After the Villainess Awakens

Leng Mushi finally decided to risk it all and seduce someone. Although she said she didn't want to do anything too outrageous, she was actually aiming for exactly that.

She didn't want to wait any longer. Not tomorrow, not after she and Xiao Mian became cultivation partners like he suggested. She didn't even know how much time they had left. She didn't care about anything anymore, she just didn't want to have any regrets.

She had heard of the story about a man named Liu Xiahui who remained indifferent while sitting with a woman in his arms all night. She never expected that Xiao Mian would be a living Liu Xiahui. He was actually able to hold back under those circumstances. Leng Mushi almost doubted if his feelings for her were real.

But he did lose control halfway through, so much so that Leng Mushi almost wanted to run away. In the end, they still didn't really cross the line. Xiao Mian, with red eyes, pressed down on her shoulders and said, "No."

Looking at the veins throbbing on his forehead from holding back, Leng Mushi really couldn't bear to force him anymore.

So after coming out of the bathtub, the two of them used a cleansing technique and lay on the bed. Xiao Mian hugged her and kept apologizing, so much so that Leng Mushi's ears were getting calluses.

She struggled to free herself from him and sat up. "I told you it's fine! It's not like you forced me, I was the one who initiated it. Don't we both have feelings for each other?!"

Xiao Mian lay on his side and looked at her. His long hair was scattered on the soft pillow, making him look extremely handsome. Because of their earlier intimacy, his red lips were as bright as flower petals.

He moved his lips, looked at Leng Mushi, and slowly blushed. "I know, I won't say anymore. Lie down quickly."

Thinking of their previous intimacy, Xiao Mian felt his entire body go numb. As soon as Leng Mushi lay down, he immediately hugged her, rested his head on the side of her neck, rubbed it a few times, and buried his face in her hair.

The long night had already passed by more than half.

The two of them didn't do anything major, but neither of them could fall asleep. They just cuddled each other like this, in such an intimate posture, occasionally kissing each other, doing what men and women in this world would do.

They didn't speak for a long time, only each other's gradually merging heartbeats and breathing, as loud as thunder in this quiet night.

After an unknown amount of time, Leng Mushi felt that her butt had gone numb from lying down, so she said in a low voice, "Let's change positions, my butt is numb."

Xiao Mian let out an "En" without hesitation, as if he had been waiting for Leng Mushi to say this. He then hugged her to his own soft pillow.

Leng Mushi buried herself in Xiao Mian's arms. Xiao Mian tentatively patted her numb waist and hips, channeling a little spiritual energy into his palms, which quickly took away the uncomfortable feeling.

Leng Mushi closed her eyes, her body embraced by Xiao Mian. Her nostrils were filled with his scent. She could feel his breath gently spraying on the top of her head, and she could also hear his strong heartbeat.

Everything was so real. She truly felt Xiao Mian's body temperature, his breathing, and his heartbeat. But why wasn't he an ordinary person?

If he were, they could be like all the ordinary men and women in this world, falling in love. Maybe it wouldn't last forever, maybe they would end up resenting each other and parting ways, but at least when they were together, they wouldn't have to be like this.

Like this, with hearts in their throats.

Leng Mushi planned to tell Xiao Mian everything. It was better than him finding out from others after they returned to the sect.

She used her own soul silk to cover the Heavenly Devil Pill, but that was only a temporary solution. She couldn't suppress the awakening of the Heavenly Devil forever, just like she couldn't control the Heavenly Dao, and she couldn't control life and death.

Leng Mushi and Hua Yanyue had discussed this for a long time, and the final conclusion and solution they came up with, besides using her soul silk to restrain it, was to return to the sect and use the Imprisoning Illusion Formation in the forbidden area, which was used to imprison demons, to suppress the awakening of the Heavenly Devil Pill.

These were the only two things they could do to delay the awakening of the Heavenly Devil, but it was only a delay.

It was like a sword hanging over their heads. Leng Mushi reached out and hugged Xiao Mian, closing her eyes and burying herself completely in his arms.

