Lumine stared at Lisa in shock, blurting in disbelief:
"How can this be…? Isn't Mount Shu the leader of the righteous path in the cultivation world? Why would they have…"
Jean looked puzzled, her brow furrowed.
"Lumine, what exactly… is the demonic path?"
Diluc and Kaeya both turned their attention toward her, clearly just as curious.
But Lumine hesitated. She looked at Lisa, unsure if she should speak.
Lisa, however, had no such reservations. She explained with perfect calm:
"The so-called demonic path… refers to the most extreme, wicked, and terrifying cultivators of the immortal world."
"They're different from normal cultivators. They slaughter living beings to fuel their cultivation, and thus are branded as fiends that all must slay on sight."
"Soul Burning Hellfire is precisely such a vicious demonic technique."
"To cultivate it, I must use unending souls as fuel, feeding the Hellfire to grow."
"By burning souls, the fire in turn accelerates my cultivation."
"Just now, I burned away every monster and the Lord of the Tower's soul in the Stormterror's Lair."
"My strength… is already on the verge of breaking through again."
Her tone was casual, but after hearing her words, Paimon was so terrified she immediately ducked behind Lumine's back.
Diluc and Kaeya's eyes both carried a flicker of wariness.
A cultivation art that used souls as fuel…
Such a technique could hardly be described with the word vicious.
No wonder the Lord of the Tower's final curse had dripped with venom.
Yet truthfully, it was his misfortune—what chance did he have, as a soul, against someone who practiced Soul Burning Hellfire?
In Mount Shu, few were as skilled in dealing with souls as Lisa was. Besides her, there was Ningguang and Shenhe.
Ningguang's methods were gentle. Shenhe's were ruthless. Lisa's, however—Lisa's were the most sinister of all.
"So, Jean…"
Lisa turned back with a playful smile, her eyes holding a flicker of expectation.
"Right now, I'm a demon who cultivates by devouring souls."
"As long as I don't stop, countless lives will die at my hands, all so I can keep breaking through."
"Are you afraid of me?"
Jean's eyes softened with distress. Instead of recoiling, she grasped Lisa's hand tightly.
"I'm sorry, Lisa. I didn't know… But no matter what you do, I will never doubt you."
"I believe in you. You can control yourself. You're not someone who would kill the innocent."
Lumine drew in a deep breath, forcing down her unease. She added gently:
"Lisa, I believe you too. But… Mount Shu is supposed to be a righteous sect. If you cultivate demonic art there, won't that…"
At those words, Lisa's expression shifted ever so slightly. Her gaze dimmed, and then she began to put on a mournful act.
"That's why… I'm now a fugitive."
"The sect master was furious when he learned I had cultivated a demonic art. He sent the Mount Shu Hall of Discipline to hunt me down."
"I came only to bid you all farewell. Soon, I must flee."
Jean's face went pale.
"How can that be… Lisa, if you give up this art now, would that work?"
"It's impossible."
Lisa shook her head with a bitter smile.
"The one leading the hunt is the senior disciple of the Hall of Discipline—Liyue's own Great Conqueror of Demons. His cultivation has already reached the peak of Essence-Refining, just one step away from Spirit-Transformation."
"I can't defeat him. Even if all of Mondstadt banded together, we couldn't defeat him~."
Jean panicked completely, not noticing the mischievous light in Lisa's eyes.
"Then… What about Lord Venti, or Lady Alice? Couldn't we ask them to plead for you?"
"No…"
Lisa put on a pained expression.
"Because he interceded for me, Venti was already suppressed by Zhongli and ordered to meditate in reflection at the Hall of Discipline for a hundred years."
"If not for Klee's begging, Elder Alice would have been punished as well."
"If Xiao fails to catch me, then the First Seat of Longshou Peak Zhongli will come by himself."
"Jean… from now on, you must take good care of Mondstadt."
Jean's eyes brimmed with sorrow as she hugged Lisa tightly.
"Lisa…"
Kaeya, however, could only rub his forehead with a helpless sigh.
"Captain Jean, you don't really believe Miss Lisa's words, do you?"
"With the sect master of Mount Shu's power… even if Xiao himself acted, Lisa could never escape."
"Besides, she just gave us Rejuvenation Pills. If she were truly a fugitive, how could she have such treasures?"
At this, Jean froze awkwardly. Lisa shot Kaeya an annoyed glare.
"Really now! It's so rare to see Jean worrying about me like this, and you just had to ruin the moment?"
"I should never have given you that pill! I ought to have left you in pain!"
Kaeya chuckled awkwardly, raising his hands.
"Lisa!"
Jean snapped, cheeks puffing slightly in frustration.
"You can't make jokes about things like this!"
"Oh, come now! It's been so long since I've seen you—I missed those funny expressions of yours."
Lisa waved it off with a teasing smile, then explained softly:
"Soul Burning Hellfire is a demonic art. But it's one stored in Mount Shu's Scripture Pavilion."
"Of course the sect master knows I'm cultivating it."
"He's said it himself: cultivation arts aren't inherently right or wrong. Power itself has no morality. As long as one guards their Dao Heart and holds to their bottom line, even demonic arts can be used to slay demons and defend the people."
"I reported my cultivation of the art to the Hall of Discipline. Really, Jean, you only panicked because you didn't think it through."
