Chapter 107: Spared the Death Penalty

“An-Ancestor!”

Jiang Xiaoxiao stared dumbfounded at the face before her—identical to the portrait of the Blood Demon Ancestor in the Xianyue Sacred Grounds. She stammered out his title, trembling.

Fear gripped her utterly. The Blood Demon was notorious for his ferocity and mercurial temperament.

Seeing the ancestor before her, many of Jiang Xiaoxiao’s doubts dissolved. She finally understood why he bore the aura of her master!

Her reckless curiosity about the ancestor’s thoughts sent a chill racing through her mind. Her delicate body shook uncontrollably as she thought, “This is it, I’m doomed, absolutely doomed!”

She had simply assumed she had met a senior cultivator friendly with her master, but instead, this senior was the Blood Demon Ancestor himself—a figure infamous for his ill repute!

“Jiang Xiaoxiao!”

Ye Wuya’s voice was calm and even, but to Jiang Xiaoxiao’s ears, it struck like thunder from the heavens!

Startled, she shuddered and dropped to her knees with a thud.

“Disciple Jiang Xiaoxiao of the Xianyue Sacred Grounds, disciple of the Rakshasa Demoness, pays respects to the Ancestor! Disciple Jiang Xiaoxiao was blind and unworthy; I beg the Ancestor’s pardon.”

She bowed deeply, her body trembling slightly, her voice trembling with fear before Ye Wuya.

As Jiang Xiaoxiao knelt, the world around them slowly faded, and Ye Wuya once again returned to the moment of twilight’s first light. The scars on his body reappeared, haunting reminders of the past.

Ye Wuya looked silently at Jiang Xiaoxiao, who dared not rise. He had merely called her name—was such a reaction really necessary? How terrible was the reputation of the Blood Demon that even his own people were so terrified?

In truth, Jiang Xiaoxiao did not fear Ye Wuya himself. Her terror stemmed from having dared to probe the Blood Demon Ancestor’s mind with forbidden illusions—a capital offense!

Had she known from the start that this senior was the Blood Demon Ancestor, she would not have been so frightened. Respectful reverence would have sufficed. By seniority, she was even half a disciple of the Blood Demon, since her master was his wife.

Now, all she could do was pray that the Ancestor would take pity on her master and spare her life.

Ye Wuya pondered carefully and sensed the underlying tension. He spoke gravely:

“Jiang Xiaoxiao, do you know what crime you commit by employing such spells against me?”

At these words, Jiang Xiaoxiao trembled violently, biting her silver teeth as she replied:

“Answering the Ancestor: It is a capital offense!”

Lowering her head further until it touched the ground, she waited silently for Ye Wuya’s judgment.

“A capital offense?” Ye Wuya found himself at a loss for words. He thought to himself, “Is this getting out of hand? Death sentences at the slightest provocation!”

His mind raced, seeking a middle ground that would pardon Jiang Xiaoxiao while achieving his own ends.

“Rise first,” he finally said. Seeing a young woman kneeling and begging forgiveness unsettled him—a modern man was not used to such displays.

“Ancestor, Xiaoxiao dares not!” she replied, terrified to lift her head.

This was the Blood Demon, who had shaken the heavens six thousand years ago. To show such disrespect was tantamount to betraying both master and ancestor—blasphemy of the highest order.

Using illusions to pry into the heart of one’s master or ancestor was a capital crime in any sacred ground or sect.

At best, the penalty was expulsion from the sect.

For a cultivator, a sect was home. Being cast out was often more painful than death.

This was why many who erred would rather accept punishment than flee.

“Rise now. I pardon you,” Ye Wuya said with resignation. Prolonging this would only harm Jiang Xiaoxiao’s spirit.

“Thank you, Ancestor, for your mercy! Your power is boundless, your life as enduring as the heavens!” Jiang Xiaoxiao lifted her head, her face alight with joy.

“Now you may rise,” Ye Wuya said helplessly.

“Thank you, Ancestor!” She bowed once more before standing quietly, awaiting his instructions.

“But…” Ye Wuya’s voice faltered deliberately, drawing Jiang Xiaoxiao’s attention.

Her heart sank again, eyes fixed nervously upon him.

“Death for the offense may be spared, but lesser punishment cannot be avoided,” Ye Wuya declared.

“Yes, Ancestor! So long as I am not expelled, I willingly accept any punishment!” Jiang Xiaoxiao immediately agreed.

The Xianyue Sacred Grounds were her home. After her village was destroyed by beasts, she had come here with her master.

Though her master seldom taught her, she had a place to live. To Jiang Xiaoxiao, this place was everything—her home, her life.

“Then your penalty shall be…” Ye Wuya looked away, feigning indecision. “I have not yet decided; I shall think on it further.”

Jiang Xiaoxiao exhaled quietly. The Blood Demon Ancestor was not entirely heartless.

In that moment, her image of Ye Wuya shifted—from a merciless villain to a venerable patriarch.

The boundary between good and evil silently blurred through his actions.

“Ancestor, why do you not return to the sacred grounds?” Jiang Xiaoxiao asked with curiosity.

Rumors held that the Blood Demon Ancestor had been gravely wounded in the Battle of the Emperors and had passed away. Yet now, it seemed he was merely badly injured, his cultivation ruined, seeking a way to recover.

The Five Sacred Lords of Xianyue were hailed as the greatest healers in history.

Their medicine could turn death to life in the blink of an eye. Jiang Xiaoxiao believed the Blood Demon Ancestor ought to be in the sacred grounds, where they would spare no effort to heal him.

Yet she did not know one crucial fact—Ye Wuya was not the Blood Demon at all. He was an imposter, a fraud!

Who in their right mind would dare to venture into the Blood Demon Ancestor’s stronghold if they were a mere pretender?

That would be like knowingly walking into a tiger’s den to meet death.

But having spoken, Jiang Xiaoxiao immediately regretted it. If she could retract her words, she would do so at once.

Her master, the Rakshasa Demoness Xianyue Shang, had met the Blood Demon Ancestor before. Such matters were not for her, a junior, to question. To do so would only make the ancestor think she was disrespectful.