Two Thunder Seeds were obtained.
"What happened this time?"
Gu Zhao asked around and learned that Taoist Yan Song and the others had taken down another fallen Great Demon in Jiangbei.
"Good heavens, you dragged Sister Fei, Brother Ye, and Feihong Ancestor into this together, and even roped in the leaders of Xuanwei Divine Sect and the Spirit Court in Pingzhou?" Gu Zhao clicked his tongue. "You guys caused quite a stir!"
Taoist Yan Song laughed. "It wasn’t too bad. We actually set up the Eight Trigrams Array. Ni Daxing never broke through the Array from start to finish. He didn’t even get close to Luoxing Lake."
"Feihong Ancestor possesses profound Dao Practice. Ni Daxing only managed to strike the Array a few times at the very end when he was desperately fighting for his life," Taoist Jing Feng said.
"However, Shen Yingzhou and Li Jue weren’t as formidable as I imagined. They felt a bit unworthy of their reputations," Taoist Ming Yu said, stroking his beard with a smile.
"Shen Yingzhou and Li Jue are the leaders of the Spirit Court and Xuanwei Divine Sect in Pingzhou. One is a Branch Director, and the other is an Altar Master. One is a Carp Spirit, and the other is a Ghost God," Taoist Qingyuan explained.
Taoist Yi Hong added, "If we use them as a reference, the Spirit Court alone has over twenty experts with three to four thousand years of Dao Practice. They can’t be considered weak."
Gu Zhao was speechless. They thought that wasn’t weak, but it wasn’t exactly strong either, was it?
No wonder the old Daoists were brimming with confidence. Given their strength and speed of improvement, it would only take them three or four years to catch up. Coupled with Gu Zhao’s constant recruitment of newcomers, it really wouldn’t take long for the overall strength of Daluo Palace to surpass that of Xuanwei Divine Sect and the Spirit Court.
The old Daoists chatted casually for a bit before ending the call and returning to their respective tasks.
After Ni Daxing’s death, everyone discovered that he had indeed only recently become a Fallen Demon. The earth veins beneath Luoxing Lake only contained some sealed Demonic Qi, but there was no Demon Cave. Thus, Taoist Qingyuan stayed behind to clear the Demonic Qi while the others dispersed.
Meanwhile, in the darkness, a pair of profound black eyes opened.
Even though these black eyes were hidden within the shadows, anyone dwelling in the darkness would find it impossible not to notice them.
Eight arms faintly stretched out in the dark. Eight clusters of Demonic Qi gathered in the palms, deriving Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire. It was as if they were recreating the world, yet it was fundamentally different from the mortal realm.
"Of the Great Derivation’s fifty, forty-nine are used.
"The forty-nine Demonic Stars shall change the heavens and swap the earth.
"They have already found me..."
Streams of Divine Thought radiated through the darkness. "The Array of Great Derivation shall shift to the Heavenly Dipper positions!
"Do not rush. It will be soon... soon..."
"Soon... soon..."
After a bout of heavy panting, Li Qingshuang lay in Gu Zhao’s arms. "Your Cultivation is getting more and more formidable."
The two of them were Fellow Cultivators of the *Cave Truth Yellow Record*. As Gu Zhao’s Cultivation grew higher, Zhuo Qingyan and Li Qingshuang also reaped increasing benefits.
Zhuo Qingyan was currently stuck at the threshold of five hundred years of Dao Practice. Li Qingshuang’s progress was also incredibly fast; her Dao Practice was nearly catching up to the veteran experts of White Spirit Mountain.
"But it’s still not as fast as the Elders in the palace." Li Qingshuang sighed with emotion. "To cultivate Inner Breath True Qi in a land devoid of Spiritual Qi, and to temper their Mental Realms for decades... their Mental Realms far surpass their Dao Practice Magical Power. Once they break free from their cages, the brocade carp transforms into a True Dragon."
As Li Qingshuang’s voice faded, a refreshing aura rose from next door. It reflected the myriad stars in the sky above and drew upon the water vapor of the earth veins below. Although it felt cool and refreshing, it carried no ghastly chill.
"Qingyan has finally taken this step." Li Qingshuang flipped up, draped a sheer veil over herself, and leaped out of the room.
