After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 86

There is no other way.

These words left many stunned.

Ascension was within reach, but the price was heavy.

Watching the hesitant expressions of the crowd, Venerable Wen Qing’s heart was calm.

She had long anticipated the current situation.

From many years ago, when they pressured her Senior Sister and forced her own disciple to cultivate the Path of Emotionlessness, she knew that many elders of the Sword Sect were no longer the immortal, detached, and disinterested figures they once were.

The Profound Heaven Realm had long been corrupted.

Cultivators, in their scramble for cultivation resources, might be all smiles today, but could draw swords against each other tomorrow, turning their backs on former allies. Some were even shameless enough to collude with the Demon Race, just for a tiny immediate gain.

Sometimes, Venerable Wen Qing would mock herself, thinking that if she hadn’t cultivated the Path of Free and Easy, she might have been angered to death hundreds of times by the current state of the Profound Heaven Realm.

Therefore, she stood here and told everyone—

To ascend, one must inevitably sacrifice one’s body to serve the demon.

The people present exchanged glances, seemingly unable to accept this outcome.

Venerable Wen Qing naturally anticipated this reaction.

Possession was the most feared matter among cultivators. Now, ascension required the sacrifice of half of one’s being, so naturally, they needed to consider it carefully.

Just then, the thunder clouds in the sky gathered again.

And this time, they were rapidly heading directly towards where the crowd was located.

The speed was so fast that it caught people off guard.

Seeing the thunder clouds forming in the sky, the elders present immediately became anxious.

“Why are there thunder clouds again?”

“Didn’t Venerable Wen Qing already pass her thunder tribulation?”

“Why does this thunder cloud look like it’s coming for us?!”

Amidst the clamor, Qin Qingyi seemed to realize something. She suddenly turned back and looked in the direction the thunder clouds were approaching from.

The moment she turned, Zhou Zhixue, who was constantly watching her movements, also followed suit.

Although she didn’t know what her Senior Sister was looking at, following along couldn’t be wrong.

Upon looking, she indeed saw a person.

Elder Wei.

The figure gradually moving closer was enveloped in the same demonic energy as her Master. If one didn’t look closely, they might even mistake her for a member of the Demon Race.

But if one overlooked the pervasive demonic energy, they could discern that Elder Wei’s current cultivation had already reached the half-step to ascension!

So, these thunder clouds were actually heading for Elder Wei!

But because she was moving towards this location, the thunder clouds looked as if they were shrouding them.

Zhou Zhixue understood the situation and wanted to turn and tell her Senior Sister, but as she turned, her gaze met Venerable Wen Qing’s.

“Master…”

Just as she was about to speak, she sensed her Master slowly blinking at her, and at the same time, her Master’s voice transmission reached her ear: “Don’t speak.”

Zhou Zhixue instinctively fell silent.

The next moment, she saw her Master signal the crowd to quiet down.

“These thunder clouds are not coming for you, nor are they coming for me.”

Venerable Wen Qing’s single sentence brought silence to the surroundings.

“This is Elder Wei’s tribulation thunder cloud.”

Someone in the crowd exclaimed in surprise: “Elder Wei is also going to ascend?!”

Venerable Wen Qing smiled and nodded: “Naturally.”

“Elder Wei and I guarded Mount Qidong together. Having this opportunity, I naturally wouldn’t conceal it. However, before ascending, Elder Wei and I discussed the need to take the tribulation in sequence. Otherwise, if the two of us faced the tribulation together, the commotion would likely be too great.”

As she spoke, the white-robed woman shrouded in demonic energy in the distance was already close to the crowd. It was indeed Elder Wei.

At this moment, she was full of vigor. Although contaminated by demonic energy, the previous demeanor of a sword fanatic hadn’t changed at all.

However, the moment she landed, she excitedly grabbed Venerable Wen Qing’s hand and said: “Wen Qing, you were right!”

“After passing that hurdle, my swordsmanship improved dramatically, like a sudden leap. The sword moves I couldn’t comprehend before, I can now fully grasp in an instant!”

As she spoke, she raised her sword and pointed it towards a distant Demon Race mountain. With just a flourish of her sword, that mountain instantly shattered in the next second, without even stirring up much dust. The originally undulating mountain became a flat plain.

