The First Evil Spirit

  The sky is clear and bright, with a canopy of stars and a moon shining down, all in a tranquil silence.

  The emperor's bedroom is located in the eastern part of the Sky City, where the nobles have always been.

  At this time, the Tiankong City was beautiful and magnificent, with golden light and emerald green. In the grand and majestic hall of discussion, the patriarch of the Xie family and the current high priest had arrived with more than a dozen elders. These figures were all dignified and noble direct descendants of the Xie royal bloodline. These dozen or so people had been in control of part of Tiankong City's power since the previous generation's city master was in office.

  Nowadays, it is hard for people to know that the Sky City, this overwhelmingly powerful imperial force in the eyes of the world, is also divided into countless factions.

  The former overlord of the Sky City is now old and frail, facing the decline of heaven and man.

  Although he can't die immediately, the overlord knows that he will face death within three years. Now he is completely unable to move and has become a complete waste of a person.

  In the three years approaching his death, the Xie family began a fierce struggle for power.

  Six months ago, in order to seize power, these people in power stopped at nothing.

  It turned out that the eldest prince, Xie Qianye, had been secretly enduring for many years and at a critical moment, he showed his powerful strength, killing three powerful and treacherous clan elders in one night, taking away their power, reversing the situation, and becoming the master of nearly half of Tiankong City.

  Although he did not ascend to the throne, most of the power in Tiankong City was under his control.

  The rest of the power holders half a year ago did not participate in the coup, and now although they appear to be submissive under Xie Qianye, they are secretly watching and waiting for an opportunity to retake control of Tiankong City.

  As long as Xie Qianye does not ascend to the throne, they will all have a chance to seize power.

  However, people have increasingly felt that Xie Qianye is unfathomable.

  This person is very powerful on the surface, and at the same time, his hidden power has also been gradually developing. If he ascends to the throne, his position will be even more unshakeable.

  At this moment, the large gate in the hall suddenly opened wide, and the palace attendants on both sides immediately knelt down to pay their respects.

  A slender and majestic young man wore a golden luxurious long shirt, with a purple dragon-patterned wide outer cloak. When he walked in, his eyes were slanted upwards, his gaze was haughty, and his handsome face was as radiant as the sun, moon and stars, making people admire him.

  He has a noble and cold temperament, overbearing and sharp, outstanding and extraordinary. In this place, he doesn't even need to make a sound, his prestige is self-evident, and with just his presence, he can completely suppress the entire scene.

  There is actually such a perfect man in the world, so high and unattainable, with such a strong aura, as if coexisting with heaven and earth. The proud spirit of the Xie family's old bones suddenly wilted and lost its luster in front of this overbearing and fierce man.

  "Welcome, Your Imperial Highness." someone said respectfully.

  "Welcome, Your Imperial Highness." Someone's voice was insincere.

  "Welcome, Your Imperial Highness." Someone's voice was obsequious.

  As he heard the voices of everyone's thoughts, the man's handsome face had no expression at all, only a proud and arrogant aura. When he turned his body and scanned the crowd in the hall with his eyes, his narrow and long eyes were cold and stern, his eyebrows slanted into his temples, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up into a faint cold smile. Although he was smiling at everyone at this time, he did not restrain the proud and arrogant momentum between his eyebrows.

  Although he has not yet succeeded to the throne, his demeanor is as if he were already the unparalleled and lofty Sky City Emperor, with every move and gesture revealing his haughty reserve.

  But then he saw the man elegantly sit down in the main seat, his eyes still coldly staring at everyone.

  One person stood beside the man, smiling and gazing at him with deep reverence in his eyes. He was the eunuch who had once served by the side of the ruler of Tiankong City, but now he had completely submitted to Xie Qianye. His noble status was not something that ordinary people could attain. He took two steps forward and said to the Xie family members: "You elders have always claimed to be old and frail, liking to stay in the Three Treasures Hall without a reason, yet you refuse to retire and return home. This time, you suddenly gathered together and came out at the same time. What is your intention? Is it to collectively bid farewell? The Crown Prince has agreed to let all of you leave Tiankong City." The eunuch's words were both a warning and an admonition to those who did not submit to the Crown Prince, telling them not to have any other thoughts.

