“Damn… I didn’t expect this guy to not even dare make a move and just run away,” Lu Zheng said, frowning.
If the person had hesitated even slightly, Lu Zheng was confident he could have taken him down, but the opponent was decisive and fled immediately.
More importantly, with Lu Zheng and Shen Ying’s strength, they actually let him escape.
Though the person’s cultivation was less than two hundred years, it wasn’t weak, and he used various techniques to evade their pursuit.
“He’s very cautious,” Shen Ying said. “My presence here shows my profound cultivation, and with you, Lu Lang, by my side, since he wasn’t confident, he didn’t even try to act.”
“But he clearly has ill intentions toward you. From his actions, it seems he’s not working alone. He likely has sect mates, or even stronger experts,” Lu Zheng noted.
Lu Zheng felt the situation was complex. The opponent’s target was clearly Shen Ying, and the techniques he displayed were all related to peach trees.
“Peach talismans, peach blossom miasma, peach wood escape, and peach wood decoy techniques…” Lu Zheng looked at Shen Ying. “And that spell resembling a towering peach tree, though brief, was not simple in power or execution. It felt more like…”
Shen Ying nodded. “Correct. I sensed another demonic aura in the peach talisman spell he used.”
“A peach tree spirit?” Lu Zheng’s eyes flickered.
Shen Ying nodded. “And a thousand-year-old peach tree spirit at that.”
Lu Zheng took a deep breath. “A thousand-year-old peach tree spirit?”
“In terms of purity of aura, it doesn’t match me, but in terms of the density of demonic energy…” Shen Ying paused, “Moreover, this is just the aura left in the talisman. Its true form is likely even stronger.”
Lu Zheng looked up sharply, his expression grave. “If this peach tree spirit comes knocking…”
A zombie with merely the potential for a thousand years of cultivation, and not yet fully developed in divine abilities, required two Daoist masters leading a team of five to defeat.
If a thousand-year-old demonic spirit came, they would be no match.
“Damn!” Lu Zheng was frustrated and blamed himself for letting the person escape.
“Lu Lang, don’t blame yourself. There’s a force behind this person. Since I’m the target, even if we had caught him this time, his sect mates would eventually come,” Shen Ying comforted. “We can’t hide from this.”
“Hm,” Lu Zheng nodded, then said firmly, “I’ll go to the Yizhou Anomaly Suppression Bureau!”
Shen Ying, after all, was a court-appointed Peach Blossom Fairy. If a thousand-year-old peach tree spirit was targeting her, they needed official backing.
“Lu Lang, don’t rush. I’m just a minor incense land deity. Even if a thousand-year-old demon is after me, the Anomaly Suppression Bureau won’t send high-level experts to guard me permanently,” Shen Ying said.
“Then you…”
Shen Ying quickly added, “Lu Lang, don’t worry. This peach tree spirit can’t come here.”
“Hm?”
“Peach trees may gain spirituality, but it’s hardest for them to become spirits. The stronger the plant spirit’s true form, the harder it is to move. Like the thousand-year-old peach tree I fused with, it could barely develop sentience, and in the end, it benefited me,” Shen Ying explained. “This thousand-year-old peach tree spirit is the same. Its demonic energy is dense but somewhat chaotic, likely from absorbing the vitality of living beings for cultivation, making its true spirit impure and bound by its form, unable to transform into a pure yang primordial spirit to roam freely.”
“So…”
“So it can’t travel far. Though we don’t know where it is, it likely can’t reach Tonglin County,” Shen Ying said with a smile. “At most, it relies on underlings like that person, using some secret method to scheme against me.”
Lu Zheng nodded but remained uneasy. “Could there be experts among them?”
Shen Ying shook her head. “This peach tree spirit’s own cultivation path is utterly chaotic, relying solely on its formidable foundation to achieve a thousand years of cultivation. Those people lack profound teachings. Practicing the peach tree spirit’s methods is a heretical path, not orthodox Daoism. They can’t achieve longevity. A few hundred years of cultivation is their limit. How could they have true experts?”
“Oh? Is that so?” Lu Zheng asked.
With only three hundred years of cultivation, he and Shen Ying had no need to fear.
Shen Ying gave a wry smile. “Does Lu Lang think every faction has inheritances like Baiyun Temple?”
Lu Zheng blinked. He hadn’t considered that.
“So it really can’t come?”
“Its target is me. Would I joke about my own life?” Shen Ying assured.
“Good!” Lu Zheng sighed in relief.
Shen Ying linked arms with him. “Since we’re out, I’ll go back to the county with Lu Lang and have dinner with Sister Qingyan.”
“Alright,” Lu Zheng nodded, and they headed back to Tonglin County together.
As they walked, Lu Zheng recalled Shen Ying’s previous solo fight against three ghosts and cautioned her again. “That person has now gauged your strength. If he returns, it means he’s fully prepared. Don’t act recklessly. You must inform me.”
Shen Ying, holding his arm, smiled brightly. “Alright, alright, I’ll listen to Lu Lang. If he comes again, I’ll inform you immediately.”
Upon learning that Liu Qingyan had given Lu Zheng a sachet to summon her at any time, Shen Ying gifted him a peach wood pendant.
The pendants were a pair, one for each. Within a hundred miles, if one infused true qi into their pendant, the other would react.
Thus, if Shen Ying summoned Lu Zheng during a fight, he would sense it instantly.
“Moreover, even if he comes fully prepared, I’m not helpless. Peach Blossom Manor has the old peach tree’s true form, and the eighteen celestial maidens have advanced rapidly in their incense divine path cultivation, soon reaching a hundred years. Once they form the Peach Blossom Radiant Celestial Array, even someone with higher cultivation might not gain the upper hand,” Shen Ying said with a smile.
“Peach Blossom Radiant Celestial Array?” Lu Zheng asked.
Shen Ying nodded, smiling. “I derived this array from the Blissful Celestial Array of the Bewitching Realm, combined with the peach blossom miasma I use daily. It’s perfect for the eighteen celestial maidens. If Lu Lang is interested, you can experience it and offer some feedback.”
“Impressive!” Lu Zheng gave a thumbs-up.
While he was still methodically gathering resources, Shen Ying was already creating arrays.
“Lu Lang always teases me,” Shen Ying said, smiling warmly.
…
They returned to Tonglin County, meeting Liu Qingyan and Old Man Liu after her clinic hours.
Bidding farewell to Old Man Liu, the trio went to Lu Zheng’s home, where Aunt Liu prepared a lavish dinner. They ate and chatted, discussing the eighteen celestial maidens, which delighted Liu Qingyan.
As night deepened, the fruit wine’s aroma filled the air, and the charcoal brazier warmed the room, bringing a flush to the women’s faces.
As the saying goes, wine doesn’t intoxicate; people intoxicate themselves. Shen Ying didn’t mention returning to Peach Blossom Manor, and Liu Qingyan had no intention of going back to her house next door.
Thus…
