Xiang Tianqing had just regained consciousness from her stupor. She didn’t understand what “Lesser Jianmu” meant, but the three words “accumulate merit” stabbed into her heart like a sharp dagger.
What little color remained in her cheeks gradually drained away.
She had been sitting against the wall in the square cell, where all the walls were made of wood.
The surface was uneven, covered with knots.
With all her acupoints sealed, she felt exhausted and powerless. Trembling, she supported herself on the wooden knots to stand up and gave Lu Xigu a cold look: “What kind of game are you playing now?”
The “you” in her question naturally included Xiang Haikui.
Lu Xigu gazed at her with a touch of pity in his eyes: “Sister, hasn’t what happened in Yin Sha City made you understand yet?”
Xiang Tianqing turned her face away, her eyes evasive: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Then let me explain from the beginning. Meng Xilou is your elder brother from the upper realm, while I am your younger brother, Meng Nanting. Back then, Meng Xilou and I both sent our divided spirits down to the lower realm together. He chose the Meng family with the same surname, and even thoughtlessly changed his name to match exactly, while I chose…”
Lu Xigu’s gaze shifted to Lu Xiqiao, who was crouching at Xiang Tianqing’s feet, “A pair of twins from the Lu family.”
Lu Xiqiao folded his arms and looked up at him: “I was the one who was supposed to be possessed. How did it become you?”
Lu Xigu: “The possession of you failed, so it was switched to me.”
Lu Xiqiao: “Stop spouting nonsense. All these years, when you’ve caused trouble, Father has always joined in. Would Father help someone who possessed his son? Or was Father possessed, too?”
Lu Xigu pinched the bridge of his nose: “Why do you never use your intelligence for righteous purposes?”
“You’ve gone too far!” Xiang Tianqing had almost started to believe them, but seeing this exchange made her both angry and furious. “Who ordered you to mock me like this? No matter what the Lu family does, believe me, my master will make you pay dearly!”
Lu Xigu shot a glare at Lu Xiqiao. He had only wanted Xiang Tianqing to believe she was dying at the hands of her family members, to increase her suffering, but now that plan was ruined.
“Fine, I am not Meng Nanting,” Lu Xigu said. “Meng Xilou was foolish enough, but Meng Nanting was even more foolish. Of all the people he could have possessed, he chose my brother. Do you know who my brother and I are? We are the Dao Merging Fruits of Jianmu!”
This story began with the Lu family’s karmic retribution.
When the Lu ancestors were poor, they had made a vow to heaven that they would become successful and superior to others, even if it meant having no descendants in the future.
After the Lu family truly prospered, they became addicted to war profiteering and could not extricate themselves, utterly exhausting heaven’s patience. For generations, they had been stuck at the ninth rank, unable to advance further.
Moreover, their descendants were severely diminished. The collateral bloodlines had long since thinned, and Lu Zhengtu, the sole remaining heir, had finally produced a pair of twins several hundred years ago. From birth, they were blind in one eye, and soon showed signs of early death.
The Lu family patriarch at that time, Old Master Lu, finally understood—even though he had tried to change the Lu family’s fortune in this lifetime by being generous with money and doing good deeds, it was useless. The Lu family was truly about to end with no descendants.
Old Master Lu couldn’t accept this. In his death struggle, he visited reclusive masters everywhere.
Finally, he learned of a method from a powerful figure.
Before the family line ended, they would extract the twins’ souls and seal them away.
Then, taking a chance, they would capture a Lesser Jianmu, specifically one with fruits that were still unripe and immature.
Following the mysterious incantation taught by the master, they would plant the twins’ souls into the fruits.
Because at this stage, the fruits were just fruits, without souls.
Once the souls were successfully planted, the fruits would fall to the ground and take on physical forms identical in appearance and bloodline to the twins’ original bodies—essentially brand new vessels.