  The conference hall suddenly fell silent, with no sound at all.

  These old men were all deep in thought, one of them coughed and stepped forward: "Your Highness has misunderstood, we are members of the Sky City after all, and we have also assisted the emperor in the past. Since we have gathered together, there must be a good reason for it. Your Highness only needs to listen to our suggestions."

  The man had a cold smile on his face, sat sideways with one hand supporting his cheek, and said in a low voice: "Tell me."

  That person immediately said: "Your Highness, Yu Shizi of Wusong City has already returned."

  "Oh." The man smiled lightly, "What does this have to do with me?"

  "The relationship is very important, because the lord of the Wudang Castle has already made great efforts to arrange a blind date for him, and countless noble beauties have passed by in carriages. Our clan elders mean that Your Highness should also seriously consider his own marriage." The elder said with a serious face.

  "It's not bad, in case the young master of Wushuang City chooses a wife, you can continue to select beauties for the harem. Isn't it just choosing women that the young master of Wushuang City doesn't like? This matter is related to the dignity of the country." Another person seemed to say with a bitter tone.

  The ancestral rule of the Xie family: As long as it is related to the marriage and childbirth of the heir of the Xie family, the establishment of the queen, the crown prince, and the inheritance of the orthodox bloodline of the Xie family, it must be decided by the elders after deliberation and selection, and recognized by more than half of the elders before it can take effect in Tiankong City.

  But Xie Qiye was originally the eldest son of a concubine, adopted by the empress, and he was recognized by everyone as the legitimate heir under the empress's name. Now that he has the qualifications to unify the world, it's too late for these old guys to regret.

  The Xie family has always had supreme rights and stood high above others in front of everyone.

  However, for Xie's descendants' bloodline and the selection of future consorts are also very particular.

  So everyone says it's reasonable that the son of Wudou City can't choose a woman who doesn't want him.

  Of course, the selection of a concubine often takes half a year, and every day, a large amount of information about women and various families is sent to Xie Qiuye's desk. These reasons for hindering Xie Qiuye's development are indeed grandiose.

  Qian Ye immediately let out a soft laugh and said coldly, "This matter doesn't require your concern. I think it's perfectly fine for the master of Wudao City to have one partner in life, setting an example for emperors. If I were to take a liking to a woman, I would naturally marry her alone, without regard for her background or status."

  His answer was very perfunctory, and he took the lord of Musou Castle as an example, without any flaws.

  Dozens of ethnic elders couldn't help but look at each other in dismay, after all, they didn't know what to say. The selection of the imperial concubine hadn't happened yet, and if they impeached something that hadn't occurred, wouldn't they be ridiculed by others? Everyone furrowed their brows involuntarily.

  Another elder continued, "Although we don't know what you're thinking and dare not pry into your private matters, from what I know, the Second Prince and the Princess have actually gone out to gain experience in secret, without telling anyone in Tiankong City."

  "What's it to you?" Xie Qianye said calmly.

  "Although they are your half-brothers and not close to you, after all, those two are our Xie family's direct descendants. I think this matter should be taken seriously, Your Highness should still bring them back." His tone implied that Xie Qianye did not value his blood relatives highly.

  Qian Ye's gaze fell silently on the aged faces of the crowd, and the light in his eyes was deep and quiet: "I know your purpose, but it's not a bad thing for young people to go out and gain experience. Otherwise, if you're not careful, you'll become a flower in a greenhouse, surrounded by tigers and leopards staring at you with greedy eyes, and one day you won't even know how you died."

  Everyone understood his implication and remained silent.

  "What else is there?" But saw the handsome man sitting in the main seat, relaxed and at ease, his slow and leisurely posture, as if an emperor facing his ministers.

  "It doesn't matter, it's nothing."

  The elder on the main seat looked at Xie Qiuye with his eyes, and everyone had different thoughts in their minds. Some people were already thinking of retreating.