"I feel so happy," Xiao Mian suddenly said. "I thought I would have to chase after you for another thirty to fifty years before you would look up from your alchemy furnace and really look at me."

Xiao Mian rubbed his chin against the top of Leng Mushi's head a few times, messing up her hair. "But you agreed to be with me so quickly, and you like me so much…"

In the Demon Clan's secret realm, and in that valley of paradise, including what Leng Mushi did tonight, Xiao Mian really felt that he had received a response from Leng Mushi that was several times more enthusiastic than his own.

How could Xiao Mian not be happy? There were countless infatuated men and resentful women in this world. It was such a rare thing for me to like you, and for you to happen to like me too.

Hearing this in his arms, the words that were about to come out of Leng Mushi's mouth to tell him the truth went round and round on the tip of her tongue, and were swallowed back down.

Forget it, she would tell him everything before they returned to the mountain.

Therefore, Leng Mushi cooperated very much. "Yes, I really like you very much. You are handsome, gentle, and…"

Xiao Mian paused, and after realizing what Leng Mushi was talking about, it was as if he was back in that cramped and stuffy bathtub. He suddenly felt hot, and his back, along with his tailbone, went numb.

But after a while, he said with a wry smile, "Why are you… why are you…"

Why are you so… forward?

But Xiao Mian didn't say this sentence, because he liked it very much. Leng Mushi was never nice to others, and no matter what she did to him, Xiao Mian felt that it was love.

Therefore, he only said, "You love to tease me…"

"I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable. I don't care about my virginity, or about being cultivation partners or not. I… Mmm."

Xiao Mian covered her mouth and didn't let her continue, so embarrassed that even the back of his hand was flushed.

Actually, Xiao Mian didn't care either, but he just felt that it was too fast. They had just informed Hua Yanyue, and if he took advantage of this time to do anything with Leng Mushi, it would be too disrespectful.

Moreover, many disciples had died this time. Even though he was emotionally moved and couldn't control himself, he was still very sad in his heart. He didn't want his intimacy with Leng Mushi to be mixed with any sadness.

Most importantly, this place was too simple. Even if he couldn't wait until they were really married before having sex with her, it shouldn't be in such a simple place.

Xiao Mian was a very stubborn person in some aspects. If he wasn't, he wouldn't have insisted on being with Leng Mushi after she rejected him and even played him in the beginning.

He stubbornly planned everything between him and Leng Mushi. Now many plans had been disrupted, but he still wanted to appear serious.

After all, in his plan, what they needed to rush was not how to taste the most delicious fruit first, but how to delay their boredom with each other on the long road of cultivation, in order to achieve the goal of truly reaching the end.

He didn't know that he no longer had time to implement these plans one by one. Leng Mushi couldn't bear to tell him, so she had to go along with him and indulge him.

The two stayed at the inn for one night. Neither of them slept well that night. The next morning, when they were checking out, they even had to compensate the owner for the water damage to the floor.

Leng Mushi made the decision to compensate the owner with one of their horses, and then she and Xiao Mian rode on one horse to continue their journey.

Xiao Mian rode the horse, and she nestled inside Xiao Mian's cloak, leaning against his chest. Her nose was red from the cold wind of early winter, but she refused to put up a barrier. She looked at Xiao Mian with excitement and talked about very ordinary household matters.

She was reluctant, reluctant to let go of such a time. She always felt that she had to remember it, such as her fingertips and lips that were now numb from the cold because she hadn't deliberately circulated her spiritual energy. These were all marks that would remind her of all this in the future.

Live each day as if it were the last.

Leng Mushi and Xiao Mian were both very happy along the way, especially Leng Mushi's obedience, which almost made Xiao Mian feel like he was floating.

She was too good to him.

But along the way, even though they were in no hurry, they were still moving forward. Finally, when another heavy snow fell, they finally reached the town at the foot of Tai Chu Mountain.

Xiao Mian was in a hurry to go back, but Leng Mushi acted coquettishly and suggested that they stay in this town for another night.

"Just one more night, brother, okay?" Leng Mushi said. "I heard from the vendors that the winter solstice is approaching, and the streets are already decorated with lanterns at night, and the vendors don't close their stalls. It must be very lively."

