Su Yan held the Black Water Yellow Springs Scripture long after the dragon-horse had vanished into the dark. The night was warm, the marsh alive with insects and the distant calls of unknown beasts.
"If the ancient age had sword immortals," Su Yan said quietly, "Bai Qiuzi was one of them."
Yuan Qi coiled around the temple's outer pillars, his vast serpent body hidden in shadow. "She pays her debts, claims her vengeance, keeps her word. That is the meaning of honor."
Big Bell sulked nearby. "Unlike that Li Yingzhu woman. She promised to deliver Guo Xiaodie and never did."
Su Yan unrolled the scripture. By the time dawn broke and he'd finished reading, the sun had cleared the horizon. Big Bell was still complaining.
Su Yan picked up a brush and crossed out "Black Water," replacing it with "Mysterious Water."
"The author had malicious intent," he said. "Even the name sounds sinister, but the technique itself isn't evil."
He located the Bubbling Spring secret realm through Dragon-Seeking Positioning and frowned. "Seventh Master, the stone family ancestor Shi Molei only had one Bubbling Spring. But this scripture says there are two, left and right, symmetrical. The one who taught him—did they not know the true law either?"
"Bai Qiuzi said fake scriptures existed since the Qin Emperor's time," Yuan Qi mused. "The ones who forged them then might not be the same ones who forged them after the Heaven-Man Resonance era."
Big Bell chimed in. "After Bai Qiuzi's time, some nuo immortals tried to escape the trap. The true laws from the Heaven-Man Resonance period might have been their patch. Then both the true laws and the dual-path cultivators vanished. Only fakes remained."
Yuan Qi's serpent eyes narrowed. "Bell. Could your master be one of the masterminds? He disappeared three thousand years ago, same as the others."
Big Bell slammed into Yuan Qi's skull with a deafening clang. "My master was righteous! He would never!"
Yuan Qi struck back with his tail, sending Big Bell spinning. "Righteous? He forged a bell that steals other people's qi and blood! He suppressed the village god and Qingbi! Your master was no saint!"
The bell expanded to mountain size and rammed the serpent into the lake. Yuan Qi summoned the Eight Yuan Tones, dark clouds gathering overhead, lightning crackling across the marsh. He lunged, fangs bared.
"I am a proper demon cultivator, not a treasure!"
"Brother?" Big Bell roared. "You use the Eight Yuan Tones on me? Today we are enemies!"
It activated the same tones. The battle shook Mount Dongting, bell and serpent crashing through trees and water until Yuan Qi's head was a bruised mess.
"Mercy! Bell-brother! Little Snake was wrong!"
Big Bell stopped. Within moments, they were friends again.
The Guo family cultivators watched in astonishment.
* * *
Li Yingzhu approached Su Yan with a smile that showed too many teeth. "Demon King Su, if you have no pressing business, travel with us a few days. We might find more hermitages in Yunmeng."
She whispered to Guo Yue, "This is our chance to bind him to our family. If he and Xiaodie share a bed, he'll be our son-in-law."
Guo Yue looked troubled. "She hasn't agreed. Forced matches don't—"
"Look at her. She's already interested."
Guo Yue glanced at his niece, who had indeed chosen a lower neckline today and was hovering near Su Yan like a bee near honey.
A soft voice drifted up the mountain, clear as temple bells: "Is Demon King Su on this mountain? This humble woman heard bells and came to see. The serpent and bell fighting so splendidly could only mean old friends."
Li Yingzhu turned. A woman in pure red stood at the mountain's base, cradling a pipa, surrounded by Zhu family nuo masters.
Zhu Hongyi.
She glided up the steps, gaze sweeping past the Guo family with a faint smile. "Three years ago, the Demon King shattered the Shi family. Rumors say I aided him, that together we axe-split their manor and slew a hundred enemies." She bowed before Su Yan, eyes lifting slowly to meet his. "I have neither forgotten your grace nor the fear of standing beside you."
Sunrise caught the teardrop earrings at her lobes, scattering rainbows across her skin. Li Yingzhu kicked Guo Yue's ankle. "See? The Zhu family is deploying seduction arts! While you talk about 'proper conduct,' they'll steal him through the window!"
Before Su Yan could respond, a young man in red-and-green burst into the temple. He had a broad nose, small mouth, and the eager energy of a puppy.
"Elder Sister! Is this the legendary Demon King Su?"
He dropped to his knees and kowtowed three times, laughing. "Little brother has heard your name countless times! Today I finally meet you!"
Zhu Hongyi smiled. "My younger brother Zhu Guang, courtesy name Zhongquan. He loves your stories. Call him Zhongquan."
Su Yan's Heavenly Eye opened. What he saw made his brow tighten.
Zhu Zhongquan's Xiyi Domain was fully open. All Six Secrets—Mud Pill, Jade Pool, Crimson Palace, Bubbling Spring, Yellow Court, Jade Capital—each with three layers of grotto-heaven. Eighteen grotto-heavens total. His spirit sense had reached the fourth heaven, one step from Dual Refinement stage. And hidden within his palms, a prepared technique waited to strike the moment Su Yan helped him up.
"Courtesy name Zhongquan," Su Yan said, smiling. "Loyalty and filial piety. A rare man. I'm sixteen by now—you're older than me. No need to bow."
Zhu Zhongquan's inner delight showed on his face. *Today I claim his fame for myself!*
Their palms touched. Zhu Zhongquan's hidden technique lunged into Su Yan's body—
And stopped.
A force far greater than his own compressed the technique back into his hands, crushing it into nothing. Zhu Zhongquan's face flushed crimson. Blood reversed in his veins. Behind him, his Xiyi Domain appeared unbidden, all eighteen grotto-heavens blazing, as the pressure from Su Yan's palm intensified.
His nose began to bleed.
"Sister!" Zhu Hongyi stepped between them, laughing nervously. "My brother is crude. He meant no offense."
Su Yan withdrew his hand. "I meant no harm either. As for crude men—I've killed a few before."
Zhu Zhongquan rose, hands trembling behind his back. "We're practically family. My sister has admired you for years. Even refused a marriage proposal from the Gao family, saying she'd only marry a man like you."
Zhu Hongyi blushed furiously. "Little brother!"
"I'll leave you two alone." Zhu Zhongquan retreated down the mountain.
At the base, a prison cart waited, wrapped in black cloth. Zhu Zhongquan slipped inside.
An old man sat within, chains piercing his limbs and collarbone, more chains threaded through his Xiyi Domain to seal his cultivation. Zhu Zhongquan's hands exploded into blood mist—Su Yan's suppressed technique, finally breaking free.
The old man lifted his head and grinned. "Met your match, Zhongquan?"
"Teacher," Zhu Zhongquan gasped, kneeling despite the pain. "His technique suppressed mine. I need a stronger immortal law!"
The old man—captured by the Zhu family from the other shore at staggering cost—chuckled wetly. "You have six secrets open. He has five. The difference between six and five is the difference between heaven and earth. You're only lacking in realm. I'll teach you Dual Refinement. A golden core within reach. Then you can crush him."
His eyes glittered. "After you take your revenge, remember your promise. Release me. I have nothing left to teach."
Zhu Zhongquan kowtowed, eyes bright with ambition.
The old man watched him, thinking: *This furnace is almost ready. Soon he'll be shaped exactly as I need him. Then I can discard this broken body and take a new one.*