The Substitute Female Supporting Character Sees the Bullet Screen

"Return, Mystic Soul!"

The protective formation of the Cloud Scripture Sect trembled violently, and the ice-blue sword that had guarded the sacred mountain for centuries transformed into a streak of white light, soaring away. The sword light within the formation, now without its core, scattered chaotically into the earth below.

Amidst the mountains, two figures chased each other, one ahead and one behind. The serpent spirit darted through the treetops, its tail smashing the falling sword light into pieces. It crashed into an ancient tree ahead, its form dissipating momentarily before reappearing as a sword-light serpent, blocking Xiao Ling's path. Its sharp claws swept past her face.

Xiao Ling twisted her body sharply, raising her Ruyi Sword to block. The sword, already shattered once, bore spiderweb-like cracks that glowed with a faint greenish demonic light.

The Ruyi Sword, like her body, was broken yet held together by threads of rejuvenating demonic energy.

The shattered blade clashed with the serpent spirit's claws, producing a resonant clang. The Ruyi Sword shattered once more, breaking into countless tiny fragments. Xiao Ling flicked her fingers, and all the fragments transformed into a swarm of sharp light, surging toward the serpent spirit.

If not for the absence of the crimson sword light, it might have resembled the cherry blossom spirit sword she had once longed for in the forest of blades.

The serpent spirit was pierced by countless sword fragments, exploding into a mist of water. Xiao Ling forced a stiff smile, charging through the mist. "You can't kill me."

As soon as the words left her lips, her body stiffened. The mist she inhaled flowed down her throat, igniting a faint talisman light within her.

Xiao Ling fell from the sky, hearing a sharp whistle behind her. She twisted her body hastily in the dissipating mist, but it was too late to dodge. A sword light pierced her, pinning her to the trunk of a large tree with a dull thud.

The translucent blade pierced through her chest, the sealing talisman on the sword deeply embedded in her flesh. Xiao Ling felt the rejuvenating demonic energy within her meridians rapidly dissipating.

She reached out in vain to pull the sword from her chest, but after a moment, her hand fell limp.

An Huai stepped forward, standing a short distance away, watching her struggle coldly. The once reckless youth had matured in a short time, his face now devoid of smiles, his clear eyes frozen over with a layer of ice.

In his eyes, Xiao Ling saw pure hatred. She had seen this look many times before, from the disciples who had watched her on the execution platform.

At some point, she had grown accustomed to such gazes.

Xiao Ling suddenly felt exhausted. She no longer wanted to struggle. Her soul detached from her brow, drifting upward toward the treetops. An Huai frowned and followed closely behind.

The sky was filled with chaotic sword light. Without the protection of her physical body, her soul was directly exposed to the sword light, pierced by countless beams. This act was no different from seeking death.

"What? Is this also your atonement?" An Huai asked coldly.

Xiao Ling ignored him. Her fragmented soul eventually drifted toward Bright Sky Peak. This peak, once bustling with activity, had been a place where disciples would go out of their way to greet her, their senior sister. Even during the mountain's closure, someone had diligently tended to it, planting clusters of blooming flowers at its base.

Now that its former master had returned, the mountain had reopened, yet it was eerily desolate.

Her soul continued to dissipate as she stumbled through the familiar corridors. An Huai followed closely behind, determined to witness her soul's complete destruction.

Xiao Ling stopped before a closed door, her gaze seemingly penetrating the crack to see the portrait inside. The figure in the painting wore the azure robes of the sect, her long hair tied high. She held a sword, her eyes reflecting the warm spring sunlight melting the snow, her entire being radiating light.

Perhaps she had been wrong from the beginning. She shouldn't have returned here. If she had died when she was swept into the spatial rift, it would have been better. If she had died, she would have remained forever as the radiant senior sister in the painting.

Xiao Ling did not enter. She turned her head for one last look at the sky before her soul completely dissipated.

Her body, pinned to the tree trunk, withered rapidly as the rejuvenating demonic energy was devoured by the sealing talisman. It turned to dust, leaving only bones. The sword withdrew from her chest, returning to An Huai's hand.

He lingered at the door for a moment, showing no curiosity about Xiao Ling's final obsession. He turned and left.

An Huai pulled out a handkerchief from his robe, one he had retrieved from beneath a tree in the medical hall. It was the same handkerchief he had once used to wrap a lovewood hairpin.

In truth, revenge brought no joy. Jing Chongshan was dead, and Xiao Ling was dead. Even if all those who deserved to die were gone, it wouldn't bring back the memory of that crisp voice calling him "annoying."

