[Hahaha, the old demon lord looks so confused, women are truly incomprehensible.]
[I was wrong, I've already reported my previous comment, I haven't had enough of their sweet moments, please don't fight!]
[How sour, Nie Yinzhi! She's jealous, she's actually jealous of the second male lead's corpse.]
[What do you mean jealous of the second male lead's corpse? Sister, when you typed that out, did you not notice something wrong with it??]
[The demon lord should quickly say: "Silly girl, I only want to drink your blood."]
[The female supporting character has developed possessiveness over the demon lord, she's done for. Ah Yin fell for Ah Jiang, just like Ah Zhen fell for Ah Qiang, on this starless night.]
[Finally, the villain has stopped babbling, this master is satisfied.]
[Incredible, both the male lead and second male lead died by Nie Yinzhi's hands, is Zhu Yan next? Is the female supporting character planning to kill all the men who were good to the female lead?]
Nie Yinzhi irritably scanned the floating text before her eyes.
All this talk about possessiveness was nonsense. Making the demon lord drink only her blood - that sounded masochistic, and she hadn't lost her mind yet.
Gu Jiang swung his long blade, completely flicking off the blood from Red Leaf's blade onto the ground, leaving no trace. He gave Nie Yinzhi a "what nonsense are you talking about" look and said, "Only your blood can tempt a demon."
Nie Yinzhi responded with an "oh." Gu Jiang was like a wooden block, completely incapable of understanding why she was angry. Even Nie Yinzhi herself didn't understand why she was angry.
Expecting the demon lord to comfort her was impossible. Obviously, this wasn't the time to be sulking. Nie Yinzhi silently comforted herself, quickly buried her ill-timed emotions in a metaphorical hole, and adaptably took the initiative to grab his sleeve. "Then let's quickly escape before they react."
"No hurry." Gu Jiang tilted his head to look at her, truly unable to comprehend how Nie Yinzhi could glare in anger one moment and smile at him the next.
It reminded him of the face-changing performances he'd seen while wandering among mortals.
Gu Jiang raised his hand and firmly rubbed her face, confirming there wasn't a second mask on it.
Under Nie Yinzhi's confused gaze, Gu Jiang soothingly patted her head, his hand sliding down to catch her wrist. He led her as they leaped to a high point, gesturing for her to look up.
The protective grand formation covering the Cloud Scripture Sect had collapsed, with sword energy dispersing into the mountains and buildings below.
In the sky hung a single giant ice-blue sword, like a towering tree piercing the clouds. Its sword light illuminated hundreds of miles as if it were daylight, waves of sword hymns spreading outward.
The entire ground of the Cloud Scripture Sect trembled with the sword's resonance.
"The Mystic Soul Sword?" Yan Yi stared at the colossal sword reaching from earth to sky, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "It's Ancestor's Mystic Soul Sword!"
Beside him came Yu Yaoqing's voice from Taixin Gate: "So, your sect's Ancestor Han Jing didn't ascend after all?"
That sword wasn't just a remnant of sword intent or sword light, but a genuine massive sword. Clearly, it had been the foundation of the protective formation that had sheltered the Cloud Scripture Sect for hundreds of years.
Yu Yaoqing had never heard of any sword cultivator who ascended to the immortal realm but left their life-bound sword in the mortal world.
Yan Yi's expression changed. Yu Yaoqing's words had suppressed the joy in his eyes. Their ancestor's ascension was clearly recorded in the Cloud Scripture Sect's history. The disturbance of ascension had been so grand that it would have left records throughout the entire cultivation world. Even if they hadn't witnessed it personally, it shouldn't have been false.
But if the ancestor had failed to ascend and perished, their life-bound sword should have ceased to exist as well.
He turned his head searching for someone, and his arm was grabbed. Yu Yaoqing spoke: "I'm here."
"Elder Yu, at a time like this, could you stop being so sneaky?" Yan Yi said irritably.
"Force of habit, truly sorry." Yu Yaoqing strained to make his head visible.
Yan Yi: "...You scared a disciple unconscious beside us."
Just like Nie Yinzhi.
