59 - The Divine Physician’s Overbearing Wife

Banxia Novel Chapter 59 "Do you have any information on the Dripping Blood Demon Domain? I want to take a look." Yan Zhuguang suspected that Su Qian'er was the daughter of a former sect leader and a powerful demonic cultivator from the Dripping Blood Demon Domain. This would explain Su Qian'er's identity and the origin of that stone gate. In the cultivation world, it's not uncommon to see illegitimate sons and daughters; it’s practically commonplace. With cultivators living such long lives and possessing extraordinary abilities, no one can guarantee lifelong fidelity between Dao companions. Whether male or female cultivators, having multiple spouses or companions is quite normal—so long as one has the strength to back it up. According to what he knew, the former sect leader and his wife had an arranged marriage. That wife wasn’t particularly talented and had already passed away due to old age. The former sect leader having an illegitimate daughter was nothing shameful. Why did he meticulously arrange another identity for Su Qian'er? Perhaps because Su Qian'er's biological mother couldn’t be revealed to the world. Su Qian'er's mother's identity was unknown. If raised by the former sect leader, it would surely draw a lot of attention and speculation. Her unique constitution, to anyone with a bit of knowledge, might lead to the guess that Su Qian'er's mother was linked to demonic cultivation. Such an identity could stir up trouble even in the absence of real scandal. The former sect leader didn't want to bear the risk of exposure, so he arranged this identity for Su Qian'er: she has both a father and a mother, both aligned with righteous cultivation, avoiding any suspicion of a union between celestial and demonic cultivators. As for the stone gate, it's possible that Su Qian'er's biological mother set it up to confuse others, ensuring her daughter's spiritual medicine remained safe from others. The secret realm was situated in celestial territory, making it difficult for demonic cultivators to come and go freely. If discovered, suspicion would arise. With the righteous path’s attention, such exposure would be disastrous. Therefore, even a powerful demonic entity like the Dripping Blood Demon Domain only set up a stone gate and then retreated. As for why only a stone gate was placed for intimidation instead of traps for obstruction, it might have been to allow someone in the know to easily enter and retrieve the sacred lotus seeds—someone like Su Qian'er’s "grandfather," the cultivator Su. As to why arrange for someone else to enter and not retrieve it themselves—Yan Zhuguang speculated that Su Qian'er’s mother might have entered the secret realm before. Knowing it could only be accessed once more, she entrusted the task to a trusted confidant. With this in mind, the markings on that silk cloth match up. The former sect leader alone couldn’t have possibly explored the entire secret realm under limited spiritual and physical capabilities. Yan Zhuguang always suspected he had help, and if it involved Su Qian'er’s mother, the two might have joined forces to explore the secret realm for the sake of healing their daughter. It all started to make sense. Having pieced together the clues he knew, Yan Zhuguang arrived at this conjecture. The system was very impressed with the host's wild imagination; it almost believed the host had witnessed what had happened to the former sect leader back then, if not for knowing it was mere speculation. The system replied, "There is information, but it's data from after the storyline started. At this point in time, the circumstances can only be inferred from those snippets." "Alright, let me see it." Yan Zhuguang had a general understanding of the system by now. It had thorough knowledge of elements existing within the story and a decent grasp of the experiences of previous hosts. As for other matters, it might be limited by the world's rules and didn't know much. The system quickly transmitted the Dripping Blood Demon Domain information to Yan Zhuguang's consciousness. No matter how many times, Yan Zhuguang disliked the sensation of having information directly transmitted into his consciousness, just like with the secret realm’s inheritance previously—she didn’t like it either. While flipping through the data on the Dripping Blood Demon Domain, Yan Zhuguang continued to ponder. One thing struck Yan Zhuguang as odd. If Su Qian'er were truly a child