Back then

Just as he was about to be thrown into that enormous snake's mouth, Lin Qingyang squeezed his eyes shut in terror, unable to bear watching the disgusting sight. A foul stench rushed at his face with the wind, but just when he thought he was done for, Chimei suddenly stopped moving.

Lin Qingyang cautiously opened his eyes and saw an ice spike piercing the middle of Chimei's enormous serpentine body.

On the ground a short distance away, Xue Lanyuan stood holding an ice-blue longbow, still in her shooting stance.

Her weapon is so cool! Lin Qingyang could not help marveling.

The ice spike in Chimei's body suddenly shone, then shattered in an instant. With a tremendous crash, Chimei's body broke clean in two. Its enormous remains toppled, and Lin Qingyang fell toward the pool with them. As he fell, he hurled the bamboo tube of snake blood tucked against his chest toward Xue Lanyuan with all his strength.

"The antidote!" Lin Qingyang shouted before sinking into the icy water.

The bone-chilling water instantly engulfed him. Lin Qingyang was actually a decent swimmer, but his limbs were so heavy now that he could not lift them at all. His body slowly sank, and his consciousness gradually blurred. Fine, drowning is better than being eaten by a snake. His thoughts wandered. Before he lost consciousness, he seemed to see a figure swimming toward him. He swims just like a dog.

Dappled sunlight filtered through the gaps between the bamboo leaves, casting hazy patches of light through the grove. A breeze passed, and the leaves rustled. Lin Qingyang looked around in bewilderment.

Why am I here? Didn't I fall into the water? Am I already dead? As he wondered, he suddenly heard voices from deep within the bamboo grove and followed them.

Two people stood deep in the grove. One was an old man with white hair and a white beard. He recognized the other: Shi Ruobai, though this Shi Ruobai looked a few years younger than the one lying down. A small white sphere shimmered with flowing colors above Shi Ruobai's palm, and he looked somewhat surprised.

"Master, what do you mean by this?" Shi Ruobai asked.

It seemed this old man was the original owner's master, Perfected One Tianyi.

"This is the Nine-Turn Fate-Reversing Pill, refined by Ancestor Jiuchen years ago to increase his cultivation. Today, I am giving it to you. It can grant you ten years' worth of cultivation and help you break through to the Transformation Realm," Perfected One Tianyi said.

Shi Ruobai froze, saying nothing for a moment. Perfected One Tianyi continued, "I intend to pass the sect leader position to you."

Shi Ruobai was startled, then frowned. "But the Nine Skies Sect has always passed the sect leader position to the strongest in the sect. I already lost to my junior brother at the last Immortal Alliance ceremony."

"That is precisely why I am giving you this Nine-Turn Fate-Reversing Pill. Once you have refined it, your cultivation will naturally surpass Qingyang's," Perfected One Tianyi said.

Lin Qingyang frowned, recalling that this was the original owner's past that Lin Yao had told him about. Have I transmigrated again?

"Master, this is unfair to my junior brother," Shi Ruobai said.

"Qingyang is indeed exceptionally gifted, a rare genius in sword cultivation. But the sect leader position demands cultivation and, more importantly, character. Qingyang is too obsessed with cultivation, and his disposition is impure. He is unsuited to shouldering this responsibility," Perfected One Tianyi said.

Shi Ruobai wanted to say more, but Perfected One Tianyi waved his hand, and the lustrous white pill in Shi Ruobai's palm flew into his chest. Seemingly unable to withstand the sudden influx of power, Shi Ruobai shuddered, then clutched his chest and gasped for breath.

"My mind is made up. Follow the cultivation method I taught you and refine it as soon as possible." Perfected One Tianyi was just like an NPC in a game. As though rushing to his next appearance, he finished speaking, swept his sleeve, and vanished.

Shi Ruobai stood there in a daze for a long while. Finally, he closed his eyes helplessly, then waved his hand and vanished as well.

Silence returned to the bamboo grove. Standing alone among the bamboo, Lin Qingyang felt a tightness in his chest. Emotions that did not belong to him spread through it: resentment, bewilderment, and sorrow.

"Kill him." A low voice suddenly echoed.

"Who's there?"

Lin Qingyang looked around warily, but there was no one else in the empty bamboo grove, only the rustle of wind through the leaves. That voice just now seemed like a hallucination, yet also like a voice inside his own head. An inexplicable fear welled up within him.

In Clear Wind Pavilion, Qi Mo sat beside the bed, watching the unconscious man lying there. Lin Qingyang's eyes were tightly shut, his brows knitted, and his forehead covered in cold sweat. He seemed trapped in some nightmare. Qi Mo took a cloth and wiped the sweat from his forehead, which was still burning hot from the demonic qi that had invaded his body in the deep pool. Xue Lanyuan had given him medicine and said he would be fine once he woke, but Qi Mo still could not help worrying. Back at Jin Yao Workshop, some demon slaves had developed fevers after being injured. They would soon die, then be carried away and thrown out.

He was just about to get up to rinse the cloth when his hand was suddenly seized. Startled, Qi Mo looked up. Lin Qingyang was still unconscious; it seemed to be nothing more than an unconscious movement. Qi Mo looked awkwardly at the hand gripping his own. His expression stilled for a moment, then he carefully sat back down beside the bed, letting Lin Qingyang hold on as he quietly watched him.

The sky gradually darkened.

At the bottom of the valley on Greenstone Mountain, all was dark and silent. Only a cool breeze passed through the valley, bringing a hint of chill. Traces of the day's battle still remained on the green rocks along the shore.

Ripples spread across the lake. The enormous snake's body, severed in two, lay half exposed above the water, surrounded by broad swaths of blood that made it look hideous and terrifying. Suddenly, several crows landed on the green rocks along the shore. Then a dark figure appeared soundlessly beside the lake. He wore a black robe, his face hidden beneath a hood, as though he had merged with the darkness. Standing at the water's edge, he pointed a finger. A beam of black light shot to the bottom of the lake, stirring Chimei's corpse. A demon core wreathed in demonic qi slowly emerged from the snake's body. With a wave of the black-robed man's hand, it floated above his palm.

The black-robed man examined the demon core for a while, then raised a hand toward the space behind him. The red ghost vines among the green rocks began to move as though alive. Soon, a large mass of Red Ghost Vines moved before him. The red vines slowly writhed, revealing a disheveled man who looked neither human nor ghost. Vines bound his limbs, his body was covered in blood, and his loose hair obscured his face.

"Don't kill me, don't kill me, please!" the man begged, his speech slurred and incoherent.

The black-robed man watched him quietly, seemingly very satisfied with his handiwork. Then his pale, slender fingertips moved slightly. A Red Ghost Vine sliced down Lei Guang's abdomen, cutting it open to expose the spiritual root within. The man screamed in agony. The other end of the red ghost vine wound around the demon core, and the black demonic qi shrouding it flowed along the vine toward the spiritual root. The spiritual root slowly began to turn black, and strange red markings appeared on his exposed skin. His entire body seemed about to explode, and his heart-rending screams echoed through the bottom of the valley.