Chapter 91: The Chicken-Keeping Sword God, the Blood Demon Stirs

The Pearl Spirit Xiao Qian, chosen by the Lord of Reincarnation, battled his lifelong nemesis, the Ghost Mother Miao Kong, at Lanruo Temple. The Lord of Reincarnation coerced Xiao Qian to confront the Blood Demon, an ancient demon sealed beneath Heishan. Fortunately, the swordsman Yan Mou came to his aid; the two joined forces and repelled the androgynous Ghost Mother Miao Kong. Just as they lay mortally wounded, the sword-immortal maiden Ning Caichen, who carried a chicken with her, accidentally stumbled upon the scene…

“The Soul of Qian” is currently in theaters!

Qian Chen shook his head, clearing away those strange, bizarre associations from his mind.

Ning Qingchen gave a slight nod, a polite smile appearing on her face, yet radiating clear detachment—cold and distant. Clearly, Ning Caichen had no instant infatuation with Xiao Qian, nor any budding affection upon second meeting.

Had Qian Chen not concealed his eccentric inner nature so well, the girl might have deemed him a strange person.

Ning Qingchen first went to examine the corpse of the wolf demon that Zhiqiu had moved. She showed no aversion to the grotesque, blood-smeared carcass, carefully inspecting it before saying: “These are demons that have reached maturity—thoroughly tainted by demonic energy, not ordinary beasts. Such demons should only appear in the Abyssal Rifts…”

She looked up at Zhiqiu, awaiting a response.

“This method of gathering intelligence is refreshingly straightforward…” After meeting Yan Shu, Qian Chen realized that the Reincarnators of this realm differed from those of his former Master God Space—or rather, these Reincarnators lacked the “awakening” of Reincarnators. One could say they lacked Qian Chen’s “perceptual barrier.” To them, the Reincarnation Realm and the Lord of Reincarnation’s missions were merely another martial world.

Yan Shu of Shaoqing would immediately strike upon encountering a demon. He treated Qian Chen, disguised as a heterodox cultivator, with distant observation. But once he confirmed Qian Chen was a fellow disciple of the Taishang Sect, he trusted him completely, revealed his identity without concealment, and even treated characters within the plot world not as NPCs, but as real beings—never hiding his origins.

This behavior made Qian Chen realize his own misconception… These native Reincarnators of this world carried their own thoughts and methods in executing missions; he could not mechanically apply his past “experience.”

Ning Qingchen had clearly uncovered some clues—and even knew Zhiqiu was the only native plot character among the three. Under the pretext of investigating anomalies at Tiansha Peak, she openly interrogated for information.

Zhiqiu did not conceal anything, nodding: “After the Tianlie Abyss was destroyed, only a few rifts remain leading to Jiuyou, their demonic energy thin and paths convoluted, closely monitored by many cultivators. Demons within the Abyss struggle to escape! In the past century, no one has heard of any abyss releasing demons.”

“If no new rift to Jiuyou has formed atop Tiansha Peak, then… the Blood Demon is releasing demonic energy, corrupting this land.”

Ning Qingchen frowned slightly, speaking calmly: “Could it be both?”

Zhiqiu’s eyes widened. Even one of these was a catastrophe of this world! Both together?

“The Blood Demon once entered the Vast Blood Sea and forged a Blood Demon body. The Blood Sea path teaches that the body is the furnace, achieving the Blood Sea—meaning wherever the true body resides becomes a Jiuyou, a blood spring. Tiansha Peak’s terrain is majestic, saturated with heavy sha energy, indicating profound earth qi. The Blood Demon, sealed beneath Tiansha Peak, endures erosion from the sha energy, yet has also sunk deep into the earth’s core—his location must be extremely deep.”

“Even if he uses a blood spring to breach the earth veins and open a rift to Jiuyou, is that so strange?”

Zhiqiu pondered long, then finally said: “What you say is plausible. Only then can we explain why the Blood Demon, despite two thousand years of erosion by Tiansha Peak’s sha energy, has not been destroyed. If he has opened a rift to Jiuyou and drawn upon its demonic energy, he could indeed sustain his true body.”

“And now we understand the origin of these demons—they are the result of the Blood Demon seeping his demonic energy through hidden, winding fissures in Tiansha Peak, corrupting the local lifeforms. Hence, so many demons infest Tiansha Peak!”

The girl nodded: “The Blood Demon has gathered these demons as subordinates, making all these preparations—clearly to ready himself for escape!”

Though Ning Qingchen entered with a large yellow chicken as a spiritual pet, making her seem slightly eccentric, her subsequent actions were highly competent. Her analysis was meticulous and coherent, complementing Zhiqiu’s own investigations, making her conclusions highly convincing.

The girl’s delicate brows relaxed, revealing calm composure.

At that moment, Qian Chen suddenly noticed the large yellow chicken with five-colored tail feathers had somehow wandered to his side, its small eyes fixed on the red leather gourd at his waist, staring intently. The Ear God grew fearful and retreated into Qian Chen’s collar.

Ning Qingchen also noticed the chicken’s impertinent behavior. She grew flustered; her previously composed demeanor shattered instantly. Qian Chen saw her ears turning faintly red.

“Feng Shi… come back!” Ning Qingchen whispered, voice barely audible.

