Chapter 44
Chapter 44: Information Sharing
No one wanted to leave, and Hu Qing couldn’t do much about it. She’d always been the kind of family head who respected a kid’s opinion.
After watching a group of big monks chant in perfect unison, and seeing Hu Nuan sway with bliss and scratch her toes like she’d forgotten the world, with an unusually peaceful aura all around her, Hu Qing finally accepted the truth.
This bond of karma wasn’t getting cut.
It would’ve been better if some bad brat kidnapped her. Killing one person was easier than killing a whole group of monks and wiping out a Buddhist Sect.
What a headache.
The kids ran around and played every day. Sure enough, they dug up clean devil bones under the winding mountain road and went to learn the Arhat Devil-Suppressing Formation.
There was no sign of Hu Nuan clinging to Hu Qing the way she had on the day she lost control. Hu Qing tried to join in once, shamelessly, and her son and daughter rejected her in unison.
“This is a kids’ formation,” Hu Nuan said flatly. “Mom, you’re too old.”
Hu Qing nearly choked.
This was only acceptable because they were her own. Anyone else would’ve been dead on the spot.
Hu Hua Hua at least knew how to talk. “We don’t want Mom to work so hard. We’ll protect Mom.”
Hu Qing gave him a sweet smile that meant nothing. Sure. Totally believable.
Only Xuan Yao ran over and grinned. “Boss, I’ll stay with you. Boss, we haven’t worked in ages. What are we doing next?”
Hu Qing stared at him. She’d barely made it home.
“Let me think,” she said. “Go play with them for now.”
Then she added, “But learn that formation well. Later, we’ll try embedding it into an artifact together.”
Xuan Yao’s eyes lit up. “Yes, Boss!” He ran off like his feet didn’t touch the ground.
Juan Bu watched him go, still confused. “He’s a devil spirit. Can he even learn the Arhat Devil-Suppressing Formation? That thing is meant to suppress him.”
“Who cares?” Hu Qing said. “The monks didn’t stop him.”
She tossed her chin up, as if declaring a prophecy. “Besides, our Xuan Yao is going to be the number one Devil Clan powerhouse who stands tall between heaven and earth. A measly devil-suppressing formation? Whether it’s Arhat Vajra Guardians or Asura and Rakshasa, none of them are a match for him.”
Juan Bu snorted. “Go on, keep bragging.”
Since Hu Nuan didn’t need her hovering, Hu Qing finally went to handle something serious.
In the great hall under the towering Buddha statue, big monks stood in layered rows, like a wall of robes. Hu Qing felt awkward planted in the middle. Thank goodness Buddha was in the center—otherwise she wouldn’t have lasted a second.
These monks didn’t sit on cushions. They stood. Even for serious discussions, they stood.
Did they not own a single proper chair?
Chan Ming and the others from Zhaohua Sect were there with her. Aside from the unlucky kids, everyone was present. Dozens of spirit mirrors also hung high, enlarged. On the other end of each mirror were prominent figures from Little Li Realm—cultivators, Demon Clan, and Devil Clan.
They all wanted first-hand news from the Immortal Realm.
Hu Qing cleared her throat and started dryly. “In the Immortal Realm, I was just struggling to stay alive. I didn’t come into contact with any immortal sects, so there’s a lot I don’t know.”
Before anyone could pepper her with questions, she pulled out a copied map Master Han had given her and spread it open for everyone to see.
The map was simple. The people present memorized it in a glance. The spirit mirrors zoomed in, recording the image so those on the other end could study it too.
Hu Qing pointed out two routes and read them aloud. “I came back through the western route. I heard the Wu She Realm on the eastern route is Devil Clan territory. It’s chaotic.”
She glanced toward the spirit mirrors that belonged to the Devil Clan and saw exactly what she expected—excitement.
A voice came from one mirror. “Then which Immortal Realm is ruled by the Demon Clan?”
“I’ve heard most Immortal Realms have multiple races living together,” Hu Qing said. “When people say one race ‘rules,’ it usually just means they have the numbers, or they have the strongest experts. A realm held purely by a single clan is rare.”
She tapped the map again. “Deng Yun Realm has a teleportation formation connected to Hui Yu Realm. The Demon Clan has a lot of people there.”
At the mention, several Demon Clan faces in the mirrors broke into smiles.
