Conquering That Great Demon Lord [Xian Ni Fan Fiction] - Chapter 13: Searching for Someone

Chapter 13: Searching for Someone

Zhou Zihong spotted Li Muwan and flew to her side in disbelief. The two then transformed into a streak of rainbow light and reappeared in Zhou Zihong’s bedchamber. Whenever they met, they would often hide in each other’s private quarters to discuss celestial secrets. The curiosity and longing in their youthful hearts made them temporarily forget about elixirs and cultivation.

“Wan’er, a few days ago, disciples from Luoshui Sect came to deliver elixirs. I heard you had returned, but I didn’t believe it at first. I was planning to visit Luoshui Sect in the next couple of dayshow did you get here first?” Zhou Zihong had so much to tell her.

Li Muwan felt the same, though her purpose for coming was clear.

“The sect refined a batch of elixirs, and our grandmaster asked me to deliver them to War God Hall,” Li Muwan said, linking arms with Zhou Zihong as they sat down.

Zhou Zihong freed one hand to place a kettle on the stove, then noticed her friend seemed preoccupied. They had always been open with each other.

“Wan’er, is there something you want to ask?”

Li Muwan looked up with a smile. “Zihong, does War God Hall have any disciples surnamed Ma?”

War God Hall had several times more disciples than Luoshui Sect, and there were quite a few with the surname Ma. However, one figure came to Zhou Zihong’s mindJunior Brother Ma Liang, who had perished in the foreign battlefield.

“There are several Ma-disciples I know of in War God Hall, but who exactly are you asking about, Wan’er?” Zhou Zihong seemed to sense something.

“Four years ago, he saved me from the hands of cultivators in Xuanwu Kingdom, protected me multiple times in the Sea of Demonic Cultivation, and escorted me back to Luoshui Sect. I only know he was a disciple of your War God Hall.” Li Muwan shook her head, aware that the fiend had long left War God Hallotherwise, why would there be no reaction from the Soul Blood?

Zhou Zihong observed her keenly as boiling water poured into the teacups, the steeping leaves releasing their fragrant aroma.

“Many of our War God Hall disciples fell in the war between the two kingdoms. Some are missing, their fates unknown. As for the one you mentioned, what distinguishing features did he have? Perhaps I can help you inquire.”

Li Muwan thought for a moment, trying to find fitting words to describe the fiend, but realized none truly suited him. She then said earnestly, “This person… had a cold face but a kind heart. He was tall, and his eyes always carried a fierce intensity when looking at others. His methods were lethal, yet he wasn’t a bloodthirsty killer.”

At this point, she felt somewhat guilty.

After all, when he was targeted by the Ten Thousand Demons Hundred Day Kill Order in the Sea of Demonic Cultivation, he had fought his way to Fighting Evil Sect without showing any mercy.

“Not a bloodthirsty killer…” These words felt intensely familiar to Zhou Zihong.

“The person you speak of… could his name be Ma Liang?” Zhou Zihong murmured.

“Ma Liang?” Li Muwan exclaimed with delight. “You know him?”

“Based on the features and appearance you described, there is indeed such a person in our War God Hall. Ma Liang also disappeared four years ago during the conflict between the two kingdoms,” Zhou Zihong explained. “After returning from the foreign battlefield, he had already left War God Hall.”

Left War God Hall?

When they met in the bamboo forest, he had introduced himself as a War God Hall disciple, yet he had already abandoned his sect by then.

Wanting further confirmation, Li Muwan could only retrieve a portrait from her Storage Bag. After a moment’s contemplation, she unrolled the scroll. The person depicted was their formidable old acquaintance. Seeing those eyes, Zhou Zihong felt a chill run down her spine.

It was indeed him!

“Is the Ma Liang you speak of this person?” Li Muwan asked.

Zhou Zihong paused, then nodded.

“His name… is Ma Liang.” The furrow in Li Muwan’s brow eased slightly, and the corners of her lips unconsciously curved upward.

Zhou Zihong took in everything with a glance, a flicker of apology passing through her eyes. The real Ma Liang was already dead, and the person Li Muwan had encountered was Ma Liang after his body had been snatched. Regarding this body-snatching incident, the less Li Muwan knew, the better it would be for her.

Thus, Zhou Zihong said nothing more and never revealed that the Ma Liang she knew was not the real one.

“Wan’er, why are you looking for him?” Zhou Zihong probed cautiously.

“It’s nothing. After all, he saved my life, and we spent four years together. If we ever meet again, I should properly repay him.”

