Chapter 292

Bai Ye quickly guessed who it was and turned around, battle intent gathering in his body.

Standing in the very place where the Lingshu spiritual herb once grew was a man.

He, too, must have been drawn by the overwhelming demonic energy.

The once arrogant and devilish air he carried was long gone.

His hair hung loosely over his shoulders, his face was as cold as frost, and he looked so gaunt that he seemed no more than a skeleton draped in thin skin.

Bai Ye keenly noticed that the man’s hands and feet were shackled, bound like a death row prisoner awaiting execution.

Those were special restraints designed for the demon clan in the Demon Refining Tower.

Not only did they suppress one’s cultivation, but they also controlled the mind, preventing self-destruction.

It was Xie Yu.

It seemed that after being sent to the Demon Refining Tower by Zhou Yimei, he had not been faring well.

“So, you’re the ones who broke into my Futu realm?”

The man’s eyes were filled with endless darkness, hidden deep within layers of night.

He smiled, his expression tinged with madness, but his voice remained calm and deliberate: “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for outsiders like you? I can’t kill Zhou Yimei and those old women and old men, but killing you to vent my anger… that might do just fine.”

Qu Feiqing, who had been on edge moments ago, suddenly erupted in fury: “Who are you calling ‘old women and old men’?!”

Xie Yu couldn’t hear her angry outburst and continued to laugh maniacally.

The demonic energy surrounding him, though invisible, felt more tangible than ever, surging violently toward the group.

Bai Ye shouted in a panic, “Seriously? It’s those old women and old men who imprisoned you here, and you’re taking it out on us juniors? Shameless!”

Meng Jue, however, remained much calmer.

He sliced through the incoming demonic energy with his sword, a faint smile still on his face: “You don’t need to waste your energy on us. I’m not interested in taking your head.”

At these words, Xie Yu’s expression turned cold, and Bai Ye suddenly realized something.

So that’s how it is.

If Meng Jue could effortlessly cut through the demonic energy, it meant one of two things: either Xie Yu wasn’t using his full strength, or he had very little energy left in his body. Whatever the case, he couldn’t possibly kill them here.

There was only one explanation.

Xie Yu was deliberately provoking them, seeking death.

It was the deepest desire of his inner demons.

“To fight or not to fight—it’s not up to you!”

The man standing atop the mountain roared fiercely.

With a swing of his right arm, several black blades cut through the wind, all attacking Pei Ji’s side.

Even Meng Jue furrowed his brow in that instant.

Xie Yu wasn’t foolish.

Through the illusions of the Futu realm, he had roughly figured out each of their personalities and habits.

Without a doubt, of everyone present, Pei Ji harbored the greatest hatred toward him.

And was the easiest to provoke.

“You are my child, aren’t you?”

As shadows fell like rain, each one with the momentum of a storm, Pei Ji’s gaze darkened.

He drew his sword and cut them down, hearing the man’s voice from the cliff above: “What’s your family name? Pei? I don’t recall ever favoring any woman with the last name Pei—your mother was just a plaything to kill time. As for you, you don’t even qualify as a plaything. I couldn’t be bothered to even glance at you.”

Bai Ye’s veins throbbed in fury as he wanted nothing more than to charge forward and beat the man senseless.

His eyes darted to Pei Ji’s side, noticing the seething killing intent in the young man’s gaze.

“Senior Brother Meng Jue,” he said, sweating nervously, “what should we do?”

Meng Jue shook his head.

“No matter how Pei Ji chooses, we outsiders have no place to interfere.”

“You must have suffered a lot as a child, haven’t you?”

Xie Yu, seeing the growing murderous intent in Pei Ji’s eyes, laughed even more maniacally.

“What a pity. During those years, I feasted on the finest meals and wore gold and jewels, while I have no idea what kind of life you and your mother lived.”

He paused for a moment, then glanced at the unconscious Ning Ning not far away, his smile deepening. “You like that girl, don’t you?”

The young man, who had been on the defensive, suddenly froze.

“If she saw you now, wrapped in demonic energy, do you think she would still accept you? You inherited the blood of the demon clan from me, making you nothing but a monster. People wouldn’t even have time to flee from you, let alone get close. Just look at the corpses of those demon beasts—if she knew how much you enjoy slaughter—”

Before he could finish, a shadow suddenly darted toward him.

Pei Ji’s sword pressed against Xie Yu’s throat, his voice dangerously low: “Shut up.”

Xie Yu could feel the overwhelming killing intent.

The Demon Refining Tower symbolized endless loneliness and pain. The instruments binding his hands and feet had left him in a state between life and death for far too long.

He had long since wanted to die.

“You’re scared.”

