[What's going on?? What's going on??]
[How did the female supporting character know she would have her core cut out and eyes gouged? And how did she know about summoning the demon lord?? Did I miss something?]
[The female supporting character hasn't even gone to humiliate the female lead yet, hasn't poisoned her, hasn't made her injured eyes bleed, hasn't put parasitic insects in her body, hasn't ruined her appearance]
[She hasn't used the bell to create hallucinations for the female lead, making her see illusions of the supporting character being intimate with the master, hasn't caused the female lead's heart to turn to ashes - how is she being judged because of some inexplicable cannon fodder character?]
Nie Yinzhi had lost too much blood, looking like a colorless snowman. Her wrist skin became increasingly thin and transparent, making the floral branch mark wrapped around her wrist even more eye-catching.
That night at the back mountain of Biyang Peak, the symbiotic formation laid by Xiang Sijue took effect. Only three of them were present at the time. Xiang Sijue died, but the demon lord remained unharmed. She had her blood licked by demonic energy, and another mark appeared on her wrist.
The symbiotic formation likely bound her to the demon lord.
Nie Yinzhi was gambling from the start, and now it seemed she had won.
The demonic energy quickly spread, consuming all the blood on the ground.
Sang Wumian couldn't clearly see the figure within the demonic energy, but he recognized this particular energy. It seemed Feng Hanying was still determined to break out of the Ten Thousand Demons Cave.
His sword failed to break through the formation on the first strike. He swung again, and when sword light collided with demonic energy, visible shock waves cracked the surrounding hall.
"Nie Yinzhi," Sang Wumian's robes fluttered, his sword condensing terrifying power, "Do you know what you're doing? Putting all living beings at risk for your selfish desires, you monster!"
Always talking about the common people this, common people that - do these common people even know how much you claim to care about them?
Nie Yinzhi brushed away the demonic energy. Her white dress was already soaked in blood, like large blooming lotus flowers. The demonic energy coiled around her, and through the rich colors emerged her pale, delicate face with fine eyebrows and peach blossom eyes, her lips carrying a faint sneer.
"What do I have to do with the common people? If the noble Qizhen Immortal Lord can have selfish desires, why can't I?" Her tone was cold, even carrying a hint of naive confusion.
The crowd in the hall wore expressions of fear, suddenly realizing how different she was from the kind-hearted Xiao Ling - there wasn't the slightest similarity between them.
"Master, it was you who wanted me dead. Since that's the case, then no one gets to live." Blood trickled from the corner of Nie Yinzhi's mouth, down her jaw, as she laughed with abandon.
A hand with distinct knuckles emerged from the demonic energy, helping her wipe away the blood at her mouth. A cold sensation spread through her body as demonic energy poured in, healing the penetrating wound on her shoulder.
The demonic energy soaked into Nie Yinzhi, consuming all the crimson marks on her body, not wasting a single drop of blood.
Nie Yinzhi felt as if someone had taken a taste of her, immediately causing goosebumps all over her body. Her gaze was drawn by those slender fingers to a handsome face emerging from the black energy - a man with deep features and intense eyes, his phoenix-like eyes carrying a drowsy look.
He licked the blood from his fingertips and said earnestly, "You're so young, why harbor such heavy resentment? If there are any misunderstandings, we can all sit down and clear things up over tea. Why resort to violence?"
Not just Nie Yinzhi, but everyone else in the hall fell into an odd silence for a moment.
However, coming from a demon lord's mouth, no one present believed these words. The Cloud Scripture Sect elders continued their attempts to break through the demonic energy barrier, their sword lights entering the dark energy only to be deflected back, chaotically sweeping toward the crowd.
Only Nie Yinzhi, within the demonic energy, could tell he wasn't joking.
"Hm?" Nie Yinzhi felt as if she'd heard something absurd. Though she heard every word clearly, she found the content impossible to comprehend.
What nonsense was this demon lord speaking?
Aren't you the Demon Lord? The one whose very presence makes the hall full of elders flee in terror, even causing Sang Wumian to panic?
The notorious killer whose path is drenched in blood wherever he goes?
I shed so much blood and offered up my soul and body - was it just to invite you for tea?
