Chapter 395: The Breakdown of Tun Tun Mouse

「……」

Shen Yi brushed the dust off his robe and reached for his storage bag, but his hand met empty air.

He slowly clenched his five fingers.

After several deep breaths, he finally suppressed his rage.

All the demon cores he had saved since Songzhou—gone! All gone!

Five swords in total!

If Mount Wutong doesn't pay him back in full, his surname will be written backward from now on.

"Go, find that white horse."

Shen Yi released the Xuanming Spider Emperor and the Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor.

He also gave Lady Qinghua a mental command.

Anger aside, he wouldn't let any valuable thing slip away.

By now, enough time had passed for the Bai Hong Emperor to have fled.

"My lord…"

Lady Qinghua, barely holding back her fury, pleaded: "Please let Qinghua go and slay Nie Jun."

"Find the white horse first."

Shen Yi knew which was more valuable; besides, his Golden Body manifestation standing against Nie Jun was pure fantasy.

Then again, without Nie Jun today, he himself would have struggled to handle this demon calamity.

But logic was logic.

Watching his lifetime's reserves vanish before his eyes—Shen Yi could not accept it at all.

If Mount Wutong fails to offer adequate compensation, this matter is not over!

Lady Qinghua hesitated, then murmured with grievance: "Yes! Qinghua obeys."

Shen Yi steadied his emotions and reluctantly pulled out Hongyun from his storage bag.

With reserves depleted, he could only dig up some old relics.

He stepped onto Hongyun, torn between affection and resentment for the robe—despite Nie Jun's relentless sword techniques, he had suffered no damage, yet the energy drain was terrifying.

Shen Yi turned his gaze away and rode the cloud toward Lizhou.

……

Lizhou Qi Sect.

Xu Qing'er carefully engraved array runes onto the alchemical furnace.

Several old men crouched excitedly beside her; they had long dreamed that using arrays to assist alchemy would yield miraculous results, but had never had the chance.

This Miss not only fulfilled all their wild alchemical fantasies.

She could also effortlessly integrate them into alchemy.

"You are the true Array Master!"

"Senior Masters flatter me—I've merely dabbled."

Xu Qing'er wiped sweat from her brow and studied the furnace before her, checking for any remaining improvements.

This was the only task Shen Brother had entrusted to Daqian after leaving.

Even though it had been completed long ago, she still wanted to make it as perfect as possible.

Xu Qing'er rose and stepped out of the stifling room.

Her aunt waited outside, bored; she had assumed that once Xu Qing'er emerged, they could roam freely.

She hadn't expected Shen Yi to abandon them all in Daqian so abruptly.

Xu Wanyun had begun quietly missing the days when she wandered the Thousand Demon Caves with him.

"By the way!"

She suddenly turned, remembering the Thousand Demon Caves—the rumors had been raging lately: "Do you know the Thousand Demon Caves have announced another top-ten demon emperor has appeared… can you guess its name?"

"What?"

Xu Qing'er looked over curiously; she couldn't see why a demon's name would make her aunt act so mysteriously.

"Tsk."

Xu Wanyun was about to speak when footsteps behind her startled her.

She turned and burst into delight: "When did you get back?!"

"Just now."

Shen Yi gave a slight nod and walked toward the room.

Xu Qing'er watched Shen Brother's back—he looked as calm as ever, his black robe spotless, as if the perilous world outside were merely a casual stroll.

"Did you make this?"

Shen Yi examined the exquisite alchemical furnace.

"I built it with the Qi Sect senior masters… I don't know if it works," Xu Qing'er said shyly, her hands behind her back.

"You've worked hard."

Shen Yi nodded and tossed two jade slips toward her: "Copy them, keep them for later study."

Xu Qing'er held the jade slips in her hands but didn't rush to read them: "Shen Brother, what pill are you refining? Do you need me to add more arrays?"

"Go attend to your own matters. I'll call you if I need you," Shen Yi waved slightly.

"Oh."

Xu Qing'er bit her lip; she'd rather have stayed beside him longer than received any gift.

Still, she obediently turned and stepped out.

Hehe, at least only I have a gift.

Close the door.

Xu Qing'er glanced at her aunt, who was peering curiously, then excitedly waved the jade slip and sank her spiritual awareness into it.

The next moment, her small face turned deathly pale.

"This is…"

Xu Qing'er instinctively covered her mouth, swallowing the rest of her words.

Only when her aunt leaned over, suspicious, did she breathe heavily and whisper: "This is the Divine Thread of the Wutong Mountain's Tongxin Bracelet."

How could the Xu family, devoted to studying the Dao of a hundred schools, possibly overlook that noble figure who was also an array master?

Upon hearing this, Xu Wanyun's expression also turned strange.

How could Wutong Mountain's cultivation method, and in the form of a jade slip—not a copy—end up in Shen Yi's hands?

She recalled the unfinished matter from earlier and lowered her voice again: "The new emperor of the Thousand Demon Caves… is called the Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor."

Xu Qing'er pressed the jade slip tightly against her chest: "..."

When she looked again at her aunt, she saw that the woman was breathing heavily.

The Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor was someone they had both watched with their own eyes being slain by Shen Yi, his head crushed by the Golden Body's divine form.

If he could still come back to life, there'd be no point resisting the Thousand Demon Caves anymore—just wait for death.

"So…"

Xu Qing'er blinked. During the time Shen Brother had been gone, he hadn't been slaying demons and monsters—he'd gone into the Thousand Demon Caves to become its emperor?!

And even helped her secure a secret Wutong Mountain technique?

The two women exchanged a glance, their fear intense, yet they instantly extinguished the speculation in their eyes.

No matter what, Shen Brother must have his reasons for doing this!

"..."

Listening to the faint murmurs outside the door.

Shen Yi's expression remained unchanged.

Few people earned his trust; he gave no extra instructions precisely because he trusted Xu Qing'er's mind.

"How's it looking?"

He glanced sideways.

The Qingqiu Laozu circled the alchemy furnace once: "My lord, it's barely usable."

It looked up and explained: "I'm not saying this furnace is bad—even Qingqiu could hardly find something this good. But the Soul Transformation Pill and the Break-Delusion Pill are too high-grade; ordinary power simply cannot satisfy them."

Shen Yi nodded: "As long as it works."

His current strength is far from enough compared to what he must accomplish.

Even with the Dao Palace and all his methods combined, he might not defeat the White-Hong Demon Emperor, let alone face a host of demon emperors inside the Thousand Demon Caves.

He sat cross-legged and opened his interface.

【Remaining demonic lifespan: twenty-four thousand years】

Even beings like the Thousand-Foot Demon Emperor, who are fairly strong, have worrying amounts of remaining lifespan.

But slaughtering other demons without cause would be hard to explain.

Getting away with killing nearly a third of the Thousand Demon Caves' demon emperors in one go without raising suspicion is already extremely lucky.

We can worry about turning hostile after securing the Nanyang Sect's legacy.

(End of Chapter)