novelraw Chapter 107 : Connections of the Nether Lord
Chapter 107 : Connections of the Nether Lord
Chapter 107: Connections of the Nether Lord
“The strongest race? Let me think, probably the Demon Race.”
Lu Changyuan asked in confusion: “The Demon Race?”
On one of the branches of the World Tree stood a massive, clear lake. This place was where the life force of the World Tree converged.
The World Tree’s life force was divided into two parts. The stronger half was collected by the Spirit Clan and called the Water of Life.
The weaker half gathered in this lake. Bathing here could calm the mind and spirit, repairing hidden injuries.
In the past, this had been a place for the royal family alone, later becoming a forbidden ground where only Chi and Lan could come.
Now that Chi and Lan were absent—
Naturally, it was taken over by the Nether Lord.
“Why not come in?”
The girl openly slipped out of her black dress and threw it into Lu Changyuan’s hands before sinking into the lake.
She turned her face slightly, lips parting as she asked why her guardian spirit had not entered the water.
Most of what Lu Changyuan saw was the girl’s back.
Moonlight traced the delicate line of her slender back, droplets sliding down along smooth curves, splashing into the water and forming faint rings of silver.
The girl cupped some lake water. As the stream leaked through her fingers, her skin appeared even more jade-like.
Her ink-black hair floated in the water, a few strands clinging to her snow-like neck—black against white—like a streak of light in the night, breathtakingly beautiful.
Lu Changyuan did not lower his head.
The sight was somewhat dazzling.
So he simply looked.
Looked openly. Since the Nether Lord did not forbid looking, Lu Changyuan naturally watched without psychological burden.
“Of course it’s the Demon Race.”
“Why?”
“Because ‘Demon Race’ is only a unified term. The groups inside are actually counted separately.”
Lu Changyuan instantly understood what the Nether Lord meant.
The Demon Race was a large collective name—tiger race, ape race, crane race, all these tribes together were called the Demon Race.
Who could win against the Demon Race, such a huge family?
“Seems you’ve realized it too.” Under the night, the girl’s lips appeared even redder than cherries, carrying an enticing softness: “The Heavenly Dao grants honorific titles to races one by one. But when it comes to the Demon Race, it grants them to the smaller tribes instead.”
In other words, the Demon Race did not have just one honorific title.
The tiger race had one, the ape race had one, and the others had one too.
Lu Changyuan suddenly asked: “Which tribe of the Demon Race is the strongest now?”
“The ape race.”
The ape race was the strongest?
That did not match what Lu Changyuan had known.
By the time he cultivated immortality, even within the Demon Race the ape race could not lift its head. Instead, the fox race had become the strongest.
There was a reason for this.
The fox race itself was not particularly strong, but according to them, their ancestor had been formidable. During ancient internal conflicts among the Demon Race, that ancestor devoured many demon bloodlines, giving the fox race a strong foundation.
Later, during the era of Daoist Chang’an, in order to maintain the Demon Race’s division, since the fox race had good roots, he chose them.
Thus, under Daoist Chang’an’s decrees, the Pleasure Sect and the fox race formed a close connection.
With already good bloodlines and humans supporting them from behind, the fox race naturally flourished within the Demon Race, eventually surpassing the tiger race and becoming the head of all demons.
He had not expected that in ancient times, it was actually the ape race that stood strongest.
The Nether Lord spoke mildly: “Mm, the ape race has a remarkable monkey, born with double pupils, possessing immense strength.”
What kind of strange creature was that?
“Though the conflicts within the Demon Race are also quite serious.”
The girl’s words pulled Lu Changyuan out of his thoughts. Suddenly, he found his body floating up before falling into the lake with a splash.
He was drenched all over.
“Come, help your master press her shoulders, wash her.”
Lu Changyuan felt himself being controlled. The imprint belonging to Feather warmed slightly, and his hands unconsciously touched the girl’s smooth, tender skin.
Thus, Lu Changyuan and the Nether Lord were extremely close. The girl even shifted her hips back a little, leaning into Lu Changyuan’s chest, allowing him a clear view of her sculpted, stunning beauty.
Wow.
The chief of Jade Palace truly was a tigress.
The Nether Lord seemed unaware: “In a while, you’ll go with me to Mount Long. I have some connection with that red fox of the fox race. We agreed to meet there… use more strength, are you afraid of hurting me?”
