So, what exactly did Hua Xiangrong do, and why did Ji Ling gather a team to target Qingluo? Let us turn back time to one day ago.
“Tomorrow, I will accompany you to the Xiaoyao Hall for duty.”
“Thank you, Yan’er. Fortunately, I have you.”
At the noon dining table in the small courtyard of Mianyun Peak, Hua Yan promised to accompany Yun Xuechang to her shift at the Xiaoyao Hall the following day.
Sitting nearby and gnawing on a lamb chop, Hua Xiangrong’s large eyes blinked several times upon hearing the news.
‘Host, Host, Yun Xuechang just said Ye Qingyuan left, right? Does this mean our plot is about to begin?’
The voice of 099 quickly rang out inside her head.
‘Exactly.’ Hua Xiangrong put down the lamb bone she had gnawed clean and picked up a new one, replying in her mind, ‘Sect Master Ye Qingyuan of the Xiaoyao Sword Sect has traveled far to the South Sea. This means the Evil Cultivators in the shadows are about to make their move, and this section of the novel’s plot is officially beginning.’
‘The original work actually didn’t describe this part much. 099, how exactly was it written?’
The little system quickly pulled up the records:
‘Reporting to Host, the original description is as follows:’
‘After being heavily injured, Yun Xuechang spent several months recuperating on Mianyun Peak. During this time, Ji Ling, the Peak Master of Danxia Peak — though she harbored a grudge against Yun Xuechang due to the death of her master, Jiang Changge — still did her best to heal her under the pressure of the Sect.’
‘However, this matter led to Ji Ling’s identity as a secret associate of the Evil Cultivators being suspected. Once Ye Qingyuan left the Sect for the South Sea Secret Realm, the Evil Cultivators ordered Ji Ling, who was the Acting Sect Master, to assassinate Yun Xuechang. The reason was that her achievements in Great Chu were too brilliant, and they feared she would become a major threat if not eliminated.’
‘Ji Ling used excuses to refuse, which only deepened the Evil Cultivators’ suspicions. Finally, a few days before Ye Qingyuan’s return, Ji Ling was lured out by an important clue. Ignoring the warnings of Yue Jue and the others, she went to the meeting alone and was besieged and killed by the Evil Cultivators.’
‘The subsequent two chapters of the original work also mentioned that after Ji Ling died, Yun Xuechang came out of seclusion and learned the truth. It turned out that long before Jiang Changge’s death, this elder had been approached by Qingluo — who also resented Jiang Changge — because she “hated Jiang Changge’s heartlessness,” and she became a spy for the Evil Cultivators. Although her undercover work did not prevent Jiang Changge’s death, her feigned “gratification” after he died, along with her continued dissatisfaction with his disciple Yun Xuechang, successfully earned the further trust of the Evil Cultivators.’
‘Using Ji Ling’s death and Yun Xuechang’s grief, these two chapters further reinforced Yun Xuechang’s persona as a “Beautiful Powerful Misfortunate” lead, earning plenty of tears from the readers.’
‘All right, all right, you don’t need to say anything more about the later parts.’
Hua Xiangrong curled her lip and put down another bare bone.
‘Mom is such a good person, yet the original author was obsessed with that “Beautiful Powerful Misfortunate” persona and kept engaging in Protagonist Abuse. It was purely looking for trouble where there was none. In the novel, the author killed off almost all the good people until only Mom was left, leading a group of crippled soldiers. They couldn’t even justify how she won against the final boss and the Evil Cultivator organization. The ending deserved to collapse.’
‘Let’s not talk about that. Back to Elder Ji. Although the Zhao Mingyuan we faced in Great Chu wasn’t as terrifying as in the original work, Mom still defeated her and entered the Spirit Severing stage just like in the original — I believe that group of Evil Cultivators will still be unable to sit still. While Grandpa Sect Master is away, they will force Elder Ji to take action against Mom.’
‘Based on what we know of Elder Ji, she will certainly try to deflect just as she did in the original, which will deepen the Evil Cultivators’ suspicions and eventually lead to her being targeted again. However, due to the Butterfly Effect, the specific timing is hard for us to grasp.’
‘But this matter isn’t actually that hard to solve,’ she said in her mind while tilting her small face up, obediently letting Yun Xuechang wipe the grease from the corners of her mouth.
She added a sweet “Thank you, Mom” before continuing, ‘We just need to “trick” Elder Ji a little.’
‘Trick?’ 099 was puzzled.
‘Yeah, don’t I have the Heaven-Blessed Dao Body?’ Hua Xiangrong took a sip of orange juice, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
‘In a moment, I’ll tell Mother and Mom that I saw the future again. I’ll tell them Elder Ji will be killed if she continues her undercover work and let them convince her together.’
‘Elder Ji has never told Mom about her status as a spy, so she will definitely believe my prophecy and change her plans. We only need to use this fake prophecy to raise her vigilance. As long as she is willing to shed her identity as a spy, she naturally won’t die. Perhaps she can even join forces with Mom and the others to turn the tables on Qingluo.’
‘In this way, our side gains another powerful cultivator at the late Spirit Severing stage, while the Evil Cultivators lose a Great Demon of the same level. Although the impact on the final outcome might not be as huge as we initially expected, every bit of influence counts toward our chances of victory.’
