Chapter 22 Murderous Passion: Zhou Fuling is Terrifying!
He Yin fell into a coma. Xu Qingning fed He Yin medicine, his gaze fixed on the south, the color draining from his face.
At that moment, he received a message from Yuling Mountain.
His hand, which always held the sword steadily, was trembling.
System: [Host, please proceed to Qingxiu Mountain immediately to complete the main quest.]
A sword rang out—
Xu Qingning has disappeared.
Snow Phoenix carried He Yin in its beak and headed towards the Immortal Abode.
...
"Were you the one who tried to kill me just now?"
Why did you want to kill me?
On the cliff, the wind howled, blowing Zou Tianmo's golden robe.
The Taoist robes of the Zou family in Longtan are very similar to those of the imperial family of the former Tang Dynasty, with gold as the base color and silver as the decoration. At first glance, they look magnificent.
Zou Tianmo's eyes were like an eagle's, and he held a giant golden bow in his hand.
Zhou Fuling stood on the boulder in her white boots, a gentle breeze blowing, her veil and long dress floating in the air, exuding a gentle and graceful aura.
Zou Tianmo gritted his teeth, the shock surging within him almost overwhelming him.
How did she get up here?
How did I get close to him?
You should know that he has set up magic arrays in all directions!
In the current Immortal Realm, the number of people who can get close to him without his knowledge can be counted on one hand!
—Those are all recognized as unparalleled masters.
...Wasn't she sealed away?
Has its strength diminished considerably?
The veins on the back of Zou Tianmo's hands bulged, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead. He suddenly realized that he might have been too arrogant, or too prejudiced.
This mistake could cost him his life!
Bang!
Zou Tianmo made his move again.
A divine arrow once again hurtled towards Zhou Fuling at the edge of the cliff.
The power of the divine arrow far surpassed that of the previous arrow. The arrow wind was scorching, and the golden light was blazing. It could even surpass the power that killed the former head of the Zou family back then!
Zou Tianmo had seen his share of ups and downs.
Despite being shocked, she quickly distanced herself from Zhou Fuling.
He was thinking to himself:
Perhaps we can't win.
But leaving is not a problem.
He once escaped unscathed from the blades of three great immortals, and also emerged unharmed from the jaws of a thousand-level demon.
Zou Tianmo moved like lightning, leaving a blur as he slid down the mountainside.
A voice suddenly whispered in Zou Tianmo's eardrum:
"Why did you want to kill me?"
That sounded like the babbling of a demon.
Sudden!
A snake's tail hooked towards Zou Tianmo!
At that moment, he saw many ghostly figures and felt like he was seeing things, until a sharp pain came from his abdomen!
"ah!!!!!"
"Aaaaaahh ...
Zou Tianmo's screams pierced the sky.
He was brutally disemboweled, feeling something fall out of his body.
As Zou Tianmo was in agony, he stared in shock at the demonic aura coiled around the snake's tail.
It was extremely powerful, and in an instant, it subdued him!
"……Who are you?"
Then, a flash of blood appeared before his eyes, and his eyes were gouged out.
His tongue felt as if it had been coated with scalding liquid, and was being corroded by the excruciating pain.
He felt completely melted, as if he had turned into a puddle of mud.
A cold hand pressed down on his head, as if the person opposite him was approaching and carefully observing something.
She was smelling him.
"I saw it."
She laughed, “You have two sons and a daughter.”
If the previous actions were murder, then these words are an attack on the heart.
Just moments ago, Zou Tianmo was still numbly awaiting death in shock, but now, it felt as if his heart had been ripped out.
No!
No! !
what you up to? !
But he died.
...
Ning Tingyue stood in the mountain hollow, staring at the dissipating smoke and dust on the mountaintop. The strong smell of blood wafted over, and he couldn't help but change color.
He suddenly realized something and, without thinking, decided to use a magic spell to escape.
Why didn't you come in person?
The man hadn't replied for a while, but unexpectedly, he answered now: "[Zou Lancheng held me back.]"
