Chapter 3:

Xie Xuechen didn’t know when he had fallen asleep again. When he woke up the next day, it was already noon. Mu Xuanling was speaking with the old woman outside. Xie Xuechen silently activated his powers to examine his condition.

There was no fluctuation of spiritual energy within his spiritual aperture; he couldn’t even control the Jun Tian Sword. Even when he exerted all his effort to circulate the Yu Que Heart Method, he struggled to absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth.

The “Half-Day Ephemeral Beauty” created by Mu Xuanling was unknown in its refinement method, but it must have involved heavenly treasures imbued with the power of causality. Among the three realms, these were two of the most powerful forces: one was the power of causality, an extremely domineering force capable of ignoring all laws of strength and weakness; the other, even more powerful, was the “chaotic” power originating from the primordial chaos. Chaos could override all causality.

Xie Xuechen had exchanged seven days of weakness for half a day of peak condition. This kind of causal exchange involved heavenly fate and was absolutely irreversible by human means. This meant that for the next seven days, he would have to submit to Mu Xuanling’s domineering authority…

“Husband, you’re awake,” Mu Xuanling said as she entered the room, showing no surprise at seeing Xie Xuechen sitting on the bed. “Are you feeling better today? Can you get up and eat?”

Although Xie Xuechen struggled to recover his spiritual energy, his physical recovery capabilities as a Fajie Zongzhe were extremely strong. After one night, his external injuries had healed by thirty to forty percent, and he could now move without difficulty.

Xie Xuechen avoided Mu Xuanling’s intentionally helpful hand, got up from the bed, and walked outside directly.

Mu Xuanling showed a helpless expression, then happily followed behind.

The farmhouse was simple and crude. The hall’s walls were old and stained, and on the wooden table were several large bowls filled with steamed buns, pickled vegetables, and a chicken soup—already an extremely generous hospitality.

The house was owned by an elderly couple. Upon seeing Xie Xuechen emerge, they were visibly flustered. Unlike Mu Xuanling’s delicate beauty, Xie Xuechen stood tall and upright, exuding a cold and austere aura typical of a sword cultivator. As the leader of the Immortal Alliance, he had long held a high position, and his every movement carried noble grace. Even though his spiritual energy was nearly depleted, his presence still exuded an intimidating force that ordinary people found hard to bear.

Xie Xuechen bowed to the elderly couple and said, “Thank you both for rescuing me.”

“T-thank you, sir, for your kindness…” the old man nervously clenched his hands, chuckled awkwardly, and pointed at a stool, repeatedly urging, “Please, sit down, sit…”

Xie Xuechen nodded and sat on the stool. Mu Xuanling immediately sat beside him, their arms pressed tightly together.

Xie Xuechen glanced sideways at her.

Unfazed, Mu Xuanling enthusiastically served him food with a cheerful smile. “Husband, you should eat more to recover your strength.”

Xie Xuechen resisted the urge to push her away, clenched his fists, lowered his eyes, and silently picked up his bowl to eat.

Suddenly, hoofbeats came from outside, followed by a rough voice.

“Dad, Mom, I’m back!”

A young man dressed as a hunter entered. When his gaze landed on Mu Xuanling, he blushed slightly and hesitated almost imperceptibly.

“Mistress Mu, Master Xie,” the young man nodded to the two.

“Brother Hou, you’re back,” Mu Xuanling smiled. “Time for dinner.”

Xie Xuechen recalled the conversation he had overheard the previous night and realized this young man was the one who had helped treat his wounds. He nodded in gratitude.

Hou the Hunter was somewhat reluctant to meet their gazes. He chose a stool and sat down before speaking. “Mistress Mu, I went to the market today and found that our area mostly has short-legged small horses, except for one steed that can travel a hundred miles a day. I’ve bought it for you. I told the merchant that if there are any more good horses, he should notify me. If you aren’t in a hurry, you can stay a few more days and wait.”

Mu Xuanling sighed. “We are actually in a hurry. I’m afraid my father will send people to hunt us down. Although there’s only one horse, since my husband and I can ride together, it should be fine. Brother Hou, thank you for your efforts.”

