Stench Wind and Blood Rain

Hooves clattered.

On either side of the official road, withered yellow grass shivered in the wind.

Jiang Yuechu rode Cloud Dapple, swaying gently with his stride. For once, her spirits were high.

She had to admit it.

The flesh of a Lotus-Seeding Demon King was nourishing indeed.

Though she had eaten only a little, the Blood Sustenance Art's ruthless refinement had brought the eighth ink mark on her Golden Core to deep, perfect completion.

Even the faint outline of a ninth ink mark had begun to flicker in and out of sight within her dantian.

She needed only one final push.

Jiang Yuechu narrowed her eyes and unconsciously ran the tip of her tongue over her red lips.

Her gaze drifted beyond her control to the figure several yards away.

You Wujiang clutched his pallid Long Sword tightly, walking almost against the edge of the road.

He noticed Jiang Yuechu looking his way.

The peerless prodigy of Great Tang's younger generation jolted.

Instinctively, he clapped a hand over the storage jade at his waist.

"Wh-what do you want?!"

Seeing him act like a bird startled by a bowstring, Jiang Yuechu sighed inwardly.

What a pity.

If she could have tricked another hundred pounds or so out of him, that ninth ink mark might have taken shape today.

But...

Too much of a good thing could turn sour.

If she stripped the Demon King's corpse down to its skeleton, she would have a hard time explaining herself to the Head Office once they returned to the capital.

With that thought, Jiang Yuechu withdrew the gaze that had You Wujiang trembling. "You misunderstand, Lord You."

"I only wanted to remind you that the wind is kicking up sand ahead. Tighten your collar."

At that, You Wujiang visibly relaxed, and his tense shoulders