Shi Qingqian’s mind was in chaos, her heart pounding rapidly. She touched her lips, her eyes filled with confusion.
This gentle kiss, unlike the previous one born of impulse, was fleeting, yet it left her with an even more profound impact.
She now knew, a stopped heart was truly a terrifying thing.
It had reached a point where she was utterly disoriented, completely unable to regain her senses from A’Ling’s smile.
She felt as though she was melting into that smile, her entire being swimming in a daze.
Moments later, her heart hammered against her chest like a runaway wild horse, as if it would burst out any second. The world around them fell silent, leaving only the sound of her heartbeat and the person before her, who saw nothing wrong with the situation, acting as if it were entirely natural.
Seeing Shi Qingqian stare at her blankly after the kiss, as if her kiss contained some sort of soul-stealing spell, A’Ling found it utterly amusing.
She wasn’t so composed just now, was she? Actually, not composed at all. The back of her neck is still burning.
“Alright, alright, stop looking at me like that.”
Watching the initial dullness in Shi Qingqian’s eyes slowly brighten, the faint light at the top revealing her tense features, the excitement in her eyes made her seem like an out-of-control demonic beast, exuding an ambitious aura.
A’Ling quickly turned Shi Qingqian’s head back, leaning in close, her words betraying a palpable tremor and panic that she made no effort to conceal.
“I know what you want to do,” A’Ling added in her mind, I want it too, but those thoughts were too intimate, so she kept them to herself.
She suppressed a smile, her expression turning serious, and continued, “But now is not the time. Once we’ve dealt with all these troublesome matters.”
A’Ling smiled inwardly, thinking, Shi Qingqian won’t be able to escape then.
She gently shook their clasped hands. “You can continue speaking. Let’s hurry.”
These monstrous beasts were not good things, nor was the villain controlling them. They couldn’t wait for their intimate moments to cause trouble.
Shi Qingqian’s flushed cheeks, which had just begun to cool, were heated again by A’Ling’s surprising words. She hadn’t thought of it—no, that wasn’t right, she had thought of it, but not in the way A’Ling assumed. She had thought of it, but not right now, not at this very moment.
The current situation already felt unreal, like a dream. If… then this would clearly be a dream.
It was too beautiful to dare imagine, something that only happened in dreams.
She quickly banished the budding romantic thoughts sparked by A’Ling’s words and returned to the matter at hand.
Her slight gloominess from earlier had completely vanished thanks to A’Ling’s interruption.
Shi Qingqian turned her head to look at A’Ling, puzzled. Was she doing this on purpose? Did she sense something was wrong with my emotions and deliberately act this way?
Seeing Shi Qingqian look at her again, her eyes still trembling slightly, appearing somewhat agitated, A’Ling’s heart tightened. Can’t she hold back any longer?
Then… A’Ling considered the timing, the location, and their current state. None of it seemed like an opportune moment.
Before she could dwell on it, her head was turned back. Shi Qingqian seemed to have regained her composure and continued speaking.
However, her slightly unsteady tone revealed that her emotions were not as stable as she appeared.
A’Ling was satisfied with this discovery. It’s good that I’m not the only one excited. Seeing Shi Qingqian resume speaking, she also made an effort to calm herself, no longer dwelling on inappropriate thoughts.
No, not inappropriate, just not the right time. Once all these troubles are resolved, I’ll think about them all I want!
“These monstrous beasts were mutated by Shan Xinci under Dao Rong’s orders, using the Moonflower Ice Crystals from Layered Water Cliff. The exact method is likely only known by the instigator; Shan Xinci might not even know the details.”
“Ah?” A’Ling hadn’t expected Shan Xinci to be involved. Her honorific title was the Merciful Venerable, and she was a medical cultivator, usually very kind and tolerant. She never imagined she would do such a wicked deed for Dao Rong.
“And Qi Yu, she is also Dao Rong’s person. To be precise, she is a puppet crafted by Dao Rong.” Shi Qingqian continued, seeing that A’Ling merely gasped and didn’t interrupt her.
“Ah!” A’Ling’s eyes widened. This revelation shocked her even more. Elder Qi Yu, such a normal person, was actually a puppet!
