Chapter 188: Yi Fire Snake

Chapter 188: The Winged Fire Serpent

“Your, your Eminence, there’s no need for that… she’s just a young girl…”

“What does it matter if it’s a man or a woman, old or young?” Zhuque said calmly. “She attends the Wang family’s tedious banquet and dies on the way. Even if the Cui and Wang families don’t become enemies, they’ll grow estranged. Wouldn’t that stir great chaos?”

She paused, gazing at Xia Chichi with a peculiar look. “This woman is entangled with your former lover in some unclear way. Isn’t it quite fitting for you to kill her?”

“Precisely because he’s my former lover—what business is it of mine what woman he takes up with? How is that fitting?” Xia Chichi grew more assertive. “Besides, seeing him tangled with another woman only makes me hate him more!”

The Ice Soul in her hand hummed and trembled, as if corroborating her words.

Zhuque said lightly, “If your relationship with him requires another woman to come between you, then it seems…”

Xia Chichi’s heart skipped a beat, and she began to wheedle, “Master… Cui Yuanyang’s trip this time will surely have…”

She stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing that if she said Cui Yuanyang would be guarded by top-tier experts, Zhuque might take it upon herself to kill the girl—and that would truly be a disaster. Her mind raced, and she quickly changed her tune: “Ahem, who cares? I’ve wanted to beat that little bitch for a long time. I’ll go now!”

The abrupt shift in attitude was a bit transparent, but Zhuque seemed distracted, not bothering to press further. She merely waved a hand. “Go. There are only a few roads from Qinghe, and they’re not traveling stealthily—most towns along the way will welcome them. They’ll be easy to find. Take more people with you.”

“Yes.” Xia Chichi flew off, glancing back three times as she went. She turned to see Zhuque standing on the pine ridge, gazing into the distance toward Taiyi Sect, lost in thought—as if deep in contemplation, though what she was thinking was anyone’s guess.

Could it be that Zhuque had some old flame among the Taoist priests in the temple?

They were both women, so why pretend to be pure-hearted and devoted to the gods? Besides, her voice was so alluring.

And this mission was strange. Zhuque shouldn’t be scheming with such low-level tactics—it didn’t match her usual way of thinking.

Whatever the case, she had no time to dwell on it now. She had to figure out how to complete the task.

Kill Cui Yuanyang?

A headache.

What made it worse was that, as Zhuque had said, Cui Yuanyang was indeed easy to track along this route. Xia Chichi left the mountain, entered the city, and sent her subordinates to scout for half the night. She effortlessly pinpointed Cui Yuanyang’s whereabouts.

This time, the little girl had learned her lesson. She had brought along a top-tier expert from the Earth Ranking for protection, along with a convoy of attendants—all of them skilled fighters. Their trail was obvious, but who could actually kill her?

Upon receiving the news, Xia Chichi actually felt relieved. It wasn’t that she wasn’t trying—it was simply impossible. Even if Zhuque herself went, it would be extremely troublesome, and she’d probably give up.

“Holy Maiden, what do we do?” a subordinate asked nearby.

Xia Chichi stroked her chin, her eyes darting slyly. “We can’t fight head-on. I’ll have to outwit them. Don’t show yourselves. I’ll go alone, get close to her, win her trust, and wait for an opportunity to strike.”

The others sighed. “It’s the only way out of a bad situation. This mission is odd. Cui Yuanyang once left home alone and nearly lost her life—she won’t be so easy to kill now. Holy Maiden, take care. If it’s impossible, just give up. We’ll explain it to the Eminence.”

Xia Chichi grinned. “Thanks, then~”

She slipped away to stalk Cui Yuanyang, never imagining that long after she left Mount Tai, Zhuque was still lost in thought.

“That blade should be Longque by rights—it looks the same, and he’s had it ever since he left the Cui family. What else could it be but Longque?… He’s still a survivor of the Luo family… But many have told me it’s only a resemblance, surely just a replica made by the Cui family. Pity I’ve never seen Longque myself…”

“Whether it is or isn’t… now that Maitreya has risen, many factions harbor dissent, and the upheaval of the land has already begun. The goal I sought by killing the prince—to stir unrest—has been achieved. It’s no longer something one person can reverse… So should I change my approach now? Not kill, but use?”

