Rain pattered rhythmically against the window curtains, dripping from the upturned eaves in an unbroken cascade of silver beads.
Now that they had left the Northern Border behind, the biting chill had completely dispersed, replaced by the lingering, gloomy drizzle of late autumn.
Across the vast expanse of rain, a single flying beast traversed the skies.
The pavilion was quaint and elegantly styled. Looking down from before the window lattice, one's eyes were greeted by a breathtaking landscape of mountains and rivers bathed in the curtain of rain.
Lush forests rolled along the undulating ridges toward the edge of the horizon, and from within the towering canopy, the faint roars of demonic beasts could occasionally be heard.
Drawing his gaze back with an open, refreshed mind, Xu Yuan surveyed the layout and furnishings of his room with deep satisfaction.
Precious red sandalwood incense, bed curtains woven of golden silk and satin, a tea tray carved from the bone of a bright-horned python—everything looked thoroughly pleasing to the eye.
Compared to this black eagle pavilion, the military lion-eagle beast from before belonged to an entirely different world.
Just as he was savoring the cozy serenity beneath the falling rain, Xu Yuan suddenly realized there was another person in the room.
A woman. A woman sitting before the tea tray, pouring and drinking tea by herself.
The instant he saw her face, an expression of helpless exasperation appeared on Xu Yuan's features.
It was Lou Ji.
This old aunt loved slipping silently into his room, especially in recent days when Tianyan and Xiao Bai were staying right next door.
She seemed to think that strolling in without knocking might let her witness something delightfully scandalous.
Of course, she had never knocked on his door in the past either.
With that thought in mind, Xu Yuan walked over to the prayer mat before the tea tray and sat down. He picked up the fragrant tea she had poured for him and took a gentle sip.
Today, Lou Ji was clad in a pale purple cheongsam with a keyhole neckline.
An elegant black serpent, entwined with several crimson equinox flowers, coiled upward from the hem of the gown, accentuating her shapely curves and that wicked bust.
Yet an intricate black gauze shawl left that unseen, soft abyss teasingly veiled.
This great succubus had accompanied him all the way out of Guangyang Prefecture.
However, the old aunt had not come specifically to escort him, nor was she heading back to the Imperial Capital to report on her mission. She was simply traveling south with him because their routes happened to align.
According to her, she had uncovered certain matters and needed to personally investigate Wanyao Valley.
Back in Shengshan County, Xu Yuan had handed her a staggering ten million taels to investigate Wanyao Valley. With no news ever following, he had once suspected she had pocketed the fortune, but it now seemed the investigation had simply remained underway.
Though this woman loved teasing her younger brother with words and touch, she was remarkably dependable when handling actual business.
Finishing his tea, Xu Yuan set down the porcelain cup and grumbled in a low voice, "Sister, could you please knock next time you come in?"
"Hmm?"
Lou Ji gazed at him with a teasing smile. Delicately sniffing the Longyan tribute tea—a specialty of the Northern Border—she curved her eyes and purred, "Changtian, if you cultivate harder, perhaps you'll be able to sense your sister coming in the future."
Xu Yuan rolled his eyes straight at her.
Catch up to her?
Ha. Women.
In the past, he had only known this old aunt was formidable, without any concrete concept of just how strong she truly was.
After all, to him back then, anyone at or above the Grandmaster Realm could crush him with a single finger or even a glance, let alone Lou Ji in the Transcendent Realm.
It was like an ordinary person trying to fathom the wealth of a multimillionaire.
Only after his journey through the underground palace—where he had briefly wielded power comparable to a Semi-Saint—did he gain a clearer understanding of the higher realms.
Yet beyond that understanding, Xu Yuan found that his perception of Lou Ji's strength relied far more on his spiritual vision.
Even with the spiritual vision forged from the fusion of aberrant ghost and mortal within him, he still could not detect the slightest trace of her presence.
In fact, when he had first tried sweeping over her body with his spiritual vision, Lou Ji had instantly flared with killing intent. The sheer terror of her aura had nearly gotten Xu Yuan killed by accident.
