THIP Chapter 34

After watching the recorded image sent by the Astrological Tower, Yan Hui fell silent. He cast a glance at the disciple who had brought the message and said, “The Taiyan Sect will give the cultivation world an explanation for this.”

The disciple smiled and replied, “Our Tower Master naturally believes that the Taiyan Sect, as the number one sect in the world, will make the fairest judgment.”

After the disciple left, Yan Hui was quiet for a moment. Then he retrieved a voice-transmission jade and sent the news of Ming Li’s exposed identity to Mu Liuyin.

Qin Yu happened to walk in and caught sight of Yan Hui frowning in deep thought. With a mischievous glint in his peach blossom eyes, he grinned and asked, “What did the Astrological Tower bring this time? Don’t tell me they found the reincarnation of the Demon Lord?”

Yan Hui’s expression darkened. He tossed over the memory mirror and said coldly, “See for yourself!”

Qin Yu blinked in confusion, unsure why Yan Hui was so angry. But as he finished watching the image, the color drained from his face, and disbelief filled his peach blossom eyes. “No way… How could it be Ming Li?”

The perfect lightning spirit root—nemesis of demons, born with a sword heart, a peerless cultivation aptitude—someone who reached Nascent Soul stage in just a few decades… How could it be?

Suddenly, he recalled the moment when his senior brother had entrusted him with a letter and the sect master’s jade seal before leaving the sect.

Taking a deep breath, Qin Yu’s hand trembled as he pulled out the letter and the jade seal. He handed them to Yan Hui, his voice slightly hoarse. “Before he left, Senior Brother told me to give these to you when the time was right. He said… There might come a day when you’d need them.”

Yan Hui opened the letter. After reading it, his face turned cold as ice. “Sect Master Huan Xi of the Taiyan Sect took in Ming Li, the reincarnation of the Demon Lord, as his disciple. He shielded her as if she were his own, ignoring the suffering of the world. From this moment, he is expelled from the Taiyan Sect. The sect pledges to assist the cultivation world in capturing this traitor and reincarnated Demon Lord—and will burn her at the stake.”

Qin Yu was stunned. His eyes widened. “Senior Brother! How can you do this?!”

“This was his decision, too,” Yan Hui replied coldly, handing Qin Yu the letter. A sorrowful smile tugged at his lips. “He raised Ming Li from childhood. You think he didn’t know whether or not she bore the mark of the blood-red flower?”

He looked away, voice tinged with bitterness. “Faced with choosing between Ming Li and the Taiyan Sect, he chose Ming Li. What am I supposed to do?”

“What are we supposed to do?” he repeated quietly.

Qin Yu stared at the letter in disbelief, the brilliance in his eyes gradually fading.

——

In the far northern regions.

Ming Li was cultivating amidst blizzards and fierce gales.

Mu Liuyin hid her presence and silently stood guard nearby. Suddenly, the jade at her waist glowed. She set up a soundproof barrier, and within it came Yan Hui’s voice. The message struck her like a bolt of lightning on a clear day.

Her hand trembled slightly as she gripped the jade. A bitter smile touched her lips.

She had left behind the letter and jade seal just in case—so that if Ming Li’s identity was ever exposed, at least the decision written in that letter could protect the Taiyan Sect. After all, she could never end her life as the original story’s protagonist had.

But she never imagined… Ming Li’s identity would be exposed. The cruelest part was—she had been at Ming Li’s side day and night, and still, she didn’t even know how it happened.

Even though things had changed from the start, the plot always found its way back to its original course at the most critical moment.

But this “original course”… was it truly the right one?

Mu Liuyin closed her eyes, then opened them again.

Very few cultivators ventured to the far north, and Ming Li was in a key stage of her cultivation. The entire cultivation world had likely already learned her identity by now. The Nine Great Sects were undoubtedly hunting for them.

This place, for now, was the only safe refuge.

Months passed. As Mu Liuyin had predicted, the outside world was searching with all its might, yet no trace of them could be found. The Taiyan Sect’s position grew more precarious, but thanks to Yan Hui and Qin Yu’s efforts, it avoided the disgrace of harboring the Demon Lord’s reincarnation.

The entire cultivation world was searching for her. Even the far north was no longer safe.

One day, Mu Liuyin killed several Nascent Soul cultivators who had tracked Ming Li to this place. Her face remained expressionless.

Ming Li, deep in enlightenment, seemed to sense the blood in the air. She opened her eyes, their clarity icy cold. Rising to her feet, her aura surged—she had reached the late Nascent Soul stage.

Mu Liuyin did not conceal her presence. She allowed Ming Li to see her.

“Master?” Ming Li was surprised. “Why are you here?”

“Ah Li,” Mu Liuyin’s voice softened, though it still held a hoarse chill. “There’s something I must tell you.”

Ming Li took a few steps forward, standing before her master. But suddenly, a flash of cold light streaked toward her heart. Mu Liuyin moved faster than thought, shielding Ming Li in her arms.

From the shadows emerged several powerful cultivators in the Tribulation Crossing stage, their eyes steely cold.

Ming Li stood stunned in her master’s arms. There were nine of them in total—every face familiar. One of them was Uncle Yan Hui. But if her senses were right, one of them had just tried to kill her.

Why?

She softly called out, “Master…”

“With me here,” Mu Liuyin whispered, gently stroking Ming Li’s soft black hair, “you don’t need to be afraid.”

