After the Villainess Awakens

The spiritual threads wrapped around his core were constantly being torn apart and reborn. This was not some secret technique, nor was it regeneration. It was Leng Mushi drawing out her own soul to bind his core, preventing it from breaking.

Xiao Mian tried to bite his tongue and end it all whenever Leng Mushi removed the cloth from his mouth, but he never succeeded. It was as if she could sense his pain and always stopped him in time.

Xiao Mian looked at Leng Mushi as if she were a lunatic.

He was being cared for by Leng Mushi, his body warmed by her spiritual energy, and he was indeed no longer being eroded by demonic energy. When Leng Mushi was free, she would even wash and dress him.

He looked like an immortal lord imprisoned here, while Leng Mushi was haggard and emaciated. The bloodshot in her eyes was even deeper than Xiao Mian's, and the blood slave contract on her forehead was crimson red. Compared to Xiao Mian, she was the one who seemed to have fallen into demonic cultivation.

On the fifth day, Leng Mushi emerged from the cellar once more, supporting herself against the wall as she staggered over to Xiao Mian and knelt down beside him. She rested her head on his knees and rubbed affectionately. This was something she used to do as a child, nestled in her mother's lap.

She didn't lament the injustice of heaven, nor did she have the time to think about it. One love of her life was already unwilling to stay with her. These past few days, she had exhausted all the methods she could think of, and her cultivation had regressed to the point where she could no longer refine pills.

And this Concentric Soul Pill…

Leng Mushi raised her hand and looked at the dull-colored pill in her palm, sighing, "This is the last one."

If she extracted any more of her soul, she would lose her mind and become an idiot. This time, she was truly powerless.

Hua Yanyue, who was far away in the Blood Demon Mountain, had learned of the situation in the sect and had contacted her many times. Due to the recent frequent tremors of the Blood Demon Mountain, the elders had delayed their return.

Hua Yanyue had given her a death order several times when contacting her, but Leng Mushi had not replied once. Hua Yanyue had set off on her way back last night and was estimated to be arriving soon.

The reinforcement of the Blood Demon Mountain's formation was also complete, and the elders would be back soon.

Leng Mushi once again looked at him with that gaze that made Xiao Mian feel like he was being tortured, then pulled down the cloth from his mouth and smiled at him from the bottom up.

Her lips were so chapped that they were bleeding, making them appear exceptionally red. Her long hair was a mess, and the corners of her eyes crinkled with fine lines when she smiled.

Still the same youthful features, but she had wrinkles.

Xiao Mian felt that he hadn't gone mad these past few days only because of the thought that he couldn't let all her efforts be in vain.

He looked at Leng Mushi, his tears and grief so overwhelming that they turned into a kind of calmness.

Leng Mushi said to him, "Xiao Gege, you've been so fierce to me these past few days. Will you smile at me one more time?"

Xiao Mian couldn't bring himself to smile, but he knew they had finally reached the end. What he felt most was relief.

No more unwillingness, no more resentment. If you could see with your own eyes the person you loved turning into something inhuman for you, you wouldn't cling to anything, you would only want to die.

Xiao Mian curved his lips and gave Leng Mushi a smile uglier than crying.

Leng Mushi raised the pill in her hand to his mouth and said with a smile, "I named it the Concentric Soul Pill. Doesn't it sound nice?"

Leng Mushi said, "Now I can feel everything in your heart, so it's useless for you to say anything."

Leng Mushi smiled.

She could feel Xiao Mian's love for her, a love so deep that he wished he were dead.

Leng Mushi had fed almost a third of her soul to Xiao Mian's body, and she had finally found his faint consciousness.

She manipulated the soul threads, forcibly sewing that consciousness into his body. She only hoped that when he dissipated, she would at least be able to feel it.

Xiao Mian didn't refuse. He swallowed the pill that Leng Mushi brought to his mouth. He couldn't and didn't deserve to disappoint her anymore. He was terrified.

He was terrified that if he died, Leng Mushi wouldn't stop, that she would exhaust herself to death.

Fortunately, she was finally willing to let go…

Leng Mushi got up again and washed him carefully, casting many cleansing spells on him, and even attaching the Shuiyun Sword to his waist.

It was at this time that the barrier of the Cangsheng Courtyard opened. Leng Mushi, with a calm expression, led Xiao Mian towards the back mountain. Standing on the cliff at the back of the Cangsheng Courtyard, Leng Mushi said to him, "After you jump down, go to the place where we used to hunt rabbits. There are no guards there, and I've cleared out the demonic beasts. You just need to put on the cloth refined by the Shadow Demon in the storage bag, and you can get out of the Tai Chu Sect's grand formation."

Xiao Mian stood behind her, watching as the mountain wind lifted her loose and messy robes, outlining her emaciated figure, his heart burning with pain.

He stepped forward and slowly embraced her from behind. "I'll go back to the forbidden area, there…"

"Don't die there," Leng Mushi said. "It's too dark and too cold."

Besides, it was useless. Her soul and cultivation were almost exhausted, yet she still couldn't keep Xiao Mian and couldn't stop the awakening of the Heavenly Demon. The Imprisoning Illusion Formation wouldn't hold either. The moment he entered, it would crush Xiao Mian's crumbling core and release the Heavenly Demon.