  Qian Ye stood facing everyone in front of him, his expression as calm as ever, watching the successive appearances of the Xie family members before him like a theatrical performance. Whether it was the birth of a new life or the passing of an old one, whether it was a joyful occasion or a sorrowful one, the man's face remained extremely composed, unruffled and tranquil, his eyes deep and still, with a hint of coldness and detachment, making it impossible for the surrounding Xie family elders to discern anything.

  The last eunuch whispered in the man's ear, "Crown Prince, I know you actually care about those two princes a lot. They really haven't returned for a long time."

  Qian Ye's expressionless face transmitted a message through her divine sense: "In the past, I often went out for a long time too, you don't have to worry excessively."

  "Eunuch frowned and said: 'Your Highness, there are rumors that the world is going to be in great chaos. At this time, they probably have already gone to Qi State. Such a journey is likely to be extremely dangerous.'"

  Xie Qianye smiled faintly and said, "They are not incompetent, they have the ability to protect themselves. However, if something happens, it's better to be prepared in advance. So, just secretly send someone over to protect them, and do it discreetly."

  The eunuch nodded immediately, "Yes, Your Highness."

  ……

  The fog on the sea surface slowly dispersed, and many monks have appeared.

  On the island, one can vaguely see those wrapped in animal skins, and the majestic and powerful physique.

  Many people caught many strange beasts, and their eyes looked far away with joy, because in front of everyone's eyes, they had already seen a large number of prey, as if they saw countless spiritual materials shining with golden light.

  The cultivators from the Blue House rushed to welcome them, and at a distance of several miles, they whistled and formed an array, dispersing and surrounding the newly appeared beasts, not allowing other new scattered cultivators to approach, and then frantically hunting the beasts.

  At this time, it can be seen that the strength of a team is greater than that of individual cultivators.

  Ye Zheng led the crowd, gazing into the distance, watching as more and more strange beasts approached, he faintly felt that something was off.

  The dark clouds in the sky rolled over like a small black mountain, making everyone feel extremely depressed.

  "He's dead! He's dead!" Suddenly heard a terrified cry from a very far away place.

  At the same time, many low-ranking cultivators on the surface of the sea began to turn around and flee frantically, whether by boat or using their sect's magical instruments, they used all sorts of means to escape towards the shore. Their eyes were filled with a terrified expression, and they didn't even want to stay for another moment.

  "Wait, what's going on?" asked a portion of the monks with puzzled expressions.

  "In the distance, a powerful monster appeared, far stronger than the ones from previous days. Its strength was extremely formidable, and it had already heavily injured more than half of the cultivators from the Blue, Lu, Gao, and Jiang families. With just one strike, it could shatter several ships into splinters, and even create whirlpools in the water, letting out deafening roars that stunned everyone within a radius of one mile. Then, one by one, they were swallowed into its belly."

  "It's actually cannibalism...... it's really too terrifying!"

  "A few ordinary immortal families had run to the front earlier, but after the emergence of the strange beast, none of them have escaped so far, they're all dead!"

  When they heard the escaped people say this, everyone was shocked and frightened. Although some people knew that those few families were all congenital powerful families, there were also more than a dozen Quenching Body period cultivators, and one or two Condensing Pulse period elders. No matter what, they were already much more formidable than ordinary troops, and stronger than ordinary loose cultivators. However, the demonic beasts that came from the demon realm this time were really terrifying! They actually managed to wipe out several families, it was simply too frightening!

  Some cultivators with slightly inferior cultivation looked at each other and decided to leave this place first.

  Suddenly, a spatial fluctuation arrived, and a middle-aged man in the Golden Core stage appeared in the air above.

  This person is a cultivator of the Xuanmen Qingyun Sect and was specially invited by Su Mo to maintain order.

  The man's gaze was cold and piercing as he swept his eyes across the crowd, reminding them: "You scattered cultivators, now that the entrance to the demon realm has expanded threefold, even larger demonic beasts can emerge. However, for now, a large number of demonic beasts tend to appear after dusk, and the materials from those beast corpses are extremely valuable. You scattered cultivators can discuss and cooperate with each other, gathering your strength together. If you all consider staying behind, you will definitely reap benefits that come once in a hundred years."

