Chapter 26

This guy really managed to say it.

Su Zhen looked at him in disbelief—what Saint-level powerhouse in this world would call a junior, whose age was a mere fraction of their own, "Master"?

Not to mention that this was one of the most formidable Saint-level powerhouses in terms of sheer combat strength.

Xiao Yu, however, seemed completely unbothered, still looking at her with a smile, as if waiting for her answer.

Su Zhen silently pushed against the arm resting across her side. Through the slightly thin fabric of her clothes, her fingertips touched his strong, corded arm, which seemed to still radiate a scorching heat.

"Get up."

She said calmly, "If you want to go, then let's go."

Xiao Yu rose with practiced grace and turned his head to look at the group of demonic cultivators behind them. He did not offer any formal greetings, merely nodding slightly.

The demonic cultivators had strange looks in their eyes.

Logically, this guy should have been more respectful toward them; after all, his cultivation level was so low that any one of them could have easily killed him.

But this "Master" of his likely possessed deep, hidden strength—even someone of that Blood God Priest's caliber had been dismissed by her. It was understandable for a disciple to be a bit arrogant.

The demonic cultivators did not dwell on it too much.

Their gazes darted between the two, speculating that there was likely more to this master-disciple relationship than just the transmission of knowledge.

But that was nothing unusual; even in the demonic sects, as long as it was consensual, nobody would care—not even in the righteous immortal palaces.

The leader of the demonic cultivators smiled, "Is the senior planning to browse for a while longer?"

Su Zhen, still holding the jar of mutton and the bundled pastries in her arms, shook her head and packed the items away. "No, let's go."

...

The underground street was very dim. The fragments of rare ores inside the stone lamps burned red-hot, casting a dull yellow halo.

Between the scattered, low-rise buildings, walls stood in layers. Shabby wooden huts, crooked stone houses, and rudimentary stalls jammed into the gaps between buildings—everything appeared crowded and cramped.

People coming and going on the street were all in a hurry. Many were pushing carts or carrying baskets; many said goodbye to their children at their doorsteps before rushing off.

Filthy, snowy slush from above trickled down into the gutters along the street, splashing mud onto the pant legs and shoes of passersby, who seemed not to notice.

...It was largely the same as it would be two or three hundred years later.

Only back then, there were more people than now, and the streets were somewhat tidier.

Su Zhen thought idly, heading straight toward the secret stronghold of the Qiancheng Sect.

The demonic cultivators walked beside her. Seeing her turn in the correct direction without needing any guidance, and witnessing her calm reaction upon seeing the filthy, dilapidated courtyard at the entrance, they felt no suspicion.

Su Zhen walked straight in.

Once inside, the scenery changed instantly.

The narrow courtyard was transformed into something brand new: smooth stone floors, fragrant flowers and trees, with the dilapidated houses replaced by magnificent structures and winding corridors.

Clear water gurgled beneath the galleries, and fragrant mist swirled in the rooms. A group of young demonic cultivators lifted the curtains and stepped out, bowing one after another and addressing her as "Senior."

Su Zhen nodded slightly. Without stopping, she walked into the main room, navigated the long corridor lined with wall cabinets full of books with practiced ease, and found the staircase leading down.

The demonic cultivators had stopped, bowing to her as they watched her descend.

The staircase led to a downward passage. The surroundings were quite dim, and the lamp holders on the walls contained small pieces of blue gravel that glowed with a faint, ghostly light.

She descended several dozen steps before stopping in front of a heavy bronze door.

The door rippled with a dark golden luster; the moment she touched it, countless mysterious and complex incantations lit up.

"...They aren't actually following you in?"

Xiao Yu walked down the steps slowly behind her.

He used telepathy to speak directly to her, not caring if others heard.

Su Zhen shook her head. "Because more people are coming."

She reached out and tapped one of the incantations, then counted five symbols to the side and tapped twice more.

The golden light flared brilliantly.

The bronze door slowly opened to both sides, revealing a vortex composed of black-purple light. The surrounding space twisted inward, as if being pulled by some powerful force.

Su Zhen looked back. "Are you sure you want to go, Senior?"

Xiao Yu looked down at her. "Do you mind me coming along?"

Su Zhen sighed. "If I truly minded, I wouldn't have invited you to bring me here. I’m just afraid you’ll find it boring. After all, I’m not even going there to fight—though I suppose someone might try to cause trouble."

"I won't."

Xiao Yu dropped the pleasantries. "As long as it doesn't make you uncomfortable, I want to go."

"Fine, let's go."

Su Zhen pointed to the boundary gate in front of her. "The people behind us are almost here, and I don't want to greet them."

