Chapter 17

The donkey dashed through the forest, a loud boom erupting behind them.

Bai Shuo took advantage of the moment to look back, her mouth agape.

The previously palm-sized wooden pig token had expanded to half the size of a house, sprouting small golden wings on its back. It flew towards the Cloud Fire Arrows, and as the two beams of light collided, the intense heat and brightness made Bai Shuo turn her head away.

The donkey’s hooves pounded like clouds, carrying them farther from the forest. Bai Shuo clung to the almost-fallen Chong Zhao, no longer concerned with what was happening behind them.

In the forest, the wooden pig opened its mouth wide and swallowed the Cloud Fire Arrows. Fu Ling spat blood, staring in shock at the sudden appearance of the spirit beast.

A pig with wings? What kind of creature was this? Fan Yue actually had a spirit beast that was about to enter the demigod level! No wonder a top-grade demon lord like him could allow Haoyue Palace to flourish in the Extreme North.

The wooden pig flapped its small wings and landed in front of Fan Yue, glaring fiercely at Fu Ling.

Fan Yue glanced at the arrogant wooden pig in front of him, then looked in the direction where Bai Shuo had fled.

The wooden pig’s golden wings flashed with demonic light.

Fu Ling’s expression changed as she prepared to draw the Cloud Fire Bow again, but divine energy surged from the clouds above.

“Second Palace Lord, the immortals have arrived. The Palace Lord instructed us not to let the immortal realm catch Cold Spring Palace before the demon emperor is established,” Wenzhu urgently reminded Fu Ling.

Fu Ling angrily glanced at Fan Yue and said, “Fan Yue, next time you won’t be so lucky! When the Palace Lord emerges, Haoyue Palace will be flattened!”

“Is that so? Then I will be waiting in the Extreme North,” Fan Yue replied calmly.

“Let’s go!” Fu Ling commanded coldly. With a flash of demonic light, she and her masked followers disappeared.

As soon as Fu Ling vanished, the once fierce and mighty wooden pig deflated, shrinking back to palm-size and flopping helplessly to the ground.

Fan Yue looked down, raising an eyebrow. “What? No more showing off?”

The wooden pig stuck out its tongue and said, “Little wood head, I’ve saved you. Aren’t you going to thank me? Damn, I’ve had bad luck. I slept for so long, and when I wake up, I see such an ugly person. Who was that flower demon with the small fire arrows?”

“Not important,” Fan Yue said, starting to walk towards the forest’s edge.

The wooden pig, still panting, suddenly sprang up and blocked Fan Yue’s path, looking up at him with wide eyes. “Wait! How did I wake up? Your demonic energy isn’t enough to wake me!”

Fan Yue glanced in the direction where Bai Shuo had disappeared, raising an eyebrow.

“Coincidentally, I want to know too.”

Without stopping, he added, “By the way, you have a new name.”

The pig blinks.

“What?”

“Long Yi Pig.”

The pig was speechless, its eyes wide with shock.

Who? Dare? Call? Him? Zi? Han? Master? Master? Pig? Who! Who! Who!

“Isn’t that you?” Fan Yue asked, curious, his voice low but highly insulting.

Zihan extended its chubby wooden pig paw, its large ears drooping.

Yes, until that person returned, it could only be a pig. Years ago, when it had rushed crying into the Star Picking Pavilion, the true god didn’t even look at it, sweeping it out of the divine realm with a flick of a sleeve, turning the once proud ancestor of the dragon clan into a flying wooden pig.

“Being a pig isn’t so bad; don’t feel inferior,” Fan Yue said, seeing the dejected wooden pig. With a wave, he tossed the wooden pig into his sleeve. Another wave, and Cangshan, who was lying on the ground, vanished. Then Fan Yue himself disappeared.

Moments later, divine lights flashed through the forest. A blue-robed immortal lord led the golden-armored immortal soldiers, the sight of the leading immortal lord’s gentle face bringing peace to those who saw him.

The forest was littered with mortal corpses, and the air over Mount Muxiao was thick with blood. The immortal lord in the lead frowned slightly.

