As soon as Zhao Fenglou arrived at the manor, he summoned Zhao Zhihuan .
Upon seeing Zhao Fenglou's condition, Zhao Zhihuan was utterly aghast. Zhao Fenglou was his third grandfather. Since childhood, he had wandered the martial world and was said to be a peerless master who spent his years hunting Wind Beasts.
It was possible for a master of supreme martial arts to live over a hundred years while maintaining a youthful appearance. Furthermore, whenever Zhao Fenglou returned to Jiaoming Province after many years, he would deliberately make himself look older, so as not to arouse suspicion.
In truth, Zhao Fenglou was Zhao Zhihuan's third great-grandfather, but such a generational gap was impossible to explain for someone who was still alive, so he had altered Zhao Zhihuan's memories.
Because of this, Zhao Zhihuan was unaware that Zhao Fenglou was a cultivator . However, Zhao Fenglou would occasionally reveal things in their conversations that only a cultivator would know, which made Zhao Zhihuan's knowledge far superior to that of an ordinary mortal.
Zhao Fenglou simply said that he had been injured by a Wind Beast and that Ling'e was his disciple whom he had kept abroad. This time, he had made it back thanks to her escort. He then entrusted all matters of his recuperation to Ling'e, instructing that whatever medicine to procure or which physician to hire must be done according to her command.
In fact, the moment Zhao Fenglou returned to the Zhao Manor, he had wanted Ling'e to leave, but she refused.
Ling'e knew that the task of collecting healing pills was not something mortals could accomplish, so she once again requested to stay.
After half a year of supporting each other, Zhao Fenglou had long since come to understand Ling'e's character. He knew she genuinely wanted to repay him for saving her life, and he trusted her completely.
Coupled with the fact that in his current state he truly couldn't go to the market to purchase pills, he had no choice but to summon Zhao Zhihuan , give his instructions, and allow Ling'e to stay at the Zhao Manor.
When Zhao Zhihuan heard that Ling'e was his third grandfather's disciple, he calculated that her seniority was even higher than his own. Moreover, the people of the Wind God Continent suffered greatly from the Wind Beasts and held great respect for warriors who could slay them. He immediately wanted to treat Ling'e as an honored guest.
But Ling'e was unwilling. After some thought, Zhao Fenglou agreed that it was best for Ling'e not to attract too much attention. In the end, Ling'e officially became the personal maid of the Zhao Manor's old matriarch.
Afterward, Zhao Fenglou began his recuperation, occasionally offering Ling'e guidance on her cultivation. The two of them could be considered both teacher and friend.
With the guidance of a Golden Core master, Ling'e's cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, and she soon reached the mid-stage of the Second Rank.
Unfortunately, four years later, because Zhao Fenglou had delayed the optimal time for treatment while fleeing and hiding, he was ultimately unable to purge the 'Golden Silk Pill Miasma' poison. His Golden Core was on the verge of shattering.
Before his death, he told Ling'e that his enemy's name was Xu Xing, also known as the "Golden Silk Soul Master," a formidable figure in the underworld . He had incurred this deep-seated hatred because he had killed Xu Xing's only disciple for slaughtering mortals.
Xu Xing was a man who would seek revenge for the smallest grievance and would surely come looking for him one day. Zhao Fenglou asked Ling'e that if her cultivation greatly improved in the future, and if she was capable, to protect Zhao Zhihuan's lineage. Otherwise, it was better for Ling'e to leave as soon as possible, to make the traces of her presence disappear. As for what Ling'e would decide, he already knew her character well—simple and stubborn—and he couldn't sway her.
Having said his piece, Zhao Fenglou unleashed his final divine ability. At the cost of being unable to enter the Great Dao of Reincarnation and never being reincarnated, he resolutely transformed his own soul into a "Blood Soul-Seizing Lamp."
This lamp not only had defensive properties but could also unleash a strike with the full power of a Late-stage Golden Core cultivator.
It was the last line of defense he left for the Zhao bloodline, and it was the faint formation restriction that Li Yan had sensed.
After Zhao Fenglou's death, Ling'e was still unwilling to leave the Zhao Manor. She remained, cultivating desperately, and finally broke through to the peak of the Second Rank a year ago.
However, the unexpected finally happened. A few months ago, she discovered unknown cultivators appearing in Jiaoming Province.
Jiaoming Province was just a mortal city. Although there was Spiritual Energy here, it wasn't particularly abundant, so it was rare to see even a single cultivator in several years. That was why Zhao Fenglou had chosen this place as his foothold back then.
Therefore, Ling'e quickly sensed the aura of unfamiliar cultivators entering the city, and that very night, one of them quietly infiltrated the Zhao Manor.
