Having slipped out of that Demon’s line of sight, she tapped the ground with her toes, her speed slowing, her expression turning solemn.
The system had not dared to make a sound just now, but now it could not help asking, “Host, what’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “Nothing, it’s just that this Kunlun Sword… must be taken.”
“If I fail to take that Kunlun Sword, will he believe that I lack ability, or believe that I cannot bear to part with Kunlun?”
The system was very confused. “But Host, hasn’t the misunderstanding between you been cleared up?”
She said, “We turned against each other as enemies—do you think it was only because of a misunderstanding?”
“No, it’s our positions.”
Clearly, the system’s understanding of the words archenemies was far too shallow. All these years, because it had not been bound, the system had spent most of its time asleep, missing many of the things that had happened to her.
“Do you know how many times I crossed blades with him?”
At that time, if she did not make a move against that great Demon, people would die—not one person, but a group.
Even now, she would still recall the pale and stunned expression on the great Demon’s face when she first drew her sword.
Back then she did not understand the meaning behind it, until now, when she finally realized that the one who saved her in those days was him. He was indeed not a good person—just that the one act of kindness in his entire life had all been given to her.
At that time, what kind of feelings had that lawless great Demon held, when the person he had personally saved raised blade and sword against him? He must have thought she was an ungrateful wretch, which was why later he hated her to the extreme.
“Now that I say I’ve awakened in sudden realization and go to approach him, do you think he will believe it?”
Once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of a well rope.
In the past, she had protected Kunlun in every possible way, crossed blades with him countless times for Kunlun’s sake, never once giving him a pleasant look; just a few months ago, she had still spoken of slaying demons and exterminating evil, and now she turns around and wants to lay down the butcher’s knife toward him, smiling away all grudges?
The dignified lord of ten thousand demons—how could he be so easily fooled.
Shake hands and make peace, smile away all grudges?
Unless she had truly fallen into demonic cultivation, he would never believe it!
The system fell silent, because it realized that what the host said was very right.
The girl’s long hair was scattered by the wind. She sighed, tightened the large cloak that the great Demon had left her, and on her cool, aloof profile, a somewhat lost expression appeared for the first time.
Only when she heard a sound did she see Xiao Yanjing slowly crawling over. She reached out her hand and let Xiao Yanjing crawl onto her palm.
Xiao Yanjing hissed as it told her where the Kunlun Sword was located.
She listened quietly, lowering her eyes.
—In the end, telling her of the Kunlun Sword’s existence was because he did not want her to die.
Seeing her lost in thought, Xiao Yanjing could not help hissing to ask: What are you thinking about?
Could it be that this human hesitated? It would run off immediately to report!
She answered honestly, “Thinking about Yan Xueyi.”
Xiao Yanjing: ??
✦ ─ ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ ─ ✦
Chao Jinsui followed Xiao Yanjing’s guidance and walked toward the back mountain, but encountered someone she had expected.
It was Chao Zhaoyue.
He seemed to have been waiting for her for a long time, the tips of his hair still carrying the morning dew.
Her steps paused. “Now you don’t need to go change your bones anymore, so why are you still looking for me?”
She said calmly, “Chao Zhaoyue, I stirred up the opposition between the Su family and Kunlun, and ruined Chao Taichu’s carefully laid plans. Now that I’ve returned, do you think he will let me go?”
“You should think it through—between Kunlun and me, you can only choose one.”
He no longer looked as he usually did when teasing his younger sister. There was a hint of desolation in his figure as he met her gaze.
Clearly, he must have passed an extremely difficult night.
“There’s no need to choose anymore.”
“You killed Su Liuyun—there’s no turning back.”
Chao Zhaoyue had not slept all night. Alone, he returned to Mingyue Mountain, the place where the siblings had lived for a hundred years, and packed their things.
The spirit stones accumulated over the years, countless spiritual medicines, many sword techniques and secret manuals… even the rattle he had bought for her when she was little.
Although Chao Taichu had never favored them, he had not been stingy with material things. As the senior brother of the Kunlun Sword Sect, Chao Zhaoyue possessed no shortage of heavenly treasures and rare materials; Chao Jinsui was the sect master, her savings were abundant—there were over ten thousand spirit stones alone.
