In her previous life, Meng Shuying was forced to practice demonic cultivation early on by Min Lanmeng, and later, she strayed further from the righteous path, ultimately being subdued by Wen Miaomiao and imprisoned beneath Inkstone Peak. For her, Fuguang's appearance was undoubtedly her only lifeline. Coupled with the fact that he was her "biological father," it was understandable that Meng Shuying chose to follow him.
The problem was that Fuguang was the archetypal villain: ruthless and unyielding, with a lifelong ambition of "destroying the righteous and unifying the two realms."
The scariest part was that in the previous life, his plan had nearly succeeded.
Su Luowei remembered Xiao Ba mentioning the original ending: the demon race conquered the vast lands of the human realm, forcing human cultivators to cower under Kunlun Mountain.
She silently crossed out the word "nearly" in her mind. There was no "nearly"—Fuguang had succeeded.
So, in this new cycle, with the experience of success, Fuguang was confident that he could easily take over the human realm. But he hadn't anticipated the appearance of Su Luowei. With her guidance and influence, Meng Shuying did not follow the path of her previous life, delaying Fuguang's plan to unify the two realms by nearly two hundred years.
No wonder Fuguang had said he had always wanted to meet her—Su Luowei guessed that he didn't just want to meet her; he probably wanted to eliminate her!
It's no surprise that Su Luowei was biased against Fuguang. In her mind, Fuguang was the mastermind, while Meng Shuying was merely a pitiful child, deprived of love during her upbringing. As long as someone showed her affection, she would give everything for them.
Even though the trajectory of Meng Shuying's growth differed slightly in this life, she remained that same person in Su Luowei's heart.
Su Luowei's mind raced with thoughts that Meng Shuying was unaware of. She continued to confront Fuguang, saying, "If everything is going so well for you, why did you go to such lengths to bring us to the demon realm?"
"Because you are my only daughter."
Fuguang's lips curled into a smile as he called Meng Shuying his only daughter, but there was no trace of fatherly affection in his tone.
This was normal, considering that the demon race was known for its cold and distant attitude toward familial ties. Mingyou's attitude towards them was a clear example; she didn't care much about Meng Shuying, even though she was the daughter of the Demon Lord. If Fuguang hadn't given the order, Mingyou probably wouldn't have bothered meeting them even if they had shown up at her doorstep.
This indifference made Su Luowei uncomfortable.
No one can choose their birth, and while Meng Shuying's existence might have been an accident in Fuguang's eyes, for Meng Shuying, the person responsible for her tragic childhood was the very same powerful but irresponsible father standing before her.
When she needed love and care the most, he ignored her, only showing up when she became useful. Such a relative was better off gone.
Meng Shuying seemed shocked by Fuguang's shameless attitude, and it took her a moment to shake her head slowly. "No, my father died long ago."
Fuguang sneered. "You say that because you don't know what I can offer you."
"I don't want anything from you, no matter what it is."
As Meng Shuying spoke, she subtly squeezed Su Luowei's hand and gave her a signal. "Let's go!"
The moment the words left her mouth, the demons kneeling around them began to bleed from their eyes and mouths. The blood dripped onto the floor, creating a rhythmic, ominous sound, but the demons seemed unaware, continuing to kneel with their heads bowed.
Only Tian Fulings' expression changed dramatically. She quickly stood up and retreated a few steps.
Meng Shuying grabbed Su Luowei's hand and pulled her towards the exit. As they ran, Su Luowei heard the sound of something exploding behind them. She was about to turn around when Meng Shuying warned her, "Don't look back."
Su Luowei resisted the urge to turn around, keeping her eyes on the path ahead as she followed Meng Shuying. In the short time they had been running, the sounds of explosions and Tian Fulings' screams filled the air behind them.
"Ah! Meng Shuying, you—" The rest of her words were cut off as her voice abruptly stopped.
Fuguang remained seated on his throne, looking down at the chaos with mild disdain. From the moment Meng Shuying had said "go," the demons kneeling on the floor had begun to swell rapidly, and once they reached a certain limit, they exploded like overinflated balloons, turning into a bloody mess. The viscous red liquid splattered everywhere, coating the ground and nearby drapes with a foul smell.
Tian Fulings had tried to escape, but Fuguang had grabbed her and used her as a shield. Fuguang had never been particularly satisfied with this subordinate, but all the competent ones had already been sent out as the vanguard, leaving behind those with cultivation levels similar to Tian Fulings, or worse. Otherwise, Meng Shuying wouldn't have been able to pull off her plan so easily.
