Seeing that the two were about to come to blows, Qin Luoyi quickly raised her hand to pull back the elder in front of her, shaking her head at him.
“小Fuzi, when have we people of Li Xun ever struck so recklessly?”
she said, glancing toward the farther distance where Tu Shan Yunxi stood, her tone laced with mockery.
“We are not some barbaric folk who rampage wildly on another’s territory.”
The implication was clear.
“Apologies, it was this old servant’s rudeness.”
At her words, the elder who had been brimming with murderous intent suddenly withdrew it as if performing a scene, slightly bowing to the young girl before retreating to his original spot.
But his gaze never left Tu Shan Yunxi.
“Tu Shan Empress, you should cease your divine arts now, shouldn’t you? It’s not good to harm our harmony, besides… I have already gone this far, surely you have no more objections?”
“An artifact imbued with Dao Rhyme indeed cannot be forged.”
Tu Shan Yunxi withdrew her gaze, her killing intent instantly dissipating.
She retracted the soul she had just absorbed back into her Xiao Kongjian, gently nodding.
However, Tu Shan Huaizhi, who had been in a daze the entire time, finally came to her senses.
She tugged on her mother’s sleeve, lifted her hand to point at the scene just played, then gestured twice toward the large round face from moments before.
She wanted to speak but found herself unable to utter a word.
Qin Luoyi, watching the fidgeting little Fox Demon with a puzzled expression, had no patience for the obviously silly little fox.
After all, she had more important matters at hand—namely, finding Yun Mu.
Although the aura she left inside her body was faint, she could still vaguely sense that the youth was somewhere on this land at this very moment.
Just as she was about to set off, Tu Shan Huaizhi raised her hand to stop her.
“What do you mean by this?”
“You may enter, but this one may not. His cultivation is a bit too high; he might frighten the more timid demons.”
“Fine. If that’s the case, then little Fuzi, you stay here. I’ll be back soon. That should be alright, right?”
The response was resolute but still a shake of the head.
“What do you mean? You’ve seen the evidence, and I’m not bringing anyone else. You, a sovereign empress… are you trying to play dirty?”
“Not at all. I’m just worried your power might cause issues within the Hundred Demons’ territory, so please endure it for a little while.”
Tu Shan Huaizhi glanced sideways at the girl, gently raising her hand to envelop her body in her spiritual energy.
Only then did she lower the blocking hand and gesture politely, “Please, but I must remind you: if Yun Mu does not wish to leave, you must not force him.”
“Hmph!”
The girl did not reply.
Closing her eyes, she sensed the thin membrane-like demon energy surrounding her and, finding no problems, turned and leapt to the ground, heading deeper into the Hundred Demons’ domain.
Little Fuzi, leaning on her cane, watched the gradually receding figure until it vanished from sight before retracting her gaze.
“You two, what about this lowly one?”
“You naturally return to wherever you came from. Otherwise, I will kill you here and now.”
The originally mild Tu Shan Yunxi’s aura surged sharply once Qin Luoyi had left.
She stared coldly at the official from Li Xun, her murderous intent no longer concealed.
“Kill me? That’s unlikely, considering my skill in escape is quite strong.”
“So you do not intend to leave?”
“Actually…”
Little Fuzi’s spiritual energy was just released when her brow suddenly furrowed, then she resumed smiling.
“Apologies, it was this one’s rudeness. I shall leave at once.”
With that, she left behind a few words before transforming into a streak of light and disappearing.
“If the Princess is harmed even slightly, I will return with a vengeance. Accompanying me will be Li Xun’s million Iron Cavalry.”
“If you do not wish to witness your Home trampled by Li Xun’s horses, then consider carefully the consequences of your actions.”
Afterward, there was a long silence.
Until—
“Waaah! Finally, I can speak!”
When the echo completely faded from the air, Tu Shan Huaizhi, whose mouth had been sealed by her own mother, finally spoke.
She took deep, heavy breaths for a long while, then pointed at the midair where the replayed scene had appeared and continued.
“Mother, mother! Wasn’t Uncle Hu the one who brought the benefactor back? Then why in the scene just now did a chubby version of Grandpa Li appear?”
The “uncle” and “grandpa” she mentioned referred to Hu Delu and Li Changyi.
“Probably some trick played by that Hu Delu fellow, since his control over the Power of Time is deeper than that of the Yin Yang Time Fish.”
“If so, this so-called Hui Ying Shi is easily influenced by his demon energy.”
“Eh? Is that so…”
The little Fox Demon nodded vaguely in understanding, her pink tail lightly swaying.
“Then how did Uncle Hu know about this beforehand? No matter how powerful the demon energy, he can’t predict these things, right?”
“I was the one who had him drop that Token. As for the disguise, that was his own decision, unrelated to me.”
“You had him do that… Wait, does that mean you already knew this hot-tempered Princess of Li Xun would come looking for us? Why… why did you do that?”
“Why? It’s a bit difficult to explain as a mother, but… Huaizhi, aren’t you going to stop this uninvited guest? She’s come after your Yun Mu brother.”
That single sentence immediately put the questioning girl on alert.
“Oh right! How could I forget? No, I have to stop her from finding the benefactor—no, Yun Mu brother.”
She said this as she turned and started to leave, but stopped a few steps out.
“Um… Mother, where is Yun Mu brother right now?”
she asked, scratching her head.
“At the foot of Qingqiu’s main peak. Hurry, his coming or staying is up to you for now.”
“Okay, okay! I’ll try my best!”
She watched the girl, who had already transformed into fox form, and in her eyes flickered an inexplicable emotion.
Only when that pink figure vanished into the lush greenery did she lower her gaze to her right hand.
In the palm, a jade-like, shimmering green Star Power danced lightly, emitting the unique aura of life, crystal clear and pure.
Behind her, the figure of Eleven silently appeared, stretching leisurely, looking comfortable.
“Test’s done? How was it, do you feel a connection?”
“Whether or not there’s a connection, hard to say. Personality’s okay, but… probably a bit stubborn.”
“No big deal. Oh right, here.”
Tu Shan Huaizhi split the shimmering green Star Power in her hand in two and offered one half forward.
“One part for you, the other has other uses.”
“This is Star Power infused with the Dao Rhyme of Life?”
“Mm, I took it from that little Qin Luoyi girl. Figured it might be useful to you, so I brought some over.”
“Qin Luoyi? Strange name. You didn’t get hostile toward her, right?”
“No, killing Qin Junyin’s precious daughter casually would probably start a war. Given the current situation of the demon race, the chances of losing are quite high.”
“High personal realm, but in reality a scattered mess. When overall strength is similar, it’s easy to lose—sounds like your demon race’s nature.”
“Haha, our two clans are about even then, huh?”
“All right, enough chat. I have other things to do. Anyway—hope that when you’re in trouble in the Hundred Demons, you’ll lend a hand at least once.”
“Mm.”
With that, Eleven asked no more.
She wrapped the Star Power in her own energy and stored it deep within her Qian Kun Space.
Inside, another aura of roughly the same size simmered—a blood-red energy infused with Death Qi.
This was what she had taken from Shangguan Xunyi just now.