The day Zi Yanling descended from the immortal realm was a grand affair.
The Empress and the Imperial Preceptor of the dynasty conjointly set up formations, utilizing several top-tier spirit stones, all to invite an immortal to descend and slay Ling Qianhe!
Ling Qianhe was well aware of their lethal intent towards him.
However, he paid it no mind. As usual, he walked towards the exit, asking Lin Muci to wait for him a moment. To his surprise, the girl glanced at him, then suddenly spoke.
"I'll go with you."
Ling Qianhe looked at her. The young man seemed to sigh, then walked beside her, reaching out to ruffle her hair, his tone grave.
"Don't be silly—this is... a very dangerous matter."
"I don't know how powerful that immortal is. It's highly likely I'll need to refine all my demonic energy, and perhaps even unleash a massacre, to contend with that immortal."
He spoke frankly, but the girl opposite him merely swayed her fingers lightly. Her clear, pure eyes remained fixed on his, and then Ling Qianhe heard her say.
"So what?"
"Didn't you say that even if you fell into demonic ways, you wouldn't harm me? Since that's the case, I have nothing to fear."
The young man opposite remained silent. He stared blankly into Lin Muci's eyes. The girl raised an eyebrow, yet her eyes seemed utterly devoid of worry. She took his wrist in return.
His palm was somewhat cool, but when this girl's palm touched him, it exuded warmth, like ice and fire merging, yet it brought about an extraordinarily wondrous sensation.
The young man finally spoke the truth.
"I really don't want you to see me... when I'm killing people wildly."
His breathing was slightly rapid.
"That appearance... isn't very pleasant."
He knew within himself that when he entered his demonic state, it would undoubtedly be terrifying.
Before this maidservant named Si Muci came to his side, everyone feared him. When the other maids saw him, they would only scream and flee.
Clearly.
His appearance was terrifying.
That's why people feared him so much.
But the girl opposite continued to hold his finger. She nodded, earnestly telling him.
"It's okay."
"I'm not afraid of you."
...
Zi Yanling's descent to the mortal realm was indeed to slay Ling Qianhe. However, she also had a lingering resentment—that resentment was her junior sister from the Immortal Palace in the Nine Heavens, Si Muci, who was now also in the mortal world!
She knew very well that this girl, who had been doted upon in heaven, even after her identity as a demon was exposed.
Her senior brothers still protected her!
And the Human Emperor she admired also harbored affections for her.
That Human Emperor, Xuanyuan Yuting, had even spat blood in public for her sake!
Thinking of this.
Zi Yanling couldn't help but feel a surge of deep hatred.
Although she had schemed and gained his body at Xuanyuan Yuting's most vulnerable moment, even after gaining his body, she had never received even a shred of his affection.
His heart had always belonged to that junior sister, Si Muci!
Now that Si Muci had descended to the mortal world, it was an excellent opportunity to get rid of her—it was precisely this thought that made Zi Yanling eagerly accept the mission to descend and deal with that demon.
If she could seize this opportunity, using the demon's power to kill her, it would be ideal.
As she pondered this, the mortals before her knelt and worshipped her, their eyes filled with fervent adoration!
"Esteemed Immortal Venerable, please act on behalf of heaven and slay the demon Ling Qianhe—although he was originally a prince of the dynasty, he secretly practiced evil arts and has now fallen into demonic ways."
"This demon is an abomination to heaven and earth."
"He intends to subvert the entire dynasty. If the mortal realm falls into his hands, it will be a great calamity for heaven and earth—the heavens are benevolent and would surely not stand idly by while that demon wreaks havoc on the mortal world, they will surely intervene, won't they?"
The person looked at her with extreme hope, but Zi Yanling was too lazy to pay attention to these mediocre mortals. In the immortal realm, these mortals wouldn't even qualify to look at her.
She had completely forgotten that she herself had ascended to the immortal realm from the mortal world, and back then, she had only had the opportunity to climb higher by becoming a mere maidservant to Si Muci. Now, she sneered repeatedly, appearing exceptionally majestic.
"Of course, the demon must be slain. However, besides the demon, there is another demonic woman I must also slay this time I descend to the mortal realm."
Zi Yanling's eyes lifted at the corners, a chilling killing intent flashing in their depths.
"This demonic woman seduced the Human Emperor in the immortal realm, an act of great treason. She even made a move on the Human Emperor's treasure, the Human Emperor Token—she is an enemy of the entire immortal realm!"
"Now that she has reincarnated and descended to the mortal world, I must kill this woman!"
Zi Yanling's words were laced with killing intent.
That killing intent almost emanated from her eyes. She narrowed her eyes, then tossed out a portrait.
"Have you seen this woman?"
