After Repeatedly Dying While Trying to Conquer the Heartless Master, I Switched My Target to the Great Demon - Chapter 1

I bound with the system and attempted to conquer the heartless Master seven times.

In each of those seven lives, he’d torture and kill me for his beloved disciple.

In the first life, his disciple accidentally entered a secret realm and went blind, so he gouged out my eyes and replaced them.

In the second life, his disciple cultivated and suffered qi deviation, so he dug out my spiritual root to replace theirs.

In the third life, his disciple was poisoned, so he extracted my heart’s blood daily to brew into medicine.

…

In the seventh life, just as I was about to succeed in conquering him, simply because his disciple casually slandered me, accusing me of colluding with the demon race, he split me in half with a single sword stroke.

I finally understood. All the emotions and desires I’d made him grow, he’d given entirely to his beloved disciple.

Once again, the game reloaded. Facing the system’s proposition to change the conquest target to the Demon Lord, I looked at the man on the high platform, still heartless and unfeeling.

I nodded in agreement.

…

The pain and fear of being split in half by a sword still lingered in my body.

But when I opened my eyes, I found myself back at Shen Zhou’s disciple-acceptance ceremony. He was handing the contractual token for accepting disciples to Feng Lingling.

The peace lasted only a moment before I met Shen Zhou’s indifferent gaze.

“Yuelan, would you be willing to gift your fated sword to Lingling? Her aptitude is rather ordinary, and she needs a gentle magical artifact to assist her.”

He spoke casually, as if it was something he could give away on a whim.

But my fated sword had long been connected to my soul. No matter the form, it would inevitably damage my spiritual essence. The pain of a damaged soul was like being flayed alive.

Thinking of this, I subconsciously hid the sword I was holding behind me.

Seeing my action, his tone grew colder, carrying an undeniable command:

“Aren’t the resources the sect has given you enough? Now it’s just asking you to gift a sword to your junior sister. Is such a small matter worth a refusal? Don’t forget, the Path of Heartlessness emphasizes abandoning selfish desires. If you can’t even do this much, how can you achieve the Grand Dao?”

“Moreover, I value you the most, which is why I’m asking you to set an example by gifting your sword. Don’t disappoint me.”

The gazes of many fellow disciples present converged, most with mocking or amused expressions.

Feng Lingling bit her lip, thoughtfully speaking up for me: “Master, since Senior Sister isn’t willing, then let’s forget it. I know my aptitude isn’t as good as Senior Sister’s, and I’m not worthy of Senior Sister’s sword. Forcing it would make Senior Sister unhappy and harm the harmony of the sect. I’ve just joined, how can I trouble Master over a mere sword?”

Shen Zhou’s brows furrowed. The look in his eyes when he turned to me again was even more impatient and disgusted:

“This is the difference. Ultimately, it’s because of the demon race’s inherently selfish bloodline. Giving up your fated sword will also help temper your character.”

“Yuelan, don’t force my hand.”

It was always about the demon bloodline, always about tempering my character. In these past few lives, I had thought about giving up midway, but in every life, Shen Zhou would always leave some leeway. When my eyes were gouged out, he’d tell me he’d be my eyes. When my spiritual root was removed, he’d secretly send me spiritual power at night to alleviate the pain.

But when I forced him to admit his feelings for me, he’d only sneer and tell me, “Does a filthy demon bloodline deserve my affection?”

The surrounding people tacitly made space, waiting for me to make a scene. But I just nodded faintly: “I’m willing to give the fated sword to Junior Sister. After all, I’m leaving the sect. It wouldn’t be right to keep a sword given to me by the sect.”

Shen Zhou hadn’t reacted yet, but the surrounding disciples burst into an uproar. Someone sneered:

“Leaving the sect? I wonder who’s been shamelessly clinging to Master every day, like a persistent dog that can’t be shaken off!”

“Don’t even get me started, those of the demon race are just cunning. They put on an act and play games. Tsk, tsk, tsk, not to mention Master, even I’m disgusted enough.”

Shen Zhou’s face grew uglier. Without waiting for me to sever my connection with the fated sword, he suddenly reached out and snatched it.

