"Interesting, so interesting!"

Tian Xianzi was enjoying the show and laughed loudly: "The Demon Sect's great power and the Wanjian Sect's disciples actually fought over his words. Xiao He really played those two around and attracted countless heroes to compete!"

Mayoi took a piece of white jade cake with a faint expression and stuffed it directly into the mouth that looked like a big trumpet.

Looking at the entire attic, the number of elders gathered in front of the Xuanxu Sword Sect's Xuanjing was the largest. Before, only Lin Qian and Qu Feiqing came to join in the fun, but now the disciples' unique operations have become famous, and everyone wants to come and watch in person.

- After all, in the mirrors of other sects, the little disciples are diligently collecting tokens. Although the group of children in the Jindan Yuanying period fought fiercely, for the elders, this kind of playful fighting was obviously not enough to watch.

For example, it was like a group of adults watching junior high school students doing math problems. They might find it interesting at first, but after a long time, they would inevitably get visually fatigued and lose interest in watching.

But the Xuanxu Sect was completely different.

While others were taking the assessment seriously, they actually brought up a secret from many years ago, such as the "ancient divine bow", "water mirror formation", "Spirit Fox Extermination Clan", and all kinds of dazzling and unexpected battles of wits and courage. It was like reading a storybook, and you could never guess the next move.

"He was clearly trying his best to escape from the Demon Lord, but for some reason, he managed to act out a humorous comedic temperament."

Lin Qian was amazed: "Perhaps this is the legendary personal talent... It's unfortunate for Ye Zongheng to meet this person."

The white-clothed female cultivator from the Wanjian Sect snorted coldly: "Ye Zongheng's heart is not strong, and he was stage frightened and distracted during the battle. After the Ten Dharma Conference is over, I will send him to the Locking Demon Tower for training."

A Paramount Music Piano Cultivator smiled lightly: "Golden Dan Yuanying is very different. Under the pressure of the Demon Lord, it is not a shame for him to be confused."

Someone suddenly asked: "How are Ningning and Pei Ji?"

"It seems to be developing slowly!"

Ji Yunkai quickly swallowed the cake in his mouth and answered loudly, grinning subconsciously, his cheeks puffed up: "What a pity, I can't see anything at the waterfall."

Qu Feiqing covered the corners of her lips with her sleeves, her peach blossom eyes sparkling and overflowing with a faint smile: "Don't worry, fellow Taoist, there is plenty of time for the trial, we still have time to practice . "I can watch it slowly."

Tian Xianzi was quite excited and shouted righteously: "No, no! If these two knew about this, Ning Ning and Pei Ji would be so embarrassed!"

The man paused blankly for a while before hesitantly answering: "No, I want to say... Aren't they investigating the truth about the water mirror? It's related to the survival of the secret realm, it's very important."

- What are these people thinking?

The scene was a little awkward for a while.

Ji Yunkai scratched his head as if nothing had happened, lowered his head with his eyes wide open, and swayed on the chair; Qu Feiqing took a piece of dessert with a stiff face and stuffed it directly into the child's mouth.

Tian Xianzi laughed twice, glared at the two disrespectful leaders, and turned the mirror to Ningning.

=====

When Ningning arrived at the fox tribe settlement, the sunset had been completely swallowed up by the western mountain. A lone moon hung gloomily on the treetops, barely casting a few strands of light white light. The

surroundings were eerily quiet, and no one could be seen. Only the flickering candlelight in the wooden house could be seen, like a cluster of quiet and strange will-o'-the-wisp fires, silently floating in the night.

She told He Zhizhou and Xu Yi in the letter that if Cang Huang left the village at such a critical moment, it would definitely make the demons suspicious.

The best way now was for both of them to stay in the room pretending nothing had happened, waiting for her and Pei Ji to come back, and then discuss the next plan together.

However, when Ning Ning rushed to He Zhizhou's room, she found that the room was empty, without a single person in sight.

"The wooden table was overturned."

Pei Ji whispered: "There was a dispute here, the demons should have known that they knew the truth."

Ning Ning panicked, frowning and looking at the round table that was overturned on the ground: "Although the wooden table in the room was overturned, there was no trace of blood or corpses, and the other objects were standing in place... It means that the confrontation between the two parties was not very fierce, and they were not injured."

However, if they were not injured here, it might be possible after they go out.

When they set a trap for Neon Island, Xiao Zhao had helped them set up an illusion.

A young child could actually make such a wonderful formation. Ning Ning felt something was wrong at the time. Now thinking back, it should be that his strength has already recovered by more than half, far surpassing all the disciples in the secret realm.

If He Zhizhou and Xu Ye ran into him, the consequences would be disastrous.

There was no one in Xu Ye's house either. Ning Ning had no idea what happened, and looked at Pei Ji worriedly.

