Chapter 66#

Chapter Sixty-Six#

Responding to him was an extremely cold sword Qi.

Xue Jingci looked coldly at Xiao Xun, the words Xiao Xun’s subordinate had accidentally let slip earlier surfacing in his mind.

Pei Huang had said that if a person died a tragic death, then as long as they were given incense and borrowed luck from someone with great fortune, it might be possible to bring that person back to life.

Obviously, Xiao Xun had planned to act tonight, and the Third Prince was that so-called “person with great fortune.”

“Where is the Third Prince?”

Xiao Xun remained motionless, allowing Xue Jingci’s sword Qi to fall upon him. His eyes no longer held their usual calculation and composure, leaving only a sense of panic, as if he had reverted back to the child whom Xue Jingci had accidentally saved all those years ago.

He had always believed that Xue Jingci had stolen his destiny, until six years ago when he finally found the high monk who had once read his fortune.

Back then, when he sensed someone had tampered with his destiny, he wanted to find that monk immediately.

However, the monk had begun traveling far and wide in his early years, his whereabouts uncertain, until six years ago when Xiao Xun finally met him again in a temple.

Perhaps seeing that his expression was not right, the monk uttered “Amitabha,” put down his wooden bucket, and approached to ask: “I observe the benefactor’s expression; it seems you have fallen into an obsession. Have you encountered something difficult to resolve?”

Xiao Xun looked at him and spoke words identical to his past life: “I have had an unusual destiny since childhood, always experiencing hardships…”

The monk rotated the sandalwood beads in his palm and signaled Xiao Xun to hold out his hand.

Time passed slowly, and Xiao Xun’s heart rose to his throat. Just as he couldn’t help but speak up, the monk shook his head and said: “Benefactor must be joking. Your destiny is exceptionally noble; your life should be smooth and successful.”

Xiao Xun asked in a hoarse voice: “I am not joking. Someone once tampered with my destiny.”

The monk thought for a moment and said: “There are indeed methods in this world to change destiny, but benefactor’s destiny is so extremely noble that there isn’t a hint of misfortune. It almost contradicts the laws of heaven. The person who changed your fortune must not have had a good end.”

“I’m afraid they would be plagued by misfortune for a lifetime.”

Hearing this, Xiao Xun felt his brain buzzing, and his black hair turned white almost in an instant.

No wonder Xue Jingci chose to change his destiny while he was asleep and never mentioned it. He thought Xue Jingci was hiding it out of guilt, but he didn’t know that the man had never intended to harm him. He had done it for him simply out of master-disciple affection.

And he had made mistake after mistake. First, he was blinded by his own suspicious and sensitive nature, then he selfishly imprisoned Xue Jingci, thinking he could avoid the time of his fall in the previous life. In the end, everything was beyond repair.

If only he could have trusted this person a little more…

Xiao Xun looked at Xue Jingci, and his unfocused eyes finally regained their light bit by bit, but the pain condensed within them was palpable.

“If Master wants to see the Third Prince, I can take you. However, it can only be you alone. Don’t worry, I will never hurt you again.”

As if afraid Xue Jingci wouldn’t believe him, he immediately swore an oath to the Heavenly Dao after finishing, even stating that he was willing to suffer heavenly lightning punishment if he violated this oath.

The higher a cultivator’s cultivation, the stronger their connection to the Heavenly Dao, and the greater the constraints they faced. Commoners often made oaths casually, and most wouldn’t actually come true.

But for a cultivator of Xiao Xun’s realm, an oath to the Heavenly Dao could not be easily broken, otherwise it would surely draw the forces of heaven and earth.

Xue Jingci looked at Pei Huang and gave a subtle nod.

Pei Huang knew that once Xue Jingci made up his mind, he would not be swayed by outsiders. He had no choice but to suppress the worry in his heart and did not speak out to stop him.

Xiao Xun reached into his robe, pulled out a scroll, and threw it toward Pei Huang: “This is the method to remove the Gu. If you go back now, there’s still time to save the people.”

These words were clearly intended to send the two of them away. Wen Lingyun looked at Xue Jingci, opened his mouth, but found himself unable to speak.

On one side was Xue Jingci, and on the other were tens of thousands of commoners in Hangzhou and Suzhou. He truly couldn’t make a choice.

Xiao Xun coldly watched the two take the scroll, a mocking look appearing in his eyes.

Master, do you see? Everyone in this world has their own selfish motives. Now only I will regard you as the most important person.

Xue Jingci glanced at the scroll and took the initiative to walk toward Xiao Xun.

Seeing Xue Jingci getting closer and closer, Xiao Xun’s heart jumped to his throat. He subconsciously wanted to reach out and touch him, but met the disgust in the depths of Xue Jingci’s eyes.

