Chapter 220: So I’m the Protagonist After All (16)
Despite her harsh response to the Heavenly Dao, Su Mingxiu knew that her cultivation could only stop here—
As cultivators’ cultivation levels increased, it might not be obvious at the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages, but the higher they went, the more they could feel the will of the Heavenly Dao.
They would be more and more aware of whether they were favored by it. Judging from the extent to which Su Mingxiu had fallen out with the Heavenly Dao,
Once she entered the Tribulation Transcendence stage, the Heavenly Dao, which still controlled order, would not hesitate to send down tribulation lightning to make her perish.
Even if her state of mind was strong enough, she still needed to restrain herself, lest she accidentally cross that line.
But now, facing this monster, Su Mingxiu had no room to maneuver, not even the option to hold back.
This monster must have been hiding in the Zhenhai Tower for thousands of years, using the secret realm as cover. Therefore, it had not attracted tribulation lightning. Su Mingxiu was obviously a whole realm lower than it, and without a handy spiritual sword, even if she was half a sword cultivator, it would be very difficult for her to fight this monster.
The sword energy condensed on the silver fan was like a flurry of flowers, instantly splitting into hundreds of beams, sweeping towards all directions. This sword energy avoided the bodies of the cultivators trapped in the illusion and only struck at the void. The fog could no longer get close to her.
Sui Yihuan, who was instinctively abandoning her poisoned spiritual meridians and circulating her demonic meridians, had her red eyes gradually deepening in color. Although she was held in Su Mingxiu’s arms, after the sword energy, as soft as flower petals but as sharp as a wind blade, was released, she slowly removed the other person’s hand from her waist, opened her lips, and said softly, “You go, I’m fine.”
In fact, she had many questions to ask, such as whether Su Mingxiu really didn’t mind her demon identity, and why she, as Ye Qingbai’s disciple, could have such powerful strength—
Yes, even though she could previously comfort herself with the reason that Ye Qingbai was symbiotic with her and couldn’t measure her specific strength, saying that Su Mingxiu wasn’t that strong.
But now, facing this monster in the secret realm whose pressure could instantly crush her, she could clearly feel the difference.
Moreover.
If Su Mingxiu was really weaker than her, why had she never been able to see through the other person’s cultivation after spending so much time together?
But the situation was critical now, and it was not the time for her to dwell on these things. All Sui Yihuan could do was take care of herself and not be a burden to the other party.
Receiving her meaning, Su Mingxiu paused, but didn’t say much. She just created a sword light cage on the spot to protect her.
At the same time, she looked at the… clam demon hidden in the fog, which was finally revealed after the fog was split open.
Calling it a clam demon was really hard to believe, because its shell was so thick that it was probably an ancestor of the ancient beast, the Black Tortoise.
If the shell hadn’t been moving as if breathing, opening and closing, Su Mingxiu almost wouldn’t have recognized its true form, as huge and heavy as a mountain. However… she finally knew where the golden light came from.
It was the pearl inside, nurtured for thousands of years, probably its most precious possession.
If she couldn’t get the antidote, splitting open this clam demon and giving the pearl to Sui Yihuan as a hair ornament wouldn’t be bad either. There was no more dazzling spiritual object in the nine continents. Su Mingxiu felt that even the inner core of the merfolk in the sea would be hard-pressed to match its brilliance.
A tremor came from the whole world.
As if the sky was about to collapse and the earth was about to sink. Xuan Chan, who was living a happy married life with Xiao Xingwei and had become the wife of the new Sword Sect Leader, felt this tremor and instinctively felt her heart tremble as well. Her intuition gave her a hint, but she chose to bury her head in Xiao Xingwei’s arms:
“Husband, save me! What happened to the sect?”
“Lingling…”
Her husband didn’t say anything. Instead, the golden bell that her master had given her shook and rang, and the rhythm became faster and faster. Finally, it shattered her beautiful dream.
In the gray Zhenhai Tower, Xuan Chan woke up from her thousand-year dream, her face pale, just in time to meet Xiao Xingwei’s gaze, who had been beside her when she entered the illusion.
This Sword Sect leader had not yet grown into the obedient husband from her dream, but he still had the youthful spirit that fascinated her. Xuan Chan hid the beautiful dream in her heart and tentatively said, “Brother Xiao?”
