Chapter 75: Disciple and Wife
Pointing at Tao Ning, Xiao Haoran declared, his voice filled with righteous indignation, “Tao Ning is a spy sent by the Demon Lord! She killed Er Lan, and she tried to kill me!”
Chu Jingtong added, his voice smooth and insidious, “Such a ruthless and depraved individual… How could the Hanshan Sect be so blind?”
Their coordinated attack shifted the blame squarely onto the Hanshan Sect, its reputation now at stake.
A cultivator spoke up, his voice echoing through the arena. “If that’s true, then this demon spy cannot remain within the Hanshan Sect. She should be imprisoned in the Cloud Soaring Palace, known for its impartiality, until the truth is revealed.”
Ling Huabi, the Young Mistress, sitting on the viewing platform, her face veiled, her lips twitching beneath the silk, was startled.
Her mother hadn’t mentioned anything about this.
Who had started the rumor about the Cloud Soaring Palace’s impartiality? They had simply imprisoned a few particularly troublesome cultivators. Did they think her sect was some kind of interdimensional police force?
Jin Jiamu, her voice filled with alarm, protested, “Imprison my fellow disciple? No! She saved my life!”
Ling Huabi, taken aback, retorted, “Who said anything about imprisoning anyone? Does the Cloud Soaring Palace look like it has time for such trivial matters?”
“This is a setup! A deliberate frame-up!” Jin Jiamu was worried. She had heard about the extinguished soul lamp, but she hadn’t expected it to be blamed on Tao Ning.
Ling Huabi, her own annoyance growing, wondered who was giving her that unsettling look.
She glared back.
Xiao Haoran, noticing the Young Mistress, and catching her glare, quickly said, “The Cloud Soaring Palace is known for its fairness. Their involvement will ensure a just outcome.”
His words weren’t reassuring. Another cultivator shouted, “Why bother with investigations? Demonic techniques are treacherous and unpredictable! She should be executed immediately!”
He leaped onto the platform, launching a full-powered attack, his Nascent Soul cultivation evident in the force of the blow, clearly intending to kill.
Tao Ning’s eyes narrowed, her mind already calculating the most efficient method of eliminating this threat.
Cen Dianshuang, unable to tolerate this any longer, acted.
A flash of white, and a sword landed before Tao Ning, intercepting the attack. Cen Dianshuang, her movements a blur, met the cultivator’s attack head-on. He was no match for her, sent flying backwards, landing heavily on the ground below.
Cen Dianshuang shielded Tao Ning, her voice cold and sharp. “Anyone else?”
The cultivator, spitting blood, shouted, “See?! The Hanshan Sect is protecting her!”
Tao Ning, her gaze fixed on Cen Dianshuang’s back, whispered, “Master…”
Cen Dianshuang, glancing sideways, her eyes still fixed on the crowd, said softly, “Don’t worry. I won’t let them take you.”
With the first attack launched, more followed, but Lizhu remained defiant.
“I won’t hand her over. And I won’t hand over the cauldron. If you want to cause trouble in the Hanshan Sect, you’ll have to face Nanping first.”
She raised her sword, its blade shimmering, and her disciples followed suit, their combined aura silencing the growing dissent.
Despite her years as Sect Leader, her focus on administrative duties, Lizhu was still a powerful sword cultivator, her cultivation at the peak of Void Refining.
And this was Hanshan Sect territory. Several reclusive Body Integration elders resided within the sect. Provoking the Hanshan Sect was a dangerous gamble.
Unless someone present was more powerful than Lizhu, more senior, more influential.
The Abbot of the Ascending Buddha Sect stood up, chanting a Buddhist prayer. “Sect Leader Lizhu, if you truly believe your disciple is innocent, then sending her to the Cloud Soaring Palace is simply a way to prove it. Actions speak louder than words.”
Lizhu scoffed. “Actions speak louder than words? You’re already accusing us before any investigation. If she leaves, will she ever return? Or will we simply receive a ‘suicide note’ closing the case?”