Lu Changyuan increased his strength by thirty percent. The girl narrowed her eyes slightly, as if enjoying it very much.
For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of water and the slide of hands over smooth skin.
“You are mine, understand?”
“Mm.”
Although he did not know why the Nether Lord suddenly said this, agreeing at this moment was definitely safer.
“So no matter what happens, you must not leave me.”
“Mm.”
The Nether Lord was indeed a lonely person.
The girl abruptly tilted her head back. Lu Changyuan could see her delicate chin and collarbones. He wondered whether Qiu Yuehan had a similar temperament, only concealed beneath the nature of the chief true disciple of Jade Palace, so outsiders could not tell.
Since Lu Changyuan was behind her, he could only see her face upside down. Her cherry-red lips parted, revealing a tender red mouth.
“Haa.”
For no particular reason, the Nether Lord blew out a breath—beautiful without restraint. A point of red lip bloomed like a pomegranate blossom, thick eyelashes fluttering with indescribable emotion.
“I like you like this. And I like humans—more than I like the Spirit Clan.”
Lu Changyuan did look good.
Otherwise, back when he was young, he would not have startled that little fairy and remained in her thoughts for so many years.
The Nether Lord’s voice seemed to ripple from the lake: “Things are too chaotic, so the Heavenly Dao must end this era of turmoil.”
It was unclear what she was lamenting.
Lu Changyuan watched a droplet slide slowly down from the girl’s collarbone.
~~~~~~~
滴答滴答.
It fell into the water.
Qiu Yuehan stared at her own reflection in the cold pool of Heavenly Mountain. Her beautiful face was clearly reflected within.
“Senior Sister? Senior Sister?”
Qiu Yuehan finally returned to herself.
“Junior Sister?”
“Senior Sister seems to be getting distracted very easily these past days. Did something happen?”
Qiu Yuehan shook her head. She dared not say she had been thinking about that old demon.
Xia Lianxue had also entered the cold pool with her. Both wore thin, cicada-wing light gauze garments, because today the cold pool had one fewer Jiang Jiayi and one more Little Ancestor of Cihang Palace.
Neither of them had yet grown used to Su Youwan’s presence.
The silver-haired girl somehow drifted to Xia Lianxue’s side: “Miss Xia seems a bit different from us.”
Qiu Yuehan took a while to react before understanding Su Youwan’s meaning.
In this cold pool, she and Su Youwan were still inexperienced girls, while their junior sister had already married.
Xia Lianxue was speechless under Su Youwan’s bluntness.
From her perspective as well, she felt that this Little Ancestor of Cihang Palace was unbelievably beautiful.
Why would someone cultivating the Dao look so good?
Weren’t those who were supposed to be pure-hearted and desireless usually orange-skinned old Daoist nuns?
Qiu Yuehan drifted off again. Thinking of her junior sister being married, perhaps having children in the future… raising children?
“Senior Sister? Why is your face so red?”
“The water is too hot…”
Xia Lianxue stared at Qiu Yuehan as if seeing a ghost, and even the Little Ancestor of Cihang Palace beside her looked stunned.
What joke was this—this was the cold pool. How could the cold pool be too hot?
“Senior Sister, are you all right?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine.”
Qiu Yuehan was obviously absent-minded. Just moments ago, something inexplicable had suddenly appeared in her mind… she had held the old demon in her arms and was feeding the old demon.
Absurd!
Qiu Yuehan bit her lip, her hand touching her demon mark.
She must not fall into the old demon’s hands. She needed to think of a way to protect herself.
Before long, Qiu Yuehan left Heavenly Mountain early and returned to her room.
It was still early. The sky had yet to darken. Sunlight passed through the lattice windows, casting beautiful shadows.
After changing her clothes, she gazed at herself in the bronze mirror, frowning slightly.
In the mirror, the woman had a red flower ornament on her forehead, black hair cascading like a waterfall, beautiful as the moon at night.
Disharmonious.
Qiu Yuehan thought so.
The standard clothing of Jade Palace was pure white with gold trim, making the wearer appear ethereal like an immortal. Normally, she did not care about clothes and always wore her embroidered white lotus robes.
But today she suddenly felt they did not suit her.
This white attire felt… uncomfortable?
Forget it, she would make do.
Cultivators had few requirements for clothing anyway.
Qiu Yuehan sat cross-legged on the bed, feeling a bit annoyed. Yet she did not know where this emotion came from—perhaps from the moment her mother came out of the anklet and told her she would return to the village.
