Chapter 9 The bad deed is done.
Who exactly are they talking about?
Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, Jiang Zhishui pressed his pressure points to knock him unconscious and carefully helped him lie down. She first stopped the bleeding from his arm, then covered him with a blanket before going out to find Lin Ye and the others.
The demons have left, and the monsters in the Demon Suppression Tower have also been rescued and left with the demons. Sect Leader Zhong had a battle with the master on the giant python's head; even with several elders and Sect Leader Zhong together, they were no match for that person.
Lin Ye and Liu Chuxi helped rescue the disciples attacked by the demons. When they arrived, they saw that Chang Feng had already been rescued and was riding away on a giant python behind the man in black.
This matter quickly spread throughout the cultivation world, and the leaders of various sects gathered at Wuya Peak to discuss matters.
Zhong, the head of Taihua Sect, had fought against that demon. Although he was still recovering from his injuries, he still came to meet with the other sect leaders for this meeting.
Jiang Zhishui also went to Qiyun City that time. With her cultivation level at the time, she wouldn't have been able to escape, but someone saved her. She didn't know who it was, or even if that person existed.
In Qiyun City, the spaces and things one experiences are half real and half fake; it is difficult for one to distinguish between reality and illusion when one is in it.
It's impossible to stop all the immortal sects from going to Qiyun City. Besides the people of that city, the demon race had already captured disciples from various sects as hostages. In order to rescue the people there, the immortal sects had no choice but to go.
Moreover, although Jiang Zhishui intervened and changed Zhong Ziqing's fate in Changshui Village, he was captured this time because of Chang Feng, who was lurking in Taihua Gate.
The reason why Sect Leader Zhong had to attend the conference despite being injured was because on the day the Demon Clan invaded Taihua Sect, they captured more than a dozen Taihua Sect disciples when they left, and Zhong Ziqing was among them.
This trip was imperative, and the various factions discussed and planned how to rescue the people in the city.
A month is needed to send people to Qiyun City. Disciples from all sects are eager to fight and compete with the demons.
In recent years, the Demon Clan has been fighting against the Immortal Sects, but has suffered defeat in every battle.
The demons were weak, and few warriors remained. Also, due to the incompetence of the Demon Lord, many demons refused to submit to his rule, leading to constant internal strife. The Demon Lords divided their domains and fought amongst themselves, causing the demon realm to disintegrate and grow weaker and weaker.
As a result, the immortal sects often underestimated the demon race, and suffered heavy casualties in the battle of Qiyun City.
Jiang Zhiping had been back at Ziyang Immortal Abode for several days. She cultivated diligently during the day and went to Sishui Cave whenever she had free time.
Elder Bai Zang was in seclusion in Sishui Cave, and Ying Xue waited outside the cave for her master to emerge from seclusion.
"I heard that Jing Qianheng has become a disciple of Uncle-Master Song An," Ying Xue said casually as she swept the fallen leaves.
Jiang Zhishui sat at the stone table, her hand supporting her chin, looking up at the leaves falling one by one from the tree. "Mmm."
The broom swished a few times, then the sound stopped.
"He's that powerful?" Ying Xue asked, leaning on her broom. "Every time I see him, he looks sickly. How did he suddenly advance in cultivation? Did he take some kind of elixir?"
Jiang Zhishui reached out and took a leaf, turning it over in her hand, and said, "Uncle-Master Song An has long taken a liking to him, and he has always been very hardworking."
Recently, Jing Qianheng has completely changed. Because his cultivation level suddenly leaped to a higher level, he was accepted as a personal disciple by Uncle Song An and is especially popular in Ziyang Immortal Mansion.
Ying Xue twirled around with the broom, then sat down at the stone table, staring at Jiang Zhishui with a strange look. "What's wrong with you?"
Jiang Zhishui asked, "What's wrong with me?"
"Didn't you used to hate Jing Qianheng so much that you'd grind your teeth?" Ying Xue smiled. "You were so angry that you even wanted to take me to beat him up with a sack."
It really did surpass... Jiang Zhishui was so angry about the absurd things that happened in the cave that she wished she could dig a grave and bury herself. She had completely forgotten all the things she had done before.
"Are you plotting something again?" Ying Xue hooked the broom with her foot. "Don't go too far. Isn't that person in poor health? If something happens to him, you won't be able to explain yourself."
She didn't have any bad ideas, but she did do something bad. It's too late; she can't defend herself. She was the one who started it all.
Jiang Zhishui smiled wryly and said, "No, I wouldn't dare."
To be honest, I would never dare to do that again.
Ying Xue knew that Jiang Zhishui was not as easygoing as she seemed on the surface. She just didn't care much about many things, so she didn't like to fuss. She seemed easy to bully usually, but once she got angry, she would bite.
Ying Xue smiled and said, "I think I should go to Qiyun City to fulfill the agreement with the Demon Clan this time. You don't need to go."
Jiang Zhishui paused in her play with the leaf, pressed the leaf onto the table with her fingers, and remained silent.
Since Elder Bai Zang was injured and went into seclusion, Ying Xue had been guarding outside Sishui Cave, rarely showing herself. With the Demon Clan's provocation, many people were eager to use this opportunity to gain fame and were vying to go.
"Master, you stay here and wait for me to come back."
Jiang Zhishui looked at her, and the image of Ying Xue in her past life flashed through her mind. She was holding a demon-summoning flag in Qiyun City, covered in blood, with a group of demons gathering around her. She used her last bit of spiritual power to detonate all the thunder talismans and perish together with the demons.
At that time, Ying Xue was still thinking about her master and loudly instructed her, "Zhi Shui, I'm entrusting my master to you!"
