Things weren't looking good as cultivators poured in through the portal. They were led by Sect Leader Lin and Sect Leader Bai. Bai Qing followed closely behind as they slashed their way through. Not knowing that the demons were under a pact, they breezed through the first layer of defense with ease, thinking that the demons were extremely weak.
"That Demoness dared to send weak leveled demons to attack us? How ridiculous!" a young cultivator laughed. They were slowly approaching the Night Palace, when they saw three people floating in midair.
They recognize one of them right away.
"Elder Wei!" shouted one of the disciples.
Hua Jian held Wei Xing by the neck while Xiu Xiang had both her hands behind her back as she looked down at the righteous cultivators like a pack of ants. She wanted to laugh.
These righteous cultivators thought that she had sent low leveled demons to fight with them. If she hadn't placed pact seals within their bodies, would a single one of them even be able to break through?
"Xiu Xiang, let Wei Xing go!" Bai Qing shouted.
Xiu Xiang's eyes fell on her and noticed that there wasn't even a shred of kindness left within her. Anyone could see the jealousy and anger seeping off Bai Qing's body. It was so easy tell, she might as well stamp a sign across her forehead saying so.
"What is this? Bai Qing, didn't you ask me to help you escape this marriage with Wei Xing? What do you look so jealous as if I've stolen your husband?"
"He would've been my husband if you hadn't kidnapped him!" Bai Qing shouted back angrily.
A sharp laughter filled the air.
"Just because I took him away, now you suddenly want him? Are you the type of person to only give chase once they no longer look your way?"
"You!" Bai Qing was quickly pulled back by Sect Leader Bai.
Then Sect Leader Lin stepped forward.
"Let go of my disciple, Demoness!" he ordered.
"Sure, I'll let him go. Only after you agree to open the Cave of Inheritance," Xiu Xiang replied.
"Insolence! Do you understand the severity should the Demon King's soul gets released?" Sect Leader Lin asked sharply.
She didn't reply. She knew exactly what would happen if she should release the other half of the Demon King's soul. She had a theory when she met the new Hua Jian.
In the novel, Hua Jian was a complete demon with both good and bad traits. When she entered the novel, Hua Jian's soul had been divided. Xiu Xiang was almost sure that the Demon King's soul had been split the same way. If she had met the kind half in the abyss, then it could only mean that the evil half was locked away in the Cave of Inheritance. It was no wonder that there were so many barriers before it.
Still, she needed to release the Demon King's soul in order to remove the golden shackles on her that she had been hiding with her spiritual energy. Lately, the golden shackles had gotten heavier on her and even after Hua Jian tried to dispel the weight on it, it still felt extremely heavy. It was getting to the point where even her injuries would affect the strength of the shackles. Wouldn't she die much faster with these things around her? Was she merely being used by the Demon King? Was this to insure that she would release the other part of him once she was freed from the abyss?
There were so many unanswered questions that annoyed her to the point where it merged with the anger she felt when she realized that Wei Xing had been lying to her all along. All the emotions she felt pooled into one and she directed her anger at the group of cultivators before her.
"Xiu Xiang! You vile demon! I shouldn't have taken you under my wing if I knew you were going to be like this!" came a familiar voice.
From the crowd came Master Feng Mian followed by Wang Yue and Yi Yan.
Xiu Xiang haven't seen those three in a while. Yi Yan and Wang Yue's eyes nearly popped out open when they saw her. They never imagined that Xiu Xiang would become so beautiful after all these years. Wang Yue felt his heart beat fast at the sight of her. If he had known how beautiful she would become, whether she was a waste or not, he wouldn't have tortured her so. Yi Yan's whole being couldn't even be compared to a single nail of Xiu Xiang's. He was so mesmerized he barely noticed Yi Yan's jealous glare. The vinegar eating girl pinched her lover's arm, snapping him back to reality.
"You take me under your wing? Wasn't I just an outlet for you to release your anger on after my real master had passed away?" Xiu Xiang sneered.
