After My Faked Death Failed, My Ex-Wife Came Chasing After Me - Chapter 38

Lu Ting’an (trembling with rage): “What a massive scapegoat they’ve made of her!”

The whistling winds outside the entrance of the underground passage grew closer. Lin Zheng glanced back at the thin stone slab, knowing it wouldn’t hold them back for long. Fortunately, this secret path connected to the exit at the back of Tianmen Bridge, leading to the “Immortal Watching the Sea” at Flowing Cloud Peak. There were restrictions set there that might just save her life.

Lin Zheng endured the biting chill emanating from her lower abdomen. Forcibly reversing her meridians had severely depleted her vital energy, forcing her to lean against the stone wall, staggering forward step by step.

At that moment, Lu Ting’an had already rushed to the Hall of Longevity on Flowing Cloud Peak with the Lamp of Restful Breath and Restoration.

The Hall of Longevity was the place where Sun Youqing practiced in seclusion before attaining enlightenment. Although it had been unused for many years, the restrictions remained. Lu Ting’an mumbled a string of incantations, but the barrier didn’t budge an inch. In her anxiety, she kicked the barrier hard, only to be sent flying several yards back, landing with a painful grimace.

“Damn it, why am I so unlucky? Even you’re bullying me?”

Lu Ting’an rubbed her sore bottom as she climbed up, shouting crossly at the system, “Hey! Are you just going to watch? No hints? If the female lead dies, how is the plot supposed to continue?”

The system remained silent for a moment before offering a helpless reminder: 【You may use the jade pendant gifted by Lu Qingchen to open it directly.】

“…” Lu Ting’an choked on her words. She hurriedly fished out the jade pendant engraved with the three characters for “Access Token” from her cosmic bag. She carefully pressed it against the barrier. In the next instant, a gap slowly cracked open in the shield. Lu Ting’an dove inside immediately, and the barrier closed behind her.

Dusting off her robes, she looked up to see the hall was deep and silent. The lamps were unlit, and a sense of ancient, desolate chill washed over her.

Lu Ting’an shivered and crept into the hall, lighting a fire-starter. She saw rows of curio shelves filled with various rare treasures and stacks of records on Immortal Realm anomalies on the desk. Stunned, she stood holding the Lamp of Restful Breath and Restoration for a long while before snapping back to reality. Remembering her task, she placed the lamp in the most prominent spot in the hall.

Having finished this, the heavy stone in Lu Ting’an’s heart finally lifted. Just as she was about to retreat, she suddenly remembered the day at the Night Moon Pool on the stone cliff. When Sun Youqing was treating the injured Madam Cui, she had asked Lin Zheng to use Liyin’s demon core as a medicinal primer. If that were the case, perhaps this demon core could also be used to treat Lin Zheng’s internal injuries.

Thinking this, she pulled the demon core from her bosom and placed it on the desk as well.

Unexpectedly, the sound of footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the hall. Startled, Lu Ting’an thought Lin Zheng had arrived and peeked out from behind the hall door. However, what met her eyes was a haggard old woman leaning on a cane, walking slowly toward the hall.

Not wishing to cause unnecessary trouble, Lu Ting’an immediately withdrew and hid behind a large pillar.

The old woman entered the hall and spotted the two extra items on the desk from a distance. She froze for a moment. Looking around for a while but finding nothing unusual, she pondered for a long time before ultimately deciding not to interfere, leaning on her cane as she slowly headed toward the inner chambers.

Once the footsteps had completely faded away, Lu Ting’an breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to leave the hall, another figure suddenly descended from the sky.

Lu Ting’an looked closely and couldn’t help but feel bewildered—the newcomer was actually Guo Jingchen.

Guo Jingchen carried a simple food box, his face full of resentment. He walked quickly to the front of the hall, glanced inside, and shouted impatiently with his hands on his hips, “Fifth Senior Sister, the food is here. Come out and get it yourself.”

After speaking, he didn’t care if anyone inside responded and turned to leave. But after a few steps, he paused as if suddenly remembering something and slowly turned his head back.

Lu Ting’an’s heart went cold, thinking to herself that this was bad. He had likely discovered the Lamp of Restful Breath and Restoration and Liyin’s demon core she had placed on the desk. This brat wouldn’t be bold enough to just take them, would he?

Guo Jingchen rubbed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it. He actually walked back to confirm that these were indeed two treasures. In an instant, he was ecstatic. He ran into the hall in a few strides, looked around to ensure no one was there, and feeling an uncontrollable urge, his hands began to restlessly stroke Liyin’s demon core.

Seeing this, Lu Ting’an finally felt a bit more at ease. Fortunately, compared to the lamp, the demon core—which could greatly increase one’s cultivation—was clearly more attractive. Even if it was stolen, at least it wouldn’t hinder Lin Zheng’s safety.

