Chapter 71: Chaos

The man grabbed Ning Mingmei’s chin roughly, tilting his face from side to side. “You look very much like someone I once knew. How long has it been since I last saw her? Four hundred years? Six hundred? Since I was sealed here, it must have been at least a few centuries. I wonder if she’s still alive?”

Ning Mingmei, his face still gripped, said, “It seems this person left a deep impression on you. Was she your enemy or your lover?”

The man threw his head back and laughed. After a moment, he said, “Her? She was my sister. My adopted sister whom I lived with for decades.”

Ning Mingmei replied, “Is that so? It’s an honor to resemble your old acquaintance. Perhaps we’re even distantly related.”

The man’s voice turned sinister. “Oh, she was such a good sister. The fact that I was ambushed and trapped here is all thanks to her. For centuries, day after day, I’ve waited for the moment I could get out and kill her with my own hands… Your eyes and brows look exactly like hers.”

Ning Mingmei said, “Sorry, I didn’t finish my sentence earlier. I’m an orphan…”

The man’s grip suddenly tightened. A sharp pain shot through Ning Mingmei’s chin, making him furrow his brows.

The man studied his pained expression closely and then chuckled. “That expression… It reminds me of someone else. Why do you have this kind of face? It really makes me…”

The next moment, he struck, driving the sword straight into Ning Mingmei’s body!

“Urgh!”

“Oh? You still have the strength to resist?” The man took a palm hit but instead of getting angry, he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Ning Mingmei rolled to the right and knelt on his left knee for support.

His hand pressed against his bleeding wound as his cold gaze, hidden behind his glasses, locked onto his enemy.

Because of his struggle, the sword had only pierced through his shoulder.

The unpredictable fiend cultivator had originally aimed to drive the sword straight through his head and nail his corpse to the stone wall!

Skewering him the moment he woke up; what a cruel way to kill.

Ning Mingmei thought, [Does this guy really hate my face that much? Killing me is one thing but does he really have to stab my head through? I already said I’m an orphan. For all I know, maybe I even got my parents killed. That’s how novel protagonists usually work. By that logic, I’m basically his benefactor. This guy has no sense of reason at all.]

The system: …

Jokes aside, the situation was dire. Compared to the previous fiend cultivator, the man was on an entirely different level. The fact that he had been sealed with a sacred tree and had altered the mineral composition of the surrounding mine proved as much.

With a hoarse voice, Ning Mingmei muttered, “This is like a fresh PhD graduate stepping into their first academic conference and immediately picking a fight with a tenured professor.”

The fiend cultivator before him was clearly at the academician level.

A single word from the academician carried immense weight. Who would dare not shift their research focus?

Ning Mingmei asked the system, [I’m about to die. Spoil me, how strong is this guy?]

The system sounded like it was sweating bullets, [Great Ascension realm… Meaning the only realm above him is the Tribulation Transcendence realm. My god, how did you manage to trigger a boss like this now?]

Ning Mingmei glanced at the eerie glow deep inside the mine. [And he’s been mutated by radiation on top of that.]

In a manga, this guy would absolutely be a superhero at the level of Iron Man.

The system: [Holy crap. Do you have any ideas? This guy is the Fiend Lord. Even in the late stages of the novel, he’s the number one figure in the fiend realm! Ning Mingmei, hurry up and use that unbeatable academic brain of yours!]

Ning Mingmei wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. The dark stain on the back of his hand made his pale skin look even more haunting. [No way. He’s a full-time academician. I can’t win.]

If he couldn’t win, then he couldn’t win.

Even in a world full of strange, supernatural occurrences, science remained the most undeniable truth.

The system was panicking. [Okay, how about this? Stall for time. I’ll see if I can get approval for a contingency plan. Maybe after you die, I can reincarnate your soul into another body in this world. There’s precedent! We’ve had hosts swap into three different bodies under different identities, all in the same world, to romance a single person before!]

Ning Mingmei said, [Didn’t you say you’d just switch to a new host after I died?]

The system went silent. Probably off running for higher approval.

The most frustrating moments in life were always the ones spent waiting for upper management’s approval.

The sword was still lodged in Ning Mingmei’s body. Kneeling on one knee, sweat trickled down his forehead.

The man studied him and suddenly asked, “You really can’t stand up? It’s just a stab through the shoulder. Does it hurt that much?”

Ning Mingmei replied, “Why don’t you try it yourself?”

When dealing with an academician, it was always polite to be respectful.

The man said, “Apologies. I’ve been sealed away for so long, so I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be stabbed. If you can still stand and fight, you’re welcome to try. Give me a taste of it.”

…

Though Ning Mingmei didn’t know who this guy’s sister was, it was absolutely and perfectly reasonable that she tricked him until he was trapped under the seal.

Even if she was just an adopted sister as he claimed.

Ning Mingmei said, “You’ve been sealed for centuries and still have boundless energy. I, on the other hand, just finished a major battle. Winning like this isn’t exactly honorable.”

