Tian Yuxue pushed him with all her strength, but Ji Cang remained immovable, like a mountain.
It wasn’t until she exhausted herself that he finally acted. Pressing her shoulders, he guided her to sit down, then crossed his arms and lowered his head, looking at the sulking little girl.
“You want to see Sang Dai?”
Tian Yuxue’s eyes lit up. “Can I?”
She seemed genuinely delighted, and for the first time, her usually cold little face broke into a smile.
Ji Cang was silent for a moment before asking, “Why don’t you want to stay in the Beast Palace?”
“I want to play with Dai Dai.”
“…I can play with you.”
“…I refuse.”
“Your refusal is meaningless.”
Tian Yuxue’s eyes widened in disbelief. “See, see? You don’t want me to be happy at all!”
Ji Cang sighed, a hint of exasperation in his voice. “Then what will make you happy?”
“I want to see Dai Dai. I want to play with her for a while.”
Although she was thousands of years old, she had only been awake for a little over a decade. Most of her life had been spent in slumber, so her mind was no different from that of a teenage girl—playful and fond of food.
Ji Cang crouched down in front of her and asked, “Do you really want to see her?”
Tian Yuxue nodded eagerly. “Yes!!”
Her joy was evident, and Ji Cang’s thin lips pressed together slightly as he hesitated. Finally, he gave in.
“She sent a letter yesterday. This Sovereign one didn’t give it to you.”
Tian Yuxue immediately exploded. “You dare intercept a letter from Dai Dai to me?!”
She stood up, ready to strike Ji Cang.
Ji Cang raised his head and looked at her calmly. “Do you still want to hear it? If you do, sit down.”
Tian Yuxue: “…I’ll listen!”
Patience was an art. If she could master it, she could rule all four realms.
Ji Cang said, “Sang Dai asked you for a favor.”
Tian Yuxue’s eyes lit up with surprise. “She’s asking me?”
“Yes, she’s asking you.”
She sprang to her feet, ready to leave. “Let’s go, I’m happy to help! Dai Dai is my friend.”
Her nature was simple—she liked anyone who treated her well, regardless of their status. Sang Dai was the best to her, having suppressed the extreme cold that had plagued her for thousands of years, granting her freedom. That was why she wanted to be friends with Sang Dai.
Ji Cang grabbed her wrist. “Do you even know what kind of favor it is?”
Tian Yuxue retorted, “No matter what it is, I’ll help! If Dai Dai is asking me, it must be something I can do.”
At this moment, she was surprisingly clever.
Ji Cang stared at her for a moment as she began to struggle, trying to free her wrist from his grip.
He let out a soft sigh, loosened his hold, and took the lead, walking outside.
“Fine. This Sovereign one will take you to the Beast Realm.”
He strode quickly out the door. Tian Yuxue watched his retreating figure and thought this man was truly strange—sunny one moment, stormy the next. It was much more fun being with someone like Dai Dai, who was emotionally stable.
Excited, Tian Yuxue dashed out after him. She was going to find Dai Dai to play!
—
Sang Dai finished dressing and opened the door. Su Xuan had already returned from his duties for the day.
The moon hung high in the sky, and Su Xuan stood in the courtyard, bathed in its silver glow.
Sang Dai walked toward him.
They had important matters to attend to soon. The sword cultivator had deliberately changed into a sleek blue dress and tied her hair into a high bun with a simple wooden hairpin.
Su Xuan’s brows furrowed slightly when he saw the wooden hairpin in her hair. In a low voice, he called, “Cui Shao.”
Understanding his meaning, Cui Shao bowed and walked into the hall.
A moment later, she returned with an intricately crafted silver hairpin, adorned with exquisite details.
Sang Dai hesitated. “…Su Xuan, this hairpin is too expensive. What if it gets broken?”
Without a word, Su Xuan deftly untied her bun, re-styled her hair into a neat updo, and secured it with the elegant silver Nine-Ring Hairpin.
“If this thing could be so easily broken, it wouldn’t deserve to be the symbol of a Beast Queen.”
The Nine-Ring Hairpin looked its best only when worn by her.
Su Xuan thought she looked stunning.
[So beautiful. Give Dai Dai a kiss.]
Sang Dai lowered her gaze, tightening her sash as she maintained a calm demeanor. “Let’s go. I sent a message to Tian Yuxue yesterday; she should come.”
Su Xuan walked alongside her, his tone cold. “Ji Cang is with her. He might not let her.”
At the mention of this, Sang Dai brought up a question that had puzzled her for some time.
“Why did Ji Cang ally with the royal family? What benefits did they exchange?”
Su Xuan replied, “Ji Cang’s attack on the Immortal Realm wasn’t for the spiritual veins. He was simply following the orders of that person behind the scenes. It was that person who told Ji Cang to lead an army to attack the Immortal Realm and occupy the Kongsang Realm. As for the benefits that person promised Ji Cang…”
Sang Dai raised an eyebrow. “Tian Yuxue?”
