Now that the truth is out, it’s time to finish this.
The Venerable of Lingyun Dao Temple waved his hand and slapped Kuang Yuanwei to death.
Kuang Yuanwei didn’t even have time to show a bewildered expression before he was utterly dead.
He then picked up the True Martial Myriad Talisman Box from the ground and found that the precious talismans inside were almost completely used up, revealing a pained expression.
The core of the True Martial Myriad Talisman Box lay in the talismans it contained; what was precious was not just the box, but the tens of thousands of talismans.
They’re all gone, all gone…
“Venerable Fox Slayer, I swear vengeance upon you!”
The Venerable of Lingyun Dao Temple gritted his teeth.
He flipped his hand and picked up the Mystic Fire Divine Bead, the treasure of Daguang Temple, throwing it to Jiang Ke’er.
“You hold onto this for now; it can dispel the cold poison… The Venerable of Daguang Temple is dead. With me protecting you, these bald donkeys won’t dare to touch you.”
As he spoke, he looked around at the scattered sect cultivators and those eager rogue cultivators with murderous intent.
Feeling his gaze, these cultivators recoiled in fear, forced to abandon their ill intentions toward Jiang Ke’er.
“The dragon fight is over. The irrelevant people should retreat. Don’t force Lingyun Dao Temple to resort to violence.”
Leaving a warning, he flew into the sky.
The Venerable of Wuji Sect understood and attacked the Venerable Fox Slayer with him.
The Venerable Fox Slayer had long since sensed trouble and had already run dozens of miles away.
His mind was in turmoil, and he still couldn’t figure out who was messing with him, but he knew that if he didn’t act decisively, his life would be over.
“Fellow Daoists, there’s something very strange about today’s events, and I’m sure you wouldn’t believe my explanation… Forget it, consider me unlucky today. There will be future opportunities, and we’ll meet again!”
He was confident he could escape steadily, but precisely at that moment, the Heavenly Lightning Annihilation Formation, which had been idle for a long time, suddenly appeared and blocked his path.
Without a word, it unleashed a barrage of lightning.
The Venerable Fox Slayer cried out in distress.
He used all his trump cards, but in the end, he still couldn’t escape the sword qi of the Wuji Sect and the magic arts of Lingyun Dao Temple, and he was beaten into a pulp.
He died without understanding which immensely powerful mastermind was framing him.
If Lingyun Dao Temple and Wuji Sect weren’t crying “thief” while being the thieves themselves, finding excuses to eliminate dissidents and reduce the number of people sharing the spoils, then this person was truly terrifying.
Even Lingyun Dao Temple and Wuji Sect might not have a good end.
Within a single day, half of the four supreme Bagua realm Venerables of Xiao Kingdom had inexplicably died.
The neighboring enemy nations were probably laughing in their dreams.
The remaining two were well aware that no more Venerables could die.
Any more deaths would shake the very foundation of Xiao Kingdom’s society, and even their prominent sects would not fare well then.
The Venerable of Wuji Sect spoke first: “I don’t want the Heavenly Lightning Annihilation Formation. If you like it, take it. You can also take Daguang Temple’s Mystic Fire Divine Bead. This way, the treasures of the three major sects will all be in your hands… And I only need to take the dragon’s corpse and that fox demon.”
The Venerable of Lingyun Dao Temple chuckled in anger: “You old fox, you’re really good at calculating. Everyone knows that while the three sect treasures are valuable, compared to the dragon’s corpse and the fox demon, they’re just trash.”
“At most, I’ll give you half the dragon’s corpse plus the three sect treasures. The rest of the dragon’s corpse and the fox demon are mine,” said the Venerable of Wuji Sect.
“Dream on!”
While the two were arguing fiercely over the distribution, Jiang Ke’er began to subtly slip out of the crowd.
She summoned the Heavenly Lightning Annihilation Formation, secretly unleashing lightning, electrocuting several cultivators who tried to stop her.
She dared not make too much noise; once she attracted the attention of the two Venerables in the sky, there would be no way for her to escape.
Fortunately, she had already run to the edge of the forest, and the woods were very dense, otherwise, she wouldn’t have had any chance.
In short… so far, everything was going according to plan.
As soon as she was out of sight, she immediately hid in a bush, wrapping herself tightly in her black cloak.
Then, she hurried towards the retreating rogue cultivators.
Many rogue cultivators knew that they had worked in vain this time and were cursing as they made their way back.
Jiang Ke’er blended into this large group of rogue cultivators, squeezing along with the crowd on the way back to Wulei City.
She turned her head and looked in the direction where the Dragon Clan Saintess had fallen, sighing softly, but still resolutely headed in the opposite direction.
Although this Dragon Clan Saintess shared a similar fate with her, both being tragically unable to control their own destinies, and she felt immense sympathy for her… she was currently unable to protect herself and truly couldn’t spare a thought for her.
Jiang Ke’er clasped her hands together and muttered: “I’m sorry. When I become successful in the future, I will definitely avenge you.”
“For now, big sister, you should just die here. With you there, you can help attract some firepower, forcing them to leave troops to guard you and preventing them from fully searching for me…”
Jiang Ke’er repented for half a second, then looked up to see a person in a black robe walking alongside her.
