Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

If this continues, I'm afraid I really will die here.

However, having already bought so much time, those two idiots should already be...

Zhang Ruoxue's silly, sleeping face automatically appeared before his eyes, and his expression subtly wavered for a moment.

In that moment of distraction, his brief lapse in concentration on the battlefield was undoubtedly absolutely fatal.

"In your next life, remember not to be a demon."

The young man's words came from beside his ear. By the time Zhang Xiaohan reacted, the huge tin staff shook twice, and the bell on its side rang.

It was crisp, yet ruthless.

The staff is like a sword, its golden light like a knife.

The swastika symbol spins rapidly, symbolizing the impending purification of a demon.

It can't be stopped, it can't be escaped.

Zhang Xiaohan knew he had nowhere to escape, because from the very beginning, he only had one insect demon clone at his disposal.

He is no match for the young man now.

So, this is his end.

But this was not the ending Zhang Ruoxue wanted.

—This is not the ending Xu Yanliu wanted either.

"I don't think being a demon is so bad."

The tin staff stopped in front of Zhang Xiaohan, less than half a meter in the air.

Because that seemingly ordinary iron sword blocked that terrifying attack from the Kaiyuan stage.

With her long hair flowing freely and the gourd at her waist swaying twice, the woman named Xu Yanliu, dressed in slightly revealing clothing, held a sword in both hands and blocked the deadly tin staff.

The young man was taken aback, frowning as he stared at Xu Yanliu: "You are..."

"Get out of Xiao Han's sight!!"

As he spoke, his furious voice echoed throughout the room.

Like being engulfed in blue flames, a black-haired girl, her entire body ablaze with flames and clad in armor, descended from the sky, her icy arms, brimming with boundless energy, slashing down at the youth.

The young man frowned again. Although the girl's cultivation level was much lower than his, the power of her punch was still not to be underestimated. He took a few steps back and lightly dodged the attack that came from the sky.

He paused, looking at Xu Yanliu and Zhang Ruoxue standing in front of Zhang Xiaohan with some confusion, and asked, "You're not demons..."

Xu Yanliu grinned, her gaze unconsciously drifting to the old man in the distance who had yet to make a move, before quickly turning back: "As you can see, we are all pure human beings."

Upon hearing this, the young man's confusion increased once again.

He stared at Zhang Ruoxue and Xu Yanliu for a long while before finally asking a question:

"Why would humans protect a demon?"

Zhang Ruoxue's answer was simple.

She stood in front of Zhang Xiaohan, whose face was full of astonishment, as if it were a matter of course—

"Because I'm her older sister."

"It's that simple."

71. Buddha's Manifestation

Speechless.

Zhang Xiaohan collapsed to the ground, clutching his aching left arm with his right hand, staring in horror at the two figures that had suddenly appeared in front of him.

Although I was indeed relieved that my life had been spared, it was just a thought based on biological instinct.

She gasped, staring at the two of them in disbelief.

"You two... have you been kicked in the head by a donkey or something??"

Xu Yanliu glanced back at Zhang Xiaohan and picked at her ear: "More or less."

Zhang Xiaohan gritted her teeth, glaring at Zhang Ruoxue and the other woman with dissatisfaction: "If it were that stupid older sister, it would be one thing, but why did you..."

"Because she rushed out first." Xu Yanliu looked at the black-haired girl beside her who was grinning foolishly at Zhang Xiaohan, and helplessly spread her hands: "I can't just watch you two go up and die, can I?"

"So you rushed out too?" Zhang Xiaohan glanced coldly at Xu Yanliu: "What an idiot..."

Xu Yanliu didn't react much, but Zhang Ruoxue's eyes were filled with tenderness as she looked at Zhang Xiaohan.

—That was the look in Zhang Xiaohan's eyes that often appeared in her memory.

"There's nothing I can do about it~ because I hadn't thought it through yet, and by the time I realized it, I was already standing here."

Is it true that the body reacts faster than the brain's consciousness...?

No wonder she's an idiot older sister.

On the other hand, the appearance of Zhang Ruoxue and Xu Yanliu clearly disrupted the young people's rhythm.

His eyes were filled with complex emotions, including shock, doubt, and a touch of cold eeriness.

"The female benefactor has no demonic aura, nor does she resemble a demon in the slightest. Why would she lie and claim to be a relative of this celestial demon?"

He couldn't understand Zhang Ruoxue's actions.

Most ordinary people are unwilling to get close to demons. Some sects even believe that demons are the most evil in the world, and they will avoid getting close to them if possible.

This was the first time the young man had ever seen someone so proactive in establishing a relationship with an ancient demon.

It would be impossible not to be shocked and puzzled.

Zhang Ruoxue stared at the young man with hostility, her fists clenched tightly, as if wary of his powerful Buddhist teachings.

"This is none of your business, is it?"

