33 Unexpected Changes

The moment he saw Chu Qing, a huge sense of panic and helplessness enveloped his entire body. He must look very ugly now, covered in demonic energy, and he shouldn't have seen his master.

"Yin Li! If you hand over the Spirit Pearl now, we can treat you leniently!" Hua Qi had appeared below the four of them at some point, his tone serious, the tip of his sword pointing directly at the perpetrator.

"Master, your disciple—"

Tears welled in the boy's eyes. He had made a mistake. He was a monster, half demon and half immortal. He had not turned to good and had brought about this cruel situation.

"Charge!"

Just as Chu Qing was about to make a move, Wen Ruyu and Ye Lang took advantage of the gap to cut their fingers, drawing blood into the air as if summoning something.

In an instant, the surrounding demons went berserk. Their bodies swelled several times larger, their eyes bulged out and turned blood red, and their demonic energy increased by countless levels.

"Ah! Help!"

"Quickly, quickly form a protective array, quickly—" Before the words could be finished, the disciples at the forefront were torn to shreds by the demonic beasts, their blood mist exploding everywhere. Such a large number of casualties turned the trial grounds into the gates of hell.

"Wen Ruyu! What are you doing?!"

Hua Qi waved his hand to knock down the demonic beast that tried to get close to him, and flew up in a fit of rage to try to stop it. But in an instant, a burst of golden light suddenly erupted from the beast's body, so bright that people couldn't open their eyes.

"Oh no, he's about to summon a divine artifact!"

[Host, please immediately seize the Spirit Orb to fight the villain! Host, please immediately seize the Spirit Orb to fight the villain!]

Before Chu Qing could discuss anything further with Yin Li, who was still stunned and hadn't fully recovered, Chu Qing darted to the boy's side, gave him a cold glance, and took advantage of the moment to deliver a slap.

"division--"

"puff--"

In the instant blood gushed out, Yin Li felt as if countless sharp knives were stabbing her heart. The pain caused her arms to fall and her fingers to curl up, but she couldn't stop the spirit orbs from flying towards Chu Qing.

Master must be angry with me. It's his fault, everything is his fault.

But his master couldn't abandon him...

"The Spirit Pearl appears, the Heavenly Wheel rises, and the four seas and nine provinces are at my disposal!" The indifferent voice powerfully penetrated the hearts of everyone present.

What is Elder Qingge doing?

She's summoning a divine artifact!

"Qingge, stop! If you keep controlling yourself like this, it will backfire!"

Hua Qi roared furiously, but the battle formation was already set, and there was no chance to retreat or back down. Chu Qing had no choice but to include herself in the mix to have any chance of winning against Wen Ruyu. This man was already able to summon magical beasts, so he must have been colluding with the demon race for a long time. In addition, he had been to the Third Secret Realm before, which was full of hidden dangers. He wanted the artifact so much, and his ambition was not just a little bit. He must have made a lot of preparations in the early stage.

Suddenly, the demonic beasts on the verge of going berserk stopped fighting, and the disciples quickly retreated and gathered together. They could all feel that the earth was trembling and something was about to emerge!

Suddenly, the mountain peak where the group was standing cracked open, and a golden light first illuminated the dark red sky. Then, a disc-shaped object slowly rose and flew towards Chu Qing's direction.

This is the Heaven-Destroying Wheel.

Ancient artifacts: Annihilation, Heaven, Wheel.

With the Spirit Pearl in control, Chu Qing gave Wen Ruyu and the other two no chance at all. The moment she held the divine artifact in her hand, the abundant spiritual energy swept over her entire body, and everything around her became extremely slow in her eyes. At this moment, the woman's robes fluttered in the wind, and a halo of light shone behind her, which was a true divine compassion and care for the world.

"Wen Ruyu, you colluded with the demon race, ruined the disciples of my Green Mountain Peak, and even attempted to seize the Spirit Pearl artifact to plunge the world into chaos. Do you know your mistakes?"

She read out the charges with a cold indifference. Yin Li, who was far away, dared not take another step forward. He felt that his master was even further away from him now. She had the world in her heart, while he was about to become a traitor despised and cursed by everyone. What right did he have to stand by her side?

"Wrong?" Wen Ruyu seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. His face showed no fear. He increased the speed at which he bled, and his eyes burst with excitement: "Chu Qingge, you are still one step behind after all."

Chu Qing frowned, about to launch an attack using the spiritual power of the Heaven-Destroying Wheel, but in the moment of her hesitation, the divine artifact that was originally shining with golden light was suddenly corroded by the black mist, and the demonic energy rushing straight to the spiritual core seemed to tear Chu Qing apart, causing her unspeakable pain.

"master!"

The earth-shaking roar made everyone shrink back. Yin Li's face was filled with despair. All his pain erupted in that instant, like an uncontrollable storm, mercilessly tearing at his soul.

Without a second thought, the instant tears streamed down his face, he leaped forward, barely managing to block the relentless attacks of the Heaven-Destroying Wheel.

How dare Wen Ruyu, how dare he—

It turns out that when Wen Ruyu first went to the secret realm, he discovered some clues about the Fire Dance Spirit Orb, but he couldn't find its exact location. However, his ultimate goal was the artifact. If he couldn't get it, he would destroy it. No one but him would have a good time!

Therefore, more than a year ago, he had already begun to study various forbidden techniques, and one of the ancient secret methods was to control divine artifacts.

