After the Demon Lord was Reborn, She Switched to a Master-Disciple Romance Script - Chapter 8

Liulan Mountain stood at the border between the Human Realm and the Cultivation World. Located where several human kingdoms met, it belonged to none of them, existing as an independent territory.

Every ten years, cultivators came to the Human Realm for the Spirit Awakening ceremony, making Liulan Mountain famous among the people.

Of course, this fame only spread among a small portion of the population.

Ten miles outside Stone Water Town, numerous carriages had already gathered at the foot of Liulan Mountain.

Ji Nianyan gasped, her eyes wide with surprise. “There are so many people!”

Granny Zeng nodded. “Indeed.”

She glanced at Ji Nianyan with worry, wondering if the old Daoist’s words had been true.

Originally, Granny Zeng hadn’t planned to accompany Ji Nianyan. After all, with Zhu Jiyun by her side, she felt she couldn’t offer much help. But Ji Nianyan, clinging to the hope that Granny Zeng might also possess a Spiritual Root, had begged her to come along.

Zhu Jiyun exhaled slowly.

Crowds meant congestion, and with the day’s heat already oppressive, she felt like she was about to melt.

“Many of these people are servants brought along to attend to their masters, not participants in the Spirit Awakening,” Zhu Jiyun explained to Ji Nianyan.

“But won’t they tell others about what happens here when they return?” Ji Nianyan asked.

Zhu Jiyun smiled faintly.

Ji Nianyan, interpreting something from that smile, exclaimed, “The immortals must have a brilliant plan!”

But as she gazed at the people in their drab gray robes, clearly servants attending to their young masters and mistresses, Ji Nianyan almost asked them if they had no desire for Spirit Cultivation Immortality.

The words were on the tip of her tongue when a sudden gasp erupted from the crowd ahead.

A flash of white light illuminated the massive stone platform, previously empty, and several ethereal figures materialized. Clad in identical white robes, their dark hair swept into high buns, they radiated an otherworldly aura of untouchable grace.

The once-noisy crowd fell into stunned silence.

The leading woman, her smile gentle, addressed the sea of faces before her, channeling Spiritual Power to amplify her voice across the entire area.

“Today, we gather here for the Spirit Awakening ceremony. Please form orderly queues before the stone platform. It is now Chen Shi, and the Spirit Awakening at Liulan Mountain will conclude at Xu Shi. We urge you to manage your time accordingly, as latecomers will not be accommodated.”

With a flick of her sleeve, an invisible force struck the distant clock tower with a resounding dong!

“The Spirit Awakening has officially begun!”

Zhu Jiyun, recalling the minor incident she had encountered during her own Spirit Awakening in her previous life, resolved to stay until she saw Ji Nianyan safely escorted away by the immortals.

So she stayed with Ji Nianyan, waiting in line at the back.

The line stretched on all day. Granny Zeng went to prepare the dried food they had brought. The three of them ate a little and then perked up again.

Just after half past six in the evening, when only two people stood ahead of Ji Nianyan, chaos erupted in the line to her left.

Next to her had been a wealthy young man, craning his neck to check the progress. Suddenly, the servant who had been standing beside him, handing him water, lunged forward. While the young man was distracted, the servant pulled a knife from his sleeve and stabbed him in the chest.

“You beast, die!”

“Ahhh!”

Blood sprayed everywhere, drenching the person behind the young man, who closed his eyes in terror.

Zhu Jiyun turned her head to look.

The scene was drenched in blood.

The assassin servant had already been killed by another guard with a single sword thrust.

But a smile lingered on his lips.

Zhu Jiyun’s eyes flickered. As expected, the wealthy young man collapsed to the ground, blood gushing from his chest and mouth. He raised a trembling hand, as if trying to say something, but his eyes rolled back, and he fell still.

Everything had happened in an instant, impossibly fast.

The line had already begun to move forward. Those watching the commotion and those focused on waiting to become immortals unconsciously pushed Zhu Jiyun along with them.

The disciples maintaining order arrived swiftly, their faces stern. They quickly cleared the debris and brought out the guard who had protected the girl.

Zhu Jiyun watched everything.

For a moment, her eyes went blank. The scene, so similar to something she had witnessed long ago, stirred deep, buried memories.

A young girl with twin buns sat curled in a corner, her eyes vacant and tears streaming down her face as she clutched herself tightly.

Another girl entered, dressed in plain gray-blue servant’s clothes that couldn’t hide her radiant beauty. She moved quietly, her expression sorrowful, and knelt to embrace the weeping girl.