In fact, he didn't care much about the whereabouts of the two people, so he didn't have too much tension. However, when he saw her frown, he subconsciously tightened the hilt of the sword and comforted her in an unskilled way: "Senior Brother He has always been able to turn danger into safety. I believe

he will be safe this time." Although he said so, when Pei Ji saw Ning Ning's expression, the first thought that flashed through his mind was: If he was in danger one day, I wonder if she would be willing to frown.

This thought was so despicable that it could not be seen in the light, and it hit him hard in the heart. Pei Ji didn't understand why he suddenly had such an idea. He just felt his ears dry, paused for a moment, and said, "Something is wrong here."

Ning Ning frowned and nodded lightly.

It was too quiet here. Not only were He Zhizhou and Xu Ye nowhere to be seen, but the demon cultivators pretending to be from the spirit fox tribe were also silent. At this moment, a faint smell of blood suddenly wafted through the air.

This smell should have come from not far away, and was mostly blown away by the night wind, leaving only a very faint aftertaste.

Pei Ji's eyes darkened, and he said in a deep voice, "Be careful."

People who practice cultivation have extremely sensitive five senses. Ning Ning followed the bloody smell and kept moving forward, bypassing a row of square, staggered wooden houses, and unexpectedly came to a very familiar house.

She remembered this place.

It was Qiao Yan's residence.

As we got closer, the rusty smell became more and more obvious, as if it was so thick that it had substance, enveloping the entire house. A faint scarlet color could be seen in the air.

In front of the small wooden house, there were actually several figures standing, all of them were filled with murderous violence, surrounding someone in the center.

Ning Ning originally thought that the person surrounded in the middle must be Qiao Yan, but when her sight passed through the gaps between people, she saw another completely different face.

——It was Qin Niang.

Or rather, the demon woman who had pretended to be Qiao Yan's mother for many years.

Qin Niang had blood on her mouth and several nasty cuts on her face. She seemed to have been seriously injured and had no strength left. She supported herself with her hands and knelt on the ground.

The people around her also looked pale, perhaps because they had just experienced a fierce battle and their spiritual power, which was already very little, had run out.

A young man was so angry that he was shaking all over, and the long sword in his hand reflected a cold light: "We are all from the same family, why do you have to pick on us because of others!"

Ning Ning's heart moved, and she heard the woman next to him cough lightly: "Over the years, you have done enough for Qiao Yan. If you hadn't begged Qi Han Demon Lord in every possible way, would he have kept the girl until now? Do you want to sacrifice your life for her now?"

"In my opinion, this woman has really trapped herself in this situation."

It was another middle-aged man's voice, his tone was full of poison, mockery and contempt: "Not only did she give us her life-saving medicine and beg to save her 'daughter's' life, but today she even attacked her own people whom she had known for many years in order to help the fox escape... Wake up, you have never been a Qin Niang!"

So that's what happened.

Ning Ning heard the sound of her heart beating, and many secrets that she couldn't understand suddenly became clear at this moment.

That's why Qin Niang was so weak. She was nourished by so many treasures from Qiao Yan, but she still had problems even standing up; that's why even if Qiao Yan had no value, she could still live well among the demons.

Before the truth was revealed, she had imagined many explanations as to why the demons did not kill Qiao Yan.

For example, Qiao Yan was closely related to the Burning Sun Bow and was an indispensable person to obtain the divine bow; or she was closely related to the formation, and if the demon cultivators wanted to break the formation, they had to go through her. However

, under all those complicated and imaginative possibilities, the real reason was so simple and pure, and had nothing to do with conspiracy. It was like a pure white flower quietly blooming in a deep pool full of mud and blood, so abrupt and unbelievable.

This was just the most simple selfishness of a woman, but Qiao Yan did not know it from beginning to end.

"There is no point in talking more."

The woman who had just spoken coughed a few times again: "Let's act as soon as possible and go get Qiao Yan and the swordsman back. If they spread the news, then all the disciples participating in the trial will know the truth... then it will be very bad." As

soon as she finished speaking, a flash of a knife appeared in front of her. Qin Niang was already covered in blood and dying. She couldn't make any resistance. She was about to lower her eyes and wait for death, but she caught a glimpse of a cold sword light.

—— Two long swords came out of the night, and the sword energy spread all over the field, stirring up cold winds like knives and blades, and attacked the vital points of everyone present with unstoppable force!

Although the demon cultivators had been recuperating for many years, their bodies were still extremely weak. In addition, Qin Niang fought for her life, which consumed most of their spiritual power. At this time, they were completely unable to resist and were forced to retreat by the sword energy, suddenly spitting out blood.

Ning Ning took a few steps forward with the Star Mark Sword in her hand, and looked at Qin Niang coldly.

