Chapter Fifty-Nine: Chaos in Qiongyun (Part Two)

The sound of swords clashing and cranes shrieking pierced the air, accompanied by the gruesome noise of flesh being torn. Yet, the expected pain did not come.

Blood, warm and splattering on my face.

Hesitantly, I opened my eyes. The stern face of the celestial being I once knew appeared before me. For a moment, his eyes were gentle, then they dimmed and lost their luster. Blood pooled on his chest, staining his white robes. His form shattered into countless crystal shards, breaking the dreams and fantasies that had enveloped me.

I suddenly realized that this was the Grand Immortal, temporarily materialized using the spiritual power I had transferred into the Moon Spirit Jade.

My mind went blank.

Nightmares from the past turned into ghostly shadows, flooding my thoughts and causing intense pain throughout my body.

Something seemed to block my throat, and my eyes burned with heat. Cold raindrops dripped into my eyes, blurring everything.

I knelt on the ground, trying to gather the broken shards of the jade. Pain shot through my hands, unsure if it was from blood or rain. The jade slipped into the water, and I wiped my hands on my clothes before picking it up again.

"You demoness, I'll kill you!"

A hoarse scream rang in my ears as a sword cut across my face. The rain stung the wound painfully. I glanced at Lingluo and then continued to pick up the remaining jade shards.

"Get away! You don't deserve Brother Que! He's mine! Your filthy hands have no right to touch him! Die! Get lost!" She kicked me away, pinning my leg to the ground with a sword.

The jade scattered again. I reached for a shard but couldn't move closer. Gritting my teeth, I pulled my injured leg, the sword digging deeper into the wound. Finally, I managed to grab the shard.

Sighing in relief, the cold rain seeping into my bones didn't matter anymore. The piece of jade in my hand seemed to warm me.

"Hahaha! Brother Que, I will revive you! I will... No, why did you betray me? Why!!! Do you know what I've been through for you?" I looked up to see Lingluo, her eyes wild, smashing the shards again, her voice filled with fury.

"What are you doing? Stop it!"

"Why should I?" She turned to me, her blood-red eyes looking eerily charming. Wet gauze clung to her face, highlighting the fresh, terrifying scars. Her dark red lips curved upward in a twisted smile as she furiously and bitterly questioned, "Why did I toil for him for so many years, and he never looked at me, but the moment you came to Qiongyun Sect, he treated you differently... Why did you come and take away the only reason I had to live? Qingyue, you ruined me! I'll make you experience this bone-deep pain!"

"What are you doing?" I felt a chill in my heart. Lingluo's eyes narrowed like blades as she chanted a spell, sending magic into the sky. The rain poured down like a waterfall. "No! Stop casting! Don't!"

"Hahaha! I want you to experience everything I went through. I want you to know how painful it is to watch the one you love die before your eyes, powerless to do anything! Qingyue, remember, all this is your fault! This is your deserved retribution! Hahaha!" Lingluo's crazed laughter mingled with the sound of the downpour, indistinguishable from each other.

A sudden warmth spread from my abdomen, black energy emanating from it and enveloping my body. Power surged through me, concentrating in my hands, the force itching to be released.

"Ahhhhh!" I clenched my fist, my scream tearing through my throat, releasing all my resentment, unwillingness, and sorrow. Suddenly, I felt no more heartache, just a warm sensation in my eyes, something blocking my vision.

I yanked the sword out of my leg, crushing the blade in my hand until it shattered into pieces.

"Lingluo, you're truly ridiculous."

In the distance, the blurry figure stopped moving and looked up at me, stepping closer with each step.

"What did you say?"

"I said you're laughable and selfish. The person you love has always been yourself. When you don't get what you want, you hurt others. You are beyond redemption."

"What do you know? What do you understand? No one is born wanting to hurt others." Lingluo's eyes were red with tears, her hands trembling as she pointed to the shattered jade on the ground. "Everything I did was for him!"

"You're just using your love for him as an excuse to harm others. No one can bear such love. You've been wrong from the start, and you still refuse to see it."

"No, no! I gave everything for him, fighting demons and evil alongside him, enduring all hardships without complaint. My feelings for him haven't changed even today. If it weren't for you stealing his love, how could we have ended up like this?"

"It wasn't me. If the Grand Immortal had feelings for you, how could he allow me to come between you? You've misunderstood. His feelings for you have always been those of a brother to a sister."

She laughed coldly. "Nonsense. How could I not know if he had feelings for me? It's all because of you, everything is because of you!" She summoned a beam of white light and hurled it towards me without warning.

The white light came crashing down from all directions, splashing rainwater everywhere. Before I could regain my footing, the light formed a dense net, descending upon me. I had to fend off the attack and retreat simultaneously.

Her eyes suddenly narrowed, and the white light in her hand shot straight at my face. I dodged to the side and caught the light, realizing it was a bone whip. As she tugged gently, the wound in my palm throbbed with pain. I quickly threw the whip away, freeing my hand.

"Attack! Capture this demoness, now!"

"Yes!"

At her command, the people behind Lingluo swarmed forward. They wore the uniforms of Qiongyun Sect disciples, but I didn't recognize any of them.

As they all attacked at once, I countered by striking at their center. In the chaos of the rain, I sliced through a few of their sleeves, revealing the bright flame mark beneath.

It seemed she was prepared for my arrival, constantly ready to kill me.

I conjured an ice lotus in my hand, slashing forward with the chilling energy of the Nine Hells. Instantly, the rainwater on them froze, turning them into ice statues within moments.

"To think you survived such great tribulations and even improved your cultivation. Hahaha, but do you think you can escape so easily?" As Lingluo spoke, I suddenly felt my limbs growing weak.

"What do you mean?" I looked down to see tiny golden insects burrowing into the wound on my palm. Poison?

"It means you will die here today." She slowly pulled off her wet veil and threw it to the ground, her voice sweet as honey, yet declaring the most venomous words.