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Bian Qingxuan initially thought her anger was causing the instability in the illusion, but then the golden glow of the Wandering Flute began to dim.
How could the illusion be on the verge of shattering?
She looked down at Wei Changyuan in the mirage—he had regained consciousness and was attempting to resist, loosening his grip on the girl’s waist, his gaze dazed.
“Still trying to struggle?” Bian Qingxuan finally gained a bit more respect for this young cultivator. Over the past three years, all the disciples of Mingyou Mountain had fallen under her control. Only Wei Changyuan, with his stubborn and serious temperament, had caused her endless headaches and frustration.
Wei Changyuan’s resistance had allowed Shi Luoyi to remain alive and active.
The most successful thing Bian Qingxuan had done was perhaps using an excuse during a mission to beg him to lend her a protective jade amulet.
This time, within the illusion, she had employed every tool at her disposal—Untransformed Toads, the Wandering Flute, the Aphrodisiac Pill, and her innate talents—and Wei Changyuan had finally shown a moment of hesitation. Yet her victory was fleeting.
If this weren’t an illusion, who could say whether he would truly fall for it?
Bian Qingxuan gazed at her palm, her expression darkening, her heart restless: “Is my power beginning to weaken?”
But no matter what, she wouldn’t let Wei Changyuan go or allow him to change his mind. She had no time left to hesitate. She couldn’t tolerate herself growing weaker. Wei Changyuan had wavered for a moment, and now he would sink into this quagmire, never to rise again.
Bian Qingxuan took the initiative to withdraw the illusion and descended gracefully. She observed Wei Changyuan from above for a long while, noting that he had already fainted and that the people in the mirage had disappeared. Using the Wandering Flute, she tapped his forehead to reinforce his belief that something had transpired between them in the illusion.
She smiled: “Your ‘little junior sister’ sacrificed herself to save you, Brother Changyuan. You’ve already wronged her—you cannot wrong me. Since I’m holding you accountable, you will dissolve your engagement with her, won’t you?”
With those words, she supported the pale-faced Wei Changyuan and walked toward Qingshui Village.
In the distance, the mud in the lotus pond grew increasingly foul-smelling, and the violet demonic mist in the air thickened. It seemed as though something was surging out from beneath the ground.
Bian Qingxuan’s pupils contracted. Things were going badly—the restrained Untransformed Toad, having lost one of its primal forms, was now enraged and likely intended to deal with all of them.
She cursed under her breath, realizing she needed to find Bian Lingyu quickly. Her use of the Wandering Flute in Qingshui Village seemed to have drawn the attention of the Untransformed Toad. If she encountered it and couldn’t defeat it… she glanced at the unconscious Wei Changyuan, thinking it would be a pity to sacrifice this pawn.
As dawn approached, Shi Luoyi finally regained her strength. Rising from the edge of the lotus pond, she noticed the violet demonic mist converging in one direction, her expression grave.
Trouble was surely brewing!
If they moved slowly, they wouldn’t make it in time.
Shi Luoyi recalled the sight of Han Shu being devoured in her past life and felt an urgent anxiety welling up inside her. She couldn’t wait any longer.
Shi Luoyi crouched beside Bian Lingyu and discussed with him: “The demonic energy is gathering. I don’t know if our fellow disciples are in danger. I’ll set up a barrier here. Will you stay and wait for me to bring Elder Han Shu and the others?”
She was about to confront the Untransformed Toad, and bringing Bian Lingyu along wouldn’t help. Perhaps staying here would be safer for him.
Bian Lingyu, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, opened them upon hearing her words.
He knew that Shi Luoyi believed the substance on his back wasn’t venom—if it were the Untransformed Toad’s poison, he, as a mortal, should have died long ago. Now that he appeared fine, she was ready to leave and handle the main task.
The venom seeping into his lungs brought a suffocating pain, and the Soul-Gathering Pill wouldn’t take full effect until dawn broke, allowing him to purge all the toxins. But Bian Lingyu didn’t care about these things. Such poison indeed couldn’t kill him. Looking into the anxious eyes of the girl before him, Bian Lingyu understood she was going to save others. Calmly, he said: “Alright.”
Hearing him agree, Shi Luoyi felt a wave of relief wash over her. Summoning her Divine Meteor Blade, she drew a barrier around him and prepared to leave.
After taking a few steps, for some inexplicable reason, she turned back to look at Bian Lingyu.
The morning light was faint, and the dawn of Qingshui Village appeared pale and cold. The silver-clad youth sat quietly within the barrier she had drawn, his gaze fixed on her.
It was a gaze Shi Luoyi was very familiar with. For a moment, she was lost in thought.
In her past life, and often in this life, this was how Bian Lingyu always was. His narrow, elongated eyes and pitch-black pupils gave him a silent, aloof demeanor—like the solitary moon hanging in the sky.
She used to think such a side of Bian Lingyu was hypocritical and haughty, making him and his sister two villains of different temperaments.
During the worst moments when her inner demons consumed her, controlled by her darker self, she even wanted to see him tear off his false mask. Thus, looking down on him from above, she provoked him with cruel, hurtful words.
Yet he merely gazed at her, neither responding to her insults nor showing any signs of anger.
Only when she grew brazen and teasingly slapped his face—”Bian Lingyu, are you dead? Move.”—did his eyes flicker with a faint hatred, turning crimson, finally resembling someone with emotion.
Even now, it was the same. She pressed her lips tightly and walked far, far enough that his figure disappeared from sight, yet her steps grew slower and slower.
