Flower branch
How could a weakling at the Qi Refining Stage know a sword move like this? With a lousy wooden sword, she had actually managed to wound her a second time?!
Qiaoqiao curled her lips and raised her hand for another strike!
Slay the Star River again!
This sword move from High Antiquity naturally countered Devil Cultivators. Forced to dodge again, Ziling could not help snapping, "Is that the only fucking move you know?!"
"I only know one move, and you still can't beat me." Qiaoqiao curled her lips.
Ziling's beautiful face twisted with rage. How could she possibly lose to this Qi Refining weakling?
Devil Qi erupted from her body, about to coil around Qiaoqiao, only for swordlight as bright as the stars to appear behind the girl. Shen Ji arrived with his sword drawn, myriad streams of sword intent dispersing the Devil Qi.
"Junior Sister!" Shen Ji called out.
Qiaoqiao understood at once. The senior brother and junior sister unleashed "Slay the Star River" simultaneously!
Brilliant sword might cleaved toward the crown of Ziling's head. She looked up in panic, seeing nothing but dazzling swordlight, like the Milky Way pouring down, countless stars illuminating the heavy dusk as brightly as day.
Radiant sword shadows filled the heavens and earth, leaving nothing else.
Dazzled by that sword might until she could barely open her eyes, she felt a surge of terror. The combined might of two swords was actually this terrifying!
Her devil body was completely countered!
How on earth had that Qi Refining Stage disciple unleashed such powerful sword momentum?!
An enormous purple lotus bloomed around Ziling. It was her Body-Protecting Purple Lotus, but the instant it blossomed, the overwhelming Sword Qi shattered it. The longsword in Shen Ji's hand pierced the devil woman Ziling's heart. She stared at him in disbelief. "Shen..."
His eyes were icy. "Devil woman, you deserve to die."
Ziling had never imagined that she, the mighty Purple Baleful Intent Devil Woman, would capsize in a little ditch like Qiaoqiao. Had she known this day would come, she would never have provoked the people of Ethereal Peak...
She hated it so much!
Filled with bitter regret, the devil woman coughed up a mouthful of blood and breathed her last.
The surrounding devil mist slowly dispersed. Shen Ji gazed at the devil woman's corpse with a complicated expression, only to see his junior sister crouch in front of Ziling, take out a gleaming silver dagger, and position it over her chest.
"Junior Sister, what are you doing?"
"Digging out her Devil Heart," Qiaoqiao answered earnestly.
Shen Ji's mouth twitched. Was she really planning to eat a Devil Heart?!
Junior Sister, that was a dangerous idea!
He said earnestly, "Junior Sister, as members of the righteous path, how could we cut out someone's heart and eat it? Besides, Devil Hearts contain Devil Qi. If you eat one, the Devil Qi will accumulate and can easily cause Qi Deviation. You absolutely must not do this."
[Senior Brother won't even let me eat a Devil Heart. Boohoo.]
[But now that I've dug it out, wouldn't that be a waste? In that case, I'll just have to give it away...] Qiaoqiao thought. [Who should I give it to? Master and Elder Ning? No, no. Senior Brother said it could cause Qi Deviation, so I'd better give it to a Devil Cultivator. But I don't know any Devil Cultivators.]
[I've got it! Rich waters shouldn't flow into outsiders' fields. Why not wrap up the Devil Heart and send it to her father, the old devil king of the Devil Cloud Sect?]
Shen Ji: ???
Was that how "rich waters shouldn't flow into outsiders' fields" was supposed to be used?
While Qiaoqiao's thoughts left him stunned, a line of black text suddenly appeared above his junior sister's head: Darkening Value +10.
Shen Ji: What was this?!
Chapter 5: Flower branch
Shen Ji could not help rubbing his eyes. When he looked again, the line had already changed to [Qiaoqiao, Darkening Value: 10].
After looking repeatedly, Shen Ji confirmed that he was not hallucinating. There really was a line of text above his junior sister's head!
What did Darkening Value mean?
He recalled the thoughts he had heard from his junior sister earlier. She had also mentioned that she would "darken into a Devil Cultivator." Could darkening mean becoming a devil?
Taken literally, if this number kept rising, his junior sister would become a devil?!
Towering waves surged through Shen Ji's heart.
His junior sister had not eaten the Devil Heart, yet her Darkening Value had risen. Why?
He did not know that, in Qiaoqiao's dream, after he became the foremost Devil Cultivator in the devil realm, it was precisely because the old devil king and the devil woman schemed against him that the righteous path besieged him. After his death, the old devil king stole his corpse, and father and daughter divided and ate his Devil Heart. Only then did their Devil Cultivation Methods advance tremendously, allowing them to finally unify the devil realm.
The old devil king was cold and heartless, but he loved his daughter as dearly as his own life, valuing her above all else. Receiving his daughter's Devil Heart would surely deal him a crushing blow.
Shen Ji was still immersed in the shock brought on by the black text above his junior sister's head. This concerned her safety; he had to tell his master.
Just then, amid a patter of feet, the immortal crane's cries came from the courtyard entrance. "Qiaoqiao, Qiaoqiao! Bai Fu is out of seclusion!"
Shen Ji was surprised. His master was out of seclusion?
Delighted, he said, "Junior Sister, let's hurry and pay our respects to Master!"
Qiaoqiao: [Who would have thought Senior Brother missed Master so much? His venerable self must be so pleased!]
Shen Ji: .
She ought to consider who he was doing this for.
He glanced back at the devil woman's corpse. A Xue squawked, "Leave this to me!"
Shen Ji said, "Then sorry for the trouble, Crane True Lord."
The Immortal Venerable's cave abode stood at the highest point of Ethereal Peak. Clouds and mist shrouded the summit, and with the influence of Immortal Venerable Wanghan's sword realm, spring had already reached the mountainside while unmelted snow still lay on the peak. Clusters of white plum blossoms surrounded the Wanghan Immortal Abode, veiled in thin mist like an immortal paradise.
After the Daoist attendant went inside to announce them, he soon returned with a reply. "The Immortal Venerable bids you enter."
They followed a pebble path through the white plum grove and entered Falling Plum Hall. The white-robed Immortal Venerable sat upright behind a low table, his cascading hair pinned up with a blue-green hairpin. His robes were untouched by dust, his features elegant and refined, his immortal bearing as though he might take flight.
Immortal Venerable Bai Fu was renowned throughout the cultivation world not only for his swordsmanship; his looks were also peerlessly exquisite.
He raised his eyes toward his two disciples. His gaze passed over Shen Ji and lingered on Qiaoqiao for a moment, his eyes complex and unreadable. His hand hidden within his sleeve tightened slightly.
A moment later, he withdrew his gaze and looked at Shen Ji. "Ning Shuang has already told me about your involvement with that devil woman."
Overwhelmed with guilt, Shen Ji lifted the hem of his robe and knelt. "This disciple mistakenly trusted a Devil Cultivator. If Elder Ning and Junior Sister hadn't stopped me, I would have nearly brought about a great disaster. Please punish me, Master."