“You’re too kind. It was nothing,” Hou the Hunter waved his hand repeatedly, his face turning red.

Xie Xuechen understood Mu Xuanling’s plan from her words. She had realized his spiritual energy was gone and that he couldn’t travel, so she had someone buy a horse for him.

Where did she plan to take him?

Xie Xuechen frowned in thought.

“Miss Mu, I also asked around at the market today and didn’t hear any news about martial cultivators nearby. Our Qing Shan Market usually doesn’t have many outsiders. If any martial cultivators came, someone would definitely know. Miss Mu, your family probably hasn’t found you here yet, so you can rest assured and don’t need to rush,” Hou the Hunter comforted her.

It wasn’t just because he was smitten with Mu Xuanling’s beauty. He had helped Xie Xuechen apply medicine the previous day and had been shocked by his injuries. He couldn’t imagine how a living person could survive such severe wounds. He had thought this “Master Xie” wouldn’t be able to get out of bed for at least ten days or half a month, yet today, as soon as he entered the door, he saw the man sitting calmly in the hall, eating.

The two sitting side by side were truly a perfect match…

Hou the Hunter felt a pang of sadness.

“Grandma, we’ll be leaving after lunch. We’ve troubled you these past few days,” Mu Xuanling ceremoniously bowed to the elderly couple.

The old couple immediately stood up to return the bow, repeatedly saying, “No, no, we don’t deserve that.”

Mu Xuanling smiled slightly. “Thank you, and… I’m sorry…”

Before anyone could understand why she apologized, she raised her pale hand. A faint bell sound seemed to echo in their ears. The scene before them became distorted and strange. The three members of the Hou family stared blankly and immediately collapsed to the ground.

“You!” Xie Xuechen was shocked and furious, thinking Mu Xuanling intended to kill the ordinary people. Ignoring his severe injuries and depleted spiritual energy, he immediately reached out to stop her. However, without protective spiritual energy, he was instantly repelled by Mu Xuanling’s demonic power, and his right arm felt intense pain.

“They’re fine,” Mu Xuanling said calmly.

Xie Xuechen looked at the three collapsed figures and checked their breathing. Seeing they were unharmed, he sighed in relief and glared furiously at Mu Xuanling, demanding, “What did you do that for?”

Mu Xuanling shrugged. “Master Xie must think I’m killing them to cover my tracks.”

Xie Xuechen had indeed thought that initially, but these three were clearly unharmed.

Mu Xuanling said, “Master Xie, please rest assured. I merely erased their memories; I didn’t harm their lives.”

“Why would you do that?” Xie Xuechen asked coldly.

“It seems Master Xie doesn’t know much about the Demon Race,” Mu Xuanling sat down leisurely and said slowly. “In the world, if people develop greedy, angry, or deluded thoughts, they will generate heart demons. Heart demons gather in the Void Sea, and the Demon Race is formed from the demonic energy in the Void Sea. Therefore, demons can manipulate heart demons.”

Mu Xuanling pointed at Hou the Hunter lying on the ground and said, “Master Xie, didn’t you see just now? He had already developed lustful thoughts about my beauty—that’s a heart demon. After we escaped from the Demon Realm, we were teleported here. The demons will soon track us down. As long as they connect with the heart demons here, they will quickly discover our location. What I did was erase his memory and eliminate his heart demon. Although there’s a barrier preventing high-level demons from entering or leaving, you’re currently powerless. I’m afraid it won’t be easy to deal with the demon pursuers.”

After hearing Mu Xuanling’s explanation, Xie Xuechen felt slightly relieved.