‘Besides, Elder Ji was a major contributor in bringing Mother and Mom together. Rationally and emotionally, I don’t want her to die pointlessly. Otherwise, how sad would Little Pomegranate be in the future?’
She put down her wooden cup and blinked, her mind already made up.
Thus, as the lunch drew to a close, the pink-haired girl suddenly spoke with a frantic, tearful voice:
“Mother, Mom, I saw the future again! You must save Elder Ji!”
The subsequent developments were, as Hua Xiangrong expected, largely the same.
Although Hua Yan and Yun Xuechang were somewhat surprised to hear about Ji Ling’s identity as a spy, they quickly took her to find Ji Ling.
After hearing their explanation, Ji Ling remained silent for a long moment.
Eventually, she decided to work with several Peak Masters to set a plan to shed her spy identity and hunt down Qingluo.
That was the sequence of events.
……
Time returned to the present moment.
“Cough… cough, cough…”
The dark green python lay limp on the ground. The surrounding earth was scarred with corrosion and Sword Qi, and the entire hill had been razed to the ground — even with the members of the Xiaoyao Sword Sect intentionally controlling the range of destruction.
Qingluo’s scales were upturned and mangled. Sword wounds of varying depths covered her body, one eye was already blind, and her half-severed tongue hung powerlessly.
She struggled to breathe, her remaining golden eye fixed intently on the people slowly approaching — especially Ji Ling, who stood with her hands behind her back, her black robes fluttering, and a milky-white Sword Pill hovering before her.
“I will give you one last chance.” Ji Ling looked at her expressionlessly, her voice cold. “Tell me where your nest is and hand over some intelligence I don’t already know. I’ll give you a quick death.”
“Heh, heh… cough, cough! Ji Ling! You fool! Don’t even think about it!”
Qingluo glared at her, hissing her rebuttal while secretly gathering her remaining strength to self-destruct.
If you want to kill me… you’re coming with me! Don’t think you’ll get away with this easily!
“You idiotic woman… Did Jiang Changge ever love any one of us back then? That heartless woman only cared about her little disciple! Even so… you still want to protect Yun Xuechang?!”
“I’m telling you! When we besieged Jiang Changge back then, she could have escaped on her own! It was only because she insisted on protecting Yun Xuechang that she fell into a desperate situation! Hahaha! She didn’t love you at all! And yet you still…”
“Twist — !”
With a thought from Ji Ling, the Sword Pill before her suddenly turned into a streak of light.
It pierced through Qingluo’s seven-inch mark, instantly shredding her monster core — which was on the verge of self-destructing and nearly depleted of Spiritual Power — and annihilating the Primordial Spirit that was attempting to flee within it.
“I knew I shouldn’t have wasted my breath on you.”
The corner of her mouth lifted slightly in a stiff arc, but a strange sense of liberation flickered in the depths of her eyes.
Finally… I don’t have to deal with this poisonous woman and her false pretenses anymore…
Finally… I could kill her for you, you idiot.
“Elder Ji.”
Yun Xuechang stepped forward slowly. Looking at Ji Ling’s slightly stooped back, she spoke softly.
“Fine, don’t overthink it.”
Ji Ling shot her a glance and straightened her back, her tone as blunt as ever.
“I won’t be like Qingluo said and blame Jiang Changge’s death entirely on you, but don’t expect me to be nice to you in the future. I’ve never liked the look of you.”
“I understand, Elder Ji.”
The girl in white froze for a moment before nodding in agreement.
“Hmph, still that same act of being well-behaved and clever.”
Ji Ling snorted coldly, waved her hand to collect Qingluo’s corpse, and turned to leave.
“Oh, little Xuechang, don’t listen to little Ling-Ling. She’s just stubborn. In her heart, she’s always been thinking about you.”
Yue Jue leaned in toward Yun Xuechang and gave a playful wink. Her voice was low, but loud enough for everyone present with high cultivation to hear clearly.
“Yes, I know.”
Yun Xuechang nodded seriously.
“Elder Ji… has always been that same Elder Ji.”
“It’s good that you understand. Our little Xuechang really has been lovable since she was a child, unlike some people, tsk tsk…”
Yue Jue shook her charming head, rambling on.
“Yue Jue! Are you quite finished?!”
Ji Ling’s angry roar came from up ahead.
“Alright, alright… I’ll stop talking, okay? You’re already thousands of years old, yet your temper is still so unlovely…”
The woman crossed her arms and muttered under her breath. Suddenly remembering something, she hurried after the black-robed figure about to fly away into the night sky.
“Hey — ! Hey! Little Ling-Ling! Don’t hog Qingluo’s monster body for yourself! That’s a Black Nether Green Python, late Spirit Severing stage, it’s worth a fortune!”
“I worked so hard today that my makeup is ruined… I don’t want much. The scales, gall, and fangs are mine! You can keep the rest of the meat and whatever is left!”
“Get away from me! Don’t you dare come near me!”
Ji Ling’s impatient scolding rang out in the night sky, accompanied by Yue Jue’s chirping pursuit, before fading into the evening breeze.