Chapter 234: An Old Acquaintance, Green Bean Returns to the Palace

On the desolate, scorched earth, flames raged across the land. Crimson firelight seeped from cracks in the ground, casting waves of heat that lit up the surroundings.

Charred, lifeless trees swayed unsteadily. A jagged mountain jutted up from the scorched plain, and atop it sat a grotesque, twisted head. Beneath the head lay thousands of burned corpses.

Thus came the names: Red Lotus Fire Cavern, Corpse Mountain Scorched Forest, and the Red Scorched Circle.

In front of the Corpse Mountain stood a figure in white robes. A hood veiled the upper half of his face, while the lower half was marred by horrific burn scars.

The white-robed figure slowly bent down. From beneath his sleeves extended a pair of skeletal hands, stripped of flesh and skin.

He gently stroked the charred corpse before him. Buried beneath a pile of other bodies, the corpse was pitch black, yet its eyes remained open. After countless centuries, the pale gaze still held lingering hatred.

His bony fingers passed over its eyes, slowly closing them. “My kin, it won’t be long now. You will finally find peace.”

Not far from the Corpse Mountain flowed the Demon Nurturing River. A surge of water rose, and several dark figures emerged, surfacing from the earth. They, too, were clad in white robes.

In their hands, they carried severed limbs, which they offered up while kneeling.

“Master, please partake.”

The White-Robed Leader picked up one of the arms. Fresh blood still dripped from the torn end, as if it had just been ripped off.

“Mere ants,” he said, tossing the limb casually. It arced through the air and landed in a nearby crevice. Flames roared up instantly.

Atop the Corpse Mountain, a small figure let out a silvery laugh. “If you didn’t want it, why throw it away? That’s the flesh and blood of an Immortal Sect cultivator. Might as well feed it to them.”

With a light tap of her toes, the girl changed the direction of a human-legged spider crawling on the mountain. It scuttled toward the dark-robed figures and snatched the severed limb.

The spider brought the limb to her. She picked it up and examined it with a grin. “Isn’t this the uniform of the Returning Immortal Sect? That old relic of a sect is still around? I thought they died out along with the Wushuang Sect.”

“Oh well. Since the Returning Immortal Sect did help suppress that person back then, let’s leave them a handful of ashes.”

She tossed the limb into the fiery chasm without a second thought.

The girl stood up. The skin on her back split open, revealing eight slender spider legs that lifted her entire body. She leapt down from the Corpse Mountain.

A bone bird with a black pearl in its beak landed on the White-Robed Leader’s shoulder. The pearl projected several images.

His gaze fell on a disciple in a blue robe. A raspy voice echoed from beneath his hood. “That Heavenly Spiritual Root sword cultivator—bring her back.”

The girl’s eyes lit up. “The girls from the Immortal Sects are all so pretty. It’s been a while. I should change faces too.”

She tapped one of the image projections with a spider leg. “This alchemy cultivator—I like her. She looks familiar… Oh, she’s the little one from the Ji Family. I met her parents once.”

“But after all this careful planning, we’ve only caught two Heavenly Spiritual Roots? That’s a bit pathetic.”

The White-Robed Leader glanced up at the moon. “Don’t worry. Tonight, all Heavenly Spiritual Root disciples in the Shifang Nether Soil will be ours.”

The girl pouted, about to speak, when another dark figure emerged from the Demon Nurturing River. In its hand fluttered a blood butterfly.

“Master, something has happened at the Blood Pool.”

“Oh?” The White-Robed Leader took the butterfly. Its wings flapped twice before dissolving into light, which flowed into his arm.

Moments later, his hand clenched into a fist. “She sensed his presence on a sword cultivator? Impossible…”

The girl’s expression darkened instantly. “That person?”

Dark energy surged from the White-Robed Leader’s hand. Screams echoed from the Demon Nurturing River.

“Find that sword cultivator. Kill her.”

Then he looked up at the stars and let out a cold laugh.

“From this day forward, this land will return to its rightful owner.”

“When you slaughtered the millions of my Black Abyss kin, you never imagined this day would come. And it’s all thanks to your beloved Immortal Sects. This is only the beginning. Sooner or later, the new children of the Black Abyss will shatter the gates of the Heavenly Return Palace and avenge our blood.”

The girl yawned, her spider legs stretching. “So we’ll finally be able to stargaze openly at night… Hmm? I smell something familiar.”

The projection pearl flickered. In the image of the Returning Immortal Sect’s four-person team, a yellow figure descended from the sky, striking down all nearby demonic creatures in one blow.

The girl stared at the projection and immediately recognized him. “Shen Minglu? He actually came.”

