Chapter 132 – All For You

  “Jun De, it’s me.” Mei Lian’s voice trembled as she took a step toward Jun De. She halted when she saw him take a step back and raise his guard against her.

  “I can see that.” Jun De replied, his tone steady. A faint shimmer of protective Qi hovered around him, the effect of the Heavenly Deflection Art ready to shield him from any potential attack.

  The air around them was thick with the smell of blood, and the fading sounds of screams and shouts. But all of it seemed to fade away as Jun De stared at her.

  He had changed in the year since she had last seen him. He was stronger and just as handsome as she remembered, but there was a seriousness about him that had replaced his usual gentleness.

  “Why are you wearing the robes of a Demonic Cultivator? And your aura, what have you done to yourself?”

  Mei Lian flinched as though he had physically struck her.

  “It’s not what it looks like. I didn’t…I had no choice. I only wanted to grow stronger in order to help you, but I couldn’t.” Her words spilled out of her mouth in desperation as she prayed that he would understand.

  “Ren Sihan tricked me into cultivating the Crimson Rebirth Sutra. He said that it would help me correct my flaws, but I didn’t know-” Mei Lian tried to lie, but she was interrupted by Jun De before she could finish.

  “You didn’t know that it was a Demonic Art? That it would twist your Qi and corrupt your mind? Mei Lian, everyone in the Sect was warned to stay away from it.” Jun De cut in, his voice barely a whisper.

  “I thought that I could control it! I thought that if I only used it on Spirit Beasts, I could use its power to protect everyone, to protect you!” Mei Lian cried, and what little composure she had left was shattered.

  Jun De shook his head slowly, an expression of disbelief and shock twisting his face.

  “You were gone for a long time, Mei Lian. And you didn’t mention anything in your letter about any of this, about the Demonic Cultivators waiting for us here. People died because I told the Sect about the Secret Realm!” Jun De took a breath, trying to calm his emotions, before continuing.

  “Tell me the truth, Mei Lian. Did you know what was going to happen to us? Or are you going to tell me that Ren Sihan tricked you about that as well?”

  Mei Lian’s hands shook, and she tucked them into her sleeves. Her black robes fluttered in the wind, as though they were trying to highlight to Jun De that she had willingly joined the Crimson Rebirth Sect.

  “I tried to stop them, but it was too late. Ren Sihan told me that they would just trap you here until you gave them your Blood Essence. Just a single drop from each of you, and we would let you all go.”

  Mei Lian’s heart pounded in her chest. The Inner Demon that had once whispered in her mind at every moment was strangely silent now. The only thing that remained was her fear, guilt, and the weight of Jun De’s eyes as they judged her.

  “I didn’t use it on people.” Mei Lian blurted out, her voice raw. She was jumping from topic to topic in her rush to explain herself, to convince Jun De that she was the same person she was before.

  “The Crimson Rebirth Sutra. I only used it on spiritual beasts. I never hurt anyone, I swear it.”

  Jun De's expression darkened.

  “That doesn’t change what it is, Mei Lian. It will still affect you negatively.”

  Mei Lian stepped toward him.

  “You don’t understand. Ren Sihan tricked me. He said the Crimson Rebirth Sect only wanted to take a drop of Blood Essence from people with a special constitution. He said that no one would be hurt, that you would all be released afterwards!”

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  Her eyes stung, and tears fell down her cheeks. Her vision blurred, and she wiped the back of her hand against her eyes to clear them.

  “I know how it sounds. I was a fool, but I thought that if I could cultivate faster…If I could stand beside you as an equal…I did it all for you, Jun De! I just wanted to stay by your side.” Her lips trembled, and her expression crumbled.

  “Because I love you.”

  The words hung heavy between them, and Jun De froze. For a long moment, he was silent as Mei Lian’s eyes searched his face for something, anything, that resembled forgiveness or acceptance. He seemed to be stunned and unable to process what she was saying.

  “Please, Jun De.” She whispered, her voice pleading and desperate.

  “I’ll return to the Sect. I’ll face punishment, whatever they decide. I won’t resist. I just…” Mei Lian trailed off. She clutched at her black robes, wishing she could rip them away and return to her Tranquil Mountain Sect uniform. Her Qi roiled inside her body as her foundation continued to destabilize.

