Chapter 130: Secret Rendezvous at the Bottom of the Pool? The Female Demon Lord’s “Personal” Gift!

Inside the milky-white pool of sword stalactite liquid, mist drifted lazily.

As Gu Lan continuously channeled the power of his strange flame into it,

[Big Boss, right below!]

The cheeky voice of the Soul-Devouring Sword Spirit sounded in his mind again, laced with impatience.

[That aura is getting stronger and stronger! It's definitely something good! And… it seems to match your aura very well!]

Gu Lan's eyes flickered slightly.

Something left behind by the Female Demon Lord?

He glanced at the three Senior Sisters who were refining the pill energy with their eyes closed. They had entered a deep state of meditative trance, their awareness of the outside world lowered to a minimum.

"Now is the time."

Gu Lan thought to himself.

He silently pulled back his hands, set up an even more discreet soundproofing barrier around them, took a deep breath, and glided into the water silently like a fish.

The moment he submerged, the clamor of the world instantly receded into the distance.

In its place was a hazy, dreamlike realm of milky white.

Although his vision was obscured, under Gu Lan's powerful Divine Sense perception, everything around him remained clearly visible.

He inevitably… "passed by" the side of his three Senior Sisters.

Under the water, the scenery was quite enchanting.

"Forgive me, forgive me…"

Gu Lan silently recited the Heart-Cleansing Mantra twice in his mind, forcing himself to look away and dive deeper toward the bottom of the pool.

The pool seemed small, but it was deceptively bottomless.

The deeper he dived, the greater the pressure around him became, and the milky spiritual liquid turned increasingly viscous, almost like jelly.

Finally, after diving about a hundred Zhang deep,

Gu Lan's feet touched solid ground.

The pool bed was covered with glowing gravel, and right in the center stood a small black altar.

Above the altar floated an exquisite red sandalwood box.

Encircling the wooden box were complex demonic rune Restrictions, exuding a heart-palpitating pressure—it was a "Heavenly Demon Seal" that only someone of Cult Leader level could set up!

[This is it! This is it!]

The Soul-Devouring Sword Spirit howled with excitement.

[There's definitely that Female Demon Lord's treasure inside!]

"Heavenly Demon Seal…"

Gu Lan swam up to the altar, frowning slightly.

This type of Seal was extremely domineering. Forcing it open would not only destroy the contents inside but also trigger a self-destruction that would blow the entire Sword Tomb sky-high.

Only someone who Cultivated a Demonic Technique of the same origin and possessed a specific token could open it.

"What a coincidence."

A smirk curled at the corner of Gu Lan's lips.

As a "seed" nurtured by the Demonic Sect since childhood, he Cultivated none other than the Demonic Sect's supreme secret scripture, the Heavenly Demon Creation Art, and…

He pulled out the "Demon Prince Token" from his coat, which represented his undercover identity.

"Open!"

Gu Lan injected a trace of Devilish Qi into the token and pressed it into the groove of the red sandalwood box.

*Click—*

A soft sound echoed.

The terrifying demonic runes around it instantly turned docile, dissolving into wisps of black smoke.

The wooden box slowly opened.

There were no dazzling golden lights or grand special effects; inside quietly lay two items.

One was a black Jade Slip giving off a subtle, elegant fragrance.

The other was a neatly folded piece of… black clothing?

Gu Lan picked up the Jade Slip first.

The instant his Divine Sense probed into it,

*Buzz!*

The surrounding space seemed to warp instantly, and Gu Lan felt himself dragged into an independent Divine Sense space.

Before his eyes appeared a luxurious purple-gold throne.

And atop the throne, a figure both familiar and foreign to him reclined lazily on her side.

The Female Demon Lord, Ye Hongzhuang!

However, this was not her actual body, but merely a lingering image left by a thread of Divine Thought.

"Little Undercover, you really did come."

Ye Hongzhuang in the projection wore a loose black gauze nightgown and was barefoot, swirling a glass of red wine in her hand. Her eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through one's heart, met Gu Lan's gaze across time and space.

"Being able to find this place means you haven't disappointed this seat."

"You should have already obtained that 'soul-devouring sword', haven't you?"

She chuckled softly and downed the wine in her glass. A drop of wine slid down her slender neck, sinking into her bottomless cleavage.

"Although this sword is fierce and ominous, having no scabbard makes it a liability in the end, easy for those old fogies of the Righteous Path to spot."

"Therefore, this seat specially prepared a gift for you."

She pointed at the wooden box.

"That is the 'Demon-Suppressing Scabbard,' forged from the inverse scale of an ancient Demonic Dragon. It can not only perfectly conceal the soul-devouring sword's Devilish Qi, but also nourish its sword spirit."

