When this form of address was spoken, everyone present was shocked.
Yu Yan hadn’t expected this ghost demon to actually be interested in Qi Qing too. And from the way she spoke, it sounded like they were old acquaintances. But with such a strange and treacherous identity, how could she possibly have any connection with Qi Qing? If Qi Qing truly had such a powerful backer, she wouldn’t have been bullied to this extent.
Si Li was even more furious. She already disliked Qi Qing, believing she had seduced Senior Sister Ling, which led to the previous scandal. Tonight, seeing her humiliate Senior Sister Ling so, and Senior Sister Ling not holding it against her, Si Li had even comforted herself by thinking Senior Sister Ling was just well-mannered.
But when this intimate address was spoken, all her self-deception crumbled. She had to admit that Senior Sister Ling was unilaterally obsessed with Qi Qing, to the point of madness.
No one noticed that Qi Qing’s expression had become extremely pale. She didn’t understand why—why had Ling Aorui also been reborn?
And at such an unsuitable time.
She felt like prey haunted by a fierce ghost; even after escaping to another time and space, she still couldn’t shake off that shadow.
She wasn’t afraid of Ling Aorui. In her previous life, although she died because of Ling Aorui, Ling Aorui hadn’t directly harmed her. But now, every cell and every hair on her body was screaming, Run, run!
This was actually illogical.
Qi Qing’s feelings for Ling Aorui were complicated, but they definitely didn’t include fear.
At first, she didn’t particularly like the other’s personality. If not for the system forcing her, they probably wouldn’t even have become friends. Later, she was moved by the other person and truly fell in love with her. This love was blind and frantic. After it reached its peak, she made that decision she regretted immensely.
She didn’t regret healing the other person, but rather regretted building her future on fleeting love. Believing in promises was foolish; once the other person broke their word, she would be doomed beyond saving.
Perhaps when the other person made the promise, they were truly sincere. But sincerity changes in an instant. Her biggest downfall was that the other person stopped loving her.
Is it wrong if someone stops loving you?
Qi Qing didn’t think so. She only hated that the other person broke her promise, and that she herself had trusted too much. Perhaps a blind Ling Aorui would have stayed with her for life, but by healing her, she had pushed her towards a wider, farther world.
And such a cold and aloof righteous path heroine was naturally a perfect match for a seductive demoness. They were like golden wind and jade dew, a destined pair, while she was just one of many in the mortal world. No one could overcome the carnal desire of dry wood meeting fierce fire. When Ling Aorui was with her, she followed conventions, but with the demoness, they blended like milk and water within a few days.
This pushed her self-loathing to its peak. She would doubt herself, wondering if she wasn’t charming enough. She would try to fix the situation, for her last shred of dignity. In the end, she even abandoned her dignity, begging the other person very humbly, but it all failed.
From then on, her love turned to hate.
She hated the other’s heartlessness and her own powerlessness. Every time she thought about the eyes she had traded her life for being used to gaze lovingly at the demoness’s body, she couldn’t help but feel sick.
Of course, she could have revealed the truth and let the world judge for her. If she were an ordinary transmigrator, doing so would have put her in an unbeatable position, allowing her to both get revenge on the other person and gain sympathy.
But she had loved, so she didn’t want sympathy.
She was afraid Ling Aorui would return out of guilt.
That would make her feel even more disgusted—disgusted with Ling Aorui, and disgusted with herself. They would never be able to make peace. No matter what Ling Aorui said, she would suspect it was out of a desire to repay a debt, and she would see pity in the other’s eyes. They would torture each other endlessly.
So she could only use death to resist—resisting fate, and resisting betrayal.
But among all these emotions, there was no fear.
Just now, when she heard Ling Aorui outside the door, she even felt a faint sense of reassurance.
That was because she understood Ling Aorui, understood her principles. A person with a stable core wouldn’t cause fear. But this Ling Aorui before her was clearly not like that.
