After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 55

“Senior Sister, perhaps another day.”

Qin Qingyi heard Zhou Zhixue say.

Junior Sister said another day.

In her eyes, there was none of the dependence she had when Qin Qingyi first returned.

She had just dodged her hand.

It was as if she and her Junior Sister were just ordinary sect members.

A sense of loss suddenly overcame Qin Qingyi.

“Another day… works too.”

Her voice trailed off.

Zhou Zhixue seemed uncomfortable with the current atmosphere between them, slightly pursed her lips, then lowered her gaze again: “Senior Sister, you’re blocking my way.”

Qin Qingyi suddenly realized.

Oh, she was blocking the path her Junior Sister needed to take to leave.

She quickly stepped aside, Qin Qingyi apologized slightly: “Apologies, Junior Sister.”

Zhou Zhixue didn’t say anything more and left directly.

Only after the person had gone far away did Qin Qingyi softly lament: “She was so cold to me just now.”

“It’s as if all the kindness I showed her before never existed.”

The one in her dantian who called himself Wuwang Immortal Venerable sneered, mocking her: “Isn’t this what you wanted?”

She was the one who insisted on sealing the person’s memory and feelings, and now she was the one complaining that the person was cold.

She got to say whatever she wanted.

Qin Qingyi chuckled somewhat guiltily: “Wasn’t I doing it for her own good?”

The other party’s voice was even more sarcastic: “For her own good? Did you ask for her opinion?”

“Perhaps she wouldn’t have cared about your demon race identity at all?”

Qin Qingyi thought of her Junior Sister taking an oath in front of her back then, and then of sealing this memory of her Junior Sister, and she couldn’t help but nervously touch the tip of her nose.

But facing the mockery, she still stubbornly argued: “I’ve read plenty of these kinds of stories. Those who cultivate the Heartless Dao are all cold and unfeeling. If they encounter anything that hinders them, they chop it down with a single sword stroke.”

“Junior Sister also cultivates the Heartless Dao. What’s wrong with me being cautious? Look, today she’s forgotten about this matter, and her cultivation has immediately risen to the next level. What’s wrong with that?”

The other party couldn’t argue with her and sulked in the dantian, refusing to speak again.

Qin Qingyi felt bored and simply stayed silent too.

She was curious about what her Junior Sister was going to do.

She refused her invitation to spar, so what important matter could it be?

If she hadn’t seen wrong, her Junior Sister should have headed towards the peak.

Thinking this, Qin Qingyi didn’t delay and also turned towards the mountain peak.

——————

The peak of Cangxue Peak.

On the precipice, Zhou Zhixue stood with her sword.

Across from her stood Venerable Wen Qing.

Today was the agreed-upon day for Venerable Wen Qing to test Zhou Zhixue’s progress in cultivation.

Once a year, this was now the tenth time.

“Master, please forgive my offense!”

Zhou Zhixue let out a soft cry and immediately thrust her sword towards Venerable Wen Qing.

This sword strike was imbued with the spiritual power of a Peak Nascent Soul cultivator, truly an all-out strike.

Unfortunately, this strike might be a thunderous technique in front of someone of equal cultivation, but in front of Venerable Wen Qing, it was particularly underwhelming.

She didn’t even draw her sword. She only held the sheath with one hand, the other hand behind her back, and easily blocked Zhou Zhixue’s full-force attack.

In fact, Venerable Wen Qing looked at the little disciple close at hand, gently pushed the sword hilt, and sent the person flying out.

Zhou Zhixue retreated several steps before barely stabilizing herself.

“It’s not enough. Your grip on the sword is weak and powerless, and your attack is disorganized.” Venerable Wen Qing commented, completely merciless.

“Is this how I taught you your sword techniques? Did you forget them after sleeping?”

Zhou Zhixue quickly bowed her head and softly admitted her mistake: “This disciple would not dare.”

“Since you dare not, then concentrate. You are sparring with me now. If you were traveling outside and facing an opponent, they would not show you mercy.”

Venerable Wen Qing’s voice softened, but her next sentence struck directly at Zhou Zhixue’s heart: “If one day your fellow sect members are injured outside, or if you are attacked, you wouldn’t want to be utterly powerless, would you?”

