After the Villainess Awakens

Who else could she trust to help her suppress the Heavenly Demon without letting Xiao Mian disappear?

Leng Mushi closed her eyes, then opened them a moment later.

Under the table, her fingers interlocked with Xiao Mian's. She rubbed the back of his hand with her damp fingertips, offering him comfort.

Xiao Mian's palm was also clammy. He squeezed Leng Mushi's hand tightly and nodded at her.

Then Leng Mushi let go of him and stood up. She grabbed the healing medicines she had refined and took Leng Tianyin with her to distribute them to the injured disciples.

She was also looking for the Shadow cultivator, Yin Yi, who was said to be injured. She had to get the pill formula for suppressing demonic energy as soon as possible.

However, when she found Yin Yi, she discovered that his injuries were even worse than You Zishu's. After opening the demonic realm, he had been too slow in getting the disciples out. A sharp spike from a Scale Beast had pierced his neck. He was lucky to survive but couldn't even speak. He lay in bed, each breath a struggle, like an old bellows being laboriously pulled.

Leng Mushi crushed several pills and stuffed them into his mouth, helping him swallow with difficulty. She sent Leng Tianyin to the next room and said to Yin Yi, "I've found a way to seal techniques and tried it. If you want proof, I can find a place to show you the basic Spirit Sealing Pill."

"As for the higher-level ones, I'm still missing some ingredients. I need to return to the sect and discuss improvements with my master before I can try to seal more powerful techniques. You said you would give me the pill formula for suppressing demonic energy, and I need it urgently now. Can you give it to me in advance?"

Leng Mushi continued, "Or, you could give me a more convincing token of trust, and I can make a trip to the Shadow Sect on my way back to the mountain to get the pill formula. You should have enough weight in the Shadow Sect to make decisions, right?"

Yin Yi wasn't wearing his mask at the moment. Lying on the bed, his face was pale, but he unexpectedly resembled a fallen noble son. Leng Mushi had only recognized him by his pitch-black clothes.

With a white cloth wrapped around his neck, he raised his hand with difficulty. His pale lips stood out against his thin, slender frame, making him look like someone suffering from a prolonged illness.

But Leng Mushi knew that all Shadow cultivators were built like this. To cultivate shadow techniques, they had to refine their weight and even their bones to be as light as possible.

He looked at Leng Mushi and blinked. His eyes showed no sign of defeat from his fatal injury. Instead, they were bright, as if he had expected Leng Mushi to succeed.

He slowly raised his hand and, with trembling fingers, pulled a piece of silk cloth from his arms, offering it to Leng Mushi.

Leng Mushi accepted it with confusion. After unfolding and examining it, her eyebrows twitched uncontrollably, and the shock in her eyes was genuine.

After a moment, she looked up at Yin Yi, her voice filled with doubt and puzzlement. "You're just giving me the pill formula like this? Aren't you afraid I'll go back on my word after I get it?"

Yin Yi looked at Leng Mushi calmly. There was no way they could have any telepathic connection, but looking at his expression, she somehow understood what he meant.

It's not like it's something good. Even if you're capable, go ahead and try to make it.

"But how can I trust you?" Leng Mushi asked. "I really can't take the risk."

It wasn't just about Xiao Mian. Whether the Heavenly Demon awakened or not was of paramount importance.

After 17,000 years, the records of the Heavenly Demon awakening and leading the Four Great Demon Generals to slaughter the world were still chilling to read.

Leng Mushi had always considered herself to be someone who went with the flow, not someone capable of saving the world from danger. She was even less like those noble predecessors who had died to seal the Heavenly Demon, their deeds admired by all.

She was merely doing her best to keep the Xiao Mian she knew alive, whether it was for an unpredictably long life or a short one destined to end in the plot after the Heavenly Demon awakened.

The Law had said that as long as she followed the plot obediently, it would ensure her survival and a fresh start after the story ended.

But she had never been obedient from the very beginning. Leng Mushi didn't pin her hopes on the Law. She couldn't possibly make a choice according to its instructions.

Yin Yi remained silent after hearing her words. After all, he couldn't speak at the moment. He simply looked at Leng Mushi with those calm, unwavering eyes, as if it didn't matter to him whether she believed him or not.

Leng Mushi pondered over and over again. Their communication was limited to eye contact as Yin Yi's injuries were so severe that he couldn't even transmit his voice. She stood at his door for a while. When Leng Tianyin arrived, she pulled her along to distribute healing medicines to the other disciples.