This result immediately made the rest of the silent people envious, and a fire burned in their hearts.

Sacrificing one’s body to serve the demon in exchange for such power.

Perhaps… it wasn’t entirely unacceptable.

Elder Wei gesticulated to Venerable Wen Qing, oblivious to others. She was too excited. The sword techniques that had been stuck due to constraints in her realm were now progressing by leaps and bounds. How could she not be happy?!

However—

Venerable Wen Qing smiled and pointed above their heads, gently saying: “Elder Wei, your thunder tribulation has arrived.”

As if confirming her words, as soon as her voice faded, a thunderbolt roared down from the thunder clouds above, landing right at Elder Wei’s feet, raising a layer of scorched earth.

It seemed to be a reminder: “It’s time for your tribulation.”

This instantly angered the short-tempered Elder Wei.

Actually, her temper was not bad before, but the thunder clouds chose to assert their presence precisely when she was happiest, interrupting her desire to share. This was enough for a death sentence.

Sure enough, the next moment, Elder Wei swiftly pointed her sword toward the sky.

“So noisy!”

A flash of sword light directly split the thunder clouds.

The sword light was clearly more powerful than the thunder clouds. This sword energy split the thunder clouds in the sky into two, scaring the clouds into whimpering and retracting their full display of lightning, minimizing their presence as much as possible.

Elder Wei was immediately satisfied and withdrew her sword, again pulling Venerable Wen Qing to talk nonstop.

Concluding her words, Elder Wei was still eager: “I must thank you for this, Wen Qing.”

“If you hadn’t generously told me about this, I might have been reduced to a skeleton by now.”

She was referring to the time when the Demon King injected her with demon blood and planted a demon seed. She was in excruciating pain until Wen Qing found her and rescued her.

Although she was now tainted with a foul demonic energy, at least she survived.

Moreover, after ascension, dealing with this minor demonic energy would naturally not be a difficult task.

“No need to thank me. You and I are both elders of the Sword Sect, naturally, our fates are intertwined.”

Her words carried a profound meaning, causing everyone to let their imaginations run wild.

Whispers started in the crowd, and someone couldn’t help but ask:

“May I ask Elder Wei, is this ascension tribulation also a result of integrating the Demon God’s remnant body, granting this slim chance of ascension?”

They were testing, trying to find out if there was any other way to ascend besides this method.

But the result was ultimately going to disappoint them.

Elder Wei nodded readily: “That is natural.”

She then looked utterly astonished: “What, didn’t Wen Qing tell you?”

“That shouldn’t be the case?”

Elder Wei turned to look at Venerable Wen Qing: “Wen Qing, didn’t you tell them?”

Her face was full of incomprehension, which made the person who asked the question embarrassed. Before Venerable Wen Qing could answer, the person blushed, scratched their head, and retreated into the crowd.

“She did, she did.”

Elder Wei realized: “I knew it. Wen Qing isn’t someone who would hoard such information.”

“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have survived either.”

After a long time of catching up, Venerable Wen Qing’s complexion also worsened slightly. Shangguan Yu, sharp-eyed, noticed this and asked:

“Junior Sister, what’s wrong?”

Venerable Wen Qing shook her head: “It’s nothing. It’s just that the pull of the Ascension Heavenly Ladder is becoming stronger. I fear I must leave soon.”

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Yu’s eyes showed reluctance: “Junior Sister, ascension is difficult. Please take care in the Upper Realm.”

It should have been a moment of warmth, but the next second, this rare warmth was ruthlessly interrupted by Elder Wei.

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t be in such a hurry to leave. Wait for me first.”

She rotated her wrist and smiled at Venerable Wen Qing: “After I finish this thunder tribulation, I’ll join you on the journey. Otherwise, your Senior Sister Sect Master and these four little disciples might not be at ease with you ascending alone to the Upper Realm.”

These words made Venerable Wen Qing chuckle.

“How so?”

Despite the words, she still nodded, agreeing to Elder Wei’s request to leave together.

It was only the pull of the Heavenly Ladder. It couldn’t affect her for a while longer.

