The Si family of the Heavenly Demon Cult was a massive clan. The character "Si" meant "officer" or "master," referring to those in charge. The Si family had existed since the founding of the Heavenly Demon Cult, responsible for managing the sect's calendar, lineage, finances, and dissemination.
Because the Si family was so important, the Holy Maidens of the Heavenly Demon Cult often came from their ranks. The Holy Maiden was the head of the Si family, and in some ways, the Si family was even more important than the Cult Master and the Holy Master.
First there was Grandma Si, and later Si Yunxiang.
Long Jiaonan naturally understood Si Yunxiang's value. This time, she had captured the sixth princess of the State of Yankang, the Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon Cult, and the Holy Maiden all at once, feeling quite proud of herself. Still, she remained cautious, removing the glutton bag from Qin Mu's waist, taking the spiritual weapons from Ling Yuxiu's body, and reaching out to search Si Yunxiang.
Si Yunxiang giggled, "Sister Long, don't touch me like that. I don't carry spiritual weapons. I follow the school of magic."
Long Jiaonan sneered and removed her hairpin. "School of magic? I'd say you're a sword master! This hairpin packs quite a punch!"
The killing knife, iron hammer, and other items on Qin Mu's back were also taken, along with the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone hidden in his sleeves. Long Jiaonan glanced at them—they were just ordinary items, not spiritual weapons—so she stuffed them back.
Long Jiaonan whistled, and the small red snake slithered through the three captives' clothing, searching for more spiritual weapons.
She was an experienced player, leaving Qin Mu and the others no chance of turning the tables.
More critically, Qin Mu had not brought the Dragon Qilin when he went out with the two women. At this moment, the Dragon Qilin was still sleeping at the City Lord's Mansion!
"Let's go."
Dressed in women's clothing, Long Jiaonan looked charming and seductive, holding Qin Mu's arm with a hint of shyness on her face. "I have a boat waiting at the port for the Cult Master, the Holy Maiden, and the Princess. By the time the Crown Prince realizes what's happened, you three will already be in the Eastern Sea."
Qin Mu smiled. "Sister Long, you've thought of everything."
Long Jiaonan whistled softly, and the small red snake slithered onto Qin Mu, hanging from his left ear and flickering its forked tongue. Long Jiaonan laughed gently, "No matter how sweet your words, you can't escape my grasp. Don't even think about playing tricks. One bite from Little Red, and you're dead."
The three women and one man walked toward the market when suddenly Shen Wanyun, Wei Yong, Yue Qinghong, and other Imperial Academy scholars approached. The two groups met face-to-face, and Long Jiaonan smiled, whispering, "Act natural. Don't force me to kill the Cult Master and you all right now."
Shen Wanyun stopped and looked at the three women. "Cult Master, this lady seems unfamiliar. May I ask who she is?"
Qin Mu replied, "An old acquaintance. Are you out shopping?"
Shen Wanyun sighed helplessly. "I didn't want to come out, but Wei Yong and Qinghong insisted, saying we should see the local customs of the overseas lands." With that, he led the group into the market.
Long Jiaonan also took Qin Mu and the others toward the harbor.
Inside the market, Shen Wanyun's expression darkened. "The Cult Master is in danger!"
Wei Yong, Yue Qinghong, and the others were startled, not understanding. Shen Wanyun said gravely, "The Cult Master's weapons are missing. He always carries them on his back, but now they're gone. Also, Si Yunxiang's hairpin and Ling Yuxiu's spiritual weapons have all vanished. That woman is definitely suspicious... Go notify the Crown Prince. I'll track them!"
Wei Yong and Yue Qinghong realized the seriousness and rushed back to the City Lord's Mansion, while Shen Wanyun immediately left the market, thinking, "That woman looks familiar... I've seen her before, but who is she?"
Long Jiaonan brought Qin Mu and the others to the port and boarded a towered boat. "Set sail!"
The towered boat immediately headed for the Eastern Sea. Behind them, Shen Wanyun left a trail, then leaped into the sea, running across the water's surface while following the towered boat.
The towered boat was not slow, but he moved like the wind, keeping steady pace.
"Young Master, someone's behind us," a crew member said in a low voice.
Long Jiaonan went to the stern and saw Shen Wanyun running across the waves, slightly surprised. "Just an Imperial Academy scholar. In the sea, does he think he can compete with the Dragon King?"
She whistled, the melody strange and eerie. Soon after, slippery sea serpents appeared beneath the surface, each over thirty feet long, racing toward Shen Wanyun.
Shen Wanyun was alarmed. From the sword pouch on his back, flying swords shot out, cutting down the approaching sea serpents.
The waters around him immediately turned into a boiling cauldron, countless serpents like dragons bursting from the water, madly attacking him, impossible to kill them all!
By the time Shen Wanyun fought his way through the serpent encirclement and looked around, the towered boat had vanished.
Shen Wanyun rose into the air, standing sky-high and looking in all directions, but the vast blue ocean showed no trace of where the boat had gone.
"Not good!" Shen Wanyun's expression was grave.
On the towered boat, Long Jiaonan did not restrict Qin Mu and the others' movements, allowing them to wander freely. The towered boat sailed further and deeper into the sea.
Qin Mu looked up at the high sky and distant horizon, the deep sea offering no way to leave a trail on its surface.
He enthusiastically spread out paper and began painting at the bow. Long Jiaonan leaned over to look, seeing that Qin Mu was painting the sea—violent waves, black clouds sweeping everything, a towered boat navigating through the storm, with lightning in the darkness illuminating the vessel.
