“Why do you want to kill Dai Dai? What did Heavenly Dao send you here for?”
The black-clothed young man arched an eyebrow. “So you’ve managed to guess it’s Heavenly Dao? Hmm, it seems I didn’t misjudge you.”
His words were cryptic, and Su Xuan, unwilling to waste more time, lunged at him.
The black-clothed young man remained calm, only dodging and not counterattacking.
“You’re so eager to fight me, but I’m here to show you something. Su Xuan, don’t you want to see it?”
“Get lost.”
The black-clothed young man curved his eyes into a smile. He caught Su Xuan’s Hellfire blade but reappeared behind Su Xuan in an instant, slashing directly at his back.
The Qingwu Sword flipped over, its blade intercepting the curved blade formed of black qi.
Su Xuan teleported to the ground. After seeing the man’s techniques, murderous intent erupted in the depths of his glazed eyes.
The black-clothed young man did not descend but remained suspended in the void, his thin lips curving slightly. “Su Xuan, do you know why the Weisheng family was annihilated back then?”
Su Xuan’s voice was as cold as ice. “Why?”
“Because of Sang Dai,” the black-clothed young man said with a smile. “Because Sang Dai is immune to the Four Sufferings’ corruption. Therefore, the Four Sufferings sought to kill Sang Dai. The people driven mad by the Four Sufferings all joined forces to kill Sang Dai. That’s why the Weisheng family was annihilated.”
Su Xuan’s thin lips were tightly pressed together. He appeared expressionless, but the hand hidden in his sleeve slowly clenched, trembling faintly.
“Su Xuan, I can tell you very clearly: in the new destiny Ling Yin foresaw, Sang Dai is still the first among you seven Heaven-grade spiritual root awakeners to die. She will truly be hunted down and killed in the Guixu.”
His tone rose at the end, as if he found this an enjoyable matter, uttering it in a playful, mocking manner.
“And you—you’ll be by her side, dying with her. Everyone around Sang Dai will die. Su Xuan, what do you think will happen if I reveal the truth about the Four Sufferings and Sang Dai’s identity? Do you think the Four Realms will unite to hunt her down?”
Su Xuan’s hand trembled uncontrollably, his long lashes quivered slightly, and his pupils contracted sharply.
Would they?
Of course, they would.
Human nature is the most fragile thing under scrutiny. Sang Dai, the only one immune to the poison of the Four Sufferings, and the one who could destroy the Guixu Immortal Realm, was the greatest threat to the cultivation world.
A Heaven-grade spiritual root awakener dying was insignificant.
But the Guixu Immortal Realm, the foundation of the Four Realms, absolutely could not fall.
“So, as long as I reveal this, Sang Dai is doomed.”
The black-clothed young man smiled faintly. “Because you’re too weak. You’re only at the early Grand Ascension stage, and so is she. How will you survive?”
“You haven’t even reached the Tribulation Stage. How many strikes of the 81 Heavenly Thunder Tribulation can you withstand? And with so many powerful beings in the Four Realms, killing two Grand Ascension stage cultivators like you would be effortless. Do you understand this simple truth?”
He should have remained calm. He knew the man was likely saying all this to provoke him. Yet, when Su Xuan heard those words, he couldn’t suppress his fury.
The annihilation of the Weisheng family was because of Sang Dai. If she ever learned this truth, it would be unbearable for her.
And even more crucial—
If Sang Dai’s connection to the Four Sufferings were exposed, and as the only person capable of destroying the Guixu Immortal Realm, Sang Dai…
She would undoubtedly be hunted down by the Four Realms.
Everything Ling Yin foresaw would come to pass.
Su Xuan tightly pressed his lips together and released the clenched fist in his sleeve. His handsome face was devoid of emotion as his black robes were swallowed by the surrounding darkness.
Suddenly, he smiled. “You’re right. This is a secret that must not be known by outsiders.”
Hellfire surged outward from his feet, the heavy flames stirring his dark robes as his silver hair danced in the heat waves.
