“But hasn’t the Demon Lord already been destroyed?” Zanxing pondered. “Moreover, after the great war between humans and demons twenty years ago, when the Demon Lord died, the demonic evils suffered severe damage. The remaining demon cultivators were left without a leader and haven’t posed much of a threat in these years. You can still see traces of the demon beast clans in the three realms now, but the demon race rarely appears—they’ve all been keeping their tails between their legs. If they want the inheritance… could it be they’re still thinking of making a comeback?”

It wasn’t that she was exaggerating. After all, in Taiyan Sect’s library, “Commemorating 20 Years Since the Great War Between Humans and Demons” was written exactly like this. To attempt a comeback with the demon race’s current strength would really be overestimating themselves.

Upon hearing this, Qinghua Xianzi’s expression grew grave. After a while, she said, “After Caiyu and Gui Diao Tang perished together, the demon race was indeed severely weakened. However, as you know, the Xiaoyuan Pearl disappeared without a trace.”

Zanxing: “Xiaoyuan Pearl?”

Qinghua Xianzi was somewhat surprised: “You haven’t heard the name of the Xiaoyuan Pearl?”

Zanxing suppressed her wildly beating heart and feigned confusion as she asked: “What is the Xiaoyuan Pearl?”

“It’s the Demon Lord’s spirit artifact,” Gu Baiying said. “Legend has it that Gui Diao Tang relied on this to gain the power to destroy the three realms.”

Zanxing: “……”

This setting wasn’t written in the original work at all! The Xiaoyuan Pearl, from beginning to end in “Nine Heaven Summit,” was just Mu Cengxiao’s designated cheat. There wasn’t so much backstory. Zanxing felt somewhat uneasy in her heart. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Qinghua Xianzi continue: “This is an evil pearl.”

“Legend says the Xiaoyuan Pearl was born from an ancient demonic stone, filled with violent and murderous energy. Later, it was forged into a pearl by an evil immortal and left in the mortal world. Demon Lord Gui Diao Tang was fortunate enough to obtain this pearl; his cultivation greatly increased, and at the same time, his temperament drastically changed, which led to his later evil acts of slaughtering the mortal world.” Qinghua Xianzi said coldly, “After the Demon Lord died, the cultivation world searched everywhere for the whereabouts of the Xiaoyuan Pearl, but it vanished without a trace. Until now…”

“Until now, there’s still no trace of it,” Gu Baiying said.

“Perhaps,” Qinghua Xianzi pondered for a moment, “the Xiaoyuan Pearl was hidden by the demon race.”

No, no, Zanxing’s body stiffened somewhat. That pearl, formed from an ancient evil demonic stone, was currently sitting perfectly fine in her heart.

“Then… could it be that someone picked it up?” Zanxing asked tentatively.

“Impossible,” Qinghua Xianzi shook her head. “The Xiaoyuan Pearl was held by the Demon Lord for a long time and is already stained with blood and gore. Moreover, it was originally born from an ancient demonic stone. Ordinary people would be devoured just by approaching this pearl. Even cultivators could never escape unscathed. Only those of the demon race can control it, and once someone possesses the Xiaoyuan Pearl, they will inevitably develop heart demons and bring disaster to the mortal world.”

Zanxing thought to herself that it wasn’t only demon race members—people with protagonist halos could also control it. This pearl, entering her body by accident, was really quite an unfortunate misunderstanding.

“I imagine the cultivation world hasn’t given up searching for the Xiaoyuan Pearl’s whereabouts even now. If you encounter a demon possessing this pearl, you must do everything in your power to eliminate them, leaving no future troubles.”

Zanxing’s plan to reveal the truth immediately vanished into smoke.

“You mean,” Gu Baiying spoke coldly, “someone from the demon race hid the Xiaoyuan Pearl, and these years they’ve been trying to enter the secret realm to find the inheritance, planning to bring disaster to the mortal world again?”