Xiao Yu looked back thoughtfully, his gaze seemingly piercing through the walls and barriers to see the few demonic cultivators being welcomed into the courtyard.

He took two steps down and stepped into the black-purple vortex.

Su Zhen entered first. Her vision went black, her mind felt muddled, and she felt her body beginning to tear apart.

This was normal.

Cultivators in the lower seven realms had not yet forged an immortal body, and their physical strength was insufficient.

In the mystic paths within certain boundary gates—especially those leading to the Demon Realm—one could be damaged by the intricate spiritual webs; at worst, one could be completely shredded and destroyed.

But the primordial spirit, being a different medium from the physical body, was capable of passing through those chaotic flows of spiritual power without harm.

The worst-case scenario was that the primordial spirit would enter the Demon Realm, and the body would have to be reconstructed.

Of course, it was also possible to simply be injured.

The Demon Realm was vast, and the rules varied in different regions, as did the mystic paths within the boundary gates, so the outcomes varied.

—In her past life, when she was already at the Celestial Immortal realm, she had experienced traveling between various planes while in the lower seven realms, so she was very familiar with these things.

Wait.

Su Zhen suddenly felt something was wrong.

The tearing sensation should have intensified until her body was pulverized and dissipated in the spiritual vortex, leaving only her primordial spirit.

Yet, none of that happened. Even the pain only surfaced for a brief moment before vanishing entirely.

Once her mood settled, she could even feel a seemingly weak, yet incredibly resilient, thread of spiritual power surrounding her—

The mystic path, where black and purple light spots intertwined in her vision, shattered.

She stood on solid ground once again.

Clearly, the short journey had ended, and they had arrived at the other side of the gate.

...

The two stood in a vast palace.

Hundreds of bronze cabinets were arranged neatly around them, filled with various classics, books, bamboo slips, and scrolls.

Crystal chandeliers hung from the dome, emitting a brilliant, bright light that illuminated every corner.

There was silence all around. Su Zhen looked up at the solemn hall.

The scene before her was exactly the same as in her past life.

She even remembered the first time she had come here, seeing the vast sea of classics and the forbidden arts available for casual reading, how her initial worries and fears had vanished into thin air.

She only regretted not discovering it sooner.

She also regretted being influenced by those fools, avoiding the demonic gates as if they were snakes or scorpions, not even daring to get close enough to take a look.

If only she had come sooner—

"The people behind us are almost here."

Xiao Yu stood beside her, asking calmly, "Are you still going to hide?"

"Then let's stand further away."

Su Zhen snapped back to reality. "I wouldn't call it hiding—well, okay, it is hiding. Those few are all chatterboxes and troublemakers; I don't feel like dealing with them."

They were standing in the center of the hall, where there was a circular clearing surrounded by a ring of low bronze cabinets.

She walked toward one of the cabinets, pulled out the top drawer, and took out a carved wooden box with green patterns.

Su Zhen opened the box and took out a milky-white jade stone. Threads of green light pulsed across the stone, moving slowly over its smooth surface.

"Do you recognize this, Senior?"

She said while walking toward a nearby bookshelf.

Xiao Yu glanced at it. "Bone-Generating Jade Crystal."

"Yes, it can accelerate the reconstruction of the physical body. It was prepared for this exact situation—"

With her current cultivation, without external help, reconstructing her body would take several hours, whereas other cultivators in the Spirit Transformation realm might take days or even longer.

But with the Bone-Generating Jade, Su Zhen was confident she could reduce it to a quarter of an hour.

However, it wasn't needed now.

Because Xiao Yu had used some unknown method to forcefully preserve her physical body, she had arrived completely intact, no longer needing to spend time rebuilding her flesh and blood.

They wove between the heavy bronze bookshelves. The sides of the tall cabinets were hung with many tags, each engraved with single or grouped incantations.

Most of the incantations were extremely obscure; anyone with slightly less knowledge would likely find them difficult to identify.

Su Zhen scanned the cryptic and rare runes without pause, continuing to walk inward until she reached a cabinet in the back row.

She raised her hands, interlaced her fingers, and pulled them apart to the sides.

The cabinet in front of her slowly slid open, extending silently to reveal a section that had been folded and hidden.

On those few shelves, a dozen or so classics were scattered, varying in shape and thickness. A few emitted a pungent, bloody aura, while others had thick black mist billowing from their edges.

Su Zhen carefully raised her hand and took the book emitting the black mist.

Xiao Yu stood beside her without a word, though he reached out his hand, clearly knowing what the next step was.

Su Zhen was about to place the book on the ground, but seeing this, she paused, placed the spine of the book into his palm, and slowly opened it.