She stood somewhat lazily opposite her, not far away, staring fixedly at Qi Qing with eyes that could be called bewitching. She made no dangerous movements, nor did she speak any threats, yet Qi Qing felt as if all the flesh and blood in her body was about to explode.
It was a possessiveness unrelated to lust, bordering on madness.
Qi Qing wanted to run, but her feet wouldn’t move.
She didn’t even have the strength to budge, like a grass-eating animal that had met its natural predator. Upon seeing the hunter, the only thing it could do was freeze its body and wait to be eaten.
“…Qi Qing, Qi Qing!”
Yu Yan’s voice came from far away. Qi Qing was stunned for a long time before waking up as if from a dream. She looked at Yu Yan beside her, who was looking at her with a worried expression, asking if she was alright.
She wanted to answer, but she couldn’t open her mouth at all.
“She’s fine. Perhaps she’s just surprised to see me.”
Ling Aorui, opposite them, leisurely picked up the conversation, adding, “Qingqing, we finally meet again. I’ve been looking for you for a long time. I want to apologize to you. I hope you’ll give me a chance to speak, alright?”
Yu Yan frowned and said, “Don’t pay attention to her. Let’s go.”
Of course, Yu Yan could see that Ling Aorui had come with ill intentions. Whether it was the previous high-and-mighty one or this current one possessed by a ghost, their persistent obsession with Qi Qing was incredibly annoying.
If her spiritual energy were plentiful right now, she wouldn’t need to leave at all.
Unfortunately, she had just recovered, and her dantian was empty. She even needed Qi Qing to help her down the stairs. If it were just an enemy of ordinary cultivation level, she could still fight. But this ghost demon was powerful; she definitely wouldn’t gain anything from a direct confrontation.
However, escaping with Qi Qing shouldn’t be a problem.
But Qi Qing, despite being tugged twice by her, didn’t move an inch.
Yu Yan was somewhat surprised. Before she could speak, Ling Aorui smiled again and said, “Who are you, and why should Qingqing listen to you?”
“Then why should she listen to you?” Yu Yan hadn’t wanted to say much, but she now needed to use words to divert the other’s attention. If Qi Qing was unwilling to go with her, or if she had fallen under a bewitchment spell, then Yu Yan would have to think of another way.
But looking her over, she couldn’t see any signs of being under a spell.
Her spirit seemed a bit unstable, though, as if she had lost her soul.
“We originally had a marriage contract. It’s just that due to some misunderstandings, some mistakes were made. Thank you for helping me take care of her, but it’s not necessary anymore.”
As she spoke, she extended her hand to Qi Qing and tilted her head with a smile.
Qi Qing actually started to move, intending to go towards her.
Yu Yan swiftly intercepted her, holding her in her arms and said firmly, “You ghost demon, stop using your tricks on her! Regardless of whether Qi Qing has a marriage contract with you or not, I will never hand her over to you!”
Ling Aorui’s smile slowly faded.
“You can tell…?” She finally looked Yu Yan properly in the eye and said, “How strange. You shouldn’t be here. Aren’t you afraid of the Celestial Emperor’s punishment for secretly coming down to the mortal realm?”
Yu Yan said coldly, “That’s none of your business.”
“It is none of my business, but you wanting to take Qi Qing away has everything to do with me.” As she spoke, she drew her demon-slaying sword and aimed it at Yu Yan. “I don’t want to make an enemy of a deity. If you release her now, I can pretend nothing happened.”
“Don’t even think about it.” Yu Yan also drew her spirit sword, Youyu.
Although her dantian was currently empty, it wasn’t as if she had no chance of winning. Once they started fighting and alerted those Immortal Reverends, the situation might take a turn for the better. No matter how useless those people were, they were still the highest fighting power in the current immortal realm. And since this evil demon was possessing a disciple of the righteous path, they had no reason not to help.
However, she might suffer very serious injuries.
