Chapter 217

He hesitated, then continued: "Technically, the Great Qian Dynasty benefited from Xuan Guang Cave's aid, so it shouldn't speak ill of them behind their backs—but I'll say it anyway."

Probably knowing that after entering the Wu Temple, he'd have little chance of seeing Shen Yi again.

Jiang Yuanhua carefully organized his thoughts, hoping to cover everything he needed to say: "The Sanfangtong Alliance jointly resisted the Thousand Demon Caves. Originally, each side agreed to bear five hundred years of frontline duty, rotating so all could rest and recover."

"By 'frontline duty,' we mean deploying Soul Transformation cultivators."

He sighed: "The Great Qian Dynasty's Soul Transformation cultivators all perished; the sole surviving Laozu suffered damage to his Yin Spirit. Later, Mount Wutong intervened to reset the rules: until the Wu Temple's Laozu recovered, both immortal sects would each send a Soul Transformation cultivator to replace the Wu Temple in fighting demons—this was considered great mercy."

Hearing this, Shen Yi finally gained some understanding of the outside world.

But he didn't know why the Commandant had brought this up.

Jiang Yuanhua sighed helplessly: "But since the immortal sects provided the Soul Transformation cultivators, the Wu Temple couldn't reclaim command authority. Thus, over these five hundred years, every Slain Hunyuan Realm master in the Great Qian Dynasty was drafted away, forced to obey the immortal sects' orders… which, admittedly, makes sense."

"But if it were Mount Wutong, it'd be fine—those True Persons are aloof, rarely interact with outsiders, but never deliberately target you. As long as you complete their tasks, they ask nothing else—just like our demon hunters."

At this, Jiang Qiulan slowly opened her eyes, gazing toward the empty space beside her.

"Xuan Guang Cave…" Jiang Yuanhua noticed her expression change and smiled bitterly: "Unlike Mount Wutong's haughty detachment, Xuan Guang Cave and the Great Qian Dynasty have been bitter rivals for years, vying behind the scenes for second place. Though they now send Soul Transformation cultivators to aid us, they treat our Slain Hunyuan Realm masters like expendable tools—last time, thirteen Slain Hunyuan masters were sent, and only seven returned."

"… "

Shen Yi listened in silence, finally understanding why Jiang Qiulan had warned him not to consider joining an immortal sect.

One is arrogant and dismissive of outsiders; the other is a long-standing enemy.

"If you can help it, don't reveal your strength… uniting to fight demons is righteous, but why let yourself be exploited like this?"

After speaking, Jiang Yuanhua turned and left the courtyard.

Shen Yi sat on the stone bench opposite. He didn't respond, but inwardly agreed with the Commandant's view.

To be a dog in the early stage, and still a dog at the Slain Hunyuan Realm—what's the point of cultivation?

He does need to kill demons, but Shen Yi prefers to use others as bait.

Besides, this aligns perfectly with his plan to borrow incense power from the Wu Temple.

According to Lady Qinghua, even the Blood-Transformation Demon Emperor ranks only near twentieth within the Thousand Demon Caves.

This means the number of Demon Emperors far exceeds his imagination.

Without a Soul Transformation cultivator as backup, Shen Yi genuinely felt uneasy.

To break through at the Slain Hunyuan Realm, he currently has neither technique nor resources.

For a Wu Xian to achieve Soul Transformation, all he needs is incense devotion, a technique, and time.

The Wu Temple has the first two; demons' bodies provide the last.

It's practically a tailor-made shortcut—even achievable within the Nine Provinces.

Then, leaving the Great Qian Dynasty with a Golden Body manifestation, he'd have self-defense against any demon.

Use that Golden Body to scavenge what he needs for his next breakthrough.

As for Jiang Qiulan's claim that the immortal sects have nothing—unless he personally searches their storage treasures, Shen Yi doesn't believe it.

To achieve this goal, he absolutely cannot enter the Wu Temple as a Slain Hunyuan Realm master… and if he's discovered later, by then he might already have his Golden Body manifestation complete.

"Are you planning to go to the Imperial City?"

Jiang Qiulan rose and moved to sit beside him.

"I'll go take a look."

Shen Yi wasn't anxious. His reserves now included another black robe, and his strength had advanced greatly—within the Great Qian Dynasty, no one could force him to do anything.

Hearing this, Jiang Qiulan nodded slightly. She thought both the Commandant and Shen Yi were overthinking.

She had seen Lord Wu's eyes when he personally extended the invitation—his urgency was unmistakable.

Such a stance… how could he possibly hand Shen Yi over to Xuan Guang Cave to be exploited?

"Take care," Jiang Qiulan said, placing her snow-white palm on the stone table, gazing at the young man, her eyes holding quiet hope.

"Leaving?" Shen Yi turned his head. He remembered her words during their last ambush on a young demon king—leaving this place had always been her wish.

"Yes. Once I've healed, I'll go."

Jiang Qiulan nodded obediently. Both were young prodigies, Slain Hunyuan Realm martial cultivators. If Shen Yi refused, she naturally wouldn't accept either.

Fighting demons was her duty, but being treated like a servant? Absurd.

Compared to Slain Hunyuan masters with vast clans and legacies, she had almost no ties in the Great Qian Dynasty.

Shen Yi nodded, took a longbow from his waist, and placed it in her palm: "Return this to General You for me."

"… "

Jiang Qiulan blinked, lips slightly pursed: "Alright."

She sighed inwardly, preparing to withdraw her hand—when the young man produced another item: "This is yours."

"I—"

Jiang Qiulan stared at the precious inner core still stained with blood, her eyes filled with confusion.

If he meant to return the dozen or so demon cores she'd given him, this one—Lady Qinghua's demon core—was far too valuable. If he meant to give her a keepsake, this bloodied thing seemed strangely inappropriate.

"Take care."

To Shen Yi now, the demon core was merely a tonic—or a way to absorb demonic traits—but the Blood-Transformation Ox had already been fully drained.

"Thank you."

Jiang Qiulan carefully wiped the blood from the core with her sleeve, tucked it away neatly, and suddenly smiled brightly.

Who would dare use this? It couldn't be traded for anything else—unless one wanted the Blood-Transformation Demon Emperor to know his wife died by whose hand. It had virtually no practical use.

But remembering Shen Yi's practiced motions when harvesting demon cores, perhaps in his eyes, demon cores were the most valuable things.

And now he had given this one to her.

"Can I ask you something?" Jiang Qiulan subtly adjusted her breath.

"Hmm?" Shen Yi had never seen her look so tense.

"Um… you and Junior Sister Lin… are you two fairly close?" Jiang Qiulan stood up after asking.

"Friends, I suppose."

Shen Yi rose as well and asked casually, "What about it?"

"Nothing, I was just asking. Do you want me to tell her you're heading to the capital?" Jiang Qiulan said softly.

"No need to trouble yourself. If you happen to see her, pass along my farewell for me."

Shen Yi gave a slight nod. At his current speed, the journey from Jingcheng to Outside Qingzhou would only take a few days—there was really no need to make such a big fuss over it.

(End of chapter)