GD Ch. 57 Part 2

Chapter 57: Who Are You, Really?

The peafowl demon had been weeping uncontrollably, terrified, her shoulders shaking as she hurriedly explained, “The dragon didn’t come with me. Besides, she belongs to the Heavenly Realm. Even if we left her in the Devil Realm, as long as the heavenly soldiers knew her identity, they wouldn’t harm a single hair on her head. But those immortals might not show you any mercy, Mistress!”

Zhuyou knew full well that if Changying had been taken back to the Heavenly Realm, her life would have been better than if she had stayed by her side.

Hanzhu had stammered, hesitating. “I just… I just don’t know if the heavenly soldiers would mistake her for a devil and slaughter her along with the rest.”

Zhuyou’s expression darkened. “You knew that, yet you didn’t take her with you? I told you to take her and leave first. Why didn’t you go?”

“She refused to leave. She wouldn’t come with me. She wanted to return to the heavens!” Hanzhu insisted, her inner thoughts surging uncontrollably.

Zhuyou entered her consciousness, examined her spiritual threads, and realized that the peafowl demon had dared to deceive her.

“Even if you didn’t take her, there was no need to lie to me like this.”

Hanzhu’s eyes were filled with struggle, and she slowly clenched her fists.

“You never liked her much to begin with,” Zhuyou said coldly, cutting to the heart of the matter.

Hanzhu immediately bit her lower lip. After a moment, she suddenly bowed her head. “I admit… I never liked her. After all, she’s a dragon. She’s not like you, Mistress.” As if she were summoning all her strength, she gritted her teeth and shouted, “I beg you, Mistress… to carve out that drop of heart’s blood!”

Zhuyou remained silent for a long time.

“Mistress…” Hanzhu’s heart was in turmoil, already prepared to face her wrath.

“Wait one more day,” Zhuyou finally said after a long pause.

That day, it was fortunate that she hadn’t carved out the heart’s blood, or she wouldn’t have tasted the sweetness that followed.

In just seven days, the pain in her body was completely swept away, and she felt as comfortable as if she were bathed in divine light.

Although, she could no longer bask in divine light.

After those few days, her injuries healed rapidly, and she even broke through to a higher realm while in the human world.

Back then, she had tricked the dragon into exchanging heart’s blood, and now she had even taken advantage of that dragon. Upon closer reflection, it was better not to meet again, as the connection through the heart’s blood still remained. Perhaps Changying had forgotten about it.

It was better not to meet. If they did, the meeting of an immortal and a devil would be fraught with tension. Changying might remember that the drop of blood in her heart wasn’t hers and demand it back on the spot, which would be incredibly awkward.

Zhuyou snapped back to reality in an instant, only to see the thorns from the marsh still clinging to the woman’s legs. The woman didn’t struggle, and her fearless demeanor was eerily similar to Changying’s.

But probably… probably it wasn’t Changying.

When Changying was a child, she had been so clingy. If they were to meet again, she would likely question why Zhuyou had abandoned her back then.

Zhuyou thought about it and realized she might be overthinking things. After enjoying the luxuries of the heavens, the dragon might not even want to recall the hardships she endured in the Devil Realm.

Dragons, with their serpent-like appearance, were probably impossible to tame.

The tip of her spirit sword was still pressed against the woman’s brow. As she leaned in slightly, she caught a whiff of a cold, faint fragrance—not the scent of an immortal.

A hundred years ago, she had leaned in close to Changying just to smell her scent. Now, she was facing a woman who was slightly taller than her, which felt somewhat strange.

The woman remained calm, not flinching at all. As Zhuyou moved closer, she simply lowered her head slightly.

Zhuyou pushed the sword forward, the sharp spiritual energy lifting the woman’s forehead ornament. Half an inch more, and blood would be drawn.

Her spiritual energy spread out like a carpet, covering the entire marsh. The vines in the marsh became indestructible, tougher than chains of black iron.

With this, even if the woman wanted to escape, she wouldn’t be able to.

The woman still showed no fear. As the sword tip nearly touched her brow, she didn’t tremble at all. Instead, she leaned back slightly and raised the sacred herb in her hand, using it to block the sword.

Zhuyou hadn’t expected her to use the sacred herb as a shield and quickly withdrew her hand. Her spirit sword dissipated, and she immediately reached out to grab the sacred herb, her nails cutting through its stem.

The stem of the sacred herb was severed, and its crimson, blood-like sap splattered out, cold as ice water.

Zhuyou was caught off guard by the cold. It had been a long time since she had felt such a chill—the last time was when Changying was still with her.

After securing the crimson stem, she quickly retreated, a smug smile tugging at her lips. She couldn’t figure out what this woman was here for. It seemed like she wanted to compete for the herb, but after losing it, she didn’t leave. Instead, Zhuyou had managed to snatch it back.