He withdrew his hand tremblingly, turned around to hide the sadness and helplessness in his eyes, and activated a divine artifact to send Pei Huang and Wen Lingyun out.

Then he led Xue Jingci down the tunnel. After walking for an unknown amount of time, they reached a secret room with an altar.

In the center of the altar stood a pillar, and a person was chained to it with iron chains, their breath faint from torture.

Xue Jingci had seen the portrait of the Third Prince in Lin Su’s manor and easily recognized that this was the person he was looking for.

A sharp look flashed in Xue Jingci’s eyes. He had studied the arts of destiny and naturally understood that the royal family’s fortune was connected to the fortune of the entire mortal realm. Now that Xiao Xun wanted to extract the dragon Qi from the prince, there would surely be a reaction outside, leading to continuous disasters.

“Release him.”

Xiao Xun was not surprised to hear Xue Jingci speak. Master was still as naive and pure as before, with a heart for the greater good.

Unlike him, he was just a rotten person who had escaped from the mud, climbed up by any means necessary, and yet insisted on pretending to be noble.

Xiao Xun looked at Xue Jingci and shook his head: “Master, I won’t lie to you this time. It’s impossible for me to let him go.”

His gaze fell on Xue Jingci’s pale face. With his current cultivation, he could easily see that Xue Jingci’s foundation was damaged and his cultivation had stagnated. Without a great opportunity, it would be impossible for him to advance, and once his lifespan was exhausted, he wouldn’t be able to escape death.

Thinking of the word “death,” Xiao Xun’s heart immediately tightened. He looked at Xue Jingci and said: “Back then, I misunderstood that Master stole my destiny, which led to many mistakes. Now I only seek a chance to make amends. Since Master isn’t dead, I can go save those commoners outside, but the Third Prince cannot be released.”

Xiao Xun looked at Xue Jingci blankly. How could he have been so heartless back then to hurt such a person who was wholeheartedly good to him?

“Master changed my destiny for me, but you yourself will be plagued by misfortune because of it.”

Xiao Xun closed his eyes, not daring to look directly at Xue Jingci’s gaze, and said softly: “Only by borrowing his fortune can Master’s destiny be reshaped. Master, please rest here for these few days.”

After speaking, he turned and left the secret room, his figure somewhat suggestive of a hasty escape.

He had long decided that he would never hurt Xue Jingci again, but he also understood in his heart that everything he was doing now went against Xue Jingci’s true intentions—it was just another form of harm.

However, this was the only way he could make it up to Xue Jingci.

He wanted to reach the supreme Great Dao with this person and could never endure sitting alone on that highest position.

Xiao Xun slightly clenched his fists.

He would give Master the best of everything in the world, whether it was cultivation resources, reputation, or status. One day, Master would forgive him for the mistakes he had made.

Xue Jingci hadn’t expected that even after seeing him alive, Xiao Xun would still insist on stripping the fortune from the Third Prince.

He tried to approach the chains but was blocked by an invisible force. Clearly, this altar was integrated with a divine artifact, and only Xiao Xun, its master, could activate it.

Time passed slowly, and Xue Jingci could feel a power approaching him, seemingly trying to enter his body.

This power was yellow, with a faint dragon-like aura. It was clearly the dragon Qi unique to royal descendants.

Xue Jingci knew he couldn’t delay any longer and called out to the empty space: “Xiao Xun, didn’t you want to make amends?”

Xiao Xun had actually never gone far, only avoiding meeting to prevent an argument with Xue Jingci.

But suddenly hearing Xue Jingci call his name, Xiao Xun’s heart trembled violently, and he couldn’t help but feel a flicker of anticipation and hope.

Perhaps one day, Master would understand his difficulties and no longer care about his hands being stained with blood.

Xiao Xun abruptly pulled open the secret room door, prepared in his heart to be rebuked by Xue Jingci. No matter what, he had to change this destiny. Even a prince was just an ordinary person in his eyes; how could his life compare to Xue Jingci’s?

Xue Jingci’s eyelashes trembled as he looked steadily at Xiao Xun: “You want to change my destiny for me? Fine.”

“But I don’t want someone else’s. I want your destiny.”

The moment these words were spoken, Xiao Xun’s pupils contracted sharply, as if he had returned to that night of his birthday.

He had trained with all his might, wanting to climb to a high position so he would no longer be bullied, and the only person he cared about and was close to wanted to steal his destiny.

To turn him back into that past self whom everyone could trample upon.

Intense anger burned in Xiao Xun’s heart, nearly obliterating his remaining rationality.

The system sensed his state was wrong and cried out in terror in Xue Jingci’s mind: “Host, you know he cares most about his destiny, why did you provoke him like this!”