---

The Mystic Soul Sword broke free from the protective formation, vanishing into the void. It reappeared thousands of miles away, tearing through the sky above the Wuliang Sect. The ice-blue sword streaked across the heavens, leaving a white scar that seemed to split the sky in two.

Above the Ten Thousand Demons Cave, dark clouds pressed down. Though it was daytime, the sky and earth were as dark as midnight. Streaks of lightning rolled within the clouds. Most of the cultivators in the cultivation world had gathered outside the Ten Thousand Demons Cave, puzzled by the sudden appearance of this tribulation cloud. It wasn't until the Mystic Soul Sword appeared that someone exclaimed, "Ancestor?"

Could someone in this world face a heavenly tribulation twice? And why choose the Ten Thousand Demons Cave for it? The timing was also suspicious, leaving many to wonder.

Yan Yi tried to fly toward the figure in the sky but was forced back to the ground by the tribulation's pressure. The spiritual energy around the Ten Thousand Demons Cave was in chaos, and the sealing talismans hidden in the area were occasionally destroyed by the roaming lightning.

Beneath the sealing talismans, the demons stirred.

Inside the Blood Moon Tower, Nie Yinzhi suddenly awoke. She sat on the bed, dazed, feeling as though she had been reborn. The sudden surge in her cultivation level left her feeling extraordinarily clear, as if she had ascended to the heavens in a single step. She sensed the suppression of spiritual energy on the upper limits of cultivation, a limitation not just for her but for all cultivators in the world.

"Peak Nascent Soul?" Nie Yinzhi rubbed her forehead. She calculated the time and her face flushed, alternating between red and pale. "Damn that demon. He said half an hour, but I've been asleep for seven days."

After he had implanted the dual cultivation technique into her spiritual platform, Gu Jiang had practically forced her to cultivate, using him as a furnace to absorb energy until she passed out from exhaustion. Nie Yinzhi touched her abdomen, where the fiery sensation still lingered.

Gu Jiang was not in the hall. Nie Yinzhi looked down and saw that she had been dressed in clean clothes. She got up from the bed, took a few steps, and then paused, her face burning as she adjusted to the discomfort in her body.

Suddenly, a thought struck her—Xiao Ling was dead.

At the same time, a flood of comments appeared before her eyes.

【Wait, what? Xiao Ling is finally dead?】

【The female lead just died like that? Will the story collapse now?】

【The final shot panned over that portrait, showing the Xiao Ling of the past. Honestly, it's a bit sad.】

【Xiao Ling is finally dead. I thought the comments would explode, but everyone seems pretty calm.】

【Probably because there aren't many Xiao Ling fans left. There was already a big uproar before, or maybe they just haven't processed it yet.】

【If we're talking about this story, Nie Yinzhi has been the female lead for a while. I always felt like the favor of the heavens was on her.】

【Yay, congrats to our Gu Jiang for rising to male lead status thanks to his wife.】

【Wait, she's just getting out of bed now? Did they really go at it for seven days straight?】

【Why is Nie Yinzhi just sitting there alone? Did they actually do it or not?!】

【Can someone analyze the details and figure out if they did it or not? I'm so tired of being fooled by these two.】

Nie Yinzhi felt a sharp pain in her forehead. She turned to look at the mirror on the dressing table. In the reflection, the red lotus mark on her forehead, formed from demonic energy, was slowly fading, turning into a wisp of spiritual mist.

What was happening? Nie Yinzhi touched her forehead. The demonic mark had always been stable. Why was it suddenly dissolving because of her blood?

Nie Yinzhi quickly put on her outer robe and cut open the ribbon binding the curse mark on her wrist with a flick of her finger.

The curse mark had always been surrounded by a ring of demonic energy, giving the vine-like pattern on her wrist a dark red, nearly black hue. Now, the demonic energy wrapped around the curse mark had been completely depleted, revealing the golden pattern beneath.

Even Gu Jiang's demonic energy could no longer remain on her body.

Nie Yinzhi plucked the golden sprout, noticing that a tiny new leaf had grown on it, swaying gently. The sprout now had two leaves, one on each side, perfectly symmetrical, no longer half-broken as before.

Before Gu Jiang had pressed the sprout back into the curse seal and tied the ribbon around it, Nie Yinzhi was certain there had been only one leaf. She had never actively bound anyone else, so it must have been Gu Jiang who had done something while she was unconscious. Though she had no idea how he had managed it.

Nie Yinzhi sensed the new leaf—it belonged to Feng Hanying. If she had wanted to bind Feng Hanying willingly, he would never have agreed. The only one who could make him submit was Gu Jiang.

"Gu Jiang!" Nie Yinzhi's legs went weak for a moment, and before she could even feel anger, a wave of unease threatened to overwhelm her.