In the blink of an eye, Su Xuan teleported in front of the man.
His slightly upturned fox-like eyes curved in a smile that didn’t reach their icy depths, filled instead with glacial coldness.
He summoned the Qingwu sword in a backhand motion, the blade entwined with Hellfire, and thrust it straight through the man’s abdomen.
“Then I’ll just kill you. If you die, no one will know.”
Thick black qi poured from the black-clothed young man’s pierced abdomen. He glanced up at the thickening clouds gathering in the sky and smiled faintly.
“Alright.” His voice remained light and cheerful. “Then kill me.”
“Su Xuan, if I die, no one will know this secret.”
So what if Su Xuan knew the man was deliberately provoking him?
Su Xuan had only one thought—kill him.
If he killed him, no one would ever know about Sang Dai’s connection to the Four Sufferings. The Four Realms would not unite to hunt her down, and everything would be buried with them. Sang Dai would never die.
No one could kill her.
—
Though the night was late, the city was far from peaceful.
Vines burst forth from the ground, splitting into two, then into four, multiplying into thousands that slithered through the alleyways of Linglong Town.
Inside the Feihua Pavilion, the atmosphere was lively with singing and dancing. Cultivators sat in the hall, drinking.
One of them, drunk, muttered, “The Sect Master of the Sword Sect, Shen Ciyu, suffered a major setback in his mental state and went to the City Lord’s Mansion to ask Lord Wu for help to repair it. With their relationship, we should wait until his mental state is restored before hosting a banquet here. Only then can we seek Lord Wu’s help with our own mental states.”
“Shen Sect Master’s mental state has deteriorated so much—will Lord Wu even have the strength left to help us repair ours? I came to Linglong Town… just for him.”
“I don’t know, but he’s already announced that there will be a banquet here. He’ll definitely come. We just have to wait.”
Liu Lixue was too annoyed by the noise to sleep. Sitting by the window, he gazed into the distance. It had been hours past midnight, yet he had no idea if Su Xuan had learned anything or if Sang Dai had managed to find out about the Chunying Sword.
The peacock’s face remained pale, and with his medicinal pills taken, he had nothing left to sustain his life force. He could only rely on the few pills in Sang Dai’s Qiankun Pouch to stabilize his meridians.
“Waiter, bring another pot of tea,” Liu Lixue said without turning his head, propping his chin on his hand and speaking in a calm tone.
The night wind blew in through the half-open window, brushing against his face, though he didn’t feel cold. Leaning on his hand, he tilted his head to look at the moon.
Dark clouds gradually swallowed the full moon. The moonlight, veiled by the heavy clouds, made the surroundings grow even dimmer.
Liu Lixue felt a flicker of doubt. The night should have been clear and starry. Where had these clouds come from?
Moreover, the clouds seemed to be hovering…
Wasn’t that near the City Lord’s Mansion?
Just as Liu Lixue reached for his tea, he noticed the table hadn’t been served with fresh tea.
“Waiter?”
He turned to look behind him.
Where there had been over a dozen people drinking, now…
Thick vines coiled around their necks, and their eyes were wide with terror, staring at Liu Lixue.
In the distance, a trembling cultivator who had been drinking drew his sword, about to strike at the vines. Liu Lixue slammed his hand on the table and stood.
“Don’t use spiritual energy!”
But it was too late. The sword cultivator’s energy surged into his blade, and the sword light slashed toward the vines.
One vine snapped, but even more sprouted in its place. As if sensing something, the vines suddenly shifted direction, lunging at him.
Leaves on the vines grew fangs, and two enormous leaves opened and closed, engulfing the man. His scream was abruptly cut off.
The sound of chewing was horrifying, and the cultivators in the Feihua Pavilion were thrown into panic.
Liu Lixue immediately shouted, “Don’t use spiritual energy!”
He had not been mistaken—these vines showed no interest in mortals. It was only when spiritual energy was used that the black qi entwined with it would provoke them, instantly igniting their killing intent. At the time, Liu Lixue had seen it clearly: the moment he activated his spiritual energy, the vines went berserk.
