After My Death, the Female Lead Breaks the Heartless Path - Chapter 18

Although this collaboration between humans and demons was bound by a contract, everyone knew all too well what Penglai’s reputation was like. There was no guarantee that they wouldn’t act out of resentment later on.

Rather than being treated as a weakness to exploit and use against Yin Ruolan, it was better to establish authority now, to make them abandon such thoughts and avoid future trouble.

As soon as Xu Jingqiu finished speaking, a man from Penglai immediately stood up, hefting a heavy sword as he charged over aggressively. Compared to his massive build, Xu Jingqiu appeared delicate and petite.

Ai Yanran allowed a faint, mocking smile to flicker across her lips before feigning concern as she addressed the Penglai man who had stepped forward: “Qi Hong, mind your strength be gentle. After all, she is the esteemed queen consort, and a mortal at that. We wouldn’t want her to get hurt.”

The man named Qi Hong laughed heartily, resting his heavy sword on his shoulder. “No need to worry, Divine Maiden. I know my limits. Besides, the Demon Lord doesn’t seem too concerned either. I’ll make sure this noble queen consort returns with all her limbs intact, hahaha!”

Xu Jingqiu’s lips twitched slightly, but she had no intention of continuing the verbal exchange. Instead, she lowered her gaze and gently touched the Heavenly Ruler on her wrist, silently calculating something. On the other side, Yin Ruolan’s expression darkened as she stared at Qi Hong with a look that could kill.

Even if Xu Jingqiu didn’t strike to kill, this man would not be leaving here alive.

Before the confrontation could begin, however, a cultivator from another sect standing nearby spoke up in dissatisfaction. It seemed they had long-held grievances against Penglai and, perhaps believing they wouldn’t make it back alive, spoke without restraint.

“Seeing is believing. I never expected the Divine Maiden’s hypocritical act to be so convincing. Anyone unaware might think you actually care about the queen consort.”

Both Xu Jingqiu and Ai Yanran turned to look at the speaker almost simultaneously. The difference was that Xu Jingqiu merely nodded calmly, while Ai Yanran’s smile stiffened noticeably, her tone laced with anger. “What do you mean by that?”

Luo Rong was the only representative sent by her sect after all, the elders were unwilling to risk their precious disciples dying in a place like this. With nothing to lose, she spoke bluntly: “What do I mean? When Penglai was mocking others earlier, why didn’t anyone remember she’s the queen consort? Now you’re pretending to be concerned, but your ‘reminder’ sounds anything but sincere. Anyone listening would think she’s the one causing trouble, not you with your sharp tongues. What, am I wrong?”

Ai Yanran’s smile had completely vanished. “Fellow cultivator, we are on the same side. Isn’t it inappropriate to speak like this?”

“Do you think we don’t know? Once any treasures are found, Penglai will take the lion’s share, and we’re just here to serve as human shields. You’ve done this many times before, haven’t you?” Luo Rong rolled her eyes, tearing off all pretenses. “And you, you knew the Demon Lord had a partner, yet you still shamelessly pursued her, all the while insinuating she wasn’t worthy. Truly, only someone from Penglai could have such audacity!”

Ai Yanran didn’t recognize this person and dismissed her as an insignificant nobody. Ignoring her completely, she turned to Xu Jingqiu. “Shall we begin, Queen Consort? This place is too cold to linger for long.”

Seeing Luo Rong about to intervene, Xu Jingqiu nodded to her: “Thank you for your concern, but there’s no need to worry, this is enough.” With that, she turned to Qi Hong, who was carrying a sword, and made a “please” gesture.

Luo Rong was human, and if she helped too much, it would invite significant criticism. It wasn’t appropriate to involve her further.

Qi Hong first glanced at the Demon Lord, and seeing that Yin Ruolan truly made no move, he felt reassured, thinking Xu Jingqiu’s status among the demons wasn’t particularly high. He swung his sword down fiercely, the blade seeming to slice through the very air.

Xu Jingqiu showed no trace of fear, her expression unchanged as she raised her right hand. The Heavenly Ruler transformed into a silver glove covering her hand, and with a light lift.

“Clang!”

The sword was blocked, unable to advance even a fraction further.

Wen Banxia let out a sigh of relief, sheathing her sword again, while Yin Ruolan showed no surprise, only concealing the heartache and regret in her eyes. The other demons, witnessing this, cheered as if they had already won.

Qi Hong’s expression shifted. His strike could have split a mountain without issue, yet when it landed on Xu Jingqiu’s hand, it felt as though he had struck one of the hardest materials in the cultivation world black iron. Instead, a small notch appeared on his own sword.

Realizing something was wrong, Qi Hong tried to withdraw his sword, but Xu Jingqiu grabbed the blade with one hand, making it impossible for him to pull back. Then, with a slight exertion, the sword shattered into pieces.

Staggering back a few steps while clutching his chest, Qi Hong spat out a mouthful of blood. His bonded immortal artifact destroyed, he suffered some injury. In contrast, Xu Jingqiu appeared completely unfazed, shaking her hand as the glove reverted to a bracelet on her wrist. She leisurely began walking back.

Perhaps out of wounded pride, a celestial being defeated by a mortal? Qi Hong, in a fit of rage, charged forward with a punch. Spiritual energy enveloped his fist, creating a sharp whistling sound as he struck, clearly intending to deliver a fatal blow.

