After the Villainess Awakens

Xiao Mian was injured in the abdomen by the Soul Splitting Beast. The Soul Splitting Beast was a sun-level beast. Although its abilities were limited in this secret realm, it was not something Xiao Mian and You Zishu could deal with.

The two of them had been leading the beast away, but in reality, they had been running away, not daring to confront it head-on. Still, they were injured in the chase.

Xiao Mian got off lightly. You Zishu, chased by the main soul of the Soul Splitting Beast, was bitten through the shoulder. His injury was much more severe.

However, at this time, You Zishu had been carried into the cave by several disciples. The intermediate disciples would heal him. Besides, Xiao Mian had given him medicine and stopped the bleeding as soon as he was injured.

Soon, almost everyone at the entrance of the cave had left. In the end, only Leng Mushi and Xiao Mian were left, leaning against each other silently at the entrance of the cave.

Leng Mushi continuously channeled spiritual energy towards Xiao Mian's wound. Xiao Mian secretly rejoiced for a while, quietly sniffing the scent on Leng Mushi's body, and then began to mobilize the spiritual energy in his body to remove the demonic energy.

The wound was a claw mark left by the Soul Splitting Beast. The remaining demonic energy caused traces of it to linger in his inner府, even after he had taken the medicine.

Xiao Mian frowned. Leng Mushi, however, didn't find it strange. It was just demonic energy left by a beast's claws. If Xiao Mian had been injured by a demonic beast, that would be the reason for his demonic awakening.

Since ancient times, demons and devils were inseparable. What was so strange about the demonic energy lingering in a demonic body?

However, Leng Mushi watched as Xiao Mian frowned, trying his best to expel the demonic energy lingering around his core, his fingers, clutching his waist and abdomen, constantly seeping with thin lines of scarlet blood.

He was in a lot of pain.

Leng Mushi leaned against the wall and looked down at Xiao Mian, watching his sweat-drenched profile buried against her waist and abdomen. She used her fingertips to brush aside the wet hair stuck to his face and took off his storage bag to look inside. The pills inside were all gone, leaving only some daily necessities, most of which were hers.

Even the Luo Bone Pill had been used up when they were escaping from the Soul Splitting Beast. Leng Mushi paused, rummaged through her storage bag, and took out the life-saving pill that Hua Yan Yue had specially refined for her before leaving the mountain - the Five Elements Pill.

Unlike other pills, which were mostly black, earthy brown, or crimson, this Five Elements Pill had five colors. Five colors belonging to the five elements flowed and intertwined within this small pill as if it were alive.

The medicinal herbs used in this pill were extremely luxurious. Each one was found by Hua Yan Yue in the extreme north and south, supplemented by Leng Mushi's five elements spiritual essence. An entire furnace only yielded this one pill.

As long as she hadn't breathed her last, no matter how badly she was injured, this pill could save her.

She used her knuckles, which were holding the pill, to rub between Xiao Mian's tightly furrowed brows. Just as she was about to bring this almost life-reversing pill to Xiao Mian's mouth, the Law suddenly spoke in her mind.

— Have you thought it through? If you feed him this pill, he won't be able to awaken his demonic nature relying on the demonic energy. You won't be able to follow this plotline.

If she couldn't follow it, the Law naturally wouldn't teach her how to suppress other spiritual roots. How could Leng Mushi not understand its meaning?

Leng Mushi hesitated for a moment. At this time, Xiao Mian opened his eyes. After seeing the pill in Leng Mushi's hand, he suddenly sat up, supporting himself with his arm.

Then, he snatched the pill, opened Leng Mushi's storage bag without a word, and stuffed the pill back in.

Storage bags all had special rune seals. However, Xiao Mian opened Leng Mushi's storage bag as if it were his own. Leng Mushi watched him seal the bag before remembering that the rune seal on her storage bag was also drawn by Xiao Mian.

He had silently occupied almost all of her space.