Before, she couldn't see clearly because of the distant night. Now that she was closer, she realized that Qin Niang's body was covered with bloodstains and knife wounds. Her white clothes were stained blood red, making her face pale as paper, and she no longer had much of the aura of a living person.

"You--"

She just said one word, and she didn't know how to respond next. But Qin Niang coughed up a mouthful of blood and said softly: "Miss Ningning...you all already know it."

Pei Ji stepped forward and spoke for her: "Where are Xu Ye and Qiao Yan?"

"Master Xu found out the truth and fled with Xiaoyan."

She took a deep breath and continued in a very soft voice: "I am dying soon, and I have an unwelcome request... I wonder if you two are willing to accept it."

The young demon who was seriously injured by the sword seemed to have guessed her intention, and roared with bloodshot eyes: "You are crazy!"

But Qin Niang ignored him: "After the war, the demons suffered heavy casualties. Many of my compatriots died here, but the demonic energy in the secret realm could not leak out, so it circled in place, degenerating the surviving members of the spirit fox into half-demons, and constantly devouring the spirits. "They can't hold on for much longer because their lives and spirits are at risk."

She frowned suddenly and clenched her fists as if she couldn't bear it any longer. "To break the water mirror formation, we must find the only center of the formation and destroy it. But the center of the formation is extremely hidden, and no one knows it except the Demon Lord Qi Han... If we want to save the fox spirit on the other side of the water mirror, we must find it before the secret realm closes."

Ningning paused and asked her hesitantly, "Why are you helping us?"

The woman with a dusty face closed her eyelashes slightly, and after a while, a subtle, self-deprecating smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"...Who knows."

"You've done so many bad things, why do you need to build a memorial archway now! If we die, Qiao Yan will know everything!"

The young man sneered, his eyes full of dense bloodshot like spider webs: "She will know that you are one of the enemies who slaughtered her entire family, and that you have been pretending to be her mother for so many years. She will only hate you and will never be grateful!"

He looked more and more crazy, and his laughter was mixed with a hoarse voice, calling People felt cold when they heard this: "Qiao Yan will never know who you are, your name, your appearance, or even whether you died to protect her... In her eyes, you will always be a substitute for her mother, an unforgivable demon!"

He said it with anger, but Qin Niang just raised the corners of her lips indifferently, and her tone was so flat that no ups and downs could be heard: "Yes."

She is a demon, from the beginning, and the sins she committed can never be washed away.

Everything that happened is really far away, as vague as another person's dream.

She was poor and lonely since childhood, and fell into the demon clan to survive. After that, she did all kinds of evil things, as if it had become a habit.

After the battle in the secret realm was a big defeat, she had to hide in the water mirror with other demon cultivators. Because she needed Qiao Yan to collect elixirs, she was forced to pretend to be her former tribesman.

Her strength was the strongest after the Demon Lord, so she naturally took over the role of her mother. How impatient she was at that time, she always felt that the little girl was very annoying and didn't want to pay attention to her at all.

She hurriedly learned to be a mother, slowly hiding all her anger and sharpness. It was also the first time she knew that in addition to endless slaughter and fighting for survival, she could have a completely different life from before -

cooking smoke, family, smiles, and every night, she could hear the little stories made up by Qiao Yan for her.

The child talked about the secrets of the fox tribe, many childish fables and jokes, and also talked about the water town and fireworks in the south city in the storybook, and promised solemnly that one day he would take her out to have a look.

That was really a very, very long time ago.

But for some reason, only after meeting that annoying fox girl did her memory change from black and white to color.

However, there was a huge distance between them. Not only was there an indelible family feud, but from the beginning, the bond between them was built on lies and exploitation.

She could hardly remember her former name.

Sometimes, in the dead of night, she would be dazed and think that she was Qin Niang.

Such feelings are timid and hidden, floating lightly in the night, and no one can know them.

"Qiao Yan," Ning Ning's voice was very low, "I wonder if you were the one who held off the demons from pursuing her?"

"I showed up after the two of them left, so it's okay if she doesn't know. You must never tell her."

Qin Niang actually smiled softly, her pupils gradually became cloudy and colorless: "Good and evil will be rewarded in the end... I'm an unforgivable sinner, how could I deserve such a spectacular sacrifice? Telling it out would only make people laugh - it's time to put an end to this scam."

She had experienced so many killings and dangers in her life, but for some reason, when she was about to die, the last thing that came to her mind was a girl's gentle and shy smile.

At that time, Qiao Yan told her that she would give her mother the most beautiful fireworks display for everyone to see.

Qin Niang gently raised her head and silently looked at the quiet and serene sky.

The night was empty and there was nothing.

... How sad.

In fact, she had never seen fireworks in her life.