Elder Wei didn’t delay. After getting the confirmation, she raised her sword and headed towards the thunder clouds in the sky.

That reckless demeanor made the surrounding people feel ashamed.

But Elder Wei was never a benign character. Now, facing the thunder clouds, she showed no sign of backing down or trying to avoid the sharp edge. Instead, she charged towards the thunder clouds with a fiercer posture than Venerable Wen Qing a few moments ago.

Lightning flashed frequently in the sky, dazzling the people below.

Thunderbolts followed one after another. Seeing fragmented lightning falling from above, Venerable Wen Qing raised her hand and unfolded a barrier, enveloping her disciples and protecting them securely.

Perhaps sensing that she had no intention of leaving with the guidance of the Heavenly Ladder, the celestial music by Venerable Wen Qing’s ear suddenly intensified, filled with urgency.

She frowned at the sound and once again raised her hand to dismiss the Heavenly Dao’s urging.

Since completing the thunder tribulation, the guiding Heavenly Ladder from the Upper Realm had been relentlessly urging her to leave, as if her staying here for even a moment longer would cause some kind of impact on this realm.

Lost in thought, Venerable Wen Qing looked up at the sky.

Elder Wei was still undergoing her tribulation, which looked like it would end soon.

She feared that once Elder Wei finished her tribulation, she would run out of time.

Venerable Wen Qing suddenly felt the urgency of time. She beckoned her disciples to come closer, “Come here. I have something to tell you.”

Thus, the four disciples of Hidden Snow Peak, including Qin Qingyi, gathered around, their eyes red-rimmed.

Gathered around Venerable Wen Qing, feeling the already changing immortal energy on her body, which no longer belonged to the Profound Heaven Realm, their noses stung, and they were on the verge of tears again.

“Alright, don’t cry anymore.”

Venerable Wen Qing almost couldn’t comfort them.

For the first time, she felt a little distressed that she had unknowingly taken on four disciples.

She had never thought about taking disciples when she was a disciple of the Sword Sect herself.

But—

Venerable Wen Qing’s memory gradually conjured the pitiful looks of the four children when she picked them up one by one.

If she hadn’t brought them back, these four children would probably not have survived outside.

She figured taking disciples was like picking up cats on the street for mortals; once you open the door, it becomes unstoppable.

Venerable Wen Qing sighed deeply.

With the barrier open, Venerable Wen Qing used voice transmission to swiftly convey everything she had seen and heard at the bottom of the blood pool, including some secrets she hadn’t told outsiders.

Time was short after all. Before long, Elder Wei completed her tribulation and descended again.

She was still surrounded by lightning. Threads of lightning moved within her meridians. Although she was half-human and half-demon, she was radiating an unusually vigorous spirit.

“Wen Qing, it’s time to go.”

She called out to Venerable Wen Qing, her demeanor extremely unrestrained.

“We’ve been catching up for half a day. Haven’t you finished? Do you have so much to say?”

Elder Wei mumbled softly. She had no attachment to the Sword Sect and seemed much more at ease than the Free and Easy Path cultivator, Venerable Wen Qing.

Venerable Wen Qing heard her soft murmuring and gave her an irritated glance.

Elder Wei pouted and stopped urging.

However—

Venerable Wen Qing also knew that it was time to leave.

Concluding her words, Venerable Wen Qing sighed, “You must cultivate diligently. I foresee that the Profound Heaven Realm will face a few more storms. If your strength is weak then, you will likely have a very hard time.”

The four little ones nodded, choking back sobs. They naturally knew that after today’s farewell, they and their Master would likely never meet again.

The sorrow between Master and disciples spread, causing all onlookers to sigh with emotion.

The Ascension Heavenly Ladder gradually guided Venerable Wen Qing and Elder Wei towards it.

Finally, Venerable Wen Qing reluctantly looked at her disciples one last time, then slowly turned her head, leaving only a back view for the crowd.

Qin Qingyi looked up at that gradually drifting back, tears falling one by one, hitting the ground and creating small wet marks.

Yet, precisely at this moment, her Master Venerable Wen Qing’s voice reached her ear.

“Qingyi, I have something to tell you.”