Chapter 193—was it a test, or…?
"Why is Little Ayao crying?" The man hugged the little girl and took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears.
"The windmill is broken," the young child said, pointing to the broken windmill on the ground.
The young woman picked up the broken windmill, and the man smiled and said, "How about Daddy makes you a new one?"
The girl smiled and nodded.
The man placed the girl on his neck, supporting the child with one hand and leading his wife home with the other.
Si Yao's tears fell unconsciously as she followed behind them. Memories that had once been hazy gradually became clearer in her mind.
When I arrived at her home and saw the toys laid out on the floor, I couldn't help but burst into tears.
Xiang Bei sighed, raised her hand and patted Si Yao's shoulder, not knowing what to say for a moment.
After crying for a while, Si Yao suddenly stood up and ran towards the young couple, trying to grab their hands. "Father, Mother, hurry! Get out of here! The demons are coming! You must leave!"
Her hands passed through her parents' bodies again and again, but no matter how desperately she screamed, her words never reached their ears.
"Mother! Father! Run! Run!"
[Si Yao, it's no use. This is just a replay of that day. Your parents can't see or hear you.]
Xiang Bei sighed, but still spoke up to remind her.
"Why, why is this happening? Am I supposed to just watch them leave me again?"
Si Yao collapsed to the ground. Despite her already formidable cultivation level, she still felt utterly helpless in the face of this situation.
Xiang Bei didn't know how to comfort her. It was already a painful situation, but now that the scene was being reenacted, the feeling of knowing what was going to happen but being unable to stop it was the most painful thing.
Si Yao sat under the eaves, watching her little self happily running around the yard with the windmill her father had remade, and she couldn't help but smile along.
At that time, Si Yao was truly carefree.
Thinking of those wonderful memories with my parents, I unconsciously relaxed.
As evening approached, Si Yao's expression became noticeably uneasy. She clearly remembered that the disaster in the village had begun with a fireball falling from the sky.
She watched as a fireball fell from the sky. Knowing it was fake, she couldn't help but reach out to block it, only to have the fireball pass right through her hand.
As more and more fireballs fell, Si Yao tried to find ways to stop them from falling.
The wails below rose and fell, all feeling it was a punishment sent down by the gods.
Suddenly, a large number of demons appeared above the clouds, swooping down from the sky with the villagers as their target. Si Yao summoned her natal sword and slashed at the demons, but her efforts were in vain.
More and more demons appeared, and they seemed to be coming from the same place. Si Yao stopped what she was doing and looked in the direction where the demons had appeared.
Si Yao knew that place all too well.
It's the Heavenly Sword Sect; the demons came from the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Behind the demon, a silver-haired man hid. He passed straight through Si Yao's body and headed towards the village.
The silver-haired man turned back and said, "Chongming, don't waste your energy. Now that I'm out, there's no going back."
A sword flew over, passing through Si Yao's body and attacking the silver-haired man. After the silver-haired man dodged it, the sword spun in mid-air and returned to its master's hand.
The moment Si Yao saw Chongming appear, she felt something buzzing in her head.
If Chongming was there from the beginning, why say that he failed to arrive in time?
Demons are slaughtering innocent people, why does Chongming turn a blind eye? His gaze seems to be fixed on the silver-haired man, never once looking at the people below.
Even the silver-haired man sneered, "Chongming, you're supposed to be a Dao Lord, yet you don't even flinch when those mortals get into trouble. Do you think those cultivators know what kind of person you are?"
Chongming moved, pointing his sword at the silver-haired man, "The path of subduing demons and monsters will always involve some sacrifices."
Si Yao's hands trembled with hatred. She regretted not being able to kill Chongming with her own hands. He could have saved him, but instead he was standing here arrogantly spouting high-sounding words.
"I'm going to kill you."
Even though it was fake, Si Yao still raised her sword and slashed at it, again and again.
Chongming remained aloof. He looked at the silver-haired man and said, "You can't escape. Don't waste your energy. Surrender and come back with me."
