CHAPTER 88: CHAPTER 88 SUTRA OF IMMORTALITY, REINCARNATION【REQUEST FOR RECOMMENDATION VOTES】_1

Sha Chen was in no hurry to drive Lady Di Yong away. It wasn’t that he wanted her as a mount, but rather that Nezha had people watching outside. Leaving now would only give them leverage against him. For this reason, he kept Lady Di Yong for another year. Only when the surveilling deities grew lax did he finally send her away.

Before the formation, Sha Chen packed his belongings. "I originally wanted you to stay and continue your cultivation. After all, you’re about to break through to the Greater Primordial Golden Immortal realm and could have been a real help. But alas, my home is too poor to support a second mouth. You’d better go out and fend for yourself."

Tears brimming in her eyes, Lady Di Yong said, "Master, I will definitely work hard to find more resources for our home."

Sha Chen patted her shoulder. "Having the will is good, but you must also act on it. I await your good news."

Lady Di Yong nodded heavily, her eyes full of tears. She threw herself into Sha Chen’s arms, lingering, reluctant to leave.

Sha Chen wanted to push her away; this woman was a seductive demoness trying to disrupt his Dao heart. As if!

Lady Di Yong took the bundle and left, this time with a mission from Sha Chen. Gathering resources was the primary goal. Second to that was to rally a group of powerful demons and establish a stronghold. Sha Chen had no desire to openly act as a demon of the waters or to form his own faction, but he didn’t dislike having a powerful force at his disposal.

Manipulating from the shadows, making others work for him—wasn’t that wonderful? Moreover, if anything went wrong, others would die, while he would remain unharmed and completely uninvolved.

Besides, more hands meant more resources to collect. His wealth would continue to grow, sufficiently fueling his cultivation needs. He hoped Lady Di Yong would gather a strong force because he found her quite intelligent and cunning, even surpassing the Black Bear Demon. As a demoness herself, it would be easy for her to rally a group of followers and stir up trouble.

Lady Di Yong departed. She cautiously made her way out of the Flowing Sand River and onto the shore. With every few steps, she looked back, hoping Sha Chen would emerge from the water, call out to her, and ask her not to leave.

However, Sha Chen showed no inclination to bid her farewell, nor did he appear to see her off.

In truth, Sha Chen was crying inside the formation—crying tears of relief! Finally, he had sent that glutton away! Lady Di Yong, true to her Rat Demon nature, had an appetite that could devour the heavens. She’d nearly eaten him out of house and home! For years, Sha Chen had scrimped and saved, practically starving her on nothing but the northwest wind, and even that she’d almost drunk dry. Now that she was gone, fending for herself, Sha Chen was ecstatic.

He prepared to continue his secluded cultivation. The earlier incident with Nezha had yielded him the [Three Flavors of Real Fire]. After cultivating it for several years, he was close to a minor breakthrough and needed to redouble his efforts.

「Outside the Flowing Sand River.」

Following Sha Chen’s directions, Lady Di Yong first went to Huanghua Temple, a place that could potentially serve as an outpost for the Flowing Sand River in the future. As she passed by, she considered claiming it for herself. But to her surprise, it was already occupied. And by a woman—an exceptionally beautiful woman.

Lady Di Yong’s eyes glinted. Concealing her aura, she slowly approached, planning to eliminate her. The woman was a celestial, radiating the aura of a Golden Immortal. If Lady Di Yong consumed her, her cultivation would advance significantly.

However, just as Lady Di Yong prepared to strike, the woman suddenly turned and looked directly at her.

"I already detected your presence," the celestial woman said.

Lady Di Yong paused for a moment, then decided against hiding further. She stepped out openly, sword in hand, advancing step by step. She even closed the door. She deployed the Array Arrangement Divine Power of the 72 Polymorphic Transformations, setting up a simple formation to prevent the celestial woman’s escape.

The celestial woman seemed oblivious to Lady Di Yong’s maneuvers. She remained calm, her gaze complex as she sized up Lady Di Yong’s figure. "You are truly beautiful, with such a fine figure," the celestial woman sighed softly. "So, he does prefer voluptuous women?"

