The pure white spiritual energy, for righteous cultivators, was a healing force, a treasure beyond value.
But for those who strayed onto twisted, unorthodox paths, it was lethal poison. Once it touched them, it clung like a festering sore to the bone, gnawing away ceaselessly. Their cultivation crumbled, their demonic qi scattered.
In that instant, Li Luoqi clearly believed that Yao Ranran was truly gravely wounded.
"You were struck by something like this. Why didn't you warn me sooner?"
Yao Ranran blinked innocently. "I said it was dangerous. It was Demon Sovereign, you, who insisted on striking."
Li Luoqi's charred right hand trembled.
Damn it. She was right.
His face turned black as a scorched pot. "Was this Shen Yuefu's doing?"
Yao Ranran froze for a moment. It didn't seem like Shen Yuefu had the ability to create such a thing. But whether she slandered him or not, neither side would ever become her ally. So she simply nodded along. "Demon Sovereign is wise."
Li Luoqi's expression shifted to one of grim certainty. His eyes darkened as he swept a glance over his ruined hand. With his left hand forming a blade, he decisively severed the right arm.
Yao Ranran's eyes went wide.
What a ruthless man!
Li Luoqi said calmly, "I've only ever read of this kind of spiritual energy in ancient texts. If Shen Yuefu prepared such a thing, it was meant to be used against me. It seems he used it on you first."
Yao Ranran almost asked which book it was from. She wanted to see it too!
"Since he's already used such a weapon, your demonic qi must be exposed. Does he know you are in contact with me?"
Li Luoqi's thoughts flickered rapidly.
Yao Ranran shook her head.
"Good. Then the plan can still continue."
A flash of killing intent crossed Li Luoqi's eyes, gone in an instant. If Shen Yuefu knew, then she would have no further use.
Yao Ranran opened her mouth, then shut it again. The truth was she didn't know. But since Li Luoqi misunderstood, she didn't bother to explain.
"Sit down. This is for you." Li Luoqi drew a ring from his robes with his remaining hand.
Yao Ranran reached to take it.
But he turned his palm and held it down.
"You…" Yao Ranran frowned.
Was he giving it or not?
"You carry this spiritual poison within you. Even I cannot save you. But with this, it should lessen your pain and prolong your life."
His gaze shifted, and a smooth, lustrous white seed floated between them.
Yao Ranran's eyes locked onto it, drawn by a strong, strangely familiar aura.
"This is a lotus seed from deep within the Demon Abyss. I stumbled upon it as a child and have kept it until now."
He fixed his stare directly upon her.
"The aura on this seed is similar to the one corroding your body. Keep it close, but do not consume it. It should absorb some of the spiritual energy from you. But it cannot fully purge it."
A chess piece like her… was destined to perish.
Even if he never lifted a hand against her, this poison would eventually devour her completely. A fleeting glimmer of regret passed through Li Luoqi's eyes. This little insect would never grow fat enough to be of real use.
Yao Ranran stared at the lotus seed, her appetite practically screaming at her. "Not now. Later, back at home!"
She happily tucked both the ring and the seed away. Good thing she hadn't cursed him earlier. This Demon Sovereign wasn't so bad after all.
Li Luoqi turned his gaze beyond the tower, the corner of his lips curling in a wicked, careless smile.
"Will Wanxiang City survive the night?"
…
Outside Huicui Tower.
Crowds craned their necks in anticipation, but even after the doors closed, Yao Ranran never appeared.
She didn't realize she had sparked a small commotion.
Instead, she slipped out through the thirteenth floor's private passage, avoiding the main gate, and exited Shiyan City by the back way.
Beyond the city.
Atop the withered crown of a tall tree, a black shadow balanced lightly.
This was the assassin in black robes, hired by Bai Qingwu.
His aura hovered around the Nascent Soul stage, yet deliberately restrained, or perhaps masked by a strange cultivation art.
No one could pierce through to see his true realm, but his strength was undeniable.
"Yao Ranran, illegitimate daughter of Yu Weifeng and Yao Yanliu. Bai Qingwu's target."
The black-robed man muttered to himself, his lips curling in a cold smile.
"But it isn't only Bai Qingwu who wants you dead. We've searched for you for many years as well. Child of Dongxi Village, one of the few survivors. That treasure seal, is it hidden in your hands?"
His eyes gleamed with killing intent.
"With a single Soul Search, all your memories will surface. Once you're left a drooling fool, Bai Qingwu will also gain her new vessel."
He raised a hand. Invisible qi gathered from all directions.
The withered tree shook. Snow melted instantly into water.
Yao Ranran watched droplets fall before her, popped the lotus seed into her mouth, then glanced up at the sky.
Then she lowered her gaze again.
"The sun's so bright. I should be going home."
She gathered qi, toes touching the ground as she prepared to lift off. But then she felt a faint scratch along her back.
Like a dry leaf brushing her skin.
She slowly turned.
Not far behind, within arm's reach, a black shadow was staring at her in horror.
"Are you… asking for directions?"
Yao Ranran tilted her head, meeting his eyes with curiosity.
The moment their gazes met, the assassin's pupils widened with raw terror. He bolted, vanishing like lightning.
A cold wind swept across the ground. Watching his back disappear into the distance, Yao Ranran murmured, "Do cultivators get social anxiety too?"
The black-robed man fled for an unknown stretch before his qi nearly ran dry. He collapsed against a dead tree, gasping for air.
Pulling off his headcloth, he glanced down at his reflection in a puddle of melted snow.
Wrinkles spread across his features like creeping cracks in wood. His skin shriveled, parchment-thin, stretched over protruding bones.
Horror filled his eyes as he stared at his own hands, where white bone gleamed through his decaying flesh.
He remembered the instant he had struck.
When his palms landed on the woman's back and he unleashed his proudest technique, the Devouring Soul Palm…
A bizarre spiritual aura had latched onto him immediately. In the span of a single breath, his Yuányīng had died.
Yes. Died.
When he looked inward, the little figure that should have been seated within his dantian now lay like a lifeless fetus, eyes sealed shut.
That monstrous aura had consumed his Yuányīng's vitality in an instant, leaving only an empty husk of flesh, with a soul barely clinging to escape.
His black robe slipped away. Beneath the tree, only a shriveled yellow skin wrapped over a white skeleton remained.
As his pupils disintegrated, the assassin spent his last strength to fling out a transmission talisman.
"The woman's qi is poisonous. Do not touch her!"