Chapter 100 - The Harem Rescue Project

When Lin Qianshuang returned to the banquet, both Chen Shangqing and Xu Zheng had retreated to rest on the couches in the courtyard, leaving behind only a message talisman. She listened to the contents of the message and put it away. Both Chen Shangqing and Xu Zheng were trailing near her. Should she encounter something troublesome, she could call on them for assistance. The night sky was pitch-black, devoid of stars and moon, with a penetrating cold wind. From beneath the ninth layer, the water of the demon lake rose, its mists condensed into a stream like flowing light from the heavens, swirling into the living water channels of the demon palace, splashing with a gradually changing array of colors. Lin Qianshuang glanced around, her gaze returning from the heavens. She carried a palace lantern as she walked along the silent path. In the dense reeds, where blood flowers blossomed, grim skulls floated, lit with phosphorescent flames. The carved round stones she stepped on emerged in the rippling green water patterns, intertwining to form bridges that extended across the mist-shrouded other side. At the far end of that other side was a residence shrouded in mist, the place where Han Shengyao had instructed her to go. The sound of rustling surrounded her. Lin Qianshuang looked down to see an unusual leaf with ochre patterns falling beside her plain shoes, emanating a faint eerie red glow. Staring at the scene before her, which was both chilling and beautiful in its strangeness, she wondered if her master was intentionally testing or playing a trick on her. Among so many places in the demon realm, why choose a ghostly residence in the secluded area of Jiuyang Peak? As Lin Qianshuang trod on the carved stones, the moment her foot lifted, a streak of pale blue demonic light shot along her path, illuminating several lanterns of the ghostly residence. Han Shengyao, in a red dress, leaned against the entrance. She held a bone flute to her lips but did not produce a sound. Her glamorous makeup and fluttering veils appeared remarkably beautiful in the dim light. Lin Qianshuang’s gaze was fixed on the bone flute. Though everything seemed calm, an invisible, powerful demonic energy was surging from the flute’s hole, making it difficult even for someone at her demonic baby stage to handle. Han Shengyao returned the bone flute to her waist, and Lin Qianshuang immediately felt liberated, her clothes drenched in sweat from the tension. With a glance from her violet eyes, Han Shengyao remarked on Lin Qianshuang’s disheveled appearance, “This place you are in is the legacy residence of demonic cultivators, recently opened by peridot that I just activated.. Inside, there are numerous demonic cultivation techniques and records, all inscribed in the language of star divination.” Lin Qianshuang suddenly realized why everything had seemed so eerie on the way here. It was indeed a demonic cultivator’s legacy estate. Judging by the number of sacrificial skulls, this demonic cultivator was likely a figure of considerable stature. She followed Han Shengyao inside. The estate was dimly lit, the shelves laden with ancient tomes dusted with cobwebs, scattered haphazardly. Han Shengyao found a clean spot by the window, seated herself in a chair she produced, her phoenix eyes lazily half-closed. With arms crossed, she addressed Lin Qianshuang, “You may begin.” “Huh?” Lin Qianshuang, utterly perplexed, cautiously ventured, “Domain Master, I don’t quite understand your meaning.” Han Shengyao, polishing the bone flute, poured herself a cup of tea, set it aside, then picked up and annotated the memorials, stating, “I summoned you here to transcribe all the star-divination texts on these bookshelves into the demonic language for me.” Lin Qianshuang was taken aback, wiping cold sweat from her brow. She didn’t understand divination at all. Initially, she intended to hint to Han Shengyao that the Tian Shu City Lord harbored conspiracies, but now she realized she had to truly demonstrate her translation skills. There were three emissaries from the demon realm. If she provoked her master’s ire tonight, given Han Shengyao’s temper, she might impulsively execute her on the spot. Han Shengyao’s gaze turned to Lin Qianshuang, creating the impression of a proctor's watchful eye during an exam, prompting Lin Qianshuang to hurriedly take a few ancient texts off the shelves. Oh right, she had her system. If worst came to worst, she could ask it for help, though if even the system didn’t know, she would be out of options. As she opened the yellowed pages, the prominent Chinese characters on the pages reassured Lin Qianshuang. How could she forget that, being originally Liang Jingxuan’s possession, the magic seal, or tourmaline, housed texts by the author’s intent in Chinese? Lin Qianshuang laid the texts open on the ground, fully immersed in transcribing each passage into the demonic tongue. [Host, see that book “Compendium of All Things” to your right? Take a look at it; it should contain records about the Tian Shu Mirror.] Stealing a glance at Han Shengyao, who was intently perusing memorials, Lin Qianshuang quickly reached out and took the book on her right, spreading it open before her. The Tian Shu Mirror, an artifact from ancient divine beings, once held by the divine beast Bai Ze, had the ability to answer all questions of the world. It was currently hidden within Tian Shu City, among sorcerers. The Tian Shu Mirror could merge with humans. The bearer could gain the heavenly eye, perceiving all of the world's fates. To harness the mirror’s omniscient power, one must kill the mirror’s master or make them emotionally stirred to tears, thus removing the heartless nature of the heavenly eye. There was a line of smaller characters at the bottom. The Tian Shu Mirror, gifted by the Eastern Mountain Immortal Master to the psychic divine beast Bai Ze when the world first began, as a token of good relations. The mirror’s brilliance symbolized their open hearts and mutual trust. Seeing the phrase “make them emotionally stirred to tears,” Lin Qianshuang had a foreboding feeling. Could it mean that to acquire the Tian Shu Mirror and learn how to condense Xuan Luowan’s soul, the Tian Shu City Lord must fall in love and be so moved to tears? Opening the character affection interface, the three crimson characters for Xuan Luowan continued to dominate the taskbar under the sealed