The Moon Tower stood at the highest point, and from the star dial, the flashing thunder seemed within reach.

Jiang Miao sat before the star dial, looking up at the night.

Mu Xujing stood behind her, holding his sword, also watching the suddenly changing weather.

After looking for just a moment, Jiang Miao turned back and asked him: “The person monitoring me is no longer you, so why have you come again?”

Mu Xujing remained silent upon hearing this, his first thought being that she had finally stopped using sign language.

He didn’t answer her question, just stood there quietly.

Jiang Miao didn’t press him either. She waited a while, then asked: “Are you pitying me?”

She asked very seriously.

Only then did Mu Xujing look back at her.

Their gazes met briefly, then Jiang Miao turned to face him, sitting and earnestly awaiting his answer.

Mu Xujing was about the same age as her, just over twenty years old. Their lives had barely begun, with many beautiful and splendid things waiting for them to slowly enjoy.

Yet in just twenty short years, both felt as though they had lived their lives to the end.

Jiang Miao had a face of soft beauty and charm, yet showed no coquettishness or sensuality. Mu Xujing had a gloomy face that made him look like a villain, yet he only enjoyed sitting quietly under the flower trellis in the courtyard, watching the stars.

Mu Xujing asked her: “Then are you also pitying me?”

Jiang Miao was stunned, and honestly said: “In my eyes, you’re not as pitiful as I am.”

Mu Xujing then said: “That’s what I think too.”

They fell back into silence. Jiang Miao turned around to watch the strange weather. After a while, a maid came to report that the Jiang family requested her presence at the Elder Hall for a discussion.

Jiang Miao stood up and said: “I understand.”

After the maid withdrew, Mu Xujing said: “Mu Jingyi hasn’t given up on killing you.”

“I know,” Jiang Miao walked toward the clothes rack. “I heard he wants Qishan’s treasure, the Flying Thunder Pearl.”

Mu Xujing had his back to her.

Jiang Miao stood at the clothes rack, removing her outer garment, speaking neither fast nor slow: “On the day of the Blooming Flower Banquet, he received information suggesting that Cui Shou carried the Flying Thunder Pearl with him. He wanted to curry favor with Cui Shou, but then harbored murderous intentions.”

Mu Xujing wasn’t stupid. Hearing her voluntarily bring this up, he already understood: “You leaked the information?”

Though it was a question, he already had the answer in his heart.

Jiang Miao: “You’ve learned more by my side than you did with him.”

Mu Xujing continued: “Cui Shou being able to guess what he would use the Flying Thunder Pearl for—was that also your doing, having someone guide him?”

Jiang Miao changed her clothes, laughing softly: “Go tell him, it’s alright. I want him to know. I want him to hate me more. If I can make him feel humiliated, I’d be very happy.”

Mu Xujing’s expression remained unchanged: “What benefit do you get from having him kill Cui Shou?”

“Because the master of Qishan has a foolish son,” Jiang Miao said, pulling at the shoulder of her garment, with long sleeves hanging down, her fair hands emerging from the sleeves. “It’s easier to get what I want from a fool.”

Mu Xujing paused, then asked: “You also want the Flying Thunder Pearl?”

“Originally, I could have easily obtained this Flying Thunder Pearl, but you blocked my path,” Jiang Miao finished dressing and turned to look at Mu Xujing. “Truly worthy of being my good son.”

These words carried a hint of light teasing.

If Mu Xujing hadn’t been spotted by the Holy Maiden of Wushan, the death of Qishan’s master would have been silent. Then she could have directed Cui Huowu’s rage toward Mu Jingyi, making a deal with Cui Huowu to exchange the Flying Thunder Pearl for Mu Jingyi’s life as revenge for his father.

It was a plan to kill two birds with one stone, but it came to nothing because of Mu Xujing.

Mu Xujing said: “You could also kill me.”

Jiang Miao was somewhat surprised to hear this: “Why would I kill you?”

Mu Xujing: “Didn’t you say I blocked your path?”

“There’s no need to kill you for that,” Jiang Miao tied her cloak and walked toward the entrance, smiling as she said, “Even a tigress doesn’t eat her cubs.”

Mu Xujing’s face darkened as he heard this.

These words from her mouth were full of mockery.

“Guess who Mu Jingyi wants to resurrect with the Flying Thunder Pearl?” Jiang Miao held the doorframe as she put on her shoes. “Is it my dead husband, your father whom you’ve never met?”

“It’s not him,” Mu Xujing heard the sound and turned to look. “Then who do you want to resurrect?”

“Me? Too many,” Jiang Miao walked out, leaving him only with her back view. “One Flying Thunder Pearl is not enough.”

Mu Xujing: “You’re going to the Jiang family Elder Hall alone?”

“How am I alone when I have the Mu family’s supervisor accompanying me?” Jiang Miao said. “It’s just that the supervisor is no longer you. Tonight the weather has suddenly changed. You should go back and rest early. Peaceful days are few.”

