Yellow sand stretched across the vast desert beneath the setting sun, whose fading glow cast the jagged shadows of massive boulders into a cramped karst cave.
At the far edge of the stone shadows, a fair, bare foot came into striking view.
A naked young woman curled against the rock wall, trembling faintly. Overlapping dragon scales flickered in and out of sight across her jade-pale skin. Her waist and abdomen were a mangled mess of flesh and blood, from which thin tendrils of crimson spread out beneath her, pooling across the ground like a spiderweb.
Beside her lay dozens of bloodstained dragon scales, still shimmering faintly.
As yet another damaged dragon scale clattered to the ground, Bai Qinqing bit her lip hard to keep from making a sound, yet the agony still caused her dainty toes to curl tightly.
Mutilated dragon scales would not heal on their own; only by forcefully ripping out the mangled fragments could new ones grow in their place.
The cavern was dead silent, filled only with the young woman's rapid, pain-wracked breathing.
Having tended to her wounds, Bai Qinqing braced her hands on her knees and struggled to her feet. She limped toward the cave entrance, pulling out a robe to drape over herself as she walked.
She had never truly understood why demons had to wear clothes like humans.
Even having assumed human form, they were still the demon race at their core.
Yet ever since she gained consciousness, the major demon tribes within Guyuan had continually aligned themselves with the humans entrenched in the Central Plains.
From customs and everyday habits to power structures.
This was especially true for great demons that had achieved human form.
They had to start learning to wear clothing, adapt to etiquette and hierarchies, study bureaucratic systems, and adopt all kinds of hypocrisies that had once never belonged in Guyuan.
Her father had told her that only by adopting these human strengths could the demon race one day reclaim dominion over the Central Plains.
Though innate limitations made this process agonizingly slow, everything within Guyuan was indeed heading in a positive direction.
The number of demonic beasts Guyuan could sustain was steadily growing, and each year the demonic beasts battering the Great Yan border defenses rose in number.
Yet she ultimately disliked this stifling restraint, just as many elders in her clan did.
Still, this was a decree forcefully pushed by the White Emperor, an "official mandate" agreed upon by the various tribal patriarchs.
Musing on this, Bai Qinqing stepped onto the yellow sand outside the cave.
The gravel-strewn sand was scorching from the sun's bake, feeling comforting beneath her foot, but her gaze was instantly drawn to a figure standing beside the cave.
Instinctively, Bai Qinqing wanted to nuzzle against his cheek in affectionate familiarity, but she held herself back.
Offering a respectful bow to the middle-aged man, she lowered her eyes and murmured, "Father, you have arrived."
Leaning lightly against the rock face, the White Emperor glanced at the young woman and gave a slight nod. "Mm. I had business to attend to nearby. Sensing you activate the ancestral seal, I went over to investigate."
Hearing this, a ripple stirred within Bai Qinqing's limpid dragon eyes, her voice growing hurried: "I... I found Xing'er's Dragon Transformation Essence there! Father... Father, you must have sensed it too, right?"
Her voice dropped low, a flicker of murderous intent flashing in her eyes as her fists clenched tight. "Xing'er... really did die at the hands of humans after all."
The White Emperor's voice was placid. Drawing his gaze back from his daughter, he replied softly, "I did indeed sense it."
"Then Xing'er's Dragon Transformation Essence—"
"I did not retrieve it."
"What?"
Bai Qinqing stared at her father in stunned disbelief.
She could not comprehend how those mortals could have possibly stopped her father.
The White Emperor shook his head gently and spoke in a measured cadence, "The human was accompanied by the Saintess of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion. Her strength exceeded my expectations. Had I forced an engagement with her there, it might have jeopardized the broader situation, allowing others to reap the spoils."
At this, the White Emperor's gaze turned toward the desert sky dyed crimson by the dying sun, and he said with profound nuance: "Wouldn't you agree, Qin Ke?"
As his voice fell, dead silence ensued.
Bai Qinqing instinctively looked where her father was staring, but saw only sunset clouds drifting across the horizon like burning flame.
After several breaths of silence, an old, bizarre laugh floated down lazily from the sky: "White Emperor, speaking like that makes us sound like strangers. I went and inspected the traces you left behind that day. Had this old man been present, I surely would have lent you a hand. After all, we are true partners in cooperation right now."
With those words, a hunched old man in luxurious robes and a sinister countenance drifted down before the father and daughter.