Naturally, that killing intent had not been aimed at him personally.
She had simply believed someone was spying on her from the shadows.
In other words, Lou Ji was capable of detecting his spiritual vision.
Pondering this, Xu Yuan tentatively swept his spiritual vision toward her once more.
Then,
He watched as a slender, jade-white hand reached straight for his forehead.
*Thwack!*
A crisp, clean forehead flick.
It hurt like hell.
Withdrawing her hand with languid grace, Lou Ji gave a soft hum. "That sensing method of yours feels very uncomfortable. Sister doesn't like it."
"Uncomfortable?" Xu Yuan asked, mildly curious.
"Mhm." Lou Ji crossed her arms over her chest and pondered for a moment, tapping her chin with a long, slender finger before suddenly smiling. "It feels rather like being stripped naked and made to stand right in front of you."
"......"
Xu Yuan's eyes narrowed as his mind involuntarily pictured the scene for a split second. Frowning, he rubbed the red swelling between his brows and grumbled in dissatisfaction, "You barging into people's rooms whenever you please makes me very uncomfortable too."
Lou Ji leaned forward slightly, tilting her head toward him with her eyes closed in a playful smile. "Then you can flick your sister back."
Xu Yuan merely stared at her flatly, unmoving.
He wasn't about to fall for that.
If he flicked her, he would be the one hurting, just like when he had first stepped onto the path of cultivation and tried spanking Ying'er back in Jingjiang Prefecture.
Seeing that he wouldn't take the bait, Lou Ji opened her eyes and curled her lip. Then, her tone turned serious.
"Changtian, Sister won't ask where you acquired such a technique, but it's best not to use it recklessly before others.
"Those capable of seeing through it will likely spare you out of respect for your father, but once someone reaches a certain realm, some reactions are purely instinctual. And not everyone knows who you are."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan's expression turned solemn as well, and he gave a slight nod. "I understand that, of course."
Certain reactions were indeed purely instinctual, just like the first time Lou Ji had sensed his spiritual vision.
Merely the subconscious suppression of her qi aura had nearly caused him to drop dead on the spot—and that was with Lou Ji actively holding back to protect him.
Were it someone else on her level, a single glare might have wiped him out entirely.
Lou Ji had sounded an alarm for him.
He couldn't foolishly use spiritual vision to probe every important figure he crossed paths with, or he would die a pointless death.
Spiritual vision was useful, but it was not omnipotent.
"Good that you know." Lou Ji chuckled softly. From beneath her black gauze shawl, her pale, porcelain arms lifted the teacup with dignified grace. Taking delicate sips of the pale purple brew, she remarked leisurely, "Mmm, Changtian, this Longyan Xiang tea of yours is quite wonderful."
*Clack.*
A small box carved with exotic beasts was produced directly from Xu Yuan's Sumeru ring and placed onto the tea table.
Lou Ji glanced at it and smiled faintly. "Since when did you become so generous, Changtian?"
Longyan Xiang tea nourished the intent-soul; it was priceless and virtually unobtainable on the open market.
Xu Yuan retorted with mild annoyance, "When have I ever been stingy with you?"
Lou Ji giggled, her chest swaying gently. Stowing away the box containing the tribute tea, she offered a soft word of advice: "Sister knows you treat me well. Still, you should accept fewer of these gifts in the future. The Prefect of Guangyang knows his place, so it hardly matters, but if it were someone who lacks self-awareness, taking their gifts might make them think they've secured a connection through you."
Xu Yuan shrugged indifferently. "Doesn't matter. I'm a profligate playboy anyway."
After a brief pause, Xu Yuan lowered his voice and asked, "Sister, what are you heading to Wanyao Valley to investigate?"
Lou Ji curved her eyes in a smile. "Why, Changtian? Do you want to come along with me?"
"No way. I have zero interest in going."
Xu Yuan rejected the idea flat out.
Right now, all he wanted was to return safely to the Imperial Capital and steadily raise his cultivation to Body Integration.