What was Gu Jiang planning?

She pushed open the palace doors, shattering the tranquility within. The rolling thunder outside rushed into her ears. Nie Yinzhi paused for a moment, then quickly ran to the top floor, where she saw a figure standing on the balcony.

"Feng Hanying, where is Gu Jiang?"

Feng Hanying turned at her voice, just as a bolt of lightning struck. The blinding light tore through the darkness of the Ten Thousand Demons Cave, illuminating everything around them. His eyes gleamed with excitement as he tilted his chin upward, signaling her to look up.

Nie Yinzhi ran onto the balcony. Above her, thick clouds churned. The old demon-sealing seal over the Ten Thousand Demons Cave had shattered, and demons were pouring out like mad. The first wave of demons collided with hidden formations in the air, activating them one after another. The demonic energy from the demons was rapidly drained, transforming into spiritual energy that surged out from the other side of the formations.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The spiritual energy spread through the air, activating even more new demon-sealing seals. They densely covered the sky above the Ten Thousand Demons Cave, almost completely enveloping the area.

As the first wave of thunder rumbled past, another followed closely behind. Lightning and talisman light intertwined, and the spiritual energy from the demons formed pillars of light that spiraled into the sky. Chaos reigned both above and below.

Nie Yinzhi realized the benefits of being at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. Under such heavenly might, she would have been crushed to the ground in the past. But now, facing the lightning, she could clearly see the figure above the clouds. It was Gu Jiang.

"These righteous cultivators are truly despicable," Feng Hanying sneered, leaping into the air, intending to charge toward the demon-sealing seals.

Nie Yinzhi slapped him back, her voice sharp, "What is Gu Jiang planning?"

Only then did Feng Hanying realize that he could no longer gauge Nie Yinzhi's cultivation level. He was utterly shocked. "Peak Nascent Soul?" Damn it, once he got out of here, he was going to capture a cultivator and drain them dry! But then he thought, to achieve such a leap in cultivation, the only one worth draining would probably be his master.

Feng Hanying shuddered, horrified by his own blasphemous thoughts, and quickly suppressed them.

Nie Yinzhi grabbed his collar and thrust her wrist in front of him. "What's going on?"

Feng Hanying pushed her hand away, covering his nose as he took several steps back, creating a barrier between them. He swallowed hard, "You smell even more delicious now!"

If he hadn't seen with his own eyes how Gu Jiang was dissolving like smoke, the uncontrollable Blood Moon Shadow demonic energy continuously draining away, Feng Hanying might not have been able to stop himself from devouring her on the spot.

Gu Jiang was ultimately meeting the same fate as the other demon ancestors—beginning to weaken and collapse.

Nie Yinzhi looked up at the figure in the clouds, suppressing the urge to rush to his side. She knew nothing. What if she became a burden to him? What exactly was Gu Jiang planning?

Feng Hanying glanced at her expression and curled his lip, "I don't know what Master is planning either. You should understand the nature of the Symbiotic Curse better than anyone."

Yes, she understood the Symbiotic Curse better than anyone.

She had once told Gu Jiang that the main curse was on her. If she bound someone else, her death would mean his death, but if he died, she would survive.

So, Gu Jiang thought he might die, which was why he had used himself as a furnace to elevate her to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. That was why he had bound someone else to her while she was unaware.

In the blink of an eye, Feng Hanying saw Nie Yinzhi suddenly step onto the balcony railing, without any spiritual protection, and lean forward to fall.

Feng Hanying was horrified. He shattered the barrier and jumped after her, "Nie Yinzhi, have you gone mad? Gu Jiang isn't dead yet! Why are you in such a hurry to die with him?!"

If you two are going to die, why drag me down with you!

Nie Yinzhi's pupils were unfocused, her expression blank. The fierce wind sliced at her like blades, but an invisible force scattered it. After several clashes, Nie Yinzhi suddenly raised her hand, like a marionette, and cut her own wrist. Blood sprayed out, the sweet metallic scent lingering, carried by the wind to every corner of the Ten Thousand Demons Cave.

The demons in the cave stirred, swarming toward the central Blood Moon Tower.

The Blood Moon Tower's barrier flickered incessantly as demons crashed into it. Feng Hanying, overwhelmed by the scent of blood, was struck by a drop of blood on the vermilion mark between his eyebrows. The blood seeped into his skin almost instantly, burning him so fiercely that his soul nearly left his body. He was momentarily dazed in the spiritual mist that enveloped him.

By the time he regained his senses, the Blood Moon Tower's barrier had collapsed, and Nie Yinzhi was buried under a sea of demons.