Liu Changdie put away the scroll in his hand and dismissed Li Quewan before hurrying to the formation. Sure enough, he found a figure with white-and-red pupils, bone-white armor, and blood-colored silks standing above the surging sea. A pair of golden wings were folded behind him, and he stood there without a word.
Seeing his enervated aura, Liu Changdie was overcome with sorrow. He hurriedly opened the grand formation and let him in. The demon king clasped his hands behind his back and trudged inside in a daze before crying at the top of his lungs, "Mother of mercy... I nearly lost my life!"
Liu Changdie sighed. As he ushered him inside, he pulled spirit pills from his sleeve and asked, "Are you feeling any better?"
Fuxun took the jade bottle and upended it with a pat, sending the spirit pills tumbling into his gaping mouth like candies beneath Liu Changdie's pained gaze. Yet the demonic creature seemed unable to taste a thing.
He smacked his lips and replied with reddened eyes, "What are you feeling so stingy about... With that great alchemist behind you, how could you ever lack pills?"
When Li Ximing had come to retrieve the cultivation technique all those years ago, he had indeed refined and left behind some pills for him. Liu Changdie, however, was very frugal.
Shaking his head, he sighed. "These times are anything but normal. He has so many spirit items and spirit materials on hand that, in years past, not even the Supreme Yang Dao lineage would have been as wealthy as him... Besides, how could I take his things for nothing?"
Others might not have known, but every batch of [Under-Neck Feathers] had passed through Liu Changdie's hands. Even in the Eastern Sea, [Wall-Sinking Water] had long since become so impossible to gather that production had ceased entirely. Naturally, Liu Changdie knew just how extravagantly Li Ximing cultivated. Even with his own considerable wealth, he could only admit that he fell short.
Meanwhile, Fuxun took a seat and surveyed the mysterious blue-and-gold cave dwelling.
He nodded to himself, began brewing tea in the pot, and cursed, "Fuck the Pure Victory Dao! Fuck Zaxi Ciwang! Once I attain the Dao and become a great demon king, I'll blast three holes straight through the Pure Victory Dao's sacred hall!"
Liu Changdie frowned as the demonic creature lifted his clothing, revealing three gaping holes in his jadeite-white dharma body. There was no flesh or bone within. Instead, each hole resembled a wealthy man's cellar, with golden sand cascading down like a waterfall, golden tables and chairs toppled every which way, and jadeite and red stones the size of fingernails scattered throughout. One or two richly dressed lesser demons no larger than thumbs knelt amid the golden sand, weeping.
Liu Changdie stared blankly for a moment before asking, "Xipo Kingdom has fallen? Into whose hands?!"
Fuxun replied mournfully, "Of course it has! Those bastards carved it up among themselves. Fortunately, I took the [Aspiration Ascension Profound Pill] long ago and cultivated the Auspicious Aspiration Body, allowing me to gather up my subordinates and escape. Otherwise, I would truly be all alone today!"
Fuxun's [Auspicious Aspiration Body] was boundlessly profound. Though it bore some resemblance to the Murong Family's Great Belly That Can Contain All, the two were fundamentally different. In essence, his Body Divine Ability had allowed him to cultivate an immensely vast true form to which countless demonic creatures could attach themselves. The [Auspicious Aspiration Body] then transformed this true form, along with all the demonic creatures upon it, concealing everything beneath his flesh.
Liu Changdie was immediately left speechless. He did not believe Fuxun cared much for these subordinates of his. For one, keeping them around gave him servants to run errands, attend to his needs, and help him cultivate his dharma body. For another, they were probably snacks to accompany his wine whenever his injuries became unstable.
Though he understood this perfectly well, he merely asked, "Senior Qingyan..."
Overwhelmed with grief, Fuxun said bitterly in a daze, "They captured him!"
"What?!"
Liu Changdie had known that the two demons might face such a calamity, but he had never imagined it would be this severe.
Horrified, he exclaimed, "Senior Qingyan... How could they have tracked him down now?! Didn't he possess a wondrous art? Even after lying in ambush for ten years, Situ Huo couldn't capture him... How could..."