  The monks' feelings were somewhat contradictory. They knew that wealth and honor are hard to come by, and if they left, they might not encounter such a good opportunity again in the next hundred years.

  Life is short, only a hundred years. If this time everyone has the opportunity to enter the hidden door, then their lifespan can be extended by many years. After weighing it up, many people still decide to stay behind first.

  Ye Zhen also hesitated for a moment, picked up a message symbol, wrote very strange symbols on it, folded it into the shape of a paper crane, and passed it to the local hidden door leader.

  The above requires the masters of Mo Men, as well as the masters of Qing Yun Sect and Dong Ling Wei to come and guard themselves and Ye Shuangshuang. Otherwise, if something happens to them, all the major hidden gates and sects that have had dealings with them will be buried with them.

  ……

  The misty color is dim, since more and more strange beasts have appeared in the surrounding sea area, the sky around has not seen sunlight again. Now it's drizzling all around, the gray sky and fog have enveloped hundreds of miles around in a deep gloom.

  In this drizzly and hazy sky, the numerous scattered cultivators around were discussing how to form teams to deal with the alien beasts, constantly improving their tactics.

  Suddenly, a small boat with a willow leaf sail was slowly drifting towards the surface of the sea. Inside the cabin sat a man and a woman, one being a beautiful woman wearing a light red dress, and the other a refined gentleman wearing white clothes and a butterfly mask. The two people sat in the boat with an extremely leisurely posture, as if they were touring the mountains and rivers, completely out of place with the tense atmosphere surrounding them.

  Everyone was stunned and didn't expect to see such a scene.

  Are these two crazy? They actually entered the depths of the ocean with just the two of them.

  Which young master and miss is this? Isn't this clearly going to look for death in vain?

  A certain inspector of the Qingyun Sect even came to the bow of the ship with good intentions, asked a few questions, saw that the woman was holding the token of the Qingyun Sect in her hand, and then guessed that this woman was the demon girl.

  He immediately became solemn and respectful, and at the same time showed them the way.

  The many monks who saw this scene from afar were even more bewildered and extremely astonished in their hearts.

  The man in white clothes caught a few fish, then got up and came to the back of the boat to clean the fish. He was gentle and elegant, with a leisurely pace, his posture looked extremely relaxed and calm.

  Su Mo had changed into a man's suit in the cabin, and when she walked out lightly, Shi Mai's eyes widened in surprise, staring at her carefully.

  "Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something wrong with this?" Su Mo's hand brushed against his cheek, and he gave a faint smile.

  "It looks great." The master's eyes were filled with unparalleled gentleness, and he stood up straight, saying in a soft and elegant tone: "Once Mo Er puts on men's clothes, she looks spirited and refreshing, losing some of her flirtatiousness, and can be said to be two completely different people from the enchanting girl."

  Su Mo smiled lightly: "But you still know the secret of my two identities."

  Shi Yin smiled slightly and said seriously, "Although I can use my divine sense to determine that Su Jia Si Shao and Su Jia Wu Xian are the same person, but judging from their appearance alone, ordinary people would definitely not be able to tell them apart. The masculine-looking Su Mo and the feminine-looking Yao Ji truly look like they're from different worlds."

  "But there are really few strong people like you who have a distorted mind." Su Mo teased.

  "There are still some, my senior fellow apprentice is one of them," said Shi Mian.

  "Who is your senior brother? Will I meet him in the future?" Su Mo smiled.

  "Maybe, but it's unlikely that you'll meet him, he's in a high position and is very busy." Shī Yuàn muttered to herself, seemingly not wanting to bring up the person.

  Su Mo smiled elegantly, slowly putting away the demon queen's clothes. However, when she was dressed as the demon queen, she would wear makeup, her eyes were elongated by black eyeliner, and blue eyeshadow was applied, making her phoenix-like eyes even more seductive. The red dress accentuated her personality, giving off an extremely seductive feeling, with a hint of mature charm. Every gesture was captivating, and the beauty had reached its peak.

