VHSTS CH25

Pressing two fingers together, Luo Jianqing condensed a wisp of cyan sword qi that coiled directly around the blood-red long whip.

“Mo-daoyou! You are still gravely injured right now, and I don’t understand what happened with this Blood Spirit Fruit either—don’t act rashly!”

Without a word, Mo Qiu flicked his wrist to recall the whip, propping himself up with one hand against the stone bed as a thin trail of blood seeped from the corner of his lips. He sneered coldly, “What else is there to say? Now that you’ve already bound a contract with the Blood Spirit Fruit, unless I kill you, I will never get my hands on it in this lifetime!”

Barely had his words fallen when another lash came cleaving straight toward Luo Jianqing’s head.

This was the first time Luo Jianqing had faced Mo Qiu’s Formless Blood-Shadow Whip head-on—and unleashed without reserve using pitch-black demonic qi at that! Dancing wildly through the air, the long whip split into countless crimson blood serpents that writhed and slithered incessantly, weaving a dense web of blood-red shadows.

Not daring to be careless, Luo Jianqing immediately summoned the Shuangfu Sword.

The slender silver blade and the blood-red whip clashed violently inside the cavern. With one flash of sword light, a jagged stone pillar was sliced cleanly in half at the waist; with one sweep of whip shadows, shattered rocks went flying in all directions! After a dozen exchanges, Mo Qiu’s blood whip gradually fell onto the back foot. Luo Jianqing slashed downward with a bolt of lightning sword qi, the icy longsword pointing straight at Mo Qiu’s throat!

At this, Mo Qiu silently wiped the blood from the corner of his lips and chuckled coldly: “Believe it or not, I currently have eighty-one different ways to grind your bones to dust and ensure you never reincarnate for all eternity.”

His voice was frigid and detached, carrying a murderous aura crawled straight up from the abyss.

Keeping his sword raised, Luo Jianqing gazed at him for a brief moment before speaking: “Mo Qiu, when I woke up, this Blood Spirit Fruit was already inside my body—I truly have no idea how it happened. Perhaps it came over to me on its own, and then—”

“Bullshit! Even if it wanted to get close to someone, it would only ever choose me! Do you even know what a Blood Spirit Fruit is?!”

Luo Jianqing asked, “What is a Blood Spirit Fruit?”

Back by that sand dune, neither Yan Su of the Soul-Severing Sect, nor Fairy Minghua of the Flying Flower Sect, nor any of the scions from the Eight Great Clans had recognized what that crimson fruit was. Luo Jianqing had assumed all along that it was merely a mutated variety of Flame Fruit. Even Seeking Immortality had never explained its true nature, with Li Xiuchen simply calling it the “Blood Fruit.”

Deathly pale by now, Mo Qiu had exhausted the meager spiritual power he had barely managed to recover in that brief clash.

Mo Qiu spoke coldly: “You already know I’m not a Daoist cultivator, don’t you?”

After a moment of silence, Luo Jianqing replied, “You are a demon cultivator.”

“Yes, I am a demon cultivator,” Mo Qiu admitted without hesitation. “This Blood Spirit Fruit is a unique creation of our demonic path. The path of demon cultivation is the path of slaughter; among all the demon cultivators I have ever met in my life, fewer than ten have clean hands unstained by blood. Across the entire world, ninety-nine percent of demon cultivators slaughter innocent living beings, while fewer than a hundred kill only sworn enemies and those who deserve to die.”

Luo Jianqing couldn’t resist asking, “Mo Qiu, have you ever killed… human cultivators?” Besides, how many years have you even cultivated—how many demon cultivators could you possibly have met?

Mo Qiu lifted his bewitching eyes, gazing icily at Luo Jianqing. The two locked eyes across the razor-sharp Shuangfu Sword poised to draw blood at his throat. After a beat, Mo Qiu curved his lips slightly: “Mo Qiu has never killed a human cultivator.”

Somehow, a quiet wave of relief unexpectedly washed through Luo Jianqing’s chest.

