Before them lay a delicate and compact courtyard, devoid of any guards or celestial attendants.
In the center was a clear spring, its waters flowing gently, reflecting the scattered clouds drifting across the sky.
Surrounding the spring were several peach trees, their branches swaying gracefully.
Pink peach blossoms floated down with the breeze; a few petals landed on the water’s surface, stirring tiny ripples.
The entire courtyard was serene and pristine, unnoticed by anyone, but it was also…
An ideal spot for killing and burying bodies.
Little Seven turned slightly, her bright eyes fixed on Su Fu, then she whispered softly, “Heavenly Net, Ensnare!”
In an instant, the invitation in Su Fu’s hand twisted and radiated golden light, transforming into a massive golden net.
The net, as if alive, coiled tightly around her limbs, waist, and neck, finally constricting until it nearly strangled her.
The golden net moved with blinding speed, binding Su Fu’s entire body in a flash, leaving her unable to move.
Seeing this, a cruel satisfaction flickered in Little Seven’s eyes and she taunted, “Oh my, caught so easily? I thought you’d at least put up a fight.”
“You little mouse.” Su Fu’s voice was calm.
As soon as Little Seven finished speaking, Su Fu instantly transformed.
Her figure shrank rapidly, turning into a tiny golden insect that darted through the net’s mesh before it could react.
Little Seven’s expression shifted drastically, furious, “Impossible! How do you possess Transformation Divine Ability?”
Though angry, her hands moved swiftly, waving once.
Ink-black mist spewed toward Su Fu.
The mist was highly poisonous; where it passed, flowers and grass withered instantly, and the air seemed corroded, crackling faintly.
The mist covered the entire area with no escape, and even if Su Fu was now a tiny insect, there was no chance she could survive in such dense Poison Mist.
Yet, in the next moment, the golden insect flew directly through the black mist without any reduction in speed or harm.
Little Seven’s eyes widened in disbelief, “How is this possible?”
She shrieked uncontrollably, “How can the Poison Mist have no effect on you?”
Su Fu remained silent, accelerating suddenly and vanishing swiftly amid the expansive black fog.
Seeing this, Little Seven panicked slightly, a trace of fear flashing in her eyes.
“Qionghua… where did you go?”
Why could she no longer see her?
Realizing the black mist did not affect Su Fu but actually obscured her own vision, Little Seven quickly withdrew all the mist, desperately searching for Su Fu’s whereabouts.
But there was nothing—only an empty courtyard and falling peach blossoms.
‘Where did she go? Had she escaped?’
Suddenly, a soft voice whispered behind Little Seven, as if right next to her ear, “Fairy Sister, you really have a cruel heart…”
Little Seven stiffened, her pupils contracting sharply.
The hairs on her neck bristled as a chill shot down her spine.
When… when did the other person get behind her?
She tried to turn around but found her body completely unresponsive, unable even to move her head—only the corner of her eye could catch a glimpse of a shadow behind her.
Her heart sank, “When… how is this possible…!”
She was immobilized because Su Fu had used Buddha’s Radiance combined with the Evil-Subduing Talisman to control her first.
This tactic was effective.
Su Fu nodded in satisfaction.
Buddha’s Radiance could calm and suppress all manner of demons and spirits, while Judge Zhong Kui’s Exorcism Talisman specifically countered various monsters and fiends.
These two divine skills complemented each other perfectly—one representing the supreme Buddhist suppression, the other a Taoist spell for driving out evil.
Combined, they instantly resonated, not only doubling their power but also reducing Divine Power consumption by thirty percent, and releasing instantaneously, cutting down Buddha’s Radiance’s usual casting time.
Su Fu had only theorized about this combination before; she never expected it to be even more effective in practice.
Her voice was calm when she said, “Well then, Fairy Sister, goodbye.”
Once immobilized first, one was like a lamb to the slaughter.
Fear flickered in Little Seven’s eyes, but it was already too late.
Without giving her any chance to react, Su Fu’s right hand exploded with power.
“Boom!”
In an instant, the Golden Cudgel swung out with overwhelming force.
The crushing power pierced directly through Little Seven’s heart.
“Bang!”
Little Seven didn’t even have time to cry out before the golden light erupted.
She was dead.
Looking down at the fallen body, Su Fu used a necessary corpse disposal divine skill—
“Six Ding Divine Fire!”
Six Ding Divine Fire could incinerate all worldly evil and filth.
Su Fu had to burn this abnormality completely clean before feeling at ease.
Golden-red flames shot toward Little Seven, her body instantly igniting—or rather, dissolving.
Black smoke and purple specks twisted within the flames, eventually fading into nothingness.
Within seconds, the battle was over, leaving no trace behind.
Su Fu retracted the Golden Cudgel.
The Seven Fairies were never known for their combat abilities, and caught off guard and controlled so suddenly, this outcome was inevitable.
A full service, delivered to the afterlife—no thanks necessary.
She sighed, “At least you died without pain.”
In fact, Little Seven’s preparation had been quite thorough—first using the Heavenly Net to restrain her, then the deadly Poison Mist to finish her off.
This double insurance was nearly a sure kill against the original owner, Qionghua, who was a demon.
But Qionghua had changed long ago.
Su Fu’s ability to transform allowed her to escape the Heavenly Net, and she had taken the detoxifying pills from the Eight Trigrams Alchemical Furnace beforehand.
With the ever-present threat in the test, she had long prepared her poison resistance.
The peach blossoms in the courtyard continued to drift down leisurely, though now affected by the Divine Power fluctuations, they fell in a gentle shower of pink petals like a delicate rain.