“What strong demonic energy!”

The newcomer was Qingyi, the third-generation disciple of Daze Mountain. Despite being barely a thousand years old, he was already a supreme immortal lord and a prominent figure among the young generation of immortals due to his connection with the revered Yuanqi.

Today, he had been on his way to the Heavenly Palace to celebrate Kunlun elder’s birthday on behalf of his master when he sensed the surge of demonic energy in the human realm and led his soldiers to investigate.

An immortal soldier appeared and reported, “Lord, we found no trace of the demon clan on the entire mountain.”

“They fled quickly!” Qingyi said it in a deep voice.

“For the demon clan to dare enter the human realm and slaughter innocents, breaking the three realms’ laws! Report this to the immortal Jinyao immediately.”

“Yes!”

“The rest of you, follow me!”

“Yes!”

At the foot of the mountain, the donkey kept running, not daring to rest until the moon had risen. It stopped by a river, panting heavily.

Bai Shuo dismounted, rushed to a tree, and vomited. Afterward, she carefully set Chong Zhao down against the tree.

“You fool, why did you have to meddle? The outside world isn’t a place for wandering!” Bai Shuo leaned against the tree, sighing like an old soul.

“Why do I keep encountering demons? Heavenly gods, where are you?”

“You’re quite amusing for a mortal. Did a demon offend you?”

A cold voice suddenly spoke in her ear.

Bai Shuo instantly looked up, seeing Fan Yue leaning lazily against a tree, his red robes fluttering in the moonlight, gazing at the full moon with one leg bent.

“Oh my god!” Bai Shuo jumped up, pointing at Fan Yue.

“You, you, you…” She quickly collected herself, retracting her finger, her face lighting up with joy and sincerity.

“Brother Mu! You escaped! That’s wonderful!”

Not far away, the donkey, drinking water, saw Fan Yue and immediately collapsed, pretending to be dead again.

Fan Yue glanced sideways at Bai Shuo, his voice cold.

“Stop pretending.”

Bai Shuo closed her mouth reluctantly.

A gust of wind blew, and Fan Yue landed on the ground. Bai Shuo, startled, moved back, but Fan Yue walked slowly towards Chong Zhao under the tree. Bai Shuo’s heart raced as she hurriedly shouted.

“Whatever’s between us has nothing to do with him! If you want something, come at me!”

Fan Yue paused, turning lazily to ask, “When did you realize I’m a demon, not a human?”

“Well…” Bai Shuo scratched her head, looking at Fan Yue strangely. “Do you really want to know?”

Fan Yue’s eyes turned cold, and Bai Shuo shivered. “It’s not my fault; you left too many clues!”

“What clues?”

Bai Shuo glanced at Fan Yue twice, blinking in confusion.

“Lord Fan, do you demons have some misunderstanding about the brains of us mortals?” She pointed to her head.

Fan Yue frowned, and Bai Shuo shivered again but kept talking.

“Though we are mere mortals, we are not fools. Do you really think that if I woke up in the middle of the night in the forest and saw a handsome young man offering me some wild fruits, I’d believe whatever he said?” Bai Shuo muttered, “Even storybooks wouldn’t dare to portray it like that.”

Fan Yue’s face turned slightly blue.

Bai Shuo pulled open her collar, revealing the back of her neck.

“If you want to deceive someone, you should at least have your servant go easier on them. The hand mark on my neck is still visible!”

She pouted, “And those wolves and bandits that suddenly appeared—they couldn’t find us all night, but the moment we left the cave, they showed up.”

Bai Shuo became more animated as she spoke, forgetting who she was talking to. She patted Fan Yue on the shoulder and said, “Brother, I’ve stopped using the ‘self-torture’ technique on my father since I was eight. It doesn’t work anymore…”

A cold glance swept over her, and Bai Shuo finally noticed Fan Yue’s face, dark as water. She awkwardly retracted her hand, rubbing it nervously. “You, you insisted on asking me… I, I…”

Mid-sentence, Bai Shuo suddenly couldn’t speak. A silver ice ring tightened around her neck, choking her.

