Demoness's Art of Vengeance

Hey guys, great news!  Two more top-performing sneak peek Chinese novels licensed from Zongheng have left VIP-only and are available for you to read, each with fifty chapters and a 2/day schedule!  These novels are Yama Rising, translated by Minotauruz (who did the great translation of Demoness' Art of Vengeance) and Star Odyssey, translated by OMA who did Warlock of the Magus World and City of Sin!  Both are veteran and highly capable translators, and I'm excited to bring this to y'all.

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As the formation array under their feet sprang into effect, the Sect Elders and Peakmasters who were all caught within the domain of the formation array discovered in an instant that they could no longer move their bodies. This was especially true for their legs, which felt as though they had been completely adhered to the ground. Lifting their legs seemed practically an impossible task at this moment.

Jun Xiaomo stood at the heart of the formation array and smiled grimly at them. As the red light shone from below, it imbued Jun Xiaomo’s appearances with an ostensibly eerie gleam, rendering her expressions peculiar and fearsome.

The Dawn Sect’s Sect Elders and Peakmasters glared at Jun Xiaomo as they immediately began to operate the spiritual energy within their bodies to resist the formation array’s restrictions.

As their spiritual energy begun to flow through their bodies more vigorously, they felt as though the restraints binding their body were gradually being loosened, and they began to be able to move again. Their hearts immediately leapt with joy, and they began to increase the amount of spiritual energy that they sent coursing through their bodies.

However, Jun Xiaomo was hardly flustered at all. She curled her lips into a smile as she made a few hand seals. In an instant, the red light on the ground began to congeal into extremely thin threads as they penetrated the skins of the Sect Elders and the Peakmasters and burrowed its way into their bodies.

“What the hell is this thing?!” The Fifth Elder’s eyes widened as he barked while attempting to do all he could to prevent the threads from entering his body. Even though his feet remained plastered to the ground, the Fifth Elder could already move his hands under the operation of his spiritual energy. That said, he discovered to his dismay that there was nothing he could do to these red threads – he could see them, but he couldn’t touch them at all.

The other Sect Elders were hardly as ill tempered as the Fifth Elder. However, they had in a similar fashion also revealed an anxious, focused look in the depths of their eyes.

Their intuition told them that nothing good would come out of these threads that had burrowed into their bodies.

As expected, as soon as these threads burrowed into their bodies, they began to tunnel through and course along their meridians, heading straight towards their respective Dantians.

“Demonic energy! This is actually congealed by demonic energy!” This time, even the Second Elder was unable to maintain the placid and cool expression that was usually on his face.

If this was demonic energy, then it was abundantly clear just what Jun Xiaomo was attempting to do to them – Jun Xiaomo was attempting to cripple their cultivation using the threads of demonic energy!

“Jun Xiaomo, how dare you?!” The Second Elder glared viciously at Jun Xiaomo as though he were prepared to stake all he had in order to take Jun Xiaomo down with him.

Jun Xiaomo placidly responded, “Oh? Second Elder, why don’t you tell me why I wouldn’t dare instead? I’ve always been a demonic cultivator, and using demonic energy to deal with you should be something that is quite expected in the circumstances, isn’t it? Besides…” Jun Xiaomo’s gaze turned frigid, and her smile grew deeper and more profound, “Isn’t this something you and your dear Sect Leader He Zhang have always wanted? After all, I’d only become a demonic cultivator because of you!”

The Second Elder began to muster his spiritual energy, sending it straight to his Dantian to fight against the incursion of demonic energy in his body as he rebutted Jun Xiaomo’s allegations, “I don’t know what you’re talking about! You’re the one who has corrupted yourself. What has that got to do with me or the Sect Leader?”

“Hah, Second Elder, you know it full well. You’re just acting right now. And there’s still the other Sect Leaders and Peakmasters as well. Could you all really have been unaware of the changes to my body or martial brother Wei’s body? No. You all knew it all along. Yet, despite all that, you chose to turn a blind eye to everything. For a share of the wealth of the Heavenly Peak, you were complicit in altering my body’s constitution and forcing upon me a demonic body.” Even though Jun Xiaomo calmly and tranquilly made her accusations known to everyone, the lack of emotional fluctuations or inflexions in her voice made her accusations that much more dreadful and fearsome.

“You’re making baseless accusations! Jun Xiaomo, stop slandering people!” The Second Elder bellowed with indignation.

Yet Jun Xiaomo simply glanced back at him with a contemptuous and disdainful gaze, “Baseless? I’m sorry, it’s true that I’ve got no hard proof. However, I’ve never thought of proving my allegations to begin with. You’re all going to become crippled in just a few moments. Why should I even bother bringing up evidence to a bunch of crippled men?”

