"I struggled through countless hardships, hiding here and there for days, risking everything to escape Qin Lüsha grasp, only to search for Ancestor Mu Xin… Ancestor, you have truly disappointed your disciple!"
Li Guiyi looked at Lu Ziqian in despair, as though staring at a heartless betrayer.
Lu Ziqian, embarrassed by her gaze, waved his hand awkwardly. "Sect Master Li, don't look at me like that… Mu Xin, hurry out already!"
At this critical moment, the sly old fox Mu Xin hid faster than anyone.
Leaving Lu Ziqian alone to face her resentful eyes, he cast a desperate look toward Yao Ranyan.
Yao Ranyan coughed twice. "This so-called Ancestor of yours is useless. Very well then, today I'll gift his little life to accompany you in death."
Lu Ziqian froze, and Mu Xin immediately leapt out.
"No, no, wait, white… Fairy, I don't want to die yet!"
Yao Ranyan frowned at the incongruent expression showing on Lu Ziqian's face. "Weren't you just saying you weren't afraid of death? How is it that when asked to die alongside your disciple, suddenly you're unwilling?"
Mu Xin's eyes darted back and forth. "Dying itself isn't frightening, but the thought of being separated from Fairy pains me beyond words!"
Yao Ranyan gave him a strange look. "That excuse is far too clumsy. It seems you are destined to die after all."
Mu Xin panicked. "Why must I still die? I know the weaknesses of Miaoyun Sect, I am deeply familiar with the Central Domain, and if Fairy wishes to seize control of it, I can lend you my strength!"
"I have no interest in the Central Domain. The Eastern Wilderness alone is already troublesome enough."
Mu Xin was caught off guard. He had not expected Yao Ranyan to have no intention of expanding into the Central Domain.
Furrowing his brow, he assumed a desperate air. "If that is the case, then I can only reveal the secret of ascension!"
Yao Ranyan sighed, and just as Mu Xin curled his lips in smug triumph, she drew the Nine Lotus Ring and severed most of his soul power.
"Aaaah!" His miserable scream echoed through the prison.
Li Guiyi was utterly terrified, frozen in place.
Lu Ziqian, regaining control of his body, looked at her in shock.
"Master, could it be… that you even foresaw matters concerning ascension?!"
Yao Ranyan slowly retracted the Nine Lotus Ring. "…"
It wasn't that she foresaw it. She had simply known all along.
Li Guiyi's lips trembled. Suddenly, she dropped to her knees before Yao Ranyan, bowing deeply.
"Fairy above, please accept the bow of Li Guiyi, disciple of Piao Miao Sect!"
Yao Ranyan, Lu Ziqian, and the surrounding demon clan all fell silent at the same time.
"Good. You are sensible. I will spare your life."
This was exactly the kind of sect master she liked—no nonsense, surrendering swiftly.
Yao Ranyan sighed. "You are far wiser than the last sect master I encountered."
"May I ask… who was the last sect master that faced Fairy?" Li Guiyi asked cautiously.
Yao Ranyan thought for a moment. "I think it was someone named Hei Yang."
"Yes, his name was Hei Yangjiu, sect master of Yinluo Sect," Lu Ziqian added.
Li Guiyi's face went deathly pale, nearly collapsing to the ground.
She knew Hei Yangjiu well, his strength far above her own. Piao Miao Sect had already received word days ago of his fall, but to think it was by her hand!
As Li Guiyi remained dazed and lost, Yao Ranyan suddenly recalled something.
"Sect Master Li, as the head of Piao Miao Sect, do you know which Black Mountain Mu Xin perished in during his seclusion?"
Li Guiyi furrowed her brow, pondering. "After Ancestor Mu Xin's fall, the next sect master supposedly found the location, but the jade slip he left behind contained only a fragmentary image of bat wings. I searched for years before learning that the wings belonged to cave-dwelling demon bats."
"Demon bats?" Yao Ranyan's eyes flickered.
She instantly thought of the vanishing demon bat shadows at the foot of Gu Ling Mountain.
"Yes, demon bats!" Li Guiyi said firmly.
"Master, was there anything special about the Black Mountain where Mu Xin died?" Lu Ziqian asked curiously.
It was rare for him to see Yao Ranyan actually appear thoughtful.
Most of the time, she simply acted.
Yao Ranyan rested her chin on her hand, gazing eastward. "Disciple, doesn't the Gu Ling Mountain where I reside resemble a Black Mountain?"
Lu Ziqian was stunned for a second before realization struck. "Could Master be suspecting that the place where Mu Xin perished in seclusion was Gu Ling Mountain itself?"
"Gu Ling Mountain… what is that?" Li Guiyi was utterly confused by their exchange.
Yao Ranyan only smiled faintly without answering.
At this moment, she finally understood why Mu Xin had previously behaved with such confidence.
At the foot of Gu Ling Mountain, it was very likely his other half of the soul was hidden.
"Report! News from Yun Gu Sect—Li Luoqi has escaped, and there are traces of him lingering near the Western Sea border. Additionally, a yellow-robed woman has entered the Western Sea, her path seeming to match Li Luoqi's escape route!"
A demon clan member rushed in to deliver the message.
Lu Ziqian was astonished. "How did Lord Demon Sovereign escape? And why head to the Western Sea…"
At this point, anyone with eyes knew the Western Sea was Lu Ziqian's domain. Li Luoqi was like a stray dog. To risk his life by coming here surely meant he had another purpose.
Yao Ranyan, however, was not focused on Li Luoqi.
She looked at the demon clan member. "Did anyone see the appearance of this yellow-robed woman?"
At once, he unfurled a portrait.
"We feared she may have altered her face, so we captured both her figure and features together."
Yao Ranyan praised, "Well done."
Even among Li Luoqi's people, there were talents worth using.
At a glance, she recognized the yellow-robed woman as Pei Xianqiao, who should have gone to the Central Domain.
"Master, this woman's figure feels very familiar. Have I seen her somewhere before?"
Lu Ziqian frowned, staring at the portrait in deep thought.
"She is Pei Xianqiao, the one who spent a million spirit stones to buy three pieces of information from me."
Yao Ranyan answered with a light smile.
Lu Ziqian was suddenly enlightened. "Why would she return to the Western Sea?"
"She is Pei Xianqiao?" Li Guiyi stared in shock at the portrait, as if trying to bore a hole through it with her gaze.
Yao Ranyan looked at her in puzzlement. This sect master seemed unusually interested in Pei Xianqiao. Yet in the original book, there had been no mention of a connection between her and the female lead.
"Sect Master Li, do you know her as well?" Lu Ziqian asked the question on her mind.
Li Guiyi snapped back to herself and shook her head. "I do not. But Miaoyun Sect is searching for her."
"Didn't this Pei Daoyou claim to be the disciple of Wuxiang Sect's Elder Yue? Why would Miaoyun Sect be looking for her?"
Lu Ziqian could not understand Miaoyun Sect's intentions.
Li Guiyi shook her head again. "All I know is that at present, she is extremely important to Miaoyun Sect. As for why they seek her, they never told me."
Yao Ranyan turned to the demon clan members. "Keep a close watch on Li Luoqi's movements. Pei Xianqiao is likely here specifically to find him."
The demon clan members looked at each other in hesitation, not daring to reply.
Yao Ranyan frowned. "What, do you still harbor attachment toward the Demon Sovereign?"