“Possibly. In the past, Ji Cang fought with the Immortal Realm for the spiritual veins, but this time, it’s clear that spiritual veins weren’t his goal. He followed that person’s orders to attack the Immortal Realm, likely because he was promised something else—something likely tied to Tian Yuxue.”
They weren’t fools; it was obvious that there was a connection between Ji Cang and Tian Yuxue. Ji Cang cared about Tian Yuxue, even if it was one-sided.
Sang Dai nodded. “The person behind the scenes made a deal with Fu You, having him auction the Heaven-grade spiritual root within the Bairen Auction House to lure me there, and promised to help Fu You save someone. He also made a deal with Ji Cang, ordering him to attack the Immortal Realm in exchange for a benefit—possibly something related to Tian Yuxue’s innate power. The method to weaken her innate power might have been what that person gave Ji Cang.”
They hadn’t had the opportunity to confirm what the benefit was, but now they could guess.
Two doubts had been resolved, but one remained.
Sang Dai asked again, “And what about the royal family? The Beast Realm alone couldn’t possibly conquer the Kongsang Realm. Was the Yao Realm’s secret support of the Beast Realm also related to that person behind the scenes?”
Su Xuan’s expression darkened. He shook his head. “All we know is that the reinforcements came from the royal family, but the captured individuals couldn’t be interrogated. They were all deathsworn, leaving no solid evidence. Still, I suspect it’s connected to my father.”
Even after being skinned alive, their blood and flesh scraped clean by thirteen flays, they revealed nothing and died resolutely.
Sang Dai sighed softly, sensing that the little fox was growing angry.
She took the initiative to hold Su Xuan’s hand and said, “It’s alright. I’ll help you find out.”
By now, they had left the Beast Palace. Su Xuan paused mid-step and turned to look at her.
Sang Dai said, “Su Xuan, trust me.”
Su Xuan, of course, trusted her.
It was Sang Dai who had given him the courage to abandon everything, to let go of his inner reservations, and to dismantle the entire royal family to avenge his mother.
He curled his lips into a faint smile, leaned down, and gave the little sword cultivator a brief hug.
“Mm. I know.”
The embrace was short-lived. Today, Su Xuan was calm and composed. Rising to his full height, he adjusted the silver feather ornament at Sang Dai’s waist.
He lowered his eyes and obediently helped the sword cultivator tidy her clothes. It was already late at night, and the road was completely deserted.
Su Xuan said, “Wear the silver feather properly. Call for me if anything happens.”
Sang Dai smiled, raising the Zhiyu Sword in her hand and then gesturing to the Changmang bracelet on her left wrist. “It’s fine.”
“Should I bring Qingwu as well?”
“You keep it. In case something like last time with Bi Fang happens and you can’t use Hellfire, having Qingwu with you would be better.”
“…Alright. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
The night wind brushed through their hair, silver strands intertwining with black, mingling their breaths and presence.
Suddenly, Sang Dai rose on her toes and reached out to touch the little fox’s silver hair.
He bent down, revealing his ear, and Sang Dai gently stroked it.
“Su Xuan, this time I’m with you, clearing the path for your future,” Sang Dai said with a smile. “From now on, Lord Beast King will have no weaknesses and can move forward, living a happy life.”
Su Xuan looked into her eyes, the smile in his own deepening.
“Alright, Dai Dai.”
He watched as Sang Dai turned and walked away. This time, they were splitting up, taking separate paths to handle their respective tasks before reuniting later.
The sword cultivator’s figure remained as decisive as ever, and in the blink of an eye, she disappeared through a flash of spiritual energy.
Su Xuan chuckled softly. There was one thing he hadn’t had time to say.
He could never truly be without a weakness.
Sang Dai was his greatest weakness.
But she was more than just his weakness; she could also become his armor for the future.
She would protect him.
Su Xuan turned, transforming into a swift and graceful nine-tailed fox. He leapt onto the rooftop and dashed off in the opposite direction of Sang Dai.
—
The wind howled as heavy rain began to fall.
The residence of the spirit beast clan royal family lay in the farthest northern reaches of the Beast Realm, spanning a vast territory. The palace itself was large enough to occupy an entire city.
A guard yawned, leaning against the wall, nodding off as his head bobbed up and down.
The next shift arrived, patting his shoulder. “It’s raining. You should check the Eight Elephants Fire Array.”
The other guard woke groggily and glanced toward the fire array outside the palace.
The royal family of the nine-tailed fox clan was born of Hellfire, so the Eight Elephants Fire Array was a formation made from the collective Hellfire of countless nine-tailed foxes, used to protect the palace of the Beast Realm.
Ordinary people approaching it would be burned to ashes, their souls utterly destroyed before they even got close. Even if someone managed to enter, the fire array would relentlessly hunt them down until they were incinerated.