“Sister Zhu… sob… my sister… my sister was so young! Why didn’t he come for me instead? I’d rather have suffered the humiliation! Why not me?!”

Seeing the newcomer, the girl collapsed into Zhu Jiyun’s arms, her grief raw and piercing.

Zhu Jiyun’s hands trembled as she held the girl close, her voice choked with emotion. “In two days, it’s the Spirit Awakening at Liulan Mountain. I heard that anyone with a Spiritual Root, regardless of their status, can be taken by immortals to cultivate. Xiao Ya, let’s go together. If there’s even a chance, we’ll cultivate diligently and avenge Xiao Shu.”

Xiao Ya’s lips trembled, tears streaming down her face. She gripped the corner of Zhu Jiyun’s robe tightly, nodding fiercely without a word.

Two days later.

“You beast! I’ll kill you!”

Hatred blazed across the girl’s pale, gaunt face as she lunged at the man in opulent robes, driven by desperate conviction.

Thud, thud!

Thud!

Xiao Ya stared at the man, her dagger buried in his chest. Her eyes widened, filled with hatred, and her grip loosened unconsciously, unable to hold the blood-soaked blade any longer.

“Sister Zhu!” she screamed, her voice tearing through the air.

The richly dressed man sneered at Xiao Ya’s frenzy, tossing his human shield aside like trash. With a wave of his hand, he barked, “What are you waiting for? Get rid of her!”

Zhu Jiyun coughed violently, the metallic tang of blood overwhelming her senses. Collapsing to the ground, she watched helplessly as Xiao Ya was mercilessly stabbed to death before her eyes.

Dying with unclosed eyes.

Her gaze flickered with complex emotions before she finally closed her eyes.

A hand took hers and placed it on the Spirit Activation Platform, causing the platform to glow brilliantly.

Chu Fengxiu, standing before the platform, smiled faintly. “This Junior Sister has passed. Please step over here.”

As soon as the words left his lips, disciples responsible for guiding the newly awakened spirits led the group to another area.

Zhu Jiyun, jolted back from her memories, quickly withdrew her hand from Ji Nianyan’s grasp. “I’m sorry,” she said hastily, “I’m not here for Spirit Awakening.”

Chu Fengxiu turned to Zhu Jiyun, a faint smile playing on her lips, her fox-like eyes gleaming. “Junior Sister, once the Spirit Awakening is successful, there’s no turning back.”

Zhu Jiyun remained silent.

She had deliberately stood beside Ji Nianyan precisely because she knew she couldn’t back out.

But in the end, a sudden, similar assassination attempt had startled her, and before she knew it, she had been pushed forward.

Ji Nianyan’s large eyes fixed on Zhu Jiyun with concern. “I’m sorry, Sister Zhu. I should have warned you.”

When she had seen Zhu Jiyun standing behind her, she had assumed her sister was trying to back out. That’s why she had eagerly grabbed Zhu Jiyun’s hand and placed it on the Spirit Activation Platform.

Zhu Jiyun stared into Chu Fengxiu’s unwavering fox-like eyes for a moment before shifting her gaze to the anxious Ji Nianyan. Her voice was calm. “It’s fine. Let’s just leave it as it is.”

“It’s my own fault for getting lost in memories and not paying attention,” Zhu Jiyun said. “But slacking off is slacking off, no matter where you do it. A salted fish is a salted fish, right, System?”

The System trembled, daring neither to move nor speak.

Has the Host discovered something?

Chu Fengxiu raised an eyebrow, studying the exceptionally beautiful junior sister. A flicker of amusement danced in her bright, fox-like eyes.

Wow, this future junior sister’s gaze was sharp just now.

As Xu Shi approached, the cultivators immediately withdrew their Spirit Activation Platforms. Chu Fengxiu, the leader, amplified his voice with Spiritual Power, announcing the end of the Spirit Awakening ceremony at Liulan Mountain.

Ignoring the struggling and clamoring crowd, Zhu Jiyun and Ji Nianyan bid farewell to Granny Zeng through an invisible barrier.

Ji Nianyan had pulled Granny Zeng into the queue earlier, but the old woman hadn’t successfully awakened her spirit. Now, Ji Nianyan’s eyes were swollen from crying.

Zhu Jiyun’s mood was equally heavy.

Parting ways always brought heartache.

