A world without glitz
Rumor has it that this Saint of the Demon Sect is the only daughter of Demon Lord Xiaoxiang. Everything this young woman has done since her birth has been earth-shattering and awe-inspiring. At the age of one hundred, she burned the entire thousand-year-old flower garden of Taixu Sect's Third Master, Epiphyllum. After clearing the ruins, she shouted at Epiphyllum, "Where are all your little flowers? I'll take them all and take them to the Demon Sect to raise them well." After this incident, the Taixu Sect accepted the loss without questioning anyone. This Saint of the Demon Sect dared even the Taixu Sect to challenge her, demonstrating just how mischievous she truly is. This rumor only fueled her reputation and the Taixu Sect's grievances.
The outermost crowd had already left the outermost circle when they heard this key word, and their intention to leave was even more resolute. They had originally thought it was just some gossip, but it turned out to be a life-threatening commotion. If they were blind and caught the eye of the Demon Sect Saint, wouldn't they be like the then-famous Quanke Liushui, who was abducted and forced to become a drinking maid?
"If I hadn't escaped death from this Yue Lao Temple, these people would have worshipped you as a god." Mei Mei's face was filled with disdain and ridicule. Chen Ye had actually just arrived, but as she watched the four people reinforce the magic circle, she decided to wait until Mei Mei chose to absorb the demonic fire alone. That would be the best time for her to make an appearance.
She walked slowly, practically leaning against the wall. Perhaps because of the moonlight, her exposed arms were covered in burns, especially where the bracelet was worn. The intricate patterns on the bracelet were deeply imprinted, intertwined with her own flesh and blood. Chen Ye had initially intended to burn only his right palm, but the demonic fire was uncontrollable, and Chen Ye had no way of controlling its direction, so the flames spread to his body, burning both arms.
"The girl lies so easily. I think you should be very clear about what the Holy Maiden of the Demon Sect looks like." Meimei had already thought of how to respond to this silver-tongued woman. Every word she said was carefully planned.
Xi Xi and Xiao Xinyin quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "It's said that this Saint of the Demon Sect has red hair and secret codes on her body. She's extremely terrifying."
In a blink of an eye, this identity suffered another reversal.
Qi Yiwen was shocked by the scars covering her body, a mixture of new and old. The demonic fire seemed to still linger on her arms, but the one he loved hadn't cried out. She was simply exposing the dirty deeds of a demonic sect's holy maiden. She was still the same as in her previous life, never succumbing to the ending written for her by the script. But in her previous life, there had been no such story, no burns. In her previous life, she had been pushed off a cliff by the demonic sect's holy maiden, and only then had she suffered the burning of the demonic fire.
Qi Yiwen was a little confused about the development of this life. Aren't the previous life and this life not much different? However, as long as it is her, it's fine. He still comforted himself in his heart.
Chen Ye wanted to continue speaking, but the excruciating pain from the burns was too much for her to bear. It felt like countless flames were burning inside her, seemingly forever. Her consciousness began to blur, and she felt dizzy and swirling. Finally, unable to support herself, she collapsed forward.
At this critical moment, Qi Yiwen quickly reached out and caught Chen Ye by the waist. He hugged her tightly, afraid that she would fall to the ground. Looking at Chen Ye in his arms, Qi Yiwen's heart was filled with pity and worry.
"We met earlier, so why are you more vulnerable than in your previous life, Yeye?" Qi Yiwen murmured to himself, a hint of helplessness and bitterness in his voice. He was careful not to touch Chen Ye's burns, so he could only hold her slender waist through her clothes and gently place her against the gray wall.
Qi Yiwen took a deep breath, calmed himself, and then muttered to himself: "The spirit can be spiritual, it is very spiritual. The non-spiritual is the beginning of heaven and earth, the spiritual is the mother of all things. The spiritual is the door to all wonders." As he chanted, a faint orchid spiritual power surged out of his body, like a soft cloud, slowly surrounding the two of them.
As if receiving some kind of guidance, this spiritual energy gradually enveloped Chen Ye and Qi Yiwen, lifting them slowly into the air in a faint blue light. On the ground, the residual heat of the demonic fire gradually dissipated under the influence of this spiritual energy. Chen Ye suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if her wounds were being gently caressed, soothed, and healed by countless soft feathers. This feeling, warm and comfortable, gradually relaxed her body.