Leng Mushi's eyes were too bright, and the pleading and coquettishness in her eyes were too moving. Of course, Xiao Mian could only agree. So the two of them found an inn in the city and prepared to stay for one last night.

It just so happened that the inn they were staying in also housed disciples who had been injured in the Demon Clan's secret realm, and had only arrived at the foot of Tai Chu Mountain after traveling and recuperating along the way.

Xiao Mian went to inquire and check on them at night. After returning, he accompanied Leng Mushi to stroll the streets.

Because this town was close to Tai Chu Mountain, it was also a good place free from demons and evil spirits. And because it had some relationship with the Five Grains Hall of Tai Chu Mountain, this town was particularly rich and comfortable, even comparable to the capitals of some small countries.

The two of them strolled along the brightly lit streets, looking at the many things displayed by the vendors. Among them, there were even lanterns shaped like magical artifacts. Obviously, the craftsman had seen them before, as the lanterns were very cleverly made, and when lit up, they really looked like the magical artifacts sacrificed by the immortals.

Leng Mushi curiously picked one up to look at it, and Xiao Mian followed behind her and smiled. "This is a celestial disk. Tai Chu Sect also has it, but it's not used much. It's something commonly used by Derivation Sect cultivators to calculate the weather."

"Ah, that's right!" The owner was a rather young and strong man, with a wide nose and thick lips, looking very honest. "This little immortal lord is very knowledgeable. When this lamp is lit, it looks exactly the same as the Derivation Sect disciples I saw that year calculating the weather. How about one for the fairy to have some fun?"

Leng Mushi smiled. She didn't really want to buy it, she just thought it was novel. But Xiao Mian had already taken out his storage bag and handed the vendor a silver bead that circulated in the mortal world.

"That's too much, three copper coins are enough." The vendor reached into his wide sleeve and handed the retrieved copper coins to Xiao Mian.

Xiao Mian took it, and lit the lamp, handing it to Leng Mushi.

Leng Mushi smiled brightly. "Thank you, brother."

The two continued walking with the lamp, walking for a long time on a short street, stopping and going. Xiao Mian followed behind Leng Mushi, watching her look at some women's jewelry, but only looking, not reaching out to touch them. He smiled slightly.

Tai Chu Sect did not allow disciples to wear messy hairpins and jewelry, in order to prevent them from hurting themselves when exorcising evil spirits due to their lack of cultivation. It also prevented these things from becoming carriers of evil spirits and escaping.

But what girl didn't like these things? Some that weren't sharp and couldn't store spiritual energy could be worn secretly without the disciples of the Disciplinary Hall knowing. Xiao Mian often saw Zhu Rong wearing a lot of things.

Actually, Xiao Mian had something he wanted to give to Leng Mushi. He had made it a long time ago and had planned to give it to her as a gift for her advancement, but so many things had happened that the thing had been pressed at the bottom of his storage bag, and he had thought he had lost it. He had just found it when he was looking for the silver bead.

Xiao Mian held the thing in his hand. When Leng Mushi looked away from the stall, he stepped forward and took her hand.

"I have something for you," Xiao Mian said. "I made it a long time ago. It was originally a gift for your advancement, but now it's a gift for us being together."

He tied a red string with a jade buckle to Leng Mushi's wrist. Leng Mushi looked down and asked with a smile, "You're combining the two gifts like this? How can that be?"

Xiao Mian hummed with a smile. "That's how it is."

The jade buckle was an ordinary item, more ordinary than any other ordinary item in this market. It also had cracks from years of wear and tear, and it was broken. The red string couldn't wrap around the gap. It looked like no one would want it even if it was thrown on the road.

But after Xiao Mian put it on Leng Mushi, he solemnly held her hand and said, "This was when I was a child, when I was fleeing from famine and was about to die, someone gave me…"

He said half of it, and Leng Mushi, who was full of smiles, suddenly turned serious. She grabbed him and ran.

Xiao Mian didn't understand, but he followed Leng Mushi and ran. Leng Mushi circulated spiritual energy under her feet, using all her strength to avoid the sound of the wind chasing after them.

