CHAPTER 57: 57

"....." The scene was plunged into deathly silence till it was broken by the cursing of Lin Yue.

"YOU CRAZY BITCH."

How could she not understand that the so-called girl in the picture was the woman in front of them, and the so-called child was Lin Wan?

She didn’t dare to imagine what kind of monster one needed to be in order to sacrifice their own family for strength. Not only did she kill her own husband and the woman who adopted her, but she was even willing to kill her own child.

Lin Yue had seen her fair share of crazy people, but the woman in front of her definitely tops the list.

Yang Ze, on the other hand, trembled before his body went stiff. He didn’t know who he should support. On one hand was the woman who took advantage of him, and on the other side was a complete lunatic who would kill without batting an eye.

It was between picking the two worst possible choices.

But if he had to choose one, he would rather stay with Lin Wan than this lunatic. At least with Lin Wan, he only needed to sleep with her, but with this woman... he didn’t dare to imagine what would happen if she knew about his physique. She had already killed two people closest to her just for getting stronger, and was now even going to kill her own daughter.

If she finds out about his physique... Yang Ze didn’t dare to imagine what would happen.

Unfortunately for him, there was nothing he could do at the moment. He could only lie there with his eyes closed, pretending to be dead and hope that they would ignore him.

Lin Wan, on the other hand, felt her entire world collapsing.

Her mind was so overwhelmed with what she had just heard that she couldn’t even react.

The family that she always wanted to avenge... Was it done by her own mother?

"The masked women... They were the ones who attacked our family." She was still holding onto the last shred of sanity, hoping that her mother would just tell her it’s all a joke.

"Oh! Them?" Yun Ning nodded in response before speaking in a soft voice. "Mere pawns."

"They did their job. And once they fulfilled their purpose, there was no need for them."

"I... I..." Lin Wan stammered, trying to come up with words, but was unable to.

"You still don’t believe it?" Shen Yue shook her head.

"I was the one who sent you to the Lin family in the first place."

"I was the one who injured the elder whose place you took to do that stupid family’s escort mission."

"I was the one who ordered your kidnapping."

"I was the one who spread the news about the ruins near Stonegate city."

"I was the one who massacred the people near the Stonegate City and blamed it on the Sword Sect."

"I was the one who killed Duality Sect members and blamed it on the sword sect."

"I was the one who brought the two sects to war."

With every word she spoke, the faces of the three women turned pale. They didn’t dare to imagine that the two mighty sects were played by just a single person.

Every little incident that happened, every coincidence was because of this woman.

Lin Yue and Lin Wan never paid any attention to it, but now that they thought about it, there were a lot of things that were answered.

An elder of the family got injured, and Lin Wan just happened to take her place for the escort mission.

After that, she was kidnapped and just happened to land in the Duality Sect, where she coincidentally found her missing family. One of whom was the Saintess, while the other was a Grand Elder.

Now that she thought about it, with the resources and intelligence of the Duality sect, how could it not be possible for them to find out about her? If her mother actually cared about her and what she just said was a lie, then she would have found her and brought her back here a long time ago.

But she let her stay there... she let her grow up, she planned everything. All of it, just to bring her here for sacrifice.

"Wha... Why?" She wanted to ask why, but her mother had already explained it to her. She wanted to ask if she was just scaring her, but it seemed unlikely.

"Why wait for so long then?" Gritting her teeth, she asked the question. All of this could have been done a long time ago. Why wait till now?

"Because of that stupid old bitch." Yun Ning’s voice grew cold as she cursed before spitting on the ground in disgust.

"That old bitch was too careful. Too cautious. And I have to be wary of the other Grand Elders, too."

"Now that the old bitch is dead and the blame is on the Heavenly Sword Sect, I can finally finish it all."

"...." Lin Wan didn’t speak but looked at her mother in a daze. The woman sitting in front of her seemed so... unfamiliar.

She even wondered if her mother was possessed or if it was all just a bad dream.

"Oh, don’t give me that look." Yun Ning just shrugged helplessly. "It was a choice between you and your sister. And I took the less talented one."

"Does Cang Yue know about it?" Gritting her teeth, Lin Wan asked.

"No." Yun Ning gave her a flat response. "She doesn’t."

"But think about it..."

"She comes back only to find her sister dead. She blames it on the Heavenly Sword Sect and then cultivates in hopes of getting revenge."

"Of course, with the help of her all-powerful loving mother... she will succeed."

"YOU ARE SICK." Lin Yue finally couldn’t hold back as she shouted those words. She couldn’t believe that someone could be so twisted.

"Whatever makes you sleep better." Yun Ning just ignored her before looking at the moon that was on the horizon, before letting out a deep breath.

"Well, it is almost time."

The moment she finished speaking, both Lin Yue and Xiao Ruolan, who were still lying on the ground, suddenly jumped.

Xiao Ruolan rushed towards Yun Ning while thrusting her finger that was shining with internal energy. She had put her entire strength into this move.

Lin Yue, on the other hand, grabbed Lin Wan, who was still in a daze, before retreating and rushing towards the cave that led out of the Duality Sect.