The fiend cultivator paused and mused, “You can say it like that? Hmm… You make a good point. Still, the way you argue really reminds me of those two mongrels.”

Ning Mingmei: …

“Alright then,” the fiend cultivator took a step back and spread his hands in a seemingly generous gesture. “I’ll give you the chance to draw your sword and fight me.

“But…

“You have to pull it out yourself.” The fiend cultivator smirked. “Surely that much is within your ability? Looks like the sword is stuck between your bones.”

Ning Mingmei stared at him, reached out, and gripped the hilt of the sword. Then, tensing his muscles, he exerted force with his arm and pulled the sword out.

The man even commented, “Don’t do it like that. Relax your body. Otherwise, if the sword is clamped too tightly, you won’t be able to pull it out.”

With the sword removed, blood gushed from the wound. Ning Mingmei propped himself up with the sword and stood as the man watched him.

“And now?” the man asked.

Ning Mingmei raised his sword, aligning the blade with his brows.

“Let’s,” he said.

***

“Good stance.

“Your form is standard but slow; far too slow.

“Hmm?” The man let out a sound of surprise as a cut appeared on his cheek and shoulder. “That was a feint? The sword techniques of the Supreme Clarity Sect have been modified? I haven’t seen this move before.”

It was a swift sword strike that sliced from cheek to shoulder. If it had been anyone else, even if they had two full cultivation realms above Ning Mingmei and stood at the Body Integration realm, they would have been gravely injured.

Any disciple of the Supreme Clarity Sect witnessing the attack would have gasped.

It was the pinnacle of swordsmanship!

But the opponent before him was in the Great Ascension realm. Even so, a deep wound that exposed the bone had appeared on his shoulder.

The fiend cultivator wiped his shoulder with his hand and then looked at the blood on his palm. “Bleeding, huh? It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced this… Not particularly painful, though.”

His tone was that of a cat toying with a mouse, infuriatingly condescending.

Ning Mingmei leaned against the stone wall, panting as he watched him.

The air was hazy with steam, making it unclear whether the moisture came from sweat or blood. He reached up, removed his glasses, and tossed them aside.

Clang.

At that moment, the sword in his hand slipped from his grasp and landed at the man’s feet.

Ning Mingmei stared at his wrist. He knew that during the clash just now, the force had shattered the bones in it.

The man asked, “Can’t fight anymore?”

Ning Mingmei uttered a single word, “Let’s.”

The man said, “You’ve done well to last this long against a Great Ascension realm fiend cultivator after already fighting another enemy beforehand. At your peak, even as a Divine Transformation cultivator, you would have stood a chance against a Body Integration cultivator. Unfortunately, running into me was just bad luck for you. But after you die, I’ll make sure the entire fiend realm knows I killed a worthy Divine Transformation-realm swordsman.”

As the man picked up his sword and walked toward him, Ning Mingmei didn’t even bother to lift his eyelids.

“Take your sword.” The man actually grabbed Ning Mingmei’s shoulder and shoved the sword back into his hand. “There. Now you look like you died in battle. After all, you have the bloodline of the fiend race. Even in death, you should maintain the posture of a fiend warrior.”

Ning Mingmei: …

This guy’s sealing was perfectly, reasonably, and effectively justified.

“I’ve changed my mind,” the man continued. “This time, I won’t smash your face. I’ll leave your corpse intact so the Supreme Clarity Sect can recognize you and take you back. You humans care about that, don’t you? But I will break every joint in your body. That’s how fiends honor a true warrior. The more we respect an opponent, the more battle scars we leave on them.”

He took a few steps back, readying his attack.

“…Actually,” Ning Mingmei rasped, “You don’t have to respect me.”

Black and purple flames surged around the fiend cultivator, even stronger than when he had first broken the seal. The corpse of the dead fiend cultivator beside him was instantly reduced to ashes.

It was an all-out strike, one that would utterly annihilate Ning Mingmei.

Even before the attack landed, he could feel its searing heat scorching his face.

He didn’t close his eyes. He simply gazed calmly at the end before him.

[Approval granted!] the system suddenly shouted. [I found a suitable body of some girl who just died. I’ll transfer you now—]

Ning Mingmei: [Too late. This is why I hate administrative delays.]

At that very moment, the fiend cultivator’s full-force strike reached him!

But instead of the sound of his body being torn apart—

There was the clash of a sword meeting the attack!

In the dark yet faintly glowing mine, a figure in white descended swiftly. His robes billowed and a white jade crown adorned his hair. Almost instantly, he dropped down with the wind and landed in front of Ning Mingmei, positioning himself between him and the Fiend Lord.

In his hand, he held a sword, slicing directly through the purple flames, creating a vacuum around them.

Ning Mingmei said, “Qi…”

The man stood with his back to him, shoulders tensed.

A sharp, hair-raising screech followed.

“That ruthless, huh?” the fiend cultivator remarked.

Most people, when blocking such an attack, would position their sword horizontally or vertically to absorb the impact with the blade.

