After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 125

Half an hour later.

Qin Qingyi was crouched in a deep pit, tapping and digging with a small hoe.

While busy and covered in dust, she was muttering to vent the grievances from the scare she had just received.

“I don’t know what you were thinking, you just had to scare me like that. Wasn’t it perfectly normal for me to want to run?”

As she spoke, her eyes darted to the Wujiu Immortal Venerable who was resting, lying on his back on a withered tree not far away.

When Wujiu Immortal Venerable had just pretended to be possessed and frightened her, threatening to eat her, Qin Qingyi was so scared that she ran as fast as she could. Unfortunately, before she could escape the Wuwang Mountain area, she was pulled back by a brutal suction force, and in the blink of an eye, she was back in front of the Immortal Venerable. Qin Qingyi screamed in terror, wildly hacking with the Liubai Sword while her eyes were squeezed shut.

It wasn’t until the other party flicked her forehead that she clearly heard Wujiu Immortal Venerable saying that he was only fooling her.

It turned out to be a big misunderstanding.

Fortunately, he kept his promise and immediately brought her to one of the array cores of a killing array, saying that as long as she dug out the core, he would teach her how to re-form the killing array.

However, she had been digging for most of the day; it was almost night, and the pit she dug was big enough to bury two of her standing up, but she still hadn’t dug up the so-called array core.

Seeing his leisurely appearance, and then looking at herself, who had to dig hard without knowing when she would reach the array core, she felt resentful and wished she could just quit and leave immediately.

“If you leave, when you come back next time, there will be no one left to help you re-form this killing array.”

Wujiu Immortal Venerable, who was closing his eyes in a mock nap on the withered tree, glanced at her and threw that sentence from afar.

Sure enough, this sentence seemed to be her Achilles’ heel; the formerly irritated look immediately disappeared, and she immediately squatted down to continue digging dutifully.

Wujiu Immortal Venerable smiled slightly, hummed a tune, and lay back down.

Perhaps it was because someone had finally talked to her after thousands of years, or perhaps the little fox in front of her was too endearingly silly, but in any case, Wujiu Immortal Venerable was in a very good mood at the moment, and naturally would not mind the little fox’s constant disrespect.

She’s still a child; what is there to care about?

When she was as young as her, she was also a troublemaker.

Qin Qingyi continued to diligently dig the soil; although she was still grumbling, the work in her hands did not stop for a moment.

She didn’t know how many days and nights she had dug, but finally, just before her spiritual energy was depleted, the hoe she wielded for the nth time did not sink into the soil but seemed to have hit something hard. The “clang—” sound of metal striking stone almost sent Qin Qingyi flying.

A burst of spiritual energy fluctuation emanated from under her feet, with ripples expanding outwards layer by layer. The flying dust and scattered mud almost buried Qin Qingyi.

But she quickly realized that she might have dug to the array core.

“Immortal Venerable, I found it—”

She yelled outside at the top of her lungs, but Wujiu Immortal Venerable had already noticed the movement when it occurred. The moment her voice fell, Wujiu Immortal Venerable was already in front of her.

Although it was only a phantom, she could clearly perceive the slight smile on his lips.

Wujiu Immortal Venerable squatted down for a closer look, then stood up after a moment and praised:

“Not bad. This is one of the array cores.”

“Little fox, well done.”

Qin Qingyi eagerly moved closer: “So, what should I do next?”

Wujiu Immortal Venerable looked her up and down: “Let out your tail.”

Qin Qingyi: “Huh?”

Wujiu Immortal Venerable: “What ‘huh’? Let out your tail, and then use your demonic power to probe the array core.”

“Since you know my Senior Sister is a demon, you should also understand that she, like you, cultivates both spiritual and demonic power. This array was outlined with demonic power, so it’s not surprising.”

Qin Qingyi suddenly understood.

She did as she was told, letting out her fox tail. Demonic energy swirled around her, completely restoring her demonic appearance.

Then, following Wujiu Immortal Venerable’s guidance, she deeply probed the ground with her demonic power.

However, as soon as she touched the array core, she felt as if her palm was being sucked by some force, tightly stuck to the ground and unable to be removed. Even more, in the next instant, the demonic power within her body began to flow out uncontrollably.

This array core was plundering her demonic power!

Qin Qingyi was about to ask for help when Wujiu Immortal Venerable spoke to soothe her: “Don’t be afraid. It only needs demonic power; it won’t suck you dry.”

With his reassurance, Qin Qingyi felt slightly relieved.

But since she was the one who couldn’t move, Qin Qingyi didn’t dare to be careless and could only wholeheartedly observe the movement of the array core beneath her.

Fortunately, Wujiu Immortal Venerable genuinely did not lie to her this time. After a while, the array core began to light up little by little under the nourishment of the demonic power.

