She circulated her spiritual energy twice, filling her core, and once again projected her consciousness, wandering through the demon domain and taking in the surrounding spiritual veins.

She explored the demon domain, looking for any clues.
Soon after, she indeed found a similar blood-red rune embedded covertly in the spiritual veins on the ground behind a sand dune.

A thought sparked in Xu Qianyu’s mind as she immediately stood up. “I’ll go take a look over there.”

Yu Chu noticed her serious expression and quickly asked, “Where are you going? There’s no spiritual energy elsewhere—I’ll go with you.”
Yun Chu added, “I’ll come too.”
Xu Qianyu glanced at Yun Chu. Remembering that Yun Chu seemed to recognize the talisman and had taken precautions, she decided it would be safer to have him follow her rather than leave him among the others. She instructed Su Mingyu to look after the others and led Yu Chu and Yun Chu toward the location of the talisman.

Working together, they pushed aside the tangled, withered roots covering the ground, revealing a blood-red talisman the size of a clenched fist etched into the sand.
Xu Qianyu began digging into the sand, and Yu Chu crouched down to help her.
Yun Chu asked, “What are you doing?”
Xu Qianyu tossed aside some sand. “I’m trying to release what’s been sealed here.”

She suspected that Hua Liangyu’s missing consciousness was sealed below. When she fell into the whirlpool, Hua Liangyu had mentioned that her consciousness was “below.” This could refer to the demonic realm under the sea or could also mean underground. Yet, no matter how deep she dug, it was still sand below, and the talisman hovered like a shadow, unmoved.

“This talisman can’t be unlocked,” Yun Chu said, feeling her efforts were wasted. “You said you’d never seen it before; it must be a secret technique of the Ten Thousand talismans Sect. That sect was known for its talisman techniques in its time. The ruler of the demonic realm was from the Ten Thousand talismans Sect and had high-level cultivation, able to trap malevolent spirits within paper figures. You, with only a shallow knowledge of it, how can you compete with him?”
With no wooden plaque to relay messages, he had no choice but to remember Xu Qianyu’s every action, awaiting contact from his master.

Xu Qianyu remained silent, pressing the tip of her sword onto the weeping-smiling talisman, tracing its lines gently. Her talisman knowledge was taught by Hua Qingyu, who could be considered senior sister to Fu Shao.

Xu Qianyu, ever confident, believed she wasn’t lacking and that there had to be a way.
Drawing talismans requires linking with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in a single stroke. The feeling of resonance when she first drew a vortex talisman for gathering spiritual energy had been unforgettable—drawing from one point to another, something she had learned naturally.

She closed her eyes, contemplating how she would draw this talisman to summon the world’s spiritual energy.

Yun Chu watched the girl sitting cross-legged in the sand, her eyes shut, and her sword tracing lines repeatedly in the sand. The wind scattered the sand marks left by her sword, ruffling the two thin braids on her shoulders.

As Yun Chu observed her, a hint of indescribable liveliness filled the air.
Suddenly, a powerful pressure descended from the sky, startling both Yun Chu and Yu Chu.
A golden talisman identical to the one in the sand appeared nearby, and as the sand and wind stirred violently, Xu Qianyu opened her eyes, her gaze dark and captivating like a glass bead.
Fortunately, she stopped herself, and the talisman in the sand was dispersed, the oppressive force disappearing instantly.

She sensed that this was the way to do it.
Yu Chu’s gaze followed Xu Qianyu as she stood, uncertain of her intentions. Xu Qianyu held her wooden sword with a blank expression and pressed it against the talisman on the ground, tracing it backward, from end to start!

A rush of dense spiritual energy bathed her like a wave, roaring around her like fish swimming and dragons weaving, dispersing into the world. The blood-red talisman on the ground disintegrated into sand and scattered into the air.
Spiritual energy rushed at Xu Qianyu, her spiritual reservoir almost bursting.
With this sudden surge, she felt her consciousness wanting to stretch through her limbs but being blocked by a knot that could not be unraveled, coalescing into a pill-like formation. Her spiritual pool expanded.
Had she ascended in rank?

Xu Qianyu couldn’t be certain, but the expansion of her spiritual pool left her feeling refreshed.
In the sandy pit, a faint figure of a young girl lying down appeared.
Yun Chu examined the gradually clearing figure, his eyes widening slightly. “Are you… Fu Lingsha, the Seer’s Eye?”
Wasn’t this supposed to be Hua Liangyu’s consciousness?
Fu Lingsha—this name seemed familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

Xu Qianyu didn’t spare her a glance, instead recording the method for breaking the talisman onto a spiritual butterfly and then sending it off.

*
The bloodied You Yin saw the butterfly and couldn’t help but feel that Lin Shuyue was going too far.
Given the situation, why was she still sending messages?
Even so, Shen Suwei, still in a fierce battle, extended his hand to intercept the butterfly, his face momentarily stunned.
The reply contained only a single talisman.

However, this talisman was drawn with spiritual energy rather than mere thought. He didn’t even need to look—by feeling it with his finger, he could grasp the direction of the spiritual energy and understand her message.

In a flash, his sword shimmered with watery light as he switched his technique, twirling his sword in a circular motion. With a few sharp sounds, the talisman dispersed, and an immense spiritual energy exploded, blindingly bright.

The three of them, their spiritual reservoirs depleted, were instantly recharged, glowing as the energy surged. Chu Linfeng’s sword energy grew blindingly bright, shattering the mirage before him.

With the seal broken, the souls of three disciples separated from the mist, looking desolate: their faces were streaked with blood, some bowed in silence, while others gritted their teeth.
The Nascent Soul disciples had turned into ghosts, their cultivation scattered in an instant. But at least they could still pursue ghost cultivation, better than perishing here. Now free, they expressed their gratitude: “Only grant us the chance to kill Fu Shao and eradicate the demons.”

