After the Villainess Awakens

The disciples all stopped, and the Baluo Bone, sensing fear, also ceased its movements.

Everyone who was engaged in the fight looked towards the pillar of spiritual light that shot straight into the sky… The blood-colored clouds were like blood mist dispersed by a torrent, vanishing in the blink of an eye, leaving only the excessively bright moonlight to sprinkle upon this courtyard littered with corpses.

The Baluo Bone was afraid of the awakened demon, while the disciples were dumbfounded as they looked at the pillar of spiritual light soaring into the sky.

――Because this was a sign of a cultivator advancing in their realm, not just a small step forward, but a major leap.

For example, from the Star Realm, directly crossing the peak, and entering the Moon Realm.

After a cultivator stepped into the Star Realm, every small step forward required more than double the cultivation accumulation of the previous stage. It could be said that every step was difficult, requiring a combination of time, opportunity, diligence, and a steadfast heart.

As for making a major leap, it was even more difficult, like ascending to heaven. For thousands of years, there had never been a disciple in the entire Tai Chu Mountain who directly crossed the peak and made a major leap. Even among the various immortal sects in the cultivation world, there had never been such a case. The only powerful figure who was cited by the elders as an example of a major leap had already perished seventeen thousand years ago while sealing a celestial demon, his soul returning to the earth.

Perhaps only such a wise and benevolent person, with the world in their heart, could break through the barriers and ascend to the heavens in one step.

Yet, this soaring spiritual light was so realistically appearing before their eyes. Someone among them had made a major leap.

The disciples had been too caught up in the chaotic battle and had no time to pay attention to who was missing around them. Therefore, their first reaction was to look around, searching for You Zishu and the high-ranking and middle-ranking disciples who had come with him. How could they dare to imagine that the person who had made a major leap would be a disciple from the same batch as them?

"Who…"

But all the high-ranking disciples were standing right here, battered and bloodied. The disciples couldn't help but ask aloud.

Holding Xue Ling in his hand, You Zishu looked towards the source of the light pillar, his brows furrowed tightly.

Within this spiritual light of advancement, there was an intermingling of the baleful aura of a demon.

A bone-chilling sound, like bones shattering, heads falling, and blades cutting into flesh, could be heard rustling from all directions.

The Baluo Bone, which had been attacking the disciples with reckless abandon, trampling on the corpses of its companions, actually began to retreat, its body trembling.

The pillar of light continued to erupt, the baleful aura growing stronger and stronger. But the disciples couldn't care less because these Baluo Bones were actually trying to escape.

"Escape?" You Zishu's voice was as cold as ice. "Kill them all!"

The disciples once again threw themselves into the slaughter. Many of them were low-ranking disciples who had just entered the mountain gate. They were born and raised in comfort, and in the year they had been in the immortal mountain, all they had learned were the carefully taught cultivation techniques and immortal arts from the elders. To deal with evil creatures, they were like newborn cubs of the human race.

But even cubs, when forced into a corner, would bite back. The fear of the Baluo Bone made them realize that retreat was impossible. Having injured so many of their fellow disciples, occupied so many mortal bodies, and even killed their fellow disciples before, they were filled with both new and old hatred. With bloodshot eyes, the low-ranking disciples also wielded their disciple swords and hacked away.

In this scene of a blood-soaked, hellish battle, only one person was laughing.

The moment the pillar of light appeared, when everyone was shocked, he was already laughing.

Xiao Mian couldn't help but laugh. He knew the person who had made the breakthrough - it was Leng Mushi.

This filled him with even more joy than if he himself had advanced in cultivation. He was simply ecstatic.

He spent all day with Leng Mushi and knew how much her cultivation restricted her. He knew what a talented alchemist she was, capable of formulating thousands of pill recipes and benefiting the entire cultivation world. He knew her every hardship and watched her work tirelessly day and night.

Sometimes, Xiao Mian couldn't help but think that the heavens were unfair. He considered himself diligent, having achieved his current cultivation level in eight years. But ever since he started spending all his time with Leng Mushi, Xiao Mian realized that he had practically wasted those eight years. His current cultivation level was not only nothing to be proud of, but it actually filled him with shame.

If he had put in even a third of the effort that Leng Mushi did, he would definitely be a Moon Realm cultivator by now.

