Su Yi then recalled something else. He stared directly at Chen Zheng and said, “Spiritmartial Marquis, as you cultivate the Combatting Chaos Soul Refining Sutra, you must not be hasty. Otherwise, it’ll be extremely easy to suffer a backlash.

“If my predictions are accurate, using the method I taught you, you’ll be able to fully refine the trapped soul power entity within three months. When the time comes, you’ll obtain a portion of its memories. Those memories are extremely useful to me, so don’t forget to tell me about them.”

That soul power belonged to a cultivator from a world beyond the Azure Continent.

If he could obtain its memories, he could learn at least a little about that otherworld cultivator’s world of origin!

Chen Zheng solemnly agreed.

Before long, the Mountain-Subduing King and the others left, one after another.

Now, only Ning Sihua, Wen Lingxue, Cha Jin, and Zheng Muyao remained in the courtyard.

Mm…. When she saw Wen Lingxue and Cha Jin, Zheng Muyao felt a powerful, inexplicable sense of crisis, and she insisted on staying behind.

Su Yi didn’t object, so Zheng Tianhe naturally wouldn’t say anything either.

With his breadth of life experience, he naturally noticed that his daughter had certain thoughts about Su Yi.

He didn’t think highly of their relationship potential; he knew it was destined to come to no avail.

Despite this, he chose not to intervene. Part of this was because his daughter had already grown up, and it was up to her to fight for what she wanted. 

Besides, experiencing a few romantic setbacks in your youth wasn’t a bad thing. 

More importantly, if she got closer to Su Yi, even if they couldn’t be together in the end, they could still form a positive bond. Given Su Yi’s character, he naturally wouldn’t mistreat her.

Su Yi was in no mood to ponder such matters. His gaze landed on Ning Sihua, and he said, “You didn’t come here just to chat and enjoy my hospitality, did you?”

Ning Sihua hesitated, then whispered, “I knew I couldn’t hide it from you, Fellow Daoist. Indeed, I’m here to request your aid.”

“With what?”

Ning Sihua immediately launched into a rapid-fire explanation. “A month ago, a friend of mine ventured into Ten Thousand Poisons Yao Mountain in search of fortune, but when she returned, there was something wrong with her body. I suspect she fell prey to some nefarious technique. She’s since fallen into a coma; even after all this time, she’s yet to wake up. Numerous strange and sinister black markings have appeared all over her skin, almost like tattoos. 

“I’ve tried all sorts of treatment methods, but none had any effect. All I know for certain is that a strange, ‘living’ power now lurks within her body, and that whatever it is, it’s relentlessly invading her flesh and devouring her life force.”

By the time she said that last part, her expression was already deeply anxious. 

Su Yi couldn’t help but feel intrigued. “So, you’re saying that your friend’s strange injuries came from Ten Thousand Poisons Yao Mountain?”

Ning Sihua had brought up that particular mountain once before. It stood in the west of the Great Zhou, and if you ventured far enough in, you’d encounter a blood-colored swamp. White bones rose and fell in its murky waters, and lightning crisscrossed in the baleful mists floating above their surface. 

Ning Sihua had once ventured up the mountain, only to happen upon a sacrificial altar carved with strange bird and beast totems. The altar enshrined a single snow-white skull.

At the time, Ning Sihua had only gazed upon the altar from a distance, yet a formless and sinister pressure struck terror into her heart. It was only by using a secret method that she retained the hint of awareness she needed to flee immediately.

All of this had long since attracted Su Yi’s attention. It was only natural that hearing that Ning Sihua’s friend had been injured while exploring the very same mountain would pique his curiosity. 

Ning Sihua nodded. “I’m sure of it.”

Su Yi asked, “Where is your friend now?”

“She’s at Heaven’s Origin Academy.”

“Bring her here,” said Su Yi. “Let me see her for myself.”

Ning Sihua instantly sighed in relief, then smiled, “I’ll go right now.”

She said this, then mounted her Bluescale Eagle and soared into the skies. 

And Su Yi? He let out a long breath of turbid air, leaned back into his chair, and closed his eyes in repose.