Mo Qiu continued, “Because the demonic path is far too bloody, most demon cultivators hit a bottleneck at the Body Integration realm and can never advance further in their lives. Therefore, demon cultivators developed a cultivation method called the Great Blood Spirit Art. A demon cultivator condenses their entire lifetime’s spiritual power into their own blood to water a Blood Spirit Tree; the stronger the demon cultivator, the longer it takes to nurture the tree and the greater the agony endured. Once the Blood Spirit Tree bears a Blood Spirit Fruit, the demon cultivator consumes it to complete the Great Blood Spirit Art.”

Luo Jianqing blinked in surprise: “All they have to do is eat it?” The unspoken implication was: Could it really be that simple?

Mo Qiu let out a mocking laugh. “What do you know? The exact moment a Blood Spirit Fruit ripens is the moment the demon cultivator’s spiritual power and blood are completely drained dry. Yet to cultivate the Great Blood Spirit Art, the demon cultivator must swallow it immediately while they still share a soul connection with the spiritual power inside the fruit. In other words, a demon cultivator devoid of any spiritual power and drained of blood has to swallow a Blood Spirit Fruit packed to the brim with their own peak spiritual energy. Can you guess the result?”

Luo Jianqing answered without a second’s hesitation: “Exploding to death from the inside out.”

Without spiritual power and drained of blood, one was practically a walking corpse—barely stronger than a mortal, yet facing absolute mortal peril.

Mo Qiu nodded. “Exactly. Not even one in a hundred demon cultivators survives eating a Blood Spirit Fruit to be reborn. There are plenty of Blood Spirit Fruits scattered across the world, if you have the luck to find them.” Pausing, a trace of sorrow and helplessness flashed through Mo Qiu’s eyes as he sighed, “The demonic path is peerlessly powerful in the early stages, yet endlessly arduous later on. The Great Blood Spirit Art sounds simple enough, yet the highest realm ever reached by anyone who succeeded with it… is still only the Body Integration stage.”

Hearing this, Luo Jianqing gradually fell silent.

One holding a sword, the other lowering his head—the two remained speechless for a long while. In the end, Mo Qiu was the first unable to hold out any longer, collapsing suddenly backward. Only then did Luo Jianqing realize the man had already been at the end of his rope, forcing himself upright purely so he wouldn’t collapse in front of him.

Leaning weakly against the stone couch, Mo Qiu looked at Luo Jianqing with a strange, complicated gaze, still repeating stubbornly: “Luo Jianqing, give me back… my Blood Spirit Fruit.”

After a long silence, Luo Jianqing replied, “As you said yourself, unless I die, this Blood Spirit Fruit cannot return to your hands. Besides, Mo-daoyou, supreme treasures under heaven belong to no fixed owner—the capable claim them. Although I did not intentionally seize this Blood Spirit Fruit from you… forgive me for being unable to comply.”

Mo Qiu slowly closed his eyes, yet a faint smile curved the corners of his lips.

Standing before the stone couch, Luo Jianqing did not move.

A moment later, Mo Qiu spoke in a raspy voice: “Get out.”

Hesitating briefly, Luo Jianqing finally set three small jade bottles beside Mo Qiu before turning around to leave.

Lying on the stone couch, the corners of Mo Qiu’s eyes grew faintly moist, though not a single tear fell. Just as Luo Jianqing reached the mouth of the cavern, Mo Qiu snapped harshly: “Luo Jianqing, never appear in front of me again for the rest of your life—otherwise I swear I will kill you! I’ll slice you into ten thousand pieces and carve your flesh from your bones!”

Luo Jianqing paused in mid-step, before finally walking out of the cavern.

Over the days that followed, Luo Jianqing found another cavern elsewhere in the valley and resumed his cultivation.

Truth be told, that Blood Spirit Fruit hadn’t belonged to Mo Qiu in the first place—Mo Qiu had merely snatched it as well. As Luo Jianqing had rightly said, supreme treasures under heaven go to those with the strength to claim them. Regardless of the circumstances, strength reigned supreme in the cultivation world; even if Luo Jianqing had schemed to steal the Blood Spirit Fruit, it would still rightfully be his without room for argument.

