After the Villainess Awakens

As soon as the words left his mouth, the entire Hall of Healing fell silent.

Hua Yan Yue's brows furrowed tightly. The Joy Sect elder, Gu Lian, who was about to make a move, and Immortal Venerable Hong Sheng, who had already drawn his long saber, both froze.

Even the sect leader, Zheng Ping, couldn't help but frown as he looked at Leng Tian Yin standing at the lower end of the hall.

"The disciples of Tai Chu Mountain are truly righteous." Bi Xiu of the Yan Sect brushed aside Hua Yan Yue's hand that was reaching for his beard and stood up. "Little Cultivator, your righteousness will be remembered by the entire cultivation world."

He continued, "My Yan Sect will take the lead. If you have any requests in the future, the Yan Sect will do its utmost to fulfill them."

This was just empty promises. No matter how enticing his words, they were meaningless. After all, feeding oneself to a demon was a life-or-death situation. The Demon Emperor was known for his cruel and murderous nature. The cultivation world had already learned of his brutality through the miserable experiences of the demon cultivators who couldn't bear the new Demon Emperor and defected to the human realm.

Leng Tian Yin raised her head and glanced at Bi Xiu of the Yan Sect with an indifferent gaze. Bi Xiu met her eyes and was slightly startled.

For a moment, he even felt as if something had passed through his eyes and reached the depths of his soul, seeing through his body and soul, his thoughts and desires.

His body tensed up instinctively, and the hairs on his back stood on end. However, it only lasted for a split second. When Leng Tian Yin lowered her eyes, Bi Xiu suddenly came back to his senses. Looking at the young cultivator in front of him, he couldn't help but find it absurd.

There was no need to check her cultivation level. Just one glance was enough to tell that she was only at the middle stage of the Star realm. In the cultivation world, this was considered the lowest level of an entry-level disciple, someone who had barely broken free from the hundred-year lifespan of a mortal.

There were countless cultivators like her in the cultivation world. How could she possibly peer into his soul?

Bi Xiu of the Yan Sect couldn't help but stroke his beard, sighing to himself that he must have been troubled by the matters of the demon realm and the future he had predicted. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in days, which was why he had such an illusion.

Therefore, he only regained his composure after two breaths and continued to speak grandiose words, even inciting the other sects to make empty promises to Leng Tian Yin.

The other sect leaders were originally unwilling to agree to such a thing. However, they had lived for thousands of years and were all prominent figures in the cultivation world. It would be a disgrace to let a young female cultivator sacrifice herself to feed a demon. So, they all agreed.

According to Bi Xiu of the Yan Sect, if she had any requests in the future, these sects would do their best to fulfill them.

Only the elders of the Tai Chu Sect had dark expressions on their faces, and they looked at Leng Tian Yin with extremely complicated emotions.

Yin Yi of the Shadow Sect found it even more bizarre. He tilted his head, looking at Leng Tian Yin, feeling that something was off about her. He had some impression of Leng Tian Yin, as they had escaped from the demon realm together.

At that time, he remembered that Leng Tian Yin wasn't so calm and collected. When they encountered danger, she would always scream for her Senior Brother Yi Tu.

He had heard that she had cried and refused to agree the day before, stating that she already had someone in her heart and couldn't marry anyone else. Why did she suddenly agree?

Yin Yi tried to probe her with his cultivation several times, but he didn't encounter any resistance, nor did he detect anything unusual. Was this really Leng Tian Yin, Leng Mu Shi's younger sister?

Not only Yin Yi, but all the elders present were secretly probing her. Leng Tian Yin stood in the middle of the hall, neither humble nor arrogant, bearing the gazes and probes of everyone.

In the end, she agreed personally. With so many sects present, no matter how protective the Tai Chu Mountain was of their disciples, they couldn't forcefully protect Leng Tian Yin.

When Leng Tian Yin was taken away again and arranged to stay in a side hall of the Punishment Hall by the disciples there, she finally removed her flawless disguise in the empty hall and transformed back into Leng Mu Shi.

However, even though she was Leng Mu Shi, she didn't seem like her usual self… because there were subtle changes in her features. Although the changes were small and subtle, for some reason, they created a completely different temperament.

Her naturally upturned fox eyes were still the same, but the clear black pupils now had a faint golden glow around the edges. This golden glow seemed to encircle Leng Mu Shi's love, hate, and humanity, making her appear normal at first glance. However, if one were to look into her eyes, they would be drowned in them.

Her originally gentle features were now veiled in a spiritual light, making her whole being appear hazy. If anyone were present at this moment, they would find that they couldn't look directly at her face. They could see her there, but their gaze would always pass through her and land elsewhere. They wouldn't be able to remember her exact appearance.

The aura emanating from her wasn't the oppressive pressure of a cultivator's spiritual power. Instead, it was an approachable aura, like a cloud of mist that could be seen but not clearly grasped, as if it were within reach but impossible to hold, always on the verge of dissipating.

