Chapter 229: Eating Off a Woman

Seeing Long Qinghuang's effect, which bordered on that of a succubus, Lu Xingzhou suddenly recalled a legend: "Dragons are inherently lustful."

Regardless of whether dragons are truly lustful, many alchemy texts note that the blood of numerous dragon species has aphrodisiac properties; thus, their natural body scent may inherently possess an aphrodisiac or seductive effect.

So Qinghuang.

Perhaps her previous golden attire provided too much protection, muting this effect; now that she's wearing ordinary clothes, the effect is fully revealed.

Lu Xingzhou was the first to react, stepping in front of Long Qinghuang before she could act and coldly addressing the newcomers: "Hanlan Sect?"

Long Qinghuang, who had been about to strike, paused, crossed her arms, and watched Lu Xingzhou perform with interest.

The leader, a middle-aged man in brocade robes, snapped out of his daze and barked: "You witch killed my son without cause and now prance about like this! Seize her and take her back for punishment!"

Before he finished speaking, a sole loomed large before his eyes; the brocade-robed man, still dazed from shock, failed to dodge and was kicked squarely.

With a "thud," he was blasted out of the shop and lay on the street, spitting blood, utterly incapacitated.

The group immediately surrounded him: "You, a mere fourth-grade cultivator, dare defy the Hanlan Sect for this witch?"

Lu Xingzhou sighed inwardly: I'm saving your lives.

If you beat her into submission, perhaps this demoness won't kill anyone. If she acts herself, every last one of you will be reduced to ash—and innocent bystanders nearby may be dragged into it.

Of course, aloud he said: "My companion—I protect her, not some stranger?"

Anuo stole a glance at Long Qinghuang, who stood with arms crossed, expressionless.

Outsiders couldn't perceive Long Qinghuang's true strength; how could they let a mere fourth-grade Lu Xingzhou show off? They surged forward at once.

Long Qinghuang tilted her head slightly, watching Lu Xingzhou weave through the crowd.

Though all attackers were middle three-grade cultivators—including several others at Lu Xingzhou's own fourth-grade level—this man fought them all with ease, moving through them as if strolling through a courtyard, every punch landing, every kick finding its mark, a sight delightfully fluid.

Long Qinghuang recognized it: a classic Daoist Taiji evolving into Bagua footwork, clearly from a orthodox Daoist sect. Tianyao Sacred Land had similar steps, but these differed—likely not from the same origin.

Yuan Muyu had taught Lu Xingzhou countless combat techniques, but not this footwork… back then, Lu Xingzhou was lame; this footwork was intrinsic to the Yin-Yang Ultimate Intent Art, and its applications extended far beyond ground combat—its transformations in aerial battle were even greater.

As for his punches and kicks, those too were from the Yin-Yang Ultimate Intent Art; the stealthy, ambush-style methods Yuan Muyu taught him were now used far less frequently.

Outsiders could no longer discern his roots in the Yanluo Palace, nor could they sense the Tianyao Sacred Land lineage as easily as when he first encountered Bai Mao.

Moreover, his internal energy circulation pattern was fascinating… absorbing opponents' attacks and fully reflecting them back—utterly invincible in battles against peers or lower-grade opponents in groups.

"Undoubtedly a super-grade technique… fascinating," Long Qinghuang mused, amused: "I never expected to stumble upon someone so unusual."

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Within the time of a single cup of tea, all of them were kicked out of the shop.

Lu Xingzhou stepped outside; the street was littered with groaning bodies, all staring at him with fear: "Sir… sir, who are you? Dare you leave your name?"

"You want my name so you can seek revenge?" Lu Xingzhou stepped on a man's chest and said coldly: "Do you want to live or die?"

The man beneath him hurriedly replied: "Of—of course I want to live, Elder, spare me!"

He'd mistaken Lu Xingzhou for a young-looking elder…

Lu Xingzhou said: "I have questions. Whoever knows the full truth will live."

"Elder, please ask—I swear I'll answer everything!"

