Don’t Ask. The Answer Is: Kill Them All.
“I am Ming Xiao, Master of Tianxuan Peak of the Jiuhua Sect. I have come to seek instruction.”
When the woman in blue spoke those words, she neither raised her voice deliberately nor lowered it to project an air of authority. It was as though she were simply discussing the Dao with someone, tossing out an ordinary sentence in an ordinary tone.
Her voice was clear and mellow, like the music of a forest breeze mingling with the sound of a mountain spring. It was neither cold nor stern; instead, it carried a melodious lilt, like a song, that stirred the heart before one even realized it.
Her clothing was equally unremarkable. She looked like an ordinary female cultivator one might encounter anywhere: a robe of cloud-patterned brocade, blue at the base and scattered with little white plum blossoms.
A few pearl flowers adorned her temples, each crafted in the shape of a plum blossom from five-petaled pieces of green jade.
There was none of the dominance or sharpness associated with “the greatest sword cultivator beneath the heavens” about her. She fit neither the usual image of a sword cultivator nor the modern notion of a “strong woman.”
Had she not revealed her identity, one might have taken her for a young woman choosing silk at a cloth shop, a gifted beauty wielding her brush at a poetry gathering, or a lovely maiden dressed to the nines and calling her friends out for an excursion in spring…
In short, she might have been any woman by your side.
And yet, for all her ordinariness, her mere presence made it impossible to overlook her.
A clear breeze beneath the forest canopy, her sharpness held quietly within.
“…”
Shu Fu stared up at her in a daze, as though she had seen a meteor shower in broad daylight or the aurora from the equator. Her soul took a long while to return to her body.
Or perhaps it only seemed that way to her. In truth, after no more than a few brief breaths, several of the demon cultivators pushed through the crowd and rose into the air on their magical artifacts, surrounding the woman overhead.
“Master Mingxiao?”
One of them was a subordinate of Zhao Jiuge and knew exactly how serious the matter was. He cautiously ventured, “The Demon Lord has given his orders. We came here solely for Wei City and have no intention of disturbing you. Besides, the Jiuhua Sect and Wei City are not allies. We hope you will grant us this small favor.”
Another had already reached the half-step Nascent Soul stage. As one of He Xiuwen, the Ghost-Faced Demon Lord’s, fiercest lieutenants, he could tell at a glance that this “Ming Xiao” was merely a divine sense incarnation, and that her cultivation was only slightly above his own at most. Feeling contempt in his heart, he spoke with undisguised arrogance.
“Master Mingxiao, there are some meddlesome affairs in this world that you would do well to leave alone.”
“Master Mingxiao.”
The other demon cultivator’s face darkened with displeasure. He bared his teeth in a sinister grin.
“I’m talking to you. Didn’t you hear me?”
“…”
Only then did Ming Xiao glance at him, without the slightest trace of emotion. It was no more than a glance, as though she were looking at a withered leaf on a branch or a cicada clinging to a tree in the chill of autumn—without the least concern or interest. A moment later, she turned her gaze aside.
Her tone remained as mild as ever, as though she were patiently explaining a misunderstanding.
“I’m sorry. Your voice was too soft. I didn’t hear you.”
The excuse was so perfunctory that the demon cultivator’s expression immediately sank.
“I’m right in front of you. How could you not hear me?”
Ming Xiao replied coolly, “The autumn cicada is nearing its end, and its cry is faint. Naturally, I couldn’t hear it. Still, that’s better than the incessant racket of a summer cicada, which only makes people irritable.”
That was tantamount to throwing the insult right in his face. If the demonic cultivator still failed to understand, then all the years he had lived had been for nothing.
He had at least some self-control and did not fly into a rage. Instead, he reached into the air with one hand and pulled down a bizarre-looking weapon. A vicious glint flashed in his eyes.
“Very well. Since Master Mingxiao is so confident, my ‘Autumn Cicada’ will be the one to test your skill.”
Ming Xiao neither agreed nor disagreed. Her gaze swept calmly over the several demonic cultivators surrounding them before she spoke.
“In that case, you may all attack together.”
Attack together.
Those words were like a ladleful of boiling oil thrown onto a raging fire. The half-step Nascent Soul demonic cultivator could no longer restrain himself. With a flourish of his strange weapon, he shot forward first.
“Master Mingxiao, forgive me!”
Seeing this, the others knew that the battle was unavoidable and that further words would accomplish nothing. Relying on their numerical advantage, they charged forward as one.
Those skilled in close combat swung their weapons and threw out punches and palms. Those adept at spells summoned blazing flames and roaring thunderbolts. One of them seemed to have cultivated some kind of demonic art, releasing countless demonic insects from his body. They blotted out the sky like locusts, surging toward Ming Xiao in a cloud of black mist.
