Chapter 951: Stomach Ache

After the award ceremony ended, Ye Qingran did not return directly to her residence, but instead found a place to sit cross-legged.

This place was not randomly chosen by Ye Qingran; it was at the center of the Four Spirit Academies, and the distance to the Four Great Academies was almost the same.

"Mother, what are you doing?"

Ye Qingran smiled and said, "Xiaohu Xiaocheng, Mother has some things to confirm; will you help Mother guard the Dharma?"

"Mm-hmm, okay!"

Xiaohu Xiaocheng nodded vigorously, "Mother, rest assured, with us here, no one can harm you!"

"Great!"

Ye Qingran gave them a thumbs-up, praised them, then closed her eyes.

Xiaohu Xiaocheng stood respectively on Ye Qingran's left and right sides, silent, with solemn expressions, like brave imperial guards.

Ye Qingran again attempted to communicate with the Four Spirit Jade.

Just moments ago, while she was watching the images, she sensed an abnormal aura fluctuation coming from beneath the four Demon Suppressing Pillars.

That aura was completely opposite to that of the Four Spirit Jade, extremely monstrous.

When Ye Qingran again communicated with the Four Spirit Jade, her mental power spread outward once more; as the communication deepened, she could feel the fragments of the Four Spirit Jade trembling and emitting a humming sound, and the Four Spirit Jade began to become turbulent.

"Strange, why is the Spirit Jade Power acting up again?"

The people in the academy all felt puzzled about this.

At the same time, Ye Qingran's mental power reached beneath the Demon Suppressing Pillar; four pieces of Spirit Jade floated in the void, shimmering with a faint light, and beneath them in the endless darkness, a speck of golden light suddenly flared.

Ye Qingran's body twitched slightly.

"That is..."

Ye Qingran's mental power continued to probe downward; after resonating with the Four Spirit Jade, her mental power could freely inspect the situation beneath the Demon Suppressing Pillar without obstruction.

The closer she got, the clearer and more dazzling the golden light became.

Finally, Ye Qingran made out the substance of the golden light.

"This is..."

A delicate jeweled tower hovered silently, swaying slightly up and down, with golden light continually spilling out.

"Could this tower be the true nature of the seal?" Ye Qingran thought to herself; when her mental power touched the tower, a piece of information appeared in her mind.

Demon Suppressing Tower!

You should know, the Demon Suppressing Tower is an ancient divine artifact, said to be able to suppress everything, but it had long vanished; I never expected to find it here!

At the same time, a beam of white light broke through the golden Demon Suppressing Tower, and a huge head protruded, opening its massive mouth to reveal extremely sharp fangs.

At the same time, a terrifying aura surged; Ye Qingran felt a sudden sharp pain in her mind, her body swayed violently, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Mother!"

This sight terrified Xiaohu Xiaocheng; they had just sworn to protect Mother, yet they broke their promise so quickly.

"Mother is fine." Ye Qingran shook her head, feeling a stabbing pain in her head, the result of a backlash to her mental power.

In her mind, that head appeared again, clearly a beast's head.

"A fox?"

That beast's head was a fox's head, but even more ferocious and majestic; its terrifying demonic aura was astonishingly strong—if not sealed and suppressed, even the Emperor Without Leisure would be no match for it!

"So that thing is the true nature of the seal!"

Although Ye Qingran still did not know what kind of existence the fox-headed monster inside the Demon Suppressing Tower was, she could be certain that the purpose of the seal set back then was precisely because of it!

"Mother, you've vomited blood!" Xiaohu Xiaocheng looked guilty.

"Mother really is fine; just rest a bit and you'll be okay." Ye Qingran stood up and rubbed their heads.

Ye Qingran took a pill, quickly recovered her condition, and again extended her mental power beneath the Demon Suppressing Pillar.

This time, she did not rush to touch the Demon Suppressing Tower, but carefully observed the surrounding situation.

The four Demon Suppressing Pillars were distributed in the four directions; four invisible chains linked them together, and when Ye Qingran's mental power touched the chains, a huge array pattern suddenly lit up.