As the petals brushed Su Fu’s shoulders and hair, her white dress shifted into a flowing pale purple gown.
The gown billowed gracefully, light as a cloud.
Her hair was swept high, adorned with a purple jade hairpin, a strand of black silk trailing beside her ear.
Now, she was “Little Seven.”
Almost simultaneously, a divine voice echoed:
[“Based on current judgment, your chance of infiltrating the Peach Banquet in the Peachtree Garden has increased to 100%.”]
[“Current task completed; new task issued.”]
[“New task issued: Proceed to Peachtree Garden to pick Peaches of Immortality.”]
[“Task deadline: Before the Banquet begins.”]
“Phew,” Su Fu—no, Little Seven—exhaled deeply.
“This is secure now.”
This plan truly worked.
Disguising as one of the Seven Fairies would allow her to easily enter the Peach Banquet.
Not only that, she could enter the Peachtree Garden early to see what these legendary Peaches of Immortality actually looked like.
After all, in mythology, the Peaches of Immortality were fruits granting eternal life.
She was genuinely curious what the peaches in this relic were.
From a chaotic start, she was finally turning things around.
Looking at her purple robes, Su Fu nodded with satisfaction.
Before heading to the Peachtree Garden, she scanned the courtyard carefully.
Why had Little Seven tricked her here to kill her?
If the intent was to kill, wouldn’t it have been easier to do it in the room just now?
Why go through all the trouble of luring her to this secluded courtyard?
There had to be something here.
Unfortunately, she had no map and didn’t know their exact location within Yaochi, making it impossible to guess Little Seven’s purpose.
Su Fu sighed, “If only I had a map, I might figure something out.”
But since she was here anyway, she decided to look around for any clues.
The courtyard wasn’t small.
The peach trees around the spring were unusually lush, their branches thicker and denser than any she had seen along the way.
She guessed, “Maybe it’s because of the abundant water source?”
She approached the spring, but the water was clear to the bottom, flowing quietly—nothing special.
That left only one other place: the small house on the side of the courtyard.
The house looked ordinary, with doors and windows tightly shut.
A lock hung on the door.
Lock or not, Su Fu summoned Divine Power: gathering a streak of lightning at her fingertip, she sent it into the lock.
With a soft “click,” the door lock opened.
Su Fu slowly pushed the door open.
Inside was dim, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering through the cracks.
But when she clearly saw what was inside, her heart jolted.
There were no furnishings—no tables or beds—only a dark current of the Heavenly River flowing through.
The water flowed quietly.
Su Fu couldn’t tell if the murky appearance was due to the lack of light or the pure darkness of the water itself.
Crucially, the sound of the flowing river was perfectly covered by the spring’s bubbling, so no one could detect the hidden secret.
She frowned, “Why does the Heavenly River flow through this house? Where is it flowing to?”
Occasionally, debris floated on the water’s surface.
She couldn’t make out what it was before it drifted away.
A strange thought flashed through her mind: ‘Could Little Seven be planning to kill me and dump me in the river?’
Then the river would carry her somewhere, feeding some existence.
That raised a troubling question: how many places like this existed on the Yaochi map?
If they were everywhere…
A chill ran down her spine.
How many examinees had quietly been thrown into the Heavenly River?
Why kill the examinees?
It seemed the only thing they could provide was Divine Power.
Meanwhile, outside the small courtyard.
Seven or eight maidservants dressed in cloud-patterned palace robes hurried along.
Though their steps were brisk, they remained dignified, their brows tight with anxiety and solemnity.
The leader wore a jade hairpin and a cyan jade token hung at her waist.
The other maidservants carried exquisite Divine Artifacts: silver bells, jade flutes, folding fans…
Each was at least a B-rank Divine Summoner, the leader’s strength nearing A-rank.
They soon arrived at the courtyard gate.
Yuqing, at the front, frowned slightly.
She had seen the small house’s lock opened and the door left ajar—clearly someone was inside.
Her expression grave, she raised her hand in a signal.
The others immediately grew alert, grasping their Divine Artifacts, ready to strike.
Yuqing called softly, “Seven Fairy?”
The courtyard was silent, peach blossoms scattered, when the door creaked open.
A familiar figure appeared before them—dressed in purple robes, hair neatly tied high, with exquisite features—the Seven Fairy herself.
Yuqing’s expression relaxed slightly as she bowed.
The others followed suit with a synchronized salute.
“Seven Fairy, we have come at the order of the Great Fairy. The Peaches of Immortality have begun to release their fragrance. The Great Fairy awaits you in the garden to pick the peaches. Please follow us.”
The other maidservants lowered their heads, unwilling to meet the Seven Fairy’s gaze.
The Seven Fairy’s expression was indifferent, casually sweeping the crowd with a glance.
Su Fu’s face betrayed no emotion, but her heart trembled, ‘Great Fairy… it could only be the leader of the Seven Fairies, the Red-Clothed Fairy.’
Judging by the Divine Artifacts hanging at their waists, these were formidable warriors.
So they were helpers sent by the Great Fairy?
Fortunately, Su Fu had struck cleanly and swiftly and transformed in time; otherwise, she’d be trapped now.
Had she been a moment slower in finishing the abnormality, or had the fighting noise attracted these maidservants, the consequences would have been dire.
For now, it seemed she had deceived them all, leaving no suspicion.
But Su Fu’s mood soon darkened.
So it wasn’t just Little Seven who wanted her dead.
The Great Fairy was also aware of this matter—extremely cautious—and had sent this elite squad as assistance.
In other words, they’ve had their eyes on the original Qionghua for a long time.
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