"Don't take this out. Keep it safe," Xiao Mian said. "I'm fine, you…"

He wanted to say, how could you be so silly? If you give this pill to me, what will you do if you encounter danger and get hurt?

How could Xiao Mian not know how important this pill was? Xuan Zhu had personally told him before leaving.

This was refined by Hua Yan Yue using a strand of Leng Mushi's soul. It was so that even if something unexpected happened to her, the worst kind of accident, death, she could still rely on this strand of soul to keep her from entering the underworld and being taken away by the soul reapers.

And Leng Mushi actually wanted to feed it to him…

Xiao Mian wasn't touched. He was astonished. Of course, after the astonishment, there was more of a burning heat in his heart, as if it was being burned by a raging fire and submerged in magma.

It was impossible for Leng Mushi not to know the effect of this pill. Even though she had always been generous with pills, this was equivalent to her second life.

Xiao Mian stared at Leng Mushi intently. She always seemed indifferent and aloof. After knowing his feelings, she rejected and distanced herself from him many times. However, as long as he was willing to take a step back, she was still willing to let him get close and gave him most of the pills that were beneficial to forging meridians.

Even her aloofness wasn't without reason. Xiao Mian had personally witnessed what happened between her mother and father in the Heart-Asking Formation, so how could he not understand? She was afraid, and she didn't believe in love.

Xiao Mian was even prepared for the possibility that she wouldn't be able to unravel the knot in her heart for thirty to fifty years. He wasn't in a hurry. They were both still young. If it didn't work out this time, he would be sad, but he could also step back and continue to accompany her.

The longest thing a cultivator had was their lifespan. He had countless years to unravel the knot in her heart and make her believe that he wasn't as frivolous as she thought.

However, Xiao Mian never expected that her response would be so intense, like the scorching heat of magma.

Xiao Mian thought: In his short life, he had lost a part of his memories about his parents and relatives. In all the remaining time, he had never been loved so madly by anyone.

Enveloped by such a fervent and intense feeling, he thought, he would never be able to fall in love with anyone else.

He pressed on Leng Mushi's storage bag, his heart filled with a thousand thoughts and words. However, in the end, only his ears and eyes turned red.

He wanted to ask her, you're even willing to feed me the pill refined with your soul, how dare you say you don't like me, don't love me, don't want me?

But in the end, Xiao Mian's voice was hoarse. He couldn't bear to force her to admit her feelings, so he just said with a smile, "Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? You're making too much of a fuss. This small injury of mine… How could it require the Five Elements Pill?"

Leng Mushi turned her head away uncomfortably, but after a moment, she turned back and looked at Xiao Mian, saying, "The demonic energy entering your body, if not purged in time, will damage your cultivation and even cripple your spiritual roots. Eldest Senior Brother didn't tell you everything, you should know that, right?"

Xiao Mian didn't answer. He looked at Leng Mushi for a moment and said, "I know."

"It's fine. This injury of mine is nothing serious. I'll try my best to purge it. It's fine even if it affects my cultivation a little. It's not a big deal…" He looked at Leng Mushi and smiled cheekily. "It's not a big deal if my realm drops. When we return to the sect, you can just refine a few more cultivation-enhancing pills for me."

The realm raised by pills was like an axe made of tofu. If it worked, cultivators would have flocked to it long ago. No matter how difficult the path of alchemy was, how could it have declined?

However, Xiao Mian said it so lightly, as if he really didn't care about cultivation.

Leng Mushi had witnessed his diligence and accumulation bit by bit, so she knew he was lying.

But Leng Mushi also lied. Because Xiao Mian's demonic energy entering his body wouldn't damage his cultivation or cripple his spiritual roots, it would awaken his demonic bloodline.

In the plot, once his demonic bloodline was awakened, Xiao Mian's temperament would change drastically, as if he had become a different person. He would only like female cultivators like Leng Tianyin… He would be entangled in a love-hate relationship with her, forcing her to be with him.

Thinking of this, Leng Mushi suddenly understood why she had wanted to feed the Five Elements Pill to Xiao Mian. When she took it out, she just thought that she couldn't bear to see Xiao Mian in pain, but now she understood.