He violently shattered my consciousness attached to the sword using his spiritual power.

“I warned you not to use your despicable tricks on me.”

“If you dare to be so unreasonable again, don’t blame me for truly expelling you from the sect!”

With a tremendous jolt of pain, I instantly fell to my knees, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Screaming in agony.

None of the disciples came forward; they were all laughing and whispering. Meanwhile, Shen Zhou gently handed the fated sword to Feng Lingling, patting her head: “Your master believes you will surely achieve the Grand Dao.”

Before I completely blacked out from the pain, the system’s electronic screen flickered repeatedly before my eyes. A mechanical electronic voice announced:

“A new conquest target has been found for you – Demon Lord Chong Lian. Do you wish to re-bind?”

I struggled to lift my head, looking at Shen Zhou’s disdainful gaze as he looked down at me from above.

I let out a bitter laugh in my heart and clicked confirm:

“I agree.”

I lay in the cold main hall for a day and a night before I finally woke up. When I dragged my half-crippled body back to my dwelling, I found all my belongings had been thrown out, soaking in murky mud.

A fellow disciple sneered: “Senior Sister, Lingling has taken a liking to your room. Please move to that one.”

I followed the direction of his finger, looking at the animal shed where spiritual beasts were kept. I picked up my clothes without a word.

I was leaving soon anyway, so why bother arguing about these things?

After changing targets, Shen Zhou’s name was no longer on the system panel.

Now, I only needed to destroy the contractual token connecting me to him to complete the transfer mission and leave the sect.

My token was in his hall, because I had once promised him that as long as he didn’t tell me to leave, I would always stay by his side.

I just hadn’t expected to happen upon him returning to his hall from cultivation.

Shen Zhou showed no surprise, sitting down calmly and naturally: “Begin.”

I stood in place and chuckled softly. Cultivating the Path of Heartlessness tabooed evil thoughts, so every time he finished cultivating, I would draw his evil thoughts into my body.

Because my half-demon bloodline was the best purifier.

He clearly knew that each time, two opposing spiritual powers would wildly surge within my body, like countless silver needles pricking me, the dense pain tormenting me daily.

“Oh, and from now on, after each session, go help Lingling calm her mind. Her temperament is impetuous; she’ll suffer qi deviation when breaking through the first level…”

His words got stuck halfway in his throat, but I still heard them clearly.

My heart suddenly went blank, and I clutched my hands in disbelief.

How did he know Feng Lingling would suffer qi deviation when breaking through the first level?

This was clearly something that happened in the second life.

Could it be that the system reset had no effect on him?

Seeing me still leaning against the pillar, unmoving, Shen Zhou sighed lightly and placated me helplessly: “Yuelan, I know your feelings for me, but cultivation means overcoming desires. My extra care for Lingling is also to temper your character.”

“As long as you can let go of your resentment and get along well with Lingling, and stop thinking of maliciously targeting and retaliating against Lingling, I promise you, I will treat you and Lingling equally. But if you remain stubborn, don’t blame me for disregarding our master-disciple relationship then.”

I stopped thinking about it. What if he really had memories of previous lives?

It would only make me more heartbroken, and more resolute in my decision to leave him.

“Master, I came today to retrieve what belongs to me and to sever our master-disciple contract. How you treat Feng Lingling no longer concerns me.”

Shen Zhou suddenly rose, his face dark, and with one palm strike, he sent me flying several meters.

An intense pain instantly erupted from my chest. I felt as if my internal organs had been shattered.

“Didn’t I warn you not to play tricks in front of me?” He slowly approached, placing his foot directly on my head: “Now you even dare to threaten me with a master-disciple contract? Your audacity is truly growing.”

With a flick of his sleeve, my contractual token slammed to the ground before me with a CRACK, covered in cracks.

He was confident I wouldn’t leave, and he sneered mockingly:

“Take your rubbish and get out!”

“If you truly destroy it, even if you beg me like a dog, I will never give you another chance to enter the sect.”

After saying that, he directly threw me out the door like trash, slamming the hall doors shut.

It took me a long time to crawl up from the ground. Tears unconsciously streamed down my face.

I didn’t know if it was from the pain, or for myself.