Leng Mu Shi sat cross-legged on the bed in the side hall of the Punishment Hall. At dawn, someone would come to dress her in the attire of a bride.

Since the matter was settled, it was better to do it sooner rather than later. As soon as dawn broke, cultivators would inform the demon cultivators stationed at the foot of Tai Chu Mountain that the various immortal sects had agreed to a marriage alliance and a truce. However, they required the demon race to make a blood oath when they came to receive the bride, vowing that they would never invade the cultivation world or the human realm again.

Leng Mu Shi gradually spread out her divine sense, covering an area that even exceeded the grand formation of Tai Chu Mountain, slowly extending to the town at the foot of the mountain, checking on the safety of the people.

A moment later, she opened her eyes and untied the bone sword from her waist.

Leng Mu Shi spoke, her voice soft, "Cang Sheng, go and bring Leng Tian Yin to the Jade Rock Cave for now."

Cang Sheng was the bone sword floating in mid-air. It was her companion weapon and her previous law.

Cang Sheng responded with a hum, then turned invisible and disappeared from the room.

In the next instant, it appeared in the courtyard of the Fifth Elder's disciples. It had transformed from a sword into Leng Mu Shi's appearance.

It opened Yi Tu's barrier and entered, only to be met by two anxious people. Leng Mu Shi grabbed Leng Tian Yin's hand. Although they looked alike, her demeanor was decidedly cold and hard.

She said, "Come with me. I will marry the Demon Emperor in your place. Once I'm in the demon race's wedding sedan chair, you can reveal yourself and be with your beloved."

Leng Tian Yin had no idea how she and Yi Tu had gotten involved in this. After waking up, the two of them had already thought of all the possible scenarios and discussed solutions. Senior Brother Yi Tu wouldn't allow her to die, and Leng Tian Yin's momentary courage had faded after being comforted and embraced.

Just as they were trying to figure out a way out, Leng Mu Shi swaggered into the barrier, intending to take her place.

Even though Leng Tian Yin was ten thousand times unwilling to marry the Demon Emperor, she would never let Leng Mu Shi take her place. She was utterly cowardly and burst into tears at this moment, but she resolutely shook off Leng Mu Shi's hand.

"No, I can't let Elder Sister risk her life for me again," Leng Tian Yin said, wiping her face. "I'm useless and weak, but I can't… Ugh."

She let out a muffled groan and fainted in Leng Mu Shi's arms.

Cang Sheng wasn't the real Leng Mu Shi but merely a weapon under her control. It wouldn't listen to her nonsense and simply knocked her unconscious.

Cang Sheng turned to take Leng Tian Yin to the Jade Rock Cave, but Yi Tu stopped it.

"Junior Sister, Tian Yin won't agree to you taking her place." The large bloodstains on Yi Tu's chest were from when he had forcefully charged into the barrier earlier. He didn't even have time to think about how the person in front of him could move freely within the barrier set up by Tian Xu Zi. He just couldn't let Leng Mu Shi leave like this.

Leng Mu Shi looked at Yi Tu with a strange expression. After a moment, she said rudely, "You're stopping me? Are you planning to let your beloved Junior Sister Tian Yin feed herself to the demon? Didn't you say you love her and made a life-and-death pact with her?"

Yi Tu's face turned pale. Leng Mu Shi continued, "What? Do you want to watch her live happily ever after with the Demon Emperor, or do you want to watch her get tortured to death by the demon cultivators?"

Yi Tu's lips trembled, and his shoulders slumped. He looked at Leng Mu Shi with tears in his eyes, not understanding why she was being so cruel.

Leng Mu Shi had always been kind to Yi Tu, but Cang Sheng was just Leng Mu Shi's weapon. It wouldn't care about anyone's feelings.

"If you can't do anything, then get out of the way. Do you want me to knock you unconscious too?"

After saying that, Leng Mu Shi effortlessly picked up Leng Tian Yin. Without waiting for Yi Tu to react, she vanished from the barrier in a flash.

Meanwhile, Leng Mu Shi, who was in the Punishment Hall, was meditating. She didn't need to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy at all, as an endless stream of spiritual energy and vitality surged towards her.

She wasn't absorbing it but blocking and shielding it.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be long before Tai Chu Mountain, a celestial mountain, would turn into a barren wasteland. All living things within a thousand miles of Tai Chu Mountain would also perish due to the loss of vitality.

Leng Mu Shi intercepted this vitality and spiritual energy outside her body. They reluctantly lingered around her, unwilling to leave. It wasn't until late at night that Leng Mu Shi returned all this vitality and spiritual energy to its original place. Exhausted, she walked to the window and looked at the clear moonlight outside.

This time, she had woken up just in time. Everything was still salvageable. However, she didn't know what the outcome would be this time.