The pages were blank.

At the same time, the black mist wrapped around the book suddenly went berserk, rapidly rising into the air and forming a blurry human figure.

The shadow turned its head toward the person who opened the book, then shrieked and lunged forward, brandishing claws condensed from black mist.

Su Zhen blocked its claws with one hand and slapped its forehead with the other.

Dozens of golden lights flowed and coiled, locking it firmly. The black shadow hissed and struggled, but its form grew smaller and smaller until it became a ball the size of a fist.

Then, it was shredded to pieces by the golden light.

Only then did Su Zhen take the book. Lines of text appeared on the previously blank pages. She lowered her head to flip through them, her eyes narrowing as she did.

A black shadow flashed in her peripheral vision.

Xiao Yu silently placed a yellow rosewood backrest chair on the ground. "Sit and read."

Su Zhen: "..."

Even with her cultivation, standing for a few months wouldn't bother her, so why did this guy carry a chair with him?!

Su Zhen thanked him and sat down without standing on ceremony.

The book recorded many methods for strengthening the primordial spirit. In her past life, she hadn't needed them when she saw this, but now it was very appropriate.

She read while tinkering with her primordial spirit, and a long time passed in a blink.

Su Zhen blinked and closed the book. "How much time has passed?"

Xiao Yu was leaning against a nearby cabinet, holding a book of jokes, reading with gusto, laughing as he read.

"Hmm?"

He tilted his head upon hearing her. "By the Mortal Realm's reckoning, about ten days?"

Su Zhen stood up and handed the chair back to him. "...Where did you find that book?"

Xiao Yu took it, and the chair vanished instantly. "I bought some new books from an immortal city in the Mortal Realm before, and I haven't had a chance to read them yet. Do you want to take a look?"

Su Zhen shook her head.

Xiao Yu closed his book. "So, should I congratulate you on reaching the third level of the Spirit Transformation realm?"

Su Zhen smiled slightly. "Senior can wait to say that; the main event is coming up next."

They walked out of the hall and into a long corridor. On one side was a steel-gray wall, and on the other were long, transparent crystal windows, revealing a dark red sky outside.

In a corner of the Demon Realm's sky, clouds rolled, colored like fresh blood, exuding a desolate and bleak aura.

Beneath the dark red canopy was a sea of churning, toxic miasma.

Jagged high-rise buildings and overlapping bridges loomed in the purple-red, black-tinted miasma.

High above, dark figures circled—these were Sickle-Winged Demons patrolling, occasionally emitting sharp whistles.

The two walked slowly along the corridor.

Su Zhen felt her sleeve, took out the Bone-Generating Jade Crystal, and tossed it in her hand for fun.

Xiao Yu stared at her from the side.

Su Zhen turned her head. "Why are you looking at me, Senior? It's not that I'm greedy for their things, but they might count these. They recorded us coming in, and you were surely registered as a Spirit Transformation cultivator, so we should at least take one."

"I didn't think you would be short of this, but I remember they don't really count them, do they?"

"...That's why I said 'might'."

...

Most of the time, they really didn't count.

In her past life, she had even chatted with the guards of the secret vault's boundary gate, and they were too lazy to do such trivial work.

Moreover, according to them, even if someone did sneak in, it didn't matter.

The secret vault was filled with classics and scrolls. If someone came to acquire knowledge, they wouldn't stop them.

Because the Lord of Wisdom would never turn away a seeker of knowledge, regardless of whether that person was a believer or not.

As loyal believers, the members of the Qiancheng Sect naturally followed this path.

Of course, if one was unlucky and got snatched up by some Qiancheng demonic cultivator to be refined into pills or medicine, that was just that person's bad luck.

Furthermore, thinking of that previous book, this guy clearly knew about the Qiancheng Sect as well.

Su Zhen couldn't help but ask, "Did you sneak in to steal knowledge in your early years, Senior?"

Xiao Yu spread his hands. "The secret vault is a grand stage; if you have the guts, come. The Demon does not refuse anyone; it's just that once you're inside, you have to survive on your own ability. Isn't that common knowledge?"

Su Zhen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "It's best not to call His name... wait, it doesn't matter for you. Just pretend I didn't say anything."

He was a powerhouse on the same level as the Demon Gods, and even surpassed them, so calling a Demon God's true name had no consequences.

For others, the terrifying encounters—such as establishing too deep a connection with a Demon God, which might lead to the primordial spirit shattering, falling into demonic cultivation, or even losing one's mind forever and being unable to resist the toxic miasma to become a monster—could happen.

For a Saint-level powerhouse, these things were impossible.