The system reminded me that the handover mission was complete and to quickly make contact with the new target.

I was too weak and had no other choice, so I wanted to use points to exchange for medicine from the system store.

But in my bag, I saw the wedding ring I had bought in the first life.

I originally lived in modern society. When I bound with the system, I was full of curiosity about everything.

I even fantasized that one day I would successfully complete the conquest and exchange rings with Shen Zhou.

I’d tell him that this was a magical artifact from my world, and once worn, it meant a lifetime together, just the two of us.

The intertwining of past naivety and painful experiences made my tears finally find an outlet, flowing uncontrollably.

But just as I was about to leave the sect, Shen Zhou, accompanied by Feng Lingling and a group of disciples, surrounded me.

Shen Zhou wore a look of disappointment, as if I was a lost cause: “Yuelan, you are simply incorrigible.”

“So many years of teaching have failed to change your true nature. You actually dared to collude with the demon race and harm your fellow disciples!”

As he spoke, a demonically shrouded corpse was carried in.

Feng Lingling also revealed scratches on her arm, her eyes tearful, utterly aggrieved: “Senior Sister, I know you resent me for taking away Master’s affection for you, but you shouldn’t fall into the wrong path!”

Shen Zhou looked down at me from above.

In this situation, no matter what I said, the crime was already determined.

“So, are you going to kill me?” I spoke calmly.

Shen Zhou’s brows furrowed slightly: “This matter is still questionable and can be investigated further, but I cannot disregard the safety of the sect disciples. I want you to establish a master-servant contract with Lingling, guaranteeing you won’t harm her in the slightest. If the true culprit isn’t you, I will clear your name.”

A master-servant contract—this was a type of contract signed with spiritual beasts, completely stripping away a person’s rights.

Feng Lingling timidly approached me: “Senior Sister, this is also a way to protect you. Don’t worry, if the true culprit isn’t you, I’ll release the contract.”

A cold smile twisted my lips. I would never agree.

Just as I was about to speak, Feng Lingling suddenly went mad, raising her sword to harm herself, screaming in terror: “Help! Master! My sword, my sword has gone crazy!”

My original fated sword was now wreathed in demonic energy, controlling Feng Lingling to slit her own throat.

Shen Zhou instantly appeared beside Feng Lingling, slapping my face: “You disappoint me greatly!”

My vision went black, and the taste of blood filled my mouth.

Feng Lingling watched as the sword drew a bloody line. In a moment of desperation, Shen Zhou directly shattered the fated sword, saving her.

“Senior Sister, why?” Feng Lingling leaned in Shen Zhou’s arms, her voice weak: “I always wanted to get along with you, why do you insist on trying to kill me?”

Shen Zhou’s eyes were red with anger, as if he could no longer bear it: “Lingling has endured endlessly, but all she received was your pushing of boundaries. If you want to die, I’ll grant your wish. Three days from now, I will convene a sect meeting and execute you by slow slicing as a warning to all!”

I was trapped in the sect’s dungeon, my body covered in whip marks from the interrogation.

A bucket of ice water was poured over my head, forcing me to open my eyes.

What I saw was Feng Lingling’s luxurious robes.

“Senior Sister, how pathetic. You did so much for Master, only to end up like this.” Her slender nails traced my face. With Shen Zhou not present, she completely dropped her act.

She smiled triumphantly: “Do you know why Master was destined to fall in love with me the moment he saw me?”

“Because I am the protagonist of this book, the darling of the Heavenly Dao. Master will abandon the Path of Heartlessness for me, and the Demon Lord will overturn the three realms for me… and you…”

She leaned close to my ear and whispered: “From beginning to end, you were just cannon fodder.”

The system panel flickered before my eyes, as if to prove Feng Lingling’s words. I saw the name of this world’s novel.

After Transmigrating as the Heartless Master’s Little Disciple, I Became a Harem Queen.

No wonder I failed no matter how I tried to conquer him; the ending was predetermined from the start.

“However, I admit you have some skill. Master actually asked me to deliver medicine to you. He seems to have some special feelings for you.”

Feng Lingling toyed with the medicine bottle in her hand. After a few seconds of confusion, she shrugged indifferently: “It doesn’t matter. No matter what, he’ll only ever love me.”