"Father, what were you doing just now?"
But then Zhou Fuling appeared.
She was still dressed in white, her feet treading on blood, draped in a blue shawl, as she walked towards him, her eyes devoid of any light.
"Child, why are you covered in blood? What happened?" Ning Tingyue frowned.
He gritted his teeth.
He knew he had fallen into a trap.
Damn it! Ning Tingyue had told that person that they had to come together to have any chance of dealing with her, yet she only sent one assassin!
How could Zou Tianmo possibly be a match for Zhou Fuling!
That person was afraid to take risks himself, and now he's suffering terribly!
“Father,” Zhou Fuling said, “you are lying.”
"……What?"
"Father, why do you feel that I can't understand what you're thinking?"
Zhou Fuling said, "Over the past hundred years, I have met many people in Tianjue Gorge; after I came out, I lived in the mortal world for seven years and then hid in Tianji Sect for three years."
Why do you think—
She tilted her head and smiled at Ning Tingyue, but her gaze was chilling. "Will I still be as naive as I was in my teenage years?"
"besides……"
Why did you kill me?
A cold wind blew by, and Zhou Fuling's voice sounded like the murmur of a demon.
Ning Tingyue's eyebrows twitched, his hands clenched into fists. He took a deep breath and said gently, "Child... Father has his reasons. Would you like to hear what I have to say?"
Zhou Fuling silently pursed her lips.
Her face was as cold as frost, but when she looked into Ning Tingyue's eyes, a flicker of anticipation appeared, as if she were suppressing her expectations and not daring to let her guard down.
But in any case, it was a look of relentless change in his gaze.
That makes things much easier. Ning Tingyue looked at her bright, star-like eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.
Indeed, although she was cruel, they deliberately taught her to be naive from a young age, making her extremely dependent on her "family" and unable to refute the lies.
How can the fruits planted in childhood disappear so easily?
Zhou Fuling stared at him, but suddenly burst out laughing.
Ning Tingyue's hands and feet turned cold: "..."
Zhou Fuling grinned, revealing her white teeth: "Father, did my expression just now resemble Xu Qingning's? Only he would believe such nonsense."
"No, he would only believe that when he was twenty-four. He wouldn't believe it now."
She let out a silvery laugh, "On the contrary, it was my expression just now that fooled you, wasn't it, Father?"
A wicked seed. A born wicked seed.
Ning Tingyue gritted his teeth, his hands gripping the scabbard tightly.
Today, I am determined that I will not have a peaceful end.
Ning Tingyue pondered for a moment, then suddenly said:
"As father and daughter, if we are going to fight, we should do it honorably and leave each other with a complete corpse."
Zhou Fuling laughed loudly and said coldly, "Ridiculous. Since I'm going to kill you, why would I leave you with a whole corpse? I'll tear you to pieces and send you to Ning Chaoxue and Ning Chenghan, so that your whole family will never have peace, and you won't even find peace as a ghost!"
Her gaze was icy cold. "Also, don't say we're father and daughter. We're not biologically related."
"'Upright and honest' is not a word that suits you well; you never taught me it."
“Being a hypocrite isn’t easy either,” Ning Tingyue said. “Fuling, I will perform the ‘Immortal-Stabilizing Judgment’ with you. In exchange, I will ask you not to harm Chaoxue and Chenghan.”
With a clang, Ning Tingyue drew his sword.
This sword is named "Killing Passion." Its blade is three feet and six inches long, and its body gleams with a bluish light. The sword light moves like a long dragon, and the bluish flames soar to the heavens.
"Do you really care about them? I thought you would kill them one day too."
Zhou Fuling smiled, but the smile vanished completely from her eyes. "Father, since I can kill you directly, why should I duel with you?"
"Do you think I'd be stupid enough to let you stall for time any longer?"
The ground trembled, as if a thousand demonic voices were buzzing underground. Dark clouds pressed down on the green mountains, and demonic energy, like insects and ants, surged towards the two of them.
