Ji Lingfeng, still hesitating and assessing the situation, couldn’t help but doubt the rumors upon seeing this.
Three years of ingrained perceptions were hard to shake off immediately, and he remained cautious, intending to test the waters.
Yet, just as the distance between them narrowed to less than a meter, Jiang Xuezhi suddenly moved.
Ji Lingfeng reacted swiftly, but it was already too late.
He had been cautious enough, convinced he hadn’t underestimated her. But he had never faced the transformed Jiang Xuezhi in combat, all his information came secondhand, leaving him unaware of her specific fighting style.
Unprepared for the insidious nature of psychic power, he was momentarily controlled and plunged into the mire alongside Jiang Xuezhi.
“Young Master!”
The demonic cultivators surged into the swamp in an instant, and within moments, the figures vanished.
Lin Wanwan watched in stunned silence from the shadows, gripping her sword tightly. She waited on the shore for a while, but no one resurfaced.
The swamp lay perfectly still, as though nothing had ever happened.
Strange.
Could it be…?
Lin Wanwan steadied herself, hesitated briefly, then gritted her teeth against the revulsion and fear in her heart and leaped into the swamp.
The moment she entered, regret washed over her.
There was no suction or dampness from the mud, only an endless chill and darkness.
The sensation was all too familiar, making her feel as though she had returned to those three sunless years.
Near a secret realm in the Barren Wastelands, she and her sect had clashed with Ji Lingfeng. They were scattered into a strange place where not only did they lose their cultivation, but their minds were also affected.
If Lin Wanwan hadn’t reacted quickly, seizing the chance to send her fellow disciples to safety while she herself sank into the darkness, they would have turned on each other and perished there.
To this day, Lin Wanwan couldn’t articulate what exactly that place contained. She only remembered wandering through boundless darkness, her vision filled with an expanding shade of deep crimson-purple. It looked like a teardrop, its interior brimming with fragmented threads of law.
The closer she got, the clearer she could see the countless distorted faces hidden within. Each of those faces was twisted and terrifying. For three years, their agonized wails had echoed incessantly in her ears, as if she herself were being blurred and dissolved by that tear. The fact that she had emerged alive without her sanity shattering was a testament to her formidable willpower.
In truth, she wasn’t even sure how she had escaped. She had simply wandered aimlessly inside, convinced there was no way out, that she would be absorbed just like those distorted faces. But it hadn’t happened.
One day, she suddenly spotted a glimmer of light and rushed toward it, stumbling out battered and bruised.
Lin Wanwan had sworn never to endure such a nightmare again. She never imagined it would return so quickly.
Had she known that beneath the swamp lay such a familiar environment and aura, she would never, ever have followed them down.
As Lin Wanwan sank into the weightless darkness, her thoughts grew chaotic.
Once again, she was tainted by a chilling flame. She began to question her own existence, to misunderstand and despise herself, wanting to dissolve and become part of that tear.
This feeling had haunted her for three long years. She didn’t know how she had escaped back then, and now, trapped once more, she felt there was no chance of survival. Yet, as quickly as it came, it faded.
She soon regained a sliver of clarity. Her feet touched solid ground again, and her vision began to clear.
The darkness lifted slightly, revealing that she was in a cold, gloomy underground palace. The same oppressive force that had restrained her was also suppressing everyone else inside.
Both Jiang Xuezhi and Ji Lingfeng’s people were here.
After jumping into the swamp, they had left no trace because they had fallen into this underground palace.
An invisible force held them captive, stripping them of their cultivation and reducing them to mere mortals.
Ji Lingfeng looked utterly shocked, his face pale with frustration as he repeatedly tried to summon his demonic energy, each attempt ending in failure.
He glanced at the other demonic cultivators and saw they had all failed as well. Realizing they had likely fallen into a trap within the secret realm, he knew recovery would take time.
Still, they outnumbered their opponents. Even without cultivation, they had little to fear.
Calmly, Ji Lingfeng turned to Jiang Xuezhi and saw her assessing the situation. Clearly, she had no idea what lay beneath the swamp either.
If even she was unaware, then things would be easier to handle.
Ji Lingfeng signaled his subordinates with a glance. Without needing to lift a finger himself, he coldly sentenced Jiang Xuezhi to death.
Lin Wanwan was hidden in a corner of the underground palace.
She remained silent, her breathing shallow. With their cultivation lost, Ji Lingfeng and the other demonic cultivators couldn’t detect her presence for the time being.
