My Shijie Seems Intent on Destroying the World – Chapter 14
by Little PandaQuestioning the Heart
“Have You Heard of Demon Venerable Huiyue?”
The first night after leaving the mountain, Qi Zhi slept dreamlessly, exceptionally soundly, and by the time she woke, it was already broad daylight.
The covers were too warm to leave, so she let herself linger in bed a while longer, until her stomach started rumbling. Only then did she rub her eyes and grumble her way upright.
The inn room’s window faced the street market. Qi Zhi pushed it open just a crack, and the enticing aroma from the bun shop across the street came rushing in alongside the cold wind—both equally unreasonable, both barging right in.
Qi Zhi closed the window and swallowed, just a little.
She had originally wanted a bowl of hot noodle soup, but now she suddenly felt that steamed buns would be quite nice too.
So she called up the kindhearted waiter and tentatively asked whether she could eat the buns from across the street.
The waiter was incredibly obliging—without a second word, he went across and brought back a whole steamer of buns for her.
Freshly steamed, the buns were piping hot—thin-skinned and generously filled, oozing with savory broth, soft and fragrant. It was a texture Mount Qiongju had never offered.
[Image: Baozi]
After finishing the entire steamer, Qi Zhi still felt somewhat unsatisfied, but asking for another round would be too embarrassing.
So she climbed back into bed, gathered the quilt in her arms, sat against the headboard, and let her mind go blank as she stared into space.
Once the mind empties, drowsiness follows easily.
In the past, no matter how sleepy she was, she had to finish a mountain of chores before she could rest.
Now it was different—she could sleep whenever she felt drowsy.
“Not having to do chores really is nice…”
Qi Zhi mumbled quietly, tugged the quilt up, curled deeper under the covers, and tilted her head back into sleep.
In her drowsy haze, the outside seemed to grow noisy.
Qi Zhi rolled over and listened with half-closed eyes for a moment, when a single keyword jolted the last traces of sleep from her.
Tiandao Sect—someone had mentioned Tiandao Sect!
Qi Zhi sat bolt upright and pricked her ears to listen.
She hadn’t misheard. People downstairs were indeed discussing Tiandao Sect, but they were too far away to catch any details.
Qi Zhi thought for a moment, then got up, pushed open the door, and glanced downstairs.
The inn’s first floor, which had been empty that morning, was now so packed that not a single table remained vacant.
Nearly all of these people were dressed as cultivators. Judging by their attire, they weren’t traveling together—they came from various factions, gathered here only because of a certain event.
Qi Zhi gathered her courage, went downstairs, took a deep breath, and made straight for an empty seat in the corner.
The people at the table seemed unacquainted with one another, so no one minded when a young girl sat down nearby.
The surroundings were exceptionally noisy, with acquaintances and strangers alike all talking over each other.
Qi Zhi pricked her ears and listened for a while, but couldn’t make out any useful information. After some thought, she decided to ask directly.
She slowly drew a breath, edged closer to a green-robed woman who looked approachable, and extended one finger to give her elbow a gentle poke.
The green-robed woman turned to look at her, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.
“Jiejie, has something happened here? Why have so many cultivators suddenly gathered?” Qi Zhi asked.
“Don’t you know? Something happened to Tiandao Sect!” the green-robed woman said.
“Ah?” Qi Zhi replied.
She knew that all too well.
“Someone already went to see this morning. The entire Tiandao Sect, including the Daoist Venerable—slaughtered, every last one of them!” The green-robed woman lowered her voice. “Not a single survivor!”
Qi Zhi opened her mouth, and it took a good while before she could ask, “When did it happen?”
“The day before yesterday.”
“The day before yesterday…” Qi Zhi pursed her lips and whispered, “News travels this fast?”
“Of course it does!” A brown-robed man beside them couldn’t resist leaning in. “Mount Qiongju, where Tiandao Sect is located, is one of the Four Spiritual Veins. The day before yesterday, Mount Qiongju suddenly manifested a heaven-and-earth anomaly so severe that it instantly sent tremors through the other three spiritual veins.”
