Chapter 123: Could Qingwan's body also contain an evil seed?!

"What exactly are you trying to do!"

Lu Yuan finally broke free from his stiffness, abruptly leaned back, and raised his hand to frantically wipe his face, as if trying to remove that icy, slippery sensation.

The "Deity of Beauty" became even more interested in his intense reaction.

Not only did she not retreat, she leaned in closer instead.

That flawlessly unreal face almost touched the tip of Lu Yuan's nose.

Her starry-sky eyes drifted between his flushed ears and his tense jawline.

It was as if she was admiring a vivid painting she had just added color to herself.

"I'm not harming you."

"What's wrong with letting me hold you for a while?"

Lu Yuan: "？？？？？"

He could bear it no longer and, disregarding any damn danger, pressed his hands firmly against her icy shoulders, pushing outward with all his might.

"Get off me!"

This time, the "Deity of Beauty" leaned back slightly with the force of his push.

But like a roly-poly toy, she only pulled back a few inches, not truly leaving.

Her starry-sky eyes blinked.

Suddenly, a hazy, watery layer of amusement rippled in her eyes.

"Ehh~"

A flirtatious, drawn-out trailing sound.

"So useless~"

"Can't push me away, so you just know how to be fierce with me~"

She tilted her head slightly, her three thousand strands of glazed hair cascading like a waterfall, her tone actually carrying a hint of grievance and coquettish complaint.

But the starlight swirling in her eyes and that faint, elusive curve at the corner of her lips were all filled with the teasing and cunning of a cat toying with a mouse.

Lu Yuan could tell, this woman was just messing with him!

Damn it!!

Being toyed with like this continuously, Lu Yuan was genuinely starting to get angry.

If Lu Yuan really couldn't handle this woman, then so be it.

But now...

Is this never going to end?!

Just as Lu Yuan, somewhat annoyed, was about to do something, the next second, he heard a playful laugh.

Then, Lu Yuan felt a lightness on his body.

He saw the "Deity of Beauty" had actually let go of Lu Yuan herself, floating in mid-air, looking at Lu Yuan with a half-smile, her voice melodious:

"Mmm~"

"There's a familiar scent~"

Lu Yuan was stunned, the annoyed expression on his face hadn't yet faded before turning to vigilance.

A familiar scent?

The "Deity of Beauty" floating in mid-air gently twitched her nose, her starry-sky eyes slightly narrowing, no longer focused on Lu Yuan.

Instead, they turned towards the deep night sky in the southwest direction.

Which was the direction of Fengtian City.

Her suspended posture was elegant and light, the phantom of the glazed lotus beneath her bare feet flickering uncertainly.

The faint light flowing around her body blended with the moonlight, making her appear increasingly perfect to the point of unreality.

"This scent..."

She murmured softly, her trailing tone drawn out, carrying a dreamlike ethereality, very familiar~

She turned her face, looking at Lu Yuan, the teasing and cunning in her eyes faded mostly, replaced by a deeper, almost instinctive inquiry.

That gaze swept over Lu Yuan, yet seemed to penetrate him, looking towards a more distant place.

"Where is it!"

The "Deity of Beauty" pointed in the southwest direction towards Fengtian City, muttering.

Lu Yuan followed the direction she pointed, the night was thick, the mountain ranges undulating like ink stains, he could see nothing but deeper darkness.

"What exactly is it?"

"Stop being a riddle-speaker!"

The "Deity of Beauty" did not answer immediately.

She slowly descended, still hovering three inches off the ground with bare feet, floating lightly half a circle around Lu Yuan, her hair and skirt moving without wind.

She approached Lu Yuan again, but this time did not press against him, merely stopping at a distance that made him feel pressured but without actual contact.

A cold, ethereal breath brushed past Lu Yuan's cheek.

She examined his face carefully, as if making a final confirmation, or as if... remembering something.

"You were so fierce with me today, don't come begging me in the future~"

She tilted her head, this movement still carrying a hint of girlish naivety.

"Mmm~"

She let out a lazy nasal sound, the swirling radiance in her starry-sky eyes seemed to quicken.

Her red lips curved, that smile regained three parts playfulness, yet tempered with seven parts unfathomability.

"When the time comes, I'll have to make you beg me properly before I agree~"

Before her words finished, the light around her suddenly brightened!

Not an explosive burst of aggression, but a restrained, rule-level hum.

