## Red Heart Patrolling Heaven Chapter 69: Orchid Cause Floss Fruit

The deep forest grew ever darker, the path ahead increasingly secluded. Spider Ying stood rooted to the spot, his gaze vacant.

His demon mark resided within his eyes, and through it, he had long mastered related divine powers. Yet, those compound eyes, capable of capturing multi-angled movements, remained utterly still. They were like a stagnant pool, devoid of any ripple.

He opened his mouth to speak, his voice dull and lifeless: “Five months ago, I contacted Uncle Qi from Purple Wu Hillside. He told me that Bear Three Thoughts was active in Sky Breath Wasteland and asked me to keep an eye out for relevant news, transmitting intelligence to him at any time… he paid me a corresponding reward.”

Fox Uncle Qi was known as the sagacious strategist under Tiger Tai Sui, the most intelligent mind on Purple Wu Hillside. Before the sudden rise of Bear Three Thoughts, he was the most renowned demon king under Tiger Tai Sui. Many important matters on Purple Wu Hillside were orchestrated by him. Why did he want to pay attention to Bear Three Thoughts? Was it Tiger Tai Sui’s instruction, or his own initiative?

Spider Lan Ruo’s voice remained calm and unmoved. Her jade fingers lightly plucked the strings, allowing the zither’s melody to drift leisurely, soothing the dangers lurking in the ancient forest. She softly asked, “Besides this?”

Spider Ying dully replied, “Fox Uncle Qi also gave me a set of curse seals, saying they were highly effective against Bear Three Thoughts. He said that if I were discovered by Bear Three Thoughts, I could use this curse seal for self-protection.”

“What kind of curse seals are they?”

Spider Ying stiffly lifted a finger into the air, about to depict them. However, the Dao Yuan around his finger left a shadow in mid-air before Spider Lan Ruo stopped him.

“Wait. No need to depict them for me.”

Spider Lan Ruo lightly plucked several notes. Yu, Jue, Shang, Gong, Yu, Jue, Shang, Gong, Zheng, Zheng, Zheng. Her voice unexpectedly merged with the zither’s melody, creating a pleasant, flowing sound. As she spoke, she instructed, “When I play this sequence of notes again, you can directly send out that curse seal.”

Spider Ying listened to the zither’s melody for a moment, somewhat mesmerized, before his eyes became stagnant again. “Understood.”

Fox Uncle Qi was not a simple character, and matters involving Tiger Tai Sui were fraught with unspoken dangers. Rashly examining his curse seals was not a prudent choice. Thus, Spider Lan Ruo temporarily changed her mind and decided not to directly perceive the curse seals. However, she needed to establish a method of control to utilize the preparations Fox Uncle Qi had made for Bear Three Thoughts for her own purposes.

Spider Yi commanded legions of puppet corpses, their might resounding across the land. Spider Lan Ruo, with her zither’s melody, manipulated the heartstrings of others, a divine power she possessed.

This interrogation should have ended here, but Spider Lan Ruo felt a premonition and cautiously asked another question: “Is there anything else?”

Spider Ying stiffly paused for a moment, a look of struggle appearing on his face.

Ding ding ding ding dong.

Spider Lan Ruo continuously plucked several strings, the sound becoming even softer: “Don’t be tense, speak slowly. It’s very safe here, you won’t be harmed. Your words… won’t be heard by anyone.”

Under the soothing influence of the zither’s melody, Spider Ying’s expression relaxed. He slowly began to speak: “Three years ago… three years ago, I encountered Dog Yin Yang in Muffled Head Ditch.”

Dog Yin Yang?

Originally, she had only suspected Spider Ying’s abnormality and conducted a cautious examination in this isolated environment, cut off from all external influences. Discovering the machinations of Purple Wu Hillside was one thing, but how had the True Demon Dog Yin Yang become involved? Things were becoming increasingly strange!

Spider Lan Ruo vaguely felt that she had touched upon a shadow lurking beneath the surface. It was a colossal, deep entity that had seemingly encroached upon Sky Breath Wasteland at some unknown time, its giant maw greedily open! Did this relate to the Divine Firmament Land, or did it involve something broader?