On the day of the sect meeting, Feng Lingling was intimately led by Shen Zhou onto the divine altar.

And I was bound in the center of the altar, scorned by the crowd:

“Serves her right. She flows with lowly demon blood and actually dared to covet Master. What a pity, Master doesn’t even bother to glance at her.”

“Hey, I’m not saying anything, but Junior Sister and Master really look like a perfect match, like a match made in heaven.”

Shen Zhou, with a cold face, walked up to me and raised his sword, asking again: “Yuelan, last chance. If you are willing to establish a master-servant contract with Lingling, I might be able to spare your life.”

After changing my conquest target to the Demon Lord, I could no longer see Shen Zhou’s favorability towards me.

Finally, I didn’t have to worry and be cautious about that tiny bit of favorability.

I spat out a mouthful of blood: “Shen Zhou, you’ve killed me so many times, does one more time matter?”

Shen Zhou’s face instantly changed. He must have thought of something, but then quickly returned to normal: “Yuelan, I was doing it all to temper your character. When you completely abandon your demonic nature, I will be with you, understand? Killing you was never my intention.”

I found it laughable. How could I have wasted seven lives on such a hypocritical person?

He hated demons yet endlessly exploited me, afraid to admit his feelings for me, claiming it was to temper my character. It was clearly to stabilize his Dao Heart by tormenting me.

“Yuelan, endure it, and it will pass.” Shen Zhou said no more, raising the sword in his hand, intending to cut off the flesh from my arm.

I clenched my teeth, closing my eyes in despair.

“No need, I’ll take her.”

A clear, youthful voice suddenly echoed above the divine altar.

The sword that was supposed to sever my arm was blocked by an invisible force. A black shadow flashed out, forcing Shen Zhou to retreat repeatedly.

In an instant, I was already embraced by him.

Before losing consciousness and fainting, the last image I saw was Feng Lingling’s venomous eyes glaring at me, her malice almost materializing.

My consciousness was hazy, but amidst the blur, I kept hearing system mission pop-up windows.

When I opened my eyes again, they were met with dense mission completion prompts. Before I could even react, a black figure swiftly approached me from afar: “You’re finally awake.”

I blinked and finally saw the person in front of me—Demon Lord Chong Lian.

Unlike my impression of him, his eyes were curved, and his smile was as bright as an innocent boy’s.

He was infamous, rumored to be bloodthirsty and wildly lustful.

Shen Zhou always spoke of him with extreme disgust, telling me that demons were the most insidious and cunning, inherently hypocritical and selfish, incapable of being taught, and must be killed on sight.

But now, the person in front of me showed no hint of being dark or deranged.

Yet, more than any of that, the crimson favorability rating above his head kept me from recovering for a long time.

One hundred percent favorability?

My mission, it was complete?

“You like me? Why?” Too shocked, I unconsciously asked.

Clearly, I had only spent a few hours with him. If the mission could be completed like this, what did my seven lives of entanglement with Shen Zhou even mean?

He seemed not to have expected me to be so direct, and after a few seconds of愣, his neck and pointy ears instantly turned crimson.

He stammered: “Is it that… obvious?”

It was then that I realized what I had said. My heart, which had been still as dead water, began to pound at his overly innocent reaction.

“Aren’t you the senior sister? How did you get yourself into such a state?” He sat on the bed, his fingers tracing circles on my body, finally settling on my forehead: “Especially your soul; it’s so faint I can barely see it.”

I pursed my lips and fell into thought again.

Zong Lian lifted my head and, like a proud puppy, said: “But it’s okay, you met me.”

“You already have half demon blood within you. If you cultivate demonic arts with me, you’ll recover quickly.”

“How about it? Want to consider it?”

His bright, sparkling eyes were genuinely alluring.

I smiled and nodded: “Okay.”

However, I was still very curious about his favorability rating, but after the system notified me of the mission’s completion, it never appeared again.

Moreover, changing to the demonic path was not as easy as he made it sound. First, one had to destroy their spiritual root and then reshape it.

But seeing him look even more anxious than I did, it seemed not so unbearable after all.

