Holy Maiden of the Demonic Cult

Chapter 1: The Demonic Cult's Holy Maiden

Deep within the dense forest, Chen Yi, who had been fleeing for a long time, panted heavily.

He scanned his surroundings with trepidation, and in the pitch-black tree shadows, it felt as though a sword might pierce out at any moment to run his throat through.

He had already been hunted down by the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Cult for seven days and seven nights.

Several days ago, he had worked overtime until he was extremely exhausted, and waking up from a nap, he had time-traveled, inexplicably crossing over into the second save file of the game Beyond the Heavens.

He had already cleared the game Beyond the Heavens once, and this second save file, after completing the villainous run and achieving a perfect start in the Capital City, was preparing to leave the Capital City and find an upright, orthodox sect to join.

Beyond the Heavens possessed extremely high freedom and customizable content: a hundred main quests, thousands of side quests, with nearly every quest having three or four endings, and second or third playthroughs featuring new endings and new options. Ever since this stand-alone game went on sale, it had practically dominated Chen Yi's off-work hours.

Compared to other games, Beyond the Heavens had exceptionally rich options right from character creation, including but not limited to appearance, origin, family, sect, and even gender, location, and background, which could all be customized one by one. It could simply be called a wuxia version of Baldur's Gate with Chinese style.

In Chen Yi's plan before crossing over, once this save file was played step-by-step to completion, he would start the next save file, achieve a perfect save, and shelve the game.

The only problem was that he had time-traveled.

And furthermore, he had crossed over right to... this very day when he was being hunted down for the extermination of his sect by Yin Tingxue.

Blood dripped from his legs, and Chen Yi let out a muffled grunt of pain.

Yin Tingxue, the Holy Maiden of the Bright-Dark Divine Sect, had brought her sword alone and fought her way to the Western Depot in the Capital City, slaughtering virtually everyone in the Western Depot single-handedly.

Only he, a Thousand Household of the Western Depot, remained to escape to the outskirts of the Capital City.

Rather than calling it fleeing, it's more like... a cat playing with a mouse.

Chen Yi thought with bitter anguish.

Several times the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Cult had caught up to him, and every single time, she slashed down with a sword to sever one of his meridians.

This was a... meticulous and precise slow slicing.

The blood on Chen Yi's body had scabbed over, mixed with the foul stench of mud, making one nauseous.

Chen Yi took two breaths and dragged his feet forward through the forest.

The forest was gloomy and eerie, and that face felt as though it might pop out at any moment.

The wind suddenly stirred.

Chen Yi instinctively stiffened, but a moment later, he discovered that nothing had happened.

An hallucination...

Chen Yi muttered, lifting his foot to take a step forward.

Swish!

Blood gushed forth.

Chen Yi's pupils suddenly constricted, and only when he turned his head back did he see a cold gleam flash past.

That cold-blooded, pretty face gradually emerged from the forest.

Her entire set of black robes was stained half-red and half-dark by fresh blood.

"Why aren't you running anymore? Weren't you very good at running?"

she asked coldly.

[Negative Emotion: 90]

Chen Yi looked at the panel, and his heart trembled.

The Holy Maiden of the Demonic Cult kicked Chen Yi in the knee, striking him down to his knees.

Those apricot-shaped eyes of hers were filled with abhorrence...

Her sword flicked once more toward his ankle.

His Achilles tendon snapped...

Blood burst open, and a searing pain surged upward, causing Chen Yi's complexion to turn instantly pale.

His gaze grew dazed, and in an instant, he plunged into a kaleidoscopic flash of memories, recalling the grudges between him and her.

Yin Tingxue was once the Xiang Prince's Daughter, and Prince Xiang had been subjected to an imperial decree for his faction to be raided and exiled due to colluding with the Demonic Cult.

In that royal residence filled with sounds of weeping, under the very same drizzling rain, there was a little girl who watched with her own eyes as an Embroidered Uniform Guard, following standard procedure, shattered her Longevity Bridge.

Chen Yi opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

"Back then I... ah!"

Another sword strike followed.

Accompanied by the tearing of flesh and skin, Chen Yi seemed to hear the faint sound of meridians shattering.

His throat instantly flooded with fresh blood, and Yin Tingxue's sword moved like a swimming snake-one sword, two swords, three swords... Not a single strike directly took his life; instead, they severed one remaining meridian after another.

This was like a slow slicing; chunks of Chen Yi's flesh fell away, yet he was never able to draw his final breath. She did this deliberately, making Chen Yi's death a long and drawn-out process.

She seemed to be venting years of accumulated resentment.

Finally, she snapped Chen Yi's treasured sword, breaking the blade into two halves, and with a push, she pierced them separately through his shoulder blades.

Chen Yi was already like a bloody man.

His consciousness was hazy. Before he died... he still heard a voice filled with hatred.

As if she had finally slain the nightmare of her past, she uttered:

"Back then, you shattered my Longevity Bridge...

Today, I'll sever your meridians and wipe out your entire family!"

Dust coated the beams. The oil lamp flickered on and off, and the room was terribly dim.

Chen Yi abruptly opened his eyes.

"Haah... haah!"

Chen Yi touched his collarbones, then felt around elsewhere. After confirming he was unharmed, he sat stunned for quite some time.

"Dizzy... I feel a little dizzy."

Chen Yi instinctively stood up and, without realizing it, walked over to the bronze mirror.

Then his gaze paused.