Li Muwan recalled the question she had asked the Fiend when they parted in the bamboo grove: “Will we have a chance to meet again?”

He had never expected such a day to come, so he made no promise to her.

Afterward, Li Muwan inquired extensively about Ma Liang. For instance, she learned that he had a childhood sweetheart named Xu Si, a junior sister. The man who had once revolved solely around this junior sister had undergone a drastic change in temperament after returning from the foreign battlefield. Moreover, that junior sister and Zhou An, with whom she had been fooling around, both met their ends overnight within the sect.

Being exceptionally perceptive, she might have surmised that this Ma Liang was likely no longer the same person as before.

As for anything beyond that, Li Muwan couldn’t guess. The Fiend had vanished without a trace, and her mission was temporarily shelved. Since she had returned to the Luoshui Sect, she might as well settle down and continue her cultivation.

When her brother returned, she would definitely question him thoroughly. For now, what she needed to do was figure out how to explain the events of the past four years in the Sea of Demonic Cultivation to him.

Three months later, Li Qiqing returned from the fourth-level cultivation nation. When Li Muwan saw her brother safe and sound, she threw herself into his arms and wept for a long while. Li Qiqing’s eyes filled with pity; knowing she had endured hardships over the past four years, he didn’t utter a single word of reproach.

Not long after, Li Muwan went into seclusion to develop higher-level elixirs.

She pored over countless ancient books from the sect and finally found a description of the Soul of Life in an ancient scroll. It was merely a single line of text, consistent with what was said about the Soul Pearl and the Grand Ancestor.

Yet, those four words alone remained beyond her comprehension.

“Soul of Life has no life.” The jade slip bore the recorded text, but no matter how hard she pondered, she couldn’t grasp its meaning.

What could it possibly mean?

Since she couldn’t decipher it, she decided to focus on improving her cultivation level as quickly as possible. With the Spirit Elixir in her possession and the ability to refine the Sky Sundering Pill on her own, Core Formation was inevitable.

By the time Li Muwan emerged from seclusion, three years had passed.

Her cultivation level had already advanced from the Foundation Establishment Stage to the early Core Formation Stage.

Throughout these three years, the Soul Pearl had not reacted even once. Although she had lost her Soul of Life, she had broken through to the Core Formation Stage. As for the limitation on cultivation mentioned in relation to the Soul of Life, there was no specified cultivation level restriction, so she couldn’t determine where her progress might halt.

After achieving Core Formation, she still had several hundred years to live. If fate didn’t bring her together with the Fiend, it wouldn’t be too late for her to switch her focus to another target.

At Li Muwan’s residence, Li Qiqing brewed a pot of tea using dewdrops collected from the immortal mountains within the Luoshui Sect. The tea’s aroma was rich and fragrant. Zhou Zihong had come that day to deliver the sect’s list of required spirit herbs and was taking a break to enjoy tea and discuss cultivation with the siblings.

Li Muwan sensed that Zhou Zihong seemed hesitant to speak, perhaps because Li Qiqing was present, making some topics inconvenient. Li Muwan promptly sent her brother away.

“Zihong, do you have something to tell me?”

Zhou Zihong gazed toward the distant immortal mountains, where the immortal mist veiled the peaks. Blood Moon was dozing on a peach tree.

“Three years ago, that Ma Liang you inquired about returned to the War God Hall.” Zhou Zihong watched Li Muwan’s expression closely.

For just a moment, a faint trace of surprise flickered in her eyes.

“He’s at the War God Hall?” Li Muwan hadn’t sensed any reaction from the Soul Blood, her tone clearly tinged with confirmed disappointment.

“Three years after you went into seclusion, he was tracked by a God Transformation Stage cultivator and took refuge in the War God Hall. That old monster spent three years setting up a soul-searching array.”

“Is he dead?” Li Muwan’s brow twitched as she sensed fluctuations from the Soul Pearl.

[Soul Pearl: If the Fiend dies, the Soul Pearl will react.]

She secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Well,” Zhou Zihong said, “Last month that God Transformation Stage cultivator brought him to the War God Hall to observe the Divine Path Technique. After studying it, he left with that old monster. As for whether he’s alive or dead, there’s no way to know.”

Anyone targeted by a God Transformation Stage old monster would most likely meet a grim fate, though Zhou Zihong phrased it delicately. If the Fiend had died, the Soul Pearl would have sensed it, yet no fluctuations came.

He was still alive – this was the last news Li Muwan received about Ma Liang.

