After the Strategy Mission Failed - Chapter 3

5

The first night back at Lingyun Sect, I didn’t sleep well.
I had nightmares all night. I dreamt that I waited ten thousand years for the Demon God to open his heart, waiting until the Organization disbanded, and he was still a block of wood.
In the dream, I cried loudly, beating my chest and stomping my feet.
When I got up the next day and looked in the mirror, 038 was startled.
“Host, what did you do last night?”
I looked. The person in the mirror looked haggard, eyes swollen like walnuts. I shook my head: “Sigh, sad matters, let’s not mention them.”
The Big Recovery Pill had mostly been digested. As a small cheat in this world, the pill could not only bring the dead back to life but also temper a cultivator’s spiritual roots and increase cultivation.
Most importantly, it had no side effects.
I closed my eyes and circulated my energy. The Water Spiritual Root in my body, tempered by the pill, had turned into an Ice Spiritual Root.
My cultivation jumped two realms, leaping straight from the Golden Core stage to the Distraction stage (Fen Shen).
Seeing my mood improve, 038 spoke up.
“Host, there are currently no capturable targets inside Lingyun Sect. Do you want to go look elsewhere?”
Thinking of my ill-fated capture mission, my face fell.
Just as I wanted to complain, the door was violently smashed open, and a group of people flooded in.
Them again!
Do these disciples not need to practice? They wake up just to bully people?
Xu Yu stood in the center, sneering at me.
Before I could speak, two female disciples beside her attacked first.
“Senior Sister Xu Yu lost her Biyun Bangle, you must have stolen it. We are going to search your room now.”
“?”
Several disciples rushed in. Rather than searching, it was more like smashing and looting.
In less than fifteen minutes, the room was a mess.
But this didn’t satisfy Xu Yu. The female disciple beside her immediately pointed at me and shouted, “That bangle must be on her! Search her body!”
As soon as these words came out, the eyes of the surrounding disciples changed. Several male disciples began to look my body up and down.
Slimy and disgusting.
Xu Yu hooked her lips: “Search.”
Someone came up to restrain me; someone was undoing the sash at my waist.
Some looked with disdain, some sneered.
I said to 038, who was silently reciting the Rebirth Mantra: “Look, they asked for this.”
With a hook of my finger, the sharp sword unsheathed.
The former Qiao Sang, like Xuan Lin, possessed a natural Ice Spiritual Root.
Xuan Lin taught me many moves. My favorite was ‘Treading Snow Seeking Plum Blossoms’.
One strike of the sword, and Xu Yu’s miserable scream rang out. She clutched her severed hand, looking at me in disbelief.
Everyone stopped.
“Continue. Why aren’t you continuing?”
I caressed the sword blade. Seeing them still frozen in place, I narrowed my eyes and smiled.
“Since you are finished, it’s my turn to begin…”
One incense stick of time later, I pushed open the door, stepped onto my sword, and vanished into the sky filled with flying snow.
Behind me, the door was wide open. Inside stood more than ten ice sculptures, all with expressions of terror.
Severed limbs were buried under the snow. As the sun rose, bright red blood seeped to the surface.
Extremely beautiful.
It was a pity they couldn’t feel pain because their bodies had long been frozen numb.
On this day, a heavy snow fell on Lingyun Sect, fluttering and majestic.

6

I was hunted by the sect for harming fellow disciples.
Lingyun Sect disciples came out in full force; everyone wanted to catch me to claim credit.
A pity.
I am the woman they can never catch!
The ground was full of wailing Lingyun Sect disciples rolling around. They looked at me like I was a monster.
“You, you have already reached the Distraction stage!”
“Ice, Ice Spiritual Root! Wasn’t she a single Water Spiritual Root?”
“Run, run fast! This woman must have colluded with the Demon Realm, otherwise how could she suddenly have this cultivation?”
Chen Yue was the only one who hadn’t been beaten. He stood in place, his expression complex.
“Junior Sister Shi Yao.”
I sheathed my sword and smiled at Chen Yue: “Senior Brother Chen Yue, you are not my match.”
He smiled bitterly: “Indeed, I cannot stop you.”
“Leaving now. Take care, Senior Brother.”
I left dashingly, leaving him only a cool back view.
Lingyun Sect became the laughingstock of the cultivation world.
A disciple openly harmed fellow members, and the team sent to catch the traitor was completely wiped out.
In a fit of rage, they invited an Elder at the Integration stage (He Ti) to come out of seclusion and released harsh words that they would definitely execute me, this unfilial disciple, destroying my body and soul.
Truly lacking in martial ethics.
I certainly couldn’t beat an Integration stage cultivator, so I could only flee everywhere.
But after being a fleeing rat for a few days, I became unhappy.
This is too tiring, right? Can’t eat well, can’t sleep well, I’m almost neurasthenic!
038 was also howling anxiously: “Being hunted like this, we can’t do the mission properly, damn it!”
Indeed, how can I do the mission like this? Surviving every day is hard enough.
I decided to go to the Demon Realm.
The Demon God had personally forged a sword for me called Yinshuang (Chanting Frost).
I couldn’t take it with me when I ‘died’, and fearing the Demon God would give it to someone else, I hid it in a place in the Demon Realm and sealed it with my unique formation.
As long as I get that Yinshuang Sword, let alone Integration stage, even a Mahayana stage cultivator would be dealt with in one strike.

