Chapter 220: The Second Warmth

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Absolutely true," Xie Feng affirmed.

"Let's just assume what you said is true," Ruan Xing said with an ambiguous tone.

She released Shen Lingyun from her Storage Bag and instructed: "For the next period of time, you two stay in Wuxu City, kill every Demon Cultivator in this city, and send the corpses back to me."

She needed to replenish the stock for her Self-destruct Puppets.

After all, Divine Ability still had some limitations; she could not control living people to self-destruct.

Shen Lingyun had no objections; killing Demon Cultivators, especially those who had gone mad, was not only about eliminating demons and defending the Dao, but also giving these people a release.

Xie Feng asked: "What if the corpses are not intact? Moreover, with the strength of the Immortal and me, I am afraid we are not qualified enough to sweep through Wuxu City?"

He guessed that making puppets required complete corpses, because in the past, Ruan Xing would cover the corpses with Talismans.

It was just that Ruan Xing's cultivation had improved too quickly now, and Xie Feng did not know if her Puppetry had improved, so he tentatively asked.

Ruan Xing raised her eyes to look at the air beside her and said indifferently: "Sword will also help you take action. As for the completeness of the corpses... didn't I ask you when I came, don't you mind?"

"Really?" Xie Feng was a little pleasantly surprised, yet also a little suspicious.

Ruan Xing nodded.

She still needed to use Xie Feng when exploring unknown Small Worlds, so she couldn't let him stay at this cultivation level forever; occasionally, he needed to relax and be given a little sweetness to taste.

It could also be considered a full meal before death.

She said to Shen Lingyun again: "The same goes for you, raise your current realm to Nascent Soul as soon as possible."

The reason Xie Feng's realm had not improved was that Ruan Xing did not allow it, so even if he wanted to absorb Yin Qi, he could only sneak into the Xumi Realm to collect some scraps; he would not easily touch Ruan Xing's bottom line, so he had never broken through his realm.

It was not until Ruan Xing ascended to Return to Void that he became anxious and suddenly made his move.

His realm before death was the Transformation Stage; now that Ruan Xing gave him this opportunity, even if she let him return to Transformation using a Puppet Body, she was not worried at all.

As for Shen Lingyun, Ruan Xing had never restricted her; she had always stayed in the Xumi Realm and could go to absorb Yin Qi at any time, but she was disheartened and unwilling to cultivate.

Shen Lingyun nodded silently, and the three of them dispersed in Wuxu City.

Ruan Xing found a relatively intact house, cleaned it several times with the Dust-Gathering Technique, and moved in temporarily; once they sent the first corpse, she began her great task of restocking.

During this period, her Divine Sense had been quietly attached to Xie Feng.

However, what made Ruan Xing feel strange was that in these few days, Xie Feng neither peeked at her refining puppets to ponder ways to break the Contract, nor did he secretly run out of Wuxu City to contact Xie Yao privately, and he didn't even deliberately damage the bodies of the Demon Cultivators to get more food for himself.

This was too obedient; it was completely unlike him.

Could it be that he had really resigned himself to his fate and become honest? In Wuxu City, although the number of Demon Cultivators was much smaller than when she came during the last Simulation, a rough count still showed over a thousand, more than ninety percent of whom were Golden Core or Nascent Soul, and the remaining small portion included a few at the Transformation Stage; as for those below Golden Core, they could not survive a day in Wuxu City, nor could they wait for Ruan Xing to come and clean them up.

Every day, more than a dozen corpses were sent to Ruan Xing, and she was almost turning it into an assembly line operation.

By the thirty-ninth day, Wuxu City had almost become an empty city.

Xie Feng had raised his realm to the Transformation Initial Stage, and Shen Lingyun had also recovered to Nascent Soul.

However, Ruan Xing did not replace their Puppet Body with a new one; although the original puppet essence was of low grade, it was not unusable, and if she replaced it, it would be an added waste.

She just spent a lot of time every day refining Self-destruct Puppets, while waiting for news from Xie Yao.

Three more days passed.

Shui Linglong finally sent her new good news on behalf of Xie Yao.

An unknown Small World that no one had set foot in had already been found.

Ruan Xing opened the Real-scene Simulation first, then went to the Underground Palace with Shui Linglong.

