Chapter 495 - 464: To Demon Suppression Pass

Song Ciwan headed in the opposite direction of Jing Huaisheng and his sister.

After traveling for a while, she descended from the clouds and changed her appearance once again.

Though she had only recently emerged from seclusion and was still unaware of what rank her "Lu Bell" identity had reached on the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List, or what kind of shock the battle at Thunder Strike Ridge had caused throughout the land, one thing mattered above all else—as Lu Bell, she had dug out Ye Sheng’s Golden Core.

Ye Sheng was no lone wolf; he was the direct disciple of Ye Lingguan!

And Ye Lingguan had guarded Hengshui for many years. He was a Third Grade Spirit Official personally enfeoffed by the Court, possessing merit, influence, and status.

Although Song Ciwan didn’t regret digging out Ye Sheng’s Golden Core—and was even curious to see if Ye Lingguan could find some clever way for Ye Sheng to resume his cultivation—she had no intention of fighting Ye Lingguan to the death unless absolutely necessary.

The whole trope of "beating the young one, so the old one shows up, then beating the old one, so an even older one appears," leading to an endless cycle of revenge that ends with her becoming a mortal enemy of the Court... it was best to avoid that kind of dark, one-way plot if possible.

Song Ciwan planned to go to the Four Great Demon Passes to kill demons and improve herself, not to become the Court’s most-wanted criminal right now.

It was just a shame that her Illusion-Breaking Blade Technique remained sheathed, with no opportunity to test it against the world’s masters. This was its own kind of loneliness.

Song Ciwan changed her appearance, put away her Spiritual Artifact, the Star River Slash, and transformed herself into a tall young woman dressed in white.

She had grown tired of posing as a black-clad youth; changing her image was a pleasure in itself.

A small cauldron hung from the young woman’s waist. This was the Poison King Cauldron, a Top Grade Magical Treasure with the ability of Insect Transformation and Refining.

Although the Poison King Cauldron was not a Spiritual Artifact, it had the potential to be upgraded into one. By refining enough Poisonous Insects, it would reach a certain limit and undergo a transformation.

Song Ciwan was now extremely sensitive when it came to insects. She recalled that the Demon Race also had Insect Demons. Though they weren’t from the Ancient Divine Insect Race, if she used Insect Demons to refine insects, who was to say the Poison King Cauldron wouldn’t surprise her in the future?

From then on, Song Ciwan put away the persona of Lu Bell. The one who now appeared before the world was a white-clad young woman named Xing Lan.

As she chose this name, the image she had previously seen through the Chaos Bell echoed in her mind—

In the vast void, a blue planet streaked past like a shooting star, its origin and destination unknown.

That fleeting glimpse had left a profound impression on Song Ciwan.

So much so that the moment she created her new image, the two words "Xing Lan" instantly popped into her mind.

After silently choosing the name, a turbulent feeling continued to stir within her for a long time. For some reason, in that moment, she was reminded of her past life.

In truth, Song Ciwan hadn’t thought about her past life for a long time. After all, the current world was vast and mysterious. Though she still appeared young on the surface, she had spent countless years in the Cultivation Space.

At times, she couldn’t help but feel a certain weariness that came with the passage of ages.

Compared to her current life, which was so brilliant and profound, everything from her past life sometimes couldn’t help but seem a little faint.

But Song Ciwan knew that no matter how faint it became, she would never forget where she came from.

That world had no myths or mysteries, no immortality, no Riding the Clouds and Mist, no Calling Wind and Rain... But that world also had its own unique everything!

It too had the vastness of the galaxy and the romance of the cosmos.

On an ordinary planet, the power of mortals created both worldly struggles and countless miracles.

How could she ever forget?

After passing through Yu State and Jingzhou, the white-clad young woman, Xing Lan, traveled onward, setting foot on the road to Liangzhou.

Once she crossed Liangzhou, she would reach Demon Suppression Pass, one of the Four Great Demon Passes!

Along this part of the journey, the sights and sounds were different again.

Song Ciwan discovered that compared to the prosperity and stability of places like Yangzhou and Jingzhou, the Liangzhou region was teeming with Demon Beasts.

Not only were there many demons, but there were also many strange occurrences.

Traveling through three commanderies, Song Ciwan encountered countless Little Demons—

Normally, Song Ciwan couldn’t be bothered with harmless Little Demons, but in Liangzhou, half of the ones she met were suffused with a murky, blood-red aura. Without a doubt, these Little Demons killed and ate humans!

The people of Liangzhou were also exceptionally fierce. The number of civilian Martial Artists was extremely high, and many made a living by hunting demons. Scholars were relatively few, or rather, there were very few pure Scholars.

Most Scholars in Liangzhou also practiced martial arts, studying and training simultaneously.

If they were lucky enough one day to attract the descent of Celestial Spiritual Light, they would embark on the path of Talent. If they could never attract the Spiritual Light, that was fine too; they would simply continue on the path of martial arts.

Who knows? Maybe if they kept training, they would reach the Innate Realm. And if they kept training, they’d reach the Innate Second Transformation. And if they kept training some more, maybe they’d even reach the Innate Third Transformation?

During her travels, Song Ciwan heard of one such Celestial Pride.

This person was ranked twenty-ninth on the Celestial Pride List and was a dual cultivator of literary and martial arts. He first reached the Innate Second Transformation through martial arts, then one day, he suddenly attracted Celestial Spiritual Light and entered the Righteous Qi Realm directly.

From then on, he became a brilliant figure who could command a thousand armies with his brush and cleave mountains and sunder seas with his blade.

This man’s name was Yang Taixuan, the same name as an old friend from Song Ciwan’s youth.

However, there were plenty of people in the world with the same name. Song Ciwan had never met the Yang Taixuan of Liangzhou, only heard his name, so she had no way of knowing if it was the same person.

Yang Taixuan wasn’t the only dual cultivator in Liangzhou; he was just particularly famous and a prime example.

And as she traveled, Song Ciwan entered cities several times.

She soon learned that Jing Huaisheng wasn’t the only one who possessed a Chaos Bell Fragment!

On that day, Lu Bell had made a name for himself on the Celestial Pride List.

On that same day, the Chaos Bell in the Demon Saint Palace, which had been silent for millennia, suddenly rose from beneath the earth. It rang several times, then shattered into countless fragments that scattered across the world!

The Chaos Bell Fragments had stirred up countless bloody storms throughout the land.

As for Lu Bell, just as Song Ciwan had expected, he had become one of the Great Zhou Court’s most wanted criminals!

It was said that among the Great Zhou’s wanted criminals, the top tier consisted of a hundred villains.

These Hundred Evils were colloquially known as the Hundred Evils List, a counterpart to the hundred-person roster of the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List.

The only difference was that the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List was spread throughout the world as a roll of honor, while the Hundred Evils List was known by very few, circulating only within certain circles. The people on the Hundred Evils List were, for the most part, villains guilty of the most heinous crimes.

Capturing one was enough to exchange for vast resources from the Court, or even directly trade for a position as a Fourth Grade Official without issue.

As for Lu Bell making it onto the Hundred Evils List, Song Ciwan didn’t know what to think.

All she could say was that she had shed her skin at just the right time.

Furthermore, Song Ciwan paid special attention to the description of Lu Bell on the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List.

Especially the four words in the combat record section: "Ancient God’s Word Spirit"!