Holy Maiden, wait a minute. Why are you asking me to cultivate again?

"I have met the Holy Maiden."

Lin Shuangwan first bowed, then said in a low voice, tinged with resentment:

"Fellow Daoist Song, the Holy Maiden is in her room, yet you didn't even tell me."

Song Zhao gave an awkward smile and tried to move his head away from Su Fangyue's flawless skin, but she wouldn't let him.

"This looks like an orphan that Master picked up in his early years, right? Wow, he's grown so much."

"You don't need to call me Saintess, just call me sister."

Su Fangyue gave a forced smile, secretly pondering to herself.

When the compass passed by Lin Shuangwan's cave that day, it detected a trace of demonic energy.

Therefore, Lin Shuangwan may be an undercover agent for the Demonic Path.

At the time, she and Song Zhao were out of the sect on a mission and didn't have a chance to investigate. They planned to investigate later.

Now, things have gotten complicated. What happened when Lin Shuangwan and Song Zhao went down the mountain on their mission? If Lin Shuangwan is harmed, Song Zhao might be implicated.

If Song Zhao is implicated, he will also be implicated.

Unbeknownst to them, a subtle connection had formed between the three of them.

"It is an honor for Shuangwan that the Holy Maiden allows her to call her 'elder sister'."

Lin Shuangwan felt ashamed and annoyed, but her face remained all smiles and harmony.

This made Song Zhao feel that if the two women got along in the future, there shouldn't be any conflicts.

Unlike what the Heavenly Demon Pearl senior said, they didn't fight to the death over a man.

Su Fangyue gave a soft "hmm": "Why did you come empty-handed this time, little sister?"

Lin Shuangwan then took out a pill from her sleeve: "Sister is joking, how could I be so ignorant?"

"I heard that Brother Song suffered a great loss of vital energy while chasing down the demonic cultivator, so I specially brought a pill to nourish his vital energy."

"Oh, my sister is so thoughtful."

"Unfortunately, he has already taken the pill I gave him, so he probably doesn't need yours."

Su Fangyue smiled and asked Song Zhao, who was on her lap, "Wasn't my pill effective?"

"Uh, it's fine." Song Zhao realized that something was amiss.

As expected, Lin Shuangwan's expression stiffened. She put the pill back, then walked gracefully to the foot of the bed and grabbed Song Zhao's feet.

"I learned a method last year that can replenish vital energy through acupoints on the soles of the feet. Fellow Daoist Song, would you like to try it?"

After a moment's hesitation, Song Zhao could only nod.

Before long, the soreness in his feet made his temples throb, but he endured it.

"How was the result?" Lin Shuangwan stopped what she was doing and asked with a smile that concealed a knife.

Song Zhao forced a smile: "Not bad, the effect is indeed good."

Su Fangyue coughed lightly: "Song Zhao, this holy maiden does have a method for replenishing vital energy through massage. Would you be willing to give it a try?"

Coming again? This isn't right...

Weren't the two of them just calling each other sisters?

Song Zhao looked at Su Fangyue with a somewhat innocent expression, begging her to spare him.

"Since you agree, then I, the Holy Maiden, will give you a set."

Su Fangyue stood up, gestured for Lin Shuangwan to move aside, then flipped Song Zhao over and pressed hard on Qi's acupoints on his back for a while.

"how?"

"Excellent, excellent!"

Perhaps seeing Song Zhao in unbearable pain yet only able to offer praise, Lin Shuangwan covered her mouth and smiled, her resentment lessening somewhat.

Su Fangyue persisted, continuing to use her magic to press the acupoints on her back.

"Oh dear, sister, that's enough. He's already exhausted, it's not good for him to keep going like this," Lin Shuangwan said with some heartache.

Su Fangyue's expression remained unchanged: "This is nothing, Sister Lin. Tell me, hasn't he deceived you several times and taken advantage of you?"

Lin Shuangwan thought back carefully: "Never, but he did help me a lot."

"Oh? He's that kind?"

Su Fangyue slowed down her movements and her opinion of Song Zhao changed somewhat.

She had assumed that Song Zhao was dealing with Lin Shuangwan in the same way he was dealing with her—by coercing and luring her, taking advantage of her vulnerability.

