"You demoness, how dare you sneak into Jiuling Palace and become a disciple!" The man before her roared, his white robes exuding an air of refined gentleness, yet his face was contorted with fury.
What?!
Ye Ziling was momentarily stunned. Demoness? Sneak into Jiuling Palace?
Damn it, this was the very empire she had built with her own hands! The territory she had conquered!
The elder of the Seven Immortal Pavilion saw Ye Ziling's bewildered expression and thought, this demoness truly knew how to act. Even at death's door, she continued her performance. If she became an actress, she would undoubtedly shine brightly on stage.
"Demoness, still acting? The Vice Palace Master has already told us that you and that Commander Mu are both demonic beasts! To seize the Sun Moon Divine Chalice, you didn't hesitate to infiltrate Jiuling Palace as an immortal candidate, and even colluded with the demon king to harm our disciples. If you are sensible, you will take your own life, and we can grant you a complete corpse!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Ziling's mind buzzed.
Xuan Lang?
Didn't this guy know her identity? Deliberately labeling her as a demon beast, what was this all about?
Ye Ziling sneered. She finally understood. Xuan Lang wanted to use the three major academies, seize the opportunity to kill her with a borrowed knife.
This way, he could smoothly take control of Jiuling Palace and become its new Palace Master.
That was quite a brilliant plan.
She scanned her surroundings. The most conspicuous shadow in the crowd averted her gaze, his expression colder than ever.
Ye Ziling clenched the letter in her hand, crumpled it into a ball, and stared coldly at Ling Xi, her voice laced with mockery, "I didn't realize that Scholar Ling's acting is even better than mine?"
Ling Xi was Shaolin's prized disciple, yet he had approached her without reason. She should have known long ago that he was after the Sun Moon Divine Chalice.
"If you surrender obediently, I can guarantee you a life," Ling Xi said coldly, his eyes filled with chilling sharpness. When he looked at her, the tenderness of the past was gone.
She still remembered how tender and affectionate his gaze had been when he confessed his feelings that day. It turned out it was all a facade.
Ye Ziling's heart turned cold, and she met his gaze with chilling eyes, "Guarantee me a life?"
When had she ever needed these people to grant her the right to survive?
Ling Xi's gaze never left her. Seeing the flicker of pain and resentment in her eyes, his heart stirred, but his expression remained impassive.
He had already investigated the martial examination chaos. Those fellow disciples had indeed died because of her, but not by her hand. He could turn a blind eye.
He had heard every word of Ye Ziling's conversation with Shen Yueru yesterday.
She intended to destroy the three major academies, to kill everyone in the academies. He could not stand by idly.
Ling Xi's mind replayed Shen Yan's dying words. Without a doubt, the Lingxian Villa incident and the chaos caused by the martial examination all stemmed from Ye Ziling's actions.
With so many lives lost by her hand, how could he remain indifferent?
Moreover, she was a demon, and he was human. There should never have been any intersection between them.
"Demoness! Enough nonsense, I want revenge for my fallen disciples!" Shen Qingfeng roared, and with a flick of his body, he lunged at her.
A mocking smile touched Ye Ziling's lips. The ferocity in her eyes gradually transformed into killing intent. She laughed wantonly, a stark contrast to her usual cool and aloof demeanor.
At this moment, her eyes were filled with bloodthirsty slaughter, as if possessed by a demon, "I'd like to see if you have the ability."
With that, she leaped up, heading towards Shen Qingfeng.
The two instantly clashed. One clad in flowing black, the other adorned in pure white. One radiating cold killing intent, the other wild and devilish.
The dagger in Ye Ziling's hand was like a ghost's claw, her moves precise, swift, sinister, and venomous. Within a few exchanges, she had Shen Qingfeng pinned down.
"Master!"
"Palace Master!"
"Father!"
...
Seeing this, the disciples cried out in shock, trembling, and retreated to the side.
Ye Ziling kicked Shen Qingfeng in the chest, coldly sheathing her sword.
"Quick! Use the Sun Moon Divine Chalice to set up the formation!" Shen Qingfeng, utterly unable to retaliate after being struck, was horrified and quickly instructed his disciples.
He had not expected this demoness's strength to reach such a level!
The disciples nodded in agreement and hastily began setting up the formation. A formation composed of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams materialized in the air, enveloping Ye Ziling. Combined with the power of the Sun Moon Divine Chalice, its might was extraordinary.
Ye Ziling raised an eyebrow, let out a cold snort of disdain, and then raised her left arm. Hidden weapons shot from her sleeve, piercing the sky, instantly forming several bee stings in the air. The bee stings whistled through the air with immense force.