"This humble monk simply cannot understand your actions." The golden Buddha behind the young man radiated dazzling holy light. He stood in the very center of the golden Buddha's image, his spiritual energy surging back and forth with the golden light. His handsome face was filled with doubt: "You are clearly human, yet you insist on protecting a demon who has committed numerous evils. Moreover, neither of you possesses any malevolent aura, nor do you appear to be evil people. Why are you so confused?"

"Xiao Han has never done anything wrong!"

Zhang Ruoxue stood in front of Zhang Xiaohan, trying her best to defend the boy (girl) behind her: "He has never hurt or harmed anyone, nor has he done anything petty or thieving. He has always been known as well-behaved in the village since he was a child. He would help his father when he was injured while working, and he would take care of his mother when she was sick. He even helped the old lady at the village entrance! Even if he leaves Jingyuan Village, he would never do anything bad!"

……

Xu Yanliu's lips twitched twice.

Although Zhang Ruoxue spoke very seriously, it must be admitted that the examples she cited were somewhat...subtle from any perspective.

Helping an old lady cross the street is totally irrelevant!

Zhang Xiaohan, the person involved, was too ashamed to continue listening. Although her older sister's intentions in defending her were good, Zhang Ruoxue's eloquence was simply too...

The young man frowned slightly and said, "That was just a disguise that the ancient demon had to put on in order to conceal his identity. Don't be deceived by the demon's hypocritical appearance, female benefactor."

"Hiss—" Zhang Ruoxue took a deep breath, glaring at the young man with dissatisfaction: "How can you not reason with people like this?! Xiao Han, he..."

"Does the female benefactor know what a Heavenly Demon is?"

The young man interrupted Zhang Ruoxue.

He took a step forward, golden ripples spreading beneath his feet, and a hint of solemnity gradually crept onto his handsome face.

He stared into Zhang Ruoxue's eyes and said, word by word, "The Heavenly Demon is a demon from the ancient times who used evil and unorthodox methods to achieve the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. In other words, they are the saints of today."

"In ancient times, let alone tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people, it was all just a blink of an eye for them. If it weren't for the emergence of a Martial Emperor in ancient times, the human race... no, back then they were called the Wild Race—the vast Wild Race would probably have become a slaughterhouse for the Heavenly Demons."

"The demon behind you, although millions of years have passed and his demonic energy has long since faded, anyone who has achieved the status of a demon has at least slaughtered hundreds of thousands of lives."

"Now, you, female benefactor, are telling this humble monk that he is innocent and has never done anything immoral?!"

Every word was spoken in a continuous stream.

Every word he uttered was powerful and resounding, a stark contrast to Zhang Ruoxue's previous clumsy defense.

At that moment, the young man seemed to represent the side of justice—

Zhang Ruoxue fell silent. Although she tried very hard to think of how to refute the other party's remarks, she simply couldn't think of anything suitable to say.

Are past experiences really that important?

Xu Yanliu shook her head, staring solemnly at the young man: "You're putting numbers from a million years ago into the Lingze era?"

The young man clasped his hands together and said calmly, "No matter how much time passes, a demon is still a demon, and they are all wicked and immoral."

"I'm too lazy to argue with you!" Xu Yanliu's eyebrows furrowed with anger, and the long sword in her hand gleamed slightly. "All I know is that this little guy was very well-behaved when he was in our pharmacy. He neither hurt anyone nor stole anything. His sins a million years ago were indeed great, but that was a million years ago. Don't judge people today with the eyes of the past."

“Exactly!” Zhang Ruoxue chimed in, “If Xiaohan were a bad person, he would have turned the villagers into fertilizer when he was in Jingyuan Village! But he didn’t; he even helped the village fight off a bunch of bandits!”

"That's all there is to it."

Xu Yanliu gripped her sword tightly, staring at the young man whose expression was growing increasingly hostile.

"We've got this demon covered!"

……

silence.

Zhang Xiaohan, the young man, and the old man watching from the side all fell silent.

Despite her exhaustion, the boy (or girl) named Zhang Xiaohan got up from the ground, her face still bearing an expression of disbelief.

He squinted and stared coldly at Xu Yanliu: "Hey, you dead woman... Don't think you can win my favor by saying these kinds of things to your stupid older sister... I don't like you two idiots at all."

"I never intended for you to like me." Xu Yanliu smiled and pursed her lips. "I just felt that I had already escaped once, so I couldn't escape again this time."

"Escape is the right choice, like this..."

Zhang Xiaohan's gaze passed over Zhang Ruoxue and Xu Yanliu's shoulders and landed in front of the young man whose entire body was engulfed in golden flames, as if he were inside a golden Buddha.

The young man took a deep breath, and the sacred spiritual energy within his body surged forth once more. A dazzling lotus flower suddenly appeared directly in front of the golden Buddha behind him, spinning at an extremely fast speed.

At the very center of the lotus, a small swastika was spinning rapidly, forming an invisible vortex of spiritual energy that drew in all the spiritual energy from the surrounding spiritual fields.

Feeling the increasingly terrifying pressure from the outside, Zhang Xiaohan gave a bitter laugh—

"But I've really angered this guy..."

"A demon is a demon!"