The Substitute Female Supporting Character Sees the Bullet Screen

On the celestial curtain, Han Jing's tribulation had reached its end. Merging with the heavens, his body seemed to dissipate in the beam of light cast through the thick clouds, his consciousness stretching infinitely in an instant.

Han Jing's body was dissolving, his gaze traversing the demon-sealing array above the Ten Thousand Demons Cave, which had been struck by lightning, crossing over the countless Buddha statues in the earthen caves, and spanning endless mountains, rivers, cities, and ruins. It was as if he possessed a perspective equal to the heavens, capable of taking in everything between heaven and earth.

Han Jing only had time to implant a thought into the consciousness of every person within the reach of his divine sense.

In an instant, that infinitely expanding consciousness began to blur. He forgot who he was, where he was, where he came from, and where he should go. He could no longer feel his sense of self.

Han Jing's dissipating soul was suddenly gathered by a powerful force and stuffed into an oval egg.

His fading self-awareness also coalesced. Han Jing, curled up inside the egg, thought with lingering fear, *Heavens, I almost died. Trying to hijack the Heavenly Dao is not something a mortal should attempt! Is my consciousness even intact anymore?*

Gu Jiang, taking advantage of Han Jing's ascension and merging with the Heavenly Dao, extracted Han Jing's divine sense and replaced it. The Blood Moon Shadow quickly separated from the independent space within his body, merging with the mountains, rivers, and lands of the world. As the phantom-like mountains in his space gradually took on clearer forms, Gu Jiang expanded his territory.

In this space, he was the Heavenly Dao, the rules were his to dictate. The more territory Gu Jiang seized, the harder it became for the Heavenly Dao to devour his consciousness.

In the tug-of-war, Gu Jiang glimpsed some strange phenomena.

This world was born from a book, and the Heavenly Dao was split in two, inherently incomplete, like a great tree entangled with parasitic vines.

These parasitic vines were the plot of the book.

However, the plot was merely a pseudo-Heavenly Dao, a parasite on the true Heavenly Dao. It could not alter the deeply rooted rules of the Heavenly Dao, such as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, but it could influence the weather, turning it sunny or rainy. It could not change the natural flow of rivers to the sea, the inevitable course of events, but it could build dams and create obstacles.

From the moment demonic cultivators were born, their existence was justified. To the heavens and the earth, a blade of grass, a tree, a human, or an insect were all the same, with no distinction of high or low, noble or base, and certainly no division of good and evil.

The pressure placed on the Demon Ancestor, the so-called Heavenly Dao decree that good and evil could not coexist, and the divine maiden's sacrifice—all were products of the plot.

If not for this direct confrontation with the Heavenly Dao, even Gu Jiang might have been misled.

In the predetermined plot, the protagonist was Xiao Ling. Gu Jiang had skimmed through Xiao Ling's life, where Nie Yinzhi occupied only a small, insignificant segment. She had failed to use the sacrificial array, consumed by jealousy and malice, and was ultimately imprisoned on Reflection Cliff, forced to surrender her golden core and eyes before dying alone, never to be mentioned again.

Xiao Ling, having received the golden core and spiritual bones of this "sinful" person, repaired her damaged body and inherited Nie Yinzhi's innate talents. Her cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, elevating her from the revered senior sister of the Cloud Scripture Sect to the leading figure of the new generation of cultivators in the cultivation world. In the end, she was gloriously sacrificed at the Ten Thousand Demons Cave for the sake of all living beings.

The pivotal moment of the plot was this sacrifice at the Ten Thousand Demons Cave. No matter who it was, someone had to fulfill this crucial plot point.

When Xiao Ling died, the plot was forcibly imposed on Nie Yinzhi.

The plot knew exactly how to shake him. In the midst of the struggle, Gu Jiang saw scenes emerging from the original text: Nie Yinzhi, covered in wounds, curled up on the frost-covered ground, her flesh withered and clinging to her bones, pus filling her once-lively eyes, the wound on her abdomen sunken, her skirt soaked in dark red blood.

Gu Jiang's mind wavered for a moment, and his consciousness was swept into the Heavenly Dao.

At the last moment, Gu Jiang could only transmit everything he had discovered and realized to Nie Yinzhi, "A-Yin, I will return."

The Blood Moon Shadow, cocooning Nie Yinzhi, suddenly trembled and began to dissipate. Feng Hanying immediately noticed and, resisting the temptation of the blood, reestablished the barrier to block the swarm of demonic cultivators drawn to the scene.