She just didn't want Xiao Mian to change.

She had never thought that this so-called love between a man and a woman, once it became clear, would be even more potent than the strongest liquor.

She stood up in a panic, her back facing Xiao Mian, pretending to straighten her clothes, trying her best to make her voice sound indifferent.

"We…" Leng Mushi said, "Let's go in too. I'll help you."

She turned around, her expression back to normal. She bent down to help Xiao Mian up, putting his arm around her neck.

Xiao Mian put one arm around Leng Mushi's shoulder and supported his slightly recovered wound with the other hand. In the dim light of the cave, he slowly followed Leng Mushi's footsteps, looking at her at close range.

Leng Mushi was really uncomfortable being stared at by him. Her mind was still in a mess, and many things were not clear yet. However, she was clear that she didn't suddenly become like this…

It was all Xiao Mian's fault. Day after day, he made her accept him without any defenses. Now that she wanted to pull away, she was stuck by his thick affection, unable to take a step back.

But she still had a lot to do, and she still had a plot she had to follow.

Leng Mushi really couldn't stand Xiao Mian's gaze. She stopped slightly, used her knuckles to turn his chin, and said, "Watch your step."

Xiao Mian chuckled and obediently looked at the road ahead.

The further in they went, the more gravel there was under their feet. They stumbled along the way and finally passed through the pitch-black cave that Yi Tu and Xing Zhou had mentioned. They saw a wide-open space ahead, but they suddenly stopped at the exit.

Inside, it looked very peaceful and serene, with disciples laughing and playing everywhere. It was full of flowers, trees, and even a waterfall cascading down from the top of a huge stone platform.

There was no shelter above their heads, and the stars were densely packed. It was undoubtedly night.

However, the open space was as bright as day, and the light came from the rocks in the open space. It was as if every rock was emitting light like an ever-bright lamp. Together, they were as bright as day.

This wasn't strange. After all, the seasons in this secret realm were completely different from the outside world. It was normal to encounter some rocks that could illuminate the night. All things in heaven and earth were gifts from the Heavenly Dao. Xiao Mian had shown her before that even grass seeds could emit firefly light. The reason Leng Mushi stopped wasn't because of the brightness of this small world.

What made her stop and not go further, what made her feel strange, was that the disciples, who should have been resting and circulating their spiritual energy to remove the remaining demonic energy, were all playing and chasing each other.

Many of them had bloodstains on their bodies, indicating that their previous injuries were still there. However, it was as if they couldn't feel the pain. Everyone's faces were serene and joyful.

It was as if they hadn't been attacked by the Yinxi Demonic Birds, as if there wasn't a crisis of demons running rampant outside because the barrier formation had been activated.

This was really strange. Leng Mushi and Xiao Mian both noticed something was wrong at the same time. They stood in the darkness at the entrance of the cave, not stepping into this small world.

"I feel so drawn to it." Xiao Mian's voice sounded in Leng Mushi's ear.

"It's like once you go in, you won't feel pain or get hurt…" Xiao Mian was muttering when Leng Mushi pinched the tenderest part of his thigh.

She didn't hold back at all. After twisting it for half a circle, Xiao Mian cried out in pain and tried to suppress the scream in his throat, letting out a sharp, high-pitched whimper, like a hen whose neck was being wrung.

"Something's not right here…" Xiao Mian brought his legs together and rubbed them against each other to relieve the pain.

Seeing that he no longer had the same dazed look as the disciples inside, Leng Mushi said, "It's definitely not right. It should be an illusion. This place leads directly to the sky, there's no cover, but we can't see a single Yinxi Demonic Bird. We're not far from the cave entrance, and those Yinxi Demonic Birds almost covered the entire low-level secret realm."

Xiao Mian poked his head out to look around. The two of them were hidden in the dark cave. With a reach, they could be enveloped by the light emitted from the stone walls.

Light and shadow should be inseparable, but here there was light but no shadow. It didn't shine at an angle, and there were no normal shadows behind the disciples.

