Having corrected Xie Huaixue’s bad habit of being overly modest, Li Jin’an thought with self-satisfaction, Sure enough, Xie Huaixue can’t do without her.
She still needed to praise Xie Huaixue more, lest this person always belittle herself and not take credit for her achievements.
Soon, she stopped thinking that way.
Xie Huaixue wouldn’t boast about herself, but she would make Li Jin’an read books with her.
Still reading?
Why can’t this matter just pass!
Li Jin’an, greatly puzzled, took Xie Huaixue’s hand and moved it to her own face, trying to prove herself, “Feel, it’s warm, it’s alive. I won’t leave you. There’s really no need to worry so much.”
Saying this, she moved Xie Huaixue’s hand to her chest. Her phoenix eyes widened, and she said with utmost sincerity, “Can you feel it? The Heavenly Dao bears witness: our hearts are connected, and we will never be separated.”
Li Jin’an gazed eagerly at Xie Huaixue, truly hoping Xie Huaixue could express her concern in a different way.
Whether she was rotten wood or fine jade had long been decided. Chixin Sword Lord and the academy scholars had flown into a rage in front of Li Jin’an daily, yet she showed no improvement. Now, it was even less likely she’d become an old scholar.
Jijin Sword Sovereign’s false nemesis was Qingxiao Immortal Venerable; her true lifelong enemy was those obscure and difficult ancient texts and classics.
Her not drawing stick figures in the books was already using all her willpower.
Xie Huaixue looked at Li Jin’an’s pathetic little face and suddenly sighed. She truly couldn’t bear to force her to do something she disliked. “I was too anxious. If you don’t like it, we won’t read it.”
Li Jin’an blinked her eyes, looking at her in confusion. “Why do you say you were anxious?”
Xie Huaixue explained, “Ning Zhufeng, though hidden in the Demon Realm, precisely found Lan Ci. The current Demon Lord and the Heavenly Demon Clan behind her are covetously eyeing the cultivation world. A great war is about to begin, and the situation is unstable. There will always be times when we are separated. If we encounter a similar situation again, I hope you have the means of self-preservation.”
She spoke as if Li Jin’an were a delicate and weak new disciple, unable to lift or carry, with no means of self-preservation, needing Xie Huaixue to worry tirelessly, fearing Li Jin’an would suffer hardships when out of sight.
In reality, Li Jin’an merely lacked in knowledge. She was better at fighting than anyone. Once the Blazing Radiance Sword was unsheathed, it was impossible for it not to draw blood. If she truly encountered the Demon Race, it was still up for debate who would lack the means of self-preservation.
But precisely because her combat power was too high, and she was too skilled at fighting, it highlighted Li Jin’an’s deficiencies in other areas, giving the impression that she could be easily tricked with a few deceptive words.
Especially since Ning Zhufeng, the Demon Lord, and the Heavenly Demons were all insidious and cunning, one more so than the other. The Heavenly Demon Clan even had the ability to predict heavenly secrets. Setting a trap for Li Jin’an would not be difficult.
Moreover, Li Jin’an’s soul was damaged and required seclusion for recovery, but the Demon Race wouldn’t give them this opportunity. Xie Huaixue inevitably worried to the point of confusion, thinking of having Li Jin’an learn something with her.
Whether it was punishment or a test of her feelings, ultimately, it was all hoped for Li Jin’an to be safe and sound.
Li Jin’an didn’t say Xie Huaixue was needlessly worrying; she just smiled and said, “If I encounter an irresistible danger alone, I’ll first summon Jiang Fengmian and the others to be my cannon fodder, and then you can grandly come and rescue us.”
“Besides, compared to me, I think the Demon Race’s hatred for you is greater. You’re the one who needs to be more careful.”
“If you’re still worried, why don’t we just dual cultivate more intimately?” Li Jin’an raised an eyebrow, continuing with radiant spirit, “I feel like I’ve already touched the threshold of Integration stage perfection. With more dual cultivation, once my soul injuries heal, in a while, I might even break through to the Mahayana stage before you!”
In truth, the possibility of Li Jin’an breaking through to the Integration stage before Xie Huaixue was minuscule. How could a breakthrough of a major realm be as easy as Li Jin’an claimed? It could only be said that the mist before her eyes had dispersed, and she could see the path ahead, but whether she could walk it depended on herself.
