Spirit Herb Immortal Mushroom

The instant her fingers brushed against his smooth skin, she regretted it. As an immortal, such a frivolous gesture hardly befitted her role in subduing demons... She hurriedly withdrew her hand.

The black-clad demon’s eyes first flashed with surprise, then narrowed. From within his long hair, two black furry ears sprang upright. He leaned forward, his chin following her retreating hand, insistently pressing his delicate neck against her palm. As she tried, flustered, to evade him, he was relentless, all but sprawling across her body, rubbing his neck against her hand with an almost shameless affection.

Qingyin was utterly frozen.

What kind of reaction was this?! A demon touched by an immortal’s “Fiery Cloud Claw” ought to be scorched, not to revel in the experience, wearing a look that said, “Flirt with me, don’t stop until you’re satisfied~.” This was definitely not normal!

Abruptly, the demon ceased his antics and turned to peer outside the cave. Qingyin followed his gaze and saw, beyond the watery veil, a moving stone statue approaching.

Still haunted by her recent ordeal, Qingyin’s fear of the stone soldiers was acute; she nearly cried out at the sight. The demon quickly covered her mouth, whispering in her ear, “Don’t make a sound.”

This stone soldier differed somewhat from those she had encountered in the Zhou residence: its armor was that of a general, yet its entire form was the same dull bluish-gray, its movements stiff as if a dust-laden corpse had been reanimated. Heavy-footed, it approached the cave entrance, its lifeless eyes scanning the watery veil but seemingly seeing nothing. Clearly, the watery curtain was a spell of concealment. The soldier lingered for a moment, apparently finding nothing amiss, then suddenly streaked away like a cloud of gray dust, its speed shifting from sluggish to startlingly swift in the blink of an eye.

Only then did the demon remove his hand from her mouth.

Qingyin raised her eyes to scrutinize his face and tentatively called, “Mo Tu?”

He shot her a cold, sidelong glance, offering no denial.

She wanted to scream, but feared attracting the stone soldier. She had not previously connected this black-clad man to Mo Tu. Only when he whispered in her ear did she recognize his voice. Though he had assumed human form, his voice remained unchanged. After five years of living with this talking cat, she would never mistake his voice.

And as for the chin-scratching—well, that was one of his greatest feline pleasures, an addiction of sorts. Even as a human, even when poised to reprimand her, a scratch under the chin would instantly unravel his composure. That squinting, neck-stretching, soft approach was a signature move she should have recognized from her shameless cat at home.

Qingyin covered her mouth with both hands, staring wide-eyed at him, unable to resist reaching out to touch him again, only to be promptly tossed to the ground.

“Who gave you permission to return to Jiaozhou without consent?” He towered over her, his gaze flashing with anger.

Her eyes flickered with guilt, and she dodged the question, saying, “Mo Tu, so you can transform into human form! Could you always do that? Why didn’t you show me? You look so handsome as a human!” As she spoke, she reached out, aiming for his chin again, hoping the familiar tactic would work.

He brushed her hand away coldly, his expression icy. “I warned you not to return.”

She hung her head, tugging at her sleeve. “How was I supposed to know my home would be guarded by those strange stone soldiers? Judging by their appearance, they’ve been there for more than a year or two. What sort of enemy could orchestrate such a bizarre trap for me to walk into? It seems like sorcery.”

He sneered, “It’s not only your enemy who wants you dead.”

“What?” She was taken aback and pressed him for an answer.

But he ignored her question, reproaching instead, “Your reckless intrusion alerted them. Now it will be much harder to conceal your whereabouts, and who knows how much trouble you’ve invited!”

She shrank back, murmuring, “I was wrong.”

His anger did not abate, golden light flickering in his eyes as he gritted his teeth. “From now on, behave yourself and don’t wander around making decisions on your own.” He turned away, staring out through the watery veil, his back radiating frustration.

Qingyin leaned against the cave wall, hugging her knees and sitting silently. After a long pause, she spoke in a low voice, “I found a handprint beneath the jade table in my father’s study. It seemed carved to fit his palm, perhaps the trigger for a secret chamber, one that only he could unlock. Since the Zhou family’s treasure was stolen, that chamber must have been opened. I can’t help but wonder, how was it opened?”

She paused, choking down a sob that rose in her throat. “Perhaps the murderer killed my father, then dragged his corpse and used his hand to activate the mechanism.”

Having said this, she buried her face in her knees, unable to suppress her sobs, which soon swelled into anguished wails.

