Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Ning Yin felt utterly hopeless about Yan Hanzhou. She had tried reasoning with him over and over, but he treated her words as if they were mere wind. Now, at the slightest disagreement, he was ready to kill. No matter how glorious his past had been, he was now a wasted spiritual root incapable of cultivation. Instead of focusing on improving his own strength, he was fixated on plotting to kill the protagonists who had reached the Golden Core stage.

Where did he get such audacity? Did he think he was the invincible protagonist who could rewrite fate?

Ning Yin began to suspect that Yan Hanzhou’s previous life had ended as an evil cultivator slain by a righteous sect, explaining why his mind was filled with nothing but violence.

Well, everyone has their own destiny.

Determined to relinquish her role as a helper and respect others’ paths, Ning Yin resolved to let Yan Hanzhou do as he pleased—kill whoever he wished, outside the forbidden zone, it would no longer concern her.

With her mind made up, Ning Yin quietly distanced herself from Yan Hanzhou.

But when she glanced down, the Azure Abyss Ring on her hand gleamed conspicuously.

Sighing, she silently sat back down.

Noticing Ning Yin’s cautious retreat, Yan Hanzhou raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to draw a line between us?”

“Of course!” Ning Yin retorted sharply. “You’re a villain. Why would I ever stand with you? Impossible!”

“But you are my fiancée, and you still wear the ring I gave you. If you want to sever ties with me, it won’t be so easy.”

At once, Ning Yin tried to remove the Azure Abyss Ring, but no matter how hard she strained, her face flushed red and she couldn’t pull it off her finger.

“The Azure Abyss Ring has bonded with you through blood recognition. You cannot take it off.”

“I know. So you’re determined to drag me down with you, huh? Listen, we’re on two different paths. I’m naturally unambitious—I just want to live a comfortable, lazy life. So don’t expect me to help you kill the protagonists, especially not your excellent senior sister!”

“You can’t count on that either.”

“Speak properly! No personal attacks!” Ning Yin fumed, but suddenly Yan Hanzhou’s gaze sharpened. He sprang up, his eyes alertly scanning in one direction.

Ning Yin instantly fell silent.

Meanwhile, deep in the dense forest among towering stone formations stood an ancient altar.

A sinister demon, enveloped in a black cloak swirling with malevolent energy, ascended the altar’s platform. Chanting a curse, a radiant white light erupted from the altar’s center, conjuring a mesmerizing demonic pill that shimmered with iridescent hues.

The pill seemed sentient, sensing the demon’s approach. It leapt into the air.

Hiding behind a massive boulder, Shi Yunzhao held her breath, watching silently. Unexpectedly, the pill transformed into a streak of light and flew toward her, vanishing into her body without warning.

“Who’s there?!” The demon whirled around, eyes darkening as it locked onto the aura concealed behind the rock. “Junior of the Lingyun Sect, hand over the demonic pill, and maybe I’ll spare your life!”

Shi Yunzhao knew this battle would not end well. Gritting her teeth, she drew her sword and faced the enemy. “Demonic fiend, you must be slain by all!”

Seeing this, the Glazed Feather Sparrow silently flew away, crossing the dense forest to land on Yan Hanzhou’s shoulder, chirping anxiously.

Yan Hanzhou furrowed his brow, and Ning Yin’s heart sank. “What is it?”

“Shi Yunzhao has encountered a demon. She’s in danger.”

“Demon?!” Yan Hanzhou commanded the sparrow to lead the way. When they arrived, the fierce battle between Shi Yunzhao and the demon had just ended.

Shi Yunzhao’s clothes were soaked in blood. A darkly sinister sword pierced her chest, surrounded by devastation—ancient trees felled, trunks deeply scarred by sword marks.

Ning Yin’s face turned pale at the sight. Her legs weakened, she moved forward to check on Shi Yunzhao but was pulled back behind Yan Hanzhou’s protective stance. His sharp gaze swept the area, ensuring no further threat before nodding slightly to her.

Eagerly, Ning Yin rushed to Shi Yunzhao’s side. Seeing her drenched in blood, she didn’t know where to place her hands and trembled as she spoke, “Senior sister, are you alright?”

Yan Hanzhou bent down, placing a hand on Shi Yunzhao’s pulse. After a moment, his brow furrowed deeply, his grave expression tightening Ning Yin’s heart.

“How is she?”

“Alive, but the demonic sword’s malevolent energy is corroding her meridians. If we don’t remove it, she will surely die.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Pull the sword out and save her!”

Yan Hanzhou’s brow knitted tightly. Gazing sharply at the unconscious Shi Yunzhao, he hesitated before placing his hand on her wrist again.

Ning Yin’s heart clenched. “What’s wrong?”

He lifted his gaze, speaking slowly and clearly: “There’s an unrefined millennium-old demonic beast core inside her.”

Ning Yin was momentarily stunned. “Demonic core? What does that mean?”

“I remember you said that after Shi Yunzhao left the forbidden zone and returned to the sect for seclusion, she broke through to the Golden Core stage in less than three days.”

In the novel, after Shi Yunzhao’s fall from the cliff and inheriting the Lingxiao Immortal’s legacy, she returned to the Lingyun Sect and broke through the Golden Core stage in under three days—shattering the Lingxiao Immortal’s seven-day record.

“But what does this have to do with the demonic core?”

“As long as she refines the core, her cultivation will skyrocket, and breaking through the Golden Core stage will be imminent.” Yan Hanzhou’s gaze darkened as he looked at her. “Heaven’s will cannot be defied.”