Separated by thin gauze, Xie Yao's voice was faint and intermittent: "The Demon Cultivators of the Northern Territory do not like to leave records behind. I searched for a long time before I found some traces regarding Small Worlds. I found seven places where they might exist. The first is the ruins of a Sect from three thousand years ago, but after I sent people in, I found that there were already traces of it having been looted. The second is a product of spatial turbulence and fusion; after my people went and returned to report, they said it was a Juelin Zhidi, which should not meet the requirements you mentioned. The third is the reason I called you over; I sent two batches of people in succession, and none of them returned. I guess this should be the kind of extremely dangerous Small World that no one has set foot in that you want, right?"

She did not expect Xie Yao to have results so quickly.

Ruan Xing was a little pleasantly surprised; she had originally prepared to wait here for at least half a year.

When she initially chose to come to Xie Yao to find a Small World, besides the reason of weakening the strength under Xie Yao, there was another concern: compared to Immortal Cultivators, Demon Cultivators had much less enthusiasm for breaking into Secret Realms.

For Immortal Cultivators, Secret Realm Space was a resource that could be held in their hands.

For Demon Cultivators, it was a lethal weapon with a nine-in-ten chance of death.

Many Sect seniors of the Immortal Cultivators who reached the Return to Void stage would consider the problem of their juniors coming to the Secret Realm before they returned to the void, and would consciously reduce the danger level of their own Return to Ruins Land; if they were particularly protective and had a high sense of belonging to the Sect, they would even specifically set up opportunities that could only be obtained by cultivators with the same sect and origin techniques.

Therefore, entering the Secret Realm had become a convention for Immortal Cultivators; except for when the Secret Realm was first discovered and knowledge was relatively scarce, the mortality rate of entering the Secret Realm was quite high, but at other times the survival rate was quite high, turning the Secret Realm into a recyclable resource.

But Demon Cultivators were not like this.

The Demon Lord of the Return to Ruins would not care who would come to their Guixu Secret Realm after they died.

Their own Return to Ruins Land was equivalent to their own tomb, their own place of eternal rest; if others came in to disturb their peace, wasn't that grave robbing? Wishing to kill everyone who came in was the consistent tenet of Demon Cultivators.

Ruan Xing pondered that the probability of finding a Small World on the side of the Demon Cultivators was higher, and there was also Xie Yao who could help; on the side of the Immortal Cultivators... it was difficult enough to find an ownerless Secret Realm, let alone a Small World that no one had ever set foot in.

She asked cautiously: "Does the Saint Demon Lord have any understanding of this Small World?"

"No understanding, after all, the people sent out never returned. However, I can tell you that the first batch of people were three Golden Core stage, and the second batch was one Nascent Soul stage leading five Golden Core stage."

Xie Yao said.

Her way of scouting the path was the same as that of the Immortal Cultivators; every time the Immortal Cultivators discovered a new Secret Realm, they also let the Golden Core stage enter first.

After finding out a little bit about the situation inside, they would then specifically send Nascent Soul or Transformation stage cultivators.

After all, Golden Core to Nascent Soul was a hurdle, and those above Nascent Soul were the face of the Sect; they wouldn't feel too much heartache if the Golden Core ones died.

However, as far as Ruan Xing knew, those who did not listen to Xie Yao under her command had almost all been killed by her; now the remaining Transformation stage cultivators were only the four: Chuan Nu, Xizui, Cheng Huan, and Chen Xin.

That was why Xie Yao did not send a third batch of people in.

Ruan Xing thought for a moment and said to Xie Yao: "Since that is the case, no one can predict the danger in the Small World; it is better to enter it directly with us, so as to find the Hongmeng Purple Qi sooner."

Xie Yao said: "I will send people to assist you."

Ruan Xing was bewildered, "Is the Saint Demon Lord not coming along?"

"It is inconvenient for me," Xie Yao said indifferently.

"I see." Ruan Xing lowered her eyes with some worry, "With the Saint Demon Lord saying this, it makes Xing feel terrified inside. The Saint Demon Lord has great strength, yet refuses to enter the Secret Realm with me. If I accidentally die in the Secret Realm, the cooperation between you and our Sect Master... I am afraid it will be difficult to continue."

Her words carried a faint hint of a threat.

Xie Yao's gaze flickered slightly, and she raised her head to say, "Since that is the case, you need not enter either. You brought a follower, did you not? Just let him enter the Secret Realm alongside the Elders under my command."

Ruan Xing glanced at the expressionless Xie Feng and said calmly, "Saint Demon Lord, pray do not take offense. I simply do not understand what it is that you find inconvenient."

