Bai Zhong'an suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Bai Siyao in shock. "You..."
He wanted to stop, but the Yin-Yang Umbrella had already been activated, and there was no way to halt it.
The demon-gathering formation he had meticulously set up over decades, which condensed the blood essence of the Bai clan into the most nourishing sustenance, only briefly passed through his body before being absorbed by Bai Siyao.
"Master!" Guan Mowen sensed something was wrong outside the door and tried to rush in.
"Stop him!" Bai Siyao barked sharply.
The four guards at the entrance were stunned, but Huo Chongxiao reacted the fastest, gathering his remaining strength and lunging at Guan Mowen.
"Junior Sister Bai..." Yue Yunqiao stood frozen in disbelief.
"She's absorbing demonic energy," Huo Chongxiao shouted as he tightly grappled with Guan Mowen, preventing him from getting closer. "Hurry and help!"
Yue Yunqiao was in shock. "But Junior Sister Bai only has Qi Refinement level cultivation. How could she withstand the impact of demonic energy? Isn't she seeking death?"
Bai Menglian realized the truth, her heart stirred. "Second Sister... she did it on purpose to save us..."
"What do you mean?" Bai Mengxing still didn't understand.
Bai Menglian had no time to explain. Drawing her sword, she charged forward. She had wronged her sister earlier, but seeing how Second Sister disregarded her own life to save them, as the eldest, she couldn't fall behind. Even if she died today, she would defend the door for her sister!
Yue Yunqiao glanced back at Bai Siyao, who was now engulfed in demonic energy. Gritting her teeth, she pulled out a protective artifact her master had given her, her resolve solidified: "I'm going all out with you!"
Bai Mengxing glanced between everyone, feeling out of place for not contributing. He started picking up random objects around him, throwing them while shouting, "Stop! Die!"
Inside the room, as the Yin-Yang Umbrella spun faster, the vortex grew larger, and the demonic energy became so dense it almost turned into a liquid form.
With a loud "bang," the door slammed shut, unable to withstand the pressure.
The small room, now devoid of light, was filled with thick demonic energy, becoming like a pool of demonic liquid!
Bai Zhong'an was pinned in place.
In the process of condensing his demonic heart, he couldn't move recklessly. He tried desperately to stop the backflow of demonic energy, but he was utterly powerless.
"Crack..." He seemed to hear the sound of his demonic heart shattering. The hard-earned demonic energy he had absorbed was being stripped away, revealing his already fractured Golden Core. Without the protection of his demonic heart, his body could no longer withstand the torrent of demonic liquid...
Something wasn't right! Bai Zhong'an realized something and turned to look at Bai Siyao.
He saw the girl's eyes shining with a strange light, a smile playing at the corner of her lips. Gone was her previous timid demeanor, replaced by a cat-like amusement, as if she were toying with a mouse.
A mix of shock and doubt filled his voice. "Was this your doing?"
He had spent so much effort setting up the demon-gathering formation. How could it fail so suddenly?
Bai Siyao calmly responded, "What do you think?"
As the demonic energy was absorbed, the demonic heart crumbled, and Bai Zhong'an's cultivation rapidly declined. His whole body weakened, showing his age.
Meanwhile, Bai Siyao's face was glowing with vitality, as if she had just consumed a powerful elixir.
Bai Zhong'an was consumed with hatred and fury, his expression twisted. "You ungrateful brat! The Bai family raised you, and this is how you repay us?"
In Bai Siyao's memory, her great-uncle had always been otherworldly, with an air of immortality. Seeing him like this shattered the childhood image she had of him, leaving her disappointed.
"Great-Uncle, this doesn't suit you at all. I still remember when you visited the mourning hall after my parents passed away. You were so ethereal, so worthy of admiration."
The words "mourning hall" and "funeral" stirred Bai Zhong'an's memories.
Bai Siyao smiled at him. "Great-Uncle, do you remember now? This Yin-Yang Umbrella was my mother's relic. She was the last descendant of the Gu family from Beiming. Do you think she wouldn't have passed down the Gu family's secret techniques to me?"
Faced with her gaze, Bai Zhong'an felt a pang of guilt. "You remember…"
"I was six years old then. How could I forget?" Bai Siyao said softly.
