Jianmu was in chaos.
Luo Luo and Li Zhaoye had just left Dongyu when they encountered fleeing refugees.
"Horrible... it's horrible... Jianmu has collapsed... the demons are out... everyone's dead... everyone's dead!"
Even those who managed to escape were left in a daze, their faces drained of color.
Luo Luo clenched her sword hilt in anger.
Yue Wugou had stolen the Heavenly Yin essence, damaging the Sealing Divine Hall. Instead of properly repairing it, the Heavenly Dao Sect had hastily patched it up with a restrictive barrier formation.
Disaster was inevitable!
"Are the Heavenly Dao Sect just letting demons slaughter people?" Luo Luo fumed. "Is this how their Dao Lords and True Lords protect the world?"
The refugee she stopped trembled, shaking his head. "I don’t know... we didn’t see any of them."
Luo Luo declared loudly, "We’re nothing like them! If demons want to harm anyone, they’ll have to step over our corpses first!"
The refugee blinked blankly. "Who are you?"
Li Zhaoye rested a hand on Luo Luo’s shoulder and stepped forward, proudly pointing at her with his thumb. "Open your eyes wide! This is none other than the undisputed champion of the Qingyun Grand Tournament, the rising star of the cultivation world, the once-in-three-millennia sword prodigy—the junior sister of the Tai Xuan Sect, Luo Luo herself!"
The crowd gasped. "Wow!"
Luo Luo’s face burned crimson, and she quickly dragged Li Zhaoye away.
He frowned. "Why run?"
Luo Luo cringed. "Aren’t you embarrassed when someone praises you like that?"
Li Zhaoye looked baffled. "It’s just facts. Why be embarrassed?"
Luo Luo: "..."
The thin-skinned and thick-skinned duo soared toward Jianmu.
They arrived at Jianmu deep into the night.
The once-bustling bronze metropolis lay in ruins. Among the "branches," massive shadowy figures lumbered like moving hills.
A blood-red moon hung in the sky.
Beneath its eerie glow, dark crimson stains splattered everywhere.
Occasional groans and screams echoed faintly.
Luo Luo cautiously landed on a half-collapsed sky corridor, its broken path leading to a nearby house.
The small dwelling tilted precariously. Suddenly, a young woman leaned out from its brass window.
"Thank goodness! The immortal sects have finally sent help!" Her eyes burned with desperate hope as she fixed her gaze on Luo Luo. "Immortal Maiden, my daughter—she’s hiding under the windbreak fence outside. Could you please check on her?"
Luo Luo frowned. "If there are no demons around, why don’t you just—"
—go look yourself?
Before she could finish, Li Zhaoye’s heavy arm draped over her shoulders, pulling her aside.
Luo Luo: "Huh?"
He led her a few steps away, pressing her head down to peer beneath the house.
Luo Luo blinked, focusing.
There was no child—the windbreak fence had long been destroyed, leaving only tattered wooden planks swaying in the wind. The girl was gone.
Fury surged in Luo Luo’s chest.
This woman! How could she abandon her child outside, too afraid to even check on her?
Seething, Luo Luo leaped back onto the corridor, ready to scold the woman harshly.
But when their eyes met, the woman’s face lit up with desperate hope.
"Is my baby alright?" she asked eagerly.
Luo Luo’s mocking words died in her throat.
Something about the woman’s eyes reminded her of her own mother.
The cruel truth—"Your child is gone"—stuck in her chest.
The woman leaned further out, frantic. "Is she safe? Tell me she’s safe!"
As Luo Luo hesitated, a large hand settled on her shoulder.
"The child’s asleep," Li Zhaoye interjected lazily. "Should we wake her?"
"Ah!" The woman exhaled in relief, her smile softening. "No, no. Let her sleep... let her sleep. She must grow up strong..."
Luo Luo sensed something off. A closer look made her heart plummet—
The woman’s vitality was fading fast, the light in her eyes dimming.
She gasped.
Dread pooled in her stomach as she tiptoed to see past the window frame.
The woman had no lower body—only a torso, half-devoured by demons.