Lady Di Yong was taken aback. "What nonsense are you spouting?"

The celestial woman said, "My name is Ningxiang. I was originally Tiangong Pihuang Feiyan from the Heavenly Court."

Lady Di Yong said, "So, you are a celestial maiden after all. Are you prepared to be devoured by me?"

The celestial woman replied, "If you intend to eat me, could you take my heart to the General for Folding the Curtain? I hope he tastes my heart, which has never changed."

Lady Di Yong shuddered, her hair standing on end. "What are you talking about? My master doesn’t eat people!"

The Jade Maiden was startled. "Master? The General for Folding the Curtain is your master?"

Lady Di Yong frowned deeply and huffed, "What is your relationship with him?"

The Jade Maiden said, "Until mountains crumble and heaven and earth merge, in the skies we were as twin birds inseparable, on earth like branches intertwined."

Lady Di Yong was suddenly in awe. Could this be the mistress? She truly was beautiful! No wonder Master remained unmoved no matter how she tried to seduce him.

The Jade Maiden added, "The way you walk seems a bit off. What happened?"

Lady Di Yong said casually, "It’s merely a task from my master."

The Jade Maiden was stunned, her expression changing drastically.

Lady Di Yong, still thinking the Jade Maiden might be the true mistress and anxious to avoid a misunderstanding, quickly explained, "If I hadn’t altered my gait, you would have discovered me. I initially intended to ambush you, but since you are..."

The Jade Maiden breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "Are you still going to eat me?"

Lady Di Yong said, "Not anymore."

The Jade Maiden asked, "Then, can you take me to him? He refuses to see me because he doesn’t believe I truly love him."

Lady Di Yong said, "Could it be that your love is unrequited, and Master hasn’t acknowledged you?"

The Jade Maiden remained silent.

Lady Di Yong laughed heartily, immensely pleased.

So, she wasn’t the mistress! That put Lady Di Yong’s mind at ease. Still, she felt a twinge of sympathy for the Jade Maiden; it seemed her affections, like her own, were unrequited!

She stepped forward to console her, recounting the years she had spent in close proximity with Sha Chen within the formation, day in and day out. It would have been better unsaid; her words only twisted the knife further. The Jade Maiden couldn’t help but shed tears, realizing someone else had won him over.

Lady Di Yong chuckled inwardly. "Do you know what Master likes most?"

The Jade Maiden asked, "Voluptuous women?"

Lady Di Yong’s cheek twitched. "Wrong. Useful women. Women who can accomplish things for him. The master relies on me. He tasked me with collecting resources and building his power because I am useful. What can you do for him? Nothing. You are incapable, so you are useless to him, and he doesn’t like you."

The Jade Maiden’s eyes suddenly lit up. "No, I am useful! I want to work for him too!"

PAT! PAT! Lady Di Yong patted her shoulder. "Alright, come with me. Once we’ve conquered a domain for him, Master will naturally be willing to see you."

The Jade Maiden nodded, rising to follow Lady Di Yong without hesitation, but it didn’t take long before she regretted her decision. The Jade Maiden was a hot potato. Having betrayed the Heavenly Court, she was now a fugitive. Li Jing and his son, no longer pursuing the white-furred rat, had turned their attention to hunting her. Furthermore, Kui Mulang, his love spurned and twisted into hatred, began to create crises for her, intending to force her into submission, and dispatched his own men to make her life difficult. This time, traveling with the Jade Maiden, Lady Di Yong found the journey even more arduous than before. She felt like crying.

「Shortly after she left the Flowing Sand River.」

A pebble fell from her bundle, lying unnoticed on the ground for half a year. Eventually, it was stirred by the wind and transformed into a tiny rat, which was promptly devoured by a tiger.

The small rat was Sha Chen’s avatar, which died instantly. However, it did not simply dissipate. The avatar recited the [Undying Scripture], its soul condensed, and it descended into the Nether World. Its soul was then hooked by ghostly bailiffs and escorted to the Naihe Bridge for reincarnation.