"Why should I explain myself to you?" Xie Yao said impatiently.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Ruan Xing used Instant Movement to appear before her, striking with lightning speed. Xie Yao was startled; the vines surrounding her danced wildly in an instant, and she opened her mouth to exhale a cloud of green mist, which combined with the vines to attack Ruan Xing.

After making her move, Ruan Xing quickly used Instant Movement to return to her original position.

"You..." Xie Yao was too shocked to speak.

Perhaps she had never imagined that Ruan Xing would strike so audaciously, merely to lift the animal-hide blanket covering her.

In her side-lying posture, her long dress could not conceal her smooth calves and feet; individual vines were growing and coiling from the skin beneath her legs.

Xie Yao's complexion turned as dark as blood.

Ruan Xing was also somewhat surprised; she had not expected that the green couch Xie Yao was lying on was actually woven from the vines on her own legs.

With her as the origin point, the vines extended outward to cover the entire Underground Palace.

Yet, in the Simulation, the Xie Yao she saw in Fengtian City had been standing normally?

Ruan Xing dropped the animal-hide blanket and said calmly, "My apologies."

"How insolent," Xie Yao said through gritted teeth. She stood up, and the vines tore away from her propped-up body, leaving behind winding trails of red blood that flowed down along the hem of her skirt.

She waved her hand to quiet the vines that had just erupted, but she had no intention of killing Ruan Xing.

She really is quite capable of enduring... Ruan Xing thought, while asking curiously, "What is this?"

There were only three people in the room: Xie Yao, Ruan Xing, and Xie Feng.

Xie Yao reached out, and the vines became her crutch, lifting her forward as blood gurgled along the floor.

"If this were several hundred years ago, and you had been so bold before me, I would certainly have killed you," Xie Yao said. "But now, I care for neither the Xianyuan Continent nor the Northern Territory."

A vine quietly crawled onto Ruan Xing's body, its slightly cool leaves pressing against the skin exposed at her neck.

Ruan Xing remained smiling; this vine posed no threat to her at all, and she could use Instant Movement to break free at any time.

Xie Yao continued, "When I was at the Nascent Soul Stage, I encountered a vine. Plant-type monsters are extremely rare, yet this one possessed its own consciousness. I wanted to devour it, but accidentally caused it to enter into symbiosis with me. Thanks to it, I became stronger, my vitality more vigorous, and my lifespan longer. But at the same time, I was trapped by it; even when I reached the Transformation Stage, my Divine Soul left my body, and I saw that there were countless vines inside my own body."

At that time, the previous generation's Saint Demon Lord had been dead for only a few hundred years, and all Demon Cultivators were gradually being driven into the Northern Territory, forbidden from appearing in the other four regions.

An excessively expanding population was squeezed into the Northern Territory, and they fought tooth and nail over scarce resources, with life-and-death challenges playing out every day.

Under such circumstances, Wuxu City appeared.

All Demon Cultivators who were not accepted would be 'exiled' to Wuxu City.

With her cultivation only at the Nascent Soul Stage, she certainly could not have survived in Wuxu City, so she hid here and there, concealing the strangeness of her body, and every day endured the excruciating pain of using a small knife to excise the vines growing from beneath her skin.

It was she who took Xie Yao in and gave her a place to stay.

She was a Demon Cultivator who followed the Desire Path, keeping many male concubines in her Cave Abode. When she took Xie Yao in, Xie Yao felt anxious and uneasy, fearing that this Demon Lord had suddenly changed her tastes.

However, everything she feared did not come to pass. Aside from having a shred of pity for Xie Yao, she took her in because she was pregnant.

She could not let a group of lowly male concubines look after her own bloodline, so Xie Yao became this nanny.

She raised the infant, who was more fragile than a mortal, bit by bit, watching the baby grow from babbling to a graceful young woman, calling her 'sister' with an innocent smile that did not befit a Demon Cultivator.

She felt the second warmth of this world.

The first warmth was when her Master was killed by her Senior Brother the day before he was about to devour her. Although her Senior Brother said he was not trying to save her, Xie Yao still kept this matter in her heart.

By the time she finally reached the Transformation Stage and was able to dominate a region, the struggle for the position of Saint Demon Lord in the Northern Territory finally reached its end.

The conflict that had lasted for nearly eight hundred years drew to a close.

