Chapter 282

Chapter 282

Amidst the clamor of voices and the ebb and flow of cultivators' auras, a high-level cultivator's divine sense swept over them, seemingly just a routine check.

The four of them paused for a moment, quickly composing their expressions and calmly looking up.

At this moment, they were in a vast hall, surrounded by many cultivators. These cultivators merely cast a curious glance at them before quickly turning away and heading out of the hall.

Just then, an uninviting voice barked, "Which continent are you from? Why aren't you coming forward?"

Wen Qiao and the others followed the sound and saw a stern-faced middle-aged male cultivator standing nearby.

The middle-aged man held a book with a dark blue cover and a pen, calling out to them brusquely. Though not outright arrogant, he was clearly used to such interactions.

Wen Qiao looked down and realized they were standing on a complete teleportation array.

It seemed they had arrived at a new continent, where the continental teleportation array was not only intact but also guarded by cultivators.

Ning Yuzhou reacted swiftly, pulling Wen Qiao aside and speaking politely, "Sorry, it's our first time here."

Pei Qiyu, his expression somewhat grim, quickly led Su Molan to follow behind the two.

The middle-aged man clicked his tongue, glancing over the four of them, then pointed to a nearby spot. "Go pay the fee there."

They looked over and saw a solid wooden table with two cultivators dressed as administrators sitting behind it, one male and one female. The female cultivator was at the Emperor Yuan realm, while the male was at the Yuanzong realm. At that moment, the Emperor Yuan female cultivator was meditating, leaving the Yuanzong male cultivator to handle the fees.

As they observed the two, the teleportation array suddenly lit up again.

Turning their heads, they saw five figures appear in the glow. These five wore precious garments, carried heavenly-grade spirit weapons, and exuded an air of pride, indicating noble origins.

The middle-aged man guarding the teleportation array paid them no mind, lazily lifting his eyelids and saying, "Which continent are you from? As usual, go pay the fee over there."

Among the five, the leader was a woman with a strikingly cold demeanor. Despite her icy appearance, her eyes conveyed a peculiar warmth, drawing people into their tender gaze.

"Tianlun Continent," she said succinctly, then led her companions to the table without further ado.

Hearing "Tianlun Continent," the middle-aged man's expression shifted slightly, though his demeanor remained largely unchanged. Seeing Ning Yuzhou and the others hesitating, he said irritably, "Why aren't you paying the fee? Don't tell me you're trying to steal spirit stones?"

This cultivator's attitude was far from courteous, causing a flash of anger to cross Pei Qiyu's eyes.

Su Molan, sensing the Demon Sect leader's irritation, gently squeezed his hand—forgetting that he was still holding hers—to remind him to restrain himself, as they were not on the Pleiades Continent.

Pei Qiyu paused, lowering his eyes in a submissive manner.

The four approached the table, stopping a short distance away.

At the table, the five who had arrived after them were also paying their spirit stones.

"Five thousand low-grade spirit stones in total," the Yuanzong male cultivator behind the table calculated quickly.

"Five thousand low-grade spirit stones? That's so expensive!" exclaimed a young man with a tender face.

The Yuanzong male cultivator chuckled. "Five thousand is actually cheap; we need to maintain the continental teleportation array, which requires spirit stones. Without spirit stones, how can we maintain it properly?"

"But we already paid spirit stones when we activated the teleportation array..."

Clearly, spirit stones were needed only to activate the teleportation array, yet they were being charged another five thousand spirit stones. This was quite unreasonable.

The Yuanzong male cultivator, displeased by the questioning, would have ignored them if not for the beauty of the leading female cultivator.

"That was for activating the teleportation array. We need to maintain it constantly, so we charge some spirit stones for that."

The young man wanted to protest further, but the leading female cultivator interrupted him, speaking in a clear, pleasant voice. "I apologize; my junior brother is inexperienced. Your Tianzhen Alliance's rules have always been fair."

The Yuanzong male cultivator's expression softened slightly.

The female cultivator handed over the five thousand spirit stones and led the others away.

Throughout this, the Emperor Yuan female cultivator behind the table remained in meditation, showing no reaction to the events, as if her presence served only as a deterrent.

Seeing this, Ning Yuzhou and the others understood the situation on this continent.

It seemed they had arrived at a well-organized continent with functional continental teleportation arrays connecting several continents. The organization overseeing these arrays was called the Tianzhen Alliance.

They were treated as cultivators who had used the Tianzhen Alliance's teleportation array to arrive here.

With their minds racing, the four controlled their expressions and approached the table.

The Yuanzong male cultivator asked, "Which continent are you from?"

Without hesitation, Ning Yuzhou replied, "Tianlun Continent."