Now it seems I misunderstood.

"Cough cough..."

Sensing no force behind him, Song Zhao quickly turned over and forced a conversation into it:

"By the way, Holy Maiden, Fairy Lin, do you know the origins of the Blood Demon Sect?"

The Tianwu Sect is no longer at peace; all the markets and towns under its jurisdiction have been attacked, clearly the front line of a declaration of war.

Su Fangyue was quite familiar with this: "The Blood Demon Sect is a recently risen demonic sect; I had never even heard of it in the early years."

"They live by refining blood, and each possesses an item that can collect blood—whether it's a magical artifact, a spiritual weapon, or a magical treasure..."

"The first time it appeared was not far from the gate of my Tianwu Sect, where it attacked and killed a servant who was seeking medical treatment for a fellow disciple."

Upon hearing this, Song Zhao's heart sank to the bottom.

Ma Xiaoxian was likely killed by the Blood Demon Cult...

Lin Shuangwan continued, "I have also heard some things about the Blood Demon Cult."

"I've heard that the leader of the Blood Demon Sect is a True Person at the Ninth Stage of the Golden Core realm, and he's not from Xuanzhou. He came to Xuanzhou to expand his influence."

"Nine-stage Golden Core? Doesn't that mean he's even more powerful than the sect leader?"

Song Zhao blurted it out subconsciously.

If a True Person at the ninth level of the Golden Core stage were to attack our sect, who could stand against them?

Su Fangyue nodded: "That's right, but it's just a rumor."

"Xuanzhou has several righteous cultivators who have reached the Golden Core stage, and they will not allow that Blood Demon Cult Leader to act recklessly. You can rest assured."

Song Zhao felt slightly relieved, but he was still afraid that the Blood Demon Sect would come to his door and then the Blood Demon Sect leader would chase after him and kill him.

The three of them exchanged a few more words, all saying how utterly despicable the Blood Demon Cult was, and what they would do if they encountered them.

After several rounds of explanations, the three of them gradually formed a camp.

Just as they were chatting happily, Cui Yu's voice came from outside: "How's it going, you three?"

"People from the Crescent Moon Dynasty's Demon Slaying Division have come to the sect, saying they want to see Song Zhao and Lin Shuangwan."

"You two should go quickly."

Lin Shuangwan was somewhat confused as to why the Demon Slayer Division would come looking for her.

Song Zhao knew perfectly well what was going on.

That doesn't make sense. The Heavenly Demon Pearl refines a person's soul along with their body, so even with the Life Lamp, it can't reach you.

"I happen to be free too, let's go together."

Su Fangyue was also curious as to why the people from the Demon Slaying Division would come to the Heavenly Martial Sect, and why they specifically named Song Zhao and Lin Shuangwan.

Could it be that the two of them did something bad in the outside world before?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In the center of the Tianwu Sect's square, a group of disciples surrounded the figures from the Demon Slaying Division, fearing that these people had come to kick down the sect's gates.

Xu Sanshan, the deputy general in charge of slaying demons, ignored the scrutiny of his disciples, closed his eyes slightly, and sat down in a chair.

To his left and right were two Demon-Slaying Guards and seven or eight Hundred Guards.

"Lord Xu, will they come?" One of the guards, feeling uneasy under their gaze, couldn't help but ask.

This is, after all, a first-rate power in Xuanzhou, with a Golden Core cultivator in charge.

They are outsiders and are easily labeled as enemies.

"Hmm, I don't know."

Xu Sanshan was merely fulfilling his routine duty by asking about Sun Qianwei's actions that day.

"Boss, they're here."

Another guard saw two women and a man approaching from afar, and the other Tianwu Sect disciples made way for them.

"Greetings, Holy Maiden!"

"Holy Maiden, the Holy Maiden has arrived!"

"What is the relationship between the Holy Maiden and the Demon Slayer Division?"

"..."

Xu Sanshan opened his eyes, not looking at the two stunningly beautiful women, but instead focusing on Song Zhao.

He sensed a familiar aura emanating from Song Zhao.

It was a feeling that was familiar, yet I couldn't quite place it...

It's like something that happened in a dream, but you forget everything when you wake up.