CHAPTER 755: 630 IN FRONT OF NINE RING MOUNTAIN

The Yi family attacked Nine Ring Mountain in several waves, with Yi Ding, Yi Zhen, and Yi Jing arriving one after the other.

According to the original timeline, Jiu Panpo had already faced tribulation decades ago, and it was Yi Jing who had intruded unintentionally, yet it could also be considered a twist of fate.

Ever since crafting the Nine Heavens Secret Demon Mysterious Scripture as the mountain treasure, for many years there had been peace, and the destined Heavenly Tribulation and Human Tribulation had all been safely passed.

Over the years, Jiu Panpo had felt quite content; however, she knew shortcuts had been taken. Though some tribulations had been overcome, others avoided were yet to erupt, which made her increasingly cautious. She set extremely strict sect rules to prevent her disciples from causing trouble outside and forbade the release of Divine Demons. She also used the Heavenly Secret Demon Technique to isolate an 800-mile radius around Nine Ring Mountain to avoid attracting misfortune.

Yet even so, she suffered from the consequences of associating with bandits and sheltering descendants of the Demon Path in the past.

More than a thousand years ago, Jiu Panpo was extremely beautiful, with a delicate and quiet personality, presenting a naive, romantic, and lovely little girl.

Tragically, her mother died early, and her father remarried. Her stepmother treated her as a thorn in her side, endlessly harassing her, cursing and beating her without respite.

Fortunately, her half-sister from her father’s side took care of her, and during the most severe abuse, she secretly helped her escape to the mountains, where she met an unusual person and entered the Demon Path.

Her master noticed her future filled with twists and turns, transitioning from good to evil, and thus named her "Jiu Pan" as her law name.

Later, her sister, worried about her, entered the mountains several times to find her, and was taken in by another Elder of the Demon Sect and received the law name "Bodhi." They were finally reunited.

Both sisters were equally beautiful, with Jiu Panpo being even more lovely and kind-hearted, quickly becoming famous within the Demon Sect.

Jiu Panpo met a handsome expert in the Demon Sect, Zhao Changsu, also known as the Joyful Divine Demon. Mutual feelings arose, and through matchmaking, they married and were formally recognized as a couple. However, Jiu Panpo, being traditional, did not consummate the marriage quickly.

Zhao Changsu, unable to bear the restraint, soon took another lover and came back to test Jiu Panpo, proposing to take a concubine.

Though Jiu Panpo was reluctant, she still adhered to the traditional virtues and, after much deliberation, agreed.

As a result, Zhao Changsu pushed his luck further and further, eventually leading to the scandal of favoring the concubine and destroying his wife.

Jiu Panpo’s mana was nowhere near as powerful as Zhao Changsu’s, and with her master already fallen victim to tribulation, she nearly died from the torture inflicted by her adulterous husband and his mistress.

Left with no other option, she could only kneel desperately in front of her ancient master’s closed gate. This was her last hope.

Fortunately, the Old Demon of Iron City Mountain finally emerged from seclusion, giving her three Demon Scriptures and instructing her to cultivate well and establish her own sect...

Jiu Panpo and her sister cultivated the Nine Child Mother Sky Demon together, swearing not to marry and to always stay together until they could avenge their betrayal by the adulterous couple...

However, her sister soon met the true love of her life, an Independent Immortal named Gan Que. Fearing disapproval, the couple fled overnight to live in seclusion in North Heaven Mountain.

At that time, their Nine Child Mother Sky Demon cultivation was only half completed, with their Divine Demons, Lifebound Primordial Spirits, and Essence Blood Primordial Qi interconnected. Once her sister left, years of effort were lost!

Jiu Panpo, having experienced betrayal by both her husband and sister, was so enraged that she vomited blood and nearly deviated from her path.

Her senior brother, Sha Shen Child, harboring hatred from a rejected marriage proposal, repeatedly tried to assassinate her, wanting her dead!

Despite this, she licked her wounds alone and, with sheer willpower, successfully cultivated the Nine Heavens Secret Demon Mysterious Scripture bestowed by the ancestor, thus stabilizing her footing.

But she had become cruel and ruthless, no longer trusting anyone. At that time, to refine demons, she also committed many acts leading to the loss of lives.

Later, when Deng Yin betrayed the Demon Sect, Master Changmei gave her some sincere advice, which she genuinely took to heart, retrieving all the Divine Demons from her numerous followers and expelling them from the sect. She set strict rules and disciplined the few disciples left, forbidding them from causing trouble outside, and lived cautiously for several hundred years.

It was because of this turnaround that when Qi Shuming urged her to forgive Yi Jing, she was able to agree readily.

She figured out that Yi Jing wasn’t actively seeking revenge this time. It was those who had received his protection in the past, unable to defeat the Yi family themselves, who had deliberately lured him here so they could use her to target the Yi family.

This infuriated Jiu Panpo!

Ever since receiving Master Changmei’s advice, she had been thinking of accumulating good deeds and had provided protection and support to many of the younger generations who sought her help.

Actually, she was also accumulating virtue through her good deeds, yet due to the evil karma created in the past, she attracted followers from heretical and even demonic paths.

These individuals, when confronted with tribulations, sought Jiu Panpo’s assistance. Jiu Panpo would either teach them a method, show them favor, or lend them a Magical Treasure to help them overcome their immediate difficulties.

She thought she was doing good deeds, as saving a life is considered superior to constructing a seven-story pagoda.

However, those she saved were evildoers. Once their crises were averted, they continued to harm others.

