Hongxiu smiled stiffly once she had finished speaking, but she did not see any particular expression on his face. It was even more impossible to sense anything through those unchanging eyes.

“Since you don’t harm people and don’t wander around, it must be difficult to cultivate on this flower boat. So why did you come to Dazhen?”

Either way, Ji Yuan did not believe that this woman was just having fun. It was clear that, although this white fox had strong Qi, it also had some demonic energy in it. She was definitely not a gentle little lamb.

“Sir, I heard rumors that Dazhen has a mysterious and unpredictable hidden Immortal with vast spiritual energy and limitless power. Few people in the outside world have seen him. They only know that he seems to be a sword immortal with the power to rend the heavens…”

Hongxiu’s eyes flickered and she paused after saying these few words, then she looked at Ji Yuan again.

“Is it you, sir?”

“Hmph, Mr. Ji asked you a question, is it your turn to ask one back?”

The River God of the Sushui River snorted coldly, exerting his aura to press down on the woman beside him. Today, as long as Mr. Ji was ready to take down this monster, he would definitely be the first to do so.

Not only because the monster had slandered him before, but also because this was an excellent opportunity.

There was a well-known fact among all the aquatic creatures in Dazhen under the Dragon Lord that while Mr. Ji naturally had powerful spiritual techniques, his greatest power was actually his understanding of the “Tao.”

As long as one could establish some good karma with Mr. Ji, there was a slight chance that one would be able to receive his “immortal guidance.” He couldn’t even imagine such a big gift as the one that the Dragon Daughter received, but either way it would definitely be of great benefit to his future practice.

However, this outburst didn’t seem to elicit much reaction in the woman, who only seemed to care about Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan gave a rare smile and looked at this Red Beauty.

“Vast spiritual energy and limitless power? Are there such practitioners in this world? I, at the very least, have never met such a capable person!”

If he was the one saying this, then it was basically half of an admission. Although his words were sarcastic, from another angle it could also be interpreted as him claiming that all the practitioners he had met were “just mediocre,” and that they were all people whose “limit” he could see at a glance.

Hongxiu took a deep breath to get rid of a slight sense of anxiety.

“Mr. Ji, I came to Dazhen just for a chance to avoid trouble, and I don’t have any intention of causing any chaos… Can you let this little girl take a look at your immortal sword?”

The River God Du Guangtong looked at the demon in amazement. His gaze seemed as though he were looking at a fool. He truly felt that this individual had no sense of self preservation: she still wanted to see the Immortal Sword, wasn’t she afraid of being struck down by that very same sword?

Ji Yuan frowned, thought for half a breath, and nodded.

The Green Vine Sword behind Ji Yuan floated in front of him and hung upright, gradually revealing its form. The simple and green, with vines and green leaves. It was agile and elegant, but did not reveal any sword intent or sword energy. It seemed almost as though it wasn’t a killing weapon, but rather a spiritual work of green art.

“Spirit nurtures the green vine, the sharp edge deeply concealed…”

Hongxiu subconsciously read the words on the scabbard, as if she could feel the endless sword intent sealed within it.

As the saying went, things would turn to the opposite when they reached an extreme. This was an Immortal Sword, after all: at this moment, there was not even a hint of its sharpness, which only made it easier to imagine what kind of unparalleled sword intent it would show once unsheathed.

The God of the Sushui River also looked at the Immortal Sword absent-mindedly.

‘This is Mr. Ji’s Green Vine Sword! ’

Hongxiu was so fascinated by the Green Vine Sword that her eyes looked a little dazed.

“What a beautiful sword…”

She subconsciously wanted to touch the Green Vine Sword, but at this moment, the Immortal Sword shook slightly.

Swish…

A white light that was barely visible to the naked eye emerged from the sword. Although this white light was extremely faint to their physical sight, it was as bright as a galaxy in their minds.

“Aaaah……”

Hongxiu screamed, and her entire body was thrown several zhang away, directly hitting the door of this elegant private room.

“Cough…cough cough cough …cough cough…”

Her hands and feet were trembling, and she continued coughing non-stop from that side of the room. The pressure on her chest only dissipated with the continuous coughing.

The Green Vine Sword was still suspended on the table, never having been unsheathed.

Just now, this sword of the mind originated from the Green Vine Sword. Ji Yuan didn’t expect this fox demon to have such a death wish to this extent, foolishly trying to touch the Green Vine Sword in her daze.

The Green Vine Sword was a Spiritual Immortal Sword. It was not a simple tool, it had its own temper. Sometimes that temper was not very good. The fox demon was in a completely defenseless state and was directly struck by the Green Vine Sword. It was enough to harm her.

“Tsk tsk tsk tsk… You deserve that!”

Zhang Rui sneered and whispered, and then looked at Wang Li’s distressed expression beside her. Suddenly, she became both angry and amused.

The God of the Sushui River also looked coldly at the fox demon, whose hands and feet were trembling. From how he was watching her coughing and not being able to stand up, that blow from before was likely not a light one, but rather a spontaneous warning from the Immortal Sword. If Mr. Ji had ordered the Immortal Sword to attack, the demon would probably have died.

