Chapter 185: Ten Nights of Tenderness

Jumping into the Bingzu Marsh, the ocean's chill instantly sobered Qi Wangshu and Zuoqiu Baiyuan. Afterward, the four of them swam underwater, heading west.

After this terrifying experience, the four had no desire for excitement; they only wanted to escape as far as possible.

It was an hour later when the four disembarked at a coastal fishing port.

Using their spiritual energy to dry their robes, they immediately took a detour towards the west city, re-entering through the West Gate.

They dared not use the closest inner city gate in the south, fearing surveillance, tracking, or ambush by experts from the Huaizong led by Yang Qingxi. They preferred to spend more time taking a long detour.

Along the way, the four sighed repeatedly, all vowing never to attend another free banquet.

"What level of expert was that monster beneath Qian Yan's human skin?" Li Weiyi asked Shi Shishi.

Although Li Weiyi had fought that monster in the chamber, after breaking through to the third stage of the Five Seas Realm, he lacked a clear understanding of his current combat power level.

His combat record against cultivators of the Sixth and Seventh Seas was blank, so he could only ask Shi Shishi, the strongest among the four.

Shi Shishi had taken a direct palm strike from Qian Yan. Fortunately, his protective spiritual soft armor allowed him to withstand it, but he was now completely dispirited: "That level of cultivation is comparable to the Dao Seed Realm; it must be a Legacy Holder-level existence. The fact that we escaped from him and even managed to injure him – if that feat gets out, it would certainly make us famous. Of course, it was all luck. If he had been serious from the start, I can't even imagine the outcome."

Qi Wangshu was greatly alarmed and somewhat disbelieving: "How can there be so many Legacy Holder experts in the world? Could we really survive encountering one?"

Shi Shishi said, "Someone who can casually block my Soaring Fist in haste cannot be anything less than a Legacy Holder-level figure."

Zuoqiu Baiyuan said, "Among the Infant Venerable's disciples, only Qi Jin and Cang Jin are Legacy Holder-level Ash Spirits, from the four – Hua, Qi, Ming, and Cang. As for Hua Yuzi and Ming Niansheng, they are descendants of the Flying Phoenix and Luan Bird bloodline."

Shi Shishi circulated his spiritual energy to heal, pondering and murmuring, "I wonder if it was Qi Jin or Cang Jin."

"If it truly was a Legacy Holder, it must have been Cang Jin, who has never appeared before," Li Weiyi said.

Shi Shishi asked curiously, "Brother Weiyi, how are you so sure?"

Li Weiyi sighed, unable to recall the experience without dread: "I've already dealt with Qi Jin! These Ash Spirits seem to prefer beautiful appearances, so everyone, pay attention to that in the future."

"Then I'm safe," Shi Shishi said with great self-awareness.

*Slap!*

"It's all my fault."

Qi Wangshu slapped himself hard: "Although Qian Yan and I are both cultivators from Zhizhou, I've only met him a few times and we weren't close. That's why I failed to realize that his true essence had already been replaced beneath his human skin. Now, recalling it carefully, his interactions with me were clearly to integrate into the Zhizhou cultivator community, to avoid being too solitary and drawing suspicion."

Li Weiyi did not blame him: "Brother Qi, there's no need to blame yourself. Unless one was extremely familiar with Qian Yan, who could have seen through the disguise of someone at Cang Jin's level?"

"Come on, I'll treat you. I must apologize to you two today, no matter what." While feeling guilty, Qi Wangshu also wished to befriend Li Weiyi, a person who could associate with Zuoqiu Ting and his sister.

Li Weiyi looked at Shi Shishi, expecting him to be eager to find a place to heal. Instead, upon hearing about a free feast, he was more enthusiastic than anyone else, completely forgetting his earlier complaints about never eating free banquets again.

Seeing Li Weiyi's preoccupied expression, Qi Wangshu quickly said, "No need to worry about Yang Qingxi and Cang Jin. Qiu Prefecture's capital city is vast, full of people, and we are currently in the West City. Let's find a lively but not overly high-profile place, and wait for news from the Bright Moon Seven Star Pavilion. I'm very curious to see how events unfold after Zhu Huan's death and Cang Jin's appearance."

Li Weiyi said, "Then let's find a place where we can also change our clothes. We should discard all our current attire or put it into our spatial bags."

Zuoqiu Baiyuan's expression grew solemn: "Brother Li, are you worried that Yang Qingxi and Cang Jin might have tampered with us? But we were in the sea for over an hour; everything should be completely washed clean."

"It's always better to be careful," Li Weiyi said. "Yang Qingxi and Cang Jin's cultivation levels are far superior to ours; who knows what methods they possess?"

Qi Wangshu said, "Let's listen to Brother Li. He's someone who can survive encounters with Qi Jin and Cang Jin; we're no match for him."

At a large restaurant in West City, near the inner city gate, the four changed their robes, checked every detail, and, refreshed, found the banquet on the second floor already prepared.

Dusk settled.

