Chapter 81: Revenge

The palms of the two people joined together, one cold and one hot, gradually merging until they shared the same temperature.

Vane opened his eyes and gazed up at the rugged, uneven stone walls above.

She doesn't want to die, so she cannot die.

He thought to himself.

It was as if dark clouds had been broken apart, the haze completely dissipated. A hard stone had crashed into the still, dead water, rippling outward. Only now did he recall what the desire for life looked like, and it was magnified infinitely.

Vane felt her soft palm. Zora was too cold; as soon as she regained a bit of strength, her hand moved upward, burrowing into his sleeve. The youth was heavily injured, and his tightly bound black narrow-cuffed sleeve had been slashed, becoming loose and no longer hugging his wrist. Zora’s fingertips could slide right in with a single nudge.

Beneath his clothing, it was warm and burning. Even though life was slipping away, it was as if he were burning through his final embers. Vane’s dark lashes lowered slightly as he remained motionless. Their palms overlapped; while she sought warmth, his finger pads were forced to touch her wrist, which remained deathly cold.

Lying on his chest, Zora’s four fingers burrowed in until she was grasping his wrist. She watched the cave entrance and continued to urge him: "Thought of it yet?"

"..."

His knuckles curled slightly, pressing against her sleeve. An ice-cold chill pressed against his forearm, causing the youth's temperature to drop. Vane had lost too much blood; his temperature would fluctuate rapidly and the negative effects would intensify, yet he seemed to notice nothing.

"How much of your spiritual power has recovered," he said. "Perhaps we can try to maintain a thin, small barrier. Wait..."

Vane finished speaking and propped himself up on the ground, sitting up with excruciating slowness. Zora followed his movement, lifting herself slightly, and once Vane sat up through gritted teeth, she leaned back against his shoulder, looking like she had absolutely no desire to move.

Though her spiritual power was slowly recovering, she was still very tired.

Vane was enduring agonizing pain; the flayed flesh on his back had stuck to his clothes. Every time he moved, the muscles on his back were pulled, bringing a sensation of his skin being torn raw.

He still had feeling in his pinned leg. Vane didn't look at it; he tilted his head slightly and lowered his gaze. She was resting against his shoulder, the flesh of her cheek lightly squeezed.

He had a way to get out—what he didn't have a way for was defeating the demonic cultivator. But the moment Zora expressed a desire to live, his mind became active, rapidly calculating methods.

The Dark Dust spear appeared, its tip shining brilliantly. Since Zora was leaning on one side of him, he used his other hand to grasp the spear, intending to shatter the boulder. Without a word, Zora instantly understood what he was doing; she performed a hand seal and established a weak barrier just large enough to envelop the two of them.

Vane was about to focus his meager spiritual power when the spear tip began to tremble.

The youth was momentarily dazed.

It was

he

who was trembling. A physiological, uncontrollable trembling that showed the extent of his injuries.

Seeing his spear shake and fearing his aim would be off, Zora simply sat straight. She snatched the black spear and thrust it at the boulder. Cracks spread outward from the tip.

Suddenly, the earth shook and the mountains swayed. A deafening sound of shattering echoed. Zora looked up; the collapsing mountain was held back by her barrier, rolling down along the semi-circular shield. She was concentrating on maintaining the barrier when she suddenly heard a muffled groan—a sound of uncontrollable pain.

Zora looked over. Vane’s face was as white as paper, his lips even paler, but he quickly adjusted his expression, treating the pain as nothing. However, his body still wouldn't allow him to move freely.

An unknown amount of time passed. Stones were everywhere, and a thick darkness flooded their vision. Zora’s spiritual power had mostly recovered: "It's done."

Zora felt the person beside her slowly stand up.

Then, with a swing of the spear, he forcibly carved out a path. Light shone in, and simultaneously, the barrier extended so the path wouldn't be covered again. Vane’s leg hadn't recovered; he staggered, and Zora propped him up, dragging him out step by step. A trail of blurred bloodstains was left on the ground.

The demonic cultivator was exceptionally powerful. To go seek life was more like seeking death.

Vane felt no fear; he only glanced at Zora. He had struggled through the Demon Realm for years like a rat in the gutter, using every trick to stay alive—underhanded schemes and open plots were all tools to him. Vane was very smart; he naturally knew to avoid demonic cultivators with high cultivation. In the face of absolute power, no amount of dark schemes could be executed; one could only wait for death.

Now, he wanted her to live no matter what. Yet, because he was weak, he could give no promise. Vane lowered his eyes, his face cold and hard, but his spiritual platform was turbulent and unstable.

