Chapter 12: Day 12

“Why is everyone doing this?”

Looking around at the disciples of the White Snake Gate who surrounded her, the girl asked as if she truly couldn’t understand.

Why were they harboring such hostility towards her?

No, why were they harboring killing intent, beyond hostility, towards her?

The girl couldn’t understand.

The girl didn’t understand.

What did she do wrong?

Ah!
Could it be?

“I’m sorry.
I found my talent too late.”

The girl offered them a heartfelt apology.

The reason why the disciples of the White Snake Gate harbored hostility towards her.
The reason why they showed killing intent beyond hostility.
And the reason why they were angry.

The girl thought it was because she had found her talent too late.

She thought they were hostile and had killing intent towards her because she had wasted the assets of the White Snake Gate until now.

At the girl’s apology.

“You!”

“How dare you!”

“I’ll kill you!”

The disciples of the White Snake Gate let out angry and murderous shouts.

At those shouts, the question in the girl’s eyes deepened.

She apologized first, so why were they still angry at her?

And that too, trash who were at most five spiritual root users.
Or four spiritual root users.

Ah!
Could it be that?

They were just like Uncle Baek, who was lying over there.

“Are you jealous and envious of my talent?”

As she said that, a purple light bloomed from the girl’s eyes.

The madness that had permeated to her bone marrow.

The madness that she thought had disappeared when she inhaled the black smoke that spewed out when she opened the wooden door in the basement of the collapsed library.

That madness was now raising its head again.

The disciples of the White Snake Gate who surrounded the girl flinched when they saw the dense madness flickering in the girl’s eyes.

As they flinched and retreated, the girl took a step forward and said.

“Are you also jealous and envious of my talent?
So you want to kill me?
Then.”

Rumble.

Powerful Demonic Qi rose from the girl’s body.

At some point, the purple light that bloomed in the girl’s eyes had long since turned blackish-purple, mixed with Demonic Qi.

At that ominous something, the disciples of the White Snake Gate gulped.

Crunch!

Around the girl.
Dozens of huge tree roots sprouted from the ground.

The tree roots, which intertwined and grew in size, soon surrounded the girl and became a huge and solid prison.

At the same time, other cultivators appeared above the heads of the gathered White Snake Gate disciples.

Cultivators, each of whom openly revealed their powerful magical power.

Some looked like young boys.

Some looked like beautiful women.

Some looked like old men.

Some had the mature appearance of middle age.

Those who appeared late frowned at the girl emitting dense Demonic Qi.

Then, they trembled at the sight of the now cold and simply a lump of meat, the corpse of Outer Elder Baek Ah, lying at the girl’s feet.

“Hmm, are we too late.”

“But how did ‘that’ break the seal?”

“It’s dangerous.
Too dangerous.”

The girl and the corpse.

The girl and Outer Elder Baek Ah.

Looking at the two in turn, they spoke one after another.

The girl looked at them without a word.

Something, something was going wrong.

The disciples of the White Snake Gate showing hostility towards her.
Showing killing intent towards her.
Harboring anger towards her.

The girl had thought that all of that was just because they were jealous and envious of her talent.

However, even those who appeared late showed a subtle killing intent towards her, so the girl could only think that her thoughts were wrong.

Each of those who appeared late had a strength and had reached a realm that was not lacking even when compared to Uncle Baek.

No, the now dead Outer Elder Baek Ah.

“First, let’s subdue her.
And then.”

“We must wait for the Sect Leader’s decision.”

Two men and women said that and stepped forward.

One was a boy who looked younger than the girl, and the other was a middle-aged woman who exuded maturity.

The moment the two took a step forward, the girl realized that the surrounding air was sinking heavily.

At the same time.

[Kill them.]

[Kill those people.]

[If you don’t kill them.]

[You will die.]

Something whispered.

A dubious whisper, not heard through the ears, but echoing in her head.

That whisper was ominous, sinister, bizarre, and terrifying.