Looking at the old man, Bai Qinqing immediately recalled that night outside Di'an City. Her brow furrowed involuntarily, unconcealed revulsion surfacing in her eyes.
The White Emperor continued to stare impassively at him. "Is that so? From what I have observed, you hardly seem to be executing the plan as agreed."
The hunched elder let out a raspy, sinister cackle: "Heh heh heh... If every plan unfolded precisely as envisioned, the world would be far too simple. One must always make slight adjustments according to changing circumstances. Am I not here now to inform you?"
The White Emperor's dragon eyes carried an imposing dignity without needing anger: "I can overlook the fact that you showed yourselves only after matters were exposed. But regarding that woman's strength, do you have nothing to explain to me?"
"The Saintess of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion?"
"Who else?"
"On that matter, this old man is equally curious about what transpired." The hunched elder furrowed his brow slightly, his tone turning solemn. "When we met before, that Tianyan clearly had only an Origin Realm cultivation. Perhaps the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master left behind some contingency."
"..."
The White Emperor offered neither confirmation nor denial of the explanation, merely asking coolly, "So, what is this change in plans you spoke of?"
"The situation has shifted slightly." A faint sigh crept into the hunched elder's voice. "We still knew too little of the ancient beast bloodline. We never imagined their bloodline would be potent enough to elevate that brat Mu Xingyi's strength to Semi-Saint in such a short span."
Hearing the insinuation, the White Emperor asked calmly, "Are you blaming me for not handing over all our intelligence on ancient beasts?"
The demon race shared intricate, myriad ties with ancient beasts, possessing extensive intelligence on such entities. When entering into cooperation, they had surrendered a portion, yet just as the other party harbored their own hidden agendas, the most critical secrets had been kept hidden.
Under the twilight's final fading gleam, a faint scent of gunpowder drifted between them.
In the end, the hunched elder yielded with a chuckle, shaking his head. "Keeping secrets to oneself is understandable. Besides, even had you shared that intelligence, unexpected developments would still have arisen."
"The Saint-rank yin ghost at Mu Xingyi's side?" the White Emperor supplied.
The hunched elder fixed his gaze on the White Emperor, a sneer gracing his heavily wrinkled face. "It seems that on that day, not only did you encounter that strange Saintess, but you also ran into Mu Xingyi and that yin ghost..."
It was an accusation that he had withheld intelligence.
The White Emperor's calm eyes held no trace of emotion as he murmured, "You are hardly in a position to bring that up. Qing'er entering Evil Ghost Gorge was orchestrated by you, was it not?"
"..."
The hunched elder glanced at the young woman and shook his head lightly, keeping his voice low. "White Emperor, if you wish to obtain that Linlang, stop this infighting. Because of our mutual friction, the original plan to capture the bugs has already failed. Of the three Transcendent Realm experts we dispatched, one was killed, one fled heavily wounded, and one is missing."
"..."
The White Emperor stared at the elder in silence, displaying no reaction whatsoever, waiting quietly for what was to follow.
Seeing his composure, the hunched elder chuckled and said, "Di'an has caught wind of something and has already made a move."
"Do you mean the Yan Dynasty's Secret Investigation Bureau?"
"No, I mean the Chancellor's Manor."
"Xu Yinhe?"
The White Emperor murmured the name, utterly unperturbed, and replied calmly, "The Western Desert is where they are weakest. The Northern Border and Di'an occupy the bulk of their attention. Even if they make a move, they cannot mobilize significant strength here."
The hunched elder clicked his tongue lightly, then suddenly said, "Do you remember that Princess of Sien who appeared via spatial teleportation?"
After a brief moment of reflection, the White Emperor said, "Naturally."
The hunched elder locked eyes with those majestic dragon pupils, enunciating every word: "She said that the remains of the Emperor of Sien contain a Boundary Void Stone—and that corpse has fallen into Xu Yinhe's hands."
"..."
For the first time, a crack appeared in the White Emperor's unruffled expression. His brow knitted slightly.
The hunched elder let out a soft sigh and whispered, "White Emperor, you understand well what that entails. This old man's sincerity should suffice, yes?"
"..."
Silence hung between them.
The White Emperor took a deep breath, looked in the direction of Evil Ghost Gorge, and said slowly, "Qin Ke, the ceiling of the ancient beast bloodline is not limited merely to Semi-Saint. Furthermore, that Saint-rank yin ghost and Mu Xingyi appear to have their eyes on the Saintess of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion..."
Chapter 607