Many times in her past years of cultivation, Qiu Yuehan had heard disciples in the palace mention their parents.
Just like her and Xia Lianxue, girls who had grown up in Jade Palace since childhood were rare. Most people only entered the palace when they were old enough to understand matters.
Whenever those graceful girls missed their parents, they would talk about amusing things from the past.
Qiu Yuehan would eavesdrop.
Expressionlessly eavesdrop.
She often wondered what kind of people her own parents were, and why they had abandoned her.
Her parents did not want her and threw her into the village. The village did not want her either and sent her to Jade Palace when she was only a few years old.
It made her feel as if no one wanted her.
Now she knew—they had not abandoned her; they had died.
That was good.
She once thought that when she had the ability in the future, she would find her parents and ask why they had left her in the village.
That final hope was gone… but if it was gone, then so be it.
The Supreme Pure-Spirit Forget-Immortal Technique circulated, and Qiu Yuehan once again became calm as still water.
This cultivation method truly suited her too well.
So well that she genuinely wanted to take the old demon as her master… if she did, would that count as having someone familiar?
Qiu Yuehan was actually a very solitary person.
She had a barrier between herself and all disciples of Jade Palace.
Occasionally, she had thought of building better relations with the disciples in the palace and had even tried to change herself, but she ultimately failed.
Qiu Yuehan always felt she could not connect with others. She had no one she could speak to—only recently, because her junior sister kept dragging her everywhere, she could at least converse with her.
But her junior sister was married.
And she married the old demon.
As the saying went, a married fairy was like water thrown out—her junior sister would live elsewhere with the old demon in the future.
Then she would once again have no one to talk to.
Qiu Yuehan shook her head and rose to her feet. She did not want to continue meditating; instead, she felt a bit sleepy.
Not long ago, she heard Bai Lu say that disciples of White Domain Dao Sect slept at night.
She said it complied with the Heavenly Dao—rising at sunrise, resting at sunset—so Qiu Yuehan gradually prepared to sleep at night as well.
But it was not yet night.
Tomorrow she still needed to go with her junior sister to the Spirit Clan… Qiu Yuehan bit her lip, then opened the door and descended the mountain.
The winter sun liked to be lazy, preparing to sink early and rest. Qiu Yuehan took advantage of the remaining, feeble sunlight and went down the mountain.
At this time, the mortal dynasty at the foot of White Domain Dao Sect’s mountain was still bustling with people, incredibly lively.
She did not know what festival they were celebrating.
Qiu Yuehan found a spot and descended from the sky, stealthily stepping onto the street. She looked left, looked right; her eyesight was excellent, and she quickly spotted a cloth shop.
She stepped inside the shop.
The female shopkeeper straightened in surprise: “This… Immortal Fairy, first time here? You look unfamiliar. What kind of fabric would you like?”
Before Qiu Yuehan could speak, the shopkeeper continued: “I understand, I understand. Down the mountain for a mission, right? Immortals from White Domain Dao Sect come every few days.”
“Mm… yes, a mission.”
“Does Immortal Fairy have a style in mind? I have not only fabrics but also finished clothing. Most fairies from White Domain Dao Sect buy their clothes here.”
Qiu Yuehan could not help asking: “All buy them here?”
“Yes. Immortal Fairy isn’t here to buy clothing?” the shopkeeper asked in confusion.
“I… am here to buy clothing.”
The shopkeeper naturally said: “I thought so. What style or color does Immortal Fairy want? I don’t understand cultivation matters, but I always felt that cultivators should still spend some time on their appearance. Oh—and not far away there’s a shop selling cosmetics. Immortal Fairy can take a look later.”
Qiu Yuehan shook her head. It suddenly made sense why the female disciples of White Domain Dao Sect dressed in so many colors—bright reds, greens—unlike the uniform snowy white of Jade Palace.
Thus Qiu Yuehan pointed at a set of cloth not far away: “This fabric will do.”
She paid in silver and picked up the cloth, but the shopkeeper then asked: “Do you not need us to make the clothing?”
Qiu Yuehan did not understand the procedure.
The shopkeeper smiled mysteriously: “The shop has a tailor who is also a cultivator. In half an hour, he can sew the clothing for you. It’s just…”
Qiu Yuehan said calmly: “How much extra?”
The shopkeeper held up a number: “It’s nearly night. After finishing your clothing, we’ll close for the day.”