Fan Yue looked at her coldly and asked, “Dare to speak deceitfully in front of me? Tell me, who are you? Immortal or demon?”

“Bai… Shuo…” Bai Shuo grasped the ice ring, her face turning red.

“Mortal…”

Fan Yue didn’t believe her and tightened the ice ring further.

“How could a mere mortal know about Long Yi and Long Er?”

Bai Shuo’s eyes gradually lost their light, her feet dangling in the air as she gasped weakly, “You… told me… Long.. Yi… Pig…”

Fan Yue’s eyes flickered, and with a wave, the ice ring vanished. Bai Shuo fell to the ground, coughing violently. After surviving the ordeal, fear left her eyes.

She suddenly stood up and rushed to Fan Yue.

“Last night, I was half-awake and overheard your conversation,” Bai Shuo said without wasting a word.

“I heard you say that I could awaken Long Yi and that I had Long Er’s aura… The only thing I touched that belonged to you was the wooden pig token, so today, when that demoness wanted to kill you, I tried using my blood! I really don’t know what Long Yi and Long Er are! If I had ill intentions towards you, why would I save you?”

Bai Shuo’s eyes reddened, and her fists clenched.

“Yes, I deceived you, but you also deceived me! If you can’t stand it, kill me! It’s as easy as crushing an ant for you! But he has no quarrel with you; he saw nothing…” She pointed at Chong Zhao under the tree and said, “Even demons should have intergrity! Let him go; consider it paying back the life I saved!”

Bai Shuo finished shouting, glaring at Fan Yue.

Fan Yue remained silent for a while, then suddenly spoke, “Have you read too many storybooks?”

Bai Shuo was stunned.

“Who told you that demons have intergrity?”

“You…” Bai Shuo was speechless, wanting to speak again, but Fan Yue struck the back of her neck with a demonic light.

Damn! Not again! A wave of dizziness overcame Bai Shuo, and she slowly closed her eyes, falling to the ground.

Fan Yue’s cold face was imprinted in her unwilling eyes, and for some reason, Bai Shuo felt a bit wronged. With her last bit of strength, she reached out to Fan Yue.

Look, you stinky demon, I saved you with my own blood; at least you can spare my life!

Bai Shuo’s palm was wrapped in white gauze, with faint red blood stains. It was unclear if Fan Yue noticed, but just as Bai Shuo’s head was about to hit the ground, a demonic light caught her gently, placing her beside Chong Zhao.

“She is clearly just an ordinary mortal. Why do you still toy with her?” Long Yi Pig flew out of his sleeve, crossing its legs in the air.

Fan Yue didn’t reply, only asking, “Why could her blood awaken you?”

“Natural treasures are born from heaven and earth, and your demonic energy comes from heaven and earth. Naturally, so does she. Some people have extraordinary bloodlines and make excellent blood catalysts. Although she’s a mortal with no immortal qualities, by coincidence, her blood matches my soul power and can awaken me. However..”

Long Yi Pig shrugged and flapped its small wings, “she is still a mortal. Awakening me once cost her ten years of life. Such a good medicine jar, but it can’t be used many times!”

The Long Yi Pig flapped its wings, flying towards Bai Shuo. Suddenly, several beams of immortal energy surged from afar. Fan Yue frowned, grabbed Long Yi Pig, and flew towards the sky.

In a breath, Qingyi and his followers appeared by the river. Seeing a silver light vanish in the distance, Qingyi was about to pursue it when an immortal soldier exclaimed,.

“Lord! There are people here!”

Qingyi turned in surprise, seeing Chong Zhao and Bai Shuo unconscious under the tree. He quickly checked their injuries and was relieved to find they were only superficial. A wave of immortal energy from his palm healed their wounds.

“They’re fine, just some minor injuries.”

“Lord, how should we handle these two?”

“Judging by their attire, they must be from wealthy families, likely out on a night excursion and encountering demons. Ask the land deity about their identities and send them home.”

“Yes, Lord.”

Qingyi turned and, without further delay, pursued the direction of the fleeing silver light.