After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 129

It wasn’t until the two of them had walked far away that Qin Qingyi, hidden in the shadows, emerged, dropping her stealth array.

Watching their figures disappear around the corner, Qin Qingyi let out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, her disguise was adequate; the two of them hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

However…

A smile curled up the corners of Qin Qingyi’s mouth.

Her good Junior Brother had indeed grown rapidly.

In just three short years, he could already keenly sense certain things.

But—

“Kid, your mastery isn’t quite there yet.”

Thinking of how Xie Suo had frowned in thought just now but ultimately given up without a clue, Qin Qingyi raised an eyebrow smugly.

She stayed quietly in place for a while, meticulously observing every familiar plant and tree on Hidden Snow Peak, until the surroundings became silent and the night deepened. Only then did she turn and leave.

Master, look, Junior Brother and Junior Sister are doing well even without my care.

Taking advantage of the deepening night, Qin Qingyi slowly walked down the mountain, returning to Yan Li’s residence at the Sword Sect.

“Where is it?”

Qin Qingyi stood awkwardly at the foot of Hidden Snow Peak.

She couldn’t quite remember where Yan Li’s residence was.

Which one of these neat rows of small houses at the base of the mountain belonged to Yan Li?!

They had discussed so much before she set off, so why didn’t she tell her such crucial information?!

What was she supposed to do now?

Sleep on the streets?

“If worst comes to worst, I’ll just meditate outside for the night,” Qin Qingyi muttered to herself, rubbing her aching head.

Although she had been the one to take Yan Li back and forth to get her disciple robes and residence, a few years had passed in a flash. She hadn’t been at the Sword Sect for over three years in between, so she really couldn’t find Yan Li’s living quarters right away.

After struggling in place for a moment, Qin Qingyi suddenly realized that the information about a disciple’s residence was actually recorded on the disciple token.

“I really must have been driven crazy staying in that killing array; I even forgot about this.”

Qin Qingyi patted her head while taking out Yan Li’s Outer Sect Disciple token from her sleeve. After injecting spiritual power into it and seeing the disciple’s information appear, she nodded in satisfaction.

“Good thing I remembered, or I’d really be sleeping under the stars tonight.”

Now that she knew the location, Qin Qingyi didn’t delay any further. She found Yan Li’s room, pressed the disciple token to open the door, and walked in.

For the past three years, she had been wandering in the killing array. Every day she woke up, she was digging pits, inputting demonic power to light up the array eyes—it was boring and tedious.

The only thing she could look forward to each day were the messages Yan Li sent her: about the Sword Sect, how the elders were doing; and more often, about her Junior Sister—where Junior Sister went today, what she did, whom she saw…

At that time, Qin Qingyi was extremely grateful that she had brought Yan Li into the Sword Sect.

If not for Yan Li, she would have completely lost all news of her Junior Sister.

After she faked her death, Yan Li became her secret pawn within the Sword Sect, her ears and eyes.

Of course, she didn’t get news about her Junior Sister every day.

Yan Li was, after all, only an Outer Sect Disciple. Due to the limitations of her demon race identity, Qin Qingyi couldn’t arrange an Inner Sect Disciple status for her.

But Zhou Zhixue, as a direct lineage personal disciple of Hidden Snow Peak, often came and went, rarely staying long in the Sword Sect, like a dragon whose head is seen but its tail is not. Thus, Yan Li couldn’t keep track of Zhou Zhixue’s whereabouts at all times.

So, more often than not, Qin Qingyi could only wait in the killing array, a monotonous existence, anticipating Yan Li’s next message.

She always thought, if there was no news of Junior Sister this time, perhaps there would be next time; she would always wait for it.

It was this belief that sustained her through three years in the killing array.

And it was these three years of dull, uneventful days and nights that allowed some dark thoughts, which she hadn’t possessed before, to grow in her heart.

Junior Sister gradually became her obsession.

She recalled a day when she couldn’t help but dream of her Junior Sister, only to wake up shouting her name. The Immortal Venerable Wu Wang couldn’t resist mocking her:

“I suppressed your infatuation for you, and you turned around and became obsessed again?”