Li Jin’an was not yet at Integration stage perfection, while Xie Huaixue had been at Integration stage perfection for a long time. If not for the cold poison hindrance, she might have been a Mahayana stage cultivator long ago.
Now, with Li Jin’an dual cultivating with her, the cold poison was suppressed to the greatest extent, her burden reduced, and she could cultivate with greater focus.
Xie Huaixue’s eyes curved. “Mm.”
“Of course,” Li Jin’an stood up and crossed her arms, looking down at Xie Huaixue as if very unwilling. “If you want to read, I can accompany you, but you’re not allowed to make me read.”
“Okay.”
Qingxiao Immortal Venerable’s focus was truly strong. Even with Jijin Sword Sovereign grunting and gasping while practicing sword nearby, she could calmly settle down and read.
Because earlier in the space-time turbulence, Xie Huaixue hadn’t let Li Jin’an practice sword, and Li Jin’an was the type who, the more she was forbidden from doing something, the more her rebellious streak acted up, insisting on doing it in front of the other person.
Now, she liked to practice sword in front of Xie Huaixue, swinging her sword swiftly. Whooshing sounds tore through the air, bamboo leaves fell, landing on both their shoulders, forcing Xie Huaixue to look up at her helplessly. After succeeding, Li Jin’an would put her hands on her hips and cackle strangely.
The joy here is not for outsiders to know.
Green clouds ground into jade dust, a dawn dream remains, shattering a bowl of spring.
Flower shadows pressed on heavy gates, sparse curtains unfurled pale moonlight, a beautiful dusk.
Qingxiao Peak welcomed the spirit of spring, not disappointing this year’s beautiful spring light, wandering with spring.
Meanwhile, the Demon Realm, beyond the Three Realms Mountain, was not so peaceful. The desolate and dim Demon Lands, which never saw daylight, were undergoing great changes.
Qingxiao Immortal Venerable’s vision, of course, went without saying. As if to echo her words about a great war about to begin on the Lancang Continent, chaos was indeed brewing in the far western region of the Demon Realm.
Ning Zhufeng—no, Wu Zhaoxing—was smarter than Lan Ci and Zhong Fei in one key aspect: she knew that no one could escape before the grand tide of events. Just as they couldn’t break through Jijin Sword Sovereign’s defense line to covet her master behind her, as long as the Demon Race was strong enough to bring its army to the city gates and trample the Dao Sect, then neither Qingxiao Immortal Venerable nor Xie Huaixue would have a choice, right?
With war fires spreading and people suffering greatly, would Qingxiao Immortal Venerable, who was compassionate to all living beings, still remain indifferent?
With the common people she protected being coerced and abandoned, would her master still be that cold and secluded figure, unchanged for a thousand years, to whom nothing in the world could catch her eye?
Wu Zhaoxing believed she was different from fools like Lan Ci, who were blinded by emotion and did irrational things for the sake of the eldest disciple’s title and a hundred years of master-disciple affection. She was simply unable to bear the sight of someone so high above, untainted by dust.
Just one glance at her seemed to reflect all of Wu Zhaoxing’s ignominious and lowly nature, revealing the rotten, festering black heart beneath her beautiful and charming exterior.
This made the demon very uncomfortable.
Every morning and evening, when she saw her master, Wu Zhaoxing would stand behind Lan Ci and Zhong Fei, silently observing her master, memorizing her appearance inch by inch. An inexplicable sigh of satisfaction would well up, believing only this person was worthy of being her master. Then, an even greater, more intense dissatisfaction would arise.
The Demon Race’s nature was precisely this: tyrannical, greedy, and extremely destructive. Subverting hierarchy was ingrained in their bones; they would never truly learn submission or loyalty.
Even though Wu Zhaoxing despised her mother’s succubus lineage and looked down on her Demon Lord father, she was indeed a purebred demon, not diluted at all. The colder and purer her master was, the more she wanted to tear apart her master’s facade.
People who were too unapproachable always reminded Wu Zhaoxing of her days in the Demon Palace.
The title of a Demon Lord’s offspring was valuable in the Demon Palace, but only if they were royal offspring whose maternal families were great clans, like her “good” elder brother. Even the clan leaders and the lords of the forty-eight cities of the Demon Realm had to carefully curry favor with him, unlike Wu Zhaoxing, who was something even lower than a lesser demon.