The large yellow chicken ignored her, still staring at Qian Chen’s gourd. The residual qi from the spirit pill Qian Chen had taken had not yet dissipated—likely what had lured the spiritual chicken. Not only did it not retreat, it even took a tentative step forward, tilting its head, gazing hopefully at the gourd…

The girl reluctantly pulled out a spirit grain pellet, concealing it in her palm, subtly waving it toward the chicken from her sleeve.

But how could a spirit grain pellet compare to the Taishang Sect’s exquisitely crafted spirit pills? The spiritual chicken remained unmoved… The girl softly moaned, pleading: “Feng Shi!”

Qian Chen noticed her attitude toward the chicken was not that of a master toward a spiritual pet, but more like an elder toward a disciple.

Then perhaps “Feng Shi” was not the chicken’s name, but a reverential title, like “Master”?

The majestic yellow chicken finally seemed to hear the girl’s call. It sighed, scratched the ground with its claws, strolled back slowly to her side, tucked its head under its wing to preen, yet still glanced occasionally toward Qian Chen’s gourd—each glance accompanied by a raised eye, then a look at Qian Chen, its bright eyes seeming to say: “You understand?”

The girl quickly pinned it down, hugging it close.

At that moment, the Lord of Reincarnation’s voice echoed again in Qian Chen’s ear: “Main Quest One: Travel to Tiansha Peak and investigate the cause of the Blood Demon’s seal anomaly. Completed! Reward: 500 merit points. Main Quest Two unlocked. Gain recognition from the Righteous (Blood Demon) faction. Join the Righteous (Blood Demon) faction. Receive recognition reward: 500 merit points. Joining the faction unlocks branch quest rewards.”

“Reincarnator has gained recognition from the Righteous plot character Zhiqiu. Completion: (1/7). Join the Righteous faction to complete Main Quest Two?”

Qian Chen was surprised. Though he’d been busy fighting Miao Kong and had no time to explore the plot, this girl had uncovered so much in one night—deducing the outcome of Main Quest One from Zhiqiu’s few words. Was she cheating?

“And this recognition completion is divided into seven parts? It seems each of the Seven Demon-Slaying Heroes represented one portion. The Blood Demon side has only one recognition—clearly harder to achieve. Thus, the trial to join the Blood Demon side must be far more complex.”

Qian Chen thought it made sense. Gaining Zhiqiu’s recognition likely only required contributing during the wolf demon’s attack—merely protecting him from death. But Qian Chen and Yan Shu had directly slain the Wolf King, one of the Blood Demon’s Four Great Generals—this was an overachieving completion, not comparable.

To gain the Blood Demon’s recognition, one must first locate the wolf demon’s lair, then earn the approval of General Lang, who would recommend them to the Blood Demon, and finally gain the Blood Demon’s own recognition.

Each step was harder than gaining Zhiqiu’s recognition. Thus, one unit of recognition from a Righteous plot character being only one-seventh of the Blood Demon’s total was perfectly reasonable.

At this moment, Zhiqiu, having discerned the root of the demonic anomalies on Tiansha Peak, dragged his wounded body into motion.

He urgently pulled out a talisman, folded it into a paper crane, released it into the air, and attached a portion of the wolf demon’s clearly corrupted corpse. Only then did he explain to Qian Chen and the others: “This matter is grave. I have notified Kunlun. If the Blood Demon breaks free, only the united strength of all Righteous sects can oppose him!”

“Join the Righteous faction!” Qian Chen had never considered the Blood Demon side. As a True Disciple of the Righteous, the future reviver of Louguan Sect, the inheritor of the Three Treasures of Taishang Dao, if he turned to serve the Blood Sea, Taishang Dao would be enraged to death.

“Unless they offer me the title of Demon Ancestor, why would I waste my time joining the demonic path?”

Yan Shu of Shaoqing, like Qian Chen, would never choose the demonic side. He quickly activated the faction marker in the Reincarnation Lord’s system. Soon after, Ning Qingchen’s body also glowed with the Righteous faction emblem.

The three exchanged smiles; the atmosphere grew warm again, the previous barrier now thinner.

After all, they were on the same boat now.

Ning Qingchen then explained: “Earlier, the disturbances here were so great they drew the attention of many cultivators. Among them were many suspicious figures with ill intent, as well as demonic disciples and beast-men. Later, rumors spread that several cultivators here were severely wounded by demonic fire and divine demonic apparitions. I feared some beast-men might seize the opportunity to strike, so I came to see if I could assist.”

“But when I saw you healing, you were so wary—I dared not speak openly.”

Yan Shu nodded: “Yan Xie thanks you for your aid. I appreciate your goodwill…”

“Such scum? Let them come—perfect for sharpening my sword!”

“I did not conceal my arrival. I’ve already frightened them off. The two of you can fight that terrifying demon, even wounded—you’re beyond their reach. They’ve likely abandoned this idea…” Ning Qingchen said.

Qian Chen shook his head dismissively: “Ning Daoist, you underestimate their audacity. You alone cannot dissuade their greed.”

He drew sketches of the few individuals described by Ear God onto a talisman and handed it to Yan Shu: “I must suppress that evil artifact and cannot spare myself. This task falls to you, Elder Yan. When you see them, draw your sword and cut them down—no words needed.”

He nodded to Ning Qingchen: “Thank you for your trouble, Daoist.”