Chapter 152

Manzhi slept in the cave for countless years, nurturing her soul. The actual time she woke up was only a hundred years.

She didn’t need to meditate or cultivate, just like an ordinary person, rising with the sun and resting with the sunset.

But on many nights, she couldn’t sleep, haunted by nightmares.

In her dreams, all she saw was Chu Feng dying by her hand.

It was in an array set up by thousands of cultivators, painstakingly lured in with bait, trying to capture the leaders of the demon and devil paths in one fell swoop.

The array was actually quite simple. The cultivators proudly told them that if only one person survived in the array, that person could leave, otherwise the array would never break.

The cultivator’s malicious intentions were clear, to let them kill each other, and the last survivor to leave the array would likely be easily annihilated by the cultivators.

Manzhi was furious, unwilling to comply with the cultivator’s intentions, but the demon and devil cultivators were inferior to the cultivators in array techniques and couldn’t break the array. They had no choice but to follow suit.

It’s unclear whether it was the demon general by her side who acted first, or the demon cultivator behind Chu Feng who transformed first and started fighting, but in the end, both sides clashed into a melee.

Manzhi suppressed her anger, muttering curses under her breath, planning to treat the cultivator who set up the array to drinks after getting out, while taking out her life-saving magic weapon, the Soul Lamp, aiming it at Chu Feng, who stood quietly amidst the chaos.

Demons and cultivators were always at odds. Even though she and Chu Feng had fought and played around for so many years, with ups and downs, and even developed a bit of mutual sympathy that Manzhi refused to admit, but now it was a matter of life and death. When a friend dies, a poor Daoist lives on. Manzhi raised her voice and shouted, “Hey, Chu Feng, it’s been so many years, and I’ve never really fought you.”

The white-clad woman beside Manzhi responded by turning around, her gaze fixed on her, unmoving for a long time.

Chu Feng looked good, whether it was the python body with its soft glow or the beautiful humanoid form, it was hard to look away.

Beside her were various spells of different attributes thrown out during the demon and cultivator fights, and she happened to be the only one in white, looking clean enough to offend just by looking at her.

Manzhi felt inexplicably guilty and a bit embarrassed under her gaze. What should she say? After all, they were familiar with each other, although they fought every day. Over the years, there had been several occasions when they advanced and retreated together. At this moment, turning hostile seemed heartless, as if she herself wasn’t human.

But then again, she wasn’t human to begin with. Manzhi felt a lot less burdened when she thought about it this way.

When she saw Chu Feng shake out her Dragonbone Nine-Section Whip, any hesitation in her heart disappeared instantly.

She saw Chu Feng show a faint smile, somewhat unrestrained, lips moving.

Just then, a demon cultivator threw out a Hibiscus Fire, roaring loudly, obscuring Chu Feng’s figure, and covering most of her voice, so Manzhi didn’t understand what Chu Feng meant.

But she heard the second half clearly. Chu Feng’s voice was crisp:

“Come.”

…

In the end, Manzhi was the one who survived the array.

For the first time, her Soul Lamp was stained with Chu Feng’s blood. A drop of crimson blood even splattered onto her face, startling her.

Isn’t Chu Feng supposed to be a snake? Why is her blood so scalding? What happened to being cold-blooded?

This question passed through her mind without a trace, quickly dismissed.

The demon cultivator didn’t expect their king to die at Manzhi’s hands so quickly. In a daze, he was killed by the demon cultivator, then committed suicide, sending the demon queen out of the array.

Manzhi had only minor injuries on her body. She quickly exited the array, startling the cultivator. She didn’t even have time to fully utilize her methods before being killed by Manzhi.

At that moment, Manzhi felt a sense of satisfaction.

She was inherently arrogant and unruly, always mentioned alongside Chu Feng as the demon king and queen. Not only did she have her own title, but she was also treated like Chu Feng’s little wife, constantly overshadowed by her.

Now she was the one who survived. Chu Feng was inferior to her.

