To support Su Qingxun’s master-devouring curse, the evil tree had exhausted almost all its power.

At this moment, the surging river water, though ice-cold snow water, was also like blazing flames, burning clean all the resentment and filth wrapped around its body.

How could it just die like this?

The black energy around it suddenly condensed into form—that human shape was unmistakably Miaoshe Shiqi.

“I still hold the last bit of his remnant soul in my hand. Do you dare kill me?”

A sword strike fell, splitting the black energy with brilliant light. Seeing this, the evil tree let out a miserable scream, its form fleeing in all directions—trunk, roots, branches, leaves—fallen leaves drifting down, overlapping with the surrounding maple forest until at first glance one couldn’t distinguish between them.

It hid among them.

As long as one leaf could successfully hide, it could earn a chance to start over!

But it never expected that the torrential river water would flow backwards, actually swallowing the entire forest. The surrounding environment became distorted, as if they were being forcibly dragged into another world.

The world within the mirror.

“Lan’er, come here.” Before them appeared a woman of vague outline but absolute beauty. She beckoned to Qin Jianglan. “I am your mother. Come, let me hold you.”

Qin Jianglan’s hand gripping his sword paused.

He stepped forward.

After taking this step, the beautiful woman’s smile became even more gentle, her eyes full of starlight—the appearance he had longed for in childhood, the way his mother should look in his heart.

“Come quickly, let mother take a good look—you’ve grown so big.”

“My child must be exceptionally heroic. You will surely be the world’s greatest sword cultivator.” Her gaze was full of pride as she looked at him.

Qin Jianglan held Su Zhuyi with one arm and slowly walked before her.

“Is this my daughter-in-law? Let me take a good look—she’s truly beautiful.” She reached out, seemingly wanting to touch the unconscious Su Zhuyi. But with just this reaching motion, a sword light suddenly struck, cutting her body in half.

Before dying, she stared with wide eyes, unable to close them in death. She seemed completely unable to understand why her son would kill her.

“Unfilial wretch, how could you even kill your mother!”

Another person appeared abruptly, holding a long sword with rage burning in his crown.

“To protect this demonic path demoness, you killed your mother. How did you become like this?” He was heartbroken yet reluctant to cripple his most outstanding disciple, so he sighed and said, “Your parents abandoned you by the roadside back then—it was your master who brought you back. You have no feelings for them. Fine, fine. As long as you sever ties with this demonic path demoness, I’ll be lenient and have you repent in the forbidden land for a hundred years. How about it?”

“Still not kneeling to admit your mistakes!”

“Unfilial wretch, do you want to betray the sect?”

“I painstakingly taught you all these years, yet you would cross swords with your master for a woman. Good, very good!”

“Today I will clean house and kill you, this unfilial wretch!”

Swish, swish, swish—several sword lights flew out, yet didn’t even touch a corner of Qin Jianglan’s clothes.

Qin Jianglan’s flying sword trembled lightly, and his master’s flying sword hummed once before instantly shattering. Then Qin Jianglan raised his hand and also cut his master in half.

Hot blood splattered over. His eyes were gloomy as he used spiritual energy to block it, then looked down, afraid that the blood might splatter and stain the person in his arms even slightly.

“This demoness slaughtered cities and killed so many innocent people—you still want to protect her?”

“Kill her, kill her!” Countless common people held sickles and hoes, with women carrying shoulder poles, others clutching rotten vegetable leaves and stinking eggs. Though they were terrified, they still blocked his path.

“Kill her—I want to avenge my child!”

“Kill that demoness—she killed my husband!”

Sinister winds swirled around—countless wronged souls were wailing.

Behind those common people, powerful figures from various sects roared, “Qin Jianglan, you claim to be the world’s sword master, yet you want to betray the world for a demoness, becoming the enemy of all righteous paths?”

Are you willing to abandon your parents and relatives, the master who raised and taught you the dao, the world’s people, your righteous spirit—all for this demoness who has committed countless evils and lost all conscience?

What answered them was a sword light.

Where the sword light passed, nothing lived.

The Songfeng Sword in his hand let out a long cry, emitting a blood-weeping lament. The sword’s body cracked inch by inch, as if saying, “Are you willing to abandon the proud bones of green pines, standing tall between heaven and earth, willing to abandon the sword in your hand and the justice in your heart?”

The sword broke.

Qin Jianglan held the person in his arms tightly with both hands, his expressionless face.

One person after another appeared before his eyes, and one person after another died under his sword. In the end, even the flying sword in his hand could be abandoned. In his eyes, only one person remained.

Live for you.

Die for you.

Those abruptly appearing scenes all disappeared, and the sea of blood from his killing also vanished in the blink of an eye. Before him was still that forest, and trembling on the ground was still only one person.

Su Qingxun.

He still held Su Zhuyi with one arm, his right hand still gripping a sword—only this sword was covered in rust, as if one more swing would completely shatter it into powder.

