True Heir of Chaos: From Villainess to Empress

Jian Dan's expression turned cold. To think they dared to implicate the entire Mo Ying Peak... Clearly, she had gone too easy on them.

She and Mo Yi stepped into the air in unison. The pillar of light above Mo Ying Peak was still spreading outward, though its expansion had slowed.

Jian Dan raised her left hand. The Peak Lord Command Seal appeared in her palm, slowly rotating. As her demonic qi surged into it, the seal grew brighter and brighter until, with a sudden activation, it burst forth with defensive light. A protective barrier unfolded with Jian Dan at its center, spreading out over the mountain below.

The two barriers inevitably collided. Jian Dan knew brute force would not favor her side, so she formed a hand seal to stabilize her formation. Then she sent a voice transmission to Mo Yi.

"Senior Brother Mo Yi, please move everyone off Mo Ying Peak. It looks like Mo Zhang Zūnzhě has already engaged the enemy."

"Alright. I'll do my best. Don't overextend yourself either."

Just as Mo Yi left, the two barrier fields clashed with a thunderous shock. Even with the boost from the Peak Lord Command Seal, Jian Dan was knocked back thirty feet before she managed to steady herself mid-air.

"Chuan, what's the situation at the rear mountain?"

Still holding the protective field in place, Jian Dan sent a voice transmission to her guard, Liu Chuan, to assess the battle.

"Mo Zhang Zūnzhě is holding up well. He should be able to handle the enemy. The only reason it's taking time is because the other side had a chance to prepare."

"That's fine. I just don't want to be the one charging ahead while they hide behind and collect the rewards."

"You're really sharp."

"Hmph. We've all cultivated for a thousand years. Everyone's just looking out for their own interests."

Liu Chuan offered no rebuttal. Jian Dan was simply stating the truth.

She could sense the clash inside the barrier. The air was saturated with demonic qi, and the rear mountain was on the verge of being torn apart by the intensity of the fight. The shockwaves from their confrontation shook the shield again and again, steadily destabilizing it.

With a blur of movement, Mo Yi returned to her side, arms folded across his chest.

"Everyone who wasn't trapped within the enemy's barrier has been evacuated. They're now gathered at the mountain's base."

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

Jian Dan winked at him, then they both turned their attention back to the fight. After a moment, Mo Yi spoke.

"Junior Sister Mo Yue, if I recall correctly, the Receiving Guest Hall is located near the entrance to the rear mountain?"

"Mm. It's close to the spiritual veins and meant for entertaining important guests."

"So, you dug a pit for the Ma clan right under their feet. Aren't you afraid they'll come after you for it?"

"The Ma Clan Patriarch is a Void Refinement stage Zhūnzhǔ. Surely he's not afraid of a single Divine Soul stage cultivator. I just hope the one being parasitized isn't one of their own."

"Why do you say that?"

"If the infected one is from the Ma clan, then he'll be seen as cleaning up his own house, covering for Ma Feijun's mess. If he's not, then it's even more crucial for him to act, to save face and prove that the Ma clan still has strength."

"And if he's not related to the Ma clan at all?"

"Then they should help purge the black-armored beetle infestation on Mo Ying Peak. At the very least, it would be a gesture of goodwill toward Heavenly Demon Palace."

"Too bad he's seriously injured right now." Mo Yi said this casually, but his eyes shifted toward Jian Dan's beautiful face, as if trying to gauge something.

"Senior Brother, you flatter me. I had no idea he'd get injured. It's all Heaven's will."

Mo Yi would have been a fool to believe that. But like everyone else, he had no proof, only suspicions.

Still, the fact that Jian Dan had instantly slain two high-level cultivators—one in Void Refinement and the other mid-stage Divine Transformation—made people wary. Regardless of their competence, such opponents were not easy to defeat, let alone kill in a single move.

"Looks like it's wrapping up."

Just as Jian Dan finished speaking, the enemy's formation shattered, and three figures appeared mid-air. They were Mo Zhang Zūnzhě, Patriarch Ma Wen, and a heavily injured Divine Soul cultivator who had been parasitized.

"Junior Sister, you were right. That's Ma Shaoqi, the Ma clan's newly advanced Divine Soul cultivator."

"Well well, this is getting interesting."

As she spoke, Jian Dan formed a complex set of hand seals directed at the Peak Lord Command Seal. The entire mountain was instantly enveloped by the formation, except for the three suspended in the air.

Ma Shaoqi was severely wounded. He knew there was no escape today. After years of cultivation, all it had taken was one mistake to be parasitized by a black beetle. He didn't know who to blame. He couldn't bear to give up, so he clung to the hope that he could outlast the parasite. But as his cultivation rose, the beetle's control grew tighter.

He had been planning to return to his clan to see if any rare treasures might help him buy time or suppress the beetle. But before he could act, Ma Yi and Ma Feijun were both killed, and Mo Ying Peak had fallen into new hands.

He sensed danger from the start, especially when Mo Yue's first act as Peak Lord was to execute all the parasitized cultivators—except him.

He wasn't sure if she had missed him or chosen to ignore him. He'd hoped that, during his meeting with the new Ma Clan Patriarch, he could slip away to the clan grounds.

But before he could make his move, he was intercepted by Mo Zhang Zūnzhě. Their battle had nearly leveled the rear mountain.

"Mo Zhang, we're both Divine Soul cultivators. There's no way to determine a victor. What proof do you have that I'm the one parasitized?"

"The stench on your body."

"You—"

"Patriarch Ma, I advise you to help me take him down. Otherwise, the Ma clan won't be able to survive on this peak."

Ma Wen hesitated. On one hand, Ma Shaoqi was the most powerful cultivator left in the clan. If he truly was parasitized, he'd have no choice but to act. But on the other hand, Mo Zhang was head of the Black Robe Guard. Was he genuinely certain of Ma Shaoqi's infection, or was this just an excuse to weaken the Ma clan?

As Ma Wen wavered, a beam of light pierced through Ma Shaoqi's chest. He froze midair. Then, his entire body turned to ash. His face, still frozen in shock, crumbled along with him. A moment later, a black-armored beetle the size of a fist burst from his shattered skull.

As soon as it emerged, the beetle flapped its membrane wings and darted straight toward the closest person—Ma Wen.

At last, Ma Wen reacted. If he didn't act now, the Ma clan would truly lose its standing in the Heavenly Demon Palace.

Without hesitation, he slashed his sword, cutting the beetle clean in half and ending the battle in an instant.

Yet Ma Wen felt no triumph. His entire purpose in coming to the palace had failed. In the end, he'd been forced to kill his own clan member with his own hand. He had gained nothing and lost everything.

Floating in the air, Mo Zhang Zūnzhě turned to bow respectfully behind Ma Wen.

"Disciple Mo Zhang thanks Mó Yàn Zhēnzūn for your intervention."

Ma Wen quickly turned around. All he saw was a swirling void vortex, and from within came a low, majestic voice:

"Finish it quickly. Don't damage the peak. How will my grand-disciple inherit it otherwise?"

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Now we knew that 尊者 (Zūnzhě), is title for Divine Soul stage for Demon Cultivator