“You!” The Second Elder panicked. He knew that there was nothing he could do against her.

As things were right now, he knew that the only thing he could do was to continue operating his spiritual energy in an attempt to resist the incursion of demonic energy. After all, it had taken him such a long time to attain his present level of cultivation, so how could he allow this little brat Jun Xiaomo to ruin it all just like that?

However, the harsh reality was that with every part of demonic energy he was able to expel from his body, more would come pouring in to take its place. The demonic energy appeared to be boundless and incessant, and there was no way of telling where the source of all this energy was.

As a result of the formation array’s bright glow, none of the people from the Dawn Sect noticed the fact that Jun Xiaomo’s face was growing increasingly paler by the second.

This formation array was a form of blood rite, somewhat akin to the formation array she had used in her previous life just before she perished. Even though its abilities were incredible, it had to be activated and powered by a constant flow of blood and energy.

She clenched her fists tightly. The earlier gash on her palm was still bleeding profusely. Once the formation array has been activated, she would have to hang in there and keep feeding the formation array with blood and energy. Otherwise, if the formation array’s ability gets interrupted mid-way, everything she had done would be completely in vain.

Thus, no matter how painful and arduous it was, she absolutely had to hang in there until the formation array’s purposes were complete. She had to hang in there until the old fogeys from the Sect had been completely wasted and crippled!

After one incense stick of time had passed, the discomfort and giddiness accompanying the massive outflow of her true energy and her blood loss escalated and became increasingly unbearable. Thus, Jun Xiaomo decided to find something to jabber on about to remain awake.

Whilst distracting herself from her pain and discomfort, she could even provoke and anger the old fogeys from the Sect. What was there to lose?

“Are you all curious as to where He Zhang has gone to?” Jun Xiaomo opened with a question. Even though the world was beginning to spin as a result of overdrawing her true energy and her blood loss, she did her best to maintain an erect back. On the surface, nobody could tell the kind of struggle Jun Xiaomo was going through right now.

By this time, the Dawn Sect’s Sect Elders and Peakmasters were already harbouring thoughts of sentencing Jun Xiaomo to the most painful and long-drawn death that they could possibly think of once they escaped from their present predicament. As the incursion of demonic energy mounted within their Dantian and meridians, all of them had gradually begun to experience a bloated, immolating sensation spreading from their Dantian and flowing through every corner of their bodies through their meridians.

This was proof that the demonic energy was already beginning to wreak havoc within their meridians and Dantian.

The Third Elder had always maintained rather good terms with He Zhang. Thus, as he struggled to hang on, he looked at Jun Xiaomo and barked coldly, “Don’t tell me that the Sect Leader has fallen to your ploys as well?!”

Jun Xiaomo chuckled lightly as she responded, “How could you say that it’s been my ploy? I’ve simply trapped up within the forbidden grounds and allowed some of his dear, cute, little pets accompany him. He’s having a whale of a time right now.”

His crown jewels had been crushed, and he was even getting well-acquainted with his swarm of Spirit Devouring Worms. Why wouldn’t he be having a “whale of a time”?

In fact, he was having such a “whale of a time” that he simply couldn’t wait for the ecstasy accompanying the reprieve of death.

For some strange reason, when the Dawn Sect disciples who were standing a distance away from the domain of the formation array noticed the macabre expressions on Jun Xiaomo’s face, all of them got chills down their back.

He Zhang must have met with a mishap. Look at how pleased this Lady Demoness is…

The Fifth Elder immediately bellowed, “That’s impossible! The key to the forbidden grounds is with He Zhang. How could you possibly have trapped him within the forbidden grounds?!”

Yet Jun Xiaomo simply raised an eyebrow, challenging the Fifth Elder’s rationalization, “Oh? Why can’t I? Could the Fifth Elder be unaware that someone else can forcibly seize control over a formation array? As long as the array master is capable enough, nothing is impossible.”

“You!” The Fifth Elder was both astonished and enraged, “How could you possibly possess the ability to take control of the forbidden ground’s master formation array?! That’s impossible! This is something that even a sixth-grade array master can’t achieve!”

Logically speaking, it was impossible for someone at Jun Xiaomo’s physical age to have attained such mastery over formation arrays. However, she had already spent over three hundred years within the Proving Grounds, and her abilities had already exceeded that of a sixth-grade array master a long time ago. With her current level of proficiency and master over formation arrays, not even the complex, heaven-defying formation arrays in the Proving Grounds could withstand her advances, much less this meagre formation array controlling the forbidden grounds of a mere Secondary Sect.

Thus, Jun Xiaomo chuckled lightly again as she retorted, “Fifth Elder, it doesn’t really matter to me whether you believe me or not. It doesn’t even tickle me, much less hurt me. Whatever the case is, all that matters to me is that I know the truth. Mark my words, I will repay everything that you’ve done to my parents and my martial brothers, replete with interest. Not a single one of you will be getting away.”