The master also said that this method would not only save their lives but, due to the special nature of the Dao Merging Fruits, could also block the ancestral curse of the Lu family.
But the master simultaneously gave a warning: if fate allowed Old Master Lu to find a suitable Lesser Jianmu tree, it meant the Heavenly Dao was willing to give them a chance for survival.
It would be best to keep only one of the twins, choosing the Pure Good Fruit and discarding the Turbid Evil Fruit.
Because the pure/turbid and good/evil nature would influence the twins’ personalities.
If they continued to act unjustly afterward, not even immortals could save the Lu family.
Old Master Lu was able to be ruthless, but Lu Zhengtu, the twins’ father, couldn’t bear it.
They finally decided to try it first. If the Turbid Fruit vessel truly had a tremendous negative impact, then…
Thus, through drawing lots, Lu Xiqiao’s soul was planted in the Pure Good Fruit.
Lu Xigu’s soul was planted in the Turbid Evil Fruit.
The two fruits fell to the ground and transformed into two healthy babies. The Lu family was overjoyed, and Old Master Lu passed away with a smile, repeatedly urging Lu Zhengtu to stay on the right path in the future, and if things went wrong, not to be soft-hearted—kill Lu Xigu.
Unexpectedly, not long after, Lu Xiqiao was suddenly possessed…
“Meng Nanting couldn’t have imagined in his wildest dreams that the vessel he had chosen was one he couldn’t enjoy. Forget about his divided spirit possessing it—the vessel directly absorbed his true soul and destroyed it within my brother’s consciousness sea.”
Lu Xigu’s lips curled with satisfaction, clearly very pleased with his and his brother’s Dao Merging Fruit bodies.
When Lu Zhengtu learned that the son he had just recovered had been possessed, he was furious. He depleted his cultivation to investigate who the culprit was.
He thus discovered the memories Meng Nanting had left in Lu Xiqiao’s consciousness sea.
This terrified Lu Zhengtu—it was a powerful figure from the upper realm!
But then he reconsidered: the Dao Merging Fruit vessel must be incredibly powerful if his son, still an infant, could defeat an upper realm powerhouse.
With enough strength, what was there to fear from the Heavenly Dao?
He used a magical artifact to copy Meng Nanting’s memories and found the treasures, celestial crystals, and rare creature seeds that Meng Nanting had sent to the mortal realm through special channels before his descent.
He also contacted the confidants who had come down with Meng Nanting, giving them instructions in Meng Nanting’s voice.
Of course, he didn’t dare contact Meng Xilou.
The two were brothers, and it would be too easy to expose the deception.
Celestial crystals had no use in the mortal realm, and he didn’t know what to do with them, so he planted the nearly withered Dao Merging Tree in the courtyard.
He had heard this thing could connect to the Underworld when it grew, which might bring benefits in the future.
Additionally, as the two sons grew older, Lu Zhengtu increasingly disliked the idle and carefree Lu Xiqiao, while growing fonder of the ruthless and clever Lu Xigu.
So, he told Lu Xigu about all of this.
Father and son began working together.
“Xigu, we don’t have much time. Why waste words with her?” Lu Zhengtu’s voice came from outside.
He stood outside the wooden prison without entering.
Lu Xigu: “I’m just explaining to my brother that killing this woman is justice for the cause. If not for our special nature, wouldn’t my brother have been killed by her?”
Xiang Tianqing had been stubbornly refusing to believe any of this, absolutely refusing.
Lu Xiqiao was always calling “Sister Kui” and following her around. The brothers must be working with Xiang Haikui to trick her and shake her resolve.
But when the Lu family patriarch, Lu Zhengtu, also spoke up, Xiang Tianqing collapsed in an instant, unable to find any more reasons to deceive herself. She cried out and covered her ears, crouching on the ground.
