35: The female protagonist who changed her path of ruthlessness 4

"Since your Rebirth, not only have you failed to reflect on your mistakes, but you have also become even worse."

"Someone like you is not fit to be a Disciple of my Huanggu Sect."

Su Meng felt as if she had been struck by lightning, standing frozen on the spot.

Qin Jiuge stopped looking at her and turned around, saying:

"However, I will give you one last chance."

"I will keep the matter of the Demon Abyss a secret for now."

"Three months from now, the Sect will hold the True Disciple tournament."

"If you can take first place, it will prove you are determined to turn over a new leaf,"

"and I will let bygones be bygones regarding the past."

"And if I cannot?"

Su Meng asked with a trembling voice.

"Then your cultivation will be crippled, and you will be expelled from the Sect."

Qin Jiuge's voice was cold,

"You shall never set foot in the Huanggu Sect again."

Having said that, his figure vanished,

leaving Su Meng alone in the palace of bones.

Su Meng collapsed to the ground. After a long while, a look of determination flashed in her eyes.

"First place... I must take first place!"

Upon returning to the Huanggu Sect, Su Meng began to Cultivate frantically.

By day, she fought in the Trial Tower,

and at night, she meditated before the Enlightenment Cliff, hardly sleeping or resting.

However, after the news of the True Disciple tournament spread, the entire Sect was in an uproar.

Because this tournament was not just an internal competition for the Huanggu Sect,

it was also to select ten True Disciples to represent the Sect in the "Prodigy Tournament" three years later.

That was the highest-level grand event for the younger generation of the entire Cultivation World.

Countless Geniuses were eager to prove themselves.

Needless to say, Ye Chen, Lin Yan, and Lu Ming,

these three Prodigies had already achieved a Breakthrough to the Nascent Soul, and their combat power was unfathomable.

In addition, there were several new Geniuses who had joined the Sect:

Nangong Yue, who possessed the Taiyin Body, whose cultivation speed was advancing by leaps and bounds.

Long Batian, who possessed the Dragon Bloodline, with an unparalleled Physical Body.

Zhao Ling'er, who had astonishing talent for Formations, was already able to set up killing Formations that could trap and kill Nascent Soul cultivators.

These people were ranked far higher than Su Meng on the Prodigy List.

Looking at her 127th place position on the list, Su Meng clenched her fists.

"Not enough, still far from enough..."

She recalled a Forbidden Ground she knew of in her past life—the "Time Ruins".

Time was chaotic there; one day in the outside world could be a year inside, or perhaps just a fleeting moment.

It was extremely dangerous, but it was also the only chance to rapidly increase her cultivation.

"I'll risk it!"

A look of madness flashed in Su Meng's eyes.

She quietly left the Sect once more.

The Time Ruins were located in the extremely cold region of the Northern Territory,

a shattered world floating in the turbulence of time and space.

After entering, Su Meng immediately felt the changes in the flow of time.

Sometimes she felt only a quarter of an hour had passed, while three days had gone by in the outside world;

other times she would Cultivate bitterly for months, only to find that only one day had passed when she emerged.

She cultivated frantically here, absorbing Spiritual Qi recklessly,

and even risked swallowing time fragments to accelerate her cultivation.

One year later (three months in the outside world), when she emerged from the Time Ruins, her cultivation had skyrocketed to the Nascent Soul Peak.

The price was that her Lifespan had been eroded by the power of time, leaving her with less than a hundred years;

even more seriously, her Foundation had developed cracks, and she would likely never be able to reach Soul Transformation in this life.

But Su Meng did not care.

"Nascent Soul Peak, that's enough!"

A look of madness flickered in her eyes,

"The True Disciple first place will definitely be mine!"

On the day of the True Disciple tournament, the Huanggu Sect's martial arts arena was packed with people.

Not only were there Sect Disciples, but also countless outside spectators;

major Sects had all sent representatives to see the strength of these Geniuses from the Huanggu Sect.

Qin Jiuge sat high in the main seat, with Elders and distinguished guests on both sides.

The competition used a tournament format, and the person who stood on the arena at the end would be the True Disciple first place.

In the first few rounds, relying on her Nascent Soul Peak cultivation, Su Meng easily crushed her opponents, drawing many gasps of surprise.

"Who is this woman? Nascent Soul Peak, such strong power!"

"Her name is Su Meng; she is an old Disciple of the Huanggu Sect. I didn't expect her to be hiding so much."

"It seems this tournament will be worth watching."