No wonder Elder Qi Yu looked so aged. Puppets couldn’t change their appearance; they looked the same as when they were crafted.
Hearing this, A’Ling couldn’t help but ask her lingering question: “Is he insane? To turn cultivators into puppets!”
Putting aside how much this defied the Heavenly Dao, the difficulty alone was hellish. She recalled that puppet techniques were long ago forbidden arts in Mystic Crane Mountain.
What was he trying to achieve by creating a puppet, and then so many monstrous beasts? It sounded like he had completely lost his mind.
Shi Qingqian considered A’Ling’s question and replied, “He’s likely insane. His obsessions have driven him mad.”
She recalled the scene in the illusion, Dao Rong’s madness when he discovered the legend he had placed his hopes on was useless.
“Heh, I’ve been tricked again.” Dao Rong looked at the Demon Lord’s Tear, which had just begun to glow but was now unresponsive, a murderous glint spreading in his eyes. “I was foolish too, to believe this legend.”
“This must have been fabricated by some foolish person who lost their mind long ago to amuse themselves, much like this legend of cultivating to godhood. I have cultivated diligently for nearly ten thousand years, followed the Heavenly Dao, endured tribulations, done good deeds, and protected the peace of this world, yet what have I received?!”
“Why hasn’t the divine decree been issued? How am I inferior to those useless beings in the Nine Heavens? If your foolish mother can be a god, why can’t I be!”
“Since I cannot become a god, then this world might as well be destroyed. When I return, I will slaughter everything in this world. I shall see if those gods can stop me!”
Shi Qingqian recalled Dao Rong’s calculated schemes, all for her regretful tears, for which he had even killed the person she loved most. All because he believed in the legend of ‘demons and monsters,’ and he needed the Demon Lord’s Tear.
She was going mad too!
She looked down at the faint glow appearing between her fingers. The Demon Lord’s Tear, was it? She had one too.
Shi Qingqian didn’t hear any more of Dao Rong’s raving. Her eyes were filled with crimson streaks, and the wound Dao Rong had pierced through her chest was still bleeding.
The heat within her body gradually churned, and she could no longer hear any sounds from the world, only a voice in her heart guiding her.
So, she was a madwoman, just like him. At this moment, she too believed in this illusory legend.
Even though she had seen Dao Rong fail, she was still unwilling to give up and try again!
“‘Demons, monsters, earth-shattering destruction.’ If they possess such divine power, saving a person should not be difficult, right?” Shi Qingqian murmured to herself, unsure who she was asking.
The heart that had almost stopped beating in despair began to pound rapidly, heart’s blood dripping.
Dao Rong said she was a monster born of a divine maiden undergoing tribulation and a cultivator. She looked up at the madman who, unable to obtain divine power, was nearing insanity.
Seeing him about to leave, Shi Qingqian rushed forward at the moment of her self-destruction.
“What’s wrong?” A’Ling asked, seeing Shi Qingqian fall silent after mentioning Dao Rong’s madness. She turned to look, finding Shi Qingqian’s eyes red and filled with pain.
A’Ling’s voice pulled Shi Qingqian back to reality. In the illusion, she had witnessed ‘her’ self-destruction. Like Dao Rong, she hadn’t personally seen the divine power take effect. It was only after guessing that A’Ling had been reborn that she confirmed the legend was true.
There truly was such divine power, capable of bringing people back from the dead.
However, this divine power was likely constrained by the Heavenly Dao. A’Ling hadn’t resurrected in the place she died, but rather returned to the past.
For some reason, Shi Qingqian did not want A’Ling to know that she knew about her ‘rebirth.’
Since they had a second chance, all that had happened in the past should remain in the past.
She also had her own selfish desires. She didn’t want A’Ling to know that her chance to restart was bought with ‘her’ life.
Shi Qingqian didn’t feel that person was the same as her. Since A’Ling hadn’t liked ‘her’ before, she hoped she wouldn’t like her in the future either.
She and ‘she’ were different.
She only wanted her to like her.
“It’s nothing.” Shi Qingqian averted her gaze, preventing A’Ling from seeing the darkness in her eyes.
A’Ling’s heart tightened. Although Shi Qingqian had managed to hide it, she could still sense the different emotions emanating from her.
