"Sister Xiao is of illustrious lineage, as beautiful as a flower, and has an engagement with Xiao Kai. They both practice cultivation and belong to the same sect, they are the real golden couple." Xiao Zhu's voice was full of bitterness. Upon careful reflection, she felt that since Xiao Yun appeared a few days ago, every action and decision she made seemed to express deep affection for Xiao Kai, clearly indicating her intention to win him over. She felt deceived and had been having romantic dreams. The more she thought about it, the more she felt gloomy and desolate, almost to the point of shedding tears.
"Sister, are you really going to marry him?" Huang Pei shook Xiao Yun's sleeve, "You're not joking, are you?"
"I'm not joking," Xiao Yun's face was as red as fire, speaking softly, "Master specifically said so."
"What about you yourself? Do you want to marry him too?" Huang Pei fretted, "Sister, I cannot stand by and watch you jump into the fire."
"I never said I want to marry him," Xiao Yun's head lowered to her chest, her voice as soft as a mosquito's, "And he doesn't like me..." Although she said so, her watery eyes kept glancing in Xiao Kai's direction, wanting to hear him say something, but also fearing what he might say. The complex thoughts of a young girl in that moment were truly unfathomable.
Yukaze, being a true expert in cultivation, quickly put these mundane matters behind her. Descending to the ground, she picked up three pieces of broken jade from the ground and exclaimed, "So it's the Soul-Devouring Jade. No wonder such strong demonic energy appeared just now. Whose possession is this?"
"I won't hide it from you, Sect Leader Yukaze, this is a family heirloom of mine," Chi Dingyao said, "Those three demons came for it, and because I refused to hand it over to them, I smashed it."
Yukaze's expression changed, "This decision of the benefactor is truly benevolent, and it will surely be blessed by the heavens. According to legend, this jade holds extremely dreadful power within; if the demons were to acquire it and absorb its power, it would undoubtedly harm countless beings, becoming a great scourge to the cultivation world."
Xiao Kai stepped forward, "What kind of power does it hold?"
After pondering for a moment, Yukaze slowly said, "Well then, since we have crossed paths today and witnessed this legendary Soul-Devouring Jade, I will tell you all some things about the cultivation world."
"From our perspective as cultivators, there are not only the mortal realm but also two other spaces: the Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm. We, as cultivators, spend thousands of years honing our skills to achieve the ultimate state of immortality, transcending space and reaching the Immortal Realm to live eternally. Conversely, in this world, there are many monsters, inherently unable to practice immortal techniques, and can only cultivate demonic skills. Their goal is to cross space to reach the Demon Realm."
"When we cultivate in the mortal realm, in addition to cultivating our own selves, we often need to borrow the power of characters from the Immortal or Demon realms. For example, our Emei sect's Five Thunder Heavenly Heart Sword Formation can summon the power of the Daoist founder of the Immortal realm by coordinating the heart methods of five people. Thus, it can vanquish demons and devils, nearly unstoppable. Likewise, the monster can practice demonic arts and have similar situations. They can borrow power from many demons in the Demon Realm. Because the Demon Realm does not adhere to restraint but emphasizes audaciousness and ferocity, the monsters have many more opportunities to borrow power. They can even create direct passages through space and summon high-level demons in this world. Among these, the monster's most worshipped, most beloved, and most willing to borrow power from is a demon general of the Demon Realm named the King of Ten Thousand Demons."
Yukaze's expression was very serious, "The Ten Thousand Demons King is a very famous demon general in the Demon Realm. He is extremely ferocious and ruthless, enjoys eating human hearts and drinking brain marrow, and kills without reason. When he takes action, he can take hundreds or thousands of lives without cause. Wherever he goes, rivers of blood flow. According to legend, there was once a joint extermination against the Ten Thousand Demons King by eight major sword sects, and they were all killed by him in a single day. In the golden age of cultivation tens of thousands of years ago, the name of the Ten Thousand Demons King was enough to make a child stop crying. However, after the great celestial catastrophe tens of thousands of years ago, an unknown change occurred in the world, causing the entire cultivation world to decline and countless profound techniques to mysteriously disappear. The overall standard dropped by three or four levels. In the past ten thousand years, no one has been able to achieve immortality or ascend to the heavens in broad daylight. Therefore, in this era, only the Ten Thousand Demons King alone is enough to turn the entire cultivation world upside down."
He picked up the pieces of demonic jade with three fingers and said, "And within this jade is the most original and pure demonic power from the Ten Thousand Demons King!"
In Xiao Kai's heart, his heart beat rapidly, and it almost burst out of his chest. He was almost certain that the small demon, residing in his ancient book, that Yukaze had just mentioned was the most terrifying and unrivaled demon general: the Ten Thousand Demons King. Yukaze must have sensed the immense demonic aura when Xiao Kai released him. It seemed that this kind of sensitivity was quite significant. He would need to be careful when releasing him in the future.
Fortunately, the wordless ancient book was indeed a treasure. Such a powerful demon king was hidden in the book and did not leak even a trace of demonic energy.
Yukaze finished speaking and looked at the dumbfounded crowd. She smiled slightly, "Well, everything that needed to be said and done has been completed. I should take my leave now. Since my junior brother is a disciple of Emei, I will take him with me." She weighed the broken jade in her hand, "Benefactor Chi, I would like to take these three pieces back to Emei for further study. Is that alright?"
Chi Dingyao quickly said, "Sect Leader Yukaze, please take them with you."
