Chapter 227: Chapter 19 Jiang the Witch’s Big Failure, Yet Not a Total Failure
 

Jiang Liyan lay on the ground, emitting sobs, unable to stop the tears from flowing down, yet her eyes stealthily glanced at Wei Dongliu.

Then, she saw an extremely complex expression on Wei Dongliu’s face.

It was a look that was half smile, half grimace, with a sense of irony.

Jiang the Witch’s heart skipped a beat, and a profound crisis suddenly surged within her.

With the inspiration that followed, she immediately scrambled up from the ground and hid behind Wei Dongliu, calling out anxiously,

“Be careful! That’s my senior apprentice sister, Ai Zhenzhi, a master of the Refining Mansion tier!”

This sentence was nearly perfect, and it instantly made Ai Zhenzhi regard Wei Dongliu as the enemy—especially since he allowed Jiang Liyan to hide behind him and didn’t make any subconscious effort to evade, nor did he show any signs of surprise or shock, which further corroborated that notion.

Ai Zhenzhi clenched her right hand into a fist, and countless Demon Heads howled out, attacking Wei Dongliu from all sides.

As the eldest apprentice sister of the Heavenly Demon Path, the thirty-six corporeal Divine Demons she fostered were far more formidable than those Luo Yan had dealt with on the Five Zhi Islands last time.

Each Demon Head was eight feet tall, with a green face and ferocious fangs, possessing immense strength—they could tear a person apart with their hands and even withstand direct attacks from the Flying Sword, making them nearly flawless when facing cultivators below the Golden Core tier.

The reason the word “nearly” is used is that these Demon Heads were bulky and vast, and if faced with Daoist Magic or Magical Treasures specifically designed to counter Demon Heads, they could become easy targets and struggle to escape due to being easily hit.

Wei Dongliu remained expressionless as the cloth behind him unfurled without wind, revealing a purple-black, sinister Immortal Sword that shot out from behind him.

After being infused with Demonic Qi from the Chaotic Demon Body, the Myriad Demons Evil Spirit Sword had become extremely docile to him, almost comparable to a Life-bound Sword Artifact.

With a mere thought from him, the Myriad Demons Evil Spirit Sword suddenly leveled its blade horizontally and swept across, cutting open the first three Divine Demons that approached it.

It was said that upon reaching a high level of mastery, each of the thirty-six corporeal Divine Demons was impervious to blades and resistant to fire and water.

However, under the attack of the Myriad Demons Evil Spirit Sword, their robust bodies seemed as fragile as paper, tearing apart as a great amount of black Qi dispersed from within.

Ai Zhenzhi’s pupils contracted sharply, alarms ringing in her mind, and she immediately realized she had been tricked.

There weren’t many methods that could counter the thirty-six corporeal Divine Demons; how could the opponent just happen to possess one!

Instead of attributing it to bad luck, it was almost certain that Jiang Liyan had leaked her information beforehand and specifically sought out an opponent capable of countering her abilities!

Recalling Jiang Liyan’s previous words and demeanor, the ostensibly normal yet subtly provocative behavior and tone that agitated her, Ai Zhenzhi snapped out of her rage, returning to her cold, rational state.

Being strategically outwitted, the situation was dire, and it was not a place to linger!

She had to escape!

She made a decisive bite on her teeth, formed a Spell with her hands, and the three Demon Heads that were nearly bisected suddenly swelled up like balloons.

Burst!

A thick black smoke filled the surrounding space like fog. The substance that made up the thirty-six corporeal Divine Demons was the most superficial layer of human emotions, composed of a mixture of joy, anger, worry, thought, sorrow, fear, and shock.

Upon contact with even a hint of it, ordinary cultivators would immediately lose their Daoist Heart, falling into fits of madness, laughing or crying uncontrollably, or other bizarre states of frenzy.

But Wei Dongliu was not an ordinary man; with a light flick of his sword finger, the Myriad Demons Evil Spirit Sword vibrated again, activating the Sword Dao Technique “Soul-Stripping Stab.” In an instant, it was as if a whale was swallowing a dragon, sucking up all the surrounding emotional black smoke, leaving nothing behind.

Jiang Liyan popped out from behind him, gaping at the now empty space in front of her, her face displaying utter disbelief.

Where’s the eldest apprentice sister?

