However, Ye Luqing ignored the System and didn’t bother checking the so-called reward.
Instead, she looked down from above, staring straight into Xiao Qingxuan’s eyes.
She planned to push Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value to 400% in one go, then safely Return to Earth. The small Stage Reward meant nothing to her.
“Give me back the Jade Pendant.” Ye Luqing pressed aggressively.
“No!”
As if unwilling to accept this reality, Xiao Qingxuan lowered her head to avoid her gaze, like a little dog abandoned by its Master.
Tears fell uncontrollably from her eyes. She felt her heart ache, as if something was tearing it apart.
The last time she felt such pain was when she’d first heard news of Ye Luqing’s death. Now, it hurt even more than back then.
She couldn’t handle such wild swings between joy and sorrow. Her mind was in complete chaos.
[Blackening Value increased to 111%]
[Blackening Value increased to 129%]
Hearing the ever-climbing Blackening Value, Ye Luqing was very satisfied.
But seeing Xiao Qingxuan in front of her, trembling and convulsing, in so much pain she seemed about to shatter, a trace of guilt rose in Ye Luqing’s heart.
But when she remembered this was her only chance to Return to Earth, she hardened her resolve.
“This isn’t real. She’s just a fictional character in a novel.”
Ye Luqing tried to convince herself.
“When I get back, I’ll definitely mail the Author a knife. That bastard wrote all this…”
Ye Luqing used this excuse to justify her actions.
After a moment, her expression returned to cold indifference.
She bent down, cupping Xiao Qingxuan’s bloodless face in both hands.
That beautiful face was now covered in despair.
“Ah Qing… You promised me we’d be together forever…”
Xiao Qingxuan’s voice was choked with sobs, her face already a tear-stained mess.
She recalled every little memory of their past.
She could almost feel the warmth in her palm from when the girl made her vow.
“That was before.”
Ye Luqing’s tone was flat, as if she didn’t care about the Xiao Qingxuan before her at all.
“The original Ye Luqing is already dead.”
This sentence struck Xiao Qingxuan’s heart like a heavy hammer, her world once again losing all color, leaving only endless darkness.
[Fated Female Protagonist Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value increased to 150%]
[Warning: Detected Fated Female Protagonist Xiao Qingxuan’s Demonization Value increased to 37%. Host, please be careful.]
Hearing the System’s prompt, Ye Luqing was stunned.
“Demonization Value?”
This was the first time she’d heard of such a thing.
There wasn’t anything about Xiao Qingxuan’s demonization in the original work.
As if sensing Ye Luqing’s confusion, the System explained:
[Three days ago, during the battle with the Soul-Slaying Sect’s Transformation God Realm Magic Cultivator, Xiao Qingxuan was tainted by demonic energy. Combined with the grief from Ye Luqing’s death, her heart became knotted, resulting in the initial signs of demonization.]
[According to the original World Line, Xiao Qingxuan’s Master would soon emerge from seclusion and help her suppress the demonic energy within her. This would not affect the main plot.]
[Xiao Qingxuan’s initial Demonization Value was 24%. Now it has risen to 43%. If it reaches 100%, she will lose her rationality. Host, please respond with caution.]
“What the… Why are you only telling me this now?!”
Ye Luqing roared at the System in her mind, while outwardly doing her best to remain calm so Xiao Qingxuan wouldn’t notice anything.
[Demonization Value is listed in the Fated Female Protagonist’s basic information. You interrupted my introduction at that time.]
“I…”
Ye Luqing froze, and suddenly remembered.
At that time, Xiao Qingxuan had already entered within a hundred meters of her.
She’d been anxious to hear how to complete the task and Return to Earth, so she’d skipped the seemingly useless basic information introduction.
[Fated Female Protagonist Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value increased to 158%]
[Warning: Detected Fated Female Protagonist Xiao Qingxuan’s Demonization Value increased to 50%. Host, please be careful.]
Listening to the System’s cold voice, Ye Luqing grew frantic with worry.
At this rate, Xiao Qingxuan’s Demonization Value would hit 100% before her Blackening Value even reached 400%.
She did not want to face a completely irrational Xiao Qingxuan.
