Chapter Fifty-Seven: Old Memories

A dreamless night passed.

I woke up early and headed out. As I was making my way down the mountain path, a young girl in a yellow dress suddenly jumped out from the woods. She introduced herself as Huaying, a maid personally selected by the Sage of the Hidden Springs to take care of my daily needs during this time.

Her words sounded pleasant, but we both knew she was there to spy on me. So, no matter how much she tried to start a conversation, I ignored her.

"You're so cold! I'm not playing with you anymore, humph!" she pouted, running off to pick wildflowers by herself.

This spy was hardly taking her job seriously. Fine by me, it gave me some peace. Just as I unfolded the map in my hand, a small, childish hand snatched it away.

"What's so important about a map? I've memorized all the locations already," she declared confidently, humming through her nose.

"But we still need to come up with a plan, right? Most of the Xinghuo Hall outposts are deliberately built to avoid the Moonshadow Sect. The nearest one is a four or five-day journey. How much time did the Sage give us?"

She thought seriously for a moment before answering, "Half a month."

Half a month—barely enough to wipe out half their forces.

"Are you sure it's only half a month? Did you get it wrong?"

She shook her head, conjured a black orb under her feet, and sat on it. "Let's start with the Xinghuo Hall in Xin'an Town. Remember to keep up." With that, the soft black orb carried her away.

The Moonshadow Sect seems to prefer flying with objects rather than swords. It certainly looks more convenient. What if they used chairs or beds instead…

What am I even thinking? I calmed myself and summoned my flying sword, stepping onto it and ascending.

Truth be told, I was a bit worried about my sword-flying skills. This was my weakest ability.

The wind howled, making my ears ache, but I finally landed safely.

The street was already in chaos. A small figure weaved through the crowd towards me—Huaying, with a group of Xinghuo Hall disciples in hot pursuit. From a distance, she shouted, "Run!"

"How did you manage to attract so many of them?" Even with my improved cultivation, I dared not fight so many at once. I started running too.

"Stop talking and run faster! You'll see why soon enough!" Just as she finished speaking, a massive explosion sounded behind us, followed by several smaller blasts, sending debris flying.

"You damned girl, you blew up our Xinghuo Hall!" one of the disciples shouted.

Huaying pouted, "It's your fault for being so stupid! Why can't you just stay stupid? Now I've wasted so much time!"

"Get her!" A disciple lunged at her, but Huaying twisted his wrist and kicked him away. I didn't expect such strength from her small body.

Seeing this, the other disciples tried to surround her. I conjured an ice lotus to fend off those who got too close.

We couldn't keep this up for long; our energy would soon be depleted. Just as I considered using a deadly move, Huaying spun and released a white mist. The disciples touched by it instantly turned to white bones.

"What kind of technique is that? It's terrifying."

She dusted off her hands. "It's called Merciful Life Powder, made to deal with these beasts who practice on living people. It merely returns these undying monsters to the cycle of life and death."

Returning unending lives to the wheel of reincarnation, aligning with life and death. It was indeed a merciful remedy for those who had committed countless sins.

However, though the powder took out most of the Xinghuo Hall disciples, some remained unaffected.

"These ones might not have started practicing the dark arts yet, but the seeds of evil are already planted. We should deal with them all." Huaying picked up a sword and flew into battle.

"Big words. Today, you'll die a horrible death," one of the remaining disciples shouted as they charged.

As I parried attacks, I spoke to Huaying, "Shouldn't we leave some alive, try to reform them? I once knew someone from Xinghuo Hall, but she..."

A vision of Yi'er flashed in my mind.

"There's no point in saying that now. Do you think human evil can be changed so easily? If you keep hesitating, neither of us will survive! Fight!" Huaying's swift and fierce attacks had slowed, turning from offense to defense.

Indeed, it was strange. The more I fought with the Xinghuo Hall disciples, the weaker I felt, as if my strength and mana were being siphoned away by the opponent.

No wonder these people were so reckless. It turned out Hongyi had taught many of them this parasitic dark art that harmed others for their own benefit.

Even those with deep cultivation could be drained dry if they couldn't defeat these disciples in one blow. They would cling like leeches until every drop of blood was sucked out.

"Stubborn fools, even gods can't save you!" I pushed back the surrounding Xinghuo Hall disciples, summoning the Nine Nether Ice Lotus into the air. I chanted a spell, infusing it with cold energy. With a flick of my fingers, the lotus petals released a frost that stuck to their feet, and with a wave of my sleeve, the petals turned into countless ice blades that fell upon them.

The sharp sound of ice blades slicing through flesh was unnerving, making my heart race. I shut my eyes tightly, trying to steady my breath.

"That's quite a spell. Will you teach it to me someday?" I opened my eyes to see Huaying looking at the Nine Nether Ice Lotus with admiration. She reached out to touch it, but I stopped her.

"Stingy."

I retracted the Ice Lotus and replied, "It's not stinginess. This Ice Lotus is extremely cold. Ordinary people would suffer greatly if they touched it."

"Hmm, sounds pretty scary." She nodded, half understanding, then suddenly asked, "Who was that friend from Xinghuo Hall you mentioned? Luo Yi'er?"

I grabbed her hand excitedly. "How do you know her?!"

"Because I saw her fate when I was traveling away from the sect. And no, it wasn't the sect leader who told me. Do you want to hear about your friend's past?" She glanced at me cautiously. When I nodded, she began to speak.

It turned out that when the previous hall master of Xinghuo Hall was still in power, Xinghuo Hall was under the Moonshadow Sect. As the Moonshadow Sect's influence grew, so did Xinghuo Hall's strength. But ten years ago, when the Moonshadow Sect was besieged and struggling, Xinghuo Hall underwent a "regime change."

The previous hall master disappeared, and Hongyi temporarily took over. Over the years, he vigorously promoted new rules for Xinghuo Hall, intending to eliminate the old guard. However, the elders in the hall held onto the previous hall master's treasured collection and cultivation secrets. To gain their support, Hongyi personally hunted down the previous hall master's twin children, born to an ordinary woman. In the end, his scheme succeeded.

Luo Yi'er and Luo Xi were those twins, both half-human and half-demon. Hongyi captured the girl, grooming her as a spy to join the Qiongyun Sect, while the boy escaped but eventually also joined the Qiongyun Sect in a twist of fate.

But Hongyi made one miscalculation. Over the years, Luo Yi'er secretly contacted the old members of Xinghuo Hall, gradually weakening Hongyi's power and declaring herself the young master of Xinghuo Hall, gaining the support of a few.

Unexpectedly, the siblings reunited and vowed to break free from Xinghuo Hall for the sake of their friends and each other. However, Hongyi threatened Luo Yi'er with her brother's life to force her to continue serving him. In the end, she couldn't bring herself to harm anyone, resulting in both siblings revealing their demonic forms and dying without maintaining their human appearances...

Until her last moment, Yi'er never revealed the truth to anyone.