Thousands of years ago, the Immortal Cultivators set up a barrier at the Two Realms Mountain, known as the Ten-Thousand Immortals Formation. The formation acted like a heavenly net; the stronger the demonic energy, the more constrained it would be. Therefore, high-level demon sovereigns couldn’t cross the Ten-Thousand Immortals Formation, while weaker demons could squeeze through the gaps at the cost of injuries. Xie Xuechen had taken Mu Xuanling and fled from the Demon Realm, an act that would surely be reported immediately. The Demon Sovereign and High Priest Sang Qi couldn’t leave the Demon Realm but would certainly dispatch many demon pursuers to search for the two. Xie Xuechen was now in a perilous situation—trapped between a tiger’s mouth and a hungry wolf, at a loss over whether Mu Xuanling or the demon pursuers posed a greater threat.

Xie Xuechen carried the three people back to their beds, then returned to the hall and saw Mu Xuanling pulling a golden hairpin from her bun. With a casual squeeze of her delicate hand, the beautifully carved golden hairpin transformed into a small golden ingot.

Xie Xuechen asked in confusion, “What are you doing now?”

Mu Xuanling replied, “We’ve received their kindness. We ate a chicken and bought a horse. We shouldn’t let them bear the cost.” She glanced at Xie Xuechen with a half-smile. “Master Xie, do you have anything valuable on you?”

Xie Xuechen’s face stiffened.

He had been punished in the Molten Abyss for seven days, and all his magical artifacts had been taken. Fortunately, the Jun Tian Sword was formed from sword energy and could be hidden within his spiritual aperture, allowing him to keep it.

Mu Xuanling sighed. “So, I have to pay myself. But how could I possibly carry gold and silver? I can only use my hairpin to settle the debt. This hairpin is too ornate and carries my aura. I’m worried the demon pursuers might detect it, so I’ll erase my aura and reshape it into a gold ingot.”

As she spoke, Mu Xuanling walked to the side and threw the gold ingot into the rice jar.

Xie Xuechen raised an eyebrow but restrained himself from asking why.

Mu Xuanling kindly explained, “Leaving it on the table would be too obvious. Putting it in the rice jar, they’ll discover it when cooking in a few days. By then, we’ll be long gone, and they won’t associate it with us.”

Mu Xuanling then tidied up the bowls, chopsticks, and beds, leaving no trace of their presence.

Xie Xuechen watched silently, experiencing an illusion—as if she were the true human living in this mundane world, while he seemed more like an outsider.

After finishing everything, Mu Xuanling walked in front of him, and he finally snapped back to reality.

“Master Xie, it’s time for us to go.”

“Us?” Xie Xuechen raised an eyebrow and looked down at the smiling Mu Xuanling. “Where exactly do you plan to take me?”

He had already suspected that Mu Xuanling had ulterior motives for taking him from the Demon Realm, but this demon girl was always spouting nonsense, making him unwilling to believe a single word she said.

“Naturally to a safe place.”

For Xie Xuechen, the immediate danger was Mu Xuanling, while the distant threat was the demon soldiers. A safe place for him would be the Five Sects of the Immortal Alliance. But how could a half-demon girl dare to go there with him?

Xie Xuechen looked at Mu Xuanling suspiciously. The latter suddenly stepped closer, almost pressing against Xie Xuechen’s chest. Instinctively, Xie Xuechen took half a step back but was blocked by the table behind him, leaving him no escape. Mu Xuanling slightly tilted her head up to look at Xie Xuechen and reached out, pulling the white jade hairpin from his hairpin. Then she conjured a black wooden hairpin from nowhere and inserted it into his hairpin.

“This is a magical artifact I refined—the Shadow-Hiding Hairpin—crafted from Ghost Shadow Wood from the Demon Realm. This hairpin can conceal your appearance. Unless someone has powerful spiritual energy, others will forget your face as soon as they see it, perceiving you as ordinary.” Mu Xuanling smiled. “Master Xie’s noble and divine appearance is too conspicuous. I can only resort to this underhanded method to avoid attention.”

As she spoke, Mu Xuanling subtly pocketed Xie Xuechen’s hairpin.

Xie Xuechen noticed but, given his current predicament, could he really fight her over a hairpin when he could barely protect himself?

In the Demon Realm, at the Zhu Shen Palace.

Demon experts gathered here, kneeling on the ground, trembling, because the black silhouette on the silver mirror was in a furious rage.