"As expected, there is a great array!"

Undoubtedly, the Four Spirit Jade is the energy source of the great array.

The person who originally set the seal was sufficiently cautious; beneath the seal of the great array, they added a Demon Suppressing Tower capable of suppressing all things, making it nearly impossible for whatever is inside to escape.

After a moment's thought, Ye Qingran tried to control the power of the Four Spirit Jade; she was astonished to find the Demon Suppressing Tower beginning to tremble, with a phantom attempting to flee from within.

After several attempts, a complete figure appeared before Ye Qingran's eyes.

"This is..."

Behold, this figure was entirely snow-white, with nine tails that covered the sky and earth, yet its eyes were a bewitching blood-red.

"Nine-Tailed Fox Beast!"

A concept appeared in Ye Qingran's mind.

The legendary supreme of the Beast Clan, an immortal existence with endless life.

As early as the primordial chaos of ancient times, traces of the Nine-Tailed Fox Beast existed, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Primordial Dragon Ancestor Phoenix, the ancestor of all beasts; together they were hailed as the Three Great Supremes of the Beast Clan.

"So the Nine-Tailed was sealed here!"

Even in ancient times, the Nine-Tailed Fox Beast wrought havoc upon all beings; without the Primordial Dragon Ancestor Phoenix, this world would have long been utterly devastated by the Nine-Tailed.

Later, the Primordial Dragon Ancestor Phoenix fell, using its cultivation to seal the Nine-Tailed, and the world finally returned to peace.

"Could it be that the Primordial Dragon Ancestor Phoenix originally sealed the Nine-Tailed here?"

Ye Qingran quickly dismissed this guess, "That's not right; this is clearly an ancient seal."

"Could it be that the Nine-Tailed broke the Primordial Dragon Ancestor Phoenix's seal in ancient times, went forth to wreak havoc on humanity, and was then sealed again by people?"

But there is no historical record of the Nine-Tailed Fox Beast wreaking havoc on humanity in ancient times!

Ye Qingran could not figure it out, so she stopped speculating wildly.

She glanced at the Great Array above the Demon-Suppressing Tower, watching the Jade of the Four Spirits flow continuously into the Great Array, a thought flashed through her mind.

In a moment, Ye Qingran opened her eyes, a hint of excitement appearing on her face, "So that's it!"

"Mother, are you alright?"

"Mother's fine, let's head back..."

Lu Qiqi's mocking words made Yun Zhonghe's body stiffen.

"Badao, you..."

"Yun Zhonghe! I'm not Lu Badao! I'm Lu Qiqi, my father is the Domain Master of the Spiritual Realm!" Lu Qiqi growled.

"And you are merely a lowly person from the Xuanmiao Continent, utterly unworthy of me! Forget our past, for it was nothing but a boring pastime!"

Lu Qiqi spoke while trying to break free from Yun Zhonghe's restraints.

"Yun Zhonghe, did you hear what she said? Then hurry up and let her go!"

"You're lying!" Yun Zhonghe firmly believed these words were not Lu Qiqi's true intention. "Do you have some hidden suffering? Tell me, we'll solve it together!"

Lu Qiqi felt her heart ache without end.

If the difficulties they faced could truly be solved together, she would not have resolutely left Xuanmiao and Yun Zhonghe's embrace in the first place.

"What hidden suffering could I have?" Lu Qiqi coldly smiled, scorn filling her brows and eyes, "My father is the Domain Master of the Spiritual Realm, I am the princess of the Spiritual Realm, my betrothed is the young master of the Spiritual Realm's foremost family, and moreover a top-tier Heavenly Pride of the Spiritual Realm—what hidden suffering could I possibly have?"

"Yun Zhonghe, I advise you... to retreat in the face of difficulty!"

"No!" Yun Zhonghe gritted his teeth, his hand gripping Lu Qiqi's waist tightening even more.

Ouch!

A sharp pain came from her abdomen, Lu Qiqi's face suddenly turned pale—was she ill? Why did her stomach hurt so much?