Chapter 55, the grand finale, will not let you succeed.
At the entrance to Taihua Mountain, everyone was on high alert.
Jiu Chaoying held the silk dragon whip in her hand and looked coldly at Qingxing.
"You murdered your fellow disciples. Taihua Mountain does not welcome you." She said in a deep voice, "Tell me the whereabouts of Jiuqu Chen, and I'll guarantee you a whole corpse!"
"Master will return." Qingxing said, snapping her fingers expressionlessly. The crowd standing in front of the mountain gate was instantly frozen in place, unable to move an inch.
The elders maintained their previous wary stance, inwardly shocked: She had become so strong?!
Qinghe struggled violently, gritting his teeth as he said, "Ungrateful wretch!"
"Why do you care about her?" The wooden puppet behind him creaked as he moved it. He sneered, "Killing brothers, murdering sisters, murdering cousins, do you really expect such a heartless person to let Mount Taihua go?"
"If I had known you were a demon, I wouldn't have given you the Qi-Strengthening Pill." Qiao Suqing spat. "So I was the one aiding and abetting evil!"
"Arrest warrants are being issued across all continents right now, you can't escape!"
The elders were relatively elegant in their insults, but the disciples were a different story. They used all sorts of vulgar and offensive language, seemingly intending to drown Qingxing in their spittle rather than use magic.
Qingxing remained silent as she hurled insults at the crowd. Her gaze swept across the faces of the elders, finally settling on Jiu Chaoying's face.
She asked, "Where is Musheng?"
No one answered. The green apricot didn't need an answer either.
She cut her palm open, drops of blood falling onto the magic circle at her feet. Before completely disappearing, she left behind a faint, fleeting sentence:
"I came here to find someone. Since they're not here, as classmates, I don't want to make things difficult for you. But I'll leave the binding array in place, just in case you cause trouble."
Bang!
The mist blinded everyone, and by the time they realized what was happening, Qingxing had already disappeared.
...
In the frigid land, before the gates of the Demon Realm.
A figure in a purple cloak stood with a hunched back, his left hand gently stroking the ice wall, and his right hand holding a white candle.
He didn't know how long he had been standing there. His cloak had frozen solid, covering him with a thick layer of snow. The candle was also mostly burned out, and the molten wax was frozen before it could fall, forming a circle around him like a mushroom cap.
Strangely, the man in purple did not move. Even though the wind was howling and the candle was about to be extinguished, he did not give it even the slightest glance.
He seemed to be waiting for something.
"Elder Musheng, it's been a long time." A figure in green strolled over from afar. She started as a small dot, then slowly grew larger, and finally approached. Without any politeness, she flicked her finger and pulled down the hood of her purple robe, her tone carrying a hint of mockery. "Perhaps I should call you Wen Rensheng."
"Right, Uncle?"
The man in purple turned around, revealing the face of Elder Musheng of Mount Taihua, a face etched with wrinkles and adorned with a long beard.
Contrasting with the aged face are the clear and bright eyes at the very top.
"My name is Cen Yuan, do you remember me?" Qingxing moved her right hand slightly, and a thick book flew out of Musheng's sleeve and landed solidly in her palm with a "whoosh".
Judging from its appearance, it was originally the "Demon Subduing Formation" that suddenly appeared in the Taihua Mountain Sutra Pavilion and then disappeared into thin air.
Qingxing stroked the book with her gaze, then curled her lips into a smile, and the book inexplicably burst into flames, turning to ashes in an instant.
As if disgusted by the dust, she clapped her hands lightly and said with a half-smile, "Uncle, you went through all this trouble, stuffing evil books and using the illusionary dream array, just to reminisce about the past with me, didn't you?"
Mu Sheng looked at her, his eyes filled with a weariness that didn't match his clear gaze. The schemes and plots of the past had crushed his spine and aged his heart. Now, it seemed as if he had truly reached the twilight of his life.
“The door is open,” he said.
Qingxing didn't speak. They looked at each other across the wind and snow. Snowflakes touched the ice wall behind Musheng and were instantly sucked into the wall by an unknown force, becoming part of it.
"It seems you truly have no grudge against this world, and you're willing to risk your life to open the gate." Qingxing teleported in front of him and grabbed his shoulder. "For three lifetimes, you've wanted demons to roam the world, so I will grant your wish and let your world be surrounded by demons."
After saying this, Mu Sheng's vision went black, and after a dizzying spin, he found himself in a secret realm.
There is no daylight here; strangely shaped winged demons fly everywhere, shrieking and circling as if searching for any edible prey.
The surrounding area was teeming with beasts, and the monsters had peculiar appearances. Their mouths reeked of blood and decay, and the stench was so strong that it could wither all the tender grass and tree buds.
