The Sect Leader's Seat (2)
The mist swirled thickly against the crow-blue sky, where black clouds pulsed with an ominous glow. Disciples of the Penglai Immortal Sect, clad in their signature blue-white robes for subduing malevolent spirits, stood distant from Lin Qianshuang, their forms blurred by the haze.
She gazed at the endless mountain ridges as the resonant toll of a temple bell—once echoing through the forested valleys—suddenly stilled. With it vanished all traces of living presence, save for the clean, mellow essence of human cultivation radiating from Xiao Lanle on her back. A sickening, corrosive death energy now clung to her side.
Nearest to her stood “Chen Shangqing.” A writhing black fog crowned his head, visible only to fellow demon cultivators. To mortal eyes, he appeared handsome; but through Lin’s discerning gaze, his visage twisted into a bloodied corpse—half his scalp torn away, maggots burrowing through exposed brain matter.
“Where did this specter come from?” Lin Qianshuang spat, voice sharp. “To dare impersonate my junior brother!”
At once, she recognized the fraud. Clutching Xiao Lanle, she couldn’t unsheathe her hands, but strands of demonic qi swirling protectively around her coalesced midair into a blade. It sliced downward at the abomination—a thing neither fully alive nor dead.
The mimic shrieked, torn asunder into spectral fragments before dissolving entirely into nothingness.
A massive black mist materialized before Lin Qianshuang’s eyes.
“What a thick demonic aura—this essence is truly invigorating.”
“How dare you provoke such a mighty Demon Infant? Didn’t you see what happened to that one just now?”
“We’ve already surrounded her. If we don’t make use of such a perfect Cauldron Physique, wouldn’t that be wasteful of nature’s gifts?”
“With so many of us, how could we fear a weakling female demon cultivator with less than a century of cultivation?”
Harsh, cackling voices echoed around Lin Qianshuang one by one. The black mist continued its idle chatter, completely dismissing her presence.
Those confined within the Nine Cauldrons are no pushovers—the black mist before her would be no easy foe. If she were unburdened, she’d gladly teach it a lesson, but hauling Xiao Lanle on her back complicated things. Prioritizing survival, Lin Qianshuang spared none of her hoarded high-grade spirit talismans. As she streaked toward Penglai’s main peak, she hurled priceless talismans attempting to repel and trap the black mist.
This was the first time that the black mist had seen such a cowering demonic cultivator, not even daring to meet in battle, they only dared to attack with these talismans.
“I clearly remember that when we brothers first started cultivating, this high-level spiritual talisman must cost at least a thousand spiritual stones.”
“She has thrown more than thirty high level spirit talismans, how has she not run out? I’m tired of chasing…”
“This demon cultivator’s too reckless. Now I feel less guilty for devouring her—recklessness deserves punishment.”
“Stupid. Just spouting nonsense won’t help. Go chase her! If we can seize her body, won’t her remaining spirit talismans all belong to us?”
Lin Qianshuang stifled a laugh at the black mist’s chattering. How odd—it felt like these demons weren’t so terrifying after all, just clumsily endearing.
The main peak of Penglai Immortal Sect loomed closer. Clutching Xiao Lanle on her back, she charged straight toward the Golden Trigram Formation’s square. Buddhist light erupted from the array, forcing the black mist to retreat and cease its pursuit.
As Lin prepared to land, a sudden surge of sneak-attack true qi struck her nape. Unable to dodge, the attacker’s hand neared her Celestial Spirit Cap—but her storage jade flared abruptly.
The Cold Cicada Zither soared into the air, its seven strings humming as cold light rippled outward. With a resonant ring, it deflected Xiao Lanle’s descending palm.
Lin Qianshuang stared wide-eyed at the Cold Cicada Zither, then reached out. The instrument’s previously oppressive aura dissipated entirely, merging into her embrace as if responding to her touch.
“The blood must have worked,” she thought, seeing Xuan Luowan’s soul coalesce and stir faintly to life.
Xiao Lanle’s dark eyes glowed with an eerie azure light, the Glazed Temple Gem in her hair pulsing with malevolent radiance. Her entire being exuded an otherworldly presence, far removed from that of a human cultivator. With a snarl, she lunged forward, palm crackling with corrupt energy.
Lin dared not falter. Clutching the Cold Cicada Zither in one hand, she sidestepped the assault. Her fingers grazed Xiao’s wrist—but recoiled instantly as searing heat from the latter’s Fire Spiritual Root scorched her skin.
“This is no longer my junior sister,” Lin Qianshuang realized grimly. “The Glazed Temple Gem’s taint must have reignited under that black qi’s influence.” Should the sect leader Xiao Shen or any Penglai disciple witness Xiao Lanle’s current state, chaos would surely follow.
Feigning retreat, Lin Qianshuang led her opponent deeper into a secluded mountain grove. There, she wove a prison formation from swirling demonic qi, sealing Xiao Lanle within its bounds.
Xiao Lanle sat hunched within the formation, her hair wild and unkempt. She realized with a bitter fury that the protective barrier of the array was beyond her power to breach. Her glowing azure eyes locked onto Lin Qianshuang with venomous hatred, and the Plain Inquiry Sword in her hand was flung aside like worthless scrap, clattering to the ground.
The Glazed Temple Gem had once purified her body, its corrupted energy twisting into a heart demon. If the Tianshu City Lord’s melodies could still dispel that inner torment, then perhaps the same method could purge the Gem’s taint now festering within her.
Lin Qianshuang placed the Cold Cicada Zither on her lap, testing its strings before channeling demonic qi to pluck the six cords. The vibrating chords blazed with a shimmering glow, like feathers adrift in starlight, and coalesced into a beam of radiant light that pierced Xiao Lanle’s form.
