The Heroine Must Die

Briar instantly retreated back into the inner space, leaving Lauren alone in Edmund’s grasp to lighten the load.

They shot forward like a meteor. Lauren felt wind tear at her face. “You fucking bastard,” she shouted over the gale. “You can fly this fast?!”

And you’ve been pretending to be useless this whole time?

They hadn’t made it far when— A streak of golden light slashed down from above.

Edmund screamed. The sound was sharp, furious.

His claws jerked open, and instead of dropping her straight down, he hurled Lauren sideways with force—like throwing a stone.

The next second, he twisted midair and fled without looking back. Lauren was caught in mid-flight by someone else.

Everything had happened too fast. One second she was escaping. The next she was in a stranger’s arms.

“It’s him,” a voice said behind her. “He really came out.”

Another figure flashed past. Lauren’s mind clicked into place instantly. These three—

They weren’t from the Demon Realm. They were from above.

Edmund must have exposed himself to rescue her, and that exposed aura had drawn them down. Now they’d found him. She clutched at the man holding her, grabbing his sleeve tightly.

“Senior!” she cried, wide-eyed and trembling. “That Demon Dragon wants to eat people! It’s terrifying!”

Her cultivation had advanced rapidly over the years, but her appearance remained that of a teenage girl—small, delicate, harmless.

The man didn’t doubt her at all. He opened his mouth to question her, but she rushed on breathlessly.

“Do you see that black cloud over there? That’s overwhelming demonic energy. The Demon Dragon is colluding with the Demonic Lord—they’re planning to invade the righteous sects to retrieve something!”

The two men exchanged a sharp look. “What are they retrieving?” one asked.

“I don’t know,” Lauren said quickly. “After the great war between righteous and demonic sects, there was an agreement—the Demon River as the boundary. Neither side interferes with the other. But the Demonic Lord broke it. He brought the Demon Dragon into our territory. He said he wants to recover something sealed away.”

She hesitated, then added: “It has something to do with ascension.”

The two men’s expressions changed immediately. They communicated silently.

Could it be connected to the seal at Sky-covering Valley?

Is that valley in righteous territory?

How would I know how these ants divide land? But the valley was once occupied by demons. The two we sent to reinforce the seal died there. Then the girl may be telling the truth.

Ahead, demonic energy churned violently. The Demonic Lord was indeed there—fighting. And behind him, the black dragon.

The girl hadn’t lied. One of the men tossed Lauren a small porcelain bottle.

“Smell it.”

She uncorked it cautiously. A cool, pleasant fragrance filled her senses. Instantly, the seal on her meridians dissolved. Her spiritual power surged back.

Without another word, the two men shot forward toward the Demonic Lord. The sky erupted. Lightning split the clouds. Golden light pierced the darkness. A bone-chilling frost swept through the air.

Thunder Spirit Root. Golden Spirit Root. Immortal Ice Root. All three at the peak of Mahayana.

They pressed the Demonic Lord back step by step. Lauren didn’t stay to watch. She urgently called out in her mind.

“Edmund!” No response. “Edmund!”

A dark blur slipped quietly into her sleeve.

“I’m fine,” he muttered. “Let’s go. To Silent Fang.”

She didn’t argue. Who knew how long the Demonic Lord could hold out against three monsters like that?

She turned and ran. First, she located the nearest teleportation array. Then she redirected to the South Sea—closer to Silent Fang’s territory. Behind her—

The Demonic Lord coughed up blood. At his age. At his cultivation. He had actually fallen for a little girl’s trick.

He still didn’t know what she had done to him—how she’d slipped something into his senses without him noticing.

At first, he’d thought the black dragon and the three sudden arrivals were hallucinations. But the pain ripping through his flesh was very real. These were no illusions.

And when the hell had the righteous sects produced three Mahayana cultivators of this level? Each of them stood at the peak. Perfect realms. It was absurd.

“Stop!” he roared. “I admit defeat! I’ll leave! I swear, I will never step into righteous territory again in my lifetime! Isn’t that enough?!”

“Too late,” one of them replied coldly. “You broke the agreement. Prepare to die.”

The Demonic Lord cursed viciously and turned to flee.

His body dissolved into a stream of black smoke, crossing the Demon River in an instant—back into his own domain.

But the three men chased him relentlessly.

Why? Because while he’d been distracted, Edmund had quietly slapped one of his dragon scales onto him.

The three assumed the Demon Dragon was hiding on his person.

They would not let him escape. Their mission was clear: capture the dragon and reseal it in the valley.

Only then would this matter be resolved. And so the Demonic Cult paid the price.

The Demonic Lord felt nothing but fury and grievance.

Yes, chasing a young girl into righteous territory had been beneath his dignity—and technically a violation of the agreement. But weren’t they the ones who’d broken it first?

They’d invaded his territory. Killed his people.

Shouldn’t that even the score? Why the hell were they hunting him like this?

......

While the Demonic Lord was being relentlessly hunted across his own territory, Lauren fled in the opposite direction.

She reached the teleportation array entrance—and suddenly stopped.

That medicine bottle. That heavy fragrance. Her eyes narrowed.

Without hesitation, she pulled the porcelain bottle from her sleeve and tossed it into a cluster of flowers beside the array platform. The blossoms instantly absorbed the scent.

Then she carefully washed her hands with cleansing talismans before stepping onto the formation bound for the South Sea.

If those three were tracking scents or spiritual traces, she wasn’t going to make it easy for them.

After exiting the array, she commandeered a flying boat and sped toward Silent Fang’s territory. The moment she landed, she shouted:“Silent Fang! Hurry! See what happened to your ancestor!”

Edmund—now shrunk down to the size of an eel—lay limp across her palm.

Silent Fang rushed over in panic. “Ancestor! What happened?!”

He carefully took Edmund from her hands.

“How would I know?” Lauren snapped. “I’m not a damn veterinarian. That’s your job.”

Silent Fang examined Edmund closely, then patted his own chest in relief. “It’s fine. It’s fine.”

“How is it fine?” Lauren poked Edmund. He didn’t react. “I’ve prodded him a dozen times. He’s softer than a noodle.”

“He has skin but no bones,” Silent Fang explained patiently. “Of course he’s limp. He’s just injured. Honestly, this is better for him. Easier to recover.”

“You’re sure?”

“Ancestor is immortal. Don’t worry.”

Right. Immortal.

In her panic, she’d forgotten. Still, she hadn’t seen Edmund this weak in a long time.

“Sister… are you in trouble?” Silent Fang asked cautiously. “Why is Ancestor hurt so badly?”

“Three people came down from above,” Lauren replied grimly. “They beat him like this.”

Silent Fang’s eyes widened. “Three?! What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know. He told me to come find you. You figure something out.”

Silent Fang inhaled deeply and let out a roar toward the sea. The sound was so loud it made Lauren’s ears ring. Moments later, an enormous old tortoise swam over slowly. “Brother, what’s wrong?”

“Quickly. Have them activate the Demon Soul Array Mother left behind.”

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