“He said… he has plenty of ways to kill me?” Recalling the sight of the crimson-robed demon cultivator lying motionless on the stone couch, Luo Jianqing let out a soft sigh and shook his head: “Looks like he got so mad he grew delirious—pure wishful thinking.”

Days slipped by one after another. Luo Jianqing knew nothing of Mo Qiu’s condition, nor did he hear any sound coming from the other cavern. One morning, as usual, Luo Jianqing walked toward the golden River of Flames—first to search for a way out, and second to temper his own strength.

The moment Luo Jianqing stepped within ten zhang of the golden flames, the fire suddenly surged ferociously.

Morphing into a colossal golden eagle, the flames swooped down from the sky to peck straight at Luo Jianqing’s eyes. Raising the Shuangfu Sword, Luo Jianqing sliced it cleanly in two! At nine zhang, the flames transformed into a roaring golden tiger that lunged at him; summoning lightning with his sword, Luo Jianqing blasted it to pieces!

When Luo Jianqing gritted his teeth and reached within three zhang of the River of Flames—!

The roaring fire coalesced into a long golden dragon!

Possessing five claws and lifelike scales, radiating an ancient, majestic aura, the dragon surged coiling out of the River of Flames, lowering its massive head slightly to peer down at Luo Jianqing. Suddenly, the dragon spoke in human tongue: “A Daoist cultivator. You are a human Daoist cultivator!”

Luo Jianqing’s eyes contracted as he immediately raised his sword: “Sword Summons Thunder! Who are you?!”

Yet the golden fire dragon exhaled a breath of scorching dragon flame, melting the lightning Luo Jianqing had summoned into nothing.

“A sword cultivator—Benjun detests sword cultivators among you Daoists most of all. Especially sword cultivators from… from that damned mountain! Since you wandered in here, Benjun might as well kill you and save myself the annoyance of looking at you!”

Barely had its words fallen when a torrent of searing dragon breath blasted straight toward him! The heat was so intense that the surrounding cliff walls of the canyon began showing signs of melting; the air boiled and churned, sending waves of scorching heat rippling outward and reducing ordinary plants to ash on contact.

Without a second’s hesitation, Luo Jianqing formed a hand seal as the Shuangfu Sword soared into the air.

“One Sword Transforms into Nine Lotuses!”

A nine-bladed blue-green lotus pierced straight into the dragon breath, erupting in a blinding flash of white light!

“That flower! It’s that damned flower! You’re that person’s heir! Aaargh! I’ll kill you!”

Even hotter golden flames surged relentlessly toward Luo Jianqing, stabbing at him with visible waves of searing heat. Without hesitating, Luo Jianqing retreated swiftly beyond the three-zhang boundary. In an instant, the golden fire vanished abruptly, the air temperature dropped back down, and the golden dragon dissolved back into the river.

Just before disappearing completely, the golden flames roared furiously: “That day is coming soon! You’re going to die! You’re going to die! I refuse to accept it—I’ll kill that person’s heir, I’ll kill that person’s heir…”

The flames sank back into the golden river. Leaning on the Shuangfu Sword, Luo Jianqing panted heavily.

This River of Flames was far too dangerous; were it not for the fact that stepping outside a certain range halted the attacks, Luo Jianqing had zero doubt he would have been slain outright by that fire dragon!

“The dragon clan is seventh-grade from birth, so this dragon is at least at the Soul Formation stage.”

“‘That person’? If that person also used sword techniques from the Nine Lotuses True Heart Record, could it be one of my Yuxiao Peak Shizu?”

“And… what day is ‘that day’?”

None of these mysteries could be answered yet.

With Luo Jianqing’s current cultivation, the first two questions remained beyond his reach—yet as for the final question, when “that day” suddenly arrived, every hair on Luo Jianqing’s body stood on end as he stared in horror at the two canyon openings where the River of Flames flowed in and out, alarm bells blaring wildly in his mind.

In the very next instant, countless violent astral gales came howling through those narrow mountain passes!

