What Should I Do If My Junior Sister Is the Future Demon Emperor? - Chapter 4

The communication device at her waist vibrated twice. When Lin Xi heard the voice from the other side, the expectant smile she had been wearing began to fade. Another day without her junior sister; she missed her terribly.

She toyed with the pendant on Congxin’s neck, her gaze drifting aimlessly, though her voice remained gentle and polite. “Does the Sect Master have something to discuss?”

Far away in the Great Hall, the Sect Master stared at the message in his hand as if it were a scorching coal. He looked sweatily at Qiu Yuebai, who had delivered the intelligence. Seeing her shake her head, the Sect Master wiped his brow. “Junior Niece Lin… Immortal Master Mingchen… I have a matter… I must report to you…”

In the cultivation world, titles like ‘nephew’ or ‘uncle’ mattered little; anyone with a high enough cultivation was effectively an ancestor. This was especially true given the convoluted, centuries-old ties between the Wanning Sect and Fengming Mountain. If the Sect Master hadn’t begged her to stay associated with Wanning, the sect would have lost half of its deterrent power.

“Sect Master Uncle might as well speak plainly.”

“That Junior Niece Ji… she has gone missing…”

The last few words were as faint as a mosquito’s hum. The Sect Master clearly heard the sound of a porcelain cup shattering on the other end. He trembled involuntarily and hurried to compensate. “I have already dispatched people to search. I believe there will be a response very soon.”

“I shall trouble you then, Sect Master Uncle.”

Lin Xi remained perfectly courteous, even remembering to say goodbye before the line went dead.

******

“Which elder was leading Ji Ling’s team?!” The Sect Master exploded with rage the moment he put the device away.

Facing his fury, Qiu Yuebai merely lifted an eyelid, her tone merciless. “An outer sect elder who entered the sect because he is a distant relative of yours.” She flipped through a dossier and added, “Oh, Xu Wenchang. Your cousin.”

The Sect Master’s spirit wilted. “Were there no disciples sent to protect her?”

He knew Xu Wenchang, an arrogant man who thought too highly of himself. This blunder was inexcusable. He no longer expected Lin Xi to speak to him nicely; he was just hoping she wouldn’t involve him in her retribution.

Qiu Yuebai closed the file and looked at him. “There were. But your cousin decided the guard’s cultivation was higher than his own, so he kicked the person out of the team before they departed.” She watched the Sect Master’s defeated expression without offering any comfort. “I will take my leave, Senior Brother. The Information Hall has much to attend to.”

She walked out of the hall without waiting for a reaction. The Information Hall managed all intelligence, and she hadn’t dared delay the news of Ji Ling’s disappearance for even a second. After all, her livelihood depended on the sect’s survival. If they offended Lin Xi, none of them would have a good time.

Outside, Qiu Yuebai looked toward Fengming Mountain. It was home to the two highest-cultivated individuals in the entire world. Once, it had been three. The residents of Fengming Mountain were all peerless geniuses, yet Ji Ling was remarkably mediocre compared to most. Qiu Yuebai couldn’t understand why Lin Xi doted on the girl so much, raising her by hand as if she were her own daughter.

Now that Ji Ling was missing, she feared Lin Xi might descend into madness again. Though, judging by Lin Xi’s voice just now, she seemed quite composed… perhaps.

After a moment of thought, she pulled out her own device. A weary voice answered, “Speak.”

Qiu Yuebai sighed. “Ji Ling is missing. Get ready. Figure out what charges to pin on those responsible so we can appease the ‘Great Buddha’ when she comes for blood.”

Xing Yun was silent for a moment. “I don’t think Immortal Master Mingchen is the type to strike blindly without cause.”

“I agree, but who can withstand her if she truly goes mad?”

Ji Ling could, but she was gone.

Xing Yun’s silence lasted much longer this time. “…Come to the Discipline Hall and give me the details.”

“No,” Qiu Yuebai refused immediately. “I’ll have a disciple send the documents to you. I’m not coming over for tea; my mother is waiting for me to eat.” She cut the connection. Only a fool would walk into the Discipline Hall; Xing Yun would drown her in dossiers and wouldn’t let her leave until midnight. Was she the type to walk into her own trap?

She only hoped Ji Ling was safe. The peace of the cultivation world was currently resting on that girl’s shoulders.

*****

Meanwhile, Lin Xi who usually prided herself on being gentle and rarely lifting a finger was currently clutching the lead elder by the throat. She wore her usual smile, but her eyes were devoid of warmth.

“So, you—a late-stage Golden Core elder, abandoned my junior sister, who is only at the Foundation Establishment stage, to face a Golden Core demonic beast alone? Is that correct?”

The elder’s face turned purple as his eyes rolled back. Despite being in the late Golden Core stage, he was utterly powerless in Lin Xi’s grasp. Her grip tightened slowly. Just as Elder Xu was about to meet his ancestors, a disciple cried out, “Senior Sister Lin! Finding Junior Sister Ji is more important!”

Lin Xi scoffed and tossed Elder Xu aside like a piece of trash. He slammed into a boulder the size of a man; the rock shattered instantly, showering the blood-spitting old man in debris.

“You had all better pray that my junior sister is unharmed.”

With those words, she vanished.

