246 - The Demon Fox Wife is a Foodie

The sight of large patches of red spots spreading from his neck, threatening to cover his entire body, was alarming. His expression immediately turned fierce and furious as he glared at Dongfang Cixin. "What have you done!" "As you've seen, it's merely a trivial antidote for a rather perplexing poison," Dongfang Cixin retorted, unfazed, her tone as steady as when she had first shown allegiance. "I advise you not to exert your powers, lest the poison spreads too quickly for us to finish this conversation." Feeling an unbearable itch and pain throughout his body as he tried to force the poison out, the man promptly ceased his attempt upon hearing her words, not daring to continue. He glared at Dongfang Cixin with a vicious glare. "Was the information you provided earlier also fabricated?" "Of course it was," Dongfang Cixin replied indifferently, a trace of a smirk appearing on her lips. "But for a dignified Immortal Lord like yourself to believe it—truly surprising." Had he not been so careless and overconfident, thinking that lower realms like mortal cultivators couldn't stir up much trouble, and allowed her to approach, how else would it have been this easy for her to poison him? The Immortal Lord felt a deep sense of humiliation and was filled with rage. "You would rather offend the celestial realm just to be with Nangong Yin? Fine, I'll remember this grudge!" "Whether you hold grudges or not doesn't matter much," Dongfang Cixin said, unconcerned by his bluster. "You might not even have the chance to return." The Immortal Lord was taken aback, incredulous. "Do you dare to kill me? Don't forget, Nangong Yin is still in my hands!" Across the human, immortal, and demon realms, the number of humans is the greatest, yet they are the weakest. No matter how many ants gather, they can't shake a tree. For millennia, human cultivators have continuously begged the celestial realm for aid. In the eyes of those in the celestial realm, their true adversaries have always been the demon and monster clans, viewing humans as insignificant. Yet now, the ants he saw dared to boldly claim they would take his life. As if it were that simple?! The mere venom might corrode the flesh, but it couldn't harm the soul essence— no mere mortal cultivators could destroy his divine consciousness. Did they really think that just because the celestial realm had lost a few minor soldiers, these mortals believed they could overturn the heavens? Lower realm cultivators were truly ridiculous. Dongfang Cixin faced the Immortal Lord's ridicule without any change in expression, her tone as even as ever. "It would be quite a loss to kill you just like that." The Immortal Lord widened his eyes, unable to grasp what Dongfang Cixin was implying. Dongfang Cixin continued speaking to herself. "To be honest, I wasn't planning to save Nangong Yin. After all, she's part of the demon clan and has nothing to do with me. Whatever you decide to do with her, I couldn't care less." "Then why did you—" The Immortal Lord's question was interrupted immediately by Dongfang Cixin. "You captured Nangong Yin, but why must you be so relentless, leaving none alive? Su Zijun and Yao Shenzi are the pillars of the human realm. I couldn't just stand by and do nothing." Su Zijun and Yao Shenzi exchanged glances, each seeing a trace of bewilderment in the other's eyes. No one understood what Dongfang Cixin intended to do. The Immortal Lord paused for a moment, finally realizing, "You've been playing me for a fool!" If her reasoning were true, then why didn't she stop the jade lion when he ordered it to kill Yao Shenzi and Su Zijun earlier?! A faint smile blossomed on Dongfang Cixin's lips. "Why wouldn't I? Did you really believe it?" As soon as she finished speaking, a flash of lightning surged behind the Immortal Lord, and Nangong Yin, encased in a light orb, was suddenly snatched away by the swift-moving Leishuang. Leishuang, having delivered her swift blow, made a rapid retreat, leaving no opportunity for the Immortal Lord to counterattack. The jade lion roared and leapt to attack Leishuang, who maneuvered her steps with perfect execution, deftly dodging over the jade lion's head to stand behind Dongfang Cixin. The Immortal Lord recovered, suddenly overcome with uncontrollable rage. He raised his arm, unleashing the celestial magic he had initially refrained from using due to Dongfang Cixin's intimidation. Today, he had only himself to blame for his carelessness. At most, he would return to the celestial realm to reconstruct his golden body. Particularly enraged by Dongfang Cixin, he