In that peach blossom spring-like valley, all the pills she and Xiao Mian had refined came in handy. The injured disciples from the four sects had almost exhausted all of Leng Mushi's reserves.

As night fell, the disciples and elders who had entered the secret realm to rescue others emerged. Among them were elders and disciples from other sects whose new disciples hadn't participated in this training. When the immortal sects faced danger, they supported each other. No matter how fiercely they competed in the Immortal Sect Tournament, they wouldn't mock each other in times of crisis.

After everyone came out, they returned to their respective inns to rest for the night and would meet tomorrow to discuss what to do next.

Leng Mushi, Xiao Mian, You Zishu, Xingzhou, and the others all stayed at the inn, taking care of the disciples while remaining on standby.

The high-ranking disciples of the Tai Chu Sect who had entered the Demonic Realm were all senior to You Zishu, having joined the sect and guarded the forbidden grounds for much longer. There was also the Third Elder and his disciples, who had just returned from their travels.

There were many unfamiliar faces that Leng Mushi hadn't seen before, but that didn't stop her from distributing healing medicines to the injured disciples.

When she reached Xuanzhu's side, she stared at him nervously. Seeing that he wasn't injured, she let out a sigh of relief. But then Xuanzhu pulled her into an embrace.

"You little rascal, I couldn't find you anywhere in there and thought you were dead!" Xuanzhu's worry represented not only himself but also Hua Yan Yue.

However, only Leng Mushi and Xiao Mian could understand this in the current setting.

After a while, Xuanzhu released Leng Mushi. Her eyes reddened, and she wanted to act coquettishly with her senior brother and master, but it wasn't appropriate at the moment. So she stepped back a little and continued to distribute the medicine.

When she reached the Third Elder, Leng Mushi looked up and couldn't help but be surprised for a moment, despite the somber atmosphere.

The Third Elder of the Tai Chu Sect had always been a legend, his name known but his face unseen. What Leng Mushi knew most about him was that his disciples were all a bunch of demons and monsters. Xiao Mei was one of them. He had the fewest disciples among the elders and often ran around with his unreliable master.

Seeing him today, Leng Mushi didn't expect that not only was his name unreliable, but his appearance was even more so. This really caught her off guard. He looked exactly like Ji Jing, one of the guys from the group of brothers she used to hang out with in the marketplace, the ones she grew up fighting with.

Of course, they didn't look alike. It was the vibe, that air of self-proclaimed elegance and youthful swagger, that was identical. Like a delicate flower blooming in a pot, completely unaware of the harsh realities of the world.

Leng Mushi used to hang out with Ji Jing the most. When her family was destroyed, it was this most unreliable friend who, because he liked Leng Tianyin's face, risked being implicated and hid her and Leng Tianyin.

It had been a long time since Leng Mushi had seen someone with such a strong aura of the mortal world. For a moment, she thought she was looking at Ji Jing, and she couldn't help but freeze in front of the Third Elder.

Logically speaking, cultivators didn't usually have any connection to the mundane world. Even the old man who cleaned the scripture hall had an immortal air about him, with white hair and a long beard.

This Third Elder's appearance was too down-to-earth. Not bad, but a bit too handsome, almost vulgarly so.

Not only was the Third Elder's appearance vulgarly handsome, but so was his name. His name was Zhou Lan, which, to a certain extent, had the same charm as the stage name of the courtesan, Fen Lian.

Zhou Lan, with a cut on his lip, looked down at the little cultivator who was staring at him in a daze as she handed him the medicine. He couldn't help but turn to Xuanzhu. "Is this the little junior sister you keep talking about, the one you're so worried about that you've got blisters on your tongue?"

As soon as he spoke, his voice lacked the usual clarity of a cultivator. Instead, it carried the affected tone of a young master from a wealthy family, the end of his words drawn out and curled up. It was pleasant to the ear but only served to further remind Leng Mushi of Ji Jing.

It had only been a year since she entered the mountain, but it gave Leng Mushi a sense of melancholy, as if many years had passed. She didn't know how her childhood friend was doing in the mortal world. Leng Mushi hadn't thought about him much, but this Third Elder had forcibly dragged her back to the mortal world she didn't dare to dwell on.

Her mother was gone from that place, leaving only a heart full of sorrow. But thinking back to Ji Jing at this moment, Leng Mushi realized that it wasn't that she didn't miss him.

Zhou Lan wanted to tease Leng Mushi. This man's appearance and personality were completely different. However, with his disciples injured or dead, no matter how broad-minded and carefree he usually was, he couldn't help but feel exhausted.