The painting had a peculiar quality that made one feel as if standing within it.
"I didn't realize Cult Master Qin was such a skilled painter."
Long Jiaonan praised, "If you went to the capital to sell paintings for a living, you could earn a reputation as a talented scholar."
A crew member carrying a ghost-head blade walked over, holding the blade horizontally across Qin Mu's neck in a mock gesture, chuckling. "It's a shame this Heavenly Demon Cult Master is about to die, yet he still has the mood to paint nonsense."
Long Jiaonan said coldly, "Ghost Third, until my father orders his death, he remains our Dragon Taming Gate's guest. Show some respect!"
Ling Yuxiu's eyes brightened as she approached to watch Qin Mu's painting, secretly signaling Si Yunxiang.
Qin Mu seemed dissatisfied with the painting, setting it aside to start another—again stormy seas with wind, rain, and lightning, but this time without the boat.
Long Jiaonan had been watching with interest, but seeing Qin Mu paint the same scene over and over without variation, she lost interest and just let the small red snake continue hanging from his ear.
Qin Mu painted over a dozen scenes of sea storms, then picked up his brush as if to refine them. The moment his first stroke landed, the entire painting seemed to shift somehow—the thunder and storms within appeared as if they might fly out of the paper.
Qin Mu added a final touch to each of the dozen paintings and casually threw them overboard.
Long Jiaonan saw this and thought what a pity.
Qin Mu stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Long Jiaonan. "I've heard the sea has many storms. Can your boat withstand them, Sister Long?"
Long Jiaonan sneered. "It's clear skies now. What storms are there?"
As she spoke, a wind arose, going from gentle breeze to gale in a single breath. Then the sky suddenly darkened, fierce winds howling, waves rising higher than mountains, sending the towered boat flying high before crashing down.
Everyone on board was caught off guard, scrambling to steady themselves. Lightning cracked and split around the towered boat in all directions. In the chaos, Qin Mu flicked his finger, sending the small red snake from his ear flying.
The small red snake had just left and was about to reveal its true form when suddenly hundreds of lightning bolts converged, striking down with earth-shattering force directly onto the snake!
Long Jiaonan was startled, watching the small red snake tumble into the sea as countless bolts of lightning continued to strike where it fell. The red snake finally revealed its true form in the water, but after being struck by countless lightning bolts, its body went numb and it sank toward the seabed.
"Where did this wind and lightning come from? Why is it only striking Little Red?"
Long Jiaonan was panicked, looking around at the pitch-black surroundings, a strange feeling rising in her heart. "This scene seems somehow similar to what he just painted..."
Qin Mu grabbed Si Yunxiang with his left hand and Ling Yuxiu with his right, and the three leaped into the dark sea.
Long Jiaonan cried out. Suddenly, the towered boat beneath their feet shattered, throwing everyone on board into the sea. At that moment, she saw another towered boat emerging from the surging waves. Qin Mu, Ling Yuxiu, and Si Yunxiang stood at its bow. The young Cult Master waved at her, and then the towered boat sailed into the darkness and vanished.
Long Jiaonan immediately gave chase, but a wave as big as a mountain crashed down, burying her beneath the water.
Long Jiaonan groaned, breaking through the surface. Just as she leaped into the air, countless lightning bolts struck down, converging on her body, leaving her charred inside and out!
Long Jiaonan fought desperately against the thunder and storm, but after a moment, the lightning suddenly vanished and the wind died down, leaving the sea calm.
Long Jiaonan stood on the water, thoroughly soaked and bedraggled, looking around at the ink stains gradually dissipating in the sea.
A crimson giant serpent swam to her side, its body covered in wounds.
Long Jiaonan felt ice-cold dread as she looked around. The crew members on the towered boat had all perished in this sudden sea disaster, with Ghost Third dying the most miserably of all.
"Was this sea disaster... painted by Cult Master Qin?" Long Jiaonan still found it hard to believe.
Qin Mu and the two women stood at the bow. Before long, the towered boat suddenly dissolved into ink and vanished into the ocean. The three of them channeled their qi, landing on the water's surface. Looking ahead, they saw an island appearing on the horizon.
"Long Jiaonan brought us deep into the Eastern Sea. With our cultivation, it would be extremely difficult to walk across the waves back to Hezhou. We'd exhaust ourselves to death."
Qin Mu suggested, "Why don't we rest there first? Shen Wanyun is sharp. He should have already notified the Crown Prince. With Fan Yunxiao's fast boat, it shouldn't be hard to find us."
The three climbed onto the island when suddenly they saw many yellow-clothed little people running from the forests, wielding knives, forks, and clubs, charging at them aggressively. But when they reached their targets, the little people all stopped, looking up in terror.
"Giants!" a yellow-clothed little person shrieked at the top of his lungs.
The army immediately scattered in all directions. These little people were only about a foot tall. Some hid in rock crevices, others buried themselves in the sand, some concealed themselves under leaves, while the yellow-clothed ones who couldn't find anywhere to hide simply flopped on their backs playing dead, tongues out and eyes wide open.
"So many yellow spirits!" Si Yunxiang exclaimed in surprise. "They're yellow spirits that have become demon spirits. They're edible and greatly enhance cultivation."
"The giants are going to eat us!" the supposedly dead yellow spirit leaped up, flipped over, and ran, crashing headfirst into a tree and passing out.