Chapter One

Su Zhen could still remember the final scene before her death.

On Lingxiao Peak, snow drifted across the mountains, biting winds swept across her face, heavy clouds loomed above, and the world was cold and desolate.

She was bound at the very center of the Execution Platform, her body covered in wounds, clothes tattered. Chains shackled her limbs, a Soul-Piercing Nail had been driven through her spine, and her weakened primordial spirit was fastened inside her body, unable to escape.

“Su Zhen!”

A voice, cold and full of authority, rang out from above.

“You have fallen into the demonic path, committing countless heinous crimes. Just days ago, you slaughtered Flying Kite City, leaving a hundred thousand souls in agony, and even murdered fellow disciples—your sins are beyond forgiveness!”

With great effort, Su Zhen lifted her head to look at the high stone platform.

There stood the Grand Elder of Lingxiao Peak, now the acting master of the Heavenly Origin Sect, and the one who had just spoken.

Surrounding him were the elite cultivators of the four inner peaks.

Their expressions varied: some sneered, some were shocked, others were full of doubt or hatred.

At the mountain’s waist, a throng of thousands of cultivators crowded the cliff path or hovered midair on their swords, watching from afar.

“Kill her!” someone shouted. “This demon has done every evil under the sky—her death is deserved!”

Others objected. “We still lack solid evidence. Are we truly to execute Master Su?”

“Why do you take the demon’s side, junior sister? She’s committed such monstrous crimes—keeping her alive is too good for her!”

“I just think it’s all too hasty. If we confirm she’s truly guilty, it won’t be too late to execute her then—lest we wrong an innocent.”

“Innocent? She killed so many disciples in Flying Kite City—”

“A demon must die!”

The mountain echoed with heated debate—shouting, cursing, chaos.

“Enough!” the Grand Elder’s roar silenced the crowd instantly, their minds buzzing.

All fell silent.

Expressionless, Su Zhen spoke, “I’ve told you, when I arrived at Flying Kite City, the place was already in ruins. Not a soul alive for a hundred miles. If you don’t believe me, search my soul.”

“She’s a master of spiritual arts as well—how could she not be prepared?” A slender young man stepped out from behind the Grand Elder—handsome, pale, looking at her with utter disgust.

“To cover her crimes, she’s already killed four fellow disciples. If not for my family’s treasure, I’d be dead too. Little junior sister remains unconscious…” He trailed off.

Su Zhen didn’t even glance at him, only looked to the Grand Elder. “If you’re determined to pin these crimes on me and find a scapegoat, there’s no need for all this nonsense.”

The young man’s face stiffened at her disregard. He shouted, “If you’re truly innocent, why attack us at the ruins of Flying Kite City?”

She finally spared him a glance. “Did you forget? You all struck first. Just because you saw me near the ruins, you assumed I was the culprit, wouldn’t hear my explanation, and unleashed everything you had at me.”

She had only defended herself.

Whether she was guilty or not, she would never meekly submit to execution.

Unfortunately, she’d already been gravely injured before encountering them, so she hadn’t managed to kill those fools before reinforcements arrived.

And so, she was captured and brought back.

Calmly, Su Zhen said, “The massacre at Flying Kite City has nothing to do with me. You all forced the confrontation—some tried to seal me, others to kill me on the spot. What was I supposed to do?”

“Enough.” The Grand Elder’s brows furrowed. “Su Zhen, your demon contract is proof enough!”

“Yes, I became a demon cultivator. But does that mean all demon cultivators massacre cities?”

Su Zhen retorted, “There are hundreds, thousands of upper-realm demon cultivators. If each one slaughtered a city, how many would be left in the Five Regions and Fourteen Provinces?”

“No more sophistry!” the Grand Elder thundered. “You needed a hundred thousand souls to forge the Three Yin Death Array! My disciples found the evidence—those crystals still bear your spiritual mark! The proof is ironclad!”

“That counts as proof?” Su Zhen laughed. “I didn’t do this. I appeared there because of a teleportation error—clearly someone set me up and left this so-called evidence.”

“Still unrepentant at death’s door!” the Grand Elder cut her off and turned to the crowd, “Fellow cultivators, today we must execute her! Otherwise, if the Celestial Capital seeks retribution—”

“Cowards!” Su Zhen shouted hoarsely. “When the Sect Master was here, did the Heavenly Origin Sect ever fear those hypocrites from the Central Realm? Now, just because she’s ascended, you’re desperate to find a scapegoat to appease them? If you’d only waited for my master to recover—”

The Grand Elder sneered, drawing a golden, square token from his sleeve.