of celestial and demon heritage, why did the former sect leader so openly inform others that Su Qian'er was his daughter? Was he not afraid of someone deducing his identity and Su Qian'er's situation? An oath not to maliciously harm Su Qian'er couldn’t prevent others from leaking this information. For the former sect leader to openly announce it, was it because Su Qian'er was not actually a child of celestial and demon, and he believed himself righteous and above suspicion? Or did he act intentionally to clear himself of suspicion? Yan Zhuguang couldn’t help but think more about it. At this moment, the system excitedly exclaimed, "Host, Host, I know this!" Yan Zhuguang was a bit surprised, "Go ahead." "The Yuan Wind Array, as the secret formation of the Fenghua Immortal Sect, has more functions than just protecting treasures," the system eagerly shared its knowledge, "it can also connect with the person who set it up, allowing them to sense everyone who has interacted with the formation. Furthermore, the person who set it up can even trace the steps of anyone attempting to break its array." "I guess," the system shared its hypothesis with the host, "the former sect leader had the confidence to silence anyone who came into contact with the Yuan Wind Array, which is why he was so bold." "Host, what do you think?" The system looked at Yan Zhuguang expectantly. Yan Zhuguang thought for a moment and nodded, "Hmm, makes sense." Wow, the host nodded in agreement! The system was so overjoyed it spun around in its own space. “Not just that,” Yan Zhuguang added, “If it were me, I wouldn’t rely on such a formation's constraints alone.” She had countless ways to break free of oath restrictions, even if it meant some aftereffects or facing judgment during tribulation. Compared to a Tian Xin lotus seed, what were those consequences? Although the power of the Yuan Wind Array lingered on the Tian Xin lotus seeds, as long as they were given to Su Qian'er, the formation could be broken. At that point, killing Su Qian'er to retrieve the Tian Xin lotus seeds and obtaining all three would be conceivable. The former sect leader wouldn’t overlook this, and he would have contingency plans. Moreover, "Tian Xin Five Petal Lotus is such a precious item; I wouldn't want it going to someone else." Even if the person who broke the formation remained true to their word and let Su Qian'er consume the lotus seeds, what of the remaining two? Would they actually give them to the other party as a reward? Clearly, no one would be willing to do that. Even the former sect leader wouldn’t tolerate it. So, by leveraging the Yuan Wind Array's characteristics, he could retrieve the Tian Xin Five Petal Lotus before anyone else found Su Qian'er. It would ensure his daughter's safety and allow him to secure the remaining lotus seeds—a win-win. "Heh," Yan Zhuguang chuckled with a hint of mockery, “Whoever invented the Yuan Wind Array probably didn't have any good intentions.” The system shivered; in these times, even breaking a formation is hazardous: “Luckily, the sect leader is already dead. If he were alive, wouldn’t the senior martial sister and the host be in danger?” As a former sect leader, even if he couldn't openly kill the senior martial sister and the host, giving them trouble covertly would be tough enough. “If he wasn’t dead, how would my senior martial sister and I have come to this secret realm?” “True.” While conversing with the system, Yan Zhuguang had roughly sorted through the Dripping Blood Demon Domain data: "That male second lead, the Blood Lotus Demon Lord, had just ascended to the position of Demon Lord shortly before the secret realm began?" "Yes," replied the system, "Blood Lotus Demon Lord was the final disciple of the previous Su You Demon Lord. His origins are unclear. All that's known is he suddenly appeared in the Dripping Blood Demon Domain and became the youngest disciple of Su You Demon Lord." The Blood Lotus Demon Lord always appeared masked; no one has ever seen his true face—except for the later female protagonist. Having the male second lead's face revealed only to the female lead is also a classic trope across various novels. “Su You Demon Lord...” Yan Zhuguang's focus lingered on this name: "Is it male or female?" The system shook its head, "Unknown. This Su You Demon Lord was already dead before the Blood Lotus Demon Lord rose to power. Due to the suddenness of his death, it even caused unrest in the Dripping Blood Demon