Chapter 115: The Mysterious Elder

The moment Ge Qian spoke those words, Ren Guyue flew into a furious rage. No one had ever dared to speak to his beloved in such a manner. He immediately surged with overwhelming energy, his voice cold and sharp: “You insignificant ant from some remote backwater, how dare you speak to my sister Hui Xian like that? Kneel and apologize at once, or I’ll show you what it means to wish you were dead!”

Ge Qian smiled faintly. “Such bold words, fellow cultivator. I, Wang Meng, am not one to be intimidated. Besides, Liu Xixi of the Beast Taming Sect is my cousin. Offend the Beast Taming Sect and you’ll find yourselves with no grave to be buried in.”

Ge Qian’s nonsense continued, his words galloping wildly, yet strangely convincing.

Sure enough, Ren Guyue began to form hand seals, ready to strike.

“Hold on, this has nothing to do with you. If you want to come along, then keep your mouth shut,” Qian Huixian scolded sharply.

Ren Guyue, embarrassed, stammered, “Alright, as long as you let me protect you, I’ll listen to everything you say.”

Qian Huixian suddenly realized that this was no longer Boyun Nation, the territory of their Heavenly Skill Holy Sect, but Zhao Kingdom, a backward land full of cunning locals. It was true—one could not bring the mindset and actions of Boyun Nation here. One must follow local customs, truly forget their own superiority, and immerse themselves in the mortal world to master their emotions fully.

Moreover, Liu Meng was quite interesting—blunt and unreserved. This feeling was entirely new, and Qian Huixian found it oddly thrilling.

She then stopped Ren Guyue. “Two spirit stones it is. Deal. Shall we go?”

Ren Guyue’s anger softened slightly. “Two spirit stones and I join you?”

Ge Qian replied, “Four spirit stones. Fine, just barely affordable. But you must swear a Heart Demon Oath never to attack us. How else can we trust you at our first meeting? Besides, it’s the rule.”

Qian Huixian frowned, thinking that if their first entry into Zhao Kingdom was so troublesome, everything thereafter would only get harder. Gritting her teeth, she raised a hand skyward and took the Heart Demon Oath.

Though Ren Guyue was reluctant, seeing Qian Huixian swear the oath, he followed suit.

When the vows were complete, Ge Qian smiled faintly. “Since we’ve paid the spirit stones, you are now our employers. You must obey me. This puppet beast will be our mount. Will you pilot it?”

With that, he beckoned everyone to leap onto the giant eagle’s back. Hiring someone and their puppet beast for two spirit stones—was this a dream? Just activating the giant eagle alone cost a fortune in spirit stones. Was he mad?

However, since they no longer had to fly themselves, it saved a great deal of their magical power. No one disagreed. Though Ying Xue was unhappy inside, the tangible benefits before her made it hard to object. Seeing Ge Qian speaking to that woman, she felt a pang of jealousy.

Once everyone was settled, Ge Qian said, “Handsome fellow, please lead the way for us.”

“Lead the way for you? Even if it were ten thousand spirit stones, I wouldn’t lead for you—I’m leading for Huixian,” Ren Guyue reassured himself.

He added coldly, “You’ve got eyes—remember my name, Ren Guyue.”

With that, he urged the spirit boat forward, racing ahead but maintaining a distance of a hundred zhang from the giant eagle.

With these two prodigious talents doing the heavy lifting, Ge Qian and the others traveled at more than twice their usual speed.

Some reckless wandering cultivators ahead provoked Ren Guyue’s fury, and he swiftly eliminated them with thunderous strikes. He didn’t even bother to loot their storage bags, which greatly benefited Ge Qian, who collected the spoils from each fallen enemy—truly a lucrative endeavor.

After a day’s travel, they approached the Crimson Scourge Desert. The air was thick with a faint but potent aura of killing intent. Ge Qian took a deep breath, sensing the pure and unprecedented ferocity of the aura.

At the desert’s edge, everyone dismounted. Flying through the Crimson Scourge Desert was tantamount to suicide unless one was at the infant transformation stage.