Xue Jingci said calmly: “You forgot the oath he swore. If he loses his mind for a moment and attacks me, it will draw the punishment of the Heavenly Dao, which can break this divine artifact.”

Although he hadn’t spent much time with Xiao Xun, he understood that this person’s character was extremely extreme and he could easily lose his mind.

But this time, Xiao Xun quickly sobered up.

He looked at Xue Jingci and suddenly raised his hand to pull out the hairpin from his head.

His silver-white hair fell down in disarray, no longer possessing its usual neatness and order.

Xue Jingci knew Xiao Xun’s internal complex. This person had always been ashamed of his past in the brothels and theaters, so every time he appeared, he would carefully bind his hair. To suddenly perform such an action now was truly a bit strange.

Xiao Xun rubbed the hairpin in his palm, a look of pain flashing in his eyes, as he finally recalled his most shameful past.

“I once told Master that you saved me once, but you don’t remember.”

Xue Jingci was stunned, remembering that back in the Lingxu Sect, he had asked Xiao Xun why he had stood up to help him when they first met.

At that time, Xiao Xun was unwilling to say more, so he hadn’t pressed further.

He just hadn’t expected Xiao Xun to suddenly bring up old matters at this moment.

Xiao Xun looked up at Xue Jingci, his hand holding the hairpin gradually tightening as he said slowly: “Over ten years ago, you shot and killed a spider demon in the Yun-Duan Mountains of the lower realm, saving a child. At that time, he had finally escaped from the brothel, only to be used by others as a target to attract monsters…”

Hearing the words “Yun-Duan Mountains,” Xue Jingci finally had some recollection.

The first time he took Xie Zheng out for experience, they went to the Yun-Duan Mountains. Because he accidentally cooked toxic mushroom soup for Xie Zheng to drink, the impression was extremely deep.

As for saving people… he had indeed saved a child in passing back then, but the child was wrapped in spider silk and covered in blood; he hadn’t seen their face clearly.

Xiao Xun saw a flicker of emotion in Xue Jingci’s eyes and knew he must have remembered.

He took a deep breath and continued speaking.

Recalling the scene of that day again, Xiao Xun could still remember everything, even the feeling of the cold wind swirling dead leaves against his body was clear in his mind.

He had escaped from the brothel, carrying a token to find the Xiao family, but didn’t know that he had only reached a branch of the Xiao family staying in the mortal realm.

This branch followed the orders of the Xiao family’s second young master. After learning of his origin, they immediately intended to kill him, yet on the surface, they warmly welcomed him into the manor, even saying they wanted to test whether he had the aptitude for cultivation.

He swallowed the pill that the Xiao family members said would stimulate spiritual energy, and indeed, a faint spiritual aura rose around his body.

Xiao Xun was deeply grateful, not knowing that the Xiao family members only wanted to use him to attract monsters so they could obtain materials for refining Gu.

He followed the Xiao family members to the miasma-ridden Yun-Duan Mountains, but unexpectedly, those people suddenly turned on him and pushed him into a trap.

Xiao Xun later understood that the Xiao family bloodline was special and naturally attracted poisonous creatures. Those people felt he was just an illegitimate child whose bloodline would surely be impure, so they had given him the pill in advance.

However, at that time, those disciples of the Xiao family branch didn’t know that even though he was an illegitimate child, he was the child of the Head of the Family. His bloodline power was extremely pure, and with the stimulation of the pill, it actually directly attracted a spider demon in the late stage of Foundation Establishment!

The group was pale with fright, yet they were unwilling to give up this excellent demon beast for refining Gu poison, so they took out specially made bows and arrows and shot at the spider demon.

However, perhaps they were too flustered; even after they had shot all their arrows, they hadn’t managed to injure the spider demon, but instead completely enraged it.

It spit silk frantically, wrapping Xiao Xun’s entire body. He could feel his limbs and bones about to be broken, and he was nearly suffocated.

It was at this moment that Xue Jingci appeared.

Without hesitation, he swung a sword at the spider demon. In an instant, the sound of the wind and the whistle of the sword echoed in Xiao Xun’s ears simultaneously, and a chill crawled up his spine.

This person didn’t know there was someone hidden beneath the layers of spider silk; perhaps he would lose his life here today.

However, that sword Qi split the spider silk but stopped right in front of him.

The piercing sword Qi carried a shivering chill, making him feel as if he were on a snowy mountain.

But the next second, the sword Qi gently brushed past his cheek.

Like a gentle breeze.

It turned out that Xue Jingci had detected someone and forcibly withdrew the sword Qi.

Xiao Xun was covered in blood, struggling to look up at the person who had drawn the sword.