“If the head of Weiyun Peak recovers, you’ll be the first he’ll kill.”

Su Zhen stared at him in disbelief.

That was the Godslayer Token.

It had always been in the Sect Master’s hand. After her ascension, it was kept by the head of Weiyun Peak—her master, the Immortal Jade Dust.

“Master is awake?” Su Zhen asked, stunned. “Is that the Godslayer Token? Did my master give it to you? He wants to execute me?”

Suddenly, another figure appeared on the high platform.

A young man in a tall crown and flowing robes stood upright, his snow-blue garments fluttering in the wind. His head was slightly bowed, his handsome face cold as frost, his gaze utterly indifferent.

Su Zhen’s eyes chilled as she looked at him.

Jiang Wang, the eldest disciple of the head of Weiyun Peak—her senior brother.

Years ago, he had taught her swordsmanship, taken her on adventures in secret realms. Their relationship was never close due to their temperaments, but she had once respected and admired him.

After their junior sister Liu Yun Yao joined, they grew distant, quarreled fiercely, even fought. Now, they were like strangers.

Su Zhen no longer cared what Jiang Wang thought of her.

His eyes were cold. “You committed grave sins in Suiyun Province and caused the deaths of many disciples. Even Master has nothing to say on your behalf.”

Su Zhen sneered, “Is that what he said? He has nothing to say?”

Jiang Wang turned away, refusing to look at her.

The Grand Elder raised the token in one hand, formed a spell with the other.

The pressure on the Execution Platform suddenly intensified. Su Zhen groaned, her words cut short.

Golden rings of light lit up all around, inscriptions swirling in the radiance.

The token shone brighter, the golden light around the platform grew denser, the runes flashed, and arrows of light gathered in the air.

Lingxiao Peak trembled faintly, spiritual pressure spreading so powerfully that those of lower cultivation could barely stand.

Those on the high platform stood firm, the Grand Elder quietly relieved, the others’ expressions unreadable. Jiang Wang turned silently away.

Above the Execution Platform, tens of thousands of arrows of light hovered, then shot as one toward the figure at the center, like meteors trailing fiery tails.

Su Zhen closed her eyes.

So be it.

She was clearly framed.

But she had failed to sense it sooner, and failed to destroy the witnesses and escape in time. That was why she ended up here.

In the end, her strength—and luck—had failed her.

Amid searing agony, her body was annihilated.

Then her weakened primordial spirit was pierced, split, and ground to dust by countless forces, the fragments battered and compressed until they scattered completely.

She dissolved into a myriad of golden lights, which vanished in the wind.

…

Su Zhen thought she must surely be dead.

But when that mind-shattering pain faded, her consciousness remained, and visions began to appear before her eyes.

A strange, glowing rectangular panel materialized, white-edged, with a central section where images flickered and changed.

On closer look, it seemed to be turning pages of a book.

Names and places leaped out, familiar and strange, with comments from readers below each chapter.

It was a story called “The Sword Quest of the Nine Realms,” centered on the heroine Liu Yun Yao and the hero Xie Chang Feng.

Half the tale chronicled their cultivation adventures and search for the holy sword, the rest devoted to various supporting characters.

Su Zhen was one of them.

According to the readers, Su Zhen was the “vicious supporting villain” and “elite boss.”

Though she didn’t fully grasp their terminology, the scornful remarks made it obvious she was cast as the fool.

—Because the junior sister heroine was talentless at cultivation, and because the Immortal Jade Dust favored her, Su Zhen targeted her at every turn, wishing to drive her from the sect and making things difficult for her.

From the narrative and the heroine’s perspective, that was how events appeared, and most readers agreed.

Su Zhen found it absurd.

The Heavenly Origin Sect was the premier sect of the Eastern Domain, one of the top sword sects in all Five Regions and Fourteen Provinces.

It had inner and outer divisions, with four inner peaks—the head of Weiyun Peak, the Immortal Jade Dust, was among the Nine Realms’ greatest masters.

His disciples were all exceptionally gifted, save for the youngest, Liu Yun Yao.

Liu Yun Yao’s spiritual roots were mixed and could not be purified. The Immortal Jade Dust spent countless resources on her, but her progress was negligible.

Even after more than a decade, she hadn’t entered the Qi Refining stage.

It would be hard to find a worse cultivator in the entire sect.