Jiang Miao spoke and stopped in her tracks. She didn’t turn back, but after a moment of silence, she asked: “If Mu Jingyi let you go, would you want to return to the mountains?”

After a moment of silence, Mu Xujing answered: “Yes.”

His thoughts had never changed.

Jiang Miao laughed: “You truly haven’t grown. Mu Jingyi will be very disappointed in you.”

Though she said this, the smile in her eyes was genuine.

But no one could see it.

Jiang Miao walked down the spiral staircase of the Moon Tower. The inside of the tower was enclosed, with only dim yellow light illuminating the cold stone walls.

She walked unhurriedly. When she saw the Mu family members waiting below, her expression remained calm and undisturbed. Her right hand gently stroked her left arm, adopting a delicate posture.

The spirit bird’s tail feathers were wrapped around her arm beneath her clothes.

After the first thunderclap, the spirit bird had told her there was danger tonight. If she was ambushed on her way back to the Moon Palace, she should break the spirit bird’s tail feather, which would save her life.

Jiang Miao’s upbringing meant she no longer expected anything from others, nor would she easily trust anyone.

Yet somehow she had gained a sense of security from a spirit bird of unknown origin.

A powerful and mysterious ritual incantation had earned her trust.

The Jiang family Elder Hall was situated on the snow line. A mass of black clouds hung overhead, with rolling cloud waves, thunder and lightning flashing within them. The sky above the Moon Palace seemed to have been devoured by these clouds.

Behind the Elder Hall were snow-capped mountains. Now, because of those black clouds, lights were lit, and talismans to ward off demons hung from the high eaves. The wind made the bells collide, yet they made no sound.

Jiang Miao entered a building about three stories high. Inside, the light was dim yellow, with audience seats similar to an arena, rising tier upon tier.

Behind the long tables sat ancient relics that should have long rotted in the ground. They wore black legal robes, hidden in darkness, their faces withered, their expressions cold yet contemplative as they looked at Jiang Miao entering.

The young and beautiful Jiang Miao entering the Elder Hall was like a brilliant blooming cherry blossom falling into unsightly mud.

She stood on the first floor, facing the gaze of the Jiang family elders with a calm expression.

“Jiang Miao,” an authoritative and deep voice sounded from above, “have you forgotten the promise you made when we allowed you to become the Palace Master?”

Jiang Miao said: “Not to conflict with the Mu family, not to do anything that harms the interests of the Moon Palace.”

Another even more authoritative voice asked: “Have you done so?”

Jiang Miao answered softly: “I believe I have.”

The other person snorted coldly, somewhat irritably saying: “Do you think we don’t know what you’ve been doing behind our backs? Your conflict with the Mu family has already endangered the interests of the Moon Palace.”

“My conflict with the Mu family?” Jiang Miao smiled slightly. “Isn’t it rather the conflict between the Jiang family and the Mu family?”

“We all live for the Moon Palace,” a low, hoarse female voice said. “The Jiang family is troubled by demons, and in this world, only the Moon Palace will maintain our existence. Now the Liu family line has ended, and the Mu family is declining. The Moon Palace’s legacy needs our efforts to continue.”

Jiang Miao rarely revealed the disgust in her heart for others to see, but she especially disliked this elder, so she showed some contempt: “Elder Jiang Yin has such enlightenment, so why were you unwilling to marry your daughter to the Mu family back then?”

Elder Jiang Yin said with a gloomy tone: “Jiang Miao, we are not here to discuss that matter.”

Jiang Miao smiled: “The current outcome is the result of these things you’re unwilling to discuss.”

She looked up at the dozens of people behind the tables on three sides. Today, all the elders of the Jiang family were present.

The current Jiang family was truly a great clan.

Several hundred years ago, the Jiang family sent their offspring out of the Moon Palace to survive, resulting in their bloodline spreading wildly through the mortal world.

They extended throughout both the cultivation world and the human world.

Later, they reached a consensus with the other two families, and under peaceful coexistence, they developed using the prestige and reputation of the Moon Palace. While the other two families were busy eliminating demons and upholding righteousness, the Jiang family swiftly took control of the economic lifelines of both the cultivation and human worlds.

Though they were caged beasts, they sat atop high mountains of gold and silver, embracing jade and gold, and even while in a cage, they could still look down on those outside it.

Every bloodline of the Jiang family was under the Moon Palace’s supervision. Even when the Liu family suffered heavy casualties, Jiang’s family members voluntarily monitored each other.

Thus came internal ranking.

Some Jiang family members had no spirit veins and couldn’t cultivate. Premium spirit bones often came from women, so they were closely monitored and sent to the Mu and Liu families when the time came.

No one wanted their female relatives to become cultivation tools.

And there were too many Jiang family members, not all of whom held high positions.

So the high-ranking Jiang family members came up with a solution: send the low-ranking, unable to contribute to Moon Palace, living or dying doesn’t matter Jiang family members who were being monitored into the Moon Palace to deal with the terrifying rules that continued for thousands of years.

