Furious beyond measure!
A Patriarch of the Spirit-Splitting stage, slapped by a Qi Condensation girl.
Xie Qingxuan’s fingers twitched slightly as he was about to break free from his bound sea of awareness.
Another fierce slap cracked across his face, making him feel even more humiliated.
The strangest thing was that although his consciousness was perfectly clear, a powerful force restrained him, leaving him unable to move.
『Host, are you done hitting him? I can’t hold him back much longer!』
“Xie Qingxuan has harbored killing intent toward me three times. Considering he saved me once, two big slaps even the score.”
Su Yanqing lowered her eyes to the great demon lord collapsed before her. On his cold, jade-like face, two large, red slap marks stood out starkly.
Hmph, she was the vicious female supporting character. Did she need a reason to hit someone?
Su Yanqing rubbed her reddened palm, lifted her little chin, and swaggered off.
After she emerged from the cave, her gaze was lost. How was she supposed to get back?
Just then, someone blocked her way.
“Little Six, I heard you fell off the cliff. Are you hurt?”
A gentle, jade-like young man in blue robes was studying her with warm concern.
His low, magnetic, gentle voice was like a clear mountain spring striking jade, crisp and pleasing to the ear, making her feel an involuntary fondness.
Who was he?
『He is your Senior Brother Mu Yunci』
Su Yanqing snapped back to her senses and smiled softly. “I’m fine. It’s just that after falling off the cliff, I hurt my leg. Senior Brother, it’s dangerous here. Let’s leave quickly!”
Her expression was flustered, her long lashes hung with glistening tears, the depths of her eyes tinged red, her skirt stained with blood. She looked utterly fragile.
The Little Junior Sister who was always so bright and arrogant now had misty eyes, her pretty little face faintly showing fear.
Mu Yunci lowered his eyes and involuntarily clenched his fists.
Clearly, in the voice transmission his Fifth Junior Brother had sent him, it said Little Junior Sister had been captured by a demonic cultivator, begging him to rush to her rescue.
Why did she not mention a single word of it?
Was he not worthy of trust?
“Don’t be afraid. Your Senior Brother will take you home right now.”
A dark look flashed through Mu Yunci’s eyes. With a faint smile at the corners of his mouth, he gently wrapped an arm around Su Yanqing’s waist and took her on his sword flight.
Just as they were about to leave, they happened to run into Murong Yi, who had arrived with the other Senior Brothers.
The young man in red robes was travel-worn, the blood on his shoulder blade not yet dry, and the anxiety on his face did not seem feigned.
“Little Junior Sister, your… your wounds, are they alright?”
He did not mention what had happened inside the cave.
Su Yanqing realized that Murong Yi had fled to fetch reinforcements.
But this still could not change her disgust toward him.
In order to maintain the love-struck persona of the vicious female supporting character.
Su Yanqing paused briefly, then broke into a smile, her eyes sparkling, and praised him in an exaggerated tone. “Senior Brother Murong, I knew it! You’d definitely come back for me!”
The girl’s smile was pure and bright. The crowd present seemed infected by it, and the inexplicable gloom on their faces faded considerably.
The young man in red robes flushed bright red in an instant.
Dusk sank in the west, and the peaks stood tall.
The vast Wuji Sect was silent and empty.
In midair, only their group flew on sword flight.
Seeing the faint surprise on Su Yanqing’s face.
Mu Yunci explained gently, “A major incident occurred in the secret realm. Come with us to the grand hall.”
The girl’s brows knitted slightly. She turned to look at Murong Yi beside her, who explained, “All disciples who participated in the secret realm trial must go to the grand hall. Your voice transmission token fell by the cliff, so you didn’t know.”
Only then did the girl nod. “Sorry to trouble you, Senior Brother, for carrying me the rest of the way.”
Seeing the girl’s eyes full of trust toward Murong Yi, Mu Yunci felt a secret displeasure.
He lowered his long lashes, hiding the inscrutable look in his eyes, and said gently, “Little Six, when we arrive at the grand hall shortly, don’t be afraid. Master will protect you in all things. You need only speak the truth.”
The girl seemed not to understand his hint and gave a perfunctory smile. “Understood, Senior Brother.”
Mu Yunci’s heart sank heavily, and he felt even more disappointed.
As soon as Su Yanqing stepped into the grand hall, she noticed the dense crowd of people standing within, and Bai Xiaoru kneeling in the very center, sobbing.
She suddenly recalled the inexplicably sorrowful expressions on her Senior Brothers’ faces and thought something was wrong.
Sure enough, a stern voice came from the high platform. “Su Yanqing, do you know your crime?”
