Chapter 135: The Price of Cultivating Demonic Arts

If it had been anyone else, Hong Jian’s first thought would surely have been, "What could have happened in the middle of the night?" But upon hearing it was Jing Xiaoyun, her mind drifted instead to the thought, "What is she making a scene about this time in the middle of the night?"

Previously, Jing Xiaoyun had forcibly dragged Lu Yanchang away to attend to some unknown business. At this moment, there was no sign of Lu Yanchang, only the sound of Jing Xiaoyun’s loud laughter and insults echoing from afar.

"Let's go take a look," He Feng said. He frowned, looking rather displeased.

The spot the group had chosen for their camp was very flat, with sparse trees appearing only a hundred paces away. At some point in the distant past, someone had taken a liking to this place and built a camp, hauling stones mined from the Red Gold Volcano to store here. Now, the camp had long since fallen into ruin, leaving behind only piles of abandoned stone.

Jing Xiaoyun was standing atop a stone pile, hands on her hips, shouting triumphantly: "You ugly freak, see where you can hide now! Ha, I won't kill you; I just want to make sure you show your face today. You're so beautiful, always so vain—come on, you little bitch, show your face to everyone!"

Cowering at the base of the stone pile was a person wrapped in an oversized black robe. Originally, she had also worn a black veil over her head, but Jing Xiaoyun had already torn it away. The figure buried her face tightly between her arms, her shoulders trembling slightly. No matter how Jing Xiaoyun taunted her, she refused to lift her head. Yet, even without seeing her face, everyone knew it could only be Cheng Qingqing.

Surrounding the stone pile were not just Lu Yanchang, but also Helian Yong and several other Taoist cultivators. The group had chosen this place to sit and discuss the founding of their sect, and just as the discussion was reaching a lively peak, Jing Xiaoyun had descended from the sky and tossed Cheng Qingqing into their midst.

What a farce! Helian Yong was thoroughly disgusted. He stood up to look for Cheng Tian, the elder of these two demonic women, but after scanning the area, he could not find a trace of him.

Sensing something was amiss, he released his divine sense and discovered Cheng Tian lying stiffly behind another stone pile, fast asleep. It went without saying that this was also Jing Xiaoyun’s doing.

Helian Yong had no choice but to go and attempt to wake Cheng Tian. As he left, he glared at Lu Yanchang, who was standing foolishly to the side.

Lu Yanchang felt wronged. Jing Xiaoyun had been planning this little stunt for four or five days, and when she had approached him earlier, she had already caught his uncle, Cheng Tian, off guard and incapacitated him. Jing Xiaoyun had only told him she wanted to show him a good show; even if he hadn't been kept in the dark, given Jing Xiaoyun’s hatred for Cheng Qingqing, it wasn't something he could have stopped anyway.

Besides, why stop it? It was that demoness who was having a miserable time; the others could just treat it as a break from their tense discussions and enjoy the spectacle.

Jing Xiaoyun shouted, "Oh, everyone, look! She’s molting, she’s molting!"

Although the Taoist cultivators had all heard that demonic cultivation easily led to madness, they had only ever heard of it; none had ever seen a true demonic transformation. Since they had encountered one, while they dared not get too close, their eyes remained fixed on Cheng Qingqing without a blink.

Though her face was hidden, Cheng Qingqing was clearly suffering through the agony of the transformation. Despite her best efforts to endure, she could not help but let out hissing groans. The skin on her exposed hands and the back of her neck was gradually turning a deep, dark brown, cracking into scales that looked terrifying.

Jing Xiaoyun leaped down from the stone pile, pulled Old Man Jing out from the crowd of onlookers, and pointed at the huddled figure of Cheng Qingqing. "Dad, are you satisfied? Did I do well?"

Although Old Man Jing had lived in Cheng Village for hundreds of years, this was the first time he had witnessed such a sight. He opened his mouth in shock and asked, "Is this Cheng Qingqing? Or is she a monster?"

As soon as he spoke, the cowering Cheng Qingqing suddenly lifted her head.

The crowd gasped in unison and recoiled.

The once charming and radiant young woman was now completely unrecognizable. Seeing her hands turn into the texture of old tree bark was shocking enough, but seeing her face transformed in the same way was truly horrifying. The veins and meridians beneath her skin protruded sharply, distorting her features entirely, while her eyes glowed a blood-red.

Old Man Jing pointed at her and cried out in terror, "An old tree demon!"

The monster’s eyes seemed to spew fire. She let out a cold snort, and with a sound like a snapping branch, her arm suddenly stretched out nearly a yard in length, unexpectedly lunging for Old Man Jing’s throat.

Though Old Man Jing was useless in a fight, his reflexes in the face of danger were quick. He pulled back sharply, bumping into someone behind him, and narrowly avoided her sharp claws.

Cheng Qingqing did not stop there. She stood rooted to the spot, but her arm extended further, still targeting Old Man Jing.

Jing Xiaoyun, enraged, struck out with her Nascent Soul stage power. It landed heavily on Cheng Qingqing with a dull thud, as if hitting a piece of incredibly hard wood.

It was unclear if Cheng Qingqing was injured, as her appearance showed little reaction. It seemed that after her demonic transformation, her stance had become impossibly stable. She swung her arms, striking a nearby Taoist cultivator. The man, who had reached the perfection of the Golden Core stage, had expected to brush off the hit easily, but the strength of the transformed Cheng Qingqing was beyond logic. He felt a massive force smash into him, sending him flying backward to crash against the stone pile.

