Going Their Separate Ways

South City.

At dawn, Xu Qi'an lay on the soft, comfortable bed, covered with a light fur coat made of silk unique to the south.

Ye Ji turned to the side, close to him, in a languid posture as if she were being helped up by a maid.

Having lived in the capital for many years and grown accustomed to everything about the human race, I found the Demon Race's past life to be rather crude and lacking in refinement after returning to the Southern Frontier.

Ye Ji sighed and said, "I thought Her Majesty would burn down the South City and rebuild the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons."

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox preserved twenty-seven cities built by the people of the Western Regions as strongholds of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons.

Such a decision actually requires immense courage, because not all Demon Race can transform into human form, nor do all Demon Race prefer to live in human towns.

Gathering in the mountains and forests, living freely in nature, is the ideal life for many Demon Race.

Therefore, while retaining the twenty-seven cities, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox divided up the activity areas of various Demon Race clans in different parts of the Southern Frontier.

To ensure sufficient manpower and the ability to quickly engage in battle and obey orders, the designated areas were not far from the twenty-seven cities.

However, most of the Demon Race currently live in cities, partly because the war has just stabilized and partly because they need a sufficient number of demon soldiers to manage the human race in the Western Regions.

"Your mistress is a very rational woman—no, a female demon. Preserving the city and emulating the human system would be more beneficial to the Demon Race."

Xu Qi'an smiled.

Beneath the light fur coat, her smooth, soft body pressed tightly against him. Night Princess, oblivious to the danger, relentlessly seduced him while sighing:

"What Your Majesty is worried about is that the Western Regions countries don't want prisoners, so whether to kill or spare these Western Regions people is a problem."

In the past, people from the Western Regions came to the Southern Frontier to "reclaim the wasteland," relocating tens of thousands of people to build cities in the Southern Frontier and enjoy the herbs, timber, and delicacies from the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Five hundred years later, the twenty-seven cities, along with the surrounding villages and towns, now have a total population of over one million.

Of these people, some died in the war, some escaped back to the Western Regions, and many more became prisoners of war.

For the various kingdoms of the Western Regions to accommodate so many people, the first problem was feeding them, followed by housing, land allocation, and so on.

Whether they are willing to take responsibility is highly questionable.

"Someone like her who thinks ten steps ahead for every one step she takes, there's no way she wouldn't have a countermeasure," Xu Qi'an said with a smile.

Night Princess adopted a submissive, ingratiating manner, saying:

"Xu Lang's wisdom is no less than that of the Empress."

"It's still the best time I'm with Fuxiang. She knows how to please me, unlike the Imperial Advisor, who only knows how to drain me dry Xu Qi'an sighed.

Not only the Imperial Advisor, but also Mu Nanzhi, Lin'an, Li Miaozhen, Huaiqing, and so on—these women were all unique figures of their time. Some used their beauty to commit crimes, some were spoiled and pampered, some were even more chivalrous and courageous than him, and some were female academic geniuses who made him feel inferior.

Thinking back to when he first came into this world, longing for a monotonous life with three wives and four concubines, Xu Qi'an was filled with mixed emotions.

Even if you reach the extraordinary realm, the life of a lord is still a distant dream.

That's why people say ideals are so precious, because they are always out of reach.

Seeing that she had successfully pleased her lover, Ye Ji smiled charmingly and continued:

"The Empress said that reclaiming Wan Yao Mountain is only the first step. The Demon Race race will also need to station troops on the border to help the Central Plains restrain Buddhist School. Fortunately, these people from the Western Regions can serve as militia, making the best use of them."

"We can't just support them for nothing. Besides, the Demon Race lives a free and unrestrained life, unlike humans who are so particular about rules. They don't need slaves. Only the nobles among humans feel superior, adhere to rules, and enslave servants to demonstrate their status."

If the Demon Race were to stop after reclaiming the Hundred Thousand Mountains, then the Buddhist School could send troops to aid the rebels in Yunzhou.

Therefore, the war between the Demon Race and the Buddhist School is not over yet. Reclaiming the Southern Frontier is the first step. The next step is to deploy troops on the border and make it appear as if they are ready to invade the western region at any time.

Only in this way can the countries of the Western Regions be alerted and dare not send large-scale troops to the Central Plains.