Qin Qingyi was naturally speechless, only maintaining silence.

What could she say?

Everything was allowed to happen by her tacit permission, whether it was allowing her Junior Sister to approach her or later allowing her Junior Sister to climb into her bed.

A cause planted yesterday yields a consequence today.

She deserved it all.

She should have known long ago, from the moment she first showed tenderness to her Junior Sister, that this day was inevitable.

She couldn’t blame anyone.

Yan Li’s room was very clean, devoid of any personal touches. Whatever she had been given before, she had continued to use.

Qin Qingyi didn’t sleep on Yan Li’s bed. Instead, she lay on the soft couch beside it, resting one hand behind her head, and closed her eyes in a light slumber.

At this moment, she thought of nothing, only wishing for a stable sleep.

For several days in a row, Qin Qingyi did nothing but wander around the training ground. Occasionally, she would go up to fight a few matches, offering pointers or simply finishing quickly and stepping down.

It was a rare moment of leisure.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to do anything else, especially since she hadn’t yet investigated the truth of the rumors about Zhou Zhixue’s imminent death.

Moreover, although things seemed normal on the surface these past few days, she always felt a few gazes secretly watching her from the shadows.

Qin Qingyi had some guesses about this but didn’t let on, continuing her routine of checking in at the training ground every day.

However, this easy life didn’t last for long.

Because—

A nameless small mountain a hundred miles east of Cliffs Mountain suddenly exploded in broad daylight. A fissure split open, and multi-colored light continuously shone from the crack, refusing to dissipate for days.

The surrounding Immortal Sects all dispatched elders and disciples to investigate. The Sword Sect was no exception.

The leader was the elder currently teaching swordsmanship. Coincidentally, this elder and the previous one who taught swordsmanship both had the surname Wei. Although the previous one had already ascended, to distinguish them, everyone now called the current one Elder Xiao Wei (Little Wei).

Yan Li was only an Outer Sect Disciple, and the strength she displayed at the Sword Sect wasn’t particularly strong. Although she had been somewhat conspicuous these past few days, she was ultimately just an Outer Sect Disciple who had previously hidden her abilities but possessed a slight talent.

Naturally, she wouldn’t be assigned to investigate the anomaly of the multi-colored light from the fissure.

However, Qin Qingyi learned what had happened earlier than those disciples sent to investigate the anomaly.

That night, the communication jade slip from the Upper Realm lit up.

Qin Qingyi quickly sat up, clutching the jade slip with excitement.

As soon as the communication connected, Qin Qingyi eagerly called out in a low voice: “Master?”

It had been a long time since their last communication. Her Master and the others were busy in the Upper Realm, and she was always worried about disturbing them. Therefore, she hadn’t contacted the Upper Realm to inform them after the killing array was fully restored.

Hearing her voice, a familiar light laugh came from the other side—it was Shangguan Yu.

She teased: “It’s me. Your Master isn’t here right now.”

Hearing that her Master was absent, Qin Qingyi couldn’t hide her disappointment but still perked up: “Senior Martial Aunt, I have good news to tell you. The killing array has been fully lit and restored to its former glory.”

“I already know about this matter.”

On the other side of the jade slip, there was a moment of noise, a chaotic mix of voices. But Qin Qingyi didn’t wait long before Shangguan Yu’s gentle voice came from the opposite side of the jade slip.

And precisely from the moment she spoke, the noisy sounds disappeared.

But none of that was the point.

The point was that she wasn’t at all surprised by what she had said.

Qin Qingyi was immediately astonished: “You knew?”

It had only been a few days since she completely repaired the killing array. Where did her Master and Senior Martial Aunt get the news?

Shangguan Yu laughed again. She reminded Qin Qingyi: “Did you forget your Master’s divination ability?”

“Two days ago, she already divined that you had completed the task and even knew that you are currently in the Sword Sect. Am I right?”

Qin Qingyi widened her eyes and conceded: “You are right. I am indeed in the Sword Sect now.”

Didn’t they say her Master’s divination was only half-baked? How could she be so accurate after going to the Upper Realm, even figuring out where she was? This was too miraculous.

