Chapter 135: Kong Que Valley

A clear breeze brushed across the mountainside.

Before the smooth stone wall, a figure silently appeared.

Yan Xingkong dragged his numb right leg, pressing hard on his stomach; until now, his entire face still twitched uncontrollably. Having taken just two steps, he spat out a mouthful of blood: "Pfft."

He wiped the corner of his mouth, horror surging in his eyes.

Back in Tingyang Commandery, Yan Xingkong had already noticed a very young and unfamiliar face among those pursuing him, likely a demon hunter who had just come out for training.

He estimated that the Zhen Mo Si thought he was still playing games, so they had not treated it as a serious matter at all.

They had chased him all the way to demon territory, yet that young man still followed.

Only then did Yan Xingkong decide to step forward and warn the other party, for this situation was entirely different from before.

He had not expected that as soon as he revealed himself, he would receive a knee strike.

The terrifying force contained within nearly made him think he had collided with a demon comparable to one at the peak of the Elixir Formation Realm.

"Come! Come!"

Yan Xingkong snapped back to consciousness from the excruciating pain; not only was he not angry, but ferocity surged in his eyes.

He formed a strange hand seal, then walked straight into the smooth stone wall.

Ripples spread across the stone wall, quickly returning to calm, leaving only a few spots of crimson blood on the ground to prove someone had indeed been there.

About one stick of incense later.

Three figures walked up from the foot of the mountain in succession; two Daoist Priests looked completely puzzled: "The aura has vanished?"

Xiao Qiangwei frowned slightly, having seen no trace of Shen Yi, then lowered her gaze to the bloodstains on the ground.

She walked quickly forward, closed her eyes to sense the aura at her fingertips, then opened them to glance around, finally fixing her gaze on the stone wall before her.

She reached out and gently touched it.

The next moment, her pale hand was seen sinking directly into the stone wall.

"An illusion array?" Pure Yang Daoist's eyes widened, leaving not a shred of the image of a high master from Bai Yun Temple.

Pure and Quiet Daoist's face instantly became solemn; only a great demon of generations could afford such a good thing capable of completely concealing an aura, not some ordinary wild demon.

Yet they were just chasing Yan Xingkong; how did they end up in a place like this?

He cautiously stepped back half a pace and warned: "My Lord Xiao, withdraw quickly. For an array like this, without the corresponding hand seal, even a slight touch will attract the demons' attention..."

Recovering martial arts is certainly serious, but that is no reason to gamble with one's life.

This might be Yan Xingkong's treacherous scheme, deliberately luring them here to play a trick of using demons to kill people.

Hearing this, Xiao Qiangwei looked again at the bloodstains on the ground.

She did not think Yan Xingkong would be Shen Yi's match, but based on her understanding of Shen Yi, someone daring to enter the Black Stone Pool would not be stopped by a mere stone wall.

Thinking thus, she suddenly stepped forward and walked inside.

"..."

Seeing this, the two old Daoists were momentarily stunned; they exchanged glances, both showing bitterness, then gritted their teeth and followed in.

Both were warriors of the Elixir Formation Realm, and this woman surnamed Xiao was also injured; since Bai Yun Temple took subduing demons as its mission, there was no reason to retreat after having their family martial arts stolen by demons.

The valley was deep and quiet, the spring like green jade.

By the spring at the valley bottom stood several wooden houses.

On the cliff peak above, Yan Xingkong lay prone on the ground, suppressing his aura to the extreme; as a thief, this was his specialty.

At this moment, his bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at the window of the wooden house below.

His ears twitched slightly, capturing the faint sounds of conversation from such a great distance.

Inside the largest wooden house, an old man in white robes sat with his eyes closed, looking like an immortal with wind and bone; the only strangeness was that both sides of his face were covered in shimmering feathers.

Beside him was an old woman brewing tea, also with feathers on her face, her voice regretful: "Ying'er is too willful; if she hadn't lied that I was in trouble, she wouldn't have been willing to return for even a glance."

