IVYSCP - Chapter 100
Chapter 100
"Halt!"
A cold shout cut across the Wuding River and reached the ears of the demonic cultivators, along with Yu Ting and Xue Zizai.
Hearing that familiar voice, Xue Zizai spun around sharply. An uncontrollable surge of excitement and joy rushed to her heart, stinging her eyes with unshed tears.
The lead demonic cultivator saw the two unfamiliar half-yao on the opposite bank and frowned slightly, then said dismissively, "Ignore them. They can't cross the Wuding River. The Demon Lord is waiting. We must not delay."
With that, the group of demonic cultivators turned back, preparing to escort their captives to the Demon Palace.
But before they had taken two steps, a fierce gale roared across the Wuding River. Skeletal, emaciated hands burst from the depths of the river, clawing at the two figures attempting to cross in midair.
Pei Yin held Ling Qingyue by the waist. Ling Qingyue carried Pei Xi in her dog form. With a single downward palm strike, Ling Qingyue silenced the Wuding River in an instant. Not even a ripple stirred.
Several demonic cultivators turned around and fell into stunned silence when they saw the two already standing before them.
"…"
The lead demonic cultivator steadied her breath, then spoke with stern ferocity. "Which Demon Lord do you serve? Do you not know the three Demon Lords have forged a pact of mutual territory? Are you violating the pact to stir up conflict?!"
Ling Qingyue looked past them, toward where Yu Ting and Xue Zizai stood behind. She lifted her chin. "We're not here to stir up anything. We're here for them."
These two had just suppressed the demonic energy in the Wuding River and crossed to this bank. Their cultivation could only be high, not low. The lead demonic cultivator replied cautiously, "These two are guests of our Demon Lord."
She didn't yet know whether this Demon Lord was Qiu Feng. Ling Qingyue also didn't want to directly offend a Demon Lord with force. Recalling the rumors she'd heard, she smiled and said, "Is that so? I hear you demonic cultivators are searching everywhere for spirit stones. What a coincidence. We happen to have a few on us. Would you mind making an introduction for us?"
As Ling Qingyue spoke, Pei Yin beside her pulled the Qiankun Pouch from her waist, opened a partition, and revealed the spirit stones inside for the demonic cultivator to see.
Through the pouch opening, the faint gleam of piled, glittering spirit stones was visible. Surprise flashed in the demonic cultivator's eyes. Then her gaze darted around as she calculated inwardly.
So many spirit stones. If I bring these two before the Demon Lord, she will be overjoyed. She will certainly share some demonic qi with me to advance my demonic art cultivation.
Having made up her mind, the demonic cultivator nodded. "That can be arranged."
With that, the demonic cultivator casually used demonic qi to manifest a black eagle. The eagle spread its wings and soared high, vanishing in the blink of an eye into the dim, murky expanse of heaven and earth.
It flew toward the Demon Palace to deliver a message to the Demon Lord.
Guided by these demonic cultivators, the group headed for the Demon Palace. The demonic cultivators positioned themselves in the middle, separating Ling Qingyue and Pei Yin from Xue Zizai and Yu Ting.
The atmosphere was somewhat quiet. Xue Zizai kept sneaking glances toward the other side. She noticed the two were holding hands and speaking softly to each other. So she turned her head and looked at Yu Ting beside her. Yu Ting looked straight ahead, her expression completely calm and composed.
Xue Zizai pressed her lips together. Was she the only one who felt out of sorts?
They passed through an area resembling a marshland. The lead demonic cultivator stopped and spoke. "This place is called the Corruption Pool. Hundreds and thousands of poisons are mixed within it. That layer of white mist is the poison miasma. Without a specially crafted boat, no matter how high your cultivation, a single touch of the poison miasma will rot your heart and corrode your entrails. The miasma is laced with demonic qi, so it is also harmful to the soul."
Ling Qingyue listened and nodded, her gaze settling on that demonic cultivator.
Logically, there was no need for her to explain so much. So the purpose of her words… was to make them understand just how dangerous this Corruption Pool was.
Ling Qingyue curved her lips in a barely perceptible smile. Her eyes shifted, meeting Pei Yin's gaze.
Pei Yin's so clever. She must have guessed the meaning behind these words as well.
This demonic cultivator was very likely planning to strike against them on the Corruption Pool.
There were no good people in the Great Wilderness. That demonic cultivator had seen them carrying so many spirit stones and had certainly been moved by greed. Rather than introducing them to the Demon Lord, it would be better to deal with them herself, take the spirit stones, and offer them in person.
Before long, a boat cut through the poison miasma and slowly approached. At the prow stood a woman draped in a cloak, her pale face tinged faintly with blue, her eyes holding a dull numbness. She quietly moored the boat at the edge of the Corruption Pool, then stepped aside and waited for them to board.
