"What does she want?"
Ju Yin was sparring with her two elder brothers. She had been furious these past few days. Her doting father had arranged her marriage without her consent and used the excuse of parental decree and matchmaking to silence her. A Divine Venerable’s word was as binding as heavenly law.
If he went back on his word, her father would face divine punishment with the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder. Hua Xun had already used the pretense of preparing betrothal gifts to slip away. With nowhere to vent her anger, Ju Yin brought her two brothers out of her spatial realm, under the guise of friendly sparring, though it was a one-sided beating.
Upon appearing, Ji Wuye saw Hu Hu injured again. He fought Ju Yin with suicidal abandon, hating his own uselessness and weakness. He was repeatedly sent flying by Ju Yin, only to pick himself up again.
It was Divine Venerable Ye who could not bear to watch. He directly transmitted a cultivation technique to the two brothers using his divine sense. Both had good talent. As soon as the technique entered their sea of consciousness, they gained enlightenment, and their cultivation and mystic arts improved significantly. This prevented the brothers from being too thoroughly beaten, allowing them to withstand a few of Ju Yin’s moves.
Ji Wuye and Ji Chenmu thanked him solemnly, understanding that this was their sister’s father’s acknowledgment. They hadn't expected Miss Ji’s background to be so immense, with a father who was a Divine Venerable. Ji Chenmu was even more excited. With such a powerful figure, he knew he had to stick close. In the Heavenly Realm, wouldn't they be able to walk unimpeded?
At that moment, a Divine Guard reported that Ji Chenmu and Divine Venerable Ye were sitting under the eaves, watching the two sparring on the field. Ju Yin, after kicking Ji Wuye flying, happened to overhear this.
"Call her in!" Upon hearing this, Ju Yin decided it was time to settle scores.
Ji Wuye flipped in mid-air and landed. His sister had held back. He was inexplicably relieved; his sister was too terrifying. At the same time, he resented Hua Xun. He wanted to marry his sister but was a coward. After he had hidden, they had suffered. However, he also wanted to see what kind of mysterious maiden had harmed Hu Hu! If necessary, he would kill her to prevent future trouble! In his world, there was no such thing as mercy for enemies.
As Xuan Ji entered, she saw a woman standing with her back to her in the center of the martial field.
She was wearing a light blue fitted training outfit, her ink-black hair cascading past her waist, simply tied back in a ponytail without any additional hair ornaments.
"Long time no see, Xuan Ji!" Hearing the arrival, Ju Yin turned to face Xuan Ji.
"Sister, you're finally back! I missed you so much…" Xuan Ji’s eyes welled up with tears, and she hurried forward, intending to grasp Ju Yin’s hand.
Ju Yin took a step back, evading Xuan Ji's hand.
"Sister, are you angry with me?" Xuan Ji was taken aback, her expression twisting slightly. Just a little more, and the demonic seed could have been planted on Ju Yin.
"Heh! So I was hoping too much." The moment Xuan Ji approached, Ju Yin sensed something was wrong with her. She shared a soul contract with Hu Hu, and their abilities were connected. Hu Hu was highly sensitive to demonic energy, so she also detected it immediately.
"Blame you? Blame you for harming Hu Hu back then? Blame you for revealing Hu Hu’s identity, drawing the attacks of the Immortal Clan upon this Venerable? Or blame you for leaking military intelligence, causing the Xuanyuan clan to die tragically?"
Ju Yin pressed forward step by step, forcing Xuan Ji to retreat.
"Sister, I didn't! We were like sisters, how could I harm you?" Xuan Ji panicked. She had acted discreetly; how did she know? But she absolutely could not admit it now, otherwise, Divine Venerable Ye alone could destroy her. She had lost her mind today, rushing to meet her here.
"No? You’re truly stubborn! What is that in your hand? Are you trying to give me a big gift upon our meeting?" Ju Yin suddenly stepped forward and flipped Xuan Ji's hand, revealing a dark demonic seed resting in her palm.
Seeing that her plan was exposed, Xuan Ji struck at Ju Yin, and the demonic seed in her hand flew towards Ju Yin. She wanted Ju Yin, the dignified Divine Venerable, to taste the suffering she had endured.
