Free Web NovelChapter 554: Chapter 506: Heart Demon Awakens
The sea wind howled, the atmosphere was cold and tense.
What all this meant, Jiang Yuebai only needed to look at the pallid faces of Tianyou and Fuyu to know—this was a cataclysm!
But Jing Chujun... Jiang Yuebai felt a restless unease, clenching her fist.
Seizing this opportunity, Jiang Yuebai transmitted a message to Bai Jiuyou, instructing Little Green to swallow Dongqiao’s shattered Primordial Spirit, and with Tree Dragon Hongye and Little Qiu Dragon, she prepared to escape using the Cloud-Breaking Charge given by Xie Jingshan.
No matter what, she had to survive first to figure out everything.
"Stop!"
Divine pressures of several Divinity Transformation cultivators crushed in unison, a solid barrier abruptly rising from the ground. Jiang Yuebai and Bai Jiuyou had no time to enter the Cloud-Breaking Charge before being smashed down from mid-air by a tremendous force akin to the collapse of the Five Mountains, plunging into the sea-flooded chasm below.
The sea roared and churned up mist, churning outside the barrier, as if trying to bury them there.
Jiang Yuebai’s organs throbbed with pain, Bai Jiuyou was helpless.
"Cough, cough, cough, everyone witness, the death of Jing Chujun must be accounted for by this demoness to the True Martial Immortal Sect!"
Old Man Taipu, the True Venerable, bore his body upright, raising a finger toward Jiang Yuebai.
Fuyu’s eyes flickered; beside him, Qiu Yun and Xuan Zhen hesitated, uncertain. The whole Green Dragon Realm knew Little Qiu Dragon came from Fuyu, and Biyou Palace couldn’t extricate itself from the affair.
Fuyu said nothing. Qiu Yun and Xuan Zhen exchanged a glance; though struggling internally, they still remained silent.
Tianyou pressed his newly reconstructed arm, his expression complex, but said nothing about it.
Recalling the eerie zither sound from earlier, the cautious Tianyou scanned the surroundings again. Finding nothing amiss, he speculated it was some technique of Jiang Yuebai’s.
Releasing a late-stage Divinity Transformation pressure, he sternly addressed Jiang Yuebai, "Hand over the Winged Dragon, and I will spare you your life!"
Jiang Yuebai sneered, "Spare me? You all want to pin the blame on me; wouldn’t it be better to kill me and hand me over to the True Martial Immortal Sect? At that point, right and wrong, black and white, all would depend on your words!"
Old Man Taipu shouted angrily, "Demoness! You killed my disciple and grand-disciple; the evidence is irrefutable, your crime unpardonable, deserving death!"
Jiang Yuebai followed Old Man Taipu’s gaze toward Tree Dragon Hongye behind her. If he hadn’t mentioned it, she might have forgotten.
Seeing Old Man Taipu pant heavily, looking like he wouldn’t live long, Jiang Yuebai chuckled, "Yes, I did kill your disciples. Want me to send you down to reunite? Oh, I forgot, they’re completely annihilated, can’t reunite!"
"You! Cough, cough, cough!"
As Old Man Taipu seemed about to cough blood, Jiang Yuebai glanced into the distance and said, "Look, even your two grand-disciples have run off. Do you think they’ll spread rumours when they leave?"
At these words, everyone turned their heads to see Ji Shaoyuan and Dongfang Yu, Old Man Taipu’s grand-disciples, had indeed fled far.
True Venerable Tianyou’s expression turned sharp as he instantaneously blocked the two, with a flick of his sleeve sending them back to the sea chasm’s edge.
Seeing Bai Jiuyou appear incessantly pained, Jiang Yuebai asked with concern. Bai Jiuyou assured she was fine. Jiang Yuebai temporarily received Bai Jiuyou, Tree Dragon Hongye, and Little Qiu Dragon into the Lotus Platform Cave Heaven to rest, facing the crowd alone.
Since an escape seemed impossible, she had to rely on her wits.
"I say," Jiang Yuebai surveyed Tianyou and Fuyu, raising her voice, "Given the current situation, letting me and the Winged Dragon go, placing Jing Chujun’s death on us, is the best course."
Jiang Yuebai clearly saw Qii Siheng holding a Memory Jade, unknown to Tianyou and the others.
Compared to the scene recorded on the Memory Jade, Tianyou and the others’ words would be futile.
Tianyou’s eyes flickered, instinctively glancing toward Fuyu on the opposite side. Fuyu frowned, unable to decide.
"No!" Old Man Taipu interrupted, "Letting her go is akin to letting a tiger return to the mountain; she must be slain here today."