“You are you, and he is he.”
A’Ling placed her other hand on their clasped hands. She thought Shi Qingqian was feeling emotional because of Dao Rong, which was understandable. She herself had been sad when Huo Zhen turned out to be a scumbag.
She now had another important question: “What did you mean when you said the Ten Fiend Ghost Soul was with you at Immortal Rainbow Platform?”
Shi Qingqian felt the gentle stroking on the back of her hand, cherishing the warmth. She closed her eyes tightly. She knew that A’Ling’s words, “You are you, and he is him,” referred to her and Dao Rong.
But in her heart, she thought of herself and ‘her.’ She didn’t know what ‘she’ was thinking in the final moment, but clearly, ‘she’ was also a madwoman.
Without any certainty, she was willing to gamble with her life.
She deduced that ‘she’ had succeeded, succeeding in sending A’Ling back to the past, defying fate. At the last moment, she had also seen Dao Rong protecting his spiritual consciousness with his cultivation.
From his different actions compared to the illusion, it was not difficult to guess that he had also returned to the present.
That was why she said the Ten Fiend Ghost Soul was with her, wanting Dao Rong to seek her out. She could no longer let A’Ling be in danger; she wanted to perish together with Dao Rong.
But now, she didn’t want to die. The warmth from her palm gradually warmed her icy heart.
Shi Qingqian thought of an excuse. “I know he’s looking for this thing because of a legend.”
A’Ling raised an eyebrow. “The legend of ‘demons, monsters, earth-shattering destruction’?”
Shi Qingqian was surprised. “You know?”
A’Ling nodded. “Yes, Gu Jingyang told me.”
Shi Qingqian was speechless for a moment. She hadn’t expected A’Ling to know already, which made things a bit troublesome.
As expected, A’Ling immediately asked, “Are you that monster?”
After saying that, she quickly added, “But I don’t think you’re strange.”
When Shi Qingqian heard the word ‘monster,’ Dao Rong’s words resurfaced. However, just as the dark emotions began to sprout, A’Ling’s words washed them away like a gentle breeze.
She turned her head and looked directly at A’Ling. “Not strange?”
She didn’t even know what she was now, a demon or a human.
“No.” A’Ling looked back earnestly, reaching out to pinch Shi Qingqian’s chin and tilt it left and right, her tone full of certainty. “Where else would you find such a beautiful monster?”
After saying that, she looked at the once again stunned Shi Qingqian with a smiling gaze.
How did I never realize before that this was another way to render Shi Qingqian speechless?
Seeing her foolish appearance now was much more interesting than when she had to put in so much effort just to make her speechless.
The last bit of gloominess in Shi Qingqian’s heart vanished in A’Ling’s playful wink. The corners of her lips couldn’t help but curl up. After pursing her lips, she suddenly broke into a laugh.
This smile was dazzling, making A’Ling’s heart tremble. It was no wonder they said that the moment a sacred lotus bloomed amidst the mountain peak snow could make one unforgettable for life.
This was a beauty that could touch the soul.
A’Ling thought that she would probably never forget this smile of Shi Qingqian’s, and would even be willing to give her all for this beauty.
This time, it was A’Ling’s turn to be dazed and foolish.
Shi Qingqian reached out and took A’Ling’s hand, pulling her closer. She brushed aside a stray lock of hair from A’Ling’s forehead and leaned down again.
This time, A’Ling was almost entirely passive, receiving Shi Qingqian’s kiss.
This sudden deep kiss made her scalp tingle in disbelief. Shi Qingqian had completely shed her usual coolness and composure, her eagerness and passion as if she wanted to melt A’Ling into her very bones.
Just as A’Ling felt she was about to drown in this kiss, Shi Qingqian released her, turned her face, and lightly bit her earlobe, panting.
“I am.”
What?
A’Ling covered her wildly beating heart, trying to endure the surging numbness and tingling.
“What did you say?” A’Ling’s ears had registered the sound, but it hadn’t reached her brain at all. Her only sensation was the damp, tingling feeling from moments ago.
Shi Qingqian, who had originally intended to tell A’Ling about this, smoothed her breathing and said it again.
“I am a monster.”
