Holding Leng Yulai in her arms, Leng Yaozhu still had many doubts.
But there were some questions she dared not ask.
For example, during Leng Yulai's time as a fallen evil soul master, what kind of heinous acts had she committed?
Even if Leng Yulai had now reformed…
Those things, once done, could never be undone.
Leng Yaozhu could only force herself not to think about them.
She didn't know how she would face Leng Yulai if she learned the truth.
Nor did she know how she could continue holding her position as Vice Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda.
The only thing she could do now was to keep an eye on Leng Yulai and make sure she never fell into darkness again.
"Don't worry, Sister. I have completely severed ties with the evil soul masters. I won't have anything to do with the Holy Spirit Cult anymore. All I want now is to recover my health."
Leaning against Leng Yaozhu, Leng Yulai enjoyed this long-lost warmth of sisterly affection.
"Recover your health?"
Leng Yaozhu instinctively grabbed Leng Yulai's wrist. As her soul power flowed into Leng Yulai's body, even she, an Extreme Douluo, turned deathly pale in an instant. Her body trembled uncontrollably.
Her voice, however, was piercingly sharp, filled with murderous intent.
"Who did this to you?"
Leng Yulai's injuries were severe—countless hidden wounds covered both her body and her spiritual sea.
Her internal organs, even her soul core, were riddled with tiny cracks.
And these were the result of decades of careful conditioning.
Leng Yaozhu could only imagine how horrifying her sister's condition must have been when she was first injured.
"I'll be fine." Leng Yulai shook her head, then looked at Leng Yaozhu and asked, "Sister, you should have broken through to Extreme Douluo by now, right?"
"Yes!" Leng Yaozhu nodded. But her eyes still burned with killing intent. "Tell me, who did this to you? Even if it costs me my life, I will get justice for you."
"I did this to myself," Leng Yulai said flatly.
"You did this to yourself?" Leng Yaozhu bit her lip, staring at her sister, demanding an explanation.
"Take a look at this," Leng Yulai sighed and pulled out a dark red dagger, placing it in front of Leng Yaozhu.
"This is… the Phoenix Heart Jade! But what's inside it isn't love or longing… it's hatred."
Leng Yaozhu was stunned. Though the object before her was a dagger, she could still sense that it was made from Phoenix Bonding Jade.
Unlike ordinary Phoenix Heart Jade, which was created through longing and devotion, Leng Yulai had forged hers using pure hatred.
"Sister, this dagger is called the Demon God Sword!"
Leng Yulai gazed at Leng Yaozhu and said firmly, "You can use it too."
"I can use it too?" Leng Yaozhu was stunned again.
Although the Demon God Sword was a weapon, its essence was still that of a Phoenix Bonding Jade.
Phoenix Bonding Jade could only be used by the one who made it and the person they longed for at the time of its creation.
For Leng Yulai to say that Leng Yaozhu could use it…
That meant when she created the Demon God Sword, she had been thinking of Leng Yaozhu.
But the Demon God Sword was filled only with hatred.
Leng Yaozhu understood.
This sword had been made for her.
Or rather, it had been made to kill her.
And in order to create this weapon, Leng Yulai had destroyed her own body.
"Sister…"
Even though she knew this weapon had been made during Leng Yulai's time as an evil soul master, and that the person she was then was not the same as the person before her now, Leng Yaozhu couldn't stop her tears from falling.
"This Demon God Sword was forged using two pieces of Phoenix Bonding Jade, combined with various secret techniques of the Holy Spirit Cult, curses, poisons, and vengeful spirits. It has reached the level of a divine weapon. Even a false god will die if it pierces them," Leng Yulai leaned back against the sofa, her beautiful eyes slightly moist.
"But I was too weak. Forcibly refining a divine weapon naturally came with a price. I'm already satisfied that I could live long enough to see you again."
Ever since forging the Demon God Sword, she had been recovering from her injuries, her cultivation stagnating at Rank 97.
Back then, she had been on par with Leng Yaozhu, the Amorous Douluo, and the Heartless Douluo.
Even if breaking through to Extreme Douluo required an opportunity, she should have at least reached the peak of Rank 98.
But because of her body's condition, she had been stuck at Rank 97 for decades.
Thinking of her own cultivation, Leng Yulai couldn't help but recall another Holy Spirit Cult genius—Dark Bell Nana Li.
She was only about thirty years old now, but she had already broken through to Hyper Douluo four years ago.
By now, she was probably catching up.
If she were still in the Holy Spirit Cult, it wouldn't be long before their positions were reversed.
"I'm sorry, Sister… I shouldn't have fought with you."
Leng Yaozhu hugged Leng Yulai tightly, weeping bitterly. She didn't blame Leng Yulai.
If Leng Yulai hadn't already harbored resentment toward her, the Holy Spirit Cult could never have lured her into becoming an evil soul master.
And from childhood to now, she had indeed taken many things that should have belonged to Leng Yulai.
Such as the position of Leng Family's head.
The Leng Family had been part of the Spirit Pagoda for thousands of years.
Traditionally, the family selected two outstanding members—one to manage the family's influence in the Spirit Pagoda, the other to oversee internal affairs.
Leng Yaozhu had become a Spirit Transmitter at a young age.
Logically, that should have disqualified her from the competition for family head.
Aside from her, the only one qualified for the position was Leng Yulai.
