Two streaks of light streaked across the vast sky.
Jiang Yuechu stepped through the Void Realm, her expression calm and indifferent.
Beside her was Running Ox, who displayed some of his demonic features as he rode the wind.
Looking at this simpleton's face full of anxiety—as if he wished he had two extra legs—
Jiang Yuechu's lips twitched; she was truly speechless.
This black ox kept saying he wanted to save his elder sister.
Yet over the past few days, he had followed her to kill demons, watch the spectacle, daze off, and even daydream.
She hadn't seen the slightest hint of urgency from him.
She really didn't know if this so-called deep sibling affection was real or fake.
"Tell me,"
Jiang Yuechu asked casually while she had nothing better to do, "Is that elder sister of yours... a cow?"
Hearing this,
Running Ox waved his hands repeatedly. "No, no!"
"My elder sister isn't some ox demon. She's beautiful—a hundred times more beautiful than the fairies in the grotto-heavens."
As if afraid Jiang Yuechu wouldn't believe him,
Running Ox began to chatter about his origins.
"Actually, I'm not a native-born demon of the Great Marsh. From the time I can remember, I had already been brought back to the Great Marsh by the True Monarch. Back then, I was just a little calf who couldn't even speak properly. If elder sister hadn't protected me, I would've been bullied by other demons until I didn't even look like a demon anymore..."
Speaking to this point, a rare trace of tenderness appeared on Running Ox's rugged face.
"Elder sister raised me since I was small, finding precious herbs for me, teaching me cultivation, taking me to fights... Although we aren't blood siblings, our bond is closer than those who are."
Jiang Yuechu listened and nodded slightly. "Then what exactly is your elder sister's background?"
Running Ox puffed out his chest, his eyes full of pride.
"My elder sister's name is Ni Chang. She is a rare variant demon in this world."
"A variant?"
A flash of heat crossed Jiang Yuechu's eyes, but she asked calmly, "Tell me more."
"Uh..."
Running Ox felt a mysterious chill, but meeting Jiang Yuechu's gaze, he braced himself and said, "Actually, it's not some incredibly powerful variant; she just has a trace of the ancient Phoenix Bloodline..."
"Phoenix Bloodline?"
Jiang Yuechu raised an eyebrow.
Such a Bloodline was rare. If it could be recorded in her manual...
"That's right."
Running Ox continued, "Actually, elder sister's strength isn't very great among those in the Denglou Realm. Most importantly, because of this Phoenix Bloodline, elder sister naturally mastered a Divine Ability."
"Rebirth through Fire."
Running Ox grinned and chuckled.
"Even if her Physical Body and Primordial Spirit are completely destroyed, elder sister can use her Natal True Fire to reconsolidate herself."
"So, there are very few people in this world who can truly threaten elder sister's life."
Hearing this,
Jiang Yuechu finally understood.
No wonder this black ox acted like nothing was wrong along the way, without a hint of urgency.
It turned out he knew his elder sister couldn't die.
He certainly was carefree.
But even if she couldn't die, she was beautiful... Being trapped in Spirit Mountain now, who knew what she might be suffering...
Jiang Yuechu complained silently in her heart.
Running Ox didn't notice the change in Jiang Yuechu's expression and said to himself, "I passed by that Crimson Blood Demon Emperor's mountain a few times when I came to Spirit Mountain before. I still have some impression of it."
"It's just ahead."
Jiang Yuechu looked in the direction Running Ox pointed.
She saw a continuous range of mountains ahead.
Among them was a peak that appeared a strange dark red color.
It looked as if it had been soaked in blood for countless years, and even the surrounding clouds were stained with a faint bloody light.
That was exactly where the Crimson Blood Demon Emperor's Immortal Cave was located.
The two were extremely fast.
In the time it took to say a few words, they had already crossed hundreds of miles.
Boom.
The two figures landed steadily atop Crimson Blood Mountain.
