Haha, that idiot!
Weixi could barely contain the wild ecstasy surging within her. As she hummed a distant elven nursery rhyme, a radiant smile spread across her face—a smile that would have struck sheer terror into the heart of anyone who truly knew the Spectre Prophet.
During the turbulent era when Weixi had been at her peak, practically everyone knew this proverb: “If you see a blank-faced Spectre Prophet, run for your life, or you are a dead person walking; if you see a smiling Spectre Prophet, kill yourself at once, or a fate worse than death awaits you.”
For that meant she was about to get everything she desired.
To assume Weixi had suffocated the mortal realm after her rebirth solely by relying on a “first-playthrough walkthrough” would be vastly underestimating the genius sorcerers of her generation. Getting lucky once or twice was one thing, but consistently swooping in at the perfect moment to snatch the lion's share of the spoils—not to mention repeatedly disguising herself to infiltrate rival factions and plunder treasures she had no possible way of knowing about—meant that over time, even if people couldn't prove she was a reincarnator, they regarded her as a prophecy sorcerer far ahead of her era.
By the time Weixi became a legendary sorcerer, her “first-playthrough walkthrough” had essentially lost its meaning. After all, reality had been altered so drastically by her meddling that it bore no resemblance to the first loop.
Yet that was when her wanton rampage truly began. Since executing elaborate, intricate schemes was no longer viable, she simply resorted to the most effective tactic of all.
Killing.
In the public imagination, an evil prophecy sorcerer ought to be a master strategist in total control of the board—manipulating human nature, spinning ceaseless intrigues, linking one plot to the next until enemies perished in utter confusion without ever realizing they had been set up.
Yet the infamous Spectre Prophet had never been that kind of schemer. When she killed people to seize their treasures, she never bothered with such tedious fuss. A target, a location, and a rough estimate of their strength—as long as she had those three pieces of information, she would march straight to their door, often too lazy to perform even basic reconnaissance. As she had once told Igola and Harvey when tempting them: “No matter how great a prophecy sorcerer is, they can never foresee the murderous intent that sprang into my mind only a second ago, and no intricate scheme can outwit the bizarre whims of fate.”
Her prophecy sorcery was primarily used to clean up the traces of her slaughter and counter her enemies' tracking. A prophecy sorcerer was formidable enough, but an unhinged psycho prophecy sorcerer was on an entirely different level.
So when she wanted to plunder the Senluo Azure Lord's god, she went and took it; when she wanted to contend for the angel's remains, she told Yaxiu straight to his face.
Even if Yaxiu refused her this time, she had nothing to fear, because she was an extraordinarily capable sorcerer. Next time, or the time after that, a day would inevitably come when Yaxiu would be forced to loosen her chains.
From the moment a sorcerer gained their Void Wings, no chain in this world could bind them forever.
Weixi gazed at the path ahead obscured by silver feathers. Her smile gradually faded, replaced by deep, sinister ruthlessness in her eyes.
Just as Yaxiu had suspected, the moment the silver feather storm erupted, Weixi realized it targeted mana itself. Her master-servant bond with Feili had also dissolved instantly because of the tempest. However, through her mastery of converting mana with esoteric poisons, it took her merely a second to suppress her mana below the ten percent safety threshold, securing a firm footing within the storm.
Yet esoteric poisons had fallen into complete obscurity, not just in this era, but even during the Spectre Prophet's own time. From the degree to which the esoteric poisons had been strengthened, she estimated that only around ten people were infected with these three poisons. In other words, most of the other legendary sorcerers likely weren't infected, making it impossible for them to lower their mana to withstand the silver feather storm.
Right now, those capable of approaching the center of the storm were very likely limited to her, Yaxiu, and a handful of demons!
Leaving aside whether Yaxiu could discern the secret of the silver feathers, he still had Feili dragging him down as dead weight.
Weixi had never once worried about Yaxiu getting ahead of her. For a foolish man incapable of cutting his emotional ties to fancy himself her master was as laughable as an unweaned boy imagining he could handle a mature woman.
Just wait. Once I obtain the angel's remains, with my insight as a demigod, I'll surely be the quickest to absorb its status. When that happens, breaking this decorative chain will be as easy as turning my palm!
Still, there was no need to turn on Yaxiu and his companions right away. The angel hunt wasn't over yet, and they remained quite useful.
So how should she take her revenge on him?
Weixi's eyes shifted thoughtfully. For the sake of the Four Pillar Gods' feeler, she could spare Yaxiu's life. Besides, this man had plenty of secrets left to unearth—such as where those Ruby Chains had actually come from.
What was more, he possessed the Thousand Wishes Kingdom of Heaven, the Awakening Dream god, the Wish Pool, and even an overlooked Silver Lantern god... Wow. Unlike an unlucky wretch like herself, this man was practically a walking vault!