After a brief moment of calm, Fuguang raised an eyebrow and tossed the bloodied Tian Fulings onto the messy floor. He pulled out a handkerchief from his robe and slowly wiped the blood and flesh off the corner of his clothing.
"My daughter is quite interesting. She claims to be a righteous cultivator who avoids associating with demons, yet her methods are more ruthless than anyone else's."
He dropped the blood-stained handkerchief, which fluttered to the ground and was immediately soaked in blood.
"I was worried she might have been raised into a meek little lamb, but it seems I needn't have worried. And as for you lot, you really are useless."
Tian Fulings knelt in the blood, trembling. She wanted to explain herself but couldn't find the words. The truth was, they had become complacent after seeing Meng Shuying surrender and had failed to notice when she had silently slipped her demonic blood into their bodies.
For demons, bloodlines were insurmountable barriers. Meng Shuying had half the blood of the Demon Lord, giving her the power to control their lives and deaths as easily as Fuguang could. Once her blood entered their bodies, their fate was entirely in her hands, and whether they lived or died depended on her whim.
Fuguang's face darkened as he stepped down from the throne, stopping beside Tian Fulings. He looked at her for a moment before cutting his finger with his nail. A bead of blood, filled with demonic energy, flew from his fingertip into Tian Fulings' mouth.
As soon as the demonic blood entered her body, Tian Fulings' body convulsed violently. Ignoring the mess around her, she quickly sat down and began to cultivate.
When she opened her eyes again, her aura had completely changed, and her cultivation had skyrocketed.
"I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself. Go and find them," Fuguang ordered coldly. "This time, don't disappoint me."
"Yes," Tian Fulings replied firmly, kneeling on one knee.
Meng Shuying didn't care how much chaos was unfolding behind them; her only focus was on running forward. After several twists and turns, they finally ducked into a room, and Meng Shuying, as if drained of all energy, collapsed to the floor, still holding onto Su Luowei's hand.
Su Luowei hurried to pull her up, helping her to a chair. She pulled a bottle of replenishing pills from Meng Shuying's sleeve and pushed them all into her mouth.
Meng Shuying sat in the chair, her face pale and forehead covered in sweat. She wiped her forehead with her sleeve and forced a smile for Su Luowei, her voice trembling. "Don't worry, senior sister, I'm fine."
She tried to get up, but Su Luowei firmly pushed her back into the chair.
"Stop pretending to be tough. Have you seen yourself? Your face is paler than the walls." She reached out to loosen Meng Shuying's collar and wiped the cold sweat from her neck. After a while, she asked quietly, "What exactly happened in the hall? I heard several loud bangs. What exploded?"
Meng Shuying stared at her, and Su Luowei saw her own worried reflection in Meng Shuying's eyes.
They remained silent for a long time, but when Su Luowei showed no signs of letting the matter drop, Meng Shuying sighed and mumbled, "It was those demons that exploded."
Su Luowei was stunned.
Meng Shuying sighed, seeing that she had started explaining, and continued, "Earlier, when you were fighting them outside the Demon Palace, I secretly fed a drop of my blood to each of them."
Although Meng Shuying hadn't practiced demonic cultivation, her blood naturally carried demonic energy due to her lineage. She had discovered during the Five Sects Conference that her blood could cause demons to evolve. During the years when her senior sister had disappeared, she had wondered if she might have reincarnated into the demon realm, and she had even prepared extensively to go and search for her there.
After countless experiments, Meng Shuying had confirmed that her blood had unexpected effects on both demons and demonic creatures. Particularly for demons, once her blood entered their bodies, she could control their lives and deaths as she pleased. However, this control required the use of spiritual energy, and the higher the demon's cultivation, the harder it was to control them. Even though Meng Shuying was now a Mahayana-stage cultivator, controlling those demons to self-destruct had still consumed a significant amount of her spiritual energy.
After explaining the reason behind the demons' self-destruction, Meng Shuying felt a bit anxious. She knew her senior sister had a gentle and kind nature, and feared that such a brutal tactic might be hard for her to accept. However, to her surprise, Su Luowei only paled for a moment before quickly regaining her composure. She nodded and said, "It's a good thing you prepared in advance; otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to escape."
There was not a trace of blame in her words.
Meng Shuying was momentarily speechless and cautiously asked, "…Senior sister doesn't think my methods are too cruel?"
Su Luowei shook her head. "You did it to protect yourself." She paused, then deliberately teased, "Do you think I'm unreasonable?"