"Was the news about the Dragon Bone fragments from Dongyue Han Chuan spread from Hanlan City?"

A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched Long Qinghuang's lips.

He still remembered they'd come to Hanlan City not just to change clothes, but to investigate something.

The man under Lu Xingzhou's foot blinked, but another man quickly interjected: "I know this best—I've followed every twist of this story!"

Lu Xingzhou grabbed the man by the collar and shouted to Long Qinghuang and Anuo: "Let's go."

Then vanished like a gust of wind.

Long Qinghuang looked at the groaning Hanlan Sect disciples and finally burst out laughing: "A flawless performance—trying to make me follow along and forget to kill. Little sister, your brother is quite interesting. I heard Chunshan Pavilion is a renowned orthodox sect—so it seems."

Her master probably never imagined one day he'd be mistaken for an orthodox figure… Anuo clasped her hands together, hoping Chunshan Pavilion would remain unscathed.

Still, this was the first time someone had called her master her brother—it felt strange, and Anuo didn't correct them. After all, with a little disciple in tow, it had become Lu Xingzhou's trademark; calling her a disciple might expose his identity too easily…

Long Qinghuang smiled sweetly, lifting Anuo: "Fine, since he performed so well, I'll grant him this favor—these people's lives are spared for now. Let's go."

Her voice still echoed, but she was gone; no one on the entire street saw how she vanished—only the lingering fragrance remained, proof of her presence, like a dream.

On a small hill ten miles outside the city, all grass and trees were frosted.

Lu Xingzhou set the man down and sighed: "When my companion asks you something, answer honestly. Don't even think of lying—if she's displeased, not even a god can save you."

The man smiled nervously: "Understood, understood—I'll make sure Lady is satisfied."

Lu Xingzhou: "?" Before he could respond, Long Qinghuang appeared with Anuo.

Lu Xingzhou broke into a cold sweat, unsure if Long Qinghuang had heard that.

I warned you—traveling alone with a woman and a child damages your reputation. Don't blame me for your reputation…

Long Qinghuang had heard it, but didn't care. She glanced around—no place to sit—then waved her hand, slicing off the top of a nearby rock as easily as cutting tofu, and sat down calmly: "Speak. What do you know?"

The man stared at the rock's smooth cut as if seeing a ghost. Cutting rock was easy—many could do it—but doing it as effortlessly as slicing tofu? He'd never seen it in his life.

He'd assumed Lu Xingzhou was the dominant one in this trio—now he realized: this was a man eating off a woman's wealth.

"A foreign cultivator found a Dragon Bone fragment while exploring Dongyue Han Chuan, brought it to a medicinal shop in the city for appraisal, and the alchemists identified it as Dragon Bone. Dragon Bone is rare—even ordinary Dragon Bone is worth auctioning. He took it to an auction house. But during the auction, some knowledgeable bidders kept raising prices absurdly high, drawing attention; they discovered the bone was still active. Once exposed in public, the news exploded instantly—no way to hide it."

"Then what? Who bought the Dragon Bone?"

"To be honest, the auction house belongs to our Hanlan Sect. The buyer was a stranger no one had ever seen. When we learned the bone was special, we planned to keep it from him—but damn if he wasn't strong enough to snatch it outright, injuring several of our people in the process."

Lu Xingzhou: "... Did you find out who that stranger was?"

"No… we only tracked down the original owner and took him to where he found the fragment. But when we arrived, there was nothing left. The sect master suspected he was lying, so he performed soul-searching… but the man truly wasn't lying—he'd just gotten lucky and had no idea where it came from. The soul-searching left him mentally broken, and we had no further leads. The sect master searched for days with no results, and finally gave up in frustration."

Lu Xingzhou turned to look at Long Qinghuang.

If the story was truly this simple, there was little more to ask—only a field visit would help.

Long Qinghuang frowned in thought, then finally said: "He's not lying. The sequence was indeed this ordinary."

