"Daoyou, you cannot save her."
Lu Ziqian swept his brush, ink scattering with the force of his palm strike. His attack pierced through Elder Shang's chest, crimson blood mixing mid-air with black ink droplets. At the same moment, Yao Ranran's lotus struck Pei Xianqiao's head.
Elder Shang collapsed with a thunderous crash.
A thin line of blood trickled down Pei Xianqiao's forehead, and the terror in her eyes was impossible to conceal. This was the first time she had ever been so close to death!
For her lotus strike not to have taken Pei Xianqiao's head, Yao Ranran was not surprised. After all, as the female protagonist, she naturally had her halo. The Nine Lotus Rings connected into a single line, transforming into countless lotus seeds, filling the air with overwhelming fragrance.
Suddenly, Pei Xianqiao felt an overwhelming urge to flee.
She thought of escape, and she acted.
As Yao Ranran watched her stumble away in panic, several talismans and treasure-seals flew from her sleeves, bursting mid-air in a dazzling array of colors.
"It looks like New Year's… is this meant to be a celebration?"
The talismans exploded around Yao Ranran, but aside from blurring her vision, not a single strand of her hair was touched.
"Ahhh!"
But Elder Shang, rushing forward in an attempt to save Pei Xianqiao, had no such luck. A flurry of talismans attached themselves to his face and limbs, exploding and leaving his skin bruised in five colors, his hands and feet stiff and numb.
"Pei girl, this old man is right behind you!"
His voice mixed with the detonations, but Pei Xianqiao neither noticed nor had the time to think. Head lowered, she tore apart a Ten Thousand Li Escape Talisman, with only one thought in her mind—escape.
She could not die. Her great vengeance had not been avenged. She and her Brother Fu had not yet become Dao companions.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At that very moment.
In Qingshui County of the Central Domain, streaks of strange light shot into the night sky, accompanied by thunderous roars.
Cultivators there, free of miasma, sent up fireworks of spiritual energy to give thanks to Wuxiang Sect and Pei Xianqiao for saving them.
Yue Qingsu looked on with satisfaction as the fireworks bloomed, spreading the name of Wuxiang Sect and Pei Xianqiao across the entire Central Domain.
Boom, boom!
The grand fireworks over Qingshui overlapped with the talisman blasts within the Demonic Abyss.
Yao Ranran turned her delicate hand, the Nine Lotus Rings forming a whip as hard as steel, and severed Pei Xianqiao's right hand.
Blood spattered the ground. Suddenly, a white light appeared.
"You cannot kill her! She is the Heaven's Chosen!"
A childish voice rang out.
Yao Ranran replied calmly, "If she were Heaven's Chosen, she would not die by my hand. You need not stop me. I cannot kill her anyway."
With that, she raised her whip and snapped Pei Xianqiao's spine.
The Fixed Mirror Spirit stared in shock as Pei Xianqiao's Ten Thousand Li Escape Talisman crumbled to ash. Her frail body crashed to the ground, accompanied by crisp snapping of bone. Elder Shang's eyes turned bloodshot with fury.
"No!!"
Splurt!
Lu Ziqian's brush became a spear, piercing through Elder Shang's heart and shredding his soul.
"Elder Shang!" Pei Xianqiao struggled to turn her head, only to see his fading spirit pinned in place, locked within his body by the spear.
"This has nothing to do with him. Why did you kill—"
Her cries of despair were choked off as Yao Ranran commanded the Nine Lotus Rings to coil around her throat.
Pei Xianqiao's eyes grew bloodshot, tears welling, glaring at Yao Ranran with bitter hatred.
"Do not kill her! She is the Heaven's Chosen. If you touch her, Heaven itself will punish you!"
The Fixed Mirror Spirit blocked her front, attempting to pry off the lotus rings at her neck, but only burned its soul painfully at the touch.
Yao Ranran looked at him with speechless amusement. "Do you take me for a fool? Look at her eyes. She is clearly saying that if she survives, she will one day kill me. Should I spare her and wait for that?"
A deep red mark formed on Pei Xianqiao's throat. Her face flushed, her breathing ragged, blood seeping from her orifices.
The Fixed Mirror Spirit panicked. "No, she would never come back to kill you. Don't kill her, don't kill her!"
It released a mighty aura, shaking the Nine Lotus Rings with resonant chimes. Pei Xianqiao's eyes went bloodshot, the force shaking off the Fixed Mirror Spirit—but not the lotus rings around her neck.
The Fixed Mirror Spirit.
It had clearly just transferred its domain's power to her. Why was it the one blasted away instead?
Yao Ranran's pupils contracted. "That startled me for a moment. I thought you were both about to escape."
The Fixed Mirror Spirit: "…Monster, what a monster!"
It panicked and darted aimlessly in every direction.
Lu Ziqian stared at the tiny creature running about, his heart still pounding.
"So it was this little thing that released that terrifying aura earlier? To think such power could hide in such a small body. Is it Pei Daoyou's pet?"
"You are the pet! Your whole family are pets!"
Unable to defeat Yao Ranran, it at least had the right to curse the scholar.
"Ah!"
The Daoyou slammed into a stone wall, landing squarely in Lu Ziqian's palm.
"This little fellow is adorable, though a bit silly." Lu Ziqian prodded its cheek with a curious finger.
It leapt back up, dashed at the Nine Lotus Rings, only to be captured once again in his hand.
"…"
It struggled again, colliding with flying rocks, surging demonic energy, and exploding talismans. Each time it battered itself into injury, only to return to his palm again and again.
"Master, this little thing is badly wounded. Can we spare it?"
Lu Ziqian poked its cheek gently, reluctant to see it die.
Yao Ranran gave it a complicated glance. "Disciple, you don't intend to raise it, do you?"
Lu Ziqian blushed. "It really is cute. And if it keeps running outside like this, it won't survive long."
"But in your hands, it might not survive a single day!"
Yao Ranran muttered inwardly, though outwardly she smiled. "Taking it in is not a bad idea. Xiang Yin knows it well and can look after it."
"In your dreams! I will never submit to you!"
The Daoyou flipped over like a carp, leaping into the boiling lava pool, floating like a cooked lobster, motionless.
Lu Ziqian quickly fished it out with concern.
"So it is Xiang Yin's friend… it won't die like this, will it?"
Yao Ranran: "…It should not."
"So long as you keep your distance from it, it might still live long enough to see Xiang Yin again!"
Rumble!
The bottom of the Demon Abyss suddenly erupted with endless demonic energy, swallowing Yao Ranran and the others in an instant.
Clatter!
One end of the Nine Lotus Rings dropped heavily to the ground. Yao Ranran faced the endless black mist and lashed her whip.
"Ah!"
A woman's suppressed scream echoed. The demonic fog churned into a raging sea, forming a vortex that dragged Pei Xianqiao deep into the earth.
The demonic power within Yao Ranran's body stirred of its own accord, drawing in vast torrents of pure demonic qi. She sat down cross-legged on the spot, no longer pursuing.