Chapter 9: Telepathy

Yu Xiu’s expression grew even more solemn.
She had seen clearly what Bu Xiwei had done to those two evil cultivators.
Aside from a slight feeling that the Demon Lord’s methods were indeed ruthless, Yu Xiu was more concerned that these two evil cultivators had mistaken Bu Xiwei for their “Venerable One.”

This indirectly suggested that the cultivation level of that “Venerable One” was by no means low.
To be able to seriously injure an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator at will, and instill such fear in them, one would need to be at least at the Golden Core stage.
Recalling the middle-aged man who had died at Bu Xiwei’s hands not long ago—also an evil cultivator, also at the Golden Core stage or above, and also connected to this place—Yu Xiu felt that “coincidence” alone was not a sufficient explanation.

Just then, Bu Xiwei leaned closer to Yu Xiu’s ear and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, “The evil cultivator from before was from the Han family. These two small fries also have Han family Gu worms on them.”
Yu Xiu was taken aback.
Bu Xiwei’s reminder came at the perfect moment, as if they were in perfect sync.
She had just begun to suspect as much, and Bu Xiwei immediately provided the confirmation.
This uncanny rapport felt unfamiliar to Yu Xiu, yet it also brought with it a strange sense of comfort and surprise.
She observed Bu Xiwei with her divine sense.
The ultramarine bird dumpling was still perched on her silver hairpin, its demeanor unchanged—
as if it was already used to communicating and cooperating with her in this manner.

Although she had long suspected that Bu Xiwei was a reincarnator with deep ties to her in a past life, Yu Xiu was not particularly interested in such things.
To Yu Xiu, the past was already over and didn’t need to be revisited.
This was exactly why she had been able to quickly accept her new life after transmigrating.
Those past life memories belonged solely to Bu Xiwei—Yu Xiu had never experienced or known them.
Now that Bu Xiwei had returned through reincarnation, the past was bound to change anyway.
So, it was even less worth getting caught up in.

Many cultivators in the Five Elements Sect were confused after getting to know Yu Xiu—how could someone so gentle and kind have chosen to cultivate the Path of Emotionlessness?
It was like encountering a soft spring breeze in the middle of a harsh, icy winter—the contrast was too striking.
But those who truly understood Yu Xiu knew that at her core, she was rational and calm to an extreme, almost to the point of emotionlessness.

Yu Xiu’s master, Master Chiyang, had lamented more than once that this disciple of his was the perfect candidate for cultivating the Path of Emotionlessness.
This unrivaled expert of the path had once said,
“The typical image of an emotionless cultivator—cold-hearted, stone-faced, silent all day, standing around like a block of ice—is actually not suitable for walking the Path of Emotionlessness.”
“They do progress the fastest at the beginning, but ten out of ten of them will eventually collapse further down the road.”
Back then, Master Chiyang had looked at the young Yu Xiu with an expression devoid of joy or sorrow and said,
“But someone like you has enough resilience. You won’t shatter from being too rigid. That’s why you’ll go far.”

Withdrawing the trace of divine sense she’d focused on Bu Xiwei, Yu Xiu cut off her slightly drifting thoughts and refocused on the matter at hand.
The “Han family” Bu Xiwei mentioned was one of the top factions in the demonic realm.
Five Elements Immortal Domain had designed it this way: the immortal path had its three great immortal sects, and the demonic path had its four great demonic sects.
The leader of the three great immortal sects was the Five Elements Sect; its demonic counterpart was the Seven Souls Sect.
Demon Lord Bu Xiwei was the Supreme Elder of the Seven Souls Sect.

However, after transmigrating, Yu Xiu gradually realized that unlike the undisputed leadership of the immortal path, the demonic path had long been plagued with internal controversy.
That was because another powerful demonic faction, the Youluo Sect, rivaled the Seven Souls Sect and even surpassed it in overall strength.
It could be said that without Bu Xiwei, the Seven Souls Sect wouldn’t even be able to compete with the Youluo Sect.

Besides these two, the four major demonic sects also included one family and one palace.
That family was the Han family.

The Han family’s core cultivation technique was Gu worm manipulation.
Evil cultivators already had a bad reputation on the righteous path, but within the Five Elements Sect, the Han family’s name was downright notorious.
Their Gu techniques were near perfect.
They could implant Gu worms into other people’s bodies without them noticing and use them for spying, eavesdropping, poisoning, control, and assassination.

Yu Xiu remembered seeing a summary video of Five Elements Immortal Domain in her past life.
Among the seven major factions, the Han family was the only one without any capturable characters.
In terms of characterization, Han family members were basically synonymous with phrases like “villainous schemers,” “conspiracies and betrayal,” “dirty tricks,” and “no bottom line.”
Their character portraits were always shifty-eyed and rat-faced—at a glance, it was obvious they were not capture targets.

Yu Xiu had never interacted with the Han family before, and with her current divine sense, she couldn’t detect the Gu worms on these two black-clad evil cultivators.
But Bu Xiwei, with her keen eyes, wouldn’t be mistaken.

With a grasp of the overall situation, Yu Xiu made her next decision.

She used a movement technique and instantly appeared before the early-stage Foundation Establishment evil cultivator, flicking a high-grade Bewilderment Talisman from her hand.
The talisman sank into the evil cultivator’s long hair and fused into her body.
At the same time, Yu Xiu pulled out a finely crafted sachet from her storage hairpin.
The sachet released a soft fragrance that surrounded the evil cultivator.

This sachet was a mid-grade spiritual artifact capable of making those who inhaled its scent speak the truth.
When combined with the effects of the Bewilderment Talisman, Yu Xiu now had full control for interrogation.

The evil cultivator was still kneeling and kowtowing in panic.
Under Yu Xiu’s mental command, her body froze, and she slowly raised her upper body.
She had been bowing so desperately that her upper face, once relatively clean, was now covered in blood—Yu Xiu could hardly make out her features.

“The two evil cultivators in Qingshui Village—are they yours?” Yu Xiu asked.
Her tone was mild.
This cultivator had just been brought under control; starting with low-stakes questions would help break down her defenses.

The evil cultivator stared blankly, and after a long pause, finally replied, “Yes…”

Yu Xiu took out the note she had found at the ruined temple in Qingshui Village.
She showed it to the woman. “Do you recognize this?”

“I recognize it…” came the soft, dazed reply, like someone talking in their sleep.

Yu Xiu asked again, “What’s written on it?”

“Four hundred li south…” the woman murmured. “Once enough meat has been gathered for the Venerable One… offer it up immediately…”

So that was the rest of the message.

Yu Xiu quickly pieced things together in her mind.
The evil cultivators had appeared in Qingshui Village three years ago.
Given this one’s Foundation Establishment level, she was likely the superior who had placed the two there.
The message in the ruined temple must have been written over three years ago—by a mortal, no less, to avoid detection by cultivators.
The note had already yellowed with age and the handwriting was fading.

“Besides Qingshui Village, how many other such nests have you set up?” Yu Xiu pressed further.

“Four…” the evil cultivator answered smoothly.

Seeing her cooperate so easily, Yu Xiu asked the final, most crucial question.
“What is the identity of your Venerable One?”

The evil cultivator opened her mouth, about to respond, when—
suddenly, a change occurred.

Her abdomen bulged unnaturally—
and in the next instant, it exploded with a deafening bang.

Bu Xiwei reacted even faster than Yu Xiu.
The ultramarine bird dumpling darted in front of Yu Xiu, using its tiny body to shield her—