“Do it. Make it according to the style of the clothes I’m wearing now. I will come back in half an hour.”
Cultivators generally did not care much for money. Qiu Yuehan had saved quite a lot from her missions over the years, but she never had the chance to spend it. Her first time going down the mountain to choose clothing for herself—and she was ruthlessly overcharged.
But she did not mind.
“What festival is today?”
The shopkeeper let out an “oh” and replied cheerfully: “Winter Solstice is near. The custom here is to hold the river-lantern festival ahead of time.”
Qiu Yuehan walked onto the street and suddenly felt her Red Dust Sword Dao stir.
Slowly, she approached the river. People had already lit orange lotus lanterns floating on the water. Flickers of light drifted downstream farther and farther away.
They were truly beautiful.
Nearby came the playful laughter of children and the murmurs of lovers.
Peace was truly wonderful.
The Red Dust Dao lay within moments like these.
Qiu Yuehan felt her eyes warmed by the liveliness around her, and something sprouted and revived deep within her heart.
A distant memory surged into her mind.
~~~~~~~~~~
“We humans, ah, have lived through bitter hardships. That’s why we know the beauty of life.”
The old woman was named Long. It was said she was born at Mount Long, thus gaining the name Granny Long.
Granny Long’s parents had been killed by another race. Only she had survived, and from then on she trained diligently and became the strongest among this human group.
She was a powerful peak Second Realm, close to the Third Realm.
Granny Long continued: “Life is precious. As long as you’re alive, there is hope. Oh right, what kind of clothes do you like? When there’s a gathering among humans later, I’ll find you nice clothes.”
The human race was known across the myriad races for farming and weaving.
Granny Long had no husband and no descendants. After picking up Qiu Yuehan, she raised her as her daughter.
At first, the girl had thought that after returning to the human tribe, she would be bullied—after all, she was not of the human race. The gap between races was simply too wide.
Yet that was not the case. Those overly kind humans did not bully her at all. They even brought her sweet fruits to eat.
Perhaps this was because Spirit Clan generally did not bully humans.
Qiu Yuehan asked softly: “Grandmother, what kind of clothes do you think suit me?”
Granny Long smiled: “You must choose that yourself.”
“Just a simple black dress.”
She no longer wanted beautiful clothes. The Spirit Clan liked wearing blue, white, or green garments, but she no longer wished to wear such eye-catching colors. Black was fine. Hidden in the night, no one could see her.
Granny Long patted her head: “We’ll talk about that later. For now, we must bring back food.”
They were out hunting.
Winter was approaching, and this human group was running low on food. Qiu Yuehan had followed the old woman to hunt for the tribe.
Granny Long murmured: “Hm?”
From the distant forest came sudden movement—an especially sharp beastly roar.
They approached. Granny Long gestured for silence.
Qiu Yuehan nodded and parted the grass.
What she saw was a group of white foxes surrounding a red fox, snarling disdainfully.
The red fox’s leg was injured, but it still held its head high, glaring warily at the others.
The fox race?
Qiu Yuehan knew their internal hierarchy well—pure white fur was the most noble, ordinary unawakened red foxes were the lowest.
The scene before them was likely internal bullying.
That red fox had probably gained intelligence but was still rejected by the white foxes, hence was bullied and bitten until its leg was injured.
The leading three-tailed white fox barked twice arrogantly at the red fox before lifting its head proudly and leaving with the others.
“Do you know what they were doing?”
Qiu Yuehan whispered softly: “The fox race is strict in hierarchy. That red fox probably angered the three-tailed white fox, so it was expelled from the tribe.”
After a while, when the group of white foxes had completely disappeared, the red fox collapsed weakly onto the ground.
Qiu Yuehan looked at Granny Long: “I’ll go take a look.”
She remembered herself—also expelled from her tribe.
The red fox lifted its head defensively. When it saw Qiu Yuehan approach, it arched its back tensely and snarled again, as if wanting to attack her.
But it was too injured, and it was only a juvenile fox—it could not even stand properly.
Granny Long said: “It’s a young female fox.”
Qiu Yuehan walked over and slapped the red fox twice, leaving it dizzy: “Stop yelping.”
She turned to Granny Long: “Grandmother, the fox race is best at finding prey. If we take it back and treat its in juries, since it has gained intelligence, I can communicate with it. For this winter, the tribe’s food supply will likely be secured.”