He was in white clothes with black hair, his hair bound with a wooden hairpin, and his pale fingertips held the hilt of the sword. His entire person was as clean and flawless as frost and snow, with only his ink-black eyebrows, eyelashes, and pupils sketching a few heavy strokes on the light colors, possessing a heart-stirring beauty.

Even though he had just experienced life and death a second ago, a thought uncontrollably surfaced in Xiao Xun’s mind: The gentleman holding a sword mentioned in storybooks should look like this.

But he didn’t have time to think more before the sound of the spider demon spitting silk echoed in his ears again.

Spider silk wrapped around his neck, almost making him unable to breathe, yet Xiao Xun’s eyes were still staring straight at that person, wanting to see exactly how he would draw his sword.

Xue Jingci, however, put away his sword.

He frowned at the spider demon and suddenly turned to take the bow and arrows from the Xiao family disciples’ hands.

“Where are the arrows?”

The several Xiao family disciples were completely terrified by his sword strike just now, thinking he was a hidden master, and quickly stammered an explanation: “They were all… all shot… missed.”

Xiao Xun heard their conversation, and a strange emotion surfaced in his heart.

This person actually wanted to save him, but without arrows, and with him being tightly pressed against the spider demon, there was no other way except to be killed along with the sword Qi.

The feeling of suffocation became stronger and stronger, Xiao Xun felt dizzy, and his vision gradually blurred.

Just as he was about to lose consciousness, Xiao Xun saw Xue Jingci raise his hand, neatly pulling out the hairpin from his head and placing it on the bow.

He used the hairpin as an arrow and shot it straight at the spider demon. In an instant, it pierced through its lifeblood, completely cutting off the spider demon’s breath.

The wind blew his dark hair into disarray. Because the neat bun no longer had the restraint of the hairpin, it fell down in a mess, sticking to his temples, with a small amount even sliding into his clothes.

He looked in a wretched state, yet no one dared to look down on him.

In fact, anyone who caught a glimpse of this scene would be captivated by his grace and would never be able to look away.

This scene was completely etched into Xiao Xun’s heart.

He had never thought that even if someone’s hair was in disarray, they could still be respected from the bottom of one’s heart.

Xiao Xun crawled out from under the spider demon’s corpse, tightly clutching that hairpin, and looked at Xue Jingci’s back from afar, his eyes bursting with a light they had never had before.

Avoiding the gaze of the Xiao family disciples, he cautiously followed Xue Jingci along the dense forest.

The storybooks said that if one encountered a master and had a fated chance, one might be taken as a disciple.

Xiao Xun didn’t know how long he had walked, but he couldn’t find the person’s figure. Thinking that he had profound cultivation and might have already left on his sword, a look of disappointment appeared in his eyes.

Until he finally heard the familiar sound of sword Qi.

Xiao Xun widened his eyes and hurriedly chased after it, but stopped when he got close.

He looked down at the blood all over his body, tried his best to wipe his face clean with his sleeve, and carefully smoothed the wrinkles on his clothes.

Only then did he push aside the leaves and peek at Xue Jingci.

But he hadn’t expected that Xue Jingci wasn’t alone; he was accompanied by a noble-looking young man.

The young man was holding Xue Jingci’s sword, practicing sword moves similar to his, but without anywhere near that kind of pressing power.

And Xue Jingci reached out to correct his sword moves, a hint of warmth actually surfacing on his cold, snow-like face.

“It’s much better than a few days ago.”

The young man laughed upon hearing this, turned his head to look at Xue Jingci and asked: “Master, I’ve always wanted to ask you… exactly why did you take me as a disciple? At that time, my leg was broken and I was begging on the street; I thought my life would just be like that.”

Xue Jingci thought seriously and said: “Actually, I once saw you in Luo City.”

“You were originally the top scholar, but your entire clan was exiled because of your remonstrance. You shouldn’t have ended up like this, so I asked if you were willing to go with me.”

When he spoke, a breeze happened to blow by, making the leaves rustle.

Xiao Xun’s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly crouched down, hiding his figure.

He tightly clutched that hairpin until the two walked far away, and then he stood up with trembling legs.

That person was the top scholar.

But what was he?

“…After that day, I always kept that hairpin. Every time I went astray or did something harmful, I would carve a mark on it. In my heart, I always wanted to become a person like you, but I also wanted to survive, to live better than anyone else.”

“So in the end, that hairpin was covered in marks and completely broke. I finally understood that I couldn’t become a person like you.”

“But I didn’t expect to see you again in the Lingxu Sect and get a new hairpin.”

Xiao Xun spread his palm; that hairpin now also had four or five carved marks.

