Chapter 41: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (21)p1
[You’ve been very quiet lately.]
Su Mingxiu spoke to the system in her sea of consciousness, her tone hinting at a nostalgic fondness for its troublemaking.
The system choked, managing a weak reply: “Interfering with the female protagonist’s fate is prohibited. You shouldn’t be in a relationship with her at this time.”
Hearing this familiar formula and tone, Su Mingxiu chuckled. “It’s not the first time anyway, you’ll get used to it.”
[…]
The system wanted to retort that it couldn’t get used to it, but before it could formulate a better strategy to deal with Su Mingxiu, Gui Mian walked over and took Su Mingxiu’s hand. Immediately, the system fell silent again, as if it never existed.
The more silent it was, the more it confirmed Su Mingxiu’s suspicions.
—It seemed that Gui Mian in this world could definitely sense the system’s presence, or perhaps even pose a threat to it.
Otherwise, based on its behavior in the previous world, it would have caused chaos while they were entangled in their spiritual connection.
“Back so soon?”
Su Mingxiu was taking a nap on the branch of a towering tree, sunlight dappling through the leaves and falling on her clothes and face. A faint smile appeared on her lips.
Gui Mian sat down beside her, her red robes draping over the branches. She played with Su Mingxiu’s fingers, only calming down after their fingers intertwined. She said casually, “I’ve cut ties with the Demon Realm.”
Thinking about the things Su Mingxiu didn’t know, Gui Mian pondered for a moment and continued: “The reason I stayed in the Demon Realm before was… Chaos’s body fell into the Demon Realm. My cultivation method is different from humans, yao, and demons. Chaos should have been classified as a yao, but because it could absorb demonic energy,
The yao race didn’t acknowledge its existence. Since my birth, I haven’t had any memories of inheritance techniques. So I had to be close to its body to comprehend the cultivation method.”
“The demon race has been suppressed by the cultivation world for thousands of years, lying dormant in the abyss of the eastern border. The Demon Lord needed my help to seize this opportunity, when no one in the cultivation world has ascended for a thousand years, to redraw the map of power.”
There were some things Gui Mian didn’t say.
For example, decades ago, the Demon Lord sent Fox Nine to sow discord, twisting Su Mingxiu’s actions and fueling Gui Mian’s hatred towards her, day after day.
If Su Mingxiu hadn’t patiently stayed by her side, filled with negative emotions, perhaps their current situation wouldn’t be so harmonious.
Gui Mian kept a mental ledger. On that ledger, the Demon Realm’s kindness and transgressions towards her had already been balanced—
She wouldn’t help the cultivation world, nor would she help the Demon Realm. She would remain neutral, that was her stance.
“I haven’t asked you,” Su Mingxiu said, resting Gui Mian’s head on her shoulder. They could only find places to stay in the wilderness now, because their antics on Black Tortoise’s back had finally angered the spirit beast. And Gui Mian, prioritizing her master above all else, refused to appease her pet, leading to a cold war between the master and pet that lasted till this day. “Does your birth father have anything to do with the severed connection to the Heavenly Ladder in this world a thousand years ago?”
“Why would Master think that?” Gui Mian looked at her with surprise.
Oh.
The reason was simple.
Su Mingxiu thought, the setting of the story was laid out, the protagonist’s identity was obvious. She had been in this cultivation world for so long, and there were only a few explanations for the severed connection to the heavens. It wasn’t hard to guess.
One explanation was that a cultivator, after ascending, violated the celestial laws, angering the celestial realm and bringing down punishment.
Recalling the ancient records mentioning that the celestial being who slayed Chaos imprisoned its consciousness in the upper realm… and now, there was a descendant of Chaos remaining in this world, the story was too easy to guess.
It was probably some kind of forbidden love affair.
There were countless stories about forbidden love between immortals in novels.
She didn’t say anything, and Gui Mian didn’t press further, finding a comfortable position in the crook of her neck. “It is related. The three races know very little about this matter. The Demon Lord only learned about it by chance and told me.”
But this information probably had many embellished and omitted parts.
Gui Mian knew this, and during her decades in the Demon Realm, she had been very careful, not leaving any leverage for the demons to exploit.
After her cultivation reached a certain level, it became even harder for the demons to find an opportunity to harm her. Because this little Chaos still retained her habits from the Sword Sect. Whenever she encountered something, she would ask why, then search for relevant records in ancient books, confirming that what she consumed was safe and harmless before accepting it.
The system, hearing their conversation, made a sound of despair in Su Mingxiu’s mind.