Soon, the top ten were decided.

Su Meng stood on the arena, looking at Ye Chen opposite her.

Ye Chen remained as indifferent as ever, standing with his sword in his arms, as if nothing concerned him.

"Senior Sister Su, please."

Ye Chen bowed.

Su Meng snorted and attacked directly.

She slashed with her sword, the sword light transforming into a river of blood;

this was the "Blood River Sword Intent" she had comprehended in the Demon Abyss, and its power was astonishing.

However, Ye Chen only lightly raised the sword in his hand and swung it casually.

The Star River reappeared.

The river of blood collided with the Star River, like a stream flowing into the sea, and was instantly swallowed.

Su Meng flew backward, spitting out blood.

"How is this possible?!"

She was in disbelief.

She was at the Nascent Soul Peak, while Ye Chen was only at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage; how could he defeat her with a single sword strike?

"Your cultivation is hollow, your Foundation is unstable, and your Sword Intent is full of malice."

Ye Chen shook his head,

"With such strength, you are not fit to be a True Disciple of the Huanggu Sect."

"You!"

Su Meng was both ashamed and furious, and she lunged forward again.

This time, she used a forbidden technique, burning her essence blood to forcibly increase her combat power.

Her Aura surged, and she even vaguely touched the threshold of Soul Transformation.

The crowd below was in an uproar.

"Burning essence blood? She's throwing her life away!"

"What a ruthless woman!"

Ye Chen sighed and finally became serious.

He slowly raised his sword, his entire being seemingly merging with heaven and earth.

"This sword strike is called 'Severing Karma'."

The sword light fell, without any earth-shattering momentum,

but it seemed to sever something invisible.

The Aura on Su Meng's body receded like a tide,

the burning essence blood was forcibly extinguished, and she collapsed to the ground,

her cultivation actually dropping back to the Nascent Soul Early Stage.

"You, you crippled my cultivation?!"

Su Meng screamed in terror.

"I only severed the Karma between you and the forbidden technique, allowing your cultivation to return to its true level."

Ye Chen sheathed his sword,

"Your Foundation is destroyed; the Nascent Soul Early Stage is your limit for this life. Take care of yourself."

Having said that, he turned and left the arena.

Thunderous applause erupted from below.

Su Meng sat blankly on the arena, watching the gazes of the people around her,

some pitying, some mocking, some gloating.

She looked toward the high platform; Qin Jiuge was chatting and laughing with an Elder of the Heavenly Dao Sect, as if he hadn't noticed her crushing defeat at all.

"No... it shouldn't be like this..."

Su Meng muttered to herself, her eyes gradually being consumed by madness.

Suddenly, she sprang up, a blood-colored bead appearing in her hand;

it was the Blood Demon Bead that Qin Jiuge had seized from the Blood Demon!

She had stolen this bead at some point and now swallowed it directly!

"Since none of you will give me a way to live, then let's all die together!"

Once the Blood Demon Bead entered her body, the violent power of the Blood Demon erupted,

and Su Meng's cultivation skyrocketed again, instantly breaking through to Soul Transformation,

and it kept climbing.

Soul Transformation Middle Stage, Soul Transformation Late Stage, Soul Transformation Peak...

Her body began to mutate, blood-colored patterns appeared on her skin, and only madness and slaughter remained in her eyes.

"Oh no! She has fallen into the demonic path!"

An Elder shouted.

Qin Jiuge finally stood up, looking at the demonized Su Meng with coldness in his eyes.

"Su Meng, you chose this path after all."

"You forced me!"

Su Meng roared, her voice no longer sounding human,

"I will kill you and destroy the Huanggu Sect!"

She turned into a streak of blood-colored light, lunging straight at Qin Jiuge.

Qin Jiuge shook his head and pressed his hand down.

Heaven and earth froze.

Time stood still.

Su Meng was frozen in mid-air, unable to move.

"I gave you countless chances, but you refused them."

Qin Jiuge said slowly,

"Since you chose to fall into the demonic path, don't blame me for clearing the Sect of its impurities."

He reached out and grabbed at the air, and the Blood Demon Bead flew out from Su Meng's body,

along with all her cultivation and all her memories, which were forcibly extracted.

Su Meng reverted to a Mortal without any cultivation, collapsing to the ground.

Qin Jiuge looked across the entire crowd, his voice reaching every corner:

"Su Meng, former Disciple of the Huanggu Sect, trespassed into the Demon Abyss, stole forbidden items,"

"swallowed the Demon Bead, and attempted to kill her master and destroy the Sect. The evidence is conclusive, and the verdict is as follows..."

