Chapter 113: The Enchanting Beauty

Hong Jian pondered to herself, "Isn't kidnapping one person enough? Do you have to drag me to the Immortal Mist Cave as well?"

She did not know that the only person Lu Yanchang had truly intended to invite to the Immortal Mist Cave was her. Jing Xiaoyun was merely a hired hand he had impulsively roped in to help. Whether Jing Xiaoyun was willing to go or not hardly mattered; if she refused, Lu Yanchang would have gone to great lengths to get his hands on the "Immortal Rainbow Glow" regardless.

At that moment, the tiny demonic insect flew back from the distance. Seeing the disappointment on Jing Xiaoyun's face, it seemed she had gained nothing.

Lu Yanchang continued to lobby Hong Jian, "Just come with us. When we get close to the Immortal Mist Cave, you can just find a place to stay and wait for the two of us."

Jing Xiaoyun was both straightforward and generous. As soon as Lu Yanchang finished speaking, she said, "Alright, alright, stop dawdling. Since I, as your martial aunt, have no welcoming gift for you, take this." She looked at the two raggedly dressed figures, her eyes filled with pity.

Hong Jian felt a mix of laughter and tears.

She carefully considered her current situation. Ji Youyun did not know that her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds to the late stage of Foundation Establishment. If she had the "Immortal Rainbow Glow" in her possession, she could easily disguise herself, and it would not be easy for him to find her in the vast sea of people.

The Immortal Mist Cave had always been at odds with the Dan Ya Sect. When her grandmaster, Sun Yougong, was framed, Hong Jian had heard nothing but vitriol from the mourners sent by the Immortal Mist Cave. To snatch their treasure now would be a deeply satisfying act of revenge.

Thinking of this, she nodded and said, "Then let’s go quickly."

Lu Yanchang was overjoyed. He led the two women away from the glacier and hurried toward the Immortal Mist Cave. Fearing that Jing Xiaoyun might give herself away as a demonic cultivator before they even arrived, he kept cautioning her throughout the journey.

They could not walk all the way to the Immortal Mist Cave. Lu Yanchang and Hong Jian were penniless, and Jing Xiaoyun dared not reveal her flying magical artifact in broad daylight. The three of them traveled until they reached a place inhabited by cultivators, where they changed into commoner attire, and then Lu Yanchang managed to secure a flying tool for transport.

Once aboard, Lu Yanchang handled all the chores, leaving Hong Jian with nothing to worry about. She dedicated all her time to practicing the "Scripture of Great Tribulations." Even with Lu Yanchang and Jing Xiaoyun chattering away incessantly beside her, she remained completely undisturbed.

Lu Yanchang was incredibly excited; with his revenge imminent, he was eager to share his feelings. Jing Xiaoyun, riding a Daoist cultivator's artifact for the first time and heading toward a major Daoist sect to wreak havoc, found everything fascinating. The two of them chirped like happy birds.

When Hong Jian finished her cultivation session, she heard Lu Yanchang say, "I've finally figured it out after all these years. While words like 'gentle' and 'beautiful' are used to describe women, when a woman turns ruthless, she is truly cold-blooded. My junior sister is immune to ordinary methods, and I’m not willing to let her off without making her suffer. Xiaoyun, what should we do?"

"That depends on what she cares about. The more she values something, the more you should make her watch as you destroy it. Regardless, don't let her die too quickly. She’s just a newly minted Golden Core cultivator; don't worry. Once we catch her, we'll deal with her slowly. We'll find a way." Jing Xiaoyun offered her advice.

Lu Yanchang stroked his chin, thinking, and said, "Then I’ll have to trouble you."

"No problem. If that fails, I’ll just harvest her soul."

Hong Jian couldn't help but stir. She truly didn't know when Lu Yanchang and Jing Xiaoyun had become so like-minded.

She opened her eyes, and Lu Yanchang immediately said, "Oh, you finished so quickly this time."

He looked at Hong Jian, then at Jing Xiaoyun. Both were dressed like rustic village girls, one older and one younger. He suddenly had the image of a man traveling with his wife and daughter.

Hong Jian ignored his fawning and asked Jing Xiaoyun, "Can Daoist cultivators practice your 'Great Heavenly Demon Three-Eyed Soul-Severing Scripture'?"

Jing Xiaoyun shook her head. "Definitely not. Our techniques and the Daoist foundation are mutually exclusive. If one were to practice it rashly, ending up with 'qi deviation' would be the least of their worries."

Hong Jian fell into deep thought. If this was true, then Ji Youyun's ability to control the spirits of demon beasts wasn't because he had practiced demonic secret arts as she had suspected.

If Daoism and Demonic arts could not be practiced together, why did Ji Youfeng speculate that the stolen half of the "Scripture of Great Tribulations" had already been learned by someone? Could it be that while Daoists couldn't learn the "Great Heavenly Demon Three-Eyed Soul-Severing Scripture," some demonic cultivators could learn the "Scripture of Great Tribulations"?

Or was the situation not as absolute as Jing Xiaoyun claimed? After all, her second senior brother, Qin Baoxian, had practiced demonic arts for a while without any obvious abnormalities.

Hong Jian's head ached from thinking, so she returned to her meditation.

Currently, her practice of the "Scripture of Great Tribulations" lagged far behind her actual cultivation level. Furthermore, having been personally tutored by Ji Youfeng in prison for nearly twenty years, she could easily resolve not only the difficulties of the Foundation Establishment stage but even those of the Golden Core stage that Lu Yanchang faced.