Su Yanqing lifted her chin and looked at the high platform with a blank expression. “This disciple does not know what crime she has committed?”
In the grand hall, two people sat.
On the left was Immortal Venerable Helian, black hair like a waterfall, his peerlessly elegant profile stunning.
But his eyes were calm and clear, like a lofty exiled immortal. At a glance, he was the archetypal ascetic, ice-cold beauty, unapproachable.
On the right was a long-bearded Daoist, with the air of an immortal.
The one who had sternly questioned her was her own father… the Wuji Sect Master Su Xiaofeng.
“In this secret realm, a total of 78 inner sect disciples died. Of them, 23 were gnawed by berserk demonic beasts until their bones were incomplete. 27 fell into qi deviation and slaughtered one another.”
“The remaining disciples all vanished, no living person seen, no corpse found. Only you survived after falling off the cliff.”
The sect master’s tone shifted. “Your Senior Sister Bai Xiaoru testifies that she saw with her own eyes as demonic qi entered your body, your expression strange, and you leapt off the cliff of your own accord. Moreover, most of the vanished disciples were on bad terms with you in life. She claims you colluded with demonic cultivators to murder your fellow disciples.”
“How do you explain this?”
Su Yanqing’s expression turned stern, and she stared straight at Bai Xiaoru.
She hadn’t wanted to deliberately target Bai Xiaoru, but the other insisted on provoking her.
Just as Su Yanqing was about to produce ironclad evidence, a person she never expected stood forward.
“Reporting to the sect master, I am willing to testify on behalf of Little Junior Sister. She could never collude with demonic cultivators!”
“Little Junior Sister was willing to perish together with the demon snakes to save us. How could she harm her fellow disciples? Senior Sister Bai’s accusation has no solid evidence. There must be some misunderstanding.”
The young man in red robes, the blood on his shoulder blade not yet dry, his lips pale, stood with his spine straight, defending her with righteous words.
Mu Yunci also spoke up in her defense. “When I found Little Junior Sister at the bottom of the cliff, her spiritual energy was weak, her right leg made movement difficult, and she couldn’t even use a flying magic treasure. If she truly had ties with demonic cultivators, she would likely have been silenced long ago.”
Even the chief disciple of Lingyun Peak, noble and magnanimous, had come forward to testify.
Seeing this, the crowd turned their burning gazes to the instigator, Bai Xiaoru.
“I witnessed it with my own eyes. When Little Junior Sister fell off the cliff, she smiled very strangely. She was absolutely possessed by demonic qi!”
The girl in pink robes kneeling on the ground, contrary to her usual delicate demeanor, spoke harshly. “Fifth Junior Brother, I know that because Little Junior Sister admires you, you cannot bear to see her expelled from the sect, so you speak to absolve her.”
“But the matter of demonic cultivators is of great importance. How can you fail to distinguish right from wrong and spout nonsense!”
A flicker of surprise crossed Su Yanqing’s eyes.
Mu Yunci was upright and kind, so his defense of her did not surprise her.
But why had even Murong Yi, who had always detested her, stood forward?
And he hadn’t mentioned a word about what happened in the cave. Could it be he wanted to use it as leverage against her?
『Host, please clear your name as soon as possible and complete the mission. If you fail, you will receive severe punishment.』
Hearing the system’s threat, Su Yanqing wasted no more time. She slightly lifted her skirt to reveal her wound, her eyes clear, her words burning with conviction.
“Please, Sect Master and Master, investigate clearly. After falling off the cliff, to escape the demon snakes’ pursuit, I fled into a cave and fought them to the death. It was Senior Brother Murong who came to save me.”
“From beginning to end, I had no time to come into contact with any so-called demonic cultivator. Moreover, my cultivation is only at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation! How could a demonic cultivator take a fancy to someone as good-for-nothing as me!”
Su Yanqing sneered. “I may be sharp-tongued and fond of offending people, but I have never deliberately harmed a single disciple. Second Senior Sister, on what grounds do you conclude that I am the guilty one!”
“Su Yanqing, do you have any shred of modesty as a female cultivator? With so many people here, you actually lift your skirt in public…”
Seeing Little Junior Sister speak with such certainty, Bai Xiaoru rose to her feet in a fury. “I intended to let you confess on your own, so perhaps your punishment would be lighter. But since you refuse to repent, don’t blame me for disregarding our bond as fellow disciples!”
“Please, Sect Master and Master, search her sea of awareness.”
“There must be a mark left by a demonic cultivator on her body!”
Bai Xiaoru’s words made the truth of the matter even more bewildering.
All eyes in the hall once again focused on Su Yanqing.
Could it be that she really was the one who colluded with demonic cultivators to harm her fellow disciples?