Chapter 11 - 8: The Fairy’s Demonic Corruption
Several generations of Miao Yu Palace disciples had never seen the Miao Yu Palace Master.
After all, the Miao Yu Palace Master had been in seclusion for a century, uninvolved in worldly affairs.
So, the younger generation all took Han Shui Master’s words as truth and turned to adulate Qiu Yuehan instead.
In reality, before Han Shui Master emerged from her grotto-abode, there had never been any rumors about Miao Yu Palace appointing a Young Palace Master.
It was likely that because the Palace Master had been in seclusion for so long, Miao Yu Palace needed someone to be its public face, which gave rise to such rumors.
Xia Lianxue didn’t care about the position of Young Palace Master.
She had always been of a gentle and elegant disposition. Besides, her senior sister Qiu Yuehan had always been more outstanding than her; the position should have been Qiu Yuehan’s to begin with.
It was just... a simple unwillingness to accept it.
Because Han Shui Master was her, Xia Lianxue’s, Immortal Guide!
Over a decade ago, before Han Shui Master entered death seclusion to break through to the Yao Guang realm, she descended the mountain. Three years later, she returned with a young girl. She personally taught the child the first Chapter of the Miao Yu Heart Method but did not take her as a disciple, claiming only to be her guide.
After settling the young child in the disciples’ quarters, Han Shui Master began her death seclusion.
That young girl was indeed exceptionally talented. She distinguished herself at a young age, quickly reaching the Peak of the Fourth Realm and becoming one of Miao Yu Palace’s two True Inheritors.
The girl felt that she hadn’t let down her guide’s expectations, so when she learned her guide was coming out of seclusion, she was too excited to close her eyes for several days.
But on the day she emerged, Han Shui Master didn’t praise the child she had brought back to the Immortal Sect over a decade ago. She didn’t even recognize Xia Lianxue, staring instead at Qiu Yuehan, whom she was meeting for the first time.
A girl changes greatly as she grows up, so it would have been understandable if Han Shui Master didn’t recognize her. But when she, Xia Lianxue, stated her name and respectfully called out "True Master," Han Shui Master still didn’t even spare her a glance.
But she had no reason to be angry, nor did she enjoy conflict. Moreover, Han Shui Master had shown her great kindness, so she let it go.
During last year’s sect competition, she thought that if she lost to her senior sister, she would just earnestly assist her in the future.
After all, the next generation of Miao Yu Palace couldn’t be supported by just one person.
And she did indeed lose.
Logically, she should have given up all hope.
But a person’s heart and their reason are rarely in the same boat.
For some reason, on the night she lost, she didn’t close her eyes once. All sorts of thoughts flooded her mind, threatening to burst from her skull.
So, starting the next day, she began to wear a veil, unwilling to let others see her expression.
This was only the beginning.
In the nights that followed, her thoughts grew increasingly venomous and vile.
’It would be better if Qiu Yuehan were gone.’
But this thought would be forcibly dispelled by her inner torment.
Xia Lianxue told herself over and over, "Xia Lianxue, how could you have such a vile thought!"
If a Cultivator’s desires are neither suppressed nor released, they will eventually be possessed by a Desire Demon.
To practice Cultivation, one must first cultivate the heart.
Xia Lianxue had already fallen to "Desire."
~~~~~~~~~~
RIIIIP!
The feathered garment never reached the carriage; the entire vehicle disintegrated. The skeletons burst apart in a startling flash of fire.
Outside was a curtain of pattering rain.
But the area around the carriage was enveloped by Moonlight. The rain was gone, replaced by a raging fire.
A fire in the rain.
A sword in the fire.
A flash of sword light erupted.
"A Jade Balance Fifth Realm expert?"
The carriage door was kicked open, and a young man with a look of utter exasperation emerged.
The young man carried a Fairy with blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, stepping out one pace at a time. "Aren’t the big fish supposed to be at the front? For a Fifth Realm expert like you to hide behind your sect’s juniors and launch a sneak attack... it’s a bit despicable."
Qiu Yuehan was already unconscious. Her Magical Power had been drained, and even her Origin was injured. That last sword strike had been forcibly executed by Lu Changyuan, who had gripped her hand to guide it.
