Inside the hall, Wen Shubai had been leisurely sipping tea with his legs crossed. At this moment, he abruptly set down his teacup with a sharp clink, stood up suddenly, and vanished on the spot in a flash.
Fortunately, all the guests from the Seven Kingdoms and Twelve Sects of the Northern Profound who came to congratulate Fang Jixue on his grand wedding possessed considerable cultivation levels.
Under such circumstances, even if the monsters from the tower surged forth, they couldn’t cause significant casualties in a short time.
Moreover, Fang Jixue himself was the foremost master of demon sealing seals in the world, so controlling the situation wasn’t difficult for him.
Dressed in his bright red wedding robes, he soared above the Demon Suppression Tower. Ten thousand Purple-Gold Bells agitated wildly as a piercing white barrier instantly rose around the vast Thousand Machines Sect, trapping all the monsters within.
Killing, capturing, and resealing—the situation rapidly reversed.
Amid the chaos, the Enforcement Elder dragged a woman over and threw her before the tower.
“Reporting to the Sect Master, we’ve caught the traitor! Witnesses saw this woman hastily emerging from the formation earlier, and then the incident occurred.”
Fang Jixue glanced down briefly without comment, continuing to focus on resealing the Myriad Phenomena Formation.
An Nanchan, already having removed her phoenix crown from her wedding attire and now wielding a sword to assist, widened her eyes at the sight of the woman on the ground.
“Yanxin, how could it be you?”
Zhuang Yanxin, her sealed meridians now unlocked, appeared both shocked and terrified, utterly bewildered.
“Master, wasn’t it you who devised a plan to save me and summoned me to the Demon Suppression Tower?”
She had been confined by An Nanchan in a remote corner of the palace. After receiving a message from a little flower sprite, she immediately knocked out the guards and secretly rushed here.
An Nanchan flew into a rage, “I should be in the midst of my wedding right now! How could I possibly summon you to the Demon Suppression Tower? Nonsense!”
Zhuang Yanxin grew even more panicked, “Master, I’m not lying. Your messenger told me you were busy with the wedding and had no time. But if I followed your instructions to draw talismans on the Demon Suppression Tower’s gate, I could use the power of the Myriad Phenomena Formation to unlock the seal on my arm.”
An Nanchan was so furious she nearly blacked out, “Fool! When did I ever say that! Seal formation and demon sealing are entirely different matters! Why would I ruin my own wedding? This… this is clearly a frame-up!”
However, high in the air, Fang Jixue’s brow twitched slightly.
Seal formation and demon sealing shared the same origin—they were fundamentally the same.
Any method capable of breaking the Myriad Phenomena Formation could easily undo a minor meridian seal. Given An Nanchan’s cultivation level, it was impossible for her not to understand this.
Therefore, she was lying.
The Enforcement Elder bent down to pick up a camellia petal from beneath the formation core, his brows furrowing tightly.
“Princess Nanchan, how do you explain this?”
Those camellias were An Nanchan’s signature affectation—wherever she went, she would leave one behind to proclaim to the world that she had been there.
Now, unexpectedly, it had become evidence!
“It’s just a flower! What can that prove?”
An Nanchan was seething with anger.
However, the Enforcement Elder was known for his meticulousness. After a brief contemplation, he stated:
“Although the current testimonies and evidence cannot fully prove Your Highness stole what was entrusted to your care, you cannot prove your innocence either.”
An Nanchan: …!!!
An Nanchan, who had always maintained extreme self-composure, experienced for the first time the difficulty of being unable to defend herself despite having countless explanations.
Ever since Chu Weiliang’s death, the Demon Suppression Tower had been under Fang Jixue’s personal management.
She had expended tremendous effort to earn his trust before finally being entrusted with this responsibility.
The Demon Suppression Tower was the symbol of the Thousand Machines Sect and the most crucial location in all of Northern Xuan.
Taking charge of the Demon Suppression Tower was a vital step in her plan to become the sect leader’s wife—a mark of her recognized status within the Thousand Machines Sect and a bargaining chip to curry favor with the religious authorities.
Moreover, with Fang Jixue keeping watch day and night and the Myriad Phenomena Formation suppressing it, managing the tower was merely a matter of routine affairs.
Yet she never imagined that one day, someone would dare to exploit this very foundation, making her the first sacrificial offering!
“Master…” An Nan Chan looked up at Fang Jixue hovering mid-air, hoping her future husband would step forward and speak on her behalf.
But Fang Jixue’s eyes remained lowered, focused entirely on the sealing formation, not uttering a single word.
On a distant hillside, in a secluded corner, swaying tree shadows obscured Chu Weiliang’s face.
