The Six-Eyed Demon Moth slammed heavily onto the ground with the snake's tail. After the drop of golden blood touched her, her body began to change uncontrollably, shrinking one moment and expanding the next.
The Six-Eyed Demon Moth was in excruciating pain. With her cultivation, she simply couldn't withstand the immense power of a Second-rank Demonic Beast's Essence Blood. It seemed she was about to explode and die.
Just then, a figure stepped out of the air and landed on the ground.
The man held a long sword in one hand and had already gently lifted the snake's body with the other. A single glance revealed the Six-Eyed Demon Moth still coiled at the tip of the snake's tail. A soft sound of surprise escaped him.
"A First-rank little demon. So, the Golden Fruit Bright Snake was trying to devour you, which is why it revealed itself. Heh heh heh, in that case, I owe you thanks for being able to discover this snake so easily..."
The man looked at the Six-Eyed Demon Moth, whose body was shrinking and expanding, and let out another soft laugh.
"So be it. Since I benefited because of you, I shall grant you a fortunate encounter of your own. Then we'll be even!"
As the man spoke, he extended a finger and pointed forward. A flash of green light shot from his fingertip and entered the Six-Eyed Demon Moth's body in the next moment.
As the green light entered her, the torrential power within the Six-Eyed Demon Moth was instantly sealed away. The intense pain vanished, and her body began to return to normal.
But for a short while, the Six-Eyed Demon Moth was completely drained, able to do nothing but lie on the ground, immobile.
"I know you've already gained spiritual intelligence. I've sealed that drop of the Golden Fruit Bright Snake's Essence Blood within you. If you have the immortal fortune and opportunity, you can slowly absorb and refine it yourself. Remember not to be greedy, or what just happened will occur again. If there's no one to help you then, you will surely die!"
While that voice still echoed in the Six-Eyed Demon Moth's mind, the figure had already soared into the sky.
Although her mind was still hazy, the Six-Eyed Demon Moth forced her eyes open and clearly saw the man's appearance.
He was an elegant, green-robed man holding a long sword. After a final glance at her with his star-like eyes, he had already stepped through the air and departed.
From that day forward, the man's aura and appearance were deeply engraved in the Six-Eyed Demon Moth's very soul.
Time flew by like a shuttle, the years like an arrow.
Perhaps it was because of that drop of Golden Fruit Bright Snake Essence Blood in her body, which she slowly refined, combined with the residual medicinal power of the remnant pill she had swallowed back then.
Ten years later, she reached the peak of the First Rank.
As her cultivation improved, so did her spiritual intelligence. She grew to understand the dangers of the world more clearly, and her perception of peril became ever more acute.
She began to move away from the area where she was born, slowly flying to more distant regions in search of opportunities to increase her strength...
Another forty years passed in a flash. Through bitter cultivation, this Six-Eyed Demon Moth finally advanced to the Second Rank, becoming capable of taking human form. She named herself Ling'e. (TN: Ling'e [靈蛾] literally means Spirit Moth.)
Then one day, as Ling'e was cultivating beneath a waterfall, she suddenly sensed a long streak of light flying rapidly across the sky.
She could sense that the aura within the streak of light was extremely unstable, but the pressure it emitted still filled her with alarm. It had to be a Golden Core cultivator.
Ling'e quickly concealed her aura and hid behind a concave rock behind the waterfall.
But to her utter surprise, the approaching streak of light seemed very familiar with the area. Without the slightest pause, it plunged straight through the waterfall.
With another turn, it too arrived behind the rock.
In an instant, their four eyes met. It was a green-robed man, covered in blood. A deep hole had been gouged in his abdomen; Ling'e could even see his internal organs squirming within.
The green-robed man was visibly startled to see Ling'e. He hadn't expected anyone else to be here. Grievously injured, he had been so focused on observing his pursuers that he had failed to notice someone else hiding in the same spot.
Without hesitation, he struck, subduing Ling'e in a single move.