Therefore, they stood in the cave at the edge of the small world. The light from the small world was cut off abruptly at the entrance of the cave, unable to reach them.

Leng Mushi had excellent eyesight. She saw that even You Zishu, who should have been seriously injured, was sitting up and reaching out to touch a cluster of faintly glowing wildflowers beside him.

You Zishu was covered in blood and looked seriously injured. However, his perpetually deadpan face was actually gentle and even had a hint of a smile. There was even a brightly colored butterfly perched on his fingertip.

Leng Mushi looked at the Buddhist cultivators from the True Martial Temple and saw that their expressions were still normal, not lost in the illusion. However, the Buddhist cultivators were chanting scriptures together, but the golden scriptures that could kill Yinxi Demonic Birds were floating in mid-air, playing with the butterflies dancing among the flowers.

The Joyful Union Sect disciples, who were known for being good at breaking illusions, didn't have the same dazed look as the other disciples. Their expressions were solemn as they sat with their legs crossed, chanting something under their breaths, their hands on each other's shoulders, as if they were forming an array.

"The Joyful Union Sect disciples should still be conscious. We have to find a way to wake them up…" Leng Mushi said, "What kind of illusion is this? It's so powerful that even You Zishu couldn't escape it?"

After all, You Zishu had the highest cultivation level among them. Even if he was injured, he shouldn't be so defenseless.

Xiao Mian observed for a long time and said solemnly, "Oh no, this might be the lair of an Illusion Fox!"

Xiao Mian said, "But Illusion Foxes are demonic beasts from the high-level training grounds. How could they build a lair here? This lair couldn't have been built in a short time."

In other words, long before the barrier formation of the training grounds was broken, there was already an Illusion Fox in the low-level disciple training grounds.

"What's an Illusion Fox?" There were countless types of demonic beasts in the cultivation world. Leng Mushi knew a lot, but she didn't know everything. She spent most of her time on the demonic beasts she could come into contact with, and she was busy refining and developing new pills.

It was different for Xiao Mian. In order to help Leng Mushi identify herbs and demonic beasts, he borrowed and returned batches of books from the scripture library. He had read a lot, all about herbs and demonic beasts. Therefore, he happened to remember the records of the Illusion Fox.

Xiao Mian turned to Leng Mushi and said, "Illusion Foxes are born at the peak of the sun level. They are good at illusions and are equivalent to a sun level grandmaster in constructing illusions."

Leng Mushi's heart sank when she heard this. Xiao Mian continued, "Wherever there is an Illusion Fox, there are Illusion Stones. Illusion Stones, like those rocks, can emit spiritual light and are the purest and most concentrated spiritual stones. In the past, many cultivators would form groups and bring magical tools to destroy Illusion Fox lairs for the sake of the top-grade Illusion Stones inside."

"But the premise is… the Illusion Fox must be lured out first, otherwise, even a Heaven level grandmaster might get lost in the illusion created by the Illusion Fox and the Illusion Stones, and be trapped to death inside."

"I saw a lot of skeletons, right under the waterfall, so many… all sizes and shapes." Leng Mushi narrowed her eyes and looked at the water. There were indeed white bones scattered beneath the waterfall.

Xiao Mian continued, "Illusion Foxes don't actively attack, but they lure food into their lairs. They eat anything and everything, and they only eat living things."

"It's recorded that they lure injured and dying demonic beasts with weak wills into their lairs and use the pure spiritual energy from the Illusion Stones to heal them. Then, they weave the most beautiful illusions for the living creatures that enter the cave, and finally devour them alive in a state of bliss."

"Therefore, the disciples might not be feeling no pain…" Xiao Mian frowned and said, "It's possible that their injuries have really healed."

Leng Mushi said, "So they're all under an illusion… I remember now!"

Leng Mushi slapped her thigh. "When Yi Tu and Xing Zhou went in to scout the way before, they took out a palm-sized fox cub and gave it to Leng Tianyin to play with."