As she crouched down, Lu Xiqiao stood up: “I was harmed by Meng Nanting, which has nothing to do with Xiang Tianqing. She’s practically been reincarnated…”
Lu Xigu asked coldly: “But before she came down to the mortal realm, she knew the path her family had arranged for her. She didn’t refuse at all but accepted it willingly. What, after reincarnation, doesn’t all count anymore?”
He stepped forward, grabbed her arm, and pulled her up from the ground. Lu Xigu’s eyes were gloomy: “The evil deeds of my Lu family ancestors can bring retribution upon us descendants thousands and thousands of years later! The karma that you, Miss Meng, have sown for xyourself, no matter how many times you reincarnate, should still be repaid by you!”
As he spoke, he thrust a golden needle into her spiritual sea.
Then he cut her wrist and pushed her back to the ground.
Xiang Tianqing didn’t make a sound, lying dazed on the ground.
Blood flowed out, seeping into the patterns of the wooden prison.
She had a protective divine artifact from her family, so they couldn’t directly kill her to take her soul for sacrifice.
They could only use this method to gradually release her soul power through her blood.
It would take about an hour.
But as soon as the blood was absorbed by Lesser Jianmu, the vortex at its roots began to spin faster.
The thick roots that spread beneath Jin Ling capital slowly began to stir like a giant python awakening after hibernation.
The wooden prison itself began to shake. Lu Xiqiao stumbled and tried to take advantage of his brother’s inattention to pull the golden needle from Xiang Tianqing’s forehead, but was immobilized by Lu Xigu again.
Lu Xiqiao’s face turned red with anger: “You know about justice and guilt. Go seek revenge on their family if you must, but to sacrifice the lives of Jin Ling’s people is depraved!”
Unable to turn his head, he rolled his eyes toward the prison door: “Father, you’ve gone too far! Don’t think I don’t know—this isn’t about avenging me at all! You just want to take advantage of the gathering of elites in Jin Ling to kill as many as possible, so you can completely control the entire Central Plains. You want to be the Jin Ling King. You’ve gone mad!”
Lu Zhengtu remained silent.
Lu Xigu said, “Brother, I know you’ve always disapproved of me. It doesn’t matter—you won’t be seeing me for much longer.”
Lu Xiqiao’s brows furrowed: “You’re going to kill me too?”
Lu Xigu lowered his eyelashes: “What you don’t know is that when the Pure and Turbid, Good and Evil fruits devour each other, cultivation advances dramatically. After I devour you and leave the Lu residence, even Sword Master Jing Wenxiu will no longer be my match.”
Lu Xigu had been waiting for this day for a long time.
He had to keep Lu Xiqiao alive to prevent Lesser Jianmu from withering while waiting for its roots to reach the Underworld.
Secondly, when the Turbid Qi from the Underworld leaked into the mortal realm, turning the surroundings into a bloody hell, it would help him suppress the Pure Qi from the Pure Fruit.
Earlier, when Lu Xiqiao had run off to Yin Sha and gone missing, he had been terrified, almost losing half his soul.
Thank heaven his brother had returned safely. If he had died in an accident on the road, Lesser Jianmu would have withered, and all their efforts would have been in vain.
“Father!” Lu Xiqiao couldn’t believe it. “You agree with this?”
“Father, I’ve said before that I don’t want to do this either.” Lu Xigu, fearing his father might soften, said, “After today’s events, I must possess sufficient power for our Lu family to remain safe and reach the pinnacle!”
After a long while, Lu Zhengtu sighed.
His footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
…
In the dead of night, Jin Ling suddenly shook with earth-shattering force!
Citizens awoke from their dreams to see cracks forming in their floors, from which emerged what looked like pythons.
No, not pythons—tree roots!
Most of the roots merely peeked out before becoming still, but in some dark, sunless places, the roots burst open, releasing wisps of black smoke—the weakest ghosts from the Underworld’s Land of Nine Sufferings.
The night instantly became bright with lights.
