Volume One, Chapter Seven: The Saintess Secretly Aids Chu Tianxing!

“Holy Maiden.” At the residence of the Locking Demon Sect, everyone bowed respectfully and greeted her.

Ye Qingxuan nodded lightly, then spoke coldly, “Third Uncle, I apologize for the intrusion.”

“The Holy Maiden actually came to see the Sect Leader?” The members of the Locking Demon Sect frowned and exchanged puzzled glances.

The “Third Uncle” Ye Qingxuan mentioned was none other than the leader of the Locking Demon Sect and the Master of Punishment of the Demon-Slaying Holy Land.

However, Ye Qingxuan’s master, the leader of the Demon-Slaying Sect and deputy leader of the Holy Land, had always been at odds with the Master of Punishment.

Therefore, Ye Qingxuan’s visit to the Locking Demon Sect was already surprising, and coming to see the Sect Leader herself was even more bewildering.

“Come in.” Suddenly, a calm and reserved voice sounded—it was the Sect Leader of the Locking Demon Sect, the Master of Punishment of the Holy Land.

Ye Qingxuan followed the voice and soon entered a beautifully arranged courtyard.

At the innermost part of the courtyard, by a lotus pond, sat two men in a pavilion.

One was a middle-aged man wearing a pale blue robe, with a neatly trimmed goatee and handsome features, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.

This was none other than Dongfang Jingming, the Master of Punishment of the Demon-Slaying Holy Land and leader of the Locking Demon Sect.

The other was a young man of about twenty, dressed in white with a black robe over it, handsome with a stern and upright demeanor.

He was Yang Xuanjun, the third closest disciple of the Holy Land and a disciple of Dongfang Jingming, the young Sect Leader.

“Holy Maiden.” Yang Xuanjun stood up, clasped his fists, and saluted.

“No need for formalities, Junior Brother Yang. Please sit.” Ye Qingxuan nodded lightly, then bowed to Dongfang Jingming. “Third Uncle, Qingxuan has come to visit.”

“Sit as well.” Dongfang Jingming signaled in a cold voice, still sitting cross-legged with eyes closed.

After Ye Qingxuan took her seat, she asked in a cold tone, “Third Uncle, are you observing the situation inside the Locking Demon Tower in the inner sect?”

“Oh? You came for this matter?” Dongfang Jingming slowly opened his eyes and asked with a surprised smile, “Because of that Crown Prince of Chu, Chu Tianxing?”

“You have repeatedly insisted on keeping Chu Tianxing outside the outer gate of the Holy Land, which has puzzled us all until now.”

Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan did not explain but asked coldly, “May I also observe?”

“Xuanjun.” Dongfang Jingming signaled coldly.

Yang Xuanjun nodded, took out a bronze mirror from his bosom, and placed it before Ye Qingxuan.

Then, the mirror’s surface shimmered, revealing the situation inside the Locking Demon Tower.

“Chu Tianxing is no ordinary person. On his own, he fought his way from the first to the ninth floor of the Locking Demon Tower in just half an hour.”

Dongfang Jingming smiled and said, “He not only scared his tormentors but also won over the other disciples with his humility and courtesy.”

After speaking, Dongfang Jingming glanced sideways at Ye Qingxuan and asked faintly, “You didn’t come here to ask me to accept him, did you?”

Yang Xuanjun’s eyes flickered as he suddenly spoke, “Master, I believe Chu Tianxing is worthy of joining the Locking Demon Sect.”

“Junior Brother Yang truly has keen insight.”

Ye Qingxuan was surprised; she had not expected Chu Tianxing to gain Yang Xuanjun’s approval. It seemed his performance inside the Locking Demon Tower was outstanding.

“He cannot be accepted.” Dongfang Jingming refused coldly.

Yang Xuanjun frowned slightly, glanced at his master who had closed his eyes again, and said no more.

“Third Uncle, if you are willing to accept Chu Tianxing into the Locking Demon Sect, I am willing to return the Locking Demon Tower I obtained in the inner sect back to you.”

