Chapter 311: The Interchange of Illusion and Reality

In just moments, the once-mighty “cloud tigers and water dragons” were completely obliterated by the brilliant red radiance.

Even Ye Zhiqing, upon being touched by the crimson light, found her movements sluggish, as if she had fallen into a quagmire.

The Red Plum Tree Demon extended countless branches, methodically shaping them into a massive bell, which it then slammed down over Ye Zhiqing, trapping her within as she struggled to escape the red glow’s range.

As it did so, the tree demon caught sight of Gu Ning’an standing not far away. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression calm as he watched her. A hint of doubt flickered in her mind.

Yet, her preconceptions misled her—she didn’t believe that her spell was ineffective against this gentleman. It was simply that, when casting her technique, she had deliberately avoided affecting the ordinary mortals present.

Had she launched an indiscriminate attack, the white-robed gentleman’s life wouldn’t have mattered—but her own Fifth Prince would likely have been reduced to a pool of blood as well.

“Young Master, everyone here is now caged birds. Their fate—life or death—rests in your hands,” the Red Plum Tree Demon spoke as she shifted back into her human form.

While her combat strength was slightly weaker in this form, the battle was already won. She preferred appearing in human guise before the Fifth Prince anyway.

Hearing this, the Fifth Prince swept his sleeves and laughed heartily. “Excellent! Excellent! Hongmei, you truly are my lucky star!”

The Red Plum, now in the form of a charming maidservant, blushed timidly at his praise. “Young Master flatters me.”

The Fifth Prince chuckled and was just about to approach the bell cage to speak with his captured cousin when—

A wretched cry suddenly rang out!

He instinctively turned toward the sound.

The once-composed maidservant now stood frozen, eyes wide with terror, staring down at her own body.

From her chest and abdomen, two blazing short blades had pierced through, their scorching heat distorting the very air around them, sealing her spiritual power—leaving her utterly powerless to resist.

Behind her stood Ye Zhiqing, her hair disheveled, whispering coldly into her ear:

“Demon… You, who are born of damp filth and hatched from eggs, dare to insult a true disciple of an immortal sect?”

Rip!

With those words, Ye Zhiqing thrust her blades deeper, then wrenched them free with force!

Boom!

As she staggered backward, Hongmei was instantly engulfed in raging flames.

The inferno devoured her in the blink of an eye, warping her once-lovely features into a hideous, charred mess. Unable to maintain human form, her long hair transformed into writhing branches, each ablaze, flailing wildly behind her—leaving fiery arcs against the night sky.

“Y-Young Master… run!”

With a final desperate cry, the maidservant was utterly consumed, leaving behind only a scorched red plum tree.

Within a few breaths, the tree, too, was reduced to ashes.

Watching this scene, the Fifth Prince clenched his fists, his gaze locked onto the smoldering remains. His voice was low, but filled with barely restrained fury.

“Hongmei… I will avenge you…”

Not far away, Ye Zhiqing swayed unsteadily after slaying the Red Plum Tree Demon. The illusory short blades in her hands vanished as if they had never existed.

Noticing how her aura flickered erratically, Gu Ning’an flicked his fingers, sending a strand of spiritual light into her forehead, stabilizing her soul before it could collapse.

Earlier, when facing the Red Plum Tree Demon’s power, Ye Zhiqing hadn’t advanced but instead retreated, first creating an illusory clone of herself—

—And then directly transforming her real body into illusion!

It had been an all-or-nothing gamble.

By doing so, she had evaded the tree demon’s crimson glow, hidden behind her, and used her Heartfire to deliver a fatal strike. She had succeeded.

But while shifting from reality to illusion was easy, returning from illusion to reality was far more difficult.

Had Gu Ning’an not been present to stabilize her fluctuating soul, she likely wouldn’t have lasted a single incense stick’s time before following the Red Plum Tree Demon into the afterlife.

Now that her soul was steady once more, Ye Zhiqing merely assumed she had been lucky enough to complete the crucial step of returning to reality. Regaining a bit of strength, she turned her gaze toward Royal Prince Ye, who had been hiding beneath a willow tree.

Her voice was soft but resolute.

“Father… leave. From this day forward, do not seek me again.”

Hearing this, the Royal Prince Ye, dressed in a Confucian scholar’s robes, froze in place. Staggering forward a few steps, he reached toward her.

“Zhi’er, what are you saying? What did I do wrong?”

Ye Zhiqing lowered her gaze.

“These years I’ve spent in the immortal sect… you have committed too many sins.”

“The Heavenly Dao’s cycle is unerring; retribution is inevitable. This calamity… I have borne it in your stead.”

“Our bond as father and daughter… ends here.”

At first, Royal Prince Ye seemed as though he wanted to explain himself. However, when he met his daughter’s disappointed gaze, he hesitated, then suddenly changed the topic:

“Zhi’er, do you know how your mother died?”

Ye Zhiqing lifted her head, frowning in suspicion. “Childbirth complications?”

“Wrong!” Royal Prince Ye roared, pointing furiously at the Fifth Prince, who stood nearby, and the Third Prince, who was slumped on the ground. He bellowed, “It was their father—my eldest brother—who sent assassins to butcher her!”

Hearing this, the Third Prince, his body covered in wounds, shouted back in disbelief, “Impossible! Father had no reason to kill Aunt!”

“Impossible?”

“That wretched emperor believed baseless rumors, convinced that I harbored treasonous intentions. And now, with a son on the way, he feared that my ambitions for the throne would grow even greater!”

“So, on the day Zhi’er was born, he sent assassins to mercilessly cut down your aunt!”

Practically roaring these words, Royal Prince Ye’s bloodshot eyes burned with fury. He continued, “Zhi’er, do you know? Those assassins aimed every strike directly at your mother’s belly?”

“Do you know that she curled up, desperately shielding her womb, enduring agony worse than death by a thousand cuts—just to protect you inside her?”

“When I finally got to her, she was already gone. The only untouched part of her entire body was the stomach she had fought to protect…”

Royal Prince Ye’s expression twisted between manic laughter and seething rage. He snatched a longsword from the ground, stepping toward the two princes as he spoke:

“That wretched emperor deserved to die! The only regret is that it wasn’t by my hand.”

“When your mother died, he even had the audacity to come and pay his so-called respects! He even sent imperial physicians to confirm your identity—to make sure you were a girl! Only then did he allow you to live…”

“Tell me, after such suffering, what’s wrong with me killing a few more people?”

“Why should only my family suffer, but not the others?”

“I wish I could slaughter everyone under the heavens—to accompany your mother in death!”

As he finished speaking, Royal Prince Ye’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent. He raised his longsword and slashed straight at the Third Prince!

However, just as the Third Prince appeared to be weak and defenseless on the ground, at that very moment, he exploded with astonishing speed. With a swift tilt of his head, he dodged the strike and unleashed a move known as “Rabbit Kicks the Hawk”—both feet kicking hard against Royal Prince Ye’s chest, sending him flying backward!