Just then, a major event happened in the cultivation world.

Shen Zhou abandoned the Path of Heartlessness and intended to become dual cultivators with Feng Lingling.

When I first heard this news, I couldn’t help but feel a touch of bitterness. Memories of my past painful lives kept surfacing in my mind.

They tormented me, making me unable to sleep at night.

A gentle spiritual power emanated from the tightly held hand, soothing the pain in my body.

My consciousness quieted. Half-awake, half-asleep, I seemed to hear a familiar lullaby.

“Sleep… sleep… my dear baby…”

Several months later, I finally reshaped my soul, and my mental state was completely different from before.

Zong Lian happily picked me up and spun me around several times.

After the excitement, he awkwardly scratched his head, saying he had been presumptuous.

I smiled from the bottom of my heart, hugging him again and saying earnestly: “Thank you. You truly gave me a second life.”

Zong Lian’s chest heaved, and his throat choked up.

When I looked up in confusion, I realized his eyes were red-rimmed, and a pair of innocent puppy eyes were tearfully welling up.

“What’s wrong? I haven’t even cried yet?” I pinched his cheek.

Zong Lian, however, cried even harder, holding me tightly and refusing to let go. It took a long time to comfort him.

That night, as I was about to bathe, I took a wrong turn.

Mist swirled, and Zong Lian in the center of the bath looked completely different from his daytime demeanor.

His entire body exuded a sharp aura.

Right, a Demon Lord who had fought his way up from the Demon Realm couldn’t possibly be a kind person.

I was about to turn and leave.

“Sister Yuelan, do you really not remember me?”

Zong Lian’s voice came from behind me, his eyes tinged with red, his thin lips slightly parted.

For a moment, I was stunned. The demon race’s ability to bewitch hearts truly wasn’t exaggerated.

“You and I? Was our first meeting not at the sect ceremony?”

I frowned in confusion. No matter which life it was, in order not to displease Shen Zhou, I had never had any dealings with the demon race.

“How about this? Do you remember now?”

Under the splashing water, he stood up directly. The mist dispersed, and I saw the scar that ran through his chest.

Zong Lian slowly walked towards me, took my hand, and guided my fingertips over his scar.

His voice was low: “Back then, if it weren’t for you, I would have died under Shen Zhou’s sword.”

As soon as he finished speaking, memories suddenly flooded back.

In the first life, I followed Shen Zhou down the mountain for an expedition. We passed through a village where the villagers were half-demons, just like me. At first, we got along quite well, until Feng Lingling tearfully complained to Shen Zhou that a villager had tried to assault her.

Shen Zhou flew into a rage, slaughtering the village with his sword. By the time I returned to the village, blood flowed like a river.

When I cried and questioned him, Shen Zhou only told me it was to temper my character and warned me to remember the consequences of evil thoughts.

I searched house by house and finally found a child still breathing in the woodshed.

I carefully nursed him for several months until he recovered. But I still had my conquest mission and couldn’t keep him by my side, so I entrusted him to a mortal family who had lost their child.

So Zong Lian was that child from the first life? He, like Shen Zhou, didn’t have his memories reset.

“Then where did the scar on your chest come from?”

Zong Lian lowered his gaze, his expression dimming: “I carved this myself. It’s both a punishment and a warning. Every life, I arrived too late. I hated myself for not being strong enough, for growing too slowly.”

“Sister Yuelan, in those lives, all I saw was your cold corpse.”

As he spoke the last part, he looked up, his eyes filled with overflowing love and obsession:

“But it’s okay. I tormented all of them to death, returning the suffering you endured a hundredfold!”

I stared at him blankly, choking up uncontrollably, tears blurring my vision, yet I could still clearly see him frantically raising his hand to wipe my tears.

“So…” I buried my face in his gentle palm, my voice trembling: “So… I was… also well-loved.”

A long time passed.

I lifted my tear-stained face, a relaxed smile blooming—the most relaxed in all those lives: “I will live well.”

“Zong Lian, will you walk this life with me?”

My answer was a lingering kiss.

When Shen Zhou regained his senses, the spiritual beast in front of him had already been dismembered and flayed with his bare hands, tortured to death.