sought to dismember the woman who mocked him. Suddenly, Clang— A sword's cry tore through the void, piercing through the Immortal Lord's chest at lightning speed. A colossal shadow fell from the sky, casting a wide swath over the mountains below. Noticing the sudden shift, everyone raised their heads. Amidst the heavens and earth, an enormous ancient dragon flew closer. It was Yan Zhao and Ren Qingyue arriving atop the dragon. Ren Qingyue leapt off the dragon's back, reaching out to summon back the Demon Slayer Sword. With a flash of green light, the Demon Slayer Sword flew back in reverse, piercing through the Immortal Lord's back once more. Blood sprayed, and the man's face was frozen in astonishment. All three heads of Xiaojin roared simultaneously. Intimidated, the jade lion collapsed with a thud, trembling as it lay flat on the ground. Yan Zhao leaped gracefully onto the jade lion's back, her movements as light as a swallow tracing a curve through the air. Before the jade lion could respond aggressively, Yan Zhao placed a hand on its head. "Surrender or be destroyed—choose one?" Chapter 267 The jade lion immediately abandoned its resistance, lying still on the ground. Witnessing this scene, the Immortal Lord's eyes almost burst from their sockets. His mouth gaped, yet only sputtered out a spray of blood. The Demon Slayer Sword's aura shattered his divine essence in an instant. Who could have foreseen that Dongfang Cixin's poisoning him was merely the beginning? A situation seemingly under control quickly spiraled into disaster due to his momentary oversight. Yet, it was not easy for a celestial body from the upper realm to perish so swiftly. Even after his divine essence was shattered by the Demon Slayer Sword, his body seemed trapped by an immobilizing spell, his soul, refined upon his divine essence, gradually dissipating. However, he retained consciousness throughout. The golden ancient dragon spread its immense wings, overshadowing the sky, exuding an oppression from beyond, purer than the captive beast of the celestial realm. Only now did he, belatedly, realize where he had been defeated. From the moment Ying Xiao reported developments of Fuyun Sect to him, he had stepped into a trap laid out by Ying Xiao. The intelligence needed was reported superficially, avoiding critical details. For instance, Su Zijun and Yao Shenzi's collaboration with the demon clan, or even Ren Qingyue wielding the Demon Slayer Sword. Most importantly: the existence of a second ancient dragon in this world. This ancient dragon was evidently younger, stronger, and bore purer bloodline than the one enslaved by the celestial realm. Beyond anger at Ying Xiao's deception, he now harbored a hint of regret. Had it not been for his arrogance, all this might have been avoided. Ying Xiao's vague account of the Divine Fruit's location was thought to be due to a fear of losing value, thus deliberately withholding information. He underestimated Ying Xiao's ambition and overestimated his own discernment. Who would have thought, Ying Xiao merely dangled bait, leading him to willingly take the hook? Regrettably, by the time he pieced everything together and understood precisely where he had faltered, the situation was beyond salvage. The golden light faded from his divine essence, his celestial golden body reduced to an empty shell, magic power vanished in an instant, and without constraint, he plummeted straight from hundreds of feet above. Dongfang Cixin observed coldly and declared, "He is from the celestial realm, we must destroy the body to prevent any potential disaster should it be traced back to us." Su Zijun cast a sideways glance at Dongfang Cixin, inwardly elevating her opinion of Dongfang Cixin’s ingenuity. No sooner had Dongfang Cixin spoken than the jade lion under Yan Zhao lunged forward, swallowing the golden body of the Immortal Lord whole. The jade lion, untamed and desperate to prove itself, tore into the golden body with fervor, cracking bones in a series of chilling snaps— merely hearing it was enough to send shivers down one's spine. In no time at all, the Immortal Lord from the celestial realm was consumed entirely by the jade lion. With her arm bleeding profusely, Su Zijun cast a spell to staunch the flow. She took one look at the jade lion under Yan Zhao and voiced her concern, "This creature is likely one of the celestial realm's Three Evil Beasts, the jade lion beast. Naturally violent and brutal, it might be hard to manage." The jade lion beast, upon hearing this, bared its teeth at Su Zijun, the menace clear in its eyes. Yan Zhao promptly smacked it