But Manzhi considered herself clear about grievances. In this disaster, both she and Chu Feng were harmed by the cultivator. Before leaving, Manzhi, feeling a rare twinge of pity, took Chu Feng’s remains out of the array and handed them over to the demon cultivators of Mingyizhou.

The demon cultivators mourned deeply, slaughtered all the cultivators in Tianfengzhou, and lit human skin lamps, partly as funerary objects and partly to vent their anger.

At that time, Manzhi was meditating nearby, nursing her injuries.

She opened her eyes to a desolate night sky, where scattered lights floated aimlessly, heading towards the pitch-black zenith, without direction.

Suddenly, Manzhi understood what Chu Feng had said to her in the array:

“Today is your birthday.”

Today was her birthday.

The drop of blood that splashed onto her lips had fallen into her heart at some point, hot and scalding, quickly leaving a red scar.

Manzhi blinked, realizing belatedly that she didn’t really want Chu Feng to die.

It wouldn’t be bad for Chu Feng to live.

…

That day’s Chu Feng, that day’s flickering lights, and the blood that made her heart contract suddenly had become indelible marks in Manzhi’s soul, haunting her dreams of love and hate.

Manzhi used to mock and laugh at all this, seeing the world as a joke, enjoying her life. Until the heavens couldn’t bear to see her so smug and made her fall hard with Chu Feng.

After killing Chu Feng, she fell in love with Chu Feng over the next hundred years.

Her soul was entwined, and she felt unbearable pain.

It wasn’t until she handed over the matters of the demon cultivator clan to the successor and found the cultivator who set up the array that trapped her and Chu Feng on that day.

That cultivator founded a sect in the mountains and became the renowned ancestor of the Lingyun Sect. He had considerable ability, but compared to Manzhi, he was still lacking.

Manzhi instinctively wanted to retreat, but upon second thought, she came to avenge Chu Feng. Just killing this old man wouldn’t be enough. She realized that she herself was the one who truly killed Chu Feng.

The patriarch of the Lingyun Sect fell.

Also falling in the Lingyun Sect was the Demon Queen, Manzhi.

Manzhi never expected to “live” again thousands of years later.

After another hundred years, she finally pulled herself together. Coupled with meeting a good “disciple,” she left the secret realm and met Chu Feng again in Tianfengzhou.

The reincarnated Chu Feng.

How could she get close to Chu Feng again? She just watched from afar.

But Chu Feng really couldn’t see her, which annoyed her a bit. She deliberately provoked Chu Feng and then walked away as if nothing happened.

Little did she know, Chu Feng had now regained memories from her past life.

This was messed up. She was now infatuated with someone who remembered her as the one who killed her—even though she wasn’t exactly innocent; she did indeed strike the fatal blow.

Manzhi sniffled.

When Chu Feng unexpectedly said, “Do you remember, it was you who killed me?” Manzhi was taken aback, unable to conceal her expression.

She hesitated for a moment. This approach wouldn’t work; she had to try something else.

Raising her head, the Silver Fox of Tianxue, bound by the White Python, said, “One life for another, I died once—”

“I know.” Chu Feng nodded, even chuckled lightly.

The rest of Manzhi’s sentence, “I’ve already repaid you with one life, so we’re even,” got stuck in her throat.

She nearly choked.

“You know, but you’re not letting go? My people are waiting outside. If you don’t let go, I’ll have them tear you apart.”

“Oh.” Chu Feng nodded, showing no intention of moving, calm and composed. She even raised an eyebrow as if urging her, “Why haven’t you called them yet?”

“…”

Manzhi began to doubt herself. How could she like such a dog-like woman? Could it be that she had made a mistake?

Manzhi fell into contemplation.

The snowy white fox remained stiff in the snake’s tail, as if not hearing the other’s provocation to call for a fight. Its ears drooped, looking somewhat timid and aggrieved.

Chu Feng didn’t like furry demonic beasts. Seeing Manzhi in her current strange yet somewhat cute state, she used the tip of her tail to scratch the fox’s soft belly. As expected, she was kicked over by Manzhi and even scratched by her claws.

The clashing sound of metal rang out, and both sides remained unharmed.