The phantom of the glazed lotus beneath her feet bloomed layer by layer, supporting her form as it slowly rose.

The moonlight seemed drawn, gathering around her like gauze or silk ribbons, illuminating her like a jade statue about to ascend to the moon palace.

"Wait, hold on!!"

Lu Yuan instinctively shouted to stop, damn it, finish what you were saying before leaving!!

The "Deity of Beauty" paused in mid-air, slightly lowering her head to look down at him, a hint of amusement in her eyes:

"Can't bear to see me go?"

Before Lu Yuan could speak, she chuckled lightly, her voice ethereal and echoing.

Her form transformed into a flowing, shifting glazed light, like a reverse-flowing starry river, suddenly shooting into the darkness.

Extremely fast, in the blink of an eye, only a faint glimmer remained at the horizon, then completely merged into the night, leaving no trace.

Only a single sentence remained from all directions:

"Be good~"

"Little thing, big sister has some things she absolutely must handle~"

"I'll come find you after I'm done~"

Lu Yuan: "..."

How about you just don't come back?!

...

......

Late at night, Luo Yan Slope.

The scorched earth plowed over by thunder and fire appeared even more dead and desolate under the night sky.

Only in the lee of the slope, a cluster of campfire danced, becoming the only living source of light and warmth in this darkness.

The fire was set up by Wang Cheng'an and Xu Erxiao.

They used nearby remnants of withered tree roots that hadn't been completely burned, the wood dense and slow-burning.

The sparks that burst with crackling pops carried a charred, bitter smell.

Several sharpened branches were stuck beside the fire, skewering hard, dry ration cakes, licked by the fire's tongue, the edges gradually turning golden brown.

Lu Yuan sat on a relatively flat stone by the fire, holding a branch, poking at the fire absentmindedly.

Shen Shulan sat a bit farther from him, hugging her knees, her gaze somewhat lost on the flames, lost in thought.

Tan Jiji sat in the shadows opposite her, his face half-hidden in darkness, only his gaze occasionally shifting towards Lu Yuan and Shen Shulan visible.

Xu Erxiao was busy splitting open the slightly softened cakes, stuffing them with scallions and smearing them with bean paste.

He first handed a piece to Lu Yuan:

"Brother Lu, have something to tide you over."

Just as Lu Yuan reached out to take it, he heard Xu Erxiao blink and ask curiously:

"Brother Lu, were you just having your yang energy sucked by her?"

Lu Yuan: "..."

"No."

This Lu Yuan could be sure of, absolutely not.

Moreover, those whose yang energy and essence are drained often become listless and weak, while Lu Yuan was completely fine now.

Shen Shulan beside him, after pondering carefully for a while, suddenly looked at Lu Yuan curiously:

"Uncle-Master, I've heard that some mountain spirits and wild charms that have gained power, after achieving proper fruition, experience human 'true flavor' or 'proper aura' for the first time."

"It's like being drunk, they need to sleep it off for a while to digest it."

"Does hers... count?"

Hearing Shen Shulan's words, Lu Yuan pondered for a moment.

Though silent, his mind was churning.

Shen Shulan's words actually enlightened Lu Yuan.

This "Deity of Beauty" was essentially an object gaining spirit, then forced into becoming a "deity" through malevolent methods.

Finally, she was tempered once more by the Patriarch using the most orthodox Thunder Techniques combined with incense and prayer power, gaining "new life."

It was equivalent to forcibly elevating her to a realm even she herself was unfamiliar with.

Her greedy pursuit of the aura on Lu Yuan might truly not be evil spirit energy draining, but more like an instinctive "completion."

She needed to borrow some kind of vivid, warm, "orthodox" human Dao aura.

To stabilize this newly obtained, still flickering and unstable "divine status"....

But....

Thinking carefully, something still felt off.

Why did she fixate on him?

Now Lu Yuan had two problems.

The first was this question: why did she have to choose him?...

This question Lu Yuan had been pondering ever since the "Deity of Beauty" left.

The Patriarch didn't kill her, instead helped her separate from the malevolent seed.

This meant, at the Patriarch's level, she was no longer considered an "evil entity."

Of course, in reality, that was indeed the case.

Lu Yuan's own spiritual sense and the [Vanquish Demons and Exorcise Evil] system confirmed this.

There wasn't a trace of malevolent energy left on her, pure like a piece of glass just out of the kiln.

She had obtained fortune, succeeded in proving her Dao.

