*(Note: A mistake was made in the previous chapter; Xiao Zhu is a fox demon.)*
"This barbecue shop is actually run by the Nine Nether Cult! This poor monk shall subjugate this ghost at once—I ask both senior brothers to lend me a hand!"
Shi Chan moved to reveal himself, but was held back by Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.
"Wait, wait, wait! She's one of us; there's no need to fight."
"One of us?"
Shi Chan's eyes filled with bewilderment. Who was "one of us" with whom?
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou trusted Shi Chan's character, so they decided to let him in on some inside information about the Dao Seeking Sect.
"Actually, it's like this: we're the ones who founded the Heavenly Court Cult..."
The two patiently explained how they had fabricated the Heavenly Court Cult out of whole cloth, and how they had deceived the Nine Nether Cult.
After hearing them out, Shi Chan fell silent for a long time, unable to utter a word.
No wonder his master had often said while alive that Dao Seeking Sect disciples were full of crafty tricks and one had to be careful when dealing with them.
He hadn't taken it to heart before, but now he knew his master had been right.
The ancient Heavenly Court that had caused such a massive stir across the land was actually fabricated by Senior Brother Lu Yang.
If word of this got out, it would undoubtedly stir up titanic waves.
"Thank you both, Senior Brothers, for your trust."
Since Xiao Cui was the Chunjiang Branch Master of the Nine Nether Cult, she counted as half of their own people and it wasn't convenient to make a move against her. The three could only return to Xu An's room and resume pretending to be asleep to avoid any unexpected trouble.
Not long after they settled into position, another graceful silhouette slipped into the room. Seeing the three men unconscious, she let out a sigh of relief.
It was none other than the maid Xiao Zhu.
"As expected of Sister Xiao Cui. Her knock-out incense really works wonders.
"A pity, really. Though my cultivation is on par with Sister Xiao Cui's, she is a Nine Nether Cult Branch Master. I can't compete with her on human territory.
"Still, it's no big deal. She can only absorb yang qi and can't actually do the deeds of the bedchamber with the benefactor. She can only enjoy it in dreams, which isn't nearly as pleasant as what I can do.
"I originally planned to do this tomorrow night, but since the benefactor took that lingzhi and his yang qi is running so high, there's no harm in me enjoying myself a bit."
As Xiao Zhu spoke, she undid her garments, revealing a fluffy white fox tail and ears, and pressed herself against Xu An.
Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou, and Shi Chan: "..."
"What do we do? Should we step in and stop her?"
"From what I can tell, Xu An didn't eat that lingzhi during the day for nothing; he's still got plenty of yang qi."
"And it seems she doesn't bear any malice either."
After a tempest of passion, Xiao Zhu departed, thoroughly satisfied.
Just as the three were about to sit up, they heard the door push open once more, and a third graceful figure entered the room, looking timid and shy.
It was the maid Xiao Qiu.
Just like Xiao Cui, Xiao Qiu verified the potency of the incense, saw that Lu Yang and the other two were still fast asleep, and let out a sigh of relief.
She leaned over Xu An, clumsily absorbing his yang qi, murmuring into his ear:
"Master, Xiao Qiu likes you."
The trio exchanged secret thoughts via divine sense.
"I can tell this is an artifact spirit. Can either of you see what her true form is?"
"This poor monk's discernment is limited; I cannot tell."
"It's a jade pendant crafted by a Nascent Soul stage artifact-refining grandmaster, and it's a magic treasure capable of advancing in rank." Though Lu Yang's eyesight was on par with Meng Jingzhou's, he had an immortal helping him.
"I remember Xu An mentioning his parents were ordinary Qi Refinement cultivators. A magic treasure with an artifact spirit doesn't seem like something Qi Refinement cultivators could acquire."
Magic treasures with artifact spirits were rare. Lu Yang had seen the very finest of them, where the soul of a Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator had been refined into the treasure.
Xiao Qiu's background wasn't nearly that exaggerated, but it was still far beyond what a Qi Refinement cultivator could obtain.
"It's probably something his parents stumbled upon by chance, like hunting for treasures in a black market like the one we visited. They bought it without knowing what kind of treasure it was and left it to Xu An as an inheritance. Xu An wore it for years, and the pendant instinctively absorbed his yang qi or quintessence, which eventually awakened it."
This also explained why Xiao Qiu was so affectionate toward Xu An.
Just as Xiao Qiu was intoxicated in absorbing Xu An's yang qi, two graceful figures returned.