Nie Yinzhi tumbled out of the disintegrating Blood Moon Shadow, reaching out to grasp the fading demonic energy, "Gu Jiang!"

Her palm was stained with her own blood, and as soon as it touched the wisp of demonic energy, it dissolved. Nie Yinzhi's wrist trembled, and she quickly released her grip, frantically wiping her palm on her skirt.

The demonic cultivators nearly overwhelmed Feng Hanying's barrier. Nie Yinzhi could only peer out through the gaps. The thick clouds in the sky seemed to have thinned slightly, and the lightning had subsided. She extended her divine sense, searching the skies and the depths of the Ten Thousand Demons Cave, but she could not find Gu Jiang.

Feng Hanying was on the verge of losing his mind, "Pull back your divine sense! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Releasing one's divine sense in such a chaotic environment, with demonic cultivators running rampant, the lingering thunderous might, and the remnants of the demon-sealing arrays and lightning, was a sure way to either die or lose one's sanity.

"I can't find Gu Jiang," Nie Yinzhi said, her eyes wide but unfocused. The golden sprout on her wrist had a leaf that was almost transparent, on the verge of disappearing. Even through their spiritual connection, she could no longer sense him.

"I can't feel him anymore," Nie Yinzhi murmured again.

Feng Hanying took a few steps back, veins bulging on his forehead. He cast a few talismans from his sleeve, sealing himself in place to avoid being overwhelmed by the blood aura around her. "Get back into the tower! If you don't leave now, even I won't be able to hold on."

Nie Yinzhi glanced at him, then at the frenzied demonic cultivators around her. She smiled slowly, her life had never been dictated by others—not by Sang Wumian, not by this damned plot, and not even by Gu Jiang.

Nie Yinzhi staggered to her feet, the fierce wind whipping her robes and hair. Her face was wet, though whether it was blood or tears was unclear. She summoned a faint thread of demonic energy—a remnant of the Blood Moon Shadow.

Feng Hanying looked at her, then quickly averted his gaze, suppressing the urge within him. "Don't do anything reckless! With the blood you have now, you'll burn to death before you even become a demon!"

Nie Yinzhi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and dispelled Feng Hanying's sealing spell. "How will I know if I don't try? What else can I do? Kill all the demonic cultivators here?"

"You can't do it, and neither can I."

Her tone was calm, and her reasoning was sound. The demonic cultivators in the Ten Thousand Demons Cave were surging forward like a frenzied tide, more united than ever. Even ants could kill an elephant, and these demonic cultivators were far from ants. Feng Hanying was barely holding the barrier together.

"I'd rather burn to death than be devoured by demonic cultivators, fulfilling that nonsense of 'feeding the demons with my body.'"

【Ahhhhhhhhhhhh they really did it! That move just now was like a long-distance phone play, wasn't it?】

【LOL, sis, they're both about to die, and you're still obsessing over whether they did it or not?】

【If they did it before dying, that counts as a happy ending for me.】

【No! I feel so bad for A-Yin. She can't die! She still has family waiting for her!】

【Nie Yinzhi is so badass! She's finally becoming a demon! Is this the start of her rise as the female lead? Widow literature, I love it.】

【Damn, I get it now. Nie Yinzhi was just practicing last time. First time's awkward, second time's the charm. This time it's real—life and death, becoming a demon. She's not just acting for us, is she?】

【What a beautiful love story of sharing life and death. I'm crying.】

【Is Gu Jiang dead? Ahhhhh the golden sprout's seal on Feng Hanying hasn't disappeared yet. Is the demon lord still alive?】

【He's probably about to die. He couldn't withstand the Heavenly Dao and got swallowed. Even if he's not dead, he might not have any self-awareness left. Right now, he might be sprouting on some mountain somewhere.】

【The leaf on the golden sprout hasn't disappeared yet, it's just faded and turned transparent. Is he in some kind of limbo? Schrodinger's death.】

【Is this a story where whoever becomes the protagonist dies?】

【Ugh, how shameless. How can such a selfish, morally bankrupt person even be the protagonist? Xiao Ling was willing to sacrifice herself to save the world. Her greatness outshines Nie Yinzhi by a mile. A supporting character like her will never amount to anything. Just die already.】