“Mount Han has always been sealed off, so no news came from there. But the Spirit Venerable of Muxue Valley and the Sword Venerable of Guizhen Sect both used the spiritual veins to investigate Tiandao Sect’s situation at the first opportunity.” He frowned deeply. “Legend has it that when the anomaly began, Mount Qiongju turned dark as night in broad daylight, the clouds stained blood-red, and a black moon hung on the horizon… Among the immortal sects of this mortal realm, there are scarcely any cultivators who don’t know of this by now!”
Finally, he shook his head with a sigh. “The anomaly was terrifying enough, but who could have imagined that Tiandao Sect, long seated at the head of the immortal sects, would be annihilated in a single day—and that even the Daoist Venerable would fall…”
Qi Zhi pressed her lips into a tight line, too guilty to speak.
“That was the Daoist Venerable,” the green-robed woman said, her expression grave.
Qi Zhi hesitated for a moment, then couldn’t resist asking, “Then… then who could possibly possess such heaven-defying power…”
Just as her words fell, someone else leaned in: “Good question. This matter is actually quite hard to explain.”
Qi Zhi didn’t understand. “Why is it hard to explain?”
“Have you heard of Demon Venerable Huiyue?”
“Mm!” Qi Zhi nodded. “The heavenly prophecy says this demon is destined to destroy the world.”
“Exactly, that’s the one!” The man tapped the table twice with his finger and said seriously, “Five hundred years ago, when Demon Venerable Huiyue descended upon the mortal realm, a pitch-black moon hung on the horizon. And the anomaly that appeared at Tiandao Sect was also a black moon. So many speculate that this was the work of this demon.”
“Is that true?” Qi Zhi asked.
The man shook his head. “But—”
Qi Zhi fell silent.
Alright, there was a “but.”
“Five hundred years ago, all the immortal sects poured everything into severely wounding this demon. The world’s last deity scattered Their spiritual essence and perished, and within the Demon-Slaying Formation, that divine power formed a seal, suppressing his flesh and soul within Mount Qiongju!”
The green-robed woman picked up the thread: “Everyone knows that Mount Qiongju holds two divine seals—one suppressing Demon Venerable Huiyue, and one suppressing the demonic sword Powang. This catastrophe that befell Tiandao Sect did indeed break one of the seals on Mount Qiongju, but the seal that was broken was not the one suppressing Huiyue—it was the one suppressing Powang.”
Qi Zhi blinked, her gaze bewildered. “Then… then what does that mean?”
The brown-robed man raised two questions: “If this wasn’t Huiyue’s doing, where did that dark moon come from? And if it was Huiyue’s doing, why was it the other seal—the one unrelated to him—that broke on the mountain?”
Qi Zhi tilted her head. “Are the two seals completely unrelated?”
“Completely unrelated! Powang was the natal sword of the Ancient Demon God. That fellow has been dead for over four thousand years—aside from the seal locations being somewhat close to each other, what connection could his sword possibly have with Huiyue?”
“This whole thing is just too strange.”
“It really is!”
Qi Zhi frowned and couldn’t resist probing further: “Then, aside from the black moon, does this Demon Venerable Huiyue have any other distinguishing features? Like appearance, or… perhaps a spirit beast by his side?”
The green-robed woman thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, “Legend has it that Huiyue had a ferocious beast at his side called Qique1—white head, grey wings, rat feet, tiger claws, enormous in size, and it loves to eat people!”
Qi Zhi fell silent.
“Sigh, regardless, now that the demonic sword has broken its seal and vanished in an instant, the other seal absolutely cannot have any more problems.”
“The Daoist Venerable has already fallen, and who knows who will take charge of that seal from now on.”
“Who knows?” The brown-robed man chuckled softly, as if watching a play. “Whoever takes over will claim Mount Qiongju’s spiritual vein. Right now, every faction is watching and ready to make their move.”
“Tiandao Sect isn’t entirely without people, either. If anyone wants to take this spiritual vein, they’ll still have to ask whether that ‘Immortal Master’ in the Imperial City agrees.”
The three beside her launched into an animated discussion, each adding their own piece.
Qi Zhi slowly lowered her gaze, no longer able to take their words to heart.
Perhaps the true Second Senior Sister of Tiandao Sect had ceased to exist five hundred years ago.
And the Mu Qingshi she knew…
From beginning to end, had always been the demon destined to destroy the world.
The author has something to say:
Qi Zhi: How terrifying! I need to flee even further!
Mu Qingshi: 😟
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