Throughout the Five Continents, one would be hard-pressed to find worse offense than demonic collusion. No matter how bold, the Yan clan dared not bear this crime. Unfortunately for them, Xinzi needed three things:
Scapegoats to make the demon's Yanzhou presence as understandable as possible.
A distraction that'd collect the attention of the Demon Slaying hall.
And if possible, an opportunity to harvest massive benefits.
Demons collecting souls and Evil Qi was just the norm. But without the backing of local forces, only a fool would dare to expose his presence on such a large scale. After all, the Demon Slaying hall would hunt them down relentlessly.
This also made the demon's "rampant actions" in the White Immortal sect and Thousand Roads mountain more understandable as, with the Yanzhou Hegemon to back him, he didn't have anything to fear.
Last but not the least, Yan Zhong's Dao Heart suffered severe damages from Qingxin's brutal stomping. Xinzi could smell the weaknesses within, and if Yan Zhong could survive the scapegoating, these weaknesses would become our monk's opportunity to collect a Dao Revelation goon—perhaps even the entire Yan clan.
'The mantis preys on the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. If only I'd not tried to capitalize on this demon's attack, none of this would be happening.' Regret welled up in the Hegemon's heart. Poor Yan Zhong couldn't understand why this demon set up this ruthless ploy. Handled poorly, at best this would result in his death. At worst, the Yan clan would follow him to the grave.
Rage and unwillingness clashed in his heart. Any attempt at destroying this demon would now look like a desperate move meant to erase the evidence of his crimes. And even if he could prove that he didn't have previous exchange with the demon, he couldn't do the same for the entire Yan clan!
Collecting banners and guards for later use, Xinzi bolted into the distance—but not before leaving Yan Zhong a mental message. 'Betraying This King wasn't the smartest choice you've made today, but This King is willing to forgive you. Meet me at the Gorge of Thousand Venoms—but not only bring the Fen's Burning Souls that you owe me, but also the Nine Paths of Yin and Yang.'
Confusion strained Yan Zhong's face. It was almost as if the demon genuinely believed in a previous arrangement—making even the Hegemon consider that perhaps, one senseless bastard of his clan did strike a foul bargain. Here, Yan Zhong faced two choices:
One, refuse to go and watch the Demon Slaying hall's overbearing inquisition bring an end to the Yan bloodline.
Two, go, but if he did, not only did he have to follow the demon's every instruction, but he'd also need to bring his entire clan with him—less the Demon Slaying hall exterminated them in his absence.
Backed into a corner, Yan Zhong lowered his head. 'Even in the Yan clan, few know that for a thousand years, I've been studying the Nine Paths to create a superior battle art. At this point, we can't afford half-assed measures.'
"The Fen clan is trying to sow discord and deserves to be damned! Disciples of the Yan clan, strike down the Fen rebellion and follow your patriarch to hunt down the demon! For the glory of the Fire Spirit race, for the glory of Heaven, till we cleanse our names from today's framing job, we shall not rest!" Yan Zhong made a bold statement, but didn't forget to send trustworthy loyalists orders to collect the Fen souls and bring them on the chase.
In a flash, the Fen clan was wiped out, the Yan went on an exodus, and the entire Yanzhou political sphere suffered a complete upheaval.
…
Meanwhile, disguised as a harmless oriole, Xinzi's true body flew towards Dong Ling's window—unfettered by all the bluster in the sect. Due to the commotion triggered by the Immortal Rhythm, Guang Fanghu should have left his post as guardian of Dong Ling's door, but too much of a nuisance, the yang patriarch refused to go, instead entering meditation on his daughter's doorstep.
"Let me out! Let me out! Dad, this isn't funny! I did nothing wrong! You can't lock me up for no reason! When did you become such a criminal? Let me out!" Dong Ling's squeals of protest spread far and wide, but failed to disturb Guang Fanghu, who relished in the new atmosphere.
"Young lady, this is an opportunity for the entire sect to make a massive leap. Shut up and cultivate. When you reach 3,000 Spiritual Drops, you can come out," Guang Fanghu said, then entered a cultivation trance, preventing Dong Ling's following words from reaching him.
"Bastard dad! In the history of our sect, before Xinzi and Xiao Hu, who has ever cultivated that many drops?! You're being unreasonable! I want to see my A'Xin!" Dong Ling wailed to no end. But here, as if the Lords or Heaven…or hell, had heard her prayers, an oriole flapped its wings before her window, chirping whistling tunes at the snakegirl.
"Huh? Since when does our sect have orioles? Where did you come from, little bird? Sorry, even if I wanted to let you in, I couldn't," Dong Ling walked away from the locked door and ambled at her window. A third-layer formation locked the room down, preventing anyone at the Golden Core realm or below from going in or out.
When Guang Fanghu set up the formation, even Zi Yao felt that it was overkill. Now, however…
The oriole chirped again, five-colored qi rays burst from its colored plumage, morphing into a key that headed straight for the invisible array. Key and array met in a silent clash, and underneath Dong Ling's stretching gaze, the key broke past the array, leaving a tiny hole for the oriole to sneak in.
*Chirp* *Chirp* *Chirp*
The five-colored rays flashed again, and the oriole's form changed—morphing into a herculean monk.
"Huh?" The snakegirl's jaw dropped, and for a second, she stared slack-jawed at Xinzi, who greeted her with an impish wink.
"A'X…shush." Dong Ling was about to scream in a mixture of shock and glee when she recalled that, just outside her door, her father cultivated in a trance. Instinctively, she put one hand on her lips. Xinzi held the other hand, and with a soft tug, pulled Dong Ling towards him.
Our monk's lips curled into a warm smile. And while his unfortunate victims might find this smile terrifying, Dong Ling welcomed it with open arms—quite literally wrapping her arms around Xinzi and holding him tight.
"Mhm…A'Xin, I missed you." Dong Ling started, and Xinzi had to admit that the mellow words warmed his heart.
"But when did you become so brave? When you fled the Soaring Crane mountain to avoid my dad's wrath, you didn't even dare to leave footprints behind. But now you sneak in with him by the door? A'Xin…I underestimated you," Dong Ling said in the same mellow tone, while rubbing her head against Xinzi's chest.
Black lines formed on our monk's forehead, and for a second, he considered whether or not he should spank the sass out of the snakegirl's filthy mouth.. But on account of that sizzling butt, he restrained himself.