Chapter 91 The Perfect Script: "It's Your Rib".
At dawn, Hua Deng, the leader of the Demonic Cult, woke up from her large bed and began a new day.
She rolled around twice while hugging the blanket, accidentally pressing on the end of the pillow. The pillow suddenly jumped up with a yelp, bouncing from the head of the bed to the foot.
Hua Deng quickly apologized and fed the pillow a few spirit stones as compensation. She got out of bed, carrying the whimpering pillow. A dim rabbit lantern hung above the bed; she couldn't remember when it had been bought.
She placed the pillow by the door and took the schedule for today from Crescent Moon and Full Moon.
The only serious matter was meeting with Imazawa; everything else was about eating, drinking, and having fun.
Hua Deng indicated that he had read it, and strolled to the locust tree, casually picking up a strip of cloth.
These are all things she left behind from the past. Ten years ago, she returned after breaking through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, but she had lost some of her memories.
She couldn't remember why she had used the locust tree as a wishing tree, like a child. However, she didn't remove the strips of cloth, only occasionally plucking one or two to glimpse her feelings from back then.
Today I picked this tree that says, "Hope to be happy every day."
This wish was fulfilled smoothly. As the mistress of Ziyang Palace, above all others, she had never experienced a better life than she did now.
If she had known that coming to this world would be so enjoyable, she should have traveled through time sooner.
She hung the cloth strip back up, and a voice came from behind her: "Sister! Quickly teach me how to practice!"
Hua Deng turned around helplessly and watched as the girl flew steadily to her side on her sword.
"Hua Yuan, why are you here again?" she said, her head aching.
"I missed you, sis!" Hua Yuan said sweetly to her. "Don't you miss me?"
The girl has been cultivating for many years, but she still has the mind of a child. She has only just reached the Foundation Establishment stage, but she can't wait to travel around freely on her sword.
"Let me think about it," Hua Deng said dismissively, thinking to himself that they only met once every three days, so what was there to think about?
Hua Yuan ignored her inner grumbling and cheerfully took out the steaming hot buns. Hua Deng chuckled and sat down with her to finish eating.
The fact that Hua Yuan cultivates immortality is rather strange, because she has no spiritual roots.
Hua Deng had never heard of a second person who could cultivate without spiritual roots.
But no one has questioned Huayuan.
When she sent Hua Yuan to the Qingyang Sect where Su Yiqing was, all the elders took it for granted and easily accepted that Hua Yuan could cultivate immortality.
So Hua Deng thought, perhaps this is also part of the plot.
After finishing the steamed buns, she asked, "Where is your master?"
With his mouth full, Hua Yuan said, "Master is in seclusion."
Hua Deng had no choice but to abandon his plan to send her back.
Now that the world is at peace, the conflict between Ziyang Palace and the Immortal Alliance has ceased, and even though Hua Yuan has an older sister who is the leader of a demonic sect, no one has made any comments about it.
"Sister, teach me how to practice! Master said I'll be at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage soon!" Hua Yuan said excitedly after swallowing the last bite of her steamed bun.
She wasn't lying; with her talent, she was practically a dual-spiritual-root person.
But Hua Deng tapped her head and said, "I'm busy today. I'm going out to find your sister Yi Qing."
"Okay, okay, I want to go too! Sis, take me there, I promise I won't cause any trouble."
Hua Deng couldn't refuse her, so she sighed and agreed.
Just then, Jinze came to report on his work. Before he could even finish speaking, she waved her hand magnanimously and said, "You and the Left Protector can handle this. I'm taking Huayuan out to play!"
Jinze: "..."
His lips twitched, and he turned and left, completely numb.
Upon returning to Ziyang Palace from Duanyun Hall, the Left Protector, who was waiting in front of the hall, asked, "What did the Master say?"
Jinze said expressionlessly, "She told us to handle it ourselves."
The Left Protector nodded and smiled, "As expected, the leader trusts us the most."
Jinze: "Hehe."
The Left Protector continued, "I just don't know why there seems to be so much unrest lately. In the past ten years, those unorthodox sects all bowed down to us. How come they dare to rebel in the last few months?"
Jinze said absentmindedly, "What does it matter? They can't beat us anyway."
But in his heart he thought, what else could it be? Of course, it's because ten years have passed, and that person's puppetry skills have begun to weaken.
Seeing the Left Protector's ignorant look, he smirked and said, "Let's go and deal with them. Don't trouble the leader."
After all, protecting the cult leader was the only task that person left him.
*
As soon as the lanterns reached the doorway of the restaurant's private room, he immediately let go of Hua Yuan's hand: "Kid, go play somewhere else. Adults need to talk about serious matters."
Hua Yuan pouted: "You guys just think I'm childish, and you always kick me out."
Hua Deng: "You're not naive. I won't give you any lucky money next year."
Hua Yuan: "Sis, I'm going out shopping. You guys chat!"
After watching her leave, Hua Deng put away the blazing sun and went inside.