He looked at the hairpin longingly, a look of struggle flashing in his eyes. As early as when the first hairpin broke, the constraints he had imposed on himself also disappeared, knowing he would never be worthy of approaching the owner of this hairpin again.

From then on, he used any means necessary to seize power within the Xiao family and committed countless evil deeds. But just when he intended to go all the way to the dark side, another path appeared before him.

He disguised himself in every way, approaching Xue Jingci with a kind appearance, but in the end, he couldn’t suppress the ambition and resentment deep within his heart.

Xiao Xun closed his eyes and suddenly raised his hand, directly using his fingertip to carve another mark on that hairpin.

“Master can hate me or resent me, but I must seize this Third Prince’s destiny for you. As for my destiny, there are still people I hate who haven’t died and things I want that I haven’t gotten, so I’m afraid I can’t give it to Master.”

Having said that, Xiao Xun looked at Xue Jingci, as if tracing his features with his gaze.

“I know Master doesn’t want to see me. Once this destiny-changing technique is complete, I will let you leave.”

After his voice fell, Xiao Xun left the secret room. This time, no matter how Xue Jingci called him, he never appeared again.

Xue Jingci tried again to break the chains, even asking the system if there were any items that could help, but all failed.

Obviously, to stop this sacrifice, one could only start from the outside of the divine artifact.

He frowned and hooked his finger, signaling Little Strawberry Berry to approach him.

When he made the decision to draw out Xiao Xun that day, he had agreed with Pei Huang that when the time was ripe, he would let Little Strawberry Berry find him to save him.

Others couldn’t see Little Strawberry Berry; only the two of them could. It was the best way to transmit information.

Xue Jingci squeezed Little Strawberry Berry’s hand and said: “You’ve been gnawing on these chains every day these past few days; can you still not bite through them?”

Little Strawberry Berry covered its mouth, clearly having some tooth ache.

It waved its small hands, unwillingly wanting to rush toward the chains again. Xue Jingci rubbed its head and said: “This is a divine artifact; you’ll be able to break them when you grow a bit more. First, do me a favor and go outside to find Pei Huang.”

Little Strawberry Berry nodded, its figure nimbly slipping out from the gap in the secret room, and it quickly ran outside the divine artifact.

However, the scenery outside left it a bit bewildered.

As far as the eye could see was an endless expanse of vast yellow sand, with a crescent moon hanging in the sky—it was actually blood-colored.

Where was this?

Little Strawberry Berry was worried about how to find Pei Huang when it suddenly sensed an extremely familiar aura.

Pei Huang was actually not far from it.

But it hadn’t even gone to find him yet; how did Pei Huang come over on his own?

Little Strawberry Berry scratched its head, finding it difficult to think about such complex problems, only remembering that Xue Jingci had told it to find Pei Huang.

After thinking for a moment, it did a roll and ran toward the place where that aura was located.

After running for an unknown amount of time, Little Strawberry Berry finally found a temporarily set up camp before the dark clouds completely obscured the crescent moon.

Before getting close, Little Strawberry Berry sensed a terrifying wave of air, enough to burn anyone or anything that approached to a crisp.

It nimbly climbed onto a rock and peeked around to look for Pei Huang’s figure.

However, it didn’t see Pei Huang, but instead saw many demon cultivators walking in the camp.

Perhaps because they were often accompanied by fire, those people wore very little clothing; some were even bare-chested, with only animal skins roughly wrapped around their waists.

This made it convenient for Little Strawberry Berry to find someone.

Among a group of people who didn’t dress properly, it quickly saw the only man in neat clothes—it was indeed Pei Huang.

He was wearing a black martial suit, his eyes lowered, looking at the severed limbs and flesh on the ground.

Along this journey, Pei Huang had encountered at least three to five waves of assassinations, yet he couldn’t see which force these people belonged to at all.

While lost in thought, the severed limbs and flesh on the ground actually twisted eerily, attempting to reassemble into a human form.

Pei Huang raised his hand coldly, a ball of fire condensing in his palm, and he swung it neither heavily nor lightly toward the ground.

The severed limbs and flesh on the ground were instantly incinerated by the fire. One of the heads had blood-red eyes, twisting unwillingly in the sandy ground. A severed hand next to it seemed to be controlled by the head, actually struggling out of the firelight and flying out, grabbing Pei Huang’s hand.

The surrounding demon cultivators showed expressions of horror one after another. They each had their hands stained with blood and were used to slaughter, but they had never seen such a strange technique.

“It must be those people from the Sand Demons playing tricks; they are best at the art of puppetry.”

There are currently five forces in the Demon Realm, namely Water, Fire, Thunder, Sand, and Wind, and their respective cultivated demon arts are also different.