“Jun Linxuan has harboured and nurtured a demonic cultivator! He deserves every bit of his punishment and more!” The Fifth Elder continued to bark incoherently.

Jun Xiaomo’s gaze grew cold and frigid as she chuckled once more, “Fifth Elder, you’d best look after yourself for now. Even if you want to punish my father, we’ll have to see whether you’ve got the ability to do so in the first place.”

“You!” The Fifth Elder’s anxiety had come to a head.

“Fifth Elder, cool your head. Focus on expelling the demonic energy.” The Third Elder was far more cool-headed than the Fifth Elder, and he immediately reminded the Fifth Elder of the most important task at hand.

With that, the Fifth Elder managed to suppress the indignation on his heart and focused his mind on expelling the demonic energy within his body.

However, was Jun Xiaomo really going to let them focus their minds on the important tasks just like that? She was determined to have these perpetrators pay for what they had done! It would be best if they became completely crippled!

“Oh yes, do you want to take a look at He Zhang’s current condition?” Jun Xiaomo smiled with a wicked grin on her face. Then, before the members of the Dawn Sect could respond, the retrieved a mirror from her Interspatial Ring.

“Kunlun Mirror?! Jun Xiaomo possesses a Kunlun Mirror?!” The Seventh Elder exclaimed, attracting the attention of all the other Sect Elders.

Everyone’s gazes were transfixed on the Kunlun Mirror in Jun Xiaomo’s hands, and their eyes revealed indubitable traces of avarice and greed.

Hah. What a bunch of greedy buffoons. Jun Xiaomo mocked in her heart.

Within moments, everyone was completely stunned by the sight of He Zhang’s condition – they could see patches of blood-red worms swarming around He Zhang, crawling around and burrowing in and out of his body. If not for the fact that they could still vaguely make out He Zhang’s features on what was left of his face, nobody around would for a single moment believe the kind of tragedy that had befallen their dear Sect Leader.

There were even some disciples who were unable to withstand the nauseating sight, and they ran to the side and threw up. It couldn’t be helped; the sight was just far too grotesque.

“The worms on He Zhang’s body are called the Spirit Devouring Worms, and they feast on the spiritual energy within a person’s body. Don’t look at me like that. These Spirit Devouring Worms weren’t something nurtured and cultivated by me. It’s something that your dear Sect Leader has been keeping under wraps from all of you. You can say that it’s come around to bite him on the ass right now.” Jun Xiaomo chuckled coldly.

“You’re spouting nonsense!” The Fifth Elder glared at Jun Xiaomo with disbelief.

“You know full well whether I’m lying or not. In fact, I sincerely believe you know even better than I do just what kind of person He Zhang is. Unfortunately, you villains collude together for your own nefarious ends, and you simply turn a blind eye to his idiosyncrasies and vile behavior. No, perhaps you even respect him for his decisiveness in that regard.”

As Jun Xiaomo finished speaking, she grew taciturn. Her blood loss had become far too severe, and she had also begun to overdraw on her true energy as well.

After all, this was the first time she had used this formation array, and she had not expected such severe side effects after a prolonged usage.

Seems like I’ve overestimated my own abilities. However, I can’t afford to let these old fogeys know about this. Otherwise, I won’t be able to suppress them any longer.

The Grand Elder had been waiting silently at the side all this while without making a single peep of sound. He was focusing all his energies on expelling the demonic energy from his body. At the same time, he was observing Jun Xiaomo’s condition extremely closely.

He squinted his eyes, before opening his mouth for the very first time, “Actually, I’m rather curious. Just how did you manage to slip into the Dawn Sect without alerting any single one of us?”

Jun Xiaomo retorted placidly, “Why should I tell you?”

The other members of the Dawn Sect were incensed by her unruly responses, but the Grand Elder simply kept his cool.

He had lived for a far longer time than anyone else around, and his heart was naturally far more steadfast. Otherwise, how could he live up to his name as the Grand Elder?

Thus, he continued to speak –

“Since you refuse to tell us, then why don’t I make a guess instead? You snuck in using Qin Shanshan’s identity, right? That man, Jun Ziwen, is not someone whom you’ve simply encountered along the way. Rather, he’s your partner in crime. Moreover, the only reason why you’ve trapped us here is because you’re buying time to allow your partner in crime to lead your martial brother from the Heavenly Peak out of the Dawn Sect’s grounds, am I right?”

Jun Xiaomo’s eyes quivered momentarily. She had never expected the Grand Elder to guess every single one of her moves almost spot on.