Ye Qingxuan opened her jade hand, and a nine-story golden tower appeared, shimmering in her palm.

Back when Ye Qingxuan was still an inner sect disciple, she gained the recognition of the Locking Demon Tower’s spirit and took away the Locking Demon Tower from the inner sect.

This forced Dongfang Jingming to produce a replica and place it in the inner sect’s forbidden area.

“You took it by your own merit; there’s no need to return it.” Dongfang Jingming said coolly.

Ye Qingxuan was not surprised; she opened her palm again and took out a razor-sharp longsword.

Then, she produced a wordless stone tablet and a banner inscribed with the characters “Trapped Demon.”

“These are replicas of the Demon-Slaying Sword, the Demon Suppression Tablet, and the Trapped Demon Banner. I offer them all to you, Third Uncle.”

Ye Qingxuan placed the items on the table one by one and then stated coldly, “If Third Uncle agrees to accept Chu Tianxing into the Locking Demon Sect and promote him exceptionally as a direct disciple, I, Ye Qingxuan, will owe you a favor. I hope you will grant this.”

Seeing this, Yang Xuanjun was moved. She had offered replicas of four imperial artifacts and even promised to owe the Locking Demon Sect a favor.

Promises from others might not matter, but from the Holy Maiden Ye Qingxuan, the top young figure on the continent, such a promise carried immense weight.

“Why do you help him so much?”

“Why not accept him into your Demon-Slaying Sect? Why insist on sending him to the Locking Demon Sect?”

Dongfang Jingming suddenly opened his eyes wide in disbelief as he looked at Ye Qingxuan.

Just such a promise could move the mighty Master of Punishment, the third most powerful figure in the Holy Land, so deeply.

This demonstrated just how formidable Ye Qingxuan’s influence truly was!

“Please, Third Uncle, grant this.” Ye Qingxuan stood and bowed without offering any explanation.

Seeing her unwillingness to explain, Dongfang Jingming frowned slightly and pointed at the four replicas on the table. “These things do not compare to your promise.”

“Take these back, and I might agree… hmm?”

Before he finished, Dongfang Jingming’s pupils suddenly constricted, and he hurriedly closed his eyes.

Ye Qingxuan and Yang Xuanjun exchanged surprised glances and looked toward the bronze mirror on the table.

Inside the mirror, Mu Ping was meditating with eyes closed on the ninth floor of the Locking Demon Tower, surrounded by a vast desert.

Within several thousand steps around him lay countless corpses of demon beasts, densely packed, blood flowing like rivers.

Purple streams of energy circled Mu Ping’s body—demonic qi.

As the demonic qi grew stronger, two strange phenomena appeared and shifted above Mu Ping’s head.

They were: a cage formed by black light pillars and a transparent square space.

“Sealing Demon Technique? Soul-Fixing Pillar? Sealing Prison? He only comprehended two sealing demon techniques?”

Yang Xuanjun stared at the two shifting phenomena and exclaimed, “The one who summoned the golden light soaring to the sky is not Mu Ping!”

“Heh, it seems Mu Ping tried to take a shortcut but is utterly foolish. No wonder I invited him into the Locking Demon Sect.”

Suddenly, Dongfang Jingming laughed again. “Unfortunately, those who master the Sealing Demon Technique will absorb demonic qi autonomously if they kill too many demon beasts.

Once the demonic qi accumulates beyond what their body can bear, the Sealing Demon Technique will manifest automatically to help dissipate the demonic qi.”

“This utterly foolish Mu Ping obviously didn’t know this and exposed himself.”

“If he were allowed into the Demon Suppression Sect, once the senior brother, the Sect Master, learned of this, he would tear him apart.”

Yang Xuanjun looked at the scene in the mirror and suddenly smiled, “Chu Tianxing has arrived. This will be interesting.”

Though Ye Qingxuan’s expression remained cold, her mind was racing: “The one who summoned the golden light soaring to the sky is not Mu Ping?”

“Could it be Chu Tianxing? If it really is him…”