Leng Mushi looked at Xiao Mian and said, "That couldn't be an Illusion Fox cub, could it?"

Their eyes met, and they both saw the same worry in each other's eyes.

This was truly a case of suffering from a lack of knowledge. If only Yi Tu and Xing Zhou had recognized the Illusion Fox, they wouldn't have led all the disciples from the three sects to the Illusion Fox's lair.

"Then what should we do?" Leng Mushi said, "If there's a cub, there must be an adult. We have to find a way to wake up the disciples, otherwise, when the adult fox comes back, won't we all be wiped out?"

Xiao Mian shook his head, pressing on his wound. "Illusion Foxes don't live in groups. Newborn Illusion Foxes will eat their parents. As long as we're not within the range of the Illusion Stones, we shouldn't be affected by the illusion."

"Eat their parents? What kind of evil fox is this?" Leng Mushi shuddered.

Xiao Mian's lips were a little pale. He pursed them and said, "I didn't see any sign of the adult Illusion Fox. You said that the Illusion Fox cub was palm-sized, so it should be a newborn. Newborns usually sleep for a long time. As long as it's sleeping and not eating, the disciples will be safe for now. We just need to find a way to drag them out of the range of the Illusion Stones."

"That palm-sized little fox must be a cub… It was indeed sleeping before," Leng Mushi said as she narrowed her eyes and searched for Leng Tianyin's whereabouts.

As expected, she saw her sitting on a platform, holding the Illusion Fox cub. Perhaps because she was influenced by the little fox, Leng Tianyin wasn't lost in the most beautiful illusion like the other disciples, with a dazed expression. Instead, she was sleeping while hugging the little fox.

Yi Tu was not far from her, hugging a tree and gnawing on it.

"Look over there," Leng Mushi pointed to Xiao Mian. Xiao Mian was injured and his internal energy was in turmoil, so his five senses naturally declined. Upon hearing this, he carefully followed Leng Mushi's finger and saw it.

"I'll try using the Soul Control Pill." Leng Mushi said, about to empty her entire storage bag.

Xiao Mian stopped her. "If you release all seven hundred plus Soul Eater Pills, there will be too many souls. I'm afraid it will wake up the Illusion Fox."

Leng Mushi paused and said, "Then let's try to wake up those Joyful Union Sect disciples who are good at resisting illusions."

With that, she took out the Soul Eater Pills she had refined earlier and released one.

It was the Night Crying Boy, Ping An.

"Sister, long time no see." Ping An greeted Leng Mushi with his chubby little hand.

Leng Mushi nodded. "Go in and summon those older brothers and sisters in red. Tell them to come here."

A child's soul was the weakest. It was best to test the waters first.

Controlled by Leng Mushi, Ping An obediently went in and even sighed, "It's so beautiful here."

"A dead soul wouldn't be bewitched too, would it…" Leng Mushi muttered.

He really was bewitched!

Seeing Ping An chasing after a female cultivator chasing butterflies and calling her "Mommy," Leng Mushi quickly summoned him back.

In the next instant, Ping An was pulled back, crying and refusing to let go of the female cultivator. Leng Mushi forcefully pulled him back into the storage bag to keep his real mother company.

"Fortunately, I didn't release them all," Leng Mushi said, looking at Xiao Mian. "What should we do now…"

Xiao Mian shifted into a more comfortable position with a pained expression. "It's not surprising. Illusion Foxes eat living things, souls included. That's why their lairs are rarely discovered."

After all, those who knew about it were eaten, leaving no trace behind. Naturally, the location of the Illusion Fox's lair wouldn't be leaked.

"Wait till I'm better, and I'll go look for the Shadow Sect." Xiao Mian said as he sat cross-legged and circulated his spiritual energy again. Fine beads of sweat immediately appeared on his forehead. "Don't worry, that Illusion Fox is too young, it'll probably sleep for a long time. They'll be fine for now."

Xiao Mian said, "Maybe the Shadow Sect will have a way."

