After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 114

The cold light unerringly pierced through the opponent’s heart, shot out from his back, and nailed him fiercely to the wall. Fresh blood streamed down the wall, painting a sticky, crimson line.

It was only then that the crowd saw clearly what it was.

It was Qin Qingyi’s innate sword—Liubai (Leaving Blank).

But at this moment, the entire sword was stained with blood, dripping with viscous fresh blood, looking extremely wicked.

And the male Elder who had just been speaking so arrogantly, demanding Qin Qingyi to humble herself and apologize, slowly lowered his head to look at the blood incessantly gushing from his chest. Finally, his head tilted, and he collapsed onto the floor, utterly lifeless.

Gasps filled the air as everyone stared in horror at the ruthlessness of Qin Qingyi’s methods.

An Elder of the sect had died so easily.

Suddenly and lightly.

He did not die from an enemy’s pursuit, nor in a life-and-death battle against the Demon Race, but at the hands of one of his own—at the hands of the newly appointed Sect Master of the Sword Sect.

Seeing the numerous startled gazes directed at her, Qin Qingyi showed no fear. She sat firmly on the high platform, watching the dissatisfaction in the eyes of the many Elders about to spill over, before slowly opening her mouth.

“Do the Elders have any objections? Do you think I violated the sect’s regulations by killing him, or do you find my methods too cruel, taking his life simply because he spoke rudely?”

She scanned the crowd, not caring about their expressions of fear or resentment.

“If you have any grievances, feel free to speak them now. This Sect Master will not hold it against you.”

She waved her hand indifferently, recalling the Liubai sword.

The sword body lightly trembled, shaking off the attached blood. In just a moment, it was restored to pristine cleanliness.

Qin Qingyi held the sword, sheathed it, and placed it to the side of the Sect Master’s seat, conveying an invisible pressure to everyone seated below.

She slightly closed her eyes, waiting for the many Elders below the platform to discuss and reach some conclusion.

Perhaps to denounce her?

It did not matter.

To her, the current Sword Sect, apart from her Junior Sister who still warranted a moment of hesitation, no longer held anything she cherished.

If not for her Master, she would rather return to the Demon Race immediately.

Recalling the news of the Demon Race that Yan Li had recently sent, the murderous intent in Qin Qingyi’s brows intensified.

If she could, she truly did not want to take on the mess of the Sword Sect. The Demon Race was one thing—that was a fate she could not escape. The mortal world said that one should share the sovereign’s burden when enjoying their bounty. As the former Young Master of the Demon Race, she had enjoyed many benefits provided by the Demon Race populace, and sharing their worries was only reasonable.

But what was the Sword Sect? In the past, with her Master present, she still held some respect for the Elders of the Sword Sect.

But now, all those who could restrain her had left the Sword Sect. To her, the Sword Sect was an external object that could be abandoned at any time. If not for the request of her Martial Uncle, she would have abandoned the Sword Sect and returned to the Demon Race long ago.

The Elders below were discussing amongst themselves, saying all sorts of things, yet no one dared to stand up and loudly refute her actions to Qin Qingyi.

No one dared.

Now, Qin Qingyi’s power had long been overwhelmingly superior, standing above everyone in the Sword Sect. She was only a hair’s breadth away from the Half-Step Ascension Realm, and besides the Sword Sect’s Elder Ancestor who rarely emerged from seclusion, no one else could rival her.

And since Qin Qingyi took office, her conduct has completely changed from the cautious demeanor of previous Sword Sect Masters. She no longer considered these Elders important. Yet, that Elder Ancestor did not seem to care about Qin Qingyi’s various actions since taking office, but rather showed a great deal of indulgence, allowing her to proceed with bold reforms.

They could not stop her with words, and their power was greatly inferior. A junior, not only much stronger than them, but after ascending to the Sect Master position, no longer showed them any respect.

Today’s ruthlessness was the first of its kind, but everyone knew in their hearts that the person before them was not like Shangguan Yu, who was willing to listen to them and make concessions everywhere. If they had also spoken up just now, they might be nailed to the wall alongside their colleague.

Looking at their colleague whose body was rapidly cooling, the many Elders exchanged glances, yet no one dared to step forward to collect the body.