Xu Jingqiu hadn’t expected him to hold such a grudge so easily. Originally, she had planned to merely destroy his weapon to assert her authority, but since he was so recklessly charging at her, she saw no need to hold back.

After all, he wasn’t one of their own.

Yin Ruolan immediately stood up, summoning her demon sword, while Wen Banxia also drew her sword, ready to rush forward. Unnoticed by anyone, the shadow beneath Xu Jingqiu’s feet shifted slightly, and even more imperceptibly, a sacred, inviolable divine power gathered in her right hand.

She met his punch head-on with her own.

Qi Hong was sent flying hundreds of meters back, one of his arms completely obliterated, blood streaming from the wound as he lay motionless on the dark ground.

Silence fell over the entire scene.

Xu Jingqiu casually pulled out a handkerchief, wiping her hands with some distaste before walking over to Yin Ruolan. She waved a hand in front of her: “What’s wrong?”

Yin Ruolan snapped out of it, draping the cloak back over Xu Jingqiu’s shoulders and pressing the Phoenix Fire Pearl into her hand before picking her up. “It’s nothing. Let’s go. This place is too cold, it’s not suitable to stay long.” With that, Yin Ruolan cast a cold glance at Ai Yanran and let out a derisive snort.

With the Demon Lord’s command, the demons began packing up to depart. Among the human cultivators, aside from those from Penglai who remained unmoved, the rest returned to their tasks.

“Wait a moment!” Seeing that they were truly about to leave, Ai Yanran hurriedly called out to stop them, questioning sharply, “Isn’t it a bit too vicious for Miss Xu to strike so harshly? Aren’t we all on the same side now? Why resort to such deadly force?”

Wen Banxia chuckled softly and gently deflected Ai Yanran’s words: “Divine Maiden, you are mistaken. We all witnessed what this immortal master did earlier. Wasn’t it he who, after being defeated, felt humiliated and attempted to strike with lethal intent first? Divine Maiden, you should focus on caring for that immortal master treat his injuries and send him back. He is not fit to proceed further.”

Wen Banxia’s reputation in the mortal realm far surpassed that of Ai Yanran, the Divine Maiden of Penglai. Her words were reasonable, and soon many mortal cultivators voiced their agreement.

Ai Yanran had not expected Wen Banxia to be the first to refute her, nor had she anticipated those cultivators would stand against her. Had the system’s favorability mechanism failed?

“Qi Hong was merely acting out of momentary anger; he never truly intended to take Miss Xu’s life,” Ai Yanran argued defensively.

Yin Ruolan sneered coldly, stepping forward ahead of her and leaving behind an icy remark: “My consort did not take his life either that is fair. You should be grateful to my consort. If she were not here,” Yin Ruolan cast a cold glare at the Penglai disciples who had been gossiping earlier, “every one of you would deserve death.”

With that, Yin Ruolan paid them no further attention, mounted her horse, and continued on her way, holding her beloved close. Gnashing her teeth in frustration, Ai Yanran selected a healer to treat Qi Hong and have him taken away, then signaled for the others to follow as she opened the favorability system.

Aside from the Penglai disciples, everyone’s favorability toward her had dropped, while their favorability toward Xu Jingqiu had skyrocketed.

Why was it like this again? Back in her original world, it had been the same even though she had a better family background, more outstanding looks, and greater authority, people still flocked around Xu Jingqiu.

“Heaven’s Way, what is going on? Shouldn’t you explain this?” Ai Yanran demanded inwardly.

[These are all just cannon fodder. There’s no need to expend extra energy boosting false favorability, it’s meaningless,] the system replied coldly.

After a moment’s thought, Ai Yanran had to admit it made sense. She had agreed to bring these people along precisely because the secret realm was full of traps. Since the demons refused to cooperate, she needed others to take the lead.

With that matter settled, there was still another issue she hadn’t addressed: “Then what about Xu Jingqiu’s strength? Wasn’t she supposed to be an ordinary person? How can an ordinary person cripple an immortal?”

The system didn’t know how to respond. It had deliberately withheld the fact that Xu Jingqiu’s true strength was on par with that of outer gods. If it had revealed this, Ai Yanran would never have agreed to cooperate.

At this moment, it was quite relieved that in Xu Jingqiu’s original world, the identities of everyone from the Otherworld Research Institute were kept confidential. That was why Ai Yanran remained unaware otherwise, things would have been much more difficult.

After some consideration, the system explained, [That was the power of the Heaven’s Way Ruler. Without it, she would be nothing more than an ordinary person.]

Ai Yanran believed it and nodded in understanding. “So, we need to seize the Heaven’s Way Ruler first.”

【Right, once we reach the secret realm, I will swiftly seize control and assign you to a location. We must act quickly, any delay could bring unforeseen complications.】

Ai Yanran snorted lightly. “I don’t need you to tell me that. If you were even slightly stronger, things wouldn’t be so troublesome.”

With that, she glanced toward the demon clan’s procession ahead and happened to catch Xu Jingqiu looking in her direction. Xu Jingqiu smiled at her.

In that instant, Ai Yanran felt an overwhelming sense of death and fear.

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