The more Weixi thought about it, the more she realized how much she could squeeze out of Yaxiu. But she still had to have her revenge, or she would feel utterly unsatisfied. Right—every time she tried to seduce and flatter him, he always looked at her with pure disgust before waxing poetic about Sword Princess and the Witch. Once they got out, she would capture Sword Princess and the Witch. If he didn't want the women he loved to be harmed, he would have to obediently lick her from her toes all the way up, begging for her favor like a beast in heat!
She would force him to display a wretched, shameful expression of twisted ecstasy right in front of the women he adored, shattering every shred of his pride and spiritual pillars!
If she couldn't break her master beyond repair, how could she ever be worthy of the title Demon Maid?
As for whether she could seize the angel's remains, Weixi wasn't worried in the slightest.
Even without access to her mana, she was still a demigod sorcerer who had weathered countless battlefields. How could a mere handful of demons ever be a match for the Spectre Prophet?
Meanwhile, the young boy Yejian stepped briskly forward, passing through the sky-filling flurry of feathers.
The pink-and-purple-clad maiden Yinzhi also skipped along the mountain trail.
Though separated from their retainers, the demons didn't seem the least bit concerned about their combat prowess.
***
Does that Weixi still not realize that whenever malice stirs in her heart toward me, I can faintly feel it through the vibrations of the chains?
Yaxiu sighed helplessly as he watched the phantom chain around his wrist vibrate ever so slightly.
Judging by the amplitude of the vibrations this time, Weixi's malicious fantasies about him were remarkably detailed—far more explicit than whatever she dreamed up while bathing at night.
He also had a rough idea of where Weixi's confidence came from. Aside from Yaxiu, only the demons were left to compete with her. But judging from Feili's example, even if the other demons weren't meek lambs, they were at most slightly fiercer Lalafells. How could they possibly rival a demigod like Weixi?
Even though he held the chains that restrained Weixi, if the angel's remains turned out to be an inheritance, a surge of energy, or some other immediately consumable boon, Yaxiu wouldn't be able to force her to spit it back out.
By all rights, Yaxiu ought to be rushing up the mountain right now to contest the angel's remains. Even if he arrived too late, he should at least snatch away Weixi's spoils. Even if he was confident he could keep her under control, those were relics of an angel coveted even by divine lords—an entry ticket to supreme power, a hope that transcended all else. Grabbing it was pure profit.
Yet Yaxiu did nothing of the sort.
He simply held the red-haired maiden tightly in his arms, as if trying to press her into his very flesh and blood. Even though this was the hunting ground of the angel hunt, and even though his body was bruised and battered, he felt an overwhelming peace, ready to melt like ice cream.
"Why are you here?" Sonia suddenly pushed him back a bit, lifting her chin to look at him as she asked.
"I think that should be my question..." Yaxiu thought for a moment before summing it up in one sentence: "We're here to hunt the angel. This storm is the self-destruction of the angel's wings, and precious remains of the angel might be waiting at its core."
Sonia was startled. "Then we should hurry over!"
"Do you think I'm in any condition to fight right now?" Yaxiu offered a wry smile.
She wiped the blood from Yaxiu's face with her thumb. "Then I'll go!"
"We just reunited with great difficulty. Are you really going to leave me already?"
"But—"
"Now it's my turn to ask," Yaxiu said, suddenly turning serious. "Why are you here? You weren't foolish enough to enter the Void Realm, were you?"
Sonia blinked, shaking her head repeatedly. "I didn't enter the Void Realm... Wait, that's true. I didn't enter the Void Realm, so why am I here?"
"Don't change the subject." Yaxiu cupped her face with both hands. "What kind of dangerous thing did you do behind my back?"
"What do you mean behind your back? I told you everything I did!" Sonia huffed. "You were asleep and couldn't hear me, so you can't blame me!"
"So it really was you taking care of my body?" Yaxiu asked happily. "Did you protect Igola and Harvey too?"
"Mhm." Sonia said, "Speaking of which, you stood me up for our first date, Mr. Yaxiu."
"I couldn't help it! Who knew Ruby Mountain would suddenly be sealed off? I only intended to help the two of them advance to legendary rank, and I was going to return right after... I'm sorry." Yaxiu pressed his hands together in apology. "Next time! Next time I'll definitely give you a perfect date!"
"That's more like it."
The Claw-Extending Sword Saint didn't mention a single word about how she had stood him up for the date as well.
"Since I apologized for what I did wrong, shouldn't you apologize for what you did wrong too?" Yaxiu narrowed his eyes. "What on earth did you do in reality that you don't even dare to say it out loud now?"
"I didn't do anything wrong!" Sonia's voice climbed in pitch. "If it weren't to save you, I would never have... It's all your fault to begin with!"
Yaxiu didn't reply, simply looking at her quietly. The sorrow and self-blame reflected in his eyes caused Sonia's voice to trail off. She looked away and let out a long sigh. "A white fog anomaly appeared in Jialesi. To shatter the starry sky and rescue you, the Four Pillar Cult and I..."
"What? You and the Four Pillar Cult?"
"Yes. The Witch and I have both joined the Four Pillar Cult and become their leaders..."
"What?! The Witch came to the Country of All Stars too?!"
Chapter 838