Fortunately, her good-for-nothing succubus mother, besides giving birth to her with difficulty in the Demon Palace, also gave her an extremely captivating face and a heart full of schemes.
Of course, her succubus mother didn’t desperately give birth to Wu Zhaoxing out of love—the Demon Race had no such thing—but simply to use Wu Zhaoxing as a bargaining chip. Unfortunately, before Wu Zhaoxing could be sent by the Demon Lord to infiltrate the Dao Sect, she was beaten to death out of spite by the disgraced daughter of the Lord of Mingya City.
Wu Zhaoxing witnessed all of this firsthand. She stood trembling behind a nearby pillar, fearing she would suffer the same fate as her mother.
The daughter of the Lord of Mingya City cursed, “Unlucky,” and walked past her with her demon attendants, not even looking sideways. She didn’t recognize who Wu Zhaoxing was at all, nor did she care if Wu Zhaoxing would seek revenge for her lowly succubus mother.
What happened next?
Wu Zhaoxing remembered. She devoured her succubus mother, enduring immense backlash and pain, and finally managed to slightly elevate her impure bloodline. Relying on her cunning schemes, she struggled to survive in the Demon Palace, secretly learned cultivation techniques, cultivated to the Golden Core stage, and used her transformed human face and shrewdness to catch the Demon Lord’s eye.
As for the daughter of the Lord of Mingya City who had despised her, she was naturally devoured by the more useful Wu Zhaoxing. The Demon Lord tacitly allowed it.
This was the rule of survival in the Demon Palace: as long as it was useful to the Demon Lord, anything could be a reward.
Wu Zhaoxing had returned to the Demon Realm secretly, without the Demon Lord’s knowledge. The body the Demon Lord knew was not her true body, but a clone created by splitting her soul, just like Ning Zhufeng.
This was naturally very difficult to achieve; otherwise, Cui Guangling wouldn’t have plotted for a hundred years over Lan Ci, for the Wen Nanlan Clan’s unique talent in soul cultivation. But Wu Zhaoxing had a lucky encounter.
Li Jin’an thought Wu Zhaoxing was unaware of the Heavenly Demons’ affairs. In fact, she had sensed it long ago but simply remained calm. Infiltrating the Dao Sect was also her way of avoiding them.
The most profound lesson she learned in the Demon Palace was: weakness is the original sin. If you cannot kill your opponent, then endure.
Scattered corpses lay on the ground. Wu Zhaoxing sat cross-legged in the center, lifting her arm to gaze at the pulsating black-purple veins on it, feeling the surging power. Her eyes were extremely cold, yet a charming smile graced her face.
As long as it’s useful, it’s not difficult. She wondered what reward her father would bestow upon her?
Even if he didn’t give her one, it didn’t matter; she would take it herself.
After all, to her, her siblings and parents were the best rewards.
What Wu Zhaoxing loved most was the backlash and pain that angered heaven and earth when she devoured her kin.
Overnight, all forty-eight cities of the Demon Realm rebelled.
On his way back to the Demon Palace, the Demon Lord was ambushed and besieged. He retreated to the Demon Palace with heavy injuries. Of his hundred offspring, some died, some disappeared.
On the throne, the Demon Lord sat alone.
Suddenly, the palace gates were forcefully opened from outside. Immediately after, something resembling a dead dog, revealing its demon form, was thrown in, landing right at the Demon Lord’s feet. It was Wu Zhaoxing’s “good” elder brother.
Rapid footsteps sounded.
Two Demon Monarchs, leading Demon Commanders and Demon Generals, rushed in first, enjoying the Demon Lord’s disheveled appearance.
The Demon Lord didn’t acknowledge them, nor did he focus on the son of the Demon Realm’s young master, on whom he had placed his highest hopes. Instead, he stared intently at the palace gates.
A purple embroidered shoe stepped inside.
Wu Zhaoxing walked in with her hands behind her back, smiling in a good mood. “Father, please go to your death, and give your child one last reward.”
“…”
The Demon Lord abdicated. The seventy-ninth daughter ascended the throne and announced it to the Three Realms.
The world was shocked.