Thus, her progress in the "Scripture of Great Tribulations" was advancing by leaps and bounds, reaching an unprecedented level that even the Ji brothers could not match.

The rest of the journey was uneventful. Because Lu Yanchang deliberately avoided crowded paths, the three of them were delayed by two days before finally arriving at Xianlu Ridge, the town nearest to the Immortal Mist Cave.

By now, not only Hong Jian but even Lu Yanchang had to paint his eyebrows and wear a fake beard to avoid being recognized.

The three quietly settled into a secluded small inn. Lu Yanchang took Jing Xiaoyun to scout the Immortal Mist Cave, specifically cautioning Hong Jian, "Sister, don't worry. You're only in the Foundation Establishment stage and can't help much anyway; just stay here and wait. We'll be back soon."

Seeing the sincerity in Lu Yanchang’s expression and how close he stood, Hong Jian practiced the "Scripture of Great Tribulations" on him.

Lu Yanchang was in the early Golden Core stage. The gap in their levels meant Hong Jian could only vaguely sense his turbulent emotions and his desperate desire to accomplish his goal. She said, "Be careful. You've waited all these years; don't be careless now and ruin it."

Lu Yanchang was beaming at her words of concern.

Seeing him about to ramble on, Jing Xiaoyun urged, "Let's go, let's go."

She pushed Lu Yanchang two steps forward, then suddenly turned back and asked Hong Jian, "What are you doing to me?" A look of suspicion crossed her face. "Are you spying on me with your divine sense?"

Hong Jian was startled. No wonder Jing Xiaoyun didn't take causing trouble at the Immortal Mist Cave seriously; her divine sense was far stronger than Lu Yanchang's. She had indeed tried to use the "Scripture of Great Tribulations" on her, only to be discovered before she could gain any insight.

Seeing the growing wariness in Jing Xiaoyun's eyes, she explained, "I was just testing the technique I'm practicing. Your cultivation is much higher than Brother Lu's; he didn't notice a thing. I heard that your cultivation levels are also divided into Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Spirit Severing. Have you already reached the Nascent Soul stage?"

Jing Xiaoyun relaxed and laughed, "The Sect Master manifested his soul to guide me, and then I formed my Nascent Soul. However, our Nascent Souls are different from you Daoists, so I won't show you; I don't want to scare you. Alright, Lu Yanchang, let's go."

Just as her predecessors had said, the "Scripture of Great Tribulations" was best used on those with similar divine sense. Hong Jian had practiced divine sense techniques since the Qi Refining stage, and now, in the late Foundation Establishment stage, her divine sense far surpassed her peers. Thus, she could probe someone like Lu Yanchang—even as a Golden Core cultivator—without them ever knowing. If she had the chance to get closer to someone, the effect would be even better.

Hong Jian felt that when they returned, Lu Yanchang might even agree to let her practice on him.

Time passed quickly during meditation. It seemed as though she had only just entered a trance when she heard strange noises outside. She opened her eyes to see Jing Xiaoyun and Lu Yanchang entering the room one after the other.

Lu Yanchang was carrying a large sack on his shoulder. They snuck in like thieves and kicked the door shut behind them.

The two were grinning as if they had just accomplished a great feat. Seeing their expressions, Hong Jian knew the mission had gone smoothly. She swept her divine sense over them and was stunned, her gaze settling on the sack.

Lu Yanchang said in surprise, "No way, you noticed that fast? Xiaoyun, your illusion technique isn't working well."

Jing Xiaoyun was also surprised. "Isn't she only in the late Foundation Establishment stage? Could it be that Daoist techniques clash with this 'deception art'? This is bad; we passed several Daoist cultivators on the way back. Could they have seen through us already while we were acting like two big fools?"

Hong Jian comforted them, "Don't worry. I just figured Brother Lu wouldn't bring a pig back for no reason."

Lu Yanchang breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled. He set up a barrier to prevent anyone from spying, then opened the sack and tipped out a fat, black-haired pig.

The pig had clearly been drugged; it hit the ground with a thud, still unconscious, emitting a series of snores.

Hong Jian found the scene chillingly bizarre. Indeed, Jing Xiaoyun laughed, pointed her finger at the pig's head, and cast a spell. The snoring stopped abruptly, and then the pig let out a dainty moan. The illusion vanished, and lying on the ground was, indeed, a beautiful woman.

"Is this Wen Xuejing? You actually captured her." Although Hong Jian didn't know the woman, she immediately guessed her identity from Lu Yanchang's reaction.

"We just happened to find her alone, so we used a little trick to lure her out and capture her alive," Lu Yanchang said, his smile gradually fading as he looked at the dazed woman huddled on the floor.

"You... you are Lu Yanchang. How are you here? When did you get out? ... Martial Brother Lu, you have a lot of nerve. What are you doing?" Wen Xuejing sat up. There were three people in the room, but her attention immediately locked onto Lu Yanchang, the only man present.

Her memory was good; even though Lu Yanchang had changed significantly, she recognized him quickly.

Lu Yanchang reverted to his usual devil-may-care demeanor. He even flashed a wicked smile at Wen Xuejing and said leisurely, "I spent all those years in the Demon-Refining Prison just thinking about you, Junior Sister Wen. Now that I've escaped, I didn't go anywhere else—I came straight here to catch up with you. Besides, I can't be accused of colluding with demonic cultivators for nothing, so I might as well make it real. What are you going to do about it, Junior Sister?"