Blotting out heaven and earth, shrouding everything in pitch-black darkness!

Fearing the River of Flames might flood, Luo Jianqing had long ago carved an underground tunnel into the cliffside and laid down a grand array using numerous Mysterious-grade treasures and an Earth-grade artifact. Now he was about to dash inside for shelter—when just before entering the tunnel, he abruptly looked up toward the cavern on the opposite side. Gripping the Shuangfu Sword in brief hesitation, he gritted his teeth, pushed off the ground, and darted straight into Mo Qiu’s cave.

“Luo Jianqing!”

Mo Qiu’s furious voice rang out.

Giving him zero chance to speak, Luo Jianqing hoisted the man straight up by the waist, slung him over his shoulder, and sprinted madly out of the cavern.

By now, the astral gales had already swept into the valley!

The moment he stepped out of the cave mouth, a razor-sharp gust of astral wind blasted straight at his face. Luo Jianqing’s eyes contracted as he sidestepped swiftly.

BOOM!

The cavern behind them was obliterated into dust.

Mo Qiu widened his eyes in shock, gasping, “The innate astral gales of the Heaven-grade Demon Venerable Wind-Rending Beak-Eagle Beast!”

Unable to hear a word Mo Qiu said amidst the roar, Luo Jianqing carried Mo Qiu’s limp body—Mo Qiu’s head dangling behind his back—and drew the Shuangfu Sword to cleave apart flying boulders along the way, carving a direct path toward his underground tunnel.

CRASH!

Everything in the valley was ground into fine powder by the terrifying astral gales!

Ten zhang!

Five zhang!

One zhang!

One chi…

RUMBLE—!!!

A stray current of astral wind suddenly swept in from Luo Jianqing’s flank, slashing directly toward Mo Qiu. Clenching his teeth hard, Luo Jianqing spun around to shield him with his own body. The Shuangfu Sword let out an alarmed hum as layers of crushing pressure closed in before the wind even touched him, shredding the sleeves of Luo Jianqing’s robes to ribbons!

Fine wind blades grazed Luo Jianqing’s fingers and cheeks, slicing open bleeding gashes across his skin.

At the final critical instant, Luo Jianqing let out a long sigh and abruptly pulled out the Green Bamboo Umbrella.

The moment the Green Bamboo Umbrella collided with the raging astral gale, its cyan bamboo ribs disintegrated into nothingness and its canopy crumbled into dust. Without sparing it a second glance, Luo Jianqing seized that fleeting breath of time to dive into the underground tunnel with Mo Qiu, immediately forming hand seals to activate the grand array inside.

Instantly, golden spell seals flared to life throughout the dark subterranean passage.

Dropped onto the floor the moment they entered the tunnel, Mo Qiu stared open-mouthed at the glowing array before him, at a complete loss for words. After a long pause, he let out a low chuckle and remarked, “Luo Jianqing of Taihua Mountain, you used our demonic cultivation techniques to form this Earth-grade Heavenly Demon Grand Array. Hilarious—truly hilarious! If Xuanlingzi ever found out his sole disciple had fallen into the demonic path, I wonder what kind of expression he’d make…”

Before his words had even finished falling, the icy blade of the Shuangfu Sword pressed squarely against Mo Qiu’s throat.

The smile on Mo Qiu’s face slowly faded.

With an expressionless face, Luo Jianqing said flatly, “Swear an inner-demon oath never to breathe a word of what you saw today.”

Mo Qiu scoffed sarcastically: “On what grounds?”

Luo Jianqing shifted the Shuangfu Sword slightly, drawing a thin line of blood across Mo Qiu’s neck: “On the grounds that I can kill you right now.”

Mo Qiu remained silent.

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, he spoke in a low voice: “I swear an oath: for the rest of my life, I will never speak of what I witnessed today. Should I break this vow, may my inner demons devour me and prevent me from ever reincarnating.”

Satisfied, Luo Jianqing lowered the Shuangfu Sword, only for Mo Qiu to start laughing: “Luo Jianqing, why did you save me? I already told you—if I ever saw you again, I’d kill you. Even without my full strength recovered, I could still hack you into ten thousand pieces within a single breath.”

