The Saintess Who Chose Ruin

While Li Wangyan and Chu Jiao were in an ordinary mortal city, the flying vessels of the Righteous Path Seven had already arrived before the gates of the Life-Severing Sect.

Clearly, the Life-Severing Sect had made its choice. Compared to simply dissolving the sect and scattering in all directions, a common action for demonic sects, the Life-Severing Sect, as a major demonic power, obviously had no intention of just letting things go.

Although Qi Xiao didn’t know what trump cards the enemy held, since they dared to do this, they clearly possessed some confidence.

To dare to clash head-on with the Righteous Path Seven, the Life-Severing Sect was utterly presumptuous!

However, she, Qi Xiao, had no intention of taking the main offensive role.

The Life-Severing Sect clearly had some backing. If she took the lead and encountered some heaven-defying, irresistible magical treasure, what then?

That Soul-Extinguishing Nail nearly finished Yu Lian in one shot last time. Qi Xiao had no desire to test how effective that thing might be. She very much wanted to know how many such items the Life-Severing Sect possessed.

Therefore, cooperating here would suffice.

“All disciples! Assume formation!”

The disciples formed up on the flying vessels, and then the vessels linked together, also forming a massive array.

This array was somewhat akin to interlocking iron chains, ensuring no single flying vessel could be individually picked off. Its disadvantage was also obvious—it was vulnerable to being wiped out all at once… Yet everyone clearly didn’t believe the Life-Severing Sect possessed such capability.

After the array was formed, she entered her personal quiet chamber within the flying vessel.

She knew her master had already left. After all, the Nascent Soul stage experts would definitely take action.

Before launching a punitive expedition against a demonic sect, the righteous side would always first recite a proclamation denouncing the enemy.

Although this seemed a bit laughable, it was indeed the proper procedure for righteous factions.

If the Life-Severing Sect didn’t attempt a sneak attack to disrupt the proclamation, then there was still some time before the formal battle began.

Qi Xiao detected a peculiar fluctuation within the flow of magical power.

Then, she found the young woman named Red Lotus.

While everyone else was maintaining the grand array, this young woman was slacking off in her room.

On such high-level flying vessels, every disciple had their own room.

“If I recall correctly, you are supposed to be the Saintess of the Life-Severing Sect.”

Li Wangyan hadn’t explicitly told Qi Xiao about Red Lotus’s identity, but he hadn’t concealed it much either.

“At this point, with war about to erupt, do you still not intend to do anything?”

Red Lotus sat on her bed in an utterly unrefined, sprawling manner, smiling as she looked at Qi Xiao.

“Senior Sister Qi actually sought out a mere Foundation Establishment junior like me. I am truly overwhelmed by your favor~”

“Enough nonsense. I’m asking you a question. Don’t think I can’t do anything to you.”

“Ah~ Senior Sister, calm your anger. How would your junior sister dare! You are Senior Brother Li’s White Moonlight~ If I did anything, Senior Brother Li would surely be angry~”

Sister, your ‘tea’ is a bit strong here.

“So, what is your purpose?”

“Senior Sister really is unmoved by external matters.” Red Lotus seemed to find Qi Xiao lacking in interesting reactions.

She reined in her smile and then said, “I merely wish for the Life-Severing Sect to be destroyed. It’s that simple. Why does Senior Sister even ask?”

“You are the Saintess of the Life-Severing Sect. Why would you want to destroy your own sect?”

“Is Senior Sister genuinely ignorant, or pretending? Don’t you know what the Saintess of the Life-Severing Sect represents? Is the Heavenly Dao Sect’s intelligence really that poor?”

Qi Xiao shrugged.

“It’s nothing more than you engaging in dual cultivation with the Sect Master. For you, that’s not a bad thing, is it?”

She recalled the affair between Li Wangyan and Yu Lian. Yu Lian now possessed an aura of invincibility within the Golden Core realm.

“If one has no beloved, then indeed it doesn’t matter.” Red Lotus said with great candor.

“But if one does have someone they love, then they feel they absolutely cannot accept it, no matter what.”

“You mean, you like my junior brother?”

“Junior Brother? How affectionate, Senior Sister Qi.” Red Lotus smiled. “When Li Wangyan cooperated with me in the secret realm, I knew he was extraordinary, different from many hypocritical gentlemen of famous righteous sects, like Lin Wushuang, Chu Jiao… He is intelligent and pragmatic.”

“From that moment, I began paying attention to him.”

“Oh?”

“When his cultivation was crippled and he was expelled from the sect, I was very curious at the time. I wondered, how would a person like him react when faced with such a thing? So I found him.”

“Originally, I wanted to mock him, but he was surprisingly composed.”

Red Lotus seemed to recall something amusing, a genuine smile curving her lips, different from the one she wore while talking to Qi Xiao.

“I was so curious then. I said, ‘Your cultivation is crippled, you’re expelled from the sect, you could die in this wilderness at any moment. What are you still smiling about?'”

“Do you know what he said to me?”