At the cliffside peach blossom grove, her skirt fluttered over the empty valley while Blood Moon scrambled through the trees. Li Qiqing leaned on the windowsill with both elbows, watching the distracted Li Muwan as he hesitated to speak.

Blood Moon broke a flowering branch, disturbing someone who was resting with closed eyes. Li Qiqing took out some fruit to lure it, and Blood Moon hopped over at the scent.

“Blood Moon, your master lies on this tree every day – who is she thinking of?”

Li Muwan raised her drowsy eyes and glanced at Li Qiqing. “Brother, if you want to ask something, just ask directly. There’s no need to beat around the bush. Blood Moon can’t speak anyway – it only knows which fruits taste good.”

“I heard from War God Hall disciples that you’ve been inquiring about someone named Ma Liang?”

“Yes,” Li Muwan didn’t conceal it. “Didn’t Wan’er tell you, brother? That person saved me in the Sea of Demonic Cultivation. It’s only reasonable for me to make some inquiries.”

“Ma Liang? War God Hall?” Li Qiqing had never seen his younger sister show interest in any man before. Though many fellow disciples in the sect tried to court her, she paid them no mind. The only one she had ever actively praised was that War God Hall disciple they met in the bamboo grove years ago, who also shared the surname Ma.

“Is it the one we met in the bamboo grove before?”

Li Muwan looked surprised, then said leisurely, “Brother actually guessed correctly.”

“How could I not know what’s in Wan’er’s heart?” Li Qiqing meaningfully advised, “No matter what happened between you during those four years in the Sea of Demonic Cultivation, now that you’ve returned to the sect, focus on moving forward. Leave the past behind you, understand?”

“I know, brother,” Li Muwan plucked a peach blossom and tucked it behind her ear, smiling like the spring breeze. “Does Wan’er look pretty?”

“My younger sister, born beautiful, is naturally pretty,” Li Qiqing said dotingly. Seeing his sister’s long-absent smile finally put his mind somewhat at ease.

After Li Qiqing left, just as Li Muwan was about to climb back through the window, a sudden sensation transmitted through her brow.

[Soul Pearl: Fiend’s favorability has increased to 35%]

Her body leaning against the peach branch nearly plunged into the mountain cliff. If not for her spiritual sense stabilizing her form, she might have already fallen.

[Li Muwan: The Fiend? How could…]

Her thoughts raced as she looked around, feeling suddenly lost. This was the Luoshui Sect – the Soul Blood showed no reaction. He couldn’t be here. But why did the favorability suddenly increase?

[Li Muwan: Wasn’t he taken away by that God Transformation Stage old monster?]

Meanwhile, Wang Lin had already entered the Ancient God trial ground. Within the colossal body of a primordial beast parasitized a Flood Dragon. After slaying it, an image surfaced in his mind of Li Muwan once telling him about the effects of Dragon Marrow.

One month later, while Li Muwan was refining elixirs in the pill room, the Soul Pearl fluctuated again.

[Soul Pearl: Fiend’s favorability has increased to 45%]

[Li Muwan: What’s the reason this time?]

At that moment, Wang Lin nearly perished after being swallowed by a creature within the trial. Had it not been for the Azure Dragon Jade Tablet, he would have certainly died. However, after activating the formation, several fine cracks appeared on the jade slip. Wang Lin’s eyes showed a pained expression as he recalled the final glimpse during their parting in the bamboo grovethe emotions he had tried to erase were quietly growing once more.

***

Yet, in the two centuries that followed, the Soul Pearl showed no further response regarding the Fiend.

To determine whether he was alive or dead, Li Muwan could only rely on that trace of Divine Sense preserved within the Soul Blood.

Two hundred years passedseas turned into fields, and time brought immense changes.

The Luoshui Sect was no longer what it once had been. The sect had declined, its disciples scattered. Li Qiqing left for a sect in a fourth-level cultivation nation.

In order to continue refining higher-grade Elixirs, Li Muwan chose to settle in Chu, a third-level cultivation nation bordering the outer reaches of the Sea of Demonic Cultivation near the Fireburn Kingdom.

Within Chu, the leading sect was the Cloud Heaven Sect, whose inner sect specialized in Elixir Cultivation. Li Muwan chose to make her home there.

Over the past century, her exceptional talent and mastery in pill refining earned her a place as one of the Cloud Heaven Sect’s fifth-grade alchemists. Honored as an elder of the sect, she was deeply respected by its disciples.

Li Muwan focused on the path of Elixir Cultivation within the sect, becoming widely learned. Many disciples wished to study under her, yet in two centuries, she accepted only one discipleZhou Linand never took another.