For a moment, Ming Xiao was surrounded on every side by flashing blades and swords. Flames roared beneath her feet, while thunder and demonic insects loomed overhead. It seemed there was nowhere left for her to dodge.
In truth, she did not dodge at all.
She did not even draw her sword.
From Shu Fu’s angle, all she could see was a faint smile flicker across Ming Xiao’s face. Then Ming Xiao’s figure shifted ever so slightly, and she began to walk with light, lotus-like steps.
It was like strolling through the countryside in spring, parting flowers and brushing willow branches aside as she went.
Her hand, white as jade, rose into the air. Her wide sleeve drifted lightly as she raised two fingers like a sword. The movement was as graceful as wind stirring snow, and a tiny frost-colored plum blossom rested between her fingertips.
In an instant, the plum blossom seemed to melt like spring snow and vanished without a trace.
That second seemed to freeze in place, stretching endlessly in Shu Fu’s eyes.
When time began to flow once more, a blood-red radiance burst into the sky like a rosy sunset. The demonic cultivators who had surrounded Ming Xiao were left with severed limbs or severed heads, their bodies drenched in blood and their strength utterly spent. They fell from the sky like broken kites.
They had not even had time to cry out. Until the moment of their defeat, they had never managed to see Ming Xiao’s sword.
“Thud.”
As one head rolled into the dust, the plum blossom finally drifted down after it, tardy as ever. Dyed a vivid crimson by blood, it happened to cover the dead man’s eyes, still wide with disbelief.
“……”
Shu Fu: Is this… what a fight scene in the style of Gu Long looks like?!
It’s so cool!!!
Coach, I want to learn this!!!
The sword technique Shu Fu practiced was the “Profound Frost Formula,” jointly created by Master Mingxiao and Fairy Lingbo, Palace Master of Xuanyu Palace. Its sword intent was chilling and austere, its sword aura cold enough to bite like savage winds and lashing snow.
Ming Xiao herself had clearly already stepped into a far higher realm.
Her “sword” was no longer ice and snow.
It was now a cold plum blossom, proud and unyielding amid snow and frost.
“What are you still standing there for?”
Seeing that Shu Fu was staring in a daze, Jiang Xuesheng gave her a gentle shove from behind and reminded her, “With Ming Xiao here to hold the fort, go do what you’re supposed to do.”
“……”
Shu Fu stood there with her mouth half open for another moment before belatedly coming back to her senses. The first thing she said was, “Master, do you think I could change to a different master?”
Jiang Xuesheng: “…………???”
—Listen to yourself. Is that really something a person would say?
—Though I’m not human, you are!
“Ugh, forget it.”
Shu Fu shook her head, then magnanimously raised a hand and patted Jiang Xuesheng on the shoulder. With a solemn air, she said, “After all, you were here first. A child doesn’t reject their mother for being ugly, nor their family for being poor. Sir, I won’t abandon you just because Master Mingxiao is more handsome than you.”
Jiang Xuesheng: “???” Wait, Fu’er, hold on…”
“But I need some time to calm down.”
Before he could say anything else, Shu Fu had already spun around and hurried away. “If I keep looking at Master Mingxiao, I might really change my mind.”
Jiang Xuesheng: “…”
—Perhaps choosing Master Mingxiao as backup had been a colossal mistake.
A woman like that was practically a wrench, capable of bending a young girl’s sexual orientation at any time, anywhere.
…
With Master Mingxiao and the disciples of Tianxuan Peak joining the battle, the stalemate was broken in an instant. As the demons waned and the righteous way waxed, a vast, righteous purity swept through heaven and earth.
With no more worries behind her, Shu Fu could charge into the ranks of the demon cultivators and fight to her heart’s content.
Liu Ruyi, Zhao Yun, and Si Fei stood back-to-back in a triangle. One played music, one sent waves of icy air whistling outward, and the last supplied Zhao Yun with a constant stream of moisture while joining Liu Ruyi’s melody in singing at the top of his lungs.
To be perfectly honest, Shu Fu had only ever seen this sort of “singing on the battlefield” combat style from Si Fei. Every time she witnessed it, she found it utterly surreal.
In this scene, all she wanted to do was add a caption for Si Fei:
**M·E·R·M·A·N
S·I·N·G·S
D·E·M·O·N
C·U·L·T·I·V·A·T·O·R·S
D·I·E**
As for Zhao Yun, she was nothing like her graceful fellow disciples. Her specialty was using frost spells to freeze her opponents into human ice sculptures, then ripping their heads off with her bare hands—in short, head-breaking.
Forget the enemy; even her allies trembled at the sight. They practically wanted to drop to their knees and cry out, “Sister, spare me! I’m just a harmless little kitten!”
Incidentally, it was said that Zhao Yun took after her father in temperament. The Jade Demon King doted on her greatly and was even said to be considering passing his throne on to her.
…Come to think of it, Wu Yao might well be the gentlest and kindest of the Four Demon Kings.