How could Dog Yin Yang dare to plot against a Heaven Demon? There must be something supporting him from behind! Pondering back to previous events, had Dog Yin Yang’s outburst in Mo Cloud City over the death of Dog Xi Zai, which only calmed down after Mo Cloud City’s master, Spider String, personally intervened, also held deeper meaning?

Thinking about it now, Dog Yin Yang’s reaction at that time was undoubtedly intense, bordering on panic. Did he suspect that Dog Xi Zai’s death was related to the Spider family? Did he suspect that the Spider family had discovered something?

Even thinking simply, was the Spider family’s overly conciliatory reaction at that time what allowed that dark existence to probe the existence of the Heaven Spider Lady, and glimpse her true state? Considering the proximity of Cloud Peak and Ancient Difficult Mountain, did Ancient Difficult Mountain play a role in this matter?

Dark currents surged in her heart, but Spider Lan Ruo’s string melody became even more ethereal, her voice gentler still: “What did Dog Yin Yang want with you?”

“He said he could help me achieve demon king early, and truly become a direct descendant of the Spider family.”

“What were the conditions?”

Spider Ying woodenly stated: “At a suitable time, dedicate Spider Lan Ruo to Dog Xi Zai.”

The corner of Spider Lan Ruo’s mouth curved slightly, a soft, beautiful smile appearing. “This condition may not be achievable anymore. What about later?”

“Dedicate to Dog Xi Hua.”

Dog Yin Yang, a hall True Demon, meticulously plotted not just for matters below the belt. He was not so foolish as to think that if she surrendered her body to a young master of the Dog family, she would dedicate herself wholeheartedly. The Spider family would have to make corresponding sacrifices of interests.

Spider Lan Ruo guessed that the key to this matter lay in the details of the so-called ‘dedication’. Was it for her body’s Heaven Demon bloodline? For her innate divine power? How would it involve their ancestor?

“Who else is behind Dog Yin Yang?” Spider Lan Ruo softly inquired.

“I don’t know…” In the leisurely zither melody, the light in Spider Ying’s eyes flickered several times, as if he had finally remembered something: “Perhaps it’s…”

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Spider Ying’s expression suddenly changed, about to awaken! A jade finger pressed against his brow! That warm, gentle touch instantly soothed the waves in his heart.

Spider Lan Ruo knew it was impossible to glean any more intelligence. Asking further might even bring disaster. With a plan forming in her heart, she calmly said: “When you wake up, nothing will have happened. We are walking forward, and there is still a very long road ahead.”

She withdrew her finger, the string melody uninterrupted. Her lotus steps moved lightly as she continued forward.

There is a daughter in the Spider family named Lan Ruo, born with the descent of rainbow light. Her fate is exceptionally noble, her talent supreme. At her birth, Spider Yi personally arrived, inscribing her name as a direct descendant. She did not need to achieve demon king rank; she was already of the Sky Breath Spider family’s direct lineage.

She had always hidden her strength, concealing her brilliance to avoid external evils. And the innate divine power she brought forth from her mother’s womb was a myth within myths, a legend within legends, named Orchid Cause Floss Fruit. It originally referred to beginnings that unite and ends that separate, an unfortunate conclusion, describing matters of male and female marriage. But the divine power named after it emphasized the grasp of cause and effect.

If the bitter sea turns back, the Orchid Cause awakens early. Not loving passing water, how will the Floss Fruit ever appear!

Just now, she had borrowed Spider Ying’s life path to safely examine several cause-and-effect threads. She saw the karma of Snake Gu’s remaining blood entwined with his body, suggesting either extremely evil matters or extremely evil abilities. She saw that Chai Asi was hiding some specific entity behind him, which not only left behind some means but was very likely following him personally. She saw that Yu Xin was not simple either, truly related to this Divine Firmament secret. She saw all kinds of demons, all kinds of matters, none of them simple, all possessing the “Orchid Cause”.

Then she looked to the end, who would pluck the “Floss Fruit”?

The graceful figure ahead swayed charmingly. Spider Ying dully followed for a while, then suddenly opened his eyes, his spirit returning to its place. He felt no difference whatsoever. His compound eyes scanned in all directions, finding no anomaly.

