THDP Ch 124 Part 1 – Colluding With the Devil Realm (I)
The girl in the blue robe who erged from behind the tree was none other than ng Qi. After leaving the forest, she breathed a sigh of relief. The distance she walked wasn’t far, and she encountered no danger. The jade token given to her by Yun Qingyan was tied to her wrist with silk thread and held in her palm, already ward by her touch.
The mont ng Qi entered the forest, there was complete silence. Not even the sound of insects or birds nor the rustling of leaves from the wind could be heard. The forest was as quiet as it was lifeless, making it more eerie than a bloody battlefield. It felt like being in a desolate wasteland. Perhaps because of the jade pendant, ng Qi’s spiritual aura was not drained, but she still felt as if her emotions were frozen. Looking back now, there was a mont of blankness in her mory as to how she had made it to this place.
“Fellow Daoist ng?” Pei Mufeng stared perplexedly. His thick eyebrows furrowed in a rare frown, “Is it really you?”
“Greetings, Fellow Daoist Pei.” ng Qi responded.
Lying at Pei Mufeng’s feet was a man dressed in a crimson robe. ng Qi turned her head and caught a glimpse of one of the won kneeling with her back to her. The woman wore a pink robe with flowing sleeves and a layer of light gauze draped over her clothes. Her long black hair was tied up in a bun on top of her head, adorned with three pearl hairpins slanted into it. The clothes on the woman’s slender figure were neat and tidy, making it seem as if a treacherous place like the Starfallen Sea was a re walk in the garden for her.
In comparison, Xue Jinwen, next to her, appeared much more disheveled. Her red clothes were torn in several places, and a large dark mark was visible on her shoulder. Her hair was also ssy, indicating she had gone through at least one battle.
Xue Jinwen happened to be facing ng Qi’s direction. Seeing her appearance, she stood up suddenly and cried out: “ng Qiqi!” She couldn’t believe her eyes, “You…you…how did you…did you co here by yourself?”
As she spoke, she rushed to ng Qi’s side and grasped her arms, examining her closely, “Are you alright? How did you manage to co here alone? I thought my brother went to the Starfallen Sea too. What about Su Jun-… what about the rest?”
Xue Jinwen was a dical cultivator herself, so she could tell right away that ng Qi was not injured. After a brief sigh of relief, her brows quickly furrowed again, “Why are you alone? Where are my brother and the others?”
“I’ll explain to you after we get out.” ng Qi smiled.
“ng Qiqi…” Xue Jinwen looked at her calm face, and the string that had been tense in her heart for several days suddenly relaxed. She exhaled and hugged ng Qi, resting her chin on her shoulder. “You actually ca… It’s actually you…”
Xue Jinwen rarely lost her composure. In front of others, she was always the third miss of the Xue clan, presenting herself as the bright woman with a charming smile like the first ti ng Qi saw her. It was such Xue Jinwen, who was not as talented as her siblings, was not favored by her parents, and always being excluded by her elders and peers that sought employnt at Beyond the Heaven, creating a place of freedom and tranquility for herself with her own hand. It was also Xue Jinwen who, after making up his mind, decisively left the Xue clan and cut off ties with the Feng Alliance.
Most of the ti, she was elegant, composed, and charming. From the day ng Qi t Xue Jinwen, she had never seen her without a smile, even after she left the Xue clan and lost her previous status and family. Yet, as Xue Jinwen stood up, ng Qi noticed the frayed hem of her red dress and the broad, dark stains on the skirt. As she approached, ng Qi caught a whiff of the strong sll of blood on her.
“Sister Xue, are you injured?” ng Qi asked.
“It’s nothing.” Xue Jinwen held onto ng Qi tightly and briefly closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, she said with her usual charming smile, “I got a minor injury when I first arrived at the Starfallen Sea, but it’s nothing to worry about.” She turned around and looked at Pei Mufeng, “All thanks to Pavilion Master Pei. Otherwise, I might have been dead by now.”
“What’s going on?” ng Qi was puzzled, “How did you enter Starfallen Sea alone?”
“Heh—” Xue Jinwen chuckled. There was an indescribable irony in the laughter. She reached up to fix her hair as a glint of coldness flickered in her eyes. “My cultivation is too weak. I know I’d only be a hindrance, so when Fellow Daoist Su and the others decided to enter the Starfallen Sea to look for you, I opted to stay in the Xingluo City and wait for your return.”
She paused for a mont, “As you know, there have been many changes in the dical Cultivator Conference this year, and many attending sects have left Xingluo City to so extent. But the ten great sects, including Feng Alliance, still remain.” She looked straight at ng Qi as she went on, “Many dical cultivators who stayed in Xingluo City after you and Ji Wujiong disappeared are helping to search for you. Later, when they found out that you had fallen into the Starfallen Sea, many expressed their willingness to form a team and search for you there.”
ng Qi nodded.
“Starfallen Sea is known for its danger, so much that it is believed that anyone below the level of Spirit Severing has no chance to survive here.” Xue Jinwen smiled. “At first, the Feng Alliance planned to send an elder at the peak of the Void Comprehending stage to Starfallen Sea. However, out of nowhere, a group of unknown cultivators arrived and accused you of collaborating with the Devil Realm.”
“Eh?” ng Qi was taken aback. This was sothing she had not expected at all. “The Demon Realm?” She paused for a mont before quickly reacting, “Is it Ji Wujiong?”
“Yes!” Xue Jinwen nodded, “The cultivators who ca to us claid to have evidence that Ji Wujiong is a mber of the Ji family from the Devil Realm.”
“The Ji family…” ng Qi nodded. At first, she wanted to tell Xue Jinwen that there were also good people in the Devil Realm, such as the Lord of the Great Devil Seat, who had previously ford an alliance with the demon realm. But after giving it so thought, ng Qi decided not to say anything. She trusts Yun Qingyan, but others might not. Despite Three Thousand World’s present cordial relationship with the Demon Realm, it was never always the case, and there were plenty of wars happening in the past.
“The sect that ca to us is the strongest sword sect in the Western Realm,” Xue Jinwen said again.
“Is it the Duankong City?” Pei Mufeng asked.
“Yes.” Xue Jinwen nodded.
“I see.” Pei Mufeng responded but didn’t elaborate further. As a sword cultivator, he knew more about sword sects than ng Qi and Xue Jinwen.
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