However, the girl did not reject that whisper.

Even if there was no warning from the whisper, the girl already knew that they would not let her go unharmed.

Therefore, the girl flicked her finger.

Six Flicking Fingers Sword Art Alteration.

Twelve Demonic Fingers Sword Art.

As her finger flicked, twelve streaks of black sword energy erupted and stretched towards the boy and the middle-aged woman.

The twelve streaks of black sword energy cut through the wooden prison between the girl and the boy and the middle-aged woman very neatly.

And yet, its momentum did not diminish and it continued to advance, still maintaining its sharpness.

The boy and the middle-aged woman.
The old man who was standing behind them frowned.

The old man was the one who created the wooden prison that confined the girl.

He never thought that the prison he created would be cut so easily.

Even if the opponent had killed Outer Elder Baek Ah, she was still just a Demonic Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage.

He thought that Outer Elder Baek Ah had died because of the power of the treasure called the Ninefold Demonic Mask.

And because of Outer Elder Baek Ah’s mistake, who had mistaken that power.

“Be careful!”

The old man shouted.

However, the boy and the middle-aged woman.

Even if the old man hadn’t warned them, the two had already realized the unusual power and sharpness contained in the twelve streaks of black sword energy that the girl had created.

“How dare you!”

The boy shouted in anger, took out a small piece of iron from his bosom, and threw it into the air.

The piece of iron that the boy threw then emitted a powerful magical power and turned into a huge iron gate.

Thud-!

Tadatadat!

The iron gate that appeared in the air fell to the ground with a heavy sound.

It deflected the twelve streaks of black sword energy that the girl had created.

“Hmm..”

The boy who created the iron gate let out a suppressed groan.

That was no ordinary iron gate.

It was one of the Dharma treasures that the boy had personally refined.

Its hardness could easily withstand even the attack of a Golden Core stage cultivator.

But.

‘A scratch from the attack of a mere Foundation Establishment stage Demonic Cultivator?’

The boy muttered inwardly.

The twelve streaks of black sword energy created by the girl had scratched the iron gate created by the boy.

That meant that the attack of that Foundation Establishment stage Demonic Cultivator was on par with a Golden Core stage cultivator.

No, perhaps it was even beyond that.

The moment the boy’s eyes sank heavily at that thought, this time the middle-aged woman stepped forward.

“You should never have been accepted!”

Unlike the other cultivators, the middle-aged woman shouted, revealing an exceptionally huge anger.

She held a sword, which she had pulled out from somewhere and sometime unknown, and rushed towards the girl.

The moment she took a step, a violent storm rushed towards the girl.

The woman, who had instantly arrived in front of the girl, swung her sword without hesitation.

Kwagagaga!

The sword, imbued with a violent storm, rushed to take the girl’s life, tearing everything to shreds.

[Dodge it]

‘I know!’

As the storm gradually approached, ‘something’ whispered a warning.

The girl shouted inwardly at the ‘something’ that warned her with a whisper and moved.

Demonic Dragon’s Ascension Lightning.

Crackle!
Black sparks crackled on the girl’s body.

At the same time, the girl soared up like a demonic dragon ascending to the sky.

Kwagagaga!

The violent storm narrowly brushed past her feet.

In the blink of an eye, the girl, who had reached the high sky, frowned at the devastation that unfolded beneath her feet.

Nothing remained in the place where the violent storm had swept through.

Wooden buildings.
Stone walls.

Etc.
Everything was torn to shreds by the violent storm and shattered, disappearing without a trace.

Seeing that terrible sight, the girl felt wronged.

Just what did she do wrong!

Just what sin did she commit for them to want to kill her like this!

Just what.

“What did I do wrong for you to do this!”

The girl shouted, and her cry, mixed with Demonic Qi, echoed throughout the White Snake Gate.

The cultivators belonging to the White Snake Gate frowned at that cry.

At the same time.

“You asked what you did wrong?”