The cabin had been built deep. Simple tables and chairs were arranged inside. Ling Qingyue surveyed the layout and detected a trace of warmth and comfort within it. Besides the open space with tables and chairs, another cabin compartment was concealed behind gauze curtains. Through them, a screen and a low couch were dimly visible. On the small table atop the couch rested a type of vivid red flower, likely a species that grew only within the Great Wilderness.
Ling Qingyue's gaze passed through the gauze curtains and fell upon the low couch. Someone lay there. No trace of life could be sensed.
"Crossing the Corruption Pool will take roughly the time of one incense stick. Everyone, please wait quietly," the lead demonic cultivator said.
Ling Qingyue pulled Pei Yin down to sit. Immediately after, Yu Ting brought Xue Zizai to sit across from them.
Ling Qingyue propped her chin on one hand and looked at them. More precisely, she fixed her stare on Yu Ting. The moment they had met, she had already swept her gaze over Xue Zizai from head to toe. Finding no injuries, she hadn't asked further.
Yu Ting raised her eyes and met her stare directly.
Ling Qingyue asked, her tone ambiguous, "I truly didn't expect this. Senior Sister Yu actually has enough connections to reach a Demon Lord in the Great Wilderness, and is even a guest of the Demon Lord."
Yu Ting smiled faintly. "I don't deserve that form of address from you. One would probably have to be someone like the Sword Venerable to qualify as your senior sister."
Ling Qingyue narrowed her eyes.
From the way she spoke, Yu Ting knew her identity.
That was almost certainly the case.
"Yu Ting." Ling Qingyue spoke her name, her voice carrying a chill. "No matter whose person you are, once everything has been investigated, if your hand was in anything that happened in Linshui Town, I will not let you go."
Yu Ting's eyes shifted subtly. From the corner of her eye, she glanced toward Xue Zizai. Then she suddenly laughed. That laugh flickered for no longer than a breath. She lifted her eyes and looked at Ling Qingyue. "You are so righteous and selfless. I wonder, if someone you were extremely close to and trusted had done such heinous and wicked things, would you be just as harsh and merciless to them as you are to me?"
She truly did know.
Ling Qingyue parted her lips slightly and answered with firm resolve, "Of course I would."
Yu Ting curved her lips into a smile. "Good. That would be for the best."
The boat sailed smoothly and steadily until, at a certain moment, it stopped.
The lead demonic cultivator descended. "The boat has encountered miasma debris. We need to pause for a while to clear it away."
Ling Qingyue nodded once. Seeing that the woman didn't move, she turned to Pei Yin and said with a smile, "It's a bit dark in here. I don't like it. I want to go outside and look around."
Pei Yin understood her meaning and nodded cooperatively.
As she stood and passed by Yu Ting, Ling Qingyue said in a low voice, "Stay here and don't move."
The demonic cultivators' target was her and Pei Yin. Yu Ting was a guest of the Demon Lord. She and Xue Zizai would be safe inside the cabin.
The demonic cultivator saw them going out, forced a smile, and followed.
Outside the cabin, Ling Qingyue reached the partition at the bow. The boatwoman stood quietly to one side. The remaining demonic cultivators watched with predatory intent.
"Miasma debris?" Ling Qingyue craned her neck to look forward, her voice brimming with eagerness. "Where's this miasma debris?"
Behind her, the demonic cultivator smiled coldly. "Right here."
She shot a look at the two demonic cultivators beside her, intending them to deal with the one with the lower cultivation. The rest would follow her to take down the one with the higher cultivation. After all, that massive hoard of spirit stones was all inside the higher-cultivation woman's Qiankun Pouch.
Conflict erupted in an instant. The demonic cultivator shouted, "Force them into the Corruption Pool!"
Ling Qingyue saw the two demonic cultivators in front of her, then turned her head and saw Pei Yin surrounded by a whole circle. Immediately, she was indignant. "What's the meaning of this?! You look down on me?"
They'd only assigned her two people?
She reached out, drew her wooden sword, and pointed it at the two demonic cultivators before her.
As it happened, before entering demonic cultivation, these two had also been sword practitioners. Seeing the wooden sword in her hand, they couldn't help but sneer. "A wooden sword? You're a tiger yao, and you use a sword?"
Ling Qingyue raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with a wooden sword? A wooden sword is still enough to make you beg for mercy."
"Such arrogance!"
The two demonic cultivators charged at her. They had no intention of forcing her into the Corruption Pool, since they didn't feel they would fail to capture a tiger yao wielding a wooden sword.
Ling Qingyue could clearly see the contempt in their eyes, and her temper flared instantly.
The two demonic cultivators' cultivation was somewhat higher than Ling Qingyue's. Yet no matter how they attacked, they could never even touch the hem of her robes.