It was Xiao Cui and Xiao Zhu. Thinking that such an opportunity was rare today, they had both decided to enjoy themselves once more, only to bump into each other at the doorway.
"Xiao Qiu, why are you here? You're a cultivator?"
Xiao Qiu instantly panicked.
Xiao Cui and Xiao Zhu were astonished. The two knew each other's secret, but neither had imagined that Xiao Qiu wasn't human either.
"Wait, no—you're an artifact spirit! Could it be that you're the jade pendant the benefactor lost?"
They recalled the benefactor mentioning that his parents had left him a jade pendant. To honor their memory, he had attached his sentiments to the keepsake, wearing it day and night.
Yet one day, for reasons unknown, the jade pendant had vanished without a trace. No matter how he searched, he couldn't find it, causing him immense regret.
So the jade pendant had been right here all along!
They hadn't noticed before, but now that Xiao Qiu was drawing yang qi, her true nature was laid bare.
Xiao Qiu gave an awkward nod, confirming the two elder sisters' suspicions, and scrambled off Xu An.
Xiao Cui ground her teeth. "I was wondering why the benefactor was still so weak when I was always so careful with how much yang qi I took. Turns out you were at it too!"
She had worried the benefactor's body wouldn't recover, so she only sneaked in once every four days!
None of the three would back down, each wishing to continue with Xu An. As their auras clashed, Xu An let out an involuntary groan, scaring all three into freezing.
The three maidservants had no choice but to depart resentfully, giving up on any further bedchamber activities.
The moment they stepped out of the room, they saw Liu Xiangyu standing in the courtyard, her pretty face contorted as she ground her teeth in fury.
"Y-You're none of you human!"
Liu Xiangyu bit down on her silver teeth, speaking with bitter venom.
These past days, seeing her husband grow more and more haggard, she had assumed she was the one exerting herself too much, disrupting the balance of yin and yang and draining him dry.
That was why she had cut back on their bedroom activities.
As for her husband claiming the place was haunted by ghosts, she had acted frightened on the surface, but inwardly she had remained utterly unbothered, knowing that was impossible.
She was a dignified Nascent Soul stage snake demon! How could any ghost possibly drain her husband's yang qi right under her nose?
Who could have imagined that there actually was!
Xiao Cui was a Nascent Soul stage ghost!
Xiao Zhu was a Nascent Soul stage fox demon!
Xiao Qiu was the artifact spirit of a magic treasure!
If the three hadn't clashed their auras just now, she truly wouldn't have discovered it.
She had believed all along that her husband's weakness was her fault. A few days ago, she happened to run into a mysterious person at the black market selling aphrodisiac blood, so she bought a single drop, diluted it into the lingzhi soup, and planned to enjoy herself tonight.
As for Lu Yang and his companions, it didn't matter—knocking them out was enough.
Who would have thought that before she even stepped through the door, she would sense the three maids squabbling inside her husband's room!
So the pure yang blood she had paid a fortune for was used to feed the three of them!
The three maidservants had long known Liu Xiangyu's true identity. After all, Liu Xiangyu's attention had been entirely occupied with hiding her identity from Xu An, never imagining that the three maids were secretly watching her; her vigilance had simply been lacking.
"M-Mistress, please let me explain..." Xiao Qiu, being the most timid, tried to defend herself.
Liu Xiangyu cast a sound-isolation formation toward Xu An's room and laid down another formation around the Xu manor to cut it off from the outside world. Her voice turned chillingly grim.
"Save your breath. By the rules of the cultivation world, whoever has the bigger fists makes the rules. Today, I'll teach you the price a maidservant pays for stealing a taste!"
Xiao Cui wasn't afraid in the slightest. As a dignified Nine Nether Cult Branch Master and head of the largest underground force in Chunjiang City, why would she fear an outsider snake demon like Liu Xiangyu?
"Xu An showed kindness to me. I will never leave him!"
Xiao Zhu's resolve was just as unyielding. "Xu An's ancestor saved my life! Such a great debt of gratitude could never be repaid, so once I took human form, the only way was to repay his descendant!"
Though Xiao Qiu was timid, when it came to matters concerning Xu An, she was completely steadfast: "Master awakened me. I belong to Master for the rest of my life!"
In the courtyard, the four Nascent Soul beings refused to yield an inch. A Nascent Soul-tier clash was on the verge of erupting.
The three pretending to sleep were also experiencing such a scene for the first time, completely at a loss for what to do.
"What do we do?" Lu Yang asked the other two for their thoughts.
Meng Jingzhou ground his teeth so hard sparks practically flew:
"Kill Xu An first!"
Chapter 668