The night was dark and windy.
A sharp sword light flashed, and blood splattered. A line of disciples in green robes had their throats slit by a single sword.
Moments later, hundreds of worms with fangs emerged from the ground and instantly devoured the corpses, leaving only a field of white bones.
"Who are you people? Lingxian Manor has always conducted itself with integrity. Why have you brutally slaughtered my thousands of disciples!" Beside the pile of white bones, an old man questioned furiously, his eyes blazing like fire. He wore elegant dark robes, his temples grayed, having witnessed the brutal slaughter of his beloved disciples firsthand.
A slender, graceful figure landed on the eaves of the house.
The butterfly bones on her back were exquisitely formed. Though her face was veiled, it was clear she was a woman.
She was clad in a black robe, her phoenix eyes deep, emanating a sinister cold light. Holding a sharp sword, she walked towards him with a leisurely stride.
The night wind blew, and the black veil fell, revealing a peerlessly beautiful, captivating face.
Her features were exquisitely refined, her eyebrows, like those in a painting, slightly raised. She was hauntingly beautiful and alluring, her loveliness breathtaking.
"Elder Changqing, I trust you are well," Ye Ziling said with a light laugh, her voice clear, ethereal, and carrying a bone-chilling coldness. "How did my Sacred Physician clan ever wrong you for you to be so heartless in your extermination?"
Back then, her maternal clan had been annihilated, and Lingxian Manor had participated in it.
Lingxian Manor, the stronghold of demon hunters, claimed to be eradicating evil for the people but, behind the scenes, illegally trafficked demon cores and beasts. Ironically, they were regarded as righteous and incorruptible demon hunters in the martial world.
Upon hearing this, the old man's face turned ashen. Knowing the Sacred Physician clan had come seeking vengeance, his cloudy old eyes turned red. He shamefully confessed, "I have failed the clan leader... I will bear the consequences of my mistakes. The disciples of Lingxian Manor are all innocent. If you have any grievances, direct them at me. Why should my thousands of disciples pay with their lives! They hunt demons and eliminate evil; what wrong have they done!"
A trace of mockery flickered in Ye Ziling's eyes, her pupils rimmed with scarlet. "Wrong?" She squatted down, looking at the old man slumped on the ground from above, the hatred in her eyes surging. She scornfully questioned, "My Sacred Physician clan has been healers for generations, saving countless lives. Were they wrong? You speak of the common people of the world, but what about my clansmen? Are they not also part of the common people?"
Elder Changqing's face turned pale, and tears streamed down his aged cheeks.
Back then, when the Sacred Physician clan met its calamitous end, he had indeed participated.
The Sacred Physician clan was renowned in the mortal realm, and its disciples and descendants were all skilled physicians. The Heavenly Emperor, considering their past merits, intended to bestow immortal status upon the Sacred Physician clan, ranking them alongside the divine race. This caused strong discontent among the immortal cultivation sects in the mortal world.
In a single night, the immortal cultivation sects united and annihilated the Sacred Physician clan.
"Master... I'm scared!" While the two confronted each other, a young boy emerged from a pile of firewood and timidly rushed into the old man's embrace.
"Who told you to run out here? Didn't I tell you not to come out no matter what happens!" Changqing reprimanded sternly. He pulled the child into his arms with his wrinkled hand, his eyes filled with tears. He looked at Ye Ziling, pleading, "All the mistakes, all the wrongs, are mine! My only request now is for this child; he is innocent. I beg you, spare him..."
Ye Ziling chuckled upon hearing this, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. "When I begged you back then, did you ever consider sparing me?"
Back then, when she had desperately pleaded with these people to spare her life, all she received were mocking laughter.
Elder Changqing lowered his head, remaining silent.
This massacre was orchestrated by Emperor Qingbai.
He had promised that all the sects participating in this slaughter would subsequently be granted additional immortal quotas.
"If I reveal the mastermind behind this, will you spare this child's life?" Changqing continued to plead.
The boy in his arms was only about seven or eight years old. His large eyes were filled with tears, and his features were handsome. His chubby cheeks were flushed, giving him a pitiable appearance.
