The Bird Demon gathered the Fei Zhen, the Jade Pendant, and Zhanfeng into its own hands.
He gazed at the Jade Pendant in his hand, and an unexpected hint of sorrow flashed through his avian eyes.
“My son, Yang Yuting, how did he die?” He raised his head to look at Lin Xue, parted his beak, and asked her.
Lin Xue and Zhang Zongnian were both stunned.
My son, Yang Yuting?
How could Yang Yuting’s father be a Bird Demon?
Wasn’t his father supposed to be Yang Deguang, the Commander of the Demon-Slaying Bureau in Xichuan?
The Bird Demon saw their confusion, snorted coldly, and explained, “This bird is a spirit beast my Yang Family rented from the Beast Taming Sect. Its user can remotely control the beast’s body.”
“I am the Yang Family Patriarch, Yang Deguang. Right now, it is I who am controlling this bird.”
“Yang Yuting is my direct eldest son, my future successor, the Yang Family’s future Zhuji Qi cultivator, and the next family head.”
“You, demon, killed Yuting, and even snatched the Yang Family’s Foundation-building Pill from his body. Do you think my Yang Family will let you go so easily?”
“This is demon territory after all. My Yang Family couldn’t barge in recklessly, so we had no choice but to seek help from the Beast Taming Sect and rent this spirit beast at the Body Tempering Stage later phase.”
“My clan members and I have been taking turns controlling this crow, waiting for you, demon, at the entrance of Luoyun Cave for eight days. Today, we finally caught you.”
“You killed my son. I must ask: how did he die?”
Zhang Zongnian was shocked at the Bird Demon’s words, his eyes wide.
Foundation-building Pill?
Lin Xue actually snatched the Yang Family’s Foundation-building Pill from Yang Yuting!
No wonder the Ancestor of the Yang Family kept chasing after her.
A thought suddenly rose in his heart: If Lin Xue hadn’t taken that Foundation-building Pill, would the Yang Family’s ancestor have come to his home while chasing her, and would his mother have survived?
Remembering his mother’s tragic death, Zhang Zongnian’s feelings became complicated.
But then he thought, Lin Xue only took the Foundation-building Pill because Yang Yuting was hunting her and was killed in return, so she got it from him.
Even if Lin Xue gave the Foundation-building Pill back to the Yang Family’s ancestor, there’s no way the Yang Family would spare her.
So the reason for his mother’s death couldn’t possibly be blamed on Lin Xue.
In the end, it was all the Yang Family’s fault!
Zhang Zongnian’s eyes once again filled with hatred as he stared at the Bird Demon.
Unfortunately, the Bird Demon was just a tool, not a true Yang Family member.
Lin Xue said nothing.
She brought up her panel and rapidly added points to the Changsheng Jue.
After investing 400 experience points,
The Changsheng Jue advanced from Qi Refinement Third Level Complete to Qi Refining Middle Stage Complete.
The plus sign at the end disappeared.
The technique Zhang Zongnian had given her only reached the early to middle Qi Refining stages.
Even with more experience, she could only raise Changsheng Jue to the peak of Qi Refining Middle Stage.
The Bird Demon before her was at the later stage of Body Tempering Stage, and Lin Xue felt her strength was still slightly lacking.
If she still had the Fei Zhen in her hands, she could have relied on that heaven-defying skill, Qian Ji Zhi Meng, to counterkill this Bird Demon.
Earlier, killing Hong Huzhi and his subordinates was thanks to the dense volley of Fei Zhen and the overpowered Qian Ji Zhi Meng, allowing her to challenge opponents above her level, one against nine.
But now, who knows what method the Bird Demon had used to forcibly snatch all those Fei Zhen from her hands.
Her greatest reliance was now gone.
Lin Xue looked at the Bird Demon’s hand, holding that handful of silver-glinting Fei Zhen, and could only be grateful that he was a Body Tempering later stage demon beast and not a Yang Family cultivator in person.
Qian Ji Zhi Meng could only be used by cultivators with Spiritual Power.
If a Human Cultivator who knew Qian Ji Zhi Meng were wielding it, she wasn’t sure she could survive such a terrifying storm of needles.
The Bird Demon followed Lin Xue’s gaze to the Fei Zhen in its hand, saying,
“This set of Fei Zhen was forged from deep-sea meteoric iron at great expense, crafted for my son Yuting as an offensive Official Demon-Slaying Weapon. Incredibly sharp. Paired with Qian Ji Zhi Meng, its power increases dramatically.”
“Who would’ve thought you, demon, could use this divine skill too? If you’d used this set of Fei Zhen against this crow, it might not have been able to withstand it. So I took the Fei Zhen back.”
“The Yang Family’s Official Demon-Slaying Weapons always have a deep restriction that cannot be erased. Even if they fall into outsider hands, when they meet a Yang Family member who knows the deepest restriction, they will obediently return to us.”
Lin Xue suddenly understood.
No wonder back then Yang Yuhai had so readily lifted the restriction on all his treasures and handed them to her without hesitation.
It turned out that the Yang Family still controlled the underlying restriction and could reclaim these Official Demon-Slaying Weapons at will.
She secretly touched the ring on her finger.
This Teleportation Ring, apparently, Yang Deguang didn’t know about and hadn’t reclaimed.
