Hammer in her left hand, sword in her right, the eldest sister is connected to both worlds.

Xue Lan slowly sipped a cup of tea in her sea of ​​consciousness, carefully considering her plan to seize the Golden Crow's essence. When she came to her senses, she saw the system staring at the horizon of her sea of ​​consciousness with an extremely horrified look.

Xue Lan's sea of ​​consciousness was shaped based on the scenery of the Northern River in the Upper Realm. There was no sun in the sky, and it was a silent, pale blue all day long.

At that moment, a magnificent rose-red sunset appeared on the azure horizon, scorching the sky like boundless karmic fire.

"Vermilion Bird Fire!" Xue Lan put down her teacup, slowly stood up, raised her sleeve, and waved it to force back the blazing red flames.

"I need to go out and take a look."

Xue Lan slowly opened her eyes, got up from Yin Shishi's shoulder, and turned to look behind her.

A few seats behind her, a young woman in a vibrant red dress slowly approached, radiating a fiery aura. Her bright eyes were captivating, and her beauty was unparalleled. Every gesture she made exuded an air of nobility.

"Such a pure bloodline of the Vermilion Bird! No wonder it can enjoy such great benefits in the Phoenix Clan, which is full of geniuses." Xue Lan sighed inwardly.

Princess Zhu Lingzhi of the Phoenix Clan appears only briefly in the original text; it is said that she later went to the Upper Realm.

"She should go to the Upper Realm. The Phoenix Clan won't let her stay in the Lower Realm for too long." Xue Lan replied to the system. With such pure bloodline, it's inevitable that the Vermilion Bird will one day advance to the Demon Lord level, and the Phoenix Clan will naturally nurture her with great effort.

Xue Lan put on a sweet and gentle smile, ignoring Yin Shishi's warning gaze, and waved to Zhu Lingzhi.

“Fellow Daoist, there is no place for you to watch. There is a seat next to me.”

The continuous Vermilion Bird Flames burn away all evil spirits in the world. It is a divine power that is on par with the Water Lotus of the Crimson Cloud Sect.

The Silver Moon Wolf is of the ice element, while the Vermilion Bird is of the fire element; it nearly burned away her sea of ​​consciousness. However, due to the difference in their cultivation levels, Zhu Lingzhi did not notice.

The system trembled within its sea of ​​consciousness: [Has the sea of ​​consciousness of a fifteenth-realm demon been burned away?] Its tone was full of distrust.

Xue Lan didn't mince words and said directly, "I have a demon in my heart, so I'm easier to ignite."

System: She's so open and honest.

Xue Lan was indeed not lying to it this time. Although her inner demons had only revealed a small part of themselves, the intensity of their demonic flames was unprecedented. It was only natural that they would stir up the Vermilion Bird Fire hidden within Zhu Ling's soul.

Zhu Lingzhi approached gracefully, raised his hand to bow to the two people in front of him: "Zhu Lingzhi of the Phoenix Clan greets you two fellow Daoists."

“Xuanhuang Zongyin Shishi”.

"Xue Lan of the Xuanhuang Sect".

Zhu Lingzhi sat down next to Xue Lan and quickly became acquainted with the chatty Xue Lan after exchanging names.

The Phoenix Princess was approachable and elegant in every word and action. Xue Lan felt as if she had been dealing with an old demon from the upper realm in her previous life.

"So Fellow Daoist Xue is also here to participate in this weapon crafting assessment, then you must have considerable insight into weapon crafting. What do you think of that one-armed War Puppet Mansion Fellow Daoist on the stage?"

While Xue Lan was chatting with Zhu Lingzhi on the surface, the demonic power in her sea of ​​consciousness had already begun to entwine around the woman in front of her, trying to obtain some information about the thunder roc.

However, that person might have been carrying some kind of magical artifact that could isolate one's aura, so Xue Lan gained nothing. Following Zhu Lingzhi's words, she turned to look at Lin Su on the assessment platform.

The firelight inside the smelting furnace illuminated Lin Su's face. The young man, half-naked, was hammering a silver iron block with a magic hammer engraved with runes.