Venerable Wen Qing beckoned to her: “Again.”

“Unleash your full strength, attack me with everything you have.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhixue, like a sharp arrow, once again rushed towards Venerable Wen Qing’s face.

The sword’s edge fell like rain, dense and continuous.

Venerable Wen Qing parried while continuing to provoke Zhou Zhixue:

“Think about when you were weaker before, and some of your fellow sect members were jealous of you. If you had the power you have now, would you still fear them harming you? Would you still let them harm your Senior Brother or Senior Sister?”

Zhou Zhixue gritted her teeth, striking one sword after another. If one sword was blocked, it didn’t matter, the next one was already on its way.

If she couldn’t hit from the front, she’d attack from the side, from the back.

Her jaw was tight. Venerable Wen Qing saw that the verbal provocation was effective and intensified it:

“See me as your enemy, as a demon! Don’t hold back!”

“Think of your mother! If you had the power to resist back then, would such a tragedy still have happened?!”

At this, Zhou Zhixue’s eyes reddened, followed by even more frantic attacks.

She remained silent, but her attacks were increasingly forceful.

However, even so, until her strength was exhausted, Zhou Zhixue couldn’t even damage a single thread of Venerable Wen Qing’s clothing.

No other reason, Venerable Wen Qing’s power was simply too formidable.

There was a chasm between the two of them. No matter what, Zhou Zhixue could not injure Venerable Wen Qing in the slightest.

Seeing her spiritual power completely depleted and her body exhausted from over-exertion, Venerable Wen Qing slowly retracted her sword, walked up to Zhou Zhixue, and channeled a layer of spiritual energy into her.

“It seems you’ve had a breakthrough recently.”

Venerable Wen Qing looked at her with a smile.

Zhou Zhixue nodded gently, calming her chaotic and rapid breathing.

The two stood together at the edge of the cliff. A fierce cold wind blew up from the bottom of the cliff, fluttering their robes.

Zhou Zhixue frowned slightly and answered Venerable Wen Qing’s question: “This disciple has indeed had a breakthrough, but…”

She hesitated. Venerable Wen Qing couldn’t bear to see her so hesitant and urged: “Just say what you want to say. We’ve been Master and disciple for many years, why be so reserved?”

“Besides, I have leisure time today. Say what worries you, and I can help you think it through.”

Having received her permission, Zhou Zhixue hesitantly spoke her mind.

“Master, I don’t know why, but these past two days I keep thinking about… the day you asked me to go to Black Water Cliff to find Senior Sister. After I saw Senior Sister, I walked back with her, and then we were ambushed by demons. We fled in a panic to the Hanging Mountain, and then I asked for your help.”

Venerable Wen Qing’s voice was gentle: “You told me this the day after I brought you back, and your Senior Sister has recounted it several times. Why bring it up again today?”

Zhou Zhixue suddenly looked up: “But, Master!”

“I don’t know why, but I can’t recall the appearance of the few demons that ambushed me and Senior Sister that day. No matter how I try to remember, the memory in my mind is getting blurrier and blurrier.”

Zhou Zhixue clutched her head, trying hard to recall. A look of pain gradually appeared on her face.

“I can’t remember no matter what! I’ve been meditating in my room for the past few days. My mind should be clear, but I don’t know why, I keep hearing a faint, indistinct voice in my ear, forcing me to constantly recall the events of that day.”

“How we encountered danger that day, how we fled to the Hanging Mountain, how I passed out—I can’t recall any of these minor details now.”

She looked up, her gaze at Venerable Wen Qing revealing a mixture of confusion and struggle between clarity and bewilderment.

“Master, I seem to have forgotten a lot of things.”

Hearing that the situation was so serious, Venerable Wen Qing’s expression finally became solemn. She took two steps forward to Zhou Zhixue’s side, and without a word, took hold of her wrist.

“Relax, I will examine you.”

Hearing Venerable Wen Qing say this, Zhou Zhixue withdrew her spiritual energy, obediently allowing Venerable Wen Qing’s spiritual energy to flow into her meridians.