"Don't look back!" Leng Mushi transmitted her voice to Xiao Mian. "Brother Xiao, do you trust me? Come with me and don't look back!"

Xiao Mian didn't look back because he listened to her words. Leng Mushi looked back and saw that those who were chasing after them with immortal binding ropes in their hands were none other than the disciples of the Disciplinary Hall!

They came too fast!

They didn't even give her time. She hadn't had time to tell Xiao Mian the truth!

What was Master doing? Didn't she say that she would bring Xiao Mian back to the mountain? Why did she still send people? Could it be that she couldn't persuade Master Zheng Ping?!

Leng Mushi's mind raced. She had already pulled Xiao Mian far away, but although her cultivation had reached the peak of the Moon realm, she was, after all, an alchemist. She didn't specialize in combat, and even this escape was something she had been forced to practice in the Hall of Healing.

Xiao Mian didn't understand why, and Leng Mushi wouldn't let him look back. He was about to fly up on his sword and pull Leng Mushi to run first, but the two of them had already crashed into a forest and flew to the edge of a cliff.

Leng Mushi's night vision was extremely good, and she could see that there was a lake below the cliff. She clenched Xiao Mian's hand and asked sideways, "Xiao Mian, do you dare to jump with me again?"

Before Xiao Mian could speak, the disciples of the Disciplinary Hall who were chasing after them had already arrived. The immortal binding ropes were thrown at the two of them without hesitation, but they were blocked by a person who arrived immediately after them, with a burst of pure spiritual energy, and rolled back.

Leng Mushi didn't look back. She heard the person say, "Little Junior Sister, what are you doing? Do you want to take him and run away?"

Xiao Mian, who had been obediently not looking back, turned his head in doubt when he heard the familiar voice, and saw Xuan Zhu standing behind them, looking at Leng Mushi with a disgusted expression.

"The elders are all waiting to set up the formation. If you take him away, what will happen to Master?"

"Senior Brother Xuan Zhu, why are you here?" The moment Xiao Mian asked the question in doubt, several immortal binding ropes wrapped around his waist.

Leng Mushi didn't forget the lamp in her hand even though she was running, but when she looked down, the lamp had already gone out, and a piece of the lantern had been burned, leaving a black hole. She didn't even see when it had been burned.

Leng Mushi stared at the hole, as if she saw her own heart now.

She listened to Xiao Mian being restrained by the immortal binding ropes behind her, asking in confusion. He was still speaking in a good voice at this time, and he was not angry at all. It could be seen how much he trusted his fellow disciples.

Leng Mushi slowly turned around. She didn't think she was crying, but her vision kept blurring. She looked at Xiao Mian. It was useless to say anything now. Xiao Mian would soon meet the elders and know everything.

So Leng Mushi just wiped her face, walked to his side, and said, "Brother, don't be afraid, I will definitely come to see you."

"What's going on? What?" Xiao Mian was quickly taken away by the disciples of the Disciplinary Hall. Leng Mushi stood in the forest with the lamp, and was embraced by Xuan Zhu after a while. He stroked her long hair.

"Little Junior Sister, why are you so persistent? The path of cultivation is a lonely one in the end. Haven't you already realized that?"

Xuan Zhu said, "If you can't let go of him now, you will definitely be plagued by heart demons in the future. You are a once-in-a-millennium genius in the Dao of Alchemy. Do you really want to be trapped by love and stop your progress on the path of the Great Dao?"

Leng Mushi didn't speak. She just stood in the direction where Xiao Mian had been taken away for a while, then let go of her hand and let the lamp fall to the ground.

She replied, "I didn't want to run away with him. Didn't I already bring him back? I just wanted to…" She wanted to tell him personally, she wanted to spend one more night with him.

She didn't finish her sentence in the end, and followed Xuan Zhu back to Tai Chu Mountain overnight.

Xiao Mian was taken directly to the forbidden area by the disciples of the Disciplinary Hall. In the end, it was Tian Xuzi who personally told him about his current situation.