The downpour continued, but the sky had brightened considerably, and dawn was approaching. The monstrous beasts that should have retreated at this moment suddenly erupted in unison.
After a series of roars from ferocious beasts, the monstrous beasts that had been crashing against the barrier suddenly fell silent and turned to look back.
Gu Jingyang watched the repeatedly battered barrier and the ever-increasing number of monstrous beasts. As the sky gradually brightened, they showed no signs of leaving.
She had thought that after enduring this night, they would finally have a respite. Now, it seemed that what awaited them was not hope, but despair.
If this barrier broke, the people gathered here would surely die.
She could already hear the deafening cries from inside the houses, and many were cursing the cultivators who had brought them here.
“You damned souls, you said this place was safe, so what do we do now? That monster could crush us to death with a single step if it rushes in!”
“Exactly! I might as well have hidden outside. Maybe that monster wouldn’t have found me. Now, we’re going to die together.”
“I don’t want to die! And if we all die here, crushed by these behemoths, we won’t even be able to tell our bodies apart!”
Gu Jingyang didn’t understand how these people’s minds worked, worrying about their corpses after death at a time like this.
Moreover, these complaints were truly soul-crushing. The monstrous beasts’ destructive rampage through Longyin Town the previous night, coupled with the floods caused by the heavy rain, meant that if it weren’t for Gu family’s elevated terrain and the barrier, these people would have long since died.
Never mind. Gu Jingyang took a deep breath, took out the stone mirror, and wanted to contact A’Ling, to remind her to be extremely careful. However, the crimson light extinguished again, and there was no response.
Gu Jingyang had no choice but to hand the stone mirror to Lan Fushang, asking her to try contacting A’Ling again later.
She had to go out and see what was happening with these monstrous beasts that had suddenly become agitated and crashed against the barrier, only to stop moving in unison.
Why were they all looking back? Could it be that some new monstrous beasts had arrived!
If these monstrous beasts didn’t retreat even in daylight, and even more powerful ones arrived, she would have to find a way to lure them away.
Otherwise, like just now, if the monstrous beasts all rioted and began to break through the barrier, and if this barrier broke, then the people behind them would truly have no chance of survival.
Just as she was about to take flight on her sword, she suddenly heard a young girl behind her call out.
“Sister, sister, wait.”
The young girl was wearing tattered clothes, still stained with mud from yesterday. Seeing Gu Jingyang about to leave, she hurried after her, her steps swift.
A few more people followed behind her, grumbling as they ran out of the house, as if chasing her, but they stopped when they saw Gu Jingyang.
Gu Jingyang recognized the young girl. She looked about twelve or thirteen, small and thin, with a round face and large eyes. Although her face was dirty, her sincere smile was very comforting.
Last night, she had almost been swept away by the flood, and it was this girl who had pulled her ashore.
She glanced at the adults chasing the young girl behind her, thinking she was being bullied. She paused her steps and crouched down to ask with concern, “Little girl, what is it?”
The young girl ran to Gu Jingyang’s side and shoved everything in her hands into Gu Jingyang’s hands. “Sister, eat something first. You need strength to work.”
Gu Jingyang looked down. They were eggs. She remembered that the food distributed by the Gu family yesterday was eggs, but due to the limited quantity, each person only got one.
The four eggs stuffed into her hands were more than that.
The group chasing the young girl, seeing her hand over the items to Gu Jingyang, quickly shouted, “Those are our eggs! This little girl just took them without a word and left. So she was taking our things to do good deeds!”
Those people glared at the young girl with hateful faces, gnashing their teeth.
But the young girl was completely unafraid and mocked them back, “These are eggs from the Gu family. They not only saved you but also gave you food. Instead of being grateful, you’re blaming them? It was truly a waste to save you!”
Those people were pointed out for their ingratitude in public by a young girl. Seeing all eyes on them, their faces flushed with embarrassment.
They immediately rolled up their sleeves to hit the young girl.
Gu Jingyang channeled her spiritual energy and waved her hand, knocking out the charging attackers.
Gu Jiangxue watched this all without a word. Earlier, she had heard that the complaints directed at Jingyang had been started by these very people. She turned to look at the young girl who had given Gu Jingyang the eggs, her gaze softening considerably, offering her much comfort.