Zora was nearly at her limit and stumbled. She steadied her pace and headed toward the seal again.

Zora: "The array outside the seal is hidden. Do you have a way?"

Vane: "I can try."

The two were like tiny ants, supporting each other as they walked across the vast yellow soil. A cultivator’s body is different from a mortal’s; his leg was able to muster some strength—or rather, he forced it to. He staggered along, at least ensuring his full body weight wasn't pressing on Zora's shoulder. He stared deathly at the ground, lips pressed tight, taking small steps with his injured leg one by one.

Cold sweat slid from his forehead. Zora only felt the taste of blood in her throat. her internal injuries hadn't recovered, and the large bloodstain on her blue skirt had solidified; anyone could see the girl was at the end of her rope.

The System watched in silence, not speaking as usual. It suddenly realized that the Host might believe the villain could turn the tide. And the villain was following her; even if he knew it was a dead end, he went without hesitation because of Zora's choice.

In the original work, the time when the villain was taken to the Demon Realm was supposed to be his death. He was alone, had lost everything, and possessed nothing; he knew it was a dead end. The youth had wanted to perish along with the demons who tried to gouge out his spiritual platform and dantian, but his intense hatred triggered the demonic seed, turning the tide and changing the original plot.

Now, Vane wanted to "perish together" with her.

The two walked slowly to their destination. Vane took a few looks, reached out, and used spiritual power to trace a glowing line in the air—a complex rune. The array finally reappeared and was unraveled by him.

Zora glanced at Vane, who was struggling to walk.

"Is there a way?"

She meant defeating the demonic cultivator.

"...Sorry."

Zora was quiet for a few seconds. She suddenly remembered that his victory in the original was the result of twisting the plot line. Meaning, it wasn't a certainty. After a moment, she suddenly let go of him and walked toward the passage alone.

Vane was aghast. He instinctively reached out to grab her, but due to his leg, he only stumbled. His hand grabbed at the air, catching nothing.

"Wait...!"

He couldn't catch up to her. His leg was in a wretched state, unable to match the girl's pace. The spear vibrated in anxiety and flew out to stab into the soil in front of the girl, stopping her progress.

Zora turned back.

The youth was a mess, his dark eyes holding only her figure: "Don't go alone."

Zora: "You can't walk. I am going to fight."

Vane blurted out: "You can't beat him... you'll die."

His brow was tightly knit, yet his expression held a faint plea as he whispered: "...You'll die."

Zora: "If I die, you're afraid you'll die too."

Vane: "I have never been afraid."

"I'm just..." The youth's voice grew weak. He paused, his vision whitening in a daze, before speaking dryly after a moment. "...I'm afraid our corpses won't be together. If you are at the seal and others happen not to find you, at least as master and servant, we can be companions."

It was an exceptionally clumsy excuse, as if he could no longer think. If the cultivation world sent people, they would surely search every corner.

Zora actually thought about it seriously. Though she believed that once dead, the corpse didn't matter, she felt she must have learned a lot of social grace since coming to this world. For instance, he wasn't afraid of her not being found, but afraid of dying alone on the spot.

The more Zora thought about it, the more she felt she was right. She recalled certain customs of this world, walked to Vane, used the Jiangxue Sword to cut off a lock of her black hair, and handed it to him.

"Here. Just treat this as the corpse."

Vane wanted to catch her, but the puppet threads controlled his every move. He could only watch as she placed the hair in his palm and entered the sealing ground. The spear wailed, its spiritual power gone. When the effect of the puppet threads vanished, Vane walked over step by step. The pain was too great; that leg was being forced to move. Dragging a trail of blood, he soon lost all strength and the youth collapsed to the ground.

He didn't want her to die. He didn't want her to die elsewhere.

He wanted to lose his breath by her side.

If... if only he were a bit stronger—

...

[Host!] the System finally spoke urgently. [Why didn't you take the villain with you!]

"He said he had no way."

She didn't know how Vane counter-killed in the Demon Realm in the original, and she didn't believe he could succeed at any time. So if he said there was no way, then so be it.

[He can trigger the demonic seed!]

Zora frowned: "But last time he triggered the demonic seed, he wanted to fight me and was incoherent. If he awakens this time, there's no guarantee he won't kill me too. How is that help?"

[This... this...]

The System hesitated for a long while. [What if it's different this time?]

Zora ignored it and stopped her steps.

The demonic cultivator was breaking the seal and had long since sensed the sword cultivator's aura. Once she approached, he turned slowly and smiled: "So eager to seek death?"