Seeing that Su Luowei's expression was calm and normal, Meng Shuying finally believed that her senior sister wouldn't blame her for what had just happened. She smiled and was about to say something when a noise came from outside. Instantly alert, Meng Shuying sent her spiritual sword flying through the wall to intercept the intruder. The sound of the sword clashing with metal echoed through the room.
Meng Shuying quickly moved to block Su Luowei, raising her hand to strike at the intruder who broke through the door. Spiritual energy and demonic energy collided violently, and Meng Shuying had only enough time to warn, "Be careful," before dashing forward to engage the attacker.
Had Fuguang's people caught up with them so soon?
Su Luowei didn't pause to watch the fight; instead, she drew her sword and aimed at the attacker's abdomen. The intruder was alone, and facing both of them, she was quickly overpowered. They managed to knock her back after only a few exchanges.
As the intruder stumbled back, Su Luowei paused and looked closely. As she expected, it was Tian Fulings.
Tian Fulings was covered in blood, and her once-delicate clothing was now soaked through, making her look particularly wretched.
But Meng Shuying could tell that Tian Fulings had undergone a significant transformation—she was no longer the same person as before. Her power had increased tremendously, so Meng Shuying treated her with caution and seriousness.
She raised her sword to her chest, her expression serious. "You won't gain anything from this. You can't defeat us."
Tian Fulings wiped the blood from her lips with the back of her hand and smiled at Meng Shuying. "How will we know unless we try? I should thank you, after all—if it weren't for you, the Demon Lord wouldn't have rewarded me with sacred blood."
Su Luowei said calmly, "Then shouldn't you be showing us some gratitude?"
Tian Fulings replied, "Too late. The Demon Lord already knows you're here, and he's on his way."
Crap! Meng Shuying and Su Luowei exchanged a glance, both understanding the gravity of the situation. Tian Fulings alone wasn't much of a threat, but if Fuguang joined her, they would definitely be outmatched.
Meng Shuying immediately moved to leave, but she had only taken two steps when Fuguang's figure appeared in their sight.
Fuguang rode a massive, fast-moving serpent, and in just a few breaths, he was in front of Meng Shuying. She reacted quickly, swinging her sword at him, but Fuguang effortlessly caught the blade between two fingers, stopping it from moving any further.
After a few more exchanges, Fuguang seemed to lose interest in toying with her. He twisted his wrist, no longer concerned with her sword, and pressed his hand firmly on her shoulder.
Meng Shuying's eyes widened in shock as she tried to dodge, but she couldn't escape in time. Fuguang pressed down on her shoulder with one hand and grabbed her chin with the other, tilting her face up to examine her closely. His tone was cold as he remarked, "You don't look like me."
He paused before continuing, "I don't really remember what your mother looked like, but I recall she was a very gentle woman. You don't seem to resemble her either."
"Since you didn't care enough to acknowledge her back then, what does it matter who she resembled?" Su Luowei's spiritual sword flashed with cold light as she slashed at Fuguang's neck.
Fuguang turned to look at her, a hint of disdain in his eyes. "You can't beat me."
"We'll see about that," Su Luowei replied, but after her first strike failed, she quickly retreated a few steps.
Fuguang didn't move, his expression full of confidence. "I told you, you can't beat me."
"It doesn't matter," Su Luowei smiled. "You've only lived longer than us, so your cultivation is higher. If we had the same amount of time, we might be able to defeat you."
Although she was speaking to Fuguang, her gaze was fixed elsewhere. Fuguang only then realized that Meng Shuying had quietly slipped away while they had been talking.
The three of them formed a triangle, with Fuguang calmly shifting to block the only exit from the room. Seeing that Fuguang had the upper hand, Tian Fulings quickly moved to his side.
"You think you can trap me?" Meng Shuying scoffed, plunging her sword into the stone floor. She used her full strength, and the sword sliced into the ground like it was cutting through tofu, leaving only the hilt visible.
Su Luowei didn't know what Meng Shuying intended, but instinctively moved to her side to protect her. Meng Shuying twisted the sword hilt, and suddenly, the ground began to shake.
It wasn't just the ground—the entire room was trembling. Cracks appeared in the ceiling and walls, and debris started to fall.
Directly behind Meng Shuying, a large hole appeared in the floor. She glanced at Su Luowei and said, "Jump!"
Without hesitation, Su Luowei grabbed Meng Shuying by the waist and jumped into the hole, not caring where it led.