demon emperor’s avatar. Lin Qianshuang sorted through the known information, feeling a pang of anxiety. Currently, it seems the Xuan Luowan task is tied to the demon emperor, and to retrieve the Tian Shu Mirror, the only way is to teach the Tian Shu City Lord—who believes everything in the world can be traded—how to love genuinely enough to shed heartfelt tears. How could she dare kill Mu Weiyin? There's a gap in their cultivation levels to consider, and Mu Weiyin was also one of the individuals in her affection interface. If she killed Mu Weiyin, all her efforts so far would be in vain. Lin Qianshuang stared speechlessly at Mu Weiyin's portrait, showing a pitifully low affection score. The list of targets had dwindled by one due to her substitution, but the affection increase was a mere five percent, leaving her doubting the course of her life. She set the ancient texts aside, suddenly struck by an idea. Mu Weiyin had feelings for Xiao Lanle; if she could just matchmake Junior Sister Xiao with the city lord, the two could fall into an intense romance. Just as she was contemplating this, the pen she was using to copy the texts was suddenly clasped by someone else. Lin Qianshuang snapped back to reality to find Han Shengyao’s magnified face right in front of her. Startled, she jumped up, pencils rolling under her feet, causing her to slip and almost fall backward. Han Shengyao caught her by the fabric of her chest, pulling her back upright. Her violet eyes paused for a moment, noticing how the woman in her arms exuded a pleasant scent. At such close proximity, the pristine skin of her throat with its blood flow made Han Shengyao feel unexpectedly thirsty. This person was not just a regular furnace but an exceptional one. Startled like a bird caught in flight, Lin Qianshuang quickly got out of Han Shengyao’s embrace, putting considerable distance between them. Han Shengyao knew well the seductive power of her appearance, yet this woman in front of her didn’t linger even a moment, retreating instead with a look of disdain. Was she really that intimidating? Was this slight embrace enough to pale this woman's face? Han Shengyao's violet eyes darkened as she looked at Lin Qianshuang's panicked expression and asked, “Envoy, why are you so flustered? It’s only this lord and you in this place. No one else can enter into the boulder, so there's no need to worry about anyone doing you harm.” Realizing her behavior was over-the-top, Lin Qianshuang quickly found an excuse, picking up the ancient text she had been transcribing. “I have little knowledge of the demonic language. I can understand this ancient text, but translating it into the demonic language is quite challenging.” Han Shengyao walked over, taking the book from her hands and laying it open on the ground, “Continue writing, envoy. This lord will assist you.” Lowering her head, Lin Qianshuang silently picked up the pen once more. Han Shengyao reached over to hold the pen, gently enveloping Lin Qianshuang’s hand, guiding her stroke. “Envoy, connect your spiritual consciousness with mine.” Feeling uneasy from the touch, Lin Qianshuang, possibly recalling their ambiguous past, felt goosebumps rise on her arm. Nervous, she said, “Domain Master, I’d better do it myself.” Just then, several ancient texts on the shelf rose into the air alongside the ones on the ground, flipping through their pages beside them. A series of radiant Chinese characters floated in Lin Qianshuang’s view, and Han Shengyao’s voice echoed in her ear, “These are all texts from within your sea of consciousness. By viewing and converting them into the demonic language, I can refine and complete the transcription.” This method seemed efficient, sparing her from an all-nighter. Following Han Shengyao’s instructions, Lin Qianshuang delved into meditation. The ancient texts turned into streams of golden light that converged onto the white paper spread out on the ground. Gradually, the cultivation techniques emerged from the texts and began to inscribe themselves line by line onto the paper. Flickering candlelight cast shadows on the mask-wearing woman's delicate chin. Han Shengyao contemplated how she first met this envoy earlier that day, who seemed timid and elusive, akin to someone bullied by the great master of the demon realm herself. She had seen the envoy’s real face from afar but, curiously, couldn’t recall it—a rare lapse for someone with such an exceptional memory. While contemplating, Han Shengyao skillfully flipped open Lin Qianshuang’s mask, swiftly with her hand still holding the writing hand. Surprised, her dark blue eyes stared back at Han Shengyao, frightened and trembling pathetically. Clearly, this was an unfamiliar face, though she knew many prettier women, yet it inexplicably captivated Han Shengyao for a split second. She felt a sweet, fragrant warmth spread from her lips into her mouth, finally realizing why the little demon cultivator looked so terrified. Han Shengyao was pressing against the small demon cultivator's head, kissing her passionately and invasively. What bloodline furnace was this, that it tasted so good? Han Shengyao was contented, her lips tingling, and satisfied with the taste, she released Lin Qianshuang, savoring the lingering flavor as she touched her lips. Suddenly impulsive, her cold violet eyes gained a touch of warmth, “Little demon cultivator, if your life at Tian Shu City becomes unbearable, you could always come to find this seat.” She extended a finger, wiping the blood from Lin Qianshuang’s broken lip, and with a lazy demeanor said, “Your blood is quite good. You could always exchange it.” Stunned by the unexpected kiss, Lin Qianshuang was bewildered, unsure of what just happened. Hearing what Han Shengyao said next, she felt as if struck by lightning, her heart twisted painfully tight. She felt overwhelmed by a mix of grievance and indignity. Using demonic energy to force Han Shengyao’s hand away, without caring if she angered the demon realm’s master, she frantically fled from the estate. Lin Qianshuang instinctively wanted to leave Han Shengyao's presence immediately; she couldn’t stand that atmosphere for even a moment. Once outside the boulder’s barrier, Chen Shangqing saw Lin Qianshuang running out and quickly stopped her. Surprised at her tear-streaked face, he asked, "Senior Sister Lin, why are you crying?" Startled, Lin Qianshuang touched her cheeks, realizing she was indeed in tears.