After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 87

The secret chamber of Hidden Snow Peak.

Qin Qingyi sat facing the wall in silent meditation.

Since returning from Qidong Mountain half a month ago, she had come back here and sealed herself inside.

She refused to see anyone who came looking for her.

Qin Qingyi had set up a restriction outside the secret chamber; no one could enter without her permission.

Those outside did not know why she chose to seal herself off, nor did they understand why she was doing it.

Outside, the sun rose and set, and the calls from outside went from initial worry to later exhaustion.

Yet, they persisted day after day.

After a long while, she slowly blinked her eyes; the stinging sensation instantly brought tears, the teardrops moistening her lashes and lubricating her dry eyes.

Outside the secret chamber, rustling sounds approached from a distance, finally stopping at the entrance of the secret chamber.

Zhou Zhixue was here again.

She carried a meal, just as she had done every day for the past half month, bringing food and sitting cross-legged outside the restriction of the secret chamber.

Looking at the secret chamber that had never opened to her, a hint of loneliness flashed in Zhou Zhixue’s eyes.

But it was only for a moment; a short while later, she recovered her usual demeanor, a coolness mixed with a tenderness reserved only for one person. She carefully placed the steaming hot meal at the doorway.

“Senior Sister, it’s time for dinner.”

Hearing Zhou Zhixue’s voice outside, Qin Qingyi raised her head, supporting her body, and moved slowly and carefully toward the secret chamber’s entrance.

Perhaps due to not eating for many days, Qin Qingyi only felt a dry throat and parched lips. A slight movement of her lips caused the extremely dry areas to tear open, eagerly oozing blood droplets. In just a moment, they stained the corners of her mouth, making her look quite haggard.

Qin Qingyi parted her lips to lick away the blood seeping from her lips, one hand restraining, yet harboring a hidden greed as it stroked the secret chamber’s restriction.

At this moment, she and Zhou Zhixue were separated by only one wall.

However, the other party was still unaware.

Thinking of this, Qin Qingyi couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth, seeming to want to smile, but in the end, she couldn’t.

That curve of her lips weakly dropped, becoming straight.

A wave of bitterness spread in Qin Qingyi’s heart.

Not knowing is also a good thing…

Zhou Zhixue was unaware that her Senior Sister, whom she yearned for, was just a step away. With the restriction in place, she couldn’t sense anything.

Seeing that the restriction of the secret chamber was still the same as always, without any sign of opening, Zhou Zhixue wasn’t discouraged.

Half a month had passed; she had gotten used to it.

Senior Sister was always so hot and cold towards her; she should have long been accustomed to it.

However—

“Senior Sister, are you still unwilling to come out?”

She knew that Senior Sister could hear her inside, so she didn’t find it inappropriate to talk to herself outside.

After all, there were only four people in total at Hidden Snow Peak right now; no one would specifically come to Hidden Snow Peak to watch the spectacle.

Therefore, Zhou Zhixue was completely at ease, just like every day, leaning against the door of the secret chamber, rambling about the recent situation.

“The situation in the Profound Heaven Realm has become increasingly chaotic these past few days. Martial Uncle told us not to show up in the Profound Heaven Realm for the time being, and to prioritize self-preservation.”

After Venerable Wenqing ascended, the Profound Heaven Realm became chaotic within a few days.

The news of the re-opening of the ascension path could not be kept secret for too long. After all, the two ascension thunder tribulations at Qidong Mountain were immensely powerful, and even the Underworld Ghost Realm, thousands of miles away, could perceive the earth-shaking commotion.

For a moment, the spiritual energy of the entire Profound Heaven Realm seemed to be stirred up, and cultivators of higher cultivation levels could almost all sense the obvious fluctuations in spiritual energy.

The news spread, along with the method of ascension, which in a mere half-day’s time, stirred up a storm.

Most people were skeptical of the “feeding oneself to a demon” method of ascension, which was both harsh and extremely risky. However, the news from the Sword Sect still carried high credibility.

Thus, by the very next day, some people couldn’t suppress their impulse. After killing their way through a demon den, they sank into the blood pool.

When he emerged again, he was already half-human, half-demon.

But the ascension thunder tribulation—

It really came.

After desperately enduring the thunder tribulation, the man laughed loudly and walked onto the Heavenly Ladder of Ascension.

With the firsthand sight of someone truly ascending according to the method provided by the Sword Sect, no one could remain composed.

Almost at the same time, the immortal sects of the Profound Heaven Realm no longer held back, employing nearly all their strength and means to specifically attack those less powerful demon dens. Wherever they saw a blood pool, they plunged into it recklessly.

Within a few days, many people ascended one after another.

The spiritual energy of the Profound Heaven Realm also became increasingly thin due to the sudden massive number of ascenders it had to support.

“Second Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother have both retreated from Qidong Mountain and are now following Feng Ning to resist the demons at Cliff Mountain.”

“Speaking of which, it’s strange. The demon clan’s movements have quieted down during this period, but I have a feeling it’s not a good sign.”

The situation in the Profound Heaven Realm was increasingly turbulent, especially with some people of ill intent taking advantage of the chaos to slaughter those with whom they had grievances. Furthermore, many innocent immortal sect disciples were killed simply because others grew greedy, robbing treasures and killing people.

The Profound Heaven Realm was truly in chaos due to the ascension-driven turmoil, but the demon clan’s activity seemed to diminish day by day.

