Ji Mengli, Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect

"Who brewed this Hundred Flavors of the Mortal World?"

Chen Xun took a sip and smacked his lips as he asked.

Ji Mengli smiled and cupped her hands. "My humble self."

Chen Xun glanced at her and said, "Nothing humble about your talent."

Then he continued, "The ingredients for Hundred Flavors of the Mortal World aren't easy to obtain, either. They span all four seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and are scattered from the far south to the distant north. You really did sell it to me cheaply."

Ji Mengli's eyes lit up. "You're absolutely right, Brother Chen. Back when I was brewing this Hundred Flavors of the Mortal World, I traveled all over Northern Mystic. For one ingredient, I even made a special trip to the Ethereal Snowfield north of Northern Mystic and nearly lost my life there."

Chen Xun nodded and teased her. "To think a woman like you would be such a wine fanatic. That's a rare sight indeed."

Ji Mengli laughed heartily. "You flatter me, you flatter me."

Though Ji Mengli was a woman, she was easygoing and unrestrained, with a distinctly masculine boldness.

But soon, Ji Mengli's smile faded, and a cloud of sorrow drifted across her lovely face. "Wine is a wonderful thing. Once you drink yourself into the clouds and mist, you can forget so many unhappy things."

Chen Xun shook his head. "True, but it's only temporary, isn't it?"

Ji Mengli murmured, "Temporary... is still good."

Seeing this, Chen Xun said no more and simply drank while admiring the scenery.

Ji Mengli said, "Brother Chen, when you learned my name earlier, you weren't surprised or even the slightest bit afraid. That tells me you probably haven't heard of me."

Chen Xun smiled. "It's not that I wasn't surprised or afraid. There's simply nothing in this world that can surprise or frighten me."

Ji Mengli froze. What an arrogant claim. She shook her head helplessly, thinking that Chen Xun had drunk quite a lot by now and was talking drunken nonsense.

"If I told you I came from a Devil Dao Sect, would you be afraid, Brother Chen?"

Ji Mengli looked at Chen Xun as she asked, a trace of worry in her voice.

Chen Xun cast her a sidelong glance and smiled. "Even if the King of Heaven himself stood before me, I wouldn't be afraid. What does a mere Demonic Sect amount to?"

Ji Mengli stared, dumbfounded. She hurriedly glanced overhead and made a shushing gesture. "Shh, Brother Chen, you mustn't say such outrageous, defiant things. We cultivators fear the Heavenly Dao above all else. You really are drunk."

Chen Xun shook his head, unconcerned.

"Ah."

Ji Mengli sighed, picked up the wine flask, and took a hearty swig. Only after wiping the corner of her mouth did she continue. "I often hate myself for being born into a demonic sect. You don't know, Brother Chen, how hair-raisingly cruel they are. These past few years, I've wandered far from home, free and unbound, and I've truly been happy. Unfortunately, not long ago, the sect summoned me back."

Chen Xun said casually, "If you dislike it, why go back?"

"The choice isn't mine." Ji Mengli smiled bitterly, then looked at Chen Xun again and said with difficulty, "I'm the holy maiden of the Great Evolution Demonic Sect. Its sect master is my biological father."

As she spoke, Ji Mengli watched Chen Xun the entire time, only to find that his expression never changed. He remained unmoved, which shocked her even more.

Even that doesn't frighten him?

Then Chen Xun said, "As the holy maiden of a Demonic Sect, with a sect master for a father, you must have been steeped in its ways since childhood. You should have grown accustomed to them long ago. Why do you feel this way?"

Ji Mengli pressed her lips together. "Cultivators fighting and killing one another is normal enough in the cultivation world. But I once saw mortals abducted to refine pills and practice arts. They included the old, the weak, women, and children. You don't know, Brother Chen, the youngest were only a few years old. I remember clearly how, before being dragged over and thrown into the pill furnace, one child cried out to me in despair, 'Big sister, I don't want to die, I don't want to die...' From that day onward, I loathed the Demonic Sect and left to travel. It was during those travels that I brewed this Hundred Flavors of the Mortal World."