Chu Feng scooped up the silver fox and gave it a few pats. The texture felt a bit strange, but it was acceptable.

She reluctantly accepted Manzhi’s current appearance, but the latter obviously didn’t appreciate it. Its fur was about to stand on end, legs kicking vigorously, struggling desperately.

“…” Chu Feng held its head down and paused before saying, “Don’t you want to know how I reincarnated?”

Manzhi’s kicking slowed down, her expression stiff.

Damn it, she really wanted to know.

Chu Feng, understanding her stubbornness, looked at the silent back of Manzhi’s head and said understandingly, “To explain this, I have to mention one person.”

“Who?”

“Yu Yi’s mother, Qiong Ling.”

Chu Feng’s eyes revealed a nostalgic expression.

“You haven’t seen her, but… she took away your memories.”

Since taking human form, those suppressed and sealed memories surged forth like waves. They weren’t just from her past life but also from this one.

Unlike Manzhi, who had just died under the Demon Queen’s soul lamp and then, in the next moment, woke up in Lingyun Sect’s remote mountains as a three-inch-long white snake with faint demonic energy throughout her body and memories of her previous life, hazy yet real.

She hid in the treetops, listening to her disciples say that there was no longer a way for demonic cultivators to survive on the continent, and that the Demon Queen had long perished, dying near the Lingyun Sect at the hands of the sect’s patriarch. At that time, she hated cultivators to the extreme, lurking near the Lingyun Sect, waiting for the opportunity to take human form and break out of the great formation, soaring to the sky.

Before that, Qiong Ling found her.

At first, Chu Feng didn’t take her seriously, but Qiong Ling kept talking to the thick stick-like white snake. Not only did she accurately recount her past, but she could even tell how many petals were on the snake-mouth lotus they encountered the day she met Qin Yi, leaving Chu Feng stunned.

She asked Qiong Ling who she was and how she knew so much.

Qiong Ling only said two words: “An outsider.”

Qiong Ling not only recounted the past but also foresaw her future. She said if she didn’t intervene, Chu Feng would surely disrupt the future of the Nine Provinces, causing chaos and devastation, breaking the illusionary formation, and restarting the war between demonic cultivators and cultivators, leading to widespread suffering.

Chu Feng remained silent.

Seeing her indifferent, Qiong Ling said to her again:

“You will meet Qin Yi, but you won’t be able to recognize her. You may even want to kill her on a whim. And Qin Yi will never tell you who she is. Your first life didn’t end well, and your second life will also miss each other due to various entanglements.”

Chu Feng’s expression changed instantly.

“Qin Yi is still alive?” She heard her voice trembling, filled with cautious and fragile ecstasy.

Qiong Ling’s voice was clear, and her lips were agile:

“Well, not exactly alive. Her soul is still there, but she will never have a physical body again, at most, she’ll inhabit the body of a demonic beast.”

“Now she’s the same kind as you. Oh, she’s not from the snake clan. She’s furry all over, unlike you who’s shedding skin. Don’t complain about her shedding fur too much.”

Qiong Ling kept talking incessantly, and finally smiled mysteriously:

“I’ll leave the surprise of her specific race to you – rest assured, delicate, soft, and water-loving. You’ll definitely like it.”

“…”

Chu Feng was bothered by her constant chatter, and she always felt like Qiong Ling was looking at her like a mother goose looks at her daughter, making Chu Feng uncomfortable. She turned her head away, trying to digest Qiong Ling’s words.

Qin Yi is still alive, she is still alive.

As for the series of developments mentioned by Qiong Ling later, even if they were true… Chu Feng glanced at the composed Qiong Ling in front of her. Qiong Ling had said so much to her, it couldn’t just be idle talk, there must be a motive behind it.

Since there was a motive, there could be changes.

Chu Feng temporarily suppressed these thoughts and asked about another matter she was extremely concerned about:

“Why can’t Qin Yi have a physical body again?”

“Yeah, why?” Manzhi had been putting on a face of listening to Chu Feng’s story, but now she couldn’t sit still.

This was really bizarre. Why couldn’t she live as a human anymore?

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu

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