The simplicity didn't matter—his truthfulness proved the active Dragon Bone truly existed, not a decoy.

Long Qinghuang paused, then added: "So how do you know it's ancient Dragon Bone, and not one frozen within the last few thousand years?"

The man stared in shock: "Huh? Isn't there no dragon left now? It can only be ancient then."

Long Qinghuang: "…"

Lu Xingzhou found it amusing—most people simply didn't know the true form of the Demon Emperor; the gap in cultivation level was simply too vast. He himself had only just learned it recently from Master Ye. Back when he saw the dragon and tiger bones in the Danxia Secret Realm, he too had assumed such creatures no longer existed. The Frost Moon Kingdom had even less contact with the demonic races than Daqian, so its information was even more lacking.

But now that he knew the Demon Emperor was a dragon, it was highly likely other dragons still survived—even ones the Demon Emperor himself didn't know about. It wasn't strange at all for a dragon to have died here within the past few thousand years.

So while dragon bones certainly existed, whether they were truly "ancient" was questionable—merely the assumption of the ignorant.

Precisely because Long Qinghuang had seized him to determine the bones' age, in other words, returning to Hanlan City to change clothes and gather intelligence had been a flurry of useless activity—everything would have proceeded exactly as before.

It did, however, help buy time until Master Ye arrived to save them.

Long Qinghuang pondered for a long while, then asked: "If news of the dragon bones has spread, why haven't more people come here recently?"

The man shook his head: "Actually, some have come—but everyone knows their limits. Those interested are all top-tier experts; those without strength are better off not going to die. So most who come are first-rank experts, even super-grade ones. How many could there be? The Frost Moon Cold Basin is so vast; a few strong individuals entering are like a single grain in the ocean—you can't detect any increase."

After speaking, he glanced at the "family of three," implying: you with your whole family in tow? Forget it. And the man's only fourth-rank—living off his woman's strength.

Lu Xingzhou's face remained expressionless; Long Qinghuang laughed silently.

Lu Xingzhou salvaged his dignity: "You've never seen one—how do you know it exists?"

The man said: "Just half a day before you came to ask, a masked man arrived. His aura of ghostly energy was terrifyingly deep—I thought I was going to die… But he thought my answer was thorough, and rewarded me with a spirit stone."

Lu Xingzhou's heart stirred slightly.

Deep ghostly energy, powerful, yet generous.

Could it be Ji Wenchuan?

Long Qinghuang clearly didn't care about the ghostly masked man; she casually tossed out a jade slip: "This is a map of the Frost Moon Cold Basin. Mark for me the location where the owner found the dragon bones, then leave."

The man hurriedly marked a circle, bowed deeply, and retreated: "I wish you three all success."

Watching the man flee like the wind, Lu Xingzhou waited a long while before slowly saying: "I thought you'd kill him."

Long Qinghuang replied coolly: "It's meaningless. Even if he tells others a man and woman with a child came asking him, who could deduce from such vague details that it was me? But the information about the ghostly masked man is very specific—it sounds like one of the Five Ghost Emperors of the Underworld. Yet you didn't kill him. How sentimental."

If it was Old Ji, it wasn't sentimentality—he was just careless and easygoing, never dwelling on details. Lu Xingzhou had wiped his ass countless times.

Yet this remark greatly changed Lu Xingzhou's view of Long Qinghuang.

He had assumed all demons were brutal, especially the Demon Emperor… But after interacting with her, he realized that as long as you didn't provoke her, she truly wouldn't kill casually—she even considered whether it was "meaningful."

But if you did provoke her, even slightly, you'd pay with your life. The Demon Emperor's dignity brooked no defiance.

As he thought this, Long Qinghuang spoke: "Now it's time to discuss our problem."

Lu Xingzhou instinctively stepped back half a pace: "What problem do we have?"

Long Qinghuang said calmly: "There wouldn't have been any issue about your so-called reputation… but you acted like a man defending his woman—what's the meaning of that?"

(End of Chapter)