A few veins pulsed on Zong Zheng's forehead, but the dragon girl noticed nothing—or perhaps, she simply didn't care.
“It's been over a decade, yet she stays in the Kingdom of Qingqiu and still refuses to see you. Word on the street is that you're planning to marry into my Rakshasa Sea Market and become a live-in son-in-law of my dragon palace.”
The dragon girl teased him with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“I'd be willing, of course. At most, I'd just have to coax my fifty-five... no, fifty-six consorts. But you're the one who refuses.”
She continued her wicked taunting.
“If you ask me, you humans are just too stubborn. Do you expect a demon woman to remain chaste for you just because of one night together?
“Ten years have passed. That Qingqiu fox has probably long since forgotten you. She's likely frolicking with some male fox of her own kind, happily churning out twenty or so pups by now!”
“That is a matter between me and my wife. There is no need for the Dragon Girl to trouble herself with it,” Zong Zheng replied, suppressing his anger as he spoke each word with deliberate weight. “In a few days, we will reach the source of the black mist in the Wuwang Sea.
“If you fail then, this Rakshasa Sea Market will change hands and fall into that Jiao's grasp.”
Since Zong Zheng needed the dragon girl's help, he forced himself to stay calm.
“If you intend to slay the demon on the Wuwang Sea, how can you be so sure it will come?”
“That Nascent Soul Sky Demon caused chaos in the sea market years ago, slaughtering the sea people under my rule. I bit off half its arm, terrifying it so much it hasn't dared to step on land for a century.
“Now that I have come in person, it will recognize my blood instantly. The Wuwang Sea is its domain. That demon is cunning and vengeful; it has been waiting a hundred years for me to enter the sea. Now that the opportunity is here, how could it possibly let it go?”
The dragon girl let out a cold laugh.
Nan Zhi couldn't help but applaud inwardly.
Legend had it that the master of the sea market, Lady Mingzhu, was decisive in battle and had protected the Rakshasa Sea Market for centuries.
But no one knew that the dignified market master was hiding aboard the Splendid Platform, using herself as bait just to slay the Nascent Soul Sky Demon that had terrorized the market years ago!
Not only that, she had even invited Zong Zheng to assist her, planning to deal with Lord Jiao—who coveted her market—along the way.
What boldness.
What a brilliant calculation.
But this also meant that with Nascent Soul powerhouses fighting, she could follow behind to leech some kills and farm some gold.
“?”
Nan Zhi suddenly turned her head toward a shadow behind her—
The dragon girl, sitting on the clam-shell bed, whipped around. Her eyes flashed with a sharp light as she barked, “Who's there?!”
Spiritual light erupted outside the room. A trident on the weapon rack flew out in response to her command, whistling past Nan Zhi's cheek and pinning itself to the floor. A furry, half-severed fox tail flashed and vanished.
Someone else had the same idea as her and tried to eavesdrop?!
Nan Zhi saw it clearly. The intruder had only just appeared when they were discovered. They had only managed to escape by hastily throwing out a fox-tail-shaped artifact as a decoy.
Draped in her Spirit Swallowing Grass blanket, she calmly curled up in the corner, pretending to be a mushroom.
Warm and safe.
As long as she wasn't caught, she wasn't technically eavesdropping.
“It must be a spy sent by that Jiao. They had some treasures on them to be able to bypass the guards, but unfortunately for them, my personal weapon sensed the movement.”
The dragon girl's expression was cold.
“My weapon is poisoned. Even if that thief doesn't die, they will suffer greatly. Slaying the Sky Demon is imminent. Master Zong, why don't you lock down the Splendid Platform? I doubt that Jiao has the ability to receive any messages out here on the Wuwang Sea!
“Search! I want a full search! Anyone with the guts to spy on me will be made to wish for death!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
Disciples outside received the order and immediately took to their flying swords. Streaks of spiritual light sped out as they instantly locked down the Splendid Platform.
Zong Zheng's expression was a bit complicated.
If he remembered correctly, the Splendid Platform was supposed to be the Wuwei Sect's territory, right?
In just a few short days, her orders were being followed as if they were her own limbs.
No wonder the Rakshasa Sea Market had remained safe all these years, with few Sky Demon tides causing trouble.
That Jiao actually thought he could plot against this woman?
Truly laughable.
Before Zong Zheng left, he saw Dragon Girl Mingzhu set up a barrier and pull that Sea Dragon man in for some fun. He shook his head helplessly, leaving the sounds of giggling behind him.
Hiding in the corner, Nan Zhi slowly turned her head, her expression a complete blank. “...”