This is true restraint.

Xu Qi'an nodded. "A good method."

He looked at the gauze curtain above his head, thought for a moment, and then transmitted his voice:

"What is your relationship with Bai Ji, Qing Ji, and the Empress? You sisters shouldn't be just ordinary fox spirits."

"This..." Ye Ji hesitated for a moment, then transmitted her voice:

I knew you'd figure it out sooner or later.

"There are nine of us sisters in total. Bai Ji is the youngest. She is indeed not a pure fox, but she is even more noble than foxes. We are the divided souls of the Queen."

Xu Qi'an was taken aback. "Soul splitting?"

Humans have three souls: Heaven, Earth, and Man. If I understand correctly, the term "divided soul" refers to one of these three souls.

Yoru explained:

"The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox is born with twelve souls. In addition to three souls, each tail has a soul. Upon reaching adulthood, the nine divided souls will separate from the body along with the tails and transform into nine maids."

"Therefore, the previous ruler of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons had at least nine close elders, who were actually nine tails."

"The tail of the nine-tailed celestial fox has a great function: it can be transformed into a physical body. Therefore, for us nine sisters, as long as our souls are not destroyed, our physical bodies can be replaced and reshaped at any time."

Ah, so what I used to do was transport corpses, now I'm mating. Xu Qi'an's expression was extremely complicated.

"What other special talents Divine Ability does she possess?" He seized the opportunity to probe the Nine-Tailed Fox's background.

To be honest, Ye Ji did struggle, after all, this was the Empress's secret, but a woman's psychological defenses are weakest when she's in bed, and she quickly betrayed her own side, revealing the Nine-Tailed Fox's innate supernatural Divine Ability to Xu Qi'an.

The Nine Divided Souls is one of the innate divine Divine Ability. The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox also possesses three other innate divine Divine Ability:

Soul-capturing, speed. The last innate Divine Ability ability is unknown, and can only be mastered by the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox when it reaches the first rank.

So, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox possesses four innate divine Divine Ability, truly befitting a demon king endowed with spiritual essence and unique advantages. Xu Qi'an's thoughts flickered as he recalled how the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox used its seductive music to break the chanting of the Arhat of Salvation.

That must be soul-capturing.

He then asked:

"No wonder Bai Ji's innate Divine Ability is speed. What about yours?"

Night Princess smiled and said:

"My love, ever since we reunited in the Southern Frontier, have you felt increasingly infatuated with me, and increasingly reluctant to Southern Frontier?"

Oh, so it was the allure from the Soul-Capturing Technique. I didn't even notice it until you pointed it out. It's all Mu Nanzhi's fault; after spending so much time with her, I've become completely immune to ordinary allure.

Xu Qi'an rolled over, bracing his arms on either side of Ye Ji's waist, looking down at her with a look of infatuation, and said:

"I see. No wonder I've been longing for Miss Fuxiang day and night."

Princess Ye was extremely pleased, her face beaming with joy.

A moment later, the bed curtains began to sway rhythmically.

Mu Nanzhi carried Bai Ji as they strolled through the square of Nanfa Temple.

The place was a mess; the main hall had collapsed, Buddha statues were overturned, and the plaza paved with bluestone slabs was full of cracks and potholes.

Demon soldiers, armed with weapons, were everywhere, ordering the people of the Western Regions to repair the potholes in the square and rebuild the collapsed palaces. Shouts and the sound of whips were constant.

Mu Nanzhi knew that the repair of Nanfa Temple was ordered by the nine-tailed fox. According to Bai Ji, this was to make the Demon Race remember the shame and cultivate diligently.

"Elder Bai Ji."

"Greetings, Elder Bai Ji."

The demon soldiers they encountered along the way respectfully bowed to Bai Ji, who was in Mu Nanzhi's arms.

Bai Ji politely responded to the demon soldier's greeting with a childish "uh-huh" and "ah-ah" in her innocent voice.

"If you little brat are already an elder, does that mean I'm going to become the Demon King?"

Mu Nanzhi rubbed Bai Ji's head and mocked her.

She looked around at the demon soldiers with great interest. Some of them were in the form of beasts, while others were in human form, but they retained some beastly features, such as ram horns, eagle claws, and scales.

This is very interesting for the reincarnation of the goddess of flowers.