"Futile struggle." Yun Ning just shook her head in response as she snapped her finger, and with that, the three women simultaneously fell onto the ground, unable to move.

Ignoring both Lin Yue and Xiao Ruolan, she made her way towards her daughter Lin Wan.

"LEAVE HER ALONE." Even Xiao Ruolan, who was usually cold and indifferent, screamed at the top of her lungs in anger.

Regardless of their differences, she truly considered Lin Wan to be her older sister. She didn’t want anything to happen to her.

"AAAAHHHHH" Lin Yue also put all her strength, trying to move. But her body didn’t budge in the slightest.

The two of them could only watch in despair as Yun Ning stood in front of Lin Wan before bending down, grabbing her by the hair and lifting her head.

"Mother..." By now, Lin Wan had given up. Unable to believe it all, her mind had gone into a trance, thinking that all of this was a mere dream.

"A pity." Looking at her daughter’s dazed expression, Yun Ning shook her head. "I was beginning to like you."

Lin Yue and Xiao Ruolan wanted to shout, hoping to bring Lin Wan back to her senses. They wanted her to run away. But before they could even open their mouth, Yun Ning just snapped her fingers, and with that, the two of them lost their ability to speak.

Then, under the horrified gaze of Lin Yue and Xiao Ruolan, she took out an old dagger with two jewels embedded on its blade and a third hole that was empty.

Yun Ning gently placed the knife on Lin Wan’s neck as a gentle smile ran across her face and then...

Shhk... shhhkk... shkkkk...

The sound came again and again, slow, deliberate and almost graceful. It was as if Yun Ning were playing a violin.

Lin Yue and Xiao Ruolan wanted to struggle, but they couldn’t even move their bodies. They could only watch in anger and terror as Yun Ning slowly cut off her own daughter’s head. But the most bizarre thing was that during the entire time, Lin Wan didn’t scream or cry out in pain. She was in a daze, as if wanting this nightmare to end.

Even though Yun Ning was taking her sweet time to slowly slice off Lin Wan’s head, not a single drop of blood fell onto the ground. The blood was being absorbed by the knife, slowly converging towards the third empty socket on the knife, where it formed the third red jewel.

It took five whole minutes for Yun Ning to complete Severe Lin Wan’s head. Though the whole process went smoothly, Lin Wan struggled once when her knife sliced through her windpipe and spine.

"And thus..." Holding the severed head of Lin Wan in both her hands, Yun Ning slowly raised it above her head towards the moon.

"With the third sacrifice, my path to heaven is paved."

The moment she spoke, the entire world seemed to be enveloped by an eerie silence. From birds to insects to the sounds of fighting in the distance... everything came to an abrupt halt.

Every single person in the Duality Sect, regardless of their age, gender and identity, looked at the sky in horror as two indifferent eyes, which were the size of two mountains combined, gazed down.

No one dared to breathe, no one dared to move a muscle.

Not to mention the normal members of the Duality and Sword Sect, even the Elders and Grand Elders were unable to move. They just stood there, horrified, like helpless chickens.

The eyes seemed to be overlooking the word. And after taking one glance at the ground below, they disappeared.

The moment the eyes disappeared, a figure clad in white robes wearing a white mask suddenly appeared in front of Lin Wan and Xiao Ruolan.

The masked figure raised her hand and thrust towards both Yun Ning and masked Lin Meilin. The moment she thrust her hand forward, the ground beneath her cracked, stones turned into dust, and even the air stopped moving.

This attack, which was capable enough to destroy the entire Yuyang City, scattered the moment it touched Yun Ning.

"You..." The white masked woman was obviously shocked by it, but she didn’t dare to launch a second attack. Without any hesitation, she waved her hand, and with that, the figures of Lin Yue, Xiao Ruolan and Yang Ze floated towards her.

The three of them didn’t move. Xiao Ruolan looked ahead with a blank expression, unable to believe what had just happened, while Lin Yue’s eyes were focused on Yun Ning, wanting to carve the face of the woman who killed Lin Wan.

She didn’t scream in anger or curse out loud. On the contrary, she was extremely calm. But her biting her lips until blood flowed out to the blood dripping from her eyes instead of tears was enough to show her heartbreak and grief-stricken state.

On the other hand, the moment Lin Wan died, Yang Ze felt agonising pain on his forehead. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. The pain was unlike anything that he had ever felt. It was as if someone was slowly carving his forehead with a hot knife.

But no matter how much he struggled or wanted to shout, his body remained motionless. It was as if he had lost control of his own body, but the intense pain was enough to make him wish for death.

The white masked woman, after collecting the three of them, immediately disappeared from that place.

Even though Yun Ning could have stopped her easily, she didn’t. She just let out a hearty smile before waving her hand, and with that, both Lin Wan’s head and body were crushed into powder, removing her entire existence from the world.

Lin Meilin, upon seeing this, took a step forward before speaking with a gentle laugh.

"Congratulations. You are the first person in tens of thousands of years to have successfully broken through the Soul Tempering stage."