Sure enough, Guo Jingchen simply pocketed the demon core and didn’t even bother to look twice at the lamp before hurriedly leaving.

Lu Ting’an gritted her teeth in fury, cursing him for being a thief. However, to avoid exposing her presence, she couldn’t rush out to stop him. Just as she was about to retreat, she caught sight of a figure in snow-white robes arriving gracefully.

Lin Zheng’s face was deathly pale, with a trace of bright red blood hanging at the corner of her mouth. She leaned on her sword, Shuiyue, walking toward the hall step by step. Lu Ting’an’s breath hitched, and her heart tightened painfully.

She hadn’t expected Lin Zheng to be so severely injured.

In the next second, Lin Zheng staggered as she raised her hand to break the restriction. Forcing down her leaking spiritual energy, her legs gave out, and she fell heavily onto one knee, vomiting a large mouthful of fresh blood.

Lu Ting’an’s fingers curled tightly under her sleeves. she felt an impulse to rush out and check on her injuries, but as soon as she moved, the system gave a cold reminder: 【Warning! The host must not interfere with the plot, or you will face the punishment of electric shock.】

Lu Ting’an cursed under her breath. Seeing that Lin Zheng had already managed to prop up her swaying body and was struggling to continue forward, she had no choice but to shrink back into the shadows.

Suddenly, due to a careless step, she bumped into the shelf behind her. An object on the shelf rolled down. Lu Ting’an caught it with quick reflexes, and when she saw what was in her hand, she froze.

It was a high-quality demon core, glowing with a faint purple light, with nine silver-white fox tails faintly visible within. The only flaw was that a corner of the demon core was broken, and spiritual power was slowly leaking from the gap, with golden fragments floating in the air like points of starlight.

Lu Ting’an dazed for a moment before carefully placing the demon core back in its original spot. When she turned back, Lin Zheng had already entered the hall. She clearly noticed the Lamp on the desk and paused, seemingly unable to believe her eyes.

A moment later, the dull pain in her dantian came in waves, each stronger than the last. Lin Zheng had no time to ponder why the object was there; she simply sat cross-legged against the wall, bit her fingertip, and dripped blood into the lamp oil. As the flame ignited, a wisp of blue smoke slowly rose from the sprout-like wick of the lamp.

Lin Zheng pursed her lips tightly, her throat bobbing, her expression filled with uncontrollable agony.

Lu Ting’an was anxious, staring fixedly at her face. In the next instant, Lin Zheng suddenly clutched her chest, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably. Her fingers dug deep into the ground as a suppressed groan escaped her throat, and she collapsed weakly.

“Lin Zheng!” Lu Ting’an could no longer restrain herself. She rushed forward and took the woman into her arms. Lin Zheng’s brow was furrowed, her chest heaved rapidly, and her body temperature was terrifyingly hot. It was clearly a sign of spiritual energy backflow; if not suppressed in time, she would likely explode and die.

Lu Ting’an gritted her teeth, first stuffing two pills into Lin Zheng’s mouth to protect her heart meridians, then injecting spiritual energy into several of her major acupuncture points. However, her cultivation was too low; the spiritual energy she sent felt like a stone dropping into the ocean, having almost no effect. She looked back at the Lamp and saw the blood-red oil was almost exhausted. Steeling her heart, she picked up Shuiyue and slashed her wrist, injecting her own blood into the lamp.

The flame surged, and the blue smoke became even thicker. Lu Ting’an felt her vision go black in bursts, but she still held Lin Zheng tightly, trying again and again to pass her spiritual energy.

Finally, Lin Zheng’s breathing gradually stabilized.

Overjoyed, Lu Ting’an helped her lean against the wall. Recalling the demon core she had seen earlier, she hesitated for a moment before running over to retrieve it, tentatively trying to activate it with her spiritual energy.

Lu Ting’an thought using this for the first time would be difficult, but to her surprise, as soon as the demon core touched Lin Zheng, it seemed to melt like snow, merging directly into her body. Lin Zheng let out a muffled groan. The surging spiritual energy deep in her dantian suddenly stalled before being pulled together like a hundred rivers returning to the sea. The golden core inside her body vibrated violently and began to rotate slowly, its surface cracking with fine lines and emitting a warm, clear light.

“Crack—”

With a nearly inaudible sound, the barrier that had long imprisoned her finally collapsed at this moment.

In an instant, her marrow was cleansed and her meridians reopened. Her originally chaotic internal energy was forcibly corrected, following the heavenly cycle in a slow flow. The pain in Lin Zheng’s body quickly receded, replaced by an unprecedented clarity and tranquility.

Lu Ting’an watched as the frown on Lin Zheng’s brow slowly smoothed out, and she was overjoyed.

It worked! Lu Ting’an could hardly believe that the demon core had such an effect, not only suppressing the out-of-control spiritual energy in Lin Zheng’s body but also helping her successfully break through her cultivation stage. No wonder the cultivators of the immortal sects would rather risk madness to kill demons and take their cores for cultivation; this thing was simply too effective!