"How dare you?" Yi Yan stepped forward defiantly. "If it wasn't for Master, do you think you'd be alive right now?!"
"Alive? My life was over the day Feng Mian destroyed my spiritual core. As if that wasn't enough, he threw me to you pack of wolves like a piece of meat. I was ruthlessly beaten and tortured on a daily basis. The only reason why I didn't kill you all when I returned was because I didn't want to dirty my hands with filth," Xiu Xiang said.
"You--!" Yi Yan threw out her whip for an attack but Xiu Xiang easily caught the tip of the whip with one hand. She lightly tugged at the whip and Yi Yan was sent flying forward. Her other hand went straight for Yi Yan's smooth, thin neck, grasping it tightly.
She didn't even blink as she tightened her grip around Yi Yan's neck.
"I told Feng Mian to warn you and Wang Yue that if I should ever see you outside of Tian Ling Sect, I won't show any mercy. Now that I'm seeing you in front of me, I can't seem to get rid of my anger. I will you use as a reminder to the rest of these people here that I am not to be taken lightly," Xiu Xiang hissed. Despite her injury and depleting energy, she surged energy into her palm, scorching the smooth pale neck of Yi Yan's. Her screams filled the air sending a chill down everyone's spine. Soon her screams turned into feeble warbles.
When she could no longer make any noise, Xiu Xiang didn't give her a second glance as she tossed her back to the ground in front of Feng Mian.
The disciples from North Peak quickly went to form a protective circle around her as Feng Mian examined her injury. A flaming red hand print could be seen around Yi Yan's neck. Where the handprint touched, the skin seemed to have burned off, showing bits of muscles and tendons. Around the handprint were tiny fluid filled bubbles from the intense burn. Xiu Xiang didn't bat an eyelash when she set her own sibling disciple on fire. Everyone was shocked to the extreme. Xiu Xiang didn't even bat an eyelash when she burnt Yi Yan's neck.
"Sect Leader Lin, in return for unsealing the Cave of Inheritance, I will return to you your disciple," Xiu Xiang said.
"Don't do it, Brother!" Sect Leader Bai warned.
The look in Sect Leader Lin wavered as he looked at Wei Xing and then at the people around him. Seeing how Wei Xing didn't try to make a move, Sect Leader Lin feared that Wei Xing may have already started to lose himself to his inner demons.
He cared very deeply for his only disciple, but could he really outweigh his disciple's life over the thousands of innocent lives behind him?
Biting his lower lip, Sect Leader Lin had no choice but to sacrifice his only disciple.
"I'm sorry, Xing Er..." he muttered.
A loud laughter erupted again from Xiu Xiang. She should've known that Tian Ling Sect were a bunch of fools. At first she was going to use the pact seal formation as a peace offering, now it just seems foolish to even try.
"What are you all waiting for?! Attack! Kill her!" Feng Mian roared as he looked up from Yi Yan. He was enraged. How dare that Demoness injure his sweet disciple?
Kill her? As if she was going to let them.
"Feng Mian, aren't you curious as to why not a single one of you have died yet?" Xiu Xiang asked suddenly.
This was something that did strike many of the righteous cultivators as odd. They had expected a dangerous battle when they entered through the portal, yet they all managed to get this far unscathed.
Xiu Xiang smirked when she saw the confusion lit up on everyone's faces.
"That's because every demon here is under the pact spell formation. A pact seal has been placed inside every single demon. As long as I'm alive, the demons will not be able to kill human, but the moment I die, the demons here will be free from the seal and be free to destroy every single one of you," Xiu Xiang explained.
Multiple voices and gasps erupted from the group. They eyed each other warily, looking for confirmation. No one knew of such spell formation and didn't know whether they should take her word seriously.
"If you don't believe me, then kill me. This is the Demon Realm where dark energy is limitless. I assure you all, everyone here will die."