Chen Xun nodded slightly, feeling that the wine in his mouth had turned a little more bitter.

He hadn't expected Hundred Flavors of the Mortal World to carry such a layer of meaning.

Ji Mengli sighed. "Now, for some reason, the demonic sects of Northern Mystic have begun abducting disciples of the righteous path again to make them blood slaves. Sooner or later, the righteous and demonic paths will plunge into all-out war. I imagine that's why my father wants me back."

Chen Xun said nothing, sighing softly inwardly. The affairs of the world were ever-changing. Someone with goodness in her heart had been born into a demonic sect. Such were the times, such was fate.

Still, Chen Xun felt little emotional turmoil. Having lived for countless years, he had seen more than enough of the world's myriad faces.

Chen Xun asked, "What will you do once you return?"

Ji Mengli lowered her head. "Whatever I must. My entire life is bound to the demonic sect. It's hard to break free."

Chen Xun smiled faintly and stood. "It's getting late. I'll take my leave."

Ji Mengli hurriedly rose. "Thank you for patiently listening to me pour out my troubles today, Brother Chen. My heart feels much lighter. If you wish, you may visit the Great Evolution Demonic Sect. You'll always be welcome."

"We'll see."

With that, Chen Xun walked out of the pavilion, receding into the distance until he disappeared from sight.

Ji Mengli watched him leave, regret lingering in her heart. When drinking with a kindred spirit, even a thousand cups were too few.

This Chen Xun was impossible to see through or fathom, carefree and unfettered. What a remarkable man.

"Ah."

Ji Mengli sighed, left the pavilion, and soared into the air, flying toward her sect.

Several days later.

Within the Heavenly Dao Sect's territory.

A group of elders and disciples returning from their travels stood there, staring in shock at the corpses strewn across the ground and the severed heads whose eyes remained wide in death!

At a glance, there were several hundred headless corpses!

Zhao Ting had never seen anything like this. His face turned pale, and he couldn't stop himself from retching.

The inner and outer disciples' pupils contracted as well, their hearts trembling with fear.

Wang Tianfu and Zhou Tong surveyed the scene with grave expressions.

These hundreds of corpses were all demonic cultivators!

Suddenly, Wang Tianfu spotted a head and exclaimed, "You Sha! That looks like You Sha of the Great Evolution Demonic Sect!"

At the mention of the Great Evolution Demonic Sect, everyone shuddered.

Among the many demonic sects of Northern Mystic, the Great Evolution Demonic Sect was a first-rate power.

Zhou Tong's expression changed. He strode over, examined it closely, and said, "The fifth elder is right. This really is You Sha, the fourth elder of the Great Evolution Demonic Sect!"

It took no thought to realize that these demonic cultivators of the Great Evolution Demonic Sect had been lying in ambush here. The destroyed formation flags nearby said it all.

It seemed these demonic cultivators had set their ambush while they were away. Presumably, they hadn't attacked then because they intended to catch them off guard upon their return.

Although Wang Tianfu and Zhou Tong were core elders, there were so many demonic cultivators here, led by You Sha, who was rumored to be at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage. Had they been caught in a surprise attack, the outcome would have been far from certain.

Wang Tianfu and Zhou Tong exchanged a glance, unable to suppress a lingering chill of fear.

The two could tell that You Sha and his band of demonic cultivators had been killed in an instant!

Killed instantly, without the slightest chance to resist!

The smooth cuts on every headless corpse and severed head made that plain!

Just what mighty figure had done this?

Wang Tianfu and Zhou Tong swallowed, then couldn't help wondering whether the disciples who had previously vanished from their Heavenly Dao Sect had been abducted by the Great Evolution Demonic Sect.

At that thought, Wang Tianfu shouted, "All disciples, heed my order! Take every corpse and return to the sect at once!"

"Yes!"