Over the years, she has always maintained a Nascent Soul cultivation level, but everyone firmly believes that she is hiding her true strength, all thanks to Lie Tian's efforts.
Firstly, it stems from the sword intent stored within Lie Tian—thousands of sword intents, each possessing the power of a Tribulation Transcending stage cultivator. Secondly, Lie Tian can freely traverse the world, making her movements impossible for anyone to detect.
Inside the private room, Su Yiqing and Pei Jianming heard the commotion and invited her to come and sit down.
The three of them often got together, and Hua Deng was very fortunate that even after transmigrating to another world, she still had a close friend with whom she could talk about anything.
They share the same fate: they were transported to another world with a system and needed to complete story missions.
However, ten years ago, their systems disappeared simultaneously and never reappeared.
Hua Deng had no recollection of this, and Su Yiqing, who disliked the system, rarely mentioned it. Pei Jianming, however, was different; he sighed for the umpteenth time, "Sigh, without the system to guide me, my leveling speed has slowed down."
Hua Deng sat down next to him, pouring tea and nodding as he said, "Indeed, you don't shine anymore."
Pei Jianming coughed awkwardly. It was because he always got beaten up when he went out like that that that he finally became obedient.
The three characters' storylines are quite different: Pei Jianming is a typical overpowered protagonist, while Su Yiqing is a typical sweet romance novel.
As for Hua Deng, she's living out a wish-fulfillment novel scenario. Originally born into a righteous and prestigious family, she stumbled into the Sword Immortal's Tomb during a training expedition and unexpectedly gained the recognition of the ancient immortal artifact, Lie Tian, becoming its sword master.
Then, with this sword, she killed Feng Chi, the wicked master of Ziyang Palace, won the respect of everyone, ascended to the position of sect leader, and gradually subdued other sects over the next six years, making Ziyang Palace the unification of the demonic sects of the Nine Provinces.
Hua Deng could hardly remember most of those past events. Looking back, she only felt a sense of wonder. A Nascent Soul cultivator could sit firmly in the position of sect leader with just a sword. Perhaps this was the protagonist's halo.
Mentioning this, Su Yiqing couldn't help but sigh: "I'm so envious, I want a script like that too."
Ten years have passed. Ever since she was freed from the system's restrictions, she immediately escaped Yun Mingyu's control, and a chase ensued.
Hua Deng laughed and said, "You really dislike him that much?"
"I like it," Su Yi said, poking at her chopsticks with a troubled expression. "But he wants me to only like one person for the rest of my life. Isn't that too difficult?"
Pei Jianming disagreed: "What kind of talk is that? If I like someone, I will only like her for the rest of my life."
Su Yi scoffed, "You're dreaming! Let someone like you first!"
Pei Jianming took a big bite of the char siu bao in frustration.
Why is he the only one with this single life script? From childhood to adulthood, no female cultivator has ever confessed to him. He's even more miserable than his master!
Hua Deng calmly sipped his tea.
She was very satisfied with her storyline, and even if Lie Tian could shatter the void and take her to other worlds, she never thought of leaving.
At night, Hua Deng returned alone to Duan Yun Palace.
The rabbit lamp by the bedside was still dim, the pillow was already fast asleep on the bed, and the lantern carefully bypassed it, lying down to close its eyes and rest.
The night was deep and silent.
Suddenly, Hua Deng opened his eyes wide, breathing rapidly and drenched in sweat.
After a moment, she sat up as usual, her face expressionless.
It's been ten years, and it's been like this every night.
I woke up inexplicably, and when I opened my eyes, my face was covered in tears.
But she couldn't remember what she dreamed about.
Perhaps because she had had so much fun during the day, she was unusually unable to sleep tonight. She got up, put on her clothes, and went to the room in the side hall.
The side hall was filled with all sorts of precious treasures and magical artifacts. Hua Deng looked around and smiled slightly.
These items were all rare treasures, and she somehow managed to collect an entire palace.
She never doubted the origin of these items. Such treasures, which perfectly matched her aesthetic, must have been obtained by her through her own efforts or by sending someone to acquire them.
But tonight, that's not what she wants to see.
Passing through the side hall and opening the barrier, she stepped into the deepest hidden chamber.
It was empty, with white walls on all sides and a flowerpot made of white jade in the middle, nothing else.
A peach blossom quietly sits in a flowerpot.
Ten years ago, when Jinze brought her back, she was in a daze for a long time. When she came to, she found that she had been holding this flower branch in her hand, and she didn't know where she had picked it up.
It was just an ordinary peach blossom, which she should have thrown away. But in the end, by some strange twist of fate, she used her magic to nurture it here, so that it would never wither.
Besides the peach blossoms, there was also a seed buried deep inside the flowerpot.
That was the power stripped away by the streetlights.
According to Jin Ze, when she broke through ten years ago, she relied on Lie Tian to draw upon the power of the Heavenly Dao, forming this thorny lock within her soul. She only needs to continue cultivating as usual to absorb the full power of the Heavenly Dao and become a true powerhouse in the world.
But when she began to cultivate, she found that no matter what she did, she was extremely repulsed by this power.
