Chapter 689: Great Demon 52

Seeing the massive Qing Ming snake, Qinglian’s eye twitched. "My original form was quite beautiful, you know. The color of a top-grade Water Element Spirit Stone. Much prettier than this little whelp."

The Cold Dragon said, "The little one inherited your bloodline, at least. Do you really dislike it that much? It’s a victim in all this, too."

Qinglian sighed. "It’s not like I ever wanted this. I truly intended to live a life of quiet asceticism, but who would have thought that damned Jing Yue would forcibly shatter my discipline."

"You’re too attached to appearances," Tan You said softly. "Jing Yue merely defiled your body. Your heart remains pure and unblemished. He, on the other hand, is the one whose heart is utterly filthy."

"The purity of the body or the purity of the spirit—which is more important?"

Qinglian replied, "They’re both important. But now that you put it that way, it seems purity of heart is far more precious."

"Just like your name, Qinglian. A green lotus can rise from the mud and bloom, unstained." Tan You smiled. "As long as you hold the Buddha in your heart, that’s enough."

Qinglian muttered, "Between the two of us, I’m not sure which one truly has the heart of a Buddha. No, wait... I lost mine long ago."

Tan You couldn’t help but laugh. "I’m certainly not cut out for a Buddhist path. I could never endure the hardships of that ascetic life. In that regard, you truly are one of a kind. Besides, this ’heart of a Buddha’ business isn’t all it’s cracked up to be."

"Buddhists speak of ’emptiness.’ If we follow that concept, does a ’Buddha’s heart’ even truly exist? Or is it just a man-made delusion?"

"When you start to examine things critically, you’ll find they’re not what they seem."

Qinglian fell into deep thought, and Tan You said no more. This Qing Ming snake, who had once weathered so many storms, seemed much more at peace now. ’Still,’ Tan You thought, ’her vendetta will ultimately have to be settled by her, when she goes to the Upper Realm to find Jing Yue for revenge.’

’Jing Yue’s recent sacrifice was merely a case of a lizard shedding its tail to escape. It doesn’t mean the karmic debt between him and Qinglian is settled. Things are never that simple. Jing Yue caused the death of Qinglian’s physical form. How could a vendetta like that be erased so easily?’

Peacock was a master of working a crowd. Even though Tan You and Qinglian’s conversation had been derailed from Qing Ming to the nature of Buddha, Peacock was still dutifully broadcasting the current state of the fight.

"Qing Ming is incredible! It’s fighting a Cultivator two entire major realms above it to a standstill! It even looks like it’s starting to gain the upper hand."

"Go! Qing Ming, whip her!"

"Yes, to your left! What do you think that tail is for?!"

Peacock, a true agent of chaos, was even shouting pointers from the crowd, jumping around excitedly with a complete lack of decorum. Some of the younger Cultivators shot him sidelong glances, thinking to themselves, ’I guess not every senior is so stern and proper.’

’This Great Demon senior from the Demon Market was, unexpectedly... energetic?’

Peacock’s shouting was giving Tan You a headache. She furrowed her brow. "Old Niu, living next door to Peacock can’t be easy, can it?"

Old Niu chuckled. "It’s manageable. As long as you don’t look and don’t listen, it’s no big deal."

Up on the high platform, the battle between Qing Ming and Shi Miao was drawing to a close. Down below, a crowd of Cultivators from the Taixu Sect had gathered, including Shi Miao’s former partner, Yun Qi. He stood watching coldly, his sword cradled in his arms.

When he saw Qing Ming shatter the Bloodthirsty Sword in Shi Miao’s hand with a single whip of its tail, its massive jaws catching the hilt as Shi Miao herself collapsed into a pool of blood, a slow smile crept across Yun Qi’s lips. "Just as I expected."

Shi Yuan rushed over as if she’d found her last hope. "Father! Father, please save Mother! If you intervene, I know you can save her!"

Yun Qi pulled his arm away. "This is a grudge between your mother and Qing Ming. Why involve anyone else? Your mother and I dissolved our partnership contract hundreds of years ago. She has her path, and I have mine."

Shi Yuan staggered back a step. "Father, how can you be... so heartless?"

Yun Qi glanced at her and suddenly laughed. "You and Shi Miao... you’re so much alike. You always need others to sacrifice for you. But on what grounds? What have either of you ever done for anyone else?"

"Why should her path to the Dao be paved with the blood and tears of others? If I hadn’t discovered her plot by a stroke of luck, I would be long dead and buried by now. If one day your own partner tried to kill you, would you still forgive and forget and rush to his aid?"

Shi Yuan froze, apparently having never expected Yun Qi to say such a thing. She was left speechless.

Yun Qi no longer paid her any attention. "Be grateful. The fact that Qing Ming didn’t completely destroy her cultivation path is already an act of mercy. If you don’t know what’s good for you, I won’t lift a finger to protect you. As far as I’m concerned, you’re not that important."

"But I’m your daughter... You’ve never loved me!" Shi Yuan finally broke down. "You treat Big Brother so well! You teach him how to cultivate, you gather all sorts of rare treasures for him, but you’ve never loved me!"

"That is Shi Miao’s sin!" Yun Qi gritted his teeth. "I once awaited your birth with so much anticipation. I had even planned out your entire future cultivation path."

"I was so excited for you to be born. On your first birthday, I risked life and limb to retrieve a Water Spirit Pearl from a secret realm, all because you have a Water Element Spirit Root. If you had fused with it, you would have become a Water Spirit Body."

"Under my... and *her* protection, even as a Water Spirit Body, you wouldn’t have had to worry about being targeted by others..." Yun Qi’s eyes began to redden as he spoke. "I was looking forward to it so much, to watching you grow up safe and sound. But your mother, Shi Miao... while I was eagerly planning for the future, she was plotting every single moment how to kill her husband to prove her Dao."

"She even planned to make her move right after your first birthday banquet. She knew how excited I was for your birth, watched me pour my heart and soul into you day after day, and what did she do?"

"She was the one who killed my fatherly love for you. You resent me now, but you should resent her instead. If she hadn’t strayed onto such a crooked path, why would our perfectly good family have been torn apart?"

"Even from the very beginning, when we became partners, her heart was never pure."

Yun Qi made no effort to hide his words from the crowd, and his story quickly earned him a great deal of sympathy. It was a terrifying thought—having a partner who wanted to kill her husband to prove her Dao. How horrifying must that have been?

Shi Qi, who was more level-headed, came over to support Shi Yuan. "Don’t say any more. Dad is a victim, too. Besides, this is a grudge between our elders. It’s not our place to interfere, nor do we have any right to."

Even though Yun Qi and Shi Miao had dissolved their contract, Yun Qi still cared for Shi Qi. To be fair, Shi Qi felt that his father had always treated him very well.

Furthermore, Shi Qi himself had long had a vague feeling that his mother’s path, the Sword Dao of Slaughter, had gone astray. It was only because Shi Miao’s cultivation had become so profound that few in the sect dared to say so openly.

After all, there were others in the sect who followed the Sword Dao of Slaughter, so why was Shi Miao the only one who tried to kill her husband to prove her Dao? Clearly, the others had their own principles; deep down, they were simply unwilling to do such a thing.

Now, seeing Shi Miao consumed by a Heart Demon, her Lifebound Sword shattered, and her Dao heart broken, Shi Qi knew that his mother’s path of cultivation had come to an end.