Demoness's Art of Vengeance

The Rainbow Lotus Flower was soon to bear seeds over the next few days. As the day drew nearer, more and more powerful forces began to show up by the side of the lotus pond. None of them took any action to wipe out or suppress their competition actively. They were all wise to the fact that doing so might leave them worn for wear when the time came to vie for the seeds. Thus, they simply waited and watched.

Jun Xiaomo, Chi Jingtian and the sprightly old man numbered three in all. Compared with others, their faction was hardly sizeable at all. Thus, they hardly drew any attention from the rest of the factions around at all.

“He’s already been gone several hours now. Are you sure we don’t need to look for him?” Jun Xiaomo lowered her eyes and asked the old man.

Even though Jun Xiaomo had not explicitly mentioned who “he” referred to, everyone knew full well that Jun Xiaomo was referring to Ye Xiuwen.

The old man silently shed a tear in his heart – Disciple-in-Law still seems to be rather concerned about that foolish disciple of mine, huh? That’s something praiseworthy.

After collecting his own thoughts, the old man gazed into the sky and he began to furrow his already-wrinkled brows – It’s already getting dark. Why hasn’t Disciple returned yet? Logically speaking, he wouldn’t need such a long time even if he were hunting spirit beasts. After all, how could the spirit beasts here compare with the beasts we encountered in the Death’s Gorge? Disciple probably wouldn’t run into any form of trouble here.

Thinking about these things, the old man began to grow worried for his disciple. Thus, he stood up and prepared to leave the group to search for traces of Ye Xiuwen. Just then, he noticed all the groups around burst out into commotion.

“I’d just learnt that the Peakmaster of the Zephyr Sect’s Stoneknife Peak has just arrived at the Sunset Mountain Range, and he’s rushing over to the lotus pond right now.”

“The Peakmaster of the Zephyr Sect’s Stoneknife Peak is here?! Then what’s the point of even attempting to vie for the seeds of the Rainbow Lotus Flower? There’s no way we’ll be able to beat him. But what’s he doing here to begin with? Aren’t the Rainbow Lotus Flower’s seeds useful only to cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage of cultivation? He should already be in the Immortal Ascension stage of cultivation or even higher, right? What’s he doing vying for the Rainbow Lotus Flower’s seeds with us?”

“Perhaps it might be for his disciples.”

“That makes sense. However, isn’t there an unwritten rule that nobody in the Nascent Soul stage of cultivation should be vying for the Rainbow Lotus Flower’s seeds? This is to prevent competitors from being too severely wounded. What he’s doing is breaking the rules, isn’t it?”

“Who knows? Rules are made for people to begin with. If he insists on vying for the Rainbow Lotus Flower seeds against us, there’s nothing we can do about it either. How could we possibly stand in the way of the Zephyr Sect’s overwhelming prowess? They’re ranked among the top of all the Greater Sects after all!”

Everyone sighed with resignation, thinking that they had just been ousted from the competition with the Zephyr Sect’s presence.

That said, there were some who kept their further intelligence on the matter to themselves, explaining that the Peakmaster of the Zephyr Sect’s Stoneknife Peak was here in search for vengeance, not to participate in the competition for the Rainbow Lotus Flower’s seeds. As they nodded to each other knowingly, they began to delight in the misery of others, wondering which faction it was who had offended the Peakmaster of the Zephyr Sect’s Stoneknife Peak to such an extent that he would personally make a move against that faction.

As soon as the old man heard the contents of discussion around him, he began to furrow his brows even more – Who would’ve thought that the worst-case scenario is happening at the worst possible time?

He had never thought that the Zephyr Sect would be seeking vengeance so swiftly. At the very least, if they were able to seize the Rainbow Lotus Flower’s seeds and depart from the Sunset Mountain Range before the Zephyr Sect arrived, the Zephyr Sect would no longer be able to locate their whereabouts as easily.