"How does it feel to be a Heaven Step Powerhouse?"

"Heh." Yun Ning didn’t give her an answer but just chuckled softly.

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On the other side, the white masked woman didn’t stop till they were out of the Duality Sect.

Turning back to look at the Duality Sect, she let out a heavy sigh.

"What a mess."

She wasn’t the only one escaping from the Duality Sect. The moment those eyes appeared in the sky, almost all the members of the Heavenly Sword Sect retreated.

Normal Members and even Elders might not know what those eyes were, but how could the handful of Grand Elders not know about it?

"Damn it. Am I dreaming?" One of the Grand Elders cursed while standing near the white masked woman. "How the hell did someone manage to step into the Heaven step? Wasn’t the path cut off?"

"STOP ASKING HOW AND START ASKING WHAT NOW." One of the Grand Elders was almost going crazy.

They all launched a surprise raid on the Duality Sect, hoping to destroy it in one full sweep. Even if they couldn’t destroy the sect, they wanted to bring them heavy losses.

But now...

Who would have thought that someone from the Duality Sect would step into the realm of Heaven Step?

In the entire Azure Dragon continent, the cultivation path ends at the Soul Tempering realm. For tens of thousands of years, this had been the case. But now...

They didn’t know what kind of strength a Heaven Step expert possesses, and they didn’t dare to imagine it. The only thing they could do now was head back to the sect and prepare for the worst. If the Duality Sect decided to take revenge, then they needed to make sure their inheritance wasn’t cut off.

"Who are these three?" It was at this moment that one of the Grand Elders noticed the figures of Lin Yue, Xiao Ruolan and Yang Ze beside the white masked woman.

"...." The masked woman didn’t reply. She just kept on looking at the Duality Sect, as if wanting to see through it.

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On the other hand, the pain on Yang Ze’s forehead didn’t diminish in the slightest. On the contrary, it just kept on increasing.

By now, it has completely overwhelmed Yang Ze, making him lose consciousness.

Yang Ze only felt an unimaginable pain on his forehead before everything disappeared.

"Huh!?" Opening his eyes in confusion, he looked around only to find himself standing in front of a small village in the midst of a mountain.

"This place?" Looking at the familiar style of building as well as the electric wires, he was stunned for a long time.

"I... I am back?" There was no doubt that this was Earth.

"But where is this place?" Yang Ze couldn’t remember a single place in his memories that looked like this.

He looked around in confusion, wondering if he had died again and returned to Earth.

It was at this moment that he saw a figure sitting in front of him with its back facing him.

"Eh!?" It appeared to be a young boy, sixteen years old, quietly sitting there.

Yang Ze didn’t dare to move. Everything that was happening right now seemed weird. He didn’t know where he was or how he came back to Earth. The only person beside him was the young boy whose face he couldn’t see.

Even the village was empty, with not a single soul in sight.

And just when he was wondering if he should talk to the boy in front of him, the boy sitting there seemed to sense his presence.

"Hmm!?" His voice was unlike anything Yang Ze had ever heard. It was as if countless instruments were being played at the same time, producing this sound.

"You are not the one I am waiting for."

Before Yang Ze even had time to react, he saw the world around him collapse as he found himself back in front of the Duality Sect, lying on the ground.

The pain on his forehead has now disappeared.

He raised his hand, slowly touching his forehead, only to feel something wet and sticky.

"What the?" Looking at the blood on his hand, he almost jumped in fright. He didn’t know what just happened or how, but he couldn’t care less at the moment.

He was finally out of the damn Evil Sect and could now start his new life. Even though he felt bad for Lin Wan, there wasn’t anything he could do.

The only thing he could do was to pray for her soul.

"Let’s go." The masked woman tapped the three of them, and in that instant, they felt that they could move their bodies once again.

Lin Yue and Xiao Ruolan didn’t speak a single sentence. They just kept their heads low while following the masked woman in a daze.

Yang Ze, on the other hand, turned around and wanted to head off in a different direction. But before he could even take a step forward, he was grabbed by an invisible force before being dragged like a dog behind the three women.

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In a place far, far away from the Duality Sect, inside a small pond located in the middle of a beautiful forest that was surrounded by fog, a naked figure of a woman suddenly appeared out of thin air.

The woman was in her thirties with a delicate, curvaceous body. With a slim waist and breasts that could drown a man in them, she was the definition of a peerless beauty.

But the most striking feature about this naked woman, besides her exquisite body, was the glowing mark on her forehead.

Even from a distance, one could see the lifelike lotus-shaped tattoo that was glowing like the most beautiful treasure.

One minute passed... two minutes passed... five minutes passed...

It wasn’t until almost an hour had passed that the woman’s brows furrowed as if she were in a nightmare.

"Ugh..." With a low grunt, she gently opened her eyes in confusion while looking at the world around her.

"Where... Where am I?"

These were her first words as the lotus mark on her forehead dimmed before losing all its brilliance.

The only thing left behind was the exquisite tattoo, along with her deep blue eyes, which were filled with doubts and confusion.

===============End Of Arc I ===============