She was unwilling to accept this power, and she didn't even know why.
Later, she secretly learned forbidden techniques behind everyone's back, and eventually found a way to refine the Soul Lock, drawing most of its power out of her body, solidifying it, and burying it deep inside the jade basin.
The process was not easy. For ten years, she refined these shackles day after day, but she still could not succeed completely. When she finally succeeded, the flowerpot contained not a seed, but a blooming flower.
Tonight, she continues to strip away even more power.
Hua Deng silently recited the incantation, his face pale, and soon he was covered in sweat.
Each time she refined the shackles, it would cause some pain, but this pain unexpectedly brought her pleasure, as if there was something in her life that needed to be released.
What exactly did she forget?
Looking at the dormant soil in the flowerpot, she thought, perhaps the answer will be revealed when this seed takes root and sprouts.
*
There is continuous light rain in the East China Sea today.
Hua Deng sat on a tree branch, gazing into the distance. Mist rose from the sea, merging the sky and water into one.
She regretted not being able to enjoy the sunset that day, jumped down from the tree branch, put her hands behind her back, and said, "Why is it raining?"
Jinze, who was standing nearby, replied, "If the leader needs it, I can make the rain stop."
Hua Deng smiled and said, "No need, we have umbrellas."
As she spoke, she took out a plain-colored oiled paper umbrella from her storage ring.
When did she buy this umbrella? Why can't she remember?
The idea flashed through my mind like a dragonfly skimming the surface of water, leaving only shallow ripples before quickly dissipating without a trace.
The streetlights looked up blankly; the sky was overcast, and she remained motionless for a long time.
Jinze stepped forward and asked, "Master, what are your orders?"
Hua Deng then came to her senses and said, "I don't like rainy days."
A scene flashed through her mind.
It seemed to be a rainy day. She was too lazy to go out and stayed in bed. An arm was wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly.
Half asleep, she patted the man's hand: "Hmm, did you have a nightmare?"
After a moment, he loosened his grip slightly and said in a deep voice, "No, go back to sleep."
Then she went back to sleep.
Who is that person?
Why didn't she open her eyes and see what the person looked like?
"Master."
"The leader?"
The oil-paper umbrella had fallen to the ground sometime during the day. Hua Deng picked it up and found that the rain had stopped.
"Am I spacing out again?" she asked as she closed her umbrella.
Jinze remained silent.
What did I just say?
"You said you don't like rainy days."
"Oh, right."
Hua Deng smiled gently and said, "I don't know why, but every time it rains, I'm so hungry, but eating doesn't help."
She turned her head and said, "Do you know what that feels like? It's like you're missing a rib."
Jinze said in a low voice, "...This subordinate does not know."
Hua Deng opened his mouth as if to say something, but suddenly a commotion arose around him.
A large group of demonic cultivators emerged, it was impossible to tell which sect they belonged to, they were probably all disobedient to the Ziyang Palace.
"They're here to kill me again?" She understood, but wasn't nervous.
Jinze nodded and said, "Please return to the palace first, Master. I will send someone to handle this."
Hua Deng believed he had the ability; she had hardly ever killed anyone in recent years, and Jin Ze always handled things quite efficiently.
But today, she yawned listlessly and flicked her ring: "Lie Tian, go."
Upon hearing the sound, the ring transformed into a longsword and rushed towards the demonic cultivators lying in ambush all around.
However, the immortal sword, which was supposed to swiftly decapitate those people, unexpectedly turned a corner halfway and headed straight for the East China Sea.
Hua Deng was taken aback.
"Lie Tian!"
The fierce wind responded with a resounding clang, but its speed did not decrease in the slightest.
With a flick of her toes, she followed the blazing sky.
Lie Tian wouldn't disobey her, so what exactly happened?
Just as she reached the east coast, she suddenly stopped.
As if drawn by an invisible thread, she could no longer move. She slowly raised her eyes and looked towards the East China Sea.
There was another figure there.
A snow-white figure emerged from behind the thick fog, tall and slender, with her eyebrows and eyes hidden in the backlight, only her long hair dancing in the wind, her blood-red headband resembling a hibiscus flower reflecting the sun.
With a long cry, it circled several times before obediently falling into his hand, seemingly quite reluctant to leave.
He caught Lie Tian naturally, running two fingers along the blade. With a light flick of his wrist, the demonic cultivators who had been clamoring just a moment ago were instantly pierced by the black shadow, turning into a rain of blood.
Blood rained down, and the man stood on the sea, gazing through the mist.
He had eyes that even mist couldn't conceal, as black as night and as deep as the sea.
His gaze was calm, yet beneath that calm simmered something far more unfathomable. Finally, all that vanished; he simply looked at her, seemingly smiling.
For a fleeting moment, the city lights made me feel as if I were in a dream.
A dream I forget every time I wake up.
She unconsciously took a step forward and murmured, "What is that?"
Is it reality? Or an illusion?
Jinze looked at the tears on her face and replied, "It's your rib."
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