Domain. The Blood Lotus Demon Lord fought his way through to claim the position of Demon Lord." After speaking, the system considered another possibility: "Could it be that the host suspects this Su You Demon Lord to be Su Qian'er's biological mother?" “Not impossible.” Although the system’s information wasn’t exhaustive, all content from the original book related to the Dripping Blood Demon Domain was included in the data. Among all the mentioned characters in the storyline, only this Su You Demon Lord seemed likely. Of course, Su Qian'er's biological mother might not be any mentioned character. The system couldn’t be sure if the host’s conjecture was correct, but, “It seems the grudge between Fenghua Immortal Sect and the Dripping Blood Demon Domain started from Su You Demon Lord's era.” Judging by the timeline, the current leader of the Dripping Blood Demon Domain should be Su You Demon Lord. At this time, there wasn’t even a hint of conflict between the Fenghua Immortal Sect and Dripping Blood Demon Domain. By the time the Blood Lotus Demon Lord came to power, a feud between Fenghua Immortal Sect and the Dripping Blood Demon Domain had indeed developed, implying it likely started with Su You Demon Lord’s dealings with Fenghua Immortal Sect. Yan Zhuguang nodded, making a note of this name. In the following time, Yan Zhuguang stopped making wild guesses. He deactivated the restraints, began consolidating his cultivation, and awaited his senior martial sister's arrival. He trusted that his senior martial sister would share some insights with him. Yun Mixue’s discussion with several elders lasted several days before gradually coming to a lull. When Yun Mixue came to find Yan Zhuguang, several elders had already set out to investigate that stone gate. "I told the elders that the owner of the secret realm left a spiritual medicine that could heal Miss Su's body. Unfortunately, the sect leader couldn't obtain the inheritance from the realm's owner and instead left a message, asking successors to save his daughter." Yun Mixue shared the information she conveyed with Yan Zhuguang. The fact that Su Qian'er was the daughter of the sect leader couldn't be hidden, but to protect Yan Zhuguang, she had to be vague about certain aspects of the secret realm. In essence, Yun Mixue didn't lie, but she selectively withheld critical details, such as the Tian Xin lotus seeds and the Yuan Wind Array. After all, the inheritance of the realm's owner had already been given to Yan Zhuguang and the secret realm had since "closed." Even if the elders went to investigate, apart from the stone gate, they wouldn’t detect anything substantial. The elders had no reason to suspect anything. The Qiao family wouldn’t broadcast news of Su Qian'er's condition. Even Yun Mixue and Yan Zhuguang only discovered her condition while coincidentally saving Su Qian'er. The elders didn’t understand Su Qian'er's exact situation and merely assumed that the former sect leader sought a rare and unusual remedy in the cultivation world. Such spiritual medicines tailored to specific constitutions wouldn’t necessarily benefit those in good health. Surely, they wouldn't covet a Foundation Establishment disciple's inheritance? The elders suggested that, if Yan Zhuguang agreed, they should proceed to treat Miss Su Qian'er first, as it was a request from the former sect leader. Meanwhile, they would investigate the nature of the stone gate set by the demonic cultivators. Yan Zhuguang nodded, "I can set off at any time." The current "Su Qian'er" might not even know her own body's specific condition. As long as the Tian Xin lotus seeds were disguised before being given to her, and given the attention from being the former sect leader’s daughter, Yan Zhuguang couldn’t easily silence her, even if he wanted to. It's possible nothing would be revealed from her side. Moreover, Yan Zhuguang was curious to see the outcome. After the possibly "not the original" Su Qian'er received the Tian Xin lotus seeds, what response would the Yuan Wind Array and the heavenly oath produce? The oath was to heal the former sect leader's daughter, but how should this "daughter’s" identity be reckoned? She hadn’t encountered such a situation before and found it rather intriguing. "By the way, Senior Martial Sister," Yan Zhuguang asked, "Earlier, I ran into Sister Chu. She advised me against going out lightly. Has something happened outside?" Yun Mixue nodded, "Indeed, some changes have occurred."