Chapter 233: The Shen Family Secret Sigil, Resurrection of the Thousand-Eyed Fish Demon

“Elder, this…”

After the jade token went dark, Baili Que looked puzzled.

“What did he say?”

Elder Lu’s expression suddenly turned grim. After a moment of silence, he said, “This is bad. I need to contact the others and inform them of the situation. You all stay here and don’t move.”

Seeing how serious he looked, Lian Mu realized the gravity of the matter. She didn’t know what the elders inside the jade token had said, but judging by their voices, it seemed the elders within the Red Scorched Circle were likely already…

Even the elders couldn’t escape. Lian Mu didn’t dare imagine what kind of Demonic Creatures they had encountered.

The Returning Immortal Sect team that entered the Red Scorched Circle…

For some reason, Lian Mu had a strong intuition that it might be the team Ji Mingyue was in.

She couldn’t help but look up at the sky. The moon now had only a faint trace of red left, most of it shrouded in black. Once the Black Moon fully emerged, the Demonic Creatures would likely become even more frenzied.

Worried, she asked Baili Que, “Try again. See if you can reach Ji Mingyue.”

Baili Que shook his head. “No use. I’ve already tried several times. Senior Sister Jiang’s team only has an artifact refiner and an alchemy cultivator. They don’t carry many Communication Talismans. I’ve been trying to contact them, but there’s been no response.”

But the newly lit markers on the map proved they were still alive. As for why they weren’t responding, Baili Que couldn’t figure it out.

With Senior Sister Jiang’s sharp perception, there was no way she hadn’t noticed the arrival of the Black Tide.

If they were just exploring the outer two circles, that would be understandable. But why did they enter the Red Scorched Circle?

Baili Que didn’t believe Senior Sister Jiang would be foolish enough to risk her life for that, especially with three new disciples in her team.

Lian Mu said, “Something’s off.”

Baili Que replied, “You feel it too? Do you think their entry into the Red Scorched Circle has something to do with Ji Mingyue?”

Lian Mu shook her head. “It can’t be because of Ji Mingyue. With her personality, she’d never let her teammates risk their lives for her. Maybe… they don’t even know they’ve entered the Red Scorched Circle.”

The rift on the map marked the boundary between the Red Scorched Circle and the Flat Earth Circle. You could see it just by walking past. Ji Mingyue’s team’s last marker in the Flat Earth Circle was right in front of that rift.

Maybe the problem wasn’t with them, but with the environment.

Someone might have deliberately lured them into the Red Scorched Circle.

“Elder, can we go check out the Flat Earth Circle?” Lian Mu suggested.

Elder Lu had just put down his transmission jade. Hearing this, he replied, “That works. I need to make a trip to the Flat Earth Circle anyway. But you are only allowed to go as far as the boundary between the Abyssal Circle and the Flat Earth Circle. Use the lingering aura of the Fish Demon Skeleton to avoid the Demonic Creatures. Remember, do not go near the Mist Sea Cliff by the fish bones.”

“Where are you going then?”

Elder Lu said, “Something might have happened in the inner circle. I need to see it for myself.”

“The Red Scorched Rift?” Lian Mu asked.

Elder Lu gave her a sharp look and said sternly, “Children shouldn’t eavesdrop on others’ conversations. This doesn’t concern you.”

Lian Mu muttered, “…I guessed.”

Elder Lu looked surprised, but quickly regained his composure. “Once we arrive, you’ll go with Minghe. Remember, you’re only allowed to search for people within the outer two circles. Make sure to bring the map.”

Ye Minghe said, “Don’t worry, Elder. I’ll protect my junior brothers and sisters.”

Shen Wuxie, standing behind, grew anxious when he heard this. “Wait, your elder is leaving? What about us? No matter how strong your senior brother is, he’s still just a disciple. What if something happens on the way…”

Baili Que smacked him hard on the back. “Shut your crow mouth.”