My big senior apprentice sister, she escaped?

How could you let her get away? Where’s that, your Hundred Poisons Golden Silkworm Gu?

Use the move you used on Gu Lie last time! Just straight-up grab her face and kill her ahhhh!

At this moment, Jiang the Witch was filled with mixed emotions, wishing she could scream out in anguish like a meerkat on the verge of collapse, but after all, she was also a seasoned woman of the Demon Sect. She quickly gathered her unwilling feelings, her face showing a mix of gratitude and concern, as she bowed in thanks, saying,

“Many thanks, Brother Wei, for your assistance,”

“No need for excessive courtesy,” Wei Dongliu said indifferently with hands clasped behind his back, “She initiated the attack. I was merely defending myself, and saving you was just incidental.”

Jiang Liyan’s eyes brimmed with tears, and she had a torrent of curses on the tip of her tongue, ready to erupt.

Who found you the Sect Residence, led you around Mount Wutai, introduced you to Wen Yang and many other contacts, and helped clarify doubts for your disciples… And this is how you repay me, Old Devil Wei? You can’t even help me kill a fellow disciple!

“That was your fellow disciple, wasn’t it?” asked Wei Dongliu with puzzlement, “Why did she want to attack you?”

Jiang Liyan forced a miserable smile, covering her cheek, and said sorrowfully:

“Within the Demon Sect, it’s nothing but the law of the jungle. Alas, the weak get hit; there’s no ‘why’ to it.”

“Oh,” Wei Dongliu sighed and continued, “Is Brother Jiang alright?”

“I’m fine,” Jiang Liyan said as she awkwardly stood up, still sporting a palm print on her face.

Truth be told, even for non-cultivators, most slaps are more insulting than damaging.

Furthermore, Jiang Liyan had deliberately borne that slap to strengthen her narrative of being “oppressed by a fellow disciple”. To think that Wei Dongliu had actually let her escape…

At this thought, she couldn’t help but grind her teeth in frustration, wishing she could bite Wei Dongliu in half to vent her anger.

However.

It wasn’t irremediable.

Knowing Ai Zhenzhi as she did, having detonated three pieces of her Chaotic Demon Body just to get away, the elder sister must be bleeding inside.

Having suffered such a loss, the elder sister would assuredly not let things rest. She would definitely think that Wei Dongliu was an ally Jiang Liyan had solicited, specifically setting up an ambush for her here.

Therefore, from a vengeful perspective, she would likely gather more forces and, once they were in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, would seize an opportunity to track them down.

It was not only to settle a grudge but also to eliminate a future threat. As long as the two lived, the elder sister would surely not rest easy.

By the time she was attacked continuously twice, even if Old Devil Wei was cautious, he wouldn’t allow a tiger to return to the mountain, right?

Hmph, there are plenty of opportunities anyway!

With this thought, Jiang the Witch’s mood quickly improved again. Putting on a face of guilt and self-reproach, she said with a sigh to Wei Dongliu:

“Alas, it’s my fault. It’s a private grudge between my fellow disciple and me, yet I’ve dragged you, Brother Wei, into it.”

Seeing her convincing act without any flaws, Wei Dongliu naturally played along, saying:

“It’s not Brother Jiang’s fault. I was just passing by when your fellow disciple attacked me. If there’s blame, it lies with her.”

Comforted by his words, Jiang Liyan took the opportunity to soften her expression, replying with a wry smile:

“Brother Wei, you’ve angered my elder sister this time, and she managed to escape using a ruse. I fear that when we enter the Hundred Thousand Mountains, she might ambush us in retaliation.”

“Let her come,” said Wei Dongliu, unconcerned.

“After seeing your strength, she will definitely seek out more formidable allies,” Jiang Liyan reminded him.

“However many come, it’s all the same,” Wei Dongliu stated coolly, without a trace of fear.

Beneath the level of a Golden Core Cultivator, no matter how many you are, I just need to employ the Hundred Poisons Golden Silkworm, the Five Elements Extinguishing Divine Light, the Five Thunder True Law—are any of those not enough to wipe you out?

Even if it’s a Golden Core Cultivator, if I really can’t beat them, at least Ah Jing can help me escape!

Jiang Liyan, unaware of many things, could only ponder to herself upon seeing Wei Dongliu’s confidence.