【What did Xiao Ling sacrifice? Wasn’t it everything she took from Nie Yinzhi that she sacrificed! In the original story, if she hadn’t stolen Nie Yinzhi’s golden core, could she have survived? Dear friend, if you’re truly a fan of the original female lead, the last person you should criticize is Nie Yinzhi.】

【In the original story, after Xiao Ling benefited from Nie Yinzhi, she never mentioned her again. She didn’t even ask where the golden core came from. Don’t expect her fans to show any gratitude.】Nôv(el)B\\jnn

【Why are the female lead’s fans still here? Since you’ve made it this far, stop deceiving yourself—the person you love is Nie Yinzhi.】

Feng Hanying sat within the array formed by spirit talismans, watching the distant area where the Blood Moon Shadows and spiritual mist churned violently. Nie Yinzhi’s figure had already been swallowed by the chaos.

Nie Yinzhi glanced at the barrage of comments floating above her through the swirling spiritual mist. She raised her wrist, looking at the transparent leaf on the golden sprout. She could feel its fragile life force.

The Blood Moon Shadows she had attracted were growing in number—scattered and untethered. Only now did she realize that Gu Jiang could no longer control his demonic energy. So much of it had leaked from the lake of Blood Moon Shadows he had created.

As soon as the demonic energy entered her meridians, it began to boil, transforming into spiritual mist. She felt as if she were being cooked alive, tossed into a vat of oil or thrown into a sea of fire.

In the past, through shared emotions, Nie Yinzhi had only felt Gu Jiang’s burning pain indirectly. But now, the agony was real, searing through her own body.

A swan erupted from her spiritual sea, spreading its wings to envelop her. The tips of its snow-white feathers shimmered with a dark red hue. A spirit sword hovered before Nie Yinzhi, its gleaming blade now marked by a thin, dark red line running from the tip to the hilt.

Nie Yinzhi was already burned to the point of losing consciousness. Her body felt as if it were melting. Sword energy seeped into her meridians, trying to separate her blood from the demonic energy, but instead, it fused rapidly with the Blood Moon Shadows’ demonic energy.

In her spiritual sea, the cluster of white flames surrounding her soul was tainted by a dark red at its core, seeping into her soul.

The Blood Moon Shadows’ demonic energy and sword energy intertwined, inch by inch, invading Nie Yinzhi’s spiritual veins and forcing the spiritual energy out of her body. The dark red energy infiltrating her soul began to corrupt her spirit.

Nie Yinzhi passed out from the burning pain of her own blood, only to be jolted awake by the excruciating agony of her meridians being shattered and rebuilt.

As her spiritual energy drained, her cultivation level plummeted rapidly, falling from the peak of the Nascent Soul stage layer by layer. Each drop felt like being shattered and reassembled. If not for the strand of demonic energy protecting her soul, her three souls and seven spirits would have scattered.

Becoming a demon was no easy feat.

Time passed—so long that daylight began to break through the sky above. Finally, at a critical point, the demonic energy in her meridians overwhelmed the spiritual energy. Her cultivation, which had nearly fallen to the Golden Core stage, began to rise again. The intense burning sensation throughout her body suddenly eased.

The spiritual mist around Nie Yinzhi began to dissipate, and the Blood Moon Shadows surged into her body like a tidal wave. She was covered in blood, but the intoxicatingly sweet scent of her blood, which drove demonic cultivators mad, grew fainter and fainter.

The frenzied demonic cultivators gradually regained their senses, and with their sanity returned their mutual distrust and fear. One by one, they retreated under the oppressive aura of Feng Hanying.

The area around the Black Tower finally brightened. Outside the barrier, the ground was littered with corpses, the earth soaked in blood.

Nie Yinzhi turned her head and smiled at Feng Hanying. “I won.” She had endured, and the demonic energy had tainted her blood first.

Feng Hanying leaped over to catch her. “Don’t celebrate too soon. You’re severely injured. Whether you live or die is still uncertain.”

Nie Yinzhi didn’t hear his words clearly. She had already passed out.

Feng Hanying looked up at the sky, where the thick clouds had dispersed, allowing the golden sunlight to pour down. He truly didn’t understand.

Why could someone be so reckless?

Gu Jiang had endured the wrath of heaven for a thousand years without a care, yet now he risked everything to defy the laws of heaven, gambling his life just so he could love her properly.

If his master had shown such determination eight hundred years ago, he would have unified the cultivation world by now. He could have had any woman he desired.

What was the point of all this?

Feng Hanying: What the hell is love? Thank goodness I don’t understand it.