Xiao Mian looked at Leng Mushi, his heart filled with both fondness and admiration, as well as respect.

In this cultivation world, among the younger generation of disciples, if there was anyone who deserved to achieve such a direct breakthrough, it was undoubtedly Leng Mushi.

Xiao Mian wasn't even surprised. He was just overjoyed. He had been fighting with half his body bathed in blood, his Shuiyun Sword completely crimson, stained with the filth of sin. Yet, his consciousness was detached from this mountain of corpses and sea of blood, sincerely wanting to sweep Leng Mushi off her feet and spin her around a few times.

It's just that he couldn't retreat, nor could he immediately rush to Leng Mushi's side to share her joy. Of course, he also saw the thick baleful aura contained within the soaring pillar of light, but so what?

She would never stray from the righteous path. Xiao Mian looked up and wiped the black blood of the Baluo Bone from his face. His eyes were as bright as shattered stars, like a flower blooming towards the sun amidst mud.

It was as if he wasn't looking up at a pillar of light, but at the woman he loved, who was now at the center of it.

Xiao Mian even had a strange illusion that he had been looking at her like this for an unknown amount of time, countless times before.

And at this moment, Leng Mushi, who was at the center of the pillar of light, had no idea that she had already made a major breakthrough. Her consciousness seemed to have been pulled away, and she could both hear and see.

She saw a hundred years ago, the day when enemy troops invaded the city, how the people in the city were brutally slaughtered by the enemy. But amidst the blood that flowed like rivers, it was not only their blood but also the blood of the soldiers who had defended the city gates to the death, only to be betrayed by the selfish people who had secretly opened the gates, dying from attacks from both front and back.

No matter how nicely the enemy spoke, how they promised to treat the people well, it was all just a deceitful ploy. The massacre was inevitable.

The rest was as the disciples had speculated before. The bodies of the dead were all thrown into a large pit in the barren mountains outside the city. After nearly a hundred years, the first to crawl out of this mass grave was a blood-red Baluo Bone the size of a palm.

It took advantage of the night to burrow into the body of a child, devouring him and taking his place. Then, it helped other Baluo Bones, one after another, invade the bodies of the originally peaceful townspeople.

In the name of revenge, using the ancestral hall that the kind-hearted townspeople had built for them, these Baluo Bones killed countless passing travelers and merchants.

Until almost the entire town was transformed into Baluo Bones.

They then began to fantasize about using living human bodies to nurture their "fire seeds." Unable to reproduce, the Baluo Bones used this parasitic method to harm countless innocent women, like Ping An's mother, who eventually died from their bodies exploding.

However, they had long since ceased to be human when they secretly opened the city gates. They didn't know what it meant to have humanity, didn't know what lengths people would go to for those they loved.

Their fire seeds were destroyed by the very soldiers who had died protecting them a hundred years ago, their souls now mixed among them. Ping An's mother was the only one whose fire seed was about to succeed, but they tried to kill Ping An, who was immune to their invasion and corruption due to his special constitution, which allowed his mother to stubbornly retain a sliver of consciousness.

And now, at this moment, in Leng Mushi's cauldron, there were far more than just Ping An and his mother.

There were also the restless souls of the townspeople who had been killed, and the souls of the Le Tan Town garrison who had been betrayed by the people they protected…

The battle between the Baluo Bones and the disciples outside became increasingly fierce, and the pillar of light on the ground suddenly vanished.

In the next instant, all life and death energy within the vicinity was sucked into the secret chamber where Leng Mushi was located. The Baluo Bones rolled on the ground, and the disciples, maintaining their formation, could barely stand firm by holding onto each other.

After a few breaths, amidst a deafening roar that shook the heavens and earth, the cauldron opened - spiritual light and death energy intertwined, rushing into the sky, creating a piercing shriek like a giant dragon woven from evil spirits, circling in the air.

The Soul Hooking Official from the Yellow Springs, who had been watching the battle from afar, hurriedly pulled back his face, which was almost blown away.

All those engaged in the battle were sent flying by the tremendous shockwave. As the spiritual light scattered across the sky, the Baluo Bones prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling. In the ensuing silence, Leng Mushi walked out of the secret chamber step by step, bathed in the clear moonlight.

