Chapter Fifty: A Bloody Ascension

Hong Jian let out a long breath, feeling almost faint with exhaustion. At last, she and Shi Qingxiang had managed to defeat Jian Hui together.

Now that he was subdued, all those perplexing mysteries could finally be unraveled through interrogation.

Did Yao Zhen really take a Moonlight Pill from him? Was he aware of the enigmatic figure on the rocky shore? Why, when everything seemed fine, did he suddenly kill Yao Zhen?

These questions could wait. The immediate priority was to ensure he could not resist. Shi Qingxiang had shouted once earlier, but was now silent; the green vines hung listlessly from Jian Hui, their vitality spent, and it was clear Shi Qingxiang's true energy was nearly depleted.

Jian Hui groaned, struggling to rise.

She couldn’t let him escape after finally catching him. Hong Jian called to Shi Qingxiang, “You deal with the Stone Beast!” and leapt onto the ravine.

No one had ever taught Hong Jian how to restrain a Foundation Stage cultivator. Legend had it that in the Demon Refining Prison, cultivation and spellcasting were impossible, so surely there existed treasures or talismans that could seal a person’s true energy. Unfortunately, she had never encountered such things.

As these thoughts raced through her mind, she hurried closer. Before Jian Hui could break free, she kicked him hard at the bend of his knee.

He was already badly injured; unable to keep his footing, he collapsed to the ground. Hong Jian raised her hand, pressing the “Moon Surge” to his head, and earnestly warned, “Senior Brother Jian, don’t move. You’ve frightened me enough these past two days, don’t provoke me further. Otherwise, I can’t say what I might do!”

Despite her words, Hong Jian was calm inside. She knew the one who truly “couldn’t say what he might do” was this Senior Brother before her. As she spoke, her other hand was already poised, ready to cast “All Streams Return to the Source.”

Jian Hui had never been so disheveled; his hair fell messily over his eyes, his spell had been broken, his robes half-soaked, now covered in sand and grass. He raised his head, seeming unable to believe the outcome before him. With a bitter laugh, he spoke in a low voice, “Little Junior Sister, you really are unruly. What are you planning to do to your Senior Brother?”

Hong Jian was momentarily speechless, then retorted bitterly, “What kind of Senior Brother are you?” She truly didn’t know how to threaten him—killing him would be easy, but making him speak the truth would be much harder. In this secret realm, taking a life was far too convenient. With such deep enmity, even a fool would know she would never let him return to Snowdrift Cliff to stir up trouble again.

So she avoided the question and pressed him directly: “I’ve never wronged you. If you insist on killing me, is it still because of Senior Sister Yao Zhen? Why did you kill her?”

Jian Hui refused to answer.

At that moment, Shi Qingxiang’s true energy was nearly spent. Forced to withdraw the Demon-Subduing Vine, he swallowed a pill to restore his energy and, dodging the Stone Beast’s attacks below the ravine, finally gathered enough strength to slay it.

Hong Jian glanced at Shi Qingxiang as he rested, an idea forming. She threatened Jian Hui, “Senior Brother Jian, I may not know what to do with you, but don’t forget who he is. The Talisman Sect has a special talisman called… the ‘Puppet Master Talisman.’ Once his energy returns, he’ll use one on you—you’ll lose all autonomy, everything you do will obey your master, and all your years of cultivation will be wasted.”

She was making this up, purely because Shi Qingxiang was present. Yet as her words fell, Jian Hui’s expression changed dramatically. Before she could react, Shi Qingxiang responded unhurriedly, “You’re so ignorant. What ‘Puppet Master Talisman’? It’s clearly the ‘Other Life Talisman.’ Whoever bears it loses all reason, becoming someone else for the rest of their days. That’s why it’s called ‘Other Life.’”

Hong Jian was startled by Shi Qingxiang’s convincing tone. She wondered, “Is this real?”

Shi Qingxiang even began rummaging through his Cosmos Bag, muttering, “If Master finds out I used this treasure like this, he might just skin me alive.”

Jian Hui seemed suddenly agitated, spinning around to cast a spell without care for anything else. Hong Jian, wary of his desperation, had “All Streams Return to the Source” ready. The “Moon Surge,” at such close range, would likely kill him outright, so she hesitated and instead kicked him squarely in the back.

Jian Hui’s face twisted, veins bulging on his forehead, enduring the blow without falling. Suddenly, a fierce and resolute aura surged from him. Hong Jian sensed something was wrong, but knew too little about the world of cultivation to recognize the true danger. She was only concerned with stopping his escape, and struck down with the “Moon Surge,” aiming for his legs.

Jian Hui cried out in pain, shouting something that sounded like “Die!” Hong Jian didn’t understand his technique, but saw his skin turn from green to crimson. In an instant, she heard a muffled explosion and felt a rush of scorching, pungent heat—Shi Qingxiang cried out, “Get out of the way!”

Too late. Hong Jian had a fleeting thought—at this range, escape was impossible.

In a split second, she instinctively raised her arm to shield her face, then unleashed “All Streams Return to the Source” with her free left hand. The heat wave was upon her; agony shot from chest to foot wherever it struck, as if her body had been riddled with holes. She couldn’t open her eyes, had no idea what had happened—her body was hurled away.

Yet somehow, the spell “All Streams Return to the Source” drew something into her body—a flood of viscous, alien matter filled her meridians. Some expelled through her skin as absorbed energy, but the remainder, by past experience, should have been water-type true energy. Yet this was nothing like the water-type she knew; it was torment. Within her sea of consciousness, her water spirit root spun wildly, uncertain whether to absorb or repel these foreign elements.

Hong Jian’s head throbbed as if it would split; she could not care less about Jian Hui now, only wishing to roll on the ground to ease the pain.

Clutching her scalp until it bled, she forced herself to endure, struggling to sit cross-legged. She wanted to retrieve a healing pill from her Cosmos Bag, but the pain had drained all her strength, leaving her unable to move even a finger.

The mountain hollow was suddenly silent as death; Shi Qingxiang was not indifferent, but utterly stunned.

Unlike Hong Jian, Shi Qingxiang had been pampered at Xianyun Sect. His close friend Jiang Yan was intensely curious, so Shi Qingxiang knew far more than Hong Jian about oddities. Even so, he had never imagined that Jian Hui, merely an early Foundation Stage cultivator, could risk everything like a Golden Core master by detonating his core.

Though it was a false core, had he stood as close as Hong Jian, he would have been obliterated. Yet this young girl, seemingly flustered, had managed—by some chaotic spell—to drastically weaken Jian Hui’s desperate explosion.

Now, dried blood and flesh littered the ground, and Hong Jian, soaked in blood, sat upon the earth, spiritual energy swirling around her. She… seemed poised to advance to the next stage.

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(A chaotic weekend, updates appearing like ghosts—please add to your collection!)