Jiang Zhishui lowered her eyes and saw that the once intact leaf had been unintentionally crushed beyond recognition by her.
In her previous life, both her senior sister and her master died within ten years; she couldn't protect either of them.
She blamed herself for being useless. Her master also scolded her: "Who do you think you are, wanting to bear the fate of others? I will bear my own fate, I don't need you to."
Her master was right, but she just couldn't stay out of it. She wanted to try and win, even if she was overestimating herself. If she still couldn't win... then so be it.
Jiang Zhishui stood up and said, "No, Senior Sister, Master is too difficult to serve. I can't protect her."
Ying Xue narrowed her eyes and threatened, "Once Master comes out of seclusion, I'll tell her that you said she's difficult to please."
Elder Bai Cang claimed to be in seclusion to recuperate, but in reality, he spent his time in his cave eating and sleeping. He would eat delicacies from all over the country, and when he got tired of them, he would have to cook something different for her. He would sleep for as long as five days, or even more than a month without waking up.
Only a good disciple like Ying Xue would dote on her like this.
Jiang Zhishui tilted her head at Ying Xue, indicating that she should go ahead.
As she turned to leave, Yingxue was still worried and called out, "Why don't we go together?"
Anyway, Master just fell asleep and won't wake up anytime soon.
Jiang Zhishui didn't turn around, but waved her hand and reminded her, "No need, I'll be right back. If Master wakes up in the middle and there's no food, he'll throw a tantrum."
Ying Xue frowned, her head aching at the thought of her master's shameless behavior.
——
Jiang Zhishui made thorough preparations to deal with the illusion in Qiyun City.
The illusion begins the moment you enter the city gates. Everyone has their own demonic array to withstand; if they can't withstand it, they die; if they do, they fall into demonic possession—both paths lead to certain death.
Once a disciple of the immortal sect falls into demonic possession, restoring them is as difficult as ascending to heaven.
The demons have gone all out in Qiyun City this time, not only sending in the bound immortal disciples, but also in demons. Humans, demons, and immortals are all trapped in the same city, and everyone in the city must follow a pre-set survival strategy.
The winner lives, the loser dies.
Humans can become demons, and immortals can also fall into demonic ways. Low- to mid-level demons can become the nourishment for them to become demons and be forged into them.
Jiang Zhishui tried to persuade Jing Qianheng not to go to Qiyun City, but he wouldn't listen at all. After returning from Taihua Gate, his attitude towards her became much colder. Whenever she looked for him, Su You would come out and block the door, making things extremely difficult for her.
I barely managed to exchange more than a few words with him.
Jiang Zhishui knew that when he was sick and had a fever that time, he mistook her for someone else, otherwise he wouldn't have clung to her and pitifully begged her not to leave.
I guess she mistook him for Senior Sister Liu.
Few people escaped from Qiyun City in his previous life. Jing Qianheng was seriously injured and almost died. Many people said he was lucky. Now that I think about it, he must have had the power of the demonic dragon protecting him, which is why he was able to escape by chance.
Having been given a second chance, Jiang Zhishui understands that not everything can be changed according to her wishes. It's just a second life; the difficult path still needs to be walked again.
A month later, each faction set off from their respective locations to Qiyun City according to their pre-arranged plans.
Jiang Zhishui followed her senior brother Lin Ye, while Mu Ling'er suddenly appeared by Jing Qianheng's side.
Mu Ling'er is a disciple of Tianxiang Pavilion. Tianxiang Pavilion is relatively close to Ziyang Immortal Mansion. The two sects discussed that they could send a few disciples over to look after each other.
The disciples of Tianxiang Pavilion are mostly female cultivators, and they are all beautiful and incomparably gorgeous celestial beings. They are skilled in alchemy and dual cultivation techniques, and their spells are mostly based on seduction.
In the past, the Hehuan Sect was despised by the immortal sects, who condemned it as a heretical sect and refused to associate with it.
Although Tianxiang Pavilion is similar to Hehuan Sect in terms of cultivation methods and teachings, the conditions for dual cultivation are extremely strict and cannot be practiced casually.
Disciples can choose one person as their dual cultivation partner, but once chosen, they cannot easily change them. Moreover, most of them will become Daoist partners with their dual cultivation partners. They are charming and devoted, which is very different from the Hehuan Sect, which does whatever it wants and uses any means to increase their cultivation.
Jiang Zhishui stared at the two people directly in front of her. Jing Qianheng had his hair tied up high, with a light blue ribbon fluttering in the wind. He turned his head to listen to Mu Ling'er speak.
Mu Ling'er glanced at Liu Chuxi out of the corner of her eye, then gently pinched Jing Qianheng's clothes, signaling him to lower his head. Jing Qianheng leaned closer to her, and she covered her mouth with her hand, whispering something to him.
Jiang Zhishui glanced at Liu Chuxi, who was chatting animatedly with several disciples beside her, seemingly discussing some sword techniques.
When she turned her gaze back to Jing Qianheng, he gently smiled at Mu Ling'er.
That's strange. Was Jing Qianheng and this Mu Ling'er very familiar in her past life? Why does she have no recollection of them at all?
Lin Ye turned to see Jiang Zhishui frowning and asked in a low voice, "Junior Sister, do you want to rest for a bit?"
Their team consisted of about ten disciples, who split up to search for traces of the demons.
Jiang Zhishui shook her head, not really listening to what Lin Ye was saying. She couldn't understand why Jing Qianheng, with his cold personality and the fact that he was always unfriendly to everyone at the Ziyang Immortal Mansion, would treat disciples from other sects so differently.
Doesn't he... like Senior Sister Liu?
Could it be that he's also the kind of fickle, womanizing playboy who can't resist beautiful women?
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