"Of course, this isn't free."

Ye Hongzhuang suddenly stood up from the throne and walked step by step toward the "camera," her strikingly beautiful face enlarging infinitely in Gu Lan's eyes.

"This was modified from the flexible armor this seat used to wear… right next to my skin."

"On it… is still this seat's scent."

"Little Undercover, you better keep it close. If you lose it…"

She extended a finger and tapped lightly in the void, right on Gu Lan's forehead (consciousness).

"This seat will skin you alive and turn your hide into a new scabbard."

The projection abruptly cut off.

Gu Lan snapped back to reality, realizing his back was completely drenched in sweat.

"This Female Demon Lord…"

Gu Lan swallowed hard, his eyes falling on the black "clothing" inside the wooden box.

He hadn't looked closely earlier, but picking it up now, he realized this was no ordinary clothing at all.

This was clearly a black scabbard—exquisitely shaped and as silky smooth to the touch as human skin!

Furthermore, it truly gave off a faint, familiar fragrance—identical to the scent on Ye Hongzhuang in the projection!

"Modified from personal flexible armor…"

Gu Lan felt the scabbard in his hand suddenly grow scalding hot.

This was no mere scabbard.

This was clearly the Female Demon Lord's "worn" merch!

If the Righteous Path caught wind of this, he wouldn't be able to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River!

"Whatever, at least it's a top-tier treasure."

Gu Lan gritted his teeth and sheathed the soul-devouring sword.

*Clack!*

A perfect fit.

The soul-devouring sword, which had been restless and agitated, instantly settled down the moment it slid into the scabbard, as if returning to its mother's embrace.

The eerie demonic runes on the blade completely disappeared, replaced by an unadorned layer of flowing black light.

Now, it looked like a slightly old, ordinary iron sword; no one would be able to tell it was an ancient weapon of slaughter.

"Perfect."

Gu Lan hung it around his waist with satisfaction.

Just as he was preparing to float back up,

Suddenly, a ripple passed through the water above.

"Junior Brother?"

A slightly puzzled voice vibrated through the water.

It was Jiang Wanqing!

She woke up?

Gu Lan was startled. He quickly stashed the wooden box into his storage ring, kicked off with his legs, and swam toward the surface, pretending nothing had happened.

*Splash—*

Gu Lan burst out of the water, trailing a shower of glittering droplets.

He wiped the water off his face, meeting Jiang Wanqing's cold, clear eyes head-on.

Having been cleansed by the sword stalactite liquid, Jiang Wanqing's skin looked even more translucent and glowing. Fully dressed, she stood by the edge of the pool, looking down at him from above.

"Where were you… just now?"

Jiang Wanqing knit her brows slightly, her eyes sweeping over him.

"Why did you dive so deep?"

"Cough, cough, well…"

Gu Lan swam to the shore and climbed up, explaining with an air of righteous indignation:

"I felt abnormal Spiritual Qi fluctuations at the bottom of the pool earlier. Fearing there might be danger, I went down to inspect it."

"Turns out it was just a spiritual spring eye. A false alarm, totally a false alarm."

"Is that so?"

Jiang Wanqing was clearly unconvinced. She leaned closer to Gu Lan, her nose twitching slightly.

"Then why… is there an extra woman's fragrance on you?"

"And this scent… is very unfamiliar. It belongs neither to Hongxiu nor to that enchantress."

Gu Lan: "!!!"

Holy crap!

Senior Sister, is your nose that of a dog?

You can even smell that?!

Cold sweat poured down Gu Lan's back. Subconsciously, he covered the soul-devouring sword at his waist—the one newly fitted with the "worn scabbard."

"Um… perhaps because the pool bed never sees daylight, some rare plants and herbs grew there, and I accidentally brushed against them…"

"Rare plants and herbs?"

Jiang Wanqing narrowed her eyes, about to question him further.

Right at that moment,

"Ah—!! I'm so full! I'm gonna burst!"

A tragic wail shattered the intense confrontation.

Lüluo was rolling on the ground by the bank, clutching her round belly, with several golden lotus fruit pits scattered beside her.

This girl had actually eaten five golden lotus fruits in one breath while everyone was Cultivating!

Those were spiritual fruits that even Golden Core Stage Cultivators wouldn't dare eat too many of!

"Oh no! Her spiritual energy is going berserk!"

Gu Lan's face paled; he truly had no time to explain now.

"Quick! Help her channel her spiritual energy!"

A sudden "foodie crisis" successfully diverted attention for Gu Lan, temporarily covering up the mysterious fragrance from the Female Demon Lord on his body.

Only…

this scabbard was likely to become the biggest ticking time bomb on him from now on.