This made Jiang Ke’er incredibly nervous, fearing her identity would be exposed, until she saw the scattered blue hair under the other’s hood.
“…”
Jiang Ke’er didn’t know how this person had escaped so silently.
She only thought for three seconds before turning and diving into another part of the crowd.
“Don’t run, someone wants to kill you.”
Unfortunately, her fate’s nape was seized by Qiao Xiaoxian, and Jiang Ko’er was pulled into her embrace and picked up.
A soft, fragrant breeze brushed her face, but Jiang Ke’er had no mood to appreciate it.
She surveyed her surroundings and quickly noticed several cultivators also stealthily moving within the rogue cultivator army, gripping their swords and looking around, clearly searching for something.
At this moment, the two Venerables in the sky also discovered that Jiang Ke’er and Qiao Xiaoxian had escaped.
After cursing their disciples, they saw that the disciples responsible for guarding them were dead… They quickly dispatched people to intercept the rogue cultivator force and begin searching.
“They have no cultivation, they can’t escape far, they can’t get away. Search slowly, one by one!” the Venerable of Wuji Sect commanded.
The strange cultivators in the crowd clearly did not belong to the same faction as the three major sects.
Jiang Ke’er didn’t understand where these sudden enemies had come from, and Qiao Xiaoxian’s appearance completely disrupted her escape plan.
Ahead, cultivators from the three sects were already searching against the flow of people, and mysterious killers were lurking around. Jiang Ke’er made an immediate decision, along with Qiao Xiaoxian.
“Back to the dragon’s vein!”
Qiao Xiaoxian held Jiang Ke’er by her side and swiftly moved through the forest against the flow of people.
Although her cultivation seemed to be destroyed, she seemed to hide some secret.
Even with no cultivation in her body, she ran faster than Kuang Yuanwei did at the time, and was exceptionally agile and nimble… like a dancer in the shadows.
Whoosh—
From diagonally below, a sword light suddenly shot towards Jiang Ke’er, who was being carried by Qiao Xiaoxian! Its purpose was clear: to kill this harmless little fox demon!
Before Jiang Ke’er could react, Qiao Xiaoxian released the hand holding her, grabbed the long sword, twisted the blade, and sent it back into its owner’s chest.
Everything happened at extreme speed; Qiao Xiaoxian even had time to withdraw her hand and catch Jiang Ke’er mid-air.
Jiang Ke’er was steady, barely feeling any sway.
So strong! Jiang Ke’er felt extremely envious.
The pursuers discovered Jiang Ke’er’s location and immediately converged in that direction.
They didn’t communicate verbally, seemingly afraid of attracting the attention of those around them.
Their entire operation was cautious and silent.
Only when they were close to Jiang Ke’er did they burst forth with a fierce attack!
“Over there!” At the same time, the two Venerables in the sky also discovered their location.
Jiang Ke’er’s eyes darted around, and she cried out: “Two Venerables! Someone wants to kill me! Quickly, hit them!”
What? Someone wants to kill the fox demon they’ve set their eyes on?
A fox demon isn’t a dragon; it’s useless once dead.
Chasing her, wouldn’t that be destroying their property?
What a bunch of audacious assassins, chop them down!
The two Venerables immediately adjusted their direction and attacked the plainclothes assassins hidden among the rogue cultivators.
These assassins acted cautiously precisely to avoid attracting the attention of the two Venerables in the sky, but they were exposed nonetheless… With no other option, they had to go all out.
These guys were utterly fearless; to kill Jiang Ke’er, they would even detonate their spiritual power.
If not for the two Venerables’ help, Jiang Ke’er would definitely not have survived.
Finally, the entrance to the dragon’s vein was in sight.
Qiao Xiaoxian hugged Jiang Ke’er tightly and leaped in!
The assassins immediately grew anxious.
They knew that the dragon’s vein entrance was easy to defend and difficult to attack; once Jiang Ke’er entered, it would be much harder for them to act against her.
All the assassins quickly rushed behind Qiao Xiaoxian at their fastest speed.
More than a dozen of them simultaneously self-destructed!
Flesh, shockwaves, and shrapnel exploded overwhelmingly, hitting Qiao Xiaoxian’s back.
Qiao Xiaoxian grunted and, to protect Jiang Ke’er, fell heavily onto the ground beneath the dragon’s vein.
She could no longer support herself and passed out.
Jiang Ke’er immediately activated the Heavenly Lightning Annihilation Formation, wedging the formation stones at the dragon’s vein entrance and setting it to defensive mode.
The narrow cave entrance concentrated the formation’s power, making it impossible for even the two Venerables to break through the defense and come down for a while.
“Little fox demon, you can come out with the Dragon Clan Saintess.”
The voice of the Venerable of Lingyun Dao Temple came from outside the cave.
Jiang Ke’er slumped on the ground, gasping for breath.
She looked at the bruised and battered Qiao Xiaoxian not far away and did not respond.
“Little fox demon? If you don’t come up, I’ll come down… Ah—Heavenly Lightning Annihilation Formation?!”