Seeing that Lin Zheng was no longer in danger, Lu Ting’an finally remembered the wound on her wrist and hurriedly tore a strip of cloth from her clothes to bandage it. While Lin Zheng was still unconscious, she had to make a quick escape.

To avoid drawing attention, she took a long detour after coming down from Flowing Cloud Peak to return to Yingyue Pavilion. Just as she reached the martial arts arena, she saw a dense crowd of people gathered together, shouting angrily about something. Lu Ting’an felt her heart skip a beat and hurried forward, asking, “What are you all doing here?”

As soon as everyone saw her, they immediately surrounded her, crying out in a jumble of voices, “Eldest Miss, you must seek justice for us!”

Lu Ting’an was startled, sensing that things might be serious. She hurriedly asked, “What happened? What’s going on?”

One of the disciples pointed toward the back of the mountain in a rage, gritting his teeth as he said, “Eldest Miss, you have no idea! That Lin Zheng pretended to be in seclusion, but she was actually hiding away to cultivate with a demon core. As a result, she caused the evil spirits in the back mountain to swarm out, injuring several of our Baiyun Luying Sect disciples! It was extremely malicious; Eldest Miss must seek justice for us!”

“Exactly! No wonder people say ‘those not of our kind must have a different heart.’ She’s doing this out of spite!”

“My brother was supposed to join Elder Feng’s sect in two months, but now he’s been severely injured by evil spirits, and his life hangs in the balance!”

Hearing all of this, Lu Ting’an was shocked. Once she recovered, she couldn’t help but roar, “What nonsense are you talking about?!”

The disciples were stunned, looking at each other. Someone whispered, “It was Senior Brother Guo Jingchen who said it… This morning while we were practicing swords in the arena, a large swarm of evil spirits suddenly surged from the sky, charging at us like they were crazed. If Senior Brother Chen hadn’t been powerful enough to strike in time, we would have lost our lives long ago.”

After hearing this, Lu Ting’an felt a surge of fury rush to her head. This Guo Jingchen! He stole the demon core and caused the evil spirits to mistakenly injure the disciples, and now he was turning around to frame Lin Zheng, throwing the dirty water on her!

Suppressing her anger, she asked coldly, “What evidence do you have to prove it was Lin Zheng? You can’t just slander someone’s reputation without proof.”

“We saw it with our own eyes.”

A voice rose from behind the crowd. Lu Ting’an turned to see Chen Yunxiao and others walking over quickly with grave expressions, with a guilty-looking Guo Jingchen following beside them.

Seeing him, Lu Ting’an wished she could slap this shameless person twice, but with Chen Yunxiao there, she couldn’t act out directly. She gritted her teeth and asked, “Why is Second Senior Brother so certain?”

Chen Yunxiao exchanged glances with those beside him and said, “Today we went down the mountain by the Master’s order to buy supplies. When passing by Flowing Cloud Peak, we saw Lin Zheng flying her sword into the Hall of Longevity with our own eyes. We felt something was wrong then. Since she was in seclusion, why would she suddenly appear there? She must have been secretly cultivating with a demon core, which went out of control and caused the riot of evil spirits in the back mountain. To save her life, she hid inside Flowing Cloud Peak.”

Ye Yunlan added, “Not only that, to be safe, she also stole the Lamp of Restful Breath and Restoration that I went to the Hall of Floating Life to borrow for you, Little Junior Sister. If Junior Brother Guo hadn’t seen it when he went to deliver food to Fifth Junior Sister, we would still be in the dark.”

“What a load of rubbish!” Lu Ting’an shouted angrily. “That lamp was clearly…”

“Little Junior Sister, why bother explaining for her?” Chen Yunxiao waved his hand to interrupt her and sneered. “If she didn’t steal it, why would the Lamp of Restful Breath and Restoration appear in the Hall of Longevity? Back at the Night Moon Pool on the stone cliff, Liyin’s demon core went missing, and it was Lin Zheng who was keeping it before. How can we not say she stole it herself?”

“You…” Lu Ting’an was speechless, unable to think of a good reason to explain for Lin Zheng at that moment. But she was bewildered—Chen Yunxiao hadn’t personally been to the Hall of Longevity, so how did he know about the lamp?

But when her gaze swept over Guo Jingchen’s face, which showed a mix of fear and secret joy, she understood instantly.

These people had likely conspired together long ago, determined to pin this massive scapegoat firmly on Lin Zheng.

Seeing her at a loss for words, Chen Yunxiao couldn’t help but feel a bit smug. “Little Junior Sister, I warned you before that demons and spirits are cunning and cannot be trusted. Now that Lin Zheng has committed such a heinous mistake, I have already reported it to the Master and the Sect Leader. We will surely punish this thief severely.”