On the Wangyue Terrace, at the summit of Lingxi Mountain, the sun hung high in the sky.
The warm, golden-red light shone upon a large banner erected by the disciples of the righteous sects.
Written in bold cinnabar were two grand characters: Slay the Demon.
The sect master of the Qingxu Sect, now over a hundred years old, turned to glance at the words on the banner and asked with a heavy heart, “Has Jiang… has that person arrived yet?”
The lord of Lanyue Pavilion pursed her lips slightly, her expression unchanging. “Not yet.”
The leading sect masters and pavilion lords exchanged only a few words, saying no more.
But among the dense crowd of disciples from the four great righteous sects behind them, a rustle of whispers could not be suppressed, leaking out a few nervous conversations.
A disciple from the Qingxu Sect lowered his voice, tugging on the sleeve of a senior sister beside him. “Senior Sister, who is this person? Is she really so powerful that all four great sects have to join forces to deal with her?”
“…Jiang Xidai. The master of the Shasheng Sect, Jiang Xidai. Her reputation for cruelty is infamous. You must not provoke her lightly.” The senior sister frowned. “How do you not know of her?”
The senior sister said that Jiang Xidai, whom everyone wished to slay, was temperamental, cruel, and merciless. The number of righteous cultivators who had died at her hands could fill half the underworld.
She favored red clothes and often carried a white silk umbrella embroidered with hibiscus flowers. It was indeed a white umbrella, but its name was “Crimson Illumination.”
This was because every time the umbrella was opened, rivers of blood would flow. It was said to be in memory of a battle from centuries ago—the woman had slaughtered every member of the Lingshan Sect, and the blood flowed from the main hall past the mountain gate, soaking the earth three inches deep. The gruesome sight had stained the edge of the pure white umbrella a shade of pink like peach blossoms.
“Is she… a demon?” Seeing as there was nothing else to do while they waited, the junior sister glanced at the “Slay the Demon” banner and continued to ask.
“No.” Someone nearby sneered. “But she might as well be. After all, even demons aren’t this vicious. To think of the Lingshan Sect… ah, what a tragedy!”
“Back then, the Lingshan Sect had a great internal cultivation art called the Emotion Burning Art, which was stolen by this woman. That should make it clear to you.”
“The Emotion Burning Art?”
“I heard this art combines both Buddhist and Daoist principles. It was the Lingshan Sect’s most treasured secret, an ultimate technique—”
“As expected, it was coveted by this demon lord.”
One person whispered, “I heard that once upon a time, this Jiang Xidai was the one and only grandmaster of the Lingshan Sect, immensely respected.”
Everyone was suddenly a mix of fearful and stunned. “That doesn’t make sense. How could this woman be so cruel to her own descendants, juniors, and fellow sect members?”
“…It’s unknown how she became like this. Some say it was due to unrequited love for someone, which drove her mad and caused her to start a massacre in her own sect.”
“Others say it’s because she suffered a cultivation deviation while practicing the Emotion Burning Art.”
“It’s probably just her true nature.”
“Just a madwoman,” another person added. “It would be a relief to get rid of her. Nothing to feel sorry about.”
As they chattered, the wind and clouds in the sky began to shift.
The Qingxu Sect Master commanded, “Silence!”
The crowd fell silent, leaving only the whistling of the wind.
Zhan Ke, the lord of Lanyue Pavilion, was dressed in apricot-yellow robes, her hair tied up neatly, her face clear and elegant. She looked up at the sky, her brow slightly furrowed.
“Pavilion Lord Zhan, this Jiang…” the Qingxu Sect Master asked, looking at her from the side.
His question carried a great deal of uncertainty. He was afraid the demon lord wouldn’t come, allowing her to escape and continue to plague the world; yet he was also afraid that if she did come, they wouldn’t be able to stop her from unleashing a massacre if something went wrong.
Zhan Ke’s brow smoothed out. “Sect Master, there is no need to worry.” Her voice was clear and calm, carrying a reassuring weight. “That demon lord will come to this appointment. It should be soon. I have something she wants.”
“But…” the sect master muttered to himself. That Jiang Xidai was a true god of death; she would kill anyone who stood in her way. A single misstep could easily lead to disaster and a swift death.
But then he had another thought and swallowed his words. If they could successfully eliminate this demoness together, not only would their prestige in the cultivation world soar, but they might also secure the leading position in the Immortal Alliance.
Secondly… there was that ultimate cultivation art, the Emotion Burning Art. If it was truly as powerful as the legends claimed, capable of “splitting mountains, filling seas, and shifting the stars,” then the reward would be immense.
Besides, the demoness’s incredible power was proof of how formidable the Emotion Burning Art truly was.
Who wouldn’t want it?
The sect master swallowed hard.
“There are no buts. As soon as she appears, we will immediately form the array.” Xie Minting of the Haoran Sect had a sharp look in her eyes, showing none of the Qingxu Sect Master’s hesitation. Her tone was decisive. “The five thousand lives of the Lingshan Sect, the countless blood debts over the years… she cannot be allowed to live! Today, even if we must sacrifice our own lives, we must bring justice to the cultivation world.”