Whether in the outer halls or inner peaks, countless disciples with far greater talent and diligence trained day and night, hoping for recognition, rare elixirs, or materials.

To Liu Yun Yao, having an immortal for a master meant she never needed to compete; everything was handed to her.

A single top-tier foundation pill, fought over by thousands, was given to her by the boxful.

Any one of those thousands could have flattened Liu Yun Yao in a single move.

Though Su Zhen wondered why her master would take in such a talentless, unremarkable, and unmotivated disciple, it was none of her concern.

A disciple had no say over her master’s choices.

But as time passed, her conflicts with Liu Yun Yao grew.

At first, Su Zhen, hearing the junior sister couldn’t purify her roots, suggested she seek help from a medical sect, or perhaps pursue the arts—music, painting—or spiritual techniques more suited to her. In any case, it was a waste for her to languish in a sword sect.

Somehow, word spread that Su Zhen was intolerant, resented her junior sister’s weakness, and wanted her expelled.

Immortal Jade Dust even called her in for a talk.

He sat by the window in a spotless white robe, handsome as a deity in morning light.

“You mean well and don’t wish her to waste her youth, but she’s still young and may misunderstand,” he said gently.

Su Zhen had been furious, but thought to herself that her master understood her—what others thought was irrelevant.

But that was only the beginning.

Later, to help nurture Liu Yun Yao’s meridians, Immortal Jade Dust asked Su Zhen for her sword, Cold Fragrance, reasoning that since she hadn’t fully bonded with it, it should go to her junior sister for now, promising to find another for Su Zhen later. Su Zhen refused repeatedly, leading to arguments.

When Su Zhen tried to instruct Liu Yun Yao with sword techniques, the latter always dozed off. Su Zhen left in frustration, and the story became that she was bullying her junior. Liu Yun Yao explained she was at fault, but others praised her for her kindness.

Then, during a grand sect trial, Liu Yun Yao was injured by a demon cultivator. Immortal Jade Dust blamed Su Zhen for not protecting her, ignoring Su Zhen’s own wounds. They quarreled fiercely.

And so on, endlessly.

Su Zhen: …

She disliked dwelling on these things—her life wasn’t confined to Weiyun Peak, and Liu Yun Yao was just an annoying acquaintance. Their early spats had long faded into distant memory.

The pages of the book flipped forward, revealing Liu Yun Yao’s true identity.

She was in fact of mixed demon blood; joining the sect was part of a long-laid plan.

Her “weak constitution” was the result of a curse, her “mixed roots” due to her demonic heritage.

Immortal Jade Dust had long known Liu Yun Yao’s identity.

Years ago, her ancestors had aided him, and he wished to repay the debt, so he helped her cultivate.

The supposed need for a holy sword to heal her was a ruse—she wanted the sword spirit to restore the sacred blade.

Her dozing in Su Zhen’s lessons was because she’d spent the night communicating with the male lead, Xie Chang Feng, across thousands of miles, draining her.

Her “injury by a demon cultivator” was a deliberate act; she and the demon were old acquaintances, exchanging information under the guise of combat.

Everything suddenly made sense—including Su Zhen’s death.

To move freely among mortals and secure a safe haven—many so-called righteous cultivators who fell to the demonic path kept their old identities as cover; others infiltrated orthodox sects.

After her own fall, Su Zhen chose to stay in the sect temporarily.

She gradually sensed the demonic aura on Liu Yun Yao.

But Su Zhen was too absorbed in the myriad demonic arts, too indifferent to interfere.

But Liu Yun Yao’s demonic friend—and admirer—noticed.

Needing a hundred thousand sacrifices for a formation, he set a trap, framing Su Zhen for the massacre.

In the demon world, betrayal and murder amongst themselves was commonplace.

This way, Liu Yun Yao was rid of a nuisance, and the true culprit could avoid pursuit by mortal cultivators.

He was meticulous, leaving abundant evidence; neither Liu Yun Yao nor anyone else knew the truth.

Had Su Zhen not read the story, she’d never have suspected him.

In the end, her story ended at the Execution Platform.

The book described what happened next.

When Su Zhen was executed, Immortal Jade Dust was in seclusion healing. By the time he recovered, several days had passed.

He looked at Jiang Wang and frowned. “When Elder Wang asked for the Godslayer Token, he never said who was to be executed.”

Jiang Wang lowered his head. “He must have thought, with Master’s cultivation, you’d sense her presence.”