Hu Qing continued with what she knew—mostly things she’d heard, half rumors and half scraps of truth. She talked until her mouth went dry. “That’s all I’ve heard. I can’t confirm it. With my cultivation, being able to stay alive over there was already incredibly lucky.”
She paused, then said carefully, “But the teleportation formation leading to Canyon Realm has skyrocketed in price. Everyone coming over is heading to Heaven’s Grace Continent. Our Little Li Realm…”
She didn’t finish. She didn’t need to. If Little Li Realm couldn’t hold the outsiders back, the realm would shatter and everyone would die.
This was not Hu Qing’s problem to solve. Let the giants argue.
She slipped out and sat on a clean boulder nearby, smooth enough that it felt polished by countless monks. She stared at the sky until her thoughts went blank.
“What are you thinking?” Shui Xin asked as he strolled over.
“Thinking Little Li Realm is a big piece of fat meat.”
Shui Xin clicked his tongue. “Talking about meat to a monk—do you have no conscience?”
Hu Qing ignored him. “I haven’t heard you mention any ascended eminent monks returning.”
Shui Xin plucked a blade of tall grass, stuck it in his mouth, and chewed. A faint sweetness spread on his tongue. “No one else is here. Tell me. What was your real experience in the Immortal Realm?”
Hu Qing shot him a look. “You want me to say I was patching cook pots?”
Shui Xin burst out laughing. “That miserable?”
“At least I have a skill,” Hu Qing snapped. “What can you do?”
“Perform rites.”
Hu Qing shoved him. “Come on. Let’s go to your room.”
“My room has nothing worth sitting in,” Shui Xin grumbled, but he still led the way.
The house looked fine outside and disastrous inside, like it had been struck by lightning a hundred times.
Hu Qing stared. “Did you train yourself into backlash or something?”
Shui Xin coughed awkwardly. “I haven’t lived here since I grew up.”
He said it like it was obvious. Sleeping under the open sky, living by the wind and moon. Didn’t she understand?
Hu Qing rolled her eyes, then crooked her finger at him. “Come here.”
Shui Xin’s eyes lit up instantly. A gift?
He threw up barrier after barrier around the room with quick, practiced movements. Then he turned back, eager.
Hu Qing dumped a massive pile of loot onto the stone floor, filling the small space with a clatter. “Don’t say I don’t favor you. Take whatever you want.”
Shui Xin grinned—then his smile dropped. “Where are the spirit crystals?”
“I don’t even have enough for myself,” Hu Qing said, offended.
Shui Xin held out his hand anyway. “I want thunder spirit crystals.”
Hu Qing spat upward like she was cursing the heavens. “None. They’re all un-attributed.”
Shui Xin sighed dramatically and started rummaging. “How many people did you kill? This doesn’t look like it came from one or two.”
Hu Qing’s grin turned sharp. “Funny thing. Every last one of them wanted to kill me first.”
“You ambushed them,” Shui Xin said, like he’d already solved the mystery.
Hu Qing didn’t deny it.
Shui Xin nodded to himself. “Fine. I’m going too. I’ll need to dress better.”
He grabbed whatever he liked, not even sparing women’s clothes.
Hu Qing smacked his hand. “Why are you taking those?”
“Are you going to wear them?” Shui Xin said without looking up. “Of course I have a use.”
Then he glanced over, eyes narrowing with sudden interest. “By the way—do you remember the three Chosen Ones who got the keys?”
Hu Qing’s expression hardened.
Back then, the Ancient Graveyard’s Ancient Palace City had emerged. The palace cluster that belonged to humans, the Demon Clan, and the Devil Clan required three keys together to open. Anyone holding a key was declared a Chosen One.
At the time, once the Devil Seal had been found, everyone had assumed Hu Qing was the Chosen One on the cultivator side.
And then what?
Elder Gan of the Kun Ming Devil Clan had hounded her daily for the keys. She hadn’t found so much as a single hair. In the end, Jiang Tian of Tai Xian Palace showed up, and the key popped out on its own.
It had nearly driven her insane.
Later, the truth came out: “Chosen Ones” were just people who opened a door. In the end, everyone in the Ancient Graveyard faced a thunderous tribulation. Those who survived saw Little Li Realm return to the Immortal Realm.
Shui Xin’s eyes gleamed. “So what happened to those three after?”