Chapter 116: The Silent Killing Intent

“Let anyone say one more word, and I’ll make them vanish without a trace.”

The pig demon had been cursing loudly, and the others were listening with interest, when suddenly an inexplicable, wicked wind swept through the clouds, and the demon was flung over a dozen mountains away in an instant.

Immediately after, they heard Qingqing’s furious and murderous voice. Everyone turned in surprise. They hadn’t expected anyone to stand up for Nan Luo at such a moment.

“Where did this little green snake come from, daring to speak so brazenly? I shall teach you a lesson and avenge my Pig Vanguard!”

The pig demon’s leader was called the Yellow-Faced Fiend, his face as yellow and withered as autumn leaves. He spoke with imposing authority about avenging his Pig Vanguard, but his eyes never left the small green fan in Qingqing’s hand. From the earlier display, he could tell that this little green fan was no ordinary object...

If he could seize this fan, he would immediately return home and avoid getting entangled with Nan Luo, who was known for killing without needing a second strike.

Everyone’s gaze fixated on Qingqing and the yellow-faced fiend, who was speaking loudly for all to hear. His words were righteous on the surface but were merely an excuse to justify his attack and discourage others from intervening.

No sooner had he spoken than he moved to strike, but Qingqing had already swung the small green fan in her hand.

The fan shimmered with a faint green glow, though Qingqing made no other gesture. Her eyebrows were sharply arched, her lips tightly sealed, and she swung the fan recklessly, heedless of anything else.

In an instant, the void ripped apart, and a violent wind, as if from a foreign dimension, howled forth. The yellow-faced fiend’s heart leapt in alarm as a flash of light surrounded him. He immediately tried to flee, breaking away from the wind’s grasp.

He had witnessed the fan’s power and knew he could not resist it, which was why he intended to strike first. Yet Qingqing seemed to have seen through his plan long ago and struck without a word.

“Whoosh... whoosh...”

This wind was unlike any earthly breeze. Though the fan’s movement seemed light and effortless, soil and stones flew up from the mountain peaks, sand and rocks surged, and trees were uprooted...

Not a single small demon or imp reacted before they vanished over the horizon.

The yellowed-faced demon king tried to escape, but the fierce wind engulfed him. His screams were swallowed by the wind as if the void itself were tearing him apart. Like a withered leaf, he was tossed and twirled into the clouds, disappearing from sight.

What had once been lush green mountains and scattered stones turned into a barren patch of earth after Qingqing’s fan swept through.

While her magical cultivation was far behind that of those demon kings, she had suffered many defeats from acting too late in confrontations. Thus, whenever she sensed any hint of an attack, she would swing her fan recklessly.

For those with high cultivation, being blown away by the green fan’s wind wouldn’t cause much harm. But Qingqing had encountered many powerful figures, none of whom escaped being sent flying by the fan. This was the first time she truly realized its terrifying power after leaving Kunlun Mountain.

If the pig demon had been blown to the clouds, the other demons might have thought him weak. But in an instant, a whole group was sent skyward, including the yellow-faced demon king himself. This shocked many demon kings, who gazed covetously at the green fan in Qingqing’s hand.

Greed can blind one to danger...

At that moment, the demons sprang into action.

Hundreds of spells rained down upon Qingqing. They all knew the fan’s power and dared not approach her directly, opting instead for long-range magical attacks.

Though a magical treasure is formidable, it requires a skilled wielder to unleash its full power. Their first plan was to kill Qingqing and then seize the fan. Before she could react, countless spells had already gathered overhead.

The spells stirred the primal energies of heaven and earth into a dazzling display.

“Whoosh... hiss...” Qingqing swung the green fan above her head. Where the wild wind passed, all spells instantly failed. Lightning and elemental magic alike vanished beneath the fierce gale.

After Qingqing’s swing, the sky cleared immediately, even the clouds at high altitude dissipated without a trace.

But not all spells could be seen. Many secret arts were invisible to the naked eye and emitted only faint fluctuations of spiritual energy, making them difficult to detect or defend against.

