After The Death Escape and Ascension, The Male Protagonist of Long Aotian Went Crazy - Chapter 18

Chi Qingxuan had slain the demon king with his own strength. All the sects acknowledged his position as head of the immortal sects, and once again the cultivation world returned to peace.

Immortal Lord Shuyu was still in seclusion, and Chi Qingxuan instructed everyone not to disturb her.

After finishing the sect’s affairs, he buried himself in alchemy.

The demon king’s sword had nearly pierced Hua Jinrong’s heart vein. Her injuries had yet to heal, so every day, Chi Qingxuan refined pills and had them sent to Bixu Palace.

Looking at the pills that were delivered, Hua Jinning teased her sister with a grin:
“Elder Sister, Sect Master Chi truly dotes on you!”

Hua Jinrong’s pale face flushed pink. She shot her sister a coquettish glare, snatched the pill away, and refused to answer.

“If you tease me again, I’ll ask Master to properly test your spellwork.”

When it came to teaching disciples, Immortal Lord Yunyao was famously strict.

Being young and fond of idling, Hua Jinning was Yunyao’s biggest headache.

Not wanting to be nagged again, she immediately begged for mercy:
“Elder Sister, I was wrong, please forgive me!”

Hua Jinrong covered her lips with a smile, telling her it was only a joke and she needn’t worry.

For half a month Chi Qingxuan had been sending pills to Bixu Palace. Hua Jinrong missed him dearly. She especially requested leave from Yunyao so that she could go to Xuan Yin Sect.

When Hua Jinning heard her sister was leaving, she clung shamelessly and begged to be brought along—anything to avoid Yunyao dragging her off to practice sword.

Hua Jinrong always spoiled her, so she agreed.

Thinking about going to see the man she loved, joy spilled from her heart; she couldn’t focus on cultivation at all. She even slipped into the kitchen and personally prepared some pastries to deliver to him.

The thought of Chi Qingxuan seeing her shy, bashful smile filled her heart with sweetness.

On a still night, insects chirped intermittently. The moonlight through the lattice window stretched her shadow long.

She stared blankly at the dough in her hands.

Cough, cough!

Even after taking pills for half a month, her body hadn’t recovered.

Her nose tickled.

When Hua Jinrong touched it, she found bl00d on her hand. She calmly wiped it away. She knew she wouldn’t last much longer.

She had too many worries.

Her slender figure, already thin from injury, looked even more frail.

The flour stirred by the night wind blurred her lonely back, and the bright moonlight concealed the sorrow in her expression.

On the way to Xuan Yin Sect, Hua Jinrong was joyful. If only her sister hadn’t been constantly teasing her, she might have been even happier.

“Elder Sister, put away that smile.”

Though the two sisters were about the same age, Hua Jinning’s temperament was far more childlike, while her elder sister was the more mature.

Hua Jinrong sighed helplessly. Teasing didn’t hurt anyone, so she let her be.

The sect disciples all knew of the connection between this Miss Hua and their sect master, so they quickly let them through. Seeing them treat her sister so respectfully filled Hua Jinning with pride.

Chi Qingxuan knew she was coming. He had finished all matters early and came to the gate himself to welcome them.

With so many eyes watching, his face reddened.

Only after bringing them back to his immortal residence did he finally relax.

“Arong…”

“Sect Master Chi, these pastries were made by my sister—she didn’t sleep all night to prepare them.”

All night?

Chi Qingxuan’s heart ached. He took her hand, telling her not to do such things again. Pastries weren’t necessary.

“Don’t listen to her nonsense.”

Hua Jinrong smiled awkwardly, about to explain that it wasn’t so serious, when suddenly a shrill, eerie laugh echoed in her mind.

The voice pierced her ears, sharp as knives.

Her complexion instantly paled.

“Arong, what’s wrong?” Chi Qingxuan asked anxiously.

The voice in her head kept tearing at her nerves, a thousand needles stabbing. Her breath quickened; suddenly her body swayed, and she clutched Chi Qingxuan’s arm tightly. She opened her mouth to speak, but first vomited a mouthful of bl00d.

The change came too suddenly.

Hua Jinning shrieked:
“Elder Sister!”

“Arong!”

The urgent voices grew distant, drowned by the demon king’s wild laughter.

Hua Jinrong knew—she couldn’t hold out any longer.

The demon king hadn’t truly died. He had left a trick.

When his sword pierced her heart, he planted a fragment of his demon soul into her body. For half a month she had been suppressing his attempt at possession. To keep her master and sister from worrying, she hadn’t told anyone.

Now, coughing bl00d before them, she could hide no more.

“What’s going on?” Hua Jinning felt her pulse. “Elder Sister, didn’t you say you were already fine? Why are you spitting bl00d—”

“Why? Of course, because I’m inside her…”

A cold, sinister voice came from Hua Jinrong’s mouth.

“‘Hua Jinrong’” suddenly grabbed Hua Jinning’s hand. Black demonic energy instantly crawled over her body. Hua Jinning’s breath seized up, unable to believe her elder sister was possessed.

Shing!

A sword slashed, severing the demonic aura coiling around Hua Jinning.

Hua Jinrong was still struggling with the demon king for control of her body.

She urged them to leave quickly.

Tears filled Hua Jinning’s eyes as she tried to save her:
“Elder Sister, there must be a way, there has to be a way…”

“There is no way!”

The demon king seized full control, delighting in the young body he now wore. With a proud grin, he said:
“This king now controls this vessel. Since this king is dead, your sister cannot survive either, hahahaha!”

Hua Jinning’s eyes turned red with fury. She raised her sword and struck.