Qin Qingyi muttered in her heart, but then a question came to mind—

Since her Master and Senior Martial Aunt already knew, why did they still contact her?

She knew she didn’t have many of these communication jade slips left; they were a limited resource. Her Senior Martial Aunt wouldn’t waste a communication opportunity just because she missed her.

She thought of the mountain that suddenly split open a few days ago, and the multi-colored light emanating from the fissure.

Could this have been caused by her Master and Senior Martial Aunt?

The thought immediately brought disbelief, but this matter had never happened before in the Xuantian Realm; it was the first time in history. It wasn’t impossible that it was opened from the Upper Realm.

As soon as a question arose, Qin Qingyi immediately posed it to Shangguan Yu: “Then, Senior Martial Aunt, are you contacting me now for another matter?”

Shangguan Yu said: “You guessed correctly.”

“If I’m not mistaken, there should be a region near Cliffs Mountain where multi-colored light suddenly appeared. Is that true?”

Qin Qingyi’s heart suddenly settled. At this moment, she could roughly confirm that this matter was indeed caused by her Senior Martial Aunt and the others.

She responded softly: “It is true. Does Senior Martial Aunt have any other arrangements?”

Qin Qingyi heard a sigh of relief from Shangguan Yu’s side, as if she was only able to relax after hearing her answer.

“It’s good that it’s there. Since it is, it means our efforts weren’t in vain, and there’s still a chance for everything.”

Shangguan Yu didn’t pause for too long. She immediately said to Qin Qingyi: “Good Junior Niece, you must listen carefully to what I’m about to say, and remember it well.”

Her sudden seriousness made Qin Qingyi nervous as well.

Although she didn’t know what exactly was beneath that anomalous multi-colored light, there must be some difficult task for her now.

She quickly set up soundproofing and anti-peeping barriers in the room, ensuring that no one could hear the movements inside, and then solemnly replied: “Senior Martial Aunt, please speak. This disciple will naturally keep it in mind.”

After a brief silence, Shangguan Yu’s voice came through, low and serious: “The anomaly near Cliffs Mountain is a passage that your Master and I, along with the other cultivators who ascended from the Xuantian Realm, painstakingly opened with all our might.”

“Beyond this passage is a secret realm.”

Qin Qingyi was puzzled: “A secret realm?”

Shangguan Yu: “Yes, a secret realm.”

“However, this is not an ordinary secret realm. It is a special secret realm where the Demon God’s torso was buried when he was sealed long ago.”

The Demon God’s torso?!

Qin Qingyi’s pupils abruptly contracted.

Her breathing suddenly became hurried.

Shangguan Yu on the other side continued: “You should know that during the War of Extinction a thousand years ago, the Demon God did not perish. Even though all the races paid a heavy price, the Demon God was too powerful. Our ancestors could only manage to split and suppress him. Now, the suppression array is getting weaker and weaker. The Demon God’s head broke the barrier a hundred years ago and is hidden among the demon race. Now, the connection between His torso and head is getting stronger. Perhaps one day soon, He will break the seal and reassemble.”

For some reason, Shangguan Yu’s voice on the other side was getting lower and lower, even intermittent, short of breath, and hurried.

The more Qin Qingyi listened, the heavier the ominous feeling in her heart became.

“Senior Martial Aunt…” She wanted to ask what was happening on Shangguan Yu’s side.

“Qingyi, don’t interrupt me!” Shangguan Yu’s voice was sharp. “Listen carefully to every word I say, and remember it well!”

Qin Qingyi was stunned by her sudden surge of emotion and could only remain silent, but her heart was beating particularly clearly and violently at this moment.

It felt as if it was trying to break free from her chest.

She remained frozen in place, her ears only catching Shangguan Yu’s voice.

“Once the secret realm appears, not only the Immortal Sects but also the demon race will definitely get wind of it. The Demon God will surely enter to retrieve His body. Once He succeeds, there will be no Xuantian Realm left in the future…”

“Qingyi, you must enter that secret realm… Only the Killing Sword can completely slay Him… You must enter! Absolutely cannot, absolutely cannot let the Demon God’s head get there first!”