Whoosh, whoosh!
High above the heavens, astral winds swept fiercely past. A streak of red light, radiant as the sun, pierced the clouds and split the sky with astonishing speed.
Within that magnificent radiance, Xin Shiniang held a crystalline lotus in her palm. A flame burned among its petals, its light spilling outward to envelop Nie Xiaoqian behind her.
Nie Xiaoqian felt an unending warmth flowing from that light. Even at this dizzying height, she felt no fear, only an extraordinary sense of security.
Color gradually returned to her paper-pale face. Yet recalling Xin Shiniang's words, she felt a fresh unease about the unknown.
She, Nie Xiaoqian, had a netherworld body?
One that naturally attracted the covetous attention of vicious ghosts and ferocious spirits?
For a girl of only sixteen or seventeen, not bursting into frightened tears was already commendably brave.
"Immortal sister..." Nie Xiaoqian gathered her courage and spoke softly.
"Don't call me an Immortal. My name is Xin Shiniang. You can call me Shiniang, or sister." Xin Shiniang glanced back at her and soothed her. "Don't be afraid. Your netherworld body is a calamity, but it is also a blessing. Once you find the opportunity to enter the Dao, you will cultivate far faster than ordinary people. Countless cultivators would envy you!"
"And now, your opportunity has come!"
Xin Shiniang marveled at the young girl's good fortune.
A netherworld body was not merely an irresistible temptation to ghosts and spirits; it was also a rare delicacy for demons and evil creatures. Had she not happened to come here to slay a demon today, Nie Xiaoqian would inevitably have fallen into the Locust Tree Elder Demon's clutches and met a wretched end.
Hmm?
A thought stirred in Xin Shiniang's mind. *Could this have been within the young master's calculations