She only looked a little disheveled, without any demonic transformation or strange limbs that belonged to an evil creature.

Her entire body was even enveloped in a faint, pure spiritual light, which was the protective spiritual shield of a Moon Realm cultivator.

However, one of her hands, held out in front of her with her palm facing down, emitted a thick, ghostly, and baleful aura. Xiao Mian, worried, stood up and was about to approach her when Leng Mushi glanced at him and shook her head with a smile.

Signaling him not to come closer.

You Zishu frowned, staring at the thing Leng Mushi was holding in her hand. He even hesitated for a moment, wondering what he should do if this disciple of the Second Elder had turned into a demon.

Everyone, including the Baluo Bones, looked at her. Leng Mushi raised her other hand and brushed off the ashes from her robe. Then, her gaze swept over the disciples who were lying wounded on the ground, and she said softly, "Everyone, take a rest. What comes next has nothing to do with us."

As she spoke, Leng Mushi's gaze coldly swept over the trembling Baluo Bones prostrating themselves on the ground. Those who were rushing towards them from afar, upon seeing the situation, immediately turned and fled.

Leng Mushi curled her lips into a light sneer. In the next instant, she raised her hand and fiercely threw the object she had been holding in her hand towards the sky.

"Everyone, avenge yourselves - those who have grievances, avenge your grievances, those who have hatred, avenge your hatred!"

A sudden change occurred. The pills, which looked no different from ordinary pills, exploded in mid-air with a series of "bangs." Then, the exploding ghostly and baleful aura transformed into various incomplete human figures, like demons taking form.

There were children, adults, headless figures wielding long knives, those with severed limbs moving as fast as ghosts, and even those cut in half at the waist, their upper and lower bodies working together to slaughter the Baluo Bones as easily as chopping vegetables.

This was the true descent of hell. Without evil spirits crawling out to claim lives, how could it be considered a living hell?

The terrified screams of the Baluo Bones were endless. The disciples all stared in shock at the ghostly figures that were moving at lightning speed among the Baluo Bones, reaping their lives in various ways.

And this wasn't even the end. Leng Mushi had a whole cauldron of pills, a total of 742. Like an ancient legend of summoning soldiers by scattering beans, she simply held her storage bag upside down and shook it in the air!

In the next moment, it was as if the gates of the Yellow Springs had opened upon the human world. Ghostly soldiers and baleful spirits gathered in the air, screeching as they chased after the fleeing Baluo Bones.

The blood-red figure, torn apart by the ghostly figures, turned into a ball of blood and rolled away, but it was quickly caught up to and torn into even smaller balls of blood, until it could no longer hold its form.

And in the courtyard where the disciples stood, the Baluo Bones were completely wiped out in the blink of an eye by those unknown creatures. The silence was so profound that even the sound of the wind seemed noisy.

Only then did Leng Mushi let out a breath and collapse to the ground.

The disciples all looked at her with strange expressions. After all, this was too shocking. They had never seen an alchemist who could refine human souls. Generally speaking, those who could control things related to ghosts and demons were all evil cultivators.

Therefore, even though Leng Mushi had saved them, they still didn't dare to move, nor did they dare to ask what was going on…

She had made a breakthrough, but why could she control ghostly beings? And what were those pills that could transform into ghostly beings?

Only Xiao Mian rushed towards her immediately and helped her up. "Are you alright?"

Leng Tianyin also got up immediately. She had an injury on her abdomen, and Yi Tu and Xing Zhou were supporting her on either side. She walked towards Leng Mushi, and Xiao Mei also got up and followed, holding the limp, palm-sized pink lotus in her hand.

Leng Mushi looked at the people around her and then at the other disciples. Not bothering to care about their expressions, she directly grabbed Xiao Mian's arm and said, "The Soul Control Pills were refined using the cauldron you gave me!"

Leng Mushi said, "What do you think of the name? I think my cultivation has increased!"

She was as happy as a child, but this happiness was only directed at Xiao Mian. "I can refine even higher-level pills now!"

As she spoke, she hugged him tightly, ignoring the dirt and blood on his body.

Xiao Mian hugged her back, whispering, "I think it's great, the Soul Control Pills really live up to their name. Congratulations, congratulations… This is wonderful."

