Spirit Flame Maiden Yields to the Saintess

Xiao Yun turned into a streak of light and flew deeper into the cave.

A moment later, he stopped before a stone door.

The door was tightly shut, and a faint green light seeped through the crack.

He struck out with a palm, and the stone door shattered with a boom.

In the dim room, ancient runes were carved into the stone walls, flickering in and out beneath the green glow. In the center of the room was a stone bed, and lying on it was an old woman.

Her face was withered, her skin shriveled like tree bark, her hair sparse as dead grass. She wore a tattered black robe embroidered with blood-red runes, which glowed faintly.

Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was weak, as though it might stop at any moment.

"You're here." The old woman's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping against tin plate. She did not open her eyes, but she knew Xiao Yun had arrived. "I sensed it. The mother worm has been caught. My plan has failed."

"What plan is this? Why control the Saintesses?"

The old woman was silent for a moment. "For immortality." Xiao Yun said nothing.

The old woman opened her eyes, her cloudy pupils turning toward Xiao Yun. "I've lived for more than three hundred years. I reached the end of my life long ago. But while traveling the continent, I discovered a scroll containing an Evil Spirit Master's Life Sacrifice Ritual. It could absorb young girls' life force to gain a brief extension of life. If one could complete the Life Sacrifice Ritual nine times, one could obtain immortality."

"So that's how it was!"

The old woman gave a dry laugh, but halfway through, she began coughing violently. Only after a long while did she continue, "But