"Wicked disciple!" In the underground palace, a harsh shout echoed. A scorching, solar flame aura swept through the dark burial chamber, bringing a suffocating pressure.
Dressed in a red horse-face skirt, Commandery Princess Yinyao, her face and eye sockets pale and delicate, prostrated herself on the ground.
Those eyes, set in dark sockets with blood-red pupils, showed no trace of sinister ferocity, filled instead with fear and dread.
Before her stood Lady Sandao in a feather robe, hands clasped behind her back. Aloof and ethereal, haughty and majestic, she resembled a goddess treading upon the clouds.
By comparison, although Commandery Princess Yinyao was an exquisite beauty, her presence and disposition fell far short of her master.
"Master, forgive me! Even an ant clings to life; your disciple feared death and only wished to survive—it is human nature. You admonished me never to take the evil path of slaughtering our own kind, and I have kept that firmly in mind. For the sake of our past bonds, please show mercy and forgive your disciple."
Commandery Princess Yinyao transmitted a voice audible only to Night Walkers.
After refining herself into a yin corpse, she could no longer speak like normal people.
The old crone said coldly, "And refining yourself into an undead, living-dead yin creature is not an evil path?"
A hint of bitterness tinged Commandery Princess Yinyao's "voice."
"Your disciple is not like Master, whose cultivation mirrors nature and whose lifespan is vast."
With her forehead pressed to the ground, she pleaded piteously, just as she used to wheedle and act coquettishly before her master back then.
Yinyao knew that while her master appeared aloof and almost ruthless on the surface, she was soft-hearted at core. As long as a matter did not cross her bottom line, she had always been magnanimous.
Of course, whether stealing her coffin crossed that bottom line was something Yinyao was not quite sure about, which was why she had to beg for mercy.
Lady Sandao said coldly, "Enough. We are both trapped beasts in a cage now; making things difficult for you serves no purpose. Stay here properly. In the future, if I can break free from the Spirit Realm, I will naturally take you with me."
Commandery Princess Yinyao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Master!"
Lady Sandao's cool, stunning brow softened slightly. She gave an "mm" and said, "The news of you being in this world was told to me by a young man named Yuanshi Tianzun. Do you have any impression of him?"
*So he was the one who sold me out...* Commandery Princess Yinyao snorted inwardly, replying to her master, "Not many Night Walkers can leave this place alive, so of course your disciple remembers him. Does that boy actually know Master?"
Lady Sandao offered a slight smile. "A very interesting junior. I've dealt with him a few times, and his bowing posture is far more devout than yours. Tell me about his performance in Mute Village."
*Master values this young man named Yuanshi Tianzun very much...* Commandery Princess Yinyao then recounted Yuanshi Tianzun's performance in the dungeon in detail.
Lady Sandao listened impassively without interrupting, paying close attention.
Once Commandery Princess Yinyao finished, she asked, "How do you rate his talent?"
"He is very quick-witted!"
Commandery Princess Yinyao did not truly know Yuanshi Tianzun; based solely on his performance in Mute Village, he was well deserving of being called "quick-witted."
Lady Sandao nodded slightly. "When we break free from the Spirit Realm in the future, you shall serve him. Since you have become a yin creature, you require a master to nurture and sustain you."
Commandery Princess Yinyao was shocked and aggrieved. "Master, I... I am your disciple..."
As an imperial commandery princess, she naturally was unwilling to become a servant or handmaiden driven about by others. She suspected her master was using this opportunity to punish her.
"It is not up to you!" the old crone said indifferently.
Commandery Princess Yinyao refused to give up. "Master, you have only dealt with him a few times—how well do you truly know him? Do not be bewitched by that boy. My bowing may not be as devout as his, but your disciple is wholly dedicated to you. Think about it: aside from flattering you, has he ever genuinely helped, supported, or respected you?"
The old crone fell silent.
Although this unworthy disciple's words were an excuse for herself, they were not entirely without merit.
Her only point of connection to reality was Yuanshi Tianzun. That junior was talented, spoke pleasing words, and possessed a fairly decent nature. The old crone appreciated him and developed a fondness for his talent, which was why she intended to have her unworthy disciple serve him.