The Demon Sovereign had not yet emerged from retreat, but no one dared to hide the news of Xie Xuechen abducting Mu Xuanling. Eventually, it was reported.

The Demon Sovereign’s projection appeared on the magical artifact, issuing a decree ordering all demon soldiers to pursue Xie Xuechen.

“Reporting, my Lord, Xie Xuechen’s spiritual power has recovered to its peak state. Even if we catch up to them, it may be of no avail…” a voice from below said nervously.

“Not necessarily.” A deep, slightly hoarse voice came from outside, interrupting the meeting in the hall.

The demons were surprised, turning their heads to see a tall figure slowly entering the hall, wearing a black cloak. The hood partially covered his face, revealing only a thin jawline, pale complexion, and unusually red thin lips.

“Greetings, Great High Priest!” the demons hurriedly bowed.

High Priest Sang Qi ignored the demons, walking directly to the silver mirror and slightly bowing.

“Greetings, my Lord.”

The High Priest held a noble position in the Demon Realm, needing only to bow halfway even to the Demon Sovereign.

“Sang Qi, you’ve emerged from retreat earlier than expected,” the Demon Sovereign was clearly somewhat surprised.

“Xie Xuechen has abducted the Holy Maiden, a matter of great importance. I had no choice but to break through my cultivation early,” Sang Qi said solemnly. “It has been a day since Xie Xuechen fled the Demon Realm. If he has indeed fully recovered his spiritual power, he should already be in the city of Yong Xue, thousands of miles away. However, I just contacted our informant in the Immortal Alliance, and none of the Five Sects of the Immortal Alliance are aware of Xie Xuechen’s whereabouts. The sect leaders and elders only know that Xie Xuechen entered the Ten-Thousand Immortals Formation seven days ago and hasn’t emerged, assuming he is trapped inside. They are now preparing to enter the formation to rescue him.”

The Demon Sovereign hesitated for a moment before asking, “What are you implying…”

Demons were formed from demonic energy, with low intelligence. Although higher-level demons had higher intelligence, even the Demon Sovereign struggled to control his nature, often driven by desires and emotions, leading to a loss of reasoning ability.

Precisely for this reason, the Demon Race allied with half-demons, appointing the half-demon Sang Qi as High Priest to jointly manage the affairs of the Demon Realm.

Sang Qi patiently explained, “Xie Xuechen escaped but didn’t immediately return to Yong Xue City. There are two possibilities. First, he suspects the loyalty of the Five Sects of the Immortal Alliance, knowing that this ambush in the Ten-Thousand Immortals Formation was betrayed by someone from the Five Sects. Second, he hasn’t truly recovered his strength, unable to return to Yong Xue City thousands of miles away, or even contact the nearest Immortal Alliance sect in time.”

As soon as Sang Qi spoke, the Demon Sovereign immediately understood.

“Your reasoning makes sense. What do you suggest we do?”

“Based on Xie Xuechen’s character, if he had truly recovered his strength, even knowing that there are traitors among the Five Sects of the Immortal Alliance, he would immediately return to his sect to eliminate the traitors. Therefore, the most likely scenario is that he is severely injured but somehow temporarily restored his peak strength, using the opportunity to escape from the Demon Realm. Therefore, we must seize this opportunity to send troops to pursue him,” Sang Qi said.

“This aligns perfectly with my thoughts,” the Demon Sovereign nodded.

“Xie Xuechen was ambushed, and the Ten-Thousand Immortals Formation couldn’t be repaired successfully, causing the gap to widen again. This is the perfect opportunity for our Demon and Monster Races to invade the Human Realm. I have already used the Holy Maiden’s hair to divine her situation. She is currently not in danger, and her location can be estimated within a certain range. As long as we send out demon troops to search using the Heart Demon Formation, we will soon get results.”

“Excellent!” The Demon Sovereign was delighted and loudly said, “I will entrust you with the pursuit. Remember, you must bring back the Holy Maiden alive!”

Sang Qi slightly bowed and said, “Sang Qi accepts the command.”