With a flip of her hand, the sacred herb stem disappeared, stored away in her spatial pouch.

Once the stem was safely hidden, Zhuyou lifted her hand and blew a gentle breath over the sap-stained back of her hand. The cold immediately dissipated.

She glanced back, not releasing the spiritual energy binding the vines, so the woman remained trapped, standing motionless as if she were dumbfounded.

Anyone who could enter the Cold Eye likely had considerable cultivation, so this woman’s level shouldn’t be low. But why did she seem so foolish?

Zhuyou didn’t dwell on it and quickly looked up, her gaze falling on the sea above, dark as ink in the night.

Fish darted through the coral, and the invisible barrier still held the seawater at bay.

She had obtained what she came for, but how was she supposed to leave now?

She was about to rise into the air and use her spiritual energy to shatter the barrier above when the woman in the distance suddenly spoke. “Take this as well. The leaves of this immortal plant can heal soul injuries, and the flowers can boost three hundred years of cultivation,” the woman said calmly, tossing the now stemless sacred herb toward her.

Zhuyou was stunned for a moment. Instead of catching it with her hand, she used her spiritual energy to draw it toward her.

Her heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t understand the woman’s intentions. After going through the trouble of descending into the Cold Eye to obtain the sacred herb, why would she give away the flowers and leaves so easily after losing the stem?

Fearing a trap, she enveloped the herb’s leaves and flowers with her spiritual energy, only to be surprised to find no spells, poisons, or insects on them.

Was she really giving them away for free?

What puzzled her even more was that the vines binding the woman’s legs suddenly retreated, even though… she hadn’t released her spell.

Zhuyou’s eyes widened, and she tightened her grip on the sacred herb. “Who are you, really?”

The woman didn’t answer. She slowly walked across the marsh, each step hovering above the muddy ground, not a speck of dirt touching her.

In the darkness, her black robes swayed slightly, and the white jade pendant at her waist tinkled softly.

Zhuyou felt like she should know this person, but she was certain they had never met. If they had, even just seeing her silhouette, she should have recognized her.

Tall and slender, cold and peculiar.

As the woman approached, Zhuyou frowned warily, a strand of spiritual energy coiling around her finger. “Do you want it back?” she asked.

The woman still didn’t answer, as if she were mute.

As she walked, her aura, though restrained, exuded a fierce, oppressive energy. Though she hovered above the marsh, ripples spread across the surface with each step, as if it were being touched.

Zhuyou grew increasingly uneasy and wanted to leave the marsh as quickly as possible.

The Cold Eye was vastly different from Shenhua Mountain. The Cold Eye had never appeared in the world before, and its mysteries were likely tied to its internal structure. If it allowed people to come and go so easily, it wouldn’t be so enigmatic.

As the woman drew closer, Zhuyou quickly rose into the air. The spiritual energy around her finger surged like a spring, rushing toward the barrier above.

“Don’t you want to know who I am?” the woman asked, stopping and looking up.

Zhuyou frowned. As her spiritual energy collided with the barrier, she was struck by the rebounding force.

The energy was wrapped in dragon aura, icy and piercing, causing her to shiver.

The dragon aura was strange, carrying an ancient, muddy scent, as if it had been trapped for millennia. Fierce and oppressive, it didn’t feel like the aura of a divine dragon from the heavens.

Violent and cold, neither god nor devil.

Could the Cold Eye be a relic from ancient times?

Zhuyou was stunned, her heart leaping into her throat. If this truly was an ancient artifact, she might not be able to break through the barrier.

“Shouldn’t you ask who I am?” the woman below asked calmly.

Zhuyou didn’t ask. She had already sensed that this person was no ordinary being. Her palm pressed against the barrier, pouring a continuous stream of spiritual energy into it, trying to shatter it.

If the barrier broke, the seawater above would come rushing in, flooding the marsh and destroying the plants. The sacred herb might never grow here again.

But before she could break it, the woman below spoke again, her voice calm and emotionless. “I’ll send you out.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Zhuyou felt the world spin around her, as if the seawater above had flipped to the bottom and the marsh had turned upside down. Her vision went dark, and the cold enveloped her once more. Before she could regain her senses, she suddenly fell from midair. When she steadied herself, she realized she was already outside the Cold Eye.

The moonlight was bright, reflecting off the ink-like surface of the sea.

Zhuyou quickly stabilized herself, hovering above the water. She looked down, but there was no sign of the vortex or the Cold Eye.

But how had that woman sent her out?

The oppressive aura descending from above wasn’t sharp, as if its edge had been dulled, making it feel unusually gentle.

Zhuyou looked up sharply and saw the woman descending from the sky.

Her expression was cold, her black robes shimmering with a flowing brilliance under the moonlight, her long hair scattering in the wind.

Her golden eyes slightly lowered, and her thin lips parted as she spoke. “You don’t recognize me anymore?”