The old man sneered: "If she weren't willful, how would she have followed a mere warrior to mix recklessly outside? Sister, we gave birth to her and raised her, yet has she ever listened to half a word of my advice? Such a daughter is better off not having."

Having said this, he opened his eyes: "She may not return, but that red feather must be brought back."

Their clan never married outsiders.

They used secret arts to maintain the purity of their bloodline, bearing only two offspring per generation—one son and one daughter—repeating this cycle, passed down through generations.

Only in this way could each generation ensure the formation of the green feather and the red feather.

Kong Ying was destined to unite with her brother, yet she recklessly escaped the valley to marry a warrior in Outside Qingzhou, which was sheer treason, threatening to completely sever the root of their lineage.

The old man grew angrier as he spoke, finally standing up: "I actually feel sorry for my son; having to share a wife with that commoner is simply a supreme humiliation."

Just then, the old woman suddenly looked outside in confusion: "Someone is breaking into the valley?"

As she spoke, both their gazes instantly turned cold; moments later, a ferocious smile appeared on the old man's face: "I originally planned to go to Outside Qingzhou and cut off his head after breaking through, but I didn't expect this young man to be so sensible, coming here to claim death himself."

"Jing'er, keep an eye on your sister; I heard that young man's movement technique is remarkable," the old woman reminded coldly.

As her words fell, the small door of the neighboring wooden house creaked open.

A young man with a gloomy and delicate face slowly stepped out of the doorway, wearing a luxurious feather robe that was dazzling; with his sleeves rolled up, his arms were covered in blood.

He reached out to play with a beautiful red feather between his fingers, a curve rising on his lips: "No need."

Behind him in the room, a large Kong Que lay on the bed, its beautiful feathers having lost their luster, its long tail feathers hanging on the ground, its eyes dim, with dried bloodstains staining the huge bed red; it was clearly dead for some time.

The two old men walked out of the doorway, glanced over there with slight surprise, but said nothing more: "Look at you, couldn't you do it more cleanly?"

"When sister Ying was alive, she served Yan Xingkong; I cannot afford to lose out too much," Kong Jing said coldly, pinching the fiery red feather, mocking: "I heard that in Outside Qingzhou, even those Bai Ziming could not save, she would go to help; using treasures of our lineage to save people from the Zhen Mo Si is simply ridiculous."

"No need to resent; wait until father captures Yan Xingkong for you, so you can vent your anger properly."

The old man stood with hands behind his back, gazing calmly at the valley entrance.

He was a demon at the peak of the Elixir Formation Realm; outside Outside Qingzhou, unless a Great General of the Zhen Mo Si arrived personally, there was nothing that could move him.

At the same time.

Xiao Qiangwei and the other two passed through the stone wall and finally got a clear look at this secluded valley, a paradise beyond the world.

But only for an instant.

The expressions of the few people changed at the same time.

Not a trace of demonic aura could be sensed across the entire mountain, but the moment they stepped into this place, it surged and enveloped them.

Great demons! And more than one!

The two Daoist Priests swallowed, then clenched their jaws tight and almost simultaneously formed sword-finger hand seals.

Above the cliff valley, Yan Xingkong looked at the corpse of the Kong Que inside the house; his eyes, once bloodshot, were now terrifyingly calm.

No surprise, because he had long since sensed the Lady's death.

No venomous hatred, because those eyes were already filled to the brim with killing intent so dense it was nearly tangible, leaving no room for anything else.

Kong Ying was a demon, and so were the ones here; besides, they never set foot in Outside Qingzhou, so no one would be willing to come all this way, over a thousand li, just to provoke them over the death of another demon.

Zhen Mo Si, White Cloud Monastery.

These were all the reinforcements Yan Xingkong could summon.

He slowly rose from the ground, swept his right hand across the small cloth pouch at his waist, and a resplendent golden longbow instantly appeared in his palm.

The entire bow was incomparably heavy; its arms were formed of flowing-cloud patterns, cradling a great sun, and even the bowstring emitted a faint, shimmering Bai Guang!

(End of chapter)