She recalled Yang Yuhai saying that it was a protective item from his mother, likely a dowry from her family, not a Yang Family possession and thus not subject to Yang Deguang’s control.
The Bird Demon fluffed up the feathers on its neck, revealing a Storage Pouch, into which it put away the Fei Zhen and the Jade Pendant.
The wing-turned-arm gripped Zhanfeng tightly, stepping closer to Lin Xue, and coldly asked,
“Demon, I asked you a question and you have yet to answer. Tell me, how did my son Yuting die? Where did you put that Foundation-building Pill?”
“Answer quickly and hand over the Foundation-building Pill. I’ll grant you a whole corpse.”
“Otherwise, I’ll kill you and soul-search, dooming you to eternal torment!”
Lin Xue’s heart raced with anxiety.
Time couldn’t be dragged out.
If Hong Yanzhi realized she wasn’t coming back, she might send people to investigate.
So many little demons saw Hong Huzhi lead her out of the cave; they might report back as well.
They’d be found here sooner or later.
She had to deal with this Bird Demon and escape before the other demons arrived.
But her Spiritual Power had been nearly exhausted driving the Fei Zhen earlier; now she was basically “out of mana,” having only recovered a little.
Zhang Zongnian was even worse off, his combat power nearly negligible.
A head-on confrontation was impossible—she had to come up with another way.
She quickly searched the Storage Space of her Teleportation Ring and the Storage Pouch in her sleeve, looking for anything useful.
Suddenly, her eyes landed on an item, and an idea came to her at once.
She let out a cold laugh and replied, “Want to know how your son died? Simple—why not go ask him yourself?”
Yang Deguang heard Lin Xue’s answer, and a cold smile appeared on his bird face.
“Heh, it seems you, Demon Snake, are stubborn as ever. Then I’ll just kill you and soul-search instead.”
He gripped Zhanfeng, dashed at Lin Xue, and unleashed the genuine Monster-Subduing Solar Saber, slashing down at her.
The saber wind was fierce, the cold glint biting, sharp beyond compare.
Yang Deguang was utterly confident.
This little demon before him was only at Body Tempering Middle Stage, while the crow he controlled was at the later stage of Body Tempering.
He was sure he’d subdue and kill this snake demon quickly, then soul-search her, learn the Foundation-building Pill’s whereabouts, reclaim it, and return triumphantly to Xichuan.
As for that foolish human brat nearby, Yang Deguang didn’t even spare him a thought.
Just a lowly Qi Refinement Third Level Complete town runner—killing him was no different from squashing a bug. He wasn’t worth the Yang Family Patriarch’s attention.
As Yang Deguang ignored him and controlled the Bird Demon to attack Lin Xue, Zhang Zongnian was already moving.
He rushed toward the corpse of a Tiger Demon that still had a weapon, snatched up the broadsword from the ground, and charged back toward them.
Yang Deguang’s blade came down on Lin Xue, hitting squarely, splitting her in two.
But then, her body turned into a sheet of burning white paper.
Her real body appeared ten steps away.
With a thought, Lin Xue summoned the Blood Fiend from her ring’s Storage Space into her hand.
Then, wielding her saber in her right hand, she used the Swiftwind Sword Manual and, at astonishing speed, charged at the Bird Demon.
Yang Deguang sneered, swung his saber back, and easily blocked Lin Xue’s attack.
But then, he heard a rushing sound overhead—while Lin Xue attacked with her right hand, she had flicked out her left, unfurling a massive net that spread out to cover the sky and descended straight down upon him.
Yang Deguang’s pupils contracted instantly.
He recognized that item—Fuyao Wang!
He was stunned.
Fuyao Wang was one of the Demon-Slaying Bureau’s Official Demon-Slaying Weapons, capable of suppressing all demons at the Body Tempering Stage.
He himself was a Human Cultivator, so he wasn’t afraid of it.
But the crow he controlled was a true Body Tempering Stage demon beast—if caught by the Fuyao Wang, it would be immobilized.
How did this little demon get her hands on that?
Yang Deguang desperately controlled the Crow Demon to dodge aside, trying to escape the Fuyao Wang.
But Lin Xue, wielding her short saber, hounded him closely, blocking his escape at every turn.
The net descended. Blocked by Lin Xue, Yang Deguang failed to get away, and he and Lin Xue were both caught under the net.
The two demons instantly collapsed to the ground, bodies completely suppressed by the Fuyao Wang, unable to move a muscle.
Just then, Zhang Zongnian arrived, seeing Lin Xue and the Bird Demon both trapped under the Fuyao Wang at his feet, both immobilized, only their eyes able to move.
Both Lin Xue and Yang Deguang turned their eyes to the only person still able to move—Zhang Zongnian.
Zhang Zongnian instantly understood Lin Xue’s intention.
Without hesitation, he raised the blade and stabbed it into the netted Bird Demon.
Yang Deguang’s vision went black, and his control over the Bird Demon was cut off.
He opened his eyes back in the Yang Family residence’s study, his face full of fury and shock.
He had never expected the Body Tempering later stage Crow Demon, rented from the Beast Taming Sect at great expense, to die so disgracefully at the hands of the insignificant small fry he’d disregarded.
How could he possibly explain this to the Ancestor?
He smashed the desk before him with a single palm.