My Secret Cultivator Spouse Is the Demon Lord - Chapter 11

It was only after Xu Xianqing was dragged into the mountain stronghold that she realized the secret tunnel from the inn was connected directly to Mount Bai’an.

Out of the wolf’s den and straight into the tiger’s mouth…she had been captured by a crew of mountain bandits.

As she was marched up the mountain, Xu Xianqing’s heart burned with anxiety. She had no idea what had become of the innkeeper and her young waiter.

When she was brought inside the stronghold, her eyes widened in shock. Sitting on the throne reserved for the bandit chief was the innkeeper.

Yet, this woman was subtly different from the one she had met down at the inn.

They shared the exact same face, but the woman on the throne radiated a sinister, almost demonic aura. The innkeeper from the mountain’s base had possessed a pure, gentle aura, no different from any ordinary cultivator.

The moment Xu Xianqing was brought forward, the woman moved. Rising from her throne, she descended the stone steps until she stood directly before her.

Using the tip of a folded whip, she yanked Xu Xianqing’s chin upward, studying her face with cold scrutiny.

“So, it’s you?” She stared at Xu Xianqing. “To save your hide, the inn is gone. And so is my sister.”

Before Xu Xianqing could process the words, a kick slammed into her chest, sending her tumbling onto the floor. She didn’t even bother trying to get up. The dull ache in her heart was instantly eclipsed by the horrifying news.

“The… the innkeeper is dead?”

Xu Xianqing asked in disbelief, her voice little more than a stunned whisper.

The woman sneered. “The He family only has that one son. You killed their precious heir; did you really think they’d let it slide?”

Truth be told, she wanted to kill someone right now. She wanted nothing more than to slice open the throat of the person who had dragged her sister to her grave. But she couldn’t.

This was the life her sister had traded her own to protect.

Xu Xianqing didn’t bother offering useless excuses like, “I didn’t kill him.” None of that mattered anymore. The He family believed she did, and an innocent life had been lost because of it.

“The He family…” The woman squatted down, bringing her face level with Xu Xianqing’s. “I will settle our score with the He family, no matter what. As for you? My sister asked me to get you out of here. Where are you planning to go?”

“I’m not leaving,” Xu Xianqing said, forcing herself to stand up. “I’m not running away anymore.”

She had been fleeing for far too long. From Pingkou Alley to the Ye Residence, and from the Ye Residence to this very mountain. Yet no matter how far or fast she ran, she could never truly escape.

“Not leaving? Staying here to do what? What can you even do?” The woman suddenly let out a laugh…a cold, mocking sound identical to the smirk the innkeeper had left behind.

Xu Xianqing stared at that familiar face, listening to the bitter mockery in her voice.

“You want to stay? So you can lure the He family right to my Bai’an Stronghold?” The woman stood up, her gaze icy. “What, killing my sister and her shop boy wasn’t enough? You want to drag my entire crew down to the grave with you, too?”

Behind her, the bandits flared up, clutching their weapons tighter as they glared at Xu Xianqing like wolves eyeing their prey.

Xu Xianqing opened her mouth, but no words came out. She had no idea what to say…or what she even could say.

She wanted revenge.

Yet before she could even utter the thought, her own uselessness mocked her. A invalid like her, struggling just to survive in this vast world… how could she ever hope to avenge anyone?

“Enough. Lose the pathetic face,” the woman barked, waving a dismissive hand. “Take her down and lock her up. We’ll sneak her out under the cover of night tomorrow.”

Xu Xianqing opened her mouth to plead, only to realize her voice had been sealed. Looking up, she caught the woman’s faint, sinister smile.

“I hate blabbermouths. Keep your mouth shut for now.”

Truthfully, the woman despised her. Even though she and her sister had been on bad terms, blood was thicker than water. They were twin sisters. After being cast out by their clan, one had joined an orthodox sect to pursue immortally, while the other picked up dark arts and gathered a crew to rule as a bandit king.

Though they had both looked down on the paths the other chose, the bond between them could never be severed.

Now that one was gone, the surviving sister felt utterly lost, unsure of how to go on. The only thing that mattered now was vengeance.

“The He family… What a arrogant, tyrannical clan! I’d like to see if the sky above Lone City collapses, whether it will crush those bastard Hes beneath it!”

With a fierce snap of her wrist, her whip cracked through the air. The heavy wooden table in front of her shattered into flying splinters.

Xu Xianqing was led to a secluded room in the back of the mountain. Though it was a proper guest room, it was surrounded by steep cliffs and guarded at every post. Escaping on her own was an absolute impossibility.

After pushing her inside, the two bandits guarding her grunted menacingly: “You’d better behave yourself. Our Grand Master is on a short fuse right now. If you cause any trouble, I’ll skin you alive! I might know who you are, but the blade in my hand doesn’t!”

One bandit left to report, while the other remained posted outside the door like a statue.

Once the door was shut, Xu Xianqing clutched her travel pack to her chest and sat cross-legged on the floor.

A parade of faces flashed through her mind…the street urchin in Pingkou Alley who had shared his hot porridge with her; the Master of the Ye family, stern yet paternal; the old tomb keeper; the kind innkeeper and her money-grubbing shop boy; Miss Ye, who had shielded her every step of the way; and her deceased wife, who continued to protect her even from beyond the grave.

