Demoness's Art of Vengeance

One of the audience members drifting in and out of slumber suddenly jolted awake and glanced around. He noticed that most others were asleep, if not drifting in and out of slumber like he had been earlier.

They had all been in the audience booth for three nights now, and most people were starting to grow tired and feel sleepy.

The glow from first light of dawn faintly illuminated the earth. That audience member yawned and stretched as he turned his attention towards the water screen once more. In the next moment, his eyes opened wide.

“Hey, hey. Wake up.” He nudged his companion beside him, “Look at the water screen. Something’s happening!”

His companion was not too pleased that his sweet dreams were being interrupted just like that. But nevertheless, he struggled to open his eyes and turn his attention towards the water screen. At that moment, his eyes opened wide as well.

Something was truly happening! Were the Heavenly Peak faction and the Eternal Summit Sect faction going to engage in an all-out battle on this last day of the group battles?

Gradually, other members of the audience around them began to rouse from their slumber and discover that something was going on as well. Given how the past two days of the group battles had gone, most of the audience members had not borne much expectation for the final day of the group battles. But now, everyone’s hearts toiled with excitement as they eagerly anticipated how that battle would unfold.

Naturally, the sects that were involved in this upcoming battle were hardly as relaxed as the rest of the audience members, whether those that were following the Eternal Summit Sect or the Heavenly Peak. Both looked nervously at the water screen as though something unexpected might occur in the blink of an eye.

The water screen revealed that the Eternal Sect led three or four other sects towards the Heavenly Peak’s campsite, and they laid hidden around where the disciples of the Heavenly Peak, the Dragontiger Sect and the Purple Hut Sect were.

On the other hand, the disciples of the Heavenly Peak, the Dragontiger Sect and the Purple Hut Sect appeared to be completely oblivious to the danger that was approaching them. These disciples continued to stand guard, meditate or rest as they had been doing all along, and their faces were completely relaxed and serene.

These three sects are in trouble… Several members of the audience sighed with resignation in their hearts, especially the audience members belonging to the Dragontiger Sect and the Purple Hut Sect who broke out in cold sweat on behalf of their disciples.

The Eternal Summit Sect was not anxious to commence their attack. It was as though they were waiting for the most opportune moment. The leader of the entire faction instructed the leaders of each of the other teams, “Later, I want you to flank them from the side and attract their attention. We will slip through the middle of everyone amidst the chaos. All you need to do is to cause as much disturbance as you can so that they won’t be able to interfere with what we’re doing, understand?”

The leader of the entire faction was naturally also the leader of the “Eternal Summit Sect” disciples, Du Yongxu.

His instructions were well received by leaders of each of the other teams following him, and they all nodded their heads respectively. If their role was simply limited to creating as much of a disturbance as they could possibly do, it was not a difficult thing at all.

Thus, as the leaders of the other teams rejoiced in the simplicity of the task assigned to them, nobody noticed the cold and contemptuous glint at the bottom of Du Yongxu’s eyes.

Then, as day broke and the marshlands grew brighter, Du Yongxu gestured to the other team leaders and signaled them to sneak around to the sides as well as behind Jun Xiaomo’s campsite.

Everyone had applied on themselves an Invisibility Talisman that enabled them to mask their auras and appearances alike. Furthermore, they were still a considerable distance away from the Heavenly Peak faction, so none of the disciples from the Heavenly Peak, the Dragontiger Sect and the Purple Hut Sect noticed their approach at all.

Du Yongxu squinted his eyes as he attempted to locate Jun Xiaomo’s whereabouts among all of the disciples within the campsite.

The sky was now considerably bright, and to spot a disciple clothed in striking red among others who were dressed in either green or pink was not a difficult thing to do.

Du Yongxu managed to locate his target within moments, and he turned to the other Du Clan disciples beside him as he instructed them, “Do you see that figure dressed in striking red? That’s your target, Jun Xiaomo. Once I’ve given my orders later on, stay here for approximately one incense stick of time before charging straight towards Jun Xiaomo and focus all your attacks on her, understand?”

“Yes.” The Du Clan disciples responded in unison.

Then, Du Yongxu deliberated for a moment before he capitulated, “Cancel that. It’s better to wait for my next set of orders instead. Don’t rush in yet.”

“Yes.” The Du Clan disciples remained compliant with his instructions.

Du Yongxu nodded his head in delight. Then, he picked up the Transmittance Talisman in his right hand and called out to the rest of the team leaders, “Is everyone in position? Are you all prepared to strike?”

“We’re ready.” Several voices echoed affirmatively through the Transmittance Talisman.

“Very good. On my count, lead your teams and charge in at the same time…”

“Three…”

“Two…”

“One!”

As soon as Du Yongxu’s final count echoed out through the Transmittance Talismans, a swarm of people began to charge at the campsite from three separate directions. Yet the members of the Heavenly Peak faction remained seeming oblivious to this fact. Those who were asleep remained asleep; those who were meditating continued to meditate, and even those who were standing guard continued to chat with each other in a relaxed manner. None of them were aware of the imminent dangers approaching them.

The mass of people charging towards the Heavenly Peak faction were disciples from teams which the Eternal Summit Sect had rescued over the course of the group battles. These teams wanted to display their abilities, and they naturally charged with invigoration. Within moments, they were at the borders of the campsite.

A victorious, vicious smile was plastered on all of their faces.

Just then, the person furthest ahead of all who charged forward suddenly paused in his steps. His entire body quivered slightly, and then he remained still where he was.