He suddenly realized that Situ Huo could never be compared to the Pure Victory Dao and fell silent. Fuxun said bitterly, "The Pure Victory Dao is no longer what it once was. That lord must be showing signs of awakening, and may even have regained some ability to act! Only by borrowing his mystics could they have plotted against Qingyan so easily!"
At the mention of that fiend on the Great Western Plains, a trace of terror flashed through Fuxun's eyes, and he appeared somewhat flustered. "Qingyan and I were ambushed by the Pure Victory Dao; we were no match for them at all. Fortunately, Qingyan still had a scroll of the Azure Subjugation Book. He suffered grievous injuries to buy us an opportunity and managed to escape the Pure Victory Dao Master... But that man possessed a profound banner. As long as Qingyan's injuries remained unhealed, they would catch up to us no matter what!
"The two of us fled in terror and cast a spell to call for your help, but there was already no hope. That wondrous art you mentioned... It might be enough to fool Situ Huo, but how could it deceive the Pure Victory Dao Master? He had brought the Windhorse Profound Banner with him. Even after Qingyan's wondrous art carried us over hundreds of kilometers away, it could not withstand a shake of that profound banner... If I had not gotten away quickly... I would have been taken as well!"
Liu Changdie was suddenly overcome with both guilt and unease. Lowering his eyes, he said, "It was not that I refused to save you... Lightning flashed and thunder roared here that night, and a Daoist Master had been lying in ambush nearby, waiting for me for a long time... Had I gone out, I would not even have been able to protect myself..."
The demon king burst into loud sobs at the table, his crystal-like tears rolling across the floor. The [Profound Vault Golden-Winged Bat] was an innately extraordinary species. Fragrant powder scattered wherever his tears passed, filling the air with an exotic aroma.
After crying for a while, he shook his head and said, "How could I not trust you? I figured it out long ago. Since they were determined to capture Qingyan and take him back, they would naturally have guarded against every possibility. How could they possibly have allowed you to rescue him?!"
Overcome with grief, he collapsed backward. "What agony!"
Liu Changdie was not as familiar with Qingyan as Fuxun was, but they had still shared a considerable friendship. His emotions became exceedingly complicated as sorrow welled within him, and he sighed. "Even if I had gone to save him, what could I have done? The Pure Victory Dao Master had come in person. How many exchanges could I possibly have lasted against him..."
Yet the instant the demonic creature before him lowered his head, his jade-white cheek suddenly contorted. Something beneath it seemed to struggle violently to break free, stretching the flesh into a hideous, terrifying face the size of a fist. The flesh where its eyes should have been had sunken into hollow sockets that stared fixedly at Liu Changdie.
Liu Changdie recoiled a step in horror and shouted, "What manner of demonic entity are you?!"
His shout was imbued with the mana of his divine ability, yet it only caused the fist-sized face to freeze momentarily. Its hollow eye sockets shifted as though surveying its surroundings, but Fuxun reacted even faster. His hands shot up and clamped fiercely around the face!
The fist-sized, tumor-like face was crushed to pulp in an instant. Pale golden blood water burst between his fingers, releasing waves of exotic fragrance. Fuxun wiped away the blood, his eyes turning vicious as he began coughing violently.
Liu Changdie watched with a deep frown and remained silent for a long while. After coughing for some time, Fuxun knew that he was waiting for an explanation and said with an apologetic smile, "I was struck by the Pure Victory Dao Master's Lesser Yang art... There are probably quite a few Yang Worms inside my dharma body, eagerly waiting for a chance to report back to him..."
Seeing how tense Liu Changdie had become, Fuxun suddenly understood and hurriedly shook his head. "Don't worry... Don't worry. I came here during an interval when they were being summoned by the sutra banners. Now that I've entered the grand formation and been cut off from the great void, things are much better. No information can get out, so don't worry... Cough, cough..."
Only then did Liu Changdie relax somewhat. Still distressed and uneasy, he said softly, "It is not that I harbor any misgivings. However, Lulai Island is Ximing's territory, and it is already generous of him to support my cultivation here. If something were to happen and bring calamity upon this place... how could I possibly answer to him?!"
The two looked at each other in silence before Liu Changdie sighed. "I will keep your injuries in mind. Supreme Yang spirit items are difficult to find, but I will think of another way and contact some accomplished cultivators skilled in healing... For now, senior, remain here and focus on recovering..."