"Senior Xu plays the zither so beautifully, like a Banished Immortal." Qin Yudie gazed at Senior Xu as he played, her pretty face faintly flushed, and murmured to herself.
She had noticed that whenever she thought she had come to understand Senior Xu well enough, he would always reveal another side of himself. And no matter which side it was, it was always so formidable.
By now, she knew that Senior Xu's calligraphy, painting, zither playing, and tea-making were all extraordinary, reaching realms beyond imagination.
Before meeting Senior Xu, she had never thought one person could reach the pinnacle in so many fields at once.
It was only after getting to know Senior Xu that she realized it was possible—that there truly were people in this world who could walk every path all the way to its end.
Xu Yan was immersed in his own world, forgetting the world, forgetting everything, and even forgetting himself.
He no longer knew who he was. His entire body and soul belonged to this zither and this melody alone.
The little red-feathered bird in the tree looked astonished. It had never expected Xu Yan to know a zither piece so different in style, and to play it just as beautifully.
A hint of admiration gradually appeared in her eyes.
Then she flew away from the tree, soaring toward a place far, far away.
A red feather drifted down from the sky and finally landed beside Xu Yan.
In Tianren City, Qin Tian had been fretting over the Black Blood Pill. But as he listened to the zither music, whose source he could not identify, all his worries vanished.
He then began searching for the Evil Cultivators with even greater focus, and soon found the four members of the Demon Tiger Clan in a narrow alley.
Seeing the black powder on the ground and the four figures dressed in black, he demanded, "Who are you? Were you the ones spreading the Black Blood Pills?"
At his shout, all four members of the Demon Tiger Clan opened their eyes.
Hu Li frowned slightly. "I was listening to the zither music. Why did you suddenly yell? Think you've got a loud voice?"
He had been listening as if entranced, wishing he could remain immersed in it forever and forget all his troubles.
Qin Tian had broken him out of that state, so Hu Li was naturally very displeased with him.
The Demon Tiger Clan Third Elder was much more levelheaded than Hu Li. He smacked Hu Li on the head, then clasped his fists toward Qin Tian. "Fellow Daoist, we're not Evil Cultivators. The Black Blood Pill has nothing to do with us."
He was somewhat nervous. He had been so captivated by the zither music that he'd forgotten the Tianren Sect was searching for the people spreading the Black Blood Pills.
Qin Tian fixed his gaze on the Demon Tiger Clan Third Elder and sensed the aura of the group before demanding, "You're from the Demon Race. What are you doing here?"
Members of the Demon Race could take human form and conceal their aura, but cultivators with a higher cultivation level could still identify them—unless they had mastered special disguises or transformation techniques.
Now that their identities as members of the Demon Race had been exposed, the Demon Tiger Clan Third Elder could only answer honestly. "Sect Master Qin, I'm the Demon Tiger Clan Third Elder. These three are elites of the Demon Tiger Clan. We came to Tianren City to capture a disgrace to our Demon Race. We absolutely have nothing to do with the Black Blood Pills."
He didn't dare say they had come to capture a fox. Qin Tian had visited Xu Yan's shop and met Su Jiuer, so he might guess they were after her—and perhaps even kill them.
Qin Tian stepped forward, his eyes coldly fixed on the black medicinal powder clinging to Hu Li. "Don't try to fool me. The powder on you is Black Blood Pill powder. I advise you to tell the truth. Otherwise, I won't hesitate to kill a few members of the Demon Race who trespassed on my Tianren Sect's territory."
The human race and the Demon Race were already on poor terms. And the Demon Tiger Clan had secretly slipped into Tianren City without the consent of the Tianren Sect, which governed the city.
In these circumstances, the Tianren Sect had the right to execute the Demon Tiger Clan Third Elder and the other members of the clan.
Even if the Demon Tiger Clan found out, it couldn't start a war with the Tianren Sect over this. That would be a challenge to the human race, and the conflict would escalate into a war between the human race and the Demon Race.
The Demon Tiger Clan clearly understood the consequences. They didn't dare conceal the truth, nor did they want to. The Third Elder answered honestly, "Sect Master Qin, here's what happened. We came to capture a disgrace to the Demon Race, but then three Evil Cultivators found us. They gave us a bottle of Black Blood Pills and told us to distribute them to the people of Tianren City. If we didn't, they'd kill us."
"We had no choice. Those three Evil Cultivators were incredibly powerful. If we refused to cooperate, we'd have been doomed."
At this point, he couldn't keep hiding the truth. If he earned the label of Evil Cultivator, he'd be doomed.
Now that he had told the truth, Qin Tian might still spare them out of regard for the Demon Tiger Clan's status as one of the Southern Domain's top Demon Race clans.
Qin Tian frowned slightly. "Did they say anything else? And what were the cultivation levels of the three of them?"
So Evil Cultivators really had come to Tianren City and deliberately spread the Black Blood Pills. He had no idea what their goal was.
But even spreading the Black Blood Pills alone could have killed countless people if the zither music hadn't sounded.
After all, aside from that miraculous zither music, there was almost no way to save the lives of those who had taken the Black Blood Pills.
The Demon Tiger Clan Third Elder answered honestly, "They didn't say anything else. They left us a few instructions and then went on their way. Of the three, two were at the Sea of Consciousness First Heaven, and one was at the Sea of Consciousness Triple Heaven."
He had spread the Black Blood Pills because he feared the one at the Sea of Consciousness Triple Heaven. If the Evil Cultivators had only been two cultivators at the Sea of Consciousness First Heaven, he wouldn't have feared them.
Qin Tian frowned slightly at the Demon Tiger Clan Third Elder's words.
Two at the Sea of Consciousness First Heaven and one at the Sea of Consciousness Triple Heaven—a lineup like that was terrifying. There were only a handful of forces across the entire Southern Domain with such strength.
And all three were Evil Cultivators, which made them even harder to deal with.
"Which way did those three Evil Cultivators go?" Qin Tian asked.
Three Evil Cultivators in the Sea of Consciousness Realm were undoubtedly a huge threat. If they were still in Tianren City, he would have no choice but to summon the other top forces and join forces to eliminate them.
The Tianren Sect alone couldn't handle Evil Cultivators of that level.
"They went that way. From how briskly and directly they walked, they must've been heading somewhere nice." Hu Li pointed toward the direction the black-robed figures had gone.
He had been very displeased with those three Evil Cultivators, so he had watched them closely.
Qin Tian looked in the direction Hu Li pointed. It led toward the foot of Tianren Mountain.
That was useful information. He continued, "One last question: what did those three Evil Cultivators look like, and what were they wearing?"
Hu Li thought that answering this question would be enough to earn their release, so he racked his brains and gave Qin Tian an extremely detailed description.
Then, he asked with an expectant look, "Sect Master Qin, can we leave now?"
Qin Tian looked at Hu Li and sneered. "You listened to the Evil Cultivators and spread Black Blood Pills, endangering Tianren City, and you think you can just walk away? Come with me to meet someone. We'll see how that person decides to deal with you!"
Before you continue