Zhi Xuan ignored the clashing gazes and wills of the cultivators there, who were mostly low-level practitioners drowning in cheap liquor and base ambitions.
Xiao Die gently floated back, hiding in the folds of his robe, its peaceful humming lody becoming the only warmth he felt. Zhi Xuan stepped forward again, nodding briefly to the bar servant who now stared at him with a mix of fear and curiosity, then exited the 'Poison Cup'.
Outside, the sun cast its cool rays, a refreshing sight. Its light felt like a pure slap to his face after hours subrged in the darkness of the corridor and the thick blood mist.
His sapphire eyes were now clear of the blood-red flash, gazing at the expanse of Green Cloud City surrounded by high mountains, and the stone road leading out of the Eastern Lower District—a road that promised escape and a new beginning.
His torn red silk robe, covered in dried blood stains and arena dust, felt heavy. The sll of copper and the foul Essence of the enemies he had harvested still clung to him.
Yet, internally, there was a cold peace. His Sea of Consciousness was calm, the Devil Seed subdued, and the Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron spun with the Law of Spring, cleansing the last residues of poison and exhaustion from the brutal battle.
He felt the density of his Black Jade Essence. The realm promotion to the Blood Transformation Eclipse Phase felt like a new layer of armor throughout his body. His spiritual blood now flowed at twice the speed, every drop as heavy as a drop of spiritual rcury.
Zhi Xuan raised his hand; his pale skin under the sunlight revealed faint red lines along his ridians—the remnants of the lacerations from the Deathbringer and the arena slaves he had just absorbed.
He did not channel energy, but he felt the power contained in his storage bag: the Mid-Grade Spiritual Stones. A fortune that would guarantee his steps in Green Cloud City.
"I must see i Hua," Zhi Xuan muttered. He sharpened his awareness and used his divine sense, tracing his spiritual blood to locate i Hua.
Zhi Xuan closed his eyes for a mont. His Divine Sense, strengthened by the density of his Essence, shot out, penetrating the spiritual essence density of Green Cloud City. No cultivator in the Lower District possessed the strength or focus to track this far; Zhi Xuan held the advantage because his spiritual blood was pure.
He was not searching for pure spiritual essence, but the resonance of his own spiritual blood that he had dripped onto i Hua's small monkey statue. It was a fragile, pure link, untainted by the filth of cultivation, bound to an unaging soul.
Soon, a small, stable point of light appeared at the edge of his perception, like a star hidden behind the night mist. The point was far from the bustle of the Eastern Lower District, in a crowded market area, where mortal life pulsed heedless of the bloodshed beneath.
'She is near the Wind Silk Market,' Zhi Xuan murmured in his mind. The location was far from danger, but Zhi Xuan did not sense Aunt Lin there; the market was quite far from the fire flower candy stall.
Zhi Xuan wasted no ti. He no longer cared about his appearance; his tattered robe would nd itself in ti. He stepped forward, letting his black jade essence surge through his feet.
WHUSHH!
He shot forth, not as a shadow, but as a cold, blurred line along the stone road. Mortal cultivators walking the road only felt a sudden, cold gust of wind, followed by an unexplainable sense of fear, as if they had just brushed past an emissary from the Underworld.
The path Zhi Xuan took felt like a shifting battlefield. He left the scent of copper and the blood dust of the Lower District, heading toward the lighter aroma of incense, flower candies, and spices of the Wind Silk Market. The contrast was so sharp it felt like he was forcing two conflicting Heavenly Laws to coexist.
He moved without regard for gazes. The Eclipse phase speed gave him extraordinary visual distance, making the market crowd look like slow, jerky movents. Within a few breaths of exiting the darkness of the Lower District, Zhi Xuan had reached the Wind Silk Market.
The market was the beating heart for mortal life and low-level cultivation in Green Cloud City, filled with stalls selling shimring silks, low-grade spiritual herbs, and mortal artifacts. Amid the dense crowd, Zhi Xuan slowed his pace.