“How touching,” Ye Fengjue sneered. He turned to Mu Liuyin. “So the Demon Lord hasn’t awakened yet. It seems Sect Master Huan Xi never told your disciple who she truly is.”

Before he could finish, the Blade Sect’s leader lost patience and shouted, “Huan Xi! You took in the Demon Lord’s reincarnation as your disciple! You betrayed the Taiyan Sect and abandoned the people of this world! Have you fallen to the path of demons?!”

Mingli was completely stunned. Mu Liuyin’s voice was cold as she snapped, “What do you mean, turning your back on the people?! You condemn my disciple as the reincarnation of the Demon Realm’s Lord based solely on a prophecy from the Celestial Tome?! Have you ever stopped to consider Mingli’s incredible talent on the path of cultivation?”

As she spoke, a defiant smile curved across her otherwise cool and elegant face. “Mingli is destined to ascend to immortality!”

“There’s no need to waste words with her,” one of the cultivators said coldly. “Since Huanxi refuses to come to her senses, we’ll kill them both.”

All nine surrounded Mu Liuyin and Mingli, their spells and spiritual techniques of various attributes surging toward the pair. Mu Liuyin split her spiritual energy, using part of it to protect Mingli while searching for the weakest point among the attackers to break through.

Suddenly, her gaze sharpened. Lightly pressing off the ground, she leapt toward the Master of the Medicine Valley with Mingli in her arms.

Realizing her intent, Ye Fengjue twisted his spiritual power. A sharp wave of energy tore through Mu Liuyin’s sleeve and arm, blood gushing out immediately. She paid it no mind, even as the others launched a series of attacks at Mingli. Mu Liuyin’s injuries worsened as she shielded her disciple, but with a swift strike, her sword pierced the throat of the Medicine Valley Master. Before the others could react, she kicked him aside.

But at the most critical moment, Ye Fengjue summoned the Celestial Tome. A wave of overwhelming spiritual energy burst forth, forming a jade sword that pierced Mu Liuyin’s right leg. She expelled the sword using her energy and used the recoil to flee, her face now deathly pale.

The Celestial Tome had drained Ye Fengjue’s strength; he was too weak to give chase. His phoenix-like eyes narrowed coldly as he watched Mu Liuyin escape with Mingli, only to see Yan Hui take to his sword and follow after them.

Less than half an hour later, Yan Hui returned alone. His expression calm, he looked at the other powerful cultivators and simply said, “I lost them.”

Mu Liuyin, after fending off nine tribulation-stage cultivators while protecting Mingli and taking a direct hit from the Celestial Tome, had been gravely wounded. She flew thousands of miles in a blink before finding a secluded and relatively safe mountain valley.

Upon landing, her body gave out, and she collapsed, unconscious and deathly pale.

Mingli hurriedly caught her master, still unconscious from her injuries. She remembered the words Yan Hui had said to her when he caught up earlier. Carefully, she carried Mu Liuyin into a hidden cave.

She laid out bedding from her storage ring, then gently began to remove the blood-soaked white robes from her master. Her body was covered in wounds, blood still seeping from some of the deeper cuts. The worst was the wound on her right leg. Mingli applied numerous healing herbs and fed her over ten pills before finally managing to stop the bleeding.

How fierce must that spiritual energy have been to injure a cultivator at the tribulation stage so badly?

As Mingli recalled Yan Hui’s words and remembered how her master had risked everything to protect her, her pale eyes welled with tears. Drop by drop, they fell onto Mu Liuyin’s face.

“Master,” she whispered hoarsely, “what have I done to deserve such protection from you?”

The blood-red flower mark slowly bloomed at her collarbone—a sign of the reincarnation of the Demon Realm’s Lord. As it glowed faintly in her gaze, she gently stroked it with spiritual energy until the vivid mark faded away.

Mingli gave a soft smile. “Since Master believes I can ascend to immortality, how could I ever disappoint you?”

So what if she was the reincarnation of the Demon Lord?

Mu Liuyin’s wounds were far too severe for ordinary medicine to heal. Mingli took out the Resurrection Elixir Yan Hui had given her. After ensuring it was safe, she prepared to give it to Mu Liuyin.

But the elixir was a liquid, unlike pills, and in her unconscious state, Mu Liuyin couldn’t swallow it. Every time Mingli tried, the liquid dribbled from the corners of her lips. So Mingli took a deep breath, held a mouthful of the jade-green elixir, and pressed her lips to Mu Liuyin’s pale ones, transferring it mouth-to-mouth.

She repeated this over a dozen times.

Just as she was about to do it again, Mu Liuyin let out a faint, involuntary whimper. Her lips trembled, resisting the bitter elixir. Her tongue moved restlessly, trying to push it out. Mingli gently pressed her down by the shoulders and firmly forced the medicine into her.

Whether it was the potion taking effect or the bitterness of the elixir, Mu Liuyin began to cough faintly and slowly opened her eyes. Mingli pulled back as if nothing had happened, though Mu Liuyin’s pale cheeks were now tinged with a subtle blush.

“It was the Resurrection Elixir Uncle Yan Hui gave me,” Mingli said softly. “You were unconscious and couldn’t swallow, so I had no choice.”

Mu Liuyin opened her mouth as if to speak.

“I know,” Mingli said, placing a finger against her lips. “I know everything, Master. I swear—I will ascend and become an immortal.”

Mu Liuyin didn’t stay conscious long. Soon, she drifted back into sleep. Before passing out, she instructed Xiao Jiu to block any attempts to locate them through divination, to prevent the Astrologers’ Pavilion from tracking them down.