“Fellow Daoist, you need not worry. It is the will of heaven that we reclaim an immortal sect’s technique that has been used by a vile person,” another sect lord from the Shenji Pavilion declared. “At worst, Pavilion Lord Zhan still has an ace up her sleeve.”
Zhan Ke smiled faintly. “Let’s hope we won’t have to use it.”
The sky had darkened at some point. Clouds pushed against clouds, revealing their dark, wrinkled underbellies, gathering in thick patches here and there.
The wind, which had been rustling moments ago, suddenly ceased. The light over Wangyue Terrace dimmed, and the two words “Slay the Demon” faded from bright crimson to a dull red, no longer seeming to dance in the air.
An absolute silence fell.
It was so quiet it was almost suffocating.
A sudden clap of thunder boomed across the heavens and earth.
The great masters of the cultivation world stood on high alert, and the disciples behind them took a small step back.
“…She’s here?!” The junior sister who had been the most talkative earlier tensed up, her eyes darting left and right.
Everyone held their breath.
A breeze stirred again, blowing past.
It rustled a leaf, making it spin gently with a soft, whispering sound.
The young junior sister in the crowd stared intently at that single leaf, terrified that a ferocious, ghostly face would suddenly pop out from behind it. She had heard that those who killed too many people would be haunted by vengeful spirits, which would affect their appearance. In any case, she felt that all the world’s demons ought to be ugly, just as ugliness highlights beauty and shadows define light.
Amidst the soft, cautious breathing of the crowd, an incense stick’s worth of time passed.
Nothing happened.
Another incense stick’s worth of time passed like stagnant water.
Still, nothing happened.
The clouds in the sky even shifted again, pushing open a bright gap to reveal the deep blue beneath.
A ray of golden-red sunlight shone down on the leaves, which swayed gently in the warm breeze.
The junior sister’s heart, which had been lodged in her throat, gradually grew numb from the long wait and began to relax. The disciples next to her seemed to feel the same; one even started humming a tune on the sly.
“Parting clouds let slanting sunbeams through after the rain. The shade of trees is cool. The evening breeze is fragrant. An old man’s humble gate, hidden deep in a land of water and clouds…”
She let out a quiet sigh of relief, leaning over to her senior sister. “Looks like she hasn’t arrived yet.” In her mind, she wondered who was humming such a beautiful song.
So she turned to look.
Her gaze fell directly upon the edge of an umbrella, its border as pure and round as a white lotus, its plain surface dotted with sparse red blossoms that looked like splattered blood.
The junior sister froze, momentarily unsure of who stood before her or what scene she was witnessing.
She stared blankly as the white umbrella was lifted, revealing a pair of crimson lips beneath, like a red lotus breaking through ice and snow. “…You must believe that a hundred years are all but a dream. The world is vast, so let us roam.”
The voice was ethereal and gentle, melodious and full of grace.
But as its lingering notes faded, they carried an exceptionally terrifying pressure that spread out, making sure everyone present heard it clearly.
Someone let out a piercing shriek, “Jiang Xidai!”
The crowd instantly erupted into chaos, like a stampeding army trampling over this small piece of land. The ground trembled, and the sky seemed to shake.
The junior sister’s mind was in a daze. Before she could recover, she was nearly crushed into a pancake and subconsciously raised her sword to defend herself. But a red sleeve flashed past her eyes, and in an instant, the woman appeared on the peak of the opposite mountain.
The dark clouds in the sky scattered, and the halo of light filtering through the leaves slowly widened, bathing the mountains in a golden-red glow.
Atop the highest peak, amidst a shimmering blend of golden light and red brilliance, the graceful silhouette of a woman was outlined.
She was draped in a magnificent, tragic red, holding a white silk embroidered umbrella in her pale hand. Her long black hair was left to scatter freely in the wind, whipped about by the fierce gales at the summit.
She looked down upon the crowd, her expression calm and indifferent.
Recalling that brief glimpse from just now, the junior sister finally came to her senses, her heart still pounding with fear. This demon lord doesn’t look as terrifying as the rumors say. In fact, she’s exceptionally beautiful.
Moreover, for her to have approached so close without anyone noticing, despite everyone’s vigilance, her level of cultivation was truly unfathomable.
Jiang Xidai’s gaze landed on Zhan Ke, completely ignoring the banner with the words “Slay the Demon” beside her.
Her gaze was condescending, passing over the vast, dense crowd to focus on just one person.
Zhan Ke did not meet her gaze, instead urging the others, “What are you standing around for?”
Seeing that the demoness had appeared, and so brazenly at that, the leaders of the four righteous sects snapped back to their senses. They would not miss this golden opportunity. The array to slay her was swiftly activated from four directions.
Golden rays of spiritual energy flared, one brighter than the last, and for a moment, the sky plunged back into darkness, as if it were night.
BOOM—
A clap of thunder roared from the clear ground.
Trapped within this airtight death formation, it was believed that no one, no matter how powerful, could possibly escape unscathed.