As time went by, she was surprised to find that the wounds on her arms began to heal on their own. The originally hideous cracks gradually closed up and finally disappeared without a trace. Not only that, a warm current surged from her abdomen, slowly flowing through her body, bringing an unprecedented sense of comfort.
However, at this moment, a voice sounded in her mind: "Host, I have already told you the consequences of doing this. Now you must bear it yourself."
Chen Ye's mouth corners slightly raised, revealing a smug smile: "Look, aren't you healing me? I just bet with you that the male protagonist would fall in love with me at first sight, but you didn't believe it. How about now? Remember to transfer the gold coins to my account." She seemed to be full of confidence in her behavior and did not take the system's warning seriously at all.
In reality, Chen Ye rarely considered the consequences of her actions. Whether she would live to face the consequences was uncertain. Just like when she was abducted by human traffickers, those same traffickers had threatened her in the same way, saying they would break their legs if she escaped.
But Chen Ye was not bound by fear. She thought to herself, "If I can run away, then I will run away. If I can't run away, can I really guarantee that my legs won't be broken in the future?" All her desperate efforts were because she was able to seize the opportunity, so she successfully sent herself to an orphanage instead of an old house in the mountains.
For a person who is away from his parents and regarded as an abandoned child, there is no such thing as "future".
In her eyes, the most important task at the moment was to push the plot forward and extinguish the romantic connection between the hero and heroine. Without the gold coins, the story itself was almost over. She hadn't even seen the prop library. Moreover, if she was given a few more chances to meet the hero, this love-sick heroine would probably sell herself to him.
For now, advancing the story was the fastest way to earn money. Furthermore, the system hadn't previously mentioned any precautions, not even the OOC warning. Fairy, she was starting to play nice. She said the hero belonged to the heroine, but it was okay if he was just for her. At worst, she could try her best to become the heroine. Furthermore, the hero and the original owner must have a deep connection, otherwise such a character wouldn't have been love at first sight. This was the biggest contributing factor to her becoming the heroine. As for the rest, she had no time to worry about it.
Chen Ye fell softly and weakly into Qi Yiwen's arms, like a candle in the wind, and fell into his arms like a fish in water, jumping for joy. This was their first time in such close contact, and Chen Ye could clearly smell the faint fragrance of gardenias emanating from his arms.
The fragrance reminded her of the gardenias on the old tree in front of the orphanage when she was a child. Whenever the breeze blew, the white petals would quietly fall and gently touch her cheeks, bringing a touch of coolness and fragrance.
Chen Ye slowly raised her head and wanted to thank Qi Yiwen. However, when her eyes met his, she was surprised to find that his eyes, through her face, seemed to be reuniting with an old friend, full of eagerness and expectation, which hurt her heart at the same time.
Finally, Chen Ye mustered up the courage to ask the question she had carefully planned: "Master Qi, you have arranged to meet me by chance many times. Is it because you are attracted to me?"
As soon as she said this, Chen Ye realized she was being too blunt, and she lowered her head shyly. However, her body seemed to lose control, and her hand reached out involuntarily, wanting to touch Qi Yiwen's enchanting eyes. The phrase "reunion" (old friend) appeared in her mind uncontrollably.
But there are clearly no old friends and no reunion here.
Just as her hand was about to touch Qi Yiwen's eyes, he suddenly reached out and tightly grasped her hand, which was hanging in the air. Chen Ye's heartbeat instantly accelerated. She could feel Qi Yiwen's hand was warm and strong, as if conveying some kind of message.
Qi Yiwen's throat rolled over, and the love words he originally wanted to say lingered on his lips for a long time. Finally, he stammered and said: "I... I have been in love with you for a long, long time."
After getting the answer he wanted, Chen Ye was secretly happy, but on the surface he continued to pretend to be pitiful and acted according to the pre-written script: "That person trapped me in the room. I struggled hard, but I could not escape her clutches. Finally, my arm..." At this point, Chen Ye deliberately paused, as if he was too scared to continue.
This perfectly timed pause successfully caught Qi Yiwen's attention. Chen Ye was very confident in her performance, believing that Qi Yiwen had been completely drawn into the plot. As expected, Qi Yiwen's thoughts began to shift from Chen Ye's wound to the so-called "culprit," Meimei.