"Another group from Tianlun Continent?" The Yuanzong male cultivator glanced at them, muttering, "Why are all the cultivators today from Tianlun Continent?"

Wen Qiao and Su Molan looked at him with particularly earnest expressions.

The Yuanzong male cultivator's gaze swept over the two women, noticing their exceptional beauty, especially the younger one, who was even more beautiful than the previous female cultivator. Satisfied by the visual feast, his expression became gentler. "Four thousand low-grade spirit stones in total."

Ning Yuzhou took out a storage bag and placed it on the table.

The Yuanzong male cultivator's divine sense scanned the bag, confirming the amount, then moved it to his storage ring and returned the bag.

Noticing the storage ring on the cultivator's hand, Ning Yuzhou's eyes flickered, but his smile remained unchanged, maintaining a composed demeanor.

"You may leave now," the Yuanzong male cultivator said, waving them off to attend to the next cultivators.

The four glanced at the teleportation array within the hall before leaving.

When they stepped outside, they discovered that the grand hall was actually a tower.

This tower had seven floors in total. The bottom floor was used for setting up the continental teleportation array, with cultivators constantly entering and exiting. Above it were other floors of the tower, each with restrictions in place, making it impossible for anyone to know what the second floor and above were used for.

There was a prominent plaque on the tower, inscribed with the words: Tianzhen Alliance.

In front of the tower was a bustling street. The road was wide, lined with shops on both sides, bustling with people, presenting a scene of prosperity.

The three of them walked along the street, observing for a moment before deciding to find an inn to stay at and gather information about the continent.

They quickly found a satisfactory inn and as soon as they entered, they saw those five people again.

Clearly, those five also remembered them. The young man who had complained about the high fees of the Tianzhen Alliance smiled and said, "Oh, it's you. You're staying here too?"

Ning Yuzhou nodded gently.

At this moment, his companion had already booked a room, taken the key, and called out to him, "Junior Brother Baili, the room is booked. Let's go."

The young man surnamed Baili responded and waved goodbye to them, leaving with his companions.

Ning Yuzhou walked up to the counter and asked the innkeeper to book two superior rooms.

"Only two?" Pei Qiyu couldn't help but speak up.

Ning Yuzhou ignored him, took the keys after booking, and asked a servant to show them the way.

Pei Qiyu could only follow with a grim face. Su Molan glanced at him, puzzled by his sudden moodiness. She had never seen him so unpredictable before.

The servant led them to their guest rooms and bowed before leaving.

Ning Yuzhou took out a key. This key was actually a jade slip used to activate an array formation. In most inns, guest rooms were opened using array formations, and the jade slips were given to the guests, enhancing security.

Placing the jade slip on the array formation on the door, the door opened.

Ning Yuzhou handed another jade slip to Pei Qiyu and said, "You'll be staying in the room next door."

Pei Qiyu took the jade slip and, seeing Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao about to enter their room together, couldn't help but ask, "You're staying in one room, and what about me and Miss Su?"

"Isn't your room shared?" Ning Yuzhou replied.

Pei Qiyu nearly choked, unable to resist saying, "We're a man and a woman... why not book another room?" It wasn't like they couldn't afford it; he could pay if they were short on spirit stones.

Unexpectedly, Ning Yuzhou said, "Miss Su is responsible for keeping an eye on you. From now on, she will act with you."

Su Molan, who initially felt uncomfortable sharing a room with Pei Qiyu, immediately changed her mind and agreed, "Young Master Ning is right!"

Pei Qiyu: "..."

Pei Qiyu struggled to maintain his composure.

Seeing Su Molan's matter-of-fact expression, he finally realized that she had indeed changed! Her personality shift left him uncertain. How could this be?

What kind of potion did Ning Yuzhou give her to make her trust him so much?

Su Molan was completely unaware of Pei Qiyu's thoughts. After he used the jade slip to open the door to the adjacent room, she stepped inside.

Pei Qiyu followed behind her, his face darkening with complex emotions.

After inspecting the inn room, Su Molan turned to look at Pei Qiyu.

Pei Qiyu instinctively composed himself, trying to hide his troubled expression, unwilling to let her see his negative side. Unfortunately, being a reincarnation of a demonic seed, he was influenced by its malevolent nature, and even with the Heavenly Mirror concealing it, his aura still betrayed his mood, revealing a hint of gloom.

"Do you want to rest?" Su Molan asked.

Pei Qiyu just looked at her without speaking.

"Your injuries aren't healed yet, right?" Su Molan continued, interpreting his silence as resistance, and couldn't help but reassure him, "Don't worry, I won't do anything to you or expose your identity... neither will Young Master Ning and Miss Wen."