With each strike, the runes on the hammer would light up, and upon contact with the scorching iron, a faint chill would emanate from it.

After a moment of contemplation, Xue Lan quietly offered her conclusion: "This child is teachable."

Zhu Lingzhi suddenly smiled, his gaze towards the girl in front of him becoming increasingly playful. The girl in front of him looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, her face still somewhat childish from not having fully developed.

But the first thing he said was, "You're teachable," in a calm tone like an old man who had lived for thousands of years.

"Is he truly teachable?" Zhu Lingzhi then asked.

Xue Lan shook her head slightly and yawned sleepily.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu, please chat with Senior Sister Yin first. I am quite tired."

Zhu Lingzhi wanted to ask one more question, but Xue Lan had already fallen asleep leaning on Yin Shishi's shoulder.

Yin Shishi looked at Zhu Lingzhi with an apologetic smile: "She's always like this."

Xue Lan, whom Yin Shishi said always liked to sleep, has now appeared beside the two of them. The semi-transparent girl stands behind Zhu Lingzhi and quietly picks up a strand of her hair.

This is Xue Lan's demonic soul manifestation, which Zhu Lingzhi, with his current cultivation level, has no way of detecting.

A wisp of white light appeared at her fingertips. Xue Lan formed a very complex hand seal and used Zhu Lingzhi's hair as a guide to track the trail of the thunder and lightning roc.

A moment later, the white light flew in one direction, and Xue Lan's figure transformed into a white shadow unseen by the crowd and escaped from the weapon-refining field.

It was already late at night outside. The entire Xie Cui City was like a giant furnace that had been lit. The peach blossoms on the branches had all fallen, and the whole city was silent. Only the War Puppet Mansion in the very center was still bustling with activity.

A cool breeze swept past a disciple on night duty, so he quickly turned around, but the breeze, like his illusion, vanished in an instant.

The disciple sighed and continued to face the abnormal heat of Xie Cuicheng.

The semi-transparent Xue Lan stood on the eaves of the War Puppet Mansion, in front of a seven-story black tower covered with restrictions, its magical light flowing.

Xue Lan pinched the faint white magical light between her fingertips, then pressed it into her palm and extinguished it.

The girl stood on the eaves, her fingertips gently touching the protective light barrier in front of her.

Then, as if nothing were there, they entered the barrier, like a fish entering water.

As soon as she entered, she was hit by a scorching heat wave, as if ten suns were baking her at the same time.

"You're quite clever, leaving your true form at the weapon-refining field. Everyone can vouch for your alibi," the system said quietly.

Xue Lan walked unhurriedly towards the dark tower in front of her, and the disciples guarding outside the barrier did not notice her.

She slowly approached the black tower and then passed through the wall.

The War Puppet Mansion was still bustling with activity, and no one knew that Xue Lan had ever been there.

[You really are something else, running rampant with your thousand-year-old demon soul.]

Xue Lan stood inside the black tower, in front of a huge circular hall, the ground of which had collapsed, forming a spiral staircase leading downwards.

A ghostly fire burned atop the steps, barely illuminating a small portion of them, but it was unclear whether this was due to the depth below or some other restriction.

The underground space in front of us resembled a bottomless ancient well.

[Xue Lan, are we really going down?] There was a hint of fear in the system's voice.

Xue Lan deliberately teased it: "How can you get the Golden Crow Essence if you don't go down?"

The system displayed a very unhappy expression.

Xue Lan laughed gleefully, a laugh that only she and the system could hear, as if she were outside of the void.

"Don't worry, I won't go down! I'll teach that unruly guy down there a lesson."

The girl formed a hand seal, her ten fingers slowly creating a mudra resembling a flying bird.

"The golden crow carries the sun, and it falls into the vast wilderness."

"Senior, it's time to wake up!"

A blinding golden light emanated from the abyss below, accompanied by a cry that shook the heavens!

Xue Lan, who had been standing at the edge of the abyss, had vanished. She transformed into a white shadow and swiftly returned to the weapon-refining field.