“We have to be careful of Bear Three Thoughts. Tiger Tai Sui might want to use him for something,” he continued the conversation.

Spider Lan Ruo merely said softly: “It’s very dangerous here, brother. You have to be careful.”

“Eh?” Spider Ying was slightly stunned. “Eh!”

Chai Asi felt as if he had experienced a very long dream. In the dream, during a trip to the mountains to gather herbs, he accidentally picked up a treasure mirror. Within the mirror resided a compassionate and ancient god spirit. The ancient god appreciated him greatly, imparting divine skills, guiding his cultivation, and even teaching him how to please female demons. In the dream, he had already made a name for himself, becoming a high-ranking member of the Flower Fruit Society, achieving renown in the Golden Sun Martial Combat Meeting, winning a beautiful lady, and competing with Heaven Seed demons from various parts of the demon world for the legendary Divine Firmament secret…

He awoke, and it was all just a grand dream. He was still in his dilapidated old house, still lying on the hard plank bed. Around him were only four walls. On the wall… on the wall there was no god shrine. He sat blankly on the bed, lost and disappointed.

Although he had lived such an ordinary life for so many years, accustomed to it for so long. Life was stagnant, with no surprises, no expectations. Ten years ago, he could foresee what life would be like ten years from now. He had long been accustomed to it and never felt there was anything wrong. But after such a dream, everything he was originally accustomed to became unbearable. Was that… truly just a dream?

“Asi, Asi!”

A crisp slap made Chai Asi open his eyes, somewhat bewildered. He immediately felt a burning pain on his face and saw Ape Meng Ji’s hand swinging back.

“You’re awake?” Ape Meng Ji grinned.

What had happened? Chai Asi leaped up, sword in hand, looking left and right, his eyes vigilant. But he saw only the vaguely winding path ahead in the deep forest, the sky not showing the sun, the wind not heavy… he truly didn’t know what had happened!

This slightly clumsy combat posture once again validated Ape Meng Ji’s judgment of his strength and made Ape Meng Ji laugh even more genuinely. “Look at you, too young! Can’t even withstand a little wind and waves, you fainted just like that?” He subtly shook his hand. “Fortunately, you followed this young master all the way. If it were Dog Xi Hua and his crew, wouldn’t it be easy to dispose of you?”

Looking at those bared teeth so close, Chai Asi really wanted to use a set of Heaven Absolute Earth Trap Secret Sword Art to stab him. This incompetent young master, who didn’t know the height of the sky or the depth of the earth, couldn’t distinguish north, south, east, or west! You smiled at him a few times, and he actually thought he was powerful. Didn’t he know that this old man could crush him with a single finger?

“Senior?”

“Senior?!!”

“Ancient God Grandpa?”

“Say something, ah, don’t scare me!”

He continuously called out in his heart, but for a time, there was no response. Feeling the silence of the treasure mirror in his chest, Chai Asi’s temper also quieted down.

“Young Master Ape!” He looked over gratefully. “What happened just now?”

“You don’t remember anything?” Ape Meng Ji was surprised. “What just happened, it hasn’t even been a few breaths.”

Chai Asi flattered, “How can a small demon like me compare to Young Master Ape?” He then smiled bitterly and shook his head, “I really don’t remember anything!”

Ape Meng Ji laughed heartily, saying loudly, “Just now, a peerlessly beautiful woman blocked the road ahead and asked me, the peerlessly beautiful one of rivers and mountains, how I would choose. She then scratched her head and posed, loosening her clothes, that… I said I am originally a hero, walking the Great Dao alone. The peerless beauties of rivers and mountains are not my intention. This life is only for cultivating to the absolute peak… I sternly refused her…”

This fellow elaborated in detail how that peerlessly beautiful woman deeply seduced him to the bone, and how he righteously refused her. Chai Asi’s hand trembled with anger as he listened, unable to resist taking out his sword.

He concluded at the end: “…When I came back, I saw you lying by the roadside. Perhaps she didn’t take a liking to you, she just knocked you out!”

“Yes, yes, how can I compare to Young Master Ape’s heroic divine might?” Chai Asi endured his anger.