“What happened to you?” Another person ran up to him and patted his shoulder. In the next moment, he felt a wave of immense pain and numbness spread from his palm throughout his entire body, and his feet instantly stopped moving.

Just like a contagious virus, the assailants that had charged en masse froze mid-charge one after another. To onlookers in the audience, this sight was incredibly comical.

Yet those who were trapped hardly found their predicament comical at all. After all, they had instantly recognized the fact that they might very well have fallen for the schemes of the Heavenly Peak faction.

Worse still, their Invisibility Talismans immediately lost their effects the moment they found themselves locked in place, and their locations were immediately revealed for the Heavenly Peak faction to see. At this moment, the disciples from the Dragontiger Sect, the Purple Hut Sect and the Heavenly Peak no longer looked like sheep to the slaughter. Instead, they each began to stand up and rouse from their “slumber” as they looked menacingly towards these assailants.

Their eyes were filled with the same type of looks – a frosty, marrow-penetrating gaze.

The assailants who were slower on their feet recognized that something was wrong, and their instincts told them to take a step back and retreat from this dastardly place. But as soon as they attempted to take a step back, they felt like there was a solid, immovable wall behind where they were, and they were unable to take more than a single step back. There was nowhere for them to retreat to.

Kacha… A crisp sound rang from below their feet. After a wave of intense bright blue light, everyone discovered that their appearances had been fully revealed.

Just like that, these three teams that had viciously charged towards the Heavenly Peak faction suddenly found themselves completely trapped within a small space that was ten meters from where the campsite was. Cold sweat began to emerge profusely from their foreheads, bead up and roll off their faces.

The greatest fear known to Man was the unknown and the unexpected. This was exactly what the three teams were experiencing now – they did not know what to expect in such circumstances, and they feared what the Heavenly Peak faction might do to them.

“Hah~” A crisp and victorious chuckle rang out among the Heavenly Peak disciples. As everyone turned to look at the source of this voice, they discovered a lady dressed in striking red walk out among the group of tall and well-built martial brothers of hers.

“You guys are sure filled with vigor to come knocking on our doors this early in the morning.” A scornful smile crept up the corner of Jun Xiaomo’s lips, “Tell me, what were you guys thinking of doing? Were you thinking of snatching the identity tokens on our hands? Or were you simply…trying to take our lives?”

As she spoke, the smile on her face disappeared, and her gaze became as sharp and incisive as daggers as they pierced straight into the hearts of the assailants.

One of the leaders of these teams of assailants was so intimidated by Jun Xiaomo’s overbearing aura that he even took one step back. Then in the next moment, an immense sense of indignation swelled up from the depths of his heart –

She was only in the sixth level of Qi Mastery, while he was already in the twelfth level of Qi Mastery and on the brink of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage of cultivation. What was he doing being afraid of the piece of trash standing in front of him right now?!

As he thought more about it, he took one step forward and stared straight into Jun Xiaomo’s eyes and forced the issue, “Jun Xiaomo, you’d better let us off right now, otherwise we’re going to teach you what regret truly means!”

“Oh, is that so…” Jun Xiaomo rubbed her chin and raised her eyebrows as she quipped, “But something tells me that I’ll only regret it if I let you go. See, despite the fact that I’ve already trapped you, you still appear as though you want to take my life as though I’d previously wronged you for something.”

Jun Xiaomo spoke with some ambiguity, causing everyone around her to chuckle involuntarily.

Naturally, the ones who were bound found themselves unable to laugh at the situation. Their team leader only grew more incensed as he chuckled bitterly with humiliation, “Keep flapping your lips right now. Be careful you don’t regret it and cry later!”

“Oh? Pray tell, how are you going to make us cry when you’re trapped right now.” Jun Xiaomo raised an eyebrow quizzically.

“Of course it’s…” The leader was just about to continue when a cold voice in his ear excoriated him – “Shut up!”

This voice was naturally from Du Yongxu, and it had directly been transmitted into the team leader’s ears. Nobody else heard what he said.

Thus, in Jun Xiaomo’s eyes, the vengeful team leader suddenly paused mid-sentence and grew taciturn as he continued to glare at Jun Xiaomo.

If stares could kill, Jun Xiaomo believed that her body would already have been turned into a piece of swiss cheese by now.

Jun Xiaomo squinted her eyes and thought silently for a moment, before she suddenly burst out into a lighthearted chuckle, “I understand. You remain convicted that you’ll be able to escape from this trap because you must still have a hidden leader that hasn’t made their appearance, right? Let me guess…they’re from…the Eternal Summit Sect?”

Jun Xiaomo’s words shocked the team leader who ran off his mouth earlier. His heart constricted, before he put on a fierce front to cover the growing meekness in his heart, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What do you mean by leader…what a joke!”

“The joke’s on you. How can you be obsequiously taking orders from another sect’s leader as a team leader?” Without hesitation, Jun Xiaomo responded with the most provocative words that burrowed straight into the team leader’s sore spot.

These words were incredibly humiliating if spoken to any team leader. After all, it expressly puts in question their ability to lead. Unfortunately, the team leader was unable to find any words to refute Jun Xiaomo at all.

He could only glare straight back at Jun Xiaomo with indignation, before turning his head away as he grew taciturn.

“Since none of you are willing to tell me, then I’ll just have to resort to some measures to welcome you as our ‘guests from afar’.” Jun Xiaomo spoke enigmatically, leaving the bound and constricted assailants nervous at the ambiguity of her words. Their foreheads were completely drenched in sweat by now.

A deep sense of uneasiness surged from the depths of their hearts.