The people opposite exchanged glances. The Empress and the Imperial Preceptor found her somewhat unfamiliar, but a palace maid behind the Empress suddenly exclaimed.
"It's her? She was a palace maid. She used to serve the Prince... served Ling Qianhe, then after Ling Qianhe disappeared, she also vanished..."
"She's a demoness?"
"Then isn't she in league with the Prince... oh no, with that demon Ling Qianhe?"
Zi Yanling was very satisfied upon hearing this.
It seemed she could resolve both matters at once, saving her the trouble of making another trip.
...
When Ling Qianhe saw Zi Yanling, he could only see a blurry silhouette from afar. The woman exuded ethereal energy all around her, as if petals were falling, indicating she had put great effort into her appearance.
He merely cast a fleeting glance, thinking this woman must be incredibly ugly and afraid to show her face.
From a distance, Zi Yanling looked at Ling Qianhe's figure, then parted her lips, her words immediately turning threatening.
"If you refuse to hand over that woman—don't blame me for being impolite..."
"She is a sinner of the heavenly realm..."
She intended to put on a pretense for a few more words, but Ling Qianhe found this woman to be truly bothersome, stirring a sense of annoyance within him. He waved his palm, and several wisps of demonic energy emerged in his palm, causing all the flowers around the woman to burst into flames.
He clearly saw the woman's face and couldn't help but mutter.
"As expected, she's an ugly woman... nowhere near as good as Sister Xiaoci."
After muttering, he saw her infuriated and about to retrieve her magical artifact. With a flick of his finger, a dark, black long sword materialized in his palm. Zi Yanling, on the other hand, took out her immortal realm artifact.
A jade Ruyi, as verdant as emerald, appeared in her palm. Before she could even present it, black veins began to emerge from deep within the Ruyi, and it directly flew towards Ling Qianhe. The Ruyi shattered, its green essence seeping into his black long sword.
This process was sudden. Zi Yanling was stunned, almost disbelieving her own eyes.
How could this be?
What was this? She refused to believe it and took out another magical artifact.
The result was the same: it flew into Ling Qianhe's hand, and he directly absorbed its energy.
Ling Qianhe, however, looked down at the black long sword in his palm, a deep smirk appearing at the corner of his lips!
"You still claim to want to slay demons. Your Dao heart is truly dark. Even your magical artifacts are covered in dark energy. Let me see... inferiority, jealousy, rage—so much darkness breeds within you. Tsk tsk, you must live in torment every day, shouldn't you?"
"Who are you jealous of?"
Zi Yanling gritted her teeth. Who else could she be jealous of, if not her junior sister who was doted upon by all the powerful beings—but she had already descended to the mortal world for her tribulation. She waved her hand, wanting to strike Ling Qianhe to make him shut up.
Ling Qianhe glanced at her slightly distorted cheek.
"Truly unsightly. So even immortals are no more than this—then, what's so wrong with becoming a demon?"
Immortals were not necessarily more noble than demons.
A cold smirk still played at the corner of Ling Qianhe's lips. He shifted slightly. Zi Yanling dared not retrieve her refined magical artifacts, as these artifacts were imbued with her aura, equivalent to gifting them for him to devour.
She hesitated for a moment.
She took out several talismans from her pocket and unfurled them. These talismans were imbued with the pure, sacred energy of the Human Emperor, absolutely capable of purging evil—she flicked her finger, having already envisioned the talisman burning the demon before her until he cried out in pain.
But she did not expect.
The talisman flew before Ling Qianhe, then suddenly made a turn.
And then this talisman—it actually turned back towards her and began to burn in front of her with a rustling sound!
The talisman burned rapidly. Her eyes widened, she even suspected she was dreaming.
But—the pain swept over her, and she finally realized.
This was not an illusion; she was genuinely being scorched by her own talisman. Her skin felt the pain. Her eyes widened. The intense pain almost made her want to leap up, but how was this possible?
This was clearly a Human Emperor talisman...
She suddenly realized something.
The only one who could make a Human Emperor talisman avoid them... was herself!
It was... it was her?
Si Muci... she was here. She no longer cared about Ling Qianhe and looked around, desperate to find Si Muci.
The talisman was still burning fiercely.
The Empress and the Imperial Preceptor watched this scene, dumbfounded. How could this be? Why was this immortal setting herself on fire?
She frantically urged.
"Quick... find that woman... kill her! The immortal realm will surely reward you!"
Then she looked up at the demon opposite. She narrowed her pupils, disregarding the flames on her body. She frantically used her hoarse voice, trying to shake his resolve.
"You've seen Si Muci, haven't you? Do you know—this woman came for you. She's here to kill you..."
"You..."