Perhaps what she said was true: the one who harmed people was Liu Ruyan, and Liu Ruyan was already dead.

Now she was a "newborn" deity named "Beauty."

A newborn deity, in theory, should go seek incense offerings, protect a region, accumulate merit.

But this woman... seemed completely unaware of that.

Her attention at the time was entirely focused on him.

Moreover, after leaving now, she also didn't seem to be going to seek any incense offering sites....

This matter reeked of strangeness!

Lu Yuan dared to swear to heaven, besides the sweat smell from not bathing for days, he absolutely had no divine power protecting his body, no merit golden light.

Then what exactly did she want?

Could it be... the Patriarch did something, making her have to cling to him?

What for?

It couldn't be that his Patriarch thought he had too few wives, and manifested to give him a wife, right?

That makes no damn sense!

Therefore, Lu Yuan thought very seriously and rigorously.

There was only one possibility....

Lu Yuan's mind became unprecedentedly clear.

The Patriarch's meaning was for him to... guide her?

She was a newly born deity, her mind like a blank slate, understanding nothing.

So she needed a guide to lead her onto the right path, to become a true deity.

If that were truly the case, for the region beyond the Great Wall, having an additional super-powerful deity for protection, able to protect a land, would be a tremendous blessing.

For Lu Yuan himself, the merit of guiding a deity was immeasurable.

Only....

Looking at her behavior just now....

She didn't seem like a mind as blank as a slate....

At the very least, she was very good at teasing people!!

Of course, all of this was just Lu Yuan's speculation based on the current situation, and while his mind was still in a daze.

But whether this was actually the case....

This matter....

The specifics still needed to be asked of the old man or Celestial Master He Xun upon returning.

Logically, after such a major event, Lu Yuan should immediately return to Fengtian City now.

He needed to find Celestial Master He Xun and get a clear answer.

If Celestial Master He Xun also couldn't figure it out, then he would need to rush back to Zhenlong Temple immediately to seek answers from his old man master.

After all, compared to him, those two knew the Patriarch's temperament and nature in detail.

However, right now, it truly wasn't possible.

The time for this mission was really too tight.

Even if he handled one Nurturing Malevolence Site every two days, by the time he rushed back, the Celestial Master Grand Ceremony would already be halfway through.

Making this round trip, time simply wouldn't be enough.

So....

Forget it, forget it.

Lu Yuan thought, better to quickly finish dealing with the remaining Nurturing Malevolence Sites, then return to Fengtian City.

Anyway, this "Deity of Beauty" was strange, but....

Ultimately, she harbored no hostility, it would be fine to ask after returning.

He then stood up, looking at Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an, who were stuffing food into their mouths.

"Alright, just have a little something to tide you over."

Lu Yuan instructed:

"Pack up, we'll go near the next Nurturing Malevolence Site to have a proper full meal and rest."

Upon hearing this, Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an, without a word, immediately began packing their belongings.

After instructing the two, Lu Yuan turned to Tan Jiji, slightly cupping his hands.

"Brother Tan, are you still coming with us?"

Previously, Tan Jiji only said he wanted to come help, but didn't specify for how long—whether to eradicate one Nurturing Malevolence Site or all of them.

At this moment, Tan Jiji also stood up, an awkward smile on his face, cupping his hands in reply:

"I won't be going with you."

"Originally, I wanted to help you, to repay you for helping our Punishing the Netherworld Tan Family eradicate the Malevolent Deity of the Commanding Ghosts Liu Family, but now...."

He gave a bitter laugh.

"Me following you, even if it doesn't count as holding you back, truly serves no purpose..."

Throughout this day, Tan Jiji felt everything happening before his eyes was just too outrageous!!

Utterly outrageous!!

Tan Jiji's initial reasons for following along had two considerations.

First, he thought Lu Yuan's strength was still shallow.

Of course, Lu Yuan had slain the Malevolent Deity at Mangniu Village, but Lu Yuan himself said at the time that the Malevolent Deity wasn't eliminated by him, but by his master.

Naturally, Tan Jiji didn't look down on Lu Yuan either, deep down still thinking Lu Yuan had some skill.

But even thinking that, Lu Yuan was so young, around twenty years old.

No matter how skilled, how much could he really have??

Yet, looking at today...

This Lu Yuan was damn too skilled!

He wasn't just ordinarily skilled!

And not only was he himself highly skilled, his ability to call for help was even more damn impressive!!

