Female Consort Chapter 51: Heart's Intent

Chen Xiao couldn’t help but sharply suck in a breath. But the moment he opened his mouth and inhaled halfway, Xi Yunqing’s palm gently covered it. Even the slightest sound might alarm the venomous serpent. Cold sweat immediately broke out all over Chen Xiao’s body.

Xi Yunqing pulled Chen Xiao back behind a jagged rock. Once they were slightly more at ease, Chen Xiao turned in his arms and looked at him apologetically, he had nearly made a critical mistake.

Tilting his head up, their breaths mingled. The moment their eyes met, an unspoken tension stirred in the air. Chen Xiao was briefly stunned, unable to pull his gaze away from Xi Yunqing’s eyes. He had always known that Xi Yunqing’s eyes were pure black, like obsidian, mysterious and impenetrable, especially in the dark cave. The faint glow from the moss within reflected like scattered stars across a night sky. Maybe it was the shock, but the pounding in his ears made his face and ears flush hot.

They were both highly disciplined; they quickly looked away in mutual embarrassment. Xi Yunqing made a small gesture, and Chen Xiao leaned in closer. Xi Yunqing’s strong arm wrapped tightly around him, making Chen Xiao feel a strange sense of unease.

Pushing aside those untimely thoughts, Chen Xiao followed Xi Yunqing as they swiftly returned to the cave.

Tong Nuonuo was already pacing anxiously. Before Chen Xiao had even fully steadied himself, he eagerly asked in a low voice, “Well? Is it there?” Chen Xiao’s heart was still racing, and afraid that speaking might reveal something, he just nodded quickly. With his confirmation, Tong Nuonuo clenched his fists in excitement. “That’s great!”

Then he added another piece of good news. “I found several weak points. If we destroy them with spiritual energy blasts, the cave’s entrance and exit will collapse. It won’t trap them forever, but it’ll buy us some time.”

Chen Xiao steadied his breathing and said, “Excellent. That will come in handy when we make our escape.”

Tang Ru asked, “That venomous serpent, how old does it look? How powerful is it?”

Xi Yunqing replied, “Its strength is comparable to the Nascent Soul stage. It’s likely been around for at least five hundred years.”

Chen Xiao frowned. According to legends from his past life, that was the level of a lesser dragon. Tang Ru said, “I see. I have a high-grade wood spiritual root, which gives me strong resistance to poison. If anyone has to confront it directly, let it be me.” Her voice was resolute, she was prepared to risk her life.

Tong Nuonuo couldn’t help but cry out, “Arou, you don’t have to do that! We can come up with a foolproof plan.”

Chen Xiao echoed, “That’s right, Arou. If we work together, we can do this. There’s no need for you to sacrifice yourself. I already have a general plan in mind; we just need everyone to help refine it.”

This place was clearly not safe. The four of them retreated into the corridor they had entered through. Chen Xiao said, “There’s no way we can get the children out without alerting the serpent. So from the start, we need to be prepared to fight both the serpent and the demon cultivators. In that case, why not come up with a way to make the serpent and the cultivators turn on each other? Then we can swoop in and take advantage of the chaos.”

Tang Ru said, “That sounds great. But how do we pull it off?”

Chen Xiao replied, “That serpent’s lived here a long time and likely hasn’t seen many cultivators. If someone attacks it using demonic techniques, it’ll think it’s the demon cultivators. If it lashes out at them as we hope, we can use that moment to rescue the children. Once the kids are out, Tong Nuonuo can collapse the exit and trap the rest inside.”

Tong Nuonuo nodded in agreement. “Good idea. Blowing the exit will buy us time. And if Zhao Jiao is tied up fighting the serpent, he might not have the manpower to give chase.”

Tang Ru pointed out sharply, “They must have some way of coexisting with that serpent, some means of communicating with it. If they manage to calm it down, the children won’t be able to run far with their slow pace.”

Chen Xiao said, “Exactly. Which means someone has to stay behind and keep disrupting them, stopping them from pacifying the serpent.”

While the others spoke, Xi Yunqing had already thought through the plan. He said, “I’ll pose as a demon cultivator and provoke the serpent. Once the children are out, Fellow Daoist Tong and Xiao can take them to safety. Since Fellow Daoist Tang has a wood attribute spiritual root, she can stay and help me interfere.”

Chen Xiao’s brows tightened. No matter who stayed behind, he would worry, but if it were Xi Yunqing, the feeling hit especially hard, weighing heavily on his heart.

He shook his head, pushing aside those tangled emotions for now. “I’ve got some charms saved up, calming talismans, protective robes, fleet-footed charms, disease-cleansing talismans. These will be useful for the children, help them stay safe and move quickly.”

Tong Nuonuo said calmly, “That’s essential. We also need to make sure the kids aren’t caught in the crossfire. I can lie in wait nearby and protect them when it counts…”

The four of them discussed, back and forth, gradually refining their plan. In the end, Chen Xiao hesitated, but still added, “There’s one more thing that could make this plan more foolproof. After Big Brother lures away the serpent, I can activate the Fierce Dragon Node and draw out the killing aura in this place. The serpent is deeply tied to the baleful energy here, its karma is the strongest. The demon cultivators come next, while we and the children are newcomers, mostly untouched by it. If I summon the killing aura, it’ll overwhelm every living thing tied to this land.”

