NFBE Chapter 629 Not Bought Off by Candied Hawthorns
Chapter 629 Not Bought Off by Candied Hawthorns
"You should know that the spirit of Jinyue Lake within the vortex must have been completely corrupted by demonic energy..."
Shang Ling gazed quietly into Xue Lan's clear gray eyes.
"They will most likely not remember you, the Demon Lord, when we meet again, and we will most likely have to fight each other."
Even so, are you still going down?
Xue Lan nodded slightly, her eyes resolute:
"Yes!"
“I am the creator of Jinyue Lake Grotto, I am their master.”
"I cannot let them not find peace even in death."
The people of Jinyue Lake have always believed that the white wolf that protects them can bring good weather, abundant harvests, and peace and prosperity to the country.
Xue Lan will not let them down.
"In that case...you may go."
Shang Ling sighed softly and agreed.
"At the fifteenth hour, the Void Vortex will appear beneath my roots. At that time, you can use your Nascent Soul to enter the upper part of the Falling Moon Well..."
Shang Ling paused suddenly at this point.
The woman took a green branch from her sleeve and handed it to Xue Lan:
"If Lord Wolf has the time, please go and see Yuejun for me."
Yue Jun is the Moon Toad Demon Lord who sealed himself forever beneath the Falling Moon Well.
Xue Lan reached out and took the branch:
Do I need to say something?
Shang Ling seemed to be stumped by Xue Lan's question. After pondering for a while, she looked up at the moon, which was gradually moving westward.
“Tell him…” the woman’s voice was gentle and sorrowful:
"The moon is still here, and the Yuanming Realm is still here."
Xue Lan nodded solemnly:
"it is good!"
The method Xue Lan devised for Zhu He to temper his spiritual root was far more rigorous than the one she had done at the Wan Gong Fang. After all, even if her junior brother possessed innate sword bones, he didn't have her divine consciousness that had been adrift in the river of time for thousands of years.
If you lose consciousness while refining your spiritual root, your soul will be burned.
To solve this problem, Xue Lan had been urging Yan Chengxue, who was extremely busy every day, to research a method to stabilize her soul for the past two years.
Of course, it wasn't all for nothing; Master Refiner Xue received a new generation of weapon-refining orders from his friend.
There was no understanding between them, only constant embarrassment and more embarrassment.
"No wonder Xue Lan didn't come herself."
In a secret realm deep within the East Sea, the inner demon looked at the array diagram in his hand and sighed.
Although Yan Chengxue and Xue Lan sometimes disliked each other, they still cared deeply about each other's affairs. Regarding the array in the Heart Demon's hands, the three nested arrays perfectly considered the chaotic nature of Xue Lan's qi. The layers upon layers meticulously separated the connections of qi, essentially drilling holes and threading a needle for Xue Lan to sew along.
The inner demon couldn't help but sigh again:
"How virtuous she is!"
Unfortunately, Master Yan underestimated Xue Lan.
The chaotic energy around Lord Wolf King intensified as her memories resurfaced and entangled with cause and effect, to the point that wherever she went, chaos ensued, a situation that could not be resolved by a fully automated formation.
"As expected, you still have to rely on me!"
After praising himself openly, the inner demon waved his hand, and the array diagram in his hand slowly floated in mid-air. Three arrays on it detached from the diagram and emerged, transforming into three array plates in mid-air.
On the three array plates, two gold and one silver, the array flags rotated continuously, searching for the best position as they were pulled by the spiritual power of the inner demon.
"He's a genius."
Wu Jin, who had been watching the inner demons set up their formation, suddenly spoke up.
"Are they from the upper realm?"
The inner demon gently shook its head:
"He is a genius from the lower realm, someone Xue Lan values."
"Could such a genius exist in the lower realms?"
Wu Jin took a few steps forward towards the array that was suspended in mid-air and gradually embedding itself into the surrounding terrain, and felt inexplicably that it looked familiar. So she couldn't help but speak again:
"Who is this formation master from?"
The inner demon knew she would ask that question.
The woman in white looked at Wu Jin with a smile:
"He was born under Master Chen of the Mingyangchuan War Puppet Mansion in the lower realm, and is currently learning formations from the Demon Lord Lei Kui at Luoxia Mountain."
"It's really him."
Wu Jin sighed softly.
"Sister Shang has many of Lei Kui Demon Lord's formations."
Before the demon calamity struck, all the ancient demon lords were close friends.
Lei Kui resides on the shore of the East Sea, with Fusang supporting the sky and Tongtian Qingliu controlling the vitality of the Yuanming Realm, where spring brings forth life and summer brings growth.
The moon toad and golden crow roam the heavens and earth, where humans, demons, ghosts, and gods coexist in harmony.
These are all stories that Shang Ling told her, containing her deepest memories and longings.
The inner demon carefully set up all the formations, and heard the golden crow beside him sigh softly:
"Youth will never come again."