The Heavenly Heart Sect’s Young Master declared loudly, “You’re projecting your own guilt, Lizhu! Your Hanshan Sect is a haven for demons!”
A Heavenly Heart Sect disciple began, “But she…” He was quickly silenced and dragged away.
The Grand Elder shook his head. “You’re too young to understand. Stay out of this.”
Zhuang Shimei, pulling away from his elder’s grasp, protested, “But without her, I wouldn’t even be here today!”
The Grand Elder shook his head again. “These are the Sect Leader’s orders.”
The clamor continued, their demands unwavering: hand over the demon spy, Tao Ning, and the Wanhun Cauldron.
The Demonic Realm Saintess, hidden among the crowd, slipped away, heading towards the Hanshan Sect’s forbidden grounds.
The Hanshan Sect’s stance was clear: they wouldn’t yield.
Giving in now would only invite further demands.
Tao Ning, her gaze sweeping over the crowd, her expression serious, felt a strange mix of familiarity and something else… she couldn’t quite name.
Someone standing before her, defending her… The feeling was unfamiliar.
520, panicking, its voice echoing in her mind, said, 【What are we going to do?! I should have advised you against this world! It’s too difficult! This is all my fault! I miscalculated the risk! This isn’t a mission for a newbie!】
Its host was only on her second mission, her cultivation still low, a mere Golden Core, far weaker than her true form.
Failing the mission was one thing, but it was genuinely worried about the potential psychological trauma.
Tao Ning: “Don’t worry about me.”
Two voices, spoken simultaneously, unheard by each other, yet echoing the same sentiment.
Cen Dianshuang/520: “How can I not worry?”
Tao Ning: “…”
520, near tears: 【I wish I could afford to upgrade you to your true form!】
Xiao Haoran exchanged a look with Chu Jingtong, who nodded subtly.
Xiao Haoran, having started the fire, now added more fuel. “If Sect Leader Lizhu refuses, there’s another way.”
He held up a mirror. “This is the Cycle Mirror. It reveals one’s true form, exposing all demons and disguised entities.”
He hadn’t mentioned its other function: reversing time.
This demon spy was barely three hundred years old. Reversing her age by two hundred years would reduce her to a newly initiated Qi Refining cultivator. He would finally have his revenge for the stolen artifacts.
And in the ensuing chaos, they would claim the Wanhun Cauldron.
Without waiting for a response, he tossed the mirror into the air, flipping it.
Simultaneously, Chu Jingtong sent a wave of spiritual energy towards the mirror, activating it.
The small, palm-sized mirror expanded rapidly, growing to the size of a person.
Lizhu and the other Hanshan Sect elders paled, Lizhu instinctively raising her sword to destroy the mirror, her reaction only fueling the suspicions of the crowd.
Only those falsely accused knew the true meaning of innocence. But Lizhu’s reaction was unexpected.
Could we be right?
A voice boomed through the arena. “Lizhu! You claim innocence! How do you explain this?!”
Lizhu, her brow furrowed, didn’t answer, Elder Qianlian silently summoning her hammer, Elder Yaodan and the others also drawing their spirit weapons.
They were ready to fight.
The Cycle Mirror’s light intensified, a blinding purple light erupting from the platform, followed by the oppressive aura of a Mahayana cultivator.
Unrestrained, its power sent those with weaker cultivation staggering back, clutching their chests, their faces pale as they hastily activated their protective barriers.
Some were sent flying, coughing up blood.
But no one looked away from the platform, their weapons drawn, their gazes fixed on the figure bathed in light.
Such power… who was this Tao Ning?
“What’s happening?! What did you do to the mirror?!” Chu Jingtong, his dantian aching, now facing centuries of recovery, demanded.
Xiao Haoran, equally stunned, stammered, “I… I don’t know! Isn’t this your… the Beast King’s…?”
As the light faded, the Cycle Mirror, still hovering in mid-air, revealed the true occupants of the platform.
The sight made the onlookers gasp. “How…?”