“This man still has ties to the Blood God Sect, bears no enmity toward our Four Symbols Sect, has a past with Chichi, and Zhenshui Yin spoke highly of him in her letter… Perhaps I should recruit him into the sect and give him a seat. Whether he’s the prince or not, he’s worth a position. If he is, all the better…”

“This involves the future course of action. Such an important matter, and I can’t even contact Xuanwu to discuss it. Where has that damned turtle hidden himself? Chichi has some ideas, but she’s still hung up on old feelings and lets emotion cloud her judgment.”

So that was it. She had deliberately sent Xia Chichi to kill Cui Yuanyang as an excuse to get her out of the way. She had long stopped thinking about Guichen—instead, she was weighing whether to kill Zhao Changhe, not wanting Xia Chichi to interfere…

But as she pondered, her heart gradually leaned toward not killing him. Times had changed. Back then, killing the prince was meant to leave the Great Xia without an heir and stir unrest. But now, unrest was already here, and the situation of regional warlords was about to take shape. If another prince suddenly appeared now, he couldn’t stop the deterioration—instead, he’d be a rare asset to be hoarded. The circumstances were different.

If the Four Symbols Sect truly aimed to overthrow the mortal realm, hoarding such an asset would be a no-brainer. The problem was that their goals were more abstract—how valuable such an asset would be was still unknown. Regardless, not everything had to be solved by killing. Using him was also an option.

Wan Dongliu, as Zhenshui Yin of the Southern Seven Mansions, was a direct subordinate of Zhuque. In his letter, he had expressed great admiration for Zhao Changhe, which significantly influenced Zhuque’s leanings.

But this matter was indeed weighty—it might even change their entire course of action. One person couldn’t decide alone, and she was hesitant.

After a moment’s thought, Zhuque’s eyes darted. She actually took off her Vermilion Bird mask and replaced it with a serpent-shaped one. Her fiery red ritual robe didn’t need changing—this was the Winged Fire Serpent.

Zhao Changhe was lodging as a guest at Taiyi Sect, practicing as usual that night.

Since killing Fasheng, the blood aura from that battle had howled fiercely, providing excellent impetus for breaking through the sixth level of the Blood Aura Art. If he wanted to rush through it like before, he could force a breakthrough now using the Six Harmonies Divine Art. But his mindset had changed—he no longer wanted to be hasty. He would wait for the right opportunity and let it come naturally.

Killing to nurture blood aura was indeed the main path of the Blood Aura Art, no less effective than extracting aura from treasures. If a wicked person practiced it, they would easily start killing indiscriminately to advance. It was no wonder the Blood God Sect was considered a demonic sect.

Fortunately, the Blood God Sect wasn’t overwhelmingly powerful. If they were, they’d likely cause even more destruction than Maitreya’s “killing to become Buddha,” since the improvements from this cultivation method were so tangible.

As he was meditating and merging his inner vision, his heart suddenly stirred. Zhao Changhe’s eyes snapped open. A graceful figure had appeared in the room without warning, her serpent mask both eerie and alluring.

“Winged Fire Serpent?” Zhao Changhe took a deep breath, exasperated. “I say, does the Four Symbols Sect have nothing better to do? I’m a traitor to the Blood God Sect, and even they’ve stopped bothering me. Why do you keep jumping in front of me? Are you their superiors or their underlings?”

Zhuque smiled faintly. “I’m just here to ask you a few questions.”

“Oh?”

“In your eyes, what are the Four Symbols?”

“The four poles of heaven, the four directions of earth, the four seasons of time—one of the most orthodox and grand foundations of worldview. I don’t know why you’ve ended up as a demonic sect. It shouldn’t be this way.”

A gleam of intense interest flickered in Zhuque’s eyes.

So this was his impression of the Four Symbols?