In the evening, the air temperature dropped significantly, and snowflakes began to drift down onto the streets outside.

Various news from the Bright Moon Seven Star Pavilion finally reached West City, sparking heated discussions among the restaurant's patrons.

"The Extreme West Ashlands are too arrogant! They actually publicly killed the Zhu Clan's Legacy Holder!"

"That Infant Venerable is simply unbelievable! Even Long Zhexian and Lu Cangsheng, the top two cultivators in the Eastern Realm, couldn't defeat him when they teamed up."

"That's impossible! Long Zhexian is known as the reincarnation of a true dragon, undefeated in a hundred battles, and is supposed to challenge Ge Xiantong for the title of the strongest among the younger generation. Lu Cangsheng is the only genius in the Thundercloud Sect in a thousand years to have mastered the Thirty-Six Thunderstrike Array in the Five Seas Realm. Together, they should be able to sweep away all enemies!"

More and more news poured in, causing a stir throughout the streets and alleys.

The most explosive news was undoubtedly the confrontation between Luan Shenglinyou and Ge Xiantong at Bingzu Marsh. After their battle, both vanished, their victory or defeat unknown.

There was also news that multiple "Dead Ash Lamp Extinctions" had occurred at the Bright Moon Seven Star Pavilion, resulting in heavy casualties among the younger generation of cultivators.

Hearing "Dead Ash Lamp Extinction," Zuoqiu Baiyuan's face turned extremely grim: "The Zuoqiu clan's greatest fear has come true!"

"What's wrong... What does 'Dead Ash Lamp Extinction' mean?" Qi Wangshu asked.

Zuoqiu Baiyuan explained, "Dead Ash are essentially like the suicide warriors cultivated by our human powers, but far more terrifying. The 'Dead Ash Lamp Extinction' they cultivate is a mutual destruction technique. Once activated, their bodies instantly glow with extreme brightness, like a lit lamp. Then they explode, burning a large area into an ashland, dying as the 'lamp' extinguishes. We're lucky we escaped!"

Qi Wangshu gasped, his scalp tingling. He couldn't imagine if they had encountered a Dead Ash instead of Cang Jin; would any of them still be alive?

"Since they are so dangerous, why doesn't the Zuoqiu clan directly dispatch their elders to root them out and kill them all?"

Zuoqiu Baiyuan sighed, "Because the Extreme West Ashlands are so powerful, the combined strength of all twenty-eight Lingxiao Prefectures might not be able to defeat them. They have transcendent beings right here in the city, who have already negotiated rules with the Zuoqiu clan's Ancestor and the Immortal Master of Du'e Temple."

As Shuzhou was close to the Western Realm, Shi Shishi was quite knowledgeable about the Extreme West Ashlands. While devouring the food on the table, he said, "No one can do whatever they please in this world. Although the Extreme West Ashlands are powerful, the threat of the Nether Realm of the Departed also makes them restless.

"In this world, everyone has their place. Only when the balance is broken will things change."

"It could be because one side suddenly becomes much stronger, or because one side suddenly becomes much weaker."

"The world's grand scheme is too far removed from us; we only see the surface," Li Weiyi said, deep in thought. "Just now, I heard someone say that Long Ting is dead and that an Ash Spirit replaced him under his skin, which is why he suddenly attacked and killed Zhu Huan. If this is true, what is the Extreme West Ashlands' objective? Is it merely to strike at the Zhu Clan?"

"If it was only to kill Zhu Huan, the Infant Venerable could have done it directly. Why expose Long Ting?"

In the Nether Realm of the Departed, Jiang Ning had pursued Long Ting. It was during this chase that he was ambushed by Yuwen Tuozhen, the young lord of Night City, and by Dao Di and Mie Di, falling victim to the Night Emperor Toad poison.

Thus, the possibility of Long Ting being killed and his skin taken at that time exists.

However, this assassination incident has too many suspicious points.

If Cang Jin was inside Qian Yan, then who was inside Long Ting? It couldn't possibly be Qi Jin, could it?

Are there other Ash Spirit experts?

Zuoqiu Baiyuan said, "The Myriad Gates Zhu Clan, reigning supreme in the Western Realm, has always been a sworn enemy of the Extreme West Ashlands. The Infant Venerable probably worried that if the Zhu Clan cooperated with the Dragon Gate and Thundercloud Sect at the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, they would consider him their primary enemy. Therefore, he used this move to divide the parties in advance."

"With Zhu Huan dead in plain sight, will the Zhu Clan still trust the Dragon Gate? Who would believe that a figure like Long Zhexian couldn't tell that an Ash Spirit was beneath Long Ting's human skin?"

"Lu Cangsheng probably suspects Long Zhexian now. The cooperation between the Thundercloud Sect and the Dragon Gate will surely suffer a rift because of this."

Shi Shishi said, "The strongest among the younger generation in the Western Realm isn't Zhu Huan, but his hundredth granduncle, Zhu Yibai. It's said that Zhu Yibai has been honing his skills in the military, achieving illustrious battle merits. The eight mutated riders he personally trained possess a terrifying combat power capable of sweeping through cultivators of the same generation."

