Gu Wenlian's sneer froze. "What's so funny, trash?" That face—flawless even in captivity—made her blood boil. For a heartbeat, fear prickled her spine. Impossible. The cripple's bound. Even free, she's no match for me.
Gu Qingxi answered with movement.
Her thumb slammed between Gu Wenlian's brows—a blur of crimson.
"Spirit Shackle."
Blood bloomed where the nail had pierced her own flesh. Gu Wenlian's body locked mid-snarl.
"What sorcery is this?!" The venom turned shrill. "Release me or—"
"Blood-sealed demonic incantation?!" The ancient voice vibrated with shock. "How does a righteous girl know forbidden arts?!"
Gu Qingxi ignored both.
Cold eyes assessed her target.
The dagger flashed—
—and exploded through Gu Wenlian's skull.
Thud.
Silence swallowed the bridal chamber. Blood pooled around vacant, staring eyes.
"Child... you just..." The voice stammered. "She's... dead? Just like that?" No final curse? No dramatic last stand? Youth these days... ruthlessly efficient.
"Who are you?" Gu Qingxi knelt beside the corpse, wiping gore from the blade.
"This Ancestor is the Demon Realm's foremost sovereign! The Ten Thousand Spirits Patriarch!" Pride swelled the words. "Once revered across realms! My fall shattered empires! Your spatial distortion woke me from eternal slumber within this brac—"
Shunk.
The dagger plunged into Gu Wenlian's heart. Twisted.
The Patriarch's boasting died.
"Continue." Her tone remained flat. Always double-tap. The brutality left even a demon lord speechless.
"We're fated! I saved you! Honor demands you—"
"Should I puncture her dantian too?" Gu Qingxi eyed the lower abdomen. "For thoroughness." Before he answered, steel ripped through robes. Crunch.
"..."
Why do I feel phantom chills without a body? Who's the demon here?
"You were saying?" She cleaned the blade on Gu Wenlian's bridal gown.
"..."
Ignoring him, Gu Qingxi strode to the bridal table. Her spatial bracelet shimmered—a talisman brush and jet-black paper materialized.
"Flee! That elder's a Foundation Establishment cultivator!" The Patriarch's panic spiked. "Your Water-Fire clashing roots barely sustain Qi Refining Level 1! That ambush only worked because—"
"Did you monologue before dying?" Her brush flew across paper. Dark symbols hissed with killing intent. Spiritual energy flowed smoother than ever in this world. Perfect.
"...Possibly?"
"Gu Wenlian talked too much before dying." A razor-edged smile touched her lips.
"What does that—"
"Villains perish from monologuing." She slammed the final talisman onto the bedpost.
"..."
A hundred obsidian seals now smothered the chamber—walls, ceiling, even under the bed. Their combined pressure thickened the air like gathering thunderclouds.
"A talisman master? Five Phantoms Desolation Talismans? No... deadlier..." Dread tinged his voice. What monster have I awakened?
Gu Qingxi dragged the corpse aside. The Patriarch braced for another philosophical murder quip—
—only to watch her strip Gu Wenlian's corpse bare.
Spatial pouch. Jade hairpins. Even the heirloom jade pendant at her waist.
"Pathetic loot." Gu Qingxi scoffed at the meager spirit stones. "And she called herself an heiress."
"..."
Ten Thousand Spirits Patriarch, indeed. I feel ten thousand regrets.