Breaking the Precept

"Patriarch, something major has happened!"

Iris dismissed the messenger crane and hurriedly reported to Bai Lixi, her face filled with anxiety. "That second young master of the Zhan family has quite the audacity. After lying low for so long, he suddenly made a grand move—he barged into the Heavenly Will Alliance and shattered the Heavenly Stele!"

After Iris finished recounting the events, Bai Lixi raised an eyebrow slightly. "What's the situation now?"

"Zhan Patriarch personally went to the Alliance Leader to apologize. His life is definitely safe, but being imprisoned in the Infernal Abyss for a few years is probably inevitable." Iris was perplexed. "Is this part of the Zhan family's plan to push him into the spotlight? It's just too reckless. Even someone as brazen as Li Jianzhao wouldn't dare pull a stunt like this. Zhan Tianxiang's spiritual root seems average. What could he possibly excel in?"

Bai Lixi's focus wasn't on Zhan Tianxiang at all. Her lashes lowered slightly, and she stated with certainty, "Xiaolou is in the Infernal Abyss."

Before Iris could respond, Bai Lixi sighed lightly. "For the sake of a beauty... This Second Young Master Zhan is truly young and impetuous, nothing like his scheming elder brother. Given what happened between the Fire Refining Sect and Li Jianzhao, the Li family suffered a massive loss. Now that he's in the Infernal Abyss, both the Li family and the Huo family will surely try to kill him. I imagine the Infernal Abyss will become very lively soon."

"Then should we…"

"Notify Wuchang. Send someone in to assist the Zhan family without exposing ourselves. Also…" Bai Lixi smoothed the stray strands of hair at her temples and said calmly, "Inform that madman Chu that Xiaolou is in the Infernal Abyss."

Iris broke out in a sweat. "Patriarch, aren't you worried? The Infernal Abyss is nothing like the Zhan family. It's dangerous…"

"His brain may be damaged, but his body isn't. What's there to worry about?"

"…Alright then."

Sitting cross-legged in meditation, Jian Xiaolou's mind was in disarray.

From the moment Zhan Tianxiang appeared outside the Infernal Abyss, she had spotted him instantly, standing directly above her. Jian Xiaolou had excitedly flown upward, but the barrier blocked her. No matter how loudly she called out, he couldn't hear her.

To Zhan Tianxiang, it seemed like he was standing on solid ground.

But to Jian Xiaolou, he was standing atop a barrier.

Jian Xiaolou couldn't make sense of the situation. From beneath the barrier, she watched as he stood there motionless, like a statue, for over ten days. Then Zhan Tianming and Mu Ruyi arrived, and she overheard their conversation, including everything Jiao Er said.

Her shock was no less than Zhan Tianxiang's.

After sorting through her thoughts for a long time, she finally pieced together the truth.

Zhan Tianming's biological father was a Jiao demon. Before he was even born, the Mu family had eradicated him. Mu Wanyan secretly collected his three souls. After marrying the Zhan Patriarch, Mu Wanyan conceived a second son. This venomous woman then extracted the second son's three souls to resurrect her first son, placing Zhan Tianming's soul into this body.

The situation was eerily similar to her own. She had taken over Xiao Hei's body, just as Zhan Tianming had taken over his younger brother's body. While Xiao Hei managed to jump into the parrot's body, the child whose soul was extracted wasn't so lucky.

Even more terrifying was that this poisonous woman planned to extract her third son's soul for her lover's use.

Was she trying to reincarnate her lover through her own children?

Thank goodness for Zhan Tianxiang's resilience.

"I used to feel sorry for Mu Wanyan's Five Declines of Heaven and Man, but who knew she was such a wicked woman. I truly pity those long legs of his," Jian Xiaolou muttered as she petted Xiao Hei's head and sighed. "But now that my karmic fire has been exposed again, does this mean I can only retreat to the Kasyapa Temple and become a nun?"

"Caw…" Xiao Hei nodded.

"Scram," Jian Xiaolou flicked its head with her finger. "How does me becoming a nun benefit you?"

This time, though, unlike before, she felt no fear in her heart. Perhaps she had reached the point of indifference.

A continuous buzzing sound rang in her ears—an omen that the barrier was about to collapse. Jian Xiaolou quickly leaped up, summoned her protective spiritual energy, and set up a shield around herself.

Finally, with a loud crash, the entire barrier shattered.

The surrounding scenery instantly changed. No longer a canyon, it was now a pitch-black, foul-smelling purgatory, thick with a stench that pierced straight to her brain.

"ROAR—!!"

Before Jian Xiaolou could get a clear look, a lion beast with its gaping maw lunged at her head. She quickly rolled away using a Ground Shrinking Technique, passing through a barrier and tumbling into a corridor.

Swish swish swish…

From the chaotic black mist above the cave ceiling, sharp stone spikes began to rain down.

Jian Xiaolou was shocked. The spikes were as dense as rain, their tips glowing faintly. They seemed to be imbued with a spell designed to break through any protective barrier. If her shield shattered, she'd be skewered like a porcupine.

She instinctively wanted to use the Ksitigarbha Sutra but stopped mid-thought. The only technique she had mastered was gravity manipulation, which would only make the spikes fall faster.

"Idiot," she scolded herself.

Rolling back into the barrier, she faced the second-order lion beast head-on.

"Take this!" Jian Xiaolou slapped her storage pouch, summoning a Beast-Binding Talisman. Xiao Hei reacted just as swiftly, flying forward and pecking viciously at the beast's left eye.

The lion beast, standing at least six feet tall, had bulging eyes the size of fists. With one peck, Xiao Hei burst its eye like a water balloon, sending blood spurting everywhere.

With a flick of its wings, Xiao Hei veered to the side, avoiding even a single drop of blood.

