After My Death, the Female Lead Breaks the Heartless Path - Chapter 45

Some time earlier, in Ai Yanran’s residence on Penglai.

For Ai Yanran, locating the rebel base was not difficult. These people had never made any effort to conceal their whereabouts from the start, openly welcoming all who came including them.

Ai Yanran picked up her sword, casting a subtle, icy glance at the attendant sent by the Heavenly Venerable who stood beside her. Suddenly, she curved her lips into a gentle smile and asked, “Is everything ready for departure?”

The attendant, unaware of the coldness in Ai Yanran’s eyes moments before, replied dismissively, emboldened by the Heavenly Venerable’s backing. “Yes, all set. Let’s hope this time the Divine Maiden completes her mission, unlike last time. Our lives matter too, and after all, you’re just a mortal from the lower realm who got lucky with the title of Divine Maiden.”

A flicker of displeasure crossed Ai Yanran’s eyes, though her expression remained unchanged. “Of course. This time, we will make thorough preparations and do our utmost to ensure everyone returns safely. I’m sure you share the same sentiment?”

The attendant faltered, nodding expressionlessly. “Let’s set off. Time waits for no one.” With that, he strode out first.

Ai Yanran watched him leave and sneered coldly. How dare he speak to her with such arrogance? It was only because he had the Heavenly Venerable’s backing. Otherwise, someone of his inferior strength, background, and status would never dare to defy her so openly.

No matter. Hadn’t she said it earlier? They would simply do their best. And in war, death was nothing out of the ordinary.

Upon arriving at the rebel base, Ai Yanran felt certain of a triumphant victory.

Unlike the major sects or the demon realm’s armies, who trained rigorously every day, not a single person here held a weapon. Nearly everyone was drinking, gambling, or passed out in a drunken stupor, the air thick with the stench of alcohol.

Ai Yanran assessed the situation and concluded that even if a stone were tossed among them, no one would notice. A faint smile touched her lips as she raised her hand and commanded, “Charge!” Breaking from her usual demeanor, she led the charge herself.

Seeing even the Divine Maiden take the lead, most of the celestial soldiers followed closely. Only those aligned with the attendant remained unmoved.

One soldier couldn’t hold back any longer and approached, asking, “Boss, aren’t we going?”

The attendant shot him a glance. “Go? Why should we? If they succeed, we’ll still get credit. If they fail, we can retreat unscathed. Even if we report upward, the blame won’t fall on us, we’re not the ones leading this mission.”

The soldier’s eyes lit up with understanding. “Oh! You’re so smart, boss!”

The attendant snorted and fell silent, continuing to lie low. His words did not go unheard, and some soldiers, sharing his mindset, began quietly retreating to find hiding spots. Others, sensing that things weren’t so simple, chose to press on with the fight.

Just as the battle neared its end, a piercing scream erupted from the rear, followed by one agonized cry after another. Ai Yanran cast a “concerned” glance backward, though her eyes gleamed with schadenfreude.

Did they really think they could take advantage of her so easily?

Seizing the moment while the Penglai soldiers were distracted by the commotion behind them, the rebels seized their chance and fled in a chaotic rush. People shoved and trampled over one another, and some were crushed underfoot, their life fading away amidst the chaos.

After confirming that these cowards wouldn’t cause any trouble, Ai Yanran first headed to the place where the wailing had ceased. With her taking the lead, the other celestial soldiers quickly followed suit. They saw that all the fallen behind bore sword wounds, with no survivors.

Ai Yanran allowed a faint, almost imperceptible curve to touch her lips before adopting an expression of caution and sorrow. “Enemies have ambushed us from the rear. This base is nearly destroyed. We must evacuate immediately!”

With so many inexplicable deaths behind them, the others naturally had no desire to stay. They followed Ai Yanran and left. Some recognized that the dead were those who had earlier refrained from action, waiting to reap the benefits without effort. Among them was the attendant personally sent by the Heavenly Venerable, who had a strained relationship with Ai Yanran.

Logically, with no one around to witness the scene, it would be easy to suspect that Ai Yanran had taken action out of personal dislike. However, she had consistently been at the forefront, eliminating more enemies than anyone else, leaving no opportunity for her to have orchestrated the deaths.

