Chapter 49

Cold light pierced through, accompanied by the heavy pressure emanating from the demon cultivator in the Great Ascension stage. Ning Ning was mesmerized by the sudden opening of those eyes, and before she could realize something was amiss, it was already too late to evade.

The light sword moved like a ghost, swift as lightning. In an instant, it condensed into a tangible form, directly pointing at her chest—

Suddenly, her left arm was forcefully pulled, and Ning Ning’s entire body uncontrollably tilted sideways. In the blink of an eye, the light sword grazed past her shoulder.

The force exerted by that person was substantial, and she, in a daze, couldn’t maintain her balance, falling directly into his embrace. What greeted her was a refreshing scent of trees, identical to the fragrance on her own body.

Pei Ji’s body visibly stiffened, then he released her arm.

When he spoke, Ning Ning could feel the vibration in his chest: “…I’m sorry.”

Ning Ning stepped back, expressing gratitude, and not far away, Meng Jiaqi exclaimed in surprise, “Young City Lord?”

After a brief pause, Meng Jiaqi sensed something amiss and raised her voice abruptly. “No, you’re not the Young Lord… Who are you?”

“Can’t you guess my identity?”

Xuan Ye lazily sat up, a playful smile in his eyes. He raised his right hand to his ear, pulled with force, and revealed a face: “Originally, I wanted to keep up the act for a while longer, but it seems I’ve been exposed directly… looks like you’re not as clever as that sword cultivator girl.”

As the face was unveiled, the Demon Lord, who had dominated the world hundreds of years ago, finally revealed his true appearance.

Perhaps due to not seeing sunlight for too long, his skin was unnaturally pale, as if there were no veins throughout his body, covered by a layer of paper-thin white skin. Between his eyebrows, there was an unruly and ruthless demeanor, sending shivers down one’s spine at a single glance.

Qin Chuan instantly got agitated. “So where’s our Young Lord? Is it you lying in bed… Where did the Young Master go?”

Xuan Ye raised an eyebrow, seemingly recalling something extremely amusing. He couldn’t help but chuckle. While laughing, he pulled out an object from his bosom and threw it on the ground without a care.

Meng Jiaqi and Qin Chuan looked at it and couldn’t help but feel a chill down their spines.

It was a crystal-clear blue token, with the words “City Lord’s Decree” written in ancient Jialan script. This token couldn’t be fake and should rightfully belong to the true Young Lord, Jiang Si. Yet now it was tossed out by Xuan Ye—

“Jiang Si, you say? Dead a long time ago.”

He laughed, his eyes narrowing and his blood-red pupils gleaming with joy. “How long has Jialan City been in slumber? Over three hundred years! When I found him, Jiang Si was already a lonely skeleton, clothes rotten; only this token remained.”

He sighed, unable to suppress his emotions. “Pitiful, truly pitiful! All the elders who once trusted him betrayed him, and the clan members couldn’t escape the fate of being wiped out by me. Tell me, What did Jiang Si gain after sacrificing his life?”

Meng Jiaqi gritted her teeth. “You bastard!”

“You must be Elder Meng’s daughter, right? He mentioned you to me before.”

Unexpectedly, Xuan Ye didn’t get angry but smiled instead, with a hint of arrogance in his tone. “He said the disobedient girl is of no use anymore, and I can dispose of her as I please. Truly, a tender father-daughter bond.”

Meng Jiaqi clenched her fists in silence, her lips bleeding from being bitten.

“My affairs must not be known to the Xuanxu Sword Sect.”

The man stepped barefoot off the bed, his cascading black hair swaying with his movements, and a cold smirk appeared at the corner of his lips. “A sword cultivator at the Golden Core stage… the taste of the soul should be quite delightful.”

As his words fell, a demonic aura suddenly emerged.

A dense, tangible black aura gathered, resembling a surging dark tide that quickly filled the entire room in an instant. An intense oppressive force became palpable, as if the air had turned into a thick, sticky substance, making it difficult to breathe.

“His current strength should be in the Mahayana stage,” Zheng Weiqi, the only Nascent Soul cultivator among them, decisively said. “Quick, leave this room!”

Xuan Ye chuckled at her words.

The demonic aura overflowed, as if enveloping something ready to break free at any moment. It continuously expanded, violently swaying, and in the next moment, it would burst open suddenly.

And indeed, that was the case.

The turbulent black tide, enhanced by spiritual power, burst instantly. The interwoven demonic aura seemed to gather an immense force, each strand filled with endless killing intent, like a myriad of sharp swords descending upon them.

Unable to withstand such pressure, the house cracked, with visible cracks in the wooden pillars and white walls. Eventually, with a creaking sound, it collapsed.

Overhead, walls tumbled down uncontrollably, and on the side, countless killing-intent-laden demonic auras surged.

Zheng Weiqi immediately shielded Qin Chuan and Meng Jiaqi, drawing her sword to forcefully shatter the oncoming demonic aura, protecting the two inexperienced demon clan members from an untimely death.

Pei Ji, on the other hand, sliced off a wooden beam falling from the sky, furrowing his brows slightly for some unknown reason, and quietly said to Ning Ning, “I’ll cover you; let’s go.”

“I don’t want to be covered.”

Ning Ning unsheathed Xinghe Sword, paused briefly, and said, “Let’s leave together.”

After saying that, she noticed Pei Ji’s unusually pale face and asked softly, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Bad, it’s bad!”

He Zhizhou, beside them, used thunder-based techniques on his sword, piercing into the demonic aura with a crackling sound, causing flashes of lightning.

The treasures and techniques he had spent his fortune on finally proved useful at this moment. Wielding his sword, he shouted, “I heard that the sudden outbreak of a heavy demonic aura can cause resonance among nearby demon clans—Pei Ji also has demon cultivator bloodline, right? It must be a conflict between the demonic aura and the sword aura inside his body.”

Pei Ji’s face grew even paler, avoiding Ning Ning’s gaze. “I’m fine.”

The cultivation world had strict hierarchies, and there was still a significant gap between the three of them and Xuan Ye. The overwhelming demonic aura screamed towards them, forming a densely woven net, leaving them with nowhere to escape.