"Crippling all cultivation, erasing all memories,"

"and casting her into the 'Goblin Lair', to suffer eternal torment forever, never to be reincarnated!"

As soon as his voice fell, a spatial rift opened beneath Su Meng.

She didn't even have time to scream before she fell into the endless darkness.

The rift closed, as if nothing had happened.

The entire crowd was dead silent, followed by a buzz of discussion,

"Goblin Lair? What kind of place is that?"

"It must be a good place for reflection."

At this moment, everyone was stunned by Qin Jiuge's methods.

It wasn't because he was ruthless, but because of the strength he had displayed.

Freezing time and space, extracting memories and cultivation, casually opening a portal to another world...

How could this be the Void Tempering? Even the Mahayana Realm couldn't do this!

Qin Jiuge, however, acted as if he had done something insignificant, sat back down, and smiled:

"I apologize for the disturbance. Let the tournament continue."

Below, Ye Chen and the others bowed in acknowledgement.

And the Elders of the various Sects looked at Qin Jiuge with eyes filled with awe.

The Huanggu Sect was truly different now.

Ten years later.

The Huanggu Sect had become the number one Sect in the Cultivation World, ruling the Eastern Territory and shaking the four seas with its might.

Within the Sect, there were over ten Mahayana Realm Elders, over a hundred in the Soul Transformation Realm, and countless in the Nascent Soul.

Ye Chen, Lin Yan, Lu Ming, and other True Disciples had long since become famous powerhouses throughout the world.

And Sect Master Qin Jiuge was revered as the "Immortal Venerable Jiuge", recognized as the number one person in the world.

On this day, Qin Jiuge stood on the highest Peak of the Huanggu Sect, overlooking the vast mountains and rivers.

"Sect Master."

Ye Chen arrived behind him and bowed respectfully.

"What is it?"

Qin Jiuge did not turn around.

"Twelve top Sects, including the Heavenly Dao Sect, Wan Jian Pavilion, and Danxia Sect, have jointly submitted a petition,"

"willing to acknowledge the Huanggu Sect as the leader to form the 'Immortal Dao Alliance' to resist the invasion of the extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons in three years."

Qin Jiuge chuckled:

"They are quite sensible."

"Also..."

Ye Chen hesitated for a moment,

"when some Disciples were performing a mission near the Goblin Lair, they found a crazy woman who seems to be... Su Meng."

Qin Jiuge finally turned around:

"She is still alive?"

"Worse than death."

Ye Chen said in a low voice,

"she has been tortured by the Goblins until she is no longer human, has lost her mind, and only repeats 'I was wrong' and 'spare me'."

Qin Jiuge was silent for a moment, then waved his hand:

"Let her fend for herself."

"Yes."

After Ye Chen withdrew, Qin Jiuge looked into the distance, countless images flashing in his eyes.

In this life, the Huanggu Sect did not decline,

the absurd drama of the Senior Brothers falling into dreams and awakening did not happen,

Su Meng's hypocritical mask was exposed early on,

and her fate had long been determined.

And all of this was just a small interlude in his long life.

"It's time to leave."

Qin Jiuge said softly.

He had fulfilled the wish of the Original Owner, leading the Huanggu Sect toward greatness,

exposing the hypocritical face of the female lead and ensuring she received the punishment she deserved.

It was time to start the next journey.

However, before leaving, he would leave behind enough of a Foundation for the Huanggu Sect to ensure it could be passed down eternally.

Qin Jiuge raised his hand and carved nine runes in the Void Realm, which transformed into nine tokens.

"The Jiuge Token can summon nine of my Clones, each possessing 30% of my strength, enough to deal with any crisis."

He sent the tokens into the Sect's Forbidden Ground and also left behind countless Cultivation Techniques, Medicinal Pills, and Magic Treasures.

Finally, he looked at Ye Chen and the others who were cultivating, and smiled slightly.

"These children have a promising future."

Three months later, the news of the "Ascension" of the Immortal Venerable Jiuge spread throughout the Cultivation World.

It was said that he broke through the limits of this world, ascended to immortality, and went to a higher-level world.

The entire Huanggu Sect mourned, yet it became even more prosperous because of the Foundation he left behind.

A thousand years later, the Huanggu Sect had become a legend,

and the story of that crazy woman in the Goblin Lair had long been forgotten by everyone.