413 - Senior Sister Is on Top

This is the palace of the Azure Dragon King. Recently, due to a victorious battle, the demon king and his allies have been busy rooting out remaining threats in both the eastern and western regions. Consequently, they have all taken to living here temporarily to report to her at any moment. Tang Muxi, fearing exposure, deliberately sought a secluded place to evade attention. Not only that, she also took out a Liuli Dragon Bone Furnace, using the exquisite fire stove to roast meat and suppress the smell of smoke. Unexpectedly, just as she finished roasting, before taking even a single bite, a familiar voice came from behind her. Tang Muxi's body trembled involuntarily, immediately reacting. She hurriedly stashed away the meticulously prepared honey sauce and calmly explained, "Ah, it's you, Senior Sister. You've misunderstood. I'm not having extra food; this roasted meat is for the palace birds and fish to eat. The Eastern Demon King has fallen, and those ministers are too busy fighting over power to feed them. It's been quite some time since they last got any food." While speaking, she theatrically picked up a skewer and placed it on the ground. "Hmph..." Jiang Yin hummed meaningfully, pulling out a bottle of fragrant sweet sauce from her waist. "Is that so? My kind-hearted junior sister not only went to the trouble of roasting the meat but also prepared a carefully crafted sauce for it. Such favor even I, your senior sister, have never enjoyed. I wonder, with the meat hot like this, can the birds and fish even take a bite?" Tang Muxi knew her senior sister had seen through her but still braced herself to explain, forcing a sheepish smile, "Maybe... maybe they just like it hot..." She didn't finish her sentence before her cheeks were pinched and pulled by her senior sister, who twisted and tugged at them. "Still trying to deceive me?" Jiang Yin's words, just three in total, made Tang Muxi completely surrender. Jiang Yin saw her silently hanging her head, sighed lightly with resignation, and said, "If you’re tired of eating the usual fare, just tell me. Sneaking around like this—is this really about keeping things from your senior sister?" Jiang Yin had been feeling very insecure these days. The last time her junior sister was impaled by an abomination, though she was lucky to survive, the contract between them was severed as a consequence. Jiang Yin initially felt relieved; after all, she harbored power identical to that of the "demons," and had once been nearly possessed. Who knows if one day she might be forced to harm her junior sister? Now, with their lives no longer intertwined, she felt much more at ease. However, at the same time, Jiang Yin could no longer sense her junior sister's thoughts. She couldn't feel Tang Muxi's safety or state of mind—everything was unknown and out of her control. She constantly worried that someone might take advantage of Tang Muxi's unhealed injuries to harm her. For the past few days, Tang Muxi had been disappearing just before meals, making Jiang Yin anxious. She searched arduously for several days before finally finding her. So it turned out her junior sister was not in danger but was deliberately avoiding her. Hearing her senior sister's misunderstanding, Tang Muxi hurriedly countered, "No, I could never guard against you." But after saying just that, she found herself at a loss for words. No matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn't come up with a second sentence. Jiang Yin, not wanting her emotions to affect her junior sister, knowing Tang Muxi meant no harm, decided not to pursue the matter further. She crouched down, took a fresh skewer from the dragon bone furnace, dipped it in some sauce, and put it in her mouth. Although she knew it was sweet sauce, she still feigned a frown, "You really do have a sweet tooth, even putting honey on roasted meat." Tang Muxi froze for a moment, then, seeing that her senior sister was no longer angry, felt relieved and quickly brought out another jar, "This was specially made for you earlier, but you never ate roasted meat again, so I never took it out. Would you like to try it, Senior Sister?" Though often clueless and unable to gauge Jiang Yin's moods, Tang Muxi was lucky, usually managing to appease her senior sister inadvertently. The term "specially made" happened to be Jiang Yin's favorite. Jiang Yin, slightly surprised, hadn't expected her junior sister to remember. Her sensitive heart slowly calmed down. "Is that so? Then I'd better savor it. If it’s not to my taste, I certainly won't let you off lightly." Jiang Yin took the skewer with both hands and, before her junior sister, dipped another one and ate it. It was very spicy, with a hint of saltiness. It was clear that her junior sister hadn't tasted it herself when she prepared it. Jiang Yin knew Tang Muxi couldn't handle spicy food, so she didn't get angry, didn't even knit her brows, and ate it with a smile. For cultivators, they could easily neutralize the taste with a bit of their power. But she refrained from doing so and swallowed it, laughing, "Much better than the previous one." Tang Muxi sighed in relief, chuckling, "Don't be angry, Senior Sister. From now on, I'll make this for you every day. Just tell me, and I'll tweak the recipe. Besides, I'm doing much better now; instead of taking medicine, can't we try other ways to restore our health?" "What methods?" Tang Muxi took out the Benefaction Lamp, "Look, this divine lamp is an artifact. Its healing power far surpasses medicinal herbs. If I use its divine energy every day, won't I recover faster? You've been affected too, Senior Sister. We'll use it together, and if we get tired of it, we can go to the Celestial Jade and bask in the Ruo Wood's light to remove fatigue. We can switch methods every day." Jiang Yin didn't care much about these things; as long as her junior sister recovered quickly, it didn't matter how. But she knew she couldn't agree too easily; otherwise, Tang Muxi would grow bolder. If this continued, there would only be more little secrets Tang Muxi kept from her. "Alright." Jiang Yin nodded, seeing her junior sister's eyes sparkle with joy. Then she added, "However, since you hid it first and deceived me, and considering last time you drained your blood essence, this won't go unpunished." Tang Muxi froze, swallowing nervously, holding her breath as she awaited her senior sister's reprimand. But instead, Jiang Yin embraced her, kissing her while slipping a gemstone ring onto her finger. "This ring can monitor your safety. If anything happens, I'll know immediately. Promise me you won't take it off." Tang Muxi felt a warmth in her heart, softly murmuring assent. As for forming a new contract... both silently avoided the topic. Chapter 236 Over the next few days, Tang Muxi and Jiang Yin both used the divine artifact and Ruo Wood to heal their injuries. The Lord noticed they rarely used spiritual herbs anymore, so he told Wen Dai not to trouble herself over it. After they defeated Cloud Yu Chen last time, the officials from the Eastern region scattered. However, with the divine beast Shen Shou Fa Xiang present, the barrier remained active, making it impossible for those officials to escape the demon realm. No matter where they hid, it was futile, and finding them was only a matter of time. Feng Kai led the troops personally, capturing them all within less than a month.