“What should I do now?!”
Ye Luqing asked hurriedly.
[Host, do your best.]
“Do your best, my ass!”
[Fated Female Protagonist Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value increased to 169%]
[Detected Fated Female Protagonist Xiao Qingxuan’s Demonization Value increased to 76%. Host, please be careful.]
Damn System!
Ye Luqing’s scalp tingled.
She didn’t know exactly what a 100% demonized Xiao Qingxuan would be like, but she knew all too well how terrifying Xiao Qingxuan was after blackening.
To revive the Original Host, Xiao Qingxuan had even been willing to kill her fellow disciples who tried to stop her.
[Fated Female Protagonist Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value increased to 178%]
[Detected Fated Female Protagonist Xiao Qingxuan’s Demonization Value increased to 93%. Host, please be careful.]
“I can only gamble now…”
That sentence “The original Ye Luqing is already dead” was just too devastating.
Even if she said nothing now, Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value and Demonization Value would still soar.
Ye Luqing gritted her teeth and reached into Xiao Qingxuan’s embrace.
She had to push Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value as high as possible before her Demonization Value hit 100%.
“Give me the Jade Pendant!”
Ignoring the rapidly rising Demonization Value, Ye Luqing forcefully snatched the Jade Pendant away.
She pried it from Xiao Qingxuan’s hands with sheer force, stumbling back several steps.
First, she had to get this Key Item.
Once she secured Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value, she’d deal with the rest.
“That’s it. From now on, you walk your own broad road, I’ll walk my single log—”
But before Ye Luqing could finish, she felt her vision go black.
A figure taller than her threw itself at her—it was the now irrational Xiao Qingxuan.
[Fated Female Protagonist Xiao Qingxuan’s Demonization Value has reached 100%, Blackening Value ???%]
But Ye Luqing had no time to listen to the System.
Xiao Qingxuan, her eyes blood-red, had already seized her by the throat.
“Give me Ah Qing’s Jade Pendant back!”
The once-immortal beauty, now a Magic Cultivator with demonic energy flooding her mind, cared for nothing but the Jade Pendant the Original Host had given her.
“Ugh…”
Faced with a Half-Step Transformation God Realm Xiao Qingxuan, Ye Luqing had absolutely no power to resist.
“Gu… wake…”
“I… I am… Ye Luqing…”
Her tense feet weakly kicked at Xiao Qingxuan’s calf, Ye Luqing trying to use her faint voice to call Xiao Qingxuan back to her senses.
“You’re not her…”
“You’re not her!”
Xiao Qingxuan’s demonic energy was almost tangible, her face twisted, veins bulging at her temples, her once-starry purple eyes now a murderous crimson.
The fear of death engulfed Ye Luqing.
This was the first time she’d truly experienced dying.
There was no chance to explain. Ye Luqing’s life simply faded away.
The Jade Pendant was snatched back, but in this state, Xiao Qingxuan couldn’t control her demonic energy.
The moment the Jade Pendant touched her hand, it turned to ash.
She stared in a daze at Ye Luqing’s corpse on the ground and burst into wailing sobs.
“Ah—ah ah—”
A long time later, Xiao Qingxuan picked up the Jade Hairpin from Ye Luqing’s hand, stared at it for a moment, then gathered all her demonic energy and ruthlessly stabbed it into her own heart.
***
Ye Luqing had a dream.
She dreamed she’d fallen into a river, with some terrifying monster chasing her underwater.
She couldn’t tell what it was, but instinctively she knew it was a fear from the very depths of her soul.
So she could only struggle desperately upwards, as if as long as she broke the surface, that thing wouldn’t be able to harm her.
Just before it caught up, Ye Luqing finally managed to escape from underwater.
Then, she sat bolt upright out of the Ice Coffin.
“Ha… ha…”
Green hair stuck to her cheeks, and at some point, cold sweat had drenched her entire body.
It was still that same Cave, the scene before her all too familiar.
But Ye Luqing knew she had just “died” once.
She gasped for breath, the terrifying scene of being hunted still vivid in her mind.
The next moment, a trembling voice called her back to reality.
“Ah… Qing?”