And every single one of them was dead.

Xu Xianqing wiped away a stray tear from the corner of her eye and reached out to touch the shadow-recording stone left behind by Miss Ye.

Miss Ye had wanted her to head south to seek the Medicine King Valley. But the south was impossibly far, and the exact location of the valley remained a mystery. With mountains and rivers blocking her path, she couldn’t even leave the borders of Lone City without hitting a dead end.

Where lay her future? Even if she kept trudging forward, what was the point?

Xu Xianqing didn’t know. But she wanted to live. If possible, she wanted to live openly and with dignity…not as a useless cripple clinging to scraps of life while dragging innocent people down with her.

Locked in the room for an entire night, Xu Xianqing woke up the next morning to faint sounds outside.

It sounded like children laughing and playing games.

Creeping up to the door, she peeked through the narrow slit. A few young kids were huddled together in the dirt, playing a game of jacks with small pebbles.

It was a game Xu Xianqing had played as a young child in her past life. Tossing pebbles back and forth demanded precise force, angles, and quick fingers. Whether played with friends or alone, it was always a simple joy. When tired, stacking the stones or moving them like chess pieces across a grid was equally fun.

“Stone chess…?” Xu Xianqing murmured under her breath.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up. She reached into her storage pouch and pulled out a few low-grade spirit stones.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor once more, she carefully arranged the stones in front of her, pulling memories from her past life…recalling a basic formation her master had once taught her.

It was a Ghost-Trapping Array. While far from powerful, it was the simplest formation to set up.

As Xu Xianqing laid out the stones, she channeled her meager spirit energy, infusing it into each piece. Finally, with painstaking caution, she drew out a single mid-grade spirit stone. This would serve as the core of the miniature Ghost-Trapping Array.

The moment the core was set, the array would be complete.

If this works… can I enter the path of cultivation through Array Crafting?

Xu Xianqing was so nervous she almost forgot to breathe. Holding her breath, she gently slid the core stone into place.

She stared at the stones with wide, expectant eyes. After a breathless pause, one of the low-grade stones suddenly burst into fine dust.

“It worked!” Xu Xianqing gasped in excitement, but her smile quickly vanished when she saw the shattered stone. “Wait… did it fail?”

She was confused. The array felt complete, yet it couldn’t sustain itself, holding together for only a fraction of a second before collapsing.

It was useless, yet it had functioned as a true array for a split second.

Ding! Congratulations to Task-Master for successfully unlocking an initial skill: World Chessboard (Level 1): Yin-Suppressing Array. Reward: 500 System Points. Please claim your reward.

Ding! Status Panel refreshed.

Hearing the system’s mechanical prompt, Xu Xianqing’s heart leaped with joy. Though the array was impractical, the System was officially activated!

Task-Master: Xu Xianqing

Age: 19

Gender: Female

Race: Unknown

Level: 0

Cultivation: 5

Initial Skill: [World Chessboard: Yin-Suppressing Array]

Origin Skill: None

Cultivation Method: None

Mental Code: None

Points: 500

“System, can I open the Mall now?”

Opening System Mall…

In an instant, the System Mall interface expanded before her eyes.

Xu Xianqing quickly flipped through the catalog. After scrolling through over a dozen pages, her eyes locked onto an item: Resurrection Technique.

Resurrection Technique: 1,000,000 Points.

And that wasn’t even the most expensive item. Further down, there were even entire planets available for exchange, costing upwards of ten million points!

“You really do have everything, don’t you?”

Produced by the Heavenly Dao; authentic goods at fair prices.

Host, as a reward for your first milestone unlock, the System has granted you a Newbie Gift Pack and one free Gacha Blind Box Draw. You will receive one free draw for every subsequent level upgrade.

Would you like to draw now?

“Let me check the Newbie Gift Pack first.”

Xu Xianqing had never considered herself a lucky person. She was born an orphan in her past life, died a tragic death, and transmigrated into this world only to face disaster after disaster, hovering on the brink of death every single day. If she had any luck, she wouldn’t be in this state.

Yet, on second thought, maybe her luck wasn’t entirely terrible. Though she constantly walked the edge of a blade, fate always seemed to leave her a tiny sliver of hope.

“System, let’s do the draw.”

After reviewing the contents of the Newbie Gift Pack, Xu Xianqing was pleasantly surprised. The rewards were surprisingly generous:

[Newbie Gift Pack]:

• Spirit Beast Egg × 1
• High-Grade Spirit Stones × 500
• Nine-Heavens Thunder Talismans × 3
• Five-Elements Puppets × 1 Set

A single Nine-Heavens Thunder Talisman was equivalent to a full-force fatal strike from a Nascent Soul expert. For her current weak self, this was a massive life-saving trump card!

The Five-Elements Puppets came in a set of five, scaling across different realms: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Soul Formation.

Unfortunately, all of these were single-use consumables.

As for the Spirit Beast Egg, there was no way to know what was inside until it hatched.

With her heart thumping against her ribs, Xu Xianqing eagerly awaited the blind box draw. Whatever came out of it, it would be of immense help to her now.

Drawing now…

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