When Xu Nanqiao—who had just been battling them—threw herself into Ye Yu’s arms, Shangguan Jiujiu, Dong Kui, and Jiang Yumo were already completely unfazed.
Great, it looked like another sister.
Although Zhuo Lanqing felt a bit bewildered, she could more or less guess what was happening.
But Ye Huilan flared up like a mad beast and began to roar furiously.
“Stop! Let go at once—she’s my sister-in-law! Why are you clinging to this man?”
With that, Ye Huilan surged forward, intending to separate Ye Yu and Xu Nanqiao on the spot.
Before she could get close, an invisible shockwave slammed her into the clouds of auspicious vapor, sending her sprawling to the ground.
The pain radiating from her back did nothing to clear her head.
She glared at Xuan Chongzi and spat, “Little brother, are you blind? Our immortal companion is in his arms and he’s bullying your sister—aren’t you going to do anything about it?”
The lord of the Nirvana Pagoda sect looked awkward.
“All right, sister, that’s enough. I don’t even know this demoness!”
At those words, Ye Huilan froze in place.
Her eyes went lifeless as she muttered, “You don’t know her? Then why did you admit it just now?”
At this, Xu Nanqiao’s gaze turned ice-cold as she looked at Xuan Chongzi.
Exactly—if he didn’t know her, why did he pretend? Why impersonate my beloved? Did he think the lord of an entire demonic realm could be deceived at will?
Xuan Chongzi shot Ye Huilan a glare and spoke via inner-voice transmission, “If you hadn’t said that this demoness would be a great asset to our sect, why would I have admitted it? It was better to let the mistake stand... but things have gone too far. So perhaps you should speak less!”
Ye Huilan was rendered speechless.
Indeed, the only reason she had fought so hard to claim Xu Nanqiao as her “sister-in-law” was to drive their opponent away and seize the treasure hidden in the sect’s ruins. Nothing more.
Her obsession had blinded her.
She had once succumbed to a heart-devil from her greedy ambition; although she had exorcised it promptly, it seemed her heart-devil still lingered.
Now fully lucid, Ye Huilan clenched her eyes shut and fell silent.
Xuan Chongzi—ever the practical one—realized the situation was no longer in his favor and decisively said, “Let today’s matter end here. I will return and investigate everything; then I shall seek your guidance. Farewell!”
Clearly, he intended to flee. It was his only choice. Dong Kui and Jiang Yumo both rivaled Immortal Kings in power, and with Ye Yu and Xu Nanqiao added to their side, fighting four against one would spell certain death. Fleeing was sensible.
But Xu Nanqiao blocked his path at once, her voice cold: “You say you don’t know me—then why did you claim to be Ye Yu just now? You owe us an explanation!”
Xuan Chongzi remained unflustered. He had already prepared an excuse—yet before he could speak, the surroundings instantly drained of color and went black and white. His soul seemed to leave his body and plummet into the void.
Indeed, Xu Nanqiao’s questioning was a dream assault, striking directly at his soul. Having been tricked once, he would not allow a second deception. Only by entering his dream with her Dream-Demon talent could she learn the truth.
After a few breaths, Xu Nanqiao had seen all of Xuan Chongzi’s inner thoughts. He really intended to use her as a pawn! How vile!
Before he could fully awaken, Xu Nanqiao snapped her hand upward. A gigantic demonic claw materialized and crushed his immortal body in an instant, dispersing his spirit and ensuring his form and soul were utterly annihilated.
When Ye Huilan saw her brother die so suddenly, she let out a heartrending {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} wail.
“Ah!!!”
Her scream was so piercing that Shangguan Jiujiu and Zhuo Lanqing both furrowed their brows—after all, they were relatively weaker.
Xu Nanqiao regarded Ye Huilan with unchanging iciness. Having learned everything in Xuan Chongzi’s dream, she knew Ye Huilan’s kindness toward her was only because of her strength. If that was all, then what friendship could there be?
At that moment, Ye Huilan’s head shot up. Her eyeballs had no whites, only jet-black orbs. A destructive aura burst forth from her, and the immortal energy of heaven and earth began to rush into her body uncontrollably.
In that instant, she shattered the barrier at the peak of the Immortal Lord stage and ascended into the Immortal King realm. Yet her state was horribly corrupted—her aura lacked any of the peace found in true immortals, and the auspicious clouds around her had turned pitch-black.
“Why! Why won’t you obediently be my sister-in-law? And you even killed Xuan Chongzi with your own hands! You demoness, a thousand deaths await you—I will flay you alive and tear you to pieces!”
Her voice split into a dual echo—her own shrill tone and a deeper, more guttural voice.
Ye Yu raised an eyebrow and probed, “Is this... demonic corruption?”
Jiang Yumo nodded. “Exactly. This is an immortal succumbing to a heart-devil. She’s completely possessed—mad, violent, and her power is... ”
Before she could finish, Ye Yu thrust his spear in a single stroke, beheading the corrupted immortal on the spot.
“And how strong did you say she was?” Ye Yu asked, turning to Jiang Yumo in puzzlement.
“Never mind,” she said with a blink. “It’s fine.”
As expected, her husband could fight! In truth, Ye Yu had been patient long enough—only he could silence her screams and her threats against Xu Nanqiao. He would personally send her to reincarnation.
After slaying the corrupted Ye Huilan, Ye Yu suddenly felt a gaze from above, as if someone were peering down at him. He looked up instinctively but saw only a serene sky. No anomaly.
This was the Heavens’ Realm—above it lay the Divine Realm. Could any thought truly traverse two realms? If not, what had he just felt?
He puzzled over this but did not dwell on it. He turned to return with his wives to the Wuwei Pagoda.
When he passed the ruins of the sect, he paused in thought.
“These will be used as materials to expand the Wuwei Pagoda sect.”
At Jiang Yumo’s explanation, Ye Yu nodded thoughtfully.
Hmm, these ruins look oddly familiar. Perhaps I’m mistaken—ruins all look alike.