After a full cycle of operation, Venerable Wen Qing’s brows slightly relaxed.

“I have examined your dantian and meridians, and there are no major issues.”

She looked at Zhou Zhixue with concern: “Have you experienced any other discomfort while cultivating recently?”

Zhou Zhixue shook her head, even saying with some shame: “No, in fact… I’ve been cultivating faster than usual.”

“But, I just feel like I’ve forgotten a lot of things.” She stubbornly tapped her head, seemingly blaming herself for not being able to remember.

“No matter how I try to recall, the things in my memory seem to be getting blurrier.”

In her memory, that day she carried Master’s decree and found Senior Sister at Black Water Cliff. Senior Sister said she had found important clues about the demons in the demon cave and needed to return to the sect to report to Master.

Then, Senior Sister said she found the corpses of many human children in the demon cave. It seemed the demons were using these children as some strange sacrifice.

What… a vessel?

The scene before Zhou Zhixue’s eyes shifted. She clutched her head and crouched down, gasping softly, “Master, my head hurts so much.”

Scenes flashed before her eyes: scarlet demon cocoons, and corpses falling out of shattered demon cocoons.

It was as if she had witnessed all of this firsthand.

But these were clearly things that Senior Sister had told her.

The scenes in her memory and Qin Qingyi’s face intermingled, flashing back and forth in Zhou Zhixue’s mind.

That’s right, Senior Sister told her everything.

Senior Sister told her these things on the way back.

She hadn’t entered the demon cave, she only met Senior Sister at the periphery of Black Water Cliff, and then they decided to return to the Sword Sect.

And then…

And then they suddenly encountered demons again, and they were chased all the way to the Hanging Mountain.

But…

But why were those images so real?

Zhou Zhixue held her head and thought for a long time.

Finally, Venerable Wen Qing patted her shoulder and comforted her: “Perhaps the pressure from cultivation has been too much recently?”

Zhou Zhixue nodded vaguely, then shook her head.

She didn’t know either.

Venerable Wen Qing sighed: “Perhaps I’ve been pushing you too hard.”

“Since you’ve reached the Peak Nascent Soul stage, you’ll probably break through to the Celestial Realm soon. Your Senior Brother and the others left to travel when they were at the Peak Golden Core stage, and your Senior Sister left even earlier. Yet, you’ve been confined to the small area of Cangxue Peak.”

Zhou Zhixue remained silent. For the past decade, she had been on Cangxue Peak, at the Sword Sect. There was nothing else besides cultivation.

Although her cultivation level was unparalleled, making her the most dazzling rising star of the younger generation, the focus of all eyes, and the praised youthful genius of the Xuan Tian Realm.

She was the most likely successor to Immortal Venerable Wujiu’s legacy and the most hopeful Heartless Dao successor to ascend.

But at the end of the day, she was still just a child who hadn’t fully grown up.

A child who hadn’t yet seen the outside world, who possessed formidable magical power but hadn’t truly entered the mortal world or experienced the vicissitudes of life.

Venerable Wen Qing considered the matter, pondering for a moment, and finally said: “Forget it. I will speak to your Sect Master Senior Brother. You should pack up these next few days, find a region, and go travel down the mountain.”

Zhou Zhixue looked up in confusion, not understanding why she was suddenly told to leave.

But for a moment, she felt a little fearful.

“Master…”

Was she supposed to go down the mountain alone?

“Of course I won’t ask you to go down the mountain alone.” Venerable Wen Qing noticed her fear and comforted her gently.

“Hasn’t your Senior Sister returned? She’s been gone for so many years and naturally knows where is suitable for travel. I’ll ask her to go with you then.”

“After all, now that she’s back, she’s been idle and has no serious business.”

Zhou Zhixue’s heart settled.

The cold wind at the peak of Cangxue Peak was biting. The two stood at the edge of the cliff. Zhou Zhixue turned to look at Venerable Wen Qing again.

“Master, Senior Sister… ”

She seemed to want to ask something, but as the words reached her lips, Zhou Zhixue’s eyes were suddenly blurred by the wind and snow blowing up from the bottom of the cliff. When she raised her sleeve to block the wind and snow, she forgot what she wanted to ask.