Listening to his soft, velvety laugh, Luo Jianqing cast him a sidelong glance: “Well? Have you killed me yet?”

Mo Qiu was struck completely speechless.

The pitch-black tunnel was narrow, leaving the two resting lightly side by side. With a cultivator’s keen eyesight, Luo Jianqing could see every tiny movement Mo Qiu made clearly and could strike the instant he tried anything funny. Outside the tunnel, the astral gales continued raging endlessly, battering against the Earth-grade Heavenly Demon Grand Array and making it tremble faintly.

Luo Jianqing slowly closed his eyes to recover his expended spiritual power. Just then, he heard a hoarse voice murmur softly: “Thank you…”

Keeping his eyes shut, Luo Jianqing acted as though he hadn’t heard a thing.

Yet Mo Qiu uttered not another word either.

The astral gales raged for three full days and nights. Only after confirming there was truly no movement left outside did Luo Jianqing poke his head out to survey the valley.

The valley had been stripped completely bare by the storm—every blade of grass and flower shredded, even boulders ground into fine dust. Only the smooth surrounding cliff walls and the gently flowing River of Flames remained entirely tranquil, as though nothing had ever happened.

Grabbing Mo Qiu by the back of his collar, Luo Jianqing hauled him out of the tunnel.

Setting him down on the ground, Luo Jianqing turned and walked away without sparing him a glance—only for Mo Qiu to call out loudly: “Luo Jianqing, you’re leaving just like that?”

Ignoring him completely, Luo Jianqing kept walking.

Mo Qiu chuckled softly: “What if I told you I’ve roughly figured out what this place is—would you still keep walking?”

Luo Jianqing halted abruptly in his tracks and turned around.

The smile gradually faded from Mo Qiu’s face as he spoke seriously: “I suspect this is the ninth layer of Flowing Flame Valley.”

Flowing Flame Valley had nine layers in total; in his previous life, Luo Jianqing had only ever reached the eighth layer, blocked from entering the ninth by an invisible barrier of flames. Back then, he had spent over half a year trying to break inside in hopes of gathering more Flame Fruits to make Xuanlingzi proud of him.

Yet all his efforts had come to nothing.

When he emerged from Flowing Flame Valley a year later, his shidi Li Xiuchen had somehow collected over a hundred Flame Fruits!

Everyone had praised him: “Li-daoyou truly lives up to being Xuanlingzi Zunzhe’s disciple!”

Recalling that memory, Luo Jianqing felt a slight tightness in his throat as he asked, “If this is the ninth layer, then why aren’t there any Flame Fruits here?”

Instead of answering directly, Mo Qiu retorted, “I’m still gravely injured—this is my very first time stepping out of that cave. Luo Jianqing, this is all your fault; if you’d brought me out earlier, would we have had to wait until now to figure out where we are?”

Luo Jianqing smacked Mo Qiu squarely across the face with his scabbard: “Speak human language.”

Mo Qiu widened his eyes in shock, clutching his cheek in disbelief: “You actually dared smack me in the face?!”

Luo Jianqing shot back calmly, “Mo-daoyou, Daoist cultivators and demon cultivators have been sworn enemies since antiquity. Not killing you is already showing leniency out of past acquaintance.”

“You—!”

After sulking stubbornly for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, just as Luo Jianqing raised his scabbard a second time, Mo Qiu glared furiously at him and snapped, “Do you see that River of Flames? That’s no river, nor is it ordinary fire—all of it is blood. Ages ago, a fire-attributed Heaven-grade Demon Venerable fell right here, forming this entire Flowing Flame Valley. His heart’s essence blood remained here in the ninth layer, transforming into this River of Flames. As for those astral gales earlier, they were the innate ability of another Heaven-grade Demon Venerable. Everyone in the world assumes that fire Demon Venerable was slain by human cultivators, yet in truth, as far as I know, the two Demon Venerables fought each other to the death and perished here together.”

