Chapter 36: The Seven-Colored Gourd Has Been Born, Qingshe and Caidie Secretly Plot【1/2】(Seeking follows, seeking collections~)

Bright pearls hung high, with dozens of lotus lamps flickering.

The stone bones were rugged, and demonic shadows swayed.

Floating light leaped, illuminating the surroundings.

The light and shadows on the ground were mottled, shifting between brightness and darkness.

The Snake and Scorpion Demons were currently conversing with the Centipede Commander incarnation.

At this time, more than half a month had passed since the two demons had escaped their confinement.

They had rounded up the various spirits and monsters within the vicinity of Hulu Mountain.

The two demon immortals had casually sought out a perilous peak on the Yaoshan, split the stone and cracked the rock, burned out a cavern, and cast a Forbidden Technique. In but a moment, they had created a winding and secluded Cave Abode.

Afterward, they went into seclusion to recuperate.

The task of assigning the spirits and monsters to manage the Cave Abode was naturally handed over to the Centipede Commander incarnation.

After finishing all this, the Centipede Commander incarnation finally awaited the summons of the two demon immortals.

In a massive stone hall deep within the Cave Abode.

The Jinshe Lady had the appearance of a human body with a snake tail, charmingly reclining on a stone cloud bed above the stone hall.

Beside her, the Scorpion King did not maintain his demonic form as he had in the animation of the previous life; instead, he appeared as a burly and powerful Great Han.

To the Centipede Commander incarnation, the Dharma power within the two demon immortals was like a vast ocean, boundless and immense.

"This subordinate pays respects to the Lady and the King!" Fang Longye bowed respectfully to pay his respects.

"No need for formalities!" The Jinshe Lady's body swayed on the stone bed, supple as if boneless, then she reached out to cover her small mouth, revealing a hint of a charming smile.

Her laughter was continuous: "Centipede Commander, you have worked wholeheartedly these years, and the King and I have seen it all. Here, King—"

The Scorpion Demon nodded to show he understood. He reached out and grasped at the air, and strands of cold energy gathered, finally forming a crystal-clear bead that radiated a bitter chill.

"This is the cold energy I extracted from that Cold Pool a thousand miles away. If you refine it, your divine abilities will surely advance greatly."

The Jinshe Lady then took out a wooden box and, together with the Scorpion Demon, sent it before the Centipede Commander incarnation.

After he accepted it, the Jinshe Lady spoke: "The King and I have just escaped our confinement, and we do not have many spiritual medicines or divine pills on us. This is the last Taiyin Spirit Pill I have; it happens to be compatible with your Bloodline and is sufficient to promote the further awakening of the Taiyin Golden Centipede Bloodline within you."

Having said this, she pointed a finger, and a brilliance flashed. A Taiyin-attribute cultivation technique of the Scattered Immortal level flowed into his mind.

"This is a cultivation technique for the Loose Immortal Realm. Study it well and strive to advance as soon as possible. In a few days, there will be a fierce battle."

The Centipede Commander incarnation nodded in agreement.

Yet he thought to himself: "Only the first two items are of any use to me. As for advancing my cultivation, let alone a Scattered Immortal technique, it is not as if I haven't tried True Immortal techniques. For this incarnation of mine, they have absolutely no effect."

It was only during the cultivation of the Centipede Commander incarnation that Fang Longye discovered the hidden flaws of an incarnation refined through the Pure Lotus Divine Ability.

That was that it could not advance in cultivation realm; whatever cultivation the parasitized host had, the refined incarnation could only linger at that realm.

No matter how much he improved his combat power, he could not cross this boundary, even if the original body's cultivation had improved far beyond it.

When Fang Longye used the lotus seed to parasitize the Taiyin Golden Centipede, he himself was only at the Primordial Spirit Realm, so he had not noticed anything unusual.

It was not until he advanced to a Loose Immortal that the incarnation, sharing his thoughts, naturally also made great progress in Dao practice; yet, it was only when the Centipede Commander incarnation wanted to advance to a Loose Immortal that he discovered the abnormality.

After failing to break through and getting injured several times, he finally understood.

This was not hard to understand; every living being leaves a unique imprint between heaven and earth.

When advancing in cultivation, one often needs to rely on this to achieve the unity of heaven and man, thereby receiving the witness of heaven and earth and the descent of fortune to assist. For example, when Fang Longye himself achieved the status of a Loose Immortal, that strand of Innate Clear Qi descended from an unknown place.

But after the Taiyin Golden Centipede became his incarnation, its own imprint had already dissipated; in the eyes of heaven and earth, it was no different from a deceased person.

