“Changqing, do you have any objections to my verdict?” After reprimanding Gu Miaojun and the others, Murong Bing shifted her gaze to Xia Changqing. Her noble and elegant phoenix eyes were devoid of any impurities, making her seem like a master who both protected and respected her disciple.
“Chen Ji believed slander, defied his superiors, and deliberately besieged me. The punishment is too light. If not for my Immortal-Demonic Dao Bones protecting me, my dantian would have been crippled long ago.” Xia Changqing smiled wickedly, brimming with demonic intent.
As the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord who dared to confront the Mystic Sky Heavenly Dao three thousand years ago, Xia Changqing had never shown mercy to his enemies.
“Oh? Then how would you like to deal with him?” Murong Bing asked calmly.
She looked at the youth standing tall as a pine, with peerless features and an unruly demeanor. She couldn’t help but recall the scene of Xia Changqing slaying three Peak Quasi-Emperors by himself and then fighting the Heavenly Dao, which had manifested an Emperor Realm form, in a desperate battle.
Words like domineering, slaughter, ruthlessness, bloodthirstiness, and brutality surged to mind. Murong Bing seemed to smell the blood-soaked battlefield of that ancient war.
“I ask Ice—no, I ask Master to seal Chen Ji’s cultivation.”
Xia Changqing almost slipped, calling her the name he used in another life. The woman on the Cloud-Bed wasn’t his Demon Empress but a master who deeply cared for him in this parallel world.
Given his vengeful nature, how could he possibly let Chen Ji go? Even Ye Fan, the Heavenly Dao’s favored child, had already become part of his future plans. In his previous life, he had been blinded by hatred and failed to completely kill Ye Fan, which led to the Heavenly Dao’s rise to the Peak Emperor Realm.
That unintentional slip of “Ice” caused Murong Bing’s cold and beautiful face to flush slightly. A hint of shyness flickered within her heart but quickly vanished. She had already resolved not to have any deep entanglements with Xia Changqing again. She only sought to prove the Dao and ascend to the immortal ranks.
“Sect Master, Holy Son, spare me! I truly know I was wrong!”
With a light wave of Murong Bing’s jade hand, Chen Ji’s cultivation was instantly sealed. He became no more than a powerless mortal.
“Swish, splurt!”
Xia Changqing’s pupils turned a pale gold as an enormous dark red halberd, wrapped in intense demonic energy, appeared in his hand. He thrust it fiercely into Chen Ji’s dantian. The blade flipped, and a blast of black and white violent power erupted.
“BOOM!”
Chen Ji’s body instantly exploded into a cloud of blood mist. A small golden primordial spirit soared out, wailing in terror, “Holy Son, please spare me! Let me reincarnate!”
“Crack, boom!”
Xia Changqing’s Sage’s Pupils shot out two golden beams, freezing the space ahead. The handsome youth reversed his halberd and struck, the bloodthirsty blade piercing through Chen Ji’s primordial spirit, which shattered into golden dust.
“Buzz buzz!”
Xia Changqing lightly shook the halberd. A vortex of demonic energy burst forth, devouring Chen Ji’s blood and soul dust. The halberd’s demonic spirit trembled with satisfaction.
“Hahaha, apologies for the spectacle!”
Xia Changqing smiled warmly at the stunned crowd.
“There is no inherent good or evil in divine weapons. Whether one walks the righteous or demonic path depends on the user. This matter is settled. Changqing was born with Immortal-Demonic Dao Bones and is not worried about being corrupted by demonic energy. However, other disciples must not imitate this by nurturing demonic artifacts. Should anyone fall to demonization or become a monster, I will show no mercy.”
Murong Bing spoke calmly, directly exonerating Xia Changqing.
Yet, inwardly, she cursed him for his stubborn, unruly nature.
“Master, this isn’t fair! You’re obviously shielding Xia Changqing. He has committed atrocities by killing a Law Enforcement Elder, and he violates sect rules by cultivating demonic arts and refining a demonic weapon in his dantian. Wuwuwu, Master, Xia Changqing once massacred my entire Gu family. If you insist on making him the next Sect Master, then kill me instead!”
A strange golden light flickered in the red thread tied to Gu Miaojun’s primordial spirit. Her hatred toward Xia Changqing was magnified infinitely. Her once-beautiful face twisted into a hideous snarl as she tearfully shouted at Murong Bing.
“Gu Miaojun, are you questioning my decision?” Murong Bing’s phoenix eyes narrowed, her face expressionless.
She had been monitoring the conditions of Gu Miaojun and the others’ primordial spirits. If she could sever that thread, she could weaken Ye Fan’s Heavenly Dao fortune.
‘This foolish Gu Miaojun must be under Ye Fan’s Heavenly Dao influence. If I can sever this thread, I can weaken Ye Fan’s fortune. Unfortunately, my current strength isn’t enough to suppress it directly. I’ll have to take it slowly. Sigh, so much for the so-called transmigrators always having a system. All these years since crossing from Blue Star to the Mystic Sky Continent, I’ve never awakened one.’
Xia Changqing noticed the strange thread in Gu Miaojun’s primordial spirit and sighed inwardly.
[Ding-dong, charging complete. Villain Fixed-Point Sign-In System is now at your service.]
Suddenly, a mechanical voice echoed in Xia Changqing’s ear.
‘Holy shit, System, you’re three thousand years late! Do you even know what I’ve endured these three thousand years?’ Xia Changqing raged at the golden light sphere in his sea of consciousness.
[When the System transported the host to the Mystic Sky Continent, a supreme being from the Immortal Realm nearly traced the time-space path. The System exhausted its energy and has been in hibernation until now.] The System calmly explained.
“Phew, briefly introduce yourself. If you’re useless, you can scram back to where you came from.”
Xia Changqing demanded.
[This System is called the Villain Fixed-Point Sign-In System! By weakening the Heavenly Dao Child’s fortune, the System can devour it, granting the host sign-in attempts at designated locations. These sign-ins can yield mysterious treasure chests, containing cultivation resources like ancient divine artifacts, supreme emperor scriptures, heavenly immortal pills, and primordial immortal scriptures.]
The System responded.
‘Weaken Ye Fan’s Heavenly Dao fortune? Hehehe, I haven’t even started yet.’
Xia Changqing, like an experienced hunter, looked bloodthirstily toward Ye Fan.
[Murong Bing’s summoning of the Imperial Artifact Haotian Mirror altered the host’s tragic fate, indirectly weakening Heavenly Dao protagonist Ye Fan’s fortune. The System has absorbed the fortune. The host is granted a sign-in opportunity. Begin now?]
The System prompted.
“Of course! Let’s see what you’ve got. If you’re useless, I’m locking you in a dark room for punishment!”
Xia Changqing said excitedly.
[Scanning sign-in location… 3…2…1… Ding-dong! Scan successful. Sign-in location: Celestial Jade Phoenix Bed inside the Hall of the Sect Master.]
The System announced.
‘Celestial Jade Phoenix Bed? Are you kidding me? You want me to climb onto my Master’s bed again to sign in?’
Xia Changqing was speechless.
He knew that bed far too well—countless nights drenched in sweat, he had pressed Murong Bing down there.
He had just sworn to turn over a new leaf and stop rebelling against his master, yet this damn system was luring him back to his old ways.
This Murong Bing from a parallel timeline had treated him so well. He had to plan carefully: sneak into her bedchamber while she wasn’t there, sign in quietly, and slip back to his cave dwelling.
“Miaojun, do you know that it was Changqing who led you onto the cultivation path? To persuade me to accept you as a disciple, he knelt outside the Hall of the Sect Master for three days and nights, enduring severe punishment. Without him, your talent wouldn’t have qualified you to be my disciple. Apart from owing me, Changqing owes none of you anything.”
Murong Bing’s phoenix eyes glanced at the handsome youth, her words carrying double meaning.
“He only treated me well to ease his guilt, to soothe his conscience. Master, the blood feud of my Gu family is irreconcilable!”
Gu Miaojun roared hysterically.
“Hmph, an ungrateful white-eyed wolf. If not for me, you would have been dead long ago. Do you really think your so-called family were even human?”
Xia Changqing snorted coldly, full of disdain.
He had been taken to Azure Cloud Holy Land as an infant by Murong Bing, brainwashed into a saintly Senior Brother. Before his fall into darkness, he had done all the dirty, tiring work. Afterward, he had turned into a raging demon, fiercely rebelling against his master.