Into The Sea

“Time’s up.”

“Is it?” Lan Yuan snapped out of her thoughts, saying a beat too late, “I thought there was still…”

Before she could finish, the person in front of her transformed into a gust of black wind and disappeared. Lan Yuan quickly jumped up, chasing after her in a fit of anger. “Would waiting a little longer kill you?!”

She chased for miles, reaching a deserted area where she saw Ji Lingyue using a cloud of black mist to envelop someone. She quickly called out, “Don’t kill him!”

Ji Lingyue’s voice echoed back from a distance, “I know what I’m doing!”

Lan Yuan complained under her breath, “You know what you’re doing? How strange, why am I, a demon, worrying about a human’s life…”

Before she could finish, an angry shout came from overhead. “What are you doing?!”

Oh no!

Lan Yuan looked up. When she saw the person’s face, she cursed her bad luck.

Wasn’t this… wasn’t this that person?

The female cultivator who stabbed her all those years ago, Ji Lingyue’s senior sister, she thought her name was Meng… Meng something?

Unable to remember, Lan Yuan sighed. “Ugh, of course it’s you!”

Meng Changge had already descended like the wind, her twin red blades slashing fiercely toward the swirling black mist.

Ji Lingyue frowned, effortlessly deflecting the blades with a wave of her hand. She was about to strike Meng Changge in the chest when she recognized her face and hesitated, pulling back her strength.

Even so, Meng Changge was sent flying, coughing up a mouthful of blood as she stumbled to a stop.

The gap between cultivation realms was vast, and Ji Lingyue’s power far surpassed Meng Changge’s.

Lan Yuan stopped, gloating. “Why did you have to provoke her?”

Meng Changge wiped the blood from her lips, looking at Ji Lingyue in surprise. “Since when did someone like you appear in this world?”

Ji Lingyue ignored her, tossing the unconscious disciple aside and turning to Lan Yuan. “Only one piece.”

“Then we’ll just have to take another.”

Meng Changge paused, glaring at her. With a flick of her sleeve, a sharp blade of energy flew out, but was easily blocked by Lan Yuan. “What’s this? You think I’m an easy target?”

Lan Yuan’s sharp eyes caught sight of the token dangling from Meng Changge’s waist. She raised her voice, “Hey, you over there, she has one of those tokens too!” Lan Yuan twirled her sword, smiling. “Senior Sister Meng, running into us today is your bad luck.”

Meng Changge was taken aback. “You know me?”

Lan Yuan scoffed. “Knowing me is your honor.”

Ji Lingyue remained silent, but her figure closed in on Meng Changge. The thin veil of her bamboo hat fluttered in the wind, revealing only the pale curve of her chin.

Meng Changge, not daring to engage her directly, turned her attention to Lan Yuan, clearly intending to capture her as leverage against Ji Lingyue.

Lan Yuan saw her intention, her eyebrows rising in anger. “You really have no sense!”

Her silver sword spun, unleashing a wave of dark blue demonic energy toward Meng Changge.

Meng Changge twisted to dodge, her left hand swinging a blade toward Lan Yuan’s neck. But before the blade could connect, it was ensnared by a tendril of black energy and flung aside.

Meng Changge froze, stunned by the speed of the attack from behind. Lan Yuan seized the opportunity to reach for the token at Meng Changge’s waist. Just then, a figure flew in from the distance, shouting, “Stop! Don’t fight!”

Everyone looked up to see a young woman in white robes standing on a sword, her face filled with urgency. “She’s fine, she’s looking for you.”

Ji Lingyue paused, quickly retracting the black energy.

Meng Changge was still tense, tightly gripping Lan Yuan’s wrist, asking, “Danbai, what do you mean by this?”

Ji Lingyue paused. “Danbai?”

Danbai stared at her, her lips trembling slightly. “The Sect Leader is here too.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, several sword lights appeared in the sky, led by Ye Qingjun. Lan Wu peeked out from behind her, relieved to see them. “You couldn’t wait for fifteen more minutes?”

She then noticed the unconscious disciple on the ground, looking shocked. “What happened? Is he… is he…”

“Don’t worry, he’s not dead.” Lan Yuan sheathed her sword, glaring at Meng Changge. “Are you going to let go or not?”

Meng Changge didn’t let go, shouting, “Sect Leader, these two are incredibly skilled and have malicious intentions. We must not let our guard down!”

Ye Qingjun nodded calmly as she descended. “I know.” She turned to Ji Lingyue, her voice gentle. “You’ve grown powerful.”

Several unfamiliar figures landed behind her, looking at the situation with suspicion before questioning, “Is this the ‘controllable, powerful ally’ you spoke of?”

Lan Wu quickly explained, “It’s a misunderstanding. She was worried about me and acted impulsively. I’ll make sure to reprimand her properly.”

She cleared her throat and shot Ji Lingyue a pointed look. “Come here.”

Ji Lingyue hesitated for a moment before obediently walking over to stand beside her.

“But she’s a demon.”

“She was once a disciple of Haochen Mountain, I know her character.”

A female cultivator frowned, “Our immortal path is based on subduing demons and protecting the righteous path. How can we now collaborate with a demon? This goes against everything we stand for.”

“The demon race is far away, and she’s the only one here. Why are you so worried? Besides, isn’t the most important thing now the demons outside Shiling City? We’ve lost too much in the past ten years. If there’s a chance to stop this disaster, we should seize it, shouldn’t we?”