“Perhaps not to find the inheritance, but to destroy it,” Qinghua Xianzi suddenly said.

She seemed to understand something: “Years ago, my senior brother and I cast divinations and calculated that a great calamity would befall the mortal world in twenty years, so I waited here for someone destined. If those demon cultivators’ purpose is to enter this place and destroy the painting, preventing me from meeting that savior and being unable to pass on the heart technique inheritance to her, then when the twenty years arrive and the demon race brings disaster to the mortal world again, there will be no one to stop them, and the mortal world will become hell.”

The surroundings fell silent.

“Fortunately, you found this place, and I’ve passed the technique inheritance to you.” Qinghua Xianzi looked toward Zanxing and smiled slightly: “Zanxing, the safety of the mortal world will depend on your protection from now on. Only you can break the demon race’s conspiracy.”

Zanxing: “…Xianzi, I still think you’ve got the wrong person.”

What a destined person, what a demon race conspiracy—Qinghua Xianzi’s reasoning seemed very logical, but it was completely off the mark. Not to mention what those demon race members wanted to find the painting for, the Xiaoyuan Pearl wasn’t hidden by the demon race at all—it was on her. Now, she didn’t know whether she was taking the blame for the demon race, or if the demon race was taking the blame for her.

What a huge misunderstanding.

Qinghua Xianzi shook her head: “You were able to enter this painting, the lovebird flowers chose—you are the destined person. Years ago, when I left the Taiyan Sect and came to this place, my divine consciousness had been waiting here for so many years just for this inheritance. Now that my wish is fulfilled, I should leave too.”

Gu Baiying’s gaze shook: “You…”

“Baiying.” Qinghua Xianzi looked toward Gu Baiying, her eyes full of attachment and tenderness: “What I couldn’t let go of most back then was you, but it was destined by heaven. I couldn’t watch you grow up, and I’m not a good mother either. Fortunately… Master Senior Brother took very good care of you, and I’m truly happy about that.”

She said: “I already left many years ago. Leaving this strand of divine consciousness in the painting was only for the final mission. Now that the inheritance is complete and the restriction is broken, this painting will soon disappear, and this secret realm will also collapse. You must leave this place quickly.”

The young man stared at her, his gaze becoming somewhat panicked for a moment. He gripped the Embroidered Bone Spear in his hand and tried to grab her sleeve with his other hand: “No…”

However, the surroundings began to shake violently.

The chaotic clouds and mist became dense, but the woman’s figure began to gradually become transparent. She seemed to transform into ink wash in a painting scroll, slowly suffusing outward, becoming the deep blue soft sky, then becoming raindrops dripping from the eaves, becoming that thick stack of poems and writings on the desk that scattered everywhere when blown by the wind, and finally vaguely transforming into a bright and beautiful silhouette, standing beneath the crimson flower tree, picking flowers with a gentle smile.

Zanxing felt herself being ejected by a tremendous force. She climbed up from the ground dizzy and disoriented, finding herself standing inside the thatched cottage. Gu Baiying had also been thrown out. The beautiful painting on the wall was slowly disappearing. The young man rushed over, frantically reaching out, trying to hold on: “No, mother, don’t!”

It was ultimately futile.

The beautiful painting disappeared, leaving the wall empty. The ground beneath their feet seemed about to crack, grass and mud continuously falling from the roof. Heaven and earth were caught in this tremor. Zanxing looked out the window—the stone mountains in the distance seemed ready to collapse at any moment, emitting thunderous “rumbling” sounds.

This was a place forgotten by time, but it would ultimately dissipate.

Mimi was so frightened that she scurried about everywhere. That white-cut chicken stood flapping its wings frantically on the desk. Zanxing grabbed Gu Baiying’s sleeve: “Martial Uncle, this place is about to collapse—we must leave immediately!”

The young man suddenly turned around, revealing reddened eyes.

Zanxing abruptly fell silent.