He’d always disliked noise and crowds, and he had little interest in human affairs. He much preferred a tranquil life with no interruptions. 

But he was well aware that if you cultivated in the mundane world, you’d inevitably get mixed up in worldly affairs. The fetters of mortality were numerous beyond counting. 

Over the past few days, his House of Waveswept Rocks became far livelier. This was neither good nor bad; so long as he didn’t let worldly affairs fetter his mind, he’d retain his calm composure and inner tranquility no matter where he went. 

Before long, Ning Sihua returned on the back of her Bluescale Eagle. She now held a woman clad in gray. The woman’s face was pallid, her eyes were tightly shut, and her breathing was shallow.

Despite this, her appearance was extraordinary. Both her features and the outline of her face looked as if they’d been carved by a master artisan. Her eyebrows were like distant mountains, and her eyelashes were like fans. The bridge of her nose was straight, and her features were exquisitely perfect. 

It was just that her skin was pallid, even translucent, and she was comatose and curled into a ball, her life force waning.

Ning Sihua said, “Fellow Daoist, this is my friend. Her name is Lan Suo, and she’s from the Great Qin’s Donghua Sword Sect….”

Before she could finish, Su Yi waved her to a halt. “Saving her comes first. Carry her into my room.”

As he spoke, he’d already turned and started toward the pavilion. 

Ning Sihua followed immediately after.

When they saw this, each of the three women sitting on a bench and chatting beside the pond—Wen Lingxue, Zheng Muyao, and Cha Jin—wore different expressions. 

“Lingxue, did you catch a clear glimpse of the woman Palace Master Ning brought? She really is pretty. Even unconscious, she was beautiful to the extreme. I wonder how gorgeous she’d be if she were awake!” Zheng Muyao blinked her big, deep eyes and sighed with admiration.

“I saw her. She really was a first-class beauty,” said Wen Lingxue with a nod.

Cha Jin laughed from the sidelines, “Even if she were prettier, she’d be no match for you, Lingxue. Furthermore, I can tell that in the young lord’s eyes, no woman beneath the heavens can compare with you.”

Wen Lingxue couldn’t help but blush, then say in her crisp, clean voice, “But Miss Cha Jin, the way I see it, you’re the pretty one!”

Zheng Muyao said somewhat irritably, “Come on, you two. Aren’t you at all worried about the woman Palace Master Ning brought?”

“Why should we be worried?” asked Wen Lingxue.

Zheng Muyao launched into a serious analysis, “Given Uncle Su’s abilities, he can surely treat that woman’s injuries. That’s life-saving benevolence! What if she’s so moved that she falls for him? Who knows, she might even repay him with her body!”

“Could something like that really happen?” Wen Lingxue was stunned.

Cha Jin glanced at Zheng Muyao and teased, “Little Yao, even if that did happen, it’d have nothing to do with you. What are you worried about? Don’t tell me you’re afraid she’ll eat him?”

“I….” Zheng Muayo suddenly felt stifled, and she couldn’t help but say, “I don’t know if she’ll eat Uncle Su, but what I do know is that every time you look at him, it sure seems like you want to devour him!”

Her tone already carried a hint of jealousy. 

Cha Jin froze, and her snowy features flushed red. Her pretty eyes were suddenly bashful.

When Wen Lingxue saw this, she hurriedly jumped in to play peacemaker and comfort them both. She was clever, and she immediately picked up on the hidden competition going on between them. They were at each other’s throats, seemingly intent on suppressing their rival.

She could also tell that Su Yi was the source of their conflict. She found this rather funny, but it worried her too.

It seems there are more and more women gathering around Brother-in-Law… No, around Big Brother Su Yi. That’s not good at all…

Now, each of the three women had their own thoughts and concerns.

Meanwhile, on the second floor of the pavilion.

Ning Sihua laid Lan Suo onto the bed. “Fellow Daoist, please take a look.”

She then rolled up Lan Suo’s sleeves. At a glance, Su Yi saw that the snowy skin of Lan Suo’s arm was covered in densely-packed and sinister dark markings. They wove together and crossed like distorted earthworms, a truly shocking sight.

Su Yi examined them for a moment, his gaze subtly more serious than before. It seemed he’d picked up on a few hints. “Take off her clothes.”