And Fang Longye's Pure Lotus Divine Ability, when all is said and done, is not some professional method for creating incarnations, so it is normal for it to have flaws.

While he was pondering, the Jinshe Lady spoke again: "Centipede Commander, there is currently a matter for you to handle." As she spoke, she summoned the Mind-Bewitching Mirror.

In the Mind-Bewitching Mirror, a layer of seven-colored halo flashed, and the scene that appeared inside was a relatively small mountain peak not far from Hulu Mountain.

A thatched hut appeared on the top of the mountain peak, with a simple shed built outside the house, and a long Gourd Vine was entwined on the wooden shed.

Seven gourds grew on the Gourd Vine, each with one of seven colors. An old man with white hair and beard held a wooden bucket and was watering the Gourd Vine.

"Send out the minor demons, find this old man, and bring him back to the Cave Abode for me," the Jinshe Lady said with hatred.

"This subordinate obeys." Knowing that the curtain had been raised, the Centipede Commander incarnation did not say much and immediately accepted the order and withdrew.

After he withdrew, the two demon immortals looked at the scene in the Mind-Bewitching Mirror, all of them gnashing their teeth.

"What was that Hulu Mountain spirit thinking? That dog thing actually let an old man plant the Seven-Colored Gourd Seed as a seed! This is a rare Spirit Root Treasure Seed! If it had been refined directly, it would have been enough for us to break through to the Golden Immortal realm..." the Scorpion Demon said with hatred.

A waste of heaven's gifts! What could be more important than cultivation? Thinking of this, he wished he could tear the Hulu Mountain spirit limb from limb.

"Heh~ That Hulu Mountain spirit has no physical body; it is merely a bit of spiritual intelligence born from Hulu Mountain, so naturally, it does not care about improving cultivation," the Jinshe Lady sneered. "We escaped our confinement and injured the vitality of the entire Hulu Mountain range, so it is naturally greatly affected. If it wants to get rid of us, it needs to find helpers."

"Then we shall see whose move is higher," looking at the seven gourds that kept emitting laughter, the Scorpion Demon said in a muffled voice: "Wanting to rely on seven spirits born from a Spirit Root Treasure Seed to deal with us—even if our strength has greatly decreased now, it is not so easy."

……

In the deepest part of the Green Snake Mansion.

Inside a spacious secret chamber, Lotus Treasure Lamps were lit on the walls on both sides, illuminating the surroundings as if it were broad daylight, and one could vaguely see rocks carved into rooms and hanging stones formed into pavilions.

Qingshe and Caidie were sitting opposite each other.

"Sister?"

"I have always let you call me 'Lady' in front of others; do you know the meaning of this?"

Caidie nodded: "I roughly understand. I am a hidden piece of yours, to play an unexpected role at a critical moment."

"Previously, Hulu Mountain collapsed, and the earth shook. Those two True Immortals, Snake and Scorpion, have clearly escaped for unknown reasons, and you and I have already reached a moment of crisis and survival."

"Sister, all the demons have gathered, but I do not know when Daoist Longye will return after sensing the disturbance," Caidie said with a probing tone.

Qingshe waved her hand and said: "If it were in the outside world, with my Yuan Immortal cultivation, transmitting sound over ten thousand miles would be nothing. But in this Small World, the suppression of a cultivator's power is quite deep. I cannot contact him."

"Moreover, even if I could contact him, given the current situation, even if he were a reincarnation of a Golden Immortal, it would be of no help."

"However, my cheap sister and brother-in-law have been slow to come and see me, their sister; I imagine they were severely injured under the suppression. For the time being, there is no need to be overly worried."

Qingshe knew that no matter how muddled the two True Immortals were at the time, a thousand years would have been enough for them to clear up the loopholes in the contract and oath of that time, thereby discovering her intentions.

After escaping, they did not come to settle the score with her, which could only mean these two True Immortals were severely damaged.

Logically, she should have struck first to gain the advantage, but just as this thought arose, her mind was struck with a great alarm.

This was the effect of the divine ability "Sprout," so she naturally dared not act rashly.

"Even so, as a 'handmaiden,' I should be 'punished' by Big Sister," Caidie reminded her.

"That is fine~" Qingshe nodded in agreement.

The next day, all the demons within the Yaodong of Green Snake Mansion learned of a piece of news.

Caidie, the handmaiden most favored by the Lady, had been punished by the Lady for stealing the Lady's treasure.

Wielding great Dharma power, she used the Dharma Treasure bracelet that Caidie had refined herself to turn the tables, transforming it into iron rings locked around her waist to imprison her primordial spirit and Dharma power, forcing her into hard labor as a warning.

Everyone was terrified.