Things returned back to normal in WenXi city. Lights from the city lanterns brightened the night skies. Lively crowd of people busily strolled along the streets with vendors of each side and corner.
YingLuo and MoXiao sat at the top of the Jade Palace's tower and looked down at the seemingly endless stream of lights down the streets.
"Sis... How is your pregnancy?"
"Pregnant? How did you know I'm pregnant?"
"Here..."
MoXiao pulled a peach fruit from his back and YingLuo leaned in to get the fruit from his hand but instead of giving it to her, he swished away his hand and shook the fruit.
"You want this? Then tell me."
"Fine! Fine! You win! Yes. I am pregnant so what?"
MoXiao smiled and tossed the fruit at her. YingLuo pouted as she took a bite on the side of the fruit.
"You really are a glutton sis."
"Not if you carry an extra weight on your belly you aren't."
"Well well... You should rest then. I know you've been through a lot."
YingLuo stopped chomping on the fruit. A hint of sadness glinted on her eyes.
"Sis YingLuo what's wrong?"
"I think I saw Zhao Min."
"The traitor? How dare she come back here?"
"No MoXiao... She was being manipulated into some kind of spell. Her eyes were pitch black the minute I faced her."
"Only demonic cultists can do such thing to a person. Tangmen's forbidden treasury can confirm it."
YingLuo's eyes widened as she heard MoXiao.
"Tangmen has a forbidden treasury too? Emei has one too."
YingLuo let go of the fruit in her hand and ran inside the palace up to Wei Yue's chambers. There, beside the window, Wei Yue stood with a knife pointed to his neck. A woman with a white hair and pale skin stood beside him holding the knife.
"Drop your weapon if you don't want this bird to get hurt."
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Fogs surrounded the Purple Cloud Tower as different School Grand Masters gathered. The tension rose up as formidable schools who have war with each other faced. Emei's Grandmaster, Jue Chen, harbors ill will upon the Grand Master of Royal Guard, Mo HuiYan. Lingxiao's Grandmaster, Han SuiRong have past feuds with Ming's Grand Master, Jiu Gong. Their hatred with each other gave off a hostile aura but everything cleared up as soon as the Tangmen's Grandmaster and Wudang's Grandmaster arrived.
Tai KuangJi, Wudang's Grandmaster believed about peace and so he spoke...
"Our purpose here is to discuss about the recent incident on Siyu not to fight again on school's supremacy."
Ming's Grandmaster stood up and paid his respects and spoke right after.
"Tai KuangJi... My people have done nothing wrong. I instructed some men to dig the grave of one of the victims. As I examined the spell that have been used as the cause of their death, I have determined that the forbidden magic belonged to Emei."
"Lies! My disciples knew better than to slaughter a city full of innocent people!" Jue Chen raised her voice with a hostile tone. Her eyes glinted in anger as she reached for the dagger on her side.
Jiu Gong smirked as he saw the pissed off Jue Chen. KuangJi shook his head and slammed his hand on the table.
"Silence! Since we are clueless who the culprit is, we should not point fingers towards anyone. Everyone on this room are considered as allies since our schools kept the Asuro away."
Lingxiao's Grandmaster raised his hand up and Kuangji gestured him to stand up and state his side.
"I—I have heard that the ones who can only use the spells that killed people in Siyu are followers of the Shuras."
Everybody in the room gasped in shock. Nobody had ever thought about the issue between the great demon king Asuro.
"We have to gather more proof to consider your assumption, HuiYan."
"Yes I know Kuangji. But have you ever noticed any Emei disciple learning a fodbidden technique that consumes a lot of soul siphon?"
Jue Chen put her hand on her chin. She thought long deep but she could not recall any Emei disciple learning the same technique that the culprits used to kill the people in Siyu.
"My disciples have learned everything that Emei teaches but they have not learned that forbidden technique." Jue Chen spoke. Jiu Gong knew that Jue Chen was not lying so he discarded the idea about Jue Chen trying to harm Ming.
"In order for all of you to study more about the forbidden technique, I instructed my men to bring a dead corpse from Siyu's graveyard that I had dug."
Jiu Gong clapped his hands and two men entered carrying a corpse wrapped in linen inside and placed it on the center of the table.
"Here is a corpse of a pregnant woman from Siyu..." Jiu Gong removed the linen exposing a dead pregnant woman in their wake. The grandmasters held their breaths as they saw the dead woman.
Their remorse almost reached sky high with the sight of the dead body.
"Poor woman... Even her baby did not survive."
"Whomever killed them, the culprit had used an inhumane method."
"This is preposterous! Who would kill a pregnant woman?"
KuangJi slammed his hand once again and shouted... "Silence!"
The Grandmaster stopped fussing around and piped down. KuangJi walked forth and examined the dead body.
He opened it's mouth and the cicada larvaes had already turned into winged ones. It flew out of the mouth but KuangJi caught it all with a swipe of his hand. A servant brought out a jar and KuangJi trapped the cicadas inside.
He examined then the abdomen of the dead woman and asked Jue Chen if he could borrow her dagger.
"Jue Chen please lend me your dagger."
"Huh what?"
"Your dagger Jue Chen..."
Jue Chen hesitantly gave him the dagger but she still did so. KuangJi cut the abdomen of the woman and found a horrible view that might weaken even the strongest person.
The child from inside the womb became a breeding home for the cicadas.
"There's no doubt about it. This is truly a work from disciples of Shuras."
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QiuShan Li and Qing Luan arrived inside TaoYan city along with Zhao Min and found XueCao meditating inside the Shura's circle. They bowed and paid respects to him and XueCao opened his eyes. He stepped out of the circle and gestured them to raise their heads.
QiuShan Li removed the talisman from his head and so as Qing Luan then spoke...
"Master. We do not need such talismans anymore. Although we have failed to eat the whole city of ChuanXi, we managed to eat Siyu whole and never left any stone unturned."
XueCao slammed his hands on his Guzheng causing it to release a painful tune. The tune was deafening that all of them covered their ears.
"Why did you leave ChuanXi city?! Who stood in your way?"
"Master. It was a half-immortal who stood in our way."
"Nevermind... Zhao Min! Lead these two and my army off the northern city of QiaoZhu."
"Yes your immenence."
All of them excused themselves and gathered the army outside TaoYan city.
XueCao went inside a hollow dark chamber and opened a secret door. Down below, a man's body with sleek long hair was lain in a bed with it's eyes covered with black cloth.
"Master Asuro... You shall rise once again!"