Perhaps due to the advantages conferred by his acquired Innate Dao Body, or perhaps thanks to the benefits of his earlier aberrant ghost transformation, he could already faintly sense that he was another step closer to that barrier.
Lou Ji scoffed with a soft laugh. "With that meager cultivation of yours, Sister wouldn't bring you along even if you begged."
Xu Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing that. "Is this trip dangerous?"
"For you, it is indeed very dangerous." Lou Ji smiled softly. Slowly rising from the prayer mat, she strolled over to the window lattice that framed the misty rain outside. A cold gleam flashed across her serpent-like slit eyes. "The people of Wanyao Valley call themselves healers, but in truth, they are like carrion-eating vultures. Wherever there is pestilence, war, or death, they come swarming at the scent."
Looking at the silhouette of her waist and hips outlined by the cheongsam, Xu Yuan hesitated slightly before asking in a low voice, "Isn't it because of that Ten-Thousand-Corpse Pit used for testing medicine?"
Lou Ji turned her gaze sideways and rewarded him with a roll of her eyes. "Rest assured, I am still looking into what you asked of me back then. However, there is still no word regarding that Ten-Thousand-Corpse Pit you mentioned."
Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment.
Wanyao Valley's Ten-Thousand-Corpse Pit was an absolute nightmare of a dungeon in *Cangyuan*.
That nightmare did not refer to its difficulty, but to its contents.
Back then, even in 2.5D pixel art, it had been nauseating to the extreme. Manifested in reality, it would likely push anyone's tolerance for gore and carnage past its breaking point.
Lou Ji's senses were exceedingly sharp. Narrowing her eyes, she drawled in a soft, measured tone, "Regarding that Ten-Thousand-Corpse Pit, Changtian... it seems there are things you haven't told your sister?"
Xu Yuan shook his head without answering, asking instead, "If it isn't the Ten-Thousand-Corpse Pit, does it have to do with the Northern Border campaign?"
"Naturally." Lou Ji turned around and leaned back against the window lattice, her gaze deep and brooding. "Right now, the Northern Border has become the whirlpool around which the entire world gathers. If it weren't related to the war, why would Sister go in person?"
Xu Yuan recalled his memories of Wanyao Valley and murmured, "Sister, as I recall, Wanyao Valley has always positioned itself merely as war profiteers—selling herbs and medicinal pills, and providing treatment for the wounded."
Lou Ji shook her head. The rain-laden wind blowing through the lattice ruffled a few loose strands of her black hair. Suddenly, she said, "Yuan Hao slaughtered Tianqiong Palace."
After a brief pause, she added, "Not a single soul was spared."
"......"
Xu Yuan froze upon hearing that.
He had already heard about this back when he returned to Beifeng City, while the Beifeng garrison commander was reporting the latest developments of the northern front to Li Qingyan.
Tianqiong Palace and Qiqing Gate—the Black Scale Army and the Beifeng Army had each taken one.
Yet Xu Yuan remembered that the commander had used the word "annihilated." He hadn't expected they were slaughtered down to the last person, leaving not a single survivor.
At this thought, Xu Yuan's eyes flickered, and he whispered, "Slaughtered? I recall the commander in charge of Tianqiong Palace was supposed to be Mr. Zong, wasn't it?"
That madman Yuan Hao massacring a sect wouldn't surprise Xu Yuan in the slightest.
The issue was that while Yuan Hao's abilities were outstanding, under Zong Qingsheng's cultivation and seniority, he could only serve as a general.
And with a traditional commander as cold-blooded as Zong Qingsheng keeping him in check, he shouldn't have permitted Yuan Hao to indulge in such lunacy.
Following that line of thought, Xu Yuan murmured again, "So... Yuan Hao slaughtered the sect because Tianqiong Palace put up stubborn, desperate resistance?"
Lou Ji gave an ambiguous, haunting smile. "Yes."
Hearing this, the expression on Xu Yuan's face turned peculiar.