on the head. "This is my godmother—show some respect." The jade lion yelped, its chin hitting the ground with a thud, almost losing its teeth in the process. Its oversized eyes darted upwards slyly, wearing an exaggerated, plaintive expression as it nudged Yan Zhao's palm for comfort. At that moment, a shadow descended from above, and the three-headed dragon cast its golden gaze downward, making the jade lion tremble and quickly cease its antics. Before Yan Zhao could say anything more, the jade lion transformed, shrinking into a small jade pendant, scarcely an inch long. Its tail curled up, revealing a tiny hole to thread a string through, suspended by a red cord. With a mind of its own, the jade pendant leapt into Yan Zhao's hand. Yan Zhao was taken aback. "It can turn into a jade pendant!" The jade lion, now in her grasp, felt smooth and pleasing to handle. Su Zijun, observing this, looked on in astonishment. "It actually accepted you as its master." If this jade lion had been a wild beast, it might make sense that its submission was due to the ancient dragon's intimidation. But it clearly had another master, and yet submitted to Yan Zhao so easily. Dongfang Cixin cast a discreet glance at Yan Zhao as well. Without delving into its origins, Yan Zhao tossed the pendant up and caught it, musing aloud, "From now on, you'll be called Xiaolu." Everyone: "..." Su Zijun recalled her first encounter with Xiaojin in the pill furnace, when Yan Zhao had declared Xiaojin and Xiaolu were fortuitous finds. At the time, Su Zijun thought it was sheer good luck. In retrospect, it perhaps owed to the Divine Source Fruit's power. Even when sealed, the scattered radiance of the Divine Source Fruit commanded incredible divine majesty. Now, with the seal fully lifted, Yan Zhao, despite her youth, seemed to glimpse the edges of the world's rules, suggesting that her future might surpass all expectations. Her very existence transcended the constraints of heavenly rules and would continue to create miracles and rewrite history. Su Zijun pondered: perhaps this is the opportunity that arises in chaotic times. Ren Qingyue approached Yan Zhao and inquired of Leishuang, who stood behind Dongfang Cixin, "How is Senior Nangong?" Leishuang, extracting the light orb that trapped Nangong Yin, frowned. "This sealing technique is extraordinarily complex. I can't break it." Having examined it thoroughly before Ren Qingyue even asked, Leishuang found the seal's complexity too overwhelming for her. Yan Zhao, piecing things together, looked with surprise at the light orb in Leishuang's hand. "Ah Yin is in there?" No wonder she couldn't find Nangong Yin when she arrived. Along the way, she heard Ren Qingyue recount the entire event. Now aware that Nangong Yin was trapped, Yan Zhao grew anxious, tucking the jade lion into her waistband and turning to Su Zijun for help: "Is there anything you can do, godmother?" Su Zijun focused intensely on the light orb in Leishuang's hand, sending a thread of her consciousness to scrutinize and analyze it. After a moment, she regretfully shook her head. "It is indeed troublesome." Yao Shenzi wiped the blood from his lips, his breathing steadying, and interjected, "Among practitioners, the most proficient in sealing techniques are Yan Yuanqing and Nangong Yin." A silence fell over the group. Ren Qingyue felt a pang of regret and berated herself, "The seal must have been set by that man. If we had spared him earlier..." Yao Shenzi interrupted her, "You can’t blame yourself for that. Given the circumstances, if you hadn’t struck lethally, we old folks probably wouldn’t have survived." Yan Zhao firmly grasped Ren Qingyue's hand. "Senior sister, we'll find another way." Meeting Yan Zhao's calm and understanding gaze, Ren Qingyue felt momentarily dazed. She had never imagined needing Yan Zhao's concern and comfort for her emotional state. Knowing that due to her actions, the seal on Nangong Yin was proving impossible to break, she felt a deep unease. "Fortune and misfortune go hand in hand; the presence of the seal is not wholly a bad thing." At the group's loss for a solution, Dongfang Cixin suddenly spoke up. Ren Qingyue looked up sharply, along with Yan Zhao, Leishuang, and others who turned to Dongfang Cixin. "The intention seemed to be to bring Nangong Yin back to the celestial realm for punishment by the Immortal Emperor," Dongfang Cixin continued. "The sealing technique restrains Nangong Yin’s divine essence but also prevents her physical power from depleting, which could aid in her recovery." The group fell silent, contemplating this unexpected benefit.