Mixing into the Demon Realm was easier than I thought.
Relying on my familiarity with the Demon Realm, I quickly arrived at the place where the sword was hidden.
The incantation was spoken, and the formation loosened.
A sword, white as snow, poked its head out of the cracked earth.
The sword hummed, as if weeping.
I couldn’t help but be startled; it recognized me.
“Good Shuang’er. You’ve suffered these days.”
I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. Just as I was about to take the sword and leave, my body refused to obey and froze in place, unable to move!
Immediately, a gloomy voice sounded.
“Left Guardian, you abandoned your post for two hundred years. You made this Seat look for you for a long time.”

7

I was hauled back to the Demon God Palace by the Demon God.
Along the way, both 038 and I were confused.
“How did he recognize you?”
“How did he recognize me?”
I took out a mirror from my storage ring and examined my features carefully.
Truly seeing a ghost.
My current appearance has absolutely no connection to my previous one.
What exactly did he rely on to be so certain I was Qiao Sang?
“Stop looking.” The Demon God glanced at me sideways. “This Seat has vast supernatural powers. I would recognize you even if you turned to ash.”
“…”
Forget it.
Recognized is recognized.
Since the capture target isn’t him this time anyway.
What do I have to be afraid of?
Cards on the table, no more pretending.
I gave a thumbs up: “Demon God, sir, good eyesight.”
The Demon God scoffed: “You admitted that quickly.”
I shrugged: “What else?”
One second, I was crossing my arms and shaking my leg, practically having the word ‘Rebellious’ written on my forehead.
The next second, the Demon God flashed over and cupped my face with both hands.
“???”
He was very close, close enough that I could see the pores on his face.
Rough fingertips scraped my tender cheeks again and again. This should have been a romantic scene.
But our height difference was significant. I was standing on my tiptoes with all my might, my whole face turning red. Was he trying to stretch me into a duck neck?
“Put me, down!”
The Demon God remained immersed in his own world. His expression was a bit stinky, muttering that I wasn’t as pleasing to the eye as before.
Just as I was about to suffocate, he finally put me down. Then he fumbled in his robes for a while, took out something, and threw it at me.
“Don’t forget to bring it next time.”
The night wind was slightly cool, but the Heart-Protecting Scale was warm.
I lowered my eyes and remained silent.
If you say he’s enlightened (romantically), he does nothing but practice martial arts; if you say he’s not enlightened, he’s flirting with me like this now, making my heart go numb.
“Host, don’t be bewildered by him again! Think about the painful experiences of the past! This is a weirdo! You absolutely cannot be fooled again!”
038’s words were like cold water poured over my head.
The Demon God, Sui Heng, has known me for over eight hundred years. He has always treated me well.
I always thought capturing him was only a matter of time, but facts told me that an iron tree cannot bloom.
I cannot repeat the same mistakes!
Even if he has a handsome face, solid abs, and that damn deep voice.
A wooden man cannot grow a romantic brain.
Then I threw the Heart-Protecting Scale back.
Demon God: “…”