Understanding Old Man Taipu’s implication, Tianyou nodded—the top strategy was to kill Jiang Yuebai, reclaim the Winged Dragon, and pin Jing Chujun’s death on her.
From their glances, Jiang Yuebai deduced their scheme, inwardly cursing them as despicable.
Was she really destined to fall here today?
The Heavenly Tribulation hadn’t killed her; dying at the hands of these contemptible characters, she was unwilling!
Wait, a Heavenly Tribulation?
Jiang Yuebai’s pupils contracted, clenching her fist sharply.
"Fellow Daoist Chenzhou." Fuyu suddenly spoke, "Hand the Winged Dragon to me, and I can ensure your life, as initially agreed, allowing you to become a direct disciple of Biyou Palace."
Once these words fell, Tianyou and Old Man Taipu looked at Fuyu incredulously.
Qiu Yun and Xuan Zhen suddenly released pressures of Divinity Transformation, standing protectively beside Fuyu, confronting Tianyou and Old Man Taipu across the void, tension thick in the air.
Fuyu, slightly recovered, ignored Tianyou and Old Man Taipu, staring unblinkingly at Jiang Yuebai, awaiting her reply.
Jiang Yuebai chuckled, "I understand. The three of you on one side, with one member of Fulong Sect heavily injured and another at death’s door. If a battle ensues, you’d have the upper hand."
"Then, pinning Jing Chujun’s death on the renowned True Venerable Tianyou of Fulong Sect, with Biyou Palace bringing back the Winged Dragon and a Mahayana Immortal Monarch presiding above. Whether the True Martial Immortal Sect believes it or not, they’d have to. Quite the calculation, truly impressive!"
Unable to suppress a clap, Jiang Yuebai noticed Tianyou’s livid expression and Old Man Taipu’s seething rage.
Fuyu made no denial, "Promise me, and I will immediately take you back to Biyou Palace."
Jiang Yuebai smiled, "Fine, dear uncle-master, but you’ll have to kill them first."
Tianyou’s entire body shook. Before Fuyu could act, he retreated thrice quickly, falling back into a vigilant stance at a distance, with Old Man Taipu close behind.
Fuyu remained still, "Give me the Winged Dragon, and I will naturally honor my commitment."
"You kill them first, and then I’ll hand it over," Jiang Yuebai replied calmly.
Fuyu’s face turned pale, eyes gradually growing cold.
"Fellow Daoist Chenzhou, take a good look at yourself. You’re human, not a dragon. Even if you survive today and escape from our clutches, do you know what disaster you’ll bring to the Green Dragon Realm by insisting on releasing the Winged Dragon? Dragons are inherently evil; even if it’s now bound to you, one day, it will betray you. Haven’t you seen that from my experience?"
Jiang Yuebai mocked, "Seen what? Seen you as sanctimonious, beastly beneath a human facade? Ah, sorry, comparing you to a beast disrespects the beast; you’re not even as good as a beast! Little Qiu Dragon didn’t betray—it awakened. Fortunately, it awoke early, or else one day you’d have duped it into leaving not even bones behind!"
Fuyu’s fingers tightened, suppressing rage, continuing, "If you release the Winged Dragon today, it will certainly return to the Green Dragon Realm seeking revenge..."
"And isn’t that expected?" Jiang Yuebai interrupted.
Fuyu was momentarily silenced, "Fine, it’s expected for the Winged Dragon to kill us, but what of the innocent? The Dragon Clan will seize the Green Dragon Realm; won’t innocent lives tragically fall? They are not of our kind, their hearts surely differ. You are clearly human, why betray the Human Clan? Do you not have a baseline for oneself?!"
"Baseline?"
Jiang Yuebai laughed coldly, her eyes devoid of warmth.
What’s a baseline?
She suddenly recalled, as a child, when her stomach clung to her back, squatting by the mountain path outside the temple, waiting for ladies and young mistresses coming to burn incense, hoping to win some food with a few pleasant words.
One day, she saw a cat, held by a lady from a nearby family, being fed pastries.
Such delicate pastries, just because they accidentally fell inside the carriage, the lady told the cat not to eat it because it was dirty and switched for another piece.
Then that piece of pastry landed in her hand, giving her another day of life.
A human life cheaper than a cat’s; she thought then, as long as she could be full, she wouldn’t mind being a cat to amuse people.
What had Fuyu ever endured of what she did?
The baseline Fuyu spoke of was Fuyu’s standard. Why should she use Fuyu’s standard to set her own baseline?!
In the depths of Jiang Yuebai’s heart, a sudden surge of anger caused her Dantian to quake, Spiritual Energy seething.
Her Heart Demon had revived!
