Mo Yi lowered his gaze, staring unblinkingly at the woman in his arms.
Seeing that her expression remained perfectly calm—not a trace of panic or nervousness—he could not help but furrow his brow. Her composure was remarkably strong.
He recalled the flustered, embarrassed look on her face when she had first fallen into his arms.
Then he remembered her coy, playful manner when she had asked him to prove that he “liked her.”
Just how many faces did this woman have?
Or perhaps every one of those faces was truly her?
“It’s true that you’re a demon, but you claim to be the Demon King’s daughter…” He looked down at her, suspicion still lingering in his voice.
“Our royal family possesses a secret art that can conceal demonic aura. If I weren’t the Demon King’s daughter, how else could I have perfectly hidden my aura and infiltrated the Luoxian Sect?”
One hand pressed over her chest, Yuan Shu used the other to curl a loose lock of hair from Mo Yi’s temple around her fingertip.
After a moment, she leaned closer and gently blew against him. “Mo Yi, we aren’t enemies. We can work together.”
Indeed, if Yuan Shu was a demon, then perhaps they truly could cooperate.
After all, the Earth Demon Sha clan had infiltrated the Luoxian Sect this time for the sake of the imminent emergence of a new Earth Demon Sha.
They had awaited this day for a very long time.
With help from another demon, things might proceed far more smoothly.
“What do you want?”
The corner of Yuan Shu’s lips lifted. “I have a fierce beast that needs its body reforged. When the Earth Demon Sha emerges, I need the baleful energy it is born with.”
As soon as she finished speaking, fearing that he might still doubt her, Yuan Shu directly summoned the primordial form of Xiushe’s consciousness.
The aura of a fierce beast could not be imitated.
The moment Mo Yi saw it, he believed her.
So that was why Yuan Shu had appeared at Xuan Yi Peak—she had come for the baleful energy released when the Earth Demon Sha emerged!
Then Yuan Shu had known all along that he was connected to the Earth Demon Sha, and had deliberately approached him in preparation?
The tension in Mo Yi’s heart gradually eased.
Since they shared the same secret, perhaps he could trust her a little.
Mo Yi narrowed his eyes in thought, yet the arm around Yuan Shu did not loosen.
His gaze slowly traveled down from her beautiful face, settling on the sight she was trying to conceal with one hand.
A faint scent of pear blossoms drifted into his nose—cool, delicate, and alluring.
Mo Yi had to admit it: this woman had truly tempted him.
Having kissed those lips once, he seemed to want to kiss them a second time.
And this body… was beautiful.
Mo Yi reached out and slowly clasped the hand Yuan Shu was using to cover her chest.
Her hand was small, while her figure was far too curvaceous; with only one hand, she could barely hide the most essential parts.
As for the rest, it was almost entirely exposed to his gaze.
Voluptuous. Snow-white. Soft. Enticing.
Mo Yi’s breathing changed.
Yuan Shu’s senses were keen. At a glance, she saw through his thoughts. Her lips curved as she teased, “Mo Yi, where exactly are your eyes looking?”
Mo Yi came back to himself. His long lashes trembled, and after a brief hesitation, he released Yuan Shu. “Put your clothes on first.”
Now that she was no enemy, he would give her the respect she deserved.
He would treat their earlier intimacy as nothing more than a dream.
Yuan Shu smiled and turned her back to him as she dressed.
The soft rustle of fabric reached his ears. Mo Yi closed his eyes, yet he could not stop himself from imagining the gauzy cloth brushing against Yuan Shu’s snow-pale skin.
His Adam’s apple bobbed uncontrollably.
A moment later, she shook her head, casting aside the unusual thoughts that had crossed her mind.
Yuan Shu put her robes back on and used her spiritual power to dry the moisture clinging to the fabric.
When she turned around, Mo Yi had finished dressing as well.
His black robes concealed his alluring chest and abdominal muscles, accentuating his straight back and broad shoulders.
“The Earth Demon Sha aura is surging. The Earth Demon Sha must have awakened. If you want that baleful aura, you can come and take a look.”
Mo Yi reined in his chaotic thoughts. With a wave of his hand, he formed an ink-colored hand seal and sent it into the air.