Unfortunately, the Zephyr Sect moved much quicker than he had anticipated, and it seemed that a bloody battle was inevitably on the horizon this time. The old man wracked his mind, searching hard for a possibility to avoid the imminent dangers and deal with other exigencies as they came along.

Jun Xiaomo had also heard the chatter amongst the other factions gathered around the lotus pond. She grimaced and clenched her fists tightly together.

It had surfaced in her memory again – that dream where she would be surrounded and attacked by enemies on all fronts, causing her to lose her child. Would this nightmare happen here, at this place?

Just as Jun Xiaomo and the old man were each plagued by their own complex thoughts, a radiant beam of light suddenly shot through the clouds, illuminating the lotus pond and casting a spotlight directly on the seven bulbs of the Rainbow Lotus Flower. The bulbs glimmered brilliantly, as though they had just been brushed over with a golden, glittery layer of wax.

Everyone was instantly dazzled by the sight. In the very next moment, the seven bulbs began to bloom even more. Just like that, the already-massive flowers began to grow even bigger, dwarfing the rest of the lotus flowers around. In fact, the splendor of the vibrant Rainbow Lotus Flower caused all of the other white lotus flowers in the pond to seem like nothing more than a mere contrasting backdrop.

“It’s going to bear seeds soon!”

“It’s time!”

The surroundings were once again set abuzz with activity. Everyone watched the Rainbow Lotus Flower with bated breath, eagerly anticipating the very moment that it would bear seeds.

Jun Xiaomo and the old man’s attention were instantly drawn to the Rainbow Flower Lotus. Jun Xiaomo placed her hand softly over her lower abdomen, wondering somewhat nervously whether this was her child’s only hope.

The beam of light that struck the Rainbow Lotus Flower was as though a trigger that set the process of bearing seeds in motion. Once each of the bulbs opened up to a full bloom, the petals began to wither away slowly.

The withering began from the outermost layer of the petals. Then, layer by layer, they sublimated into wisps of golden light, dissipating into the air with a dazzling gleam. At the same time, the number of petals that remained grew fewer and fewer…

Everyone standing around by the lotus pond began to prepare their weapons of choice, bracing themselves to pounce as soon as the seeds appeared. They all knew that the moment the seed appeared was also the instant that marked the commencement of a massive bloody battle with all of the other factions around.

Then, just as a few layers of petals remained on the Rainbow Lotus Flower, a fierce bellow resounded from the side –

“Jun Xiaomo, hand over your life!”

The bellow was fortified with an incredible amount of spiritual energy, and everyone around who heard the booming roar nearly collapsed to the ground under the immense pressure.

Before they could react to what was going on, they saw a shadow flickered by with extreme speed and rush straight towards a beauty dressed in striking-red!

The beauty in striking-red was naturally Jun Xiaomo. These people didn’t know who Jun Xiaomo was. However, Jun Xiaomo stood out from the crowd precisely because of her striking-red garments. All who had gathered around the lotus pond had invariably noticed the outstanding beauty dressed in striking-red when they surveyed their potential competitors. That said, they could also tell that the beauty’s body was hardly in a good condition. After all, they could see that she needed the help and support of the others around her from time to time.

Who would’ve thought that the person who had offended the Peakmaster of the Zephyr Sect’s Stoneknife Peak was in fact the seemingly frail beauty? What could this beauty have done to incur such wrath and hatred from the Stoneknife Peak’s Peakmaster?

That’s right. Practically everyone around could guess the identity of the assailant who had shot out of nowhere. After all, was there really anyone else apart from the Stoneknife Peak’s Peakmaster who was able to fortify their voice with such incredible spiritual power, causing it to affect everyone else present?

The old man’s gaze stiffened, and he immediately took a huge step forward, standing between Jun Xiaomo and Wei Xingping as he bellowed to Chi Jingtian, “Continue observing the Rainbow Lotus Flower and ignore me. I’ll deal with him!”

The old man’s cultivation level incredibly deep and profound. However, he had always habitually kept his aura and disposition hidden under wraps so that nobody could ascertain the true depths of his abilities.

