Xi Miaoyi watched as Meng Li arrogantly settled into the chair before her. No matter how unwilling she felt inside, Xi Miaoyi stood carefully and cautiously to the side, afraid of upsetting her in any way.
“Since you know my relationship with Shizun, I’ll be direct. Hand over your Soul Gathering Banner~”
“Wh-what Soul Gathering Banner? I… I don’t know what you’re talking about! My sect is gone… how could I still have sect items…?!”
Xi Miaoyi’s gaze darted away. The moment that pink-haired figure had appeared, dozens of reasons for her visit had already cycled through her mind. But she never expected Meng Li would demand her sect’s magical artifact right off the bat.
“Every inner sect disciple of Soul Refining Sect is granted a single spiritual artifact. No one knows the forging method, yet the entire sect possesses them~”
Meng Li lounged in her chair, observing Xi Miaoyi with ease. As Xi Miaoyi listened to the explanation, a cold sweat broke out on her back. While it wasn’t exactly a secret, very few people knew about it.
“The Soul Gathering Banner is the basic Inner Sect artifact, much like this bronze seal—it’s a tool to prove your identity~”
Meng Li pulled the Bronze Seal from her storage space and tossed it in front of her. When she’d first picked this item up, she had intended to use it against the spies within the sect. But all of them had been purged by Ling Qingyue. Keeping it now was pointless.
“As I said, your sect is gone. That thing is useless to you now. So~”
Meng Li stood up from her seat and walked over. Despite Xi Miaoyi being much taller than the little loli before her, she felt an inexplicable oppressive pressure emanating from Meng Li. Xi Miaoyi didn’t even know where she herself would go next.
“The Soul Gathering Banner can improve its quality based on the number of souls it collects, eventually becoming the Myriad Souls Banner~”
Xi Miaoyi opened her mouth to speak, but upon seeing the petite figure before her, the words on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back down. This was all classified information within her former sect, yet a mere Outer Sect disciple was laying it all out so clearly.
“If you give me the artifact, I’ll let you leave. How about it~?”
Looking at the now hesitant Xi Miaoyi, Meng Li knew perfectly well that the item was of no further use to her. Meng Li appraised Xi Miaoyi’s appearance—certainly above average, quite exquisite even.
“A Devil Sect spy without an organization isn’t even a pawn on the chessboard. But for me, you still hold plenty of value~”
Meng Li licked the corner of her lips. While Xi Miaoyi might not be as alluring as her two Senior Sisters, nor as devastatingly beautiful as her Shizun, as an appetizer before the main course, she was more than enough.
“If I hand over the artifact, can you truly get me out of here…”
Hearing the proposal, Xi Miaoyi was clearly hesitant. But what she failed to notice was the increasingly strange look in Meng Li’s eyes. Without her sect, she was merely a contact point, a pawn with no one within this new sect to confide in or trust.
“Your final use for me is that artifact. So, if you give it to me, I’ll help you leave this sect and live as a Rogue Cultivator~”
Meng Li used a gentle voice, trying to make herself sound more amiable. But despite her tone, Xi Miaoyi had no intention of giving it up so easily. After all, since the other party wanted the artifact, it meant it was still a bargaining chip for her own survival.
“Y-you! First, escort me out of the sect, then give me enough resources to cultivate! Only then will I hand it over!”
After thinking it over carefully, Xi Miaoyi mustered her courage and laid out her demands. Faced with this request, Meng Li simply paused for a moment, then agreed with a beaming smile.
“Fine, none of that is a problem~”
“Really? Wonderful! So when do we leave? Today? Tomorrow?!”
Hearing the agreement, Xi Miaoyi was instantly overjoyed. Ever since her cover as a spy was blown, every day had been filled with terror. She constantly felt as if the Outer Sect disciples around her knew her secret. She’d locked herself in her room, and that sword Ling Qingyue had left behind gave her nightmares every night.
“Don’t be so impatient. I need to confirm you actually have the Soul Gathering Banner, you know~”
“You were so certain I had it just now! Why do you suddenly need to verify it?!”
“What if you don’t have it on you right now? I’d be at a great disadvantage.”
Hearing Meng Li wanted to examine the Soul Gathering Banner, Xi Miaoyi grew even more guarded. It was, after all, her only bargaining chip for negotiation right now. Seeing her unwillingness to produce it, Meng Li could only sigh with helpless exasperation.
“I know I deceived you with a fake identity at the start. But right now, you don’t have many choices, do you~?”
“As expected, that identity was fake from the beginning. I don’t know where you got that bronze seal, but I won’t hand over my lifeline to someone I don’t trust…”
Xi Miaoyi stepped back warily, her posture suggesting she was ready to fight to the death if Meng Li tried anything. But Meng Li, watching this, wasn’t concerned in the slightest. In the game, this character was meticulously cautious and highly valued her own life.
“I’ll just take a look. Don’t worry, I absolutely won’t go back on what I promised you~”
“Do you think your verbal promises are trustworthy…”
“Sigh, so troublesome. Fine, I’ll swear a Heart Devil Grand Oath. Will that finally be enough?!”
Faced with Xi Miaoyi’s vigilance, Meng Li put on an impatient expression. Seeing this, Xi Miaoyi couldn’t push further. Clenching her teeth lightly, she summoned the Soul Gathering Banner, its surface entwined with souls, from her spatial storage.
“Since you put it that way… I’ll trust your character…”
Meng Li stared intently at the artifact woven from black and red, surrounded by wisps of spirits. Her eyes lit up. This was a tool that, once fully grown, could even be used to control Ling Qingyue.
“This thing is the Soul Gathering Banner. While I am of the Devil Sect, I take no pleasure in slaughter. There is only one soul within this banner…”
“Ah, just one? So I have to personally collect the remaining 9,999…”
“Y-you intend to forge the Myriad Souls Banner?!”
Xi Miaoyi had assumed Meng Li simply wanted her artifact as an extra means of self-defense. She never imagined this little loli harbored such ambition—to actually forge the sect’s supreme treasure, the Myriad Souls Banner.
“T-to reach the level of a sect’s ultimate treasure, it requires at least ten thousand souls! That means you would have to kill at least…!”
“So what?”
“Eh?”
Xi Miaoyi tried to warn her, but all she met was Meng Li’s utterly indifferent gaze. It was as if those ten thousand people were nothing more than a cold string of numbers to her. But Xi Miaoyi still vividly remembered the agonized and twisted expression of the person whose soul she had personally extracted.
“Ten thousand people who have nothing to do with me… even if I kill them, what of it~?”
As if afraid Xi Miaoyi hadn’t heard clearly, Meng Li calmly repeated the statement with that same gentle voice. The adorable, timid girl who had stood before Situ Xue and Ye Qinglian was completely gone. At this moment, standing before Xi Miaoyi was only the pure True Self.
A more calculating Meng Li, utterly devoid of moral sentiment. Xi Miaoyi felt a chill of terror looking at that small figure. She could no longer distinguish who was the true Devil here.
“I said, since you’ve taken it out… I’d like to hold it, if I may~?”
…………
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