However, Leng Tianyin's "Sister" made Leng Mushi's back stiffen for a moment. Then, she let go of Xiao Mian and composed her somewhat flustered emotions. Her heart felt as if it had been pricked by something, a little sour.

Although the plot had completely gone off track because of her alchemy, thinking about the entanglement between Xiao Mian and Leng Tianyin after he fell into demonic cultivation in the later stages, Leng Mushi knew that Xiao Mian was ultimately meant to be with Leng Tianyin.

The feeling Leng Mushi had at this moment was like putting in all her effort to refine a pill, only to open the cauldron and find a useless pill.

She quickly frowned and then distanced herself slightly from Xiao Mian. Looking at Leng Tianyin, she saw the redness on her abdomen and immediately exclaimed, "Why are you so badly injured?!"

She took out more medicine from her storage bag, fed it to Leng Tianyin, and then asked Yi Tu and Xing Zhou to distribute it to the other disciples.

Some of the disciples swallowed it without hesitation, while others, thinking about Leng Mushi's previous display of summoning ghostly beings with pills, were a little hesitant.

Leng Mushi spoke, her voice laced with a hint of spiritual energy, "Don't worry, it's just an ordinary hemostatic and muscle-regenerating pill. The Soul Control Pills from before were high-grade pills that I refined by exceeding my level. Even if you wanted them, you wouldn't be able to have any."

The disciples looked at each other and eventually took the pills. After all, they had already consumed so many of Leng Mushi's Small Rejuvenation Pills before, if anything were to happen, it would have happened already.

Besides, they saw that You Zishu had also taken it.

After everyone had taken the pills, they began to meditate and adjust their breathing. Their spiritual energy had yet to fully recover because the stench of the Baluo Bones on the ground still affected them.

You Zishu stood up and addressed the crowd, "Let's burn this place down first, and then we'll go and burn the burial ground of the Baluo Bones."

He walked over to Leng Mushi, who was not far away, and looked at her. "I don't know what kind of evil thing you've refined, but I can see that you yourself don't have any demonic aura. You've released so many ghostly beings, how are you going to…"

Just as he frowned and was about to question Leng Mushi, a returning ghostly figure rushed towards them at an incredible speed. You Zishu was about to draw his sword when Leng Mushi stretched out her hand. The ghostly figure transformed into a pill in mid-air and landed in her hand.

Seeing this scene up close, You Zishu still found it absurd.

This was simply too ridiculous. A pill cultivator from Tai Chu Sect actually refined human souls into ghostly beings… If word of this got out, who knows what rumors would spread among the other sects.

Leng Mushi showed the pill in her hand to You Zishu, a Soul Control Pill, and said, "They'll all come back on their own."

"There are so many, how can you possibly remember them all? What if you miss one…"

"I remember. This one in my hand is called Chang Sa. He was one of the Le Tan Town garrison soldiers from a hundred years ago, skilled in concealment and tracking." Leng Mushi said, "I know all 742 souls controlled by the Soul Control Pills."

Leng Mushi said to You Zishu, "Senior Brother, don't worry. If I miss any, I'll let you know immediately. The most urgent matter now is to burn these Baluo Bones as soon as possible to prevent any of them from escaping, right?"

She held out her hand to You Zishu. "I haven't fallen into demonic cultivation. You're welcome to investigate."

You Zishu: … Was she mocking him for not having any spiritual energy right now?

He took a breath and turned around, organizing the disciples who had recovered somewhat after taking the pills to burn the Baluo Bones.

Leng Mushi simply opened her storage bag wide, waiting for the ghostly beings who had gone out for revenge to return and transform back into pills.

They used spiritual fire to burn the bodies of the Baluo Bones.

The firelight reflected on the faces of the disciples, and everyone had a look of astonishment. This was supposed to be a very minor task, because when they accepted it, the Night Crying Spirit was a creature that didn't even harm humans.

But unexpectedly, in their first demon-slaying mission, they ended up killing over a thousand evil creatures. It felt surreal, like a dream. After being in the mountain for so long, for the first time, they truly felt that they had left behind the mortal world they grew up in and become cultivators, members of an immortal sect.

All the Soul Control Pills returned, and all the Baluo Bones were dead. The death energy that suppressed their spiritual energy naturally dissipated with the wind.

Therefore, before they could even finish dealing with the corpses, several disciples experienced enlightenment on the spot and advanced in their realms.