After leaving the Kunlun Sword Sect, Chao Zhaoyue could live the carefree wandering life of an independent cultivator. Roaming the world, sleeping in the open—it did not matter to him. But he understood his younger sister.
She looked calm, but was actually extremely particular—she would not touch anything but the finest spirit tea, would not wear anything but the finest silk, would not eat scallions, the spirit rice had to be produced in the Southern Frontier. She was meticulous about everything—and moreover, upright, never doing bad deeds.
He even brought two sets of her personal tea utensils.
Along the way, Chao Zhaoyue recounted all the arrangements he had made last night one by one—where Granny Yu would go in the future, where the dog on Mingyue Mountain would go to freeload for food…
Chao Zhaoyue was not a meticulous person, but remembering how his sister had worried about this and that since childhood, he unconsciously arranged everything.
He spoke thoroughly, and as expected, she immediately let out a sigh of relief.
He could not help but laugh softly, and together with her, walked toward the forbidden grounds of the Kunlun Sword Sect.
It was still early. Aside from those who had risen early to practice swordsmanship in the forest, everything was very quiet.
The Su family’s trouble had not yet been resolved, and Chao Taichu had likely not freed himself yet. They enjoyed this rare moment of peace.
After a long while, Chao Jinsui said softly, “Chao Zhaoyue, I had a dream. I dreamed that I was alone, dying miserably, without even anyone to collect my corpse.”
Chao Zhaoyue wanted to tell her not to say such inauspicious things.
But when he saw the expression on her face, he stopped himself.
The aura around him suddenly changed, his fingers tightening. “I won’t let you die.”
She lifted her head and looked straight at him.
“But you died before me. No one stood behind me, no one was willing to help me anymore.”
Silence fell.
Chao Zhaoyue’s tall figure was drawn tight, his expression solemn and cold.
“I won’t die before you.”
That was his promise.
The tense, drawn-sword atmosphere that had surrounded the siblings recently finally dissolved at this moment.
Chao Jinsui smiled faintly. “Now, I’m going to do something.”
“Dig up the ancestral graves—will you come with me?”
“I only just found out as well.”
“You’re right. I happen to be lacking a sword, and the Kunlun Sword is quite suitable.”
They had grown up in Kunlun, yet had never heard of any Kunlun Sword.
Chao Jinsui pointed to the foundation beneath their feet and whispered a few words to him.
—If that great Demon had not told her, she probably would never have thought of it.
Since childhood, Chao Jinsui had always been the most obedient and sensible one, never causing trouble—yet now she was telling Chao Zhaoyue that she wanted to pierce through the heavens.
His astonishment could be imagined.
There truly were ancestral graves. The forbidden grounds of the Kunlun Sword Sect were where the graves of past generations of ancestors were located—of course, the founding ancestor of the Kunlun Sword Sect was buried there as well.
Yan Xueyi had told her that if she wanted to obtain the Kunlun Sword, she had to go before the ancestor’s grave.
Disciples guarded both the inside and outside of the forbidden grounds, elders took turns keeping watch, and there were extremely ferocious formations all around.
She lifted her eyes. “Break in?”
Chao Zhaoyue tilted his head. “Break in.”
✦ ─ ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ ─ ✦
Today, the one guarding the forbidden grounds was the Grand Elder.
A familiar voice called out, “Grand Elder.” The Grand Elder did not sense any sword qi, and turned his head back without any guard.
The next second, he was knocked unconscious by a brick.
Although it was just a bluestone slab picked up from the ground, that strike was filled with full spiritual power.
The Grand Elder was dragged into the grass to one side.
When the other disciples heard the commotion and rushed over, Chao Zhaoyue stepped forward calmly. “No need to panic. Father sent me to relieve the Grand Elder.”
They looked at one another, clearly a little confused.
But when the senior brother of the Kunlun Sword Sect straightened his face, revealing displeasure, and swept his gaze over them, they immediately retreated obediently.
Behind him, Chao Jinsui’s figure flashed, and she rushed inside.
Chao Zhaoyue sat cross-legged in front of the stone stele of the forbidden grounds, the Lanyue Sword resting across his knees, with the imposing air of one man holding the pass against ten thousand.
They rotated every three days—there should be enough time.
A disciple hurried back from outside. “Senior Brother, there’s a disturbance in the barrier! Someone has broken in!”
Chao Zhaoyue asked him, what kind of disturbance? Like that?