At the same time, with a wave of his other hand, four figures flew out from his body, scattering in different directions into the distance.
Immediately after, a Formation Plate flew out. With a single rotation, it emitted rays of light that enveloped the surroundings. Now, if anyone were to come here, they would only see a stone wall covered in mist behind the waterfall.
After doing all this, the green-robed man seemed to have exhausted all his strength and sat down heavily, his aura diminishing at a visible rate.
"You... you had best behave. I... will not harm... harm your life. Do not... try anything foolish, or... or I will kill you immediately!"
As the green-robed man spoke, he laboriously took out a bottle of medicinal pills and, opening his mouth, poured the entire contents in.
A few breaths later, his rapidly declining aura finally stabilized. The man looked at Ling'e again, his eyes filled with warning.
Just then, the sound of something tearing through the air echoed from the sky, followed by a cold voice.
"Hmph! Zhao Fenglou, you can't escape! Thinking of using puppet clones to create a diversion? A good plan, but you've been struck by the Golden Silk Pill Miasma and are grievously wounded. Let's see how long you can hold on!"
After chasing him to the waterfall, the man sensed four identical auras fleeing in different directions. He couldn't help but pause there, a hint of doubt in his eyes as his Divine Sense swept the surroundings.
Ling'e clearly sensed a powerful Divine Sense sweep toward the space behind the waterfall. As it passed, the Formation Plate above her head spun wildly, and beads of cold sweat appeared on the green-robed man's forehead.
Evidently, he didn't have much confidence in his own concealment methods and was also taking a gamble.
However, to Ling'e's relief, that Divine Sense merely swept past the area behind the waterfall once before tearing through the air again. A moment later, only the sound of the rushing water remained.
The man's investigation was extremely fast, likely because he was worried that Zhao Fenglou's true body was among the four fleeing figures. If he dallied here with suspicion, the loss would be greater than the gain.
The green-robed man waited for a full ten breaths before cautiously releasing a sliver of his Divine Sense. After another three breaths, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.
But when he looked at Ling'e again, he found that she had been staring at him the whole time, without a trace of fear on her face.
"I will leave shortly. But just in case, I will take you with me for a distance. Then, I'll find a safe place and seal you for half a day. As for whether you encounter any misfortune during that time, you can only pray for good luck!" the green-robed man said to Ling'e. He certainly didn't want to kill wantonly, but he couldn't afford to expose his whereabouts either.
If Ling'e remained here, and that person returned and found her, he would be able to guess that he had been hiding here just moments before...
Just then, he saw Ling'e's gaze flicker rapidly several times. After a moment's hesitation, the green-robed cultivator waved his hand again, adding a sound-insulating restriction to the formation, and then pointed a finger at Ling'e again.
"I'll give you three breaths. But if you're thinking of saying something to convince me to let you go now, you'll die on the spot!"
The green-robed man could see Ling'e had something to say. He was still rapidly refining the medicinal pills and couldn't fly away immediately. Besides, that person was still nearby; he needed to wait another half-incense stick's worth of time.
That person would have to catch up to the four "Shape-Melding Puppets" in their respective directions before realizing he had been tricked. Therefore, he had time to recover a little more.
"Senior, you are grievously injured. I can escort you until you are completely certain there are no more pursuers. I can leave then!" Ling'e said, her eyes glinting as she looked at Zhao Fenglou.
This took Zhao Fenglou by surprise. However, a cold light flickered in his eyes.
"Oh? You are quite obedient. Escort me? You've got some nerve, heh heh heh..."
As he spoke, he chuckled coldly, already raising his hand.
'This little demon must have come up with this just to save her own life. People like this are the most cunning and fickle. A single misstep and I could fall into her trap. I'm already heavily injured and have no way to erase her memory. I intended to be kind and let her go, but now it seems killing her is the only way to be at ease.'