Although he had no Dao Realm, his Swordsmanship was decent, after all.
A cloud of blood mist burst forth, slowly revealing a pale-faced, middle-aged man. "As long as it gets the kill, the method doesn’t really matter."
Lu Changyuan said, "That’s not wrong, just a bit shameless."
The middle-aged man replied, "Face isn’t important. Staying alive is."
Two black-robed figures from the Blood Demon Palace respectfully said, "Town Elder."
Reaching the Fifth Realm and Entering the Dao was enough to qualify as an Elder in a major Sect.
The Town Elder squinted, his face covered in strange, blood-colored markings. "If you put down Qiu Yuehan now, you can leave. My Palace doesn’t kill the innocent."
A lie only a child would believe.
Lu Changyuan looked at Xia Lianxue, who was hovering motionless in mid-air, and asked, "What did you do to her?"
Xia Lianxue was clearly not in her right mind. Her once-gentle eyes were now stained with a crazed, blood-red light.
Previously, Lu Changyuan couldn’t smell the scent of the Desire Demon on Xia Lianxue. But now, the frenzied stench of the Desire Demon was so strong it made him feel sick.
Those tainted by a Desire Demon could generally be categorized into two stages.
Xia Lianxue was currently in the first stage: still retaining her human form, but her reason had been devoured by desire.
The Town Elder gave a scornful laugh. "We didn’t do anything to her. She herself gave birth to jealousy, allowing the Desire Demon to possess her, all because she wants to replace Qiu Yuehan. Fairies of the Righteous Dao are always so contemptible. Desire Destruction, Desire Destruction... in the end, they inevitably fall prey to a Desire Demon’s invasion."
It was unclear which of his words triggered Xia Lianxue, but the Fairy in mid-air suddenly looked up, raised her sword, and dove straight for Qiu Yuehan.
She was going to kill Qiu Yuehan.
Her mind was filled with only one thought: kill Qiu Yuehan!
Lu Changyuan focused his spirit and shouted coldly, "Xia Lianxue, is this all you’ve got?! You can’t beat her, so you’re just going to kill her? If you kill her, you’ll never be able to truly defeat her."
With that shout, Lu Changyuan activated the Supreme Pure Spirit Forget Immortal Technique.
Xia Lianxue froze as if struck by a club. "No... Senior Sister... I’m going to... kill Senior Sister?"
Lu Changyuan affirmed, "Yes, of course you’re going to kill her!"
The Fairy’s eyes turned scarlet once more. Her killing intent surged as she moved her sword like a rainbow.
But Lu Changyuan’s next sentence made Xia Lianxue pause again.
"Of course you’re going to kill her, but you must kill her at her peak. Otherwise, won’t it just prove that you’re inferior? Are you so weak that you can only kill her with a sneak attack?"
"That’s right... That’s right. How could I be inferior to her? If I kill Senior Sister at her peak, I’ll... be stronger than her? No, I don’t want to kill Senior Sister... I just want to win... just once."
In the end, what Xia Lianxue truly cared about was being inferior to Qiu Yuehan, not the position of Young Palace Master. With her thoughts already in turmoil, she was easily led astray by Lu Changyuan, who was secretly using the Supreme Pure Spirit Forget Immortal Technique.
Lu Changyuan breathed a sigh of relief.
The Town Elder couldn’t help but applaud. "How pedantic. A win is a win. The one who dies is the loser."
Xia Lianxue squeezed her eyes shut in pain, as if two conflicting thoughts were at war in her mind.
One voice told her to kill Qiu Yuehan, while the other desperately clung to her true self.
For the time being, Xia Lianxue would be too preoccupied to deal with the Blood Demon Palace.
The Town Elder still hadn’t made a move, instead staring intently at the sword in Lu Changyuan’s hand.
It was absurd. He actually felt a faint sense of dread.
In truth, the reason his attitude had been relatively decent wasn’t out of kindness, but because of this inexplicable feeling of dread.
A mere mortal, holding a sword, could actually make him—a man who had Entered the Dao—feel dread?
The Town Elder clasped his hands behind his back, a Blood Demon Seal coalescing in his palm.
Regardless, he had to make the first move.
And once a move was truly made, a head would roll.
Soon, a head did roll.