Cheng Qingqing merely glanced at the cultivator before looking away, letting out a sharp screech as she stepped forward to chase Old Man Jing.

As she moved, everyone saw the telltale sign: after her transformation, her technique was bizarre and her body was indestructible, but her footsteps had become sluggish and heavy.

The crowd scattered, instantly clearing several yards of space around her. Seeing this, Jing Xiaoyun stopped casting spells and teased her, "Come on! Come catch us! You old tree demon, your roots are stuck in the ground—can you even run?"

Cheng Qingqing let out a strange, skyward howl. A mass of black fog rose from behind her head, and thousands of strands of hair flew about. Suddenly, a clump of it shot out like countless arrows, piercing the night air toward the father and daughter.

"Stop!" Cheng Tian shouted from a distance. He had been awakened by Helian Yong and, seeing the scene, was shocked. Without pausing to think about the cause or effect, he rushed over to intervene.

Cheng Qingqing ignored him, acting as if possessed, and continued her relentless assault on Old Man Jing. Jing Xiaoyun found herself momentarily unable to handle her.

Unsure if this half-tree, half-human monster was still under the control of Cheng Qingqing’s mind, Cheng Tian did not dare to be careless. "Qingqing, stop this nonsense," he called out. He was already close by; without casting a spell, he reached out to grab her flailing arms.

Cheng Qingqing’s arms, exposed from her sleeves, were over a yard long, with bulging veins resembling coiled tree roots. The strength behind them exceeded a thousand pounds. As Cheng Tian’s hand touched her arm, a mass of black energy surged from his palm, instantly pinning her arm down.

Seeing her uncle, Cheng Qingqing seemed to falter. Her red eyes flickered with hesitation, and she shifted her gaze, but her movements did not slow; her other hand reached for Cheng Tian’s face.

Cheng Tian caught her hand, clasped both of hers together, and with a push of his legs, slammed her to the ground with a loud thud.

Cheng Qingqing rolled on the ground, her body remaining rigid. She glared at Cheng Tian, who was pinning her limbs, letting out a series of "Ah! Ah!" cries as she struggled violently. Finally, she snapped her teeth and bit down hard on Cheng Tian’s shoulder.

Jing Xiaoyun let out an "Oh my," and muttered to herself, "She’s too far gone; she doesn't even recognize her own uncle. It looks like there's no saving her—might as well kill her and be done with it."

Cheng Tian endured the pain and snapped, "Cheng Duoduo, shut your mouth!"

After struggling for a while without breaking free from Cheng Tian’s restraint, the red color in Cheng Qingqing’s eyes gradually faded.

She slowly released her bite and lay flat on her back, staring at the sky. Her eyes darted around, as if only then noticing the large crowd gathered around her. Emotions of panic, malice, and despair flickered across her face in turn. Finally, she instinctively curled her body into a ball, as if trying to hide that face inside her clothes. A single tear traced a path down her rough, cracked skin and rolled off.

That tear, which others further away might not have seen, was clear to Cheng Tian. He frowned and scolded, "What is there to be so upset about? Why are you crying?"

If he hadn't said anything, it might have been fine, but his comment caused Cheng Qingqing to burst into a loud, heart-wrenching sob.

The onlookers fell into an immediate, deathly silence.

Seeing Cheng Qingqing crying ever more pitifully, Old Man Jing tugged at Jing Xiaoyun. She snorted, lifted her chin, and pulled him away.

Old Man Jing, being observant, suddenly caught sight of Hong Jian and the mysterious He Feng standing side by side outside the crowd. He Feng was watching the sobbing Cheng Qingqing on the ground with intense focus.

Old Man Jing’s heart tightened. For some reason, he had felt a sense of dread toward this man from the very beginning.

Cheng Qingqing showed no signs of stopping. Helian Yong, growing impatient, was about to tell the others to move to a different spot when He Feng spoke up: "Cheng Tian, it’s fine now. You can let her go."

Cheng Tian respected He Feng’s judgment and released his niece, standing up.

He Feng then crouched in the spot Cheng Tian had just vacated. Cheng Qingqing, seemingly unaware that someone else had taken his place, continued to weep uncontrollably.

He Feng said, "Your uncle is right. This really is nothing to make such a fuss over."

Cheng Qingqing could endure Cheng Tian’s scolding, but she could not bear this detestable He Feng casually picking at her wounds. She suddenly lifted her tear-stained face and shouted, "You idiot, what do you know!"

In truth, her appearance had already begun to recover. She was a beauty like a rain-drenched pear blossom, and even her rude tone did not make her seem repulsive.

He Feng was not angry in the slightest. He replied gently, "Since you took a shortcut in your cultivation and gained benefits that others would give anything for, you must pay a price. That is the way of the law. There is nothing shameful in this, and you have nothing to fear."

Cheng Qingqing was about to sneer, but her eyes suddenly widened. He Feng rolled up his sleeve to reveal his arm. He silently recited a spell, and the glamour concealing his arm slowly faded, revealing its true state. From his fingers to his upper arm, the exposed skin was covered in large, rotting patches. He Feng said, "Look, I am the same. I do not fear others knowing. There is nothing extraordinary about it."