Zhi Xuan quickly found the source of the point of light. It was not in the center of the market, but tucked away behind a stack of tall bamboo baskets, near a stall selling cheap cloth dolls and simple wooden toys.
i Hua, the strange, unaging little girl, sat alone on a wooden crate, her small feet dangling in the air. She wore a clean cotton dress, contrasting with the dirtiness of the place.
In her arms, she held her dull cloth doll, Lulu. i Hua's movents were slow and careful, as if afraid to disturb the doll. She was feeding Lulu with flower candy she took from a small pouch.
Zhi Xuan, with steps that now felt heavy despite his reduced speed, approached the stack of baskets. The sweet sll of flower candy, an aroma from the pure mortal world, enveloped him, washing away the remnants of blood and stale liquor scent.
He saw i Hua. The little girl, with clear eyes that gazed at Lulu as if the doll were a vulnerable living being, radiated an aura of innocence and purity. The contrast between this little girl and the cruelty he had just left felt like a piercing irony.
i Hua was talking to Lulu, her voice soft and pitched like a wind chi.
"Lulu, Lulu, you must eat a lot," i Hua whispered, offering a small flower candy to the doll's cloth mouth. "Later, if Lulu is strong, Lulu can protect i Hua. Big Brother Zhi Xuan said Lulu is a good friend."
It was then that the faint tremor from the small monkey statue, which had been infused with Zhi Xuan's Spiritual Blood and was hidden in i Hua's pocket, emitted a familiar resonance. i Hua suddenly stopped talking. She raised her head.
i Hua's round, clear eyes, which always looked slightly hazy, now stared directly at Zhi Xuan standing behind the bamboo baskets. There was no fear, only slow and peaceful recognition. As if she had been waiting for Zhi Xuan there for thousands of years.
Zhi Xuan, whose aura still emanated the coldness of the Blood Transformation Eclipse Phase, felt that cold aura suddenly subside. i Hua's innocent presence, which had no spiritual essence fluctuations, acted like pure water extinguishing a fire.
"Big Brother Zhi Xuan," i Hua said, her voice calm, not surprised at all. She did not ask why Zhi Xuan's robe was torn or why he was covered in dried blood. She simply accepted.
i Hua rose from the wooden crate, still clutching Lulu. She walked slowly toward Zhi Xuan, her steps small and careful, stepping over the pile of candies she had placed on the crate.
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Zhi Xuan knelt, ignoring the pain from his fractured ribs. He allowed his eye level to et i Hua's, and at that mont, he beca Zhi Xuan again, not The Herald of Devil.
"i Hua, why are you here?" Zhi Xuan asked, his voice hoarse. He sharpened his vision. Only then did he see Aunt Lin talking to a silk seller at a stall across the road, looking busy and slightly distracted.
i Hua shook her braided head. "Aunt Lin said it's a busy day, and we have to wait. She wants to buy red silk thread. Lulu also needs new clothes, Big Brother Zhi Xuan. Lulu's clothes are worn out."
Zhi Xuan nodded, looking at the dull cloth doll Lulu held tightly. He felt a sting of warmth—an unexpected kindness amidst the cruelty he had just experienced.
"i Hua," Zhi Xuan called softly, his hand raised, not touching, but stroking the back of i Hua's hand with his gaze. "Are you alright?"
The little girl nodded, then suddenly, her clear eyes widened. She was not looking at Zhi Xuan's face, but at his shoulder. Xiao Die, the Heavenly Moth, which had been hiding carefully, now trembled slightly, triggered by i Hua's innocence.
Xiao Die did not fully erge, but it allowed a faint rainbow pollen and the gentle vibration of its wings to be seen.
"Ah!" i Hua gasped, not out of fear, but out of fascinated admiration. "Pretty bug! Like a little star!"
i Hua held out her small hand, montarily ignoring Lulu. She did not try to touch, only to look at Xiao Die.
"Big Brother Zhi Xuan, that bug... is so peaceful. It sings a lullaby in your head," i Hua whispered. Then, she suddenly frowned, her expression turning into a faint confusion.