“I don’t want to die.” Su Qingxun struggled desperately yet couldn’t make a sound, only low whimpers. She had just had a beautiful dream—dreaming she hadn’t fallen deep into the Xueluo Sect, dreaming she became a disciple of Yunxiao Sect, dreaming her master was…

Master, master, master…

Su Qingxun’s eyes suddenly widened. Infinite vitality suddenly surged from her body, and she struggled to sit up. Like a dying person’s final rally, she shouted at Qin Jianglan, “Master, save me!”

Su Zhuyi opened her eyes.

She was in a terrible mood, feeling somewhat dazed. After opening her eyes, she found herself still in Qin Jianglan’s arms. The current Qin Jianglan’s body was as cold as ice, making her shiver slightly.

“Master, master, I am Qingxun, your only disciple Qingxun!”

What did that mean?

Su Zhuyi turned her head slightly and saw Su Qingxun—unrecognizable, grotesque, covered in blood—desperately crawling forward, seemingly trying to grab Qin Jianglan’s foot. She heard her crying, “Master, I am Qingxun, I am your disciple. You saved me, not this demoness, not this demoness, not her…”

All of Su Zhuyi’s hair stood on end.

What exactly had happened?

How could Su Qingxun know about past events? What was going on?

She wanted to ask what situation had occurred when she saw Qin Jianglan slightly raise his hand. Sword light flew up and fell, cutting the crawling Su Qingxun in half with one strike. The bloody two halves of her body didn’t immediately stop moving after being killed—her upper half crawled forward a few more steps…

“Master…”

Su Qingxun’s eyes were unfocused as she whispered, “So it was just a dream.”

A moment later, she became crazed again, “Hehe, I’ve already sent news that you’re a demonic cultivator back to the Xueluo Sect. You kill me to silence me—hahaha—now the whole world knows that Gujian Sect’s Luo Ying’s successor is a demonic cultivator. Hahahaha…”

The laughter stopped abruptly as Qin Jianglan delivered another strike.

He said coldly, “Noisy.”

Su Zhuyi gripped the front of Qin Jianglan’s robes tightly.

What was happening?

Why had Qin Jianglan become like this? Su Qingxun had just called him master, and he showed no reaction, directly killing Su Qingxun.

Qin Jianglan wasn’t like this.

She looked up just as Qin Jianglan looked down at her. His eyes held an eerie blood-red color, yet his expression was very gentle.

He lowered his head and kissed her forehead. “Su Zhuyi, I only want you.”

Betray the world, betray all living beings—I only seek you alone.

That is enough.

Su Zhuyi’s mind buzzed.

Fallen to demonism?

Fallen to demonism?

Completely fallen to demonism?

Wouldn’t the Liuguang Mirror immediately become a demonic artifact?

How to stop it, how to stop it? Master and senior brothers in the Liuguang Mirror would all become accomplices of the demonic artifact, losing their sanity!

No, wait—the Liuguang Mirror hadn’t yet leaked demonic energy. What to do? Get the Xirang in there to make it form a dao artifact ahead of time?

Anyway, with my beloved fallen, my heart like dead ashes, I don’t want to live either. Might as well fulfill their wishes.

Let the master and senior brother finally become a couple.

If this were the normal Su Zhuyi, such thoughts would never occur to her mind. However, the love curse had died, and she was affected. Having just awakened from unconsciousness, her emotions were still out of control. After this thought arose in her mind, it became unstoppable. Su Zhuyi gritted her teeth, planning to sacrifice herself to the mirror.

But at this moment, the mirror suddenly emitted a white light, illuminating the entire sky so brightly that even the bright moon above didn’t dare meet its edge and temporarily retreated deep into the clouds.

Rumble, rumble, rumble…

Thunder sounded one after another, like war drums being raised between heaven and earth. That rolling thunder was dense drumbeats, that whistling wind was the horn sounded before battle.

Boom!

A lightning bolt split the night sky like a golden giant sword, striking down at the Liuguang Mirror.

From within the mirror, surging river water rushed out, colliding with that giant sword. This collision scattered spiritual energy everywhere. Su Zhuyi felt like she was soaking in a spiritual spring, her entire body covered by that rich, viscous spiritual energy.

Su Zhuyi immediately understood.

The Liuguang Mirror was undergoing tribulation.

Please don’t strike her head—the Heavenly Dao had been randomly striking her for a long time!

But this thought flashed by and immediately changed to, “Strike me, strike me. Living is meaningless anyway—just let me die like this.”

Su Zhuyi: “…”

She felt like she was acting like a lunatic right now.

After finally suppressing those brain-dead thoughts, she caught her breath slightly and devoted some energy to thinking about serious matters.

Why was it suddenly undergoing tribulation? Could it be that the Six Paths of Reincarnation had already formed? It hadn’t been contaminated by the completely abnormal, demon-fallen Qin Jianglan, but was instead about to achieve enlightenment?

What the hell was this situation?

Just then, Su Zhuyi suddenly felt something slippery wriggling in her stomach. Then her throat slipped, and she saw the Xirang that she could never find or coax out before actively fly from her body toward the Liuguang Mirror in the sky.

Damn it!

When she couldn’t get it out no matter what before, now seeing the Liuguang Mirror about to become a dao artifact, she eagerly went over to join the excitement.

Let that divine thunder strike you dead!