Even the guards, who bore the royal family’s seals on their bodies, didn’t dare venture too close to the Hellfire array.
Though it rained tonight, Hellfire couldn’t be extinguished by rain. The flames outside the palace continued to burn fiercely.
As the guard approached the Eight Elephants Fire Array, he immediately felt the heat engulf his entire body.
Grimacing, he endured the scorching sensation and used his spiritual energy to inspect one of the array’s core points.
The Eight Elephants Fire Array had eight core points, and they were stationed to guard one of them.
After probing with spiritual energy, the core point appeared intact. The guard sighed in relief, ready to head back for some rest.
He stood, his neck stiff from leaning against the doorframe to sleep earlier.
“Hiss.”
Stretching his neck, he tilted his head back and rotated it.
When he groggily opened his eyes, he found himself locking gazes with a figure hidden in the night.
The guard blinked, thinking he was still half-asleep.
He rubbed his eyes vigorously and looked again.
High above, a figure stood suspended in the air, sword in hand. Her black hair danced wildly in the fierce wind, and though the rain poured, it was kept at bay by the spiritual barrier surrounding her. She remained pristine and composed, her cold black eyes casting a sharp gaze downward.
The hairpin on her head—
It was the Nine-Ring Hairpin.
“S-S-Sang… Sang Dai!!”
The guard shouted her name loudly, drawing the attention of the surrounding demon soldiers, who all looked up.
No one knew when she had arrived or how long she had been watching. If she had seen the core of the array…
“She must not be allowed in! Form up—”
Before he could finish speaking, Changmang shot out, snaking through the air and wrapping around his neck. In an instant, it tightened and snapped his neck.
The remaining guards screamed in terror. “The Eight Elephants Fire Array can hold her back! It will drain her spiritual energy—she can’t get past the array. Quickly, send a message for reinforcements!”
Sang Dai lowered her gaze to meet the guard’s eyes, then suddenly curved her lips into a faint smile.
It was as though an invisible hand had clenched around his heart. The guard’s eyes widened in sheer panic.
Sang Dai softly called, “Tian Yuxue.”
“Coming, Dai Dai!”
As her voice fell, a playful, youthful voice rang out from the distance.
A girl dressed in white dashed into the Hellfire. She had no spiritual barrier surrounding her, yet the flames did not harm her in the slightest.
That was…
The Great Cold, a force that countered Hellfire!
Tian Yuxue tilted her head slightly and looked up at Sang Dai in the void, her face beaming with a playful smile. She even tossed her a flirtatious wink.
But she quickly refocused on the task at hand. The mirth in her eyes disappeared as the winds and snow around her began to intensify, building into a powerful storm.
“Great Cold.”
Her crisp, icy voice fell.
From beneath Tian Yuxue’s feet, a sheet of ice extended relentlessly, surging forward like an unstoppable tide, freezing the raging Hellfire into sculptures of ice.
The Eight Elephants Fire Array attempted to counteract, fighting to break through the overwhelming power of the Great Cold.
At that moment, Sang Dai moved. Sword in hand, she darted through the air like lightning, diving straight toward the frozen fire array.
The Zhiyu Sword plunged into the core of the array. The immense spiritual energy radiating from the array clashed fiercely with the Zhiyu Sword, trying desperately to repel the sword cultivator and prevent her from shattering it.
Kneeling on one knee, Sang Dai gripped her sword tightly, pushing it deeper into the core with steady determination. Her posture remained unwavering.
She stood up, swiftly forming hand seals behind her. The light emanating from the Zhiyu Sword grew brighter and brighter.
The blade, embedded vertically in the array’s core, continued to suppress it. Bit by bit, the array core cracked under the relentless pressure of the sword’s glow.
The seal was complete. Sang Dai raised her hand, summoning the seal. A massive spell mark descended upon the array core.
“The array links, break.”
With that command, the core of the array in the southeastern corner of the royal palace shattered instantly, and the dissipating spiritual energy sent hundreds of guards flying to the ground.
At the same time, Tian Yuxue’s Great Cold spread across the entire perimeter of the palace, temporarily freezing the raging Hellfire.
The sword cultivator’s spiritual energy flowed through the broken core she had just destroyed, rapidly sensing the other seven cores. Her energy surged through the array like a torrent, shattering the remaining seven cores in one go.
Massive waves of spiritual energy erupted in all directions—east, west, south, north, northeast, northwest, and southwest.
In an instant, the Eight Elephants Fire Array, the pride of the royal family—
Was broken.
Sang Dai sheathed her sword and, with a flicker of her figure, darted into the throng of demon soldiers.
Her blade swept across one neck after another. Before the guards could even register the crisis or fear, pain struck first.
Blood spurted violently.
As the sharp sword tore through their blood vessels, they locked eyes with the sword cultivator’s pitch-black gaze.
There was no emotion in those eyes, only a cold, unyielding intent to kill.