Ling'e had long been prepared, and her attacks and traps were all designed to deal with Golden Core cultivators. That person was merely at the Foundation Establishment realm. With almost no effort, she captured him quietly.
Under Ling'e's brutal interrogation, the person admitted that he had seen the life-chasing notice issued by Xu Xing. Since he happened to have seen Zhao Fenglou in Jiaoming Province once before, he thought it was highly likely to be him.
According to Xu Xing's notice, Zhao Fenglou's cultivation had declined, at most resembling a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. The reward was three thousand low-grade Spirit Stones . Such a sum was tempting even for an ordinary rogue Golden Core cultivator.
Thus, after much hesitation, this minor Foundation Establishment cultivator gritted his teeth and entered the manor to gather information. Even if he couldn't find any trace of Zhao Fenglou, he planned to take a drop of Zhao Zhihuan's blood to Xu Xing, who would then use it to perform a tracking art.
From this, Ling'e knew that Xu Xing had indeed never given up the pursuit and had even offered a hefty reward. After killing the intruder, she felt a sense of urgency.
However, she still stuck to her decision. If Xu Xing came, she would fight to the death to protect Zhao Fenglou's descendants.
By detonating her own Demonic Core to trigger the "Blood Soul-Seizing Lamp," she could increase its power by at least thirty percent, which might be enough to kill Xu Xing.
But as fate would have it, Li Yan and his two companions appeared at the Zhao Manor, and her innate divine ability, the "Six Spirit Eyes," sensed their Divine Senses. Furthermore, after questioning Zhao Yuan and the others, she confirmed that they were indeed cultivators.
However, she couldn't sense the true cultivation level of Li Yan's group. The way they entered the Zhao Manor made Ling'e misunderstand. She thought the three of them possessed some kind of aura-concealing magical treasure that prevented her from seeing through them.
'Zhang Ming and the other two must have also seen Xu Xing's life-chasing notice, but their cultivation is low, so they entered the Zhao Manor in this manner to bide their time and wait for an opportunity. Otherwise, if their cultivation was higher than mine, and with their numerical advantage, they could have easily captured me and the entire Zhao Zhihuan family.'
With this, Ling'e's killing intent arose. She wanted to silence them, to buy herself more time to cultivate.
Having made her decision, she came over in the middle of the night and released her "Moth Poison Powder." This poison was a potent toxin inherent to the Six-Eyed Demon Moth. After constant refinement by Ling'e, it was now deadly even to Golden Core cultivators.
Although she possessed this trump card, she had no confidence she could poison Xu Xing in a direct confrontation. A powerhouse who could kill Zhao Fenglou could probably take her life in half a move. Therefore, this poison could only be used for sneak attacks.
Just as she made her move, Qian Ji appeared behind her in an instant, without any warning. The disparity in their cultivation levels was immediately apparent. In that moment, Ling'e knew her judgment of the three had been wrong.
A powerhouse of such strength could have just killed their way in. But regret came too late...
As Li Yan's soul-search revealed all this, his killing intent slowly faded.
'Sometimes, it seems demonic beasts are more sentimental than the human race!'
He also saw from her memories that Ling'e had developed feelings for Zhao Fenglou, and it seemed Zhao Fenglou had felt something as well. Perhaps because he knew his end was near, Zhao Fenglou had always kept a certain distance from Ling'e, guiding her cultivation as much as possible, trying to use a master-disciple-like relationship to dilute her infatuation.
But perhaps because Ling'e's spiritual intelligence was just awakening at the time, her feelings for Zhao Fenglou, who had saved her, were etched into her very bones from that first glance, never to be forgotten.
Seeing Li Yan seemingly lost in thought after the soul-search, Qian Ji and Zi Kun dared not disturb him. They were somewhat perplexed by his actions. The two demons knew that while Li Yan seemed easygoing, he was utterly ruthless towards those who wanted to kill him. He would always act without a single extra word.
After a few more breaths, a sharp glint flashed through Li Yan's eyes. He suddenly raised his hand and waved his large sleeve.
Ling'e, who had been unconscious, felt a cool sensation enter her Sea of Consciousness , and she immediately regained awareness.
The moment she woke up, Ling'e was still a bit dazed, unable to immediately grasp where she was. When she saw the three people before her, memories flooded her mind, and her voluptuous body trembled.
She had no idea how much time had passed. She only remembered that the person was about to perform a soul-search on her a moment ago. Had she fainted from fear?
'It seems they don't want to soul-search me while I'm unconscious. They want me to feel the full, skin-crawling experience of a fate worse than death.'