She pushed open the window, and the figure under the moon stood by the window, her body flowing with visible spiritual light, like the moon goddess described in those storybooks.

Leng Mu Shi waved her hand in slight annoyance, and only then did the spiritual light around her reluctantly disperse.

Her expression was indifferent, her eyes like the water of a ten-thousand-year-old cold pool, without a single ripple, as if nothing in this world mattered to her.

Soon, Cang Sheng returned to its place at her waist. Leng Mu Shi didn't even lift an eyelid as she stood by the window, silent and still, almost merging with the world around her.

It wasn't until dawn that the disciples of the Punishment Hall brought in the female cultivators who were to dress and prepare Leng Mu Shi as a bride.

They had already sent people to inform the demon race, and the other side had agreed readily, even more eager than the Tai Chu Sect. They actually wanted to take the Demon Queen away as soon as dawn broke and then withdraw their troops back to the demon realm.

This was for the best. The sooner the demon race returned to the demon realm, the less danger the human realm would face. Therefore, before dawn even broke, people had already come to dress Leng Mu Shi.

The Tai Chu Sect had always been protective of its disciples, so the ones who came to serve Leng Tian Yin were all her close friends.

As soon as they entered, the sisters hugged each other and cried, each trying to persuade Leng Tian Yin. Leng Tian Yin stood among them, looking bewildered. However, there were people she recognized among them.

Zhu Rong, Sun Wu Fang, and a few other familiar faces were all female cultivators who usually hung out with Leng Tian Yin.

It wasn't until this moment, when Leng Mu Shi was squeezed by several female cultivators and could barely breathe, that she realized Leng Tian Yin was truly popular.

This sisterly affection was an emotion she wanted to experience. However, Leng Mu Shi was never good at socializing, so she might as well take advantage of the fact that she was disguised as Leng Tian Yin to experience it.

Humans were the shortest-lived race in the world, but they were also the most emotionally rich and complex. The goal of countless demons and monsters in their cultivation was to transform into human form. Even though they looked down on the fragility of humans the most, they couldn't help but envy the intense love and desire in their short lives and secretly learned and imitated them.

Leng Mu Shi disguised herself as Leng Tian Yin and experienced this sisterly affection. She was rubbed and hugged by several female cultivators, getting their tears and snot all over her, as well as their fragrances.

She thought, "Ah, so this is sisterly affection."

Before dawn, she was first rubbed and squeezed by her friends and then dressed up to look stunningly beautiful.

She only answered a few questions selectively, which was very different from how Leng Tian Yin usually interacted with her friends.

However, because Leng Tian Yin was going to marry into the demon race, her friends thought her silence and distraction were due to sadness. They understood her and kept comforting her.

"If the Demon Emperor treats you well, you might as well forget about Senior Brother Yi Tu," Zhu Rong said, wiping her tears. Her round eyes were swollen from crying. "Anyway, don't anger him. You have to stay alive."

They were saying the most useless things, but they were also the best things they could say to Leng Tian Yin in this helpless situation.

Leng Mu Shi looked at Leng Tian Yin in the mirror. She was indeed breathtakingly beautiful.

She licked her lips and thought, "I'm afraid that's not possible. If I don't anger him, how am I going to wake up Xiao Mian?"

So, Leng Tian Yin didn't reply. She just lowered her head, her eyelashes hiding the strange look in her eyes.

She was escorted by her friends, walking down the stone steps of Tai Chu Mountain one step at a time. The cultivation world didn't have as many complicated rituals as mortals did for weddings. When cultivators became Taoist partners, they would only hold a banquet for their relatives and friends and then announce their vows. It was even more impossible for Tai Chu Mountain to let demon cultivators come up the mountain, so everything was kept simple. After all, these sect leaders just wanted to get rid of the demon race as soon as possible.

Leng Mu Shi's wedding dress was sent by the demon realm. It wasn't bright red but a dark red, the color of blood. It looked very out of place and jarring against the backdrop of Tai Chu Mountain in the early morning light.

Many people saw her off on both sides. If she were just an ordinary female cultivator, she wouldn't be worthy of the honor of being escorted by the sect leaders in her lifetime.

Leng Mu Shi was helped along. The jade pendants and hairpins under her veil silently crumbled into powder with her every step, scattering with the wind. The spiritual energy that was entwining around her feet, trying to hold her back, was driven away by her, reluctantly swirling into the surrounding spiritual plants.

When they passed by Yin Yi, his gaze was fixed on the strange spiritual mist around Leng Mu Shi's feet. He hugged himself and bit his fingertip in confusion.

He felt like something wasn't right.

But he couldn't tell what it was.

Leng Mu Shi finally got into the demon race's wedding sedan chair at the foot of Tai Chu Mountain. The eighteen demon cultivators carrying the sedan chair had all been cut in half, leaving only their lower bodies bound to the sedan chair's poles by demonic energy, their mismatched animal legs looking extremely eerie and terrifying.