Luo Jianqing asked, “Then according to you, if the other Demon Venerable was strong enough to kill this fire Demon Venerable, why is this place only Flowing Flame Valley with no Astral Gale Valley to speak of?”

Mo Qiu let out a mocking snort and looked at Luo Jianqing: “You’d have to ask your ancestors from Taihua Mountain’s Yuxiao Peak about that! Coming here once every thousand years to sweep the place clean, no matter how many magic treasures were left behind, they looted every last scrap. If they hadn’t been unable to haul this River of Flames away, they probably would have drained it dry too. People everywhere call Taihua Mountain the pillar of the righteous path—what utter bullshit! You people from Yuxiao Peak are the most cunning and greedy of all, acting so sanctimonious and self-righteous—Argh! You actually dared hit me again?!“

Leisurely sheathing the Shuangfu Sword, Luo Jianqing replied evenly, “Utter nonsense. You haven’t even cultivated for fifty years—how could you possibly know about such things? Daring to slander my Shizu—Mo Qiu, I’ll spare your life today, but if I ever catch you spouting nonsense again, I won’t hesitate to hit you once more!”

Mo Qiu gritted his teeth: “Fine, very good—just you remember this, Luo Jianqing!”

Despite their bickering, over the days that followed, Luo Jianqing and Mo Qiu carved out a shared cavern together and cultivated inside. Seeing that Mo Qiu hadn’t touched a single drop of the medicinal pills Luo Jianqing had left him earlier, Luo Jianqing simply took the bottles back.

Mo Qiu sneered sarcastically: “Hypocritical Taihua Mountain scum.”

With a sweep of his sleeve, Luo Jianqing pulled Mo Qiu straight over in front of him.

With his spiritual power still unrecovered, Mo Qiu instinctively raised his hands to shield his face—only to realize Luo Jianqing’s scabbard never came down. Lowering his hands in surprise, Mo Qiu saw Luo Jianqing circulating his spiritual power and channeling it directly into him to heal his injuries.

Luo Jianqing spoke coldly: “Mo-daoyou, the sooner you recover, the sooner we can get out of here.”

Mo Qiu let out a low chuckle, thinking inwardly: Now that’s more like it.

Four months later, Mo Qiu fully recovered from his injuries—and the very first thing he did upon healing was pin Luo Jianqing down in a spar. This time, Luo Jianqing was no longer Mo Qiu’s match; yet just as Mo Qiu’s whip was about to lash across that peerlessly handsome face, he abruptly pulled back his strike.

Chuckling softly, Mo Qiu lifted Luo Jianqing’s chin with the handle of his whip: “Tsk, tsk—I really couldn’t bear to mar such a pretty face.”

Seizing the opening, Luo Jianqing smacked him across the face with his scabbard once more.

Mo Qiu: “You—!”

Luo Jianqing: “Please conduct yourself with dignity, Mo-daoyou.”

As he spoke, the cinnabar dot between Luo Jianqing’s brows flickered twice.

Half a year later, another storm of violent astral gales swept through the valley. Caught off guard by the recurring tempest, the two scrambled hastily into their underground tunnel. This time, Mo Qiu took control of the Earth-grade Heavenly Demon Grand Array, manipulating the formation with such intricate, dazzling skill that it left Luo Jianqing thoroughly impressed.

Inside the tunnel, Mo Qiu remarked, “The gates of Flowing Flame Valley opened several months ago, and we never came out. The Mo Clan probably assumes I’m dead by now—wonder how things are going on Taihua Mountain? Is anyone waiting for you? Seeing that you didn’t return, that person must be worried sick and heartbroken.”

A white-robed, graceful silhouette flashed abruptly before Luo Jianqing’s eyes. Lowering his gaze, he felt a dull pang tighten around his heart. After a long pause, he replied quietly, “No one is waiting for me. However, my natal life lamp rests inside Taihua Mountain, so they know I am still alive.”

Seeing the desolate look in Luo Jianqing’s eyes, Mo Qiu pressed his lips together in silence.

There were neither springs, summers, autumns, nor winters inside the canyon, nor the waxing and waning of sun and moon.