“She fell to the demonic path—her spiritual pressure is no longer the same. Besides, I had yet to recover…” Immortal Jade Dust sighed and lowered his eyes, hiding his emotions. “Enough. She chose this path and committed such crimes—she brought this upon herself.”

Then he rose. “Let me check on Yun Yao.”

He and Jiang Wang went to Liu Yun Yao’s residence, sat at the unconscious disciple’s side, carefully checked her injuries, full of worry and affection, and never mentioned Su Zhen again.

On the glowing panel, the pages flipped ever faster, the words blurring into a stream of light.

Suddenly, a surge of unexplainable fury rose within Su Zhen, burning through her reason. She hurled whatever she held away with all her strength.

Wait—

…She’d thrown something?

Just as confusion flickered through her mind, darkness swallowed her world, followed by a wrenching sense of dissociation from every direction.

Space spun and twisted, her awareness sucked into a vortex.

?

She blinked and found herself standing on a mountain path paved with smooth blue stones, flanked by lush trees and verdant grass.

The evening breeze was gentle, cicadas and birds calling in the woods, a bright moon and sparse stars overhead, the night clear.

The winding path led to an elegant courtyard, its familiar yet distant pavilions looming in the mist.

—Wasn’t this her master’s residence?

Stunned, Su Zhen looked around, sensing familiar and unfamiliar auras of varying strength, near and far.

She looked down and saw herself holding a jade-green flowerpot.

Inside was a luminous Jade Crystal Grass, its translucent green leaves waving in the wind, every vein glimmering, exuding a calming fragrance.

At a glance, memories flooded her mind.

Not long ago, she’d ended her seclusion, her primordial spirit refined, having advanced to the Nascent Soul stage.

In good spirits after her breakthrough, and realizing her master’s birthday had just passed, she decided to prepare a gift.

—In truth, Immortal Jade Dust never celebrated his own birthday. She just wanted an excuse to give him something.

As a cultivator of her level, she often spent years in retreat. This time, she’d barely made it in time and didn’t want to miss the chance.

So “she” had made a trip to the demon realm, fought her way through countless battles to Xuanling Mountain, and, at the full moon, picked a freshly grown Jade Crystal Grass.

This rare spirit plant, native to the demon realm, calmed the mind and greatly reduced the risk of cultivation mishaps—priceless for mid-level cultivators.

But for high-level cultivators like her, it was merely a beautiful ornament, suitable as a decorative gift for her master’s rooms.

The Jade Crystal Grass harvested at the full moon was at its best; placed in enriched soil, it could last a century.

Su Zhen gazed at the gift in her arms and found it all absurd.

After her execution, having read a bizarre book, she was suddenly back at age one hundred?

She stood quietly for a moment, surveying the night-shrouded Weiyun Peak, sorting through her memories. It seemed it was true.

It was as if she’d returned to relive her life, yet also as if she’d glimpsed the future in a fleeting dream—memories and feelings all too real.

And every detail in the book’s account of her life was true, things only she should have known.

If the past was real, then perhaps the book’s account of her death was too.

If she had truly massacred a city, knowing Immortal Jade Dust, he would indeed feel no regret for such a disciple.

But had he never questioned whether she would really murder a hundred thousand mortals for a formation?

She was no saint, but she didn’t murder recklessly or court trouble—she could never have been so brazen.

Perhaps he never knew, or simply didn’t care.

They were only master and disciple; he taught her, but needn’t truly know her character.

Su Zhen looked up at the courtyard at the end of the path.

She remembered the pines and bamboos, the stone bridge over the stream, the lanterns and wind chimes under the eaves—she’d once practiced swordplay there as a child, guided with patient care.

It felt like another life.

And in that past life, when she brought the Jade Crystal Grass as a gift, Liu Yun Yao had admired it, and Immortal Jade Dust had promptly given the gift to his youngest disciple.

Smash!

Su Zhen suddenly flung the gift to the ground.

The jade flowerpot shattered, fragments scattering across the steps, the precious soil reduced to mud, the Jade Crystal Grass toppling over.

She felt utterly foolish.

A sound came from behind.

Su Zhen turned. Below her on the stone path stood a tall figure.

Even in the dim night, she saw his face clearly.

Su Zhen: ?

She had seen many beautiful people, of all races and temperaments—

Yet even so, she couldn’t help but look again, for the man was astoundingly handsome.

He was staring back at her.

Or rather, he seemed frozen, as if struck dumb by something unimaginable, his eyes unmoving.

Su Zhen: …

What a waste of a face.

She mused that perhaps this fellow was an idiot.