He wore a black official's robe, with an Embroidered Spring Saber at his waist. His handsome face and hair bound beneath a crown made him look exactly like the character he had created in the game.

This appearance came with ten points of Charm from the start.

"Western Depot Embroidered Uniform Guard Punishment Supervising Hundred Household... Have I been reborn at the very beginning of a new game?"

Chen Yi looked at his waist token, astonished.

Just as he was slowly accepting the situation, a pale silver panel appeared in midair.

[Internal and External Arts]

[Acupoint-Sealing Art (Proficient)]

[Grudge Yin-Yang Art (Transcendent) (Beginner)]

[The Grudge Yin-Yang Art can convert foreign True Qi into one's own True Qi.]

[You can pour your own True Qi into martial arts to help improve them. Note: the Grudge Yin-Yang Art can only infuse True Essence, not True Qi.]

[Lifespan: Three years. Afflicted with a strange poison.]

[Remaining True Qi: Ten years' worth (equivalent to ten years of cultivation for an ordinary person).]

As the text gradually came into focus, along with his earlier memories, Chen Yi began to fully accept the fact that he had transmigrated.

"I remember that ten hours into my new game... I was an Embroidered Uniform Guard. I relied on Grand Secretary Lin to become a Western Depot Hundred Household. To maximize my gains at the start, I acted as someone's hatchet man, took bribes, broke the law, and ran wild. Then, because of the Empress Dowager, I was afflicted with a strange poison. On top of that, I'd chosen the highest difficulty, so I had only three years left to live."

"Looks like... this really is ten hours into the new game, which means one month in the game."

"Wait... one month!"

Chen Yi suddenly realized something.

Outside the courtyard, another Embroidered Uniform Guard called out,

"Hundred Household Chen, it's time. We should go confiscate the residence!"

In the drizzle,

Chen Yi slowly stepped over the threshold of the Xiang Prince's Residence.

"Truly wealthy."

"It's a prince's residence, after all."

Following behind Chen Yi, several Embroidered Uniform Guards whispered to one another.

Chen Yi glanced at the Xiang Prince's Residence. Though the grounds were extravagantly luxurious, they were suffused with deathly stillness.

The Xiang Prince's Residence had been sealed off by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot for days.

As for Prince Xiang, he had been the sort to fleece the people. Rumor had it that dozens of fine horses stood in the residence, with jade phoenixes holding bells and golden dragons spouting banners everywhere.

Now that he'd seen it, Chen Yi could only say the rumors hadn't exaggerated.

"Hundred Household Chen, several of Prince Xiang's retainers are locked in the cellar. Their acupoints have all been sealed. Would you like to take a look, sir?"

An Embroidered Uniform Guard came out of the Xiang Prince's Residence to greet him and clasped his hands.

"Not for now."

Surveying the Xiang Prince's Residence, Chen Yi spoke.

He had transmigrated into Beyond the Heavens, where he had been killed by the Demonic Cult Holy Maiden, Yin Tingxue. Now he had returned to the opening stage of his saved game.

If things followed the same course as before, he was supposed to break Yin Tingxue's Longevity Bridge with his own hands, as was customary.

The Demonic Cult Holy Maiden, Yin Tingxue, was one of Beyond the Heavens' featured heroines.

After the Xiang Prince's Residence was confiscated, the men were executed, while the women in the residence were sent to the Laundry Bureau as punishment. Since the Xiang Prince's Residence had long been in league with the demonic path, on the day they were sent to the Laundry Bureau, the Bright-Dark Divine Sect, one of the demonic path's major powers, appeared in the Capital City, intending to rescue the Xiang Prince's wife and daughters. In the end, though, they took only Yin Tingxue away.

A red sun hung above the pavilions and towers of the Xiang Prince's Residence.

Chen Yi touched his collarbones and seemed to feel the phantom pain still.

Unable to repeat the same mistakes as in the previous save file...

Then... what should I do?

Kill her outright?

There was nothing wrong with that.

Chen Yi rested his hand on the hilt of his saber and heard sobbing throughout the Xiang Prince's Residence. They were the voices of the women in the household.

He listened carefully, but among all the sobs, he couldn't hear Yin Tingxue's.

Realizing this, Chen Yi narrowed his eyes.

That lovely face splattered with blood, slowly turning pale beneath the flash of a sword...

To kill her just like that...

It seemed a bit too wasteful.

Besides, in none of the save files had he killed the female enemies who kept appearing one after another.

Chen Yi hesitated, his gaze falling on the Grudge Yin-Yang Art on the panel.

She was so peerlessly beautiful, and she bore such a deep grudge against him. Wouldn't it be a shame not to make full use of her?

Kill her, or spare her?

Rather than kill this enemy, there was nothing wrong with making the princess serve him in humiliation and helplessness.

Besides, perhaps she was just waiting to die...

For the women of this era, being hanged with a white silk cord was better than being sent to the Laundry Bureau or the Jiaofang Bureau and reduced to a lowly status.

And at that moment, Yin Tingxue was utterly despairing.

She was the daughter of the principal consort of Prince Xiang. Her mother had unfortunately passed away from illness three years earlier. Before she died, she had told Yin Tingxue to be a good person. For her, being sent to the Laundry Bureau would be worse than being killed.

Taking Yin Tingxue's background into account, Chen Yi thought quickly.

After considering it, Chen Yi made his decision.

He wanted to see what Yin Tingxue was really like.

If she was evil by nature, then killing her would be no problem. If not... then he could try to reform her a little.

A fine rain fell, and dusk settled over the sky.

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