Every half year, right on schedule, the astral gales swept through, and Luo Jianqing and Mo Qiu—now thoroughly prepared—retreated smoothly into their subterranean tunnel each time.

In their second year trapped inside the valley, relying on the vast, surging spiritual energy within the Blood Spirit Fruit, Luo Jianqing broke through to the late stage of Golden Core. Mo Qiu offered a stiff, half-hearted smile: “Congratulations, congratulations.”

In high spirits, Luo Jianqing paid no mind to the sarcasm in his tone.

Thus time drifted quietly onward. Every day, Luo Jianqing approached the River of Flames to temper himself against its crushing pressure—though he still lost every bout against the golden fire dragon at the three-zhang mark and had to limp back disheveled. Strangely enough, whenever Mo Qiu strolled over beside the River of Flames out of boredom, not a single flame beast ever emerged to attack him.

Luo Jianqing asked in bewilderment, “Mo Qiu, why don’t they ever attack you?”

Deadpan, Mo Qiu joked straight-faced, “Because my cultivation realm towers far above that stupid fire-attributed Heaven-grade Demon Venerable. I could have crushed it with sheer realm pressure while it was alive—now that it’s dead, how dare it flaunt its realm in front of me?”

Luo Jianqing replied speechlessly, “Would it kill you not to brag, Mo-daoyou?”

Mo Qiu let out a mocking snort without answering.

Inside this secluded valley, Luo Jianqing devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivating the Nine Plundering Heavens Record. Perhaps spurred on by tempering himself daily against the aura and pressure of the River of Flames, his cultivation advanced at breakneck speed—his body absorbing the spiritual energy of the Blood Spirit Fruit like a parched sponge.

In their third year, Luo Jianqing formed his Nascent Soul!

Achieving Nascent Soul at this age shattered Xuanlingzi’s historic record long ago, yet Luo Jianqing felt little elation. He gazed silently at the surging River of Flames until Mo Qiu chuckled lowly beside him: “Not bad at all—forming a Nascent Soul before even forty years of cultivation, and a flawless Nascent Soul at that. Tell me, Luo Jianqing, did my Blood Spirit Fruit work wonders?”

Luo Jianqing murmured quietly, “Mo Qiu, are we truly trapped here forever?”

Mo Qiu fell abruptly silent. After a long pause, he retrieved a small boat carved from jade out of his storage ring. Exquisite and dazzling, the miniature vessel could seat at most three people, yet it radiated an intense, bone-chilling aura—the instant it appeared inside the valley, even the raging River of Flames stalled momentarily, as though shrinking back in fear.

Mo Qiu explained, “This is the Cold Jade Heavenly Ark, a Heaven-grade magic treasure. Earlier, I noticed that right after each storm of astral gales passes, the River of Flames calms down completely for a single ke. If we seize that ke to race out of the valley, we might just manage to escape alive.”

Staring at the small jade boat in astonishment, Luo Jianqing paused for a long moment before asking, “…Could you have left this place all along?”

Mo Qiu laughed delightedly: “Why, do you think I could have made it out on my own?”

Luo Jianqing nodded firmly: “Yes. You don’t fear the River of Flames, and you possess a Heaven-grade magic treasure.” In fact, you didn’t even need to wait for that so-called single ke—as long as there weren’t astral gales, you could have left whenever you pleased.

Mo Qiu raised an eyebrow and said, “Luo Jianqing of Taihua Mountain, you overthink too much. What if I stepped out of the canyon only to run straight into something even deadlier than the astral gales? You’re at the Nascent Soul realm now—I’ve been waiting around specifically for a bodyguard. Alright, the next storm of astral gales arrives in three days. Get ready—the instant the gales pass, we break out of the valley!”

Luo Jianqing gazed deeply at Mo Qiu before suddenly retrieving a white jade token from his storage ring. Dripping a drop of his own blood onto it to erase his imprint, he slapped the token across to Mo Qiu and said, “Mo-daoyou, I thank you for helping me escape this valley and for waiting for me. This jade token is a treasure I obtained in ancient ruins previously; I have just severed my contract with it, so it is now ownerless. By crushing it, you can instantaneously teleport ten thousand li away to save your life in an emergency.”