By now, quite a few Elders had understood that Qin Qingyi did not care about their opinions, and it could even be said that their existence or absence would not affect her actions.

And Qin Qingyi, although many Elders disapproved of her behavior, it was undeniable that she was still the number one among the new generation in the Xuan Tian Realm today.

Although she seemed cynical and idle, since she entered the Sword Sect, her name had always been on the Heavenly Ranking. She appeared weaker than this person and lazier than that person, yet her name was never removed from the Heavenly Ranking.

For a long time, everyone thought there was a problem with the Heavenly Ranking, but it wasn’t until she took office as the Sword Sect Master and showed her true strength that people realized something was amiss.

Perhaps, the Heavenly Ranking had never been wrong?

The Xuan Tian Realm was now facing the great crisis of the Demon Race. Internal strife now seemed insignificant. The life and death of an Elder was trivial. Instead, if they could not unite, they would sooner or later suffer a major setback.

Several Elders who had figured it out exchanged glances, bowed, and declared, “We shall obey only the Sect Master’s command.”

Qin Qingyi opened her eyes. She had some guesses about their choice and was therefore not surprised by their submission at this moment.

The Elders of the Sword Sect who had survived until now, besides having exceptional strength, were also extremely knowledgeable about human relations. They knew better than anyone what action would bring the greatest benefit.

Therefore, even if a colleague died right before their eyes the moment before, they would choose to ignore it without blinking and submit to the stronger person. It was not shameful.

With them leading the way, the rest no longer insisted, and finally, all the Elders of the Sword Sect chose to submit.

Qin Qingyi raised her head with satisfaction. Her gaze swept over the uncollected corpse lying on the ground. She commanded the Elder nearest to her:

“Since you all have no objection to this Sect Master’s actions, then, throw his body into the Demon Race’s territory.”

The named Elder looked up in surprise, somewhat unable to understand her action.

However, in a flash of realization, she suddenly understood Qin Qingyi’s intention—

Framing!

The next moment, Qin Qingyi’s voice rang out promptly:

“The petty skirmishes of the past should end now. The war between the Immortals and Demons has lasted so long, yet neither side has truly been severely injured. Fighting like this is useless and will eventually grind away the spirit of the Xuan Tian Realm cultivators.”

“Tonight, you will dump his body in the Demon Race territory. By tomorrow morning, this Sect Master will announce to the entire Xuan Tian Realm—

The Demon Race killed an Elder of our Sword Sect. We can then declare full-scale war against the Demon Race!”

The numerous Elders below looked up at her at this moment, their eyes filled with sudden comprehension and shock at her employment of such an insidious scheme.

Qin Qingyi narrowed her eyes: “Have you understood? Then go and do it quickly. Do I need to repeat myself?”

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly came back to their senses and quickly withdrew their gazes. However, in their interactions with each other, there was no longer the usual contempt for her. Their conversation was filled with shock at such a deeply sinister plan.

The Elder who was instructed by Qin Qingyi to do this reluctantly stuffed her colleague’s body into her Storage Bracelet. As she did so, she closed her eyes in pain, feeling that her colleague’s blood had soiled her Storage Bracelet.

But she could only endure it. After finally convincing herself, she decided to head to the Demon Race border first and quickly get this done.

But Qin Qingyi stopped her first.

“Wait.”

The other party looked up in confusion: “Does the Sect Master have any other instructions?”

Qin Qingyi raised her hand and tossed a bottle of pills to her: “Take this.”

“This is a shapeshifting pill refined by this Sect Master that can briefly imitate the appearance of the Demon Race. Keep it with you to avoid being noticed by the Demon Race.”

The other party took the order and left.

After this, Qin Qingyi successively gave out several more instructions. The Elders all complied without objection. Not a single person offered any opposing opinion.

It wasn’t until nightfall that everyone left and Qin Qingyi finally rose and walked out of the hall.

The moonlight spilled outside the hall, illuminating the ground covered in silvery frost.

Although the Commanding Sword Peak was not as high as the Hidden Snow Peak, the temperature was much lower than the Hidden Snow Peak. Being on the most imposing peak of the Sword Sect, the cold wind blowing from afar made one’s mind exceptionally clear.

Qin Qingyi sniffed and sighed as she looked at the sky.

“It’s going to be winter again.”