He simply reached out and took the pill from Leng Mushi, examining it closely. "You managed to refine a top-grade pill. You're indeed a little junior sister worth your senior brother getting blisters for."

After all, pill cultivators were truly rare.

Zhou Lan tossed the hemostatic pill into his mouth and chewed it directly. Soon, the wound on his chest where he had been scratched by the demonic beast stopped bleeding.

He was a high-ranking cultivator of the mid-Day Stage and had been traveling for many years, often encountering all sorts of demons and monsters. Yet, he had still been injured in the Demonic Realm. It was truly fortunate that the other disciples had managed to come out alive.

Zhou Lan snatched the pill from Leng Mushi's hand. She snapped back to reality and lowered her hand. The disciples had all been taken away by Xiao Mian and the others to be settled. She returned to Xuanzhu's side and asked, "Senior brother, I have some pills for clearing heat. Your mouth…"

"I'm fine. You don't look too good either. It's been a long day. Sit down for a bit." Xuanzhu pulled Leng Mushi down to sit. You Zishu and the other disciples also found places to sit in the hall, all facing Third Elder Zhou Lan.

"There are no survivors inside, and we can't go back in," Zhou Lan said. "The demonic beasts are still evolving. We need to return to the sect as soon as possible. This time, we're afraid we'll have to ask the sect leaders to come out and use a killing formation to completely eradicate the scourge within the Demonic Realm."

All the disciples' expressions turned grave. Third Elder Zhou Lan looked at Leng Mushi again. "Oh right, come here. You have a mount, right?"

Leng Mushi stood up, stunned for a moment before she remembered something and nodded quickly. "Yes, I do."

"Sorry, I rode it for a while." Zhou Lan said, pulling out a piece of rotten skin wrapped around a twig from his arms. "She and my Plum Blossom demon disciple helped a lot in the secret realm. Her demon power is exhausted, and so is my disciple's. Feed her some of your blood, and they'll both recover. They're soulmates."

Leng Mushi stared at the twig and rotten skin in the Third Elder's hand, speechless.

She had wondered why she hadn't seen Fen Lian and Xiao Mei. When she asked the other disciples, they said they didn't know either. Leng Mushi wasn't too worried. After all, Fen Lian was a great demon, and Xiao Mei wasn't any weaker than ordinary cultivators. They were just suppressing their demon power, and their ability to protect themselves was much better than that of cultivators.

She had never activated the mount contract because she had never considered Fen Lian as a mount… Who would have thought…

Zhou Lan looked a little embarrassed and touched his nose. "They're really fine. You probably don't know this, but it's easier for demon cultivators to advance after their demon power is completely exhausted."

Leng Mushi didn't say anything. She took the two unlucky ones with trembling hands and glanced at Zhou Lan. She now had a deeper understanding of his vulgar appearance and ruthless nature.

Zhou Lan tilted his head, watching Leng Mushi's hand tremble slightly as she held the two demons. However, he didn't see any resentment in her eyes, only distress for the two demon beasts.

His throat tickled a little. This little girl was interesting. That look in her eyes, she really treated demon beasts as people. In the Demonic Realm, when he urged the Skin-Painting Demon to attack, he had sensed her mount contract, but it hadn't been activated.

Zhou Lan thought, if he had met her back then, when he was choosing disciples, maybe she wouldn't be cultivating the Dao of Pills now.

Leng Mushi carefully put away the shrunken Fen Lian and Xiao Mei, who were now a piece of rotten skin and a withered twig. Zhou Lan's gaze shifted away from her, and he spoke again, making a decision. "Rest for the night. We'll set off for the sect tomorrow morning. We suffered heavy losses in this training. I'm afraid… Sigh, all the good seedlings that Senior Brother Zheng Ping painstakingly planted these past few years are gone."

None of the disciples spoke. Zhou Lan's gaze fell on You Zishu, his eyes lingering on his severed arm for a moment before he shook his head and returned to his room.

Xiao Mian returned after settling the injured disciples, carrying a food box in his hand. Even now, he didn't forget to bring food for Leng Mushi, and he had prepared some for Xuanzhu as well.

The three of them didn't stay in the hall but went upstairs to Leng Mushi's room together.

While eating, Xuanzhu observed the numerous eye contacts between Leng Mushi and Xiao Mian. He hadn't even heard them speak, yet he seemed to have grasped something and frowned slightly.

He looked at Xiao Mian. "How's your pulse lately?"