More than five years had passed since the massacre when she was nine. At first, to evade pursuit and conceal her identity, she could only weep in solitude. Later, her sorrow dulled, buried deep within, and she ceased to cry. In all that time, she had not wept aloud even once.

Now, the grief that had been suppressed for years surged like the sea, breaking loose with her return and the discovery of that handprint.

When she had cried herself numb, her vision darkening, someone took her cold fingers and gently drew her into an embrace. Mo Tu held her close, letting her cry against his chest. He felt a subtle, stinging ache in his heart.

It was the echo of her sobs resonating in his chest.

For the first time, he realized that mortal sorrow was not so trivial and insubstantial. It was like the sea, capable of overwhelming everything.

**

Nine Heavens Divine Hall.

The stone general entered with stiff steps, kneeling on one knee before the immortal Cang Xiao to report.

“A woman infiltrated the Zhou ancestral home last night, my lord. I tried to apprehend her, but a strange wind swept her away.”

Cang Xiao looked down coolly at the stone figure. “Can you confirm whether the woman had consumed the celestial fungus?”

The stone general replied, “I cannot be certain. Yet she moved as if borne on the wind, not like an ordinary mortal.”

Cang Xiao nodded. “The spirit grass, celestial fungus—its aura is deeply hidden, imperceptible even to gods and demons, best at concealing. Unless one witnesses her using extraordinary techniques, it is difficult to tell. And what of that strange wind?”

The stone general answered, “When the wind came, day turned to night, like a demon descending. Yet upon closer reflection, it lacked any demonic aura.”

Cang Xiao said, “The celestial fungus is a rare treasure in all three realms. With one, a demon can conceal its aura and hide its nature, committing countless evils while evading heavenly punishment. With two, one can even masquerade as an immortal and join the celestial ranks. No doubt many demons covet it... I had you watch for five years, waiting for her to deliver herself into your hands, and yet you let her escape. You cannot even discern what aided her escape. Useless.”

With a wave of his hand, a silver arc flashed, and the stone general shattered into powder, scattering across the floor.

“No demonic aura, yet deliberately disguised as a demon... Who could it be?” Cang Xiao’s pale brows knit together, his gaze sharp with chilling intent.

**

Qingyin awoke in a cocoon of warmth, feeling as though she lay atop a cloud. The sensation was familiar. When Mo Tu had been gravely wounded and reverted to his true form, his massive body could only sleep on the ground, and she would nestle beside him each night. Eventually, she would burrow into the warmth beneath his belly fur.

Opening her eyes, she saw that he had indeed returned to his original form. The cave was cold, so he had transformed into a three-tailed Xie cat, curling his body around her to keep her warm. She hadn’t seen him like this in a long while. She carefully studied the majestic beast’s sleeping face, still dignified even at rest. The jet-black horn on his brow was a full foot long, standing proudly, and the whiskers at his muzzle were as stiff as steel wire. Such a visage was intimidating; it was hard to imagine this giant beast as the elegant man he became.

Lost in thought, her hand absentmindedly reached for those whiskers. The giant beast’s whiskers trembled, and he opened his golden eyes, casting her a glance. Suddenly, he slipped away, letting her tumble unprepared to the ground, and strode to the cave’s mouth, sitting with his back to her, his three large tails snapping restlessly behind him.

Qingyin climbed to her feet, observed him for a while, then asked, “Mo Tu, are you upset?”

“Shut up, I’m still angry,” he replied, his voice muffled and back turned.

“When you’re angry, your ears flatten. When you’re annoyed, your tail won’t stop lashing,” Qingyin pointed out.

He glanced back at his three unruly tails, irritably pressing one down with his paw, but the other two continued to flick uncontrollably, growing even more restless.

“What’s bothering you, Mo Tu?” she asked.

He ignored the tails, letting them thump against the ground. “The stone soldier will surely report, and this area will be tightly guarded. We’ll have to hide here for a few days.”

“Grrrr...”—an untimely sound arose.

It was Qingyin’s stomach.

Fragile mortals—unable to survive without food. How vexing. Mo Tu’s tail thumped heavily again. “We can’t stay hidden here forever; we must find a way out.”

Though her heart was full of questions, his unwillingness to answer directly meant she could not press him...

So she set aside her doubts for now, entrusting the puzzles to him. After all, she believed Mo Tu would never harm her.

Half-Immortal Seal 26—Full free reading of Half-Immortal Seal—Spirit Grass and Celestial Fungus update complete!