Understanding the implication in Yan Hanzhou’s words, Ning Yin shivered involuntarily.

“You mean... what she lost will return in another form, and all things will continue according to the will of heaven?”

Yan Hanzhou said nothing.

The stench of blood filled the air, pulling Ning Yin back to reality. Looking at Shi Yunzhao’s increasingly pale face, her voice trembled, “I know what you’re thinking, but senior sister was gravely injured protecting us. We can’t just let her die! If you won’t pull out the sword, I will!”

Yan Hanzhou spoke softly, “Think carefully. If you save her today, one day you might die by her sword.”

Looking at the sword wreathed in demonic energy, Ning Yin made up her mind. “Maybe I will die by her sword someday, but right now, I only know I’ll regret it if I don’t save her. As for the future—that’s for later. I can’t think that far ahead.”

With that, she took a deep breath. Though her hands shook, she forced calm and gripped the sword’s hilt. The moment she touched it, demonic energy climbed like vines, coiling around her hands.

“Ah!” Ning Yin cried out in pain. A searing burn coursed through her hands, and she dropped the sword like it shocked her, staring in horror at her quickly blackening palms. “Hiss—what’s wrong with this sword...?”

But in the next instant, realization dawned.

Recalling the two incantations Yan Hanzhou had taught her, Ning Yin gritted her teeth and grasped the sword again. Gradually, a faint spiritual force emerged from her palm. The surging demonic energy briefly receded, then cautiously reemerged, winding along her palm like a living thing and spreading rapidly.

As the demonic energy reached her wrist, Ning Yin clenched her teeth and recklessly summoned all her spiritual power. She could clearly feel the thin spiritual energy flowing through her meridians.

The demonic energy was pushed back step by step—from the hilt up the blade, two opposing energies, one dark and one light, fiercely entwined on the sword, neither yielding.

Watching the unconscious Shi Yunzhao, Yan Hanzhou knew there was nothing more he could do now. With Ning Yin’s current cultivation level, the demonic energy could never be fully expelled, and Shi Yunzhao’s death was inevitable.

But—

“Senior sister, hold on a little longer! We’ll save you soon!” Ning Yin’s forehead was slick with fine sweat.

A thread of spiritual soul power quietly left Yan Hanzhou’s palm and merged with Ning Yin’s spiritual energy. Instantly, the demonic energy, as if confronted by a natural enemy, receded like a tide back into the sword.

Before them appeared a pitch-black ancient sword with a deep, mysterious blade.

Yan Hanzhou slowly withdrew the soul power. Even that faint thread nearly drained all his life force. His face turned as pale as paper, thick blood scent filling his mouth and nose. Struggling to suppress the tumultuous soul power within him, he whispered with a barely audible tremor, “Now!”

Ning Yin gripped the hilt tightly, not daring to tremble. Silently counting down three, two, one, she bit her lip and forcefully pulled the demonic sword free from Shi Yunzhao’s body, throwing it aside.

Blood gushed from the wound. Flustered, Ning Yin scrambled to staunch it.

The discarded sword suddenly surged with demonic energy. Yan Hanzhou’s expression darkened as he stepped on the blade. The sword, attempting to escape, was restrained by the soul power beneath his foot, emitting a sharp, trembling clang.

His eyes scanned the runes etched on the blade during its forging. They seemed familiar. As he picked up the sword to examine it closely, a flurry of footsteps interrupted his thoughts.

Si Heyu led a group of disciples, swiftly riding swords to the scene. They were horrified by the devastation before them.

“You two—” Ning Yin looked down at her bloodied hands, at Shi Yunzhao collapsed and gravely injured beside her, and at Yan Hanzhou standing nearby still holding the demonic sword. The scene felt profoundly wrong.

“Ning Yin? Yan Hanzhou? What are you doing here? What happened to senior sister?” one disciple rushed forward, roughly pushing Ning Yin aside beside Shi Yunzhao, shouting to Si Heyu, “Senior brother! Senior sister is injured!”

Si Heyu’s face darkened. He hurried to check Shi Yunzhao’s pulse.

Before he could speak, another disciple glared at Ning Yin and demanded sharply, “Why were you two not at the Reflection Cliff? Why are you here? Could it be that you—”

As expected.

The villain was blamed for everything.

This damned stereotype.

Ning Yin instinctively explained, “We accidentally fell from Reflection Cliff. Somehow, we ended up in the forbidden zone and encountered senior sister. She was injured by the demon while trying to guide us to find the teleportation array...”

The disciples were filled with righteous indignation.

“Fell from Reflection Cliff? Nonsense!”

“Senior sister’s injury must be related to you two!”

“Yan Hanzhou, where did you get that demonic sword? Did you injure senior sister?”

Voices buzzed incessantly.

“Enough!” Ning Yin clenched her fists, unable to tolerate it any longer. She stepped forward, snatched the demonic sword from Yan Hanzhou’s hand, threw it to the ground, and said sternly, enunciating each word, “This is the last time I’ll say it. Listen carefully! We accidentally fell from Reflection Cliff into the forbidden zone, where we met senior sister. She was gravely injured by a demon while protecting us. Instead of wasting time accusing us, you should hurry and take senior sister back to Lingyun Sect for treatment. Once she wakes, the truth will be clear!”

Si Heyu glanced at the pair and said gravely, “Take her away first!”