Qian Huixian recalled her puppet beast and frowned solemnly as she gazed at the vast desert ahead.

The entire desert resembled a colossal, pointed spear piercing the Xuanwu Continent. The Crimson Scourge surged like a mighty river, the killing intent slicing through the air with a sinister “whistling” sound.

Suddenly, a tremendous demonic aura burst forth from Ge Qian’s entire body, swirling uncontrollably. Under his jade-white robes, he swallowed a pitch-black pill, releasing a surge of demonic energy that tore through his body. Ying Xue produced a demon stone, activating it to emit pure demonic energy instantly.

Ye Feng donned a demon robe, instantly enveloped in a dense demonic aura.

Ge Qian turned to Qian Huixian. “This old Crimson Scourge is temperamental. Rumor has it, after suffering a great loss in Righteousness Nation, it forbids righteous cultivators from entering its desert. We need to disguise ourselves carefully. What about you?”

Qian Huixian and Ren Guyue exchanged a glance and shook their heads. Their treasures were extraordinary; they had nothing suitable for disguising as demon clansmen.

Qian Huixian said indifferently, “As long as we are cautious, we shouldn’t encounter high-level demonic cultivators.”

Ge Qian nodded. “Then let’s set off.”

Thus, two righteous cultivators and four demonic cultivators ventured into the Crimson Scourge Desert together.

Inside, except for Ge Qian, everyone used spirit devices to block the killing aura from entering their bodies to avoid demonization.

Ge Qian let down his defenses, allowing the Asura Dao vortex in his dantian to whirl wildly, drawing the killing aura inward. It was truly nourishing—far better than sitting in meditation.

After traveling about ten miles, they occasionally encountered one or two demonic cultivators. Ren Guyue would swiftly dispatch them. He wielded a massive seven-foot greatsword, heavy and formidable, clearly a body cultivator.

With each swing, a fierce wind howled, and a blade of energy cut an unsuspecting demonic cultivator into a mass of shredded flesh.

Suddenly, the sounds of battle arose ahead. Ge Qian’s spirit perception scanned the area: five demonic cultivators surrounded a gaunt elder at the late foundation establishment stage, all striking heavily.

The elder appeared exhausted; the five demonic cultivators were all at the pinnacle of foundation establishment, wielding wolf-tooth clubs aimed at the elder’s vital points.

Ge Qian’s spirit perception probed the elder’s body but was violently repelled. Were it not for his resilient spirit, he would have been injured.

This elder was no ordinary foe and had a “pig-eats-tiger” nature. Better to keep a distance to avoid being entangled in his karmic troubles.

He said, “Let’s head left. I’ve detected traces of Warm-Heart Herb.”

The group immediately changed course.

The elder murmured to himself, “Such tenacious spirit perception—almost uncovered my secret. Among them is a Heavenly Scourge Demonic Body. Excellent! This is truly a fruitful trip. I must capture her. If not for fear of the continent’s spirit-refining cultivators banding together, I’d have already razed this place.”

He then released a slight oppressive aura. Instantly, the five wielding wolf-tooth clubs collapsed, their bodies crushed into a bloody pulp before bursting into flames and turning to ash.

The elder then reverted to an ordinary foundation establishment form and stealthily pressed forward.

Meanwhile, Ge Qian successfully harvested the Warm-Heart Herb but was soon discovered by over a dozen demonic cultivators. Ren Guyue immediately leapt into the fray.

Qian Huixian quickly unleashed more than ten second-rank puppet beasts—tigers, lions, wildebeests, and others—each glowing with spiritual light and growing to ten zhang in size as they charged into battle.

The demonic cultivators suffered heavy casualties. Suddenly, one hurled a signal flare into the air, which exploded with a piercing whistle.

Within moments, dozens of powerful auras rapidly converged upon their location.

Qian Huixian turned to Ge Qian urgently. “Too many are coming. We can’t hold them off. We need to retreat.”