Suddenly, Qingqing felt something moving at her feet. Looking down, she found her legs entangled by a gray vine covered in thorns. Wherever the vine touched, numbness spread instantly, rendering her legs lifeless.

Panic rose in her heart; she had no way to free herself. The only weapon she could wield was the small green fan, and she had no experience dealing with such entanglements.

At that moment, an intense pulling force tugged at the fan as if someone was trying to snatch it away.

Qingqing’s heart raced. She looked up and shouted toward the mirror she had once bitten and handed to Nan Luo, now barely recognizable: “Master, save me!”

As her desperate plea echoed, a sudden light enveloped her.

Qingqing felt a warm current wash over her from above, calming her heart instantly. The gray vines binding her legs recoiled as if scorched by fire, retreating rapidly into the void. The pulling force on the fan vanished silently, and many spells aimed at seizing the fan instantly lost effect.

“Qingqing, why have you come?” Nan Luo’s voice echoed through the void, cool yet filled with concern.

“I...” Qingqing tried to speak but found her throat tightening with emotion, unable to utter more than a single word.

Along her journey, though armed with the seemingly limitless power of the green fan, she had suffered many setbacks, unsure of others’ intentions. She had barely survived and developed a cautious habit: at the slightest sign of danger, she would swing her fan without hesitation.

The void fell silent for a moment before Nan Luo spoke again: “Very well... it’s good you’ve come. I did not accept your request to be your master before, not because I was unwilling, but because I felt I had nothing to teach you then. Now that you have arrived and still wish me to be your master, I accept.”

Qingqing’s joy was uncontainable. Hearing Nan Luo’s consent seemed to dissolve all the dangers she had faced into thin air.

Before she could respond, she suddenly vanished, reappearing atop the mound of yellow earth, cradled by a white cloud. This was Nan Luo’s doing, who had used the Five Elements technique to transport her into the void beneath the Demon Moon Mirror.

“You may have suffered hardships on your journey that I cannot avenge, but now I can!” Nan Luo’s voice spread through the void, imbued with the joy of reunion and tinged with sorrow, utterly devoid of any killing intent.

Qingqing nodded enthusiastically and declared loudly, “Very well...”

With her words, the Azure Face Sword stirred.

Once solitary and immovable as rock, the Azure Face Sword was slowly drawn from its scabbard embedded in the yellow earth.

The sword’s hum rose on the wind, echoing far into the void, lingering endlessly.

A flood of white light poured from the sword’s scabbard, filling the space and causing the demon kings staring into the void to squint.

As the sword’s hum and white light spread through the void, a tide of murderous intent followed. Where moments before the Azure Face Sword had been still and silent, it now exuded a chilling and heart-stirring killing aura, as if all murderous thoughts had converged and erupted at once.

“Clang!”

The Azure Face Sword leapt from its scabbard, a beam of white light soaring to the heavens, its killing aura surging outward in all directions like a tsunami.

The demon kings, wary and looking up, saw the overwhelming white light descend upon them. The moment it appeared, they felt a sharp pain in their throats before being swallowed by darkness.

Qingqing watched as the once arrogant and domineering demon kings had their heads severed in an instant. Their bodies stood upright, unaware of their lost heads for a long moment before slowly collapsing.

Whether demon king or lesser demon, all were cleaved in two by the white light, powerless to resist—an immense contrast to their earlier arrogance.

The once numerous and dominant demon kings of the mountains were now nothing but lifeless corpses.

With another sword hum, the Azure Face Sword sheathed itself, and the cold killing aura that had blanketed the void vanished without a trace.

Qingqing glanced at the azure scabbard, feeling as if all the killing intent had been contained within it.

Yet deep in her heart, she knew that the true source of the killing intent was her master’s spirit.

“So strong a killing intent,” the Golden Light Patriarch murmured, eyes narrowed.

Xingtian grasped the twin axes on his back, astonished: “Nan Luo has become this powerful!”