A terrifying voice coming from behind.

A voice as cold as a snake’s, causing the girl to flinch the moment she heard it.

Shaaaat!

Along with the snake’s cry, hundreds of white snakes popped out from all directions and instantly wrapped around the girl’s body, binding her.

“Keuk!”

As hundreds of snakes intertwined and bound her body, a suppressed groan escaped from the girl’s mouth.

Meanwhile, the being who had bound the girl.

A cultivator who exuded an overwhelming presence that surpassed anyone else here.

The Sect Leader, the master of the White Snake Gate.
And the only one within the White Snake Gate who had reached the Nascent Soul stage, he appeared in front of the girl and said.

“Your very existence is wrong, you trash-like Demonic Cultivator.”

Ah…!

Two eyes reminiscent of a snake.

The moment their eyes met, the girl’s body trembled slightly.

Like prey in front of a predator, the girl couldn’t do anything when their eyes met.

Those eyes.

The owner of the snake-like eyes did not allow the girl to even move a finger.

All the girl could do was tremble and be swallowed up by fear.

The White Snake Sect Leader looked at the girl and slowly raised his hand.

“But you don’t have to be too afraid.
There’s no reason to be too sad.
I intend to make you repay the wealth of the White Snake Gate that you have wasted until now through your body.
Aren’t you happy?
The fact that you, who are useless, can be of help to the White Snake Gate.”

It’s coming.

It’s approaching.

Death is approaching.

Death, disguised in the skin of a snake, is approaching.

Revealing sharp, glistening fangs.

Dripping deadly venom that melts everything.

Death is approaching.

No.

No.

She didn’t want to die like this.

Why did she have to die?

She had finally realized her talent.

She had finally regained the reason to settle in this heaven.

Why?
Why are you doing this to me?

What did I do so wrong?

She couldn’t accept it.

She didn’t want to accept it.

She couldn’t even understand it.

No.
She didn’t want to die.

She couldn’t die like this.

How had she survived in that hell?

How had she endured that humiliation and contempt?

To die so vainly like this?

Who are you?

Who are you to say whether I should die or not?

No.
I don’t want to die.

I don’t want to die.

Someone help me.

Someone please save me.

Why do I have to die?

Why do I have to die?

No no no no no.

No!
No!
No!
No!
No!

I!

“I don’t want to die-!”

[Then what will you offer?]

Huh…?

Death.

The death disguised in the skin of a snake.

Just before the fangs that sprouted from that skin pierced her body, the girl’s cry, close to a dying scream.

The moment she let out that cry, a whisper echoed in the girl’s head.

However, it was quite different from before.

Something.
Although it was hard to explain, the girl could tell that this whisper was fundamentally different from the previous whispers.

But to offer?

What will you offer?

Those words were as if.

[What will you offer.]

Before the girl’s thoughts could continue, the whisper echoed once again.

The girl asked.

‘What do you want?’

[What will you offer.]

Even at the girl’s question, the whisper just repeated the same question.

So the girl thought.

What could she offer to this unknown being?

Think.
Think, think, and think again.

What should she offer?
What should she offer to survive?

She pondered and pondered.

She thought and thought.

Suddenly, the girl’s gaze was drawn to the being in front of her.

The death disguised in the skin of a snake.

The overwhelming powerhouse that she, in her current state, could not resist no matter how many times she tried.

The master of the White Snake Gate.

The Nascent Soul stage cultivator.

The White Snake Sect Leader.

The moment she met his snake-like eyes, the girl said.

‘I…?

The girl muttered as if whispering.

The moment the girl’s words ended.

[The contract is made.]

The whisper’s satisfied answer.

At the same time, just before the White Snake Sect Leader’s hand touched the girl.

“What…?”

The girl disappeared without a trace as a streak of black smoke.

As if he couldn’t believe that the girl had escaped from his grasp, a look of bewilderment appeared on the White Snake Sect Leader’s face.