You Yin sighed inwardly, saying, “Come into the Golden Pearl. If we can leave, we’ll return you to the sect.”
Chu Linfeng, holding his sword upright, bowed solemnly to his now ghostly peers.
Shen Suwei lowered his gaze, brushing his fingers over the spiritual butterfly in silence.
It bore only a single talisman, nothing more.

The wind stirred his dark locks. In that moment, he felt a familiar connection, and for a fleeting moment, he imagined that the sender was Xu Qianyu.
He looked up and said to You Yin, “Look again.”
You Yin protested, “Another look? I can only do it five times a day.”

He fully understood now—Shen Suwei had been continually transferring spiritual energy to him so that he could use the Insight Technique, using him as the eyes shared by the three of them.
This time, however, there was indeed a discovery. “The golden mist’s range has shrunk.”

Shen Suwei nodded. It seemed that Chu Linfeng’s breaking the mirage had dealt a real blow to Fu Shao, which meant the mirage would eventually dissipate.
He would get out; he would not fall into the fate of his past life.

Voices could be heard in the distance, so the three of them walked outside the courtyard.
Fu Shao, still with his hair unbound, wore a robe that was overly large. He looked about fifteen or sixteen—a slender, delicate young man—but his eyes remained dark and unreadable, showing no emotion. He tilted his head slightly, a bright red handprint visible on his pale cheek.
“I taught you the sealing talisman. Is this how you were meant to use it?” Hua Liangyu’s voice carried a chill.

The dragon maiden was beautiful, dressed in a skirt adorned with pearls, a silk shawl draped over her arm. Normally friendly and approachable, her smile enchanting, she could also exude an imposing dignity, as if every scale on her body stood on end when she grew angry.

Two pale paper figures lay on the ground. Hua Liangyu asked, “What grudge do you have with these two cultivators that you would try to end their lives?”

Hua Liangyu had never struck Fu Shao before. Her fingers curled slightly within her sleeve, and she felt a pang of regret. “If you disagree, you’re strong enough now to fight me.”

As she spoke, she pulled a golden hairpin from her hair, holding it in her hand with a serious expression.

Fu Shao didn’t move, his eyes devoid of any spark. After a moment, he licked the blood from the corner of his mouth.
“I won’t hit you,” he said.

Hua Liangyu was momentarily taken aback, suddenly feeling a bit at a loss.

Fu Shao turned his gaze to the hairpin in her hand and, after a while, said, “Senior Sister, don’t you need a primary weapon for both offense and defense?”

Hua Liangyu’s expression softened, and she replied angrily, “It’s none of your concern; I’ll find one myself.”

“You’re only at the foundation establishment stage now. You’ll lose to a Golden Core cultivator if it comes to a fight. Using a sealing talisman to harm others dishonors our sect’s reputation.
Fortunately, I arrived in time, or it could have led to serious consequences. In the future…” She bent down to pick up the two paper figures when she heard a soft chirping.
In Fu Shao’s outstretched palm lay a golden fledgling bird, its wings rosy like dawn, its tail trailing like clouds. Its eyes were still closed, fluttering its small wings. Hua Liangyu’s expression grew serious. “Is that… a baby Phoenix? ”

Phoenixes, rare and mythical creatures, hid deep in the mountains. It was said that their monster cores were a great tonic, leading some unscrupulous cultivators to hunt them.

Hua Liangyu scrutinized Fu Shao, her face filled with regret. “You got into a conflict with those two Golden Core disciples because you were trying to save it, didn’t you?”

Fu Shao seemed uninterested in explaining. Tilting his hand, he said, “I thought if you were here, you’d definitely want to take it back as a junior sister. I’m giving it to you.”

But the baby phoenix dug its claws into Fu Shao’s palm, unwilling to let go, looking extremely frightened.

Seeing this, Hua Liangyu smiled. “Fledglings become attached to the first person they see. It must think you’re its father.”

When Fu Shao heard the word “father,” he didn’t respond, only looking at his senior sister’s smiling face. A faint blush crept over his face.
“It’s not fully grown yet and can’t follow the path to become your junior sister. How about you take care of it for now and give it a name?” Hua Liangyu looked at the creature in Fu Shao’s hand with a complex expression.

Once a creature had a name, it would be harder to kill it. By working on these small aspects, she believed she could gradually soften his heart.
Fu Shao replied indifferently, “I’ll think about it.”

The two of them sat on the stone steps as usual, with Fu Shao practicing drawing talismans and Hua Liangyu instructing him nearby.

The wind blew the hem of Hua Liangyu’s dress onto his knee, causing Fu Shao’s eyelashes to flutter, slightly distracted. “Your dress got torn during the sparring earlier. Let me mend it for you.”

“Did it?” Hua Liangyu lifted her skirt to find a tear, then said, “You know how to embroider?”
Fu Shao gave a slight smile without answering, taking out a silver needle between his fingers.

This was the needle he usually used for stitching human skins, a needle that ghostly maidens feared. Yet, in his hands, it deftly threaded the needle, leaning forward to stitch a few small diamond-shaped flowers.

When he finished, Hua Liangyu affectionately patted his head, spun around, and her dress flowed around her.
The dragon maiden’s dress was made of silk woven by merfolk, its shimmering waves catching the light as the wind passed through it, and the small diamond flowers he had sewn appeared to glisten like tiny silver scales.

The pavilion seemed to glow in that moment.
“I’ve thought of a name,” Fu Shao said. “Let’s call it Fu Lingsha.”