The truth struck like lightning.
She had lured the monsters away to protect her child. This was her final moment.
Luo Luo’s eyes stung.
Gritting her teeth, she strode forward, vaulting over the broken corridor to embrace the woman’s cold, fading body.
"Baby..." the woman whispered weakly. "Is that... my baby?"
Luo Luo shut her eyes. "She’ll grow up... study hard... become so strong she’ll slay every last demon. I promise... Mother."
The woman smiled and closed her eyes.
Luo Luo gently laid her back on the windowsill, then turned, jaw set.
"Time to slaughter them all."
Li Zhaoye smirked. "Every last demon."
(He pretended not to see her red-rimmed eyes.)
In perfect sync, they summoned their swords—Qiu Shui and Chang Tian—and shot into the night.
"Clang—whoosh!"
"Don’t see me... don’t see me..."
A child huddled in a corner, hands clamped over her eyes.
A monstrous shadow loomed, reeking of rot.
At the brink of despair—
A blaze of light erupted, radiant as sunset, fierce as wildfire.
"BOOM!"
The world flashed bright.
The child lowered her hands, stunned.
A crimson arc split the demon’s mountainous body diagonally.
"SCREECH—!"
The beast toppled in two halves, black blood gushing.
Behind it hovered a goddess-like figure. With a clear sword chime, her flaming blade drew a half-moon in the air before sheathing.
The child gaped as Luo Luo vanished.
"Mother... when I grow up, I want to be just like her..."
Heavenly Dao Sect.
Pang Yue, the sect leader, paced anxiously.
Of all times for disaster—right during his prodigy’s critical breakthrough.
"Stop asking me!" He waved his plump hands frantically, pacing in place. "I know many have died—what can I do about it? Huh? What can I do? I'm just as desperate as you, if not more! Do you think I don’t want to save the Jianmu? But I don’t have the power! Just wait, wait until your young master breaks through to the Hedao stage. Then everything will be resolved!"
For years, Yue Wugou had managed the sect with flawless efficiency. In any other sect, this would have been called a blatant power grab.
Pang Yue, the nominal sect leader, had long since become a figurehead.
He was broad in body and heart, so it didn’t bother him.
But now, of all times, disaster struck—Yue Wugou was in seclusion, Daoist Cangyue was guarding him, and the lower-ranked disciples had no choice but to turn to their useless leader.
"But time won’t wait, Sect Leader..."
"No 'buts'!" Pang Yue’s head throbbed as if it had doubled in size. "With those two absent, who among us can seal the breach? Huh? Tell me, who has that kind of power?"
His subordinate pressed, "But the demons are still devouring people..."
"I know, I know." Pang Yue sighed. "But the root of the problem lies in the Sealed God Hall. If we don’t fix the source, can we ever truly exterminate the demons outside? If not, then sending people out is just sending them to their deaths! So tell me—who should die? Huh? Whose life isn’t precious? If I ordered you to go, would you agree?"
The subordinate fell silent.
Pang Yue threw up his hands. "I can’t solve this. Maybe you all should hold a meeting, brainstorm, and come up with a feasible plan!"
The subordinate’s eye twitched. "This..."
This was a catastrophe beyond measure—what could an ordinary disciple like him possibly propose?
Having stumped his subordinate, Pang Yue felt refreshed. "Go on, go! Don’t come back until you’ve figured something out! Understood?"
"...Yes."
Secret Realm.
"Pfft—!"
Yue Wugou spat another mouthful of blood.
Three consecutive failed attempts at breaking through had left even Daoist Cangyue, his guardian, looking uneasy.
"It’s fine, try again." Daoist Cangyue forced a smile. "I won’t pressure you. It’s alright."
Yue Wugou slowly raised his eyes.
Blood trickled from his lips, his moon-pale face carrying an indescribable, tragic beauty.
"Ancestor," he said hoarsely, "you always say 'it’s alright.'"
Daoist Cangyue frowned. "I just meant—"
Yue Wugou raised a hand, cutting off his elder. "I never apologized. So why do you keep saying 'it’s alright'?"