On one hand, it was to nurture Yuanshi Tianzun; on the other, Yinyao turning into a yin creature held endless hidden dangers, and without a "master" constantly nourishing and refining her, her cultivation would stall.
And she herself could not be bothered to perform the chores of nurturing a disciple.
Yet thinking it over carefully, it indeed seemed somewhat inappropriate. That boy showed her utmost deference on the surface, but who knew how he talked about her behind her back—for example, "old crone"!
Unfilial though Yinyao was, she was nonetheless her personal disciple.
Seeing her master lost in contemplation, Commandery Princess Yinyao hurried to say, "Master, I have an important matter to report."
Lady Sandao said, "Speak!"
Commandery Princess Yinyao straightened her posture while remaining on her knees. "I once learned intelligence regarding a Golden Crow ascending to Human Immortal from a profligate named the Demon Lord. He said that once the Stars and Black Moon had found their masters, the instance harboring the Blazing Sun finally opened. Master, you can traverse dungeon instances freely; perhaps... perhaps you could give it a try."
Pausing, she added, "Your disciple only knows this much."
She had kept this piece of information firmly in mind all along; now that her master wanted to send her off to serve some brat, Yinyao had no choice but to offer it to display her loyalty.
*The Stars and Black Moon have both found their masters...* Lady Sandao furrowed her brows in thought for a moment, then asked, "How did you learn of this? Who is this Demon Lord, and why would he tell you such things?"
Commandery Princess Yinyao's expression instantly became unnatural and awkward.
Lady Sandao did not press further. After gazing at her for a moment, she said, "The matter of serving Yuanshi Tianzun shall be set aside for now."
Yinyao let out a sigh of relief.
Right then, a ray of gentle golden light penetrated the underground palace, falling upon Lady Sandao.
A muffled murmur echoed within the burial chamber:
"Niangniang, Niangniang, hurry out... Niangniang, Niangniang, hurry out... The summoning materials are very expensive..."
"Niangniang, Niangniang, hurry out... Niangniang, Niangniang, hurry out... The summoning materials are very expensive..."
Inside the bedroom, the air conditioner blew out cold air. The Demon-Subduing Pestle gave off a faint golden light, while the materials arranged around it rapidly lost their spiritual essence, which flowed into the pestle.
Zhang Yuanqing waited and waited, but the old crone still did not appear. Growing somewhat anxious, he couldn't help muttering continuously under his breath, hoping to summon the old crone out.
During the previous summoning ritual, the parchment had served as a medium and he had been inside a dungeon instance, whereas this time, he was in the real world and lacked the parchment medium.
Zhang Yuanqing was actually unsure whether he could summon the old crone. He figured that since she was already able to descend into reality, what he really needed to do was not open a summoning channel, but "knock on the door"—to inform the old crone that her devout junior needed her, and she would come on her own.
As the seconds ticked by and the materials were about to be drained entirely of spiritual essence, the Demon-Subduing Pestle suddenly erupted with a brilliant golden light. A gleaming golden primordial spirit rose from the pestle, hovering in midair.
Lady Sandao's delicate brows knitted slightly, appearing somewhat displeased. "What is it?"
Zhang Yuanqing dropped to his knees and kowtowed immediately. "I respectfully welcome Niangniang! Niangniang possesses peerless immortal grace and matchless elegance!"
Her catch-up with her disciple having been interrupted, Lady Sandao's expression softened slightly. "Speak properly. What made you disturb this seat?"
Zhang Yuanqing stood up and got straight to the point: "Niangniang, we excavated an ancient tomb. Inside the tomb stood a stone stele reading 'Pure Yang Sect Demon-Sealing Ground'..."
He had only gotten that far when he saw Lady Sandao's expression drastically change.
This was the first time Zhang Yuanqing had ever seen such a drastic shift in expression on the cool and stunning Niangniang's face.
The old crone fixed her sharp gaze on him and asked in a deep voice, "Did you open the stone coffin?"