Yu Yan gritted her teeth and shielded Qi Qing behind her. Her entire life had been blessed with good fortune and smooth sailing; she had never fought such an uphill battle. She didn’t expect to encounter such a challenge after becoming a deity. For a moment, a bloodthirsty urge to fight actually arose within her.
Ling Aorui didn’t seem to take her very seriously. She slowly changed her stance and said, “Please.”
“Then I won’t be polite.”
Yu Yan didn’t hide the fact that her spiritual energy was used up. Since the opponent was giving her an opening, she wouldn’t refuse out of pride. If she could gain even a slight advantage, perhaps she could secure a decisive victory.
The sword left its sheath with a long cry.
A long, long time later, Si Li could never forget the decisive battle that night. Although she was on Senior Sister Ling’s side, she also knew that in front of a great expert like Immortal Reverend Minghuai, Senior Sister Ling had no chance of winning.
But later events showed that if it was purely a contest of sword techniques, the two could actually fight to a draw.
She couldn’t tell good sword moves from bad, only felt that in an instant, the two were fighting. The figures of the two sword-wielders were graceful and flowing, countless sword shadows frequently weaving together. The scene was stunningly beautiful, as if they were performing a sword dance together. But the sound of clashing metal, heard from time to time, pulled her back to reality again and again.
She felt she could never achieve such a beautiful duel in her lifetime. What she didn’t know was that it wasn’t just her; no one in the current world would dare claim they could do it.
This was fundamentally a world-destroying battle between a demon and a deity.
It was only because Yu Yan’s spiritual energy was used up that she couldn’t unleash her full power, and Ling Aorui also didn’t use her demonic energy. The duel between the two was limited to sword techniques.
Finally, the sound of something tearing through the air in the distance interrupted them.
Ling Aorui reacted first, sheathing her sword and withdrawing from the battle.
Yu Yan also sheathed her sword and said, “Aren’t you going to run?”
“No need. I still have unfinished business.” Ling Aorui said, “It seems the time is not right. Forget it. Even if I lost, you two can go.”
Yu Yan was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, “Why didn’t you use your demonic energy? If you had, I probably would have lost to you.”
“I don’t want to destroy this place.” Ling Aorui said, “Besides, there’s no need for me to take advantage of your weakness. Since we didn’t decide a winner this time, then next time.”
She suddenly turned to Qi Qing again and said, “Qingqing, be careful on your way. We’ll meet again soon.”
After saying this, before Qi Qing could reply, she closed her eyes and collapsed. Si Li hurriedly rushed forward to support her. When Si Li looked up again, the two people in front of her were gone.
A short while later, Su Miaoyin finally arrived, fashionably late.
She had just woken up from a nightmare and heard the loud voices outside, only then realizing she hadn’t died. But that memory felt as if it were carved into her soul, incredibly real.
She touched her chest; that spot still ached faintly, but there was no wound.
Was it really a dream?
She thought of her Master who had appeared before her eyes before she died, and suddenly realized she couldn’t just die like this. Otherwise, when she reached the underworld, how could she face her Master?
She still had to find Qi Qing. Even if it meant setting her up as a puppet, she had to borrow Qi Qing’s power to bring glory to the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Hearing that Qi Qing had been cornered on the mountain by Ling Aorui, she immediately rushed to the scene. But when she arrived, she only saw fallen flowers covering the ground. So she asked anxiously, “What happened? Where’s Qi Qing?”
Si Li said lightly, “Gone.”
“What! How could you just let her go like that?” Su Miaoyin was so angry she almost fell over backward. “Since you had her cornered, why didn’t you inform me immediately?”
“Immortal Lord, you think too highly of me. Qi Qing is protected by Immortal Reverend Minghuai. Who could harm a hair on her head?”
After a pause, Si Li added, “Also, I advise you not to worry about these matters. Just leave them to Senior Sister Ling. She is the most proper successor of the Heavenly Sword Sect.”
The Heavenly Sword Sect began its power struggle, while Qi Qing and Yu Yan gained some rare leisure time.