Noticing Jiang Xuezhi being surrounded, Lin Wanwan felt a flicker of anxiety, hesitating over whether to intervene.
She disliked Jiang Xuezhi, that was an undeniable fact, but she despised Ji Lingfeng even more!
Biting her lip, Lin Wanwan weighed her options. She couldn’t be sure whether revealing herself would allow both of them to escape unscathed or if it would only lead to her own capture.
Ji Lingfeng’s side had the advantage in numbers. Even without cultivation, they were still a group of grown men, two women would struggle to hold their own.
Jiang Xuezhi carried Pojun on her back, but without her cultivation, she couldn’t wield it or even sense its inner voice.
The spear felt unbearably heavy on her back. Coughing twice, Jiang Xuezhi untied it and let it drop to the ground.
Devoid of spiritual energy, the divine artifact had lost its luster. Jiang Xuezhi stood alone, isolated and defenseless among the towering demonic cultivators.
“This is the price of betraying me,” Ji Lingfeng remarked leisurely, as if he had all the time in the world. “Teach her a lesson,” he instructed his subordinates. “As long as she isn’t broken beyond repair, you may do as you please.”
Jiang Xuezhi was Lin Wanwan’s substitute.
Lin Wanwan was a peerless beauty.
Thus, Jiang Xuezhi’s appearance was by no means lacking.
Even in her timid past, her looks were second to none.
But now, she had completely transformed, her grace far surpassing what it once was. The demonic cultivators, having received such instructions from their young master, exchanged glances, their expressions growing inscrutable, strange smiles curling at the corners of their mouths.
Jiang Xuezhi slowly raised her head, taking in the disgusting expressions on their faces.
Ah.
Originally, she had planned to take advantage of the murky swamp and its suction force to engage in close combat with Ji Lingfeng upon landing, believing this would give her a higher chance of success.
Who would have thought that beneath the mud lay such a place?
She had lost her cultivation base and could no longer use her spiritual power, she was now completely an ordinary mortal.
In this world, they called it being a mortal, but in her world, wasn’t this just turning into a Beta?
It wasn’t something she could easily accept, but for now, it didn’t seem like a bad thing.
Jiang Xuezhi straightened her back, stretched her limbs, and calmly watched as the demonic cultivators approached.
They were tall and burly, crowding together, making the already dimly lit underground palace even harder to see.
Ji Lingfeng quietly watched as Jiang Xuezhi was surrounded by his subordinates, his hands slowly clenching into fists beneath his wide sleeves.
He was waiting.
Waiting for her to cry and beg for mercy as she had in the past.
If she did, he would immediately order these people to leave.
His earlier words weren’t meant to actually let them do anything to her, he was just trying to scare her.
What belonged to him could only be touched by him; no one else was allowed to lay a finger on her.
As long as Jiang Xuezhi complied, as long as she yielded, as long as…
“Ah!!”
Ji Lingfeng stared intently at his subordinates crowding together in the dark underground palace, waiting to hear Jiang Xuezhi’s cries and pleas, but they never came.
Instead, he heard the agonized screams of men.
Ji Lingfeng frowned sharply and strode forward, but the sudden change unfolded faster than his steps.
“Ah!!!”
Screams echoed incessantly. Ji Lingfeng’s vision blurred for a moment as the demonic cultivators, who had been standing tall just moments before, now clutched at themselves and collapsed to the ground.
The demonic cultivators writhed in pain, their cries filling the air. With their fall, his line of sight cleared, and Ji Lingfeng finally saw Jiang Xuezhi, who had been hidden from view.
The woman who had been surrounded, deemed certain to die, and pressured to kneel and beg for mercy had not only refused to yield or show weakness, she was still standing tall!
Though she had lost her cultivation base and temporarily couldn’t use her spiritual power, it didn’t mean her combat skills had vanished.
Aside from spiritual and mental power, Jiang Xuezhi had always been highly skilled in physical combat.
Close-quarters combat was one of her most proficient techniques. She could take down seven or eight Alphas in an instant—how could she possibly fear these disgusting demonic cultivators?
In her hand, Jiang Xuezhi held a small dagger.
Even though she possessed the divine artifact, Pojun, she was accustomed to carrying other weapons as well, just in case.
This good habit ensured she wasn’t left defenseless when, without spiritual power, she couldn’t access her Qiankun bag.