She was initially quite afraid of the Demon Race because she had been chased and killed by the northern demons when she went north years ago, which left her with psychological trauma.

She later discovered that the male Demon Race didn't even glance at her.

Mu Nanzhi couldn't figure it out for a moment. Was it because her appearance was too plain, or because the concept of beauty among Demon Race was different from that among humans?

Bai Ji suddenly whispered:

"I might have to stay in Southern Frontier."

"The Empress sent me to follow Xu Yinluo to supervise whether he had properly unsealed the severed limbs of Shen Shu. But now that the Empress has restored the kingdom, the severed limbs of Shen Shu have been pieced together, and the last right hand is inside him."

"I have no reason to follow him anymore."

The faint smile on Mu Nanzhi's lips gradually faded.

Bai Ji raised her head and said:

"Auntie, are you unhappy?"

Mu Nanzhi sighed:

"I was willing to travel the world with him back then, thinking that even if we wandered the world, we would at least have a companion and the journey wouldn't be too lonely. But for the past two months, I've spent half of my time inside the Baofutu Pagoda."

"It's good to have you with me, so I'm not too lonely. If you had stayed in Southern Frontier, I would have been so lonely."

A sense of loneliness flashed in her eyes, and her face looked lost and forlorn.

Just then, a clear and crisp voice came from behind:

"Hakuhime!"

Mu Nanzhi turned around, holding the little fox, and saw a tall woman veiled in light gauze walking towards her, her skirt fluttering.

"Kiyohime-neechan."

Bai Ji called out in a sweet voice.

Qingji waved, and Baiji jumped out of Mu Nanzhi's arms and ran towards her long-lost sister.

Mu Nanzhi frowned slightly, somewhat reluctant to part.

Kiyohime bent down and picked up Shiro, her foxy eyes curving into a smile. Then she nodded slightly to Mu Nanzhi and walked past her.

Mu Nanzhi's gaze followed her retreating figure, hesitating to speak, when suddenly she saw Bai Ji's head emerge from the blue-skirted woman's shoulder and raise a paw, waving it.

She was immediately pushed back by the woman in the blue dress.

Mu Nanzhi smiled, remained silent for a moment, and then sighed softly.

Mount Wanyao.

A glamorous, mature woman with silver hair and fox ears stood proudly on the edge of the cliff and said:

"Two thousand six hundred miles south of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, there is an island covered with colorful silkworms, which I named Silkworm Island."

"There is a valley to the north of Silkworm Island, where the Netherworld Silkworm clan lives. The island is shrouded in extremely heavy miasma and poisonous gas, and the poisonous gas in the valley can even paralyze extraordinary experts. The Netherworld Silkworms like to eat murderers with vigorous Qi and Blood and energy. They use their silkworm food to weave nets to catch sea beasts in the sea."

"However, with the Seven Deadly Gu by your side, neither poisonous gas nor the colorful silkworms that cover the island can threaten you."

It possesses extremely high intelligence, is highly poisonous, and its silk is very difficult to entangle. Xu Qi'an listened very carefully.

The silver-haired enchantress raised her hand, and a scroll of animal hide map floated into the air:

"This is the map I drew last night."

Xu Qi'an took the map, but instead of immediately unfolding it to examine it, he asked:

How did you know I was going to resurrect Duke Wei?

The nine-tailed celestial fox pursed her luscious red lips and chuckled sweetly:

"That's what the old white-bearded guy said."

"Supervisor, huh?" Xu Qi'an had no more doubts and said helplessly.

"It's a pity I didn't capture Du'e or Asura; my Demon-Sealing Nail is still intact. After this battle, the Buddhist School's fear of me has increased even more. I really don't know when I'll find an opportunity to remove the Demon-Sealing Nail."

After the extraordinary battle at Nanfa Temple, Du'e and the others knew he was going to remove the Demon-Sealing Nails, so they were extremely cautious, Xu Qi'an was unable to find an opportunity to capture either of them.

Both Du'e and Asuluo are among the best of the second rank.

Defeating them is possible, but capturing them alive is too difficult.

"Then wait to follow your mother to attack Alando in the future. At that time, we will have a way to retrieve the Demon-Sealing Nail." The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox faced the wind, narrowed her eyes, and her silver hair danced in the air.