She hadn't objected before because such treasures weren't suitable for children to keep, and the family had indeed protected her, so taking something in return seemed reasonable.
But for her great-uncle to use the Yin-Yang Umbrella for something like this? That was unacceptable.
The Gu family of Beiming had guarded the Ming River for a thousand years, protecting the peace of the world until the last descendant gave her life.
In her mother's hands, the Yin-Yang Umbrella had been used to pacify wandering souls and protect the living. How could she allow Bai Zhong'an to sully its name?
Back then, she didn't know the truth and had been wrongfully blamed, but now that she knew who was behind it, how could she let him go? Even if this wasn't the real world, she had to restore her mother's honor!
With a forceful twist of her hand, the Yin-Yang Umbrella spun faster, drawing more demonic energy from Bai Zhong'an.
His cultivation continued to plummet as his demonic heart shattered. From the Golden Core stage, he fell to the late Foundation Establishment stage, then to the mid stage, and finally to the early stage...
Meanwhile, Bai Siyao's cultivation soared rapidly. Her dantian, filled to the brim with demonic energy, reached the limit of the Qi Refinement stage. The demonic energy continued to pour in, forcing it to liquefy. Under immense pressure, her inner palace burst open.
She had reached Foundation Establishment.
But that wasn't the end. The demonic energy and spiritual energy, converted by the Yin-Yang Umbrella, continued to flow into her.
Early Foundation Establishment, mid Foundation Establishment, late Foundation Establishment...
At this moment, Bai Zhong'an's cultivation also stabilized at Foundation Establishment. He glared at Bai Siyao with bitter resentment. "Do you think you can absorb all of it? You're dreaming! I spent a hundred years just to barely reach the Golden Core stage. Even if you've taken a shortcut, your body can't handle this much demonic energy! If you keep absorbing, you'll explode!"
Bai Siyao smiled faintly. "A hundred years to reach Golden Core? Great-Uncle, your aptitude isn't great, is it? No wonder you resorted to crooked paths."
Being mocked by someone so much younger made Bai Zhong'an furious, his face contorting with rage. "You're now a demon cultivator too! Isn't that also a crooked path?"
"Wrong again, Great-Uncle." Bai Siyao's smile deepened. "Demonic energy has its proper use—you just didn't understand it. You exploited people's blood essence, disguised yourself as an evil god, and harvested souls, using your clan's blood and flesh for sacrifices... With such wicked methods, how could the demonic energy not backfire? I, on the other hand, used my own body as a shield to save others. The power I'm taking from you is legitimate."
As she spoke, a faint light flickered from the Yin-Yang Umbrella, and the demonic energy pouring into her meridians reached its limit once again.
Bai Siyao continued without pause, absorbing more demonic energy converted by the Yin-Yang Umbrella. Her dantian exploded, torn apart, but immediately a stream of life force flowed in from the umbrella, balancing spirit and demon, life and death. Her dantian quickly repaired itself, expanding in the process.
A demonic seed began to form, layers of demonic energy wrapping around it. From this moment on, it was no longer the demonic energy invading her body; she was actively absorbing it. Bai Zhong'an, the Yin-Yang Umbrella, the pool of demonic liquid, and the demon-gathering formation—all of them had become her nourishment.
The demonic heart slowly took shape...
"Impossible! This can't be!" Bai Zhong'an was on the verge of madness.
He had spent countless years and effort transitioning to demonic cultivation. Demonic energy naturally polluted the human body, and becoming a demon cultivator required gradual assimilation over many years, cycles of erosion and recovery... How could she need no adaptation?
Seeing her mysterious smile, a flash of understanding struck Bai Zhong'an like lightning.
"Who... are you?" His voice trembled as the aged Bai Zhong'an, now reduced to Qi Refinement, struggled to form the words.
Recalling Bai Siyao's earlier behavior, he realized this wasn't the conduct of a fourteen-year-old girl. She wasn't his niece; she was a demonic master, inhabiting this body.
Though Bai Siyao was wrapped in demonic liquid, her face glowed like flawless white jade.
She smiled gently and said softly, "My name is Bai Siyao, disciple of Master Cen Mulang of Danxia Palace, who I betrayed and left."
"They call me... the Jade Demon."
Well, that name hadn't been made up by herself either.
It was her reputation that traveled like wildfire after her every appearance.