The disciple immediately turned his head in the direction of his pointing finger and before he could react, was knocked unconscious by a brick from behind.
He lowered his head thoughtfully, and suddenly realized:
In this world, more useful than a sword… is a brick.
✦ ─ ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ ─ ✦
This was the forbidden grounds of the Kunlun Sword Sect, where all the ancestors were buried. A flood of demonic qi soaring to the heavens like a flood dragon naturally could not go too deep—only stopping at the outer perimeter of the forbidden grounds.
That Chao Jinsui was able to pass smoothly through the maze formed by the graves at the outer perimeter and step into the Giant Sword Formation was largely because of her identity as the Young Sect Master.
From afar, when Xiao Yanjing saw her figure disappear into the entrance, it immediately found a hidden corner to hide in and used the special communication between a natal spirit beast and its master to report everything.
At this very moment, thousands of li away—the Demon Realm.
The great Demon’s true body was at the very bottom level of the underground palace, watching the blazing flames as sparks rose upward in clusters.
And within that sea of flames, a figure was being burned, letting out cries of agonizing pain.
If Chao Jinsui were here, she would certainly recognize him—it was Su Liuyun.
Su Liuyun was indeed thoroughly dead, dead completely and cleanly.
That talk of “a soul burned by karmic fire cannot enter reincarnation and cannot be reborn”—of course he had lied to her.
The only method was: he personally dragged him out of reincarnation to burn him.
Cultivators exist within the Five Elements cycle of reincarnation; after death, they can still be reborn. It is only that upon reincarnating again, they would no longer possess great fortune, nor would they be Su Liuyun anymore.
But the ghost that should have long since entered reincarnation was now being painfully burned.
Even Chao Jinsui did not know that the path the Demon Lord cultivated was called the Asura Path.
After all, as the reincarnation of a demon god, cutting off a person’s path of reincarnation and taking away their chance of eternal rebirth was very difficult—but for Yan Xueyi, it was not something impossible.
Admiring Su Liuyun’s suffering within the flames, a smile hung at the corner of the young man’s lips, even a flicker of delight flashing through his eyes.
How could he let that pretty boy die so easily? After seizing the title of “life-saving benefactor” from him for so many years, he still wanted to enter reincarnation cleanly?
Only by being trapped in blazing fire, never to be reborn, suffering the torment of burning day after day—only then could it relieve the hatred in his heart.
The ghost inside seemed to be saying something. He tilted his head.
“You’re saying that if she knew I was this vicious, what would a life-saving grace matter? That she would never look at me again in the future?”
He smiled faintly, a flash of savage light passing through his crimson eyes.
Clearly, the vengefulness of the demon race was terrifying.
The next moment, the flames surged upward, burning the ghost inside until it was almost twisted into transparency.
The ghost inside frantically tried to escape, but it was only a strand of a dead, fragmented soul—completely unable to escape the searing flames, and could only gradually be devoured by the fire.
Not long after leaving the underground palace, Xiao Yanjing’s voice transmitted into his sea of consciousness.
At this moment, he was walking through darkness.
Tormenting that pretty boy had not been as satisfying as he had imagined. He began pondering which disobedient demon to kick into the Ten Thousand Demons Cave to vent his mood.
Xiao Yanjing reported everything truthfully. The lord of the Demon Realm listened absentmindedly, calculating which demon had been more arrogant than him lately—someone who deserved to be seized and beaten up.
Until at last, Xiao Yanjing reported ingratiatingly:
“She said she was thinking about you.”
Hearing this, the young man’s steps halted, as if he had frozen.
It took him quite a while to confirm that he had not misheard.
Her exact words were: I am thinking about Yan Xueyi.
—Yan Xueyi. She was thinking about Yan Xueyi.
The violent aura around the young man suddenly vanished completely; that demonic qi soaring to the heavens just now seemed like an illusion.
“Sweet talk. No need to report it again.”
His tone was light and indifferent.
“It hasn’t even been half a day since we parted, what is there to think about?”
Xiao Yanjing tried to gauge its master’s thoughts: such boring nonsense, the Demon Lord who handled countless affairs daily surely did not care to hear it. It should report the disturbances in Kunlun, the movements of the human race—that was the grand situation a great and brilliant Demon Lord would care about.
After a while, its master spoke as if nothing had happened:
