In the end, Mu Zhaoran was still sent to the trial platform by her own righteous brother who had turned against his kin.
This trial platform was set up right before the gates of the Nanrong royal palace. The square was packed with a dense, endless crowd of Nanrong citizens who had come to witness the execution of the demon. Many even waved banners, shouting slogans like "Purge the evil, restore Nanrong's purity."
On the viewing platforms on all sides were not only cultivators from Tiandao Palace but also renowned clans and immortal disciples from across the Nine Provinces.
Among them, Mu Zhaoran saw many familiar faces—former classmates who had entered Tiandao Palace to train alongside her. Now, they had all become leaders within their respective sects and families. Only she had fallen to become a criminal awaiting execution on the trial platform.
The one presiding over her trial had, just three days ago, personally promised her that after the Gu King Yanluo was exterminated, he would cast aside all past love, hatred, and grievances with her, cleanse their former lives, and start anew.
From then on, they would live together, inseparable until old age.
At this point, if she still didn’t understand that all those promises from Yun Xiaoyang were merely tricks to use her against Yanluo, she would be far too foolish.
Mu Zhaoran’s face was wrapped in a layer of gray cloth, concealing her easily bewitching features, leaving only a pair of eyes filled with bitter resentment exposed.
She stared fixedly at the person on the viewing platform, letting out a hateful roar from beneath the gray cloth: "Yun Xiaoyang, you lied to me! All of you lied to me!"
But her furious cries did not move the other party; instead, they only made her appear more wretched.
Thus, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Mu Zhaoran was escorted and shoved step by step toward that blood-soaked high platform.
Before her, countless evil beings had been executed on this trial platform. Streams of blood had converged into rivulets, flowing down from the highest stone tier. The ascending steps were soaked through with blood, each footstep producing a splashing sound.
Her shoes were drenched in blood, and the hem of her skirt was stained a dark crimson.
As she stepped onto the final stair, Mu Zhaoran was shoved hard, stumbling forward a few steps before collapsing to her knees on the trial platform.
Her vision was filled with a bloody red. The intense smell of blood seeped through the gray cloth covering her face, flooding her nostrils and churning her stomach, nearly making her vomit.
She struggled to stand up but was forced back into the pool of blood by a powerful force.
"Mu Zhaoran," Yun Xiaoyang’s voice was as cold as ice, each word piercing like a blade, "While at Tiandao Palace, your heart was already corrupted. You harmed your fellow disciples, and even after being punished by Tiandao Palace, you showed no remorse. You colluded with evil demons, bringing calamity upon the common people. Your crimes are too numerous to record. Today, I, along with the hundred immortal sects, responding to the request of the Nanrong monarch and its countless citizens, will carry out the Execution Slaying of you and Yanluo here, purging the evil, upholding the Heavenly Dao, and bringing peace to the people."
What a grand proclamation—upholding the Heavenly Dao and bringing peace to the people.
As his voice faded, a thunderous roar erupted from all sides, nearly swallowing the very sky and earth. Mu Zhaoran’s faint, unwilling cries were utterly drowned out beneath the raging tide.
She lifted her head to gaze at the churning dark clouds above. Beneath that sky, everyone was celebrating her death. No one would be willing to save her now.
This was the home and country she had once spared no cost to save. Now, they had all cast her aside like worthless trash.
Mu Zhaoran was dragged to the edge of the judgment platform by the oppressive force on her shoulders and back, utterly powerless to resist. Beyond the blood-soaked stone platform, below lay a massive cauldron three zhang square, densely packed with snakes, insects, rats, and ants, all boiling and seething from the blood dripping down from the judgment platform.
This cauldron was not unfamiliar to Mu Zhaoran. It was the magical artifact of the Gu King, Yanluo. Within the square cauldron lay a confined, narrow world, used to breed those terrifying insect gu that made people pale at the mere mention of them.
But now, the master of this cauldron had been pierced through by a longsword, pinned ignominiously inside the Gu cauldron. His body and limbs had been gnawed into bloody bones by the very gu worms he had meticulously raised.
Mu Zhaoran saw the densely wriggling gu worms on his body, burrowing in and out of the scant remaining flesh and blood. She could almost faintly hear the sounds of them tearing through skin and gnawing on bones—a sickening crunch.
As Mu Yinyi had said, he was indeed not yet completely dead. A faint breath still lingered, and the chest pierced by the sword rose and fell weakly.
The thin silver mask that Yanluo had worn over his face for years was nowhere to be seen, revealing a disfigured, ugly visage. Now, the old scars on this face were once again torn open by the gu worms, bleeding profusely and becoming even more hideous and terrifying.
Even those once-clear eyes were now bloodshot.
Mu Zhaoran had always known his face was ugly and had despised the inseparable gu worms within his body. Yet, no matter how much she loathed Yanluo, she had to admit that his eyes were originally exceptionally beautiful.
They were narrow and elongated at the corners, with thick, dense lashes. The color of his irises was lighter than that of ordinary people, overlaid with a silvery-gray hue, giving them a cold, translucent clarity like the bright moon.
If one only looked at his eyes, they might often mistake him for some pure and noble immortal lord, rather than a demon who dabbled in poisonous gu.
But now, the light in those eyes had dimmed. His pupils were dilated, his gaze turbid—the bright moon shrouded in dust, utterly bereft of its radiance.
Mu Zhaoran could only bear to glance once before turning her gaze away in unbearable distress. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of his hand, gnawed down to the bone, still tightly clutching a qin peg tassel.
She was stunned for a moment before finally breaking down into sobs. "I'm sorry… don't blame me, don't blame me…"
This tassel was the first gift she had ever actively given him. Mu Zhaoran had spent many days weaving it, even cutting off a strand of her own hair to braid into the dark green tassel. She had racked her brains to find an excuse to give it to him.
Yanluo had held the tassel, examining it carefully for a long time, leaving Mu Zhaoran anxious throughout.
She knew that something meant to be tied to a Life-Bound Magical Artifact had to be treated with the utmost caution. It would not be excessive even if he inspected every single strand of the tassel.
But Mu Zhaoran had ulterior motives and feared he might actually discover something amiss. Pretending to be annoyed, she reached out to snatch back the tassel, saying irritably, "If you're worried this tassel has a problem, then give it back! I'd rather throw it to the stray dogs outside the palace than give it to you!"
Yanluo raised his hand, evading her attempt to grab it. He plucked a strand of jet-black hair from the dark green tassel. "Last night, when you shared my bed, you refused to let your hair down the entire time. Was it because you had cut a strand and used it here?"
Mu Zhaoran touched behind her ear. "If you don't want it, give it back."
Yanluo said nothing more. Beneath his mask, his eyes curved slightly, briefly flowing with a trace of amusement. Right in front of her, he took out his Life-Bound Magical Artifact, the Echoing Abyss Zither, which he used to command the gu worms.
The Echoing Abyss Zither was pitch-black throughout, with silvery-white strings. On its seven qin pegs hung tassels matching the color of the instrument's body. Yanluo removed the old black tassel from the central peg and tied on the qin peg tassel she had gifted him.
"One is enough. Don't ruin your hair by cutting it. It's most captivating when it remains on you. I still prefer seeing your hair cascading loose, and stroking it over your shoulders."
He only inspected the silk cord used to weave the tassel, not the strands of her hair woven into it—hair that had been infused with the medicinal essence sent by Yun Xiaoyang, specifically designed to counteract his Gu Worms.
The Echoing Abyss Zither used Silver Soul Spider silk for its strings. If the Silver Soul Spider residing within the instrument died, the strings would snap, rendering him powerless to command insect gu. The destruction of a Life-Bound Magical Artifact in the ever-shifting battles among powerful cultivators could be fatal.
It could be said that she had personally delivered him to his death.
Mu Zhaoran stared at the qin peg tassel soaked in blood and entangled with his finger bones. Tears continuously dripped from the corners of her eyes, falling into the dull, lifeless pupils below. The eyelashes of those eyes trembled faintly.
A gentle breeze brushed past her ear, carrying a faint, ethereal sound, but before Mu Zhaoran could discern it clearly, it was completely drowned out by another, icy voice: "Carry out the sentence—"
At the command, the roaring cheers filling the arena quieted for an instant.
Mu Zhaoran's body was suddenly lifted into the air, thrown from the judgment platform, and plummeted into the Gu cauldron below.
Dense swarms of insect gu, like churning black clouds, scattered in alarm at the disturbance, only to be immediately drawn back by the scent of fresh blood and flesh, swarming back in a frenzy.
Mu Zhaoran watched in terror, her body rigid, almost unable to move.
Just as the gu insects were about to engulf her, a shadowy mass suddenly burst from her embrace, rapidly expanding to envelop her entire form, shielding her from the oncoming swarm.
"Wutuan!" A flicker of joy had just appeared on Mu Zhaoran's face when she heard a sharp sword hum from outside, followed immediately by a piercing feline shriek. The darkness before her eyes was split in two by a sword's gleam, peeling away from her body and continuously dissolving in a blazing golden light.
Mu Zhaoran trembled, reaching out to grasp at the fading shadow of the cat spirit. Tears streamed down her face, seemingly endless: "Wutuan, Wutuan…"
The last thing that had tried to protect her was gone.
The Fengtian Sword hovered above the Gu cauldron, its cold light gleaming. Yun Xiaoyang's voice drifted down from above: "Mu Zhaoran, no one can save you today."
Mu Zhaoran scrambled up from the ground in disarray. First, several black butterflies fluttering their wings danced into her vision. Scales from their wings drifted down like dust, shimmering with iridescent, dazzling glimmers, appearing breathtakingly beautiful at first glance.
Yet, the moment those scales touched her skin, they inflicted searing pain.
Mu Zhaoran watched helplessly as a patch of bloody blisters spread across the back of her hand. Pain robbed her of her voice, making her scream. Wrapping her sleeve around her hand, she stumbled backward, flailing wildly. "Get away! Don't come near, don't come near!"
In her panicked retreat, she stepped on something slippery. A slick sensation slithered beneath her foot, causing her to trip and fall heavily to the ground with a thud.
A snake emerged from beneath her skirt, hissing and flicking its tongue, coiling around her ankle.
Mu Zhaoran screamed, kicking and thrashing to shake off the venomous snake, but she couldn't escape the countless gu insects surging toward her—spiders, scorpions, centipedes, and many more creatures she couldn't identify.
They rustled and swarmed, a tidal wave of them, crawling up her skirt, into her sleeves, and through the collar of her robes.
Mu Zhaoran's entire body was racked with pain and itching, her skin burning as if on fire. She desperately slapped away the swarming insects, frantically retreating to the edge of the Gu cauldron. Clinging to the inner wall of the bronze cauldron, she tried to climb out.
Just as she was about to escape the tide of insects at the bottom, a sword hum reverberated, and the suspended Fengtian Sword shot toward her, knocking her back into the cauldron.
As Mu Zhaoran landed, her right hand unknowingly pressed against something that stung her fiercely. When she lifted her hand to look, her palm was already pitch black, the poison spreading along her meridians toward her arm.
Her limbs grew numb, but she struggled to rise once more, her fingers clawing helplessly at the cauldron wall. The painted nails stained with rouge were scraped off by the carved serpent patterns on the wall, falling away piece by piece.
Yet compared to the agony of being bitten by snakes and insects, this pain was nothing.
After all this turmoil, the gray cloth wrapped around her face loosened, and that once captivating face was no longer as beautiful as before.
Blood dripped in streams from her face. Mu Zhaoran was covered in blood, unable to tell exactly where she was bleeding from.
The scent of blood attracted more gu insects. Mu Zhaoran's vision was filled with swarming shadows, her skin festering as if she could feel the gu insects wriggling beneath it.
Finally, exhausted and broken, she wept and begged for mercy: "I was wrong, I was truly wrong. Whatever crime it is, I admit it. Please, let me go! Let me out… Yun Xiaoyang, Ah Yin, Ah Yin, save me, I was wrong…"
In the viewing stand, Mu Yinyi finally showed a trace of pity.
He turned his gaze to Yun Xiaoyang beside him, who was controlling the sword technique with a cold expression. His lips moved slightly as he spoke: "Sword Venerable, Elder Sister has always loathed those insects. Even Yanluo never allowed them near her. Even if punishment is necessary, could we perhaps change…"
This plea for mercy was hesitantly swallowed back when he saw the figure emerging from behind the curtain at the side of the viewing stand.
The newcomer wore a white robe and a white veil hat, her figure slender and frail, as if a single gust of wind on the viewing stand could topple her.
Before Mu Yinyi could instinctively step toward her, Yun Xiaoyang had already turned and rushed forward, supporting her arm.
The Sword Venerable, who had been frosty-faced moments before, now softened like spring breeze, his coldness melting away as he said gently, "Lizhi, why have you come out?"
Ye Lizhi slowly walked to the front of the viewing stand, lifted the white veil before her eyes, and looked down at the person curled up and begging for mercy in the Gu cauldron below. She took a deep breath, a triumphant smile curling at the corner of her lips, and asked loudly, "Mu Zhaoran, when I begged you for mercy in every possible way back then, did you ever think of sparing me?"
The person curled up in the Gu cauldron trembled all over, looking up in shock. That familiar figure in white robes stood against the light, crashing into her vision.
"Ye Lizhi?" Mu Zhaoran blinked hard, suspecting it was a hallucination brought on by the gu insect bites. After staring at her for a long time, she suddenly began to chuckle, shaking her head and repeating, "No… impossible. Ye Lizhi died long ago. On the Mid-Autumn night four years ago, I personally pried open her mouth and poured the Soul-Scattering Soup down her throat. It's a poison with no antidote. How could you possibly still be alive?!"
Clearly, she was unwilling to accept the reality before her eyes.
Ye Lizhi tilted her head, casting a gentle glance toward Mu Yinyi. "Thanks to Young Master Mu's kind compassion, who secretly replaced the incurable poison for me and helped me feign death to escape, I was able to flee your torment and reclaim this life of mine."
Mu Zhaoran's eyes widened, her pupils trembling violently. Her panicked gaze swept across the viewing platform before finally settling on the figure standing not far away.
Mu Yinyi stood with his side turned, his entire being seemingly focused on Ye Lizhi since her appearance. His eyes shimmered with unconcealed admiration, so much so that even Yun Xiaoyang felt displeased by his gaze and gave a warning cough.
Only then did Mu Yinyi abruptly snap back to reality, hurriedly lowering his brows and eyes as he cupped his hands in salute. "Miss Ye possesses celestial grace and a heart that cares for all living beings. Back then, she came to save the people of Nanrong, only to fall into captivity. As the ruler of Nanrong, how could I aid the wicked and watch an innocent person die unjustly?"
Seeing this scene, what else did Mu Zhaoran not understand?
Her dearest younger brother had betrayed her from so long ago.
Mu Zhaoran lowered her head, looking at her hands, which had festered under the Gu poison.
She was a princess of Nanrong, born into opulence with everything she could ever want. It was only after entering Tiandao Palace that she first tasted the bitterness of unfulfilled desires.
Thus, she grew envious and resentful, single-mindedly competing and making difficulties, trampling all sense of propriety and shame underfoot in her desperate pursuit of attention from someone who did not love her.
She had envied for a lifetime, fought for a lifetime, and in the end, she was left with a tarnished reputation, empty-handed, having gained nothing at all.
Mu Zhaoran wept one moment and laughed the next, as if completely mad. Only when she touched the festering skin on her face and the falling flesh did she suddenly regain clarity like a final flicker of consciousness, revealing an expression of utter terror as she trembled violently.
She looked up at Ye Lizhi, for the first time pleading so humbly before her, having lost all dignity and her once self-righteous pride.
"Ye Lizhi, you've won. You've achieved a complete victory. The world praises your heart as bright as the moon, magnanimous and tolerant, unlike my inherently vicious and despicable nature. Even my own brother admires you and detests me. Now that you have everything you wished for, spare me. Don't let me die in such an ugly way…"
"Everything I wished for?" Ye Lizhi let out a sorrowful laugh. As the cold wind brushed past, her grieving face was revealed beneath the white veil. Her reddened, tear-filled eyes held little of a victor's joy. She merely raised a hand to gently stroke her abdomen, her voice filled with anguish as she questioned, "My home, my child—I have lost everything. Is that what you call having everything I wished for? Mu Zhaoran, how dare you forget? You killed my child!"
Mu Zhaoran was taken aback, murmuring, "I didn't know you were with child at that time…"
Ye Lizhi sneered, "If you had known, would you have spared me?"
Of course not.
Back then, she was consumed by jealousy. If she had known Ye Lizhi was carrying Yun Xiaoyang's child, not only would she not have spared her, but she would have tormented her even more.
Mu Zhaoran understood they would not let her go. Yun Xiaoyang and Ye Lizhi wanted to see her suffer immensely; they were deliberately tormenting her like this. The more painfully and hideously she died, the happier they would be.
She gave up pleading and no longer tried to swat away the Gu Worms on her body.
The gu cauldron held too many snakes and insects, wave after wave surging up, quickly submerging her. Her body collapsed even faster, the agony so overwhelming that she could scarcely feel anything at all.
Mu Zhaoran glanced left and right, then crawled toward the other person in the gu cauldron, dragging a trail of bright red blood beneath her skirt.
With the last of her strength, she collapsed onto Yanluo’s mutilated chest, reaching out to grasp the qin peg tassel—and along with it, the hand that was now only skeletal fingers.
Tears of remorse, mingled with blood, fell in torrents, dripping into Yanluo’s chest. "I’m sorry…"
In this lifetime, Mu Zhaoran had been foolish, malicious, absurd, and laughable. She had turned loved ones against her and delighted her enemies, and she had personally killed the only person in this world who would have stood by her side.
This end, she supposed, was exactly what the world had hoped for—a fitting punishment for her crimes.
The last glimmer of light faded from Mu Zhaoran’s eyes as she sank into utter darkness.
She had thought that in the moments before death, one’s life would flash before their eyes. But what drifted through her consciousness were words, falling like snowflakes.
【Finally, this vile female supporting character is gone. I was almost sickened by her, but dying like this is too easy for her. It feels like she wasn’t tortured enough—even scammers in “chasing wives to the crematorium” stories aren’t as fraudulent as you.】
【That’s it? Excuse me? Could you make it any more frustrating?? The female lead was tormented by this vile supporting character for half the book! She caused the female lead to miscarry, leaving her unable to have children ever again! And all you did was torture her for two measly chapters?】
【The male lead ascends to Sword Venerable, attains the supreme status of Tiandao Palace, becomes the great hero who saves Nanrong, and receives the worship and faith of the people across the Four Realms. The female lead seems to have won, but in reality, she gained nothing. She was just tormented for an entire book, only to be promoted to the male lead’s official wife in the end, becoming his sweet appendage. How delightful.】
【I saw a comment earlier saying you’re the female supporting character’s “mom,” and you truly live up to that title. The male lead spent over ten chapters feigning affection with her for revenge, which was disgusting enough. And Yanluo, the beautiful, strong, tragic villain, actually remained devoted to her and even died for her. Wow, did you think we’d praise the villain’s love as moving heaven and earth? Take a look at this female supporting character you wrote—what about her is even worthy of love?】
【So infuriating. Your male lead is already a Sword Venerable, yet to kill the villain, he has to resort to seducing the female supporting character to poison him? How low can you get? And the female supporting character—after having her cultivation level crippled and being expelled from Tiandao Palace, enduring so much hardship, you’d think she’d become a little wiser. But the moment the male lead beckoned, she threw herself at him again. What kind of love-addled brain is that?】
【In all my years of reading novels, Mu Zhaoran is truly the most foolish and brainless character I’ve ever encountered. A princess of a nation, yet her mind is filled with nothing but petty rivalries with other women. Her entire life was spent obsessing over how to marry the male lead. Why must such vile female supporting characters be written? And when they are, they’re written so poorly—purely to disgust readers.】
【You wrote the male supporting character as having deep, forced reasons for turning dark, and the female supporting character’s younger brother as having no choice but to abandon darkness for light. The comment section is full of people defending them. So why is the female supporting character written as this brainless, malicious tool, with everyone cursing her? Tone down your favoritism toward men and disdain for women. Don’t get defensive—if you delete my comment, I’ll just post it again.】
[Author, can you not write without a vicious female supporting character? What era is this, still using that outdated trope of tormenting women? A perfectly good concept, and you turned it into garbage. Your dad, refund my money.]
[For the sisters coming later, here's a heads-up: the female lead in this story is extremely saintly, the female supporting character is mindlessly vicious. They spend half the book fighting over a man, engaging in petty female rivalry, and there's no other plot beyond that. If you don't want to be so angry you develop breast nodules, I strongly advise against reading it.]
["Why must there always be such conflict between female characters? Can't the female lead and supporting female characters get along, support each other, and grow together? The author sets up this melodramatic plot just to stir up arguments. Author, I hope you transmigrate into one of your own characters."]
["I'm so tired of seeing vicious female supporting characters engage in petty rivalries. Is no one going to hold these trashy authors accountable?"]
["Who is born inherently evil? It's you who wrote them that way. When it comes to being vicious, who is truly the most vicious? Would it kill you authors to write a genuinely kind and beautiful female supporting character?"]
["Am I the only one who wants to see both Zhizhi and Zhaoran, these two young girls, doing well?"]
["+1"]
["+2"]
["+10086"]
Mu Zhaoran stared blankly at the characters cascading down from above, like witnessing a heavy snowfall of ink, each character a black snowflake.
Snowflake after snowflake drifted down, covering her body, melting into her very being.
As the blizzard finally subsided, it coalesced into a clear, distinct voice.
"Ding, the System has confirmed the first target for transformation."