A Cunning Pervert in the Cultivation World

For the first time, a slight change appeared on Concubine Zi’s face.

The calm composure she had maintained until now flickered slightly.

A dazed, almost distant look entered her glowing amber eyes, as if the name had pulled something long buried up to the surface.

She slowly looked up toward the smoke-filled night sky.

”...We used to be good friends,” she murmured softly.

Her voice carried a faint, nostalgic weight that had not been present before.

”When I first entered the palace, I was completely alone. My health was already poor, and many of the other concubines saw me as an easy target. I could barely protect myself back then.”

A quiet pause followed.

”Concubine Zhao was the one who helped me. She spoke up for me more than once... shared her medicine when I was sick... and even sat with me during the nights when the pain made it difficult to sleep. She even helped me when I gave birth to Ziyan and nursed me back to health.”

The amber light in her eyes softened slightly as she continued.

”She was one of the very few people in this palace who treated me with genuine kindness.”

Then Concubine Zi’s gaze slowly lowered and returned to Li Feng.

The faint nostalgia in her expression faded, replaced once more by that unnerving calm.

The amber glow in her eyes remained steady as she looked at him without the slightest tremor in her voice.

”Yes.”

She answered quietly.

”And which is exactly why I needed to kill her.”

Li Feng’s entire body stiffened.

The shock on his face deepened, as if her calm admission of killing her friend... a fellow mother and doing all of this to her own daughter had struck him harder than any physical blow.

For a moment, he could only stare at her in silence.

When he finally managed to speak again, his voice had fallen to an almost fragile whisper.

”...Then why...”

Concubine Zi’s lips curved into a soft smile.

There was no guilt in her expression.

No hesitation.

Only that same gentle, unsettling calm as she looked at him and answered,

”Because I didn’t want her to suffer.”

BOOOOM!

Li Feng’s aura suddenly exploded outward.

A violent wave of spiritual pressure blasted across the outer wall, cracking the already damaged stone beneath his feet and sending loose debris flying into the air.

The heat from the distant fires seemed to intensify under the force of his unleashed emotions as his eyes burned with raw, unrestrained fury.

”I DON’T UNDERSTAND!!”

The raw force of his shout still echoed across the outer wall as the violent aura around him continued to surge.

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

Cracks spread further along the stone beneath his feet, and the night wind was pushed back by the sheer intensity of his spiritual pressure.

Concubine Zi, however, did not move.

Even under the crushing weight of his unleashed aura, she remained standing where she was, crimson hair flickering like flames, amber eyes calmly watching him.

The gentle smile on her lips had faded, but there was still no fear, no panic... only a quiet, almost sorrowful steadiness.

Li Feng’s chest heaved violently.

His hands were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

The confusion, anger, and pain in his eyes mixed together into something as he glared at the woman before him.

”You killed a friend who treated you with kindness...”

His voice trembled with restrained fury.

”You poisoned your own daughter... restricted her talent... used her...”

His eyes reddened slightly.

”And you still dare to say it was for their own good!?”

Li Feng’s voice rose once more, filled with raw refusal.

”No... I refuse to accept it!”

His eyes burned with anger and pain as he took a step forward, the shattered stone cracking further beneath his feet.

”That is not a friend! And... that is not what a mother is!”

The moment the final word left his mouth, his figure blurred.

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Feng shot forward like a streak of light and launched a fierce attack straight at Concubine Zi.

BOOOOM!

A violent explosion of power erupted the moment their forces collided.

The impact was so strong that both of their figures were blasted away from the outer wall and sent flying straight into the burning capital city below.

Flames and shattered debris swirled around them as they tore through the smoke-filled air.

Even while they were still mid-air, Li Feng refused to let go.

He forced himself closer until their foreheads nearly touched as he grabbed her by the collar, his eyes locked onto her glowing amber gaze with unrestrained fury.

”Tell me!” he shouted angrily, his voice cutting through the roaring flames around them.

”Where is Fen Ziyan!?”

”...”

Concubine Zi remained silent.

Even with their foreheads nearly touching and Li Feng’s furious gaze boring into her, she did not answer.

Instead, she calmly raised one pale palm between them.

In the next instant—

BOOOOM!!

A massive explosion of power erupted at point-blank range.

The violent force instantly blasted the two of them apart.

Li Feng’s figure was sent crashing downward like a meteor, smashing straight through the roof of a burning house below.

Wood, tiles, and flames exploded outward from the impact as the entire structure collapsed under the force.

But before the debris could even settle—

A brilliant silvery light suddenly erupted from within the wreckage.

BOOM!

The remains of the burning house were completely obliterated, reduced to flying fragments and scattered embers.

From the center of the destruction, Li Feng slowly walked out.

His white envoy robes fluttered wildly under the pressure of his own aura, the fabric whipping against the distorted air.

The surrounding flames twisted unnaturally, bending away from him as if suppressed by the sheer weight of his presence.

His fists were tightly clenched at his sides, and his eyes... cold, sharp, and filled with unrestrained fury remained locked on the distant figure of Concubine Zi.

Across the burning street, Concubine Zi simply stood there and waited for him.

The crimson hair that flickered like living flames swayed gently in the heat-distorted air.

Her amber eyes remained calm, almost gentle, as she watched Li Feng walk out from the destruction he had caused.

There was no fear in her expression.

No urgency.

Only that same unnerving composure.

When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet and clear amidst the roaring fires.

”...She is dead.”

The moment those three words reached him, Li Feng’s expression completely twisted.

Then—

A red notification suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, as if to remind him again.

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

[Ding!]

[Host! Be careful! An extremely dangerous hostile entity has been detected!]

[Emergency Protocol Scan activated!]

[Ding!]

[Name: Zi Yuanling]

[Title: Crimson Phoenix False Vessel, Divine Blood False Vessel, Apostle of the Divine Blood (Blessed).]