After Cutting Off Love And Emotions, I Was Pestered By The Demon Sect’s Enchantress - Chapter 1

“Have you heard? The Heaven’s Dry Realm opened three days ago. The spiritual treasures within have been nourished by spiritual energy for tens of thousands of years; a single stalk could help a cultivator break through their current realm.”

“Stop dreaming. You have to have a life left to take them once you’re inside.”

“True. Ah, I heard that Zhu Shengxi of the Guiyun Sect has already entered and has yet to emerge.”

The sky was a heavy, sinken black. Cultivators gathered in throngs, discussing incessantly, yet few dared to enter. Most only ventured to watch the massive cave dwelling floating in the sky from a great distance.

Meanwhile, within the Heaven’s Dry Realm.

Vines seemed to lunge toward the person at the center with a conscious will. A woman dressed in plain white robes stood there, her calm eyes like cold springs. Gazing at the rioting vines surrounding her, she remained unperturbed.

This was the Northern Hall Master of the Guiyun Sect, Zhu Shengxi.

“Chenque,” Zhu Shengxi called out in a low voice. In the next instant, a sharp sword unsheathed itself and hovered before her. She formed a hand seal, and momentarily, a powerful sword intent rippled outward from her as the center, sweeping across the surroundings.

The moment the surging vines came into contact with the fierce sword energy, they were instantly severed into several segments and fell to the ground.

Zhu Shengxi pierced one of the vine segments with her sword, examining it closely.

The vines severed by the sword energy seemed to lose their vitality; they no longer writhed and coiled as they had just moments ago, but instead withered away visibly to the naked eye.

Zhu Shengxi had never seen such a strange thing before; her brow furrowed slightly.

What was certain was that these vines had developed a spiritual intelligence. However, generally, a vine demon that developed intelligence would possess a demon core, and the size of the core would correspond to the strength of its demonic power. Yet, the vines here had no demon cores at all, which was very strange.

Such a situation would be baffling in the outside world, but here, it was not unusual.

Rumor had it that this Heaven’s Dry Realm was the immortal abode of a great powerhouse from ten thousand years ago, containing many secret treasures as well as unpredictable dangers. She had entered Heaven’s Dry Realm yesterday, and before even reaching the depths of the secret realm, she had encountered these troublesome vines. One could imagine how many obstacles lay on the road ahead.

Zhu Shengxi did not sheathe the Chenque sword again, walking toward the depths of the secret realm at an unhurried pace.

The further she walked, the sparser the vegetation became. At a certain point, she came to a halt.

From this spot onward, the plants ahead were withered and falling, resembling late autumn, while behind her, everything was lush and green with flourishing trees.

Clearly, this was a dividing point.

Zhu Shengxi observed for a moment, then lifted her foot to cross this boundary. Instantly, the world spun.

Her mind fell into a state of chaos. Zhu Shengxi acted decisively, chanting the Heart-Cleansing Incantation. Under the effect of the incantation, her consciousness returned slightly. She opened her eyes and found herself standing before a mountain cave.

Zhu Shengxi organized her thoughts, having realized what had just happened.

The withered plants gave off a sense of dissipating vitality; in the face of unknown danger, some cultivators would certainly be deterred. But if one entered directly, they would immediately be pulled into a nightmare realm. If one could not concentrate their spirit and quiet their mind in time, they would likely be trapped within forever.

At this moment, the cave before her was likely the place where that object was hidden.

Zhu Shengxi ignited a Bright Fire Talisman; the faint flame burned, dispelling some of the darkness within the cave.

Holding her sword, she walked inside cautiously. After an unknown amount of time, Zhu Shengxi spotted two stone tables ahead. She picked up a pebble and tossed it over; after waiting a moment, she found there were no traps.

The two stone tables were placed side-by-side without a gap, and two identical wooden boxes were slotted into the square recesses of the tables.

Zhu Shengxi’s eyes brightened slightly. With a flick of her wrist, the tip of her sword pricked upward at one of the boxes.

Unexpectedly, the box opened easily.

Inside was a white, strip-shaped whistle. Before she could examine it closely, the cave let out a rumbling sound, as if it were about to collapse.

Zhu Shengxi swept the whistle into her storage bag and used her sword to flick open the other wooden box.

But the inside was… empty?

She glanced quickly at the two stone tables, then activated her movement technique and exited the cave.

About fifteen minutes later, the cave collapsed with a roar.

Zhu Shengxi avoided the swirling dust, her brow furrowed tight.

Before coming to Heaven’s Dry Realm, she had searched through all the ancient texts in the library. One ancient book mentioned that a piece of the Mysterious Jade had once been lost in Heaven’s Dry Realm, kept in a specially made wooden box by that great powerhouse.

Now that one of the two boxes was empty, combined with her brief glance at the tabletop, where she noticed the dust in one area seemed to have been wiped away by someone else, it indicated that the jade fragment had likely already been taken.

At this thought, Zhu Shengxi could not help but tighten her grip on her sword hilt.

