Inside a stilt house in Chiyou Cave.
Cheng Xinzhan held an ox-horn cup, taking a sip now and then as he kept asking about the changes in the Miao Borderlands over the years and the bases the Southern School had established there.
The other three answered, but their expressions made it quite clear that their minds were elsewhere.
Cheng Xinzhan naturally knew why. Yet despite his repeated assurances that they need not worry, he still could not get the three to concentrate, so he could only give up.
Just as the freshly added cloudy wine before him began to simmer with a bubbling sound, a flash of light suddenly appeared beside Cheng Xinzhan, and an apricot-yellow book of magic leaped out from beneath the floor.
Cheng Xinzhan caught the Earth Book, held it by the spine, and gave it a shake.
Clunk.
With a heavy thud, a woman fell out of the Earth Book and landed on the floor. Her eyes were tightly shut, her face ashen gold, her lips pale, and blood stained the corners of her mouth and her chin. An ancient scarlet-gold sword in the pre-Qin style pierced her chest, a horrifying sight. Yet her vitality had not faded; she was clearly still alive.
"Silkworm Lady?!"
The Old Village Chief, Hong, and Bai sprang to their feet, crying out in alarm.
The three examined her carefully for a long time. Once they confirmed that she was indeed Silkworm Lady, rather than the wrong captive, some sacrificial stand-in, or a substitute puppet, they turned in unison to look at Cheng Xinzhan, who remained calmly seated.
One sword strike across three thousand li, capturing a Fourth Realm Great Demon alive.
The fresh wine had only just come to a boil.
Even a Fifth Realm True Person would not have