“How do we know you’re telling the truth? What if the Demon Queen has some connection to your disciple? And she’s half-human, half-demon. How can we trust her word?”

The others nodded in agreement. “That’s right, everything she’s saying is just empty words. What if she’s a spy sent by the Demon Queen?”

Ye Qingjun was silent for a moment, then said, “I will vouch for her with my life.”

As soon as she said that, everyone’s expression changed. Lan Wu was even more shocked. “Master?”

After a moment, a cold voice said, “Even your life is not worth the lives of thousands of innocent people.”

Lan Wu glared at him, recognizing him as the sect leader of Jintang Palace, Qi Yun. “You… you…”

Her chest heaved with anger, her eyes tinged with red. But in the end, she clenched her fists and said through gritted teeth, “I can take the Truth Gu.”

Ji Lingyue stiffened, grabbing Lan Wu’s wrist. Lan Wu glanced at her and continued, “If I take the Truth Gu, any lie I speak will cause the gu to devour my spiritual core. My purpose, my true intentions, I can say it all in front of you.”

Qi Yun stared at her thoughtfully. After a while, he seemed to agree, but a voice said, “Wait.”

Ji Lingyue was still tightly holding Lan Wu’s wrist, saying coldly, “She can take the Truth Gu, but if it’s proven that she’s telling the truth, you will vouch for her with your life in front of everyone in Shiling City.”

Qi Yun scoffed. “Why would I do that?”

“Why?” Ji Lingyue sneered. “You claim to care about the people, yet your prejudice keeps getting in the way of potential help. If it’s proven that Lan Wu isn’t lying and there’s a chance to stop the Demon Queen, then your actions today will be what truly betrays the very people you claim to protect!”

She looked around, staring at the different faces, continuing, “Lan Wu is kind and willing to endure, but I’m not. I have many ways to take her away from here and never come back.”

“When the demon army breaks through Shiling City and invades the Central Region, slaughtering countless lives, you’ll realize that the deaths of thousands will be on your hands. You will have caused this tragedy yourselves.”

The cultivators erupted in anger. “How dare you spout such nonsense! We don’t even know if she can stop the Demon Queen!”

“Exactly,” Ji Lingyue said with a smile. “You don’t know if she can, but do you have any other options?”

As soon as she finished speaking, the surroundings fell into a deathly silence.

In the heavy atmosphere, Meng Changge unknowingly released Lan Yuan’s wrist, staring at the woman’s back, tentatively calling out, “Junior sister?”

Ji Lingyue blinked, taking off her hat, saying calmly, “It’s been a long time, Senior Sister Meng.”

Meng Changge paused, pursing her lips, looking a bit lost. Lan Yuan glanced at her, curling her lips, rubbing her wrist as she walked back to Lan Wu’s side.

“In that case, everyone, please consider it,” Ye Qingjun spoke again, saying gently, “But don’t take too long. In three days, give me your final answer.”

“What do you mean? What about the guarantee…”

Ye Qingjun chuckled softly, “Since this is Ji Lingyue’s request, there’s nothing I can do. She’s stubborn, and I can’t persuade her. Elder Qi, please consider it carefully.”

Qi Yun’s face darkened, and with a cold snort, he turned and left. As the others dispersed, Lan Wu finally let out a long breath, gently tugging on Ji Lingyue’s sleeve. “Ah Yue.”

Ji Lingyue turned her head. “Hm?”

Perhaps still caught up in the intensity of the moment, her expression remained stern, her crimson eyes cold and her lips pressed into a thin line. At first glance, she looked quite intimidating.

Lan Wu smiled, reaching out to cup her face, rubbing it messily. “When did you become so amazing? That little mouth of yours was so sharp! You almost made that old fool Qi Yun pass out!”

Ji Lingyue’s eyelashes fluttered, her words muffled. “Mmmph…”

“What?”

Ji Lingyue gently pried Lan Wu’s hands away, coughing lightly, “He made you unhappy, I have to make him pay. But you should have discussed the Truth Gu with me first.”

Lan Wu looked at her with her beautiful eyes. After a long time, she sighed. “I don’t know why, but ever since just now, you’ve suddenly become so much more impressive in my eyes.”

Ji Lingyue frowned. “What do you mean? Was I unreliable before?”

“Of course not,” Lan Wu quickly backtracked. “It’s just that today, you’re especially impressive. Besides, you just knocked out a cultivator. Look, he’s still lying over there…”

As she spoke, she pointed to the unlucky cultivator who was unconscious. Ye Qingjun was walking towards him, bending down to examine him carefully.

She paused, quickly walking over. “Master, is he badly hurt?”

Ji Lingyue grumbled behind her, “I didn’t even use my full strength.”

“It’s not serious,” Ye Qingjun said after a moment. “But the token on his waist seems to belong to a Haochen Mountain disciple. Yet, I don’t recognize his face.”

“Let me see.” Lan Wu took a few steps forward, squatting down to observe him for a while. “It seems to be an illusion, I’ll undo it.”

Her fingertips glowed with a faint light as she pressed them to the man’s forehead. With a sweeping motion, she peeled away the disguise like removing a layer of skin.

His illusion technique isn’t very advanced,” Lan Wu said as the man’s true face began to emerge. “His cultivation must not be very high either. So how did he get… Oh!”

She stared at the person for a long time. After confirming his identity, she jumped up in disgust. “Isn’t this Qing Zibai?”