Inside the massive black pillar of light—
The entire space was steeped in a sinister, oppressive aura. Within the pillar, enormous eyes hung open in the darkness. An ordinary person would fall into utter madness and despair from a single glance.
A strange and twisted presence seeped from both the bottom and the top of the pillar. Whether looking up or down, all one saw was endless black abyss. It was like a circular void with no beginning and no end.
At first, the eyes drifted aimlessly, searching without focus. After a brief adjustment, they finally locked onto the figure standing at the center of the black pillar—
A woman radiating light, her features obscured.
The Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden's Avatar.
"What? Finally afraid?"
A voice filled with heavenly authority and suppressed fury echoed simultaneously from above and below. Any ordinary person would be reduced to ashes just by hearing the power contained in it.
Yet despite its overwhelming majesty, the voice carried a deep and bitter resentment.
"Even if you're only an Avatar, I won't let you off. I'll make you taste every suffering in this world. Then I'll drag this Avatar before your true self and force you to return every trace of that pain to her. I will make you—"
"Aaaaarghhhhhh!!!"
The vicious threats abruptly turned into a miserable howl.
Fortunately, this place already belonged to the Outer Void Evil Domain. Its humiliating scream could not escape the black pillar. Otherwise, that sound alone would have shaken the faith of its followers.
No one would willingly worship something that howled like that.
Though it had nothing to do with a husky, the effect was oddly similar.
"I told you to speak. Why are you wheezing instead?"
Her voice was clear and pleasant, a stark contrast to the disgraceful Outer Void Evil Demon. Calm and unhurried, she spoke as if she did not take it seriously at all.
And as for what she was doing—
Thin needles formed from spiritual qi pierced those enormous eyes with perfect accuracy, like a child popping bubble wrap.
"You have too many eyes. They're unpleasant to look at. I won't leave any."
"Y-you— you—"
The Outer Void Evil Demon took a while to recover from the pain. Faced with her blunt words, it was so furious it seemed ready to explode—if it had lungs.
"Stop stuttering. Tell me honestly. What are you here for this time?"
Behind her, a chair formed from spiritual qi condensed. She sat down gracefully, her bearing flawless.
"Have… you… still… not… understood… the… situation?"
The Outer Void Evil Demon spoke through clenched teeth, emphasizing each word.
It was supposed to be the one in control. How had everything reversed?
"You think I can't see it?" it roared. "You're only an Avatar. Your power is barely enough to injure me, I—"
Before it could finish, another streak of immortal light descended and merged into the woman's body.
She didn't even lift her head. With a small yawn, she said, "Now there are two. Go on."
"…"
The Outer Void Evil Demon fell silent, seemingly unable to process this development.
After a long pause, it spoke again—this time in a completely different tone.
"Oh my, listen to you. I'll personally escort you back at once~"
The flattery in its voice was beyond shameless. Even the most sycophantic court official would pale in comparison.
Its tone rose and fell perfectly, landing on every note that would sound pleasing to the ear. It was nothing like the voice of a demonic entity.
"Oh?"
The woman remained indifferent.
Thousands of years ago, she had already learned that this Outer Void Evil Demon bullied the weak and feared the strong. After being thoroughly beaten by her, it had not dared descend upon this world again.
Now that her true self had ascended, it had started causing trouble once more.
She did not know Gui Ying personally, but she knew the corruption of Gui Ying was undoubtedly the handiwork of this Outer Void Evil Demon.
This thing excelled at tempting those with darkness hidden in their hearts, drawing them into its camp.
Back then, her true self had followed the trail and wiped out batch after batch of this filth. But with the speed at which this creature reproduced, it could always create more.
To be honest, even she could not truly kill the Outer Void Evil Demon.
It wasn't that it was overwhelmingly powerful. The problem was that its true body remained outside the heavens. As long as it had not fully descended, she could only eliminate the manifested portions.
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Do you know a saying?"
"I'm all ears~"
"Invoking the Deity is easy. Sending the Deity away is hard."
"…"
"But I won't make things difficult for you."
"You are truly magnanimous. I'm deeply grateful."
"Tell me why you came. And sever all the tentacles you've extended here."
"Isn't that request a little—"
"Hm?"
"—a little too simple!"