"I'm only a cultivator at the mid-stage of Essence-Refining. There are countless in Mount Shu stronger than me."
"If I ever lost control, I'd be captured before I even set foot outside the mountain."
"So rest assured—I can control it. I won't become a slave to my own power."
Jean wanted to scold her further, but after days of separation—and with Lisa having just saved them—she could only sigh irritably.
"Honestly! Next time, don't joke about something like that."
"Alright, alright."
Lisa waved it off with nonchalance.
"So, Lisa, have you already finished exploring the Netherworld? That quickly? What about Venti and Alice?"
Lumine asked curiously.
Lisa's smile faltered with a touch of helplessness.
"It's a long story… The exploration ended early, though the gains were considerable."
"But… Venti and Alice were gravely injured. They're staying at Mount Shu to recuperate and can't return for now."
Jean and the others gasped in shock.
"Injured? Seriously? How could they be hurt? Didn't you have three late-stage Spirit-Transformation cultivators with you?"
Lisa sighed.
"Exactly. And now all three of them are gravely injured. If not for their efforts, none of us would have made it out alive."
"It's hard to explain… I'll tell you more when we return."
Jean's heart tightened with worry for Alice and Venti, but she knew now wasn't the time to press further. She asked only one last question:
"What about Klee? Is she safe?"
"Klee…"
Lisa gave a wry smile.
"That little one is the sect master's personal disciple. No matter what happens, Klee will be fine."
"She has so many protective artifacts from the sect master, she's practically wrapped head to toe in lifelines."
"When I left, she was still cheerfully playing with Qingluan."
At that, Jean finally exhaled in relief.
Qingluan? Another name she didn't recognize. Likely another disciple of Mount Shu. Jean didn't press further.
"What about Dvalin?" Diluc reminded softly.
Lisa answered:
"Before I left, Venti entrusted me to bring Dvalin back to Mount Shu."
"So I'll handle it."
She produced a small bottle and waved it over the dragon's body. Dvalin was instantly drawn inside.
Seeing the others' surprise, Lisa explained:
"This is a little trinket I borrowed from Senior Sister Ganyu. She crafted it using her cave-heaven arts and true essence. It's not a true artifact, but it works quite well here in Teyvat."
Though the explanation was baffling, the group nodded anyway, suppressing their questions for now.
With a thought, Lisa's flying sword shot to her feet, bearing her aloft.
"Come, I'll take you back."
She curled a finger, and everyone's swords leapt from their sheaths, hovering before them like her own.
"Flying sword! This is amazing! I never imagined I'd actually get to ride one someday! Aether will be so jealous!"
Lumine hugged Paimon to her chest, stepping onto her sword with delight.
"Lumine… are you sure we won't fall?"
Paimon peeked nervously from her arms.
Lisa chuckled.
"Even if you do, it's fine—you can fly, remember?"
"That's not fine at all! I'd be terrified!"
Paimon puffed her cheeks, glaring at Lisa before clinging tighter to Lumine.
"Hold steady. We'll be back soon."
Lisa's voice was gentle, and in the next moment, the flying swords carried them swiftly toward Mondstadt.
Though soaring high in the sky, the flight was as smooth as walking on solid ground. After a while, even the nervous ones relaxed, marveling instead at the scenery.
Clouds drifted past at their sides. The earth rushed by far beneath their feet. In the blink of an eye, the Stormterror's Lair was out of sight.
Only now did they understand how Lisa had been able to reach them so quickly.
At this speed—even Venti himself could hardly do better.
Watching Lisa at the front, hands clasped behind her back, drifting effortlessly atop her sword…
For the first time, all of them felt a burning yearning for cultivation ignite in their hearts.
Just one week of training, and she was already this strong?
The Lord of the Tower, possessing Dvalin, had power on par with a demon god.
And yet, before Lisa, he had been nothing more than a child—casually suppressed, unable even to flee.
Jean felt it most keenly. For the first time, a chasm seemed to yawn between herself and Lisa, vast and insurmountable.
Lisa might still seem the same—lazy, teasing, mysterious.
But her strength… could no longer be measured by Teyvat's standards.
Jean felt a pang of envy, and secretly resolved: once Dvalin's matter was settled, she had to find time to travel to Liyue.
She had to see Mount Shu.
As for Diluc, he was more direct. He was already thinking of asking Lisa how he could apprentice himself to Mount Shu.
Why wait? With matters resolved, he wanted to set out for the cultivation path at once.
Lisa's overwhelming power had shaken him to the core.
Not long after the group departed, Aether cautiously returned to the Stormterror's Lair.
The ruins had been utterly scoured clean.
In a daze, he saw again in his mind the sword cutting across the heavens, and the purple-black fire that felt darker than the Abyss.
That fire… It had oppressed him more than even the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
Too evil. Far, far too evil.
"P—Prince!"
Suddenly, a panicked Abyss Mage cried out.
"What is it?" Aether demanded in a low voice.
"They're… they're dead! All of them are dead!"
"Every monster in the Stormterror's Lair is gone!"
Black Friday Sale is Stil live! Get a flat 20% off on all memberships and collections. Don't miss it!
To read 220+ future chapters, head over to Patreon:
patreon.com/WhiteDevil7554