Xiao Xingwei thought about the content of his illusion earlier. He had been very eager to save her when he went to rescue her, but now he took the initiative to look away, even taking a few steps back, and then looked around, “Yes, we may have been trapped in an illusion earlier. If it hadn’t been broken from the outside, we would probably have died inside. I wonder which expert…”
He suddenly stopped.
His gaze focused on one spot.
Xuan Chan followed his gaze and saw the figure standing on top of a black mountain. Only the edges of her outer robe seemed to be stained with ink, but blood-red plum blossoms bloomed on her body. Her face was like the snow of the Heavenly Mountain, her black eyes like the stars in the night sky, and she held an exceptionally large pearl in her palm.
To call it a pearl was truly an understatement. The brilliance within it flowed, and anyone who saw it would know that it was a peerless treasure, and their hearts would be stirred.
But in the next second, all the gazes that peeked at the pearl felt an overwhelming killing intent, like a five-fingered mountain pressing down. Xuan Chan couldn’t dodge in time, and the bell on her wrist rang urgently. Although it blocked some of the killing intent for her, she still felt her blood churn, and a fishy sweetness welled up in her throat.
The person whose outer robe was stained with blood withdrew her warning gaze from them. It was at this moment that Xuan Chan shook her head and finally recognized who the owner of that gaze was—
Su Mingxiu.
She was still alive…
No, why did she already possess such power? Did she really collude with the demon race and practice evil techniques?
Xuan Chan felt both jealous and a little relieved. She secretly pulled Xiao Xingwei’s sleeve and transmitted her voice to him, regardless of his complicated gaze.
These were not things that Su Mingxiu cared about. She had suffered internal injuries. Although her expression wasn’t obvious, her face was as pale as paper, and her lips had no color at all.
But she still had to suppress those cultivators who had come out of the illusion.
Otherwise, those who coveted the treasure, and those who recognized her face, might attack her all at once. Although she still had the strength, she didn’t want to fight anymore, and she didn’t want Sui Yihuan to get involved in this.
Thinking of this, her mind raced. She instantly returned to Sui Yihuan’s side, casually waved her right hand, and swept away the bloodstains on the fan, which was covered in sword energy but still broken by the clam shell. After drawing a long bloodstain on the ground, she handed it to the other party with a slight apology, “Sorry, I was very careful, but it’s still a little damaged. I’ll find someone to repair it for you later.”
Sui Yihuan looked at the Lake Light Fan, which had withstood the frantic swordsmanship of a Great Ascension cultivator and was still not completely shattered. Her eyes were complicated for a moment, but she still shook her head, “Keep it with you for now.”
First, Su Mingxiu didn’t seem to have any handy weapons. Second, she didn’t really want to face this silver fan right now.
Su Mingxiu didn’t ask further, knowing that her defenses were still up. She touched the corner of her eye with her clean left fingertip, looking at her demonic pupils that hadn’t faded yet, and asked with concern, “Are you alright?”
By reversing and directing the flow of her bloodline, Sui Yihuan kept the love poison only on the surface of her skin, preventing it from penetrating deeper.
Although it was much better than before, she was still poisoned. Her surface temperature was very high, and… her skin was hundreds of times more sensitive than usual.
Su Mingxiu’s light touch on her cheek felt like a hard scratch. If it was just pain, it would be fine, but it was mixed with a strange pleasure. If Sui Yihuan hadn’t bitten her lip in time, she would have made a sound from that touch.
She took a big step back as if avoiding a plague god. Just as she was about to reply “I’m fine,” she met Su Mingxiu’s slightly dimmed gaze. Somehow, she raised her hand and after a while, it landed on the other person’s sleeve.
Sui Yihuan gently held onto her, not daring to look at her, her gaze fixed on the bloodstains on her body, “Are… are you alright?”
Su Mingxiu looked at her holding her sleeve like a child and chuckled. She didn’t answer the question, but only said, “Since you’re fine, let’s take the last treasure on this floor and go out.”
“What treasure?”
“The evil jiao.”
Sui Yihuan: “…?”
Was this something that could be described with the word “take”?
She widened her eyes slightly and followed Su Mingxiu. A moment later, when she saw the dying evil jiao, which could only be described as barely clinging to life, she realized that Su Mingxiu’s words were not wrong.
After all… such a severely injured monster, even though Su Mingxiu was also injured, her Great Ascension cultivation was enough to kill it. Facing this black jiao, which was a treasure trove, their actions were like picking up scraps.