"My filial piety has gone awry," Xu Qi'an grumbled.

The sooner he gets the Demon-Sealing Nails, the sooner he can advance to the second rank. Delaying it for ten or eight years until the Demon-Sealing Nails are removed is pointless. Xu Qi'an sighed silently and said:

"Oh, right, I have one more request!"

After lunch, Xu Qi'an led the mare, with Mu Nanzhi riding on her back, and the two walked along the wide streets of the southern city towards the only well-preserved northern gate.

The other three city gates collapsed into ruins during the war and are now being rebuilt.

Along the way, many streets and houses were under repair. People from the Western Regions, dressed in simple clothes, carried bamboo baskets, stones, and timber, working amidst the shouts and whips of the Demon Race.

Why didn't they run away?

Mu Nanzhi subconsciously stroked the little white fox in her arms, but found nothing. A look of loneliness flashed in her eyes, but she hid it well.

"In the city, they might be enslaved at most, but once they leave the city, in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, they could be eaten by Demon Race at any time."

Xu Qi'an seemed oblivious to her unusual behavior, leading the mare forward.

Mu Nanzhi gave an "Oh," and looked at the scene on both sides of the street with a lack of interest.

The two quickly arrived at the city gate, Xu Qi'an said:

"Our next stop is a sea voyage to a place called Silkworm Island. It's very dangerous there, so I'll have to trouble you to go back into the pagoda. While you're at it, please help me cultivate some poisonous herbs."

Mu Nanzhi sighed softly:

"Xu Qi'an, I want to go back to the capital."

Xu Qi'an was stunned. "Back to the capital?"

Mu Nanzhi didn't dare look at him, turned her face away, and whispered:

"I often wonder, have you ever really considered my feelings? Have you ever thought that I might get bored and lonely staying in the pagoda? It's not that I don't want to stay in the pagoda, but you're out fighting the enemy, and I can't help you, so naturally I can't cause trouble."

"I just... I just feel like you've never cared about my thoughts or my feelings."

As she spoke, her eyes inexplicably welled up with tears.

Suddenly, she heard Bai Ji say in Jiujiu:

"Auntie, please take me back to the capital."

Mu Nanzhi habitually touched her head and hummed in agreement, "I'll take you back to the capital."

The second half of the sentence ended abruptly, and Mu Nanzhi looked down in disbelief at Bai Ji in her arms.

"How did you get here?" Mu Nanzhi was both surprised and delighted, frequently looking back.

"The Empress said I should continue to follow Xu Yinluo," Bai Ji said sweetly.

She didn't really care who she followed, because both sides were people she was close to.

Mu Nanzhi suddenly looked up at Xu Qi'an: "You..."

Xu Qi'an led the mare forward and said:

"I know you're bored, having a little one with you will make you happier."

Then, he complained in a rather annoyed tone:

"Honestly, she goes back to her parents' home (in the capital) the moment she feels wronged. What a pretentious woman."

He paused for a moment, then whispered:

"When the world is at peace, you won't have to wander with me anymore. Give me a little more time, it won't be long."

Mu Nanzhi turned her head away again, her eyes crinkling.

The sky over the Western Regions is clear and blue, and the terrain is more rugged than that of the Central Plains.

A majestic eagle soars beneath the azure sky, cattle and sheep bleat melodiously across the undulating meadows, and snow-capped peaks and craggy red rocks stand in the distance.

The summit of Aranya is covered with snow that never melts, like an old man with white hair sitting cross-legged on the vast land of the Western Regions.

Amidst the ceaseless chanting, Asura passed through temples and monasteries, entered a path, and after a while, arrived at the edge of a chilly pool.

The Arhat Du'e sat cross-legged on a lotus platform floating on the water, his hands clasped together, his eyes closed in meditation.

"Bodhisattva Guangxian, together with Bodhisattva Liuli, is contacting Bodhisattva Jialuoshu."

"Ugly-handsome and dashing Asuro said in a deep voice."

The three bodhisattvas were undoubtedly discussing the fall of the Southern Frontier and the subsequent strategic plans of Buddhist School.

The Arhat Du'e opened his eyes, pondered for a moment, and said:

"Go to the Demon-Suppressing Gorge and check if the Asura King's remains are still there. I'm going to the Zen Forest to see the Buddha."