She gripped the dagger, its blade dripping with blood, the blood of the fallen demonic cultivators.
Jiang Xuezhi stood there, a faint smile playing on her lips as her gaze swept meaningfully over the chaotic scene.
Everyone could see what had been left on the ground.
They were the… of those demonic cultivators who had been ordered to try something with her.
“Who’s there?!”
Ji Lingfeng suddenly turned toward a corner, a trace of tension flickering across his pale face.
He told himself that there was no way Jiang Xuezhi had done this alone, someone in the shadows must have helped her.
Just then, a faint sound came from the corner, giving him an explanation and successfully convincing himself.
“Who’s hiding in the shadows protecting her? Show yourself.”
Ji Lingfeng’s tone was sinister as he immediately headed toward the corner, but he was stopped after only a few steps.
By none other than Jiang Xuezhi.
“Your opponent right now is me.”
The one he believed absolutely incapable of castrating his subordinates, Jiang Xuezhi, had somehow moved with astonishing speed. Holding a dagger, she blocked his path, smiling down at him with contempt.
Her smile was unrestrained, her emotions agitated with delight, even he could sense it.
Ji Lingfeng found it utterly absurd.
He felt that the current Jiang Xuezhi seemed hardly human.
She was like a monster.
“Admittedly, there are many detestable people in this world, but you are undoubtedly the most loathsome of them all.”
When the word “detestable” came from a woman’s lips, it often sounded like coquettish teasing.
But when Jiang Xuezhi said such words, Ji Lingfeng would never mistake it for flirtation.
Because she acted as soon as she spoke.
Her tone was soft and elusive, but her actions were anything but.
Ji Lingfeng possessed high cultivation and excellent combat skills, unlike his arrogant subordinates who had been swiftly castrated by Jiang Xuezhi, leaving them incapacitated on the ground.
He reacted swiftly, not allowing Jiang Xuezhi an easy victory. The two became locked in a fierce struggle, giving Lin Wanwan, who had been discovered in the corner, a chance to catch her breath.
Just as she was about to be found by Ji Lingfeng, Jiang Xuezhi had intercepted him.
Had she noticed her as well?
If Ji Lingfeng could detect her, there was no reason Jiang Xuezhi wouldn’t have.
Then why didn’t she simply let Ji Lingfeng come for her and seize the chance to escape? Instead, she had stopped him.
Lin Wanwan couldn’t comprehend the fury and fighting spirit that surged in Jiang Xuezhi after being insulted.
Because she had always been deeply afraid of Ji Lingfeng, instinctively fleeing whenever she encountered him.
Mustering the courage to follow him into the swamp was already a tremendous feat; nearly being discovered had startled her even more.
Lin Wanwan told herself she had to leave.
Immediately.
She couldn’t let Ji Lingfeng find her.
Hunching over, she tried to locate the entrance to the underground palace. But before she had taken more than a few steps, the clatter of a dagger hitting the ground froze her in her tracks.
Jiang Xuezhi’s weapon had fallen.
Having witnessed the castration of those demonic cultivators with that very dagger, Lin Wanwan was both horrified and awestruck. Now, hearing the dagger drop, she couldn’t help but inwardly panic.
For a woman to single-handedly take down those demonic cultivators was already incredible enough. But to face Ji Lingfeng himself without a weapon, how could she possibly manage?
Remembering how Jiang Xuezhi had stepped in to stop Ji Lingfeng from finding her, Lin Wanwan felt a pang of guilt.
She disliked owing others, especially not that stand-in.
Gritting her teeth, Lin Wanwan turned back and ran a few steps forward. As soon as she emerged from the corner, she beheld a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.
Ji Lingfeng lay prone on the ground, with Jiang Xuezhi pressing one knee into his back, one hand pinning his arms and the other holding his head down.
His hair was disheveled, his meticulous appearance completely ruined by Jiang Xuezhi.
He struggled relentlessly beneath her but couldn’t break free from her restraint.
Ji Lingfeng was tall and imposing, while Jiang Xuezhi was slightly shorter and more slender in comparison.
Anyone who had seen them both would never have imagined Jiang Xuezhi could be a match for him.
Yet reality proved the opposite.
Ji Lingfeng was no match for Jiang Xuezhi.
He was completely subdued by her, stunned by how fast and skilled this woman was in combat.
Jiang Xuezhi looked down mockingly at the struggling man.