When the group from the Disciplinary Hall arrived with their disciples, they were greeted by this scene of mass breakthroughs.

Unlike Leng Mushi and the others who were covered in blood and looked disheveled, the disciples brought by the Disciplinary Hall had only encountered insignificant evil creatures that died without much effort.

Therefore, the disciples they brought were all spotless. Seeing this scene of blood flowing like rivers, corpses strewn across the ground, severed limbs scattered everywhere, and spiritual fire burning corpses, several of them immediately covered their mouths and retched.

The contrast was simply too stark. The disciple leading the Disciplinary Hall team couldn't help but frown.

You Zishu's spiritual energy had recovered, and his cultivation had also improved. Cultivators were always particular about cleanliness, especially You Zishu. But at this moment, he had no time for cleansing spells. Instead, he sat cross-legged, guiding the spiritual energy in his meridians to circulate.

The disciple leading the Disciplinary Hall team, named Yin Qiao, ordered the disciples behind him to help deal with the corpses. The new disciples all turned pale, but they obeyed and went to work.

Yin Qiao walked over to You Zishu. Recalling the gruesome deaths of the evil creatures he had seen along the way in the town, he couldn't help but ask, "Did you kill all these evil creatures?"

You Zishu opened his eyes and glanced at him. Thinking of Leng Mushi's soul-refining and soul-controlling pill technique, his lips moved, but not only did he not tell this future head disciple of the Disciplinary Hall, he even started to defend his fellow disciples. "Who else could it have been?"

You Zishu, who always spoke his mind, was now being strangely sarcastic. "Were we supposed to wait for you to come to the rescue?"

Speaking of this, Yin Qiao also realized that they were indeed late. He hurriedly said, "Two new disciples ran off on their own and entered a demon market. I had to bring them back, which took some time…"

You Zishu stopped talking and even lowered his eyelids, clearly unhappy.

Yin Qiao had never seen him like this before. While curious, he was also a little flustered. They often worked together, and You Zishu, being the head disciple, often handled many matters on behalf of the sect leader. If he offended him, who knew what kind of trouble he might face in the future.

Therefore, Yin Qiao's usually indifferent, mask-like face couldn't help but soften a little. He didn't say anything more to You Zishu and quickly led his team of disciples to deal with the corpses, piling them up and burning them. He also explained to the disciples that these were all Baluo Bones.

However, the more he dealt with it, the more shocked he became. Logically speaking, killing a few thousand Baluo Bones, whose strength was not beyond the capabilities of ordinary people, should not be difficult for You Zishu's team of cultivators. But the Baluo Bones lying dead everywhere were all extremely mangled, some decapitated, some disemboweled, and some even strangled to death with their own intestines. It didn't look like the work of cultivators' swords at all, but rather… like the work of evil creatures…

You Zishu didn't answer Yin Qiao's doubts. When they arrived, these Baluo Bones were already dead, and the death energy that suppressed their spiritual energy had dissipated. Yin Qiao didn't know what kind of danger these disciples had gone through.

The other disciples who had followed You Zishu's team were also tight-lipped, as if they had been sworn to secrecy. After all, they had eaten Leng Mushi's pills, they couldn't just go around talking about it.

Furthermore, Leng Mushi hadn't fallen into demonic cultivation. Not only that, but You Zishu had personally checked, and after her breakthrough, her spiritual energy was extremely pure.

Therefore, everyone tacitly agreed to keep Leng Mushi's soul-refining and soul-controlling pill technique a secret, including her breakthrough. Just like their united decision to fight back against the Baluo Bones, no matter what, they decided to wait until they returned to the sect before saying anything.

After all, they still had to fight side by side and go to the Demon Realm ruins. Offending a pill cultivator, a Moon Realm pill cultivator, a pill cultivator who could refine Soul Control Pills and command an army of 742 ghostly beings… was simply not a wise choice.

However, no matter how tight-lipped they were, Yin Qiao from the Disciplinary Hall was no fool. He quickly noticed that Leng Mushi was being intentionally or unintentionally protected by the disciples, and she was actually at the early stage of the Moon Realm?!