Yet their father, the previous patriarch, had broken tradition and named Leng Yaozhu as the successor.
The reason?
Leng Yulai's martial soul was the Dark Phoenix. And the Leng Family had a history of Dark Phoenixes falling into darkness.
No matter how hard Leng Yulai worked, no matter how talented she was, their father had always guarded against her.
From childhood, all the favoritism had gone to Leng Yaozhu.
When Leng Yaozhu became a Titled Douluo, the family held a grand banquet to celebrate.
When Leng Yulai became a Titled Douluo, her father's first reaction was not joy but suspicion—he checked her martial soul to see if she had strayed into darkness.
Leng Yulai running away and becoming an evil soul master was not just because of Leng Yaozhu and Yun Ming.
It was years of injustice, combined with her extreme personality.
Yun Ming's betrayal was just the final spark.
Otherwise, she should have hated Yali. How could she possibly have hated Leng Yaozhu, who had also been a loser in that love triangle?
The Demon God Sword may be an artifact, but at its core, it is still made from Phoenix Heart Jade, meaning it can only be used once." Leng Yulai picked up the Demon God Sword and handed it to Leng Yaozhu. "Sister, this Demon God Sword was originally made for you. Today, I am entrusting it to you."
"I don't want it." Leng Yaozhu immediately shook her head. The Demon God Sword was an artifact, and it was something Leng Yulai had sacrificed her own body to obtain. How could she accept it?
Leng Yulai shook her head and said, "I want to completely sever ties with my past in the Holy Spirit Cult. Keeping the Demon God Sword by my side will only bring me painful memories. Moreover, Sister, you are now the Vice Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda. You will inevitably have to deal with Qiangu Dongfeng. If you have the Demon God Sword with you, I will feel much more at ease."
"What do you mean by that?" Leng Yaozhu's expression changed.
"I can't say for sure about other things, but Qiangu Dongfeng and the Holy Spirit Cult definitely have some tangled and complicated connections." Leng Yulai's expression was solemn as she continued, "In fact, after I left, I secretly came to the Spirit Pagoda once—on behalf of the Holy Spirit Cult, to meet Qiangu Dongfeng."
"Are you serious?" Leng Yaozhu asked in a deep voice.
"I am. But I don't have any evidence to show you." Leng Yulai sighed and said, "For something like this, Qiangu Dongfeng would never let me leave with proof. Within the entire Holy Spirit Cult, perhaps only the Ghost Emperor has evidence of his collaboration with them. In any case, Sister, just be careful of him."
"I understand." Leng Yaozhu took a deep breath. She finally realized why, over the past few years, every joint operation launched by the Federation government, Shrek Academy, Tang Sect, and the Spirit Pagoda against the cult had failed completely.
"The Ghost Emperor and the Underworld Emperor of the Holy Spirit Cult are both pseudo-god-level powerhouses, and there is also a Cult Leader whose true identity I don't even know. Their cultivation level is likely on par with Yun Ming, and their strength is at least at the pseudo-god level. Sister, you must be careful," Leng Yulai said seriously.
"Three pseudo-gods! And a powerhouse on Yun Ming's level." Leng Yaozhu gasped.
"But you don't need to worry too much, Sister. The Holy Spirit Cult is indeed very strong, and in any other era, they would be difficult to deal with. However, they were born in the wrong time—they exist in the same era as Master. It won't be long before they become mere stepping stones for him." Leng Yulai spoke with great confidence.
"You certainly have a lot of faith in him," Leng Yaozhu said, feeling rather exasperated.
"In many ways, I understand Master better than he understands himself," Leng Yulai replied.
"Hmph, I don't care what kind of relationship you have with him. From now on, you are not allowed to call him 'Master' in front of me," Leng Yaozhu snorted coldly.
Gradually, she had also come to accept that Xia Yi was Leng Yulai's Master.
"Having Yulai follow him might not be a bad thing. After everything Yulai has been through, she is no longer suited to appear in the public eye," Leng Yaozhu thought to herself.
The Holy Spirit Cult was surely searching for Leng Yulai. If she appeared in public, they would undoubtedly expose the things she had done and force her to return to the cult.
At that point, even she wouldn't be able to protect Leng Yulai.
It was a troublesome situation.
But the moment she thought about how Xia Yi had taken such a great advantage over her sister, Leng Yaozhu felt too lazy to dwell on it.
Since it was such a headache, it was only reasonable to let Xia Yi, as the Master, handle it himself.
"Sister, if I have done other things to wrong you, would you blame me?" Leng Yulai suddenly looked up at Leng Yaozhu and asked seriously.
Leng Yaozhu was momentarily stunned. She didn't understand why Leng Yulai was asking this, but she simply hugged her and softly said, "Having you back by my side is already the greatest blessing heaven could grant me. How could I possibly blame you?"
"Sister, you're so good to me." Leng Yulai was also touched and reached out to embrace Leng Yaozhu.
The better Leng Yaozhu treated her, the more determined Leng Yulai became about what she had to do.
"Sister, even if you hate me for a lifetime, even if you want to kill me afterward, I will still go through with it," Leng Yulai thought to herself.
"Haven't you already said it? We're family. If I don't treat you well, then who will?" Leng Yaozhu gently tapped Leng Yulai's forehead with her finger, her beautiful face breaking into a happy smile.
(End of Chapter)