Daoist Cangyue narrowed his eyes.
Yue Wugou asked coolly, "Do you think I owe you an apology? For wasting your efforts and spiritual power? If so, Ancestor, you may leave. I can manage alone."
Daoist Cangyue: "..."
At his age, beyond the pursuit of the Dao, his only remaining attachment was this stubborn descendant of his bloodline.
He had always been a benevolent elder, one who could afford to be magnanimous even when slighted.
With a flick of his sleeve, Daoist Cangyue huffed, "Fine! I know you’re in a foul mood—I won’t stoop to your level! Stay here and reflect!"
"Boom!"
The stone door slammed shut.
Yue Wugou stared at it for a long time before coughing up more blood.
To ascend to Hedao, he had unresolved karma.
And this karma—he had no intention of letting his ancestor know.
"Ji. Chun. Hong."
Yue Wugou had once believed he was indifferent. Yet, at every critical moment of his breakthrough, the image of his wife’s brutal death would resurface.
"Didn’t I already avenge you?" He frowned. "I slaughtered the one who killed you, made him suffer. Why won’t you leave me be?"
He tore off the moon-white cloth from his forehead, wiped the blood from his lips and chin, crumpled it, and tossed it aside.
"Ji Chunhong," he said softly, "do you know what calamity is unfolding outside? Demons ravage the land, slaughtering innocents. And yet, here you are, hindering me?"
His eyes lowered. "This is my last attempt. Stay away."
Ji Chunhong, Ji Chunhong. How had he ever entangled himself in such mortal karma?
It had happened many, many years ago.
On that day long past, Yue Ranchen had borrowed his body to visit a brothel.
In the throes of passion, their souls had abruptly switched back.
Even after all these years, Yue Wugou could never forget the shock and revulsion he had felt—
The prostitute’s slick body, flushed face, and writhing, desperate movements had repulsed him like a fat, squirming maggot. He had retched until bile burned his throat, fleeing in disgust.
Stumbling blindly, he had staggered to a river and plunged in, scrubbing himself raw, wishing he could tear out his insides and scour them clean.
Filthy. So filthy.
Worse still was the shameful, unrelieved ache in his body—an unbearable contradiction that made him want to drown himself then and there.
Ji Chunhong had saved him.
Mistaking him for a drowning man, she had leaped into the river and dragged his half-dead body ashore.
He lay sprawled on sun-baked pebbles, staring blankly at the sky.
Thinking he was still choking, she rolled up her sleeves, pressed her interlaced hands to his chest, and pumped.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Her face filled his vision.
Drenched, cheeks flushed, she panted heavily from exertion, her warm breath brushing his face with each exhale.
To his horror, Yue Wugou felt his body respond again—yet this time, he didn’t recoil from her touch.
He wanted her.
If he took a wife, he could rightfully forbid his brother from ever using his body for such debauchery again.
A practical solution.
Did he love Ji Chunhong?
Yue Wugou didn’t need to think—no.
"I don’t love you, Ji Chunhong. Stay out of my sight, or I won’t hesitate to kill you."
A peach blossom petal drifted past his eyes.
"Giggle, giggle..."
Her laughter echoed.
He knew she hadn’t always been so subdued. Once, she had been lively as a wild deer, laughing freely, running through the hills.
But after marrying him, the weight of status and propriety had forced her to smother that spirit, to become the dignified young madam of a great sect.
A faint figure flickered in the distance.
Yue Wugou’s instincts sharpened—this was a demon of the heart, an obstacle to his ascension.
"Is this tribulation unavoidable...?"
After a pause, he strode forward.
His eyes chilled. If necessary, he would kill her to prove his Dao.
"Giggle! Giggle, giggle!"
Her laughter led him into a peach grove.
He looked up. The blossoms blazed like silk and gold leaf, dazzling under the sun.
He raised a hand.
Under the midday sun, moonlight spilled across the sky.
The pale, cold moonlight overshadowed the sun, spilling into the peach grove and casting a shimmering silver glow across the blossoms.