Pei Huang reached out and crushed the severed hand, tossing it into the fire beside him at will, and said flatly: “It may not be them. Doing it so obviously might just be a frame-up.”

“Then it was done by the Water Demons. They are the strongest and naturally wouldn’t want to see someone truly unify the Demon Realm forces as predicted. If you ask me… let’s just kill our way over and ask clearly!”

As soon as he said this, the surrounding demon cultivators all became excited, red light flashing in their eyes, showing signs of frenzy.

Pei Huang pointed a finger, and the demon cultivator who had spoken earlier collapsed to the ground. Upon turning his head, he faced a head that was burned black but still had its eyes wide open.

He let out a scream of fright.

Pei Huang said flatly: “Are you calm now? I’ve said that since you want to recognize me as your master, then everything must be done according to what I say. Now is not the time to start a war.”

After speaking, he looked up at the endless desert.

Although he had an agreement with Xue Jingci that if he was in danger, he would let Little Strawberry Berry find him.

But Pei Huang was clear that with his current strength alone, he couldn’t protect Xue Jingci well.

Ten years had passed, and whether it was Xiao Xun or Xie Zheng, they both had powerful forces behind them.

So Pei Huang finally made up his mind. With the help of the River Demon, he re-established contact with the demon cultivator force that had secretly protected him.

He must also have a force of his own.

These people were originally his mother’s old subordinates. They always believed in the prophecy left by the demon ancestors, saying that one day someone would appear to unify the five tribes and obtain the power to contend with the righteous path.

They originally thought Pei Huang’s mother was the person in the prophecy, but she didn’t want to get involved in the struggle for power and chose to live in seclusion, only to be killed by a traitor, giving birth to him before she died.

Currently, in the Demon Realm, the Water Demon faction is the strongest, followed by the Fire Demons. Because of the prophecy, he is now revered as the Demon Lord by the Fire Demons, so naturally, there are those who can’t tolerate him, leading to frequent assassination attempts.

Fortunately, Pei Huang had been assassinated since he was a child, so he wasn’t afraid.

The only thing he was a bit worried about was how to explain all this after he saw Xue Jingci.

Xue Jingci wanted to take him as a disciple, but he had actually practiced demon arts for many years and was now involved in the power struggle of the Demon Realm.

While lost in thought, Pei Huang suddenly felt his shoulder sink.

A ruthless look flashed in his eyes, and he was about to attack when he heard a familiar “po-po-po.”

It was Little Strawberry Berry!

Pei Huang’s figure moved and he disappeared from before the eyes of the demon cultivators.

Once in a place with no one, he picked up Little Strawberry Berry and asked: “Where is Xue Jingci!”

Little Strawberry Berry pointed in a direction, and Pei Huang’s expression instantly became solemn.

That divine artifact could move; after Xiao Xun let them out that day, he drove the divine artifact away and vanished in an instant.

If he hadn’t known Little Strawberry Berry had great divine powers, Pei Huang would have almost chased after it immediately.

“Xue Jingci is also in the Demon Realm?”

Little Strawberry Berry was stunned, looked up at the sky, and thought no wonder this place is so strange, it’s actually the Demon Realm!

It nodded, reached out to pull Pei Huang’s sleeve, drew a pillar on the ground, and a person tied with chains.

Pei Huang thought it meant Xue Jingci, and blood-red light instantly surfaced in his eyes. Only thinking that Xiao Xun had sworn a heavy oath did he finally calm down.

“The one tied up is the Third Prince?”

Little Strawberry Berry nodded vigorously, pointed at Pei Huang, then reached out to break the chains, chirping something.

Although Pei Huang couldn’t understand, he realized that its meaning was that Xue Jingci wanted him to go save the Third Prince.

Pei Huang was a bit surprised. Previously, he thought Xiao Xun had captured the Third Prince to resurrect Xue Jingci. But now that Xue Jingci was alive and well, what did that man want to do?

“I understand. Take me there now.”

After saying that, he moved lightly, returned to the place where those Fire Tribe demon cultivators gathered earlier, and let them follow him.

Little Strawberry Berry stood on Pei Huang’s shoulder, taking advantage of the fact that others couldn’t see it to lead the way and indicate the direction.

The group rushed on their journey and soon reached the territory of the Sand Demons.

The Sand Demons are skilled in puppetry. A huge sand city stood in the distance.

Many wooden puppet birds stood on the city wall, their eyes embedded with spirit stones, staring fixedly in all directions outside the city gate.

“Demon Lord, we will draw away the guard puppet birds for you!” Several demon cultivators grasped their weapons and volunteered.

Pei Huang nodded: “My trip is to find a divine artifact, not to start a war. You just need to cause a disturbance to let me in; don’t linger in the fight.”