Those adults were not as good as a child.
Gu Jingyang’s heart also warmed a little. She handed the eggs back to the young girl. “These are all for you.”
The young girl also looked a bit shy. She knew she was giving away someone else’s things as thanks, but she had nothing on her right now.
“Sister, don’t listen to them. If you hadn’t saved us last night, we would have died long ago. Even if this place can’t hold out now, we’ve lived one more day. Sister, you must be careful. I know you’re very powerful. If you weren’t protecting us, you would surely be able to escape. When it can’t be held anymore, don’t worry about us. My mother said that life and death are fated. We’ve lived one more day thanks to you. Please don’t blame yourself.”
The young girl finished speaking in one breath, insisting on stuffing the eggs into Gu Jingyang’s hands. She hadn’t seen Gu Jingyang eat anything since last night. Her mother had said that one needs to eat to have the strength to work, especially since Gu Jingyang and the others were going to fight monstrous beasts.
Seeing the young girl’s persistence, Gu Jingyang did not explain that cultivators didn’t need to eat to survive. She smiled and accepted the eggs, patting the young girl’s head.
She wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing, only her resolute eyes gaining more strength.
Gu Jingyang took a deep breath and took flight on her sword. She would definitely protect this young girl and everyone here.
In the secret chamber of the Tranquil Shade Herb Hut, after Shi Qingqian spoke the words, “I am a monster,” the chamber fell silent. For a moment, no one spoke.
The sadness Shi Qingqian had imagined when speaking these four words was absent. She was merely stating a fact.
But A’Ling’s silence made her heart feel a little anxious.
A’Ling furrowed her brow. She understood Shi Qingqian’s meaning and had indeed guessed that Shi Qingqian was the ‘monster.’ But hearing it directly still felt somewhat unreal.
It even caused a subtle, inexpressible heartache.
The legend had been around for a long time. Shi Qingqian was only a few years old; why had she become part of the legend?
A’Ling felt a flash of light in her mind, but she couldn’t grasp it. She felt she was very close to the truth, but there was still a missing key piece.
Regarding Shi Qingqian being the ‘monster,’ she was at a loss for words, unable to even utter the playful remarks she had made moments ago.
“The Ten Fiend Ghost Soul is with me.” A’Ling tilted her head and told Shi Qingqian after a moment of thought.
Shi Qingqian wasn’t too surprised but was still happy that A’Ling was finally being clever. She squeezed A’Ling’s hand. “So, you lied to Qi Yu?”
A’Ling nodded. “Although I didn’t know its purpose at the time, I felt that if she wanted it so badly, it must be very useful.”
Shi Qingqian looked at A’Ling with admiration, but A’Ling didn’t seem very pleased. Didn’t this look like she was calling a foolish person intelligent? A’Ling felt a little indignant.
She had simply encountered some tricksters; she hadn’t been guarded.
She had a vague suspicion, but it needed verification. She asked Shi Qingqian, “Your mother, I mean Demon Lord Shi Yu, besides that bead, what else did she leave you?”
Shi Qingqian didn’t know why A’Ling was asking, but her actions were faster than her thoughts. She extended her hand, and a booklet about an inch thick gradually appeared in her palm.
“What is this?”
Shi Qingqian replied, “The Demon Lord’s Eternal Covenant.”
She explained to A’Ling the origin of the names and the magical techniques on the back of each name page, which were solutions to each person’s predicament.
A’Ling quickly flipped through it and saw several familiar names. She was no longer surprised that they were demons.
She flipped through the booklet hastily, not finding any useful clues, but she vaguely felt that something was very familiar.
A’Ling turned to the last page. The feather pattern on it was the same as the pattern formed when she sealed demonic energy in her previous life.
“When you took the Demon Lord’s Tear, was this the pattern you drew on my back?”
Shi Qingqian nodded. “Why?”
A’Ling gazed at the pattern. This pattern must have held special significance for Demon Lord Shi Yu. In her previous life, her demonic energy and power were likely aided by her strength.
That was why she could advance so quickly in her cultivation of demonic arts.
She looked at the pattern in the booklet, tracing its lines. The more she looked, the more familiar it became.