Pei Qiyu couldn't help but chuckle, "You trust them so much."

"Of course," Su Molan said matter-of-factly, "If it weren't for them, I would have died in the Black Wind Desert. They are my saviors, and no one is more trustworthy than them."

Pei Qiyu felt a lump in his throat, wanting to say that they were the ones most worthy of her trust, but then wondered about himself. He felt it was strange to say such things, making him seem inferior, so he held back.

This made him feel even more frustrated.

Seeing the gloom deepen on Pei Qiyu's face, Su Molan couldn't help but worry, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"...Yes, somewhat."

"Then go to bed and rest." Su Molan said, walking over to tidy the bed to make it more comfortable for him.

Since Pei Qiyu was injured, Su Molan naturally took care of him, doing everything naturally without any suspicion despite knowing he was a demonic cultivator.

Pei Qiyu watched her busy back, his brows furrowing.

Wasn't this woman's sense of caution too poor? Since ancient times, righteous and demonic cultivators have been irreconcilable enemies. Even if they had to share a room due to circumstances, she should still be wary.

Moreover, his cultivation level was higher than hers. Despite his severe injuries, killing her would still be effortless.

"Alright, come rest now," Su Molan said.

Pei Qiyu slowly walked over and sat down on the prepared bed, looking at the female cultivator in front of him, unable to resist asking, "Why..."

"Hmm?"

Pei Qiyu met her eyes, which seemed veiled in mist, and his mind went blank.

Wen Qiao and Ning Yuzhou were discussing their earlier experiences when the Star Map suddenly appeared and sat on the table.

"How did you get here? Aren't you supposed to be with Miss Su?" Wen Qiao asked with a smile.

Su Molan is the guardian of the Star Map. After the Star Map chose to follow them, its essence was carried by Su Molan, and the Star Map usually stayed with her.

The Star Map said somewhat dejectedly, "The atmosphere between that demon seed and Lanlan is so strange. I couldn't take it anymore and didn't want to stay there."

"How strange?" Wen Qiao asked curiously.

"Lanlan is too nice to the demon seed, but he acts weird, asking all sorts of questions and even why Lanlan doesn't guard against him..." The Star Map mimicked Pei Qiyu and Su Molan's conversation, recounting everything to the two of them, and concluded, "That demon seed must have ulterior motives."

Although Ning Yuzhou had mentioned they might need the demon seed in the future, the Star Map, due to its essence always suppressing the demon cave, had a poor impression of the demon race. Even if Pei Qiyu hadn't done anything yet, it still disliked him.

Though its memories were incomplete, it knew what the demon seed represented.

The demon seed represents the ultimate evil of all demons. When the demon seed emerges, all living beings suffer.

Even though the demon seed has now reincarnated as a human and is no longer purely demonic, who could guarantee that one day, after Pei Qiyu fully awakens as the demon seed, he won't be consumed by the evil within his demonic nature, wreaking havoc across the human realm?

The Star Map was quite aware of these potential dangers.

Unexpectedly, after it finished speaking, Ning Yuzhou chuckled softly.

The Star Map pouted. What was Big Brother Ning laughing at? Was what it said really funny? It looked at Wen Qiao with a sense of grievance, seeking her agreement.

Wen Qiao said, "This proves that Master Pei cares about Miss Su. Isn't that good?"

Ning Yuzhou nodded and said, "Chui is right! Although Pei Qiyu is the reincarnation of the demon seed, he is now a new life. As long as he has weaknesses, we don't need to worry about controlling him."

"Weaknesses? Can a demon seed have weaknesses?" the Star Map wondered.

"Why not?" Ning Yuzhou said calmly, "Isn't Su Molan his weakness?"

The Star Map was stunned.

Wen Qiao's eyes flickered, and she realized, "So they have that kind of relationship!"

Ning Yuzhou smiled and nodded. Even if they didn't have that kind of relationship now, they could develop it in the future. As long as the demon seed has weaknesses, can it still be considered purely demonic?

After pondering for a moment, the Star Map finally accepted this and understood why Ning Yuzhou dared to keep Pei Qiyu around, even without fearing any backlash.

When the Star Map returned to the neighboring room, it found Pei Qiyu lying on the bed, while Su Molan was meditating in a chair nearby. There was a clear boundary between them, and despite being in the same room, there was nothing ambiguous.

As soon as it entered, Pei Qiyu opened his eyes, startling the Star Map.

This demon seed's perception was terrifying.

Pei Qiyu glanced around the room, remembering that Su Molan had a spirit artifact with her, and didn't try to find anything else. His gaze fell on the meditating female cultivator nearby.

His gaze was too profound for the Star Map to understand, causing it to doubt whether the demon seed truly had any weaknesses.