When they were spit out by Zhenhai Tower after eliminating the monster on the same floor, Sui Yihuan was still a little dazed, unable to believe that this dangerous journey to the secret realm had ended in such a way for the two of them?
She was still thinking about the black jiao when she discovered that she and Su Mingxiu had randomly appeared in a place surrounded by a group of cultivators.
“Fat sheep—”
The rogue cultivator waiting there revealed a ferocious smile. Just as he said these two words, he was stunned by Su Mingxiu and Sui Yihuan’s faces. Before he could reveal their identities, Su Mingxiu grabbed his neck, took his interspatial bag, erased the divine sense mark, and threw it to Sui Yihuan.
“Here, a fat sheep. See if there’s anything useful for you.”
Sui Yihuan: ?
She looked at Su Mingxiu in a daze, seeing how naturally she acted like a bandit. Holding the interspatial bag, she didn’t know what to do, looking a little silly. Fortunately, Su Mingxiu didn’t care. After throwing the person away, she put on her cloak again, and taking Sui Yihuan with her, they used the shrinking ground spell and headed south.
Until they smelled the salty sea breeze outside Zhenhai City.
“Have you decided where you want to go?” The cloak rustled in the sea breeze. Su Mingxiu didn’t wear a hood, only hiding her spiritual power. When she asked her with a smile, her long black hair was blown onto her cheeks, and the mole at the corner of her eye was hidden and revealed by her hair as she smiled.
Sui Yihuan was stunned for a moment and shook her head, “Anywhere is fine.”
That’s what she said.
“Why don’t you want to go home anymore?” Su Mingxiu leaned closer. The long hair that was originally only blowing on her face now playfully reached towards Sui Yihuan’s face and neck.
For ordinary people, it was just a slightly itchy feeling, but for her, it was like being touched by hundreds of hands. She immediately took a big step back, and a blush crept up her face.
She almost forgot what Su Mingxiu had said. She was just stimulated by this reaction, and thinking of everything in Zhenhai Tower, she asked in return, “Don’t you mind? I’m a demon.”
“You just have demon blood, or something else from the demon race. But this doesn’t mean you’re an unforgivable demon. These changes are things you didn’t notice and couldn’t choose—but what kind of existence you become is something you can choose.”
Su Mingxiu narrowed her eyes, looking at the blush that had spread to her collarbone. She gritted her teeth slightly, but her voice was very gentle.
“No.”
Sui Yihuan’s expression turned cold, as if separated from her body’s reactions. Her eyes were icy, but her cheeks were flushed. She didn’t know how charming this contradictory expression looked on her pure face. She just answered in a cold voice, “I can no longer choose.”
Since leaving the Qiangshan Sect and recalling those nightmares, she could no longer choose what kind of person she wanted to be. She was covered in sins. Even if she climbed up the cliff, no one would accept her.
She couldn’t forgive herself either.
Because the emotions in her tone were too heavy, Su Mingxiu had to put away her thoughts that were attracted by her appearance. She observed her thoughtfully for a moment, feeling that this change in her should be related to what happened in the Qiangshan Sect.
She barely managed to sort out her emotions and answered formally, “You haven’t looked back at the road you came from carefully, how do you know you don’t have a choice?”
“Be good.”
“I’ll go back to the Qiangshan Sect with you. No matter what your final choice is, and no matter whether you cultivate immortality or become a demon in the future, even if your soul is scattered, I’ll be with you, okay?”
Sui Yihuan saw the hand she extended towards her.
If it were before, no matter what, she would try her best to grab it. But this time, she just looked at it and even took half a step back.
Not good.
She answered in her heart.
At that moment, the thick clouds on the sea happened to part, and the sunlight breaking through the blockade turned into a golden pillar, projected down from the sky. When it hit the sea surface, it formed golden rings of sparkling waves.
Falling in front of the cliff by the sea and enveloping Su Mingxiu, it was a holy, righteous golden light that no one dared to violate.
She was so powerful that there was no need for her to fall with her.
She could return to her original path if it weren’t for her burdening her.
Sui Yihuan looked at her face and had never felt so clearly before… A thought gradually became clear in her mind.
—She wanted Su Mingxiu to walk uprightly in the nine continents, just like when she was the Senior Sister of the Hundred Flower Sect, with a bright future ahead of her.
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