The inner demon stared intently at Wu Jin, only to be met with a soft, smiling whisper:
"Even the Wolf King, who has the most talent in the way of time and space over the past ten thousand years, cannot do so."
The inner demon slowly withdrew its gaze:
“I didn’t say I could.”
The woman bit her fingertip, drawing a talisman in mid-air with her blood as she spoke:
"The river of time in the Yuanming Realm is like the Falling Moon Well, broken by the catastrophe ten thousand years ago. No matter how talented people in later generations are, they can travel back in time, but they cannot cross the chasm of fate."
Wu Jin didn't know what was wrong with her. Although the person in front of her was saying discouraging things, a hint of eagerness flashed in his icy blue eyes.
As expected of the Wolf King of the Northern Region River?
Even the inner demons are just as proud and unrestrained.
In addition to Yan Chengxue's three-layered formation, Xue Lan added eighteen soul-awakening talismans.
The Soul-Awakening Talisman, as the name suggests, is a talisman used to keep one's soul awake. It is one of Xue Lan's proudest creations from her previous life's research into soul arts. It is arranged in groups of nine, representing Heaven, Earth, and Man; Wind, Thunder, and Moon; and Illusion and Reality, and Clarity.
The nine talismans, intertwined and mutually reinforcing, essentially encompass all the emotional attachments of a person in the first half of their life, ensuring that Zhu He's lost soul can be pulled back in every way.
Moreover, Lord Wolf King was worried about his foolish junior brother, so he specially added another set of blessings that connected him to his life experiences.
The inner demon is drawn with a somewhat angry expression.
The basic set of awakening talismans wasn't difficult; Xinmo finished it in no time. What gave her a headache was the set of awakening talismans that Xue Lan had tailored for Zhu He.
This set of talismans also includes a catalyst prepared by Xue Lan, each of which is meant to connect with pure spiritual energy and be integrated into the talisman.
This primer was actually something Xue Lan had gathered from the Xuanhuang Sect that was related to the Zhu River.
The inner demon flipped through the blueprints in his hand, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.
Zhu He would never have imagined that the light sword that cut off half of his arm when he was a teenager was not destroyed by Xue Lan, but instead remained dormant in Xue Lan's vast collection as a trace of his growth.
The inner demon couldn't help but tap Xue Lan:
"You really pack everything!"
The Void Vortex will open at midnight on the 15th, which is exactly two days and two hours from now. The Wolf Lord, bored out of his mind, was gazing at the moon on a small stool when he suddenly heard the voice of his inner demon and smiled slightly.
"I think it will always come in handy."
"But……"
Xue Lan slapped her thigh:
"Just tell me, is it useful or not?"
Unable to refute, the inner demon had no choice but to settle for a second catalyst:
"Does Lian Chuan know that you've taken his wolf fangs?"
"I know!"
Xue Lan got really excited when this was mentioned. The woman in black raised her hand and snapped her fingers lightly. The small stool beneath her transformed into a large pear wood recliner with a wisp of smoke.
Lord Wolf nestled comfortably inside, seemingly intending to sleep there forever:
"These few were snatched up by Zhu He and me together."
The inner demon had been dormant for a long time and was unaware that Xue Lan had done such despicable things, so it immediately began to criticize him.
But then I thought, this is Xue Lan...
She could even use the demon god's tooth as a catalyst for Zhu He, which would be understandable.
"and many more……"
Xue Lan waved her hand from inside the recliner:
"What are you thinking? The Demon God's Big Tooth?"
"If it were a demon god, I wouldn't leave a single ashes behind."
The inner demon frowned and clicked its tongue softly. It looked quite displeased.
She felt that she had fallen into Xue Lan's trap.
Ever since she received Xue Lan's demon soul power during the great battle with Ting Nu, she has often been inexplicably spied on by Xue Lan, who then mocks her mercilessly.
Although the eavesdropping was mutual, and she was sharp-tongued, she was still unhappy.
The woman continued drawing talismans with her fingertips, her tone vicious as she said:
"If you ever eavesdrop on my thoughts again, I'll tell the whole world about all the crazy things you've done."
Xue Lan gasped softly, then clapped her hands in admiration:
"You've made progress, and you've become quite cunning too."
The inner demon wanted to curse her even more.
Manipulating the blood imbued with pure spiritual power at his fingertips to draw the final soul-awakening talisman, the inner demon sensed Xue Lan once more.
Then she realized that the man was really asleep, curled up in the recliner, his usually pale face mostly hidden in the darkness.
The clear moonlight fell on her, making her look as if she were dead.
As the eighteen Soul-Awakening Talismans scattered and merged into the formation, the inner demon couldn't help but speak:
"Are you really comfortable with my spiritual root being used by Zhu He Rong?"
Xue Lan raised her hand and used her wide sleeve to cover her entire head:
"Xue Lan is asleep."
The inner demons' anger flared up instantly:
"Can you be any more childish!"
Xue Tong saw the previously lazy Wolf Lord suddenly spring up from his recliner:
"Don't be angry. I'm just conserving my energy."