"Hmph! How dare you!" A cold snort came from inside the house.
Xuan Ji’s heart leaped. This was Divine Venerable Ye’s voice.
The flying demonic seed hovered in front of Ju Yin. It turned out to be a barrier set up by Yu Shou. Ordinary barriers could not defend against this demonic seed. Yet, it could not be touched carelessly. One touch, and it would enter the body. Ju Yin thought of the demonic stone in her spatial realm and collected it into the cave for sealing demonic stones. As expected, the demonic seed joyfully pounced towards the demonic stone upon seeing it, merging into it. This demonic seed was originally part of the demonic stone; it had been secretly removed by the demonic seed using a secret method to control members of the Immortal Clan.
Failing in her attempt, Xuan Ji turned and tried to walk outside.
How could Ju Yin let her go? With a streak of sword energy, she slashed towards the space in front of Xuan Ji, forcing the fleeing Xuan Ji to stop dead in her tracks.
Within the divine palace, the domain of a Divine Venerable prohibited flight. Xuan Ji could not use escape arts. Having been admired by the Immortal Clan for a million years, she had always had things her way. With Divine Venerable Ye in seclusion, she had mistakenly believed her actions were well-hidden, making her arrogant. She had forgotten Ju Yin’s power.
Upon hearing the news of Ju Yin’s return to the divine palace, she had panicked and therefore hastily produced the demonic seed to try and control Ju Yin. At that point, even the powerful Divine Venerable Ye of the divine palace would have to obey her commands. She knew that the Divine Venerable doted on his daughter. This way, even without the tiger tally to control divine soldiers, it would be effortless.
Ju Yin flicked her sleeve, sending Xuan Ji flying. Her spells were taught by Ju Yin, leaving Xuan Ji with almost no ability to fight back.
"Are you using demons to control people's hearts?" Ju Yin knew that demonic seeds were not easily acquired. The demonic stone was in her spatial realm, the Demon Lord was still trapped in the divine stone, and the demon kings of the demon race had limited demonic seeds. Demon kings would not place much importance on pawns like Xuan Ji.
"Sister, please let me go, I dare not do it again!" Xuan Ji cried, her tears streaming down like rain.
"Heh heh, why are you crying? Are you this cowardly? I heard that when the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden visited the Bei Qi family, she was pulled by nine Jiaolong, which was quite majestic!" Xuan Ji’s pupils contracted upon hearing this. She had been careless. When Feng Du had warned her that day, she had not taken it seriously. Fortunately, she had sent a communication talisman to Divine Venerable Hao Tian before coming.
She dared to claim the phoenix carriage her father had given her as her own! She had underestimated her.
Ju Yin formed a hand seal and, dragging Xuan Ji, entered the small space of the Nine Jiaolong. She saw the nine Jiaolong exuding a demonic aura; they were slumbering at this moment.
With a flick of her sleeve, she carried Xuan Ji and the Nine Jiaolong out of the spatial realm. That day, she had been truly foolish to tell Xuan Ji the entrance to the small space. She had trusted her too much back then. It was no wonder her father didn't bother with these matters. Her father must have been hurt.
Little did she know that this was Divine Venerable Ye being lazy and also disliking that Xuan Ji had used the phoenix carriage, planning to get her a new one. A day in the Immortal Realm was equivalent to a year in the mortal realm, and a day in the God Realm was equivalent to a month in the Immortal Realm. Therefore, for Ju Yin, who had gone through a million years of reincarnation in the mortal world, Divine Venerable Ye merely felt that he hadn't seen his dear daughter for a while. Cultivation was timeless; a moment of meditation, a period of closed-door cultivation, and time would pass. It was not like the endlessness Ju Yin had experienced struggling in the mortal world.
Only when he had learned that his dear daughter had perished through soul dispersion had he been extremely anxious. After making some arrangements and knowing that his daughter would return, he had not interfered further.
Revenge, of course, was most satisfying when taken personally, so how ridiculous were Xuan Ji's self-righteous deductions? The Divine Venerable hadn't even considered her worth looking at. Those he considered worthy had all been annihilated by him.