Yue Jin felt that from now on, she needed to check the almanac before cultivating.
The sky was already bright. The threshold of the Ninth Heaven stage was clearly within reach, yet she couldn’t break through no matter what.
She circulated her spiritual energy, held her breath, and focused her mind, taking another deep breath of spiritual energy.
Faster, faster, it’s almost here.
“Snap”
A crisp sound like a snapping string exploded from the deepest part of her mind.
Full of doubt, she circulated her energy again. Her energy core was perfectly intact, yet there wasn’t a single ripple.
What’s happening…?
Cold sweat beaded on Yue Jin’s forehead.
Where was her cultivation base?!
Where had her massive cultivation base gone?!
The Demonic Path’s main base, Qingyuan Palace, was situated in a mountain shrouded in clouds and mist. Looking down from directly above, it wasn’t sinister or terrifying; instead, it radiated an aura of otherworldly beauty.
“Senior Sister, we’re so close. The Demonic Path members must have sensed us. Do I need to scout ahead?” Yun Lingyue formed hand seals at her brow, scanning the area below.
Fu Lingyi shook her head. She didn’t believe that arrogant woman would flee the battle at the last moment.
“No need. We attack from the main gate.”
Having spoken, the sword beneath her feet changed direction, its tip pointing straight ahead as it surged towards Qingyuan Palace’s main hall, shattering the outer barrier. She herself leaped down lightly from high above, completely unharmed.
“Take the head of Demon Lord Yue Jin.”
The crowd surged in, as if releasing pent-up frustration, or perhaps engaging in a frenzy.
Only scattered disciples remained in Qingyuan Palace, hiding in corners and stubbornly resisting. But with just their abilities, they couldn’t possibly withstand the surging tide of cultivators.
Fu Lingyi led her group in searching throughout Qingyuan Palace. Neither the Demon Lord nor those in charge were present, let alone the stationed elders.
Yun Lingyue grabbed a disciple by the collar, her round, youthful face fierce. “Where are they?! Where’s the demoness? Where did they all go?!”
“Ptooey!” The disciple was utterly defiant, spitting on the ground. “You think you can know where our Demon Lord is?! Don’t you know your own limits?! When our Demon Lord returns, you’ll all be dead!”
“You–!”
“Stop wasting words with them. I bet that demoness knew we were coming and ran away clutching her head!” A cultivator from another sect snorted scornfully. They had searched the entire palace, even the back mountain, without seeing a single shadow.
Song Yin held the divination plate, asking with a bright smile, “What should we do, Fellow Daoist Fu?”
Fu Lingyi’s expression was calm. After thinking for a long time, she said, “You all stay here. I’ll search the surrounding area. If there’s still no trace of that demoness…”
“Then we’ll destroy this demonic den.”
The path up the back mountain was difficult. The forest was dense, and broken branches and roots lay scattered on the ground, feeling like the remnants of fallen lives with every step.
Fu Lingyi had already circled three times. She could faintly sense a barrier here but couldn’t find a point of entry.
The Demon Lord was here; she could feel it.
But…
While still lingering, an unusual sound came from deep within the nearby bushes. She drew her sword and held it ready, quietly waiting for the approaching noise.
It was her… This time, she absolutely had to kill her!
A stumbling red silhouette emerged from behind the dense bushes, her hair slightly disheveled, looking utterly a mess.
If ever a day were to be chosen as Yue Jin’s unluckiest, it would surely be today.
First, her meridians had spun wildly, leading to cultivation deviation and the complete loss of her power. Her left leg was useless, causing immense pain.
Then came life’s most humiliating moment: encountering her mortal enemy.
Could any other day possibly be this unlucky?
She might as well just ram her head against a tree and end it.
Yue Jin managed to drag her leg out of the sacred ground barrier, only for that sword, gleaming with cold light, to appear right before her, nearly piercing her eye.
She couldn’t dodge in time, shrieked, and fell heavily to the ground.
The sword’s owner paused, a flicker of doubt in her eyes, but her vigilance didn’t waver.
Yue Jin lowered her head, not daring to look up at all. This time, she had truly lost face.
Compared to the threat of death, she seemed to care more about her reputation.
Fu Lingyi didn’t attack again. Something felt wrong.
How could that woman be cornered by a sword, yet just sit on the ground covering her face, completely still?
It wasn’t like her at all.
Yue Jin knew there was no escaping. If only she had known, she would have listened to Wu Bei’s advice and made plans earlier.
The most important thing now was to save her own life.
She steeled herself, lifted her face, her voice carrying a touch of confusion. “Who are you?”
Fu Lingyi: “?”
Since things had reached this point, no matter how fake it was, she could only continue the act. “Who… who am I? Where am I? Are you… are you going to kill me?”
Even the words “This Seat” weren’t on her lips anymore.
Fu Lingyi was half-believing, half-doubting. For now, she sheathed her sword and watched her silently.
Yue Jin knew this person wasn’t so easy to deceive. The cultivation world tabloids always claimed she was gentle as water and interacting with her was like a spring breeze. But in reality, every time Yue Jin provoked her, she could see the intense hatred in the other’s eyes.
A few simple sentences wouldn’t fool her.
Having lost all her face and dignity, Yue Jin slowly pushed herself up using the ground, holding onto a tree root to stand. Her eyes were filled with fear and caution. She was essentially using her entire life’s acting skill.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Her breathing was rapid, tears welled in the corners of her eyes, and she seemed utterly lost. “Who exactly are you? Do I have a grudge against you? If I did something wrong, I… I apologize to you…”
An apology?