A trace of despair flashed in Ling'e's eyes. She had already begged for her life. The three people before her all had a cold, unapproachable demeanor. But the thought of Zhao Fenglou's last wish made her want to try for one last sliver of hope.
"Senior..."
"Enough, you don't need to say anything. Seeing as you are a creature of sentiment and loyalty, I will spare you!"
Li Yan spoke faintly. His words stunned Ling'e, and her terrified face went blank for a moment.
"Senior, you... you said you'll let me go?" Ling'e said, uncertain. The sudden reversal of fortune made her think he might be toying with her, only to let her welcome despair amidst joy. As a member of the demon race, she was all too familiar with such tactics.
She had seen countless weaker demonic beasts, after being captured by stronger ones, not killed immediately. The stronger beasts would even deliberately leave an opening for them to escape, only to suddenly seize them again just as they were filled with hope...
"Do you think I'm toying with you, or do you truly not wish to live?" Li Yan remained expressionless, staring at Ling'e. This made it impossible for her to read his emotions, and for a moment, she was at a loss, her hands propped on the ground.
Qian Ji and Zi Kun glanced at each other, equally baffled by Li Yan's decision. For a moment, the room was strangely silent.
Just then, Zi Kun's brow furrowed first, followed by Qian Ji who also suddenly looked up, his gaze turning to the window.
"Someone is coming, and it's a Golden Core cultivator. Perhaps it's the Xu Xing from your memory. Your affairs have nothing to do with me; we are truly just passing by!"
Li Yan spoke another faint sentence. His words made the still-dazed Ling'e's body tremble violently, and she instantly became clear-headed.
She hadn't sensed anyone approaching, but she understood a deeper meaning in Li Yan's words.
He seemed to know the grudge between her and Xu Xing so clearly, yet he explicitly stated they were not with him.
'They've soul-searched me!'
This was the only possibility Ling'e could think of in that instant. But the very emergence of this thought filled her eyes with incomparable terror as she looked at Li Yan.
If she remembered correctly, it was this man's palm that had covered her head, not the two handsome youths.
'He... he... he is a Nascent Soul cultivator!'
Only a cultivator at the Nascent Soul realm or above could perform a soul-search without harming the target's Sea of Consciousness . She was, of course, well aware of this.
However, Ling'e quickly grasped the other meaning in Li Yan's words. She pushed herself up from the ground with both hands and bowed to the three of them.
"Thank you, Seniors, for sparing my life!"
Then, without another look at them, she leaped out of the window.
Seeing that she had already flown into the air without feeling any restraints, Ling'e finally let out a long sigh of relief.
She had truly been afraid that the terrifying cultivator named Zhang Ming was just toying with her, that he would suddenly strike and kill her the moment she flew out, shattering all her hopes in an instant.
After steadying herself in the air, she looked back down at the room below. Through the open window, she could see that the room was now empty. A trace of envy appeared in Ling'e's eyes.
'I will never be able to cultivate to that level in this lifetime. It's just too powerful!'
Then, she took a deep breath, and her aura slowly rose. A lamp suddenly appeared in her hand. It was bronze, with a snow-white wick standing upright in the center, but there was not a single drop of oil in the lamp.
Holding the lamp in one hand, Ling'e formed a seal with the other and tapped it on the bronze lamp. The wick remained unlit, but an invisible ring of green light spread out from the lamp. The green light flashed in the night and then disappeared, and the night sky returned to its previous calm.
After doing all this, Ling'e looked forward. The night wind blew through her somewhat disheveled long hair; her earlier panic had loosened her bun. With her free hand, she gently brushed a few strands of hair from her forehead. Her eyes showed determination, her face a placid mask devoid of joy or sorrow.
Just then, the space in front of Ling'e suddenly rippled, and a tall, thin figure abruptly appeared in the sky above the Zhao Manor. Immediately after, the figure seemed to be blocked by an invisible barrier of light, forcing him back several steps.
"Hmm? There really is a cultivator here!"
After his figure steadied, his true face was revealed.
He was a middle-aged man in his forties, with tan skin, a long horse-like face, long eyes, and thin eyebrows. His limbs were unusually long. Dressed in white, he was particularly conspicuous in the dark night, looking like a hanged ghost.
Then, his Divine Sense instantly shot out, sweeping forward. Due to the formation's obstruction, he could vaguely see a blurry figure in the air ahead.
"Senior, for what matter have you come here?" Ling'e's voice rang out.
"What matter? Hehehe... Why isn't Zhao Fenglou coming out? Is he plagued by his old poison?" the horse-faced man let out a strange laugh.
"What does Senior mean? This is indeed the Zhao Manor, but who is this Zhao Fenglou you speak of?" Ling'e's voice continued to emanate from within the formation.