Xiao Mian stiffened, his lips moving slightly. He glanced at Leng Mushi before standing up, his back straight, and said in a tense voice, "Senior Brother Xuanzhu, Nian Ci and I are together now. I hope you and…"

"You really have no sense of boundaries when I'm not watching." Xuanzhu's voice turned cold. "It seems you haven't suffered enough."

Leng Mushi quickly grabbed Xuanzhu's wrist. "Senior brother, it's me."

Leng Mushi swallowed the food in her mouth and wiped her lips. "I'm the one who wanted to be with him. I like him."

Xuanzhu snorted. "That's because he's always hanging around you, tempting you. You think I don't know what kind of shameless…"

He stopped mid-sentence, his features rapidly changing. In a blink of an eye, he transformed from a displeased, handsome man into a displeased, beautiful woman.

"You should leave first. I need to have a word with my disciple." As soon as Hua Yan Yue appeared, she issued an eviction order to Xiao Mian.

Xiao Mian nodded obediently, turned, and walked out the door, even thoughtfully closing it behind him.

Hua Yan Yue's gaze fell on Leng Mushi, her eyebrows raising in surprise. "Your cultivation has progressed too quickly. Did you eat someone?"

Leng Mushi: …I did want to eat someone, but it didn't work out. He insisted on becoming my Dao companion first.

However, Hua Yan Yue's shock didn't last long. The master and disciple didn't even continue talking about Xiao Mian but quickly launched into a discussion about the new pill formulas and directions they had discovered.

For two whole hours, until late into the night, they talked until their mouths were dry, pausing only to take sips of cold tea.

On the table lay the new pills they had each developed during this period. Hua Yan Yue picked up a Spirit Sealing Pill and said, "I've had this idea for a long time, but I've been trying for so many years without success. I always thought I was missing some auxiliary ingredient, but I didn't expect it to be the most basic spiritual root."

Hua Yan Yue continued, "You said you used the almost useless Metal Spiritual Root to refine the Spirit Sealing Pill?"

"Yes," Leng Mushi replied. "I tried using others at first, but they all failed."

A vague thought flashed through her mind, but she couldn't quite grasp it. After a moment of silence, she said, "Master, do you think this is like… artifact refining?"

"Artifact refining masters can seal the power of a weapon within itself," Leng Mushi said. "What I'm sealing are techniques, which, in a way, are also forms of power."

"The vessel for artifact refining is a tool, a naturally occurring spiritual object," Hua Yan Yue said. "But the Spirit Sealing Pill has no vessel. It's pure sealing power. But how to improve it…"

Both master and disciple thought of something at the same time and looked at each other with an intensity that would make anyone's hair stand on end.

"A vessel!"

"We need a spiritual object!"

The two of them stood up excitedly and began pacing around the table, each taking turns downing bowls of cold tea as if they were drinking wine. They continued to chatter until well past midnight, finally stopping their pacing like two donkeys at a mill.

By the time their initial excitement and shock had subsided, Leng Mushi brought up Xiao Mian's matter. Hua Yan Yue reacted with surprising calmness.

"You're saying that Xiao Mian might have the Heavenly Demon Pill sealed inside him?" Hua Yan Yue's tone held a hint of absurdity. She even let out a yawn, her exhaustion evident.

"Yes." Naturally, Leng Mushi didn't mention the Law or the story world. She pushed everything onto the Illusion Fox, claiming that she had glimpsed the truth through the fox and the vast spiritual power of its lair.

Hua Yan Yue rested her chin on her hand and fell silent for a while, seemingly unfazed by this shocking revelation.

She stared at Leng Mushi for a long time, making her sweat nervously. Leng Mushi racked her brains, trying to come up with countless explanations, trying to figure out how to cover up one lie with another.

It was like she was developing a pill formula, instantly coming up with countless possibilities. But after seeing the formula Yin Yi had given her, she knew that she couldn't suppress the demonic energy on her own. In this world, there weren't many people she could trust, people who would listen to her nonsense. Hua Yan Yue was at the top of that list.

Hua Yan Yue just kept staring at her without speaking, making Leng Mushi's hands and feet go numb. If Hua Yan Yue told the sect, Xiao Mian would inevitably suffer the tragic fate of having his core dug out. This was a gamble.

A gamble on her master being as rebellious and unconventional as she was.

After what felt like ten years, Hua Yan Yue finally spoke, her voice heavy with sleepiness. The first thing she said wasn't to question why Leng Mushi had kept such a big secret but rather, "So you know he only has a sliver of consciousness left, not even a soul, and you still like him?"