Du Guangtong now felt more and more that this fox demon really had something wrong with her brain. Normal demons would bever touch an Immortal Sword with an owner like she had. No matter how kind or easy to talk to the owner of the sword appeared, now could the character of a killing weapon be gentle?

Wang Li on the side felt a little distressed for Hongxiu, but also finally began to wonder why no one else was coming in. There had been a lot of movement and noise in this elegant small room just now, but no one on the performance boat outside noticed it. After a while, he realized that the master must have cast a technique.

Hongxiu over there was injured by the immortal sword, and she had a pained expression on her face. She could feel that there were no wounds on her limbs, but rather that her mind had been injured. Now she had difficulty concentrating, and her hands and feet were slightly cramped. It took a while for it to ease up.

This kind of “headache” was extremely rare. She still had lingering fear.

Seeing that the fox demon stood up so quickly, Ji Yuan’s expression hardened. Although he didn’t show it on the surface, in his heart he was quite shocked. He almost attacked the fox demon when he saw its state a moment ago, but he hadn’t expected that she would recover so quickly.

It was truly extraordinary to recover so quickly after taking such a strong blow.

“What a beautiful sword…”¹

Hongxiu cautiously approached the table, attention still on the Green Vine Sword, which had returned to floating behind Ji Yuan. Although the Immortal Sword had faded from sight, she could still see its afterimage from the strike on her mind.

“If only I had an Immortal Sword…”

Hearing Hongxiu’s sigh, now even Ji Yuan believed that this fox demon truly had something wrong with her brain.

Under Ji Yuan’s frowning and focused gaze, Hongxiu came to her senses and remembered the current situation. She spoke nervously with some embarrassment.

“Mr. Ji, my name is Tu Siyan, and I come from the Jade Fox Cave Heaven in Qiancang Mountain, Lan Province, in the Western Regions. I have also met other immortals. I really haven’t done anything that violates the Tao… at least not since I came to Dazhen!”

“Lan Province in the Western Regions? Tu Siyan? Not Tushan Siyan?”²

It was a fox demon and its surname was Tu, so Ji Yuan asked this subconsciously.

“Huh?”

Tu Siyan was stunned for a moment, not understanding why the person in front of her asked this question.

Ji Yuan didn’t respond again. He closed the book on the table and put it in his sleeve. After thinking for a while, he looked at Tu Siyan.

“Miss Hongxiu, let’s have a calm chat. First, I have several doubts, and second, I do not wish to scare the people on this ship. However, you do not need to be a prostitute on this performance boat. Find an excuse to purchase yourself and leave Dazhen.”

“Oh, huh!?”

Tu Siyan responded first, then suddenly realized something and shook her head hurriedly.

“No, no, no, I can’t go out! Unless you lend me your Immortal Sword, sir. I will return it to you after a trip back to Lan Province in the Western Regions!”

Before Ji Yuan could say anything, Zhang Rui and the River God Du Guangtong were so angry that they stood up immediately.

“Demon, do you really want to court death? Mr. Ji, if this is how it will be, then let me do it. There is no need for you to take action. I will take her down for you!”

Tu Siyan leaned a little further away from Du Guangtong, clasped her hands together, and looked at Ji Yuan — or the Immortal Sword behind him — with a distressed expression. Either way, the River God did not dare to make a move, until he heard Ji Yuan say something lightly.

“Then I will have to trouble the River God to do so.”

Du Guangtong and Tu Siyan were both stunned for a moment, then the former was immediately overjoyed, while the latter was horrified.

“Roar…”

The River God let out a low roar. Divine light lit up all over his body. The hand in his sleeve was suddenly covered in a layer of black scales, and shot out like lightning, grabbing the fox demon’s neck.

Tu Siyan wanted to jump away and dodge, but the moment Ji Yuan opened his mouth, she suddenly found that her body was not obeying her commands, and that she couldn’t move at all.

“Ugh…”

Tu Siyan, whose neck was locked, struggled for a while. Then she felt that the control of her body was slowly restored, but the divine light and monstrous energy in the black hand that was strangling her neck was extremely dangerous, so she did not dare to resist too much.

Du Guangtong was also very surprised that this monster was so easy to catch.

Then the two of them seemed to realize something. One leaned forward as the other turned her neck with difficulty, looking at Ji Yuan, and found a pool of water on the table, which had gathered in a small character: the word “freeze.”

Ji Yuan did not have much confidence in using this immobilization method on this fox demon, but it was different as her mind had been injured just now, and it had truly trapped her for a moment.

T/n: yesss HX is sus as heck, get her! Unfortunately I don’t think it’s going to be that easy…

1. T/n: Hongxiu. My (not) buddy. My (bad) guy. WTF??
2. In Chinese mythology, the fox spirit clan live in the Tushan fox clan. The name has been co-opted by a lot of anime as a last name for fox spirits.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read