“How can it be that easy?!” Sikong Xing exclaimed, “We usually speak using a common language similarly to humans. The same goes for most demon cultivators back in the Demon Realm. But!” she emphasized, “The language that represents the bloodline is special; if someone outside the clan learns this, they’ll suffer the same backlash I did earlier.
Before Chu Tianfeng had a chance to speak, Sikong Xing guessed what he wanted to say and quickly added, “You humans cannot mobilize the power of bloodlines, so even if you imitate the pronunciation, it won’t have any deterrent effect on us. But Meng Qiqi just now…” She paused, finding it strange herself. Logically, Meng Qi merely mimicking the sound shouldn’t have frightened her that much.
She didn’t know how to explain it; the moment Meng Qi spoke, she really thought that a great celestial royal demon was coming. The innate fear and absolute suppression that gave her a chilling sensation throughout her body were absolutely genuine.
Sikong Xing thought for a moment, then stood firmly and clenched her fist, nodding vigorously at Meng Qi, “Meng Qiqi, say that sentence again.”
“Forget it,” Meng Qi waved her hand and smiled, “I didn’t even use aura, I just repeated the sound I heard from the jade slip. It should be nothing.”
“No.” Sikong Xing was stunned for a moment, then stood even firmer, stubbornly saying, “Meng Qiqi, say it again.”
Meng Qi sighed helplessly and had no choice but to repeat the sentence, even though she didn’t understand its meaning. Her voice was clear and gentle, sounding like a breeze to the ear, intentionally softened to avoid scaring Sikong Xing.
Sikong Xing, who was standing steadily, wobbled again. This time, however, she was somewhat prepared and didn’t kneel, but her face turned deathly pale as she looked at Meng Qi.
“Xingxing?” Meng Qi reached out to support her.
“I’m fine.” Sikong Xing shook her head, taking a moment to recover. She took a deep breath and said, “This should be…” She paused for a while, deep in thought, “Definitely not the language of a regular nobility. I’m sure it is the language used by one of the four royal clans.”
“What does this sentence mean?” Meng Qi asked.
“‘In my name, obey my command,’” Sikong Xing slowly explained. She quickly added, “Meng Qiqi, if you go to the Demon Realm and say this sentence, no other demons would dare disobey your orders, except for the members of the four royal clans.”
“…” Somewhat not convinced, Meng Qi asked, “Do the sentence I spoke have such an effect?”
“Of course!” Sikong Xing nodded firmly, “No matter what you ordered me to do, I wouldn’t have been able to resist. If I were unwilling, the bloodline suppression would render me completely immobile.”
Meng Qi’s beautiful eyes sparkled as she stared at Sikong Xing for a moment.
“Alright, alright.” Sikong Xing didn’t want to recall that terrifying oppression and urged Meng Qi, “Meng Qiqi, hurry up and check what is written on the jade slip.” She added, “Don’t worry. Since you can hear the bloodline command from the jade slip, you certainly can read its contents.”
“Okay.” Meng Qi grasped the jade slip again, slowly channeling a wisp of aura into it. She was very cautious, ready to withdraw at any sign of danger. However, the instant her aura made contact with the jade slip, a powerful force pulled it in, absorbing it completely.
After being momentarily stunned, Meng Qi added more aura to the jade slip. But the slip continued to voraciously consume all the aura she provided.
“How is it?” Chu Tianfeng, who had been watching her, quickly asked.
“It completely absorbed the aura I sent in,” Meng Qi explained helplessly.
“That’s it.” Sikong Xing clenched her left fist and pounded it into her right palm. “Meng Qiqi can unlock this jade slip!” she announced excitedly. “But you need to provide more aura.”
“Alright.” This time, Meng Qi sent even more aura into the jade slip, which once again devoured everything in an instant. This time, without Sikong Xing saying anything, Meng Qi could almost feel the jade slip clamoring to her: More! More!
“…” Meng Qi pondered. The amount of aura she had just sent in was not insignificant. As a newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivator, she had just poured a third of her aura into the jade slip, yet it still demanded more?
“Meng Qiqi.” Li Che looked at her and reminded, “Be careful, don’t overexert yourself.”
“Mm.” She nodded. Under normal circumstances, she might have stopped trying, but now wasn’t the time. Senior Ling Ji had been taken away by the seven-colored light, and all her fellow cultivators who entered the Ten Absolutes Mountain with her were frozen in place. She must break the array.
Meng Qi quickly sent in more than twice the amount of aura she had before. The aura surged into the jade slip but was instantly swallowed up again.
Meng Qi: “…”
“Still not working?” Sikong Xing asked.
“I guess this jade slip doesn’t think much of us new Nascent Soul cultivators,” Meng Qi joked with a wry smile. Her spiritual sea was more than half empty, yet the jade slip hadn’t revealed anything. It was vastly different from the jade slips of the Three Thousand Worlds. Just a tiny bit of aura was enough to operate those jade slips, even the ones containing important legacies.
Meng Qi took a deep breath, took out two Beiming Pills, and swallowed them whole. She sat cross-legged as the Beiming spell began to work in tandem with the pills. Soon, her spiritual sea was replenished. Meng Qi remained seated and began infusing all her aura into the jade slip.
And still, there was no response.
Meng Qi: “…”
She refused to accept this! Now, it wasn’t just about breaking the array; this seemingly bottomless jade slip had ignited her rare competitive spirit. With a clear plan in mind, she swiftly drew out her medical knife and held it in her hand.
“M-Meng Qiqi,” Sikong Xing crouched beside her, with the others either sitting or crouching, all watching her intently.
“Hmph!” Meng Qi, rarely losing her temper, let out a soft humph. With incredible dexterity, she moved the knife in her right hand across the ground, swiftly drawing an exquisitely intricate array.
Sikong Xing: “…”
Although she was a demon cultivator and knew more about arrays than most human cultivators, seeing Meng Qi effortlessly draw such a complex array left her in awe, and she couldn’t help but take a sharp breath.
Yan Xuan also raised his eyebrows. His sect, Jingyuetian, had existed for millennia. The ancient legacies they inherited meant they had a deep understanding of arrays, more than the average human cultivator. Some tales about legendary battles between ancient array cultivators survived to this day, and seeing Meng Qi swiftly drawing the array with her knife reminded him of those powerful ancient array cultivators.
Hmm? Ancient array cultivators? Yan Xuan’s eyes suddenly brightened.
“Meng Qiqi,” Chu Tianfeng asked, “What are you doing?”
“My aura is insufficient,” Meng Qi smiled, “but I have plenty of spirit stones!” As she spoke, she quickly threw out six spirit stones—all of them profound grade!
The six corners of the array began to shine brightly after she embedded the spirit stones. With the jade slip in hand, Meng Qi stepped into the array. The array’s light suddenly intensified, and the aura from the profound-grade spirit stones was instantly drained, channeling into the jade slip in her palm.
“Heh,” she chuckled softly, throwing out another six profound-grade spirit stones.
Then another six.
And another six!
Chu Tianfeng, Sikong Xing, and the others watched in astonishment. Sikong Xing’s father was famous in the Demon Realm for his wealth and particularly doted on her. As the only daughter of the red fox clan’s richest man, Sikong Xing never lacked materially, but even she didn’t have that many profound-grade spirit stones!
After Meng Qi had thrown out a total of 108 profound-grade spirit stones, the light of the array finally dimmed. Then Sikong Xing and the others saw a soft glow appear on the jade slip in Meng Qi’s palm, and a fine red line emerged from the jade slip, entering Meng Qi’s palm.
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