Xi Yunqing immediately objected. “That’s too risky. demon cultivators draw power from dark, baleful places, what harms us is like spiritual energy to them. That kind of energy would be more dangerous to us and the children than the venomous serpent itself.”

Chen Xiao said, “I understand what you mean, Brother Xi. What I’m aiming for is to fight poison with poison. That which is a great tonic to them, if overdone, can just as easily become fatal. Please trust me. Without the proper guidance, the deadly energy inside the dragon’s lair is too overwhelming even for the venomous serpent or the evil cultivators. With this method, we won’t even need anyone to stay behind and delay them. We can all retreat from the cave together.”

Normally, a mere trace of that malevolent energy could bring misfortune and disaster. When it was thick and concentrated, it could trigger sudden calamities and bloodshed without warning. Chen Xiao was certain, the Crimson-Scaled Serpent and those demon cultivators could never withstand the fury of this savage dragon’s power.

His plan significantly lowered their risk, and both Tang Ru and Tong Nuonuo agreed it was worth a try. In the end, even Xi Yunqing had no choice but to give his approval.

Chen Xiao took out the protective talismans he had drawn and stored in a small case, handing several to each of them. He reminded them, “These talismans can block the killing aura, but the materials are subpar, they’ll only last a moment. Once it’s activated, make sure to run fast.”

The group split into two teams. Chen Xiao and Xi Yunqing headed once again toward the cave where the serpent lurked, while Tong Nuonuo and Tang Ru circled around to approach from the other side, moving closer to the children and waiting for the right moment.

Back once more behind the jagged stone, Xi Yunqing gently let go of Chen Xiao and pressed firmly on his shoulder. Chen Xiao understood, it was a wordless gesture to stay safe. He nodded, then reached out to grip Xi Yunqing’s wrist for a moment. Xi Yunqing paused, then withdrew his hand.

Without a sound, Xi Yunqing drew his heavy sword, Xuefeng, and stepped into the air, gliding silently in another direction.

The Crimson-Scaled Serpent stirred. Its previously steady breathing broke off, and its flat, rounded head twisted sharply toward the intruder, eyes flashing with menace.

Holding his breath, Chen Xiao hid in the shadows of the rock, watching the confrontation that could erupt at any second.

Xi Yunqing said nothing. The aura around him shifted suddenly, from righteous and awe-inspiring to dark, eerie, and chilling. With a slight motion of his heavy sword, the killing aura in the surroundings trembled. A cold light flickered in his eyes, and sword energy surged from his blade, striking directly at the serpent’s vital points.

The serpent roared in fury. Its tail shot up, sweeping toward Xi Yunqing. But the heavy sword twisted deftly in his hands, the sword energy grazing the serpent’s tail with a screeching metallic scrape.

The Crimson-Scaled Serpent opened its maw and hissed threateningly. From between its razor-sharp fangs, a strange-colored mist began to drift.

The only sound in the air was the slicing of sword through wind. One after another, sword strikes laced with killing aura shot unrelentingly toward the serpent. At last, the beast was fully enraged. It reared its head high, its gills flaring, it was about to spit venom!

Chen Xiao’s expression changed, tension rising within him.

Xi Yunqing had multiple ways to dodge or counterattack. But now, he chose neither. Instead, he abruptly withdrew his offensive, retreating in great strides, putting on a show of fleeing in panic.

If you asked Chen Xiao, the performance was lacking. There wasn’t a trace of fear on Xi Yunqing’s face; his expression was completely blank. But the serpent’s vision had deteriorated, and it couldn’t clearly see his face. To it, the intruding cultivator had been frightened by its poison and turned tail to run.

But the serpent’s fury would not be soothed just because its prey fled. It wanted to swallow this insolent cultivator whole, the one who dared to disturb its slumber.

More than that, it wanted to teach its neighbors a brutal lesson, or even tear apart the fragile illusion of peace between them entirely.

Xi Yunqing successfully lured the Crimson-Scaled Serpent away, guiding it down the passage toward the cave where the evil cultivators resided. Chen Xiao waited a bit longer, making sure the serpent didn’t suddenly turn back, before emerging from his hiding place.

In the dim light, visibility was poor. Chen Xiao lit a torch and quickly descended to the cave floor.

The air reeked of damp rot, so foul that Chen Xiao had to hold his breath to keep from gagging. What hadn’t been visible from above was now clear, the ground was littered with remains. The serpent clearly hadn’t finished its meals cleanly. Discarded corpses were left to rot and decay into skeletal husks.

The overpowering stench and grisly scene turned Chen Xiao’s face pale. He forced himself to ignore the discomfort, focusing instead on the currents of killing aura swirling around him, trying to locate the pressure point of the dragon vein.

Normally, he would proceed with utmost caution, identifying each acupoint step by step. But this time, he didn’t need pinpoint accuracy, just a rough location would suffice.

The cave was damp and chill, yet sweat beaded densely on Chen Xiao’s forehead. After a while, once he’d confirmed the position, he retreated to a safe distance. Holding the purplish-red, circular explosive in hand, he concentrated, but it still took him several minutes to extract a sliver of spiritual energy from his sea of consciousness.

The moment the energy touched the device, Chen Xiao swiftly hurled it toward the target. The energy bomb struck precisely where he aimed.