Though he had witnessed how sects refused to shed tears until they saw the coffin, Wanxiang Sect had at least yielded the moment the blade touched their necks.
Yet connecting this to Wanyao Valley...
A chill crept into Xu Yuan's eyes, and he asked, "Was it because of drugs?"
"Hmph... You catch on fast, Changtian." Lou Ji chuckled, her gaze turning cold and distant. With a flick of her jade hand, a small jade vial appeared in her palm.
Within the vial swirled a thick, viscous red liquid.
Holding it before her eyes for close inspection, Lou Ji explained in a hushed voice, "This substance induces an extreme bloodlust in people, turning them into beasts driven purely by primal desire, yet it doesn't strip away their sanity like a Mad Demon Pill.
"More importantly, this thing can be transmitted through the blood of its users."
"......"
Hearing those words, the corner of Xu Yuan's mouth twitched, and he clicked his tongue softly.
Disaster.
Although the plot he was familiar with had already begun to run wild, it seemed to have spun completely out of control now.
In the original storyline of *Cangyuan*,
That chest-binding princess who had never made an appearance had in all likelihood died directly in the conspiracy at the Northern Border, which was probably why the northern war had ground to a halt in the game.
Great Yan's war against the Barbarians had not succeeded, but by avoiding reckless offensives, Beifeng City had never fallen either.
Now, the situation was utterly transformed.
The Barbarians had been eradicated, the elite forces of the northern sects were wiped out, and the war was steadily expanding.
It had expanded to the point where products from certain dungeons in *Cangyuan* were being dragged into the open.
What Lou Ji held in her hand came straight from the Ten-Thousand-Corpse Pit dungeon of Wanyao Valley.
"......"
Lou Ji's perception was extraordinarily sharp. The moment she caught the change in Xu Yuan's expression, she instantly knew this boy knew something. Her tone grew somewhat severe:
"Changtian, even as an expert in poisons, Sister can hardly unravel the inner workings of this substance. Yet you genuinely seem to know something about it.
"If you know, tell Sister straight out. This is no joking matter."
Xu Yuan fell quiet for a moment, then murmured, "I do know a bit."
Lou Ji raised an eyebrow, her crimson lips parting slightly. "What is it?"
Xu Yuan grinned. "If I tell you, what's in it for me?"
The solemn atmosphere vanished in an instant. Lou Ji's exquisite brow twitched, and a dangerous curve crept onto her lips. Walking slowly toward him, she drawled playfully, "Oh? Are you looking for your sister to give you a reward, Changtian?"
Seeing this, Xu Yuan leaned back slightly on his prayer mat and gave a light cough. "Just stop bullying Tianyan."
That washboard Saintess was no match whatsoever for this great succubus; it was pure despair for her.
Every time Lou Ji displayed intimacy with him,
Tianyan couldn't win with words, couldn't win in a fight, and could only watch helplessly before retreating to her room to sulk.
"......"
Lou Ji's steps halted, her gaze turning slightly bored as a long index finger traced her crimson lips. "Just that? Sister was thinking of giving you a kiss as a reward."
"Heh heh." With a dry, humorless laugh, Xu Yuan muttered disdainfully, "I don't want it—"
Before he could finish,
*Smooch.*
A wave of fragrance swept over him, an evil softness pressed against his shoulder, and a crimson lip print appeared upon Xu Yuan's cheek.
Lou Ji ruffled Xu Yuan's hair, saying with a beaming smile, "Whatever Sister wants to give you... you take it, whether you want it or not."
With that, she glanced sideways toward the adjacent room and whispered, "Don't worry. That Saintess is still sulking in her room; she isn't looking our way."
"......" Xu Yuan was speechless.
Letting out a sigh, he said in a low voice, "Alright, let's talk about serious business."
At his words, Lou Ji's expression turned solemn. She knelt beside him, sitting close at his side. "Go on."
Xu Yuan took a deep breath, fixing a grave stare on the jade vial in her hand.
"This medicinal fluid... should be something created inside that Ten-Thousand-Corpse Pit."
Chapter 355