"The mastermind? Are you referring to Emperor Qingbai?" Ye Ziling's eyes held deepening mockery. If she hadn't known, she wouldn't have allied with the Demon King to execute him.
After the Sacred Physician clan was massacred, Ye Ziling had miraculously survived.
Pathetically, the one who saved her was none other than the mastermind behind the extermination of her entire clan—Emperor Qingbai.
Back then, the man was exceptionally handsome and handsome. With a gentle smile at her, she obediently followed him to the Heavenly Realm, subsequently becoming a sacrifice for his ascension to the throne.
She thought he was her savior, but he turned out to be the demon who slaughtered her entire clan.
All of this was manipulation, a long-planned scheme.
"You... you actually know..." the old man's expression was unreadable.
Ye Ziling naturally knew; she just knew too late.
"You, you're from the Ye family..." the old man stammered, his pupils constricting in disbelief.
The features of the Ye family members were similar; he could not be mistaken.
"Correct," the curve of Ye Ziling's lips vanished in an instant, her eyes flashing with intense killing intent. "I'll grant you a whole corpse."
The old man's eyes widened in terror as he looked at her. A bloodstain appeared on his neck, and he managed to utter his last words: "You, you actually... colluded with these demonic beasts..."
As far as the eye could see, the once bustling Lingxian Manor had become a pile of white bones.
"Alas, fortunes change." Mu Heng stood to the side, enjoying the spectacle. He rubbed an apple a few times, about to take a bite when he saw Ye Ziling approaching out of the corner of his eye. He then offered what he was holding, "Have some?"
Ye Ziling did not take it. Her gaze shifted to the boy on the ground, her thoughts complex.
Mu Heng retracted his hand and took a large bite. "This is considered avenging your mother's clan, after all."
The little dumpling curled up on the ground, his delicate face stained with crimson blood. Terror flickered in his eyes. "Master! Master, wake up..."
Ye Ziling closed her eyes and waved her wrist. Hundreds of worms swarmed forward, devouring the corpse.
The clear moonlight illuminated the pile of white bones. The cold wind blew her robes, bringing a chilling cold that seeped into her bones, an eerie spectacle.
The boy cried, collapsing on the ground like a limp noodle.
Ye Ziling clenched her long sword and slowly walked towards the little figure on the ground, a cold, bloodthirsty smile gracing her lips.
"Sister... don't kill me. I can sing children's songs, and I can make you happy. Please don't kill me..." The boy tightly clutched the hem of her skirt, crying torrentially.
Ye Ziling paused. The child looked up at her innocently, his cries suddenly ceasing. "My mother said that one's appearance reflects their heart. Sister is an immortal; you won't kill me, right?"
The little dumpling's grape-like eyes darted around, and he broke into a smile through his tears.
Mu Heng watched from the side, his smile instantly vanishing. He looked away with a pang of sadness, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
"Palace Lord!" he stepped forward, placing a hand on his sword. Unable to bear it, he finally said, "... It's getting late. If we delay further, we'll miss tomorrow's Immortal Exam mobilization assembly..."
He knew Ye Ziling's nature and dared not directly plead. Seeing the boy's pitiful appearance, he still tried to curb her killing intent.
"Then let's go." Ye Ziling turned, her robes billowing like the wind.
Mu Heng glanced subtly at the child and turned to leave.
Suddenly, sword light flashed, and blood gushed. The child fell to the ground, dead.
"You..."
Mu Heng turned back, intending to stop her, but it was too late. His heart twitched, and he hesitated to speak.
"...Why?" Mu Heng asked after a long silence.
A mocking smile played on Ye Ziling's lips, her voice faint and carrying a bone-chilling coldness.
"Because, I was once just like him."
With that, she turned and left, boarding the sky boat.
Mu Heng stood in place, looking at the lifeless child on the ground, his expression complicated.
The moonlight cascaded like a waterfall, silver light falling on his face, making him appear like an exiled immortal, yet harboring a deep melancholy.
"Aren't you coming?" Ye Ziling, already seated on the sky boat, looked at him.
Mu Heng stepped forward and boarded the boat.
The sky boat rose and disappeared into the darkness.