Shen Wuxie, still reeling from being dragged around earlier, felt nauseated just thinking about the swarms of Demonic Creatures. “No way. I’m not going to the Flat Earth Circle. I’m going to find my aunt!”

Elder Lu frowned. “You’re not allowed to go back. No one is to inform Senior Mei about this matter.”

Lian Mu and Baili Que both froze. “Why not…”

After all, Mei Chengyu was the strongest among the sword cultivator elders. Wouldn’t it be better for them if she knew?

Elder Lu pressed his lips together and barked, “Stop asking questions. You three, keep an eye on him. Don’t let him run back.”

At his words, Baili Que found a rope and tied up Shen Wuxie and the other two, sealing their limbs with talismans.

Though reluctant, Shen Wuxie couldn’t overpower Baili Que. Their rankings on the orchid list were too far apart, and he didn’t have the strength to break Baili Que’s talismans.

Struggling on the silver kite, Shen Wuxie grumbled, “You’re all bullying me. When I get back, I’m switching to sword cultivation. I’ll beat every last one of you talisman freaks to death.”

Lian Mu tugged on a lock of hair by his cheek and threatened, “Say one more word and I’ll kick you off this thing and pretend I never saw you.”

Shen Wuxie immediately fell silent. “…”

Lian Mu said, “Senior Brother, let’s go.”

Ye Minghe was silent for a moment, then turned the kite in a new direction. This time, Elder Lu led the way.

However, from an angle they couldn’t see, Shen Wuxie, lying on his side, quietly shifted his position. A yellow talisman slipped from his sleeve.

It was his last life-saving talisman, one he had secretly hidden.

This talisman bore the Shen Family’s secret sigil. It could transform into a talisman puppet and fly hundreds of miles, seeking out the nearest powerful spiritual presence. But he only had one left. The other was in Shen Wusang’s hands.

As for who the puppet would fly to, it was all up to luck.

Surely no one in this circle was stronger than Mei Chengyu, right?

Gritting his teeth, Shen Wuxie wrote a line on the back of the talisman, then let it go.

Their silver kite was fast, and the talisman puppet was instantly swept away by the wind, vanishing from sight, leaving only the sound of rushing air behind.

…

…

Abyssal Circle, inside the protective barrier.

The chill crept up from his feet. Xu Xianxing sat by the fire with arms wrapped around himself, his legs already numb from the cold.

He couldn’t stand up, so he edged closer to the fire. Even when the hem of his robe started to burn, he didn’t notice.

Qu Ruotian quickly stomped out the flames on his clothes. “Junior Brother Xu, are you alright? You don’t look so good. Maybe you should tell the elder and leave early?”

Xu Xianxing stiffly shook his head. “I’m fine. It’ll pass in a few days.”

Qu Ruotian asked, “Your family’s so wealthy. Didn’t you find a powerful alchemy cultivator to look into it?”

Xu Xianxing replied, “I did, but no one could figure out what this illness is. I gave up eventually. It only flares up once every five years. The rest of the time I’m just a little cold.”

“That still sounds inconvenient,” Qu Ruotian said. “No matter where I see you, you’re always dressed warmer than everyone else.”

Xu Xianxing said, “I’m an artifact refiner, not a sword cultivator. What I wear doesn’t matter.”

On the surface, he looked calm and composed, but in reality, he was trembling all over. Without the protection of the Spirit Artifact after lending out his fox-fur cloak, he felt even worse.

Qu Ruotian sighed. Their Returning Immortal Sect was truly down on its luck.

The chief body cultivator had gone missing, the chief sword cultivator and alchemy cultivator were both in danger, and the only one left in decent shape—the chief talisman cultivator—had also left. Now Xu Xianxing’s old illness had flared up again.

Why did their luck always take a turn for the worse just when their strength was on the rise?

Guan Shize sat across from Qu Ruotian. Seeing the troubled look on his face, he was just about to offer some words of comfort when he caught a glimpse of something red on the ground out of the corner of his eye.

