I Swear I’m Not a Demonic Cultivator - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: There’s No Explaining Now—I Truly Am Righteous

“Welcome home, Holy Son…”

Yun Shuishui’s voice was soft, yet it struck like a venom-tipped ice needle, piercing the Divine Souls of every Righteous Path cultivator present.

Home? Holy Son?

Sect Leader Yun Lan of the Azure Cloud Sect’s mind went utterly blank.

Behind him, hundreds of Righteous Path cultivators turned ashen-faced, their very breaths catching in their throats.

What were they witnessing?

Yun Shuishui, the demonic vixen from the Demonic Path Holy Land, who reveled in cruelty and slaughter, who treated human lives as mere blades of grass, was performing a grand bow before Fang Zheng!

Her posture was so devout, so utterly sincere, it surpassed even the humblest disciple prostrating before a deity.

A bone-chilling realization pierced through their Dao Hearts:

Fang Zheng…

He wasn’t some fallen disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect who had turned to the Demonic Path.

He was the Holy Son!

A final, unimaginably high-ranking pawn the Demonic Path had planted within the Righteous Dao for ten thousand years!

Everything clicked into place:

His terrifyingly pure Demonic Cultivation Technique.

His unrestrained slaughter.

That unfathomable first-place ranking on the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion’s list…

All of it because he was inherently demonic!

“It’s over…”

The white-haired elder of the Myriad Methods Sect’s hand went limp, and his divination compass clattered to the ground, shattering into pieces.

Despair, like a plague, instantly engulfed the entire Righteous Dao Allied Army.

They looked up at the colossal bone ship blazing with eerie green Ghostly Fire in the sky.

Then they looked down at the murderous formation they had personally set, trapping themselves and the Butcher in a fatal snare.

How utterly absurd.

How utterly laughable.

On the bone ship, Yun Shuishui slowly straightened, her soul-stirring peach blossom eyes still fixed on Fang Zheng with fervent devotion.

She ignored the life and death of the Righteous Dao ants.

Instead, she addressed the Demonic Cultivators on the ship, her voice soft yet carrying the weight of a Divine Decree:

“You may not understand…”

“He is the descent of the Primordial Demon Sovereign’s will, the hope we have awaited for ten thousand years.”

“From this day forth, to see him is to see me.”

Yun Shuishui paused, then uttered even more shocking words:

“No—it is to behold the Primordial Sovereign himself!”

At this declaration, every Demonic Cultivator on the bone ship gasped, their breathing heavy.

The Primordial Sovereign reborn!

The Holy Son has descended!

The legends… are true!

In an instant, the awe in their eyes transformed into a frenzied, tidal wave of worship.

He is our god!

At the center of the formation, Fang Zheng stood motionless, utterly bewildered.

Who is this woman?

Why is she bowing to me?

“Holy Son”? “Returning home”?

Fang Zheng’s Haoran Demonic Essence sensed the surging, pure Demonic Energy and instinctively began to circulate faster.

An invisible, jet-black protective aura spontaneously unfolded from his skin, repelling the woman’s words and their insidious charm.

This demoness… there’s something wrong with her.

Every word she speaks is meant to disrupt my Dao Heart, to make me believe we’re on the same side!

Fang Zheng’s body tensed instantly, his gaze sharpening as he fixed Yun Shuishui with a wary glare, every muscle coiled like a viper ready to strike.

This subtle movement, however, took on an entirely new meaning in Yun Shuishui’s eyes.

Holy Son… he’s testing me!

He saw me coming, yet he remains guarded.

This is his way of testing my loyalty—and the loyalty of the entire Demonic Path Holy Land!

He’s watching to see if, in the face of the Righteous Dao’s Divine Extermination Great Formation, we dare to fight to the death for him!

Yun Shuishui’s heart clenched violently, then began to pound wildly.

I understand now.

“Holy Son, rest assured! Shuishui will never let you down!”

“Aaaaaaah—!”

Yun Lan’s roar shattered the silence, driving him completely mad.

“Fang Zheng! You still claim you’re not of the Demonic Path?!”

“You’ve been hiding your true nature so well!”

“Everyone! Hesitate no longer! Fang Zheng is the Demonic Son! Today, it’s either their deaths or our doom!”

Acting like a madman, he spat mouthful after mouthful of his heart’s blood onto the cyan Jade Ruyi at the core of the formation, as if it were worthless.