Zhou Shijin broke the demonic boundary. Turi Qi went first to find and help Song Zhihuai, Yiling Ke, and the others.

Zhou Shijin headed straight for the seal, only to see the youth on the ground outside the sealing area.

The moment before the demonic seed was about to manifest, Zhou Shijin used spiritual power to lift him up. Vane’s mind instantly cleared, and the demonic seed was quietly buried once again.

Zhou Shijin glanced at him: "Where is Zora?"

Vane immediately said: "She is at the seal."

He was covered in wounds, looking as if he would die the next moment, yet he was obsessed with her life and death, completely disregarding himself.

Zhou Shijin saw the disciple's servant wouldn't die for the time being, so she ignored him and flashed into the array.

The seal had already been broken.

The demonic cultivator's whip was dripping with blood. He let out a light laugh at the person on the ground: "So you don't have a Sword Bone after all."

Zhou Shijin's face went cold, then she suddenly laughed, her voice reaching out:

"I don't have a Sword Bone either, yet I didn't see that Wanghua-jun with a Sword Bone being much stronger than me in the past!"

The sword sang as it left its sheath. With a swing, the sword wind was like a bolt of thunder striking the enemy.

The demonic cultivator was startled. He hadn't even noticed someone entering!

He turned and used his long whip to block, wanting to entangle the sword, but it was broken by the wind. The whip snapped inch by inch, and he was smashed into a hillside.

Zhou Shijin landed, looking at Zora on the ground: "Luckily, you aren't dead yet."

She leaned down, pouring spiritual power into her meridians over and over, maintaining Zora's blood flow and heartbeat.

Zora regained consciousness and opened her eyes. Her ribs had been lashed open, revealing a hint of ghastly white. Zhou Shijin somberly used massive spiritual power to heal her flesh.

Zora looked at her.

"It hurts a bit."

Zhou Shijin: "Endure it."

Then Zhou Shijin stood straight, looking down with cold eyes: "Stand up. Take up your sword."

Zora was in a daze for a moment before swaying to her feet. When pain reaches a certain level, the brain seems to control her into forgetting the agony. Just as she picked up her sword, Zhou Shijin grasped her sword-hand from her side.

The distant demon was enraged, his demonic Qi surging. He stepped out of the hillside and sneered: "Merely a faded Zhou Shijin!"

Nowadays, every cultivator and demon knew Wanghua-jun. But those who lived longer knew the great name of Zhou Shijin even better. And her thunderous sword strike.

Zhou Shijin remained expressionless, staring at the demon, and asked her disciple:

"How is it?"

Zora: "Not very good."

She tardily recalled the experience just now, and her heart inexplicably surged with extreme resentment and indignation—emotions that were entirely foreign. Yet her face showed no expression as she gripped the sword hilt tight.

Zhou Shijin smiled: "Remember the feeling of being stepped on."

The spiritual power of both people rapidly gathered at the edge of the Jiangxue Sword. Massive spiritual power enveloped the meager spiritual power, condensing into a single point.

"And the pleasure of revenge."

Zhou Shijin’s features were full of pride, her lips carrying contempt. Her sword intent formed a gale. Zora watched the sword, her blood-soaked heavy robes hanging down, yet her black hair fluttered lightly.

Zhou Shijin let go of her hand.

Zora paused, focused her spirit and energy, and lifted her eyes to the charging demon.

Just killing someone.

She never used to think there was any pleasure in this, just as she didn't understand Vane's hobby.

The girl swung her sword. The clear sword Qi carried thunder, pressing down on all things as it invaded. Where it passed, the earth's surface shattered and black clouds loomed.

The demonic cultivator wailed within the sword Qi, torn into a thousand pieces.

Zora watched him until the corpse was broken into fragments, then evaporated and dissolved in the sword Qi.

She had taken revenge before, but never once felt the way she did now.

What feeling? She only knew that if someone else had come to save her, the feeling might have been different—just like the difference between Zhou Shijin, Vane, and Yiling Ke in her heart. Even with those close to her, the intimate feelings varied, though she had never paid attention to that point before.

Zora thought carefully and naively.

The System appeared at the right time: [It's the difference between friends and elders. Friendship and familial love are, after all, different. Isn't Zhou Shijin your elder?]

[And there's romantic love, too.]

The System added, while internally wondering if the Host even had that capacity.

Zhou Shijin looked at her wounded disciple and raised an eyebrow: "Happy?"

Zora thought for a moment and nodded seriously: "Happy."