However, this process was extremely long, so long that it almost completely drained the demonic power in Qin Qingyi’s body. Only when the array core was fully lit could Qin Qingyi feel the force restraining her palm gradually dissipate.

Qin Qingyi held onto the dirt wall and stood up. Her vision was momentarily blackened; if it weren’t for the spiritual power still supporting her, she would have collapsed to sleep right there.

Wujiu Immortal Venerable stood on the edge of the pit, looking at the completely lit array core below, nodded with satisfaction, and then, in a good mood, lifted Qin Qingyi out of the pit.

He then turned and walked towards another direction.

“Let’s go, time to find the next one.”

Qin Qingyi had just stood steady, thinking she could finally rest for a bit, but upon hearing Wujiu Immortal Venerable’s words, she could only take a deep breath and quickly follow his steps.

Now was not the time for cuteness or acting spoiled; her Master and the others were waiting for her to bring back news about the killing array.

Time was pressing. The sooner the killing array was set up, the faster she could catch up with her Master’s group and avoid dragging them down.

“You might not be aware, but this place’s killing array has nine main array cores, which is the extreme number in the world. After each main array core, there are forty-nine medium-sized array cores distributed, and after the medium-sized array cores, there are eighty-one small-sized array cores distributed, respectively.”

As they walked, Wujiu Immortal Venerable told Qin Qingyi about the distribution of the array cores and past events.

“In the past, the main array cores were guarded by me, the Human Emperor, a few Yama Kings from the Ghost Realm of the Netherworld, and your Demon Race’s Demon Emperor. The subsequent medium-sized and small-sized array cores were guarded by cultivators of lower strength, respectively. A medium-sized array core normally required three people, and a small-sized array core needed nine people standing together.”

“…In this manner, everyone contributed their effort, burning their own lifespans to barely get the killing array running. The hardship and difficulty involved need no elaboration.”

Listening to Wujiu Immortal Venerable’s narrative, Qin Qingyi could roughly imagine how much the cultivators of the Profound Heaven Realm had sacrificed to resist the Demon Race back then.

Wujiu Immortal Venerable sighed and soon arrived at the location of the next array core.

“Alright, this is the second small-sized array core. Dig towards here; it’s about the same depth as the previous one. Once you dig it up, light it up just like before.”

Qin Qingyi blinked, looked up, and asked, wanting to learn: “So, the one just now was also a small-sized array core?”

Wujiu Immortal Venerable replied with a chuckle: “Yes, what else?”

Qin Qingyi blinked again, taking a moment to accept the reality.

One small-sized array core was enough to suck her dry. Now there were still thirty-five thousand seven hundred and twenty small-sized array cores, four hundred and forty-one medium-sized array cores, and nine main array cores waiting for her to light up.

Could she really complete this arduous task?

Or, could she really survive to complete the task?

Seemingly noticing the shock in her eyes, Wujiu Immortal Venerable comforted her without any sympathy or pity: “Alright, don’t worry about these things. Light up one, and it’s one more done. If you can’t handle it, this Venerable will naturally help you.”

“Really?” Qin Qingyi sought confirmation.

“Fake,” Wujiu Immortal Venerable smiled.

The tiny spark of hope Qin Qingyi had just gained was instantly extinguished again, and she immediately pouted in grievance.

If he wasn’t going to help, he shouldn’t tease her. That was too much.

Seeing her looking dejected, Wujiu Immortal Venerable squatted down, hooked Qin Qingyi’s chin, forcing her to look up at him, and taught her earnestly and sincerely: “Young one, this Venerable will give you a piece of advice.”

“In this world, apart from yourself, you can’t rely on anyone else.”

“Don’t you understand the principle that mountains will fall and people will run? Haven’t there been enough deceitful incidents among the cultivators of the Profound Heaven Realm? How have you grown up to be so naive?”

Qin Qingyi lowered her head in shame.

It’s just that… she hadn’t encountered a genuinely vicious person yet, had she?

And—

The Wujiu Immortal Venerable in front of her was too different from the image people spoke of in the Profound Heaven Realm; he didn’t look serious and reliable as rumored at all, but rather extremely frivolous.

“Didn’t you cultivate the Heartless Dao? How come you don’t look like it at all?”

She couldn’t help but ask.

Unexpectedly, Wujiu Immortal Venerable glanced at her and sneered: “Why? Does the Heartless Dao mean severing all feelings? Having no emotions? Not being able to live freely?”

Qin Qingyi didn’t know how to answer.

To be honest, she wasn’t sure what a person cultivating the Heartless Dao should be like.

It was just that for a moment, she thought of Zhou Zhixue.

Her Junior Sister.

