The two weapons began cursing at one another, tempted to go to war. If it were not for the fact that they were held in the hands of their respective masters, perhaps they really would have gone to war.
“Who are you?” Bai Xiao’e stared at Li Qingshan. If it were not for the warmth from the phoenix’s flames, it would have taken quite the effort to awaken her from her hibernation, except the pair of ox horns on his head was rather jarring. He was not an avian, so how did he have the bloodline of the phoenix?
“Li Qingshan, or the Daemon King Northmoon. Don’t you find it a little noisy?” Li Qingshan said.
“Very noisy.”
The two of them stowed away their weapons at the same time, and the world immediately recovered its peace.
Li Qingshan said, “We can finally get down to proper business. Oh right, you were discovered by her.” As he spoke, he brought Xuanyue out from behind him. “We agreed on splitting what we found in half earlier. Give the ice axe to her. As for my half…” He studied Bai Xiao’e. “I’ll just not take it.”
Bai Xiao’e stared at Xuanyue. Under the gaze of her snowy eyes, Xuanyue could not help but shiver, but she refused to back down. “What’re you staring at me for? I’m also your saviour!”
“I will pay you back for saving me, but I still have a use for the Divine Axe of Profound Ice. I can’t give it to you,” Bai Xiao’e said calmly.
“Then let’s change the conditions!” Li Qingshan was not surprised at all. He had no intentions of taking the Divine Axe of Profound Ice in the first place. Only weapons that could be used could be considered as weapons. A single Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was noisy enough. He only said that to test out this Frost-feathered Moth King’s response. He hefted Xuanyue in his hand. “She’s going to the Dragon province. Protect her.”
Just like that, he could completely carry out his promise of sending her to the Dragon province, but he continued to worry about her a little.
“Why? I don’t need anyone’s protection!” Xuanyue called out.
“That’s your condition?” Bai Xiao’e reminded him. “You could have obtained something of much greater worth.”
“Oi, are you saying I’m worthless?” Xuanyue said in displeasure.
“And what can you provide me with?” Li Qingshan smiled.
Bai Xiao’e sank into her thoughts for a good while. “That’s true. You’re very powerful. Apart from the Divine Axe of Profound Ice, I have nothing I can give you. I accept your condition. I just happen to be going to the Dragon province too.”
“Hey, listen to me! Don’t look down on Daemon Generals! I’ll become a Daemon Commander, no, Daemon King very soon!” Xuanyue was livid.
“Then I’d advise you to be a little more careful. You’ve been sealed in ice for all these years, so you probably don’t even know how the Dragon province has changed,” Li Qingshan said. The Great Xia empire had been founded five thousand years ago, but the Ice Sword cliff probably existed for much longer than that.
“Is it called Great Xia?” Bai Xiao’e’s eyes rippled slightly.
“You know?” Li Qingshan was slightly surprised.
“I once heard it from somebody… she doesn’t seem to want my protection.” Bai Xiao’e pointed at Xuanyue who bit the back of Li Qingshan’s hand viciously. “Since she’s also my saviour, she possesses half the authority too. You can’t force this upon her.”
Li Qingshan said to Xuanyue earnestly, “Alright, stop acting like a child. It’s not like you’re going on a holiday when you go to the Dragon province. What’s wrong with having such a great bodyguard looking after you? You say the Nine-tailed Fox Empress is noble and powerful, but I think she’s not much different, and she seems very reliable!”
“The Nine-tailed Fox Empress!” Bai Xiao’e blanked out slightly as if that had roused an extremely distant memory. She actually smiled. “What a coincidence, she just happens to be my friend.” The coldness in her eyes grew heavier.
“You’re ma’am fox empress’ friend?” Xuanyue let go and discovered in dejection that she did not even leave a print of her teeth on Li Qingshan’s hand.
“Yes,” said Bai Xiao’e.
“Then why didn’t she come and save you?” Li Qingshan asked in confusion. Given the Nine-tailed Fox Empress’s identity and cultivation, destroying the Ice Sword cliff would have been nothing difficult at all!
“I’m about to ask her that question too,” said Bai Xiao’e.
“Heh. Don’t tell me you were screwed over by somebody?” Li Qingshan asked in a joking fashion. Weapon spirits were powerful, but it was a little too miserable for a great Daemon King to end up being sealed in ice for several millennia for the sake of subduing a weapon. It suddenly made him think of the Clam King of Mirage Sea. Even when she ascended, she had left a part of her behind to venture to the Dragon province. He wondered how she was doing now.
Bai Xiao’e remained silent.
“I’m willing to gamble that you’re not your old friend’s opponent, even when you have the Divine Axe of Profound Ice!” Li Qingshan said.
“I’m aware,” said Bai Xiao’e.
“I suddenly regret this a little.” Li Qingshan said to Xuanyue, “Just go to the Mist province!” The Dragon province definitely was not a peaceful place, especially during the age when Great Xia was on the verge of collapse.
“You have a grievance with the Nine-tailed Fox Empress? What kind of grievance is it?” Xuanyue ignored Li Qingshan and asked curiously.
“It has nothing to do with you. If you want to change your request, then make it quick. I’m setting off. She might come here very soon.” Bai Xiao’e unfurled her wings and gazed towards the north.
“That seems very interesting. C’mon, let’s go to the Dragon province!” Xuanyue waved her hand in a dramatic manner.
“Oh, you!” Li Qingshan shook his head and let go. If she insisted on doing this, then he would not stop her. Her path was still hers to choose at the end of the day.
Bai Xiao’e grabbed Xuanyue and turned into a streak of white light, flying off in the north-western direction. She was alarmingly fast, so fast that even Li Qingshan sighed in admiration. She was still in a feeble state. If she had recovered her full strength, perhaps she might even be a little faster. Unless there was a trap, killing a great Daemon King like her was basically impossible. Xuanyue probably would not be in any danger under her protection.
“Oh right. If anything happens to her, you better be ready to be buried with her!”
Bai Xiao’e glanced backwards, neither surprised nor furious. She nodded gently, cold like a machine. Li Qingshan had no idea whether this was just the way she was, or if her personality had changed drastically because she had been deceived by her friend, or if it was just a combination of both.
I wonder how little Hua is doing with his wounds.
Li Qingshan thought of his own friend. He spread his wings and flew off.
A while later, the space there suddenly became hazy. A woman in a magnificent fur cloak drifted down, gazing at the deep crevasse and smiling. “Xiao’e, welcome back! But it’s already too late.”
At the same time, above a valley that was even deeper and larger.
The master of the Umbral Yin sect said, “Xuanyue, you still remember here, don’t you?”
“Of course I do,” Xiao An said.
Out of all of her memories from her previous life, half of them were in the King of Chu’s estate and the other half were here.
The Umbral Yin sect, the Myriad Ghosts abyss.
Like a huge, black mouth that had split open in the air, it whistled with chilly winds, containing the mournful cries of ghosts. It was enshrouded in yin qi all year round, never seeing the light of day. The only sources of light were specks of ghost light, sometimes gathering together and sometimes separating. It did not seem like a place inhabited by the living, but an extension of the Hungry Ghost realm. The abyss was criss-crossed with countless stone bridges and jagged rocks, which seemed more like the sharp teeth of the huge mouth, waiting for prey to deliver themselves.
The master of the Umbral Yin sect smiled. “As long as you remember. Let’s head down. Once your mother returns, I’ll gather everyone in the sect immediately and name you as the next master of the Umbral Yin sect!”