No one had expected the Earth Demon Sha to emerge within the Falling Immortal Sect.
But now that it had appeared, they could not simply sit back and wait.
Qu Qing had issued such an order, so he must have noticed that something was wrong as well.
They had to find the Earth Demon Sha before the Falling Immortal Sect did and make full preparations!
Even if it meant clashing head-on with the Falling Immortal Sect, they had to protect the Earth Demon Sha’s emergence!
“Let’s go!”
……
Yuan Shu followed Mo Yi through the mountain cave for a while before realizing that the passageways within Xuanyi Peak were actually connected to Yaoyun Peak.
Yuan Shu spotted the Scarlet Sun Sand found only in the medicinal herb gardens, along with some blackish-gray Scarlet Sun Sand tainted by the Earth Demon Sha aura.
The Earth Demon Sha had emerged, which was why the Scarlet Sun Sand near its emergence site had been contaminated by its aura.
The exact location of its emergence, however, still had to be determined through a special method.
Mo Yi, who had obtained some of the Earth Demon Sha aura, was clearly far more confident. He led Yuan Shu through the underground caverns, winding left and right.
Yuan Shu could distinctly sense the Earth Demon Sha aura growing denser around them.
Suddenly, the sounds of battle came from ahead.
Yuan Shu exchanged a glance with Mo Yi, then hurried toward the source of the noise.
Before long, they saw a group of people fighting in the cave.
It was Sect Master Qu Qing and Lingyun Peak Master Shen Jingyuan, accompanied by a group of sect disciples. They had surrounded a fierce-looking demonic beast in the center of the cavern and were attacking it, attempting to capture it.
The beast had the body of a horse and an ox, along with a pair of long horns. It was tall and powerfully built, its muscles bulging, and looked extremely formidable.
The Falling Immortal Sect’s disciples rained attacks of spiritual power upon it, yet they left behind nothing more than shallow wounds. Its defenses were astonishingly strong!
Even Qu Qing and Shen Jingyuan, working together, were unable to break through its defenses and capture it in a short time.
The battle had reached an impasse.
Yuan Shu and Mo Yi hid behind a large boulder and peered out. She keenly sensed the intense Earth Demon Sha aura radiating from the savage beast.
“Could this… be the Earth Demon Sha that has just emerged?”
Yuan Shu was somewhat astonished. Only the newly emerged Earth Demon Sha could emit such a dense aura.
Moreover, the beast’s strength was extraordinarily formidable!
Could the surge of Earth Demon Sha aura just now have been caused by the emergence of this new Earth Demon Sha?
“Should we think of a way to help?” Yuan Shu reminded Mo Yi.
This Earth Demon Sha was the very target he had searched for with such painstaking effort. If it fell into the hands of the Falling Immortal Sect, they would certainly destroy it.
If that happened, all of Mo Yi’s efforts would be for nothing!
At that moment, however, Mo Yi reached out and caught hold of Yuan Shu, who was preparing to act.
“Wait. There’s no need to rush.”
Yuan Shu raised an eyebrow and turned to glance at him. Seeing his expression cold and impassive, with no intention of striking immediately, she likewise restrained her urge to act.
The demonic beast, trapped in the middle of the crowd, roared and charged desperately, trying to break through the encirclement.
But how could Qu Qing and Shen Jingyuan let it escape so easily?
The two of them brought their full strength to bear, forcefully withstanding the beast’s powerful attacks as they gradually drove it into a corner.
“If you don’t act soon, the Earth Demon Sha you’ve been waiting so patiently to emerge will be captured.”
Yuan Shu’s sharp eyes had already noticed that the demonic beast was at the end of its strength.
It had likely only just emerged, and its power had yet to fully recover.
Then it had encountered Qu Qing and Shen Jingyuan, the two strongest experts in the sect, leaving it at a severe disadvantage.
Mo Yi, however, kept his brows tightly furrowed as he stared fixedly at the demonic beast. Only when he saw a flash of gray light pass through its eyes did his expression relax.
“There’s no need to act. This demonic beast isn’t the Earth Demon Sha we’re looking for.”