Without standing on ceremony, Mo Qiu accepted the jade token directly. Inspecting it with a smile, he suddenly swept his sleeve and produced a tiny bell. Blood-red from top to bottom, the delicate, exquisite bell made no sound whatsoever when Mo Qiu shook it.

Mo Qiu said, “What a coincidence—this bell of mine is called the Nine-Aperture Demonic Sound Bell, something I forged out of boredom. It has no other use except that if someone seals it inside their heart, whenever they face mortal danger, as long as I’m within ten thousand li, I’ll hear it ring. And if I happen to be in a good mood, I might just swing by to save their life.”

With that, Mo Qiu tossed the Nine-Aperture Demonic Sound Bell over to Luo Jianqing.

Luo Jianqing stared at the intricate crimson bell with complicated eyes, remaining motionless for a long moment.

Mo Qiu scoffed lightly: “Afraid I’ll use it to harm you? Suit yourself, then—it’s not like I’d necessarily feel like saving—”

Mo Qiu’s voice cut off abruptly as Luo Jianqing suddenly pressed the bell straight into his own chest with a single palm strike.

The exact instant the bell merged into his body, the cinnabar dot between Luo Jianqing’s brows flickered faintly.

Mo Qiu’s eyes widened in shock. Dressed in cyan robes, the refined cultivator smiled faintly—radiant in an instant like morning moonlight in spring, his voice as clear as celestial music: “Mo Qiu, earlier you claimed that even when unable to move, you had countless ways to slice me into ten thousand pieces.”

“And you actually believed me?”

The smile on Luo Jianqing’s lips deepened, his brilliance rivaling sun and moon, handsome beyond compare. “Yes, I believed you. You carry far too many secrets—you knew this was the ninth layer of Flowing Flame Valley, and you knew all about the wind Demon Venerable and fire Demon Venerable. Though born in a barren place like the Cold Desert Wasteland, you possess a Heaven-grade magic treasure even I have never owned, and you condensed demonic qi before even reaching Nascent Soul.”

Pausing, Luo Jianqing smiled warmly: “Since you didn’t kill me back then, I trust you won’t kill me in the future either—at the very least, you won’t use this Nine-Aperture Demonic Sound Bell to harm me. To me, these three years spent together in the ninth layer of Flowing Flame Valley are more than enough for me to trust you—enough… for us to become life-and-death friends.”

Emotions flickered rapidly across Mo Qiu’s face before he finally broke into a laugh: “You want to be life-and-death friends with me?”

Luo Jianqing nodded: “Yes.”

Mo Qiu pressed on: “I’m a demon cultivator.”

Luo Jianqing smiled: “I know.”

Mo Qiu raised an eyebrow: “You know, and yet you still want to be life-and-death friends with me? Aren’t you afraid of being condemned by the righteous path?”

Luo Jianqing shook his head lightly and said, “Who says everyone on the righteous path is virtuous? And who decrees that the righteous path is always right while the demonic path is always wrong? There has never been absolute right or wrong in this world—even my own Shizun has surely made mistakes in his life, while the Demon Sovereign of the Demonic Dao Palace must also have done things true to his conscience. The one befriending you is me, Luo Jianqing—not the head disciple of Taihua Mountain, and certainly not the so-called righteous path. Mo Qiu, I am simply Luo Jianqing.”

Listening to Luo Jianqing’s words, Mo Qiu wore an odd expression for a moment before suddenly bursting into open laughter: “For those words alone, I’ll take you on as a life-and-death friend!”

Both laughed heartily together.

Three days later, another storm of astral gales swept across the valley.

Taking shelter inside their tunnel to weather the storm, the two sprinted straight to the River of Flames the instant it subsided. Summoning the Heaven-grade Cold Jade Heavenly Ark, Mo Qiu exchanged a sharp glance with Luo Jianqing.

“Let’s go!”