This was Yue Wugou’s domain, bathed in lunar radiance.
He blinked slowly, his expression indifferent as he stepped into the grove.
"Giggle, giggle!" Her voice called to him from afar. "Husband, come here, come here!"
Only once since their marriage had she been this carefree.
That time, he had accompanied her back to the Green Forest Sect and casually shared drinks with her fellow disciples.
Others had prattled on with foolish remarks, but he couldn’t be bothered to respond, let alone refute them.
Ji Chunhong seemed to have misunderstood something. Her cheeks grew redder and redder, convinced he had truly fallen for her at first sight, deeply and irrevocably.
After the banquet, they should have returned to the Heavenly Path Sect.
But she had suddenly grabbed his hand, insisting on taking him to the peach grove where she once practiced her swordplay.
Yue Wugou frowned, silently refusing.
Normally, she would have known better than to push. But that day, she had also been drinking, and she dragged him into the peach grove by force.
—Just like the one before him now.
"Swish! Swish!"
In the clearing, she danced with her sword, clad in crimson robes.
Yue Wugou could spot eighteen flaws in her technique at a glance, but he saw no point in mentioning them.
What good would it do? Her talent was mediocre—no matter how hard she trained, she would never rise above mediocrity. She’d exhaust herself for nothing when she could simply cultivate with him instead.
But Ji Chunhong refused.
She said that dual cultivation between husband and wife should be mutual, a path of shared growth and benefit—not just him giving while she took.
She insisted on catching up to him first before engaging in such practices.
Since she wouldn’t agree, Yue Wugou naturally didn’t bother persuading her.
He didn’t understand her stubbornness, nor the hollow principles of her Green Forest Sect. They had clung to him, a towering tree, yet refused to even gather the scraps that fell from his fingers—scraps that could have sustained them for a lifetime.
But they wouldn’t take them.
"Giggle…" Ji Chunhong’s swordplay halted mid-motion. She turned to him, smiling. "Husband, how was that move? The Peach Blossom Sword Technique?"
Yue Wugou’s gaze flickered.
For a moment, he couldn’t recall whether his wife’s sword style was even called the Peach Blossom Sword.
But it didn’t matter.
She had forced her way into his presence to disrupt his cultivation. There was no need for further words.
His resolve solidified, and a faint glint of killing intent surfaced in his pale, glass-like eyes.
He raised his hand, a crescent moon materializing in his palm.
"Hmm?" Ji Chunhong tilted her head, drawing out the sound. "Husband, are you going to kill me again?"
Yue Wugou frowned.
"It wasn’t me who killed you," he said coolly.
Ji Chunhong chuckled. "But it was your body that did it!"
A seductive allure crept into her expression, her gaze hazy and unfocused. Step by step, she advanced toward him, her red lips parting before his eyes. "Your body did those things to me… and then killed me. Isn’t that right?"
Yue Wugou’s breath tightened.
This was his wife. For years, whenever he desired, he could pull her into his bed.
Habit had made it second nature.
Now, she was deliberately tempting him—and succeeding.
"Ji Chunhong," he said, his voice strained. "What do you want?"
She stopped in place, laughing softly. "I want you to join me, husband. Will you agree?"
Yue Wugou remained impassive. "No. I have many things to do."
Every single one of them more important than you.
"Ah, every single one more important than me," she said, as if reading his mind.
Yue Wugou’s brows furrowed slightly, his lips pressing together in silent acknowledgment.
"But you still want to… indulge in pleasure with me," she murmured, closing the distance before darting away just as he moved to strike. "Come, catch me if you can!"
Yue Wugou lowered his eyes. "If I catch you, I will kill you."
In an instant, his figure vanished, dissolving into the moonlight.
A lethal strike materialized, aimed straight for her heart.
"Clang!"
She parried with her sword.
"Husband, have you grown weaker?" The cold steel reflected in her eyes as she exhaled softly. "Even a mere woman like me can block your killing blow now?"
Yue Wugou said nothing, striking again in rapid succession.