Old fox! As expected, the ones with a bite don’t bark. Jun Xiaomo gnashed her teeth as she exclaimed in her heart.

The Grand Elder closely observed every single bit of Jun Xiaomo’s reactions, and he was now almost certain of the veracity of his conjectures. Then, a warm, radiant smile appeared to creep up his old, wrinkled face. Yet this smile sent chills down Jun Xiaomo’s back and goosebumps creeping all over her skin.

This was the blaring foreshadowing of danger.

“And, if my guess isn’t wrong, you’re already at your limits right now.” As the Grand Elder finished speaking, he immediately sent an attack flying straight towards Jun Xiaomo!

Not good! Jun Xiaomo immediately thought to dodge his attack. Unfortunately, she reacted too late and sustained a powerful blow from the Grand Elder squarely on her body, and she flew back like a kite with its string cut.

“Why aren’t you affected?” Jun Xiaomo spat out a large mouthful of blood, but her eyes revealed an intense, unyielding gaze.

“It’s because of something that all Grand Elders of the Dawn Sect are given since time immemorial.” The Grand Elder unhurriedly retrieved a piece of jade token from within his clothes.

“Chimeric Jade…no wonder…haha, despite all of my calculations, I’d never expected the Grand Elder to possess a piece of Chimeric Jade on your body.”

As long as a person wore or carried a piece of Chimeric Jade with him, not only would he be protected from the incursion of any demonic energy, he would even become far more resistant to the offensive abilities of formation arrays as a whole. No matter how powerful Jun Xiaomo’s formation arrays were, it was still powered by demonic energy when all was said and done. Thus, anyone carrying a piece of Chimeric Jade would naturally find themselves practically unaffected by the formation array to begin with.

Now that Jun Xiaomo had been sent flying by the Grand Elder, her formation array had been forcible halted just like that. Just like that, the Dawn Sect’s Sect Elders and Peakmasters gradually regained their senses and mobility.

Am I really going to die here today? It’s such a pity!

As the stench of blood in her mouth grew increasingly stronger, it was with sheer willpower that Jun Xiaomo fought back against her quickly encroaching unconsciousness.

She fought against the pain and stood her ground. Even if she lost, she was going to lose on account of her combat abilities, not her proficiency with her formation arrays. This was her personal philosophy that echoed her pride.

As the silhouettes in her eyes grew increasingly blurry, she bit down ferociously on her tongue, forcing herself to remain conscious. She saw that the Sect Elders and the Peakmasters had begun to make their move, and they were now surrounding her with delighted eyes that were hell bent on revenge.

On the other hand, it was the Grand Elder who remained exactly where he was. After thwarting Jun Xiaomo’s plans with a ferocious palm strike, he remained completely motionless where he was as he let others take over the job of cleaning up the mess.

In his eyes, Jun Xiaomo was no different from a dead person right now. There was nothing she could do to create a reversal of the situation. Thus, he thought to simply make way so that the other Sect Elders and Peakmasters could ventilate their anger on this little troublemaking brat that was on her final breaths.

I’m afraid these people are all intent on giving me death by a thousand cuts. A self-debasing smile crept up the corner of Jun Xiaomo’s lips.

Fortunately, she had already sent her martial brother Ye and the rest out of this place. Furthermore, the demonic energy plaguing the bodies of the Sect Elders and the Peakmasters were going to stifle their efforts at elevating their cultivation any further. With that, her death would be well worth it.

“Jun Xiaomo! Hand over your life!”

A furious bellow echoed out beside her. Jun Xiaomo shifted her attention to the side – Who would’ve thought that the first person to attack me would actually be the one who had watching the show on the side all this while? Who would’ve thought it would be Qin Lingyu?

Ah, that’s right. He must’ve guessed that I’d killed Qin Shanshan, and the key to his Arcane Realm can never be restored. Otherwise, why would he be so consumed by rage right now?

If she had not sustained such grievous injuries, a mere cultivator like Qin Lingyu in the Golden Core stage of cultivation could hardly be a threat to her.

Unfortunately, her injuries were far too severe, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to avoid this blow from Qin Lingyu.

Thus, Jun Xiaomo closed her eyes.

She waited silently for the moment an excruciating pain washed through her body and inundated all her senses. However, in the next moment, she found herself tugged into the embrace of a warm bosom.

“Whoever dares to hurt Little Mo, it’ll have to be over my dead body!” The stern, imposing voice was cold and deep. At the same time, Jun Xiaomo could hear that the person speaking was suppressing his rage right now.

It’s martial brother Ye…

Jun Xiaomo clenched her fists tightly. The pain emanating from the wounds on her hands told her that this was not a dream.

Her resolute will had finally been broken by the softest touch. Her eyes grew warm, and tears of joy began to flow incessantly.

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