No one mourned for them, just as no one wished to share their hard-earned merits. The matter was thus left unresolved.

Upon their return, Ai Yanran briefly reported the mission’s gains and casualties. She had intended to explain the attendant’s death, but to her surprise, the Heavenly Venerable showed no interest in the matter.

“Stop. I have no concern for the casualties. What was the final outcome?” The Heavenly Venerable raised a hand to cut her off, his expression slightly displeased.

As expected, no one cared about the lives of mere pawns. How laughable and pitiable.

Ai Yanran let out a silent, scornful laugh inwardly, while maintaining a respectful demeanor. “Reporting to the Heavenly Venerable, we successfully destroyed the rebel base, leaving not a single trace behind.”

The Heavenly Venerable laughed heartily. “Excellent, excellent! With this, they can no longer threaten my grand plans! Divine Maiden, you have done well. You may rest now. I have matters to discuss with several sect leaders.”

Ai Yanran bowed and slowly retreated from the hall, humming a tune as she made her way to her residence. The rebel forces had not been as difficult to deal with as she had anticipated. Now, it was time to carefully consider how to deal with those two wretched women, Yin Ruolan and Xu Jingqiu.

To deal with them, the Heavenly Venerable would make an excellent pawn. All she needed to do was wait for the right moment.

News of the rebel army’s frontline collapse and the subsequent cleanup quickly spread, thanks in part to their own arrogant conduct, which had earned them little goodwill. Now that the once-haughty rebels had been defeated, the sects that had long suffered their oppression and ridicule took turns mocking them.

The major sects naturally received the news, so when the Heavenly Venerable invited them, none refused. Upon meeting him, they all clasped their hands in congratulation. “Congratulations, Heavenly Venerable, for eradicating this great scourge!”

Seated high on his throne, the Heavenly Venerable nodded with satisfaction, gesturing for them to sit. “Come, let the music begin!”

Singers and dancers performed in the grand hall as the sect leaders and the Heavenly Venerable toasted and celebrated. Servants continuously refilled wine and brought fresh delicacies, while cold dishes were removed, their fate unknown.

After some time, the Heavenly Venerable finally revealed his true purpose: to collaborate and eliminate the final threats, the Demon Realm and the Heavenly Order.

The sect master of the Union of Joy feigned hesitation for a moment. “But we still have a contract with the demon realm, and the Celestial Order is also part of the human race. This is a difficult situation.”

The Celestial Sovereign had anticipated such a response. With a snap of his fingers, everything on the tables vanished instantly, yet none of the cultivators present could discern how it had happened.

“This is the law of the world,” he declared. “The other half of this law resides with the Demon Queen. If we can obtain it, we will become the rulers of this world. Would a mere contract still matter then?”

Power and profit these were the eternal temptations that stirred the hearts of men. The Celestial Sovereign slowly extended a few more olive branches, and everyone in the room was visibly swayed.

Yet, in the end, no one spoke openly. The reason was simple: the distribution of benefits remained uneven. Some even dared to scheme against him, but it mattered little. The Celestial Sovereign touched a bone ring on his finger and smiled mockingly.

For mere mortals to think they could challenge him and the “rules” was nothing but delusion. Unbeknownst to them, the rules had already descended upon them. Any act of betrayal would spell certain death.

Returning to the present, at the ruins of the rebel base.

No one responded. Qu Tao slowly rose to his feet, his gaze fixed in the direction of the demon realm. Then, abruptly, he broke into a run.

There the demon realm, he still had a chance. As long as he could win over Yin Ruolan, he could make a comeback there!

But to his astonishment, everything in the demon realm was orderly and glaringly stable, with no signs of chaos whatsoever.

Snapping back to reality, Qu Tao frantically pulled out a communication talisman, desperately trying to reach Chen Shang, but there was no response.

Failure. Here, too, he had failed.

Qu Tao completely broke down. Crouching with his head in his hands, he let out a roar to the heavens, his eyes bloodshot and wild like a madman. The demons who had initially considered approaching him quickly backed away, fearing they might be dragged into his turmoil.

Then, after a long silence, the “senior” who had been quiet for so long finally spoke:

【It’s not too late. I have investigated, and there is one final method.】

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