The decaying beings before her who held high positions didn’t have powerful spirit veins, nor did they know any ritual spells. Some couldn’t even hold a sword, but with just a word or two, they could decide a person’s life or death.

People are born unequal.

Jiang Miao said: “As far as I know, many of you seated here have daughters, some more than one. Among them, thirty-two possess premium spirit bones—”

“Jiang Miao!” Someone angrily reprimanded her, not letting her continue.

Jiang Miao ignored this and continued: “This means these thirty-two people could potentially allow that demon to resurrect. According to the rules of the three families, they should be regularly sealed by the Mu family, otherwise they would bring calamity and harm the interests of the Moon Palace.”

“Yet they’re all living well outside the Moon Palace.”

Jiang Miao looked toward where Elder Jiang Yin sat and smiled: “I heard your younger daughter gave birth to a son a few days ago. Has Elder Jiang Yin breathed a sigh of relief?”

Elder Jiang Yin said gravely: “Jiang Miao, it was you who first killed Mu Chen and broke the rules. You should have been executed then, but we spared your life for the sake of our bloodline, and even let you become the Palace Master of the Moon Palace. Yet you hate us instead?”

“Having a Jiang family member as the Moon Palace’s master is something you’ve coveted for a long time. It’s just that no one dared to do it, nor did anyone feel comfortable suggesting it first,” Jiang Miao said neither humbly nor arrogantly. “Making me the Palace Master wasn’t also because you saw me as a pawn easy to control, believing you had the power to control the entire Moon Palace from behind the scenes? You didn’t expect to raise a vicious wolf that wouldn’t listen to you at all.”

Elder Jiang Yin sighed: “You are truly obstinate.”

“It seems you’ve harbored resentment for a long time and are unwilling to listen to us at all,” the initial deep voice sounded again, also with a sigh. “From now on, if the Mu family makes a move against you, we won’t interfere much. But we also won’t allow you to retaliate against the Mu family, doing things that endanger the Moon Palace’s interests.”

Jiang Miao smiled: “I never intended to do anything that would harm the Moon Palace.”

The elder said: “You may go.”

Jiang Miao retracted her smile and turned to leave.

In the Elder Hall, the small dim yellow lamps illuminated the murderous intent in the eyes of those behind the tables.

“She can’t be allowed to live.”

“Tonight, then.”

“A vicious dog that has lost control and bitten its master has no reason to continue living.”

“Those who agree, extinguish your lights.”

In an instant, the light in the Elder Hall was completely extinguished, not a single beam remained.

The Elder Hall faced away from the Moon Palace, directly toward the snow-capped mountains.

Through the trees, Jiang Miao could see the peaks of the snow mountains located at Heaven’s Edge. Mu’s family members had escorted her here and would take her back.

How would the Jiang family elders kill her?

Jiang Miao thought as she walked.

Finally, upon hearing the bell ring, she confirmed:

They would use a demon to kill her.

They would use an undying fire demon to burn her to ashes.

In the dark forest path, fire lines suddenly spread and rose madly from the ground, instantly engulfing the Mu family members surrounding her, and eliciting piercing screams.

Raging fire walls rose to the sky, and a giant fire demon emerged from the sealed ground, the scorching heat rushing toward Jiang Miao causing her to feel the pain of burning skin.

She looked up at the fire demon, as tall as a towering tree. Compared to its enormous figure, humans were as insignificant as ants. The giant fire demon didn’t hesitate, its killing intent surging. As it roared, dozens of fire pillars sprang from the ground, transforming into fire snakes that bit toward Jiang Miao.

Without hesitation, Jiang Miao broke the spirit bird’s tail feather hidden in her sleeve.

When the spirit bird shattered, it released a powerful force that formed a blue barrier in front of her, completely neutralizing the attacking fire snakes.

However, Jiang Miao slightly frowned, for she knew this barrier wouldn’t end the crisis.

The fire snakes obeyed the giant fire demon’s summons, rising from the ground once more, and together with the giant fire demon, attacked Jiang Miao.

Splattering sparks fell on Jiang Miao’s clothes, burning small holes in the exquisite fabric, and seeping into her skin to burn an ugly scar.

Even this small burn caused her immense pain. It was hard to imagine being completely engulfed by these flames.

Jiang Miao raised her eyes toward the giant fire demon. Behind the dark black clouds, thunder flashed. She saw a golden glow flickering above the giant fire demon, growing more and more numerous—

“Heavenly Stems, Ninety-Eight Paths, Fire Phoenix Descends.”

Golden fire phoenixes descended from the void. They had long tail feathers and, crying out, flew to envelop and shred the fire snakes.

The collision of flames exploded, scattering stars, and it seemed as if a beautiful shower of Starfire was falling from the moonless starry sky.

White thin mist occupied this part of the world. Jiang Miao saw that disciple from Heaven’s Edge standing in front of her with his sword, cutting the giant fire demon that was attacking her in half.

She stood amidst the flying stars, turned her head to look at herself, and said: “This ritual incantation is called Fire Phoenix Descends. Once you learn it, let alone one giant fire demon, even ten of them can come all they want.”