This was the tenth one he had killed since Yuelan left. His cultivation was stuck and couldn’t break through further.

Evil thoughts raged wildly within his spiritual consciousness.

Yuelan’s last desperate expression deeply unsettled him. He didn’t understand why the world would reset after Yuelan’s death, but he had always believed Yuelan would return to his side no matter what.

But in this life, he couldn’t be sure anymore.

Shen Zhou felt the connection of his master-disciple contract with Yuelan. As long as that remained, his restless emotions could be suppressed.

But, Shen Zhou violently shattered the spiritual beast’s corpse with a strike. A bloody mist permeated the air, and his eyes were sinister.

Just the thought of Yuelan being by another man’s side made him uncontrollably want to kill.

He simply couldn’t wait another moment; he had to take her back with his own hands.

Returning to his sleeping quarters, Feng Lingling lay sideways on the bed in a revealing red gauze, her eyes seductive: “Master, I heard that dual cultivation can make cultivation twice as effective? Lingling wants to try it with Master, okay?”

If it were before, Shen Zhou might have felt some stirrings, but after those previous lives, he had grown tired of this woman. To be honest, he wasn’t really interested in those who offered themselves up.

It was Yuelan, despite her deep admiration for him, who had always been proper and never overstepped.

He could even recall her blushing face when their fingers accidentally brushed.

He wondered if she would be just as innocent and shy in that matter?

Thinking about it a little more, an inexplicable anger flared within Shen Zhou.

“Master, don’t you feel hot?” Feng Lingling twisted her supple waist, slowly approaching Shen Zhou, placing his hand on her chest: “Master, touch Lingling, is it a cold or a fever?”

Shen Zhou lowered his eyes, looking at her softness. A few seconds later, he lifted Feng Lingling into his arms: “Then your Master will help you cool down.”

Another month passed. Feng Lingling was like a ripe peach, full of flavor, exuding allure with every gesture.

She stood in front of the mirror, utterly satisfied. This version of herself, the Demon Lord would surely like.

According to the novel’s plot, Chong Lian should have fallen in love with her at first sight, abducted her on the spot, and spent every night in revelry.

But for some reason, that day he had taken away that dead woman.

Feng Lingling gnashed her teeth in hatred, but it didn’t matter. She was the female lead, Chong Lian would surely fall madly in love with her, just like Shen Zhou.

When that happened, a three-person plot, how wonderful that would be.

On this day, Shen Zhou suddenly announced that he would gather the major sects to besiege the demon race, bringing peace to the world.

My time spent in the demon race had been the most relaxed and happy days of my life.

There were no internal power struggles between sects, no open and covert battles for resources among fellow disciples. Everything was so much more harmonious.

“Mistress, I want a hug.”

The half-demons Chong Lian had rescued from the cultivators had been taken in as his disciples. The oldest was no more than fifteen or sixteen, and all of them were children who had lost both parents.

I always joked that he was turning into a kindergarten principal.

He didn’t seem to understand, but he would be happy as if he’d been praised.

I held her in my arms, gently patting her back over and over.

These children rarely slept well. Having witnessed their parents being murdered at such a young age, they would often wake up screaming at night.

Seeing me offer hugs, these little rascals lined up, waiting for their turns.

I was utterly helpless, yet my heart felt warm.

That day, the entire demon race suddenly went into full alert, and panic spread. It was said that the cultivation world was going to encircle and suppress the demon race to bring peace to the world.

Shen Zhou, leading the charge, had already brought a wave of people ready for a strong assault.

My brows furrowed tightly. I didn’t understand why Shen Zhou was suddenly acting so crazy. He had always only cared about cultivating his own Grand Dao; he never had the time to care about the lives and deaths of mortals.

Chong Lian led the battle. I was truly worried, so I secretly followed him.

Before the Boundary Cliff, Shen Zhou stood on his sword, in white robes, still as cold and noble as ever.

Feng Lingling, however, was a bit different. She had gained a bit more mature charm, but her eyes were constantly fixed on Chong Lian.

“Yuelan?”

Shen Zhou somehow noticed my presence. His usually calm eyes rippled, and he stared intently at me.