"..." Ning Tingyue's fingers pressed tightly against the sword in his hand, but he suddenly shouted, "Fuling, do you want to be the sect leader of Yun Ning Sect! The ruler of a continent can command the four tribes of the Southern Continent, with overwhelming power and authority, and ten thousand people will not dare to disobey. Even Zou Lanci has to look after you!"
Zhou Fuling stopped in her tracks. "...What?"
Ning Tingyue raised his sword: "The duel between the immortal sects can be agreed upon, and the winner will receive the loser's magical artifact."
"This sword is called Killing Passion. It is the foremost of all swords in the Yun Ning Sect. Whoever obtains this sword can become the sect master of the Yun Ning Sect. If you win, it will be yours."
Zhou Fuling was stunned for a long time. She stared intently at Ning Tingyue's sword, but her gaze softened again.
"Lord of Yunning..."
"yes."
"Pfft."
Zhou Fuling's cold laugh sent a chill down Ning Tingyue's spine.
She said softly, "Are you lying to a child?"
Her gaze was icy and malicious. "Sect Leader Ning, before I met you, I had already thoroughly investigated Yun Ning's affairs. Obtaining the murder warrant only grants participation in the Cloud Candle Tower Competition. Furthermore, the vice-ministers of the Second, Third, and Fourth Departments, as well as the young masters of the Sect Leader's bloodline, are all eligible to participate. I've heard that none of these people are easy to deal with; apart from Ning Chaoxue, you haven't managed to suppress any of them, have you?"
“…” Ning Tingyue was covered in cold sweat.
“If I really go, I have no connections and I’ll probably be hacked to death. Don’t try to fool me,” Zhou Fuling said coldly.
The snakes around them hissed even louder. Just as Zhou Fuling was about to make her move, Ning Tingyue suddenly shouted, "Don't you want to know how to unravel the clues to the Devouring God Powder?"
Zhou Fuling stopped what she was doing.
Ning Tingyue pointed both fingers to the sky, and a golden light entered his consciousness. Then, a divine talisman with a restriction appeared: "I, Ning Tingyue, swear by my soul that if you and I were to duel, and you win, you can obtain this talisman. The talisman contains clues about the Devouring God Powder."
Zhou Fuling suddenly fell silent, staring intently at Ning Tingyue.
A solemn oath is different from an ordinary oath. A cultivator makes an oath with their soul, which cannot be broken. It is a contract formed by incantations and the Heavenly Dao, and it is only effective when it is recited sincerely.
Her eyes flickered slightly, and after a moment, she pursed her lips: "Okay."
Ning Tingyue breathed a sigh of relief.
Sure enough... this was exactly what Zhou Fuling wanted to know.
...
The Decisive Battle of Immortals is a decisive battle technique used by immortal sects. Two people swear an oath by blood and engage in a duel within a designated area.
Back then, Ning Tingyue used the Immortal Sect's secret technique to kill Elder Poison and gain control of the sect.
Ning Tingyue and Zhou Fuling stood among the clouds, their robes fluttering in the breeze.
Ning Tingyue raised his hand and wrote in blood:
"Today, we swear an oath here to fight to the death, vowing to determine the victor. The victor will take the loser's magic weapon as proof of victory. Heaven and earth bear witness, yin and yang are our mirrors; once this oath is made, we will fight to the death without regret!"
During this time, Zhou Fuling bit her finger and wrote her name under the seal script characters laid out by Ning Tingyue.
She stared silently at Ning Tingyue's sword.
When Ning Tingyue saw that Zhou Fuling had actually written down his name, the duel was officially concluded, and he breathed a sigh of relief and was overjoyed.
Zhou Fuling... finally signed.
As for the "Decisive Decision on Immortality," Zhou Fuling knew one thing.
Since it is a celestial technique, it is also a celestial contract. In a high-level immortal duel, there is a situation in which the duelists will be weakened.
That is, a certain cultivator practices non-immortal arts, such as demonic arts or magic.
