Chapter 43 (Part 2) – Choice

This anklet bore his mark. No matter where she ran, he could always find her. But if it were removed, she would be beyond his reach.

Perhaps realizing his tone was too firm, he softened his voice and added casually, “Without divine power, it can’t be removed.”

Whether divine power was necessary or not, she wouldn’t know. It was all up to him.

Yu Zhengzheng gave him a doubtful glance. Seeing his confident expression, she hesitated before saying, “Then take it off for me after you leave the array. That’s fair, right?”

Seeing him nod in agreement, she finally felt at ease and turned to search for Shanshui.

The walls of the cave were pitch-black stone, stretching endlessly into the distance. Strangely, the cave was as bright as daylight, as though it were basking under the sun.

Hengwu Xianjun and Xiao Yuqing were severely injured, especially Hengwu Xianjun. His legs had long-standing ailments, and now with new injuries on top, even walking had become excruciatingly difficult.

When he saw her approaching, he called out, “Can you check up ahead? Shanshui has been gone a long time. Why hasn’t she returned?”

Yu Zhengzheng looked around. Not only was Shanshui missing, but Xiang Feng had also disappeared.

A foreboding sense of unease crept into her heart, and she quickly moved in the direction where Shanshui had left.

After walking for some time, she found Shanshui in a corner of the cave, pinned beneath Xiang Feng.

Shanshui lay rigid, her pale face streaked with tears. Her mouth was gagged with a filthy rag, her hands bound above her head. Her eyes were wide open, resembling a corpse unable to find peace.

If not for the faint whimpering coming from her throat, Yu Zhengzheng might have thought she was already dead.

Xiang Feng seemed entirely unaware of Yu Zhengzheng’s presence, engrossed in his own vile actions.

Yu Zhengzheng’s eyes blazed like an erupting volcano. She couldn’t describe her emotions at that moment; it was the first time she felt the urge to kill someone.

Everything had been moving in a good direction.

Once they escaped this place, Hengwu Xianjun would honorably marry Shanshui into the Demon Realm with grand ceremonies.

Shanshui would finally be free of this scum Xiang Feng and the torment he brought her. With time, Shanshui could have lived happily and carefreely for centuries.

But now, everything had fallen apart.

Yu Zhengzheng’s eyes turned bloodshot. She lifted a heavy stone from the cave and hurled it with all her might at Xiang Feng’s head.

Caught off guard, Xiang Feng was struck hard. Warm, sticky blood began to trickle down the back of his head. His movements froze as he stiffly turned to face her.

Their eyes met, and Yu Zhengzheng raised the stone again, slamming it toward him with all her strength.

This time, Xiang Feng managed to dodge. Blood streamed into his eyes, dyeing them a ghastly red. He grabbed the stone from her hands, ready to retaliate, but suddenly stopped, as if realizing something.

His movements ceased, and he flung the stone aside violently.

With a twisted, deranged grin, he tidied his disheveled robes and sneered, “Trying to kill me? Go ahead and bring Hengwu Xianjun here. Let him see her in this filthy state!”

“I want to see if he would still marry a woman who’s lost her purity!”

Yu Zhengzheng calmed down abruptly.

Hengwu Xianjun merely had affection for Shanshui. Though he had treated her well, how many men could accept their fiancée being violated before marriage?

Even in modern times, where such matters were less stigmatized, few could truly accept it, let alone in an era where chastity was paramount.

This matter couldn’t be revealed to Hengwu Xianjun. Who knew if he would avenge Shanshui or end up dealing her another emotional blow?

But could this atrocity truly go unpunished?

Could Xiang Feng, this vile creature, get away scot-free?

Unwillingness churned in Yu Zhengzheng’s heart.

Her arms trembled at her sides, her back stiff with tension.

She felt a powerful force surging within her, rampaging through her meridians. It was overwhelming, as though it would tear her body apart.

A gale erupted within the cave. The grass on the ground whipped wildly, growing uncontrollably like sinister, clawing phantoms.

Yu Zhengzheng heard a voice whispering in her ear, guiding her. She followed its lead, slowly lifting her slender arm.

The vibrant green grass entwined around her arm affectionately. Unknown flora bowed low as though worshipping her, brushing against her toes.

When she tapped into this tremendous energy, she extended a strand of her spiritual sense into her dantian and was astonished to find a golden core radiating brilliance.

