Chapter 177: The Malicious Love Obsession in Xianxia (39)

Chapter 177: The Villainous Love-Struck Fool in Xianxia (39)

Three days later, the demon realm was thrown into chaos again.

Si Yin, who had been wanted for days, suddenly stormed back into the Demon Palace!

Everyone expected a fierce battle between the Grand Elder Bi Xiu and Si Yin, but to their shock, Bi Xiu just keeled over dead.

The way he died was way too shady!

"Wasn’t Bi Xiu at the Golden Core stage? How could he just die like that?"

"Rumors say Bi Xiu was already a walking corpse—his death isn’t that surprising..."

"By that logic, if he was already on the verge of death, why bother seizing power?"

...

Amid the crowd’s murmurs, nobody even considered poison.

Killing a Golden Core cultivator with poison was pretty much impossible.

Hidden among the crowd, An Yi could hardly believe it. That day, he had gone to poison Bi Xiu ready to die... Just as expected, Bi Xiu immediately knew something was up.

Relying on his unique techniques, An Yi just barely dodged Bi Xiu’s repeated attacks by constantly concealing himself.

As for Tang Qing’s claim of "half an hour until death," An Yi couldn't bring himself to believe it—until Bi Xiu suddenly stopped attacking...

Only then did An Yi realize: the thirty minutes were up.

The once-mighty Grand Elder of the demon realm, the fire in his eyes instantly went out before An Yi, losing all vitality.

This kind of poison actually worked!

After Bi Xiu’s death, the rest was easy.

Leaderless, the Holy Son Si Yin swiftly rallied the remaining forces in the Demon Palace and cleaned house. In just half a day, order was restored.

The Holy Son returned to the Demon Palace—and brought Tang Qing back with him.

This time, An Yi kept his mouth shut. A poison capable of killing a Golden Core cultivator so easily? An alchemist like Tang Qing was in a league of her own.

"The Holy Son truly has an eye for talent..."

An Yi muttered to himself, unaware that his noble Holy Son was currently sucking up to Tang Qing, presenting her with a mountain of bling.

"Hehehe, Tang Qing, didn’t I tell you? Team up with me, and you’ll never lack for luxury!"

Finally back in his rightful residence, Si Yin now was like a storybook dragon, showering the one he adored with his lifetime’s hoard of treasures.

"Look, these were all gifts from my underlings."

"Every single one is a rare treasure! Even that punk Wang Dao has never seen such things!"

Remembering how Tang Qing had once praised the Fifth Prince Wang Dao’s estate, Si Yin was determined to show him up. He hauled out anything that sparkled, dead set on proving who the better choice really was!

"And those flowers and plants—I’ve already given the order. They’ll be replanted, and no fighting allowed in the city for the next six months!"

"Tang Qing, the plants in the demon realm have a short growth cycle. You'll see them very soon..."

Si Yin chattered incessantly, his pupils burning with an intense light as he stared fixedly at the person before him.

"Wildflowers blooming across the mountains, the vast expanse of heaven and earth."

"Tang Qing, you'll see it all soon..."

I always keep my promises.

Soon after, Si Yin issued a series of head-scratching orders:

#No weapon fights within the city#

#Establish a Demon World Tree-Planting Day#

#Protecting the demon realm's environment is everyone's duty#

...

"What a joke! All I've ever done is bury people in the dirt! Planting trees? Bullshit!"

"A civilized demon capital? If the capital becomes civilized, can it still be called the demon realm?"

"Has the Holy Son lost his mind lately, pushing this flowery nonsense?"

Getting the demon realm's inhabitants to embrace civility and courtesy was no easy task. Yet, Si Yin's methods were even more ruthless.

Those who disobeyed were put to death immediately.

The reason for execution was downright ridiculous—"destroying the demon realm's environment..."

Death was nothing unusual, but being killed for harming the environment was simply unacceptable.