Xiao Mian felt as if he was in a dream, but he was pressed to the ground by the Imprisoning Illusion Formation and couldn't even lift his head. When he was dizzy and blood flowed from his seven orifices, he vaguely realized in his daze that he probably couldn't get out again.

He didn't understand why he had become a demon. When did the Heavenly Devil parasitize his body?

He clearly had a water spiritual root, he was the proud disciple of Tian Xuzi, the Fifth Elder of Tai Chu Sect, he was…

The Imprisoning Illusion Formation was Tai Chu Sect's grand formation for suppressing demons. Xiao Mian had been here once, only once. He had come with his master to clean up a demon cultivator who had gone mad and tried to break through the formation.

Xiao Mian was only sixteen years old at that time, but he was not afraid. Even though the demon cultivator exploded on the spot, revealing his ugliness, he only maintained a solemn and handsome face, watching Tian Xuzi calmly kill the demon cultivator, and then burn all traces with a spiritual fire.

At that time, Tian Xuzi was very satisfied with his state, and after that, he valued him even more, praising him for being upright and self-controlled, and entrusted him with many miscellaneous matters in the sect.

Xiao Mian never thought that one day, he would be treated as a demon and imprisoned in this formation by his master, who had personally taken him to exorcise demons, and by the elders who were usually kind to him.

He was a human being! How could he withstand the crushing of this Imprisoning Illusion Formation? Xiao Mian lay on the ground, feeling as if his internal organs were being repeatedly crushed. He couldn't even take a deep breath.

He thought of Leng Mushi, thought of her unusual behavior along the way, thought of how she always wanted to say something but stopped, and finally tried to escape with him.

Like the other demons in the forbidden area, Xiao Mian lay on the ground, feeling the pain of being worse than death, lingering on as he was suppressed in this formation. This way, his demon core wouldn't awaken, and he… wouldn't die.

Xiao Mian heard the elders say that he was just a trace of consciousness that had luckily survived after being parasitized by the Heavenly Devil. He didn't even have a soul. This trace of consciousness also lived by relying on the Heavenly Devil. He wasn't considered a human being.

He had been in Tai Chu Mountain for so many years, and suddenly he was no longer considered a human being. Xiao Mian felt an indescribable stuffiness in his heart. He had countless things he wanted to say, to question, to resist.

Even someone with his temperament wanted to betray his master and escape from this place. He couldn't help but think of the demon cultivator he had seen back then, who, after knowing that he couldn't escape, would rather choose to self-destruct tragically than be imprisoned here again.

Xiao Mian felt that he was going crazy too. There was no day or night in this Imprisoning Illusion Formation. The pressure in the formation never gave people a chance to breathe, and it was designed to prevent demons from mobilizing their demonic energy. Over time, they would eventually die from exhaustion.

Xiao Mian lay on the ground, feeling as if every second, all his bones were about to be crushed by the invisible pressure, crushed into a pool of flesh and blood.

"Hey, kid, you don't have any demonic energy on you, why are you locked up here? What great crime did you commit? Did you betray your master and destroy your ancestors? Hahaha…"

Not far behind him, there was a demon cultivator who seemed to be at ease, sitting cross-legged and looking at him. His laughter was sharp and harsh in this space.

The man's appearance couldn't be seen clearly, and it was impossible to tell how many years he had been imprisoned here. But as soon as he laughed, all the demons in the Imprisoning Illusion Formation laughed along with him, like a demonic sound that pierced one's ears. Xiao Mian directly vomited a mouthful of blood.

He gritted his teeth, wanting to roar for them to stop laughing, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He remembered Leng Mushi saying that she would come to see him. Tears welled up in Xiao Mian's eyes. When would she come?

Leng Mushi returned to the Hall of Healing, returned to the days of deducing alchemy formulas and focusing on cultivation day after day. If Hua Yanyue hadn't been able to tell that she hadn't taken the Soul Forgetting Pill, she would have thought that Leng Mushi had already forgotten about Xiao Mian.

Not long after, Leng Mushi handed the first batch of Spirit Sealing Pills refined for the Shadow Sect to Yin Yi, who had come to collect them. She also exchanged some natural treasures from him and threw herself into refining pills day and night again.