The silver-haired man sneered, "Chongming, you're the one who released me, and now you want to lock me up again? Don't you think that's ridiculous? I'm not going back to that hellhole with you. I've had enough of being in the Demon Suppression Tower. If you like it, then lock yourself up."
Si Yao clenched her fists and frowned.
She didn't understand what it meant that Chongming had released him.
Si Yao stood in mid-air, supporting herself with her sword, but the people in the scene stopped talking and started fighting. Their magic even affected the innocent people below.
The demon laughed, "Chongming, you are a cultivator, don't you care about the lives of the innocent people below? Even I, a demon, can't bear to see it. How can you be so heartless as to watch those mortals die?"
"I'm willing to pay any price to bring you back. Luo Yang, don't even think about escaping again."
The demon sneered, "It's a waste that those prestigious sects praise you so much. They should really see the smirk on your face. Chongming, you might as well become a heretical cultivator."
"Shut up! Prepare to die!"
The two fought recklessly, alarming the villagers. The demon then set fires everywhere, trapping the entire village in a sea of flames, leaving them with no way to escape.
People whose clothes were on fire screamed desperately and rolled on the ground trying to put out the fire, while others ran towards the river.
The demon's sinister laughter echoed in Si Yao's ears, forcing her to cover her ears with her hands. "Stop laughing, stop laughing!"
Si Yao also saw her parents run out of the burning house. Her father was holding her in one arm and holding her mother's hand with the other. The young girl was still fast asleep and had no idea what had happened.
The fire was too intense, and with fireballs constantly falling from the sky, some people were burned alive.
Finally, seeing that she couldn't escape, her parents hid her in a water vat.
Si Yao suddenly clutched her chest as a forgotten memory surfaced in her mind.
"Ayao, you must live on, you must live on." Her mother knelt by the water vat, holding her hand and weeping.
"My daughter, you must live on," her father said, stroking her head.
Si Yao was suddenly transported from the sky to a dark and cramped place surrounded by water. She obediently squatted in the water vat, waiting for her parents to come and find her.
As a young child, she always remembered what her parents said: live on, you must live on.
She didn't know how much time had passed when she felt the water getting hotter. A crack appeared in the wooden lid of the water tank, and through the crack, she saw demons wreaking havoc everywhere.
He caught a glimpse of the silver-haired man and Chongming chasing after him.
The surroundings grew increasingly hot, so hot that she felt she was about to die, when suddenly she was enveloped by a stream of water. The water temperature dropped, and a thin layer of ice even formed on the surface.
It turns out that it was at that time that she activated her mutated water elemental root. It was her will to survive that drew out her water elemental root and saved her life.
She had fainted at that time, and when she woke up, she forgot what had happened.
She pushed open the lid her father had placed on the water vat and stood up from inside. The people had long since perished in the fire, leaving only some burnt-down houses.
The demon eventually escaped.
Chongming Daojun returned to the village and saw that she had survived.
She also clearly saw the natal sword in Chongming Daojun's hand emit a cry; at that moment, he clearly wanted to kill her.
It's clear that he knew nothing, and he didn't know what his mindset was when he brought her back, and then took her as his disciple after she was found to have a mutated water spirit root.
She had always felt that Chongming treated her differently, and it wasn't just her imagination. But behind this unusual behavior, was it a test, or was it murderous intent?
Perhaps both.
After all, if word got out that Chongming had released demons and was willing to kill them regardless of the lives of innocent people, he would be labeled as a heretic.
Si Yao clenched the memory stone that her senior had stuffed into her hand, capturing all the images that appeared in the mirror into the memory stone.
The enemy she had painstakingly sought turned out to be right beside her. Remembering how she had once admired Chongming and seen him as her salvation, Si Yao's thoughts suddenly snapped away from the mirror of recollection, her face turning pale, and she could barely stand.
At that time, Chongming must have been secretly laughing at her.
They laughed at her for being foolish, actually admiring someone who caused the village to be slaughtered by demons.