The several people nodded, grasped their weapons, and rushed in, soon breaking through the city gate’s defensive line.

Pei Huang took the remaining people and mixed into the city, continuing to follow Little Strawberry Berry’s guidance to find the location of the divine artifact.

Soon, they discovered a towering golden pagoda in the city.

Pei Huang had the Fire Tribe experts following him set up an array together, burning the outer walls of the divine artifact.

The Fire Demon tribe is skilled in refining artifacts. They soon found cracks in the divine artifact and let the flames penetrate inside for melting and calcining.

These flames were extremely domineering, soon climbing up along the pagoda’s body and swallowing the entire divine artifact before long.

A demon cultivator said beside Pei Huang: “Demon Lord, this is our tribe’s cultivation technique, the Spirit-Overriding Formula. If you take a fancy to any dharma treasure, you can directly re-refine it to erase the original owner’s mark. Your bloodline power is the strongest; you need to take action to completely refine the divine artifact.”

Pei Huang nodded, recalling that Spirit-Overriding Formula, and reached his hands straight into the flames, releasing his bloodline power.

The entire golden pagoda suddenly roared and trembled, finally alarming Xiao Xun, who was performing the destiny-changing technique.

His exercise was interrupted, Xiao Xun spat out blood, and a ruthless look flashed in his eyes.

These people of the Demon Race acted without restraint; he had always disliked them. To actually come and interfere while he was performing a major task—today he must let them see blood.

He wiped the blood from his lips, raised his hand and waved it lightly, and instantly countless hidden threads vibrated.

Puppets seemed to gain life, standing up and flying toward the outside of the golden pagoda.

Xiao Xun didn’t show his face and continued to sit in meditation, with only one thing in his heart: he must perform this secret technique before the corresponding hour.

Destiny is related to the birth date and time; once the time is missed, the technique can no longer be performed.

As for these people… it wouldn’t be too late to deal with them properly afterward.

But not long after Xiao Xun sat down, he suddenly opened his eyes wide, a look of shock flashing in them.

He had received news a few days ago saying that the Fire Demons had a new Demon Lord, but he hadn’t expected it to be Pei Huang!

Xue Jingci probably didn’t know yet that the person he had protected in every way was actually a demon cultivator with blood-stained hands!

Xiao Xun’s hands gradually tightened. He had originally thought that as long as Master could live, he would just watch this person from afar in the future.

He knew he wasn’t worthy of touching someone as clean and flawless as Xue Jingci.

But since Pei Huang could, why should he withdraw?!

To be revered as master by the Fire Demons, Pei Huang’s methods must be no less than his, perhaps even a hundred times more ruthless than his; he just hadn’t let Xue Jingci know.

Xiao Xun stood up, a strange look flashing in his eyes, and he actually directly raised his hand to open the door of the golden pagoda, leading Pei Huang’s group toward the secret room where Xue Jingci was.

Today, he wanted Xue Jingci to see clearly that Pei Huang was just like him!

Pei Huang successfully entered the golden pagoda, but felt somewhat uneasy in his heart. It wasn’t until he saw that familiar figure that his heart finally settled.

He walked quickly to Xue Jingci’s side, and meeting Xue Jingci’s surprised gaze, he first checked him from head to toe to confirm he wasn’t injured.

Then he said softly: “These are all my people; I’ll explain to you later.”

Xue Jingci looked at the group of demon cultivators following Pei Huang. Although a bit surprised, he still nodded.

He looked at the iron pillar in the center of the secret room and briefly mentioned that Xiao Xun wanted to use the prince’s fortune to change his destiny.

Pei Huang said: “I know a technique that can erase the original owner’s mark of a dharma treasure. Soon I will be able to control this divine artifact and save the Third Prince.”

As soon as his voice fell, the demon cultivators behind him suddenly became restless, each clutching their weapons and looking out of the secret room.

The person who came was indeed Xiao Xun, but he was wearing a mask at the moment, clearly not wanting these demon cultivators to discover his identity.

He looked straight at Pei Huang and said: “Do you know that if the Third Prince’s destiny cannot be transferred to him today, he may never reach the Great Dao in the future and will one day exhaust his lifespan?”

Pei Huang’s heart skipped a beat. He was very clear about Xue Jingci’s body; at first, he thought he was just injured and would get better with nourishment.

But that day, Fellow Daoist Yin had taken Xue Jingci’s pulse and revealed that his foundation was damaged, which was exactly what Xiao Xun was saying now.

Unless there was a great opportunity, Xue Jingci would indeed have his lifespan exhausted one day, as Xiao Xun said.

