In the gloomy depths underground, the atmosphere was frozen like ice. The ice frog leapt around and explained the entire story. The atmosphere did have something to do with the coldness he naturally gave off.
From the beginning till the end, the madam in red maintained the same expression. Her beautiful face seemed like a delicate mask, while viciousness flashed through her beautiful eyes. It was chilling.
After hearing the entire story, she turned around and left, with her scarlet dress dragging behind her.
A large, dark-skinned man with a long, hard beard called out, “Ma’am, how will we be splitting the territory?”
“I’ll allocate it later. It’ll be up to your performance.” When she said that, her lips curled up, forming an indescribably beautiful smile on her cold face. However, it also seemed like brightly-coloured venom.
The four Daemon Generals shivered inside. They immediately decided to finish up with the negotiations of the territory and stop bickering over the minor details. Otherwise, depending on this madam’s mood, their peaceful negotiation would definitely turn into a bloody slaughter, not because of any special reason, but purely because she liked it. Not only had her preference for bloodshed and brutality exceeded the survival instincts of daemons, but even humans paled in comparison.
The ice frog said, “Croak, croak. Great king Milliped isn’t dead. The leader said he would return.”
“He’s dead,” she said without any doubt at all. She scanned past all the daemons, as if she wanted to engrave these two words into their hearts as a decree.
A Daemon General who had lost his daemon core was no different from a dead one. She felt no sorrow towards this useless idiot at all. Instead, she saw an opportunity.
“I will avenge him.” The smile that was as brightly-coloured as venom appeared on her face again, and she melded into the darkness.
……
On the Green Vine mountain, all was quiet in the main hall.
Fu Qingjin sat with his legs crossed in the main entrance, atop the stairs. Under the moonlight, he gazed at the mountains in the distance. The Green Ruins sword was placed across his legs, quiet and still.
He was quietly waiting for the news of the Herb Gathering ceremony to spread everywhere and ferment.
The three elders sat close behind him. They were slightly uneasy within the dark hall.
The Green Vine Elder said, “Fellow Fu, will daemons really come for revenge?”
The Golden Pheasant Elder rebuked, “Why would those wretched daemons dare to? It was clearly them who broke the treaty and came to the surface to make trouble.”
The Green Vine Elder asked, “Should we take a step back and avoid them while their morale is high?”
The Lone Grave Elder said, “Yep!”
When they calmed down from the anger due to the deaths of their disciples, fear began to overwhelm them. If the daemons really did come for revenge, they would definitely unleash a large-scale attack. They had already grown very old. They had begun to fear death.
Fu Qingjin sat with his back to them as his lips curled into a mocking smile. However, he explained patiently, “I’m remaining here exactly to take precautions against those situations. Look at the Daemon Suppression tablets in your hands. How can we cultivators shirk away in the face of threats from daemons?”
The three elders were surprised. They lowered their heads and looked at the tiny tablet in their hands. It seemed to be made of gold, but also jade; it shone with a dim glow. Two words, Daemon Suppression, were carved on them, which made them think about three days ago.
As soon as the battle had ended, Fu Qingjin had produced these three tablets and invited them to join the Daemon Suppression alliance. With the Sword Collection palace as the leader, they united several large orthodox sects and recruited human cultivators with lofty ambitions to purge and eliminate daemons together. Preparations were still being made for the establishment of this alliance, so the three of them would be founding members.
The three of them happened to be experiencing extreme hatred toward the daemons, and there were many benefits that came with joining the alliance, like the Sword Collection palace sharing high level cultivation methods and secret information. And, if they did well in the daemon suppression operation, there would be spiritual artifacts and pills as rewards. Fu Qingjin had agreed to ask his higher ups to reward them for their service so far when he returned, and this reward would include rebuilding their sect. As a result, the three of them agreed immediately and accepted the tablet.
Afterwards, Fu Qingjin just began waiting for the revenge of the daemons, while the three of them became more and more uneasy. When they clashed with Milliped, they had witnessed the terrifying strength of daemons. They did not possess the same power as Fu Qingjin. If any Daemon General blew up their daemon cores without any regard for the consequences, it would cost them their lives.
And, why would the underground be stupid enough to send another Daemon General over just to die? Even if they came, it would be a whole group of them, which might even include stronger daemons. By then, they would not even know how they died.
But it was already too late for regret. After joining the Daemon Suppression alliance, they would obviously be ordered about by the Daemon Suppression alliance. If they wanted to leave now, were they really planning on treating the Sword Collection palace as a joke? Before the daemons could even come for revenge, Fu Qingjin could destroy them right now. As a result, the Daemon Suppression tablet became more and more troublesome to them.
“The reinforcements of our Sword Collection palace are already on the way.” Fu Qingjin’s next words made the three elders ease up slightly. They looked at one another and could see each other’s bitterness. They could only go with this now.
But there were no reinforcements coming at all.
Fu Qingjin nodded. Those who wanted to achieve great things knew how to protect themselves, while those who focused on their interests alone would likely become blinded by small benefits and lose their lives in the process. There was no point in carving rotten wood.
He remained here so that these three pieces of rotten wood could give off their remaining heat and light. With the Green Ruins sword in hand, he was confident that he could slip away even if a Daemon Commander personally appeared.
Not only had the daemons brutally massacred the disciples of the three mountains underground, but they had also broken the treaty and emerged on the surface, making trouble and letting a massacre unfold. In the end, they were suppressed and slain by him, but this would still not be enough. Those frenzied daemons would come again very soon for revenge. They would kill the sect masters of the three mountains, while he himself would desperately flee for his life. His patience right now was mostly patience he had for people who were about to die, patience for these three “martyrs” and “victims”.
This was the play that the Sword Collection palace had arranged to happen. Fu Qingjin was just the absentminded main character.
Just like grandmasters playing chess, every single move they took possessed multiple objectives, and it would definitely be hiding a continuous string of possible reactions and responses.
At this moment, Fu Qingjin suddenly raised his head and frowned.
Hua Chengzan climbed up the stairs with Hua Chenglu and Yu Zijian beside him.
Fu Qingjin asked, “You haven’t left yet?”
Hua Chengzan smiled. “Why would I leave? The town below has closed up, so I have nowhere to go. I just happen to be planning on loitering around on the Green Vine mountain for a day or two.”
“You still shouldn’t have come here, especially with the two of them.” Fu Qingjin only looked at Yu Zijian. He wanted to take her back to the Sword Collections palace once this was over, just in case something went wrong again. It was easy for him to slip away, but it would become extremely difficult if he had to protect a weaker Qi Practitioner in the process. He needed her to leave the mountain.
Hua Chengzan observed Fu Qingjin’s expression the entire time and became even more confident about his conjecture. He smiled. “Don’t worry, what you’re worried about won’t happen.”
“What?”
“She’s already here.” Hua Chengsan pointed at the sky.
Fu Qingjin raised his head, but all he saw were clouds, the moon, and stars. However, he already understood what he was talking about. The Ruyi commandery was her territory. He should have known that none of this would unfold so easily.
She moved through the caves, and the space before her suddenly lit up. It had been quite some time since she last saw moonlight, but it was right in front of her now. However, she could not help but stop. Under the moonlight, a woman in white leaned against the rocks with her hands in her sleeves.
“Gu Yanying!” She frowned.
“A’Luo, long time no see!” Gu Yanying greeted her with a smile, as relaxed as running across her next-door neighbour in the morning.
Seeing her frown without replying, Gu Yanying continued to smile. “I’m already at your door, so won’t you invite me into your home? Or do I need to refer to you as madam Daemon Commander Spider Queen Lolth?”