“Ah?” It seemed that this excessive request startled Ning Sihua. Her eyes widened, and she stammered, “Is… Is that really necessary?”

“Of course.” Su Yi’s gaze was fixed on the strange black markings. “Are you still worried about the differences between the sexes even at a time like this? Or do you really think I’d take advantage of her while she’s in this state?”

His tone already carried a thread of displeasure.

In the face of such direct, confident questions, Ning Sihua instantly felt a bit ashamed. She hurriedly said, “I’m overthinking this. Please, don’t take offense.”

She then hurriedly got to work, deftly removing Lan Suo’s clothes, one by one. Before long, she wore nothing but her form-fitting bodice and undergarments. 

When he saw her figure clearly, even Su Yi was briefly stunned. She had curves in all the right places, the sight shocking and thrilling to the senses. It was only when she had no clothes to hide behind that he learned just how extraordinary this Lan Suo’s figure was.

She had smooth, sculpted shoulders and a narrow waist. Add any more, and she would have been a bit plump, but take anything away, and she would have been a bit too thin—she struck a perfect balance. Perhaps as a result of regular cultivation, her legs were long and slender, her muscles firm but pliant, and her chest…..

Su Yi didn’t look any further. In truth, it was hard for her figure to distract him now; her snowy skin was covered in a dense, overlapping web of black lines. They started from her neck and spread down her body, reaching all the way to her ankles.

Before long, Su Yi’s gaze landed on her stomach. It, too, was covered in dense, sinister markings, but they were different from the markings covering the rest of her. Here, the black lines formed a mysterious pattern.

The pattern resembled a black, sinister bird in flight. Its head was raised, its neck curved, and its sharp wings were unfurled. Its sharp claws were clenched, and the dark lines around it looked like a rain of blazing black fire.

One look was enough to shake the heart and startle the soul.

“It’s just as I suspected.” A strange light rose unbidden to Su Yi’s eyes. “This friend of yours has fallen prey to a Spirit Parasite Devilworm.”

“A Spirit Parasite Devilworm?” Ning Sihua was a bit bewildered; she’d never heard of such a thing before.

“Simply put, it’s a parasite that takes up residence in the spirit or in spiritual bodies,” said Su Yi offhandedly. “And the Spirit Parasite Devilworm in your friend’s body contains a wisp of a Netherflame Demon Sparrow’s soul essence.

“When the parasite receives nourishment from another’s flesh and life force, the wisp of the Netherflame Demon Sparrow’s soul recovers, bit by bit. Once it fully devours your friend’s life force, the Spirit Parasite Devilworm will leave in search of its next victim.

“It’s only after the Netherflame Demon Sparrow’s soul fully recovers that it will break free of the parasite, like a phoenix undergoing rebirth, and gain its own independent life.”

Ning Sihua’s heart filled with terror. How could such a strange and terrifying creature exist in this world?

I left this chapter thinking, “Wait, what the hell does it mean for eyebrows to resemble distant mountains?” If you’re wondering the same thing, well….

It looks like that’s a standard way of describing a certain type of eyebrow? Other classical eyebrow types include “moth eyebrows” and “osmanthus leaf eyebrows.”

I found a facebook post of all things that kinda explains it?  And I can honestly ~kinda~ see the resemblance? (Yell at me in the comments if the link stops working or the post gets taken down) 

I guess while we’re on the subject of “ancient Chinese beauty standards”, the bodice in question is a 肚兜, or “dudou” (a term that might be familiar to readers of Keyboard Immortal). Google it if you dare! Not really NSFW as they’re pretty conservative as undergarments go, but still, proceed with caution if you’re in public or at work!!!

_______

The “demon” in Netherflame Demon Sparrow could just be here because it’s a nasty, evil bird and a denizen of the Netherworld. Is it technically a demon? Or does it fall under the category of yao? Not sure.

What I do know is that the character I translated here as “demon”, 魔, means “magic”, “demon”, “fiend” or “devil.” Any fellow manga fans reading this? That’s the character in “maou”, as in “the demon king.” 

It is different from the character 妖, which I’ve been transliterating.