Following the trail of red upward, he gave a reminder: “Chief Disciple Xu, your spatial pouch is dripping blood.”

Xu Xianxing: “?”

Everyone looked down in unison and saw that Xu Xianxing’s waist was already stained red with blood. At first glance, it looked like he had been injured.

Xu Xianxing was so cold he had gone numb and hadn’t even noticed.

He removed the spatial pouch and opened it for a look. A murky aura wafted out.

“Demonic Qi?”

Xu Xianxing jumped in fright and immediately flung the pouch away. From the open mouth of the bag, a swarm of red worms began to crawl out.

Xu Xianxing recognized them at once. These were the worms he had collected near the Fish Demon Skeleton. He had originally planned to use them for self-defense, but they had never come in handy.

As soon as the red worms emerged, their bodies began to melt, releasing wisps of black mist.

Sensing something was very wrong, Xu Xianxing shouted to the two teammates under the nearby tree, “Throw away your spatial pouches, now!”

The two of them, like him, had also collected red worms from beneath the Fish Demon Skeleton. Hearing his shout, they were startled and immediately tossed their pouches without a second thought.

Sure enough, blood began to seep from their spatial pouches as well. Once it hit the ground, it slowly gathered together and formed over a dozen fish-like eyes.

The two of them looked shocked. One of the senior sword cultivators quickly drew his sword and stabbed the fish eyes, shattering them.

Qu Ruotian called out, “Junior Brother Xu, watch your feet!”

At Xu Xianxing’s feet, the blood had congealed into a single giant eye, as large as a human head, its surface a lifeless white.

Everyone raised their feet and stomped down hard on the massive fish eye, grinding it into pulp.

“What… what exactly did you bring back with you?” Qu Ruotian looked at the mess on the ground, still shaken.

Xu Xianxing was stunned too. Senior Brother Gongxi had clearly told him that these worms were formed from the flesh and blood of the Fish Demon’s remains and wouldn’t attack people.

No, wait… they really hadn’t attacked anyone. They had simply changed form all of a sudden.

If the batch they brought back had changed, then didn’t that mean the rest of the worms had changed too?

Xu Xianxing tried to stand up but forgot that his legs couldn’t move. He turned to Qu Ruotian and said, “Go tell Elder Mei about this right away.”

…

Meanwhile, outside the protective barrier.

Mei Chengyu had just finished slaughtering a fresh wave of Demonic Creatures. Covered in blood, she stepped out from a pile of corpses. She wiped the purplish-red blood from her sword, her expression cold and indifferent.

Shang Liu, returning from the other side, looked spotless. Not a speck of blood marred his sleeves.

The two of them saw each other but said nothing.

Mei Chengyu looked up at the sky. Only the last sliver of the blood moon remained. Soon, this land would lose even its final trace of moonlight.

She casually wiped her face, kicked aside a Demonic Creature’s corpse at her feet, and was about to head back into the barrier when she suddenly sensed a familiar thread of spiritual energy.

She stopped and looked in that direction, only to see a small talisman figure flying toward her.

She caught the fluttering talisman. The patterns on the Talisman Paper were all too familiar.

The talisman ignited, forming a neat and elegant line of text: 【The Returning Immortal Sect bunch is trying to take me to Flat Earth Circle. Auntie, save me!】

Mei Chengyu smiled faintly. It seemed Lian Mu and the others had already found him.

She had no intention of going after Shen Wuxie. Since he was in the hands of the Returning Immortal Sect, he was surely safe. She knew the Clear Thought Sect had long-standing tensions with the Returning Immortal Sect. It was probably just a rivalry between the younger disciples.

Mei Chengyu destroyed the message, but just as she turned, a talisman cultivator disciple from the Returning Immortal Sect came running out, panting heavily.

“Elder Mei, the eyes of the… the Thousand-Eyed Fish Demon have come alive!”