"But... but that little star," i Hua said, her voice softening to a tone of doubt, her eyes staring intensely at the spot on Zhi Xuan's shoulder where Xiao Die was hiding. "It has... cold threads. The color of blood red. They were trying to wrap around you, but the little star is protecting it. Why do those threads want to hurt Big Brother Zhi Xuan?"
Zhi Xuan's usually rigid face froze. His body, which had just relaxed, tensed up again. Cold threads? Blood-red color? This was no longer an innocent observation; this was i Hua's ability to see through illusions and penetrate the layers of spiritual essence and soul.
She was not just seeing Xiao Die, who was the little star; she was seeing the devil soul residue or the chains of blood that had montarily wrapped around him in the Sea of Consciousness, which had been pulled back to the bottom of his sea of consciousness when he was awakened in the arena by the Heart-Nourishing Jade.
"Blood-red... threads?" Zhi Xuan repeated, his voice low, forcing himself to remain calm.
"Yes," i Hua nodded seriously, now completely forgetting Lulu. She pointed to Zhi Xuan's shoulder. "There was a very cold thread, trying to hug Big Brother Zhi Xuan earlier. But... the little star, she didn't let it. She kept singing, and the thread beca hazy."
i Hua blinked, and her faint confusion vanished, replaced by her normal clarity. Her mory often blurred after seeing things she shouldn't.
"Big Brother Zhi Xuan, can Lulu get new clothes the color of stars?" i Hua asked, returning to the world of dolls and flower candies, as if the conversation about the threads of blood had never happened.
Zhi Xuan stared at i Hua, silence enveloping them amidst the market's hustle. An ice-cold fear crawled up his spine, not from an external threat, but from the implication of i Hua's vision.
i Hua, the unaging little girl with mysterious abilities, had just confird that the Devil Soul or the Devil's Desire still clung to him and sought to pull him back, even after he controlled it, instinctively fighting off the most subtle demonic influence.
'This girl... she sees beyond the Dao,' Ruo Xianxue echoed, her tone this ti not mocking, but cautious. 'Ignore her, Monkey. It's just a child's fantasy.'
Zhi Xuan ignored the Ancient Devil Monunt. He leaned toward i Hua, his eyes filled with a rare tenderness, but his caution was now as hard as steel.
"Of course, i Hua," Zhi Xuan whispered. "Lulu will get new clothes more beautiful than the stars. We will buy the finest silk thread. And Big Brother Zhi Xuan will buy you new clothes."
Zhi Xuan rose, his aura returning to a cold calmness. He stood before Aunt Lin, who had just finished negotiating her red silk thread.
Aunt Lin, a middle-aged woman whose skin was etched with ti and care, was startled to see Zhi Xuan, but her warm eyes imdiately focused on the dried blood stains on the youth's robe.
"Zhi Xuan! Oh my, Young Master!" Aunt Lin exclaid, her tone filled with motherly worry. She did not care about the suffocating cultivation aura; she only cared about the wound. "What happened? You... are you badly hurt? Your wound is so dirty!"
"Don't worry, Aunt Lin," Zhi Xuan replied, his voice now normal, hiding his exhaustion and internal shock. "Just a small clash during travel. The wounds are under control."
Aunt Lin looked into Zhi Xuan's sapphire eyes, searching for the truth, but all she found was a calmness that was too cold. She sighed, realizing she was dealing with a cultivator's secrets.
"i Hua already said she saw you coming. This little girl is truly strange," Aunt Lin muttered, shaking her head.
"Aunt Lin," Zhi Xuan cut in, with a gentle but absolute commanding tone. "I want to buy everything i Hua and Lulu need. Silk threads, cloth, clothes. The purest. I want to buy her clothes as bright as the stars."
Zhi Xuan took out a Mid-Grade Spiritual Stone from his storage bag. The dense spiritual essence light from the stone imdiately drew the attention of passersby—an undeniable signal of wealth and power in a market dominated by low-grade stones.