The Outer Void Evil Demon's tone abruptly turned passionate and resolute.
"Just tell me which enemies your disciples have! I'll go crush those ants for you!"
"…"
Even the woman was momentarily speechless.
No wonder it had survived this long.
Its shamelessness had reached an absurd level.
"Don't even think about staying in this world. Get out."
The woman remained perfectly calm. She knew exactly what the Outer Void Evil Demon was. If she underestimated it, destroying this world would be effortless for it.
So every trace of it had to be driven out.
"Understood, understood! I'll leave at once!"
As if granted amnesty, the black pillar began to slowly dissipate. This was the sentence the Outer Void Evil Demon had been waiting for.
It had roamed the cosmos for countless eons without ever failing. This world was merely one of many it had invaded, insignificant in the grand span of its existence.
Yet because of the woman before it, it had experienced, for the first time in its life, the suffering of so-called mortal ants.
That beating had been unforgettable.
More unbearable than the pain were the insults.
To be honest, after that humiliation, it had never dared… to think about returning to this place that had left it traumatized.
But two things had changed.
First, it had sensed that the woman who terrified it had ascended.
Second—
"Who said you could leave now?"
Her voice rang out again, cutting off its thoughts like a death sentence.
"Running away without explaining yourself?"
"…"
"If you don't speak, I will."
"…"
"Three. Two—"
"I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
That familiar fear surged back, and the Outer Void Evil Demon could no longer hold out.
Streaks of foul blood ran down the inner walls of the black pillar. It was clearly suffering severe backlash.
"Ah. So you signed a contract."
The woman spoke thoughtfully, then said nothing more.
What did its injuries have to do with her?
"…"
The Outer Void Evil Demon hesitated. Seeing that she was waiting, it could only speak.
"I was driven here."
Things were different from thousands of years ago. Back then, it had been flourishing on the Western Continent. That was why it had decided to meddle in the cultivation world.
It hadn't even had time to enjoy itself before running into this calamity.
The believer who had dared preach to the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden was still being tormented within its true body—though by now only a wisp of remnant soul remained.
In the end, it had not only lost its foothold in the cultivation world, the Western Continent had also been thoroughly cleansed by the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden.
Even it had suffered the most vicious beating of its life.
Fortunately, this was only a small world. It had not invested too much of its body here. Otherwise, if it had been seriously injured, other entities in the Outer Void might have devoured it.
Originally, it had sworn never to return to the cultivation world.
But after confirming that the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden was truly gone, its courage had slowly returned.
More importantly, something had appeared on the Western Continent that even it did not dare provoke. It had been forced to seek a host in the cultivation world instead.
"What kind of existence?" the woman asked, her tone growing impatient.
She did not enjoy this tooth-paste style of questioning.
A weapon formed from spiritual qi materialized inside the black pillar.
A spiked club.
"If you make me ask one more question, I'll shove this into your body. And I'll twist it as I do."
"!!!"
The Outer Void Evil Demon panicked.
"I'll say it! I'll say it now!"
"It's the Western Saint Realm and the Nether Hell!"
"They broke through the world barrier and forcibly descended into the lower realm. They seem to be searching for something, but I don't know what."
"I was discovered by them and driven here. I'll withdraw immediately and never set foot in this world again!"
It was terrified.
Something that big… how could it possibly endure that?
The pillar looked wide and boundless, but the higher one went, the narrower it became.
For the first time, it hated its own race's method of attack.
Why did they have to envelop their enemies inside their own bodies?
Wasn't that asking for trouble?
Against weaker opponents, this method suppressed them and strengthened itself.
But against someone like the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden, its body became nothing more than her playground.
To be honest, it had completely misjudged her strength.
Who would have thought she had two Avatars?
If it had known from the beginning, even ten times the courage wouldn't have been enough for it to show itself.
Normally, leaving one Avatar behind was already extraordinary.
Two was simply unreasonable.
It could only admit that it had slammed straight into iron.
This time, as the Outer Void Evil Demon retreated, the woman did not stop it. She allowed it to leave.
If not for the time limit, I'd show you exactly why flowers are red.
As the black pillar fully dispersed, the woman's figure also dissolved into mist, fading from heaven and earth.
...
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