Occasionally, a few withered saplings stand on the reddish-purple soil. Upon closer inspection, however, one discovers that these are not trees at all, but rather demonic creatures with thin trunks and limbs, disguised as trees, waiting for passersby to lower their guard so they can devour them one by one.
This is clearly inside the gates of the demon realm.
If the former fellow disciples of Taihua were still alive, they would surely be deeply moved—Qingxing's cultivation had reached such a level that she could even ignore the gate key and teleport directly inside.
Qingxing led Musheng to a pit. The latter hung his head, seemingly overwhelmed by something unbelievable. He was dizzy and trembling uncontrollably, not caring what kind of judgment Qingxing would give him next.
“You are of the bloodline of my Huisheng clan. By right, I should spare your life.” Qingxing gave him a gentle push, and Musheng lost his balance and fell into the pit. Qingxing looked at him coldly and said in a chilling voice, “I don’t care about your constant testing of me. But what have my fellow disciples done?”
She unconsciously raised her voice: "You want the world to be buried with the Hui people, have you ever thought about whether your people are willing? What have the common people done to deserve this!"
"You want to hate, you want to resent, but you've even chosen the wrong target!"
Qingxing's chest rose and fell slightly with her emotions as she let the demon leap into the pit and tear Musheng apart.
“I will return everything you did to them.”
Mu Sheng lowered his head, silently watching himself being bitten, like a bystander, the pain not on him—or perhaps he was already numb.
Suddenly, he chuckled softly, drool dripping from his mouth and finally falling onto his chest, where it mingled with the blood, leaving a deep stain on his clothes.
"...Hahahaha!" His eyes widened, his eyeballs bulging, as he glared angrily at Qingxing, as if he were looking through her at someone else.
“We can’t escape it! We’re all going to die!” he howled.
Mu Sheng, seemingly driven mad, kept repeating: "They will all die! Leave no one alive!"
Qingxing watched calmly as he was engulfed by the horde of monsters. After remaining silent for a long time, she raised her hand and removed the cloth bag from her waist.
Various stains were stuck to the embroidery, and she could no longer make out the original shape of the green apricot.
She gently stroked the uneven embroidery, then closed her eyes, and with a flick of her wrist, shattered the cloth bag, leaving behind a mysterious book lying quietly in her palm.
Since her rebirth, Qingxing has always carried the Heavenly Book with her, never letting it leave her side.
Previously, when they were at Mount Taihua, she had tried to get information out of Gudako: Who was she? Why did she choose her?
Gudako always brushed her off with excuses like "You never follow the old ways" or "You have great talent," making her wonder what unspeakable secret lay behind it all.
Stepping into the Blood Peach Forest, everything that happened there made her re-examine Gudako, this so-called world of stories, and the creator god who maintains world order.
If what Gudako says is true, and this world exists outside the original script, then the Resurrected Clan, who are born immortal and have extremely high cultivation talents, would one day become beings that live as long as heaven and earth and are as high as the sun and moon, without the suppression of the original author.
Could this all-powerful creator god truly condone the existence of such a bloodline?
Qingxing turned the pages of the Heavenly Book one by one and said in a calm voice: "You used the 'Immortal Book' as an excuse to lead Wangyan astray and then arranged for him to pass through Peach Blossom Valley."
“You know that the Huisheng Clan can only be killed by becoming a demon. You have used this rule with ease, and you have indeed managed to destroy the tribe that displeases you without leaving a trace.”
She paused for a moment, then said, "I just never expected that my mother would send me away, making me an orphan."
"But how could you bear to leave me in exile, to continue the lineage of the Resurrected?"
"So you let it slide again. Wenren Xi and Musheng are just two pawns in your grand scheme, at your mercy. You can then rightfully kill the male and female protagonists, find fault with the Huisheng clan for being 'inherently evil and committing the crime of destroying the world,' and naturally annihilate my clan."
Qingxing endured the stench and flipped through the pages of the heavenly book with a "whoosh," her eyes unfocused, as if she were lost in some kind of bewildered contemplation.
"Have you ever wondered why the world always restarts just before things are about to happen?"
"You want to break free from the control of the original book and completely take control of the world, but unfortunately, this world has its own laws of nature and is not your paradise."
Qingxing slammed the book shut and placed one hand on it.
"I have no other hobbies but I love to go against those who provoke me. Today, I'm here to settle both my old and new scores."
She slit her wrist, and blood gushed out uncontrollably, dripping onto the book cover where it was instantly absorbed.
"I, Qingxing, offer this sacrifice to the last bloodline of the Hui people. From now on, all living beings in the world, except for those who die of old age, sickness and death, will have their fates linked to the laws of Heaven."
