Chapter 24: Cultivators in the Tribulation Transcending Stage?

“Crack!”

The wooden wall inside the Inn room was shattered.

Qiu Zimei manipulated the Wood Vine with extreme caution as he fought against Qiu Ziling.

The Wood Vine, powered by his spiritual energy, was constantly being severed by the Water Spirit Flying Swords released by Qiu Ziling.

The severed Wood Vines fell to the floor and instantly dissipated into spiritual energy.

He had no idea what was wrong with Qiu Ziling.

The moment she entered the room just now, she inexplicably used the Water Spirit Flying Sword to slash open the wooden wall between the two rooms, looking as if she intended to kill him.

She wouldn’t listen no matter how he called out to her, only kept releasing Water Spirit Flying Swords at him while muttering something under her breath.

The commotion here had already drawn the attention of everyone in the Inn.

Those who came to watch took one look and were scared away.

When cultivators clash, even the slightest mistake could injure the mortals nearby.

This was exactly what was giving Qiu Zimei a headache.

In terms of cultivation, he was indeed a bit stronger than Qiu Ziling.

But not only did he need to be careful not to hurt Qiu Ziling, he also couldn’t use large-scale Wood Vines.

The space was too cramped—he had to make sure everyone in the Inn was evacuated to safety first.

As a result, he was being thoroughly suppressed by Qiu Ziling.

Listening to the shouts of the people downstairs, Qiu Zimei shattered another Water Spirit Flying Sword flying toward him with his Ling Sword and called out to Qiu Ziling across from him, “Junior Sister! What’s wrong with you?! Wake up!”

But Qiu Ziling seemed completely deaf to his cries.

She muttered to herself, then suddenly jerked her head up.

“Don’t block my way!”

The water-attribute spiritual energy in Qiu Ziling’s body erupted fully.

Dozens of Water Spirit Flying Swords hovered in the cramped space, all their tips aimed at Qiu Zimei.

“Damn!”

Qiu Zimei cursed inwardly.

If these Water Spirit Flying Swords were unleashed, this Inn would be destroyed for sure.

He had to think of a way to draw the attack outside.

With this in mind, Qiu Zimei tried to fly out through the wooden window, but his path was blocked by a flying Water Spirit Flying Sword.

Qiu Zimei again shattered a Water Spirit Flying Sword with his Ling Sword, then leapt out by stepping on the windowsill.

But to his surprise, after flying out a short distance on his Ling Sword, Qiu Ziling didn’t pursue him.

“Damn! I miscalculated!”

He spun around and rushed back to the Inn at top speed, only to find that Qiu Ziling had already been subdued.

All the Water Spirit Flying Swords were frozen in midair, then dissipated into spiritual energy a moment later.

There stood a woman.

Even from her back, Qiu Zimei could tell she must be stunningly beautiful.

This beauty stood before Qiu Ziling, her delicate hand pressed to Qiu Ziling’s forehead, and wisps of black gas were being drawn out from her fingertips.

“Evil Qi!”

Qiu Zimei’s heart went cold.

No wonder!

Qiu Ziling must have been possessed by Evil Qi earlier, which caused her to lose her senses and attack him.

But the question was—when did it happen?

Could it have been when they returned to their rooms earlier?

Yes, they had been together the rest of the time.

That meant, the Demonic Path cultivator who implanted the Evil Qi in Qiu Ziling was most likely still nearby!

Thinking of this, Qiu Zimei immediately readied his sword to rush out again.

But the beauty spoke.

“Don’t move.”

Her voice was cool and melodious.

Qiu Zimei stopped in his tracks at once.

He stood where he was, looking toward Su Qiulian.

“Senior?”

Su Qiulian did not answer him immediately.

After she finished extracting the last trace of Evil Qi from Qiu Ziling’s body—

She supported the unconscious Qiu Ziling onto the bed and then said softly, “I’ll go.”

With that, she vanished without a trace.

Throughout it all, she never glanced at Qiu Zimei even once.

Qiu Zimei could not know what she looked like, but just that back view, and those two melodious sentences, were enough for him to remember her for the rest of his life.

“Junior Sister!”

Coming back to himself, he rushed to the bedside to check Qiu Ziling’s condition, quickly feeling her pulse.

Fortunately, Qiu Ziling had only fainted, and all the Evil Qi in her body had been completely extracted by that senior.

It was just that her spiritual veins were a bit overworked from the earlier outburst of spiritual power—other than that, there was no problem.

Qiu Zimei finally breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time began to worry again.

He wasn’t sure if the Demonic Path cultivator would escape.

If even that senior couldn’t catch her, then he and Qiu Ziling would just have to return to the sect and report.

***

As for Su Qiulian, she had just reached the outside of the Inn when she sensed the presence of Evil Qi outside the town.

Moreover, it was brazenly unhidden, as if courting death.

“Hmph!”

With a light snort, Su Qiulian soared off in that direction.

At last, ten miles outside the town, she caught up with the source of the Evil Qi.

This Demonic Path cultivator didn’t even try to run, standing under a tree from afar, back turned toward her.

Su Qiulian landed and walked toward her step by step.

“What now? Set a trap here, trying to lure me in and frame me?”

“But you’d better think this through! Since you know I’m the Demon Emperor, you should know such tricks are useless against me!”

Su Qiulian had approached within ten feet, her demon power enveloping the person before her from all directions.

But to her shock, she couldn’t sense any trace of the other person’s presence!

Could it be another puppet?

Just then, the person finally spoke.

Unlike the previous Demonic Sect followers she had seen, this person’s voice was crisp and pleasant—a woman’s voice.

She said slowly, “You, Su Qiulian, are merely at the peak of the Divine Platform Realm. You dare not call yourself invincible in this world, so why such arrogance? Demon Emperor? You’re still just an ant!”

As soon as she finished, her aura was no longer hidden, revealing itself fully.

Crossing Tribulation Stage cultivation!

In an instant, the falling leaves froze in midair, and Su Qiulian’s spreading demon power could go no further.

Overwhelming terror and oppressive force bore down on her.

“Cross—Crossing Tribulation Stage? Who…are you?”

A Demonic Sect that had long since collapsed, a Demonic Sect that was already broken, a Demonic Sect that had disappeared into the river of history—how could a Crossing Tribulation Stage cultivator suddenly appear now?!

Su Qiulian simply couldn’t believe it!

Even across two lifetimes, in a hundred years, there were only a handful of cultivators who, like her, had even touched the threshold of the Crossing Tribulation Stage.

And such a cultivator had been hiding in the shadows all this time?!

“Who I am doesn’t matter.”

She walked slowly to Su Qiulian’s side, the black hood revealing only a pair of coldly alluring red lips.

“What matters is that I know who you are…”

She seized Su Qiulian’s face, her fingers caressing it as she said, “Su Qiulian, even in your second life, you’re still this stupid?”

At these words, Su Qiulian’s pupils dilated wildly, her body trembling uncontrollably.

With difficulty, she turned her face toward the woman and asked incredulously, “How could you…?”

“How could I know you’ve lived another life?”

“tsk tsk tsk…”

The woman shook her head and continued, “Not only do I know you’ve lived another life, I also know that Shen Qingyi was your beloved in your previous life, and that you died for her.”

“How pitiful! Even as the Demon Emperor, you couldn’t protect your own lover? Heh!”

“But don’t worry, this time, I won’t let Shen Qingyi die so easily…”

“What are you planning?!”

Su Qiulian struggled to ask.

But the woman only smiled faintly, saying, “Why don’t you guess? If I can stir the evil in your heart, do you think I can’t do the same with others?”