8

The Demon God Palace prepared to throw a big party.
Because the Left Guardian, missing for two hundred years, had returned.
Banners welcoming my return were pasted all the way to the border. I heard the Demon God personally wrote them—a full thousand strips—covering almost the entire Demon Realm.
Truly social death; I lost all my face.
When I arrived, the hall instantly went quiet.
Quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
Their gazes were complex.
Some had already started whispering.
“Hmph, a lowly mortal, delusional enough to want to replace the Left Guardian.”
“Sigh, just treat it as acting along. The Demon God refused to believe the Left Guardian had died. For the past two hundred years, he’s been looking for her outside every day. Now that he finally stopped running around, just secretly be happy.”
“Yeah, the Demon God even neglected his favorite Sky Dome Art. All he does is look for the Left Guardian. The Demon Realm’s combat power has slid down in a straight line.”
“Fortunately, High God Xuan Lin of the Heavenly Realm also went crazy, looking for some Junior Sister every day. No one is leading the heavenly soldiers; they aren’t doing well either.”
“Why does this substitute look nothing like the Left Guardian?”
“Uh, don’t you know the Demon God is face-blind?”
“Oh right, the Demon God often mistakes the Right Guardian for Lord Cang Jia (Turtle). Those two, one is a water duck and one is a turtle.”
“Maybe the color is the same? The Demon God only remembers colors!”
Me: “…”
These Demon Realm citizens haven’t changed a bit; they love gossip.
I sat down slowly. Seeing only wine on the table, I became unhappy.
Why aren’t the dishes served yet?
Where are the maids? Serve the food!
What kind of crappy banquet is this, so shabby? If I knew, I wouldn’t have come.
I was cursing the Demon God for being stingy in my heart. Just as I was cursing enthusiastically, a few duck quacks came from beside me, drawing attention.
The Right Guardian was drinking depressed wine. Seeing me look at him, he immediately huffed: “Don’t think about getting close to me. I only recognize the previous Left Guardian!”
“…” When did he become my die-hard fan?
The Demon God sitting at the head seat had a smile on his face the whole time, seemingly in a very good mood. He raised his wine cup.
“Everyone.”
Everyone stopped, gazes converging on the Demon God.
His gaze swept over me: “Today, the Left Guardian has returned. This Seat is very happy.”
“This Seat will drink (bottoms up), you all do as you please.”
Mm, the Demon God is as uncultured as ever.
“Congratulations, Demon God.”
“Demon God has great capacity for liquor!”
“I’ll drink too!”
“Hahahahahahahaha.”
The Demon God’s laughter was very magical.
I covered my ears, inwardly complaining: Haha your grandpa! Besides laughing like an idiot, do you know anything else?
I was truly possessed by a ghost to try and capture this fool in the past.
038 was anxious: “Host, what do we do? Are we destined to die of old age in this Demon God Palace?”
I quickly comforted him: “I know you are anxious, but don’t be anxious yet.”
“As long as I don’t choose to capture the Demon God in this life, he can’t waste my time anymore, right?”
“Makes sense!”
“Then go check right now, besides capturing him, who else can I capture?”
“Host, wait a moment!”
038 went to check the data. I leaned back in the chair, crossed my legs, and drank wine comfortably.
The Demon God sent a maid to serve food.
The spread was very luxurious. He even thoughtfully prepared an extra portion for me, afraid I wouldn’t have enough to eat.
I took back the curses from earlier. The Demon God is still very generous to his subordinates.
Small wine with small dishes, I happily hummed a song.
“Oh Baby, say a little more love talk…”
Just as I was singing enthusiastically—
Bang!
The grand door of the Demon God Palace was kicked open.
A burst of ice mist rose, obscuring the intruder’s face.
I pulled my sleeves tighter.
Hiss—so cold!
The Demon God narrowed his eyes and waved his hand. The ice mist dispersed, and everyone present saw the intruder’s appearance clearly.
It was actually Xuan Lin.
He raised his chin slightly, his hair a bit messy. There was no expression on his chiseled face, his eyes held a gloominess, and his slightly disheveled appearance made hearts flutter.
If the Demon God was an existence dazzling like the sun, then Xuan Lin was the exquisite and cold moonlight.
Freezing, but it didn’t stop everyone from admiring his looks.
Even I had once fantasized about kissing that icy face.
He coldly looked around, scanning every woman. A few with low immunity clutched their hearts and fainted directly.
“High God Xuan Lin, he is looking at me! Ah! Mother!”
Thump! The demoness beside me hit the ground.
The half-chewed shark fin in my mouth slipped back into the bowl with a slurp.
“Se-Senior Brother?”