Hum!

The Nine Heavens Ten Earths Divine Extermination Formation erupted with its final burst of light.

The Star Chart in the sky spun wildly, and the Divine Extermination Light Spear—a condensed mass of cultivation power from hundreds of cultivators—solidified once more, its tip locked firmly onto Fang Zheng below.

Fang Zheng’s gaze sharpened.

These Righteous Dao comrades have indeed been bewitched by the demoness, completely losing their senses.

In the palm of his right hand, the pitch-black Human Emperor’s Seal was poised to be unleashed.

I must break through this cage first, then deal with the true Demon Lord!

However, someone moved faster than him.

“Hmph, mere grains of sand.”

On the bone ship, Yun Shuishui let out a disdainful snort.

With a delicate lift of her jade-like hand, a bone mirror materialized in her palm, its surface composed of countless wailing skull heads.

The forbidden artifact of the Demonic Path—the Myriad Souls Bone Mirror!

She didn’t even glance at the heaven-shattering Divine Extermination Light Spear.

Her target was Yun Lan, the man powering the Great Formation!

“Insects! Do you dare brandish your weapons before the Holy Son?”

A wisp of pure Demonic Energy surged into the bone mirror.

Hum!

A pitch-black, ink-like beam, brimming with curses and venom, erupted from the mirror, shooting straight toward Yun Lan!

Was she… trying to save Fang Zheng?!

Everyone froze in stunned silence.

“No—!”

Yun Lan shrieked in terror, his mind fully absorbed by the Great Formation, leaving him utterly defenseless.

Just as the dark beam was about to strike Yun Lan…

A thunderous roar shook the heavens!

“Stop!”

A cyan afterimage vanished from its position in an instant!

In the next instant, Fang Zheng had materialized directly in front of Yun Lan!

He faced the pitch-black Demonic light head-on with his bare back!

Boom!

The cursed beam slammed squarely into Fang Zheng’s chest.

His body jolted violently as a frigid, malevolent force surged into him, only to be instantly devoured by the far more domineering Haoran Demonic Essence within him, transforming it into his own power.

Completely unscathed.

But this scene froze time itself.

The smile on Yun Shuishui’s face froze.

Holy Son… why?

Why would you save that insect? Why would you use your own body to block my attack?

Could it be…?

An absurd yet heart-pounding thought surged through her mind.

He wasn’t saving him!

He was worried about me! He feared I’d exhaust myself by using the forbidden artifact, so he stepped in himself!

He’s showing me, in this way, that he alone is enough!

Yun Shuishui’s hand, gripping the Myriad Souls Bone Mirror, began to tremble slightly.

Holy Son… you’re so gentle!

Meanwhile, on the other side…

Yun Lan and all the Righteous Path cultivators were utterly dumbfounded.

He… saved me?

The Demonic Son saved me—the very person who wanted to kill him?

Why?

Yun Lan’s mind turned to mush.

He stared blankly at the figure before him—not particularly tall, yet willing to sacrifice himself to save him—at that familiar Azure Cloud Sect disciple’s robe.

For a moment, Yun Lan found himself strangely drawn to the other man, a flicker of warmth spreading through his heart.

Fang Zheng slowly turned around.

His icy gaze swept past the flustered Yun Lan, locking onto Yun Shuishui in the distance.

The lingering demonic aura in his chest confirmed it beyond doubt.

This demoness is far more cunning and formidable than I imagined.

Fang Zheng’s gaze swept across the battlefield.

He saw the undisguised fear, confusion, and bewilderment on the faces of the Righteous Path cultivators.

He looked to the other side and saw the Demonic Path practitioners’ eyes burning with fanatical fervor, adoration, and an unwavering, unquestioning faith.

Wrong.

All of it wrong.

I’m truly not of the Demonic Path.

Fang Zheng opened his mouth, but found himself unable to utter a single word.

An explanation?

How can I possibly explain this absurd spectacle?

Fang Zheng fell silent.

In the deathly still battlefield, he slowly raised his left hand.

The Black Qi-wreathed Human Emperor Banner fluttered in the wind.

Then, he slowly raised his right hand.

The Human Emperor’s Seal, carved with mountains of corpses and seas of blood, hovered silently.

May all the Righteous Path cultivators sense the Human Emperor’s aura within these artifacts.

“I am of the Righteous Dao, not the Demonic Path.”

“All my actions are for the benefit of all living beings.”