Qi Xiao remained silent.

“He said to me, ‘Adversity reveals true hearts. Because of this, I finally understand what true kindness is. I think it’s worth it.’ Senior Sister Qi, that is your significance to him.”

Red Lotus stared at Qi Xiao and continued, “Of course, I then said that since you had just broken through to Golden Core, the things from the Foundation Establishment stage were useless anyway, so why not give them to you as a favor? In case you really rose to prominence…”

“Even after saying such things, he didn’t become unhappy. Instead, he said, ‘Then it proves I, Li Wangyan, have such value. Senior Brother made such a judgment.'”

“So, what did you do?”

“I brought him back to the demonic sect. I thought of using some unorthodox methods for him to cultivate again, like corpse cultivation or ghost cultivation—these don’t rely on one’s own meridians.”

“But he recovered. Composed, calm, as if nothing had happened, he recovered so easily.”

“He is full of mysteries, and full of allure.”

Red Lotus lowered her gaze.

“While watching him, I gradually grew to despise the demonic sect—I gradually became filled with fear.”

“I don’t want to engage in dual cultivation with the Sect Master, even though I’ve been told since childhood that this is my destiny.”

“I began to fear my own destiny. The very thought of dual cultivation with the Sect Master makes me feel nauseous from the bottom of my heart. I cannot accept it.”

“But once I reach the Golden Core stage, I will have no choice. So, before reaching Golden Core, I must escape this fate.”

“So you planned all this?”

“No. Li Wangyan planned this. He discovered what I was hiding. He understood my heart. He said he could help me.”

“That sounds rather good.”

“Hah!” Red Lotus let out a cold laugh.

“He clearly knows my feelings for him. He clearly knows why I don’t want to accept my original fate. Yet he still said—the price for helping me was that I also had to do some things for him, things targeted against all of you.”

“…”

“You see, Senior Sister Qi, what a cold and ruthless man he is? Even though I love him enough to betray my sect and destroy my entire past, I have no place in his eyes. How sad is that?” Red Lotus’s tone turned somewhat strange.

“But, but, Senior Sister Qi, the more he is like this, the more I like him. The more he is like this, the more I cannot leave him. I love his icy gaze, like he’s watching some kind of prey.”

Is this person a bit… abnormal?

Qi Xiao suddenly realized this question, but then she thought, the other party was, after all, a demonic sect cultivator. Being a bit abnormal was probably normal.

“Ah~ Senior Sister Qi, have you ever been looked at by him with that kind of gaze? When that focus lands on you, you feel as if you’re not wearing any clothes. Everything about you is peeled away by him—clothes, skin, flesh, organs… everything. It’s as if he sees through it all, no secrets remain. You are merely a delicacy laid out on a banquet table… It inspires bone-deep fear, yet… you cannot escape.”

Qi Xiao didn’t understand.

Or rather, was this Red Lotus just into some very extreme play? Were demonic sect cultivators all like this? It seemed she had underestimated them. Then again, demonic cultivators who ate people weren’t rare either.

She couldn’t quite accept it, nor could she comprehend Red Lotus’s feelings.

“You look bewildered. It seems you cannot empathize with me… but that’s fine too. Of course, the way he looks at you must be very gentle, always with a smile… He would never look at you with that gaze. You are different to him.”

Qi Xiao recalled her interactions with Li Wangyan. It was indeed as Red Lotus described—always a smile on his face, his eyes filled with a light gentleness. He did seem genuinely happy when he was with her.

However, Qi Xiao believed it was all just an act.

“You’ve digressed quite far, Red Lotus. Saying these things does not constitute a reason for me to trust you. It’s also possible you’re using such words to gain trust, actually intending to sabotage at a critical moment.”

“Telling me all this is rather pointless.”

“Indeed, telling you this is rather pointless. I know why he likes you.” Red Lotus stared at Qi Xiao.

“You are the same kind of person. How terrifying… to have two true monsters like you beside me simultaneously. Just thinking about it makes me tremble.”

“But… Senior Sister Qi, I will not give up just because you are a monster~ Telling you all this is merely to declare my resolve.”

What monster or not monster… In my opinion, it’s just that you cultivators are too feudal and ignorant. Facing someone with new ideas from another world, you see them as a monster. Of course she understood.

After all, when old ideologies face new ones, they always see them as a flood or a savage beast.

They simply couldn’t comprehend her unwavering devotion to the Dao. That was all.

Qi Xiao then took action.

A chain of lightning abruptly bound Red Lotus, trussing her up securely.

“I know you likely still have some tricks, but to break this lightning technique, you’ll have to pay a price. Consider this insurance—you’d best behave honestly.”

After delivering this warning to Red Lotus, she left the room.

Her expression upon leaving was the same as when she entered.

Red Lotus had made such impassioned statements, confessed her feelings, expressed her will, and even repeatedly provoked Qi Xiao.

Yet Qi Xiao remained exactly the same throughout.

“Truly the same. She probably doesn’t care at all about what I said. Because it has nothing to do with her.”