Chapter 108: The Life-Draining Heavenly Venerable

"I have my own plans. Just focus on your classification duties. Let's go—to the Qingyun Sect!"

Ye Wuya spoke with cold detachment. It was as if he had become addicted to playing the role of the Blood Demon, to the point where he felt he truly was one. It was like how those who play the part of a big shot for too long eventually become one, or how those who act like a pig for too long eventually turn into one.

"Yes, yes!" Jiang Xiaoxiao nodded quickly. She had expected the old man to be angry, but she hadn't anticipated that the Ancestor would be so easygoing and devoid of airs in front of his own people.

Jiang Xiaoxiao hurried to catch up with Ye Wuya, who had already flown ahead. Two figures tore through the sky, gradually disappearing at the edge of the horizon. They moved so fast that the whistling of the wind never ceased in their ears.

"Senior, where have you been for these past three thousand years?" Jiang Xiaoxiao asked curiously as she caught up.

"Sleeping," Ye Wuya replied.

"Oh, I see!" Jiang Xiaoxiao looked as if she had suddenly understood. She thought to herself that the Ancestor was truly worthy of the title—to sleep for three thousand years!

"Ancestor, are these scars on your body from the War of the Emperors?" Jiang Xiaoxiao asked again, encouraged by his easygoing demeanor.

"Hmm," Ye Wuya replied softly without elaborating. However, Jiang Xiaoxiao, not catching the hint, pressed further: "Ancestor, who wounded you like this?"

"I caught an atomic bomb with my bare hands and got scorched," Ye Wuya said with a perfectly straight face, spouting nonsense.

"Ancestor, what is an atomic bomb?" Jiang Xiaoxiao asked, immensely curious, as it was her first time hearing the term.

Ye Wuya: "..."

***

When the breeze blew, mist began to rise softly. A milky veil separated the overlapping mountains, leaving only the blue peaks visible, appearing like a crisp, well-composed landscape painting. As the breeze stirred, the mist dissipated, revealing rock faces and cliffs dyed crimson by the sunset glow, which gradually deepened into a bronze hue.

In the distance, clouds swirled around verdant mountains. Looking down, one could see rolling forests and lush green grass, as beautiful as an earthly paradise.

A veiled young woman and a woman shrouded in black mist appeared above the basin. Their clothes were tattered, as if they had just emerged from a fierce battle. The woman in black mist was dripping drops of blue blood, clearly having suffered grave injuries.

"Xianyue Shang thanks you, Senior, for saving my life! Please, move to the Xianyue Holy Land to rest and recover!"

The woman in black mist said weakly, bowing to the veiled girl before her. This woman, shrouded in black, was none other than the Rakshasa Enchantress, Xianyue Shang—the ninth wife of the Blood Demon! If Jiang Xiaoxiao were here, she would surely recognize this woman who called herself Xianyue Shang as her own master.

"Saving you was merely a matter of convenience. Be on your way," the veiled girl said coldly, deep in thought.

"Thank you, Senior. In that case, I shall take my leave. You are welcome to visit Xianyue anytime."

With those words, Xianyue Shang tore at the void before her. A large rift instantly appeared, and she vanished into it.

The Great Emperor has returned!

She had to tell the other eight Holy Lords of the Xianyue Holy Land this news immediately! She had encountered an Emperor who hadn't appeared in ten thousand years—and there were two of them! The young woman from before was also an Emperor. If she hadn't intervened, Xianyue Shang knew she might not have made it out alive.

Emperors had been missing for so many years, and now two had appeared suddenly. No one knew what had transpired...

"I didn't expect that even the Fairy Memory Herb couldn't restore my memories," the veiled girl muttered to herself. "But to find two Fairy Memory Herbs! That is a pleasant surprise."

"Ye Wuya!"

The veiled girl's lips parted softly as she whispered the name. It was the only name that had surfaced in her mind after consuming the herb—a name she could not shake off.

With a wave of her hand, an eight-leaved, star-shaped fairy herb appeared before her. It was a vivid, dripping red, with veins on its leaves as clear as human blood vessels, pulsing with an inexplicable, profound power.

The moment the herb appeared, the space around the girl began to shatter. The red Fairy Memory Herb had developed a consciousness and was trying to escape!

"Hmph! You want to run? If you weren't useful, I would have chopped you up!" The girl let out a cold snort. Her words seemed to carry the sheer force of heaven and earth, causing everything within a ten-mile radius to freeze instantly.

The Fairy Memory Herb stopped, glowing intensely and struggling, but to no avail. It could not break free!

After putting the herb away, the girl's eyes turned cold. She snorted, "Bamboo Lord! Wicked Daoist! Very well, very well indeed! One dares to scheme, and the other dares to defraud! Don't let me catch you, or I'll carve one into a toothpick and slaughter the other to feed the dogs!"

***

"A-choo!"

In a land of thunder, an ordinary-looking bamboo stalk suddenly sneezed. Its body shuddered, and a large number of bamboo leaves fell off.

"What's going on? Why did I suddenly sneeze? No, no, I don't feel safe here anymore! If that old lady finds me, I'll definitely be chopped into toothpicks! I must hurry and change locations!"

***

"A-choo! A-choo!"

Elsewhere, in a land of extreme cold, snow fell from a sky that was entirely white. It was desolate and uninhabited. A Daoist priest in robes was frantically digging a pit in the snow.

"This is a land of extreme cold; that old lady shouldn't be able to find me here, right? I'll dig a pit and sleep for a few thousand years! By the time I wake up, she should have found another target!"

He dug frantically, and soon, he hopped inside.

***

"A-choo! A-choo! That Wicked Daoist is truly a talent, actually hiding in a place like this! If I hadn't cast a divination, I never would have found such a good spot! A land of extreme cold! It should be safe. If that old lady really comes, I'll let the Wicked one take the fall."

A bamboo stalk that had traveled through the void suddenly pierced the snow, its roots digging deep beneath the surface.

"Wow, I didn't expect it to be so warm underground in this land of extreme cold. Perfect for warming my feet! I was freezing to death!"

The Bamboo Lord muttered, "Hmm? Why does this warm underground feel like it has a human shape..."

"Bamboo Lord, you idiot, your foot is in my nostril!"

A voice echoed in the Bamboo Lord's ears, making him shiver!

Underground, the Wicked Daoist was wrapped in a cluster of bamboo roots, grinning broadly.

"Amitabha, may the heavens strike you down! Talk about irony—I searched everywhere for your true form and couldn't find it, yet here you are, delivering yourself to my doorstep!"