The formation was destroyed, and the disciples were struck by the force, spitting blood and sustaining severe injuries.
Ling Xi Jian saw this and quickly waved his folding fan to block Ye Ziling's bee stings, his gaze fixed on her, a complex gleam in his eyes.
His figure flashed, and using the moves from their first meeting, he restrained her. The power in her hands quickly dissipated.
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to his side, saying in a deep voice, "Trust me. If you stop, I can spare your life."
Ye Ziling let out a scoff, staring at him coldly, "Scholar Ling's kindness, I cannot accept."
Just as the two were exchanging blows, Shen Yueru ran out from among the disciples, holding two pieces of the Sun Moon Divine Chalice and began drawing talismans. "Senior Brother Ling, I'll help you!"
"Retire!" Ling Xi rebuked her.
Shen Yueru did not stop drawing the talismans. She glanced at Ye Ziling, her eyes blazing with intense hatred, "Demoness, I will make you pay with your life!"
Ye Ziling's eyes narrowed as two sword energies shot towards her.
She no longer hesitated. With her right hand, she formed a hand seal, and her fingertips conjured two fire dragons that lunged at Shen Yueru from the left and right, their claws bared.
The two fire dragons collided with the Sun Moon Divine Chalice, emitting a thunderous roar. The light of the Sun Moon Divine Chalice instantly dimmed.
But at this moment, her power was absorbed by the Sun Moon Divine Chalice, and a tremendous force threw her off the cliff.
Falling stones plummeted to the bottom of the cliff, and no sound followed, indicating the depth of the chasm.
At this moment, she was hanging precariously on the cliff, her wrist held by Ling Xi. The force of his grip sent a piercing pain through her wrist.
"Hold on to me..."
Ling Xi whispered, exerting all his strength to pull her up the cliff.
But Ye Ziling was not cooperating at all. Gazing into the bottomless abyss, watching the white mist continuously drift upwards, a look of resolve flashed in her eyes.
Soon, he heard the scolding voices from the top of the cliff.
"Ling Xi, what are you doing!"
"Senior Brother Ling, quickly kill the demoness! If she lives, our three major academies will face annihilation!"
"The Emperor has decreed that if we kill this demoness and return the Sun Moon Divine Chalice to the heavens, he will pardon our past transgression of privately hoarding the Sun Moon Divine Chalice!"
...
Ling Xi's eyes remained unmoved. His gaze was intense, the worry and anxiety overflowing from his eyes unhidden. He gripped her wrist even tighter.
"Quick, give me your hand!" he said in a suppressed voice, his tone trembling slightly.
Ye Ziling looked at his eyes filled with worry, a wave of disgust washing over her. She did not offer her hand.
How could these hypocrites let her go? If she were rescued, she would likely not even have a complete corpse.
She would rather perish at the bottom of the cliff than die at the hands of these hypocrites.
Ye Ziling looked at Ling Xi, her gaze fixed on him with a strange intensity.
There was no hatred or disgust, only a calm, tinged with mockery.
She sneered, her lips curling into a mocking smile, her beautiful face painted with a tragic, cold beauty, "Since Scholar Ling wants to kill me, why not let go?"
"Give me your hand!" Ling Xi said, his face darkening, panting heavily. He did not answer her, and the light in his eyes grew dimmer.
Hmph, even now, he was still pretending to be affectionate?
Quite dedicated.
"Give you my hand so you can pull me up for your beloved Palace Master to dismember?" Ye Ziling scoffed, slowly uttering her final words, "You'd better pray I die..."
"Otherwise... I will ensure your eternal damnation."
Everyone has failed me, and you are no different.
Ling Xi watched his hand slowly slip away, staring in horror as she gradually unclasped his palm.
"No..."
As the last fingertip disengaged, Ye Ziling felt a sense of release, and the voices around her gradually faded.
"Senior Brother Ling..."
"Senior Brother Ling, no! Shaolin still needs you, you can't die with that demoness!"
...
Seeing Ling Xi about to leap off the cliff, Shen Qingfeng struck his shoulder with a cleaver, knocking him unconscious.
He ordered disciples to carry Ling Xi back to Shaolin, then led the disciples to peer down the cliff, laughing heartily.
"Demoness! Finally dead!"
The cliff was bottomless. Falling would surely be fatal! Even if she had no chance to be cut into a thousand pieces, she would be smashed to smithereens!
The disciples on the cliff raised their swords and cheered.