Lin Ye couldn't see the scene in the time travel mirror; to be precise, she couldn't see what Si Yao saw in the time travel mirror.
This ally is indeed very special, and she feels she made the right choice.
Are you alright?
Si Yao shook her head. "As long as my enemy is alive, I will naturally be fine. Fairy Lin, thank you for your help. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything in the future."
Lin Ye looked at her and shook his head, saying, "Although this mirror can see through your true identity, it cannot see your cultivation level. Originally, I wanted to ask about your true cultivation level, but now..."
Si Yao directly unleashed her cultivation.
"You're actually a Mahayana cultivator?" Lin Ye's expression changed.
No wonder we couldn't see Si Yao's cultivation level; it turns out she had already reached this point.
The ally she found turned out to be a Mahayana cultivator.
Lin Ye chuckled lightly, "It seems I'm doing above my station as a friend."
"No, you've been a huge help to me."
If it weren't for Lin Ye's mirror, she wouldn't have known that she had been calling the person who killed the whole village "Master" for so many years.
Si Yao said goodbye to Lin Ye and then left.
Chongming is now in Lincheng, but the whereabouts of that silver-haired man are unknown.
It doesn't matter. She doesn't intend to let go of either Chongming or that silver-haired man.
Si Yao easily found Chongming's current residence, and to her surprise, Chongming was actually living in the City Lord's Mansion.
According to people coming and going from the city lord's mansion, they had been staying at an inn in the city. Because Wen Yin was injured, Chongming was very worried about her and often yelled and shouted in the inn. He would catch any guest and say that they had disturbed Wen Yin's rest, and he would even try to strangle them.
Another doctor they found said that Wen Yin's injuries were difficult to treat, and Chongming said that if they couldn't be cured, he would strangle the other person to be buried with Wen Yin.
He was acting completely out of control, ruining the inn's business. The innkeeper, unable to bear the continued chaos and in order to keep the inn running, reported the incident to the city lord's mansion.
When Lord Lin sent someone over, he recognized the madman as Daoist Chongming of the Heavenly Sword Sect. He heard that the madman had come to Lin City to find medicine for his disciple.
Out of respect for the Heavenly Sword Sect, the city lord took the people back to his residence and allowed them to stay temporarily. Even so, Chongming still found fault with them in every way.
Wen Yin coughed, complaining about the poor air quality in the room, and threatened to kill the servants of the city lord's mansion. They had also heard that a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect had been beaten black and blue by a pill cultivator for stealing his belongings.
Even City Lord Lin was shocked. He felt that the Heavenly Sword Sect might not have come to find medicine this time, but to cause trouble in their Lin City.
They didn't want to openly offend Daoist Chongming, but they still had people keep an eye on them to prevent them from causing any real trouble. They also sent someone to inform the Heavenly Sword Sect to take these troublemakers away as soon as possible, because if they caused any more trouble, even the Heavenly Sword Sect's reputation wouldn't be enough.
Seeing the people from the Heavenly Sword Sect living in the City Lord's Mansion, Si Yao was in a dilemma. To avenge her parents and the people in the village, she had to kill Chongming first, but he was now living in the City Lord's Mansion, so she couldn't easily take action herself.
It would be more troublesome for Chongming to die in the city lord's mansion than to die in Lincheng.
Just as she was pondering a solution, the steward who had previously invited her to see Bai Xiaosheng arrived again.
This time, the other party also had a different face.
The other person smiled and said respectfully, "Fairy Yao, my young lady said that you are a friend she has made. Since you have come to Lincheng, she naturally wants to treat you well, so please stay at our residence."
This is truly like a pillow arriving when you're sleepy.
Si Yao then followed the other party to the city lord's mansion.
As soon as they entered, they saw Liao Shuo and his group walking over with bruises and swelling on their faces. They were all acquaintances, and they were familiar with Yao Si.
"What are you doing here?" Liao Shuo stared at Si Yao and questioned her.
"What does it have to do with you that I'm here? Is this your home? Why are you meddling in my business?" Si Yao looked at them with her arms crossed, her mocking expression instantly enraging them.