But the newcomer, in mid-air, had abruptly changed the angle of his sword and pointed the tip directly at the fiend cultivator’s palm!

Following the force of the attack, the sword tip pierced straight through the fiend cultivator’s palm and deeply embedded itself into his arm. The chilling sound came from the blade slicing through bone and muscle.

It only stopped after going past the elbow joint. Meanwhile, Qi Miancheng, who stood in front of Ning Mingmei, absorbed the full force of the impact, causing his footing to waver. Yet, he remained standing, like an unshakable mountain.

The fiend cultivator was clearly injured. Flames still burned around him as he narrowed his eyes at the newcomer, nostrils flaring slightly.

“Another Supreme Clarity Sect brat… What a coincidence. You look like an old acquaintance of mine,” the fiend cultivator muttered. “…Lian Tingyu?”

“I am Qi Miancheng,” the jade-crowned cultivator replied. “Lian Tingyu is my mother. My apologies. I pointed my sword the wrong way.”

Despite the fact that his sword was still lodged in the fiend cultivator’s bones.

The fiend cultivator glanced down at his right hand, now flowered with steel.

Qi Miancheng added, “Fortunately, I brought another one.”

As he spoke, he drew another sword from the sheath on his back. From behind, Ning Mingmei noticed that he had two more sheaths.

Ning Mingmei: …

Did you actually bring two extra swords? And how do you face a fiend cultivator with such a straight face while blatantly underreporting your weapon stockpile?

Who carries three swords around like this?

The fiend cultivator shifted his gaze from his hand to their faces. “I can’t pull it out.”

A moment later, he added, “The world really does change over the centuries… One of you looks like that and the other looks like this. Two Divine Transformation cultivators possessing this level of strength? Hmph. Whatever.”

With that, he turned sharply, sword still in his hand, and shot up into the sky, disappearing through the mine’s entrance.

Qi Miancheng kept his eyes locked on him until he was certain the enemy had left.

“This man bears a striking resemblance to the infamous fiend lord from the legends of the fiend realm… The war between immortals and fiends is about to begin again,” he muttered.

Ning Mingmei, still standing behind him: …

“Senior Brother, why are you here?” he asked hoarsely.

Qi Miancheng turned to look at him, his expression was as steady as a towering mountain. “Junior Brother…” And then, mid-sentence, he coughed up blood and dropped to one knee.

Ning Mingmei: …

So you were injured too, huh?

“I came here to…”

Qi Miancheng started to explain but ended up coughing up more blood.

Ning Mingmei: …

Leaning against the stone wall, he watched Qi Miancheng spit blood and muttered to himself, “This is ridiculous…”

Qi Miancheng finally steadied himself against the cave wall and picked something up before turning to him.

“Let’s go outside first, Mingmei.”

“?”

Ning Mingmei blinked.

Qi Miancheng, however, had already taken the object he had picked up, Ning Mingmei’s glasses, and gently placed them back on his face.

“Let’s go,” he said.

***

Deep within the caves of Ye Province’s mountains…

Even as the battle at the mine shook the earth, a figure in a bamboo hat looked up. Beneath the hat, a sharp chin was visible.

It was a woman.

“My lady, we have recovered the ritual jar from inside the cave. They didn’t have time to search deeper,” a subordinate reported. “After more than a decade of preparation, we have gathered an immense amount of negative energy, resentment, and despair from Ye Province. These cursed energies have now fully condensed into Chaos.”

Inside a ritual jar covered in inscriptions, a strange substance stirred, something that was neither solid, liquid, nor gas. It had a murky gray color.

Those people called it Chaos.

“What a pity. The fiend cultivator we planned to use as a Chaos General is already dead,” the subordinate reported. “However, we had anticipated that Qin Tian would use talismans. When he activated them, the despair that erupted from that fiend cultivator allowed us to collect even more Chaos.”

The woman in the bamboo hat asked, “What about Wu Yun? He would make a fine material as well.”

The subordinate replied, “He has no idea who we really are. He still thinks we just happened to rescue him from the demon realm and hasn’t exposed anything about us. However, he is currently in the hands of the Supreme Clarity Sect. If we try to retrieve him, it will alert them.”

“No matter. Everything is unfolding as foretold. This jar of Chaos is more than enough,” the woman in the bamboo hat said. “Let’s move to the next location. The war between immortals and fiends is about to break out and that will be the perfect time to harvest more Chaos. We should make our preparations.”

Shortly after, a carriage left Ye Province as silently as it had arrived.

If a spring breeze had lifted the curtain at that moment, one would have seen the woman in the bamboo hat resting her hand gently over the hand of the person beside her.

“Don’t be afraid. That moment is coming soon,” she murmured.

The person beside her appeared to be a young girl but her vacant eyes lacked the vitality of a living being.

If Ning Mingmei had seen her, he would have been shocked.

Because she looked exactly like the deity statue he had once seen in Wangyue Town.

Ao ao ao ao aoooo!! My second favorite character is here! Qi! Mian! Cheng! Our lovely hypocrite!