Leng Mushi seemed to be completely fine. She went down to the Hall of Healing for dinner every day, and even talked to Leng Tian Yin. It was just that occasionally, she would stare at the broken jade buckle tied with a red string on her wrist in a daze.

Xiao Mei returned to the Third Elder's sect, and Fen Lian also had another master. The Third Elder was very enthusiastic. Leng Mushi went there twice and saw that they were all doing well, so she stopped going.

She even went to see You Zishu. He only had one arm left, and it was much more difficult for him to practice swordsmanship than before. But even though he knew that no matter how hard he tried, he would never be able to become the heir of the sect leader again, he was still very diligent.

Leng Mushi gave him an idea, but it was just an initial idea, and it was the kind that couldn't be told to anyone. After she left, You Zishu's face, which had always been as still as water, twisted for a moment, and a line of clear tears slid down.

He couldn't help but care, and he couldn't help but feel bitter in his heart.

Leng Mushi told him that she had been researching a new kind of pill recently, and she also told You Zishu what she knew about the Shadow Demons.

The Shadow Demons, in a certain static state, could ensure that there was no demonic energy on their bodies, and they could even cut themselves at will and recover quickly. They could also survive in any harsh environment, and they could even wrap around Leng Mushi and Xiao Mian and leave the Demon Clan's secret realm.

This meant that even the grand formation was not aggressive towards this kind of low-level thing that was incapable of doing anything.

What Leng Mushi proposed was a fantasy. Perhaps it was possible to try to use the Shadow Demon's body to create an arm, but You Zishu would need to cut open the wound of his severed arm again so that the Shadow Demon could parasitize his body.

But this kind of absurd statement, even You Zishu didn't hold much hope for it. How could a human body be connected to a demon body?

And everyone avoided the topic of Xiao Mian. Leng Mushi didn't mention it either. Yi Tu, Xing Zhou, and Leng Tian Yin all wanted to say something but stopped. But thinking that Xiao Mian was essentially just a trace of consciousness, if he couldn't let go, it would be very detrimental to Leng Mushi in the future. So, no one mentioned Xiao Mian in front of Leng Mushi.

But even if those close to her didn't mention it, Leng Mushi could still hear other disciples mentioning it. In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed since Xiao Mian was imprisoned by the Imprisoning Illusion Formation.

On New Year's Eve in the mortal world, the various immortal sects, because of the latest tremors from Blood Demon Mountain, after killing the demons and beasts in the Demon Clan's secret realm, gathered once again at Tai Chu Mountain to discuss how to continue suppressing the tremors of Blood Demon Mountain, as well as the awakening of the Four Great Demon Generals.

Leng Mushi used the Spirit Concealing Pill to conceal her presence and voice. At the gathering of the various sects, she heard someone suggest that digging out the demon cores and crushing them at Blood Demon Mountain might be able to stop the awakening of the Four Great Demon Generals.

Although this suggestion was quickly refuted by the immortals from the sects whose brains were still working, when people were at their wits' end and about to face danger that they couldn't deal with or even predict, they were capable of doing anything.

The awakening of the Heavenly Devil was inevitable, and the various sects had already made preparations for battle. Their recent discussions were all about delaying the inevitable for as long as possible.

Halfway through the gathering, Leng Mushi used the Spirit Sealing Pill to create a small disturbance around the forbidden area. Then, she took a Spirit Concealing Pill refined by the Shadow Demons, which could conceal her figure and aura, and took advantage of the time when the disciples guarding the forbidden area opened it to check and quietly slipped in.

She had been preparing for so long, and finally, the time had come. After sneaking into the forbidden area, she searched through each Imprisoning Illusion Formation. When she finally found Xiao Mian, her heart suddenly clenched.

He was lying in a pool of blood, his face pale and his life and death unknown. Under the suppression of the Imprisoning Illusion Formation, he had no demonic energy or spiritual energy around him, no different from an ordinary person. He curled up at the eye of the formation, his eyes closed, his breathing so shallow that it was almost imperceptible.

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