Damn it. She had miscalculated.
...
Having discovered traces of the Sky Demon, the Splendid Platform was immediately locked down. It no longer stopped along the coast. Although the people on the ship grumbled, there was nothing they could do.
It was standard practice for a flying ship not to land when being tracked by Sky Demons.
For three consecutive days, the ship was under heavy guard. No one was allowed on the deck. Even the black iron chains attached to the Vermilion Bird Locks were retracted to prevent Sky Demons from using them to board.
Wanniang was anxious since she couldn't find Nan Zhi, but hearing rumors of an assassin on board, she quickly had Hongluo transform to fool the Wuwei Sect disciples checking the rooms, covering for Nan Zhi.
Fortunately, on the morning of the fourth day, Nan Zhi returned to the room with dark circles under her eyes, looking utterly soul-crushed.
“I shouldn't have... I really shouldn't have... I...”
Nan Zhi's eyes were vacant as she muttered to herself.
“Three days. A full three days. Twelve of them... I knew the dragon race had a lustful nature, but I didn't know their stamina was on a whole different level—”
She couldn't break a barrier set by a Nascent Soul cultivator.
So, while swallowing Qi-Augmenting Pills, she had to hypnotize herself while listening to a live erotic performance for three days straight.
If a Wuwei Sect disciple hadn't reported the Sky Demon's location, causing the dragon girl to open the barrier, Nan Zhi wouldn't have been able to fly out. She would still be pretending to be a mushroom in that corner.
Three days!
She now had an extremely profound understanding of the dragon race.
By the way, Dragon Girl Mingzhu's true body was a water-blue, four-clawed dragon.
Don't ask how she knew.
Nan Zhi's expression was bizarre.
...
The Sky Demon swarm arrived as expected.
Where the treasure ship traveled, beneath tens of thousands of feet of black mist, turbulent waves towered toward the sky. Along with them came tens of thousands of hungry ghost Sky Demons.
The Splendid Platform's defense formation activated. Seven Golden Core Masters stood ready, riding the wind. Sword lights flashed and pill fires spread through the air—
“Gah!”
“Hiss!”
“Gah!”
“Roar!”
Under the overwhelming killing intent, the hungry ghosts and Sky Demons were crushed into pulp. They couldn't even get within a hundred meters of the ship before falling into the depths of the Wuwang Sea.
As countless demon beast corpses fell, the low-level cultivators didn't let them go to waste. They tied themselves to Vermilion Bird Locks and descended into the black mist, gathering the remains with festive joy on their faces.
【Congratulations, cultivator, you have killed the Level 21 red-named monster "Wuwang Sea Eight-Clawed Octopus". You have gained Experience × 150 and "Eight-Clawed Octopus Spirit" × 1.】
【Congratulations, cultivator, you have killed the Level 28 red-named monster "Low level Sky Demon (Zhemu)". You have gained Experience × 200, "Sky Demon Spirit" × 1, and Rejuvenation Pills × 5.】
【Congratulations, cultivator, you have killed the Level 18 red-named monster "Low level Sky Demon (Zhemu)". You have gained Experience × 50, "Sky Demon Spirit" × 1, and Qi-Augmenting Pills × 2.】
【Congratulations, cultivator, you have killed the Level 11 red-named monster "Low level Sky Demon (Zhemu)". You have gained Experience × 20 and "Sky Demon Spirit" × 1.】
A long string of system notifications rang out. Nan Zhi ignored them and leaped forward, her Fish-Dragon Guillotine falling heavily to split the head of a fish-headed monster. Crimson liquid splashed as it fell into the Wuwang Sea—
The more Sky Demons she killed, the clearer that faint, strange fragrance became.
Nan Zhi finally confirmed that the scent of Sky Demon blood was the same substance found on the locust corpses and on Huiyuan.
As for the connection between the three—
If she could find the origin of the Sky Demons, she might find the answer.
Nan Zhi hurled a massive fireball. The thirty-nine array-building foundation stones beneath her feet glowed, constantly sprouting wooden spikes and metallic stones that tore into the black mist.
The other cultivators also used their respective skills. Artifacts and flying swords filled the sky, formation plates flashed, and pills infused with pill fire were tossed into the Sky Demon tide, creating massive waves of heat—
“Boom!”
“Can you alchemists aim better? Don't drag us down with you!”
Someone standing on a green bamboo pole shouted, “And you Wuwei Sect sword cultivators, stop interfering with our formations!”
Some were caught off guard and dragged into the Wuwang Sea by Sky Demons hiding in the shadows. In an instant, both the person and their artifacts were devoured, their paths ending in death.
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