It disdainfully wiped its beak with its wing, cleaning off the bloodstains.

The once-mighty roar of the lion beast turned into a pitiful wail as it thrashed on the ground.

Jian Xiaolou stared at Xiao Hei in horror. She hadn't witnessed it blinding Jin He earlier, but compared to that, this was on an entirely different level of brutality.

The scent of blood attracted the howls of nearby beasts.

Jian Xiaolou finally noticed the environment she was in: a pitch-black underground dungeon, packed with beasts. Each beast had its own ten-foot cell, confined within visible barriers, as if imprisoned.

Despite her earlier experience, the barrier's strength didn't seem too overwhelming. Most of the beasts were second-order and could likely break through it. However, leaving their cells would expose them to the deadly spikes above. Staying within their barriers was a safer option.

So fast?

Jian Xiaolou stuck out her tongue, just about to inquire about Erhu's situation, when the sound of stone spikes hitting the ground drifted in from outside.

It seemed someone had arrived. She quickly formed a seal to lock the bone fragment and said, "Let's not talk about it for now."

She got up from the ground and extended her spiritual sense outward, spotting Zhan Tianming entering the area alone. He seemed to be carrying some treasure that protected him; the stone spikes fell but couldn't penetrate his shield.

Jian Xiaolou stiffened her spine. Erhu's warnings were still fresh in her mind—Zhan Tianming's three souls were entwined with a flood dragon demon. The demonic energy born from his soul had already infiltrated his bones and blood. Though it remained dormant for now, it was highly likely to erupt uncontrollably when he formed his Golden Core, triggering his transformation into a flood dragon.

That's why her karmic fire was needed to suppress it.

This red lotus karmic fire was truly versatile, capable of sticking its nose into all kinds of messy situations.

Jian Xiaolou wasn't sure whether Zhan Tianming was aware of his condition. She braced herself for the worst, especially since Mu Ruyi hadn't shown up, further fueling her suspicions. Facing Zhan Tianming, a Foundation Establishment perfection cultivator, while she was only in the early stage, her chances weren't great—but they weren't zero, either.

After all, he hadn't yet formed his Golden Core. Within the same major realm, the gap wasn't insurmountable.

However...

Jian Xiaolou hesitated. No matter what, Zhan Tianming was Big Long Legs' elder brother. If she accidentally killed him—even if it was unavoidable—her friendship with Big Long Legs would definitely be over.

"Jian Xiaolou?!"

Zhan Tianming immediately sensed her spying on him. His dark pupils contracted as he strode forward, stopping outside her cell. "So, you're here!"

Jian Xiaolou remained silent, her gaze fixed on his eyes.

Since witnessing Bai Lixi's abilities, she had been practicing the art of reading people. She wanted to discern whether Zhan Tianming was acting or genuinely unaware. However, his expressions changed too quickly for her to make sense of it.

At this moment, Zhan Tianming's emotions were a mix of excitement, pain, and an urge to cut her down with one strike!

He had only met her twice, but under Chu Fengchen's daily chanting—mentioning "Jian Xiaolou" nearly a million times—her name had become a nightmare, a curse that made him want to die every time he heard it.

Calming himself, he sensed something odd about the situation. He asked in a deep voice, "Why are you here?"

"Do you truly not know?" Jian Xiaolou probed.

"I truly wish I did," Zhan Tianming replied halfway before the communication talisman tied to his wrist suddenly lit up.

"What is it?"

Whatever was said on the other end caused Zhan Tianming's already grim expression to darken completely.

Jian Xiaolou watched as he slightly lowered his head, pressing two fingers against his temple, a picture of utter exhaustion.

Dongsu, Hundred Flowers City

"You two demon cultivators have occupied the best spot here all night, and if that wasn't enough, you even destroyed our Cold Jade Essence Table…"

A stunningly beautiful female cultivator leaned against a pillar, smiling as she looked at the three people inside. "Surely you owe me an explanation."

"Demon cultivators? Are you blind?" A child of about twelve or thirteen, with a single upright braid on his head and wearing an ill-fitting black robe, leapt forward, shaking his sleeves energetically. "We're human!"

"Human?"

The female cultivator covered her mouth and chuckled. Dongsu was full of demon cultivators, so she wasn't surprised. These two had concealed their demonic energy well, but their hair and eye colors gave them away—one had three feet of flowing silver hair and brilliant golden eyes, the other sported fiery red hair tied high and crimson pupils like flames.

Ah, how cute—they didn't even know to hide their traits.

If it were any other demon, she'd have ordered them thrown out.

But their looks and demeanor... Since entering, they hadn't been seduced by beauty; instead, it was beauty drawn to them.

Smiling, she said, "No need for idle chatter. Who will pay for the damages?"

Su He spread his empty hands wide and glanced at Ye You. "You took all my star crystals."

"L-L-Lord of the Cave…" Ah Ni swallowed hard, tugging at Ye You's robe. "We've nearly run out of star crystals after eating and drinking for days!"

"Is that so."

Surveying the chaos around him, Ye You leaned lazily against the railing, his silver-white robe highlighting his unnaturally pale complexion. His indolent gaze swept over the hall through the misty gauze. He mused, "Your selection of beauties seems rather mediocre. How about this—I'll leave my servant here for a month to work for you. Will that cover the cost?"

Su He froze for a moment before realizing who he meant. "You wouldn't dare!"

The female cultivator's eyes sparkled. "I think that's acceptable."

"This is his soul lock."

Ye You tossed it over casually, then stood, pulling Ah Ni into the air with him. "I'll come back for him in a month."

Su He yelled after him, "Ye You, you bastard! You're not even human!"

"I never claimed to be."

"Ye You, you dragon… dragon… whatever!" Pausing for a moment, he shouted, "You dragon scum!"