Zhou Fuling is one of the few people in the world who cultivates multiple arts. In addition to immortal arts, she also has demonic arts that they deliberately made her practice. Therefore, she was already at a disadvantage after she decided to sign her name.
He raised his child with others, and he knew her well enough; he was her father.
But she didn't know him.
You also have the Soul-Devouring Powder in you; you won't last long.
...
The iron armor was as white as snow, and with a sound of gold and jade clashing, Ning Tingyue's long sword whistled as it pierced towards Zhou Fuling.
This move is a shockwave.
The scorching wind howls, uprooting mountains in a furious rage; one can hear the wind as if a river were bursting its banks.
Zhou Fuling frowned.
Ning Tingyue is indeed strong, at least stronger than the Zou family member who just dealt with the one with the bow.
The man from before had superb archery skills, but his Daoist Qi was weak. Ning Tingyue, however, was not like that.
Ning Tingyue's strength increased several times over, and his body was enveloped in golden light, protecting him completely.
Ning Tingyue is also skilled in fire attacks that combine feints and real attacks, as well as sword techniques that are subtle yet deadly and full of traps.
Puff puff puff!
A formation appeared in front of Zhou Fuling; it was a shield barrier.
Bang! The shield was shattered, and Zhou Fuling's hand was also caught in the magic trap, drawing blood.
Zhou Fuling lowered her head, anger flashing in her eyes.
She suddenly realized... her power was not as strong as before, it had been weakened.
...
Ning Tingyue was also observing Zhou Fuling.
The golden light emanating from her was illusory; her poison was probably taking effect.
Those who have been poisoned by the Soul-Devouring Powder become increasingly weak the longer they fight, and all their techniques become painful and disturb their souls.
She shouldn't have gambled with him. He thought calmly, she would lose.
Ning Tingyue struck again with his sword, and the thunderous sound nearly knocked Zhou Fuling into the mud.
Zhou Fuling managed to evade by creating a clone using her divine sense.
She rolled over, opened her arms, and flashed away.
Ning Tingyue frowned.
Zhou Fuling suddenly unleashed a continuous array of flames from her palm.
This was remarkably similar to the Heaven-Breaking Sword Formation that Xu Qingning was skilled in. Zhou Fuling drew three formations in a row, her moves were powerful and precise, but she was learning Ning Tingyue's Divine Fire Technique. She had absorbed both Xu Qingning's and Ning Tingyue's moves and applied them in different ways.
Ning Tingyue thrust his longsword forward, dazzling the eye as he unleashed a flurry of swordplay.
She's been very bright since she was little. She learns so fast... I wish she were really my heir. Ning Tingyue thought.
Everything was developing exactly as Ning Tingyue had envisioned.
He had already seen the demon-suppressing formation at the foot of Qingxiu Mountain.
That would have no effect on him, but it could harm Zhou Fuling.
He's going to beat her up and send her there.
He had seen her weakness. And she had to be injured, and then receive a fatal blow.
The dense sword techniques suddenly condensed into a terrifying sword intent. The birds were so frightened that they took flight, only to have their feathers and throats slashed by the sharp sword energy, leaving the ground covered in blood.
And this sword intent is precisely what will force Zhou Fuling toward the core of the Zhenshan Great Realm!
At the same time, Ning Tingyue also laid out sharp blades on the ground, stacking stones into an array like blades. In order not to get hurt, Zhou Fuling had no choice but to go in the direction he led her to!
All that could be heard was the sound of swords striking from both sides of the river.
No one can dodge such a move!
Ning Tingyue looked calmly at Zhou Fuling, while also thinking to herself.
My child, perhaps your strength was once greater than mine.
However, you are nowhere near as experienced as I am.
You are also restricted by poison.
You shouldn't have gambled.
His eyes flashed with a bloody light, reflecting the sword intent and killing aura that filled the mountains.
However, just as the sword was about to slash at Zhou Fuling—
"Slap."
Her feet were stained with blood, and her feet were cut by countless magic arrays. Her snake tail surged out and shattered into hundreds of pieces.
She turned around.
His eyes were jet black.