"Don't worry everyone!" Feng Mian shouted suddenly. He got up and pointed to Xiu Xiang's injured shoulder. "She's just bluffing. If you look closely, you can tell that she's injured. If we all take her on now, she won't win!"
That Feng Mian! Xiu Xiang wondered if she should've killed him when she had the chance. It was true that she was still injured. It was no thanks to her stupid golden shackles. Thankfully, she had made a back up plan. Nodding to Hua Jian, he passed Wei Xing over and disappeared on the spot and then reappeared again. Next to him was a struggling Bai Qing. While everyone was busy looking at Xiu Xiang, they hadn't notice Hua Jian kidnapping Bai Qing.
"Demoness, let Qing Er go!" Sect Leader Bai roared. He was given a harsh laugh in reply.
"We'll be on our way now," Xiu Xiang laughed. Hua Jian ripped open a portal with his energy and the four of them all disappeared through the portal.
The four of them jumped out in the town nearby Tian Ling Sect. The moment Xiu Xiang's feet landed on the ground, blood seeped through her robes as she spat out a mouthful of blood.
"My lord!" Hua Jian cried as he tossed Bai Qing aside to check on her.
"I'm fine. We don't have much time," Xiu Xiang said as she wiped the corners of her mouth. She turned over to Wei Xing, who was still frozen. "You must be happy to know that I barely escaped with my life."
She had expected to see disappointment written in his eyes, not a look of caution. A sense of danger sped toward her. By the time she had turned around, Hua Jian had captured the tip of Bai Qing's sword with his body.
"Hua Jian!" she cried as she slammed a palm against Bai Qing's shoulder, knocking her into the wall of a nearby building.
"I'm fine, my lord," Hua Jian said as a trickle of blood seeped down from the corner of his lips.
Xiu Xiang glared angrily at Bai Qing. No matter when or where, this idiot would always cause Xiu Xiang endless troubles. She raised a hand ready to rid herself of the nuisance only for Hua Jian to yank her hand down. "Did you forget? She's the only one who can take us through the forest."
"I'd rather die than help you!" Bai Qing spat angrily as she struggled to get up to her feet.
"Then, I guess you'll need a bit of motivation," Xiu Xiang hissed. Her hand moved in the direction of Wei Xing as a red ball of energy spiraled around in her palm. "Your life or your husband's? Pick one."
"You monster! I won't forgive you if you hurt Wei Xing!" she hollered.
Xiu Xiang turned to Hua Jian then asked, "Are you able to move?"
"I'm fine," he repeated.
"Good. Take her ahead, I'll follow later," she told him.
"NO! I'm not leaving here without Wei Xing!" Bai Qing retorted.
"Do you really think you negotiate here?" Xiu Xiang swung her arm in a half circle covering Wei Xing's body. "The time limit is two hours. If you don't make it back here, this barrier will crush your husband to death and not even I would be able to help."
Bai Qing didn't struggle for long. She quickly made up her mind and reluctantly left with Hua Jian.
Once they were gone, Xiu Xiang tumbled to the ground, spitting out another mouthful of blood. She had overexerted herself and even jumped through portals. Slowly making her way over to Wei Xing, she gently placed a hand on the blue barrier that covered Wei Xing.
"You really chose yourself a good wife. She feared you would die that she didn't even stop to take a closer look at this barrier," Xiu Xiang chuckled.
Even now, she was still worried about Wei Xing. She was too injured to take him along. It was safer to leave him here under a healing barrier. She was an idiot. She said she wouldn't take the same route as the Demoness but here she was, heading straight toward death's door all because of a man.
"If I survive this, I hope we never see each other again," Xiu Xiang said sadly. She turned around without another look, just missing the dreaded look in Wei Xing's eyes.
Author's Note: The main character has a few words to say...
Xiu Xiang: Where are you going with this? Do I love Wei Xing or do I not?
Author: You do! I'm just not good at fleshing out romantic scenes! I'm sorry!
Wei Xing: What are you complaining about? Ms. Author hasn't even given me a single line this entire chapter.
Author: -_-;;