He didn’t know if the ancient god venerable was still recovering power in his sleep or if he had suffered some influence from the Divine Firmament Land… in any case, he couldn’t communicate for a while, his heart feeling empty and lacking confidence. “The road ahead is long, dangerous, and full of trials. I’ll have to rely on you more, Young Master Ape!”

“Alright! Follow me, and you can consider your ancestors’ graves to be smoking green smoke!”

The ancient god venerable, repeatedly called out by Chai Asi, stood in the mirror world at this moment, hand pressing his long sword, his eyes glowing red. He didn’t dare move, let alone respond to his believer.

When his true body entered the mirror world, a space that opened several times during his tribulations, it was always a vast expanse of white, where nothing could be seen. This was the first time an accident had occurred. At this moment, within that vast white fog, something seemed to be struggling, the white fog rolling endlessly!

This change, whether good or bad, undoubtedly made him extremely tense. Speaking of which, when he accidentally entered the Divine Firmament Land, he had also wondered about the mechanisms of the Divine Firmament Land and whether it could detect his existence. Whether he, walking in the mirror within this place, would also undergo the same tests as other demons. His true body was hidden in the red makeup mirror, clearly placed on Pig Dali’s body. But as Pig Dali walked the road, he remained undisturbed in the mirror. Pig Dali encountered fate bubbles, and he directly manipulated Pig Dali’s body to crush them, without enduring any influence. Instead, on Chai Asi’s side, where he was only connected by the god seal method, he suffered setbacks!

Within the long string of nonsense Ape Meng Ji spoke, only the first sentence was true. Earlier, indeed, a peerlessly beautiful female demon had blocked the road ahead. She was indeed full of charm. But she hadn’t scratched her head and posed. Because the moment she appeared, with just a turn of her eyes, a wave of autumn charm flowed forth… Ape Meng Ji and Chai Asi were already completely smitten, one from a noble lineage, one a fool, their drool longer than the other’s. With such a poor performance, among the Six Paths, it would be difficult not to be at the bottom.

But Jiang Wang, who had always paid attention to Chai Asi’s situation, could not possibly watch Chai Asi be casually wiped out. So, for the first time, he descended power through the Red Heart God Seal. Things changed at this moment. Ape Meng Ji’s body had a circle of golden light around it, likely a means left by the Heaven Demon Ape Immortal Court to help him block danger. However, what Jiang Wang, opening his red eyes in the mirror world, saw through the red makeup mirror was fundamentally not a female, but… a dragon!

It rode thick clouds, soaring high into the sky, rolling within the dense fog. In this ancient forest’s secluded path, it lowered its majestic dragon head. Its long whiskers were like whips, shaking in the air. Between breaths, pavilions could be seen. The dragon’s eyes were as large as houses, displaying a dark golden color, devoid of emotion. It had branched horns like a deer on its head, and red mane grew from its neck to its back. Dark earth-colored scales from its waist back all grew in reverse.

《You Yang Miscellany》 records: “Half of the scales below the body of a mirage are all in reverse.” This was a Mirage Dragon! There should be no dragons in the demon world, but within this Divine Firmament Land, such a majestic and complete Mirage Dragon had appeared.

As Jiang Wang saw it, he was also seen by it. The Mirage Dragon, its true body stretching like a mountain range, simply lifted its eyes slightly. Not a single word was spoken, but Jiang Wang already felt a sense of contempt and cruelty between them. Then it moved. It brought up a fierce wind like a rising tornado, its body moving like a flood… Jiang Wang felt as if he was facing a majestic giant mountain crashing towards him. This Mirage Dragon… had actually found the location of his true body through the connection of the god seal and crashed into the mirror world!

He prided himself on the power of his spiritual awareness, but before this majestic flood, he was simply weak like floating floss, unable to grasp its edge! That instant he felt the possibility of destruction, almost already seeing boundless darkness. He tightly grasped Long Xiang Si, but could not see the possibility of cutting out a bright color in the darkness.

But in the next moment—

This Mirage Dragon emitted a wail, and actually brushed past his side, crashing straight into that vast white fog. Rolling! Endlessly!