They had been standing one behind the other, Cen Dianshuang in front, Tao Ning, in her simple green robes, behind her.
Now, their positions were reversed. Cen Dianshuang, in white, stood behind a woman in a magnificent purple robe, her aura powerful and unsettling.
Their hands were still touching, Cen Dianshuang’s resting on her former disciple’s arm, but the texture beneath her fingers wasn’t the worn silver wristband, but smooth, cool silk.
Cen Dianshuang looked up, her gaze fixed on the woman before her, who now towered over her.
“You…”
The same face, yet… different. Older, more mature, the subtle differences creating a vast chasm between the disciple she knew and the woman standing before her now.
Tao Ning, caught off guard, had been focused on concealing Cen Dianshuang’s true form. As a human cultivator, Cen Dianshuang’s reflection would have revealed her demonic nature. Tao Ning, however, wouldn’t be affected.
But the mirror had reversed their ages, transporting them back two hundred years.
She smiled apologetically, the expression strained, forced.
“Sorry. I tried to maintain my younger appearance, but…”
Cen Dianshuang, confused, began, “What…?”
Then, Tao Ning turned, flicking her wrist, and Poheng emerged from her sleeve.
A divine artifact, Poheng was unmatched, its power now fully unleashed by its master’s restored cultivation, capable of shattering mountains.
520, stunned, stared at its status panel. 【Did… did my wish come true?】 It checked its points balance. Unchanged. So the Cycle Mirror… or whatever it is… summoned the Host’s true form without spending any points? What a helpful artifact!
Two hundred years ago, Qingji had been at the peak of Mahayana, unmatched in the three realms. This was bad.
Chu Jingtong, seeing the approaching sword, turned to flee, but managed only a single step before a sharp pain pierced his chest.
Looking down, he saw a sword tip protruding from his dantian, slowly retracting.
No fancy techniques, just brute force, shattering his core, his carefully cultivated demon core cracking, releasing centuries of accumulated energy.
He collapsed, his fall eliciting a chorus of screams.
“That’s… that’s not human!”
The figure lying on the ground wasn’t Chu Jingtong, but a five-tailed fox, its red fur matted with blood.
Xiao Haoran, tripped by a fallen chair, watched in horror as the Chi Fox prince reverted to his true form, then… died.
“Dead…?” He scrambled to his feet, turning to flee.
What’s happening?! This isn’t how it’s supposed to go! The Heavenly Book didn’t mention any of this!
Poheng, however, was faster, catching him, its blade piercing his dantian, pinning him to the ground.
It happened so fast that the others barely registered it, only seeing the body fall face-first onto the ground.
A hand, emerging from a wide sleeve, its fingers long and slender, like polished jade, reached down, gripping the sword hilt, withdrawing the heavy blade, its surface clean, not a trace of blood.
Tao Ning landed gracefully beside the body, Poheng, a heavy, unwieldy weapon, now light as a feather in her hand.
No one saw the flicker of spiritual energy that extinguished Xiao Haoran’s soul, or the small object she retrieved from his spatial pouch.
But no one cared about the two now-silent troublemakers. Their gazes, filled with fear and awe, were fixed on the woman in purple.
The space around her cleared, the onlookers backing away, wishing they could be even further, outside the arena, if possible.
A safe distance.
“Who… who are you, Senior?”
Tao Ning, turning, her gaze sweeping over the crowd, a faint smile playing on her lips, replied, “You’re asking me?”
Lizhu, after all these years, finally recognized the profile, the once-vague memory of a retreating figure now clear, overlapping perfectly with the woman standing before her.
Her legs weakened, and she leaned heavily on Nanping, her voice a trembling whisper. “Grand… Grand Ancestor…?”
Elder Qianlian, standing nearby, overheard her, repeating the word in disbelief. “Grand Ancestor?”
Elder Yaodan, still puzzled by the silent bell, realizing that Chu Jingtong wasn’t who he claimed to be, his eyes widening in sudden understanding, exclaimed, “No way! Grand Ancestor?!”