Gu Zhao followed behind her. Pushing open the door, he saw a white silhouette floating above the adjacent courtyard. Her long, pitch-black hair fluttered in the wind, her lips were as red as blood, and her skin was as white as snow.
"Qingyan!"
"Congratulations, Miss Zhuo!"
"Congratulations, Qingyan!"
"Congratulations, Nightlight Jade Maiden!"
The Elders and Star Officials of Daluo Palace appeared one after another in the backyard, cupping their hands in congratulation.
Zhuo Qingyan smiled faintly and bowed in return.
The next moment, Gu Zhao’s voice echoed throughout Daluo Palace. "Starting tomorrow, we will hold a grand banquet for three days to celebrate the Realm Breakthrough of the Supreme Profound Nightlight Jade Maiden!"
"Congratulations to the Nightlight Jade Maiden!"
Zhuo Qingyan’s jade-like face flushed, and she floated gently back down into the courtyard.
Li Qingshuang gave Gu Zhao a push.
Gu Zhao turned his head. "How about we join her together?"
Li Qingshuang glared at Gu Zhao with her beautiful eyes and flew back into the room.
Gu Zhao chuckled. Taking a step forward, he cast Shrinking Inches and instantly appeared in Zhuo Qingyan’s bedroom, pulling her into a full embrace.
Over the course of the three-day grand banquet at Daluo Palace, Li Qingshuang stayed the entire time, a rare occurrence.
"I thought you were going to leave again," Gu Zhao said, stroking Li Qingshuang’s soft waist.
Li Qingshuang sighed. "My mission is originally to patrol Wanling Jiangnan. But with the various Elders of Daluo Palace traveling across the lands and establishing branch temples everywhere, Demons and Ghosts have gone into hiding. I haven’t encountered any Demons and Ghosts harming commoners in a long time."
Li Qingshuang didn’t know whether she should feel gratified or helpless.
"That’s not true, there are still plenty of them!" Gu Zhao argued. "The Elders and Inner Sect Disciples of the palace frequently send back news of finding murderous Demons and Ghosts in Jiangzhou, Yongzhou, Yazhou, Shanzhou, and even Yuezhou."
"I’m just one person, how many of them are there?" Li Qingshuang was speechless. "Besides, my patrols in Jiangnan aren’t nearly as meticulous as their travels!"
Gu Zhao was surprised. "Are you telling me you’re the only patrol the Spirit Court has in Jiangnan?"
"Not exactly," Li Qingshuang explained. "The Spirit Courts of Jiangzhou, Yongzhou, and Shanzhou all have patrols in Jiangnan, but each branch only has four or five people, and very few of them have higher Dao Practice than me."
Gu Zhao nodded in understanding.
Rumor had it that Shuwen Princess, the Branch Director of the Jiangzhou Spirit Court, only had three thousand years of Dao Practice. She had no more than three to five experts under her command, yet they had to oversee various regions of Wanling Jiangbei.
Since Wanling Jiangnan Capital was no longer under the Court’s jurisdiction, what was the point of sending so many patrols?
Moreover, back in the day, Xuanwei Divine Sect and the Spirit Court were practically driven out by the local forces of Jiangnan. Aside from the various Government Offices that still followed the Court’s orders, the rest of the region was basically autonomous. Xuanwei Divine Sect had absolutely no one left in Jiangnan.
The Spirit Court still sent people to patrol Jiangnan, but they were strictly just patrols, meant to protect Court officials who might fall victim to Little Demons and lesser ghosts. Therefore, they only sent a handful of insignificant members; there were no true experts.
Having broken through five hundred years of Dao Practice with Gu Zhao’s help, Li Qingshuang was already considered a top-tier expert among those sent down to Jiangnan.
"Furthermore, since the establishment of Daluo Palace, the task of going down to Jiangnan has changed." Li Qingshuang looked at Gu Zhao with admiration in her eyes. "In the past, it was a grueling job. There were internal constraints and no external support; we could only rely on ourselves. But ever since the Elders and disciples of Daluo Palace began traveling across the lands, going down to Jiangnan has become a very relaxed task.
"Most of the time, it’s just like a vacation. If I actually encounter a problem that I can’t handle, I can just go to the nearest Daluo Palace branch temple. If I’m lucky enough to run into a Daluo Palace Elder, then that’s even better."