Jin Ling’s guards responded extremely quickly, and cultivators also spontaneously went out to slay the ghosts and protect ordinary people.
There had been no casualties yet, and the situation remained relatively orderly.
The Jin Ling Academy, situated on a hillside at the edge of the city, experienced a tremor but wasn’t severely affected. However, as the city’s official academy, Jin Ling Academy naturally had to help when Jin Ling was in trouble, especially the Sword Path Institute.
When Han Qi received the news, he was momentarily stunned.
From what he heard, it sounded like Lesser Jianmu connecting to the Underworld.
“Miss Xiang just threw you over here, and now Jin Ling has trouble.” Han Qi looked at Yin Changli. “What exactly did she go to do?”
He had anticipated some excitement, but he hadn’t expected something that could shake the Three Realms.
This was no longer excitement—it was a disaster.
Why had there been no sign of this in his earlier divination?
Han Qi thought of something and inhaled deeply in frustration, pointing at Yin Changli: “This must be the result of your fate-changing. Yin and yang reversed—if Yin Sha didn’t see blood, then it’s Jin Ling’s turn.”
Since Xiang Haikui had left, Yin Changli had been standing anxiously outside the door, constantly looking toward the inner city.
When he heard the news of trouble in the city, his heart felt gripped tightly, and he couldn’t breathe properly for a long moment.
With cold limbs, he put on a cloak and walked outside.
At that moment, swords were flying through the air above, with straight-backed figures riding them as they flashed by.
Unable to keep up, anxious and frustrated, he pinched his thigh hard, thinking to himself: Yin Changli, what use are you?
Just then, his head exploded with pain.
“Where are you going?” Han Qi, covering the wound on his back and sweating profusely, walked out. “In your condition, don’t go adding to the chaos.”
The mortal realm had its fate and tribulations, which he couldn’t and didn’t want to interfere with, especially now when he lacked the ability.
“Since you say this was caused by my fate-changing, it’s my responsibility to resolve it.” Despite his splitting headache and temples soaked with sweat, Yin Changli stubbornly continued forward.
In the woods to the lower right of the Sword Path Institute, Xiang Haikui had already been struck by sixteen of Que Chi’s sword energies.
Each cut drew blood but went no deeper.
Like a cat playing with a mouse, he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
As Que Chi had said, having been taught by the same master, he knew her fighting style and methods perfectly.
Combined with the cultivation gap, she had no chance of winning.
Even though Que Chi had been severely injured for many years.
Xiang Haikui didn’t dare rashly transform into a flood dragon—Que Chi was from the Mountain and Sea Zhu Yan clan, and she couldn’t match him in confrontation.
Moreover, he could maintain his transformation indefinitely, while hers was temporary. After changing back, she would be like a dried fish, making her situation even worse.
Wu Xiang: “Perhaps surrender and then plan a counterattack. Fighting like this won’t work.”
Ba Ying raged: “Xiang-xiang, how can we be so cowardly!”
Wu Xiang: “There’s no choice. A strand of divine consciousness can’t help much.”
Ba Ying shouted: “Damn you, Que Chi! In the past, Ba Ba pressed you to the ground and beat you, and now you only know how to bully a little girl!”
Ba Ying roared in fury a couple more times, then suddenly remembered: “Where’s Changli? What happened to him? Even without his memories and cultivation restored, his physical body alone could fight Que Chi!”
Wu Xiang: “Calm down, look at the sky.”
Xiang Haikui had been so focused on fighting that she hadn’t noticed the ground trembling. Only now, looking up, did she see Jin Ling Sword Path disciples flying overhead on their swords.
They seemed completely unaware of the battle below.
Xiang Haikui’s heart jolted: “Has this area been screened off?”
Wu Xiang: “He has accomplices, likely from our Mountain and Sea Ghost Chariot clan, who specialize in splitting space.”
This meant that even if she transformed into a flood dragon to escape, she might not be able to get away.