The world warped. Silver fish darted through the air, blotting out vision. When awareness returned, Lin Qianshuang found herself standing in a rustic village square. Villagers bustled past, buckets balanced on shoulders as they moved between fields and wells, their labors untroubled by the chaos above.
Lin Qianshuang stepped forward and saw young Xiao Lanle half-crouched on the ground, playfully teasing a downy chick. Her round little face wore an earnest expression as she carefully fed the fluffball several grains of rice. A strikingly beautiful woman hurried toward them, her plain coarse robes incongruously clashing with her noble bearing, a basket perched on her shoulder.
“Le’er, come quickly and follow Mother! We must leave at once!”
Xiao Lanle wiped the dirt from her clothes with small, determined hands, starting to rise toward the woman.
A shadow abruptly fell over her.
In that heartbeat, the woman’s face blanched ashen-pale.
The young Xiao Lanle turned her big, bright eyes curiously toward the person behind her. Her small face lit up with joy as she grabbed the arm of the one following close behind. “Father! Did you come to see Le’er and Mother? Father, Le’er misses you so much!”
Xiao Shen, appearing a full decade younger, regarded the girl clutching his arm with feigned affection. Unmoved, he glared coldly at the woman. “Where is the Glazed Temple Gem? Have you hidden it?”
The woman’s voice cracked with suppressed fury as tears streamed down her face. “Xiao Shen, you betrayed your own bloodline and conspired with the Tianshu City Lord to massacre dozens of our kin. My father saw through your treacherous ambitions and elevated you to lead the Penglai Immortal Sect—yet you crossed the river only to burn the bridge behind you, then slaughtered every last member of the Lin family!”
“A wretch like you deserves to rot in hell! Would I ever entrust you with the Glazed Temple Gem?”
Xiao Shen cradled the child, handing her a sugar-coated hawthorn skewer to distract her giggles. He locked eyes with the woman, his tone dripping with menace. “Su Wen, Le’er is still young. This will terrify her.”
“Xiao Shen, release Le’er at once!”
The woman shouted, drawing her sword and lunging at Xiao Shen.
Xiao Shen seized the blade with one hand, his eyes flashing with murderous intent. Coldly, he said, “Su Wen, must a husband and wife come to blows like this?”
With a snarl, she wrenched the sword free and slashed at him mercilessly. “A traitor like you—who abandons gratitude and compassion—deserves ten thousand cuts to sate my wrath!”
Little Xiao Lanle, clutching a sugar-coated hawthorn skewer, watched her parents fight with wide, confused eyes. Lin Qianshuang crouched beside her, knowing they were invisible in Xiao Lanle’s memory.
“Mother!”
The skewer clattered to Lin Qianshuang’s feet.
A faint azure glow emanated from the still form of the quiet girl beside her, intercepting Xiao Shen’s blade mere inches from the woman’s chest.
Xiao Shen’s gaze fixated greedily on the luminous Glazed Temple Gem pulsating within Xiao Lanle’s body. With a sneer, he addressed Lin Suwen: “You claimed to possess such prowess, yet here you are—hiding the Gem inside this child.”
“No! When Tianshu City’s forces hunted us, Le’er’s life was preserved only by the Gem. Her injuries have not even begun to heal!”
Lin Suwen lunged to halt Xiao Shen’s attempt to wrench the artifact from Xiao Lanle, but his sword struck her throat, striking true. He loomed over her dying form, boot pressing her chin upward to meet his scornful appraisal. “You were foolish and trusting—that’s why I married you. Once, you offered me prestige and power. Now? You’re nothing but an average face. A pretty trinket compared to the countless beauties I can command. Do you truly think I’d let you sabotage my destiny?”
“Xiao Shen… you’ll suffer a wretched end.”
The blood from the woman’s neck soaked through her collar, and her stunning eyes burned with hatred and venom as they locked onto Xiao Shen, as if cursing him eternally, before dimming into lifeless void.
Xiao Shen sheathed his sword; the blood scattered at his feet. Xiao Lanle gaped, watching her mother slump lightly to the ground—her head lolling grotesquely, severed almost completely from her body.
“Mother… Mother is dead… Father killed her…”
“Don’t fear. Close your eyes. Let me protect you. I’ll never let harm touch you.”
A figure identical to Xiao Lanle materialized under a flickering green glow, smirking cruelly. An iron mask hid the ugly spiritual seal marring its face.
The Heart Demon clasped her eyelids shut with both hands, his voice a rasp against her ear. “Slay a hundred souls, and I shall manifest. Obey me, and you’ll rule over me forever.”
Just as Xiao Shen moved to extract the Glazed Temple Gem from Xiao Lanle’s body, the sky and earth darkened suddenly. The villagers working in the hamlet all turned to white bones in an instant, scattering lone and lifeless across the ground. With the wind’s whisper, they dissolved into the swirling yellow sand.
Xiao Lanle licked her lips with relish, her plump-cheeked child’s face curving into a sinister grin as she fixed her gaze on Xiao Shen.
He recoiled as if confronted by a monster, frozen mid-breath.
“Father…”
She studied his face intently, then crumpled unconscious to the earth.
Before Lin Qianshuang’s eyes, the Heart Demon’s realm shattered completely, its fragments drifting like snowflakes through the cramped space.
In the darkness, someone was calling out to her.
“Senior sister, senior sister, wake up.”
Lin Qianshuang opened her eyes to find herself sitting cross-legged on a leaf-strewn grassy clearing, her back pressed against a towering tree.
Xiao Lanle knelt before her, cradling her face with an anxious expression as she called her name again.
The favorability interface flickered into view.
[Target Character Rescue Mission: Assist Xiao Lanle in becoming leader of the Penglai Immortal Sect (80% progress), uncover the truth of the past events (100% completed). Please continue to work hard, Host!]