  At present, Su Mo in men's clothing has not changed his facial features, but the charm and temperament have completely changed. He is actually a bit pure, a bit elegant and gentle, and a set of ink-colored clothes makes him have some youthful boyishness.

  "Why are you wearing men's clothes?" Shī Yuàn looked at her.

  "It's convenient for fighting." Su Mo raised her eyes and a seductive smile played on her lips.

  "It seems you're preparing to go out and fight?" Shi Heng asked with great interest.

  "Master Ling brought me to this kind of place, isn't it for a fight? Could it be that we're really here to sightsee?" Su Mo continued to take out the Butterfly Short Knife from the Heavenly Book and spun it around his left finger twice, then with an extremely sharp and handsome posture, hid it in his sleeves without any difference.

  Then she took out a set of bows and arrows, with more than ten broken arrow shafts on her back, looking elegant and heroic.

  Shi Yin looked at her masculine appearance, with a hint of a smile on his lips, and suddenly said: "I don't know if there's anything I can help you with?"

  Su Mo turned his eyes and said slowly: "Yes, there are many."

  All the way, Shī Yuè helped Sū Mò create all kinds of explosive butterflies. His carving speed was a bit faster than Sū Mò's. When Sū Mò made one, he could make two. Sū Mò smiled quietly, and she would accept whatever he did. The two seemed to have returned to their life together in the past.

  "What else can I help you with?" Shī Yīng had already made a hundred butterflies.

  "Wait a moment." Su Mo took out some more materials from the Heavenly Book, "I need more mechanical people, about fifteen."

  "Alright, I'll do it for you." The master's lips curled up with a hint of a smile, without refusing.

  His eyes were a deep, dark brown, with a warm glow in his pupils, and his skin was as white as jade, making him look gentle and soft.

  No matter when he looked at her, his eyes were always calm and warm, but never made her feel bored or indifferent. Shī Yuān had an inexplicable affinity with her, and they also had an extraordinary tacit understanding.

  When she's with him, she doesn't need to worry about anything or do anything herself. He knows everything and will take care of it all perfectly, just like he is now. She only needs to stay still like this, not even needing to do anything else, as long as she looks at him with her eyes, her mood will unknowingly soften.

  At the same time, some nostalgic scenes from her past life gradually appeared in Su Mo's mind, as if they were right before her eyes. When the two of them were together, it was just so ordinary and plain, yet in this ordinary and plain life, she felt a sense of reality.

  If she had to describe that real feeling, there was only one word.

  It's just warmth, a kind of home warmth.

  He always gave her this feeling.

  Su Mo quickly regained her composure, now that she had Shi Ying to be her puppet, and finally felt much more at ease. She took the magical instruments she had plundered from the Xia family and re-refined them one by one, engraving array patterns on them, which further upgraded these magical instruments to an even higher level.

  "Will you refine the instrument?" Shī Yuè asked softly without turning around.

  "Okay."

  "You're very clever."

  "It's not about being clever, but rather using one trick to understand three. The art of mechanisms and alchemy have a similar underlying principle, so if you understand the former, you'll naturally grasp the latter." Su Mo narrowed his eyes, holding the precious sword he had snatched from the old man, and began to slowly refine it.

  The two men worked together in perfect harmony, and before they knew it, the sky had darkened.

  "Mò ér, let's go in and rest together." Shī yuè slowly stretched her waist.

  "Mr. Lian, the cabin is too small, only one person can sleep." Su Mo asked in surprise.

  "Hmm, but you and I can squeeze together and sleep." Shī Yuè winked at her.

  As he spoke, he suddenly pulled her hand and led her inside. Su Mo allowed him to pull her hand, if not for the fact that she was very familiar with him in her past life, she would have felt no different from being dragged by a ruffian.

  Digression

  Today isn't about how much more, but being forced to go out and have dinner with relatives, coming back to write is not finished, so just post one update for now, the other update will be at 9:30. Sigh, don't like holidays.