In truth, the timeline from Zhang Buyao taking on students to their graduation and eventual descent into demonic cultivation had been exceptionally long.
Ordinarily, none of this could be blamed on Zhang Buyao. The problem, however, was that every single one of her students had strayed into the demonic path—not one spared—and each had become a monstrous archfiend.
That was the real reason her mother was so furious.
Yu Xian was completely speechless.
What kind of talent was this? It was more terrifying than an outright curse.
It was as though anyone associated with Zhang Buyao was destined to become a villain.
Yu Xian let out a long sigh and asked, "So what do you want to do? Kill all those students?"
"No, no, no! How about locking them all up?" Zhang Buyao waved her hands frantically the moment she heard that.
In truth, her students had all been pitiful orphans.
When they were only three or four years old, Zhang Buyao had already adopted them.
Although their daily lives were looked after by a few little foxes, they were still children she had watched grow up.
Yu Xian frowned slightly. "If they've committed countless atrocities, have you considered the victims? Did all those victims die for nothing?"
"..."
Zhang Buyao fell silent.
"Didn't you complain before that in Journey to the West, all the monsters with backing survived while those without backing were beaten to death? Are your students going to be treated the same way?" Yu Xian pressed.
Her expression shifted several times before she finally sighed in surrender. "Then... Zhang Nao and the others... you handle them. I won't interfere."
"Alright. I'll arrange their punishments based on the sins they've committed—completely fair and just," Yu Xian nodded.
Zhang Buyao's face suddenly changed. "My mom's here! Here's the list of my students. I'm getting out of here!"
With that, the azure light dispersed, leaving the sword hovering in midair. At the same time, the names of Zhang Buyao's students slowly materialized along the blade. As Yu Xian looked upon the names, information about their appearances, strength, and locations flowed naturally into his mind.
"Tsk. Her teaching ability might be abysmal, but she certainly fattened these pigs up nicely."
Yu Xian compared their power and found that he could only suppress four or five of them. As for the rest, unless he killed them outright, he truly wouldn't be able to hold them down.
After all, capturing a Mighty One alive was vastly more difficult than killing one.
Yu Xian pondered for a moment before stowing the sword away. He couldn't handle these students alone, but in the unseen depths of fate, someone had already pointed him toward a path. He knew how to clean up the mess Zhang Buyao had left behind.
...
Zhen Realm, Administrator Space.
Feng Mingge and Chi Feihong each sat in a chair, watching the activities of the players in the Zhen Realm.
"Hey, brother, what do you think about designing a fishing event? Whoever catches the biggest fish wins, and the reward will be a level up," Chi Feihong said eagerly, his hands itching as he watched several dedicated anglers fishing by the water.
Feng Mingge frowned. "A fishing event... sounds boring."
"That's where you're wrong! Fishing isn't just about catching fish. It trains a player's patience, observation skills, experience, wrist strength, and overall physique! Hardly anyone who loves fishing is physically weak," Chi Feihong argued in all seriousness.
Feng Mingge looked into Chi Feihong's earnest eyes, feeling somewhat swayed.
Just as he was wavering between belief and doubt, Yu Xian materialized out of thin air in the Administrator Space. Chi Feihong scrambled to his feet. "Master, you're here!"
"Mm. If you two get bored here, you can find things to keep yourselves occupied. For instance, making this space more comfortable, or connecting to an outside network. The Zhen Realm is far more powerful and versatile than you think," Yu Xian nodded as he spoke.
Mostly, he saw that the two of them were literally sitting in chairs staring at the Zhen Realm's monitoring screens. Doing that for a day or two was fine, but if it went on for a thousand years, just imagining it felt agonizing to Yu Xian.
"Heheh, got it, Master. I'll try connecting to the network later," Chi Feihong nodded.
Looking at Chi Feihong, Yu Xian inexplicably thought of Zhang Buyao's students. He added, "Mm. Surfing the web is fine, but make sure you don't pick up any bad habits."
"Pfft!"
Beside him, Feng Mingge couldn't help bursting out laughing.
What kind of ridiculous line was that? Surfing the web is fine, just don't pick up bad habits.
Feng Mingge was howling with laughter in his mental world.
On the surface, however, he quickly resumed a deadpan expression, his eyes staring straight ahead at the light screen.
Yu Xian and Chi Feihong both stared at Feng Mingge for a long moment before turning their eyes away.
"Master, did you need something?" Chi Feihong decisively changed the subject.
Yu Xian nodded. "Nothing major. Just that a few students of a friend need some proper discipline. But they're rather formidable, so I need to borrow the power of the Zhen Realm."
Zhang Buyao might be unreliable and every student she trained had turned out to be a rebellious traitor, but the cultivation methods she had gathered were undeniably the pinnacle divine manuals across the myriad worlds, most of which could cultivate someone up to the Mighty One realm.
When neither cultivation methods, breadth of vision, nor resources were lacking, one could well imagine just how powerful Zhang Buyao's students were. After obtaining the list, Yu Xian had learned the strength of every single one. Even the weakest among them was stronger than Feng Mingge, while the strongest was nearly on par with Feng Laixian.
Therefore, he needed to borrow the might of the Zhen Realm to ruthlessly suppress them.
"The power of the Zhen Realm?" Chi Feihong was somewhat baffled.
Yu Xian smiled. "Watch closely. What happens next might be on a rather grand scale!"
Then he closed his eyes and used his administrator privileges to seize control of the entire Zhen Realm. An instant later, the Zhen Realm teleported into the middle of a massive bough within the Tree Universe.
Feng Mingge and Chi Feihong watched in shock as the largest light screen—the one displaying the view outside the Zhen Realm—shifted.
In the past, the Zhen Realm had always teleported randomly to different locations, selecting players at random to enter. But evidently, Yu Xian now possessed the ability to control its movement; wherever he wanted the Zhen Realm to appear, there it would appear.
In the next moment, the Zhen Realm transformed into a colossal palm, reaching out to grasp a supermassive world.
...
Mythical World.
Zhang Nianci had a dream. He dreamt of his childhood, cultivating alongside Zhang Buyao.
Back then, he had believed his teacher was omniscient and omnipotent. Yet in the dream, he noticed many details: every time he encountered something he didn't understand, Zhang Buyao would first tell him to ponder it himself, and then hurry off in a rush.
Only after that would she return to answer his question.
Presumably, back then, she must have been hurriedly scouring books for the answers.
"If I could, I would have liked to be a good person too."
"A pity, Master... oh, Master. This is the Supreme Demon Era. One is destined to achieve the Dao only by becoming a demon!"
As Zhang Nianci recalled the truth he had witnessed, the faint ripples stirred by the dream were instantly smoothed away. He then looked across the surrounding hundred li: withered bones stretched as far as the eye could see.
The withered bones closest to him could even be identified as a mother and daughter.
They still held each other in an embrace, but their flesh and blood had been completely devoured, leaving behind only desolate skeletons frozen in their final posture in life.
Pitch-black demonic qi swirled around Zhang Nianci like rings of wind, siphoning the vital energy of the entire world, radiating an unfathomably profound demonic might.
Indeed, the higher the tier of a world, the richer its primordial life force. This world was exceptionally suited to his cultivation method; he could feel his power increase by a tiny sliver.
Just as he prepared to drain this world dry in one breath, however, a palm extending beyond the horizon slowly emerged. It pierced through the world barrier and descended brazenly toward him.
Chapter 577