“Father, you’ve abandoned me for so long, do you really think I’m incapable of observing the terrain?”
She said softly, "Did you also think that I would still not lie and let you scheme against me?"
Ning Tingyue was shocked by Zhou Fuling's speed.
Too fast.
That's too fast.
Ning Tingyue's previous move was ruthless, and he quickly countered, but he was not as agile as before.
Zhou Fuling smiled: "Evil is good."
Ning Tingyue's hand suddenly began to wither, the skin and flesh disintegrated, and it gradually went limp under the skin.
Suddenly, a snake's tail tore Ning Tingyue's arm off!
The sword of murder fell to the ground.
A wave of pain swept over Ning Tingyue, causing his veins to bulge. With a scream, another snake tail coiled around Ning Tingyue's leg.
Pfft—
The tendons in his leg were torn off again.
Ning Tingyue cried out in agony:
"ah!!!!"
Screams echoed through the valley.
As the light and shadow shifted, in the dim light, Ning Tingyue looked down at Zhou Fuling, who was staring at him expressionlessly.
It doesn't look like he's looking at his father.
It's like watching...prey.
“I’ve said it before: I’ve learned to disguise myself over the past century.”
"Not just being a weak junior sister by Xu Qingning's side."
"But I learned that I should always keep a trump card up my sleeve."
"I've tasted the same bitterness once, but would I suffer it a second time?"
Ning Tingyue pressed his hand against the stone wall in pain, but couldn't grasp anything. He trembled as he said, "...You remembered?"
Zhou Fuling shook her head.
"and you……"
"I remember the fear I felt at the time."
Amidst the excruciating pain, Ning Tingyue's mind became clouded.
Amidst the shifting light and shadow, he vaguely saw Zhou Fuling as a child.
...
Zhou Fuling was once an infant, lying on a bronze mirror in a cave, getting to know herself, when they picked her up.
She opened her little hands, her dark eyes wide open, and looked curiously at her mother and father beside her.
As she grew older, she began to learn very slowly.
But later, they found a way, and she learned faster and faster.
He learned to kill his own family very quickly.
Wan Gu Ku learned very quickly.
He learned to seize longevity very quickly.
They learn good and evil very quickly.
This makes them very proud.
Ning Tingyue is the one who is said to have "killed" Zhou Fuling's relatives.
At this moment, she slowly closed her eyes.
He had a premonition that they were teaching so well, so very well, that they might ruin him.
...
Ning Tingyue's body was scattered all over the ground.
When Zhou Fuling walked over, he opened his eyes and still had a trace of life in them.
Zhou Fuling held up Ning Tingyue's head.
Ning Tingyue opened her lips: "I regret it, I regretted what I did to you..."
The anger in Zhou Fuling's eyes slowly subsided, but did not dissipate.
"..." Ning Tingyue died with his eyes wide open in disbelief.
Some people's anger is unbearable for ordinary people.
Some people can only endure betrayal through death.
...
“My child, I am one of your fathers. Remember me. I am repenting.”
"I killed my father, my mother, my wife, and my friends. I repent because I didn't do a clean job."
“I did not do wrong by killing my own family. I was born as an ant, yet I was trapped at the bottom of a well by the mutual harm of short-sighted and self-interested people. Only by being heartless and ruthless can one climb to a high position.”
"Even dismembering one's own flesh and blood is not an option; this is the way of the Supreme Being who has forgotten all emotions."
Before Ning Tingyue died, he suddenly saw many things.
That was his past.
He was born in Kanghuang Village, the youngest son in his family.
From a young age, he often dreamed of immortals and was extremely interested in cultivating Taoism, which was his dream.
One day, while walking on the road, he was spotted by a Taoist priest who gave him a Taoist book. He went home and secretly read it over and over again, but his so-called parents discovered him. They beat and scolded him, then sold the book to buy food.
“What a worthless thing! It dares to hide things that only important people can see. Its brain is full of mud and water all day long, thinking about all sorts of nonsense. It really has ambitions that are higher than the sky!” the mother said.