Xiao Xun took a step forward, his voice full of temptation: “Don’t you care about him very much? It’s just a mortal. Even if you and I don’t act, he wouldn’t live more than a hundred years. Isn’t it a very worthwhile deal to exchange his life for another more worthy person to live on?”

Pei Huang, however, instantly came back to his senses.

Before Xue Jingci could speak, he beat him to it and said: “I understand your intention.”

Having said that, he no longer hesitated and signaled the demon cultivators under him to attack Xiao Xun, stopping him from continuing the destiny-changing technique.

Xiao Xun raised his hand and summoned puppets to resist, saying coldly: “Once the chance is missed, there will never be such an opportunity again. Think clearly!”

Pei Huang didn’t speak, urging his bloodline power to speed up the erasure of the divine artifact’s original recognition mark.

Seeing him being stubborn, a ruthless look flashed in Xiao Xun’s eyes, and he also sat in meditation, accelerating the execution of the destiny-changing technique.

With Pei Huang’s movements, the entire golden pagoda roared and vibrated, and the original restrictions gradually crumbled.

Xue Jingci sensed all his power returning and swung his sword at Xiao Xun without hesitation.

This sword directly pierced through his shoulder blade.

Xiao Xun knelt on one knee, his fingers covering the wound, blood flowing through his fingers, yet a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He murmured softly: “Master is still willing to hate me; that’s good.”

Whether it was hate or love, he could at least occupy a place in this person’s heart. If one day Xue Jingci truly treated him as a stranger, that would be what Xiao Xun couldn’t accept.

“But Master, the destiny-changing technique is only one step away from completion. Even if you hate me more, in the future you can only take his fortune and live a smooth life.”

He struggled to reach out and touch Xue Jingci, but then put it down dejectedly, finally clutching Xue Jingci’s sword tightly, feeling the residual warmth on it.

Xiao Xun’s movements were too large; for a moment, the wound split open, the flesh turned outward, and blood flowed continuously.

Not only Xue Jingci, but several demon cultivators nearby were also stunned by Xiao Xun’s frantic behavior.

Xiao Xun was in such pain that he was covered in cold sweat, but his other hand hidden behind his back moved quietly, and a Gu bug flew silently toward Pei Huang.

He had sworn that he would never use any sinister means to deal with Xue Jingci, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t act against others.

Xiao Xun looked up at Xue Jingci, coughed, and said intermittently: “…The last step is, is to kill the Third Prince.”

Xue Jingci’s eyes turned sharp. Just as he was about to act against Xiao Xun, he suddenly sensed movement behind him.

He turned around and saw that Pei Huang had already walked to the Third Prince’s side at some point and was reaching out to choke his neck.

“Pei Huang!”

Xue Jingci’s thoughts raced, and he soon realized something. He looked at Xiao Xun and said coldly: “You used a Gu on him!”

Xiao Xun swallowed the blood in his mouth, looked up and said: “Does Master still not understand? This world of cultivation is originally a place where the weak are prey to the strong. Because he lacks strength today, he has to be manipulated by others, and I… I want strength, and I also want you.”

Hearing the sound of the two arguing, Pei Huang instantly came back to his senses.

Seeing the bloodstains on the Third Prince’s neck, Pei Huang’s consciousness finally became completely clear.

Xue Jingci detested this evil art. How could he let Xue Jingci really take the Third Prince’s destiny and bear this dirty matter for a lifetime?

However, Pei Huang’s consciousness was only clear for a moment before it gradually became blurred again.

Little Strawberry Berry anxiously bit his fingertip, but this Gu poison was extremely domineering; even it found it difficult to suck it out for a moment.

A ruthless look flashed in Pei Huang’s eyes. Before his consciousness completely disappeared, he directly severed the meridians in his right hand.

He choked the Third Prince’s neck again, but the strength in his hand was gone; it just fell softly upon it.

Xiao Xun laughed: “The hour, the hour has arrived.”

However, he soon noticed something wrong. There wasn’t a hint of dragon Qi on Xue Jingci’s body!

Impossible. He had clearly calculated the hour and manipulated Pei Huang to kill the Third Prince…

Hearing this, Xue Jingci turned toward Pei Huang, for a moment not knowing how to face all this.

He hadn’t never killed anyone, but this kind of evil art truly made him feel disgusted.

Xue Jingci walked to Pei Huang’s side, only to see that the man’s hand was still on the Third Prince’s neck.

And although the Third Prince was pale, he still had vitality.

Pei Huang said softly: “I won’t do things you don’t want.”

Getting closer, Xue Jingci sensed something was wrong with Pei Huang’s hand. He quickly crouched down and grasped the man’s ice-cold hand.

With this grasp, he was instantly stunned on the spot.