Even the most battle-hardened demon commanders were exiled to deserted yellow-sand regions to plant trees, only allowed to return if their saplings survived.

The once-rowdy demon realm suddenly fell into an uncanny quiet...

These changes in the demon realm naturally couldn't go unnoticed by the Cloud Ripple Sect.

Several elders gathered in the council hall.

"It's said that little devil Si Yin has returned to the demon realm," the white-whiskered elder who once stood atop the flying artifact broke the silence. He was Cang Jing, the Fourth Elder of the Cloud Ripple Sect, who had long overseen the sect's disciple training missions.

"Mufeng, unless my memory fails me, you reported encountering Si Yin near the outskirts of Cloud Ripple Mountain last time?"

Bai Mufeng stood there in his usual white robes, his expression cold and detached, radiating an otherworldly presence. His unique presence drew attention even from the corner of the room.

"Yes."

"Disciples Chen Rong and Jiang Yuchen were both killed by him."

Bai Mufeng said without inflection, mentioning his old rival Si Yin without a trace of emotion.

Meanwhile, Tie Wei, an elder from the Xingfa Hall, gave a derisive snort. "That brat has guts of steel..."

"Daring to come waltzing into our Cloud Ripple Sect alone—doesn’t he fear being splattered with one slap!"

"Bai Mufeng, you’ve let that little demon brat slip through your fingers multiple times yet failed to capture him..." Tie Wei taunted with a vicious grin. "Could it be that you, a Taoist Soldier of the Heartless Way, went soft on him?"

The accusation in his words was too blatant, yet Bai Mufeng's expression remained calm, with no intention of arguing.

Instead, the Fourth Elder, Cang Jing, spoke up in Bai Mufeng's defense, "Don’t talk rubbish!"

"You all know Mufeng—since when has he ever been soft?"

"That little weasel Si Yin is sly and quick. No wonder he got away."

Tie Wei, however, wasn’t about to let Bai Mufeng off the hook. He raised his eyes slightly, hinting at something more. "Elder Cang, let’s not jump to conclusions."

Tie Wei then pulled out two wanted posters from his robe—one of Si Yin, and the other... someone unrecognizable.

Cang Jing recognized the person in the portrait at a glance—it was the girl he’d once ribbed Bai Mufeng about during the trial that day...

What did they call her?

Tang Qing?

Tie Wei spoke again, "Bai Mufeng, you know who this is, don’t you?"

"I’ve heard that during your escort of the Fifth Prince back to the capital, this outer disciple named Tang Qing stuck to you like glue."

"I’ve investigated. That little scoundrel Si Yin, during his infiltration of the Cloud Ripple Sect, was impersonating an outer disciple—Chen Rong."

"And this Chen Rong just so happened to be Tang Qing’s neighbor. Bet they’ve been in cahoots all along!"

Cang Jing was stunned. He never would have imagined that the little girl he had taken a liking to at first glance would get mixed up with that demon spawn...

"Bai Mufeng, I’d sure like an answer—why was Tang Qing, who was by your side, now returning to the demon realm with Si Yin?"

Tie Wei’s voice rang out sharply as he threw the two wanted posters onto the table, placing them plainly before everyone.

"Well? Explain yourself."

Amid the questioning, Bai Mufeng suddenly recalled the scene of Si Yin taking Tang Qing away that day—their moonlit meeting, fingers intertwined...

And the defiance burning in Tang Qing’s gaze as she gazed at him.

The tenth time he drew his sword against her, the tenth time he encountered that same look in Tang Qing’s eyes.

The always-stoic Taoist Soldier’s presence flickered.

Subtly.

A slight hitch, like a heartbeat skipping.

It flashed by in an instant.

There one moment, crushed the next by Bai Mufeng.

System Announcement: "Bai Mufeng’s Love Points rising. Current Love Points: 45."

"Alert! Love Points plummet to zero! Zero! Current Love Points: 0."

For the countless time, the Taoist Soldier slammed the door on his wavering heart.