Many believed that the demon clan retreated in the face of the nearly frantic attacks from the hundred immortal sects. After all, the demon clan was leaderless, and the fragments of the Demon God’s body were currently being contested for the sake of “ascension.”

It seemed as though the demon clan’s dominance was over.

But Zhou Zhixue dared not think so.

She always felt that things were not that simple.

Beneath the turbulent and chaotic surface, there seemed to be a truth that she had not yet touched upon.

Qin Qingyi leaned against the door, listening to Zhou Zhixue rambling outside. Her mind was still a mess, unable to sort things out, and she didn’t know what to do.

Hearing Zhou Zhixue say that she felt the diminishing activity of the demon clan was not a good sign, Qin Qingyi let out a soft laugh.

Of course, it was not a good sign.

Her Junior Sister was so perceptive.

If it were before, she might have also thought that the demon clan had been defeated and the Profound Heaven Realm was safe again.

But now, she would no longer think that way.

The real storm of the Profound Heaven Realm was just beginning.

Qin Qingyi’s hand involuntarily clenched, wrinkling the hem of her clothes at her knees deeply.

Master, how wonderful it would be if you hadn’t told me those things.

Perhaps I could pretend that I knew nothing, living as an ignorant person.

Naturally, I wouldn’t have today’s pain…

Qin Qingyi gasped softly. For some reason, she felt her mind was particularly sluggish today, as if a layer of gauze covered her eyes, making it difficult for her to distinguish things clearly.

“Qingyi, when the great building is about to collapse, the future hope of the Profound Heaven Realm rests entirely on the two of you.”

In a haze, Qin Qingyi felt as if she heard Venerable Wenqing’s voice again.

This was the only thing Master had said to her when he ascended that day.

“Why… Master, why must it be the two of us…”

“It shouldn’t be us…”

By the end of her sentence, she felt like she was about to vomit out her heart and liver.

Hot tears streamed down, soaking a patch of her clothes.

Qin Qingyi could no longer support herself and gradually collapsed against the secret chamber’s door.

Master…

Perhaps I shouldn’t have come to the Sword Sect…

Before her consciousness faded, she saw the door of the secret chamber open. Someone came in toward the light, anxiously calling her name.

“Senior Sister, Senior Sister!!!”

As soon as Zhou Zhixue entered, she saw Qin Qingyi collapsed at the doorway, looking gaunt and pale, seemingly on the verge of exhaustion.

This sight almost broke Zhou Zhixue’s heart.

It had only been half a month; how could Senior Sister have become like this?!

A moment ago, she was outside, still talking to herself against the secret chamber’s restriction, when for some reason, she looked up and saw the restriction of the secret chamber slowly dissipate.

As soon as the door opened, a white figure lay unconscious by the door.

That was her Senior Sister.

So, had Senior Sister been at the door the entire time she was talking?

This realization brought no joy to Zhou Zhixue. Looking at the unconscious Qin Qingyi, all that remained in her heart was worry.

Zhou Zhixue gently lifted the person into her arms, afraid of even slightly bumping or hurting her, before carefully checking her meridians.

She found that there was no serious injury; it was likely just excessive sadness coupled with the approaching love-induced state that caused her to suddenly faint.

Zhou Zhixue finally let out a sigh of relief.

It was good that nothing had happened.

But looking at Senior Sister’s emaciated wrist bones, Zhou Zhixue’s nose felt sore.

In just half a month, Senior Sister had reduced herself to this state.

“If Master knew, he would surely punish Senior Sister severely.”

She pretended to speak fiercely, her voice thick with a nasal tone, meant to be an accusation but sounding extremely wronged.

Moreover, despite saying this, she quickly took out several pills from her interspatial bracelet that looked extraordinary, placing them into Qin Qingyi’s mouth.

These were the life-saving pills she had saved up, things that could save a life in an emergency, and she didn’t have many.

But now, Zhou Zhixue was extremely grateful that she had saved the pills; otherwise, if there were no pills available today, she would not even have a place to cry.

Qin Qingyi gradually regained consciousness. Although her body and soul were so exhausted that she completely didn’t want to wake up, the accusations and calls in her ears were impossible to ignore. Helplessly, Qin Qingyi could only slowly open her eyes:

“Did Junior Sister cry?”

Her hoarse voice carried a hint of fatigue.

Finally hearing her Senior Sister’s voice after half a month, Zhou Zhixue felt no joy. Instead, a mix of grievance, panic, and various emotions surged in her heart, making her unable to control her tears any longer. In an instant, two lines of clear tears fell down.

Silent weeping is the most heart-wrenching. Qin Qingyi was not someone with a heart of stone; seeing her cry, she only had the method of gentle comfort.

“Don’t cry anymore; you’ll ruin your beauty.”

As soon as this was said, Qin Qingyi knew she had said the wrong thing.

Because her Junior Sister looked like she was crying even harder, her tears falling nonstop like broken strings of pearls.

No matter how many more comforting words Qin Qingyi said afterward, she couldn’t stop Zhou Zhixue’s tears.

Qin Qingyi also experienced the feeling of being at a loss for the first time.

If it were loud wailing, that would be one thing, but it was silent weeping, and she was a beauty of the highest caliber. Seeing her weep now made one’s heart ache, wishing they could bear her sorrow to see her smile again.

Seeing that she couldn’t be appeased, Qin Qingyi gritted her teeth, seemingly having made some kind of decision. She gently wiped away the tears overflowing from Zhou Zhixue’s eyes and looked directly at her:

“Junior Sister, don’t cry anymore. Let’s dual cultivate.”