The dazed disciples rushed to help Elder Xu. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and stared venomously in the direction Lin Xi had gone. “A mad dog, truly.”

“I never heard Ji Ling mention that her senior sister’s strength was so unfathomable,” another whispered. Had they known, they never would have abandoned the girl.

The other disciples remained silent. The air was heavy with the weight of their choice. They had looked down on Ji Ling; she wasn’t a traditional disciple of the sect, yet she enjoyed inner-sect treatment and vast resources. Despite two hundred years of cultivation, she was still stuck at Foundation Establishment. Her only talent seemed to be her silver tongue, which even made the old lady at the gate fond of her.

When Elder Xu ordered a retreat, they had all silently accepted it. Cultivation trials always involved casualties, so what was one more Foundation Establishment disciple? Even if the elders investigated later, they couldn’t say much; they would simply blame her lack of strength.

They hadn’t expected Lin Xi to find them so quickly and ignore their excuses entirely. Her direct violence had terrified the more cowardly disciples into confessing everything.

“Elder Xu, we were following your orders. You cannot leave us to face this alone,” one disciple stammered, his plea carrying a veiled threat.

Leaning against the ruins of the rock, Elder Xu let out a bloody, mocking laugh. “You likely don’t know who she is. She is the infamous Immortal Master Mingchen from a hundred years ago.”

The disciples’ faces paled with horror. One man charged out from the crowd, intent on hitting him. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”

A confused disciple nearby tried to hold him back. “Junior Brother, calm down! Striking an elder is a grave crime!”

“Offending Mingchen is a death sentence anyway! I might as well vent my rage first!”

The trial team descended into chaos. One disciple explained with cold clarity, “Immortal Master Mingchen killed the former Sect Master of the Sword Resonance Sect and bathed the Yaoguang Sect in blood. Despite such monstrous acts, she lives freely, and sect leaders treat her with the utmost respect. She is likely the one who broke the Sword Resonance array recently. How strong do you think she is?”

“You’ve seen how much she dotes on Ji Ling. Do you think we have any way to survive this?”

Then, he slapped Elder Xu across the face. “I was a fool. Truly.”

Stunned by the blow, Elder Xu roared, “Insolence! I am of the Sect Master’s direct lineage! How dare you treat me this way!”

Someone kicked him. “The man is delusional. Does he think mortal bloodlines matter to an Immortal Master?”

******

Lin Xi had no time for the pack of dogs biting one another. She stood in the forest, her hands forming a seal. Spiritual light transformed into thousands of silk threads that spread in every direction, only to dissipate moments later.

As the motes of spiritual energy swirled around her, Lin Xi, the woman who usually smiled even if the sky was falling and looked grim. She rubbed the Qinshuang ribbon on her wrist. Not here? Or has she entered a hidden realm?

Lin Xi focused her power, and Qinshuang transformed into a cyan sword. The cold glint of the blade matched the ice in her expression. Suddenly, she spoke flatly, “Come out.”

Congxin poked its head out from behind a tree, looking so terrified it was on the verge of tears. It tried to explain itself, but only a muffled, sobbing sound came out. Lin Xi realized her mistake and sighed, pulling out three copper coins. She was suddenly glad she had studied divination; while she couldn’t see the heavens, she could find people and objects.

“Southwest.”

Lin Xi gripped the coins and glanced at Congxin. The creature understood immediately and followed cautiously behind her. There were few demons left in the human realm, and she had never seen one like this. She didn’t know how the little thing had gotten there, but until she found its parents, it was best to keep it with her.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Lin Xi found tracks of a Qingya Wolf. The man-sized beast hunched its neck and stared at Lin Xi in terror. She didn’t even look at it. Qinshuang shot from her sleeve and pierced the wolf’s head in the blink of an eye. The beast that had terrified the disciples into abandoning their comrade died without a struggle. She collected the carcass; she didn’t need the materials, but perhaps her junior sister would find a use for them.

The Xunnan Mountains were vast, and since Ji Ling had used a teleportation stone, it took Lin Xi some time to locate the entrance to the hidden realm.

“I cannot enter?”

Lin Xi pressed her hand against the entrance and felt a distinct force of repulsion. Some hidden realms restricted the cultivation level of those who entered; clearly, this one did not welcome her. Her eyes narrowed, but just as she was about to force her way in, Congxin bit her hem and gestured for her to move inward in a specific way.

Lin Xi tentatively stepped forward and, to her surprise, crossed the barrier. After a flash of white light, the scenery changed. She picked up the proud little demon. “Well done.”

Congxin pointed at its throat, gesturing for her to lift the silence charm. Lin Xi ignored it completely, which prompted the demon to scratch at her shoulder in frustration.

Time flowed differently inside the realm. Though it had been dusk when she entered, the sky here was just beginning to brighten. The Qinshuang ribbon on her wrist shot out and flew toward a specific direction. At the same time, Lin Xi pressed down on Congxin’s head and followed. It seemed her little junior sister was in significant trouble.

Congxin was startled and peeked out through the gaps of her fingers. Because the Qinshuang and Fushuang swords were embedded with twin stones, they could sense each other’s presence. When her sister had first found the stones, she had insisted on using them, and Lin Xi had indulged her by having them forged into their weapons. Now, that indulgence was proving to be a stroke of luck.

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