There wasn’t a single toad in the lotus pond, but countless wriggling shadows could be seen on the ground. These were the demonic energies scattered by the enraged Untransformed Toad, which would erode human bodies.
Anxiety gradually crept into Shi Luoyi’s heart.
Was it truly safe to leave Bian Lingyu behind? She knew it wasn’t. What if the shadows broke through the barrier? What if the Untransformed Toad harbored particular malice toward this mortal? Did he truly wish to stay?
Shi Luoyi had more important people in her heart—she wanted Elder Han Shu to remain unharmed. Thus, she subconsciously chose not to bring Bian Qingxuan’s brother and even felt relieved that he hadn’t complicated matters by insisting.
But as she thought about his final gaze, her steps slowed further until she finally stopped.
She didn’t know why—it might have been instinct. Though Bian Lingyu hadn’t said a word, she felt compelled to return.
Bian Lingyu watched Shi Luoyi’s retreating figure, his eyes cold and calm.
Perhaps he was more accustomed than anyone to being abandoned. As a child, living with his mother in Tianxing Ravine, she had said: “Lingyu is stronger than your younger brother, so the detoxifying Senluo Fruit will go to him. You can endure the pain, right?”
He watched as his mother fed the only Senluo Fruit to his younger brother, then curled up in agony for ten days.
During his transformation, he narrowly survived the process of manifesting the long tail that symbolized his innate talent. But his mother used infernal flames to forge a blade and attempted to sever it.
The frail young boy clutched at his mother’s skirt, pleading silently for her to stop.
Still, she brought the blade down, coldly stating: “Your brother is disabled and unable to transform. He’s already sensitive by nature. Lingyu, as long as you’re like him, he won’t suffer.”
The tail was connected to his lifeline, and that day, the pain nearly killed him. Yet he also received rare warmth from his mother—she stayed by his bedside for half a day, a rare act of tenderness, though it came at the cost of severing his potential.
When heavenly thunder and fire descended, his mother could only save one child. Without hesitation, she took his younger brother and left.
Under the raging flames, he watched their departing figures, numbly lowering his gaze.
Later, that woman looked at him with loathing: “You were born without crying or laughing, just like that man—aloof, stubborn, and cold. Disgusting. I severed your tail, abandoned you, and threw you into the flames, ensuring you’d never inherit anything, leaving you with only ugly bone spurs. Hahaha… If it were anyone else, they’d surely hate me to death. But you? You don’t even care. You’re a monster, born utterly repulsive. Do you see me, your mother, as nothing more than an insect? A monster like you deserves the same fate as your father—unloved, forever yearning, betrayed by all.”
“You’re unafraid of pain, unafraid of death. Life must be meaningless to you. So go ahead and die in your brother’s place.”
These memories now felt distant, as if they belonged to another lifetime.
His battered body and the abilities stripped from him time and again served as a tally of how unwanted and detestable he truly was.
Dawn had yet to break fully, and the Soul-Gathering Pill hadn’t taken effect. Bian Lingyu’s body remained as fragile as a mortal’s, yet he still stood up and stepped out of Shi Luoyi’s barrier. Strictly speaking, eliminating the Untransformed Toad was his responsibility, not hers.
Countless shadows surged toward him, like leeches drawn to blood, clinging to his body and attempting to tear into him.
Bian Lingyu remained indifferent, his mind focused on deciphering the intentions of the Untransformed Toad.
Its two true forms—one had been boldly severed by Shi Luoyi, and the other would surely be hidden even deeper. If they encountered it, even Han Shu might not stand a chance.
The venom of the Untransformed Toad still coursed through him, sending sharp pains down his spine, yet he never considered stopping.
Even amidst such torment, he remained steadfast in his duty.
He would not follow in his father’s footsteps.
His father had loved his mother, accustomed to commanding and seizing what he desired. But she had wounded him, betrayed him, borne children with another, driving him to madness and ruin. In the end, he forgot his responsibilities, leading to the current state of the mortal realm, which now fell to Bian Lingyu to resolve.
Bian Lingyu’s expression remained cold as he pondered where the Untransformed Toad might be hiding, too preoccupied to swat away the shadows.
As dawn broke, the morning light spilled over the horizon, and the incessant crawling of the shadows irritated him beyond measure. Finally, a trace of killing intent surfaced in his brow. Bone spurs emerged from his sleeves, ready to shred the shadows—but before he could act, a surge of blade energy swept through, tearing apart the shadows that sought to devour him.
His vision cleared.
The girl stood panting heavily, her face a mixture of shock and fury, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her voice brimmed with anger as she scolded him:
“Bian Lingyu, are you insane? Why did you step out of my barrier? Don’t you know to dodge or fight back when they bite you? Do you plan to turn into an Untransformed Toad and come kill me?”
He raised his eyes, meeting her gaze directly.
Shi Luoyi was still shaken, her anger flaring at his reckless decision to leave the barrier: “You… sigh…” How could he be so bold?
The morning breeze tousled her hair. Seeing his silent demeanor, her irate tone softened into a whisper, gentle and resigned, as if conceding: “It’s my fault for leaving you here. Since you’re not afraid, let’s go together. I’ll take you to find Elder Han Shu and the others.”
Bian Lingyu looked at her outstretched hand.
He knew full well that this girl harbored no feelings for him. She didn’t love him; she was plagued by inner demons. If those demons surfaced, she might harm him, just as she had done countless times before. Perhaps she’d vent her frustrations on him, only to feel a fleeting pang of guilt afterward.
Yet, faced with her extended hand, he still grasped it.
This would be the last time he indulged himself, Bian Lingyu thought. After all, they wouldn’t be able to go much farther.
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