"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Silver light flashed as blossoms of peach light bloomed upon her blade with each deflection.
Yue Wugou’s gaze grew colder.
This heart demon tormenting him could actually match him blow for blow.
If so, how could he break free?
"Aha!" She suddenly laughed. "So this is your regret."
She flipped backward, landing lightly on a peach branch, looking down at him.
Her red lips curved. "If I had been stronger, I wouldn’t have died by Yue Ranchen’s hand—is this the obsession haunting you, disrupting your cultivation?"
Yue Wugou’s frown deepened.
She giggled. "Oh, I see. You regret not dual cultivating with me, not helping me grow stronger. Isn’t that right?"
A flicker of tension passed through Yue Wugou’s pupils.
"So…" She bent over, laughing. "What you truly desire is a temptress. Just like this version of me."
"Nonsense," Yue Wugou said flatly.
"Is it nonsense, or have I struck a nerve?" She floated toward him, narrowly evading another crescent strike. "Ah, so ruthless!"
Her hand caught his sleeve.
In a whirl, she collided against his chest.
Their free hands exchanged several blows as she gazed up at him.
"You can’t kill me," she sighed. "Do you know why?"
"No."
"Because I’m in your heart." She spun away, her sleeve brushing his chest. "You carry me with you, even in your tribulation. How could you ever destroy me?"
He remained silent.
One smiled enchantingly; the other was cold as frost.
After a long standoff, Yue Wugou finally spoke. "Do you know? The Sacred Tree has shattered. Demons run rampant, slaughtering innocents. Rivers of blood flow unchecked."
Her smile faded slightly.
He continued, "The Green Forest Sect lies barely two hundred miles from the Sacred Tree. By duty and by reason, I should save them first upon leaving seclusion. Yet here you are, holding me back."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Are you really Ji Chunhong?" The ghost of a smirk touched his lips. "Or should I ask—are you the Ji Chunhong in my heart?"
Her expression darkened.
Moral manipulation was despicable, but effective.
A woman who would abandon her sect and kin just to torment him could not be Ji Chunhong.
And if she wasn’t Ji Chunhong, how could she remain his heart demon?
The dream trembled; the peach grove wavered.
She lifted her chin. "I’ll stop hindering your cultivation—but only if you agree to one condition. Otherwise, I’ll haunt you in your next tribulation, and the one after that!"
"Name your condition first."
She turned her back, waving a hand.
The scene shifted, and Yue Wugou saw Yue Ranchen as he once was—his gaze fixed on Ji Chunhong, brimming with anything but respect for his sister-in-law.
Yue Wugou’s eyelid twitched.
"You knew your brother coveted me," her voice echoed around them. "You even considered killing him. Why didn’t you?"
Without waiting for an answer, she guessed, "You needed him to take the blame for you. That’s why you spared him. For the sake of the Heavenly Yin Essence, you let me die."
Yue Wugou’s lips pressed into a thin line, his silence answer enough.
She chuckled softly, "Feeling better now? You've obtained the True Breath, yet your inner demons remain unsettled."
He sighed lightly, "Name your terms."
She giggled mischievously, "Since all your obsessions stem from the Tianyin True Breath, let it be the end of them—I want you to swear an oath. After your death, the True Breath belongs to me."
Yue Wugou frowned.
What kind of condition was this?
He asked, "If I swear, will you cease tormenting my mind?"
She answered readily, "Your obsession is my death, but my death hinges on your unwillingness to part with the True Breath. If you swear, the demon in your heart will vanish."
Yue Wugou did not agree immediately.
"Don’t tell me…" she mocked, "you’re like those foolish mortals who think they can take their treasures to the underworld?"
"Death erases all. Even if reincarnation exists, I will no longer be myself." Yue Wugou lifted his gaze, his voice calm. "Very well, I swear. If my soul is extinguished, the Tianyin True Breath shall be yours."
She laughed in delight, clapping her hands lightly.
The nightmare dissipated, and the pact was sealed.
"Someone will help me kill you... Yue Wugou."
"You’re doomed."