Yin Qiao had an impression of Leng Mushi. After all, she had caused a scene in the training grounds, drugged You Zishu, and even talked back in the Disciplinary Hall, but in the end, she was only punished with sweeping the floor. In all the history of the sect, Leng Mushi was the only one.

After the two groups had finished burning the bodies of the Baluo Bones and left two experienced middle-ranking disciples to deal with the local authorities of the neighboring town, Yin Qiao stopped Leng Mushi as they were about to leave.

"When did you reach the Moon Realm?" He really didn't have a friendly face. No one from the Disciplinary Hall did. With a frown, he didn't sound like he was asking but rather interrogating a criminal.

Xiao Mian had been following Leng Mushi all along. He didn't know why, but Leng Mushi seemed a little off. She was still talking to him, her attitude hadn't changed, but Xiao Mian felt that she had distanced herself from him.

He suddenly remembered the incident before everything happened when he was talking to Leng Tianyin. He pulled Leng Mushi aside and explained everything, but Leng Mushi didn't react much, only saying that she understood before turning to leave, only to be stopped by Yin Qiao.

"Just last night." Xiao Mian hurriedly stepped forward and stood in front of Leng Mushi, meeting Yin Qiao's scrutinizing gaze and blocking his view. "Senior Brother Yin Qiao, if you have anything to say, just ask me. She was frightened last night."

Leng Mushi: … Frightened my ass.

But Yin Qiao actually went with Xiao Mian.

Xiao Mian lied without changing his expression. In a way, he and Leng Mushi were cut from the same cloth. He managed to fool Yin Qiao until he was completely confused, and in the end, he didn't get any useful information.

But unlike Leng Mushi, Xiao Mian was quite simple and honest towards her, to the point of being oblivious.

After dealing with Yin Qiao, the group hurried on their way through the forest. The previous flying beasts had all been drained of their yang energy by the Baluo Bones and died.

They had no choice but to fly on their swords, each carrying one person. Leng Mushi inevitably ended up on Xiao Mian's sword.

However, this guy didn't follow the group properly. He deviated from the path midway and landed by a mountain stream. He got off his sword and asked Leng Mushi, "Are you still angry with me?"

Leng Mushi's mind was preoccupied with what kind of pills she could refine now. Hearing this, she asked in confusion, "Why would I be angry?"

"I was talking to Junior Sister Tianyin, and it was all about you. Don't be angry anymore… Besides that day, I haven't spoken to her alone. She's always with Senior Brother Yi Tu." In order to coax Leng Mushi, Xiao Mian threw his morals out the window and started snitching. "When we were fighting the Baluo Bones, I even saw Senior Brother Yi Tu kiss her forehead. They should be together now."

Leng Mushi's eyebrows twitched fiercely upon hearing this.

Her heart was in turmoil. Didn't this mean that the plot had completely collapsed? Leng Mushi, like formulating a pill recipe, considered many possibilities.

But on the surface, she remained calm and said in a low voice, "I'm not angry. Let's go, we'll fall behind the others…"

"You're just angry." Xiao Mian said with certainty. He walked closer to Leng Mushi, lowered his head to meet her gaze, and wanted to reach out and touch her head, but he clenched his hand in his sleeve and held back.

But the words that came out of his mouth were, "You don't even hold my waist anymore."

Leng Mushi: … Hold on a minute.

"Why would I hold your…"

She stopped mid-sentence.

Because although her mind was always preoccupied with alchemy, her thoughts drifting to it whether she was walking, sitting, or lying down, she wasn't amnesiac.

With a little recollection, she remembered how clingy she and Xiao Mian usually were.

Xiao Mian's words had struck a chord in her heart. It wasn't just holding his waist, Leng Mushi couldn't even count how many times she had woken up in the morning to find herself practically straddling Xiao Mian.

Xiao Mian also realized he had misspoken. Seeing Leng Mushi's stunned expression, his heart pounded nervously. He didn't dare to open his mouth, afraid of what might slip out.

The early autumn mountains were still lush and green, but they had been touched by frost, and the wind sent leaves fluttering down.

The gurgling of the stream at their feet was like Xiao Mian's constant reminders for her to eat, and even the gentle breeze that blew past them seemed to transform into tangible silk ribbons, entwining them a little too intimately.

The young man and woman looked at each other and quickly looked away, their ears both flushed red.

Today marked one year and ten days since they first met.

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