“Yes, Ning Tingyue, he has the heart of a young master but the body of a servant,” his father mocked.
Ning Tingyue still remembers how he felt at the time. He hid in a corner of the room and picked up the farm tools in humiliation.
This was the first time he had thought about dying.
From then on, perhaps because of many similar incidents, Ning Tingyue gradually erected a barrier between himself and others, and he became less able to feel other people's emotions.
So when his father later, during a famine, starving and barely able to speak, handed him half a rock-hard steamed bun wrapped in crumpled yellow paper: "Silly child, eat first."
He felt nothing.
So later, when his mother heard that a celestial sect had come to select celestial servants, she wore a pair of shoes covered in patches and walked along mountain paths to inquire about it for him. When she returned, her feet were covered in blisters, and she said to him wearily, "Xiao Yue, your mother has secured an opportunity for you. Is this what you wanted?"
He didn't feel anything either.
Isn't this something you should have done a long time ago?
Ning Tingyue was deeply disgusted with them; he hated everything about his birthplace. Everyone and everything.
He later married and had a daughter, but Ning Tingyue traveled back and forth between the immortal sect and his hometown, clearly seeing the difference between heaven and earth, and he loathed everyone around him, including his wife and daughter's vulgar behavior and their vulgar tone.
The fairy Chenghan, whom Yun Ningzong had taken a liking to, even spoke sweetly.
The people in my family all have foul mouths.
Ning Tingyue's only pleasure, strangely enough, came when his first daughter, Xiaoyin, looked at the celestial beings in the sky with envy, and he sneered at her: "A princess's heart, a maid's body." [1]
Ning Tingyue still remembers the slowly revealed, shattered pain and disbelief in the other person's eyes.
That look made something buried deep within his heart disappear. It was as if a hand had stuffed the grime that had long lingered in his heart into another person's hands.
Ning Tingyue felt relaxed and invigorated, and his behavior intensified. He treated his wife, parents, and daughter with even greater fervor.
In the end, Ning Tingyue destroyed everything, razing Kanghuang Village to the ground amidst the pained gazes of those people.
He would kill his own family.
It can also lead to murder.
...
A gentle breeze drifted by, as if carrying whispered murmurs.
Zhou Fuling, holding Ning Tingyue's head, slowly walked out of the valley, but suddenly knelt down and frowned.
A gentle breeze drifted by, as if carrying whispered murmurs.
Zhou Fuling, holding Ning Tingyue's head, slowly walked out of the valley, but suddenly knelt down and frowned.
Around her, blood, accompanied by spiritual energy, transformed into four columns of characters, encircling her.
"Killing one's own family."
"Snatching away one's lifespan".
"Evil and good."
"Ten thousand bones wither."
Zhou Fuling suddenly frowned in pain. Her whole body ached. Her arms, spiritual meridians, and sea of consciousness felt like they were being pricked by needles. Something was being cleansed, something was being scraped away.
At this moment, as the head in Zhou Fuling's arms withered, the words "killing relatives" suddenly changed, as if they had lost their breath, and "killing relatives" became... "killing love".
Her blood boiled, and Zhou Fuling felt as if her body had been torn apart. She screamed in agony, but then she felt something changing within her body, something re-coagulating.
Pain and blood were absorbed into the spiritual veins.
She looked down; her injuries had healed somewhat, but not completely.
She also noticed that the technique of "killing one's own family" had changed.
From afar, she saw Ning Tingyue's sword.
She walked over, picked up the sword from the ground, stroked the blade, and whispered, "Your name is also 'Killing Passion'."
-----------------------
Author's note: [1] "The heart of a young master, the body of a servant" and "The heart of a princess, the body of a maid." This line is adapted from one of my favorite movies, "The Blood of Guanyin," and is used in this chapter.
One mother in the story says to her daughter, "A princess's fate, but a maid's body." I personally think this describes, to some extent, the exploitation and bullying of children by mothers within a family.
That eldest daughter is one of my favorite movie characters.
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