"Good," Yukaze put the pieces into her sleeve and then looked at Sima Tingxue, "The Sima family has a deep connection with my Emei. Now that my junior brother in Snowbrow has died, and you have seen various divine abilities, I think your potential is decent. Do you have any interest in following me back to the mountain to cultivate?"
"I..." Sima Tingxue looked at Xiao Zhu with reluctance, then turned to look at Huang Pei standing aside. He felt that both were incredibly beautiful, and it was impossible to let go of either of them. After hesitating for a long time, he couldn't make a decision.
Yukaze smiled slightly, "Cultivators have neither desires nor demands. If you cannot sever worldly attachments, it is better to forget it."
"No, I will go," Sima Tingxue looked deeply at Huang Pei, then clenched his teeth and said, "I have decided, I want to cultivate."
Yukaze nodded in satisfaction, "In that case, come with me." Without any other movement, a longsword lightly unsheathed from her back, and she floated into the air. She took hold of Sima Tingxue, and her whole person ascended off the ground, landing on the sword. With a wave of her hand, the corpse of Snowbrow disappeared into a small ring on her finger in an instant, and the sword, as fast as lightning, slashed out an extremely sharp white light. In the blink of an eye, she had vanished without a trace.
Huang Pei turned to look at Xiao Yun, "Take care, Sister." Then she flew into the sky, and her yellow dress fluttered as she swiftly disappeared into the distance.
Just as Shi Qi ran in from outside, stumbling, he called out, "Master, great news, Madam has woken up! Madam has fully recovered!"
Chi Dingyao had a happy expression on his face and said, "I'll go take a look." Without even paying attention to Xiaokai, he turned and left. Xiaokai wanted to say something to Xiaozhu, but when Xiaozhu looked at him, her gaze was inexplicably complex. She did not speak, turned and followed her father closely, and soon walked out.
Following Chi Dingyao, Xiaozhu walked dejectedly through the corridor. Suddenly, her father in front stopped and exclaimed, "Snow Wind Sect Leader, why are you still here?" Xiaozhu looked up and saw the smiling Snow Wind Sect Leader standing in front of them.
"I was originally not going to leave," the Snow Wind Sect Leader smiled. "I stayed here with the intention of seeing Xiaozhu."
"What's wrong with my daughter?" Chi Dingyao asked, perplexed.
"From my observation, Xiaozhu has exceptional aptitude, excellent innate talent, and a peaceful and calm mind. She is the perfect candidate for practicing my cultivation method. Our meeting today is also fate. Therefore, I suddenly had a thought," the Snow Wind Sect Leader calmly said, "I think I should take on a closed-door disciple as well."
The Snow Wind Sect Leader was the top expert in the cultivation world and the most outstanding successor of the Emei Sect in nearly a thousand years. He had been practicing the Tao for almost three hundred years and had only taken on three disciples. In the entire cultivation world, and even among the ordinary people who had some knowledge of the cultivation world, countless people wanted to be accepted under the Snow Wind Sect Leader. Now that he had set his sights on Xiaozhu, objectively speaking, it was a great opportunity for her. Chi Dingyao, who was knowledgeable, hesitated for a moment and then nodded slightly, "If the Snow Wind Sect Leader can take an interest in my daughter, it is a great honor for her. As long as she has no objections, I have no reason to object."
The Snow Wind Sect Leader nodded satisfactorily and turned to Xiaozhu, "So, do you agree?"
"Do I want to..." Xiaozhu's thoughts drifted away, "Cultivation... cultivation... Isn't Xiaokai a cultivator? If I want to be with him forever, how can I not cultivate?"
"Xiaozhu, do you agree?"
"Will cultivation grant me immortality?"
"Although it cannot guarantee eternal life, compared to ordinary people, it can be considered as such."
"Then..." Xiaozhu's face blushed slightly, but she still asked, "If I become a third-generation disciple of the Emei Sect, am I worthy of Xiaokai?"
The Snow Wind Sect Leader was stunned, then burst into laughter, "Yan Xiaokai, is he the chosen one of the Tianxuan Sect? Of course, he is worthy!"
"But he is a sect master, and I am just a small disciple..." Xiaozhu still had doubts.
The Snow Wind explained, "There are differences in the size of sects. Although the Tianxuan Sect and the Emei Sect are both well-known, the status of the Emei Sect in the cultivation world far exceeds that of the Tianxuan Sect. Even an ordinary third-generation disciple of the Emei Sect has the strength to contend with the sect master of the Tianxuan Sect. This is beyond doubt. Therefore, my third-generation disciples of the Emei Sect are naturally worthy of being the sect master of the Tianxuan Sect."
"But... didn't you just say that the Tianxuan Sect is the closest to the gods?" Xiaozhu asked, which made the Snow Wind burst into laughter, "Yes, ten thousand years ago, they were indeed the closest to the gods. But in these ten thousand years, the talents of the Tianxuan Sect have withered, their methods have been lost, and they have long since fallen to a level worse than a third-rate sect. The only thing they have left is perhaps their history."
"Oh, not only that," the Snow Wind added, "they also have a so-called precious book called the 'Wordless Celestial Book,' which is considered the biggest joke in the entire cultivation world. It is said that by opening the book, one can comprehend the secrets of heaven and earth. Unfortunately, in ten thousand years, no one has ever opened it. Therefore, the entire cultivation world has concluded that this book is nothing but a sham. According to the old rules of the Tianxuan Sect, this book should be in the hands of Yan Xiaokai."
Xiaozhu nodded, "Okay, I am willing to become a disciple of the Emei Sect."