Her Mana was formidable, and usually, the consequences of her actions didn’t affect her directly, but this time with both Heavenly Tribulation and Human Tribulation triggered simultaneously, she finally experienced the consequences as those people brought her enemies straight to her home!

At first, she stayed indoors. Outside, the Heavenly Secret Demon Technique sealed off the area. The heretical Demon Humans arrived at the mountainside, knelt down, and pleaded. They vividly described the Yi Family’s wicked deeds and offered to present the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon Extinguishing Divine Shuttle they had seized, begging the Sect Hierarch to intervene and punish them.

Jiu Panpo, from within the mountain, merely scolded these fools and did not react.

Later, Yi Jing and others caught up and fighting broke out. The captives, not being equals to their opponents, resisted while praying. Seeing that the deep mountains remained undisturbed, they started cursing loudly. Among them, a woman cursed most viciously, "You think playing deaf and mute inside will make people spare you? They just haven’t freed their hands to deal with you! You, an old demon thousands of years old, still think you can turn back and join the Buddhist and Taoist Orthodox? Stop dreaming! We are dying here because of your indifference, and soon, you will have no place to be buried!"

These individuals were actually not weak, but Yi Jing was too powerful and possessed many Demonic Destruction Treasures, leaving them powerless to retaliate and only able to provoke Jiu Panpo to come out.

Still, Jiu Panpo remained indifferent and strictly ordered her disciples not to come out. Tie Shu wanted to leave the mountain to fight but was scolded by her.

Thus, those heretical Demon Humans were all killed by Yi Jing and her two nephews at the mountain front, and the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon Extinguishing Divine Shuttle was retrieved.

Had they just returned, it might have been fine, but fate intervened, and just then, another person arrived, quickly approaching from afar and landing at the mountainside, revealing a woman in white clothing with an extraordinarily ugly appearance.

This woman was called A Zhen. Speaking of origins, in a previous life, Ling Xuehong was reincarnated and born into a family named Yang; in this life, she was Yang Jin.

Her parents in this life were particularly prolific, having more than twenty children by their forties, with A Zhen being the sixth, making Yang Jin her sixth sister.

Years ago, A Zhen followed Yang Jin back to Dragon Elephant Temple at Mount Yi Tian, studying Buddhist Law under Master Fen Tuo and pleading to be accepted into the teacher’s lineage just like Yang Jin.

However, Master Fen Tuo, having accepted Yang Jin as a disciple, felt burdened for several hundred years, which delayed his Ascension. He was reluctant to accept another.

The old nun simply stated that A Zhen was not of the Buddhist sect, calculated that the tribulations she faced in her previous life were even more severe, and predicted that this life would fall into the Demon Sect; doing so would balance much karma from killings, allowing her to avoid many tribulations.

A Zhen’s innate talent was also quite good, but she needed to endure at least thirty-three years in the Demon Sect. If she could hold firm, she would eventually be able to reform and join the Emei sect. If she could not hold on and was completely seduced by the Demon Cult, losing her inner essence, she would utterly perish.

Due to changes in Heavenly Number and her personal fate following those changes, since A Zhen had joined Jiu Panpo, which by now was more than sixty years ago, she remained within the Demon Sect and had not reformed.

Yang Jin remembered Master Fen Tuo’s words and was worried that her sister would completely fall into the Demon Path. She often tried to find her and discuss principles and teachings, hoping to influence her with Buddhist teachings to prevent her from missing the chance to return to the right path. Jiu Panpo also wanted to ease relations with the Buddhist and Daoist Orthodox Sects, especially since bearing a grudge against Yi Jing had always troubled her. She was pleased with A Zhen’s interactions with Yang Jin, not only not impeding them but also encouraging them.

That day, A Zhen went to find Yang Jin, only to discover at Dragon Elephant Temple that Yang Jin was not there. The nuns at the temple told her that it was because Zen Master Tian Meng would soon Ascend and there was an unfinished cause and effect. Master Fen Tuo had sent Yang Jin to deal with it. A Zhen, having studied both Buddhism and swordsmanship under Master Fen Tuo and frequently visiting the temple over the years, was familiar enough with the temple’s nuns to learn about this.

Unable to find anyone, she did not want to disturb Master Fen Tuo’s meditation and returned alone.

Seeing people dueling at the mountain gate, A Zhen was astonished, wondering who would dare to be so bold at Nine Ring Mountain!

She also noticed the grand formation within the mountain was calm, showing no reaction, and none of the senior sisters appeared to take care of it.

Feeling surprised and after landing, she realized it was Yi Jing.

Due to a prophecy by Master Fen Tuo, Yang Jin knew that a deadly battle between Yi Jing and Jiu Panpo was inevitable. Concerned her sixth sister might get caught in the crossfire, she had sought several opportunities over the years to introduce the two and encourage a friendship.

However, Yi Jing looked down on A Zhen. Being accustomed to her own pride, she naturally disdained a disciple of the Demon Cult, especially one from her enemy Jiu Panpo!

A Zhen also disdained Yi Jing, considering her too pretentious and arrogant. Unable to attain the purity of the Buddhist sect and lacking the carefree nature of the Daoist practitioners, she also had a prior grudge with her own master.

Jiu Panpo was kind to A Zhen. Despite undergoing personality changes after repeated betrayals, she remained cold outwardly but warm-hearted towards her disciples, planning for their long-term well-being, even while uttering the harshest words. Realizing the depth of her master’s kindness, A Zhen naturally could not warm up to Yi Jing.

Yang Jin tried hard several times, all ending in failure, and eventually, she gave up, knowing that though one crafts their own karma and writes their own fate, being entangled in circumstances prevents real change...