How could Xiao Mian not understand that returning to the forbidden area would immediately awaken the Heavenly Demon?

"Don't worry about me," Leng Mushi said, looking down at the bottom of the cliff. "When I went to the forbidden area to bring you out, I released the other demons. I'll stay and accept my punishment. Don't worry, Master will protect me."

Leng Mushi turned her head and, before the setting sun sank, carefully traced the outline of Xiao Mian's features one last time.

She thought, this person is mine, even in death he's mine.

Just then, Hua Yanyue's sword energy struck, aimed straight at Xiao Mian. Leng Mushi pulled Xiao Mian, unsheathed the sword from his waist, and blocked the attack with her sword. Without turning her head, she pushed him off the cliff.

Xiao Mian cried out in alarm. In that moment of crisis, he couldn't use his spiritual energy or demonic energy. As he fell, he looked at Leng Mushi one last time, his heart aching beyond measure.

She stood on the cliff, as thin as a withered leaf that could be blown away by the mountain wind at any moment.

He had no will to live, thinking it would be better to just fall to his death. He only stared at the shrinking figure, wanting to engrave her in his heart forever.

How could he, a being unworthy of being called human, be worthy of such deep affection? He shouldn't have provoked her. He was the one who ruined her.

But the next moment, something crimson red flashed in the corner of his eye, and then he felt something wrap around his waist. Soon, he was being dragged into a pitch-black crevice between rocks.

On the cliff, Leng Mushi drew the Shuiyun Sword. She was knocked back a step by Hua Yanyue's attack, and half her foot was already over the edge of the cliff. Hua Yanyue paused when she saw her, restraining her aggressive second strike, her brow furrowed deeply.

"You ruined yourself like this for a man?!" Hua Yanyue was furious.

Leng Mushi flicked the Shuiyun Sword and shook her head, taking a step forward so she wouldn't fall. Then she said, "Not entirely. Through my conversation with Master, I discovered that suppressing his demonic energy would buy time for the Immortal Lords in the Blood Demon Mountain to reinforce the formation."

Hua Yanyue's expression turned serious. Leng Mushi wasn't lying. The time when she was infatuated with Xiao Mian was indeed the best time for them to reinforce the Blood Demon Mountain's formation. This time, the reinforced formation wasn't just an imprisoning formation, but also a killing formation. Once it was complete, even if the four Demon Generals of the Blood Demon Mountain awakened, they could take advantage of their weakened state after awakening to severely injure their followers who emerged from the Blood Demon Formation.

Every demon killed by the formation was one less enemy, and every injury inflicted was a contribution to the entire world's war effort.

If Xiao Mian had been constantly suppressed in the forbidden area, his core would have probably shattered by now. Even if the Heavenly Demon hadn't awakened, the chaotic demonic energy within him would have directly affected the tremors of the Blood Demon Mountain.

"So you did it for the world?" Hua Yanyue looked at Leng Mushi with a complicated expression.

Leng Mushi shook her head again. "Not entirely."

"Are you going to fight your Master?" Hua Yanyue asked again.

The two of them, master and disciple, had never been bound by formalities. Leng Mushi usually called Hua Yanyue "Master," but when she was angry, she would call her "old thing," and when she was furious, she would pull her hair.

This was the first time Hua Yanyue had addressed herself as "Master."

Leng Mushi shook her head again. "No, I'm not."

She thudded to her knees in front of Hua Yanyue, raised the Shuiyun Sword in her hand, and pressed the blade against her own neck.

She then looked up and said to Hua Yanyue, "Master, don't go after him. He's afraid of the dark. It's too pitiful for him to die in the forbidden area. The awakening of the Heavenly Demon is inevitable. Since the cultivation world is already prepared for war, why bother with those few days? I fed him the Concentric Soul Pill. If his willpower is strong, he can hold on for a few more days…"

Leng Mushi's actions made Hua Yanyue gasp, and then she was so angry she almost went mad.

"Are you going to atone for your sins by killing yourself?!"

Leng Mushi shook her head. "Master, I love him. I've done everything I can for him. In the end, I just want him to die a less miserable death. You said it yourself, an alchemy disciple must see things through to the end. Even if he has turned into a demon, how can I abandon him?"

Hua Yanyue listened to her nonsensical justification. She was the one who said those words, but they weren't referring to this situation at all.

Her vision darkened with anger, and looking at Leng Mushi's stubborn and unyielding expression, she finally lowered her sword.

Leng Mushi had been holding on for so many days, her spirit and life hanging by a thread. Her cultivation had regressed, but she hadn't died from exhaustion because she could at least still consume nourishing pills.

Half of her soul had been extracted, but she hadn't gone mad or become an idiot purely because of her strong willpower.

But the human spirit was always limited. Stretched to its limit, it would suddenly collapse.

Hua Yanyue lowering her sword meant that she wouldn't go after Xiao Mian.

She said, "I can't protect you from the consequences of your actions this time…"

Leng Mushi could no longer hear anything. Her back, which had been stubbornly straight for days, instantly went limp. Her ears were filled with a gurgling sound like water, and she couldn't hear anything clearly.

The Shuiyun Sword in her hand fell to the ground as she fainted dead away.

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