Since the Crimson Blood Demon Emperor had already died at Jiang Yuechu's hands, the minor demons on this mountain had long since fled.
The vast Immortal Cave appeared empty and deathly silent.
As soon as they landed,
Running Ox couldn't wait and closed his eyes.
His massive Divine Sense instantly spread out, sweeping through every inch of the mountain like ripples on water.
He was trying to find that familiar aura.
However,
a moment later.
Running Ox snapped his eyes open, his rugged face filled with bewilderment.
"How can this be..."
He muttered to himself, and refusing to believe it, he sent out his Divine Sense again, not even sparing the depths underground.
But,
nothing.
There was nothing at all.
The entire Crimson Blood Mountain, aside from some residual scent of blood, had no trace of the Phoenix Bloodline's aura.
There wasn't even a hint of his elder sister Ni Chang's presence.
Jiang Yuechu looked at Running Ox's grief-stricken expression and crossed her arms.
"Didn't find her?"
Running Ox stared blankly at the empty Immortal Cave and murmured, "This... what's going on?"
"Could it be..."
"Could it be that bastard Crimson Blood was tricking me?"
Jiang Yuechu crossed her arms and watched this scene quietly.
She didn't release her Divine Sense to perceive anything.
After all, to pull up the roots and eliminate the problem earlier, she had already carefully searched the territory of the Seventy-two Caves of Spirit Mountain.
In the current Spirit Mountain, let alone Demon Emperors of the Denglou Realm, even those Demon Kings with a bit of Dao Cultivation had long since vanished.
In fact, if the so-called Ni Chang were truly trapped here, with Jiang Yuechu's current terrifying perception at the ninth level of the Denglou Realm, it would be impossible for her not to notice.
Jiang Yuechu said in a flat tone, "Could it be that your elder sister practiced some special concealment method and is hiding somewhere in this mountain?"
"Or..."
"That Crimson Blood Demon Emperor really was tricking you, and your elder sister is perfectly fine and never came to the Spirit Mountain region at all."
Hearing this,
Running Ox shook his head with a bitter smile.
"If it were any other demon, it might be so, but I know my elder sister's temperament best."
"She possesses the Phoenix Bloodline and is incredibly proud to her core; she has always been straightforward and would rather break than bend."
"She would never deign to practice those sneaky concealment techniques."
Speaking to this point,
Running Ox sighed heavily. "As for not coming to Spirit Mountain..."
"Actually, while following Your Highness these days, it's not like I haven't quietly used secret transmission methods."
"If elder sister were safe and sound and received my message, she would definitely reply."
"But the messages I sent out were like stones sinking into the ocean—there hasn't been any response at all."
"Even if she didn't come to Spirit Mountain, with this lack of news, something has likely happened to her."
Hearing this,
Jiang Yuechu nodded gently.
This was getting a bit difficult...
To be honest,
with her current strength, the so-called Spirit Mountain could be destroyed with a wave of her hand; she no longer needed to establish any connection with the Great Marsh...
But although Running Ox wasn't of much use,
his daily banter with the Old Scarlet Flood Dragon provided her with a lot of emotional value.
This mindset was like keeping a pet.
If possible, there was no harm in helping out.
With that thought,
she suddenly turned her head, casting her gaze toward a cliff behind Crimson Blood Mountain.
The next moment,
she reached out her right hand without any warning.
Boom.
Rolling black mist erupted from her palm, like a giant black python.
The black mist tore through the Void Realm and instantly lunged toward the distant cliff.
Accompanied by a terrified shriek,
the black mist surged back, slamming heavily onto the gravel ground in front of the two.
Thud.
A furry, sturdy figure rolled a few times on the ground, left dazed and disoriented from the fall.
Looking closely, it was actually a tiger demon.
This tiger demon had shifty eyes and was wearing an outer robe that was clearly ill-fitting; it was now prone on the ground, trembling all over.
Jiang Yuechu looked down at it, her eyes cold. "Sneaking around... one look and I can tell you're up to no good."