How could these cultivators possibly compare to the speed of her holographic combat armor?
Could he outpace laser weaponry?
Especially now that he had lost his cultivation.
Jiang Xuezhi grabbed Ji Lingfeng by his long hair and violently yanked him backward.
Forced into a backward arch, Ji Lingfeng was bent almost in half. Excruciating pain overwhelmed his senses, he hadn’t suffered this intensely in years. Ever since becoming the Demon Lord’s adopted son, no one had been able to inflict such agony upon him.
“Jiang Xuezhi…!!”
Unprecedented rage surged through Ji Lingfeng. He was truly enraged. He struggled with all his might but couldn’t break free. Insults lingered on the tip of his tongue, but he never got the chance to voice them, a powerful slap struck him, splitting his skin and drawing blood, nearly knocking his teeth loose.
The blow left him dazed for a moment, his head buzzing and ears ringing.
But it didn’t end there.
Jiang Xuezhi had no intention of stopping. Without giving him a moment to recover, she kicked him to the ground, then gripped his throat from the front and began punching and kicking his face relentlessly.
Each blow landed with brutal force, any martial artist could tell how powerful her strikes were. It was terrifying.
Lin Wanwan watched with a clenched heart, hardly daring to breathe.
Pinned to the ground and beaten, Ji Lingfeng’s face quickly became swollen and distorted. Gasping for air, he refused to give up fighting back. His eyes were swollen, altering his vision, but he could still see clearly enough.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Lin Wanwan emerging from the shadows.
It was her! The hidden figure was actually Lin Wanwan!
After all this time apart, to be seen in such a humiliating, disheveled state in front of her…
Jiang Xuezhi!!
Ji Lingfeng’s fury shattered Jiang Xuezhi’s restraint. He managed to shove her away, finally seizing a moment of triumph.
But it was fleeting.
In less than three seconds, before he could even stand, his leg bone was shattered by another kick.
Jiang Xuezhi possessed an inexplicable, monstrous strength, far surpassing that of a grown man. She knew exactly how to apply force, targeting the most vulnerable spots to render her opponent powerless.
With a swift sidestep, she retrieved the dagger he had earlier knocked to the ground. In the blink of an eye, she drove it into his dantian, mere inches from his demon core.
Ji Lingfeng stared at her in disbelief, her face so close to his. In that moment, he finally understood what kind of person he was dealing with.
No. Impossible.
“You’re not Jiang Xuezhi! Who are you?!”
His rationality returned, and he almost forgot about Lin Wanwan, consumed by the need to uncover what entity lurked within Jiang Xuezhi’s body.
Jiang Xuezhi slowly smiled.
If before she disliked being mistaken for someone else, now she rather enjoyed retaliating after being underestimated. Watching their disbelief as their worldviews crumbled was quite amusing.
So, she replied leisurely, “I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.”
“I am Jiang Xuezhi.”
It wasn’t a lie, she truly was Jiang Xuezhi.
No matter who had written this book or dragged her into this mess, she would make sure they knew it couldn’t confine her. She felt no distress over it, only amusement and delight.
Jiang Xuezhi pulled out the dagger, and Ji Lingfeng’s blood splattered. She tilted her head and closed her eyes, avoiding the spray.
“Useless thing.”
She readjusted her grip on the dagger. It was too short, truly inadequate, unable to reach Ji Lingfeng’s demon core.
“I’ll just have to use a bit more force.”
Jiang Xuezhi bent down again, tightening her hold on the dagger as she prepared to strike Ji Lingfeng once more.
Ji Lingfeng knew that with this strike, his demon core would undoubtedly be destroyed. He struggled with all his might to resist, but it was too difficult.
His leg was broken, his dantian damaged, it was all too much.
Fortunately, heaven never seals off all exits. The underground palace suddenly began to tremble, and the force suppressing them inexplicably appeared and vanished just as quickly. The moment Ji Lingfeng regained his cultivation, he immediately transformed into a black mist and fled. Jiang Xuezhi, however, was swallowed by a fissure in the palace and failed to catch him.
Lin Wanwan, seeing her disappear into the crack, rushed forward in a panic and grabbed her hand, pulling her back up.
Jiang Xuezhi gazed at the woman who had saved her. Their eyes met, Lin Wanwan flustered and tearful, Jiang Xuezhi calm and expressionless.
Lin Wanwan’s heart raced wildly.