On another image-recording stone, a crimson figure darted across the surface of the Demon Nurturing River, heading toward the Fish Demon Skeleton.

The girl giggled. “Oh my, Mei Xiaowu is here too. So many old friends. It’s been centuries, and she’s grown so tall. Last time I saw her, she was just a crying little brat.”

As she spoke, she crawled toward the Demon Nurturing River. “Since they’re here, how could I not welcome them? I’ll go catch up with my old friends. I’m sure Mei Xiaowu misses her big sister.”

The White-Robed Leader allowed her to leave. Then he closed his eyes, faces flashing through his mind.

The blood butterfly had passed its memories to him, letting him witness what had happened.

At last, his attention locked onto a single face.

“I want to see for myself what your connection is to him.”

…

…

At the Flying Sea Pavilion’s main building, it was auction day. The lower floors bustled with crowds and excitement.

On the top floor, two people sat across from each other, sipping tea by the window.

“Did that batch of Refined Jade from the other day sell out?”

The silver-masked person replied, “Reporting to the Pavilion Master, all of it has been sold. It was a high-quality batch, fetching prices above last year’s record.”

Bai Su set down her teacup. “Good. Business has been especially prosperous this year. In another two years, we’ll be able to acquire the Star-Plucking Tower.”

Across from her, Silver Crane flicked open his folding fan. “Congratulations, Pavilion Master. The Third Domain will soon fall into Flying Sea Pavilion’s hands. That cripple from Star-Plucking Tower is no match for you.”

Bai Su smiled faintly. “I wouldn’t stoop to comparing myself to him. All I want is jurisdiction over the Third Domain. Acquiring the Star-Plucking Tower is just a means to that end.”

“It’s because of the demonic beasts?” Silver Crane asked. “The Third Domain does have more demonic beast outbreaks than the Sixth. Speaking of which, how’s that Spirit Beast you bought at such a high price?”

Bai Su sighed and gestured for the silver-masked person to bring over a cage. When the cloth cover was lifted, a Black Scorpion lay inside, limp and unmoving.

“It’s too stubborn. Ever since it arrived, it’s never settled down. Either it’s causing a ruckus, or it’s lying there like it’s dead.”

Silver Crane glanced at Black Scorpion and said, “Maybe it just hasn’t adjusted yet. Once it forgets its previous master, it might start behaving.”

“But if the Pavilion Master wants a spirit beast, a high reward could be offered. Spirit beasts are rare, sure, but not extinct. As long as the price is right, someone will definitely go find one. Why is the Pavilion Master so fixated on this particular one?” Silver Crane asked with a cheerful smile.

Bai Su was silent for a moment, then replied, “That’s not something you should be asking.”

Realizing he had crossed a line, Silver Crane quickly added, “I only meant to ease the Pavilion Master’s concerns. After all, I do know a bit about spirit beasts. Maybe I could be of help.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he instinctively glanced at Bai Su’s expression. Just then, a Silver-masked Person burst through the door, making quite a commotion.

“Pavilion Master, something’s happened in the Sixth Domain!”

Bai Su raised an eyebrow. “What is it? Why the panic?”

The Silver-masked Person dropped to one knee. “The demonic beasts in the Sixth Domain have suddenly entered a berserk state. The demonic beast breach has gone out of control, and the team we sent to retrieve demonic beast cubs has lost contact.”

Bai Su asked, “What happened?”

“We’re not sure. During patrol tonight, we suddenly noticed a chunk of the moon was missing. Then we received the alert from the Sixth Domain.”

The Sixth Domain was under the jurisdiction of the Flying Sea Pavilion. Now that something had gone wrong, the Pavilion couldn’t escape responsibility.

Bai Su’s brows knitted together. She pushed open the window and looked out. At that moment, the last sliver of moonlight vanished completely.

“Black Moon? How could this be…” Her expression changed. She stood up immediately. “Seal off the Beast Fighting Arena. It is not to open for the next three days.”

With that, she turned and walked out the door.

“Pavilion Master…” Silver Crane called after her.

The Silver-masked Person said, “Young Master Silver Crane, please take your leave.”

Silver Crane pressed his lips together, drained the last sip of tea, and folded up his fan. “What a waste of a trip.”

He didn’t leave through the main entrance, but leapt straight out the window.

The Silver-masked Person twitched at the corner of his mouth. He placed the demonic beast cage directly on the table, locked the window, and hurried after Bai Su.

The room was now empty, sinking into a deathly silence.

After a long while, the Black Scorpion in the cage finally stirred. All six of its eyes opened wide. It reached out with a claw and snapped the spirit lock in one clean motion. Its body dissolved into a swirl of black mist and slipped out through the crack in the window.