Leng Mushi looked at Xiao Mian, reached out and placed her hand on his meridians, using her spiritual energy to probe inside. She easily saw the turmoil in his internal energy. The more anxious he was to disperse the demonic energy, the more chaotic it became.

He was too anxious, afraid that Leng Mushi would worry, so he withdrew his hand and didn't let her see. "I'm fine, I'll be fine in a while."

He refused to take the Five Elements Pill and insisted on going out to the demon-infested secret realm to look for the Shadow Sect, who might have already left. He even wanted to comfort her. Xiao Mian was really pushing himself too hard.

Seeing him like this, Leng Mushi wanted to laugh inappropriately.

He had limited abilities, but in order to not make her worry, he pretended that he could handle everything. It made Leng Mushi's heart feel warm.

Sometimes, when people were in danger and helpless, what they needed wasn't a shoulder that could really shield them from all storms, but someone who was willing to open their arms, even if those arms were still thin and weak, unable to withstand the wind and rain.

Leng Mushi reached out and pulled off Xiao Mian's belt.

Xiao Mian suddenly felt his clothes loosen and his eyes flew open in shock. His spiritual energy went astray, and his internal energy became even more chaotic.

He looked up and saw Leng Mushi pulling off her own belt.

Xiao Mian: …!

"What are you… what are you doing?" Xiao Mian didn't know whether to hold onto his own loose clothes or Leng Mushi's.

Leng Mushi quickly tied their belts together and smiled at Xiao Mian. "What are you afraid of? Don't you like me…"

"Isn't there a saying, 'Better to die under a peony flower than to live as a loveless ghost'?"

As she spoke, Leng Mushi used the belt to tie up one of Xiao Mian's hands.

Xiao Mian: "But, but, we, I…" He couldn't say a complete sentence. He knew that this situation wasn't right, and he also knew that Leng Mushi's sudden… But when Leng Mushi leaned close to him, his heart still pounded like a drum.

Leng Mushi even deliberately said, "Anyway, we can't get out. There are so many demonic beasts outside. You'll be torn to shreds if you go out. We don't know where the Shadow Sect is, they might have already left. As for the rescue from the various sects, it will take a few days…"

Leng Mushi tied Xiao Mian's hand tightly and whispered in his ear, "Why don't we play something exciting before we die? What do you think?"

Xiao Mian's mind was about to explode, along with his face and neck. He grabbed Leng Mushi's wrist and suppressed the throbbing and desire in his heart. His voice was a little hoarse as he said, "You're crazy. Are you affected by the Illusion Stone? We should find a way to save the disciples now. We… Let's get further away from this lair, and you won't be affected."

Leng Mushi pulled on the belt that was tied to Xiao Mian's hand and tied it to a protruding stone above his head.

"No rush, we need to save ourselves before we can save others."

Leng Mushi looked at Xiao Mian, reached out and flicked his nose. "You can let your imagination run wild later. This opportunity doesn't come often…"

"Imagine what?" Xiao Mian looked confused.

Leng Mushi stood up, tugged on the belt tied to Xiao Mian's hand and the stone, making sure it was secure. Then, she looked down at Xiao Mian and said, "Just think about what's on your mind right now."

Then, she kicked Xiao Mian's shoulder, using a bit of spiritual energy and skill, and directly kicked him out of the dark cave entrance, into the range of the Illusion Stones.

The Illusion Stones in the Illusion Fox's lair had healed the disciples, so they could naturally heal Xiao Mian as well. Before they saved others, they had to save themselves first.

Leng Mushi squatted in the darkness and looked at the wound on Xiao Mian's abdomen. As expected, it gradually stopped bleeding.

His expression also gradually changed from panicking and searching for her figure to becoming dazed. Finally, he slowly lay down on the ground, his breathing becoming more and more rapid…

Leng Mushi raised an eyebrow.

He let out another soft moan, curled up one leg, and raised his hands as if he was hugging someone.

Leng Mushi: …Yo, this illusion looks kinda hot, doesn't it?

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