Nie Yinzhi was about to explode with anger. Boldness born of rage, she grabbed his chin, "You drink so much of my blood, and this is what you say to me!"
"I want you to kill Sang Wumian, kill..." The sacrificial formation glowed beneath her feet, and with each word she spoke, her soul writhed in pain.
A giant spider revealed itself from the darkness, and Nie Yinzhi mimicked her previous apologetic expression, "Senior Sister knows, right? Intruding into someone else's spiritual platform is very dangerous. I really can't control my imagination."
The spider's sharp mouthparts mercilessly pierced into Xiao Ling's neck, eliciting a tragic scream from her.
Nie Yinzhi covered her ears, and just before the giant spider could tear apart Xiao Ling's soul, a strange halo suddenly surged from her body, wrapping around her as she disappeared from Nie Yinzhi's spiritual platform.
Ah, looks like she got away.
The scene in the spiritual platform dissipated, and after a while, Nie Yinzhi's soul returned to her body, though she couldn't move as her physical sensations hadn't yet recovered.
She lay flat on the broken ground, looking up at the overwhelming barrage of comments in the sky.
This was her first time seeing such a spectacular barrage, like a vast, endless army that blocked out even the sunset.
[Did Sang Wumian die????????]
Nie Yinzhi felt the spiritual energy turbulence from a powerful being's demise, a disturbance that would likely persist in the Cloud Scripture Sect for several months.
The great bell of the Cloud Scripture Sect tolled, making heaven and earth vibrate.
Nie Yinzhi laughed in the bell's sound, laughing until her stomach hurt.
She gritted her teeth and climbed up from the ground, immediately spotting the person sprawled on the Immortal Lord's throne. The demon lord had his legs crossed, ankle resting on knee, in an unrefined but magnificent posture, body slightly tilted right, supporting his chin with his hand as he lazily watched her.
At his feet lay Sang Wumian's broken body, with a large hole in his forehead, his soul torn out and crushed, dying with eyes wide open.
Besides this, only ruins remained around them.
Nie Yinzhi's peripheral vision swept across the people trapped in the ruins, and she regretfully thought why the demon lord hadn't killed them all.
She turned her head and saw Meng Jin, covered in blood and looking lost, staring at her with eyes like one would look at an evil spirit, his lips trembling.
Nie Yinzhi climbed through the ruins, walking toward him.
Meng Jin was too severely injured to move, his terrified pupils reflecting the approaching figure, "What are you going to do?"
Nie Yinzhi walked up to him, caught her breath, removed the jade hairpin from her head, tilted her head and smiled, black hair falling over her shoulders, "Strike first for advantage."
The sharp end of the cyan jade hairpin swept across his eyes, and Meng Jin let out a terrible scream, covering his eyes as blood seeped through his fingers. His whole body trembled, "Nie Yinzhi, why... you madwoman—"
"I merely did what you wanted to do, just in advance." Nie Yinzhi stepped back, feeling dizzy from blood loss, and almost fell before someone caught her.
Aliali: 67467efbc4f3f33ac45e4cd7
"You truly have potential to be a demon cultivator."
Nie Yinzhi humbly replied, "Thank you for the recognition, Demon Lord."
Gu Jiang chuckled softly, "Are you finished?"
Nie Yinzhi gripped the jade hairpin, wanting to deliver more strikes, but having lost so much blood and after fighting for control of her spiritual platform, she could barely stand now.
After the demon lord approached, Meng Jin scrambled away to a corner, clutching a sword light in his palm, his whole body emanating the desperate ferocity of a cornered beast.
Nie Yinzhi could only quit while she was ahead, "I'm done."
The demon lord released her, "Where do you live?"
"Pill-Forming Peak." Nie Yinzhi leaned against the collapsed ruins, truly exhausted, trying several times to activate the flying inscriptions on her jade hairpin to lead the way, but failing each time.
Gu Jiang clicked his tongue and picked her up with one arm, like carrying a child, "Which direction?"
Nie Yinzhi was startled, frantically wrapping her arms around his neck, then after a moment of silence, obediently sat in the demon lord's arms and pointed the way.