Chapter 17

In the dim, damp dungeon, cold stone walls enclosed the space on all sides, without a single window. Even the air that filled her nostrils carried a biting chill amid the oppressive blackness.

Fu Lan Cen twitched slightly, and a flash of dark light swept over her body. The Binding Immortal Rope constricting her tightened further, leaving several fresh red welts on her slender arms. The metallic tang of blood lingered in the air.

Xia Xin gripped a long whip pulsing with dark patterns, pacing unhurriedly a short distance away. When she finally spoke, her voice dripped with icy menace. “My patience has limits. Confess everything, and I might make your bloodletting quick and painless…”

Fu Lan Cen let out two cold laughs, her eyes and brows brimming with mockery. “You willing traitor who threw away her heritage—abandoning Qingqiu for the demon path, yet still daring to wander the Ninth Heaven. You really have no fear of death, do you?”

Her gaze fell on Xia Xin’s face, now covered in demonic tattoos, and thick disdain filled Fu Lan Cen’s eyes. Her arrogant demeanor hadn’t diminished in the slightest despite her captivity.

“You!” As expected, Xia Xin couldn’t tolerate the provocation. Demonic qi surged around her. She cracked the whip high and lashed it viciously toward Fu Lan Cen’s face. “Damn you wretch! Since you can’t grasp your dire situation, let me beat some clarity into you!”

The whip, laced with thick demonic qi, sliced through the air and appeared before Fu Lan Cen in an instant. She instinctively turned her head to dodge, but the surging demonic qi still raked across her chin, carving a ghastly wound. Blood trickled from the gash and dripped onto her white dress, now stained with dust.

“Hold on.” A clear, distant voice interrupted Xia Xin’s action.

Then, Bai You Ran appeared in the dim dungeon, her tender yellow dress accentuating her noble poise.

She looked down imperiously at the disheveled Fu Lan Cen, a faint indifference in her gaze—as if appraising an insignificant insect.

After scrutinizing her from above for a long moment, Bai You Ran scoffed lightly. “Who would have thought I’d see the day when my dear sister is groveling at my feet.”

Her voice was clear and melodious, rising playfully at the end, just like the little girl from Fu Lan Cen’s memories. But the words that came out were utterly foreign, as if they had always been sworn enemies bent on killing each other, rather than sisters raised together from childhood.

Fu Lan Cen showed no surprise.

She gazed coolly at the noble girl who now slowly crouched down, enduring the pain in her body as she shifted backward a little. “Sister, don’t tell me you’ve colluded with the Demon Clan just to put me beneath your heel.”

“What of the Demon Clan? What of the divine race?” Bai You Ran neither admitted nor denied it, her tone carrying its usual contempt. “Sister, as long as I can prove I’m stronger than you—more fit to wed Qi Ran, more suited to become the Salvation Divine Maiden—that’s enough for me.”

“The Salvation Divine Maiden?” It was the first time Fu Lan Cen had heard the title. She didn’t understand what Bai You Ran meant, but her intuition told her it was crucially important.

Seeing the confusion on Fu Lan Cen’s haggard face filled Bai You Ran with delight. She lifted the corners of her mouth in pleasure. “How pitiful, Sister. Even now, you still don’t know why you’ve ended up like this~”

Just when Fu Lan Cen thought Bai You Ran would arrogantly reveal the long-hidden truth, the woman covered her soft mouth with her hand, her charming eyes sparkling with glee. “Too bad, Sister. If you don’t know, you’ll never know.”

Having flaunted her dominance for a bit, Bai You Ran felt immense satisfaction. Mindful of the task at hand, she glanced at Xia Xin beside her and gave her a look.

Receiving the signal, Xia Xin nodded. After Bai You Ran erected another isolating barrier, she stepped forward, a sharp dagger sliding into her palm. Fleeting black qi coiled around it like a snarling beast as she approached Fu Lan Cen.

To play it safe, Bai You Ran had decided not to keep Fu Lan Cen alive any longer. This time, she would drain all her essence blood and refine her divine soul for her own use.

Though this method wasn’t as beneficial as drawing blood drop by drop as before, she had no other choice if she wanted to prevent anyone from finding Fu Lan Cen.

Rip— The blade tore through flesh, and blood gushed out, soaking Fu Lan Cen’s white dress.

As Xia Xin formed hand seals to draw out the essence blood, a blinding white light flared at Fu Lan Cen’s brow. Surging divine power followed, slamming into Xia Xin before she could react.

Caught completely off guard, Xia Xin spat out a mouthful of blood and plummeted from midair, fainting dead away.

The sudden turn of events stunned Bai You Ran for a moment. Realizing something, she rushed over, seized the already unconscious Fu Lan Cen, and sent dark demonic qi from her fingertips to rip open space, intent on fleeing with her captive.

But in the next instant, the void sealed shut, and the surrounding air solidified, as if time itself had frozen. No one could escape from here.

Silver light flashed, and a faint, ethereal fragrance filled the air around Bai You Ran. She eyed warily the hazy figure gradually materializing before her.

“Who’s there?!” The unfamiliar aura told her this intruder wasn’t from Qingqiu or the Heavenly Realm. Unwilling to take risks, she shifted to a pitiful expression, her voice turning frail and weak. “Has someone come to save me and my sister?”

Lu Xi arrived just in time to hear Bai You Ran’s soft, helpless plea. When she saw the scheming woman cradling the unconscious Fu Lan Cen, Lu Xi’s brow furrowed. With a wave of her hand, she took the petite girl into her own arms.

She held Fu Lan Cen gently, letting her head rest comfortably in the crook of Lu Xi’s shoulder. Then Lu Xi looked up coldly at the woman who had been flung to the ground like a leaf in the wind. “You’re the one behind this, aren’t you? The one who abducted Lan Cen?”

Her peripheral vision caught Xia Xin slumped on the other side, the last traces of demonic qi now completely gone from her body. Lu Xi sneered inwardly.

Did Bai You Ran think erasing the Demon Clan’s aura would protect them? Fortunately, on her way here, Lu Xi had secretly informed Zhi Wu to hurry to the Heavenly Realm.

By her calculations, Zhi Wu should arrive with the Heavenly Realm’s forces right around now, having pinpointed this location.

“Who are you?” Bai You Ran maintained her fragile, innocent facade, seemingly clueless and even a bit fearful in the face of Lu Xi’s icy expression. “You didn’t come to save us? Then what do you want?”

Spotting Bai You Ran’s little theatrics, Lu Xi arched a brow. In her mind, she asked 001, “I still can’t reveal my identity? Do I have to keep pretending in front of this woman?”

She knew part of the plot and understood Bai You Ran was the culprit. But 001’s restrictions prevented her from letting on, so she had to feign ignorance.

001 chuckled. “You already know, so why ask me? Just bluff your way past her quick—the next plot point is coming up.”