You know, Qi Yiwen, as the mascot of Taixu Sect, has practiced for thousands of years, but he has never killed a single person. In these long years, he has always been a non-confrontational existence, and he has not even found an opportunity to take action.
Qi Yiwen had lived two lives, and he had originally believed that the sins of his previous life shouldn't be counted against this one. However, the Demon Sect Saintess was too rampant, and he needed to settle the sins of this life with her before her identity was exposed. Otherwise, the peace between the Immortal Sect and the Demon Sect would sooner or later be destroyed by her. However, if it was exposed, it would be a difficult situation, as he would become the target of public criticism.
In anger, the orchid fire burned behind Qi Yiwen. It was not as uncontrollable as the demon fire. It carried the anger of its master and declared war on the culprit.
Watching the two men in mid-air, Xiao Xinyin only heard her mother mention this technique. It was a healing technique created by Sect Master Qi. It simply relied on his abundant spiritual energy to heal wounds. A simple burn would be an overreaction, but the demonic fire was different. "What's the relationship between this person and Sect Master?" Xiao Xinyin didn't know Sect Master Qi well, but her aunt had a biography about him that described him as a pure and unselfish Taoist priest. Could he be heartless? Or perhaps simply uncaring?
Meimei was confronted by Chen Ye, and the look she exchanged with Xixi was filled with uncertainty. Xixi snatched the Nine-Turn Glazed Bottle from Meimei's hand, sizing it up and down, weighing the bottle against the sinister-looking Meimei. "This is genuine, but I don't know if there's demonic fire within." Xixi opened the bottle in full view of the crowd, as Xiao Xinyin chanted the incantation, "Thousands of families offered gold, and ten thousand craftsmen polished the glass."
Everyone's eyes were focused on the bottle, only to find it was empty. The man who had just been seen as a savior had suddenly become the target of public condemnation and attack.
"Is this what you call collusion? Who is the true Saint of the Demon Sect, Chen Ye?" She knew that the moment the glass bottle was exposed would be the moment for her to fight to the death. Meimei's voice echoed among the crowd, and she used the breath-shifting technique to appear behind Chen Ye like a ghost.
Chen Ye and Mei Mei have a common goal - the Xiangyu on Chen Ye's waist. The Xiangyu is the biggest flaw.
Just as their left hands and right hands were about to meet, a powerful force suddenly erupted, shocking both of them flying backwards.
Qi Yiwen had been so anxious that he'd moved a few steps away from Chen Ye. By the time he realized what was happening, Chen Ye had already been knocked flying. He quickly leaped forward and caught Chen Ye.
Meimei fell heavily to the ground, and she looked at her empty right hand with a wry smile on her face. However, this wry smile did not arouse the slightest sympathy from the crowd.
After Chen Ye steadied herself, she looked down and found the Xiangyu in her hands. She grabbed the Xiangyu tightly and without hesitation, smashed it hard against the gray wall next to her.
With a crisp "bang," the Xiangyu instantly shattered, breaking into countless fragments and scattering everywhere. At the same time, a black demonic energy gushed out from the shattered Xiangyu, filling the air and finally heading towards its owner.
In a moment of astonishment, Meimei's once inky black hair suddenly turned a vibrant blood-red at a visible speed, as if stained with blood. Simultaneously, mysterious runes unique to those of the Demon Sect began to appear on her silky-smooth skin. These runes, as if alive, began at her palms, winding up her arms and extending to her right cheek, forming a strange and disturbing pattern.
"Oh my God, she really is from the Demon Sect!" someone screamed, his voice filled with disbelief and fear.
"How did she appear here?" another person muttered to himself, his face full of confusion and shock.
"How is it possible that someone from the Demon Sect won first place in the Immortal Cultivation Conference?" someone said indignantly, "How can she be the direct disciple of this sect leader?"
For a moment, the crowd was buzzing with discussions, and various doubts and speculations arose one after another.
However, just as everyone was still stunned and discussing, a crisp ding-dong sound suddenly rang out, interrupting the clamor. Then, a cold electronic voice echoed in the air: "The trial scores have been maxed out. First place in this Immortal Cultivation Conference is Meimei, second place is Xiao Xinshui, third place is Yuxing, fourth place is Xia Xiwen, ... and last place is Chen Ye."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