According to the original plot of this world, Gui Mian was supposed to be a protagonist betrayed by her sect and master, relying on the power of the Demon Realm to rise again and seek revenge against the righteous factions. Later, when the Demon Realm’s army reached the Sword Sect, she would discover that her birth mother was the powerful cultivator who ascended from the Sword Sect a thousand years ago.
To uncover the truth about Chaos’s death and her mother’s story, the protagonist, leading the demon army to attack the Sword Sect, would resolutely abandon the demons and cultivate as a human, reopening the Heavenly Ladder connecting this world to the celestial realm.
The human race, the demon race, the celestial race… the plot would unfold before Gui Mian.
After finally unraveling the mystery of her birth, she would become the new ruler of the celestial realm.
This was the protagonist’s supposed path of growth, but look at how the plot had changed under Su Mingxiu’s interference!
Hearing the sound of despair, Su Mingxiu asked the system in her mind, “Do you want to consider sending me the rest of the world line plot now?”
The system, unable to predict what kind of chaos she would create next, hesitated for a moment and asked: “If I send it to you, will you make the protagonist’s plot return to its original course?”
[That depends on what kind of protagonist you want.]
[I want her to be free from all constraints and threats within the three realms.]
[Oh, you want her to become the Celestial Emperor?]
[So what if I do?]
[Then your vision is too narrow.]
Su Mingxiu seemed to have forgotten all the times she had been tricked by the system and calmly discussed the plot with it, even offering some “helpful” suggestions.
System: [?]
It was about to ask Su Mingxiu what she meant by “narrow vision” when she naturally moved on to the next topic: “Friendly cooperation starts with spoilers. Tell me first, what’s the setting for that body that looks exactly like Gui Mian?”
[Oh, that’s the shell Chaos used to inhabit in this world, it contains all her memories. But it chose to live an ordinary life, thinking it could escape the celestial realm’s pursuit. Unfortunately, it was ambushed during its tribulation and only its soul managed to escape, waiting for an opportunity to rise again.]
Tsk.
Su Mingxiu asked patiently, “If I were to return Gui Mian’s Golden Core and sword bone to that body…”
“Then that body, having lost its soul and only retaining its instincts, would kill the murderer of its new shell out of self-defense.”
Now that Su Mingxiu had completed the mission, the system had no leverage over her. Compared to its previous arrogant and manipulative behavior when issuing missions, it was now practically an open book.
Unfortunately, the trap hidden within these words was too vicious.
For the original owner, who wanted to extract Gui Mian’s sword bone and Golden Core, she would end up with a lover who would never wake up but would take her away forever, a fitting end for a villain.
For Su Mingxiu, who had to complete the mission, she would end up with a completely blackened disciple, beyond saving, who could only walk the path set by the system, and she herself would be killed by an empty shell.
This vengeful system, after being tricked by her in the last world, had set up a dead end for her in this one.
—Thankfully, she had resolutely refused to transplant the sword bone and Golden Core into that body.
As if afraid of Su Mingxiu holding a grudge, the system quickly added: “Anyway, you’ve already avoided all those traps, and you’ve successfully completed the mission in this world. I promise, as long as you can continue to complete missions successfully, you can choose whatever identity and background you want in those small worlds.”
[How tempting.]
Su Mingxiu said this to it, then suddenly turned to Gui Mian and asked: “You should still have that body I asked you to keep, right?”
After spending so much time with her, this was the first time Gui Mian heard her mention that person.
Although she had confirmed with Su Mingxiu many times and vaguely realized that her master wasn’t using her as a substitute for that body, hearing her mention it, Gui Mian still felt a bit unhappy. She closed her eyes and replied: “Lost it.”
“Lost it?” Su Mingxiu raised an eyebrow.
The little disciple reached out and pulled Su Mingxiu’s head down, raising her neck to bite her lips. It wasn’t too hard, but compared to her previous ferocity, this strength felt more like a small threat. “What, does Master find her more pleasing to the eye than me?”
Su Mingxiu readily tasted the food offered to her lips.
After a long while, she let go. Seeing that Gui Mian’s lips had turned a bright red, she replied slowly: “What a waste to lose it. I was thinking, if you kept it, you could eat it to nourish your body.”
“Uh…” Gui Mian looked at her uncertainly. “Eat it?”
And nourish her body?
Su Mingxiu knew she thought she was joking, so she rephrased: “You don’t have to eat it. We can choose a day when we’re bored and study the connection between that body and you.”
If they were on Mount Lingyu in the Sword Sect, Gui Mian would definitely be furious upon hearing these words. But now, having been appeased several times, the little disciple saw that her master had no ulterior motives, only genuine concern for her. She put aside her displeasure and said hesitantly: “Then… I’ll take a look?”
“Okay.”
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