In the blink of an eye, several dozen moves were exchanged. The two demonic cultivators exchanged a glance and realized something was wrong.
This tiger yao didn't just know how to use a sword. She was a master swordswoman.
One of the demonic cultivators looked extremely grim. "You're using sword forms from Shangtianqiong?"
Ling Qingyue lifted her chin. "And if I am?"
This demonic cultivator apparently harbored a grudge against Shangtianqiong. Hearing Ling Qingyue's admission, she flew into a furious rage and launched a ferocious assault.
While dodging the attacks, Ling Qingyue still had the leisure to ask her questions. "Why so angry? Did someone from Shangtianqiong send you in here?"
"Shut up!"
The demonic cultivator was furious. Unable to land a hit, she twisted her wrist, and demonic qi coalesced into a longsword. She slashed straight at Ling Qingyue's wooden sword.
Ling Qingyue raised her sword to block. The wooden sword didn't suffer the slightest damage. But that demonic cultivator felt a burst of numbing, stabbing pain in the web of her hand.
"You used to be a sword cultivator too." Ling Qingyue met her blade, suddenly intrigued. "Then let me test your sword!"
Sword qi scattered, landing on the boat and leaving faint scratch marks, which quickly vanished again.
The fighting on the boat continued without pause. Yet the boatwoman at the prow seemed to see none of it. She stared woodenly for a while, then noticed those demonic cultivators had no upper hand. In fact, they seemed to be toyed with. She withdrew her gaze, walked slowly around the stray attacks that brushed past, and entered the cabin.
Inside the cabin, two people sat quietly. One was calm and composed. The other kept turning her head to look outside, a hint of worry in her eyes.
The boatwoman glanced at them once, then went behind the gauze curtain.
Xue Zizai turned again, so restless she was almost fidgeting. Yu Ting spoke. "A former Little Sword Venerable and an Immortal Venerable whose cultivation is unfathomable. What is there to worry about?"
Xue Zizai had just been about to retort that she wasn't worried, but the words caught in her throat. She mumbled, "But that Corruption Pool outside looks really dangerous."
Yu Ting let out a soft scoff. "It's only enough to frighten a fool like you. If you accidentally fell in, it's true that not even your bones would be left. But it can't do anything against those two."
Xue Zizai: "…"
Outside the cabin, Ling Qingyue was single-handedly beating down the two demonic cultivators. After testing their sword technique, she swiftly ended the entanglement. She used the God-Striking Whip she'd borrowed from Pei Yin to bind the two of them together, then turned to go help Pei Yin. But what she saw was Pei Yin with her hands clasped behind her back, one hand gently raised, fingers tracing through the air. Those demonic cultivators who had intended to force her into the Corruption Pool were now trapped one by one in midair formations, each fighting against their own shadows.
Ling Qingyue's gaze lingered on her for two breaths, then she was caught.
Pei Yin turned her head and looked at her, a smile pressed at the corner of her lips. "What are you looking at?"
The woman's eyes held a bright, openly teasing smile. Ling Qingyue's ear tips burned. She strode over and declared righteously, "Looking at you, to see if you'd been bullied by them, so I could come rescue you. Who knew you wouldn't give me even the slightest chance."
Pei Yin feigned sudden realization, nodded, and smiled. "Then next time, I'll wait for you to come rescue me."
Ling Qingyue snorted lightly. "That's more like it."
She tied all the demonic cultivators together, then paced two circles back and forth in front of them. She bent over and looked at the lead demonic cultivator, proposing, "You said earlier how formidable this Corruption Pool is. I'm truly curious. How about you go down there and let me see what happens?"
The lead demonic cultivator's face went pale. She shook her head frantically. "No, no, no! I was wrong! I was blind and ignorant! Let us go. I will take you to see the Demon Lord. I will definitely take you to see the Demon Lord."
She swallowed convulsively, her eyes full of terror. She had no idea where these two had come from, but she knew that the one who used formations had an extremely high cultivation. Even the Demon Lord might not come out ahead against her.
Ling Qingyue saw she was a coward, and estimated she didn't have much genuine loyalty toward this Demon Lord of hers either.
"Your Demon Lord is half-human, half-demon? What's her name? Who does she keep around her?"
The lead demonic cultivator trembled as she answered. "The Demon Lord is indeed a half-demon. We don't know her name, and no one dares to ask. The Demon Lord has a wife she dotes on greatly…"
Before she could finish speaking, somewhere a fleck of black-red flame landed on her body. In the blink of an eye, her entire body was consumed clean by demonic fire. The demonic cultivators tied together with her shook with terror, afraid the next to die would be them.
"The Demon Lord has arrived! The Demon Lord has arrived!"
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