The Danyang disciples who were supposed to guard them had been silently taken down by the Azure Dragon and Xuanfeng, leaving only the sound of their shallow breathing and the rustling of leaves in the night breeze outside the window.
Su Luowei sat calmly in her chair, the Xuanfeng perched on her shoulder, and the Azure Dragon, now a small snake, coiled tightly around her arm.
Wen Miaomiao sat beside her, her spirit sword resting on her knees, her eyes closed in meditation.
Xie Hanzhu stood opposite them, glancing between Su Luowei and Wen Miaomiao. Seeing that neither of them intended to speak, she couldn't help but rub her temples and pace back and forth a few times before finally stopping in front of Su Luowei. "You and Meng Shuying… are together now?"
Su Luowei looked up and smiled at her. A faint mark flashed across her forehead, which Xie Hanzhu immediately recognized as a Dao companion contract.
"You've already formed a Dao companion contract!" Xie Hanzhu exclaimed in shock, quickly sitting down beside Su Luowei. "When did this happen? How could you keep this a secret from us?"
She had originally intended to scold Su Luowei for not informing her about forming a Dao companion contract, but Su Luowei's attention was drawn to the phrase "keeping it a secret." She sat thoughtfully for a moment before asking, "I don't have much experience with this. What's the usual process for cultivators forming Dao companion contracts nowadays?"
Should there be a big celebration, or is there some other method to announce it to the world?
Meng Shuying hadn't mentioned it, and Su Luowei hadn't thought about it until now. Hearing Xie Hanzhu's question, she suddenly realized that perhaps she should give Meng Shuying some sort of formal recognition.
After all, Meng Shuying had waited for her for so long, and as soon as Su Luowei returned, she was quickly claimed by her.
Yes, she was claimed.
Su Luowei had completely forgotten how she had been crying and begging on the bed that day. All she remembered was how soft and warm Meng Shuying's body had been, and how seductive her moans had been when she couldn't control herself.
Just thinking about it made Su Luowei feel like she had gained a huge advantage.
"It's still the same as before," Xie Hanzhu replied. "You inform your sect elders, hold a binding ceremony, or form a Dao companion contract as you did."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xie Hanzhu suddenly remembered the day when the four of them had been drinking together, and Wen Miaomiao had congratulated Meng Shuying on achieving her heart's desire. She turned to see Wen Miaomiao with a look that said, "Yes, I've known all along," and clenched her teeth in frustration.
She had thought that Wen Miaomiao's words about Meng Shuying achieving her heart's desire meant that Su Luowei had returned and that Meng Shuying had finally reunited with her. She hadn't realized that Wen Miaomiao had been talking about something else entirely.
Su Luowei smiled as she watched the two of them banter, then suddenly realized that she hadn't heard about Xie Hanzhu or Wen Miaomiao having Dao companions since her rebirth. Had they not met anyone who moved their hearts over the years?
Curious, she asked, and Xie Hanzhu's smile froze. She glanced at Wen Miaomiao with a hint of resentment and said self-deprecatingly, "I did have someone I liked, but that person didn't feel the same way. What could I do?"
Su Luowei followed her gaze to see a trace of awkwardness on Wen Miaomiao's face. Wen Miaomiao, seeming at a loss for words, coughed and stood up, walking to the window to look out. "Meng Shimei has been gone for a long time. I hope nothing has happened to her."
In the past, Xie Hanzhu would have dropped the subject, but having just learned that Su Luowei and Meng Shuying were now together, she couldn't help but feel upset about her own solitary status. She clung to Su Luowei's arm and complained, "Sister, tell me, what's wrong with me that she couldn't see?"
Su Luowei glanced at her, then at Wen Miaomiao, and understood immediately. She shook her head with a light laugh. "You should ask the person in question."
Xie Hanzhu pouted. "Of course I asked, but all she kept saying was, 'You're great, but I'm not the right match.' Sister, isn't that infuriating?"
Su Luowei patted Xie Hanzhu's hand to comfort her but looked toward the window. She had long noticed that Xie Hanzhu had feelings for Wen Miaomiao. When she saw that they were still just senior and junior sisters after all these years, she thought Xie Hanzhu had let go of those feelings.
She hadn't expected that it was Wen Miaomiao who had rejected her.
What was even more surprising was that despite being clearly rejected by Wen Miaomiao, Xie Hanzhu still acted as if nothing had happened, spending every day with her. It was just like something Xie Hanzhu would do.
Su Luowei had no intention of interfering in their affairs, but she saw a hint of expectation in Xie Hanzhu's eyes and couldn't help but say to Wen Miaomiao, "Junior Sister Wen... I know I might be overstepping, but the path of immortality is long, and having someone by your side can make it less lonely."
Suddenly, rain began to fall outside, the raindrops pattering against the leaves. Wen Miaomiao reached out to pull the window halfway shut, her tone indifferent. "Thank you for your concern, Sister."
Seeing Wen Miaomiao's attitude, Su Luowei didn't press further. She gave Xie Hanzhu a helpless look before sitting back down in her chair and closing her eyes, waiting for the effects of the medicine in her body to wear off.
A gust of wind swept through the hall, causing the three women's robes to flutter.