Also cultivating the Heartless Dao, her Junior Sister and Wujiu Immortal Venerable felt worlds apart.

“Why that look? Speak up if you have something to say; why hesitate.”

Under Wujiu Immortal Venerable’s urging, Qin Qingyi finally couldn’t hesitate anymore. She voiced her thoughts: “This junior has a Junior Sister who, like you, senior, cultivates the Heartless Dao. She is usually cold and aloof, rarely smiles, and seems very different from you.”

“She started cultivating the Heartless Dao from a young age. Later, this junior had to leave her for a long time. When I returned, I found that she didn’t look free or happy. She had deeply locked up her heart. I don’t know what she thinks inside or what she truly wants; I can only watch her become more and more unhappy, but I can do nothing.”

After listening to what Qin Qingyi said, Wujiu Immortal Venerable opened his mouth with almost no hesitation: “Her Dao is wrong.”

Qin Qingyi was startled: “Her Dao… is wrong?”

“Yes, her Dao is wrong. Although I don’t know why, the original intention of the Heartless Dao is not like this. You said she rarely smiles and is cold as ice; this is a characteristic of taking the wrong path. If the Dao is cultivated incorrectly, the cultivation speed must also be very slow, right?”

Although Wujiu Immortal Venerable was asking, his tone was certain, clearly very knowledgeable about the crux of the matter.

Qin Qingyi nodded repeatedly. Her Junior Sister’s cultivation had indeed slowed down greatly; in the past, her progress was rapid, but now it was extremely slow. Although spiritual energy entered her meridians, it gave no benefit whatsoever.

Seeing her nod, Wujiu Immortal Venerable immediately raised an eyebrow and smiled: “Want to know what’s going on?”

Qin Qingyi didn’t hesitate: “Yes!”

She not only wanted to know how her Junior Sister’s Dao went wrong but also how to correct her Junior Sister’s twisted Dao.

If the Dao goes wrong, it’s very easy to suffer a Qi Deviation and die from a burst body. Selfishly speaking, she did not want to see her Junior Sister end up like that.

However, after asking, Wujiu Immortal Venerable did not intend to tell her the secret. Instead, he turned and walked away, leaving Qin Qingyi behind in a few moments.

Qin Qingyi saw this and quickly called out: “Senior, you haven’t finished speaking yet.”

Wujiu Immortal Venerable’s voice came from afar: “If you want to know, quickly light up the array cores of the killing array. When you have lit up all the small-sized array cores, this Venerable will tell you.”

Qin Qingyi was helpless after hearing this. She wanted to use charming techniques to coax the information out of Wujiu Immortal Venerable, but who knew the other party was completely unaffected and refused to budge.

Helpless, Qin Qingyi could only bury her head and work hard.

“It’s just lighting up array cores; it’s not like it can kill me from exhaustion, right?”

Initially, Qin Qingyi thought this way. No matter how hard or tiring it was, she could endure it, and as long as she lit up all the array cores of the killing array, the task would be completed.

This thought persisted until dawn. She didn’t know how many array cores she had lit, but Qin Qingyi only felt her mind was so blurry that she was starting to hallucinate.

“Is it not over yet?”

After lighting up yet another array core, Qin Qingyi could barely stand. She spoke for the first time, hoping Wujiu Immortal Venerable would let her rest for a bit, considering her current exhausted state with depleted spiritual energy and haggard appearance.

“Can’t hold on?” Wujiu Immortal Venerable, who was still leading the way, sounded surprised.

Qin Qingyi slowly nodded.

Not only could she not hold on, but she felt like she was about to pass out in the next moment.

Wujiu Immortal Venerable chuckled upon seeing her state: “Where did that heroic declaration just now go? This Venerable thought you could last a little longer.”

Qin Qingyi shook her head blankly: “I can’t. I really can’t. I’m completely empty.”

At this moment, her Dantian was empty; not only was all her demonic power exhausted, but even her spiritual power was minimal. The array cores had completely drained her.

Of course, hard work pays off. Up to this moment, the dozens of array cores in her vicinity were all lit up, emitting a faint glow.

“Then take a break. You should sit down and recover first, and then continue later.” Wujiu Immortal Venerable finally softened and let her rest.

Qin Qingyi forced herself to nod again, then didn’t bother to care about her image, immediately sat down cross-legged on the spot, and began to constantly absorb the surrounding spiritual energy to replenish her Dantian.

Afterward, she would convert the spiritual energy into demonic power, to be used when lighting up the array cores later.

Wujiu Immortal Venerable had already told her that the sheer number of array cores here was not something she could complete in a day.

But where there is a will, there is a way. As long as she did a little more, and then a little more, there would eventually be a day when she finished.

She had just never expected that this killing array would actually keep her trapped here for three long years.

Three years’ time is enough to change many things.