Leng Mu Shi slowly walked through the demon cultivators' blood oath formation step by step. The one who came to receive her wasn't even the Demon Emperor.

The faces of the sect leaders didn't look good. They all felt a sense of frustration at being toyed with by the Demon Emperor. However, looking at the blood oath formation that had been drawn on the ground at some point, they held their tongues. The blood oath had been made. If they broke their promise, they would definitely suffer backlash. Even the Demon Emperor couldn't escape the punishment of the Heavenly Dao.

Moreover, although the Demon Emperor wasn't present, he was clearly there. The omnipresent blood energy and the pressure of an ancient great demon made everyone feel like a huge stone was pressing down on their hearts. And this blood oath had just been made, which meant that he was there, just hiding his form.

This wasn't surprising. The demon race loved being mysterious. As soon as the sect leaders saw that the blood oath had been made, they felt relieved.

Soon, a wave of overwhelming demonic energy swept across the area. In the next instant, the blood oath formation and the sedan chair disappeared on the spot. The demon cultivators were gone.

The sect leaders breathed a sigh of relief. The only ones who were still crying sadly were those who were close to Leng Tian Yin.

Yin Yi went to the Jade Rock Cave again, wanting to tell Leng Mu Shi about the strangeness of Leng Tian Yin. This time, he was blocked outside by a powerful barrier and didn't even see Leng Mu Shi's shadow.

At this moment, Leng Mu Shi, who was speeding along the border of the Yellow Springs in the sedan chair… or rather, the beast-drawn carriage, simply spread out her divine sense slightly to check their location.

The Yellow Springs, however, was in an uproar. The soul-summoning officials saw the demon race's carriage passing by and were afraid of the powerful demonic energy surrounding it. Unable to stop it, they hurriedly went to inform the Ghost King of the underworld.

On the platform of purgatory, the Ghost King shed his ghostly aura, revealing the pale and sickly appearance of a consumptive ghost. He covered his mouth and coughed a few times. The soul-summoning officials below all looked at him as he gasped for breath, their eyes wide with admiration.

He said solemnly, "What are you looking at? Be serious. Remember, if you see anything surrounded by this demonic energy in the future, don't rush up to your deaths."

His half-dead appearance was considered devastatingly handsome in the underworld. The soul-summoning officials were all female ghosts, and they would lose control whenever they saw his true appearance.

However, he didn't have time for that now. He could only earnestly tell his soul-summoning officials, "This is a fight between immortals. We can't interfere. Stay away. Don't be like last time…"

He paused, remembering that he was the only one in the entire Yellow Springs who still remembered what had happened before. He shut his mouth and once again shrouded himself in his ghostly aura.

The soul-summoning officials all sighed. They could no longer see the Ghost King, but they were all lonely ghosts who had been guided by the Ghost King to find refuge in the underworld. They were very obedient to his words and let the carriage gallop along the border of the Yellow Springs.

The carriage moved faster and faster, so fast that Leng Mu Shi felt uncomfortable from the bumps. Finally, the dark underground, devoid of any light, was suddenly illuminated by a blinding blood-red light.

In the next instant, the carriage stopped. Then, a sound like ten thousand toads croaking in unison rang in her ears.

"Welcome back, Water Shadow Demon General!"

"Congratulations to the Demon Emperor on gaining another fierce general!"

In the next moment, a boundless and dense blood light surged from around the sedan chair, as if it wanted to drill directly into Leng Mu Shi's body.

She was engulfed by the blood energy, her breathing slightly stifled. At this moment, an obscure chant rang out in her ears. It was a formation to awaken a sleeping demon.

Leng Mu Shi slowly drew out the bone sword Cang Sheng from her side and cleaned her ears, ignoring the formation and the chanting. She absorbed all the boundless blood-colored mist into the blood-colored heart on the hilt of Cang Sheng.

The voices outside didn't stop for a long time. Leng Mu Shi wasn't in a hurry at all. She hugged the bone sword Cang Sheng. When the earth-shattering cheers for the Water Shadow Demon General rang out again, there was still no movement from the sedan chair.

The Demon Emperor, who was sitting at the head of the platform, had been waiting for his last general to appear. When he saw that the person in the sedan chair still hadn't come out after a long time, he put away his relaxed demeanor and slowly walked down the altar step by step.

There was a smile on his lips, and the blood-colored lines on his face were like living snakes, entwining and wriggling.

With a flash, he arrived in front of the sedan chair. He slowly lifted the curtain and said in a gentle voice that was as cold and gloomy as ice, "What's wrong, Water Shadow Demon General? Do you really want to be my bride…"

Before he could finish the word "bride," the long sword that had pierced through his body was forcefully pulled back.

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