Suddenly, Su Luowei's eyes flew open, and she spoke in a cold, urgent tone. "Meng Shuying is in danger!"
Just moments before, the Dao companion contract on her Nascent Soul's forehead had grown scorching hot, indicating that her Dao companion was in imminent danger.
Su Luowei quickly stood up and said to the other two, "Once your cultivation is restored, let the Azure Dragon take you out of here and return to the sect to report this to the sect master."
"What about you, Sister?" Xie Hanzhu asked anxiously.
"I'm going to find Meng Shuying!" Su Luowei didn't wait for a response, already halfway out the door. Xie Hanzhu and Wen Miaomiao exchanged a glance and immediately followed.
"No way, we'll go together!"
Su Luowei, too worried to argue, hesitated for a moment before nodding. "The road ahead is dangerous. Be careful."
The Dao companion contract continued to flash in Su Luowei's spiritual sea, guiding her toward Meng Shuying's location. Worried about encountering danger, Su Luowei released her two spiritual beasts to clear the way. Strangely, they encountered no one along the way. It was as if the Danyang disciples had all vanished.
After walking along the mountain path for an unknown amount of time, they finally arrived at a valley. In the center of the valley was a massive black formation. The ground around the formation was a sinister dark red, and the air carried a faint scent of blood.
Su Luowei abruptly stopped at the edge of the formation, carefully observing her surroundings. For some reason, the black formation before her filled her with a sense of foreboding.
Wen Miaomiao crouched down, picked up a clump of dirt, and brought it to her nose. Her expression grew serious. "It's human blood."
She frowned as she studied the formation for a while, her face showing hesitation. "If I'm not mistaken, this should be a demon-sealing mark."
"Ke-ke-ke-ke," a sinister laugh echoed through the air. The next moment, a black figure slowly appeared in the center of the formation. The figure was entirely shrouded in a black robe, with only a pair of eyes visible.
The moment they saw him, all three women frowned in unison.
It wasn't just his appearance; something about him felt deeply unsettling.
His gaze was as murky as that of an elderly man, yet the skin around his eyes was smooth and unwrinkled. His body, though tall and strong, was hunched over like an old man on the verge of death.
Everything about him seemed contradictory, full of life yet filled with death, as if an old man's soul had been forcibly stuffed into a young body, making him appear discordant from head to toe.
"The night sure is lively," he sneered. "First, an injured Nascent Soul cultivator arrives, and now three more Nascent Soul cultivators who've lost their cultivation. It seems the heavens are truly on my side, ke-ke-ke-ke..."
After finishing his laugh, he turned to the side and said, "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and bring them in. Once I devour these three girls' flesh and blood, the energy will be sufficient. As soon as the demon seal is broken and the Demon Lord is released, our good days will begin!"
No sooner had he spoken than several shadows suddenly appeared behind Su Luowei and the others. Without a word, the shadows attacked them with ruthless force.
The Xuanfeng and Azure Dragon let out a long howl, revealing their true forms as they fought the shadows, taking the brunt of the attacks to protect the others. If Su Luowei and her companions had been at full strength, they would have easily handled these shadowy attackers. However, with their cultivation not yet fully restored, they were at a disadvantage, and with a slight misstep, they were pushed into the black formation.
The black formation seemed to have an invisible force that ensnared those within it, making it feel like they were sinking into a quagmire. As the three of them were pulled into the formation, the black-robed man in the center formed a hand seal, and a dense, ominous demonic energy rose without wind, engulfing them in an instant.
In a dark alley, a brief flash of light appeared. In the next moment, the three women materialized out of nowhere, falling to the ground.
"Ouch..." Xie Hanzhu began to cry out, but Wen Miaomiao quickly covered her mouth.
She motioned for silence, then swiftly helped the other two up and led them into an abandoned, empty house nearby.
The serious expression on Wen Miaomiao's face made Xie Hanzhu uneasy. She lowered her voice and whispered in Wen Miaomiao's ear, "Where are we?"
Wen Miaomiao said nothing, simply pointing to the sky.
Following her finger, Xie Hanzhu looked up through a hole in the roof and saw a blood-red moon hanging silently in the sky.
According to ancient texts, the demon realm had no sun, with the sky shrouded in thick fog even during the day. At night, there was no real moon—only a blood moon that never waxed or waned.
The thing hanging above them now, though called a blood moon, had nothing to do with the moon. Legend had it that the blood moon was formed from the eye of the Demon Lord, placed in the sky to oversee every movement of the demon race in the darkness.
So... had they arrived in the demon realm?
Su Luowei felt disoriented.
They had been struck into the demon seal by the shadows, so how had they been transported to the demon realm in an instant? Could it be that the demon seal had already been broken?
This thought had barely crossed her mind before Su Luowei dismissed it. It was impossible. If the demon seal had been broken, they would have been swarmed by endless demon armies, not left alone in a dark and empty alley.
If the demon seal hadn't been broken, then how had they ended up here?
And more importantly, how could they get back?
Countless questions swirled in Su Luowei's mind, but she couldn't find any answers. She turned to the one person who might be able to explain everything.
But Wen Miaomiao gave her a wry smile. "Sister, don't look at me like that. I don't know what's going on either."