strictlysupreme #360 - Shall we... be the oriole?
#360 - Shall we... be the oriole?
"Are you falling for him?"
"Are you really falling for him?"
Xu Chengxian stood up and circled Lingxiao twice.
He wasn't just talking nonsense.
If he and Lingxiao joined forces, they really might be able to take down Cheng Kong.
At the very least, they could drive him away.
But Lingxiao kept shaking her head in disagreement, so he had reason to suspect that his sister was relapsing into her old ways.
"Sister, beauty can be a blade!" he clicked his tongue and advised. "You've already been burned once, don't fall for it again."
"Scram!" Lingxiao cursed.
"Would I fall for a monk who dares to make me his concubine?" she frowned. "Am I tired of living, looking for trouble for myself?"
She didn't have a penchant for self-abasement.
Although Cheng Kong had some good looks, it wasn't enough to cloud her judgment.
"Really?" Xu Chengxian was skeptical.
"I like those who are gentle and fawn over me," Lingxiao chuckled. "Even if they have ulterior motives, they must be ingratiating to catch my eye."
An arrogant fellow like Cheng Kong was worth teasing, but only when she had the leisure.
"Right now, I'm only at the late stage of Demon General. Striving to cultivate and improve my cultivation is the most important thing."
"Once I reclaim my position as Empress, what kind of handsome men won't I have?"
"…You're at the late stage of Demon General?" Xu Chengxian disregarded his sister's bold declaration. More than that, he wanted to know how Lingxiao had cultivated to the late stage so quickly.
He had swallowed a Bodhisattva Realm relic, and it would still take fully consuming and refining it for his cultivation to reach the late stage of Demon General!
Even faster than him?
Was there any justice in this!
"Didn't you just ask me if I was pretending to be controlled?" Lingxiao smiled, spreading her hands. "You see, that's where I can't answer."
To say she wasn't being controlled wouldn't be right.
Although she wasn't under any explicit restrictions, Cheng Kong and his master would definitely not allow her to leave.
But to say she was being controlled wasn't quite right either.
After all, they hadn't bound her, nor had they used any means or contracts to restrict her, and they had given her countless cultivation resources.
Furthermore, they used Shamen secret techniques to cleanse her marrow and help her awaken the ancient demon bloodline.
"Three times?" Xu Chengxian went to review the divine sense Lingxiao had given him, and made a great discovery.
A discovery that left him dumbfounded.
"You've awakened the Shuairan bloodline three times in these few short months!"
"Yes," Lingxiao nodded. "Otherwise, how could my cultivation realm have improved so quickly?"
"No, what are they after?" Xu Chengxian instantly felt unbalanced.
Why?
Why was that!
Why hadn't he encountered such a good thing!
"Of course, they're after the Shuairan bloodline's innate divine ability," Lingxiao glanced at him, as if to say, are you stupid?
She had already said they were helping her awaken the Shuairan bloodline, so what else could they be after?
"There are many."
Within the Shamen, there are many strong individuals who enter secluded meditation to comprehend Buddhist teachings.
Many of them die in seclusion.
"Their places of death are formations that need to be broken to enter."
"There are treasures inside?" Xu Chengxian blinked.
"Relics, don't they count?" Lingxiao retorted.
They count.
Of course, they count!
Moreover, there are definitely more than just relics.
"If that's the case, if you want, we…become the mantis stalking the cicada?" Xu Chengxian rubbed his hands together.
"You don't want to?" Lingxiao asked back.
I want to.
Of course, I want to.
"However, won't it be very dangerous for you?" Xu Chengxian said.
Lingxiao wasn't under any explicit restrictions right now.
But as long as she stayed by Cheng Kong's side, she could be converted and controlled at any time.
The Shamen's reputation was notoriously bad in some respects.
Their methods of controlling demons were endless.
During the years of conflict between the human and demon races, they poached many people from both the Xuanmen and demon races.
But while they had poached the people, they didn't have enough cultivation resources to provide for these disciples.
What to do then?
Moreover, most of them had been tricked or deceived, and weren't truly devoted to the Shamen.
With so many people, it was also very difficult to control.
It would easily cause trouble.
Furthermore, they had to reward their own people.
So, they simply turned a significant portion of the gathered demons into mountain-guarding spirit beasts and mounts.
They even allowed those with merit to choose their own suitable servants and mounts, and then find ways to set up restrictions and take them for their own use.
From beginning to end, they solved two problems with no effort.
And they rose to become one of the two major Exoteric sects.
Their reputation for stinginess, meanness, and ingratitude spread far and wide, and they had almost no credibility.
But those were all things that happened long ago.
Many cultivators now were unaware of this.
"It won't be for now," Lingxiao said after listening. "Don't forget, I have a Great Zhou Empress standing behind me."
"Empress?" Xu Chengxian nodded. "Right, with the Empress there, they will be wary."
He had already reviewed Lingxiao's experiences during this time several times.
The teleportation array under the Imperial Tomb's barrier, no one knew when it had been set up, but it could still be activated. This was a pleasant surprise.
As for the destination of the teleportation, Lingxiao had no idea at the time.
As long as she could reach it safely.
Looking at it this way, her luck was quite good.
To some extent, she was extremely lucky, even having her wish fulfilled.
She had wanted to come to the Human Realm, and now she had, without spending a penny on travel expenses.
Unlike him, he had paid for his own travel expenses.
Looking further down.
He wasn't so envious anymore.
Lingxiao had been teleported over, but the original teleportation array here had been dismantled and modified into a part of the nation-protecting formation.
The foundation of the teleportation array was still there, so she had come over luckily.
Unfortunately, she had landed right in the Great Zhou Empress's garden as soon as she arrived.
She was immediately locked onto by the dragon energy, forced to reveal her true form, and alerted the Empress and the abbot of the Four Lands Lotus Pond who was lecturing to the Empress at the time.
Lingxiao had fallen from the sky.
And her green snake body was extraordinary.
The Empress was moved by what she saw, believing it was an auspicious omen, a sign of the Great Zhou's prosperity.
So, she asked the abbot to subdue and convert her, to show the Empress's virtue.
After all this, Lingxiao's cultivation was unstable and she was injured, so she took the opportunity to cater to the Empress's wishes and expressed her submission.
Fulfilling the other party's intention to increase her own prestige.
It had to be said that she was an Empress before, knowing what other Emperors liked.
"Also, before I advance to Demon Marquis, I have limited use to them. And all the restrictions and conversion methods will greatly affect my cultivation improvement," Lingxiao said.
So before that, she should be safe.
And she didn't have to worry about cultivation resources.
"If that's the case…"
"Xiaohua?"
"Xu Chengxian?"
At this time, Wang Shanlu's divine sense transmission came.
Xu Chengxian and Lingxiao exchanged a glance.
"Take advantage of the benefits first?"
"Yes!"