Ling Qianhe looked at the woman opposite, her hair scorched, her expression flustered, and her face pale and bland. He let out a cold snort and said.
"You are the one who came to kill me."
"She is the one who saved me—in this world, only she is my only salvation."
This immortal had no semblance of an immortal, appearing more like a madwoman suffering from delusions in the mortal world, babbling nonsense. He lowered his head to look at the black divine artifact in his palm. After absorbing her immortal energy and feeding on her greed, anger, and malice, it now possessed even more power.
He gripped the sword and with a flash of its blade, the woman opposite dodged frantically.
"You cannot lay a hand on me... I am already the woman of Human Emperor Xuanyuan Yuting!"
"If you touch even a single hair on my head, he will surely not let you go. He will definitely kill you, this demon, and ensure you never find peace again..."
Ling Qianhe's movements indeed paused.
Zi Yanling felt a surge of joy.
He truly feared the Human Emperor's prestige!
But she did not expect Ling Qianhe to look at her, the disdainful smirk at the corner of his lips growing more distinct, and then Ling Qianhe said.
"The Human Emperor's woman?"
"Now that you mention it, it feels even more satisfying to kill."
"However, that Human Emperor's taste is really quite poor, isn't it? He likes a jealous slut like you, who is as base and dark as a common hen?"
"Is the immortal realm a garbage dump?"
"Why do they take in any kind of trash."
"Saying that, I truly have no desire to ascend anymore."
Zi Yanling's face turned green, then white. She wished a bolt of heavenly lightning would strike down this glib-tongued demon.
Ling Qianhe, looking at the disheveled woman opposite, again surrounded her with the black long sword. Then, a wavering jade tablet suddenly floated out from Zi Yanling's body.
She clutched the jade tablet—and spoke in a panic.
"Yuting—I've encountered that demon in the mortal realm... that demon is trying to kill me..."
"Yuting, save me... you must save me..."
She grabbed the jade tablet as if it were a life-saving straw, the disheveled woman desperately clutching it.
The jade tablet slowly lit up.
From the other side of the jade tablet, some power seemed to be accumulating, ready to break through the earth.
A divine radiance bloomed from the jade tablet, transforming into a pure white sword. The pure white sword charged towards the black long sword, immediately halting its advance.
Then, the next moment, the black sword retreated three steps.
Ling Qianhe's mouth opened, and he spat out a large mouthful of blood.
The Human Emperor's power was vast and mighty.
It could not be resisted by the mortal realm—and moreover, his cultivation of demonic arts meant that facing the righteous power of the Human Emperor in the mortal realm, he was naturally suppressed by a third. But if he surrendered, he would not be Ling Qianhe.
A cold smirk appeared at the corner of the young man's lips. Immediately, he continued forward, the black precious sword falling into his palm. He swung his sword towards the jade tablet before Zi Yanling.
The jade tablet's radiance flared, and the blood at the corner of his lips looked shocking. The young man paid it no mind, opening his eyes, bloodlust surging within them, his entire being radiating an evil aura, clearly having fallen into demonic ways.
His fingertips began to ooze blood—but the more so, the more frenzied he became. He completely disregarded whether his body would collapse; all he knew was that his Dao could not be obstructed by anyone!
Even if his body were to collapse today, he would never retreat!
To take a single step back would mean the annihilation of his Dao!
And then, in a moment of daze, he seemed to hear a sigh. Then, with his crimson eyes, he saw the girl appear beside him.
Lin Muci embraced him.
The radiance of the jade tablet fell upon them both—and she said.
"Are you going to kill me too?"
She was not speaking to Ling Qianhe.
Ling Qianhe would not harm her—who was she speaking to with this question?
The radiance of the jade tablet flickered. And in an instant, the white energy transformed into blood-red energy, surging and merging into Ling Qianhe's black long sword, rendering his divine artifact unstoppable.
Ling Qianhe looked somewhat dazed.
Was this—his Dao heart in disarray?
The owner of that jade tablet had a disordered Dao heart, unable to maintain a clear and sacred Dao heart, and that was why his sword could absorb the jade tablet's power!
He counter-attacked, thrusting the long sword into Zi Yanling's chest. Her eyes widened, filled with disbelief.
"You—you wretched women..."
"I want to..."
Her words were cut short, as Lin Muci walked in front of her and struck her forehead heavily. Before her soul could even escape, it was annihilated by the black long sword.
She was originally an immortal. Although only a wisp of her soul remained in this body, being annihilated by Ling Qianhe's hand would still inflict a heavy blow upon her.
Lin Muci felt refreshed—she turned her head, only to hear Ling Qianhe ask her.
"Your enemy... is in the immortal realm?"