Seeing the cold glint in Zhao Fenglou's eyes, Ling'e knew something was wrong. She immediately realized she had been misunderstood and quickly spoke up.
"Senior, you misunderstand! I only wish to repay Senior's life-saving grace. I have no ill intentions, absolutely no ill intentions!"
Hearing this, Zhao Fenglou was first taken aback, and his raised hand froze. But then, the coldness in his eyes intensified as he sneered.
"Oh? Life-saving grace? I suppose letting you go counts as a life-saving grace..."
As he spoke, his palm was already striking towards Ling'e's head. However, his injuries were too severe. The movement aggravated his wounds, causing the muscles on his face to twitch and his motion to slow.
"Senior, do you remember the Six-Eyed Demon Moth you spared fifty years ago when you slew the Golden Fruit Bright Snake?"
Ling'e's heart pounded with urgency. She was no longer the little demon with nascent intelligence. She understood the deceit and trickery between cultivators and knew she couldn't hide anything now. She spoke in a rush.
Zhao Fenglou's palm had already touched Ling'e's hair. Hearing her words, his hand immediately froze in mid-air. A cultivator's memory was exceptionally sharp.
Ling'e's words sent a jolt through his heart. As his thoughts raced, a scene from long ago suddenly surfaced in his mind. He looked at Ling'e with astonishment.
"You... you are that Six-Eyed Demon Moth?"
Even as he asked, he already half-believed it. After all, he was the only one who knew about that incident.
"That day, Senior saved this junior from the calamity of bodily explosion and even said, 'that drop of the Golden Fruit Bright Snake's Essence Blood is sealed within this junior's body. If this junior has the immortal fortune, you can slowly absorb and refine it yourself. Remember not to be greedy...' These words still echo in this junior's ears as if it were yesterday. If Senior still doesn't believe me, may this junior reveal her true form!"
Ling'e was anxious, afraid he wouldn't believe her, and she quickly recounted the words Zhao Fenglou had spoken back then.
The moment her voice fell, Zhao Fenglou's hand withdrew from the top of her head.
"That won't be necessary. I can feel the demonic aura on you!"
Zhao Fenglou had great confidence in his Divine Sense . He was certain that no one else had been nearby at that time, so it was impossible for anyone else to have witnessed that scene.
"Alright. In a moment, I will proceed as I said before and seal you somewhere. You were lucky last time; I trust you won't run into any trouble this time either."
Zhao Fenglou decided to let her go after all.
"Senior, you are heavily injured. Although this junior's strength is low, the potent poison of a Six-Eyed Demon Moth can still harm a Golden Core cultivator. With Senior's help, it might even be possible to deal with some Golden Core cultivators."
Ling'e, however, shook her head. She could see that Zhao Fenglou was in a very bad state. Although he had taken the medicinal pills, they only kept his aura from declining further; it was still extremely weak. She estimated that if he were to use his magical power to fly, he would be unable to maintain any significant combat strength.
"This junior dares say my flying speed is not slow. Although I can't compare to Senior, I can at least reduce Senior's consumption of magical power!" Ling'e continued, her eyes filled with sincerity.
Zhao Fenglou stared into Ling'e's eyes. Seeing her unwavering gaze, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Good. I, Zhao Fenglou, never thought that a single unintentional act would be repaid in such a way. It's about time to leave this place. However, I'll give you one more chance to reconsider. Following me like this could mean your death at any moment..."
"Senior, let's depart now!"
This time, however, Ling'e interrupted Zhao Fenglou before he could finish, her eyes filled with determination...
Half a year later, in the rear courtyard of the Zhao Manor in Jiaoming Province , two figures appeared. They were Ling'e and Zhao Fenglou.
After half a year of hiding and sneaking, they had finally made it back here. Zhao Fenglou rarely let anyone know his true residence, so since his enemy had failed to catch him then, it would be difficult to find him again.
The current Zhao Fenglou was as thin as a skeleton, his appearance completely changed. Not a trace of his former elegance remained.