Lord Wolf, sleeves rolled up, smiled in a harmless manner:
"I had no other choice."
The woman's icy voice echoed in the demon's mind:
"After all, I just used Lu Feng to complete the storyline not long ago."
The inner demon suddenly understood.
Xue Lan didn't want to personally oversee the fusion of Zhu He's roots; rather, she was afraid that the plot power, which transcended the Heavenly Dao, would cause some more trouble.
Although the plot has rarely touched on Xue Lan's attempts to change people's fates since the incident involving Long Siyin and Ji Yan...
But what if?
What if the plot determines that Zhu He must die a terrible death and lose that innate sword bone that is crucial to his life?
The inner demon knew that Xue Lan dared not gamble.
Renowned throughout both the upper and lower realms, the Wolf King, who is known for his gambles and close encounters with demons, is extremely meticulous in matters concerning those around him.
They are meticulous to the point that they always make thorough preparations.
The woman turned her gaze back to the arrangement of the formation and spoke calmly:
"You expected this to happen."
“That’s right.” Xue Lan nodded with a smile, then slumped back in the recliner as if she had no bones.
"This isn't the first or second time I've clashed with the plot. If I couldn't even predict this, wouldn't I be the biggest fool in the Yuanming Realm?"
The inner demon's expression froze, and he gritted his teeth, saying:
"Can't you live a day without stabbing me?"
"It's not like we can't survive." Xue Lan fiddled with her fingers, her gray-white glass eyes quietly gazing at the moon above.
“It’s just boring.”
The grand array for fusing spiritual roots was gradually completed, and the inner demon raised his hand to cast the final spell upon it:
"Lord Wolf King, you foresaw that the plot might turn out badly, so why didn't you save your life in the Demon Realm?"
"With the deficit reaching this point, they probably don't even have the energy to strategize the plot anymore."
Xue Lan knew that the inner demon was right, so she didn't rush to refute it.
Lord Wolf raised his hand to block the moon, and a sliver of cool moonlight shone through his open fingers, falling on the woman's eyes like a silver veil.
A stray strand of hair was carefully tucked behind her ear, and Xue Lan heard the girl's slightly worried voice:
"Xue Lan".
It's Xue Tong.
Xue Lan turned her head slightly and responded softly:
"what happened?"
Xue Tong was standing by the recliner, looking down at Xue Lan, with a soul-guiding object that had shrunk to the size of a fist floating in front of her.
The girl raised her hand and held the soul guide in her palm:
"Xiao Hun says something's wrong with you."
Xue Lan glanced at the Soul Guide and thought to herself that he truly deserved to be the chosen successor of the Law of Reincarnation.
The Wolf King, who had just lain down and exchanged a few words, got up again and reached out to his adorable little daughter:
"Come."
"Your Majesty!"
Yinhun waved her little hands and bumped into Xue Lan's arms, grabbing his clothes and refusing to let go.
"Your Majesty...you're thinking about dangerous things again."
The Wolf King, who was just about to comfort his daughter, froze and gently patted the little head of the Soul-Guarding One.
"I wasn't thinking about anything dangerous."
"I don't believe it, I can smell it."
The soul guide was held in Xue Lan's palm, and she sobbed uncontrollably.
"The soul of the sovereign..."
"Shh!"
Xue Lan gestured for silence to the Soul Guide, her gray eyes crinkling with an intense, unyielding smile.
"The secret cannot be leaked."
Xue Lan gently flicked the head of the Soul Guide:
"Even the inheritors of the Law of Reincarnation are not allowed."
Yinhun covered his forehead, and tears flowed even more fiercely.
"Don't tease her."
Seeing Xue Lan's sickly appearance, Xue Tong couldn't muster any anger, and could only speak patiently:
"Don't keep everything from people."
"You're judging a gentleman by your own petty standards this time."
Lord Wolf took out a string of candied hawthorns from his sleeve. He originally intended to give them all to Guihun, but looking at how small she was now, he figured she couldn't possibly eat the whole string.
So the Wolf King took out a small piece of oiled paper from his sleeve, took a candied hawthorn from the skewer, and gave it to the soul guide:
"Little darling, have some candied hawthorn."
Guiding the soul, still somewhat dazed, caught the candied hawthorn that was almost as big as her head:
"Your Majesty... the soul cannot be bought off with candied hawthorns."
The little girl spoke in a daze, as if she had made up her mind, which melted Xue Lan's heart.
"I know I know."
Xue Lan held up the string of candied hawthorns and looked at Xue Tong:
"Do you want some? I'll get you a fresh one."
"No need, just this one will do." Xue Tong reached out and took the candied hawthorn from Xue Lan's hand.
Since they're all zombie products that've been sitting around for at least a year, whether they're intact or not doesn't matter.
The girl, with half a hawthorn berry in her mouth, repeated the words used to summon the soul:
"I won't be bought off by candied hawthorns."