She had come to Heaven’s Dry Realm specifically for that jade fragment. Now that the fragment was gone, where else could she… go to find it?

She walked to a giant tree, her expression unreadable.

The disciples of the sect admired her, the elders of other sects called her the “Light of the Righteous Path,” and her two senior sisters felt she would surely be able to shoulder the great responsibility of slaying demons and eliminating evil in the future.

But only she herself knew that her fate was aberrant, and she bore an evil curse. With this curse upon her, the regression of her cultivation was a minor matter; once her abnormal constitution was exposed, it would immediately incite a pursuit by all sects to kill her.

Only the Mysterious Jade could dispel the evil curse and seal her abnormal constitution.

However, the Mysterious Jade had shattered into three fragments during the Great Immortal-Demon War tens of thousands of years ago, scattered across the four mystical domains of East, West, South, and North. It was extremely difficult to find them one by one and synthesize the complete Mysterious Jade.

Zhu Shengxi pondered for a moment. If the jade fragment had been taken, that person must still be within the Heaven’s Dry Realm. The realm remained open for ten days, and one could only exit after those ten days. There were still seven days left; within these seven days, she had to find that person.

Just as she was thinking, a white mist suddenly rose around her. This white mist came silently and was extremely eerie.

Zhu Shengxi narrowed her eyes, suddenly catching the scent of a strange fragrance.

Her expression changed slightly, and she immediately tapped her pressure points to block her nose and mouth, but it was ultimately a step too late.

Soon, she felt her body soften. Zhu Shengxi staggered, leaning against the trunk of a nearby tree.

At that moment, a black-clad figure appeared and disappeared fitfully within the white mist. Zhu Shengxi didn’t have time to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead; she gripped the Chenque sword, staring unblinkingly at that blotch of black.

The clear sound of a flute rang out, and the white mist gradually dispersed. The black-clad figure that had been flickering in and out was now fully revealed before her eyes.

It was a woman with a refined countenance, skin as white as snow, a delicate nose, and a pair of autumn-water eyes that looked like they were brimming with ripples. Her pitiful gaze crashed directly into Zhu Shengxi’s line of sight.

The black-clad woman moved the jade flute away from her lips and said with a smile, “Fellow Daoist, I helped you disperse the white mist. Aren’t you going to thank me?”

It was the first time Zhu Shengxi had seen someone proactively ask for thanks. She looked coldly at the person before her and said:

“The white mist and the numbing incense were both set by you, weren’t they? Give me the antidote.”

Cold, icy words that were not polite in the least.

The black-clad woman frowned slightly and moved toward Zhu Shengxi without a word.

Watching the person drawing closer, Zhu Shengxi raised her sword unceremoniously, the tip pointing directly at the black-clad woman’s throat.

“Is this the way of the ‘famed righteous sects’ when asking for help?” The black-clad woman arched an eyebrow, pinching the tip of the sword between two fingers and pressing it downward.

Zhu Shengxi was already affected by the numbing incense and lacked strength. When the black-clad woman suddenly applied force, the sword tip immediately lost its original aim.

With a flick of her two fingers, the Chenque sword slipped from Zhu Shengxi’s hand and was actually held against Zhu Shengxi’s own neck.

The blade was sharp, and the wisps of sword energy leaking out sliced the fragile skin of her throat, congealing into a string of blood droplets.

“Beg me, and I’ll give you the antidote.” The black-clad woman curled her lips, peering at her playfully.

The distance between the two was extremely close. Zhu Shengxi’s eyes remained calm as she stepped out with the Wuji Footwork, retreating abruptly. Then, with a condensation of energy at her fingertips, several talismans wrapped in spiritual power were rapidly fired out.

Affected by the numbing incense, she had indeed lost some strength, but her spiritual power remained; she was by no means at the mercy of others. She had been secretly gathering her strength just now, and this move was enough to force the person before her back.

The black-clad woman’s expression shifted, and she retreated several steps. She pressed the jade flute to her lips. Unlike the clear flute sound from before, the music now was mournful and sobbing, carrying a hint of gloom.

The sound waves of the flute collided with the spiritual power, and a sharp sound of piercing air suddenly erupted. Zhu Shengxi formed a seal with one hand, and the Chenque sword flew back into her hand in response.

“Guiyun Sect, Zhu Shengxi, is it?” The black-clad woman called out while dodging the aftershocks.

A flash of surprise crossed Zhu Shengxi’s eyes. It was during this brief pause that the black-clad woman suddenly appeared before her and struck her left shoulder with a palm.

Zhu Shengxi turned her body slightly, shedding some of the force, and stopped her momentum after taking a few steps back.

A thin layer of frost covered the clothing on her left shoulder. Zhu Shengxi’s face changed drastically, and blood spilled from the corner of her lips.

It was actually… the Cold Ice Palm.

Seeing her state, the black-clad woman was slightly surprised.

“That shouldn’t be right. Can’t you dissolve the Cold Ice Palm?”

Everything before her began to blur. Zhu Shengxi could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground unconscious.