Outside the commandery city of Ruyi, in the headquarters of the Hawkwolf Guard.
The hawk spread its wings on the white clothes, with a silver hawk tablet hanging from the waist. This had once been the attire that Gu Yanying wore all the time. It was also the uniform of one of the three major pillars of the Ruyi commandery, the White Hawk commander.
Gu Yanying had already left this place a very long time ago, while the princess, Si Bao, had been summoned back by the imperial court.
The person currently holding the position was still a woman, Gu Yanying’s only disciple, the past White Wolf commander and the current White Hawk commander, Qian Rongzhi.
She stood with her hands behind her back, possessing a slight resemblance to Gu Yanying’s past bearing, but the rigid and forbidding aura she gave off had far surpassed Gu Yanying’s. With her cultivation of the Illustrations of Naraka, the Venomous Snake hell gradually merged with her body, instead making her seem more like a disciple of the school of Legalism.
All of the White Wolf guards would be particularly careful in front of her, even when her behaviour seemed much more generous than Gu Yanying’s.
She waited at the transmission formation quietly for news from the south.
A gorgeous little snake emerged from her collar, slithering along her cheek and flickering its tongue. However, more followed—a second one, a third one… In the blink of an eye, her face that could be regarded as beautiful was covered in snakes that all entwined together. She became particularly frightening to behold.
In the darkness, the rising and falling hisses were enough to make people shiver.
Her neck bulged with veins. The tortures of hell were anything but ordinary, but she did not budge. Only a pair of eyes were still exposed on her face, also having become the eyes of snakes, shining away dimly. They were even colder and more vicious than the snakes from hell.
The door to the transmission room suddenly opened up, and a streak of sunlight poured in, making her hawk tablet glimmer with silver light. She furrowed her eyebrows. Without her orders, no one could come and disturb her apart from one person.
A handsome man leaned against the door frame. His smile was even brighter than the sunlight. “Rongzhi, have you received any news yet?”
Qian Rongzhi turned towards him, facing Lin Xuan with her terrifying face. “Commander, Lin, please call me commander in the Hawkwolf Guard.”
Anyone who saw a face like that suddenly would leap in fright, but Lin Xuan’s smile remained. As a matter of fact, it even became a little softer and more sympathetic. “Commander, aren’t you working a little too hard with cultivation?”
Qian Rongzhi stared at him with her snake eyes as if she was trying to read his true intentions.
“But why are you so concerned about this fellow Xiao An?” Lin Xuan asked curiously.
Over the years, she had always used the various channels available to her to keep an eye on any information regarding the buddha nemesis, but they had never made any contact.
Qian Rongzhi said, “It’s got nothing to do with you.”
At this moment, the transmission formation lit up slightly. Qian Rongzhi looked over and accepted the news quietly: the Great Banyan Tree King’s attack on the ghost tower had failed, the Gate of Hungry Ghosts had widened further, and the Dark Queen had been captured.
Her face suddenly changed. The religious preceptor of the left led many Monk Kings in a successful ambush against the buddha nemesis. The buddha nemesis retreated with heavy wounds and was currently missing.
After a moment of silence, she suddenly made her way towards the door. She brushed past Lin Xuan. “Don’t follow me.”
Lin Xuan stopped as a result, watching her vanish into the horizon. His smile was still as bright as the sunlight, except it was filled with a sense of powerlessness.
A few passing White Wolf guards teased him. “Commander, aren’t you going to follow after her?”
He waved his hands. “Go away, or I might just send you to the south to fight the Hungry Ghost realm.”
The White Wolf guards left with a smile. They clearly did not hold much fear towards this friendly, sunny White Wolf commander.
He made his way towards the transmission formation, and his gaze turned cold.
This damned woman! It’s been so many years, yet she’s still wary of me. Don’t tell me she knows that I’m Chu Tian? No, that’s impossible, or she would have turned against me a long time ago. If I can’t get her with my ingenuity, then I have to use force, but her cultivation improves so quickly as well. She basically cultivates like there’s no tomorrow. Coupled with the Heaven Climbing Vine, my Heaven Climbing Vine, it’ll be very likely for her to undergo the third heavenly tribulation before me.
Arriving before the transmission formation, he also accepted the news and thought, I’ve never seen her with an expression like that. What exactly is her relationship with that buddha nemesis? Whatever, I need to take back the Heaven Climbing Vine as soon as possible. I don’t have much time left. Even if I have to make a fool of myself a little, I’ll have to do that.
Qian Rongzhi travelled towards the northwestern direction first before turning southwards, turning into a snake-shaped streak of light and landing in the Chain mountains. She arrived right in front of the Qing Xiao dwelling.
She thought to herself, Will she be here? Surely not! How can she be that foolish?
Turning around, she passed through the formation in the figure of a snake and arrived at the entrance. A formation like this without anyone’s active control had stopped being enough to stop her a long time ago. That only seemed to prove even more that the dwelling was empty. She had not noticed the presence of any aura either.
She pushed through the stone door and entered the dwelling.
The bottom of the hollowed mountain burned with a cluster of almost-transparent white flames like a blooming lotus.
Xiao An laid quietly within the lotus flower. Her face was also so pale that it was almost transparent.
All of the Skeleton Demons gathered around her, spitting out the Samādhi Flames of White Bone to heal her.
There was a pile of huge, vicious bones on the ground. Less than ten Skeleton Demons remained. After running out of Samādhi Flames of White Bone, they were all reduced to a pile of bones again.
She’s actually here! Qian Rongzhi widened her eyes. She felt some disbelief but also some joy. She seems to have lost consciousness. No wonder. Looks like these Skeleton Demons brought her here. Did they do that out of her instincts?
At this moment, the Skeleton Demons all gazed towards Qian Rongzhi at the same time, immediately making her feel greatly threatened.
The Skeleton Demons had become extremely feeble, but a measly Golden Core cultivator was still insufficient to be their opponent.
Qian Rongzhi called out, ‘Xiao An, wake up. It’s too dangerous here! You can’t stay here!”
Xiao An seemed to be deeply asleep, giving no reply.
Qian Rongzhi sucked in a deep breath and took a step forward. She descended slowly until she landed at the bottom of the dwelling.
The heads of the Skeleton Demons moved with her. Their joints clacked against each other as they raised their huge bone claws.
However, they did not launch an attack immediately, perhaps because they had not received any orders from Xiao An, or perhaps because they had not sensed any hostility.
Qian Rongzhi moved through the piles of bones and approached the white lotus.
The Skeleton Demons were like threatened beasts. They withdrew their Samādhi Flames of White Bone, ready to face the enemy before them.
Xiao An was placed gently on the stone platform, still unconscious.
Qian Rongzhi stopped. She was blocked by the colossal bodies of the Skeleton Demons. Their jaws clashed together, producing a clacking sound. That was not a strange laughter but a final warning.
She could clearly sense that if she took another step forward, these vicious Skeleton Demons would attack her immediately.
She suddenly sneered. “You’ve been deceived!”
A small, gorgeous snake made it over to the stone platform and bit down on Xiao An’s slender wrist.
The Skeleton Demons roared furiously. Their claws tore through the air, reaching towards her together. She just closed her eyes.
Every single Skeleton Demon possessed the strength of a Daemon King. Now that they struck together, they were like a thousand bolts of lightning with nowhere to dodge.
She thought calmly, I heard if you die in the white flames, even your soul will be incinerated, unable to undergo rebirth. But that’s fine. Let’s just end it here! She suddenly thought of Lin Xuan’s smile again, It’s been so many years. What exactly are you after?