Zuoqiu Baiyuan nodded: "East Dragon, West Pig, South Tiger, North Sword. This 'West Pig' refers not to Zhu Huan, but to Granduncle Bai, Zhu Yibai. It's said he's already on his way to Qiu Prefecture's capital city. If Long Zhexian can't capture Long Ting and provide an explanation, Granduncle Bai will absolutely refuse to cooperate with them. The Infant Venerable has used an open scheme; now no one knows the true situation with Long Ting."

Li Weiyi chuckled, "This Granduncle Bai, he doesn't happen to have ninety-nine older brothers, does he?"

All three nodded seriously in unison.

"That transcendent being of the Zhu Clan has always considered his bloodline extraordinary, which is why he frequently has offspring. Zhu Yibai is his youngest son, but his seniority is higher than many Longevity Realm magnates, so everyone in the world calls him Granduncle Bai," Zuoqiu Baiyuan explained.

Night fell, and streetlights lit up, one by one.

The snow seemed to be falling heavier.

After a hearty meal, everyone had recovered from their fright.

Li Weiyi temporarily stopped pondering the world's grand affairs, or who was first rank, or who was the world's strongest. None of that concerned him for now.

He was merely a minor figure in the third stage of the Five Seas Realm. Today, he considered it an experience of the world. Figures like Long Zhexian, Ge Xiantong, Hua Yuzi, and the Infant Venerable – he only heard their formidable reputations but saw none of them.

Breaking through another realm before the year-end and securing an invitation to the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival was his immediate priority.

As for those famous immortals and demons, let them fight it out!

The countless stars shimmered, observable but out of reach.

Stepping out of the restaurant and standing under the streetlights, watching the bustling crowd, Li Weiyi had found his place. He was just one of the nameless, countless cultivators on the street, several tiers below them, not yet in their world.

The shifting tides of the world, fame, fortune, and empire.

His own wind had not yet arrived...

"Where is that scent coming from?"

Li Weiyi sniffed, then raised his arm to smell it closely.

He sniffed towards Shi Shishi, Qi Wangshu, and Zuoqiu Baiyuan, finally returning to himself. He declared, "The scent is on me!"

Shi Shishi said, "What scent? Meat? Wine? We just finished eating; isn't that normal?"

"It's a floral scent... and also like a woman's body fragrance. That's impossible; after changing clothes, I haven't had any contact with women or touched any flowers or plants." Li Weiyi dared not be careless; success or failure often hinged on details.

The other three were all martial arts experts, but after sniffing in unison, they all shook their heads, indicating they smelled nothing.

Li Weiyi said, "My sense of smell is far superior to other cultivators at the same realm. I'm very sure there's a scent, and it's emanating from my skin, unrelated to my clothes."

Qi Wangshu said, "At the Bright Moon Seven Star Pavilion, Yang Qingxi was sitting next to you. Could she have done something? But after soaking in the sea for so long, any scent should be gone! Besides, if there was an unusual scent, Brother Li would surely have smelled it before; why would he only discover it now?"

Li Weiyi nodded gently, finding Qi Wangshu's words not unreasonable.

Perhaps he accidentally touched something in the restaurant just now.

Shi Shishi looked at the streetlights, which filled the street, and the sky, which was like a black cavern. Suddenly, something occurred to him: "Could it be Ten Nights' Entanglement?"

"What's that?"

The other three present were all puzzled.

Shi Shishi explained, "It's a special, peculiar scent. Once it attaches to you, it won't dissipate for ten days, and you can't wash it off unless you literally peel off your skin! What's even stranger is that during the day, the affected person won't smell anything, but at night, the scent will start to emanate."

"Once it drifts on the wind, a peculiar insect-level bee-like creature can detect it from a hundred miles away."

"My good sister, Shi Qiqing, raises these types of bee-like insects and possesses this peculiar scent, which she uses to mark the men she fancies."

Zuoqiu Baiyuan said, "Let's not scare ourselves. Even if such a night-blooming fragrance truly exists in the world, it must be extremely rare."

Li Weiyi shook his head gently: "I'm almost certain Yang Qingxi applied the Ten Nights' Entanglement to me. It's been nearly an hour since nightfall, and the scent would have already drifted out. She could appear before me at any moment, like a vengeful female ghost."

His words sent shivers down the other three's spines, making them all uneasy.

Qi Wangshu asked curiously, "Brother Li, how are you so certain?"

"Do you remember what Yang Qingxi said when she left today? She told me that 'night roads are perilous, and everyone is prey.' At the time, I was very confused, wondering why she would say that when it was clearly midday," Li Weiyi said.

"I remember now; she did say something like that."

Shi Shishi panicked, his small eyes darting around.

Li Weiyi immediately donned a night-traveling robe and used his spiritual energy to suppress his body's scent, hoping to cut off the source of the fragrance. He then swiftly moved away from the restaurant with the other three.