MYDISCWAN (GL) (GXG) (GIRLXGIRL)

23

Chapter 23: I will call her A-Feng

Buddhas had their road and demons had their path. Though all belonged to the three thousand main ways, if two tigers fight, one will get injured. 
　　
The Buddhist scriptures poured into Ning Guang’s dantian. In an instant, it incited the demonic energy inside her body to start oscillating, gloomy gray smoke leaking from her back and circling in midair to converge into a sinister hissing spirit. 
　　
Ning Guang began to scream miserably, her back stiff, blue veins exploding up on her forehead.
　　
Her eyes were gradually dyed ash-black by demonic energy, mixed with scarlet bloodshot veins, giving her entire person an appearance as fierce as a malicious spirit!
　　
“Ning Guang!” Seeing demonic energy steaming from her disciple’s body, Di Jiufeng immediately threw herself over. The heavy ashy smoke was even thicker than liquid ink and was highly corrosive, burning a layer of skin right off the hand Di Jiufeng had reached out. 
　　
Fresh blood dripped down her fingertips, burned into mist by the ashy smoke before it hit the ground.
　　
The familiar scent digging into her nose made the stunned Ning Guang awaken in a split second. She struggled to reach out a hand, but that short distance was like a heavenly moat. She couldn’t reach her Shifu’s fingertips no matter what.
　　
“The demonic path takes form!”
　　
“My heavens! This kid has already cultivated to the stage of internalizing the demonic path!”
　　
Shocked cries rose and fell, piercing through the crowd of people.
　　
Seeing demonic energy appear on Ning Guang’s body, all of the elders consciously encircled her in their midst. Bai Du wove through the crowd to run onto the platform, kneeling down before the Sect Leader with a “putong”. “Sect Leader, please observe, my Shifu was wrongly accused. She really is a demonic cultivator!”

He kowtowed loudly several times in a row, sound after sound sorrowful like a cuckoo crying blood.

[T/N: 杜鹃啼血, figurative meaning a ‘plaintive lament’.]
　　
The Sect Leader really did prize harmony, but the demonic path was not something to be treated with benevolence. So, he didn’t try to smooth things over, stiffening his face and walking to Ning Guang’s side.
　　
“Evil creature!” Slapping a palm on Ning Guang’s back and beating that demonic silhouette back inside her body, the Sect Leader seized her shoulder and tore both her and Di Jiufeng off the flying sword. “Jiufeng, you were always sensible, how did you do this sort of a confused thing today? You ought to know how serious a sin it is to harbor a demonic cultivator?!”
　　
“I knew, but there was nothing I could have done.” Knowing he couldn’t treat this with benevolence, Di Jiufeng didn’t plan to flee.
　　
She knelt on the ground, first dispelling the Buddhist energy inside her disciple’s body, then gathering her up in her arms and weakly explaining, “I myself did not want my disciple to cultivate the demonic path, but what could I have done?
　　
That day, Qian Sui drew demonic energy into my disciple’s body. Though it wasn’t apparent at the time, she got seriously ill after we returned. She was plagued by malicious demonic energy, it’s not like you do not know what sort of outcome it would have! At least, her foundation would be completely destroyed, at most, she would lose her life!!”

When she had talked herself into a passion, Di Jiufeng began to cough violently. On her wan face, only a smear of fresh blood by her lip was bitterly scarlet.
　　
She forcefully coughed, nearly coughing out her own lungs.
　　
Until long after, she no longer had the strength to cough and finally began to gasp for breath. She lifted her head to say, “I took my disciple up the mountain, so of course I had to take responsibility for her. I couldn’t look on and watch her die, so I taught her the demonic path. I did all of this, if you are going to punish someone then punish me!”
　　
Letting her eyes droop and lowering her head, her head of black hair spilled down her crimson sleeves like layer upon layer of magnificent lotuses blossoming on the water’s surface.
　　
Ning Guang didn’t want her to take the blame alone, but Di Jiufeng had been pressing her into her bosom from beginning to end, using enough strength to sink her fingertips deep into her shoulder and make white marks appear on the skin.
　　
The Sect Leader glanced at the two. With a tone like hating iron for not becoming steel, he said, “Jiufeng, you know what punishment this will receive?”