"Anyone who attempts to break the law will be reduced to ashes."
As soon as the words were spoken, a howl came from above, seemingly from the distant ninth heaven, deep and oppressive, expressing the great anger of the unseen.
But anger was useless. Time began to flow backward. The newly sprouted branches shrank back to their tips. The little bird, who had just seen the world for the first time, was forced back into its intact eggshell. Blood flowed slowly in the Heavenly Pool. The disciples' faces gradually regained their rosy hue. The snow returned to its pristine white state, as if nothing had ever happened.
—The Heavenly Dao, above the Creator God, has agreed to Qingxing's deal, and it is putting everything back on track.
Meanwhile, the hem of the green apricot gradually faded until it became transparent.
Her tense shoulders finally relaxed, and she slowly raised her eyes, wanting to see the world one last time.
Unfortunately, inside the gates of the Demon Realm, all that could be seen was emptiness.
...
Jiuquchen had a very long dream.
He dreamt that he had taken on a disciple named Qingxing. The disciple was exceptionally talented, and her mastery of formations was beyond the reach of most.
Later, he took his apprentice to participate in the trial, and the gate to the demon realm opened inexplicably, causing his apprentice to perish.
The dream was so real that he was still somewhat dazed when he woke up, as if he had experienced it all himself.
But as he gradually regained consciousness, he rubbed his forehead, which was throbbing with pain, and couldn't help but find it a little funny: let alone his apprentice, his older sister probably wouldn't even let him keep rabbits now.
...
Cultivators are unaware of the passage of time. Spring and autumn alternate, the four seasons change, and it seems like only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea has passed, yet three years have already gone by since the dream that Jiu Quchen had.
For the past three years, he has been content to be a couch potato, doing nothing of substance.
Today the weather is sunny, and it just so happens to be the grand entrance ceremony for Mount Taihua. After thinking it over, Jiuquchen thought: since I have nothing else to do, why not go and take a look?
He carried a white gourd and darted around the training ground, walking unsteadily, his neatly dressed clothes appearing to be loosely draped over his shoulders.
"Ninth Uncle-Master, would you like to take on a disciple?"
A clear, girlish voice rang out from behind. Jiu Quchen turned around and saw that it was Shen Wan, the sect leader's favorite disciple.
"Collect?" Jiu Qu Chen waved his hand. "No, no, no, I'm just here to join in the fun."
Before Shen Wan could speak, Xie Yuzhou grabbed her and pulled her aside, saying as he walked away, "Then you can take your time. Master wants us to maintain order at the scene, so we won't chat with you anymore."
Jiu Qu Chen nodded: "Okay."
He glanced at Chen Mo, who stood motionless beside him as if in a daze, and wondered to himself: Why were so many disciples with high cultivation levels sent to the entrance test this year?
Could there be some extraordinary genius among them?
The moment the idea popped into his head, he chuckled at himself: what year has there not been prodigies on the entrance exam?
He tilted his head back and took a sip of water. Suddenly, someone passed by and bumped his elbow against his waist. Jiu Quchen's hand trembled, and the water in the white gourd flowed down the corner of his mouth.
He choked and coughed several times before turning around with a purplish-red face, trying to see who had bumped into him.
For some reason, the entrance test this year was so lively, with crowds surging around and surrounding Jiuqu Dust.
"Hey, have you heard? There's a formation cultivator among the new disciples this year!"
"I've heard so much about how rare array cultivators are during this period! Tsk tsk, I must see them with my own eyes!"
"Am I the only one who wants to see her in the ring?"
"I wonder which elder she will choose as her master."
...
The crowd was chattering away, their voices so loud they could shake the heavens. Normally, Jiu Quchen would have covered his ears.
But now, he just stood there, stunned, as if he had seen something incredible, so much so that he didn't even realize that someone had knocked the gourd over.
A diligent young disciple bent down in the crowded throng, getting stepped on several times before finally managing to pick up the white gourd. Just as he was about to return it to its rightful owner, he noticed that the figure resembling an "elder" was staring blankly ahead, his eyes filled with emotions he couldn't decipher.
He followed Jiuquchen's gaze and saw an apricot tree.
In the warm spring of March, the apricot blossoms are in full bloom, and the petals fall like white rain, covering the shoulders of people under the trees.
It was a young girl in green, who was holding a green tassel and looking in this direction with a smile.
When the apricot blossoms are in bloom, an old friend named Qingxing quietly arrives at Mount Taihua.
—End of text—
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Author's Note: There will be a few short side stories~ Please add my next book, "The First Year After My Deceased Wife's Return," to your favorites~
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