Xiang Haikui smiled: “Eighteenth Senior Brother, you merely want to sleep with me, yet you’re making such a grand production. I’m truly flattered.”
“After all, you’re my only junior sister. This treatment is what you deserve.” Though aware she was mocking him, Que Chi didn’t mind.
With a flourish of his fiery red robes, he flew down from the treetop and landed about twenty paces from Xiang Haikui.
Her bun had been cut loose by his sword energy, and now her hair fell loose, adding a touch of feminine charm.
Examining her more closely, he smiled: “I won’t be shortchanged.”
He pulled a red feather from his hair ornament, which instantly transformed into a fiery red longsword. He attacked her with lightning speed: “Junior Sister, flirtation is over. Here I come.”
Xiang Haikui’s pupils contracted. Though he appeared to be thrusting straight at her, in her eyes, he was constantly changing form, with countless illusory shadows falling like flowers from the sky.
Worthy of being Master’s former prized disciple—his sword intent and sword realm were truly formidable.
She had no idea which direction to defend.
Finally, she chose to stand still, since his goal wasn’t to kill her—there was no killing intent in his sword energy.
Tian Kuang’s wild energy continued to rise, reaching the fifth level.
She still didn’t transform but twirled around, arranging sword energy defensively around her body, blocking his sword by instinct.
The two swords clashed, sending sparks flying.
But he withdrew immediately upon contact, his empty hand rising with two fingertips pinching a feather earring.
Xiang Haikui touched her earlobe and glared at him furiously.
Que Chi laughed again: “If Junior Sister won’t undress willingly, then let Senior Brother help you remove your clothes one by one.”
Now was not the time to get angry. Attack his weakness, attack his weakness! The Mountain and Sea races were easy to deal with!
Xiang Haikui took several deep breaths, constantly reminding herself to stay calm, or she would truly perish here today.
Her eyes darkened as she challenged, “Since you betrayed our sect, why do you still use our sect’s sword techniques?”
“I never betrayed our sect, nor did I betray my clan,” Que Chi said, playing with the feather earring. “We, Mountain and Sea races, cultivate the way of nature. Not eating each other is fine, but why forbid eating humans? Is that still the way of nature?”
He suddenly revealed a hint of melancholy, like one whose high art found no appreciation: “It was Master and the others who first abandoned the way of nature and started cultivating the human way, learning the human concepts of propriety, justice, integrity, and shame. I was helping them, wanting them to realize their error and return to the instincts of the Mountain and Sea races.”
Xiang Haikui responded with an “Oh”: “Then why have you taken human form and speak human language?”
Que Chi laughed: “Would you understand if I didn’t speak human language?”
Xiang Haikui: “Whether I understand or not, what does that have to do with you? Does your way of nature teach you to reason with humans?”
Que Chi was taken aback: “I…”
Xiang Haikui chuckled: “You take on human form, speak human words, explain your motives for betraying your clan to a human, and have the audacity to criticize Master for cultivating the human way? Are you fucking kidding me?”
Que Chi’s mouth hung open for a long moment before his body suddenly erupted in flames, returning to his beast form.
White-headed with red feet, resembling both wolf and ape, his body burned with raging flames, majestic and imposing.
With his sudden expansion to such a size, Xiang Haikui had to crane her neck to look at him, examining the sword flying before his eyes: “Does Zhu Yan use swords too?”
As soon as she spoke, the sword immediately vanished.
Xiang Haikui pointed her sword at him and began cursing violently: “Fuck your mother! You stupid piece of shit! Your mother is blown up, your whole family is blown up! Understand that?”
The flames around Zhu Yan burned even more fiercely: “You dare curse me!”
Xiang Haikui’s mockery intensified: “See? You’re speaking human language again! Still won’t admit it? You’re nothing but a fucking hypocrite and a male whore!”
Zhu Yan was so enraged that he shook his head wildly, rising into the air and pouncing toward her!