Chapter 688: Great Demon 51

The Golden Ring Snake Emperor clapped. "Little Jinzi has a good eye."

Tan You simply pressed her lips together and glanced at the sky, where the fissure still lingered. "You haven’t left yet?"

"Toss me aside after you’re done with me?" the Golden Ring Snake Emperor said playfully. "I have important business to discuss. We can talk after this little fellow’s matter is settled."

Tan You couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. ’What could he possibly have to say to me? Surely he isn’t going to tell me I don’t need to cultivate to the twelfth rank in the lower realm and just take me directly to the Nine Heavens, is he? Could something that good really happen?’

’If that were true, it would be wonderful. After all, getting struck by lightning tribulations is pure misery.’

Though she was thinking this, Tan You’s expression remained neutral as she returned to her seat with Bai Ze and the other Great Demons. The Cultivators who had been sitting beside them all scooted several seats away in unison.

After all, this group’s power was nothing to scoff at. The leader, in particular, had a terrifying and well-established reputation. They had no desire to experience her God Trapping Array; some lessons were so painful that one experience was enough to last a lifetime.

On the high platform, Shi Miao and Qing Ming stood facing each other. The turn of events had been dizzying for the spectators. What was supposed to have been the grand stage for the ascension of the Buddhist Sect’s Jing Yue had now become a showdown between Shi Miao and Qing Ming.

As for the other person involved, Jing Yue, he had long ago abandoned his Divine Soul in the lower realm. Now that he was in the Nine Heavens, he was beyond anyone’s reach.

Qing Ming looked at Shi Miao and suddenly smiled. "My lord was right. One of you wanted to kill her husband to prove her Dao, while the other wanted to pass his Emotional Tribulation. You and Jing Yue really are a match made in heaven."

"Shut up!" Shi Miao’s face contorted. Every time she heard Jing Yue’s name, she felt a tremor in her soul, and her already precarious Sword Dao of Slaughter teetered on the verge of collapse.

"What right do you have to criticize me? You’re just a little bastard that no one claims! Your birth father, Jing Yue, clearly saw you, but did he show you any favor?"

"Come to think of it, who is your real father, anyway? Jing Yue or Qinglian? I doubt even you could say for sure."

Shi Miao had expected her words to affect Qing Ming, but he remained perfectly calm. "You shouldn’t be asking me that question. You should be asking yourself who your Dao companion was—Jing Yue or Qinglian."

"If your Dao companion was Jing Yue, then my birth father is Jing Yue. If your Dao companion was Qinglian..."

"Who the hell was her Dao companion?" Qinglian shrieked, jumping to his feet. "A black-hearted, rotten-to-the-core woman like that? I wouldn’t give her a second look! Are you lumping me in with her just to make me sick?"

Qing Ming offered a perfunctory apology. "My apologies, it was just a slip of the tongue..."

Shi Miao was livid. "You’re disgusted by me? What right do you have to be disgusted by me?"

Qinglian shot back, "And how are you so much nobler? First, you kill your husband to prove your Dao, and now you want to kill your son for it. It’s laughable."

Tan You glanced at the frantic Qinglian. "Are all beings with a Buddha’s heart this noisy? Don’t you have a single shred of composure? You’re way too loud."

Qinglian pouted. "Well, who told that little whelp to mention me in the same breath as that old hag? I’m in the prime of my youth, and she’s several times my age! Only someone as un-picky as Jing Yue could actually stomach that."

"Ahem," Tan You said, amused. "That’s enough. The karma between you and Jing Yue isn’t settled. In the future, when the opportunity arises, you can seek your own revenge."

Qinglian froze, then his face lit up with elation. "In my current state... I can still continue to cultivate?"

Tan You thought for a moment. "Of course, there’s a way. Cang Long and the others are counting on you to help them resolve their karmic ties. If you are to reforge your body, it’s only natural that they should contribute. Right?"

What else could Cang Long, the Nine-tailed Fox, and the others do? They could only nod in agreement.

Bai Ze had no choice but to rein Qinglian in. "Quiet down and watch the platform."

Qinglian immediately fell silent. Although he wouldn’t admit Qing Ming was his own little cub, Qing Ming’s bloodline was ultimately inherited from him. In the end, Qinglian felt something different for Qing Ming.

Shi Miao’s first round of verbal attacks against Qing Ming had backfired; she was the one left reeling with anger thanks to Qinglian. After composing herself, Shi Miao sneered, "You’re all talk. Jing Yue doesn’t acknowledge you, that Qingming Snake doesn’t acknowledge you. In this entire world, who acknowledges your existence?"

Qing Ming was remarkably composed. "My existence needs no one’s proof or validation. My lord told me that it doesn’t matter how I came into this world, or how much scheming and filth was involved in the process. What matters is that I am here, and I will live a good life. No one can harm me."

"My existence and my worth are mine to define; I don’t need anyone’s approval. In fact, as far as I’m concerned, your existence has no meaning whatsoever."

Shi Miao’s Dao heart was already unstable from her anger toward Jing Yue and Qinglian. Qing Ming’s words were the last straw, filling her with bitter rage. Without a single move being made, Shi Miao coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Peacock muttered to himself, "Three sentences, and he made a Human Clan Cultivator cough up blood?"

"The kid’s impressive!"

Shi Qi and Shi Yuan rushed onto the platform, supporting Shi Miao from either side.

"Mother!"

"Mother! Are you alright?"

Shi Miao struggled to straighten up. "I’m fine. You two get off the platform. This is a grudge between him and me; it has nothing to do with you."

Shi Yuan brandished her slender sword. "No! You’re my mother, how can I just stand by and watch? He’s nothing but a lowly Half-demon, a creature unloved by father or mother..."

"Being unloved by my father and mother is hardly my fault," Qing Ming said, sidestepping Shi Yuan’s attack. "That’s their failing. They were unworthy of being parents. It’s their fault, not mine."

"I consider it my extreme misfortune to be their child. I’m the one who feels wronged here. If anyone had a choice, who would willingly pick them as parents? Each one is more selfish than the last. They’re nothing but a stain on my existence."

Qing Ming dodged Shi Yuan’s attacks as if toying with a kitten. Perhaps he grew bored of the game, for he casually flicked his finger. A wisp of Spiritual Power struck Shi Yuan, and her cultivation plummeted from the Nascent Soul Stage, down through Foundation Establishment, down through Qi Cultivation, until it finally came to a halt at the third level of Qi Cultivation.

Shi Qi moved quickly to catch the falling Shi Yuan. He checked her cultivation, and just as he was about to speak, Qing Ming cut in. "Back then, Shi Yuan bullied and humiliated me. She sent me to an auction house, intending for me to die a miserable death. The fact that I didn’t destroy her Dantian today is already an act of mercy."

"You once stood by and watched coldly, never lifting a finger to help me. So don’t be a busybody today, or I’ll take care of you right along with her. After all, we’re not related anymore, are we... *big brother*?"

Qing Ming’s last words were laden with insinuation, and just as he intended, Shi Qi hesitated. He knew his cultivation was no match for Qing Ming’s; making threats to defend Shi Yuan would be suicidal.

Seeing Shi Qi’s hesitation, Qing Ming burst into laughter. "Shi Miao, now it’s your turn."

Before his voice even faded, the rosy-lipped, vibrant youth disappeared. In his place coiled a massive Qingming Snake. Its head was the size of a millstone, and compared to it, Shi Miao was but a speck of dust.