Tan Jiji had lived so many years and had never seen or heard of anyone in the Daoist community beyond the Great Wall who, when inviting a Patriarch, could summon such a massive, swarming crowd.

After watching tonight, Tan Jiji felt his first reason for insisting on coming along was utterly laughable.

Lu Yuan simply didn't need any help from him.

In fact, even for carrying the big chest, Lu Yuan had Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an.

And the second reason....

Of course, it was Shen Shulan!

In fact, this was the most important reason.

But....

Better damn well leave!!

These past two days, Tan Jiji really couldn't bear to watch anymore!

Wanted to leave ages ago!!

Lu Yuan, looking at the embarrassed Tan Jiji before him, immediately returned the courtesy with a smile:

"Old brother, don't say that. If it weren't for you..."

Lu Yuan tried to recall any useful deeds Tan Jiji had performed along the way.

However....

Thinking carefully.

Hey!

He really couldn't remember anything!

Throughout the journey, besides following along to eat and drink, Tan Jiji had hardly helped at all.

Even when breaking the illusion formation at the kiln site earlier, this guy was just an observer.

Purely came along for a tour.

For a moment, Lu Yuan stood there awkwardly.

Damn mouth, say something!!

Just as Lu Yuan felt extremely awkward, Tan Jiji, not minding at all, waved his hand with a smile, packing his things while saying:

"Daoist Priest Lu, no need to make excuses for me."

"This trip, I truly didn't help at all."

"To be honest, it's really shameful. When I first came along, I was thinking if you encountered the Commanding Ghosts Liu Family's methods again, I, as a successor of the Punishing the Netherworld Tan Family."

"Might be able to help you with something based on the Punishing the Netherworld Tan Family's understanding of the Commanding Ghosts Liu Family."

"But in the end...."

At this moment, Lu Yuan suddenly thought of something and quickly said:

"Old brother, don't say that!!"

"Did you forget the grand formation I set up earlier? Without your help, how could that formation operate?"

"It really was thanks to you!!"

However, Tan Jiji simply ignored Lu Yuan's remark, completely immersed in his own world, giving a self-mocking smile:

"In the end, I didn't even know something as important as the malevolent seed could be separated from the Malevolent Deity's body...."

After saying this, Tan Jiji waved his hand, walking alone into the night, not looking back:

"Daoist Priest Lu, I've learned much. We'll meet again if fate allows."

"About the Commanding Ghosts Liu Family's matters, I really can't tell you. Our Ten Families have a blood oath, so I can't inform you..."

Before Tan Jiji finished speaking, Lu Yuan suddenly let out a loud shout, shaking the entire Luo Yan Slope:

"You wait a moment!"

This shout startled everyone, making their bodies jolt.

Everyone turned to look at Lu Yuan with bewildered expressions, not understanding why he suddenly acted this way.

At this moment, an expression of disbelief was plastered on Lu Yuan's face.

Earlier, he had been pondering two problems.

The first problem was the one he had considered before: why the "Deity of Beauty" clung to him.

And the second problem....

Lu Yuan had been pondering the "familiar scent" mentioned by the "Deity of Beauty."

This problem, Lu Yuan had really been thinking about for a long time just now, but couldn't figure out what it meant.

Like the first problem, one could still find some clues and deduce something.

Regardless of whether it was right, at least there was some thread to follow.

But these words were truly baffling.

No thread at all, one didn't even know where to start thinking.

After all, what around him could make a deity like the "Deity of Beauty" feel familiar?

Southwest direction....

Fengtian City?

If he had to say....

Could it be Yellow Braised Chicken?

After all, both were considered "deities."

Of course, this was obviously an unrelated connection.

This matter, Lu Yuan hadn't figured out.

But just now, as Tan Jiji finished speaking, Lu Yuan suddenly seemed to find a thread.

This "Deity of Beauty's" original form was the Malevolent Deity nurtured by the Commanding Ghosts Liu Family....

And....

Perhaps the direction the "Deity of Beauty" pointed....

Wasn't Fengtian City.

But rather... Zhenlong Temple!!

The scent on him....

What could be connected to the Commanding Ghosts Liu Family....

I'm afraid it could only be Gu Qingwan!!

He remembered the Yansheng Coins pressed on the major acupoints all over Gu Qingwan's body, that technique clearly originated from the Commanding Ghosts Liu Family....

Inside Qingwan's body... could there also be a malevolent seed??!

No!

Must go home!!