Although Immortals had died at the hands of Demon Gods—more than one or two—those were serious battles that had lasted a long time.

Xiao Yu looked into the distance. "Actually, before I came to the Demon Realm, I knew that the Demon God of Law was quite unique. Not only did He not mind others entering His territory, He even allowed others to use His power. Even without a Demon God's contract, as long as one is..."

"A person who meets His requirements."

Su Zhen murmured.

In truth, in her past life, she didn't really need that Demon God's contract. Given her talent, even without that power, she could have steadily ascended to the Golden Immortal realm.

It was just that at the time, she wanted more.

So she didn't want to resist anymore, didn't want to suppress her own desires.

Su Zhen forced herself to stop reminiscing. "What did you do earlier, Senior, to keep my physical body safe in the mystic path?"

"It's a bit complicated. To summarize, I used my spiritual power to put a shield around you, but it had to be done in a way that let the spiritual web pass through you without breaking it, otherwise we would have ended up in different places."

Su Zhen understood the logic. "I know you attached your spiritual power around me, but I'm curious how you managed not to destroy the spiritual web?"

"That's a long story."

Xiao Yu mused, "It involves some medical cultivation theories. You see, it came in handy."

Su Zhen realized immediately.

This guy was talking about stealing knowledge earlier, and then he turned around and used it right here.

But...

He chased after medical cultivators to steal their knowledge; that must have been many years ago, right?

A strange feeling arose in Su Zhen's heart.

"Thank you, Senior."

She suppressed her shifting thoughts and thanked him sincerely. "Since you've been here, you must know about the Bone-Generating Jade Crystal, right?"

"Yes, I know. And you were so calm, you must have been planning to come in and reconstruct your body, but—"

Xiao Yu's expression relaxed slightly, then he frowned again. "I also thought it was better not to intervene at first, but the moment I saw your physical body start to suffer damage, I couldn't stand it."

"You couldn't stand it, Senior?"

"Yes, it was just a terrible feeling. I couldn't watch."

Xiao Yu held his forehead. "Perhaps it's because I can't bear to see you get hurt in front of me."

He sighed as he spoke, seemingly a bit ashamed. "But I swear, next time, as long as you tell me not to move, even if I have to seal myself, I won't..."

"It's not that serious."

Su Zhen interrupted helplessly. "For a Senior like you, even if something really goes wrong, you can always fix it, so there's no need to be so serious."

She simply took out the food she had bought earlier.

Xiao Yu tasted it and praised it repeatedly. "Is this mutton cheek meat? Does that shop have a secret recipe?"

"That shop has some skill with wine; it's hard to ask for the specifics, but... did you think I would only buy sweets earlier, Senior?"

"I was wrong. You have great taste in food, better than mine."

Su Zhen was still gnawing on the sugar cake he had bought. "Hard to say, this pastry tastes pretty good, and it melts in your mouth..."

She seemed to have bought it in her past life, too.

But for some reason, it didn't taste as good as it did right now.

Was it because the cook was different, or was it because her state of mind was different?

Su Zhen couldn't determine the answer for a moment. After thinking about it, she simply brought up the earlier matter.

"Senior, I said you were my disciple just to handle them. I originally thought you would just not say anything. Although you don't seem to mind, I still..."

"Didn't you teach me magic? That counts as being my teacher."

Xiao Yu interrupted her. "I don't have any grievances."

Su Zhen asked subconsciously, "Even if I'm only in the Spirit Transformation realm? It wouldn't make you feel embarrassed?"

She knew Xiao Yu definitely didn't care about seniority or etiquette, otherwise he wouldn't have asked her to call him by his name the moment they met.

But comparing their cultivation levels, today's affair was indeed a bit outrageous.

Su Zhen: "If you had even a flicker of unhappiness in your heart, Senior, I would apologize to you. Don't bottle it up."

Xiao Yu shook his head slightly. "I understand what you mean, but no, because..."

For a moment, Su Zhen thought he would say, "Because it's you, so no matter what realm you are in, I don't feel embarrassed."

However—

"First of all, anything related to you doesn't exist in my dictionary as something to be embarrassed about."

He said slowly, "And most importantly, even if it weren't you, even if it were a Spirit Transformation cultivator I didn't know, if they taught me magic or taught me something I didn't know, then they are worthy of the title 'Master'."

Su Zhen was slightly shaken.

If someone else said that, it might seem like a matter of course, but considering this person's status, position, and ability, it was hard not to feel surprised by such words.

She met those sincere, bright blue eyes and suddenly felt it was incredible.

—Why was it that this guy could always unexpectedly say things that shocked and impressed her?