"Why are you here?"
The demonic energy around Li Luoqi surged violently, his gaze toward Lu Ziqian filled with killing intent.
"Demon Sovereign, Piao Miao Sect has been defeated, Yin Luo Sect's sect master is dead, and You Yan Gate has betrayed us. The remaining demonic sects, upon hearing the news, have hidden within their mountains, unwilling to make a move."
Lu Ziqian paused, then said calmly and firmly, "This battle, the demon race is destined to lose."
Li Luoqi threw back his head and laughed. "So it really was you!"
Now he understood—Lu Ziqian had betrayed him.
No wonder Yun Gu Sect and Suohong Tower always managed to anticipate his attacks. No wonder the generals he dispatched always died, yet Lu Ziqian returned alive every time.
A smile lingered on Li Luoqi's lips, but his eyes were colder than ice. "Where is the Nascent Soul elder I sent with you?"
Lu Ziqian twirled the brush between his fingers, his manner courteous and composed. "I fought him once. His soul is here."
The veins at Li Luoqi's temples throbbed. His eyes darkened as he stared at the brush spinning in Lu Ziqian's fingers.
"He's dead?"
"Not yet," Lu Ziqian replied.
Li Luoqi sneered. "If his soul is trapped by you, in my eyes he is no different from dead."
Lu Ziqian met his gaze steadily. "The Demon Sovereign is as cold-blooded as ever. Even when a demon elder falls, you do not grieve for a moment."
"The demon race has no emotions," Li Luoqi said with a chilling laugh.
Lu Ziqian was unsurprised. He simply answered politely, "That is why they chose to follow me instead."
"The demon race cares nothing for feelings. They only recognize strength. I risked everything to subdue that Nascent Soul elder. If they dare betray me, I will kill them just as easily."
Yao Ranran stepped forward, already shocked to see Lu Ziqian here. But hearing his calm, confident words made her feel that something in him had changed.
Could he have been demonized?
She recalled his fate as the Heaven's Lone Star and could not help but worry about his state of mind.
After walking across ten thousand corpses of demons, could he still keep that pure, innocent heart he once had?
"Is it that you want to replace me, or that someone behind you is directing this rebellion?"
Li Luoqi turned his back to Yao Ranran, his gaze cold upon the masses of demons behind Lu Ziqian, killing intent flooding his chest like a raging sea.
Lu Ziqian's eyes brushed past Yao Ranran, a flicker of joy in their depths, but when he looked back at Li Luoqi his expression was calm as still water.
"Demon Sovereign, you pride yourself on your cunning. Surely you already know who stands behind me."
Li Luoqi's gaze flickered, then erupted with killing intent.
"Then I will kill you first, and then kill them all. No matter who is behind you, they will die here!"
Demonic fog roared up, the earth veins quaked. Li Luoqi raised a massive blade condensed of blood and demonic energy, swinging it down at Lu Ziqian.
Lu Ziqian did not move. Behind him the demons trembled, but not one dared step forward.
"Master, it is good that you are here," Lu Ziqian thought silently, turning his gaze toward Yao Ranran as she prepared to act.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The heavy clash resounded, shaking the world, tearing countless fissures through the earth.
Nine azure lotuses bloomed within the sinister demonic fog, pure and radiant like moonlight. They swept away the darkness, scattering ten thousand lotus-petal arrows that shot straight at Li Luoqi's back.
Moments later—
Li Luoqi lay sprawled in the center of a vast crater, his body pierced by crimson lotuses blooming upon him, beautiful in their deadly brilliance.
The fog and dust dissipated. Silence fell over all as they stared at Li Luoqi, unmoving in the pit, as though he were already dead.
Lu Ziqian stood stunned. He knew his master was powerful, but this powerful… it shamed him deeply. He was unworthy to be her disciple.
With a single strike, she had crushed the Demon Sovereign, bearer of the ancient giant demon bloodline.
Li Luoqi, the one who had fought the Central Domain's number one sword cultivator, Shen Yuefu, to a draw!
Elder Shang's beard stood on end from the demonic backlash, his eyes wide as he stared at Yao Ranran's Nine Lotus Ring in disbelief.
"You… you…"
He pointed at her, utterly shaken.
Yao Ranran glanced back at him. "What about me?"
"You… you cannot be human!"
Yao Ranran smiled lightly. "I've heard that before. Elder Shang, are you trying to praise me as a heavenly fairy from the Ninth Heaven? Really, there's no need."
Everyone: "…" It sounded close, but somehow not quite right.
Elder Shang spat. "You damn monster! A peerless fiend, not some Ninth Heaven fairy! Could a fairy be as savage as you?"
Yao Ranran: "…what?"
Everyone suddenly understood. "Yes, that's it!"
A peerless fiend!
Only those words could describe her terrifying might.
Darkness flickered in Lu Ziqian's eyes. He looked at the elder's soul-body with suspicion. "Who is this old man?"
Elder Shang was shocked. "You can see me?"
Puzzled, Lu Ziqian replied, "Of course. We can all see you."
Elder Shang stiffened, glancing around. Every gaze was fixed on him.
"That's right. When did this old man appear?" Yun Dehe peered at him curiously.
Pei Xianqiao instantly moved to shield Elder Shang, but surrounded by both demons and Yun Gu Sect disciples, there was no hiding him.
"He came with me. He is also a disciple of Wuxiang Sect!"
Elder Shang quickly suppressed his aura, fading from sight.
But Lu Ziqian's eyes flashed. He drew a stroke with his brush in the air, and Elder Shang cried out in pain as his form was forced visible again.
Yun Dehe's expression hardened. "Pei Daoyou, this old man's behavior is suspicious. Lurking and hiding—he hardly seems like a disciple of Wuxiang Sect."
Zhao Lingyi's eyes narrowed at the black brush-mark seared onto Elder Shang's form, glancing warily at Lu Ziqian. If not for the fact this man once called Fairy Yao Ranran his master, he would already be Yun Gu Sect's sworn enemy.
Pei Xianqiao glared furiously at Lu Ziqian. "He is not a demon. Why treat him like this?"
"Pei Daoyou, can you really distinguish between demons and the righteous path? You stood with Li Luoqi at the front of the demon army, and now you say he is not a demon?" Yun Dehe's voice thundered.
When Elder Shang's aura had flared under Li Luoqi's backlash, Yun Dehe clearly sensed the man's soul force, no weaker than his own. How could he not suspect Pei Xianqiao of hiding this man for some hidden scheme?
Pei Xianqiao protested passionately. "I stood with Li Luoqi only to protect the Eastern Wilderness, to save the disciples of Yun Gu Sect…"
"Pft! Sect master, is she really Elder Yue Qingsu's disciple?" Li Qingtíng stepped forward to Yun Dehe's side. Hearing Pei Xianqiao's excuse, she could not help but laugh.
Yun Dehe nodded. "Indeed. She does have some skill, but her head is not clear."
Pei Xianqiao's face flushed. "You're the one whose head is unclear!"
"You dare stand with the Demon Sovereign, then insult our sect master? Such insolence!" Li Qingtíng scolded sharply.
Pei Xianqiao bit her lip hard, scanning the circle of gazes around her before locking her eyes onto Yao Ranran.
"Since I have already decided to save Yun Gu Sect, why must you appear here? Next time, when I advance to Nascent Soul, I will defeat you!"