Fortunately, Granny Zeng had already shared her plans with Ji Nianyan. She intended to settle in Stone Water Town and, while her body still held up, run a small shop selling embroidery. This would allow her to live comfortably while remaining close, waiting for Ji Nianyan to return from the Cultivation World to find her.

Even as they boarded the Spirit Wind Ship bound for the Cultivation World, Ji Nianyan’s emotions remained raw.

Zhu Jiyun offered a few comforting words, giving her space to compose herself. Then, she turned to gaze out the ship’s window at the clouds, which seemed close enough to touch.

The Spirit Wind Ship, powered by spirit stones, was a major mode of transportation in the Cultivation World. It was affordable, reliable, and moved at a moderate pace, making it ideal for cultivators who had never flown before. Passengers wouldn’t experience motion sickness or cloud sickness. Therefore, after each Spirit Awakening ceremony, Spirit Wind Ships were the perfect way to transport the newly awakened disciples to their destinations.

After gazing for a long time at scenery he had never seen in his previous life, Zhu Jiyun pressed his fingers to his forehead, closed his eyes, and seemed lost in thought.

The System dared not utter another word.

After a long silence, Zhu Jiyun suddenly opened his eyes and addressed the System in his Sea of Consciousness. “Do you know what happened to the person from my past life who used me as a shield on Liulan Mountain?”

The System startled, then hesitated. “…You killed him?”

“Hmm, you’re right,” Zhu Jiyun replied.

“I simply found him during my later travels, carved him into a thousand pieces, preserved his Divine Sense with a secret technique to keep him conscious, and then trapped him permanently in a Nightmare Realm I crafted specifically for him, until his Divine Sense completely dissipated.”

The System felt a chill run down its spine, but seeing Zhu Jiyun’s smiling expression, it couldn’t help but ask, “…What kind of Nightmare Realm?”

“Guess?” Zhu Jiyun replied.

“I guess…” the System stammered.

Zhu Jiyun’s smile vanished abruptly. “Naturally, it’s a Nightmare Realm where he’s as happy as a god.”

An eye for an eye.

Didn’t he enjoy hunting and tormenting young children?

“Then let him become a child and join the other men in the Nightmare Realm,” Zhu Jiyun said, “where they can play to their heart’s content without end.”

The System immediately surrendered. “Host, I was wrong!”

“What was your mistake?” Zhu Jiyun asked.

“I shouldn’t have interfered with your senses while you were recalling memories, trapping you in the past. I’m sorry, Host, sniff sniff.”

Zhu Jiyun’s voice turned icy. “Don’t let me catch you doing that again.”

The System nodded frantically, promising repeatedly.

Sniff sniff It didn’t even know what had happened. For a split second, its programming seemed to activate interference mode automatically.

Sniff sniff sniff Host’s eyes were so scary.

The System shrank its presence, not daring to show its face for a long time.

The next morning, all the new disciples on the ship were summoned outside the cabins.

Zhu Jiyun guessed that the cultivators from the various sects were about to select fresh blood to take back to their sects.

Liulan Mountain’s Spirit Awakening event, held every ten years, was organized by disciples from the major sects of the Cultivation World. After accepting missions from their sects, they would team up to carry out the event.

Once the Spirit Awakening was complete, the cultivators would begin selecting future disciples for their sects during the return journey.

To ensure fairness, all selected individuals were randomly reordered into new lines. The order in which each sect chose their recruits was determined by drawing lots, and they could only select entire rows or columns, not individual people.

In her previous life, Zhu Jiyun had been too badly injured to participate in the reordering. Ultimately, Chu Fengxiu, the team leader, had chosen her for the Clear Mist Sect.

This time, Zhu Jiyun had seemingly appeared out of thin air in the forest where Ji Nianyan found her. Without the preceding events, there was no guarantee Chu Fengxiu would choose her again for the Clear Mist Sect.

As she pondered this, she suddenly felt a burning gaze fixed on her back.

Zhu Jiyun turned around and immediately saw Ji Chengyu standing diagonally behind her.

That bastard was glaring at her with cold, murderous intent.

Zhu Jiyun glanced at him dismissively before turning her gaze away indifferently.

Chu Fengxiu, who had drawn the first pick, smiled broadly and announced loudly, “Fifth row, seventh row, and tenth row, from this day forward, you are all fellow disciples of the Clear Mist Sect!”

Zhu Jiyun’s face darkened instantly.

[Good news: She and Ji Nianyan were both in the fifth row.]

[Bad news: That bastard Ji Chengyu was in the tenth row.]

[Mixed news: The original novel’s Female Lead was in the seventh row.]

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