“Heh, how laughable. Fang Jixue is a man without a heart. At a time like this, without any evidence, would he speak even one word for you? How does it feel to be the center of attention and the target of everyone’s criticism?”
She crossed her arms, tilted her head, and enjoyed the chaotic scene below.
No need to rush—everything had only just begun…
The Shape-shifting Demon didn’t quite understand, rubbing itself against a nearby tree.
“Madam, you went to all this trouble just to mess with that bride? Why not just finish her off?”
It had been thousands, or perhaps tens of thousands of years since it last rubbed against tree bark—it couldn’t remember—but it felt damn good.
“Why? Pure wickedness, that’s all.”
Chu Weiliang glanced at its pitiful state and couldn’t be bothered to explain.
“Remember, from now on, as long as they suffer, I thrive.”
She beckoned and descended to join the commotion.
The Shape-shifting Demon hurriedly detached itself from the tree bark and followed, squirming sloppily on the ground, collecting leaves and mud all over itself.
After a few steps, Chu Weiliang paused helplessly, shook her head, turned back, and bent down to scoop up the little demon that had rolled into a messy lump.
Human and demon merged into one, transforming into a figure clad in deep purple, with an elegant robe and a cinched waist—just like a thousand years ago.
“From now on, when you follow me, remember to be sharp.”
“Yes, Madam. Madam is so beautiful.”
“Hmm, quite sharp indeed. I’ll give you a name—let’s call you Hua Hua.”
“Hehe, thank you, Madam. You’re so… kind to me…”
Shouldn’t a demon’s name be fierce and evil? What’s the use of being cute?
It didn’t sound good at all.
But it didn’t dare say so. Wuwuwuwu…
…
Below, in front of the Demon Suppression Tower, the representatives of the Seven Kingdoms and Twelve Sects, along with the disciples of the Thousand Machines Sect, had finally managed to corral all the escaped monsters back into the Myriad Phenomena Formation.
As long as Fang Jixue resealed the formation, their mission would be accomplished.
But today, for some reason, he couldn’t focus.
The Myriad Phenomena Formation held too many memories of A Liang from the past.
Now, hovering at the center of the formation, disturbed by the demonic energy from the tower, his inner demons stirred. Everywhere he looked, he seemed to see her shadow.
Just like in the old days, she would flit around him in her deep purple dress, her waist cinched tight, buzzing around him for no reason at all.
“Master, does purple look good on me?”
“Master, can we use purple for the Myriad Forms Demon Subduing Array too?”
“Master, can I help you manage the Demon Suppression Tower? I promise I won’t cause trouble or bully the little demons inside.”
“Master… Master… Master…”
Fine, fine, anything you want.
As long as you stop bothering your master, anything is fine…
He always dismissed her like this.
Until… she would never come again.
A single thought stirred.
As far as his eyes could see, he actually spotted someone amidst the chaotic battlefield below—clad in deep purple robes, hands clasped behind her back, tilting her head as she gazed up at him.
Amid the chaotic crowd, she stood alone, detached from the world.
Her expression hovered between a smile and a smirk, willful yet with a infatuated gaze.
A sharp pain pierced Fang Jixue’s chest.
His throat instantly filled with the metallic taste of blood.
The Monsters, originally driven into the Demon Suppression Tower, seized the opportunity and launched a frenzied counterattack!
Boom—!
The Myriad Forms Demon Subduing Array completely collapsed.
Fang Jixue, dressed in bright red wedding robes, drifted down from the heights like a blood-red autumn leaf, falling helplessly.
An Nan Chan screamed and tried to rush forward.
But she was immediately surrounded by the Enforcement Elders and others, forbidden to move even a step.
“Let me go! He’s injured, can’t you see!!!” she roared.
“The Sect Leader will be fine. However, Your Highness, until you can prove your innocence, you are not permitted to act freely, lest you be suspected of fleeing to avoid punishment,” the Enforcement Elder said coldly.
Enforcement had a mind carved from stone—unchanging since the executions at the Sin Cleansing Platform a thousand years ago, and just as stubborn and unreasonable today.
Fang Jixue fell from the heights, crashing heavily to the ground, and vomited a mouthful of blood.
Everyone was stunned!
Except for those who had witnessed the calamity at the Sin Cleansing Platform, the younger generation had never seen—nor dared to imagine—the revered, ice-and-snow-like leader of the Thousand Machines Sect reduced to such a pitiful state, fallen into the dust.
Fang Jixue pushed away the disciples who rushed to help him. Before he could even stand, his eyes urgently searched through the swirling dust, seeking the direction where he had just seen A Liang.
But all he caught was a faint glimpse of that deep purple figure, turning away without the slightest hesitation, vanishing into the chaos.