Leng Mushi abruptly looked up at Hua Yan Yue. Hua Yan Yue yawned and said, "He does seem quite well-behaved… But my good disciple, if what you're saying is true, he's destined to disappear."

Leng Mushi didn't understand, but her heart was pounding. Hua Yan Yue reached out and caressed her pale cheek, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear with a tenderness that was completely unlike her. The look in her eyes as she gazed at Leng Mushi was also one of unprecedented pity.

"If what you say is true, that there's powerful demonic energy within his core, sustaining his life force, disguising itself as a Water Spiritual Root, allowing him to even enter our sect… then what's inside him is definitely the Heavenly Demon Pill."

Hua Yan Yue straightened up and said seriously, "But it's not that he sealed the Heavenly Demon Pill. It's the Heavenly Demon Pill using him as a hiding place. Since ancient times, the awakening of the Heavenly Demon has always begun with parasitism."

"Parasitism?" Leng Mushi was dumbfounded, but she had a strange urge to stop Hua Yan Yue from continuing. She had a feeling she wouldn't like the truth.

Hua Yan Yue held her hands and squeezed them gently before saying, "Do you know why those ancient mighty figures didn't kill the Heavenly Demon but instead sealed him and his demon generals in Blood Demon Mountain?"

Leng Mushi shook her head stiffly. Hua Yan Yue continued, "Because the Heavenly Demon was born with the Heavenly Dao. He cannot be killed."

Leng Mushi opened her mouth, too shocked to speak.

Hua Yan Yue said, "In fact, once you advance further and reach the Day Stage, you'll receive the inheritance of the Immortal Sects. The inheritance clearly states that the Heavenly Demon is the other side of the Heavenly Dao."

"Humans have both good and evil within them, and so does the fortune of the world. Pure spiritual energy is born with turbid demonic energy. They coexist and restrain each other." Hua Yan Yue sighed and said, "The Heavenly Demon is a split soul of the Heavenly Dao God, the embodiment of all that is filthy. To kill the Heavenly Demon is to kill the Heavenly Dao. And who can kill the Heavenly Dao?"

Leng Mushi didn't know how to react. Her palms were slick with sweat. Hua Yan Yue continued, "The Heavenly Demon can only be sealed. I don't even know what happened 17,000 years ago. There's no record of it in the inheritance. But the Heavenly Demon awakening, being sealed, and then awakening again… it's a cycle."

"Just like life and death for mortals."

Leng Mushi trembled slightly. To her surprise, Hua Yan Yue gently embraced her. "If Xiao Mian is the Heavenly Demon's host, then even if he had a soul, it would have long since merged with the Heavenly Demon Pill, inseparable. You can't save him."

"The Heavenly Demon awakening and parasitizing a human body… it's just like me and your senior brother…" Hua Yan Yue said with difficulty. "The reason why your senior brother and I ended up like this is because I glimpsed a glimpse of the Heavenly Secrets and went astray in my pill refining, falling into demonic cultivation."

"Your senior brother willingly swallowed the Soul-Splitting Beast, using his life force to nurture my soul. But it also means that he and I are destined to never see each other again in this life." Hua Yan Yue's voice was low. "The Soul-Splitting Beast comes from Blood Demon Mountain. It's a demonic beast born from the demonic energy of Blood Demon Mountain. Its young can help with soul parasitism…"

Leng Mushi listened, stunned and yet strangely calm, as Hua Yan Yue gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Like the Flowers of the Other Shore in the underworld, the flower and leaf grow as one, yet never meet in this life."

Neither master nor disciple spoke another word. They remained locked in an embrace. Leng Mushi understood. Hua Yan Yue was telling her that Xiao Mian and the Heavenly Demon were the same. If the Heavenly Demon was destined to awaken, then Xiao Mian was destined to disappear.

As for who was the flower and who was the leaf between the Heavenly Demon and Xiao Mian, it went without saying.

As she was leaving, Hua Yan Yue said to Leng Mushi, "Right now, the Heavenly Demon won't awaken anytime soon. The method you got to suppress the demonic energy, it seems too unorthodox to me. But if you're determined to do this, I'll help you. And I won't reveal his true nature to the sect."

There was no point in revealing it anyway. Killing Xiao Mian or extracting his core would only hasten the arrival of the Heavenly Demon. Suppressing it without extracting the core would at least buy them some time to prepare.

Sometimes, the will of heaven was simply not something that could be defied by human effort.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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