“Lanlan?” Chong Lian was startled and quickly rushed over to shield me behind him.

Shen Zhou’s eyes darkened, and his spiritual power suddenly surged violently, causing the wind within a ten-mile radius to halt and the clouds to condense.

“What did you call her?”

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on Chong Lian’s hand wrapped around my waist.

With a thunderous crash, a distant mountain peak suddenly collapsed midway.

Chong Lian sneered disdainfully: “Since she’s my wife, what I call her is none of Immortal Venerable Shen’s business, is it?”

“Come here.”

Shen Zhou extended his hand to me, his tone growing colder, carrying an undeniable pressure.

But I was no longer the Yuelan of before.

I held Chong Lian’s hand and spoke calmly: “Shen Zhou, our master-disciple bond ended long ago. Why should I go over?”

Shen Zhou’s face grew even darker, and a hint of mockery appeared on his lips: “Ended? Your affection for me probably wouldn’t end in one lifetime. You even still carry the contractual token, don’t you?”

Heh, I’d forgotten if he hadn’t mentioned it.

I took out the contractual token between Shen Zhou and me. It was covered in cracks: “Shen Zhou, are you talking about this?”

I exerted a slight force, and the token, which had still been emitting a faint glow, completely shattered into dust in my hand.

“You…” Shen Zhou’s pupils constricted. He stared at the dust scattering with the wind—that was the token he had personally given her back then.

His voice was terrifyingly low: “I told you, if the token was destroyed, I would never let you enter the sect again.”

But in the next second, his expression completely froze as he sensed the demonic energy swirling around me, and the suppressed emotions in his eyes instantly surged.

“You actually… cultivated demonic arts?”

Compared to his shock, I spoke lightly: “That’s right, I’m a complete demon cultivator now.”

Shen Zhou’s eyes were bloodshot. He pointed at Chong Lian: “Did he bewitch you? How could you cultivate demonic arts?”

Indeed, in his eyes, I couldn’t possibly cultivate demonic arts. Years of pursuit had given him that confidence.

“Yuelan, come back. Come back to my side, and I’ll give you a chance to be forgiven.”

Shen Zhou gritted his back teeth, his words practically squeezed out from between them.

He shouted towards the demon race: “This Venerable has no intention of massacring, as long as you are willing to hand over my rebellious disciple, I will immediately retreat back to the cultivation world.”

I bit my lower lip, cursing his shamelessness.

I had no intention of causing trouble for Chong Lian, nor did I want to see anyone from the demon race die because of me.

But just then, those children Chong Lian had adopted suddenly emerged from who-knows-where. Each of them emitted demonic energy, surrounding me.

“You old geezer, don’t even think about touching my mistress.”

“You trash with a human face and a beast’s heart, our demon race isn’t like you ungrateful cultivators!”

The older children leading the group, despite trembling with fear themselves, stood firmly in front of me.

My eyes welled up. This was a kind of camaraderie I had never experienced in the sect.

Chong Lian affectionately ruffled the heads of those children and smiled: “Good kids, your mistress didn’t love you in vain.”

He turned, his tone full of disdain: “You’re not needed to deal with him.”

Shen Zhou’s brows furrowed in anger. His body exploded, and he instantly entangled with Chong Lian in battle.

“How dare you touch her?”

Shen Zhou’s eyes held a viciousness, his killing intent even more intense and frantic than Chong Lian’s, more demonic than any demon.

Just as I was worried for Chong Lian, a poisoned projectile suddenly struck at me.

I dodged sideways, and when I looked up, my eyes met Feng Lingling’s resentful gaze.

“This was supposed to be my fate, my story. They should have fought for me, not you!”

I looked at her coldly. Some scores were indeed due to be settled with her.

Feng Lingling’s sword edge hadn’t even reached me before I crushed it with my bare hand: “Your aptitude is indeed terrible.”

Her expression was horrified. She turned and tried to flee.

“This palm strike is for the pain of my blindness back then.”

I struck with my palm, and Feng Lingling’s eyes instantly became empty, screaming in collapse.

“This sword strike is to avenge your false accusation of my collusion with the demon race.”

The sword light flashed, and Feng Lingling’s left arm was severed at the root.