The whispers spread, reaching the Cloud Soaring Palace delegation.
Ling Huabi nudged Jin Jiamu, who was staring at Tao Ning, her face pale. “Isn’t that your fellow disciple? She seems… different.”
The bloodstains on her lips hadn’t fully faded, but they didn’t diminish her enjoyment of the unfolding drama.
Jin Jiamu, also sporting a bloody lip, stammered, “She… she was my fellow disciple… But now… I don’t know!”
What have I done?! I treated Grand Ancestor Qingji like… a friend! I even called her by her name! Repeatedly!
And I stole her chicken leg…
Jin Jiamu felt her soul leaving her body.
Finally, someone understood the meaning of Lizhu’s words, their face paling as they exclaimed, “Such power! And Sect Leader Lizhu addressed her as Grand Ancestor! There’s only one person with such cultivation: Demon Lord Qingji!”
“What?!”
Tao Ning didn’t deny it, her purple robes shimmering, a smile playing on her lips, but not reaching her eyes.
Cen Dianshuang’s heart pounded in her chest.
She wanted to say something, but her mind was a blank, her thoughts scattered, the world around her blurring, the ground beneath her feet unsteady, as if she were floating on clouds.
Then, she realized it wasn’t just her. The entire Hanshan Sect was shaking.
Just as one crisis ended, another began.
A figure, moving swiftly and silently, landed at the entrance to the forbidden grounds, the swirling mist parting before her.
The Demonic Realm Saintess had come to awaken the Wanhun Cauldron. She carried an artifact imbued with Demon Lord Qingji’s aura.
Qingji, upon abandoning the Refining Fire Palace and leaving the Demonic Realm, had seemingly left nothing behind. The current Demon Lord, however, had eventually found an artifact carrying a trace of her essence.
A jade pendant, once used as the focal point of a spirit gathering formation, its surface smooth and polished, reflecting the light, its simple elegance a stark contrast to the Demonic Realm’s preference for ornate designs.
The Saintess, holding the pendant, which she had carried for some time, was once again struck by its beauty.
Taking a deep breath, she channeled her spiritual energy into the pendant.
The Wanhun Cauldron, sensing its master’s call, despite the heavy guard and the powerful formations, broke free, its escape unstoppable.
The Saintess’s face lit up with triumph. “The Demon Lord was right. This worked!”
She reached out to catch the cauldron, but it flew past her, soaring into the sky.
The Saintess: “…?” What’s happening?
Why did it just… leave?
The Hanshan Sect cultivators, pursuing the cauldron, exchanged bewildered glances with the Saintess. A female cultivator, drawing her sword, demanded, “Who are you? Why are you in our forbidden grounds?”
The Saintess: …Me? Would they believe me if I said I was just passing through?
Back in the arena, the cultivators turned towards the mountain gate.
The tremors weren’t coming from the forbidden grounds, but from the gate itself. Someone was attacking the protective formation.
A small cauldron appeared in the sky, and someone pointed, shouting, “What is that?!”
Emerging from within the Hanshan Sect, its appearance unmistakable, its aura radiating power… it was the Wanhun Cauldron, answering its master’s call, breaking through the formations, flying towards her.
Amidst the stunned silence, the cauldron landed gently in Tao Ning’s hand, the long-lost artifact reunited with its master, Demon Lord Qingji.
Not only were their plans ruined, but their lives were now in danger.
She was Demon Lord Qingji. Devouring a few hundred cultivators to replenish her strength wouldn’t be unusual.
Tao Ning, after a moment, soothed the cauldron’s agitated spirit, then tucked it into her sleeve.
She looked at the assembled cultivators, her hands spread wide, a faint smile playing on her lips. “I intended to leave the Wanhun Cauldron sealed away in the Hanshan Sect’s forbidden grounds. But now… I doubt it will stay put, don’t you agree?”
Something even more terrifying than the return of Demon Lord Qingji had just happened. The Wanhun Cauldron had returned to its master.