She had directly broken through the Foundation Establishment stage, leaping into the late Golden Core stage without even refining her spiritual energy. A golden core had already formed within her.

Not all Golden Core cultivators could condense a golden core. Only rare prodigies could achieve this feat. In thousands of years, only a handful of cultivators had succeeded, and nine out of ten of them had transcended to immortality.

Under different circumstances, Yu Zhengzheng might have been thrilled by this breakthrough, even celebrating.

But now, she felt only a chilling sense of despair.

Yu Zhengzheng raised her crimson eyes to meet Xiang Feng’s smug expression.

She lifted her arm, her pale fingers pinched together. With a light motion, the grass surged violently toward Xiang Feng.

The plants coiled around his body tightly like a giant green serpent, constricting him mercilessly. His pale face turned blue, and the air in his chest was slowly squeezed out.

Nearby branches extended toward her, their ends twisting into the shape of a blade. Without hesitation, they severed themselves from the trunk, forming a gleaming green sword that fell into her grasp.

Yu Zhengzheng’s gaze darkened as she dragged the long sword forward.

No matter what happens with Shanshui and Hengwu Xianjun, Xiang Feng must die today.

Xiang Feng struggled fiercely, his face twisted in pain, but he couldn’t break free from the bindings of the entwined vegetation.

When she finally stood before him, the emerald vines seemed to sense her intent, withdrawing from his chest yet continuing to tightly restrain his limbs, rendering him immobile.

Her expression was cold as frost. Without hesitation, she raised her hand and drove the sword toward his heart.

The blade pierced his body with a sickening squelch, cutting through flesh and spraying blood across her pale face.

Yet, contrary to her expectations, it wasn’t Xiang Feng who collapsed lifelessly—it was An Ning.

In that critical moment, An Ning had suddenly appeared, throwing herself in front of Xiang Feng just as the sword struck.

Yu Zhengzheng’s heart sank, realization dawning upon her.

An Ning must have been silently observing while Xiang Feng assaulted Shanshui. Or perhaps she had been waiting for someone to intervene all along.

Whatever her motivations, Yu Zhengzheng couldn’t comprehend why An Ning had acted this way. Regardless of her intentions, however, An Ning should never have meddled in Shanshui’s plight.

Looking at An Ning, now lying in a pool of blood, Yu Zhengzheng’s voice was ice-cold:
“If you care so much for Xiang Feng, then die with him.”

Xiang Feng’s veins bulged hideously along his neck as his pupils constricted. He roared, “Let her go! Take it out on me—if you want to kill someone, kill me!”

Yu Zhengzheng sneered.
“You both deserve to die.”

Despite the agonizing pain, An Ning struggled to rise. She wrenched the wooden sword from her shoulder, blood seeping endlessly from the wound. Her lips were deathly pale, her strength on the verge of collapse.

But she refused to falter. The task her master had entrusted her was far from complete. She couldn’t let mere pain derail her mission.

She was so close to success. Xiang Feng, under her subtle manipulation, was already spiraling deeper into moral decay, inching toward the abyss.

As her master had predicted, Xiang Feng remained as foolish as ever.

Thousands of years ago, her master had used Xiang Feng to eliminate Xue Xi. Now, centuries later, he could use him again to kill the Ghost King.

It wouldn’t be long. Xiang Feng would willingly do the deed himself.

Gripping the wooden sword tightly, An Ning’s voice trembled like a feather falling to the ground.
“H-Hengwu Xianjun… is heading this way. Do you really want him to see Shanshui like this?”

Yu Zhengzheng’s movements froze, her keen ears catching the sound of hurried footsteps nearby.

It was clear that Hengwu Xianjun and the others had heard the commotion and were rushing toward them.

In An Ning’s hand was the wooden sword. She clutched it tightly, determined not to relinquish it.

Whether Yu Zhengzheng forcibly seized the sword or conjured another, either choice would take time.

But there wasn’t enough time to kill them both and still tidy up Shanshui’s appearance.

The approaching footsteps grew closer. As An Ning had said, there was no avoiding a choice.

Should she ignore Shanshui’s state and finish them off, allowing Hengwu Xianjun to see Shanshui in her current disgrace? Or should she cover up the scene and preserve an illusion of peace?

From the nearing voices, she heard Hengwu Xianjun calling Shanshui’s name, his tone full of worry and urgency.

But so what?

Would he truly accept Shanshui after what had happened to her?