But her cultivation was too low; she was soon knocked unconscious by the demon king’s demonic force.

Only Chi Qingxuan remained, locked in battle with the demon king.

Watching from afar, three figures saw Hua Jinning faint. They speculated—was this why, back then, Chi Qingxuan had no choice but to kill Hua Jinrong?

“No.” Shi Hua exhaled softly, her heart heavy. “At that time, my junior brother was already in mid-Transformation stage. A mere demon king was no threat to him.”

Wei Shizhou and the others froze.

Then how did Hua Jinrong die?

As they spoke, they noticed that Hua Jinning, who should have been unconscious, had actually awakened and was quietly watching.

The memory-mirror reached its end here.

Because it was Hua Jinning’s memory, all she remembered was fainting after the possession. When she awoke, her sister was already dead in Chi Qingxuan’s arms.

She knew she was trapped in the array, but longing for her sister, she let herself drown in these memories again and again, unable to break free.

Laughing and crying, she relived it a thousand, ten thousand times.

Closing her eyes again, she waited for her sister to tug her ear and drag her off to the Xuan Yin Sect’s sermon.

But this time, the mirror didn’t stop.

The sounds of battle continued.

Hua Jinning was stunned. She rubbed her eyes, confirming the memory kept going.

“No… no, this isn’t right…”

The fight didn’t last long.

Chi Qingxuan’s patience ran out. His sword pressed against her throat:
“I’ll say it once more—get out of her body!”

The demon king, emboldened by his control of Hua Jinrong’s body, sneered:
“Chi Qingxuan, if you have the guts, cut her down! Aren’t you best at slashing?”

Using Hua Jinrong’s hands, he gripped the sword edge himself, daring Chi Qingxuan to strike her neck.

A thin line of bl00d welled from the blade.

Chi Qingxuan yanked the sword back, heart aching at her wound. He couldn’t bear to harm her.

“You really think I’m helpless against you?”

His gaze turned cold and ruthless. With a sudden grasp of his five fingers, a terrifying suction force dragged at the demon king’s soul.

The demon king struggled to resist.

But a mid-Transformation cultivator’s full force was something he could not withstand.

His soul was torn from her body.

In that moment, Chi Qingxuan looked like a god of slaughter.

The demon soul trembled, desperate to flee.

Chi Qingxuan mercilessly crushed it into dust.

“No! Chi Qingxuan, you can’t—ahhh!”

The demon king vanished into nothingness.

Chi Qingxuan caught Hua Jinrong quickly.

“Chi Qingxuan… didn’t kill Elder Sister?”

Hua Jinning was stunned. The demon king was gone. Then why did her sister still die?

She rushed forward madly, wanting to grab him and demand the truth.

But her hands passed through them.

The story continued.

When Hua Jinrong regained control of her body, she only smiled at Chi Qingxuan. Bl00d ran from her nose and mouth.

“What’s happening?”

Chi Qingxuan panicked, fumbling to wipe the bl00d away.

Looking at his hand stained scarlet, his whole body shook with fear.

Hua Jinrong seemed to have long known her fate.

Trembling, she reached for his face. Her pale features held no fear of death.

“The demon king laid a Heart-binding Curse on me…” She struggled to speak her last words. “Axuan, don’t blame yourself. I chose to hide it… and it was me, using my own control, that kept the demon king from speaking of it.”

“The ones I worry about most… besides you, are Jinning… If she learns I was killed by the demon king, she’ll surely storm the demon realm… You mustn’t let her go to her death, cough—”

Crimson bl00d soaked her violet gown, and also reddened Chi Qingxuan’s eyes.

“No…” His voice shook violently. He poured all his spiritual power into her body. “I can’t stop Jinning. If you don’t trust me, then you stop her yourself! I won’t help you stop her!”

The demon’s Heart-binding Curse tied their souls together. The cursed one would live and die with the caster.

The demon king had been annihilated. Naturally, Hua Jinrong could not survive.

Realizing what he had done, Chi Qingxuan broke apart, clutching his beloved and wailing.

“Axuan, I only have one wish left… Don’t let Jinning throw her life away…”

Her body couldn’t hold on any longer.

Perhaps, they were never meant to be.

“No—”

Chi Qingxuan desperately channeled his spiritual power, trying to pull her back. But when his power dissipated into nothing inside her, he finally understood—she was truly gone.

Her soul shattered. What use was a body?

She couldn’t even hold spiritual energy.

Chi Qingxuan clutched her corpse, sobbing until his heart split apart. She left him smiling, but he couldn’t bear the truth—that he had personally killed the woman he loved.

A black mark flickered on his brow.

The sign of falling into demonic cultivation.

“Arong… don’t worry. I won’t let Jinning throw her life away… It was I who killed you. Let her hate me… hate me forever…”

Nothing keeps people alive better than hatred.

Chi Qingxuan lowered his head and kissed her forehead.

His tears mingled with her bl00d.

Hua Jinning stared at this memory, finally learning the full truth. She didn’t know what expression she should wear.

Hate him?

It seemed she had no reason to.

Not hate him?

It seemed she couldn’t manage that either.

“Lies! All of it is lies!”

Clutching her head, Hua Jinning refused to believe. It had to be the Two Instruments Samsara Array interfering with her memories, trying to trap her here.

She wouldn’t fall for it!

It was Chi Qingxuan who killed her sister—no one would trick her otherwise!

She was already unhinged. The black mark on her brow shimmered faintly. If this went on, her heart demon would drag her into damnation.

“Prepare to strike!”

Shi Hua’s face went cold, spiritual power surging in her palm.

“Yes!”