"What happened?"
Upon seeing the middle-aged man approaching, the group of people immediately became excited.
Judging from their titles, Si Yao knew that this was the city lord of Lin City, and also Lin Ye's father.
Those people were still complaining about Si Yao, making her sound like she had done all sorts of evil deeds, which made Si Yao laugh.
Liao Shuo retorted, unconvinced, "What are you laughing at?"
"I heard that you went to steal from alchemists and got beaten up by them. As disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect, you actually tried to steal from people in broad daylight. I'm sorry, I really couldn't help myself."
As she spoke, Si Yao burst into loud laughter.
Liao Shuo's face flushed red, and after a long pause, he finally said, "We didn't mean it. That blood-spotted grass is for saving lives. We were willing to pay a high price to buy it, but they were unwilling to sell. We were forced to resort to this tactic."
"What a joke! If you're willing to spend so much money, why not just bid high when the Bloodstain Grass is up for auction? Why wait until it's over to snatch it? You're trying to get something for nothing without any money. You've miscalculated."
Unable to persuade Si Yao, Liao Shuo and the others tried to incite the city lord to drive Si Yao out.
“Father.” Lin Ye walked over.
Seeing her approach, the city lord's expression softened. Lin Ye whispered something in the city lord's ear before loudly proclaiming, "Father, this Fairy Yao is my friend. I invited her to visit. She is not a thief."
"Since they are your guests, you can make the arrangements as you see fit."
The city lord's gaze swept over Liao Shuo and the others. The Heavenly Sword Sect was, after all, a prestigious and righteous sect, the head of the four major sects. He never expected that its disciples would be so incompetent.
Thinking of Chongming's current state, the city lord frowned. It seemed the recent rumors were not unfounded. He felt that if the Heavenly Sword Sect continued like this, its reputation would eventually be ruined by these people.
The city lord had other matters to attend to, so he didn't linger. He nodded and left, glancing at Lin Ye before departing.
Lin Ye exchanged a few polite words with Liao Shuo and the others, and to maintain his sickly appearance, he covered his mouth and coughed lightly a few times before leaving with Si Yao.
Upon entering Lin Ye's courtyard, the surrounding barrier was also opened.
"You want to kill Chongming?" Lin Ye asked directly.
Si Yao nodded. "Yes, he is my enemy."
Lin Ye said, "If you want revenge, I won't stop you, but you can't let anyone die in Lin City."
The four major families are not weak, but they have heard that the Heavenly Sword Sect has an old monster at the Great Ascension stage in charge. Although no one has ever seen him, they still have to be wary. If Daoist Chongming dies in Lin City, or even in the vicinity of Lin City, the Heavenly Sword Sect might hold them responsible.
Si Yao said, "I understand, I won't cause you any trouble."
Thanks to Lin Ye's help, she was able to find out who her enemy was. Now that Lin Ye had brought her into the city lord's mansion, Si Yao naturally wouldn't cause them any trouble.
She needed to find a way to lure people out of the city, preferably to a distant place.
Si Yao released her divine sense to check on Wen Yin's condition. She was lying on the bed in a completely unconscious state, rarely waking up and spending most of her time sleeping.
"Senior, is this what the backlash from a false spiritual root is like?"
[No one has ever used a fake spiritual root before. I know it can backfire, but it shouldn't be fatal. Wen Yin's condition is a bit off.]
Si Yao also felt something was off; there was a strange aura surrounding Wen Yin.
"It's neither demonic energy nor spiritual energy, so what exactly is it?"
Si Yao tried to get closer to investigate, but was bounced back by an invisible force, which almost damaged her consciousness.
"Wow, that's amazing! Could it be that Wen Yin was also hiding her true strength?"
No, I just saw it. It was the force from the bracelet on her wrist. You need to be careful with her bracelet.
"I understand, I'll be careful."
Si Yao hadn't expected the bracelet to suddenly attack, and her heart was still beating quite fast.
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