I was born a god, the son of the Demon Lord.

Just like your mother was when she was a child.

When these words reached her ears, Xu Nanyi tilted her head and stared at Lin Qingyue's profile.

The wind blew through the sea of ​​flowers, and red petals brushed against that face with its cold, sharp lines. His icy blue eyes reflected the sky full of phoenix tail orchids, yet his expression was incredibly gentle.

What should I say?

Call him Master? That's too much of a loss; she didn't even agree to the contract.

Swearing? No way, Xiaozhou is still lying on the ground.

Thank you? What are you thanking me for? This guy forcibly kidnapped her and made her his apprentice.

Xu Nanyi opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Lin Qingyue didn't notice her silence.

Or rather, her attention was no longer on Xu Nanyi.

The smiling face suddenly froze, and the brows furrowed deeply, as if something had struck the face from within.

Xu Nanyi saw a flicker of...pain in her eyes.

Double images appeared on Lin Qingyue's body again, sometimes bright and sometimes dim.

Xu Nanyi's pupils contracted sharply, and she hesitated before asking, "Are you... are you alright?"

I didn't even expect the sound to come out so softly.

Lin Qingyue raised her head and met those eyes filled with fear.

The little girl's face was deathly pale, her lips pressed into a thin line, like a frightened kitten, but there was no sign of retreat in her eyes.

Lin Qingyue smiled.

"good."

One word.

Immediately afterwards, a golden talisman was slapped onto Xu Nanyi's forehead.

Sleeping Charm.

The moment the spiritual energy flowed into her brow, the last thing Xu Nanyi saw was Lin Qingyue's pale profile and the trembling hand pressing on her forehead.

Then, darkness.

……

The three children on the ground didn't even have a chance to struggle.

Three golden talismans shot out and entered the foreheads of Shen Xizhou, Wu Qiyue, and Xiao Shitou.

The little black dragon's vertical pupils went dark, and its body went completely limp. Wu Qiyue's stiff body collapsed onto the tree roots, and her breathing became even and long. Little Stone rolled over and started snoring.

The flower field was quiet.

Only the sound of the wind and Lin Qingyue's increasingly rapid breathing remained.

She knelt on one knee and gently placed Xu Nanyi among the phoenix tail orchids, her movements very careful, as if she were placing a fragile piece of porcelain.

Then she stood up and formed a mudra with her hands.

The moment their fingers intertwined, a sharp roar came from the depths of her mind. The thing had broken through three layers of seals and was surging out like a madman.

Lin Qingyue closed her eyes.

Within the sea of ​​knowledge.

At the bottom of the pitch-black abyss, a distorted, inky mist was expanding, and countless mouths tore out from the mist, emitting overlapping, soul-piercing wails.

One by one, the sealed golden chains snapped, and the shattered golden light scattered and fell like fireflies.

"They're making a scene again."

Lin Qingyue's voice echoed in her mind, cold and devoid of any warmth.

Seven Soul-Devouring Blades materialized from the void.

It was pitch black, with dark red runes engraved on its blade. Each one had swallowed the remnant souls of at least ten Nascent Soul stage cultivators. It was a foolish thing she did when she was young, but now it had become the only tool that could suppress this thing.

She didn't hesitate.

Seven blades fell simultaneously.

It didn't slash at the black mist—it plunged into her own sea of ​​consciousness.

Excruciating pain exploded from the depths of her soul, as if someone were repeatedly hammering her brain on an anvil. Seven huge wounds split open on the surface of her golden sea of ​​consciousness, and blood-red light seeped out from the cracks.

But those seven knives pierced through the bottom of the sea of ​​consciousness, pinning the black mist to its deepest point.

"Ahhh—"

The howl emitted by that thing shook the entire sea of ​​consciousness.

Veins bulged on Lin Qingyue's forehead, and blood slid from her seven orifices.

She pressed down.

Press down again.

The black mist tumbled, tore, and struggled under the strangulation of the seven Soul-Devouring Blades, and was finally forcibly pressed into the bottom of the abyss. The sound grew fainter and fainter, until only a trace of unwilling whimper remained before it sank into deathly silence.

Lin Qingyue opened her eyes, wiped away the blood from her nose, and touched her brow with her fingertip.

A golden talisman emerged from the brow bone, was slowly drawn out, and hovered at the fingertip, its radiance flowing like a miniature sun.

May God bless you.

She inherited the mark of the lineage from the heavens, and her lineage is unique. Lin Qingyue looked down at the little girl sleeping soundly in the flower bushes.

The little guy had a furrowed brow and looked unhappy even in his sleep.

"...You heartless little brat."

She knelt down and pressed the golden talisman against Xu Nanyi's forehead.

The golden light disappeared without a trace.

Lin Qingyue breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed she really had to go to the Dream Sea. If she didn't retrieve the Sea Purifying Needle soon, she might not be able to suppress it next time.

And this girl... can't stay by my side, at least not now.

Lin Qingyue took one last look at the four sleeping children.

Crimson petals swirled beneath his feet, and the figure in the Tribulation Transcending stage vanished in a flash.

The sea of ​​flowers has returned to silence.

-

North of the city.

Xu Yuan lay on the dining table, her chin resting on her folded arms, her eyes scanning back and forth between the kitchen and the gate.

It's almost noon, and Little Phoenix has been out all morning. What happened to the promise that he'd "come back after a short trip"?

Surely nothing bad will happen. The highest level in this desolate place is only the Nascent Soul stage, while her daughter is at the Divine Transformation stage. Who could possibly harm her?

unless……

Xu Yuan stopped himself from thinking about it and was about to get up and leave.

Looking up, my gaze passed through the kitchen door curtain.

Shen Jiuyuan, wearing a dark blue apron with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, was arranging the silverfish from the pot onto a plate. His movements were unhurried, adjusting the angle of the fish with his chopsticks.

Xu Yuan was about to take another look at the doorway—

A fragrant aroma of salt, pepper, and oil wafted to my nose.

She looked up.

A white porcelain plate had appeared on the table in front of me, with a row of golden-brown, crispy fried dried fish on it. The fish fry were thumb-sized and coated with a thin layer of salt and pepper.

Shen Jiuyuan stood by the table with a bowl in his hand, a small dried fish between the tips of his chopsticks, and offered it to her lips.

His apron was stained with a few specks of oil, and his expression could be described as tense.

"Why don't you... try it first?"