It's true that the Spirit Pearl can control the Heaven-Destroying Wheel, but I can use the Nine Revolutions Divine Soul Technique to connect my divine consciousness with the artifact, sacrificing a soul and a spirit, so that I can launch a near-destructive attack during the gaps when I'm controlled by the Spirit Pearl.

The price will be severe, but not fatal; it will only damage one's soul. When the time comes, once one ascends to the highest position, will there be any worry about not having good spiritual medicine to nourish one's soul?

Although the Heaven-Destroying Wheel possesses abundant spiritual power, it is actually a product of the Demon Realm, containing far more demonic energy than spiritual energy. That's why it easily converted the spiritual energy within into demonic energy, delivering a fatal blow to Chu Qing!

Unfortunately, most of the attacks were blocked by this little madman.

However, it's good, so that this madman won't do anything unreasonable by relying on his demonic power!

"Master, Master, how are you? Master—" Yin Li held Chu Qing tightly, ignoring the large and small tears on his body, as if she were a precious treasure, covering her up completely.

"Let go, Yin Li." The person in her arms frowned, her face extremely pale and pained, but she made no extra movements, only gave the order.

Chu Qing felt her vision brighten, and only then could she see the current situation clearly.

Having just shielded her from the attack, Yin Li would likely find it difficult to unleash her powerful demonic energy again. Ignoring the intense pain in her heart, she struggled to break free from his embrace, casually wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, and summoned a blood-spotting finger to Wen Ruyu.

She must kill him today, by any means necessary, so she can go home!

"Chu Qingge, you're lucky. Heh, we'll have a long future ahead of us."

Before anyone could react, they saw that Wen Ruyu was also surrounded by thick purplish-red demonic energy, and that he had formed a spiritual connection with the Heaven-Destroying Wheel in that instant, making him unshakeable.

"Blood see, come out—" Chu Qing flew forward, trying to sever that connection, but how could the price paid by her soul be changed by a mere cultivator like her?

[Host, stop now. You're no match for him.]

When the final verdict was handed down, Chu Qing remained in a daze for a long time.

【What did you say······】

[I was so close! According to the original story, Wen Ruyu would never have used forbidden techniques before me. There must have been something that made him realize it. I—]

My mission failed.

She can't go home, can she?

She can't go back, can she?

[Host, please calm down. The road isn't completely blocked; we still have a way.]

"Then tell me, what's the best way? Anything is fine as long as we can go back."

The system fell silent, as if it could feel Chu Qing's pain for a moment, experiencing that aching, sharp despair, as if she had lost all life, a walking corpse.

[We can't let the world collapse now; we need to get it back on track. The male protagonist follows the plot, while you, the host, can choose to plan ahead and continue to seize the artifact and kill the villain, or—]

[What can it be?] Everyone around her froze. Chu Qing stared at the faint halo of light in front of her and curled her lips in a mocking smile.

She seemed to know what the other person was going to say, but she probably didn't want to let the so-called task bind her emotions.

[You can choose to pursue the male lead again. Once his affection level reaches 100 and his corruption level is reset to zero, we can send you back to your original world.]

Trying to win over Yin Li? Ha, she's gone. What will happen to Yin Li now?

Aren't you afraid that after I leave, Yin Li will turn evil again?

The system seemed to pause for a few seconds before replying, "[This is a revised plan from the Main God System. The male protagonist's life is currently in grave danger, and he needs to follow the plot to regain his magic. As for whether he will revert to his darker ways after the host leaves—that's up to us.]"

ridiculous

Chu Qing frowned deeply. She currently lacked the power to contend with the so-called main god, but she could tell from the blatant threat that if she didn't complete the mission, she would never be able to return.

After an unknown amount of time, so long that her throat felt dry and her limbs were completely powerless, she finally spoke slowly: "I will not make a choice; I will accomplish both. But you must promise me one thing, otherwise—" She narrowed her eyes, a cold smile playing on her lips: "I will now detonate my inner core."

system:!

[Host, you can't! You can make any requests you have.]

The woman in white, stained with blood, stood silently, her eyes devoid of joy or sorrow, as if she were talking about something insignificant. But upon closer inspection, the imperceptible trembling of her hand hidden behind her back betrayed her inner anguish.

If I complete both tasks, besides being sent home, I'll also receive a reward of being able to make a wish—any wish I have will be granted.

System [This...]

She raised her hand and placed it over her lower abdomen, a gesture that was both provocative and insane.

At that moment, the system felt as if her figure overlapped with Yin Li's.

[Alright, the Supreme God agrees.] After another long wait, the other party seemed to give in, saying in resignation, [But either task is extremely difficult. Are you sure you want to complete both?]

[No matter the harm, no matter the cost?]

Chu Qing chuckled softly, not answering immediately, but instead turning her gaze to the black figure not far away. Even in the stillness, he was still looking in her direction with concern.

There will always be that one person who will follow her unconditionally, no matter what she does to that person, as long as it is his decision, he will follow her forever.

Fool

Chu Qing murmured to herself, then withdrew her gaze and firmly replied to the system: "I'm sure."

[Author's Note]

Ahh, in the next chapter, the male lead will be—hehehe, I think some of you might not understand this part (my writing is a bit shabby o(╥﹏╥)o, but I'll explain it later!), but you can save it up and read it slowly. I'll try my best to explain the mystery clearly! (Maybe it's not really a mystery haha, there's not much of a mind-bending plot).

I usually update every other day~ Now I just write a little whenever I have time, and I hope I can still update normally during finals week~ Love you all! (≧≦)