“Finally, this is for the hatred of you taking my spiritual root back then.”

My five fingers were like blades, stabbing fiercely into Feng Lingling’s dantian, brutally shattering her spiritual root.

She wailed in agony, struggling to crawl away into the distance.

At the edge of the cliff, she supported herself on thin air with one hand, turning frantically, crying tears of pain: “Master, save me! Save me!”

At the brink of death, she seemed to recall many things. Her cries paused for a few seconds, then she suddenly burst into maniacal laughter.

Despite being covered in wounds, she propped herself up, coughing up blood and laughing wildly, her blood-stained teeth baring a twisted grin: “So you died so many times, huh? Hahahaha!”

“Sure enough, I’m the Child of the Heavenly Dao! Everything can start over, there’s still a chance for everything!”

I hadn’t understood what she meant, but Feng Lingling suddenly used the last of her remaining spiritual power to roar at Shen Zhou: “Kill Yuelan! Quickly kill her!”

Shen Zhou and Chong Lian’s movements paused simultaneously. The two separated, each panting.

Shen Zhou’s Dao Heart was on the verge of shattering, and his strength was already greatly diminished. Facing Chong Lian was exceptionally difficult.

Now, hearing Feng Lingling’s roar, he instantly understood the meaning in her words: kill me, enter the next cycle, and everything would restart.

Chong Lian also reacted instantly, teleporting to shield me behind him.

I saw Shen Zhou lightly land beside Feng Lingling. There was another way for the Path of Heartlessness to break through.

Killing one’s wife to prove the Dao.

Shen Zhou unhesitatingly circulated his cultivation technique, sword intent condensed, and fiercely stabbed into Feng Lingling’s chest.

Feng Lingling groaned in pain, reaching out to grab Shen Zhou’s white robe, but her hand finally slid powerlessly, leaving only a few streaks of blood.

In an instant, Shen Zhou’s spiritual power surged, his robes fluttering.

He looked at me almost maniacally: “Yuelan, it’ll be fine if we just start over again…” His voice was terrifyingly hoarse, yet carried an eerie tenderness: “I finally understand… I love you, it was always you.”

“In the next life, I’ll treat you well. I won’t let anyone hurt you again. I’ll keep you firmly by my side. We’ll be together forever, okay?”

“Let’s start over.”

He swung his sword, and Chong Lian struggled to block it.

To protect me, Chong Lian was shaken, blood spilling from his mouth.

My heart ached, and I roared at Shen Zhou: “Shen Zhou, no matter how many times we start over, I will never love you again.”

“As long as I’m alive, I’ll find every way to get back to Chong Lian’s side, every way to escape you forever!”

Shen Zhou’s face turned pale, as if struck by lightning. He leaned on his sword to steady himself: “It’s fine, you’re just being bewitched by him now. In the next life, you’ll become my Yuelan again, you definitely will.”

He swung his sword again. The vast spiritual power carried the momentum of creation, and just when I thought everything was decided.

Time suddenly paused.

The system appeared before me once more.

“Detecting world-line collapse, repairing now…”

“Host mission complete, initiating transmission…”

I frantically reached out, wanting to grab Chong Lian’s hand, but my hand passed directly through his body.

In an instant, the world twisted and changed before my eyes.

Suddenly, the sounds of traffic filled my ears. I had abruptly returned to the real world.

A year later, I had returned to a normal life.

At first, I frantically searched for that novel, but I couldn’t find any trace of it.

I even suspected it was just my imagination.

Suspected if I was schizophrenic.

But in my midnight dreams, I still heard Chong Lian’s gentle voice calling my name.

I could still dream of Shen Zhou’s frantic appearance. After I vanished into thin air, he completely succumbed to qi deviation.

He wanted to break through the void and enter reincarnation again.

But his Dao Heart was dead, and he had no chance left. And because of his insane actions, he was besieged by the entire cultivation world.

His soul was shattered, completely disappearing from the world.

I rose from my bed, and as expected, my face was covered in tears again.

A new leader was being transferred to the company today; I had to report early.

But turning a corner, I bumped into a familiar warm embrace.

A pair of puppy eyes smiled at me: “Sister, I found you.”