Aunt Lin was shocked to see the Mid-Grade Spiritual Stone in Zhi Xuan's hand. Her eyes widened; she knew the value of the stone. "Zhi Xuan! You... you have so much? Where did..."
"I got it from profitable work," Zhi Xuan interrupted briefly, giving no room for further questions. "Money is not an issue. I want Lulu and i Hua to have the best."
Seeing Zhi Xuan's resolve, Aunt Lin nodded seriously. "Alright, Young Master. I know the place. Old Man Zhou's stall at the end of the market. He sells Shimring Cloud silk, the purest and softest silk in Green Cloud City."
Aunt Lin led the way. With Zhi Xuan walking behind her, his cold aura emanating from the Blood Transformation Eclipse Phase realm imdiately cleared a path in the market crowd. People instinctively avoided him, not wanting to cross an aura that slled of such fresh bloodshed.
i Hua, with Lulu in her arms, walked by Zhi Xuan's side. She did not care about the aura; she only looked ahead happily, dreaming of new clothes for Lulu.
They reached Old Man Zhou's stall. The stall was unremarkable, but inside, there were piles of silk that shimred with a faint spiritual aura, attracting the essence of Heaven and Earth.
Zhi Xuan pointed to a pile of silk with a soft rainbow color, similar to the pollen radiated by Xiao Die, but adorned with fine silver threads that looked like stars.
"Shimring Cloud Silk with Seven Star Silver threads," said Old Man Zhou, an elderly man who appeared to be a late-stage Blood Transformation cultivator, his eyes narrowing as he assessed Zhi Xuan. "This silk is worth one Mid-Grade Spiritual Stone per full roll. It is expensive, Young Master."
Zhi Xuan did not care. "How much is needed for one dress for i Hua, and a good set of underclothes for Lulu?"
Old Man Zhou, accustod to ti-consuming bargaining, was stunned by this absolute deanor. "One roll of silk, Young Master. That is enough."
Zhi Xuan tossed one Mid-Grade Spiritual Stone onto the table, its essence pulsing intensely. "Take it. Give the cleanest and purest silk."
Old Man Zhou quickly took the stone and stored it, realizing he was dealing with a client who did not waste ti. He imdiately handed over the roll of silk.
Zhi Xuan bought the best silk thread that Aunt Lin sold. He even bought supplies of fire flower candies and low-grade recovery herbs for Aunt Lin. Within a short ti, Zhi Xuan's bag beca lighter, and Aunt Lin's bag was full of luxurious items.
"Zhi Xuan, you are too extravagant!" Aunt Lin protested, her face pale. "All this... it is too expensive!"
"It was a promise, Aunt Lin," Zhi Xuan said calmly. "I must fulfill it. Now, I must leave. I need to leave the city for a while, before the Thousand Heavens Sect selection."
Aunt Lin understood. She looked into Zhi Xuan's eyes. Behind that calmness, there was a cold, absolute purpose that she could not comprehend. She hugged Zhi Xuan quickly and tightly, uncaring of the scent of copper and blood on his robe.
"Be careful, child," Aunt Lin whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "I will look after i Hua."
Zhi Xuan shook his head slowly with a faint smile; he knew Aunt Lin had worked hard and also had to look after i Hua. This ti he would give sufficient compensation for Aunt Lin's hard work.
"Aunt Lin," Zhi Xuan called respectfully and politely, humbly handing over five mid-grade spiritual stones. "I will be taking i Hua with , and consider this a gift because Aunt Lin introduced to i Hua."
Five Mid-Grade Spiritual Stones. In the hands of a mortal like Aunt Lin, it was a fortune that could guarantee her comfortable life for years without needing to sell candies anymore. Aunt Lin's eyes widened, not out of greed, but because of the unimaginable value.
"Taking... i Hua?" Aunt Lin repeated, her voice choked. She looked at the little girl who was now busy holding the Shimring Cloud Silk roll, as beautiful as a star, unaware of the drama unfolding around her. "But, Young Master, she..."
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