Right now, faced with such a powerful opponent, there was no longer a reason for the old man to continue masking the true depths of his abilities. Thus, his aura flourished greatly, and the suppressive effects of his burgeoning aura even began to weigh heavily on the other factions who were standing around, waiting for the prime opportunity to seize the Rainbow Lotus Flower’s seeds.

“My word! Who is this old man? Why weren’t we able to detect the extent of his abilities earlier?” One of the bystanders stammered as he stared at the old man, completely terrified.

“He’s been watching closely by the red-garbed beauty’s side all this while. I’d initially thought that he was nothing more than an insignificant speck. Who could’ve thought that this old man is actually a crouching tiger, hidden dragon?” Another bystander trembled under the terrifying suppressive effects of the old man’s aura as a wave of irresistible dread washed across his heart.

“How could we possibly contend against them for the seeds of the Rainbow Lotus Flower?” Another man whimpered.

“Don’t worry. It looks like they’re about to fight with each other.”

The surrounding bystanders were all distracted by the appearance of two powerhouses, and they no longer watched the Rainbow Lotus Flower in the center of the lotus pond. At this moment, everyone sincerely hoped in their hearts that the old man and the Stoneknife Peak’s Peakmaster would duke it out with each other. After all, that was the only hope they had to keep any overwhelming powers out of the competition for the Rainbow Lotus Flower’s seeds.

Wei Xingping and the sprightly old man didn’t disappoint the bystanders around. Just as Wei Xingping’s attack was about to strike Jun Xiaomo, the old man intercepted it with a slight chuckle, “This old bag of bones hasn’t had a good stretch in a while. Would this young man care to go a round or two with this old man here?”

Wei Xingping furrowed his brows. He had initially thought that killing Jun Xiaomo was going to be an incredibly easy feat. How could he have expected such a huge stumbling block to stand in his way all of a sudden?

“Who are you? Why are you helping the traitor of the Zephyr Sect?!”

“Traitor? Hehe, are ye saying that Disciple-in-Law is a traitor? Then, let me apologize in advance. This old man could hardly care less about labels such as traitors and the like. I only know that the person ye are trying to kill is my disciple’s wife, so you leave this old bag of bones no choice but to flex and fight.” The old man smiled radiantly as he slowly returned a blow against Wei Xingping. While his movements seemed soft and weak, it was backed with an incredibly powerful force behind it. Thus, when Wei Xingping moved away and avoided the attack, he was still struck by the powerful energy that surrounded the old man’s attack.

This old man is powerful! Probably more powerful than I am! Wei Xingping was slightly taken aback, before he quickly steeled his resolve with a trace of hatred and resentment.

So what? I’ve got countless spirit tools up my sleeves. Even if I have to expend every single spirit tool I have in my possession, I’m going to take down this old man. Anyone who stands in the way of my revenge must die!

Wei Xingping shot forward once again and began to tussle with the old man.

Meanwhile, just as the battle between the two powerhouses grew increasingly heated, Zhuang Lenghui led her group of disciples and ran straight up to one of the Sunset Mountain Range’s peaks.

Zhuang Lenghui pointed at Jun Xiaomo and barked, “Look over there! That lady dressed in striking-red is the person who killed Princess Linglong and Martial Brother Zou. Quickly! Go capture her!”

The entourage that Zhuang Lenghui led comprised of both the experts rallied by the Greenwich Kingdom’s King as well as a select group of elites from the Zephyr Sect. To put things into better perspective, the team led by Princess Linglong some time ago could hardly even begin to hold a candle to the strength of the present coalition.

At the very least, the present coalition was not a group of assailants that Jun Xiaomo and Chi Jingtian would be able to deal with alone. In fact, this was a predicament that they might find difficult to extricate themselves from.

As the coalition drew closer, stirring the feelings of dread and despondence in Jun Xiaomo’s heart, she steeled her heart, resolving that she would place everything on the line and fight for her life.