The man’s lips curled into a mocking smile.

“You’re afraid of her rejection because you know it’s inevitable. When she grows tired of you, she’ll find someone better, and what will you do then? You’ll be left all alone, with nowhere to go.”

He gazed into the young man’s eyes, waiting for the sword to fall, for everything to return to silence.

But Pei Ji didn’t move.

The sword gave a low hum, almost like a mournful whimper.

“Ning Ning… wouldn’t do that.”

His throat tightened, and his dark eyes swirled with turmoil.

His voice was soft, as if he were telling Xie Yu, or perhaps reassuring himself: “She doesn’t hate me. She’s different from everyone else.”

He liked her.

And because of that, he was willing to place his full, unconditional trust in her.

As long as Ning Ning smiled at him a little more, Pei Ji was willing to believe in this world that had once abandoned him.

Xie Yu’s pupils constricted, his body trembling violently.

His plan was completely out of control.

“You and I…”

Pei Ji looked at him coldly, his voice devoid of emotion: “Are not the same.”

A faint wind carrying the scent of blood swept past, brushing against the young man’s dark hair, casting shadows over his eyes.

At the cliff’s edge, the tall figure holding the sword paused slightly, then stepped back.

With a soft ‘clang’, the sword returned to its sheath.

“Elder.”

Pei Ji pulled out a communication talisman and mystic mirror from his storage pouch, his voice calm yet crystal clear: “I’m requesting to leave the tower early, along with Ning Ning.”

“W-Wait!”

Xie Yu was in complete panic.

He grabbed Pei Ji’s sleeve, shouting desperately: “I abandoned you and your mother, made you suffer humiliation and hardship, I’ve killed countless people, and—”

“That’s exactly why Lady Zhou locked you in this place.”

Bai Ye stood at the foot of the mountain, feeling immensely satisfied as he cupped his hands around his mouth to shout, “Think about all the people you killed, you idiot!”

=====

The second round of the Ten Method Assembly finally concluded within the Demon Refining Tower.

Ning Ning was severely injured and was being nursed back to health with rare spiritual medicines by the elders of the Baicao Hall.

She remained unconscious until the assembly ended, at which point she was carried onto the flying boat on a stretcher.

Tian Xianzi and his disciples were all deeply worried.

Zheng Weiqi nearly cried herself into suffocation and grabbed her sword to go smash the Demon Refining Tower.

The little white dragon, Lin Xun, kept crying non-stop, his eyes swollen like two big round walnuts.

They were so noisy that the elders of the Baicao Hall, thoroughly irritated, kicked everyone out of the infirmary aboard the flying boat, leaving only Pei Ji and Tian Xianzi, the most reliable ones, inside.

Thus, when the group of sniffling and grumbling disciples reached the center of the flying boat, they realized that the boat was already packed, with no empty seats left.

Wait.

There were two seats left!

No, no!

Two unfamiliar disciples were also eyeing the seats and slowly moving toward them!

He Zhizhou’s eyes gleamed as he exchanged a glance with Zheng Weiqi.

This opportunity was theirs for the taking!

The flying boat was filled with disciples from the Baicao Hall, and since these two were unfamiliar faces, they quietly communicated a plan in their minds and finally agreed on a course of action.

The He Family Performance Method, Rule 36—

Pretend to be deaf and blind!

The Baicao Hall valued inner peace, and compared to the sword sect, which was used to fighting and killing, it was much quieter.

It was in this peaceful atmosphere that suddenly two extremely chaotic footsteps were heard.

A curious disciple looked up and was instantly frozen in place, too shocked to move.

What they saw was a man and a woman, both sword cultivators.

The man seemed to have some problem with his legs, wobbling and shaking as he walked bow-legged.

His eyes rolled around wildly, dull and unfocused, as if he couldn’t see where he was going.

He stretched out his hands, groping blindly in front of him—a pitiful sight.

The woman, appearing normal, supported him as they walked step by step.

They arrived at the seats at the same time as the two disciples from the Baicao Hall.

“Poor little Zhizhou, the battle in the Demon Refining Tower left you in such a state!”

Zheng Weiqi squeezed out crocodile tears from her eyes.

“You can’t see anything, and now your legs are like this. As a sword cultivator… you can’t even get a seat on the flying boat. What will you do in the future?”

He Zhizhou groaned, “Ugh… where are we? Senior Sister Zheng, why did you turn off the lights?”

The Baicao Hall disciples twitched at the corners of their mouths. Though they could tell the two were clearly faking it, they tactfully stepped back, allowing him to sit down.

Zheng Weiqi, holding back laughter, also stepped forward and took the other seat.

“Miss.”