The vines in the inn multiplied rapidly, creeping along the ground and occasionally climbing onto the cultivators’ bodies.
It seemed to be sniffing for something. The rogue cultivators trembled uncontrollably, instinctively wanting to fight back, but Liu Lixue stopped them.
“Let it sniff. If you don’t use spiritual energy, you won’t die!”
The vines fed only on the black qi. Their flesh and blood contained no black qi; only spiritual energy carried it.
The rogue cultivators had no idea who this red-clothed demon cultivator was, but when they saw the vines crawling onto Liu Lixue’s body, they watched as he stood motionless, his thin lips pressed tight. Even as the vine’s leaves grew sharp fangs, brushing against his neck as though searching for the best place to bite, he remained still.
He refrained from activating spiritual energy and simply watched coldly as the vines coiled around him.
After a few breaths, the vine seemed to lose interest and listlessly withdrew from him.
Liu Lixue let out a long sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
He had gambled correctly.
The vines indeed fed only on the black qi within spiritual energy.
The rogue cultivators clenched their eyes shut, enduring the overwhelming fear. The entire inn was covered in vines, and screams continued to echo from upstairs.
The cultivators resting on the upper floors had no idea that spiritual energy should not be used. Awakened from their sleep by the sudden appearance of vines, they instinctively fought back. Their spiritual energy, laced with black qi, enraged the vines, turning them into prey.
Liu Lixue dared not use spiritual energy to transmit sound. His voice alone could not reach the upstairs cultivators, and he had no way to save them.
A quarter of an hour later, the inn fell into silence. Except for the mortals who lacked spiritual energy and the rogue cultivators in the main hall who remained motionless, blood dripped from the upper floors, flowing downward.
The vines, sensing that the rogue cultivators were essentially mortals without spiritual energy, lost all interest in them and sluggishly withdrew, slithering through the city in search of new prey.
Liu Lixue’s legs gave out, and he braced himself against the table to steady his body, gasping for air as his heart pounded like it would burst from his chest.
The surviving cultivators collapsed to the ground. Some broke down in tears, while others whispered their thanks.
“Thank you, Daoist friend… Thank you for saving our lives.”
Liu Lixue ignored them entirely. He looked out the window at the city, where the streets were filled with vines extending in all directions. Their presence was everywhere, and distant screams rang out incessantly.
The vines seemed to be searching for prey. The main vine was not present, and Liu Lixue hadn’t seen the blooming vine.
The vine that had attacked him earlier had shown sentience. The main vine had produced countless offshoots, some bearing flower buds yet to bloom. However, the vines currently roaming the city lacked flowers and buds.
They were devoid of self-awareness, driven solely by a hunger for the black qi in spiritual energy.
Liu Lixue glanced at the sky. The clouds had completely obscured the moonlight.
These weren’t rain clouds. They seemed more like…
Tribulation lightning.
Who was undergoing a tribulation?
He had no time to concern himself with that. Turning quickly, he leapt out the window, careful not to use spiritual energy, and ran swiftly toward the outskirts of the city.
If he remembered correctly, not far from the outskirts of Linglong Town was a sect belonging to the Zen Sect. If these vines truly intended to massacre the entire city tonight, with Su Xuan and Sang Dai each trapped and Tan Huai’s whereabouts unknown, he, a heavily injured Nascent Soul demon cultivator, would be utterly powerless. The only option was to seek reinforcements.
Liu Lixue leapt onto the rooftops, running toward the outskirts of the city while leaving a voice transmission for Su Xuan through the communication jade.
—
Sang Dai was facing thousands of cultivators.
She remained calm, her gaze fixed on Shi Yao at the end of the passage.
Behind Shi Yao stood Bi Fang.
To her right, slightly behind her, was a woman in purple, her appearance stunningly beautiful. It was a face Sang Dai had been familiar with for over a hundred years.
Sang Dai pressed her lips tightly together, her grip on her sword involuntarily tightening.