The cultivators: “…”
Her seemingly lighthearted words sent shivers down their spines, their hearts pounding with fear.
They were trapped.
A disciple, his face pale, rushed into the arena, bowing deeply. “Sect… Sect Leader! The Demonic Realm is attacking!”
Lizhu, ignoring her trembling legs, stood up, drawing her sword. “Who is it?”
Before the disciple could answer, a booming laugh echoed from above.
A man in black armor, riding a massive dragon, hovered above the mountain gate, his voice echoing through the Hanshan Sect. “Hand over the Wanhun Cauldron, and I’ll grant you a swift death.”
The cultivators instantly recognized him.
“Demon Lord Tu Ming?! What’s he doing here?!”
“Is there something wrong with the Hanshan Sect’s feng shui? Why do they attract so many demons?”
“Are you insane?! Demon Lord Qingji is right here!”
“The former Demon Lord and the current Demon Lord… If Qingji is unleashed…!” Before he could finish, he was sent flying, his body crashing against a nearby platform.
The two disciples sparring on the platform quickly jumped down, not daring to stand higher than Qingji.
The earlier clamor died down. Those who had dared to disrespect the Demon Lord had learned their lesson.
Tu Ming had come prepared. His followers were attacking the protective formation, their combined power weakening it.
The formation’s power had been reduced for the disciple competition, creating an opportunity for the invaders.
Enemies at the gate, a demon lord within… what were they supposed to do?
Tao Ning, once again the center of attention, said casually, “Carry on. You can ignore me.”
The cultivators: …Easy for you to say.
Lizhu raised Nanping, her voice ringing with authority. “The Demonic Realm is attacking! We must unite and defend our home!”
Since Lizhu was willing to overlook the current situation and focus on the external threat, they readily agreed, collectively ignoring the Demon Lord standing beside them, following Lizhu towards the mountain gate.
The arena emptied quickly, though a few remained.
Tao Ning, stepping over the bodies, descended the platform, her movements unhurried, her gaze fixed on Cen Dianshuang.
The figure approaching, tall and elegant, her black hair flowing like a dark cloud, her purple robes shimmering, Poheng held loosely in her hand, was familiar. Her face, her walk, her weapon… Yet, Cen Dianshuang felt a sense of distance… a coldness she hadn’t sensed before.
Tao Ning stopped before the platform, extending her hand, her voice soft, her eyes filled with something Cen Dianshuang couldn’t quite decipher. “Coming?”
Cen Dianshuang began, “You…”
Tao Ning’s expression softened, a hint of regret in her eyes. “I shouldn’t have deceived you. I never imagined it would come to this. But my feelings are real. I truly… care for you.”
Cen Dianshuang: “…”
Tao Ning’s hand remained outstretched. Cen Dianshuang, instead of taking it, jumped down from the platform, instantly regretting her impulsive action.
Facing the legendary Demon Lord, her legs weakened, and she stumbled, caught by Tao Ning’s quick reflexes.
Tao Ning’s voice was filled with concern. “Are you alright?”
Cen Dianshuang, her head spinning, pulled away, shaking her head. “I’m fine. I can stand. I just need a moment.”
This was all too much, too overwhelming.
Tao Ning, her hand retracting, her eyes downcast, her expression suggesting “hurt” didn’t offer excuses or reassurances.
She simply stood there, waiting, accepting whatever came next.
Cen Dianshuang watched her like this, and something unfamiliar twisted in her chest
Love was a difficult emotion to control. Even if silenced, it found other ways to express itself, a flicker in the eyes, a softening of the gaze.
Tao Ning turned and walked away, her back radiating loneliness.
Cen Dianshuang called out instinctively, “Where are you going?”
Tao Ning stopped, turning back, her expression innocent. “To kill Tu Ming. He’s attacking our sect.”
Cen Dianshuang: “…”
Her mind, still reeling from the recent revelations, had almost forgotten the demon lord at their doorstep.
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