She picked up a blank talisman, channeled her spiritual energy, replicated the feather pattern with a spell, and threw the talisman.
The talisman burned to ashes, and in the empty secret chamber, the feather pattern appeared in the void, magnified dozens of times.
Shi Qingqian didn’t know what A’Ling was doing. Seeing her in deep thought, she remained silent, quietly observing the scene before her.
“Corrupted Corpse Forest, it’s the Corrupted Corpse Forest!”
A’Ling’s eyes lit up. She wondered why the feather pattern looked so familiar. It strongly resembled the map of the Demon Realm. The solid part at the center of the feather pattern – wasn’t that precisely the Corrupted Corpse Forest?
When she was in a bad mood in the past, she often sat on top of the Iron Pagoda for a whole day. It didn’t matter what she did; she just looked at that desolate area of the Demon Realm, as if her heart could feel emptier that way, free from unnecessary thoughts.
Shi Qingqian looked in the direction A’Ling pointed, not understanding what she was saying. She did know that there was a place called the Corrupted Corpse Forest in the Demon Realm.
The booklet recorded that Jin Siliu was originally a mass of chaotic corpse energy in the Demon Realm’s Corrupted Corpse Forest. It was Demon Lord Shi Yu who molded a human body for her and infused it with blood and flesh.
A’Ling didn’t know if her conjecture was correct; perhaps it was just a coincidence. To verify it, they might have to go there personally.
Hearing A’Ling mention going to the Demon Realm, a flicker of hesitation flashed in Shi Qingqian’s eyes. Inside the Iron Pagoda…
Although she had mentioned going to the Corrupted Corpse Forest, if they went to the Demon Realm, she thought about visiting her former ‘home’…
Shi Qingqian’s heart tightened. No, I have to go back early and remove the arrangements there. Otherwise, how would she explain that the arrangements inside were exactly the same as A’Ling’s previous ones?
Just as Shi Qingqian was thinking of a reason to go back first, A’Ling’s expression suddenly turned grim.
A’Ling clutched her chest, which was suddenly throbbing with pain. “Not good, something’s happened to the barrier.”
Almost instantly, as A’Ling’s words fell, Shi Qingqian took A’Ling out of the secret chamber and teleported above the barrier.
Elder Zeng saw A’Ling appear in the sky above the barrier, with another person beside her. Without even looking, the oppressive aura emanating from the person was enough to confirm it was Shi Qingqian.
He approached A’Ling. Before he could speak, a cultivator who had come with them asked A’Ling who the person beside her was.
A’Ling had been suddenly brought out of the secret chamber and was worried that Shi Qingqian might be exposed. But she had worried for nothing; this person was more thoughtful than her, and her disguise skills were excellent. At least, she couldn’t detect any abnormalities.
“An outer sect cultivator I rescued outside the barrier just now.” A’Ling explained Shi Qingqian’s identity.
As many outer sect cultivators had come to help throughout the night, they were not surprised by this. They politely greeted the other party.
Elder Zeng knew that the ‘outer sect cultivators’ who came to help yesterday were actually demons in disguise. Although they were doing good deeds, due to their demonic identity, they had to disguise themselves to avoid frightening the cultivators who became fearful at the mere mention of demons.
After exchanging greetings, A’Ling immediately asked, “Why did these monstrous beasts suddenly become so active?”
Elder Zeng shook his head. “The anomaly only occurred just now. After you set up your barrier, the monstrous beasts couldn’t break through and simply stayed outside. It was only just now, as the sky began to brighten slightly, that they all seemed to go mad and began to assault the barrier with greater force than before.”
A’Ling frowned upon hearing this. She had heard from Gu Jingyang that the pattern of these monstrous beasts’ attacks on Longyin Town was to retreat at dawn.
Why was it different this time?
But as A’Ling drew out her Little Wandering, preparing to descend and stop them from continuing to assault the barrier, these monstrous beasts all stopped their actions.
They even turned around in unison and crouched down.
A’Ling looked puzzled. What were they doing? It looked as if they were waiting for someone.
Just then, A’Ling received a stone mirror transmission from Gu Jingyang. After a bright image appeared, it was the panicked face of Lan Fushang.
“A’Ling, help! Gu Jingyang can’t hold on much longer!”
