Before the Chaos
The immortal mountain of the Flowing Light Sword Sect is quite far from the town. Because she was afraid that using her Spiritual Power casually would attract the attention of those cultivators, Qi Yaoji's movements were extremely secretive, and she relied on her own two feet to walk up and down the mountain.
Therefore, Qi Yaoji's speed was forced to slow down.
With the mountain gate almost within reach, Qi Yaoji took a breath and quickened her pace.
But the next second, Qi Yaoji realized with a start that the scene around her had suddenly become strange.
The once neat road ahead suddenly vanished, and the grove of trees behind them turned into a cloud of black mist, making it impossible to see clearly.
Qi Yaoji watched all this with a cold eye, but sweat broke out on her forehead.
"I wonder which fellow Daoist has blocked my path. I am Sang Ying from the Flowing Light Sword Sect. If I have offended you in any way, please speak frankly." At this moment, Qi Yaoji realized that she had fallen into an illusion. She didn't know who had created it, but she understood that the person who could make her step into an illusion without her even realizing it must be exceptionally skilled.
The surrounding area was completely silent, shrouded in a strange black mist. Qi Yaoji couldn't see anything clearly, and her fear intensified.
"Fellow Daoist, Senior? What do you want? You may tell me. Although I am not very capable, I am still a disciple of the Flowing Light Sword Sect. Perhaps I can help you in some way?" Qi Yaoji probed again.
Sure enough, a voice rang out after that. "What's that in your arms? Throw it over here."
The voice was terribly hoarse, as if the throat had been rubbed with sand and gravel—it was extremely grating.
Qi Yaoji didn't recognize whose voice it was, and she became even more concerned about the person who dared to scheme against her.
What she was carrying was Sang Ying's Storage Bag, which was crucial to her future ability to remain an undercover agent in the Flowing Light Sword Sect. Of course, Qi Yaoji was unwilling to give it away so easily.
This place wasn't far from the sect, so Qi Yaoji decided to take a gamble and make a big commotion so that Elder Yanhua and the others would notice and come to rescue her.
Thinking of this, Qi Yaoji spoke up, "Senior, what I have in my arms is just a Storage Bag, containing only some of my odds and ends, nothing important. Senior, you don't need to look at it, do you?"
But how could that person possibly grant her her wish?
No sooner had Qi Yaoji finished speaking than a ball of eerie blue flame hurtled towards her. At first, Qi Yaoji thought it was just an illusion, but as soon as the flame got close, she felt as if her entire soul was being burned.
She had been reborn through possession, and her soul power was not yet stable. If she were to be burned by this strange fire, she would likely suffer considerable injury. Qi Yaoji could only manage to dodge it with difficulty, and then begged the mysterious man for mercy:
"Please don't be angry, senior. I'll give you the Storage Bag right away!"
The mysterious man scoffed, "You should have been more sensible a long time ago."
Qi Yaoji gritted her teeth in anger, but under the threat of the flames, she could only obediently throw the Storage Bag out.
She casually tossed the small Storage Bag on the ground. Just as she was waiting for the man to pick Storage Bag up so she could see his true face, she only saw a cloud of black mist appear and sweep the Storage Bag away.
Just as she was feeling disappointed, Qi Yaoji breathed a sigh of relief, "May I ask, senior, may I leave now?"
"Want to leave? You're still a long way off." The voice continued, "What is your relationship with the Devil Race? And what are you trying to do, impersonating this female cultivator?"
Qi Yaoji's brow twitched. She was now certain that this guy had been watching her for quite some time, otherwise he wouldn't have known that she was connected with the Devil Race, let alone that she wasn't Sang Ying.
"Senior is joking. I have always been Sang Ying. I am a righteous cultivator. How could I have any connection with the Devil Race?" At this moment Qi Yaoji naturally could not admit it.
But the voice, upon hearing this, merely scoffed coldly, "Lying!"
"Never mind, I hate these righteous cultivators anyway," the voice suddenly said again.
These words stirred Qi Yaoji's previously subdued thoughts again. She cautiously asked, "What do you mean by that, senior? Have righteous cultivators ever disrespected you?"
"Hmph, these hypocrites spouting benevolence and morality are nothing but empty words. They talk a good game, but aren't they all just after their own interests, willing to sacrifice others so easily?!" The owner of the voice roared in anger. "I thought this massive attack by the Devil Race would wipe out these hypocritical cultivators of the Flowing Light Sword Sect, but I didn't expect you to be so useless. So many days have passed, and you still haven't breached the Flowing Light Sword Sect's gates."
Qi Yaoji frowned. Although what he said wasn't wrong, those Devil Race were, after all, on her side, and Qi Yaoji still felt somewhat uncomfortable hearing it.
However, with more important matters at hand, Qi Yaoji held back her displeasure. "Senior is right, but the people from the Flowing Light Sword Sect here are too cunning. They even invited people from other small worlds, so we naturally can't defeat them for the time being."
She had already openly revealed her identity to the other party, which was a way of showing them sincerity.
Understanding the implication, the man said, "What's the big deal? These people are nothing but paper tigers. I heard a few days ago that those cultivators from outside have already received messages from their sects, telling them to hurry back to the Immortal Spirit Realm. The old, weak, sick, and disabled in the Flowing Light Sword Sect are also preparing to hide in the Myriad Phenomena Sect. They are no match for you at all; you should have launched a full-scale attack long ago!"
Qi Yaoji's eyes lit up. "Is what you're saying true, senior?"
"If you don't believe me, you can go back to your sect and test me. Consider this news as payment for the great gift you gave me today. Considering that you want to destroy the Flowing Light Sword Sect, I will let you go for now!" As soon as he finished speaking, the black mist surrounding Qi Yaoji slowly dissipated.
When she looked around again, she found that the illusion had dissipated and the path to the mountain gate had reappeared.
Qi Yaoji steadied herself, making sure she remembered the mysterious man's words, before heading back towards the mountain gate.
Meanwhile, a red fox quietly slipped into the city lord's mansion located at the foot of the Flowing Light Sword Sect Mountain.
The branch in Sang Ying's hand traced an arc in the moonlight, and a few wisps of faint Spiritual Qi slowly flowed into her body through the branch.
As she felt her Dantian slowly filling up, Sang Ying's tension and worry finally eased a little.
It was at this moment that the red fox suddenly appeared, but she dared not linger. She only dared to leave behind a small creature whose shape she could not see clearly before hurriedly climbing over the courtyard wall and escaping.
Almost instantly after she left, two Devil Race guards rushed in. Fortunately, Sang Ying had already reached the wall and gathered the things that had fallen to the ground under her skirt.
The two guards had come after sensing the strange atmosphere in the courtyard, but when they entered, they found only Sang Ying and the three remaining foxes.
One of the guards asked Sang Ying directly, "Did you see anything strange break in?"
Sang Ying answered truthfully, "The red fox that just ran away has returned, it seems to have come back to see her family. But she only glanced at it from the top of the wall and then quickly left."
The guards didn't completely believe her and searched the entire courtyard again. Only after confirming that no outsiders had broken in did they leave.
Sang Ying watched their figures disappear. After a long while, she casually bent down to pat the hem of her skirt and picked up the Storage Bag that the red fox had thrown to her earlier.
This is her Storage Bag.
A note from the author:
This part of the plot might be a little boring, but don't worry, it'll be over soon!
See you tomorrow~ (I have diarrhea today, I really can't write anymore, sob sob sob)