The cry of the Venerable of Lingyun Dao Temple came from outside the cave.
Jiang Ke’er could feel that the power of the Heavenly Lightning Annihilation Formation seemed to have increased significantly because the residual energy from tribulation lightning and the dragon’s vein near the cave entrance provided a continuous supply of energy to the formation.
The two Venerables dared not force their way in again.
The Venerable of Lingyun Dao Temple, zapped by the lightning, roared: “Fox demon! You come out here!”
“Shut up! You old useless thing!” Jiang Ke’er suddenly cursed loudly.
“…What did you just call me?” The Venerable of Lingyun Dao Temple felt he might have misheard.
“I called you a hypocrite, an old good-for-nothing who only bullies the weak and fears the strong, disgusting and filthy! Sooner or later, I’ll chop off your five limbs, make them into cured meat, and sell them to your sect disciples! Then I’ll hang your torso on your sect’s lintel, let the crows peck out your intestines, and eat you clean!”
The Venerable of Lingyun Dao Temple was enraged: “You little fox demon, if you have the guts, don’t ever come out in this life! As long as I catch you, I’ll make you practice the most tragic and painful cauldron cultivation method! We’ll see if you’re still so stubborn then!”
“Bah! You tell me to practice, and I’ll practice? Can’t I just kill myself?”
Jiang Ko’er spat, “I’m telling you, if you dare to make even the slightest attempt to break through the formation, I’ll immediately commit suicide! Rather than fall into the hands of you hypocrites and suffer endless torment, I’d rather die!”
“…Don’t, don’t commit suicide, he was just joking,” the Venerable of Wuji Sect glared at the Venerable of Lingyun Dao Temple.
“Don’t worry, come out. The cauldron cultivation method isn’t painful; on the contrary, it’s very pleasurable! Besides, your status is noble; we cherish you too much to torment you.”
“Stop pretending, all of you, for a bit of insignificant cultivation, you’ll do anything filthy and shameless, bah, bah, bah!”
Jiang Ke’er grew more agitated as she spoke, her voice even carrying a hint of a sob: “Humans, the primates of all beings, the humans that this little fox demon dreamed of, you’ve turned into these profit-driven ghosts! Shameful! You’re worse than beasts!”
“…”
There was no response from outside the cave.
“Even the Heavenly Dao is a fake Heavenly Dao! The cultivation people work so hard for, it’s just chopped away without a word. What, did the demon race dig up your ancestral graves?” Jiang Ke’er sneered, “You’re powerful, you’re awesome, I can’t defeat you… But I can decide my own life and death! Not only can I decide my own life and death, but I can also burn away the dragon skin, dragon scales, and dragon tendons you dream of before I die! Then, you can just hug our ashes and shut yourselves in!”
After cursing, Jiang Ke’er ignored the outside.
She hugged her knees, sat beside Qiao Xiaoxian, buried her head in her knees, and cried.
It wasn’t for her own fate but for the empathy that remained from her previous life as a human, yet to be worn away.
She cried for the little fox demon’s aspirations and for the injustice Qiao Xiaoxian suffered.
It was as if a person seeing a smile on someone else’s face would inexplicably feel happy themselves.
Seeing others experience sadness and pain would make one feel sad as if they were experiencing it firsthand…
This was empathy, the foundation that built the human emotional system.
Jiang Ke’er felt that even if she died here, she would be more human and more worthy of being called human than those beasts with human forms outside.
Her burial here was the supreme honor of this world and also its sorrow!
“Hmph…”
Jiang Ke’er grabbed Qiao Xiaoxian’s sleeve, wiped her tears, then blew her nose and tossed it aside.
“System, system!”
No matter how Jiang Ke’er threatened, the two systems remained silent; they had been offline for two whole days.
If the system functions hadn’t been completely normal, Jiang Ke’er would have thought she had accidentally uninstalled the systems.
Her peripheral vision caught the question mark skill book in the corner of her inventory, and she frowned, falling into thought.
This thing was, after all, a skill worth a billion.
She was about to die; if she let it rot here and take it to her grave before she died, wouldn’t that be a bit too wasteful…
Anyway, she was now at a dead end, facing imminent death.
Why not… try the power of a billion-worth skill?
But this was a cauldron cultivation method; practicing it required binding to a Dao companion, and once practiced, she would definitely be suppressed for life below.
Wait… what if she bound a dead person?!
Jiang Ke’er’s eyes lit up.
Her lips curled up, her smile gradually becoming unrestrained.
That’s right, by binding a dying person and then killing her, it would be like binding a dead person!
She could not only enjoy the wonderful future brought by the billion-worth skill but also never have to worry about being captured and used as a cauldron again!
Jiang Ke’er lowered her head, giggling foolishly, looking at the dying Qiao Xiaoxian as if she were looking at a treasure.
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I feel utterly lost….when she outed as a fox? Why is the Dragon Saintess suddenly cultivationless? The dragon vein was suppose to buff her. Neither of these seem to be mentioned anywhere.
The heavenly dao stripped her cultivation away when she tried ascending. That immortal guy who showed up when that happened told everyone she was a fox