As for Xiao Tieyi and Ye Shusheng, they were battling the demonic beast outside the city gates.
The fox sisters were each displaying their own skills. Some used illusions to delay the beast’s movements, while others hurled colorful silk ribbons, ropes, whips, and other flexible weapons, binding its iron-hard limbs so tightly that it could neither swing its claws nor pounce to kill.
As for Ye Shusheng, there was no need to ask—he was naturally today’s main tank.
The savage beast let out a roar that shook the earth and sky. It suddenly tore free of one of the ropes and brought a claw crashing down toward the nearest little fox.
That fox was Xiao Tieyi’s younger sister. She cried out, “Oh no!” and was just about to dodge when a tall figure stepped in front of her.
With both arms raised high and his strength sunk into his core, a Buddhist radiance flowing all over his body, Ye Shusheng forcibly took the demonic beast’s claw head-on, as though bearing the weight of Mount Tai.
“You…”
The little fox opened her mouth, but the words caught in her throat. She had no idea what to say to him.
And in the instant she stood there stunned, Xiao Tieyi’s blade arrived.
The fox queen, clad in azure robes and silver armor, leapt down from the sky. Her blade flashed like a white rainbow piercing the sun as she brought it down in a straight, devastating stroke. The edge sank deep into the beast's vulnerable nape, cleaving through sinew, bone, and flesh as easily as splitting bamboo. With a single slash, she cut all the way through and severed the monstrous creature's massive, heavy head.
"Young Master Ye, are you hurt?"
Xiao Tieyi alighted gracefully. Seeing Ye Shusheng standing in front of her younger sister, splattered from head to toe with blood, she reached out and used her sleeve to wipe the bloodstains from his face.
"I... I'm fine. Thanks to Miss Xiao."
Ye Shusheng went rigid for a moment. Then, for reasons he could not quite explain, he suddenly reached up and caught Xiao Tieyi's hand where it rested near his cheek, giving it a firm squeeze.
The little fox sister covered her eyes. "Oh my! What are you two doing? We're still in the middle of a fight!"
"......"
Meanwhile—
While Wei City was winning battle after battle, Young Master Ling's mood was considerably less rosy.
Shu Fu's hundred-odd floating cannons... no, shards of her jade flute, came hurtling toward him. They pierced his skin and poured all the spiritual power they contained into his body.
At this moment, Ling Fengqing was covered in wounds. One eye was blind, he could neither speak nor make a sound, and every inch of his body was wracked with a bone-deep agony like ten thousand ants gnawing at his heart. His organs felt as though they were being churned by blades. He was in such misery that death would have been preferable, yet he could neither die nor escape the pain.
The only reason he had remained conscious through such excruciating torment was a single unshakable conviction:
—Shu Fu had fallen for his scheme. The demonic cultivators would take Wei City.
But now, even that faint shred of hope had been crushed into dust by cruel reality, scattered to the winds.
That reality had a name: Jiang Xuesheng.
So Ling Fengqing decided to run.
As long as the green hills remained, there would be no shortage of firewood. Saving his own hide was what mattered most.
Wei City's defensive formation had already been activated, making any form of teleportation impossible within the city. Elder Shengyang and his pack of lackeys had no choice but to crowd around Ling Fengqing, carry the blood-soaked cur, and flee at top speed.
Like a dog driven from its home, like a fish that had slipped through the net.
Fortunately, Wei City and the Ninefold Splendor Sect were occupied fighting the demonic cultivators and paid no notice to their band of fugitives. They encountered no obstacle along the way.
"Young Master, Young Master, hold on! We're almost at the city gates! No one from Shaking Light Peak has followed us. We—"
—At that moment.
A lean figure suddenly stepped around a corner not far ahead.
Behind that figure, a pitch-black beast, nearly half a story tall, threw back its head and howled. With a roar, it bared two rows of snow-white teeth like steel blades and sprang at them.
What in the world is that?!
Startled, Elder Shengyang had no choice but to set the immobile Ling Fengqing aside and meet the unknown beast's charge with a palm strike.
"Sheng...yang..."
Ling Fengqing struggled to move his fingers, trying to clutch at Elder Shengyang's robes.
Don't leave me behind—
In the end, he never managed to say the words.
Before he could, a short sword gleaming with cold light flew toward him, piercing his utterly defenseless chest.
"..."
Ling Fengqing's one remaining eye flew wide. One hand pressed to his heart, he stared in disbelief toward the source of the blade.
As he looked up, he found himself face-to-face with a fair and handsome young man, whose clear, lively eyes curved into crescent moons as he smiled.
“Brother.”
Ling Xiyue leaned forward slightly, his brows and eyes alight with a brilliance never seen before. His spirit soared, every gesture exuding an effortless charm.
“Xiyue has been here, awaiting your arrival for quite some time.”