"Yes!" Zhang Yuanqing nodded. "But rest assured, Niangniang, we have already destroyed the fiend inside the stone coffin. His soul was scattered and destroyed; I can be certain of it."
As a Night Walker, he was exceptionally sensitive to spirit bodies; there was no way he could be mistaken.
The old crone fell silent for a moment before saying with grave solemnity, "Recount everything that happened in the ancient tomb to this seat, exactly as it occurred, without leaving out a single detail."
*Niangniang's reaction...* Zhang Yuanqing's heart clenched. Straightening up, he said solemnly, "Understood!"
He immediately related every detail after entering the tomb without concealing anything, recounting everything so exhaustively that he practically included how many times Jiang Jingwei waved her banner.
When she heard how Yuanshi Tianzun had stood firmly by her virtue and refuted the Pure Yang Sect Master, the old crone couldn't help casting several glances his way.
Once Yuanshi Tianzun finished, she let out a soft sigh. "You have brought about a terrible disaster."
"What do you mean..." Zhang Yuanqing's expression changed.
"He was indeed my master and the Pure Yang Sect Master. But when a villain falls into demonic ways and slaughters the innocent, even if he were this seat's biological father, righteousness demands exterminating him." Lady Sandao said angrily, "Is this seat so pedantic? Sealing him rather than killing him had its reasons!"
After reproaching him as if venting her temper, she continued:
"Back then, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth gradually thinned, making further progress impossible for the world's cultivators. All of that was just as he told you; he was not lying about that. But the one who truly fell to the demonic path was him, not me.
"To reach a higher level, the Pure Yang Sect Master sought alternative means and secretly cultivated the Heart Demon Great Art. This caused a drastic shift in his temperament and disordered his sanity, leading him to commit countless atrocities. At the time, I was in seclusion in the palace, attempting a breakthrough to the Golden Crow realm.
"Only after emerging from seclusion did I learn that my master had fallen into demonic ways, throwing the world into utter turmoil and leaving neither the orthodox nor demonic factions in peace. Thus, I led the members of the Pure Yang Sect to clean house. After that battle, countless elites of the Pure Yang Sect were killed or wounded, and the sect fell into decline.
"This seat did not name him directly on the stone stele out of consideration for the Pure Yang Sect's reputation, leaving my master a shred of dignity. The funerary objects were placed there for the same reason."
*So that's how it was...* Zhang Yuanqing asked, "Then why couldn't he be killed?"
The old crone sighed. "The Heart Demon Great Art is the supreme sect-guarding art of the Faceless Demon Cult—what you people call 'Illusionists.' What good end could come from a Night Walker practicing an Illusionist's techniques?
"The reason he couldn't be killed is that within the Heart Demon Great Art, there is a technique called 'Demonic Seed in the Dao Heart.' It nurtures a seed from the primordial spirit's origin and implants it within another person's spirit body, using the target's spirit body as nourishment to be reborn from death.
"To eliminate him, the only way was to seal him and let time kill him, or to have a Human Immortal take action.
"He first possessed that little girl, using her spirit body as nourishment to restore his power. Then he took advantage of your curiosity regarding the events of the past to fabricate lies and stall for time... By now, he has most likely possessed and seized the body of one among you.
"You Spirit Realm walkers advance far too quickly and your methods are shallow; how could you possibly guard against him? And that Elder from the Five Elements Alliance is even a Xuanwu."
*One of us has been possessed and taken over?!* A chill ran through Zhang Yuanqing's heart. "How can body possession be detected?"
Lady Sandao said, "Use the purifying power of the Demon-Subduing Pestle to cleanse their physical body, and then observe their Fate Palace with Star Physiognomy."
The Fate Palace was a person's origin, tied to fate itself. Appearance could be altered, but destiny would not change.
"Understood!" Zhang Yuanqing wished he could rush into Guan Ya's room right this second to inspect her Fate Palace.
Yet he heard the old crone say in a deep, grave voice:
"The Pure Yang Sect Master is not a Spirit Realm walker. He is not bound by Morality Points. You have caused a catastrophe."
Chapter 326