Xiao Ling wanted to continue closing her eyes and blocking her ears, but Zhu Yan wouldn't let her have her way. "Every time you take a medicinal bath, someone sacrifices themselves for you. That little girl who often escorted you also died for you. Xiao Ling, you knew this, didn't you? Didn't you even cry for her? Why won't you admit it?"
The weak whimpering beside his ear faded away. Zhu Yan smelled the thick scent of blood and frowned, lowering Xiao Ling into his arms.
Xiao Ling's face was as white as paper, having already lost consciousness. Even in this state, her tightly furrowed brows revealed a painful struggle, with blood flowing from her mouth.
"Xiao Ling?" Zhu Yan wiped the blood from her face with his sleeve and shook her chin gently, suddenly becoming anxious. "Xiao Ling, I'll stop talking, just wake up."
Xiao Ling remained motionless, her heartbeat weak, showing no will to live.
Zhu Yan's expression changed several times, the bewilderment on his face quickly disappearing, replaced by fierce determination.
He concentrated his spiritual consciousness into a single thread, forcefully entering Xiao Ling's mind, engraving these words into her consciousness: "Xiao Ling, it's too late for you to seek death now. If you die, all those who died for you would have died in vain. Your life no longer belongs to you alone."
These words pierced through Xiao Ling, making her body tremble as she curled up in his arms.
"Fine, I won't take you with me." Zhu Yan angrily broke open the window of the pavilion ahead, rushed inside, and placed Xiao Ling on a table. Leaning close to her ear, he said word by word, "Xiao Ling, I will come back for you."
After speaking, he glanced back at the two pursuers, wrapped himself in a fierce wind, and departed from the other side.
The two elders caught up, checking Xiao Ling's pulse, "Her condition is critical."
"Alright, take her back to the medical hall."
After their brief exchange, one continued the pursuit while the other carried Xiao Ling back.
[The female lead is innocent too. Xiao Ling had no idea Jing Chongshan would treat her that way at first, and even when she later suspected something, it was too late to turn back.]
[Zhu Yan, you stupid jerk, why would you treat the female lead like this?! No wonder you're only worthy of being the third male lead in the original story, if even that. Just die!]
[I see now - Nie Yinzhi's story follows a sweet romance path, while Xiao Ling's path is full of physical and emotional torture and forceful possession.]
[If it weren't for the female supporting character, the female lead wouldn't be suffering like this! The original story was so sweet! She ruined everything for Xiao Ling!]
[You make it sound like Nie Yinzhi cut out her golden core and gouged out her eyes. Get it straight, Nie Yinzhi only killed that scumbag man, she never touched your precious female lead.]
[Nie Yinzhi lay in the cold cave of Reflection Cliff, unsure if there was any light in the cave because she couldn't see anything - no divine sense, no eyes, only empty sockets remained.]
Aliali: 674b362cc4f3f33ac49f264a
[Something was now writhing in those sockets, she thought it might be maggots from the decay.]
[A large hole had been torn in her stomach, and all her spiritual power and vital essence had been drained away with her extracted golden core. Her body was withered and rotting, emanating a foul stench.]
[Nie Yinzhi could no longer feel pain; she only felt cold, a bone-chilling coldness, as if the waters of the underworld had already submerged her body. She was dying, dying in a dark corner that her parents could neither imagine nor reach. They would never see her return.]
[Everyone said this was her own doing, that she brought it upon herself, that she should turn back while she still could. But Nie Yinzhi couldn't turn back, nor did she want to. She never regretted her actions. Even if she died consumed by endless hatred, she would never repent, never close her eyes in peace.]
[To the female lead's fans posting original story excerpts earlier, you're acting like rabid dogs when you get worked up, making us all laugh.]
Nie Yinzhi's gaze swept across the bullet comments, quite naturally - she had grown accustomed to quickly scanning these passionate or amusing captions that would pop up at any time.
"Never repent, never rest in peace." Nie Yinzhi murmured these words and gave a soft laugh.
This was just who she was.
Gu Jiang noticed her mood and lowered his gaze to look at her, his fingertips gently caressing her wrist. "Nie Yinzhi, this lord is tired."
Nie Yinzhi blinked, looking at the just-breaking dawn, "Alright then, let's find a place to sleep."