“What is it?” Venerable Wen Qing asked softly.

Zhou Zhixue shook her head lightly: “It’s nothing.”

Her voice was barely audible: “I just feel like Senior Sister is somehow different now than she was before she left.”

It seemed as if something had subtly changed between the two of them.

But if Zhou Zhixue were forced to say what it was, she couldn’t articulate it.

“Your Senior Sister, she’s usually quite reckless. You are now the most promising talent of Cangxue Peak, so don’t let her lead you astray when you go out this time.”

Venerable Wen Qing was still speaking.

Zhou Zhixue, however, recalled meeting Senior Sister at the entrance earlier.

She remembered Qin Qingyi’s hand reaching out to her, so familiar, so intimate.

Zhou Zhixue pursed her lips.

She had wanted to hold Senior Sister’s hand at the time, not just hold… she also wanted to…

A blush spread across Zhou Zhixue’s ears.

Just then, Venerable Wen Qing looked over due to her words and asked curiously: “Why is your face so red?”

“Is it too cold here?”

A series of concerned questions made Zhou Zhixue overwhelmed. She could only stammer a shake of her head and say it wasn’t cold.

A moment later, she fled in panic.

Venerable Wen Qing watched her running down the mountain and suddenly let out a laugh.

Then, without even lifting her eyelids, she spoke gently towards the crooked, lightning-scorched pine branch next to the precipice:

“The person is gone, why aren’t you coming out yet?”

For a while, there was no movement from the pine branch.

It wasn’t until Venerable Wen Qing’s patience ran out and she sent a burst of spiritual energy towards it.

Only then did a figure quickly leap down from the pine branch.

“Oh, Master~, why so irritable?”

Qin Qingyi narrowly dodged Venerable Wen Qing’s attack, which was not lethal, and jumped down, patting away non-existent dust on her clothes.

The clean little fox then leisurely sauntered over to Venerable Wen Qing.

“Master, not seeing you for a day makes this disciple miss you greatly.”

Venerable Wen Qing’s face remained unchanged, she let out a cold snort and pushed her away: “Stop the glib talk.”

“Why didn’t you show yourself just now? Why wait until your Junior Sister left to come out?”

Qin Qingyi clicked her tongue in feigned surprise: “Master, what are you talking about?”

“I wasn’t avoiding Junior Sister. I’m afraid Junior Sister is the one avoiding me.”

Venerable Wen Qing looked sideways: “Oh? Why is that?”

Qin Qingyi rolled her eyes. As for the reason… she had her suspicions, but she probably couldn’t say it.

So she could only make light of it: “How would this disciple know? Junior Sister’s maiden’s heart is hard for others to guess, you know.”

Venerable Wen Qing was speechless.

But she had no mind to chat idly with her. Her expression immediately turned serious: “What you told me a few days ago, I have already discussed with your Sect Master Senior Brother, and all the elders of the Sword Sect have been informed. However, this matter is of great importance and should not be brought to light for the time being, otherwise, it might cause unrest. We can only suppress it for now.”

Speaking of this, Venerable Wen Qing sighed softly.

“You must be aware of the current situation in the Xuan Tian Realm. People’s hearts are restless, there’s a talent gap in the new generation, and the position of the Immortal Sects is unstable.”

“Yet the demon race is growing stronger day by day. The Immortal Sects are in peril…”

Qin Qingyi stood where Zhou Zhixue had been, squinting at the fragmented snow blowing up from the bottom of the cliff.

When it reached her eyes, Qin Qingyi reached out to catch it and responded softly to Venerable Wen Qing: “Master, you worry too much.”

“The Great Dao is fifty, the Heaven’s Mandate is forty-nine, and one is escaped by man.”

“Since the beginning of time when Pangu opened the heavens, the human race has experienced too much. They neither have the protection of the Demon Empress Nuwa like the demon race, nor the support of Mother Earth like the Underworld. Without divine protection, the glory of the human race is more enduring than that of the demon race and the Underworld.”

“Humans are the favored darlings protected by the Heavenly Dao.”