Seeing her come out, Zhou Zhixue, who had been guarding outside all day, came forward.

“Senior Sister.”

She did not mention how tired, hard, or bored she was guarding outside all day. She merely walked beside Qin Qingyi and draped a warm sable fur cloak over the thinly dressed Qin Qingyi.

“The night is deep and the weather is cold, Senior Sister must take good care of herself.”

Her eyes were full of concern, her gaze almost clinging to Qin Qingyi.

Qin Qingyi looked at this Junior Sister of hers, her heart a mix of complicated emotions.

This Junior Sister of hers seemed harmless and utterly devoted to her on the surface, but she always felt that Zhou Zhixue held many things she had yet to fully understand.

Her Junior Sister was concealing quite a bit from her.

After Venerable Wen Qing ascended, Zhou Zhixue had changed drastically. It wasn’t that her appearance had changed significantly, but her aura.

She was still an ice beauty who kept people at arm’s length, but looking at her today, she was a loyal dog who would only bow her head to Qin Qingyi.

Who in the Sword Sect didn’t know? Zhou Zhixue, the number one in the Celestial Being Realm, born with a sword bone, the rumored reincarnation of Immortal Venerable Wujiu (Flawless), an acclaimed genius of the Sword Sect, would only obey Qin Qingyi’s orders.

When others spoke to her, if she was in a good mood, she might offer a tiny response. If she was in a bad mood, she wouldn’t even offer a smile.

The disciples in the Sword Sect highly revered her. New disciples entering the sect even regarded her as an idol and motivation to move forward. Most entered the Sword Sect just to meet Zhou Zhixue once, but only after entering did they realize that this Senior Sister was a lofty flower only to be viewed from afar.

Although they couldn’t get a response from Zhou Zhixue, it didn’t hinder the disciples’ fervent admiration for her. Wherever she went, there were many following Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters, mostly Junior Sisters.

And when these Junior Sisters saw the way Zhou Zhixue interacted with Qin Qingyi, their eyes lit up with stars, squealing things like “So shippable! So shippable!”

Zhou Zhixue didn’t understand what these Junior Sisters were saying, but she wasn’t a fool. Seeing their lack of dignity, and considering they were sect members, she merely moved a few steps away to distance herself slightly.

The situation between the Immortals and Demons had become increasingly tense during this period. Assassination attempts by the Demon Race on Elders and Sect Masters of major sects were frequent. Zhou Zhixue simply stopped going to Cliff Mountain to eliminate demons and focused solely on guarding Qin Qingyi.

When others asked, she only said she had to protect the Sect Master’s safety. Qin Qingyi saw her by her side every day and didn’t object. Sometimes, when she had leisure, she would ask her why she was always guarding her, even though she knew her strength was not as great as her own.

Qin Qingyi was only half a step away from breaking through the Celestial Being Realm and entering the Half-Step Ascension Realm, while Zhou Zhixue was only in the early stage of the Celestial Being Realm. Although the difference in strength was not large, for cultivators, a single-rank gap was like an uncrossable chasm. Countless people spend their entire lives trying to reach a new realm.

In the past, Zhou Zhixue would simply remain silent, still stubbornly guarding Qin Qingyi’s side.

Today, Qin Qingyi felt inspired and asked her again: “Junior Sister, why don’t you go to Cliff Mountain? Why do you constantly guard me? Are you perhaps afraid that I would abandon the Sword Sect and run off without a word?”

This time, Zhou Zhixue actually nodded seriously, saying briefly but solemnly, “Yes.”

Qin Qingyi was stunned, then burst out laughing: “Really?”

Zhou Zhixue didn’t answer again, merely looking at her with those eyes as clear and translucent as ice and snow.

Perhaps due to the influence of her Ice Spiritual Root, aside from her inaccessible aura, Zhou Zhixue’s eyes were also lighter than usual. They weren’t the common amber color but closer to a light-colored glaze, looking into them was like falling into a sea of glaze, incredibly beautiful.

“So, will Senior Sister leave?”

Her voice was very soft, but when it fell upon Qin Qingyi’s heart, it felt heavily suffocating.

Qin Qingyi turned her head away, no longer looking into Zhou Zhixue’s eyes.

After a long while, she spoke hoarsely:

“Probably… not.”