Fu Lingyi stared at her face. It was flushed under her gaze, timid to the extreme. That arrogant, self-important demoness would never make an expression like this, and she would certainly never apologize.
Could she truly have amnesia? Did she really not remember anything?
“You…”
“Don’t come any closer!” Yue Jin was so startled she put her hands up in front of her eyes, tripped over her own feet, and fell again. She looked utterly fragile and weak.
“Your leg… are you injured?” Fu Lingyi ignored her resistance, stepped forward directly, and grasped her wrist.
Yue Jin’s hair felt like it was standing on end, about to explode. She truly couldn’t stand being this close, but she couldn’t show too much resistance. She only managed a couple of weak struggles. “I don’t know. I woke up like this…”
May the ancestors of every generation look down upon me. Yue Jin, the thirteenth Palace Master of Qingyuan Palace, bitterly repents here today. Before this outwardly righteous cultivator, she was actually acting like a fragile white porcelain flower that seemed like it would crumble at a touch. In the future, if she ever got the chance, she would definitely tear this woman who shamed her to pieces. But for now, she would just endure the humiliation and survive for a bit…
Fu Lingyi raised an eyebrow. The hand gripping her wrist tightened as she sent her spiritual energy probing in, searching the other’s meridians. “You really… don’t remember anything?”
Her meridians were perfectly intact, but the spiritual energy inside her energy core was gone. Her body was currently an empty shell with her cultivation complete.
This person must have suffered cultivation deviation during her breakthrough, damaging her mind, which led to both her broken leg and amnesia. Thinking of it that way, it was somewhat believable.
Killing her now would be as easy as turning her hand.
Yue Jin watched Fu Lingyi, wondering what she was thinking. A painful sensation came from her right hand. She bit her lower lip, recalling Wu Bei’s demeanor when he used to swindle and deceive people everywhere.
“Are you… are you going to kill me?” Large, bean-sized tears slid down, one by one, landing on her slightly dirty dress.
“Was I a very bad person before? Did I do something terrible to you? If that’s the case, then just do it. I won’t blame you.”
She slowly curved her lips into a shallow smile, the tear film in her eyes shimmering in the light. “I hope in my next life, I can be a good person.”
Was that enough? Was that enough?! This acting was more than enough!
Wu Bei relied on this trick to deceive countless ignorant young girls. She had captured its very essence! Even immortals would have to praise her as a genius!
Fu Lingyi watched her for a long time, so long that Yue Jin felt time had stopped, before slowly saying, “How could I possibly want to kill you?”
She felt a spark of hope. “Then…”
“I’m your dao companion, my darling,” Fu Lingyi released her wrist, then stroked her face, her cool fingertips threading into her messy hair. “I finally found you. Don’t you remember me? This is troublesome. Our dao companion ceremony isn’t finished yet.”
Yue Jin: “…”
Who was going to tell her how to respond to that?
She thought her own lies were outrageous enough. She hadn’t expected this person opposite her to be even crazier.
She could even come up with something like that?
If she remembered correctly, hadn’t this person been cultivating the Path of Heartlessness?
Was she planning to kill her partner to prove her Dao at the moment of final ascension?!
Yue Jin’s blood ran cold.
Fu Lingyi pulled her up from the ground, cast a cleansing spell, and incidentally took off her cyan outer robe, draping it over her.
She revealed the gentlest smile. “You’re not wearing enough. Let’s go, my darling. Come back with me first.”
If she called her “my darling” a couple more times, Yue Jin would be so disgusted she’d drop a cultivation realm.
She tried one last desperate struggle. “Um… am I really your dao companion? I don’t remember anything, so… maybe…”
…maybe we shouldn’t be partners.
“My name is Fu Lingyi,” Fu Lingyi stepped onto her sword, wrapped an arm around Yue Jin’s waist, and pulled her into her embrace. “You are my dao companion, Yue… Yue Qingshu. We’ve known each other for a long time. I would absolutely never abandon you. Don’t worry.”
“Just come back with me obediently, my darling.”
Yue Jin’s left leg was already injured. Pulled like that, she was tucked into Fu Lingyi’s embrace in an awkward posture, leaning against her shoulder.
“……Fu Lingyi……”
“Just call me Lingyi.”
Where Fu Lingyi couldn’t see, Yue Jin’s eyes were full of tragic resignation. “……Lingyi… we haven’t become dao companions yet. Calling… calling me ‘my darling’ feels weird. Could you… could you not call me that?”
“Oh, that won’t do.”
Fu Lingyi chuckled lightly. She flew quickly, and incidentally took out a communication jade slip from her person, tapping it a few times. Her tone softened, but it held an undeniable firmness. “You used to like me calling you that. Doing it more will help you remember sooner.”
Yue Jin closed her mouth.
Never mind. At least she wouldn’t die for now.
Let her call her “my darling” if she wanted. It wasn’t like she’d lose a piece of flesh.
She secretly vowed that she absolutely had to recover the circulation of her spiritual energy as soon as possible and kill this woman.
As for the days to come… Yue Jin silently repeated in her heart.
Endure humiliation to survive, endure humiliation to survive.
She would endure!
No matter what kind of torment she suffered, she would endure it!
Thanks for the chapter