  “I just need a single drop, Jun De. Just one drop of your Blood Essence, and I can stabilize my cultivation. Then I’ll come back with you. I swear I will make everything right.”

  Jun De’s eyes widened with disbelief.

  “You’re asking me to give you my Blood Essence?” Jun De exclaimed, shocked by the audacity of the request. He didn’t know what effect that would have on him, or on Mei Lian, but he certainly didn’t want to find out.

  As for Mei Lian, the Sect Elders would decide what to do with her, and whether it was possible to correct whatever damage the Crimson Rebirth Sutra had done to her.

  Mei Lian nodded, and her entire body was shaking.

  “Please, I don’t want to lose control and fall into Qi Deviation. I just need a single drop to fix the flaws the Sutra has caused. I can come back with you to the Sect; I just need to fix this!” Mei Lian reached out to him, but Jun De took a step back.

  “Mei Lian, are you even listening to yourself? The Sutra has twisted your mind. Just…just wait until the Elders arrive and we can figure this out.”

  “No! I’m still me! I just…” Mei Lian’s voice broke.

  “I love you, Jun De. Help me, please. I can fix this if you just give me a single drop of your Blood Essence. Let me make this right!”

  Before Jun De could respond again, an exhausted voice interrupted him.

  “That won’t fix her cultivation.”

  The pair turned to see Shen Weifeng striding toward them, his blue robes torn and stained with blood. His right arm hung at his side, the flesh blackened and cracked as though it had been corroded. The aura around him was subdued, but he still radiated the strength of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

  “Elder Shen!” Jun De exclaimed, his eyes locked on the horrific injury.

  “It is nothing.” Shen Weifeng muttered, but his laboured breathing betrayed the lie. His sharp eyes fell on Mei Lian, then on the faint crimson aura that surrounded her and seemed to be coming from her Dantian.

  “So, you have succumbed to the Crimson Rebirth Sutra as well.”

  Mei Lian flinched under his gaze, but she didn’t move. Her voice trembled, half pleading and half defiant.

  “Elder Shen, I can make this right. I just need a drop of Jun De’s Blood Essence.”

  “Enough.” Shen Weifeng’s tone cracked like thunder, silencing her instantly.

  “A drop of Blood Essence will not save you, Mei Lian. That technique does not stop once it has tasted life. It will take everything, every drop of Jun De’s blood and cultivation until nothing remains.”

  Mei Lian inhaled sharply, her eyes wide as she shook her head in denial of his words.

  “And even if Jun De did choose to sacrifice himself for you, it wouldn’t fix what’s been broken. These techniques are forbidden for a reason. They promise strength, but at the cost of your future. As long as the Demonic Qi remains inside you, your cultivation will never progress again. It will eventually consume you from within until you become nothing more than a vessel for corruption.”

  The words hung in the air like a death sentence. Mei Lian’s knees buckled softly, and tears began to spill freely down her face.

  Shen Weifeng’s expression softened a little.

  “Mei Lian, you have already gone too far. Despite only using the Crimson Rebirth Sutra on Spiritual Beasts, the effects are the same. There is nothing that can be done to help you now.”

  Jun De stood motionless beside them, his heart pounding. His hands trembled at his sides as he stared at Mei Lian. Her tear-streaked face, her desperate eyes. It was too much for him to bear, but Shen Weifeng’s words echoed in his mind, heavy and cold.

  His jaw tightened as he made his decision.

  “That may not be true.”

  Shen Weifeng frowned as he glanced sharply at Jun De.

  “What do you mean?”

  Jun De ignored him as he stepped toward Mei Lian, his eyes locked on hers.

  “Mei Lian, if you really mean what you said, that you truly want to make everything right, will you let me help you? Even if it means it will hurt, or that you could die?”

  Mei Lian’s breath caught in her throat. Her lips parted as though to speak, then closed again. For a heartbeat, only the wind could be heard. Then, slowly, she nodded.

  “I will. Whatever it takes, Jun De. I just want to make things right.”

  “Good. I’ll do what I can.”

  Before anyone could react, Jun De’s Qi surged. The air rippled violently, and a wave of golden light exploded from his body. The pressure was immense, and Mei Lian froze where she stood, unable to move as her own Qi flickered and faltered under the weight of his Cultivation.

  Jun De’s Qi was like the sun breaking through storm clouds, and the very air seemed to hum with the sound of vibrating energy.