She had ambitious dreams of helping that woman seize the title of Saint Demon Lord, but she never expected that the woman would die at dawn on the day she became the Saint Demon Lord.

She went mad, releasing the full power of her body for the first time, letting the vines sweep through the entire Underground Palace and slaughtering every Demon Cultivator within.

From that day on, she no longer had to fear others discovering she was an anomaly.

Because everyone who had seen the vines beneath her skirt was already dead.

And the thing that made her feel the most sorrow was that after killing those Demon Cultivators, there was no one left who remembered the woman who had only been the Saint Demon Lord for a single night.

Xie Yao made up her mind to protect that woman's bloodline. Her daughter was raised very well by Xie Yao, possessing a sunshine and purity that did not belong to a Demon Cultivator. Because she feared her daughter would be harmed, she only allowed the girl to appear within the range of her vines.

Regrettably, the younger sister she had protected for thousands of years was deceived by a man from the Immortal Sect and died there in Nanzhou.

When Xiqin found her sister's child, her feelings for that child were a mix of heartache and hatred.

She gave the child the name Xie Huai, then said, "If he has the ability to return to the Northern Territory, let him return; if he has no ability, let him die in Nanzhou."

So as to spare herself from being hurt once more.

Xie Huai did not fail her expectations; not only did he return alive, but he also performed a great service, bringing her back a Secret Realm and the lives of over a hundred Immortal Sect disciples.

Xie Huai's personality was not like her simple and lovely sister, but his face resembled her so much. Every time she saw him, Xie Yao would think of her sister spinning in front of her while holding up her skirt, using the vines as hair to braid into little pigtails, and then curiously asking Xie Yao, "Sister, why do you send people to Nanzhou every few decades? What is it like outside? Is it very different from the Underground Palace? Is Nanzhou very interesting? Are there many delicious things there? Sister, why not send me next time? I also want to go to Nanzhou and see!"

It was her blind protection that had harmed her sister.

Her thoughts returning to the present, Xie Yao shook her head, forcing herself to forget those past events and focus on the present.

The vines danced and wove themselves into a chair behind her. She sat down, leaning back as if she had no bones, a trace of fatigue showing in her expression.

"I will leave the Underground Palace, but not now."

"I understand," Ruan Xing nodded in realization.

Over so many years, Xie Yao's vines had spread throughout the entire Underground Palace; she could not possibly take them all out, but cutting them off would cause her immense pain, as the vines had already taken root in her Divine Soul.

Only when the Xian Tai Tree grew again and opened the Path to Heaven, or when her lifespan reached its end, would she emerge from the Underground Palace and see the light of day once more.

Ruan Xing reached out to pinch the vine at her neck, stroking the leaves upon it; Xie Yao's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Ruan Xing said, "What if I tell everyone about the strange vines on your body? Will you kill me?"

"I would kill you even if you didn't say a word. Do you think you can survive after what you have done these past few days? I am merely sparing your life for the time being; the day the Xian Tai Tree reopens the Heavenly Gate will be the day of your death," Xie Yao said coldly. "I hope you can live until that day."

"You don't care?" Ruan Xing was surprised for a moment. If she didn't care, why would she always use an animal-hide blanket to cover them? A flash of inspiration struck her, "The Longevity Pill refined by Demon Lord Cheng Huan—the raw materials likely aren't just mortal children; there is another main ingredient, which is your vines."

A flash of surprise crossed Xie Yao's eyes; although she found it strange that Ruan Xing had suddenly shifted the topic to the completely unrelated Longevity Pill, she did not deny it.

Her attitude already proved that Ruan Xing's guess was correct.

No wonder... the recipe for the Longevity Pill is not passed on; besides the conscience-less use of humans as medicine, the most important other ingredient is actually the high and mighty Saint Demon Lord! This was what she had guessed just now from Xie Yao saying that Xie Yao had gained a longer lifespan than a Cultivator after merging with the vines.

Taking a step back, if the Immortal Sect Cultivators had all eaten the Longevity Pill refined by Demon Lord Cheng Huan, wouldn't they all have Xie Yao's essence blood in their bodies...

If Xie Yao mastered a method of control similar to her Divine Ability, with the guidance of the essence blood, most of the high-level Cultivators of the Immortal Sect would likely defect without any defense during battle.

Fortunately, in those few Simulations, Ruan Xing never saw Xie Yao use this method.

Thanks to Qingmeizi1996 for the monthly ticket~